Deception

by Shameek Speight

  “Hey, I didn’t know if you were serious or not about this, sergeant,” Douglas said breaking the stare down between Murray and Patrick.

  “Well now you know I motherfucking am. I kept y’all secret now fucking help me. I will take the blame for this shit. Now, grab your gear and lets go. Samantha now has a head start before us and a duffle bag of supplies, plus a god damn rifle. This will be just like Afghanistan men. The enemy is armed and dangerous," Patrick said.

  “Are we really going to do this?” Douglas asked.

  “I guess so and without question. He would do it for us!” said Timothy as he strapped on a book bag full of supplies and grabbed his rifle.

  Samantha ran as her life depended on it, and it did. She knew her husband would kill her without thinking twice about it. “Mom I’m tired. Why is dad doing this?” Joshua said while stopping in tears. Samantha stopped beside him while still holding Diego. She looked at his once previous white coat starting to turn even redder, and then she stared at her son making eye contact. “I love your brown eyes, my first love, and only child. I can’t fail you, and let you die out here. You have your whole life ahead of you,” Samantha thought to herself. “Daddy’s not himself, baby, but we can’t stop running. We must get more distance between them and us before we can rest. Practice your football exercises like running laps. You must keep going, baby,” Samantha said.

  “But,” Joshua started to reply, but was cut short.

  “No buts young man. Run and run fast, now!” Samantha shouted and they took off cutting through the woods running in the deep snow that came up to their ankles.

  “Stop! I can’t go anymore!” Diego shouted.

  “Yes you can. You must keep going,” said Samantha.

  “We’ve been running over twenty minutes. I’m weak and only slowing you down. At this pace, it won’t matter how far we go. They will track us down and kill us,” Diego said as he removed his arm from around Samantha’s neck and rested his back on a tree. He slowly slid down the trunk of the tree until he was sitting on the ground at rest.

  “I just can’t leave you. You, me, and my son…we have to keep moving,” Samantha replied.

  “It’s too late for me; I’m nothing, but dead weight.” Diego said while removing his snow coat. “Here the blood will dry fast. Have Joshua wear it or he’ll freeze to death,” Diego stated.

  “I’m not fucking leaving you!” Samantha shouted.

  “You have no choice. It's stay with me and die or take your son and do your best to get down this mountain and get some damn help. Now, fucking go before it’s too late!” Diego said.

  “Are you sure about this?” Samantha asked.

  “Yes, I’m losing too much blood and they will follow it straight to us. But, I’m going to lead them off in another direction opposite of you,” Diego stated.

  “Thank you!” Samantha said shaking her head. She looked at her son and passed him the bloody white snow coat and removed the tape from his wrist. She wiped the tears off his face. “I need you to stay strong now. We’ve got to keep moving okay,” she said.

  “Yes mom,” Joshua said while fighting back his tears. Samantha used the strap to put the rifle on her back, held the duffle bag tightly, and took off running with her son by her side.

  “UGGGHHHH,” Diego groaned in pain as he eased up off the ground. The freezing wind slowed down his bleeding some, but not completely. He knew it was a matter of time before he bled out like a stuffed pig getting ready to be cooked at a BBQ. He limped towards the east; the opposite direction of Samantha and her son took off running. The more he walked the more he could feel his body get weaker. He looked behind himself to see the thick trail of blood. “It’s like I’m leaving bread crumbs for the wicked witch to follow me. I just need to stay alive long enough to buy Samantha some more time. I must keep moving!” Diego thought to himself as he stumbled while walking, each step was harder than the last as his foot sank deeper and deeper in the snow.

  “Huh what?” he said out loud as he heard large footsteps not too far behind him. He looked behind him and had to blink his eyes four times. “I must have lost so much blood. I can’t believe what the fuck I’m seeing. There stood a Mountain Lion a few feet from him licking up the blood in the snow, but that’s not what surprised him at all. He had been hunting on Silver Peak Mountain for years and had seen and killed many Mountain Lions and deer's. His body trembled in fear as the Mountain Lion stopped licking up the blood and stared straight into Diego’s eyes. What really made Diego tremble wasn’t the fact that he might get eaten alive, but the fact that this Mountain Lion was rare. You could run and hide and still wouldn’t see it come. He had to weigh 220 pounds or more. His eyes were bright green with paws the size of two men hands together. All of this was normal to see, but what wasn’t normal was the fact that the Mountain Lion's fur was the color white just the same as the snow. As the snowflakes fell down, he blended right in with the snow and it was almost impossible to see, if it wasn’t for the red blood around his mouth from just licking and his eyes that seemed to glow. "GRRRRR! GRRRRR!" the Mountain Lion let out a low growling sound.

