Globusz^® Publishing 

IT WAS FRIDAY NIGHT. Time to put together the equipment he planned to take on his hunt with Billy Bob the next day ? rubber boots, gloves, compass, map, rubber waders, a knife and a flashlight. He had listened to the weather report all week. It was unseasonably warm this fall. Saturday’s low was expected to be only 50 degrees. He would put in an extra wool shirt just in case.

Billy Bob had his weapon and ammo. On purpose, he didn’t have a hunting license and was a little worried that he might need one. He would just plead stupidity and get off, like he got out of everything else. The daypack was large enough for all he wanted to take along. He decided to pack the rubber boots and put them on when he arrived at the hunting site.

With everything ready for the hunt, his thoughts turned back to Peggy and tomorrow night. He had put the flowers in his refrigerator. It was the first time it actually looked like he had anything in it. Milk, cheese, and bologna didn’t take up much room. The few beers after he visited Nick didn’t last more than a few nights.

His plan was to place the candles all around the room with two on the night stand next to the bed. Just before he left on his walk to the Club he would spread the petals from one of the roses on the sheets and pillow on her side of the bed. If she didn’t come back with him nothing would be lost.

His passion began to grow, noticeably. He kept thinking how wonderful a time he had last Sunday. The first time was a little embarrassing for him because it was so quick, but the next two times were very slow, with him exploring her body with his lips. He discovered quickly that she loved to be teased. She also let him know he better follow through with that teasing. The time of going home frustrated was over.

Another sleepless night, as he knew it was time to put his plan into action. He knew as well that once he started he would need to follow through to the letter if he were to succeed. In the past, just prior to implementing any of his plans, he was excited and could not wait to start. However, since Peggy entered the picture, revenge was no longer the only motivation. He was a little worried this time. Maybe there was another way.

He decided to let Billy Bob’s actions decide the route he would take. The next morning crept by, only 10:10 a.m. “Are you going to see your girl tonight?” — Mike said.

“I hope so, I have been looking forward to it all week.”

“We saw you carrying a box of flowers upstairs. Guess you really like her.”

“Indeed I do, sir.”

“Don’t guess about love, son. Sounds like you’re on the right track. See you Monday.”

He hit every other step going up to his apartment and quickly took a shower. This morning he had forgotten the advice Billy Bob had given him about no aftershave the day of the hunt. He had been thinking so much about Peggy this morning he put on more than normal. That was made clear when Mother Barkley told him he smelled sweet. He knew that she couldn’t smell bacon cooking, so for her to smell it, something must be strong. His fear was that Billy Bob would take one sniff and send him home.

He shaved like Billy Bob had instructed and used Ivory Soap on his hair and body. After dressing he grabbed his daypack and walked quickly to City Hall. He couldn’t afford to be late on his first hunt with Billy Bob.

As he came around the corner, Billy Bob was walking towards his police car. It seemed strange that they would take the city’s car on a deer hunt, but when he asked about it Billy Bob admitted it was the only transportation he had. Embarrassed that such was the case, he climbed in and closed the door.

Jim eased the map and compass out of his pack and placed the compass between his legs so he could see it without Billy Bob noticing it. They backed out of the parking space and turned south on Main Street, passing Hall Street. At the next street, they turned right onto Boardtown Road. He recognized it was the street that crossed the railroad track between the pulpwood yard and the city sewer plant. He had oriented himself well.

“I thought we were going hunting. This road looks like a driveway to those houses.”

“Looks will deceive you. When we pass through those trees we’ll turn onto Bullen Gap Road. That’ll take us where we’re going. The road crosses Sugar Creek in a couple of places before we get there. Mr. Bob bought a couple of old farms really cheap a few years ago. People around here think you need to go to the mountains to find deer, but I’ll show you that you don’t have to. I discovered this old farms a couple of years ago when I was hunting rabbit. There must be at least ten deer on both farms, but I only want the big buck that makes all the rubs.”

“What’s a rub again?”

“I’ll show you when I see one.”

Billy Bob was in a great mood. Jim felt that was a good sign, as it made his job easier.

“I have never seen you so happy. Does deer hunting do this to you?”

“Deer hunting gets me excited, but I get the happiest when I know I’m going to get a piece of ass.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Last night I found the mother lode!”

“You’ve got to tell me.”

“Okay, the high school football team played Gilmer County? Right?”

“What’s that got to do with you?”

