“Love you too,” Emily said as her mother turned and began walking away.
The sound of the door closing and the lock sliding shut told Jessica that Emily was doing exactly what she'd been taught. Looking over her shoulder she saw Emily's eyes through the opening in the boarded up window and smiled. Her smile quickly fading as she turned her head and walked in the direction of the smoke, unsure of what she was about encounter.
Chapter 3
Jessica made her way cautiously towards the stream. In her hands she grasped the .22 rifle. Though the .22 wasn't powerful it was accurate, plus she had the added benefit of the scope. This enabled her to remain hidden in the woods and be able to see what was going on without giving away her position. Being unsure of what she was up against, this was probably the safest course of action.
It would give her time to assess the situation and figure out what too do. It had been so long since she'd had contact with anyone but her daughter and was both frightening and exciting at the same time. Then again, who knew if this person was friendly or not? That was the part that both excited and terrified her. If they weren't, was she capable of killing a person? Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but there was always that chance. One way or the other she would soon find out.
After moving slowly and methodically through the brush. She stopped about forty yards from the opening and found a good place to observe. Jessica knelt near a cluster of birch trees, here she could remain undetected until she figured out what her next move would be. It was a perfect spot as long as she was quiet. Even without the scope she could make out a faint whisper of smoke coming from the fire. A man leaned against the large fallen log that ran along the stream. Other than the man she couldn't make out any other people. Raising the .22 rifle and resting it across a branch Jessica peered through the scope. It would help her remain steady and not move and keep her from giving away her position.
With her eyes now peering through the scope she got a better look at the man. He was asleep, that much she could tell. He appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties and not much younger than her. The man's long, dark brown hair and unkempt beard made it hard to tell for sure. His beard reminder her of how her father's used to look when he came home from hunting camp. There was a shotgun leaning against the log next to him. A Fish hung over the fire on a spit and a backpack lay on the ground next to him. She also noticed a beagle lying with it's head in the man's lap. The fire looked like it had just about died out.
What to do? That was the question she asked herself. Risk taking the chance of approaching and have him be dangerous, putting her daughter and herself in danger? Wait and see if he passed them and their cabin by? Or take the chance he was just another soul like herself trying to survive and doing his best to avoid the chaos that had taken over the rest of the world? Or the one she didn't want to think about. Take the clean shot and ensure the safety of Emily and herself.
She wasn't a killer and didn't want to do that, but her mind went to dark places and what he might do to them. Her mind raced a hundred miles an hour as she tried to sort everything out. Knowing whatever she was going to do she'd have to do it quickly before the man woke and the option were taken from her.
Jacob's mind went to strange places in his dreams. It had been a long time since he had slept so deeply. He dreamed of his childhood and summers growing up in the small town of Stewart. Baseball games at the park with his friends. Making out at the beach with Kara his high school sweetheart. Spending time at the lake with his mother, father and younger sister. All warm memories that brought brought an instant smile to your face.
It was one of those vivid dreams that seemed like you were watching old home movies of your life. Except they unfolded in random snippets and didn't make any sense, had no rhyme or reason. It was odd and incoherent, but filled him with a sense of happiness and peace he hadn't felt in a long time. A smile crept across his face as he continued to dream about what once was.
Jessica continued to watch the man as he slept. In fact he was sleeping so deeply she could hear him softly snoring. Usually in the forest on a warm spring day the sounds of wildlife overpowered almost anything that wasn't extraordinarily loud. This bothered her, besides the man being here something wasn't right. It was then she noticed the dogs head snap up. It was staring off to the left and began to growl and bark, the hair on it's back standing up.
Jacob was standing in an empty field. There was nothing surrounding him, no trees no buildings, nothing but grass and open space. He was confused and kept turning and trying to look around, but couldn't see anything. It was like he was caught in a giant field with no visible end. The sky above him loomed dark and ominous.
A dog began to bark, but it sounded miles away. He began to run towards the sound of the barks, but couldn't tell exactly where they were coming from. They must be coming from Flash, because he was nowhere to be seen. Flash never left his side, panic began to set in, something was wrong.
Jessica could now see what the dog was barking at. A small black bear had wandered into the campsite about fifty yards down the stream. She could barely make it out, but could definitely see what it was. It must have gotten wind of the fish cooking over the fire and been drawn to it.
Weeks ago she had seen bear tracks down here in the melting snow. This was probably the one that had made them, and his territory. The .22 rifle wouldn't be any good against the thick skin and skull of the bear. The best she might do is scare it off, but more than likely would just make it angry. She was way out of the range of her 9mm pistol.
A few minutes before the bear arrived she'd made the decision to take a chance and approach the man. If the situation went bad she would defend herself, but she had to take the risk the man was good. Now she didn't know what to do, the bear was only about fifteen yards from him now. The beagle stood barking and growling, yet he still did not wake. Pulling the 9mm from its holster, Jessica slipped the safety off and ran towards the opening.
