Shotgun in hand, he knew the fight was over. Still he waited to pull the trigger, admiring the predator that had chosen to take him on. Nearly showing the cat a modicum of respect, Coleman was going to let the animal run off if it so chose. He knew that Henderson would have been an easy kill but the beast had chosen the largest of the group. The cat did not run, but continued to circle the deputy leering at him through the one uninjured eye as best it could. The cat lowered his back, digging his exposed front claws into the soft sandy fern covered ground. As the tension built in his powerful hind quarters, both of them knew that this was the moment.
Coleman quickly shouldered the gun just as the cat’s front paws left the ground to spring toward him and pulled the trigger.
“Click”
The firing pin rang against the hammer inside the unloaded Remington 870. They say in these moments you can see your life flash before your eyes. Coleman did not see his life, he only saw one brief moment. The extra shots he rang off upon claiming to have seen something earlier in the day as the twins made their escape to the river had come back to haunt him. The degrading looks he received after firing off the two shots that were wasted, one of which was needed now more than ever had distracted him from replacing the empty shells. Coleman knew in the brief second it took for the lion to close the distance between the two of them in the air that he was going to die with an unloaded gun and a pocket full of ammunition.
Bracing himself on his ripped open leg he waited for the impact of the cat’s lunge. He closed his eyes and accepted his imminent fate. His only hope now was that the rest of the group would return to the scene and not allow his body to become part of the ominous bone pile.
However, the impact from the leaping cat did not come in the following seconds. The cat roared with the same fury of the previous attack, but Coleman felt no new pain. Only the throbbing sensation of blood flowing from his clawed shoulders and the gaping puncture wounds in his leg. Coleman opened his eyes to what sounded like a tree limb snapping. He watched a four-inch round ironwood tree flinging and flying upward through the air from the ground like a missile and into the canopy of the trees. The once-bent tree now stood straight up the way nature had originally intended. The cougar was then yanked onto its belly out its midair death pounce, slammed to the ground and drug away off of the edge of the ledge. Swinging and fighting, pawing and clawing at the air as it now hung six feet off of the ground, Coleman dropped to his knees in shock. Thankful to be alive at the moment, the blood and dirt soaked deputy did not care who had built the trap, all that mattered was that they did and for that he was extremely grateful. Looking at the still-struggling cougar he began loading shells into the magazine, one by one.
Shhheeee click, shheeee click....
Full well knowing that it would only take one shell to kill the hanging cat, he planned to use them all. The receiver and magazine was full after five rounds as he placed the butt of the gun stock on the ground. Utilizing the gun as a modified crutch Coleman pulled his hulking body up to his feet. Bracing his weight on the gun, limping and dragging his mangled hamstring through the sandy fern-covered ground he made his way slowly towards the still roaring cat. Shouldering the gun, he shot the cougar, killing it while it swung. Then again, again and again. All five rounds found their mark and he took a long, deep breath realizing he had escaped death and the battle was over.
Coleman knew damn well that cougars were not normally this far south but that they had taken a few complaints from farmers in the area losing livestock. He had to get a closer look and walked directly under the dead cat. While admiring the killing claws and fangs of the lifeless hanging cougar, his feet left the sandy soil and stepped onto a large patch of ferns, he felt his foot give way. Looking down he knew it was not his injury that caused this. Unable to back up quickly with his injured leg, he fell forward into the fern pile.
The small twigs holding up the false fern floor snapped as the massive weight of the deputy broke through the top layer of the hidden pit trap. Tumbling uncontrollably into the pit, Coleman landed at the bottom of the eight-foot wooden spike-lined pit. Impaled, he looked at his chest to see a three-inch round wooden spike extruding through his navel.
Looking up with blood now coming out his mouth, he knew it was over. From the bottom of the dark pit, the hole above seemed so bright. Much like a train tunnel his vision grew blurred and the tunnel began to close off, the light growing dim. Coleman focused his eyes once more to see the cat hanging there dead and the silhouettes of two faces leering over him from the top. He raised his hand to ask for help as his eyes struggled to see Tomek and Drake looking down on him. His arm dropped to the side as the last of his life faded way.
The twins had been in the trees the entire time watching the battle. Having again heard the groups slashing through the brush they were not hard to track. They had set both traps weeks ago in hopes of removing the problem cougar, but until today they were unsuccessful. Now not only was the cougar dead but he took with him the biggest of the intruders.
Drake just looked at his brother smiling and said,
“Two birds, one stone.”
11 Waiting
The twins sat above the hole in the ground they had dug months ago basking in the effectiveness of both of their traps’ deployments.
“Where are the rest?”
“They ran like rabbits from a lion,” Tomek answered his brother with a giggle. “How many are left?”
“There was five, plus the wolf.”
“Four, we can handle four no problem.” Tomek’s confidence had grown with each killing. “And one of them is a woman.”
“A woman she might be, but there is something about her that is different than the rest. I am not sure about it but she maybe the most difficult for us to deal with.”
