by L A Moore
“He can take care of himself, I know that rationally but, as a Mother, I can’t help but to worry.” Avianna said, staring out the window at the woods her Son had gone into alone.
Chapter 48
He was not in the woods anymore; this Ari knew for certain, but he had been there, and not long ago either, if the pile of guts was any testament. Ari took his big hairy hand and dug a hole, shoving the guts into it and covered it back up. He was careful, this hunter. It was as if he knew just where to go to avoid his trail cameras, but since Ari hadn’t moved them in about a week; he had probably seen them the first time he came around. He hoped with some luck the guy would come back and they would catch him on camera. He had had to be careful to transform back into his human form when he took the cameras down and turned them off so that there would be no evidence of him in his true form. But once they were off, he was free to transform back into his true form to navigate the mountain easier. He had but one last camera to go, and then he could start putting them out around the property. He wasn’t planning to just put them where the sheriff had said, he planned to put them randomly throughout the woods too; this way, there was no pattern and it would increase his odds of catching this guy.
Chapter 49
He had been a fine, upstanding citizen so far and had gotten himself a job as a florist delivery driver with the help of his Doctor and was able to rent the space above the florist shop. It wasn’t much, just a single room with windows to one side, overlooking the streets below and ,on the left side, a small kitchenette and bathroom and, on the right, a bed and chest of drawers and a small wardrobe for a closet and, beneath the windows, sat his couch and coffee table. It was sparsely furnished, but did the job and gave him access to the delivery truck for work and, when it was running, an old truck that he could borrow from his land lady. Really, his Doctor had set him up for this, as if he had somehow known his plans all along, and wanted to help him on his way. In a weird twist of fate, he had him to thank for putting this all in place; it would have taken him a lot longer to get all this set up and the Doctor had saved him considerable time and effort. He sat at his coffee table, carefully wrapping each box neatly, laughing to himself. This was sure gonna piss him off good, he thought, and imagined the look on his face when he found out what he had done next. It had taken him a long time to concoct this plan, and time he had had plenty of, sitting alone up in that crazy house. It was his Father he had wanted revenge on, truth be told, but he was dead and he figured like Father, like Son, so it didn’t matter much to him which paid in the end, as long as one of them did. Then everyone would see he wasn’t crazy, and that they had locked him up for no good reason, and they would apologize, and give him money and awards, and he would be famous and then it would finally be worth it. Every second he spent locked up in that crazy house; all the torture, and all the horrific things they had done to him would finally be worth it. He remembered then all the things they had done, keeping him sedated so he couldn’t even think, strapping him in strait jackets, forcing one medication after another down his throat, locking him away in the padded rooms, trying to convince him he did not see what he knew he saw, and worse, electric shock therapy, all in the name of curing him. But he had gotten wise to their ways over the years, had learned how to keep his mouth shut and his thoughts to himself. He had learned to play the game and had finally won his freedom with a clean bill of mental health, capable of living in society again, a danger to no one. But what did they know? Nothing, that’s what they knew. He had played them a good game and soon they would see he had won the real fight; the fight to prove he was never crazy. Finally finished wrapping the white boxes, and tying them with bright red ribbon, he was ready to make his delivery.
Chapter 50
Poppy and Avianna sat in front of her computer, going through a hoard of websites looking for the right dress for a small wedding, but it was hard to contemplate the future when things were as they were. Suddenly, someone buzzed the gate, startling them into action.
“What do we do?” Poppy asked Avianna, scared it could be the maniac trying to get in.
“You let him in, and I’ll shoot him if it’s the crazy person.” Avianna said as she grabbed the twenty two shot gun she had cocked and ready to go, just in case they needed it earlier.
“Ok.” Poppy said and gulped. Fear racing through her body, she went over to the monitor and saw a van. She buzzed him in, then waited for several tense, long, seconds for the van to drive up the driveway.
The driver got out and pulled two boxes from the side of the van and came to the door and rang the bell.
Poppy nervously reached for the door knob, looking back to make sure that Avianna had the gun ready and opened the door just an inch. “Yes, can I help you?” she asked through the slit.
“I have a delivery for this residence and the one next to it, it’s not addressed to anyone just the addresses are listed.” The delivery man explained. He was a clean cut looking older man in his late sixty’s, with white hair trimmed and neat and his face clean shaven. His hands shook slightly when he held out the boxes, and he walked slowly and with purpose as if calculating each step. He wore a pair of black slacks neatly pressed and a gray button down shirt with the local florist logo neatly stitched on the right pocket and black shoes. He looked like he wouldn’t hurt a fly, much less the two women inside.
Poppy gave him a once over and decided he didn’t pose much harm so she opened the door a bit more, just enough to take the two boxes the delivery driver held out in his shaking hands.
“Thank you, have a nice day.” The delivery driver said, and he turned and walked back to his van, got in and left as Poppy closed the gate behind him.
“What is it?” Avianna asked Poppy.
“I don’t know, but one’s addressed to you. It looks like the boxes roses come in.” Poppy said and handed her the package with her address on it.