Jacob stopped, putting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. It seemed as though he had been running for hours, every muscle in his body ached. The surrounding landscape was still nothing but a large green field of grass. The barking was getting louder, and he could now hear growls mixed in with them, but Flash was still nowhere in sight.
Scanning the area he hoped to catch a glimpse of his dog somewhere on the vast open plain. From out of nowhere a heavy fog rolled in and engulfed him, he couldn't see more than few feet now. The air became thick and heavy making his lungs ache. Jacob started to run, but after only a few steps his body slammed into an invisible wall. It felt like someone had punched him in the gut and dropped him to the ground.
Jessica was now only feet from the opening, jumping over a fallen log she burst into the clearing. The bear turned towards her, rose to its back feet and let out a loud roar before dropping down and running towards her. Jessica watched as the little beagle valiantly charged towards the bear barking and growling. It's teeth bared in defiance as it leapt towards the bear. The dog was swatted away like a rag doll and flew through the air, crashing to the ground several feet away.
The dog had taken attention off her long enough for her to take action. She stopped and got into the shooting stance her father had taught her. It was a quick natural reaction her brain didn't even have time to process. Aiming for the heart of the bear she squeezed the trigger.
Jacob lay on the ground trying to get his bearings when the loudest clap of thunder he had ever heard echoed through the sky. He covered his ears and closed his eyes as the sonic boom seemed to make the earth shake under him. A second clap of thunder roared, this time his eyes opened. He was back by the stream and there was a woman standing about ten yards from him with a gun raised.
She wasn't pointing it at him and he turned to see what she was aiming at. It was then he saw the bear charging. The sound of the gun rang out and the bear crashed to the ground a few yards from him.
"Holy shit!" Jacob said a
s he continued to watch the bear. Not daring to take his eyes from it.
The bear made one last attempt to get to its feet as the woman took a few steps forward and fired two more shots. It slumped to the ground in a heap. The final two shots snuffing the life from its body. The woman now turned towards him with her pistol aimed at his head.
"Put your hands above your head. Now!" Jessica barked out with as much authority as her voice could muster.
Jacob raised his hands above his head. His brain still trying to process what was going on. He suddenly realized Flash was no where to be seen and a sense of dread came over him.
"My dog? Have you seen my dog?" His voice filled with worry.
"Your dog saved you. He ran towards the bear trying to protect you. The bear cuffed him and knocked him away." Motioning with her head where the dog had been knocked aside.
Jacob began to rise to his feet.
"Not so fast mister." She took a few steps towards him.
"Listen lady you can shoot me if you want, but I'm going over there to see if my dogs still alive, whether you want me too or not." He could now see Flash laying a few feet away from the bear. The dog’s chest heaved slowly up and down, his white and brown fur matted with blood.
Jacob walked towards the animal, as he got closer he could see the gaping wound in his belly where the bears claws had slashed. He dropped to his knees and took the dog's head in his hands.
Flash looked up at him with big playful eyes that seemed to say to him, “You're okay, I protected you.”
Tears streamed down Jacob’s face as he looked into his dog's eyes. "I'm sorry boy, I screwed up, I should have been more careful." His words broken by sobs. “I love you buddy.”
Even in its hurt state the dog sensed Jacob's sadness and licked his hand. He patted Flash's head as he began to convulse and the last remaining air escaped from his body. Flash lay still, his life force gone. Jacob shut Flash's eyes and lifted the dog holding him in his arms. Tears streaming down his face as he walked back towards where he'd been sitting.
Jessica had all she could do to hold back tears watching the situation unfold before her. She had to be strong and make sure this man wasn't dangerous and kept her gun fixed on him as he moved towards his things.
"What are you doing?" Jessica said, his movements making her nervous.
Jacob turned and looked at her, his dog lifeless in his arms. "I'm going to bury my friend. He saved me, he deserves that." His voice shook with emotion.
Something came over her, a realization that this man wouldn't hurt her or her daughter. She didn't know what it was, but something inside told her she could trust him. Lowering her 9mm she slipped it into its holster.
"I'm sorry," Jessica said, ashamed of how she had acted. Ashamed she had let fear get the best of her.
"Don't be sorry. I wouldn't trust a random stranger out in the middle of the woods either," Jacob said, his voice calm and collected. He laid Flash down and opened his backpack up. Taking a shirt out, he covered the dog up with it.
"I don't know how I'm going to bury him. I don't have anything to dig with." The frustration starting to show in his voice.
"I can help you with that, just give me a few minutes," Jessica said. She truly felt sorry for him and what he was going through.
"Thank you," Jacob said as he sat down on the log and stared at the shirt covering his dog and best friend, trying to process what had happened.
When she didn't answer, he looked up and saw her walking into the woods. Disappearing like she was never there.
Chapter 4
Emily heard five muffled gunshots while she waited in the cabin. The shots were spread out except for the last two, which were one behind the other. It had been about fifteen minutes since the last one.
She was beginning to get nervous, her mom was never gone this long unless she was hunting, and she always took her when she did that. Something had been bothering her mom. She knew it when she'd left, but didn't want to worry her by letting her know that.
