The Hunter

Chapter Twelve

“Cole! Wake up!” I hear my fathers voice breaking through the silence of sleep. I peek my eyes open and see him standing in my doorway.

“Wake up. Come have some breakfast we need to go to the shop.” He walks away leaving me in my bed. I don’t want to move. I want to stay in bed. Can’t a guy ever sleep in? I rise out of bed like a zombie. I grab some clothes and get changed. I use the bathroom and my father hands me a cup of coffee.

“Thanks.” I take a few sips before I lift my head up.

“What time is it?” I ask.

“6:40.” He says. I feel my heart shatter in my chest.

“Jesus dad, why so early?” I plop down in chair at the dining table. When I hear the creaks it makes I realize this old chair is probably unsafe for my weight.

“We have to get the shop ready in time to open.”

“What? You want to open the shop? Like today?”

“Yes, we need to seem legitimate. Why not today? We’ll open the shop and survey the town during the day, close around four. Then we’ll map out a perimeter. And we can stake out in the woods at night.”

“That sounds great and all, but when will we sleep? We shouldn’t be hunting while we’re tired. It’s not safe. We don’t know how long it will take so we shouldn’t burn ourselves out.” Since when was I the voice of reason in this relationship?

“We’ll take shifts. Today we’ll do a soft opening and only the perimeter this afternoon. Then we’ll rotate opening and closing shifts. If the store does well, we can hire someone to open for us.” How long does he plan on staying here? I just give him a questioning look.

“We’ll just clean up and see what happens.” He smiles at me. This is weird, he seems excited or happy to have this shop. I finish my coffee and we get in the car. My father drives us to the front and parks. He gets out and takes a deep breath in. The sun has just come up and people are starting to move around the town. The sign on the shop reads ‘Mountain Adventure Center’.

“How long has it been closed?” I ask.

“Not too long. Mr. Hensen had an accident and his son took over for awhile. But he couldn’t keep it up. So it was closed for about a month.” My father goes and opens the door. The store looks well stocked, but there is dust everywhere.

“Is this entire town just dust prone?” I run my finger over the top of a display rack and inspect the collection of dust gathered on my finger.

“It just needs a good cleaning. I’ll look in the back for some supplies.” We walk in the back and find some rags and cleaning supplies.

“Here, start from the top down. Then I’ll do the floors.” My father hands me a rag and I get to work. I work from the front to the back. My father cleans the windows and the display case.

“You know if anyone comes in here and asks us where to go, we won’t know.” I say as I wipe down some shelves.

“True, but that’s what surveying the area will help with. Stop getting hung up on the small stuff son. Just enjoy the process.” I throw my rag down.

“Seriously, what is going on with you? This is the most elaborate cover we’ve ever done. Why? Why did you buy this place? We are hunters, we need to be out there, not playing pretend.” There is silence in the shop.

“Have you ever hunted werewolves before?” My father asks calmly.

“No.”

“I have. Its completely different than hunting any other creature. Most the time, they can look just like you and me. You could be standing right next to them and you wouldn’t even know it. And we need to do the same. They can’t know that we are hunters. Once they do, the tables will turn and quickly. So we need to have a reason to be here. We need to be insiders, not outsiders. I haven’t had a normal life in 24 years. Am I a little excited to have something normal? Yes. Will I complete the task at hand? Of course. You are still learning, and this is dangerous. So just do what you are told.” My father walks to the back leaving me alone in the front. I want to rage out. I hate it when he speaks to me like I’m a child. But I know it would only prove his point if I did. I feel like I could breath fire with the rage inside me right now. I stand there frozen for a minute, debating on my next course of action. I hear a light tapping at the door to the shop. Who could that be? I walk over and unlock the door. I open it and see the girl from the store, Alexis.

“Oh hey, what can I do for you?” I ask nervously.

“I am obliged to bring you this. We’re a small town and being the daughter of the mayor forces me to show some good ol’ southern hospitality.” She holds a pie out to my chest. I hear my father come around the corner and walk up to see what is going on.

“Why hello there. What do we have here?” My father asks politely.

“It’s a homemade apple pie. We just wanted to welcome you two. My mother Mayor Jennifer Heart would have been here, but there was a small emergency she had to attend to.”

“Not to worry. Thank you for the pie. I’m sorry the shop isn’t open just yet. Still have some cleaning to take care of.”

“Of course, I understand. My mother did want to know when you planned on opening?”

“Should be right as rain for tomorrow.”

“Wow. That quick? That’s wonderful. We’re you going to keep the name?”

“I think it fits perfectly.” My father is cheerful and polite, who is this guy?

“Excellent. Well if you need anything, I have a clinic down the street and my mother is at town hall. I’m sure she’ll want to meet you. She likes to have a good relationship with all the local businesses.”

“You have a clinic? Are you a doctor?” My father asks.

“Yes, I’m a small town doctor. I’m limited. For anything life threatening you’ll have to go to Hot Springs, they have a hospital there.” She says.

“Thank you for letting us know.”

“Well I won’t keep you. See you around.” She takes a step back from the door and heads down the street. I close the door with the pie in my hands.

“Right as rain?”

“Oh shut up. I was being friendly.”