The Hunter

by Kurt Robinson

  “Copy,” Lewis said.

  “Copy,” Cavanah followed.

  Adam put his walkie-talkie back in his pocket and turned his attention to Travers. “Alright, Travers, let’s head that way. We’ll stay in the trees. If we find another opening that’s where it’ll be. Hopefully the chopper will get here fast, it has thermal reading on it and it might be able to see them in the cave, but I don’t know. Let’s go.”

  Travers turned around and made his way up the sinkhole. Adam let him go first as he had yet to move. He looked down into the cave, realizing that it looked just like the one he and Adam had fallen in when they were about thirteen years old. Adam remembered it well because that was where he got the large scar on his stomach. He put his hand on his stomach and could feel it. Even though he couldn’t feel it through his clothes. He knew where it was, how it felt, and which direction it was going. That day came back to him and brought back the memory of how John saved his life.

  Seventeen

  2002 – 16 Years Earlier

  It was winter once again, two days before Christmas, and Butch the Tush had continued his bullying of John Watkins. No matter what Adam Hart did to protect John and scare Butch the Tush, his posse seemed to grow each summer and would overpower John and Adam. Just before school had let out for winter break, Butch the Tush had pantsed John while he was at his locker during a class change. Many kids, especially girls, saw his tighty whities and laughter filled what seemed like the whole school. John rushed to pull his pants up, but Butch the Tush had pushed him as he tried, and he fell to the ground.

  John was embarrassed by it and couldn’t fight back because he was outnumbered by Butch the Tush’s posse. At the time of the pantsing, Adam had a class in another hallway and wasn’t there to help John. He felt alone in a hallway full of his peers and friends. He pulled his pants up as fast as he could, grabbed his books out of his locker, and disappeared through the throng of students to his next class.

  By the time lunch came around, Adam had heard about what happened. When he finally sat with John at lunch, John told him what happened, and they conspired to get revenge on Butch the Tush.

  They decided to pull the prank during the neighborhood snowball fight they had every year during the first big snow. This year it occurred on December 23rd. As always, Butch the Tush and his posse showed their ugly faces. But this time John and Adam were ready for them. They had piled up snow very high and sat behind it waiting for them during the snowball fight. This time a bucket of warm water and a bucket of flour waited with them. They knew which side of the snow pile to wait behind because Butch the Tush and his posse always came from the direction of Butch’s home.

  “You ready for this Johnny?” Adam asked, sitting in the snow as kids in front of them threw snowballs at each other.

  “Oh yeah. They won’t see this coming,” John said, looking determined.

  “Good, now as soon as they get close enough I’ll stand up and throw the water, then you throw the flour. Now, as soon as you hit him with the flour we’re gonna have to run because he’ll be pissed. We’ll make a run for the woods behind the houses. There will be a lot of them, so we’ll have to run as fast as we can,” Adam explained.

  “Gotcha.”

  “Cool. Let’s have a look,” Adam said and then poked his head above the snow pile and saw Butch the Tush and his posse heading straight for them. He stood up high enough, so they could spot him and then went back down. “Here they come, they saw me. Get ready.”

  Butch the Tush and his posse made their way toward John and Adam’s pile of snow, but not before they all made a couple of snowballs each. Adam looked over the snow pile once more and the posse was only about ten feet away. He ducked back down, picked up the bucket of warm water, and John picked up the bucket full of flour. Listening to their footsteps through the snow, Adam timed it just right, popped up from behind the snow pile, and tossed the water on Butch the Tush. He was shocked, as was his posse, who just stood there looking at Butch. Immediately after Adam soaked Butch, John stood up and tossed the bucket of flour right on target, covering Butch the Tush with a coating of flour.

  “Go!” Adam yelled and he and John took off running toward the houses to their left.

  “You sons of bitches! You’re gonna die!” Butch the Tush yelled out as he wiped flour from his face. Then he, followed by his posse, chased them.