She clutched the shotgun in her hand even tighter now and looked out the window of the loft impatiently waiting for her mother to return. Even though her mother told her to stay put, Emily was considering leaving the cabin. What if her mother needed help? Her fears were soon quelled as she saw her come from the forest into the small clearing where the cabin sat.
Jessica could see the cabin now and peered up to the loft window where Emily would be. She saw her daughter's face, it then disappeared from the window, moments later she came out the front door.
"Is everything alright? I heard gunshots. What happened?" Her voice anxious, curious and excited.
"Everything's fine. Can you go grab the shovel for me?"
Emily was confused. Why was her mother asking her for a shovel? "Mom, what happened? Why the hell do you need a shovel? Where's the rifle?"
Jessica suddenly realizing she had left the .22 back in the woods. It had slipped her mind in her haste to get back here.
"Young lady watch your mouth. I'll explain on the way to the stream. Give me the shotgun then run and get the shovel please."
Emily handed her the shotgun and ran towards the cabin. Returning a moment later with a shovel.
"Now stay close to me and I'll tell you what happened." For some reason Jessica felt safer having her daughter by her side instead of in the cabin by herself. The whole incident unnerving her.
Emily moved to her mother’s side, anxiously awaiting what she had to tell her as the two women entered the forest and headed towards the stream.
It had only been a few minutes since the woman had gone into the woods. In that short time Jacob's mind had finally calmed down and begun to process the situation better. What the hell was this woman doing out in the middle of the woods? She could have easily taken him out while he was sleeping, yet she hadn't. Instead she had saved him.
As he looked down at Flash wrapped in his shirt, anger began to fill his mind for falling asleep and not taking better precautions. None of this would have happened if he hadn't been so careless. He slammed his fist down upon the log in frustration. Stupidity and carelessness could get you killed out here and it almost had this time.
He shook his head, disgusted with himself. He needed to do something other than sit here tormenting himself for his screw up. Standing up and pulling his knife from its sheath he walked towards the bear.
Jessica and Emily were almost to the stream, along the way Jessica had explained what happened to her daughter. Surprisingly Emily didn't ask a lot of questions and seemed to understand what her mother had told her. Even though Emily was only eleven Jessica didn't feel it was right to sugar coat things and had told her everything that had happened.
With all craziness that had happened over the last few years, there wasn't much point in doing that. It was better to tell it like it was, unfortunately that was a sad necessity of the time they lived in. She could see the man kneeling next to the bear as they entered the clearing.
"We got your shovel," Jessica said as they moved towards him. She could see he was skinning the bear.
Jacob stood up at the sound of the woman's voice and turned towards her. He was surprised to see she wasn't alone.
"Thank you. I figured the meat could be put to good use and I needed to stay busy." He looked at both her and her daughter. "My name’s Jacob Constantine, didn't get a chance to tell you before."
"Jacob, I'm Jessica Alberts and this is my daughter Emily."
He extended his hand to shake hers before realizing it was covered with blood and goo from skinning the bear. To his surprise she extended her hand and took it anyway.
"Thank you for saving my life. If you hadn't come along I'd be a dead man. I don't have the words to express my gratitude."
Jessica handed him the shovel. "That's okay, any decent person would have done the same thing."
Jacob took the shovel. "I don't think there's many of them left ma'am. These days people have a tendency to shoot first and ask qu
estions later."
She couldn't agree with him more on that one, but now really wasn't the time or place for that discussion. "Go take care of your dog, Emily and I will finish taking care of the bear."
Jacob moved towards the log and began digging a spot near the campfire. Jessica and Emily took over where he'd left off and continued cutting up the bear. After a few minutes of digging he looked up to see both women had obviously taken care of game before. It was strange, but for some reason he felt a sense of relief. He couldn't explain why, he just did.
It took Jacob roughly thirty minutes to dig the hole for Flash. When he finished he placed the dog in it and removed the shirt from the dog’s head, patting him one last time.
"Goodbye old friend," He said, his voice beginning to crack.
Flash was just a puppy when he got him, a present from his father when he graduated college. Since then they'd been inseparable and now his best friend was gone. Through this entire ordeal, he'd always had Flash by his side. It felt like someone had ripped out his heart as he placed the shirt back over the dog and began filling in the hole. He'd found a large flat stone at the edge of the stream and placed it at the head of Flash's grave. Jessica and Emily walked over to him and stood by his side as he placed it.
"I'm really sorry about your dog Mister," Emily said.
"Thanks kid.” It was the first time she had spoken to him since they'd arrived. “He and I went through a lot together. This was the least I could do for him, he was my best friend." He looked over at Jessica and could see sympathy for what he was going through in her eyes.
"Do you want us to leave you alone for a minute?" Jessica figured he may want a few moments to himself.
"If you don't mind, I'd like you to stay while I say a few words?" Right now he didn't want to be alone. Even though he didn't know these women he already felt comfortable around them.
The Returners Page 3