Twins of Prey

by W. C. Hoffman

  Drake quickly threw it on zipping it up and pulling it close to his body. Holding his left arm up Drake smirked as an 8 inch chunk of the coat’s arm was missing from his hatchet throw.

  Tomek seeing his brother’s blues lips force out the smile said “You ruined a nice coat dumbass.”

  To cold and still shivering, standing on the shore line naked from the waist down Drake just looked at his brother and said “Happy Memorial Day Uncle.”

  “He would have loved to see that fall,” Tomek said.

  “I am pretty sure it was his spirit that pushed me!” Both brothers laughed quietly as they worked together on ringing out the water from Drakes pants and underwear.

  “Swim back across, go into the cabin and warm up again. I’ll take out the fire starter.” Tomek suggested.

  “Not going to happen. Not only am I not getting back in the water I am not going to send you off alone while I sit inside.” Drake said shooting down the preposterous idea. “Let’s go climb the hill, find the fire, do what we got to do with whomever started it and enjoy the warmth of it.” Drake’s plan sounded fine to Tomek and he knew all along that would be the outcome.

  Slipping back on his pants and boots, Drake led Tomek up the hillside to the west of where they had known the fire to be, figuring it was built on the old logging tram road that was the only flat part of the entire ridge almost all the way into Pine Run. The six-foot-wide tram road would provide the fire starter with both a nice spot to camp as well as protection from the chilling winds that kicked through the valley.

  Walking west and coming in from directly above the fire would give them a tactical advantage. It might take an hour longer to reach the fire, yet at this point they were hoping to catch the starter asleep or at least in a state of physical weakness due to his or her unpreparedness.

  Once above the still-glowing fire the twins looked down upon it from over 100 yards away. From this distance and height they could make out the camp very well in the flickering light of the small, dwindling fire. Being this close meant the brothers did not speak, yet neither of them needed to. This type of hunt had been played out so many times in their past that they both knew exactly what the other was to do. Granted, this was always on the bedded deer that rested on the same tram roads, but in the recent past they had become incredibly adept at hunting and killing the humans that use them, as well.

  Tomek worked his way down toward the camp, staying above it on the bouldering outcroppings that jutted out from the hill. Stalking on top of the moss-covered, glacier-placed rock tops allowed him to be silent and get close without waking the subject. He could now clearly see was lying in a sleeping bag tucked under the ledge of rock much like the ones he used to obtain his new position 35 yards away. Frustrated with his position because he had no clear bow shot into the sleeping bag that would end it now, he stuck with the plan and watched as Drake worked his way down to the campsite using the same rocks in the opposite direction.

  Dropping onto the tram ground as silent as an owl in flight, Drake held his tactical knife in one hand and his newfound favorite weapon, the hatchet, in his other. At 20 yards he was still in the dark and while Drake could not see him fully, he knew something was there in the shadows. Continuing forward, digging the heels of his still wet boots first into the ground followed by a gentle foot at every step in order to stay silent, he approached the sleeping soon to be victim.

  At 10 yards Drake was just outside the camp and was in full fire-light view of his brother. Drake was in throwing distance of the bagged fire starter but wanted to close the distance just a few feet more to confirm a proper target. Three more steps he made, then flipping the knife around in his hand so that the well-balanced blade was in this fingertips Drake reared back to throw the knife, stretching for power with his arm extended behind him,

  Booooom!

  Drake never heard the rifle shot from Magee’s sniper rifle but felt the direct impact as the 30.06 round struck his chest. Tomek watched in horror as the force of the bullet’s penetrating impact violently threw his brother to the earth and off of the tram road where he knew it was at least an 18-foot-drop. Still, Tomek stayed silent, realizing for the first time in a while he was afraid—afraid and angry.

  15 Alone

  Tomek was angry that they had fallen for the trap, angry that there never was anyone in the sleeping bag to begin with. Tomek was angry at the fact that someone had just shot and killed his twin brother, from a distance, with a gun like a coward. His desire to run to his brother’s body was quelled by the fact that the body was now the bait. Tomek knew where the shot came from and knew that the killer would soon be back to either check out his kill or pick up his camp.

  Now it was a waiting game—waiting to kill. There would be time to burn his brother and put his ashes to rest with Uncle tomorrow. The feeling of losing his brother to a gunshot made him finally understand Uncle’s views on firearms. There is no skill, no pride and no reverence in that type of death.

  “Drake deserved better,” he thought to himself. After two silent hours the fire was completely out and darkness had reclaimed its grasp on the hillside. Growing more and more impatient Tomek was thrilled to see the light. Light was emanating not from the moon, the stars or even the dawn but a piecing light shining down the tram road.

  The shooter had turned on his flashlight and come to claim his trophy. Tomek waited, hand on the bow string, fingers surrounding the knock as he continually repeated to himself “In the name of my brother, I will kill you.”

  Both Tomek and Magee moved toward the camp. Magee shuffled along through the fallen leaves with much less caution than that of the predator on the rocks above him. Now only 12 feet away, Magee was still very unaware that he was not alone. Tomek, with his bow drawn and hand at its anchor point just under the cheek bone, stood there wanting to kill the deputy. Only he felt that simply killing the shooter of his brother with an arrow from behind was not enough.