Avianna felt full of nerves and fear laced her body, like an intricate doily wrapped around her. She took the package and laid it on the kitchen table. Carefully, she pulled on the red ribboned string and let it fall onto the table. Then she cautiously began to lift the lid and screamed a blood curdling scream. There in the box lay roses skewered through a dead heart, all it‘s holes filled with a dozen long- stemmed roses.
Poppy, who had been standing next to Avianna, screamed too and the two rushed to put the lid back on the box and then rushed to the sink to wash their hands, all the while screaming and crying.
Had they bothered to look at the monitor of the gate, they would have seen the delivery driver standing at the gate, listening to their screams and holding an invisible partner as he waltzed to their musical screams inside.
“What do we do?” Poppy asked Avianna, drying her hands.
“We should call the Sheriff. He will want to check it for finger prints I’m sure, or at the least see who made the order.” Avianna said and took the phone off the counter and began dialing.
Chapter 51
Ari finished placing all the cameras starting from back and coming to the front. All he had left was the one by the gate to do, and the one facing the houses to put up. He transformed into his human form and redressed quickly. Taking up the last two cameras, he headed out of the woods and around the house, only to come face to face with the Sheriff.
“Sheriff Barnes, what you doing back?” Ari asked, concerned.
“Your Mother called me about some delivery’s they got about an hour ago. Did you get those cameras up yet?” Sheriff Barnes asked.
“I am down to my last two now.” Ari replied.
“Well, go on and get those up, and then meet me back in the house. I think your fiancé and your Mother are going to need you.” Sheriff Barnes commanded.
“Yes sir.” Ari said and jogged off to the gate to put up the last two cameras.
“You say they were delivered by the local florist?” Sheriff Barnes asked Avianna and Poppy, as he had just heard their story and wanted to clarify as
he was writing his report.
“Yes, I remember because he had on a gray shirt with a bouquet of flowers and the words Blossoms Bouquets stitched on the pocket.” Poppy said.
Ari came in then and stood between his mother and Poppy. His first instinct was to protect and secure them. “What happened?” he asked Poppy.
“See for yourself.” Poppy replied, and pointed to the kitchen table where the box they had opened earlier was now opened, this time by the Sheriff.
Ari turned and went over to the table, lifting the lid just a fraction to get a full view and felt rage sweep through his body like a wild fire.
“Sheriff, you have got to do something. This is getting out of hand!” Ari demanded.
“I know Son, and I’m doing everything I can to catch this guy, but something just don’t add up.” Sheriff Barnes began. “If you two only had words in the woods, then why is he going to such lengths to prove his point? Are you sure words is all that happened?” he asked Ari.
“Yes Sir, I never touched him. It happened just as I told you.” Ari said adamantly.
“Right. Well, I’ve done all I can do. I’ve filed the reports and you have the cameras up now. I’ll go back to the office and call Mary over at Blossoms and see what she knows. From there, I’ll take the second box and dust it for finger prints and see what turns up, but I ain’t promising you anything.” Sheriff Barnes said.
“That’s not good enough, we need to catch this guy before he does something worse than leave dead animal parts Sheriff. Now these are clearly meant as threats and I come to you and the best you can do is a patrol around to my place once maybe twice a night, file some reports, and say I’m sorry?” Ari said angrily. His body was still pumped with the anger of seeing the roses and heart laid before him.
“Calm down. I know this is scary, but we have to stick to the law and if we do that we will get our guy. It’s just going to take some time.” Sheriff Barnes stated.
Chapter 52
He was still laughing when he pulled back into the floral shop. From there, he would grab his stuff and head up into the woods to an abandoned hunting cabin he had found. This was all great fun to him. Torturing them just enough to make them want to do something, but giving nothing to go on. Soon, he would lure him out into the woods and then he would have some fun with him until he turned into one of those beasts, and then he would walk him through town and everyone would see what he had discovered living among them, but not yet. This part was too much fun. He quickly went up the back stairs to his apartment, before Mary, the owner, got back from lunch. He grabbed his pack and headed out on foot, up the woods behind the shop. He would use the woods as cover to get across town and up to the cabin he had found. It was perfect; not too far from his property, and an easy walk. The cabin won’t much to speak of, just a one room shack really, with a tin roof and a small front porch with a worn out rocker on it, and a worn rug before the door. It had but two windows each on the front of the house that were small, but just big enough to him to climb through and open the door from the inside. Inside it was just as dusty and worn as you might expect, and it had taken him a while to clean the place up a bit, dusting and sweeping and beating the rugs and bedding out and sneaking the blankets back to be washed; but once he was done, he had himself a nice set up. It even had a stove in it for him to cook on and to keep warm by, but only an outhouse for a toilet. It was a good thing then that a spring ran not too far from the house where he could get fresh water. One thing he prided himself on was being clean and neat, and he would maintain that no matter what. After all, he couldn’t go parading him around town looking like the wild mountain man he had first encountered in his woods when he had mistaken him for just a drunken hunter. A quick shave and hair cut had saw him right as rain after that encounter, and had completely changed his looks into the clean cut delivery driver she had seen today. He walked well past the town and up and over the mountain that overlooked the town and down into the valley to the cabin. It was far enough away from town his smoke wouldn’t be seen from his stove, and far enough on the other side and down the mountain that he would never find his hideout. He surmised the cabin had been used just last year, so he would only think it was the same hunters come around again. He clapped his hands together as he neared the cabin, thinking how well laid out his plan was. Now for step two of his plan to take place, he thought to himself as he unpacked his meager suitcase and settled in, lighting a fire and gathering more wood and water for the night. It was a fine night for another transformation.