“Be quiet and I’ll tell you. It seems one of the cheerleaders’ friends drove down to Gilmer County in Daddy’s car. The football team and cheerleaders are required to ride the school bus but three of them decided to ride home with this girl. Some of the ball players were going with them. As luck would have it, the coach caught them slipping off the bus and axed that. The girl driving had enough beer for the Dallas Cowboys. They had all drunk their share when Little Miss Shawn Johnson ran the red light next to Reese’s Grocery on the north side. When I pulled them over they began to cry like little babies, begging me not to tell their Daddies. It amazes me how rich kids don’t want their Daddies to know what bad girls they are. I told them driving while drunk was really serious, but being underage and driving drunk was worse. Then the one driving said they would do anything if I would let them go. I asked if they really meant anything and they said yes, anything. I told them I always wanted to have sex with a cheerleader. The one in the back seat told me to get in the car. She would have done it too but the driver said she had to get home in the next thirty minutes or it wouldn’t matter anyway because her parents would catch her. Then we made plans for tonight. Two of them want to fuck me in the jail with handcuffs on. One said she was still a virgin but she would give me a blowjob. So, it’s like a mother lode. Listen to this. I get a piece of ass tonight in the jail from a seventeen-year-old, a blow job tomorrow morning at 11:00 at City Hall, another piece of ass at 9:30 Monday night and the last one on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. You know, Jan Land is only sixteen but she has the biggest boobs in the county. This will be the second time I’ve fucked her. I can’t wait to suck her hard nipples again. You know what?”

“What?”

“I hope I don’t see one deer this afternoon.”

“Why’s that?”? Jim said.

“Because after you shoot it is when the work begins. It takes a while to gut and clean it. I want to dip my stick in something sweeter tonight, so I don’t want to be tired.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out”? Jim said? a smile on his face concealing a growing hatred of the scum he was with for the time being.

“Yeah, I got two weeks to kill my deer.”

It was clear to him there was no longer any doubt about what needed to be done and done quickly. However, Jim had been so sickened by Billy Bob’s plans for the teenage girls he had forgotten to keep track of how far they had traveled.

“This is a lot closer to town than I thought we would be.”

Pointing northeast, Billy Bob said: “See that mountain? Blue Ridge is on the other side. It’s quiet out there. We will only pass two houses. People out there know to mind their own business.”

“What do you mean?”

“I bring a lot of married women out there to pay their fine, if you know what I mean.”

They passed over a small stream. “That’s Sugar Creek, we’ll cross it once more before we get to the farm.”

A few minutes later he turned onto a path that was almost completely overgrown with grass, tire tracks leading to the woods.

“It looks like someone beat you here.”

“No! I made those last week when I did a little scouting.”

“Did you find anything?”

“Lots! I think I have that big buck patterned. We’re almost there ? hang tight. When I stop, try to keep as quiet as you can and for Christ sake don’t slam the door. We’ll stop on this side of the creek. Put on your boots and gloves. When you finish, put your shoes in the car and lock the door. I should have our rifles ready by the time you finish. Any questions?”

“Nope, let’s go hunting.”

He did as instructed with one exception. He didn’t lock the door. As he walked around the car Billy Bob handed him his 30-06.

“Fill the magazine and put one in the chamber. You don’t know when you might see a deer. I’ve killed more than one on the way to my stand before.”

“That’s lucky.”

“Better lucky than smart and empty handed.”

When Billy Bob had all the equipment ready he eased the trunk closed and began walking towards the stream.

“We’ll walk right by the stand you will use. You can leave your rifle and equipment there. It’s where I hunted last year. You’ll probably see some small bucks, but I don’t think you’ll see the big one. If you see horns, it’s legal. Shoot the damned thing. But first, I want you to see where I’ll be set up. It’s the best position I’ve ever scouted.”

They walked another two hundred yards into the woods, parallel to the stream. Suddenly, Billy Bob stopped.

“This is it! What do you think?”

He looked around and couldn’t see a thing.

“Where?”

Billy Bob pointed up into the tree. Someone had nailed some boards to the tree about sixteen feet off the ground. The boards made a seat with the tree as its back.

“That’s neat” — Jim said.

Billy Bob shushed him and smiled with pride.

“I did that last week. Squat down, do you see the bushes with bark rubbed off?”

“Yeah!”

The sun shining on the bare spots made them look white. It looked like the deer had rubbed a small tree about every twenty yards. Then Billy Bob pointed in the other direction about 90 degrees to the first. Sure enough there was a line of rubbed trees in there as well. The two lines crossed underneath the tree in which he had built the seat. It was obvious he was proud of his stand’s location. Then he noticed behind and under the stand were piles of freshly cut brush.