  “Oh shit! Oh shit!” Diego said. His hand shook as he stuck it in his right pocket and pulled out his small folded pocketknife flipping it open. “I’m too fucking weak to run. Besides, I can’t out run that shit. My only chance is to put up a fight,” Diego said out loud to himself as the Mountain Lion stared at him as if he was a T-bone steak. The Mountain Lion took off running, charging towards him. “Fuck this shit!” Diego shouted from seeing the large cat running at top speed. “Mierda! Mierda!" he screamed shit in Spanish and turned to run. He took only three steps before the mountain lion leapt up in the air. The weight from the huge cat knocked Diego straight to the ground. "AAAAAHHHHH!" Diego hollered in excruciating pain as the mountain lion sunk its long teeth in to the back of his skull. "AAAAHHHHH!" Diego continued to scream and cry the Mountain Lion was biting deeper and shaking Diego’s head from side to side in hopes of snapping his neck. Diego swung in an awkward angle backwards and the knife cut the mountain lion on its arm, making the Mountain Lion release its grip. “NOOOOO! Help me!” Diego cried out while crawling away. Then, he felt teeth sink in the back of his calf muscle. “AAAAAHHHHH!” he hollered as the mountain lion ripped away the lower half of his leg and sat down sucking the meat off the bone. Tears streamed down Diego’s cheeks, “God, please just let me die before that thing eats me alive. Please just take me Lord." Diego did a push up and flipped himself over off his stomach and on to his back creating a loud smacking sound. He looked at the Mountain Lion eating the lower half of his leg, as if it was an overgrown chicken bone that was baked in the oven for hours, making it nice and tender to the point that the meat was just falling off the bone. “Is he fucking moaning while eating my fucking leg?” Diego said wishing his wounds would kill him long before the mountain lion finished devouring his leg, but he wasn’t that lucky.

  The Mountain Lion stuck its tongue out and licked the blood off his lips and stuck in its fur around them. He stared at Diego when he finished done with what was left of his foot. He stood half way up ready to pounce then ran. “AAAAAHHHHH!” Diego screamed as the mountain lion ripped open his stomach, swallowing large pieces of Diego’s flesh. The Mountain Lion sunk his teeth into Diego’s right arm ripping it away. “God, forgive me for my sins!” he shouted as his face was ripped off.

  Chapter 4

  Joshua stopped running and looked back as the sounds of Diego’s screams and the mountain lion's roars could be heard echoing through the whole mountains. “Mom was that Diego?” he asked.

  Samantha could see the fear mixed with panic all over her son's face, “Joshua, I don’t have time to sugar coat anything for you, baby. The growling sounds you heard came from a Mountain Lion,” Samantha replied.

  “A lion…a lion…. lions live in Africa or where it’s warm. Not in the mountains!” Joshua said with a puzzled look.

  “They’re just called Mountain Lions.
You would know them better as Cougars. They're very powerful giant cats that eat larger animals like deer, rabbits, bears, and us at the moment. If a Mountain Lion has gotten Diego it’s even more reason for us to keep moving. Mountain Lions are territorial. So now we have to worry about outsmarting it, your father, and his stupid friends,” said Samantha.

  “But mommy, why is dad trying to kill us? You never answered me? My father never tried to hurt me or once put his hands on me. Dad encouraged me to be strong and said he loved me. So, what has changed?” asked Joshua.

  “Joshua, your father is not the same man. Something is wrong with his mind. He doesn’t love you or me at the moment. He only wants to kill us,” Samantha stated.

  “No, not dad. He’s not some psycho crazy killer. Something’s wrong? You’re not telling me everything mom and I know it,” Joshua replied.