Tomek scoffed at Drakes notion of taking out Henderson. Tomek had never dealt with women. Adding to the fact that he had never had a conversation with anyone outside of Uncle and Drake, there was no way he could know the power Henderson held over the two of them. With her interrogation skills and overall compassionate demeanor, the only way the twins would stand a chance was to eliminate her from afar.
“We will kill her for what she has done to us, just like the rest.”
“What has she done, what have any of them done?” Drake said, sensing the temper building in his brother. “I mean, the twin hunters killed our buck and they both tried to kill me, until you took out the first one and saved me.” Floating Tomek’s boat a little was enough to calm him down. A trick Drake had been using for years without Tomek becoming wise to it as taught to him by Uncle.
“Your brother is like the kettle on the fire. It is natural for him to steam but once he boils the heat must be removed, or he will burn you.”
“Yeah, I saved you all right but you would have been fine.”
“Either way, thanks, man.”
“No worries.”
Tomek often responded “No worries,” but for the first time in their lives without Uncle they had real worries.
“So what’s the plan?” Tomek referred to his brother when it came to the overall strategy they intended to use. He knew full well that Drake was the better brother for this situation. Tomek was also aware that complimenting his brother was equally appreciated.
“Take them out one by one, I guess; as long as they stay separated it should not be too hard”
“Should we split up as well?”
“No, we must stay together. We are not as big, strong or equipped as them.”
“Blah, so they have guns. We are getting pretty good at dealing with these people who have guns,” Tomek said, again ignoring the concern his brother was trying to impose upon him.
“Still, alone we are weak.”
“Yeah, but we can take them out faster and get back to the garden.”
Drake found his brother’s comment regarding the garden slightly hilarious based on the fact that the garden was the last place Tomek ever wanted to spen
d any amount of time.
“We are not splitting up. I need you, there, you happy?”
“Very,” answered Tomek, but Drake knew the answer and was only asking facetiously. “I saw the woman head down through the brambles toward the river and the dog guy went back toward their original camp.”
Drake was happy that his brother could provide this useful intelligence, since he himself was watching the sheriff and Coleman’s retreats. Drake bent down to pick up a stick and drew a rough outline of the area.
“Together they may have hunted us down, but apart they will all be scrambling back to Pine Run.” Tomek nodded in agreement.
“Their leader guy ran up towards the top of the ridge. He has a day and a half hike, but once he reaches the top he may be able to call for help.”
“So we go after him first?”
Tomek always interrupted Drake’s planning sessions like this. No matter what the topic. Whether it was figuring out how to best plant corn, fix the roof or kill intruders, Tomek did not have the patience to let the plan roll out in front of him.
“Not necessarily. Being the leader he may try his best to recover his men,” Drake pointed out.
“And woman.” Tomek reminded Drake as if he forgot.
“Yes, Tomek. And woman.”
“But that leaves one more. Where did he go?”
“Honestly, I have no idea,” Drake replied, impressed that his brother remembered so much about their opposition. “They may have guns, but they are not woods people. You saw the way they camped. Add that to the fact that even though they dress alike, they do not operate as a team. I have a strong feeling that they will show themselves to us in some way.”
“Show themselves? What are you going wait for, them to run by us naked being chased by a bear?” Tomek joked as he began to lose sight of the plan.
This time Drake spoke with confidence “Night out here can be hard. We are used to it and Uncle made us ready. They are not. If we don’t get them, the woods will.”
“So what do we do now?”
“Wait. We wait them out.”
“It is almost completely dark, so can we wait them out while trying to find the woman?” Tomek said, again showing a peculiar interest in Henderson.
He did not like his brother’s answer but agreed that it was the better plan. “No, we know where she is. We need to find the lost one.”
“Well hopefully that bear chases him by us naked.” Tomek added sarcastically.
“Why wouldn’t the bear be naked?” Drake shot back quickly to show he could be just as quick-witted as his twin.
Not to be outdone, Tomek began to ask, “What if the bear was wearing the uniform of the lost guy...”
However Tomek stopped mid-sentence looking over Drake’s shoulder. Just as the loud conversations and bushwhacking of the deputies had alerted the twins to their location, the twin’s own ongoing discussion had drawn unwanted and unexpected attention to themselves. Drake saw the look in his brother’s eyes and spun to see what he was looking at. There stood Deputy Ravizza with his gun drawn a mere 12 feet away, demanding the boys in an authoritative tone.
“Get on the ground! Get on the fucking ground now!”
12 Pine Slider
Ravizza stood behind them, pistol drawn nervously, moving back and forth between both boys. Time stood still for the deputy, all his training in both the Air Force and law enforcement never prepared him for this. The situation he was in now, with his gun drawn on two children, was never covered in his vast amount of training.
His mind was full of mixed emotions, the rationalizing began with the fact that “They killed Aurora, but I can’t shoot a child” raced through his mind straight to his trigger finger. Still, astonished that there were two of them, he continued to not be able to focus his aim on either of them.
“I am not going to tell you again, get on the fucking ground!” Ravizza again demanded of the twins.