  “This demon must pay for what he has done.”

  Again, the anger was boiling inside of Tomek.

  Reaching the edge where Drake’s body had rolled off into the valley, the deputy illuminated the valley with his flash light. There, just below the edge, was the body of what he knew to be Mowgli. The murdering boy that, as far as he knew, had taken out two hunters and a police K-9 unit. Drake did not look so menacing now in the dim light’s beam. The boy lay there on his side with his arm draped over his head. Face down in the dirt with the remains of frothy blood still surrounding his mouth.

  The flashlight hitting the brother’s body also allowed Tomek to see his dead twin for the first time. Deciding it was time to begin his mental assault, he picked up a stone and tossed it into the roots of a tree just 10 feet from Magee.

  Magee jumped to his side as the stone plinked against the tree. Drawing his pistol and holding his light across the top of his gun arm in a tactical fashion, he quickly realized nothing was there but a tree. As fast as Magee had confirmed he was alone, a barred owl called from his perch in a tree behind him.

  “Who-who-who, whoooo...”

  The startled deputy spun 180 degrees, now illuminating the tree line where the owl had previously been roosted. The light beam’s subtle shake, coupled with the deputy’s labored breathing, allowed Tomek to see that his brother’s killer was slowly losing his nerve here in the dark woods, thanks both to Tomek and the random bird of prey.

  “Who-who-who, whoooo,” the owl cried out, this time from just over Drake’s body, again causing Magee to spin in fear while pointing both his light and gun at the noise coming from what seemed to be every direction.

  For Tomek, the barred owl was a welcomed guest to this kill party. Uncle’s teachings on stealth and camouflage often relied upon the skills owls displayed in the wild. Both boys could identify every owl species by its particular call, often translating them into English and the barred owl now terrorizing Magee was no different.

  “Who, who cooks, who cooks for you?” the call o
f the barred owl again rang out from a different spot. Again Magee spun in an attempt to discern the source of the sound. Only this time, the owl was directly above Tomek’s head and as the light beam hit Tomek in the face, his fingers released the bow string.

  Magee, astonished at what his flashlight had shown him, had no time to acquire the target and shoot. Magee never saw the arrow in flight and as the razor-sharp stone head made contact with the glass lens of the light, it shattered, breaking the bulb and forcing both the light and his gun to flip out of his hand to the ground. The arrow had also ricocheted up off of the light and toward Magee’s mouth. Knocking multiple teeth out upon impact and slicing the right corner of his mouth, the arrow left a gash in his cheek from mouth to ear.

  Now Magee found himself in total darkness, bleeding profusely from his mouth and face. While attempting to not choke on the warm iron-like blood that began pouring into his throat, he dropped to the ground in a frantic search for the pistol that had, unbeknownst to him, fell off of the ledge behind him. Tomek leapt down from his perch on to the rock and even through the dark he could see Magee on the ground searching for his weapon.

  “Who are you?” Magee yelled out upon hearing Tomek land. The words strained coming from his torn-open mouth while spitting out gobs of coagulated blood mixed with broken tooth fragments.

  “I am the night, I am the fire, I am the owl and I am the woods,” Tomek answered while circling Magee, who was still on his hands and knees now looking into the darkness asking,

  “What do you want?

  “How are you alive?

  “I fucking shot you.”

  Tomek, now realizing that Magee had not yet put it together that there were more than one of them, decided to continue answering the deputy in a terrorizing manner with a deeper, almost growling voice.

  “You cannot kill what is not alive.”

  Tomek then drew back his bow and aimed for the small spot between the eyes of the deputy and was instantly blinded by a flash of light.

  The sound of the gunshot echoed through the valley. Every owl and crow in the area called out as they took flight from their roosts. Tomek never had the chance to release the arrow as the muzzle flash from the gunshot caused him to flinch off his target. The instant brightness of the flame escaping out the end of the barrel was gone as quickly as it had arrived.

  Both Tomek and the deputy briefly looked each other directly in the eyes through the darkness using what little moon had peaked through the cloudy sky. Tomek dropped his bow, feeling around his entire body, searching for where the round had struck him. Looking toward the deputy again, he made eye contact as Magee slowly fell forward from his knees, hitting the ground with thud that launched leaves into the air upon impact.

  The clouds dissipated just enough for Tomek to look 15 yards up the tram road. Again, he was locked eye to eye with a shooter, frozen, as if believing if he did not move the shooter would not be able to make him out in the dark. Motionless, hidden in the shadows, he watched as the new shooter walked slowly up to Magee’s body.

  Picking up his bow and raising it slowly with the same arrow knocked that was meant to kill Magee, Tomek came to full draw, waiting for his new target to take one more step into the beam of moonlight.

  Just prior to reaching the light, the shooter stopped, looked into the dark area where Tomek stood to the side of the boulder and hollered, “You cannot kill what is not alive.” Tomek did not understand how or why, but hearing Drake’s voice again in the dark was nothing short of miraculous.

  16 Wounds

  Stepping out from his shadowed hiding spot behind the boulder Tomek grasped Drake in his arms, pulling him close, chest-to-chest in a deep hug that caused Drake pain.