  "I’m still your mother no matter the situation. Watch how you speak to me and just trust me. We must keep moving, now run,” Samantha shouted and they took off once more, running fast down the mountain through the woods.

  Pain ran through Patrick’s heart as he moved through the woods in a fast pace. “Why? Why’d my life turned up like this, why lord?” Patrick thought to himself as he fought back tears, “Fuck the pain, fuck family, they all will cross you. No one loves you; people just want to use you. Kill them all, then yourself; it’s the only way to stop the pain and anger. Just to end this life,” Patrick thought to himself as he followed the blood trail with Murray, Douglas, Charlie, and Timothy behind him.

  Patrick raised his hands signaling them to stop as the trail of blood increased to larger puddles in the snow. Then he saw what was left of Diego’s left leg. Patrick had to fight the urge to vomit; Diego’s stomach had been torn out and devoured. The meat on his right thigh was missing; the skin on his face was eaten off, along with the top of his skull. “What the fuck did that to him?” Timothy asked, as he got closer.

  “A Mountain Lion,” Patrick replied.

  “Ain’t no god damn Mountain Lion rip him to shreds in a short matter of time. I just can’t believe that,” Murray stated.

  “Well, believe it. It was a very fucking large Mountain Lion, unlike ones we ever hunted before. Now, it has the taste of human flesh. It will hurt us, but from the looks of it it’s going after Samantha and Joshua. We got to kill it or get to them first,” Patrick stated.

  “Why should we track the Mountain Lion if it’s only going to do the job for us? Judging from what that Mountain Lion left of Diego's leg and you wanting them dead,” Charlie replied.

  “Because I want to kill them my fucking self,” Patrick shouted as his facial expression twisted up in rage. He was getting ready to say something else until the sound of low moaning caught his attention. All five men turned around and jumped back. “What the fuck?” Murray shouted. Diego was still alive moving around on the ground in excruciating pain and looked like a dead zombie. He raised his right hand, which his thumb, index finger, and pinky had been bitten off. “Fuck you,” Diego somehow managed to say while sticking out his middle finger. Patrick raised his rifle, aimed, and squeezed the trigger blowing off what was left of Diego’s head in to tiny pieces. The other four men looked on in disgust. “Let go, the hurt has only just begun,” Patrick said strapping the rifle across his back and heading deeper into the woods.

  Chapter 5

  Samantha was breathing hard and her legs felt weak. She put her hands together and blew in them, in hopes of warming them up. The heat from her breath eased the pain in her fingers that felt as if they were frozen stiff. A few snowflakes went down her back giving her chills. “I can’t run anymore, mom. I’m too cold,” Joshua said.

  “I know baby, but we got to keep moving. It’s a matter of life and death,” Samantha replied as she took her son by his hand and continued to walk. She yanked him back, just as he was going to step three paces ahead of her.

  “Mommy what’s wrong, why did you pull me back?” he said.

  “Just don’t take another step,” Samantha said and scanned the area really fast. She picked up a long tree branch that was beside her and used it to poke the snow in front of her. SNAP! A loud clamping sound echoed through the woods. As a large metal bear trap with spikes closed like a tiger’s mouth on the branch breaking it in half causing Joshua and Samantha to jump back. “We can’t go that way we have to go right, and then continue on down the mountain. This whole area is filled with bear traps,” Samantha stated.

  “Why would there be animal traps here, mom?” And what are you doing?” Joshua asked.

  “It’s the way lazy people hunt. They place traps in an area. A bear or cougar steps on it and they’re stuck waiting until the hunter comes back and kills them, but 99 percent of the time the poor animal bleeds to death because the hunter forgets they left the trap there. I’m taking one of these with us. We never know when it might come in handy,” Samantha said while bending down and unhooking the chain that keeps the bear trap locked in one spot on the ground. She unzipped the duffle bag and stuffed the bear trap in. “Let’s go,” Samantha said while getting up. She grabbed her son by the hand and walked to the right to find a way down the mountain. Joshua collapsed to the ground after walking another mile. “Baby, baby, Joshua!” Samantha shouted and dropped down to her knees.