  John and Adam made their way along the side of a house, through the snow, into the backyard. Butch the Tush and his gang were hot on their tail. The neighborhood backed up against some woods and that was where they planned to lose the posse. After John and Adam went through the backyard, they entered the woods, which consisted of a small and very shallow creek that they could walk across, just a few feet in. They were careful not to step on any ice when they ran across the creek, which was not fully frozen over. Once they made it to the other side, they were able to pick up speed.

  Butch the Tush and his posse went through the creek a little slower, with Butch in front. After they crossed the creek, Butch began to shiver from the water thrown on him, plus now the creek water that splashed up on his jeans and got into his shoes. Neverthless, Butch was not letting them get away with what they did. He was going to catch them and teach them a lesson that they would never forget.

  “You can run all you want!” Butch yelled in front of him, where he could see John and Adam running. “There’s too many of us! We’re gonna catch you and I’m gonna beat you both until your mothers can’t recognize you!”

  John and Adam looked behind them, then at each other, and then both sped up in unison. They ran around trees, around bushes, over fallen trees, and jumped over rocks and snowdrifts. Butch was not giving up, and John and Adam knew it. They had hoped he would tire and give up, but that was not happening. They saw a thick gathering of trees to their right, Adam pointed at them, and they turned and ran toward them.

  Once they reached the thick trees, John and Adam split up and went around a large tree, and joined each other on the other side and made their way through the multitude of trees. They had to slow down slightly because it was so thick, but they were both a lot smaller than Butch and were still staying ahead of him. When the posse reached the trees, Butch was the only one who struggled to get through because he was so big.

  “Shit!” Butch yelled, as he realized he couldn’t fit. “Go on through! I’ll go around!” Butch demanded and then backed out of the tight squeeze, making his way around the clump of thick trees.

  John and Adam made their way through the abundant trees and brush. They finally got through, well ahead of the kids chasing them, and continued to run straight when they came to what looked like a ditch that was deep and long. Adam stepped down first and as soon as he did, his foot gave way from beneath him. He fell on his back and slid down to the bottom. As he reached the bottom, he noticed a small opening that was mostly covered by snow. However, he didn’t notice it quick enough and couldn’t stop himself. Adam rolled and slammed through the opening, causing the snow to give way as he fell down into a cave. John watched in horror and moved down the ditch as quickly as he could. As Adam fell into the cave, probably around ten or eleven feet deep, his body spun around from the momentum. Just before he hit the ground, the front of his stomach caught the sharp edge of a stalagmite, and was sliced open. He landed on his side and rolled over on his back.

  John reached the cave opening, looked down into the hole, and saw his best friend in severe pain and blood all over his abdomen when he rolled over. Adam had his hands over his gash, was taking quick breaths, and appeared to be crying.

  “Adam!?” John yelled.

  “J…J…John,” Adam managed to barely get out.

  “Hang on, I’m coming down!” John yelled once more and began to clear the snow away from the opening to look for something to hang on to so he could let himself down some. He cleared the snow away and saw a small thin tree that was close enough to the opening he could hang onto. He was about to climb down when h
e heard a voice behind him.

  “Gotcha!” Butch the Tush said with his posse standing behind him. “You all alone now, Johnny Boy?”

  Turning around quickly, John begged for help, “Butch, help! Adam fell in a cave! He’s hurt! He’s bleeding!”

  “Yeah, you think I’m gonna fall for that?” Butch began. “Where’s he hiding at?”

  “Butch, I’m serious! He’s hurt bad! Help me! Come look!” John begged again.

  Butch, seeing the look of worry on John’s face, looked around at his posse and they all shared a look of confusion and concern. Butch, and his posse, began to walk toward John and the cave opening. As they neared the hole, Butch saw the trepidation on John’s face and realized this might not be a trick. Butch reached the opening first, followed by his posse, and looked down to see Adam’s shirt covered in blood.