  “Ah, aaaah, ouch, careful,” Drake said.

  “How the hell, I saw you get shot?” Tomek said still holding tight to his back from the dead brother.

  “I guess when I put the other one’s coat on, it had some sort of a lining in it that stops guns,” Drake said referring to Ravizza’ bullet-resistant vest-lined coat had just saved his life.

  “Are you hurt at all?”

  “Yeah, the bullet did not break my skin but I am pretty sure it broke my rib cage or something. It hurt like hell once I woke up.”

  “Woke up?” Tomek asked, puzzled.

  “Yeah, the impact just knocked me out, I guess. How did I end up down there?”

  “You fell.”

  Drake rolled his eyes at his brother’s obvious answer but did not want to further push the conversation.

  “What woke you up?” Tomek inquired.

  Drake did not say anything. He just smirked and held up the pistol that Tomek’s arrow had forced out of Magee’s hand and over the edge of the tram road.

  “Well, I am glad you woke up, even though I didn’t need you. I had him dead to rights anyway,” Tomek said in his usual boastful manner.

  “You needed me as bait and I drew him out for you,” Drake said, taking off the jacket and looking at his chest for the first time. “Too dark here to see much, but it is already bruised. Let’s head back to the cabin so I can wrap my chest.”

  “Sounds like a good plan to me. I am hungry anyway.”

  Tomek led the way back down the hillside using the easiest route that could be carved out in the dark. The topic of their conversation was light-hearted. Both seemed just happy to still be not only alive but together.

  “What is going to happen when if we don’t get them all?” Tomek asked.

  “Well, I am sure they will come back with more. But just like Uncle with the lumber company, if we keep making it hard for them each time, hopefully they will eventually just quit.”

  Tomek was satisfied with his brother’s answer, but they both knew that it was just the simple way out. Their lives had been forever changed and this valley was no longer only theirs.

  “What about the bodies?” Tomek asked.

  “I thought about that earlier. We will have to collect them for burning later. If we light a fire big enough to break bones, when we are done it will for sure give away our position,” Drake said.

  “Or we use the fire as a trap,” Tomek said.

  “It would work at least for one of them, but I am hurt. You would be alone and if they came together, we could be in trouble,” Drake said.

  “How long will you need to rest?” Tomek asked as they reached the river.

  “There will be time to burn them and break bones later,” Drake said, reluctant to admit he had no clue just how injured he truly was. “Just stay focused. We need to eliminate them all first.”

  “How long will you need to rest?” Tomek asked again, this time hoping for a valid answer.

  “I have no idea, but there is no way I can pull a bow back,” Drake said.

  “Good thing you have a gun now, then, huh?” Tomek teased.

  “Hahaha, ouch, ouch... Don’t make me laugh,” Drake said, as his laughter was met with severe pain in his ribcage.

  “Are you ready to go swimming again, brother?” Tomek asked, picking up the stilts. “With your injury, there is no way you will be able to use these.”

  “Walk your ass across the river, go get the dugout and come get me.”

  Drake was not asking, he was demanding.

  “Walking all the way upriver to get the canoe and then coming back down in the dark to find you, not to mention that we will still be downriver of home and we will have to walk back up...” Tomek’s negative tone was interrupted by Drake.

  “Fine, I will wade back across. We are going home anyway, so I can warm up, again, there.”

  Tomek sat atop a fallen tree that branched out into the river and put the stilts on. He began to cross the river again with ease, showing off his balancing skills, this time in the dark. Annoyed, Drake stepped into the water at the edge and stood there, knee-deep and building up the courage to wade in further.

  As he leapt forward again, the ice cold rushing flow of the water stole his breath and forced him to cough
, which in return made his ribcage feel as if it were on fire. Only this time was not as bad as the first, he thought. The frigid cold of the river also felt good on the outside of his injured body. The cold bullet vest-lined jacket remained pressed into his ribs, providing some pain relief and it helped control some of the swelling. Jumping forward with his legs under the water and letting the current take him a bit downstream until his feet landed again seemed to be the easiest way to move, as both arms were useless for traditional paddling. Keeping his left arm at his side, pressing the coat’s interior against his chest, he made his way even with his stilted brother.

  Slowly inching his way closer and closer, Drake was silent as he finally reached his brother at the halfway point of the river. Knowing they were headed back to the cabin was plenty reason enough for Drake to kick out the left stilted leg of his twin and watch Tomek plummet from his perch, joining him in the river. The splash alone was enjoyment enough, as Tomek’s flailing arms and legs did not make for a graceful entrance into the water.

  Tomek’s head was back above the surface as quickly as it had gone under. Swimming arm over arm, dragging the stilts still connected to his legs behind him, he struggled until reaching the shore line. Joining him at the shore, Drake held his breath in an attempt to keep from laughing and inflicting further pain upon his now-numbing chest.

  Drake enjoyed watching Tomek squirm about trying to unhook his legs from the stilts. Untying the knots was no easy task with bitterly cold, wrinkled fingers. As Tomek sat there, he looked up to see Drake standing above him with a large smile.