  Joshua was lying on his stomach with his face buried in the white snow. Samantha flipped him over onto his back to see Joshua eyes wide open and breathing hard, each breath he took escaped his mouth and lingered in the air. “Mom I can’t walk anymore. I’m too cold, can’t breathe, and I can’t move.

  “You’re suffering from hypothermia,” Samantha said as she looked up at the sky realizing the sun was going down causing the temperature to drop below 36 degrees Celsius. “Your body is losing heat faster than it can produce it. I’m going to have to do something fast,” Samantha said doing her best not to panic, even though her heart was beating hard in her chest. She fought back the tears knowing all she wanted to do was scream as loud as she could. ‘Lord save my child, but knowing God gives you the tools you need. It’s up to you to be smart enough to use them.’ She swiftly gathered branches and sticks grabbing as many as she could carry in her arms. She made her way back to where she’d left Joshua. She dropped the branches and sticks, and then grabbed Joshua by the hood of the snow coat to drag him to a tree and rested him up against it. She dug a small patch in the snow and placed most of the sticks and branches in it. “Mommy, what are you doing?” Joshua said weakly.

  “I’m going to start a fire to warm you up,” Samantha replied.

  “No mom, don’t start a fire. I’ll be okay. I just need to rest,” said Joshua. The more Joshua spoke the weaker his voice sounded. Until he stopped talking before he finished his sentence and closed his eyes, and his head tilted to the side.

  “No, get up, get up!” Samantha shouted while shaking him by his shoulders. But he still didn’t open his eyes; she pulled her hand way back and slapped him with all her might smacking the fire out of his face. She slapped him so hard her hand was in pain.

  “AHHHH! Ouch mom! Why did you do that? What did I do?” Joshua shouted opening his eyes.

  “Thank you!” Samantha said exhaling with joy from seeing his eyes open. “Whatever you do don’t go to sleep, I need you to stay strong baby and stay awake. Hypothermia causes your organs to stop working because you’re freezing. If I don’t warm you up eventually your heart and respiratory systems will fail, then death,” Samantha said while starring at her son. Just the thought of her child dying made her feel a pain deep down in her soul. She found two small rocks and began to bang them together, the friction from the rocks made sparks jump out of them and onto the sticks. “Damn light, fucking light already!” Samantha said while banging the rocks faster and harder, but the wood still didn’t catch fire. “What am I doing wrong?” Samantha asked while crying with tears freezing on her cheeks.

  “Mommy maybe you need to dry the wood because it’s wet because of the snow,�
� Joshua said in a weak voice while trying to fight to keep his eyes open.

  Samantha looked at her son and could see his eyelids were shut and then would reopen fast. “Oh God! Oh God! I’m running out of time. Keep your eyes open baby,” Samantha said then unstrapped the snapped rifle from around her back and pulled out a clip that held five bullets as long as her fingers. She placed the head of the bullet in her mouth locking her teeth on it and pulled with all her might. She swiftly poured the black gunpowder onto the wood and spit out the head of the bullet. She did it five more times until she only had one bullet left. She placed it back in the clip of the gun. Her finger felt cramped up as if she had arthritis, but knew it was from the cold. She picked up the two small rocks and banged them together as hard as she could. Sparks from them jumped all over the sticks and branches covered in gunpowder. Whoosh! The fire roared to life! The gunpowder helped the wood to burn even faster. “Thank God! Come put your hands in front of the fire baby. It will warm you up and have you back to normal in no time,” Samantha said.

  “Yes mother,” Joshua said weakly stretching his arms out towards the fire. Already his breathing began to return to normal as his body warmed up. “GRRRRR! GRRRRR!” a loud roar echoed through the woods. That sent chills through both their bodies.

  Chapter 6

  “Mom, should we put out the fire?” Joshua asked while looking into the darkness of the woods listening for signs of movement.

  “No we got to keep the fire going it’s the only way we will survive the night until the sun comes back up in the morning. Once it rises we will continue to make our way down the mountain,” Samantha replied.

  “What about the Mountain Lion? You heard it just like I did. What if it comes for us?” Joshua asked trying his best to hide his fear.