  “Oh, shit,” Butch said with shock. He looked back to John and realized they had to help; they had to do something. Butch bullied John for years and never seemed to have a reason, just because it made him feel better about himself. He would shove him, call him names, and hit him hard with snowballs, but he would never cause him any kind of physical injury, especially one that could possibly kill him. In a matter of seconds, he turned from enemy to friend. “You two, go get help! Now!” he demanded to two members of his posse and they took off running back in the direction of the houses.

  John saw what happened and a smile appeared on his face as Butch got down on his knees and held out his hand for John to grab. John gripped it tight and then slid down into the hole as Butch, slowly getting down on his stomach, lowered him into the cave. Once Butch’s arm was fully extended, he asked John if he was ready, John said yes, and then dropped him into the cave, right beside Adam.

  “You need to press down on the cut!” Butch yelled. “Keep pressure on it to stop the bleeding!”

  “Okay,” John said looking up and then back to Adam. “You’re gonna be okay, buddy.”

  “It hurts,” Adam said in agony.

  “I know, I need to press on it, okay?” John asked Adam.

  “Okay, do it.”

  John pressed down on the open wound as Adam let out a scream that echoed in the cave. As John was doing that, Butch was letting down a couple other members of his posse. They landed beside John and joined him in pressing on Adam, who was bleeding profusely.

  “We gotta get him out of here, Butch!” John yelled.

  “Yeah, he’s not looking good,” one of the members followed.

  “Okay, they’re off getting help. Let me see if I can find something to pull him up with,” Butch told them and then disappeared from the opening.

  “Hang on, Adam,” John told him with his hands still pressed down and covered in blood.

  “He’s looking really pale,” the other member said.

  After about a minute Butch appeared back at the top of the opening. “I can’t find anything. Can one of you take off your jacket and tie it around him? But, make sure the sleeves are on his cut and tied really right! Do you think you two can lift him up enough so I can grab him and pull him up?” Butch asked his buddies, who were both tall for their age. Butch was smarter than he looked, especially when it came to bodily injuries because he mother was a nurse and his father a firefighter.

  “We can try!” a member yelled upward.

  “Yeah, okay, hang on!” John yelled as well and took off his jacket. He and the others carefully set Adam up a little bit so John could get his jacket under him and then, like he was tying his shoes, tied the sleeves together on the wound as tight as he could. Adam gave out a painful scream as he did.

  “Okay, see if you guys can hold him up high enough and I’ll grab his arms and pull him,” Butch told them.

  Butch’s two buddies grabbed Adam from under the legs, while supporting his back, and picked him up. They lifted him to the center of the opening. Butch was back down on his stomach with his arms extended, as they attempted to hold Adam up. Butch tried to reach for under his arms but Adam was nearly a foot or more away from his reach.

  “I can’t reach him!” Butch yelled. “Adam, can you raise your arms up?”

  Without speaking, Adam tried to raise both his arms but the pain and weakness prevented him from reaching.

  “Shit!” Butch yelled. “Can you-“

  “Adam!” A deep voice from behind Butch wailed.

  Butch turned around to see a large man and woman coming up behind him down the snowy ditch carefully, along with the two members of the posse he sent for help. It was Adam’s mother and father.

  “He’s right here,” Butch told Adam’s parents as they neared him. “I can’t reach him!”

  “Watch out,” Adam’s father said and looked down into the opening and saw Adam. He immediately got down on his stomach and reached as far as he could. “Grab my belt!” he yelled and Butch and his wife both grabbed it as he reached down and was able to get his hands under Adam’s armpits, thanks to the kids pushing him up, and pulled him out of hole. He placed Adam on the snow as his frantic mother bent down to comfort him. “Call 911, honey. Tell them to come to the house.” She pulled her cell phone out and dialed 911 as her husband looked at his deep cut. He saw the jacket, knew why it was there, and pulled it even tighter, which caused more pain for Adam.

