by Mark Gordon
Chapter 34
The Feeder
Montana screamed from the truck as the feeder sprinted down the dark road towards Matt. He’d grabbed his useless shotgun by the barrel to use as a club, but it probably wouldn’t be enough to protect him from the creature’s savagery. He hoisted it like a baseball bat and hoped that somehow he could get in a lucky blow and drop this creature before it leapt on him. It was close enough now that Matt could see the hate in its eyes and the red veins like roadmaps on its face. He braced himself to strike and hoped that Montana and Gabby would somehow find a way to survive without him. He’d die now thinking he’d failed them. The feeder was only metres away, and as he swung the makeshift club with all his strength he heard a deafening explosion nearby as the creature lunged at him. His strike missed wildly and he overbalanced and hit the bitumen, as the feeder came down on top of him, pinning him to the ground. He dropped his gun and grabbed the creature by the throat and squeezed as hard as he could while the beast tried to take a bite from his face. He was no match for this crazed opponent and was preparing for the worst when the feeder suddenly coughed up a wad of bloody mucus onto Matt’s chest and was still. Matt pushed the body away hysterically, where it came to rest on the road, unmoving in the late afternoon gloom.
Matt looked over at Montana who was still in the truck with Gabby and Elvis, and then back at the figure that was lying face up on the road, in by a rapidly expanding pool of blood. A twig snapped behind him and he swung around to face the next assault, but was relieved to see that the figure emerging from the shadows on the side of the road was a grey-haired woman wielding a rifle. Matt stared, dumbfounded, as she raised the gun above her head and yelled triumphantly, “I got him! At last I got him! Ha! Stupid crazy bastard! I showed him!”
She turned Matt and lowered her gun.
“Hi! I’m Kate,” she said holding out her hand. “He almost got you didn’t he? Why didn’t you shoot him?”
“Umm, I, umm, my gun jammed or something. What the hell are you doing out here?”
“It’s a long story. Wow, I really killed him didn’t I?” she stated as she looked over at the truck. “I think your friends can come out now. It’s safe, he was the only one.” She put her gun down gently on the road and yelled out to the girls in the car, who by now had their faces pressed up against the window, “You can come out now! I got him!”
Montana and Gabby climbed warily from the ute and headed over, while Matt asked the bizarre apparition before him, “Where did you learn to shoot like that? I think you just saved my life.”
She laughed. “I certainly did just save your life. You got that right. The shooting? I’ve been popping bunnies for longer than you’ve been alive; I’ve never shot a person before, though. That’s different. I have a funny feeling that it won’t be my last, though. What do you reckon? Look at me, I’m shaking.”
She looked over at the truck in the ditch. “Looks like you’ve had a bit of an accident.”
Montana and Gabby had joined them now and were staring down at the dead body of the feeder.
“Let’s move away from this thing and talk,” the woman said, heading towards the fallen tree trunk, where she sat and took some deep breaths. “Why don’t you go over and turn on your headlights?” she instructed Matt. “I’ll get to know these beautiful girls? And what is this gorgeous puppy’s name?”
“Elvis,” Matt said, heading off to the ute obediently. By the time he returned the three women (and Elvis) were chatting like old friends and Matt had to wait for a pause in the conversation before he could speak. He held out his hand, “I’m Matt.”
“Hi Matt. Kate,” she said offering her hand. “Did I already tell you that? Doesn’t matter. You’re a very lucky young man aren’t you?”
“Yes. Thanks for saving my life, by the way. I really appreciate that, but why on earth are you out here?”
“Okay. I’d love to tell you, but it’s getting cold and dark out here. Why don’t we go to my place and I can fill you in while I cook dinner. I have a little house up the road and my car’s not far away. What do you say?”
Before Matt could answer, Gabby and Montana blurted out simultaneously, “Yes please!” and the decision was made.
After they’d collected their bags from the truck and switched off the headlights, Kate walked with them back up the road until they came to a bush track that had been almost invisible when they drove past it earlier. “I didn’t even see that road”, Matt remarked as they climbed into Kate’s jeep with Elvis perched between the girls in the back seat.
“It’s not much more than a fire trail really. It’s only used by me and fire trucks in summer”, Kate explained, as she started up the engine and headed slowly up into the hills. The combination of the car’s noisy engine and the bumpiness of the road made conversation almost impossible, but it was obvious that the three passengers were happy to be in the care of this eccentric, but practical woman.
After fifteen minutes of labouring up the gravelly trail, they pulled into a clearing and Kate’s home stood before them. To say that it was unusual was an understatement. It seemed as if it had been built as an experiment in recycling and non-conformity. It was like a multi-level timber tree house, but without the tree. “It’s beautiful,” said Gabby.
“It’s … different,” said Matt.
“It’s safe,” said Kate. “Let’s go inside.”
They went up the stairs to the front door, as little lights came on automatically at ground level to show the way, and when Kate opened the front door and stepped inside, lamps turned on as if by magic, revealing a large, cosy lounge-room furnished with comfortable sofas, bookshelves and a range of musical instruments including a piano, three guitars, a saxophone and a harp. Kate went over and lit the open fire (which Elvis immediately curled up in front of), while instructing her three visitors to put their things down and make themselves at home. Then she showed them to the bathroom and insisted they take the time to get cleaned up. After Matt had washed and changed his gore-soaked shirt, Montana took Gabby into the bathroom and helped her shower and change into clean clothes.
"That looks much better," Kate said. "A nice warm shower always makes one feel so much better, don't you think?"
She took Matt's hand and led him to the kitchen. "I hope you know how to cook," she said, and before Matt knew it, they were standing side-by-side chopping homegrown onions and tomatoes for a pasta sauce.
Once they had got into a comfortable rhythm, Matt raised the issue of Kate’s heroics from just an hour earlier. “If you weren’t there," he said. "I think that feeder would have killed me and I wouldn’t be here now. But I have to ask, what on earth were you doing out there? It couldn’t just be luck, could it? Were you hunting that thing?”
She smiled and patted his upper arm. “Of course I was sweetie. I’ve been trying to kill it for days. It’s been coming out after dark every night for almost a week. At first it just watched the house from the trees, maybe to ambush me, I’m not sure. But for the last couple of nights it’s been trying to find a way in. I couldn’t sleep. It was annoying the crap out of me. So this afternoon when the sun started to set I decided to ambush it! Turn the tables! I waited outside with my gun until it showed up in its usual spot in the trees and I tried to shoot it, but I missed and it ran back into the forest. I guess I was pissed off, so I decided get in my car and go after it, but I couldn’t find the damn thing anywhere. Then I heard your car come off the road and went to investigate, and well, you know what happened after that.”
“Where did it come from?” asked Matt. “Why was it there? Do you know?”
“Yes I do,” she said, giving Matt a cheeky wink. “It was my ex-husband. That’ll teach the prick to cheat on me. Keep your eye on the sauce, sweetie. I’ll go and see how the girls are getting on.”