The Hunter

Chapter Four

I finally get back to my apartment and drop onto my couch. I check the time, 4 am. I could try and get some sleep before having to meet my dad. When we are on the road, I’m lucky to get three hours of sleep a night. So I need to take advantage of my bed while I’m here in Jackson. I decide to shower again, I smell like sweat and s*x, and I want to be nice and clean when I get back on the road. I take a quick shower this time and then lay down in my bed. I stare at the ceiling and wait for tiredness to hit. It doesn’t. I can’t sleep. I roll over and decide to read over the case file we were given on the trolls.

Sheriff Andrews called in to the guild about four hikers that have gone missing. One man was recovered and said it was “a large ugly ‘man like’ beast” that killed her friends. Victim helped make a composite of it, picture provided.

I take a look at the picture, ugh that’s one ugly face. Cases are called in from around the country. The guild works with all the police, sheriffs, and local governments to promote us handling supernatural creatures and events.

Lancaster is a mountain community that relies heavily on its tourist season from hikers, campers, and outdoor activities.

So they want this taken care of before tourist season and the rumors spread.

Trolls typically dwell in isolated areas in mountains or caves. Described as having oversized ears and noses. They are often depicted with tails and hairy ears. They can be eight to ten feet tall. The meaning of the word troll is unknown. Their demeanor is unfriendly.

Do I really need a file to tell me this?

Blunt force trauma will kill a troll.

Blah blah blah. This is why I don’t read these. There is nothing super helpful in this file. I give up and lay back down. I shut my eyes and manage to drift off to sleep for a few hours.

My alarm wakes me up. My body feels heavy and I feel sluggish, I definitely messed up my sleeping schedule. I place my feet on the cold tile floor. I need to get up, pack up, and meet my dad. I walk over to the bathroom and brush my teeth. I pack up some toiletries. I put on some jeans and pack up my clothes into my lucky backpack. It’s lucky because it’s survived through every single hunt I’ve been on, and so have I. It doesn’t really make sense, because if you think about it will only stop being lucky when I die, but then what do I need a backpack for if I’m dead. Hunters are superstitious in general, and my dad had his lucky boots with him, so I picked my lucky charm.

I slip on an old band shirt shirt, and finish up packing. Alright, ready to go. I should stop by Ms. Cox’s apartment and tell her I’ll be gone for a few days. I head down to the first floor and knock on Ms. Cox’s door.

Knock knock knock

The door opens and she is standing there in a long floral dress, a cigarette in her hand, and her hair up in rollers.

“Good morning Ms. Cox.”

“What do you want?” She asks.

“I wanted to let you know I will be gone for a few days.”

“You are never here. Why do even bother having an apartment?”

“Because then I get to look at your beautiful face.” I say.

“Oh you stop you flirt. Be careful out there.” She tells me.

“I’ll see you when I get back. Stay beautiful.” I say as I walk towards the front door. She smiles and laughs before closing her door. I walk over to Remy’s, which is only a few blocks down. I finally arrive and walk inside.

“Hey Cole. Your old man is in the back.” Remy says.

“Thanks. I’m going to need something big and heavy. Something I could do damage with if I hit someone or something with it.”

“I have just the thing. I’ll grab it and bring it up here for you.”

“Thanks Remy.” I say as I head to the back. The back is where all the guns, ammo, gun parts, and knives are. I walk in and see my dad standing there inspecting a shelf of ammo.

“Hey dad.”

“Well look who’s here, and on time. Who are you? You went out partying last night no doubt. But it looks like you remembered to set an alarm. What changed?” My father says handing me two boxes of ammo. Not doing my paperwork my paperwork isn’t my only flaw, being late, staying out drinking, and of course the ladies, are also my vices. but I’m getting older and I do want to try and improve. I like being a hunter and want to take these things more seriously.

“What can I say, I’m growing up.” Is the only explanation I provide, my father isn’t one for deep conversation.

“If that’s true, then I’m glad. It’s about time. I thought your brother would be the only solo hunter out of the two of you. But keep it up and maybe I’ll be able to retire one day.” That’s the closest I’ll ever get to getting a complement from him. My brother, (Jax), my father, and I all used to hunt together. But my brother advanced quickly and literally became the the pride of my father. That is until Jax went solo and ranked up even faster after he left my father and I behind.

My father was hurt, he’d never admit it, but I could see it. We don’t see much of Jax anymore. Maybe around Jackson every now and then, but it’s a rare occurrence.

My father packs up a few boxes of ammo. I grab some rope, a hatchet, and a few good flashlights.

“Why you grabbing all that stuff?” My father asks.

“We’re going into the mountains, we might need it.”

“You read the file?” Shock crosses his face.

“Stop being so surprised.”

“It’s like watching a caterpillar turn into a butterfly for the first time.”

“Come on, let’s go.” I nudge him playfully. We head up to the front. Remy has a long mace made from steel. It looks so medieval.

“You think this will do the trick?” I pick it up and feel the weight in my hand.

“Oh yeah, this will be perfect.”

“Go load up the car and I’ll pay for everything.” My father says. I grab the stuff and do as my father says. I finish loading the trunk and then get into the passenger seat. Finally my father comes out and gets behind the wheel.

“So how long is the drive?” I ask.

“Looks to be seven hours.” Ugh such a long drive. We take off and head towards Lancaster.

When we finally reach it, the sun is just starting its decent. This city is beautiful. Snowy tipped mountains frame the horizon, and tall pine trees grow all over the city. I can see why it’s a popular tourist destination.

“Let’s go meet with Sheriff Andrews to get an account of what happened.” My father says. We drive over to the sheriffs department and park. We get out of the car and walk inside. The building isn’t very big, the population of Lancaster is on the smaller side, so I guess they don’t require a large amount of law enforcement.

“Hello, how can I help you gentlemen?” The woman at the desk asks. She looks to be middle aged, blonde hair, short.

“We’re looking for the sheriff.” My father says.

“Sheriff Andrews is right down this hall, third door on the left. The one that says Sheriff on it.” She explains with a smile.We walk down the hall and knock on the sheriff’s door.

“Come in.” We hear and open it. Behind the desk is a woman with short brown hair, with stacks of files on the desk. She stands and I’m surprised by how attractive she is.

“What can I do for you gentlemen?” She asks. Her voice is firm but not unfriendly.

“My name is Rod and this is my son Cole, we’re from the guild.”

“Ahh yes the guild. Come in, have a seat.” She says.

“Thank you ma’am.” I say.

“Please call me Rebecca.” She says.

“Alright, Rebecca, tells us what you know.” I say.

“Four hikers went up the west side of the mountain on Thursday. From my understanding they were planning to camp up there until Sunday and go back home after that. One of our deputies came across their car on Monday night. We sent out a search party on Tuesday morning. We found their campsite destroyed, the tent mostly ripped through, and the people gone. They found a large footprint at the scene.” She hands us the picture of the footprint. This thing is massive.

“We searched the woods and we found one of the campers several miles away. She was hiding inside a tree.”

“Inside?” My father asks.

“Yes, the tree was dying and the inside was hollow. She had a broken wrist and a concussion. But she described the creature that trampled through her campsite. She said she saw it eat one of her friends, but she wasn’t sure what happened to the other two.”

“Do you have a map of the locations, where the campsite was and where you found her?” I ask. she opens a drawer and pulls out a map.

“The campsite was here. And we found her right around here.” She marks the map and hands it to us.

“Anything else that might help us?” My father asks.

“Honestly, no. We’ve never had any issues before.” She says.

“Alright, we’ll go out there an have a look around. We will get rid of whatever we find.” I tell her.