  Next, Adam’s father quickly turned back to the hole to help the boys out of the cave. John was first, and went straight to Adam’s side as he lay there in the snow with his mother, almost in tears, talking to the 911 operator. The next kid was boosted up and pulled out, but the last kid was going to be difficult to get out. Adam’s dad told Butch and the other boy to grab his belt and legs and pull when he said. He put his whole upper body down the hole and reached downward. The last kid was able to jump and grab his hands, he then yelled to pull them up and they did, and once his upper body was back on solid ground he pulled the last kid out of the cave.

  Adam’s dad stood up and walked to Adam; at the same time, his wife got off the phone with the 911 operator. He bent down, picked his son up, and made his way up out of the ditch. Once on the flatter land, Adam’s dad, carrying him in his arms, ran all the way back to their house in the subdivision. His wife and the boys were right behind him.

  John, along with his mother and father, opened the door to the hospital room Adam was staying in the next day, December 24th, and saw Adam in the bed with his eyes closed. His color had already come back. The doctors had to perform emergency surgery the day before to seal him up and gave him blood. Adam’s parents were sitting in the chairs when they entered the room, but stood up to greet them. The mothers hugged and the fathers shook hands. Meanwhile, John made his way to one side of Adam’s hospital bed. As he neared the bed, Adam opened his eyes and saw John.

  “Hey,” Adam said softly.

  “Hey, how are ya?” John asked.

  “Wishing we changed the direction we ran in,” Adam joked and tried to laugh, but grimaced because he couldn’t.

  “Yeah,” John said and laughed too. “Are you gonna be okay?”

  “Yeah,” Adam said faintly. “Gonna have a big scar, but they fixed me, right mom?”

  “Yes, sweetheart,” his mom said, her attention turning to them now. “You’re gonna be just fine, sweetie. Just a few days in the hospital now.”

  “See,” Adam said, turning back to John. “Good as new!”

  “I’ve never been so scared in my life,” John told him.

  “Think how I felt,” Adam joked once again and tried not to laugh at his own joke. “Me too, man, me too.”

  “I’m glad you’re okay, I wouldn’t know what to do-“

  “Hey, I’m fine. I’m gonna be okay. But, if it wasn’t for you I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”

  “I would’ve done anything, but it wasn’t just me. Butch helped too. He’s the reason your parents came.”

  “Really?” Adam asked, not remembering.

  “Yeah, he-“

  John was cut off by a knock at the door and
in walked Butch Anderson, now clean of dried flour, with his parents, his mother in her nursing uniform. Once again, the parents greeted each other and Butch made his way to John and Adam, who were both looking at him.

  “Butch?” Adam asked.

  “Yep, it’s me, the ‘Tush’,” he said as he gave John a friendly slap on the shoulder. “How are ya, man?”

  “I’m fine now. Did you really help me?”

  “Yeah, I figured I oughta once I saw your guts hanging out.”

  “Butch!” his mother jumped in.

  “Sorry,” Butch said. “I just had to. For some reason it felt like the right thing to do. There ya go.”

  “Thanks, man,” Adam said and then held out his hand. Butch looked down at it and then extended his hand and they shook.

  “Guess that means I can’t pick on you anymore,” Butch told them with a grin.

  “Oh, you can! But remember what’ll happen if you do,” Adam said, also grinning.

  “Yeah.”

  “Guess we’re spending Christmas in the hospital,” John said.

  “It looks that way,” Adam responded. “Now, I expect awesome presents this year.”

  John laughed and said, “Oh, I think you’ll like what I got ya. Well, what my mom got you from me.” Laugher filled the room.

  “Right back at ya,” Adam told him.

  “Okay, boys,” John’s mother interrupted, “let’s let Adam rest, he needs it.”

  “Yes,” Butch’s mother followed. “Say bye, Butch, he needs to rest and heal up.”

  “Okay. I’ll see ya, man,” Butch said and then left the room with his parents.

  “I’ll come back and visit you tomorrow, buddy,” John told him.

  “You better,” Adam told him as John started to turn away, but was stopped by Adam. “Hey, you’re my best friend, John. Thank you.”

  “You’re my best friend too.”

  They gave each other a smile and then John walked out of the room with his parents as Adam watched.