“Where did all that brush come from?”

Billy Bob pointed in six directions. “Those are my shooting lanes. I remove some of the underbrush so I will have a clear shot. Your stand has them also. I did most of the work on your stand last year but I still needed to cut out some of the new growth this year.”

“How do you climb the tree? I don’t see a ladder?” — Jim said out loud.

“See those nails in the side of the tree? I put them there last week. I spaced them about two feet apart so it would be easy climbing.”

“What a great idea! Like going up a telephone pole.”

Billy Bob pointed out a green string hanging down from the board. “Your stand has one too.”

“What’s it for?”

“To pull up your rifle. You don’t want to drop it when you’re climbing the tree.”

“You have really planned ahead. Demonstrates great foresight.”

Billy Bob shushed him again and pointed out that the string had a six-inch loop on the end. “Run the loop through the sling near the gun barrel and drop the loop over the end of the barrel and pull. There’s no way it can come loose.”

He quickly climbed up into his homemade seat. He picked up a black strap and put it around him. It had a buckle on one end. He whispered down: “This is a safety belt, there’s one on your stand too. Be sure to use it. It’s easy to get excited when you see a deer and fall out.”

“I will.”

Billy Bob sat down on the seat and grabbed the string in his right hand. Jim held Billy Bob’s rifle in his gloved hand and cautioned him to wrap the string around his hand to ensure it wouldn’t slide out.

“Do you think this string might break?”

Billy Bob, annoyed, whispered: “It’s a parachute cord. I can pick you up with it.”

He complied with the request to wrap the cord around his hand a couple of times then began to pull on the rifle. Jim looked at the rifle and, as expected, the safety was off. As the rifle was pulled up, he kept extending his arm holding the weapon pointed at Billy Bob. When he could stretch no further, he looked up at the man in the tree. In a loud and clear voice he called out:

“Billy Bob, consider the score settled for Michael and Susan.”

“Huh?” That word was Billy Bob’s last as the rifle barrel released a round into his face.

The noise was louder than Jim expected. The safety belt proved its worth too. Billy Bob was securely attached to the seat with both arms and legs pointing towards the ground. The pull string was still wrapped around his right hand.

Avoiding the blood that was raining down, Jim picked up one of the trimmed small branches at the base of the tree. Looking for just the right branch, he found one that had been dead for a couple of years. He pushed this portion through the trigger guard, testing it by pulling the rifle. The limb would not budge. The twig would break before it would come loose.

Releasing the rifle, the butt just barely touched the ground with the barrel still pointing towards the dead hunter. He looked around to see if anything was out of place. Finding nothing wrong, he walked back up the trail to the car, picking up his rifle and pack on the way. When he was twenty feet from the car, he began to worry about where he stepped or didn’t step. He tried to keep on trails that had been walked before.

He opened the car door and began wiping down any place he had touched. Satisfied that it was clean of his fingerprints, he began to look through the paper in the front seat for anything that might identify him. Stuck in his armrest was a little notebook. He quickly turned to the last page. There was the signature of four girls stating they were drunk on Friday night and had been let go on probation. He decided he would keep the book.

When satisfied the car was clean, he closed and locked all doors. With his pack and rifle over his shoulder he started the long walk back to town.

He returned using the same road they had come in on. After walking half a mile, he came to what looked like an old logging road, well used and traveled daily, so he decided he had better investigate. There might be another hunter close by who may have heard the gunshot. After walking only a hundred yards he saw why people came here. It was another convenient trash dump. He went to the biggest pile. Picking up an old table, he threw his rubber boots underneath then dropped the table appropriately so the pile collapsed covering the table and boots.

He quickly returned to the main road walking as fast as possible without drawing attention if someone should see him. As he approached the two houses on his route, he crossed over to the other side of the road and cut through the woods. Only once did a dog bark, though the dog’s attention was due to other matters.

It was now almost six and just getting dark when he arrived where Boardtown Road crossed the railroad tracks. Turning south on the tracks, he quickly found the lumber pile and removed the waders from the pack. Taking the rifle from his shoulder, he wrapped it with his extra shirt and slid it into the leg of the wader. The ammo went into the other leg. He lifted the top half of the lumber pile, finding what he thought would be a dry area. He placed the rifle in the stack of lumber.

Now to beat his twenty-six minutes record to the apartment.

He was pleased as he hit the steps at twenty-one minutes, quickly showered and dressed. It was almost time to meet Peggy.