Chapter 53
Avianna, Ari, and Poppy stayed together the rest of the day and, as night fell, Ari walked his Mother to her home to gather a few belongings before going back to his home where she would stay the night. Safety in numbers, his Mother had said and Ari couldn’t agree more. He set her up in the upstairs guest bedroom and, once she was settled with a revolver by her side, Ari went down stairs to settle in for the night himself. He changed for bed and left his boots by the bed, just in case he needed them, and the loaded shotgun for earlier lay on the floor by his boots. Poppy curled up into him for comfort and protection and together they fell into a fitful night’s sleep.
Avianna dreamt that she was in the woods looking for her husband and couldn’t find him, but knew he was close by. She ran and ran, looking for him and calling to him, but he never came. When she finally found him, it was too late. She had known it was the moment she had heard the gun go off and still she ran, desperate to reach him in time. She found him, naked and bleeding, barely alive, and as she knelt down to comfort him in his last moments, she heard a voice say your Sons next. It seemed to echo all around her, consuming her, and she screamed out “NO!” and awoke with a start, sitting straight up in bed, her body beading with sweat and her heart beating a thousand beats per minute. At first, she was disoriented and confused and scared but she slowly came to realize she was at Ari’s and that they were both safe. She cried herself into a deep sleep after that.
Ari dreamt that he was in the woods in his true form when the hunter had appeared out of nowhere, taunting him, always just beyond his reach. He had transformed into every large scary formidable animal he could think of but the hunter always managed to be a step ahead of him. He swiped, bit, clawed, and ran with all his strength, and still it was not enough to catch the hunter. Then Poppy had appeared, and the hunter began chasing her. She cried out for him to save her, to help her, but he was frozen in place. Just when he thought he was going to lose his mind struggling with everything he had, his Dad appeared and calmly walked over to his Son, who was in the form of a giant polar bear and laid his hands around his Son’s neck, hugging him. Ari was desperate to get to Poppy, but his Father’s calming embrace was working magic on his form, calming him down and turning him back to human form. “The only way to fight a hunter is the skill of predators in human form. That is the way you will save her, it’s the only way. Stay true to your human self, and you will win” his father had whispered to him calmly, and then faded out as if he had never existed in the first place and Ari was free. He ran after the hunter in his human form, using his animal instincts to guess his next move and to push faster and harder until he finally caught up to him and ripped his head off with his bare teeth. Ari awoke with a start, his heart beating as fast as it could possibly beat without ripping through his chest, and his muscles felt like they had just ran a race and he was sweating and sticky, but Poppy didn’t seem to mind she slept soundlessly curled onto him. He watched her sleep for a long time, tracing her face with his fingertips, and promised her he would never let anything happen to her. As the moon raised high into the night, he fell back into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Poppy dreamt of her wedding. She dreamt of walking into the clearing where the little pond was, and of chairs lined on each side with just a few people in attendance. As she looked up the aisle, Ari was missing. Suddenly, she felt fear and danger all around her and a presence that threatened to kill Ari. She picked up her beautiful gown
and ran in her hiking boots through the woods, looking, searching for Ari, calling out to him, but couldn’t find him. Shots rang out all around her and fear danced all around her, but still she fought on. Sometimes she would think he was close and, just as she would reach out for him, he would be whisked away again. She could see him but could not reach him at other times. He would transform from one shape to another, but she always knew it was him. He beckoned her to run to him and run she did but the evil force surrounded her and hid her from his view once again. Poppy woke up; it was early, and she was feeling disoriented and confused. She pulled free of Ari and got up, pulling on her robe and headed into the kitchen to make coffee. She was still blurry eyed and therefore did not see Avianna sitting on the couch until after she had screamed out “Ahhh. Oh my words Mom, you nearly scared me half to death!”
Ari was on his feet at the first sounds of trouble; his feet slid into his boots and his gun in his hands, he came barreling through the doorway and ran into Poppy. “What’s wrong, where is he?” Ari asked, still half asleep.
“It’s nothing, your Mom just startled me is all.” Poppy explained.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to disturb anyone. so I was being quiet. Poppy didn’t see me, but everything is ok.” Avianna said. “There’s coffee if you want it. I got up early and made it.” She added.
“I’ll make the coffee. you go put some clothes on and put the gun away.” Poppy said. indicating Ari’s lack of anything but his boxers.
Ari turned and went back to his room and put the gun in the corner of the room and slipped on some jogging pants and a t-shirt before coming back into the kitchen for his coffee.