Frozen in place looking at his brother, Drake knew their only chance was to run. However, he could only hope that Tomek was thinking the same. Surveying the situation, Drake knew the bow slung over his shoulder was useless and reaching for a knife on his belt or ankle would surely get him shot. Seconds had gone by since they were first ordered to the ground but in all three of their minds it felt as if hours had passed. Then the silence broke.
“We both know you are not going to shoot me.”
Ravizza was immediately taken aback by Tomek’s boastful words.
“Stay there, back up and get on the ground,” the deputy ordered as Tomek slowly walked toward him with his hands up in a non-confrontational manner. Tomek, ignoring the stern request, continued walking slowly toward the now-retreating deputy.
Ravizza presented Tomek with one final warning. “One more step, son, and I am going to kill you.”
Tomek responded with his own demands and a simple form of negotiation, which shocked Drake.
“No, you are not. You are going to let my brother go and then you can do anything you want with me. But if he is not allowed to leave then one of us is going to kill you. Because we all know you cannot take us both down without killing us. And you, officer are not a killer, are you?”
Looking at Drake directly in the eyes, Tomek then asked “Is that okay with you, Pine Slider?”
“Pine Slider? Why did he call me Pine Slider? Is it just that he doesn’t want them to know our names or is it... ah, okay,” Drake pondered until it dawned on him and he knew Tomek’s exact reasoning for calling him the wrong name. Drake looked at his twin again with a newfound appreciation for his tactile thinking and only nodded in agreement.
“Pine Slider? So that’s your name?”
Drake again only nodded, but this time it was in response to his enemy’s questioning.
“Put your knives and anything else you have on the ground and leave, Pine Slider.” Ravizza said while standing directly behind Tomek, using the boy’s body as a shield. Having seen the thrown knife that buried itself into Aurora’s chest make its impact, he was not taking any chances. He then turned his attention back to Tomek.
Drake did as he was told and slowly backed away from his brother and the deputy until he reached a short bend in the trail, which cleared him from their sight. Running as fast as he could directly to the top of the hill he began surveying the valley as his new concern was getting ahead of the deputy who now had his twin brother in handcuffs walking swiftly toward the river. He knew that no one knew the wooded trails like he and Tomek and figured the deputy was headed toward the one thing that would lead them directly back to Pine Run, the river.
Getting ahead of them would not be the hardest part knowing now that he was unarmed. He had to flank them, get ahead and beat them to the pine rows adjacent to the river if he had any chance at stopping the well-armed deputy that had his brother in custody.
With the sun still high in the mid-day sky Drake knew that even at a slow pace Ravizza and Tomek would reach the pines before the shadows in the valley grew. Drake would have preferred to deal with the situation in the dark. However he was unaware of Ravizza’s unique set of nighttime sky-reading skills. If the two of them were delayed at all, the sky would not be visible through the evergreen canopy in the pines.
Forty-plus years ago the logging industry had cleared out everything from the bottom land at the base of the hill ledges to the river on both sides. The region being known for its dark hardwooded walnut and oak forests made it a magnet for the furniture and building industries. In order to turn the investment around as quickly as possible, the companies replaced the area with the much more quickly growing Northern White Pine that the rest of Michigan was famous for. The seedlings were planted in tight rows as far as the eye could see in an attempt to discourage branch growth. This provided tall, straight, knobless trunks. Within a few years the pines resembled the rows of a library. Perfect man made rows of tall trees with no branches and only green at the top.
Only these trees were never harvested again. The
lumber yards did come back but because of constant mechanical failures and equipment sabotage, they completely abandoned this section of the forest. Most of the workers being Native American held on to the overwhelming opinion that the land was cursed and Mother Nature was unhappy with how they had treated her. Removing the precious hardwoods and replacing them with pines grown in an unnatural way had so angered Mother Earth that she was the one causing all their problems and only money would be lost in this land.
The twins knew that it was not Mother Earth that was the unhappy one. It was Uncle. Uncle had routinely shared with them his stories regaling the many months-long battle he had every night with the forestry crews. Never knowing a single man was the sole source of all their consternation, the lumber companies packed up and left to cut on the other side of Pine Run. Simply put, the companies no longer thought the pines were worth the trouble financially.
Sprinting through the underbrush in a downhill pattern, snaking his way through the brambles and thorns that tore at his exposed arms Drake reached the edge of the library. The pines were a welcome sight as he entered them still at a runner’s pace. His crashing effort alerted a flock of crows nesting in the thick evergreen tops and they erupted into flight, each displaying their displeasure at being interrupted with a cackling “caw-caw-caw” that could be heard through the entire valley as it echoed amongst the hills.
Smiling at the crows above him, Drake again felt Uncle’s presence among them. Crows were not something they actively hunted and ate, but they were very useful. Knowing the language of the socially ganged-up birds meant you had a multiple sets of eyes above you.
“The long drawn out caaaaaaaawwww of a single crow is that of the sentry, the guard,” Uncle would say. “Caaaaaaaaw, caw-caw. Is the sentry letting his flock know that there is something coming, or underneath them but it does not present any danger. Look for deer or other wildlife moving in your area when you hear this.
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