< Continued from page 1
THE INTRUSION
I was awakened by a lot of commotion. My mind was a bit blurry since I just woke up, but Adam related the whole story to me. He had been sleeping on the couch with the windows open, letting the cool air blow into the living room. He had been drifting in and out of sleep until he had smelled something reminiscent of rotting animal and feces. He knows what a bear smells like, so he slowly closed the window, picked up the Ruger off the table and went over to my room to knock on the door.
The moment before he began to say my name, something had thrown "itself at the side of the cabin."
Adam quickly spun around and dropped to a crouch and clicked the safety off the Ruger. I threw open my door behind him and stood there a moment, trying to get my bearings. I asked Adam what had just happened and he clarified the story for me. I glanced at the clock. It was shortly after six in the morning. Heh, our friend Joe never even awoke through the whole ordeal.
Adam and I spent the rest of the morning sitting on the couches, cradling our weapons and chain smoking cigarettes. We didn't speak much; we already knew what it had been. After eating breakfast and telling Joe what had happened, I went out to inspect the side of the cabin to see what type of damage had been incurred. There was mud on the window and a large gash in the roofing. The roof, at that point, is approximately eight feet from the ground.
We all sat down around the dining table and discussed our plans. My plan was to get a body.
Adam's plan was to record this thing and Joe wanted nothing to do with it. After two glasses of beer, we had decided on it. We were going on a hunt.
THE FIRST SIGHTING
We loaded the Rhino with a day's worth of water, food, weapons and ammunition. Any MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources) officer who would've seen us would've thought we had come to take over the country. It was a damned hot day, and I didn't make it any cooler by rolling the Rhino through the thick trails at 5 mph. By five in the evening, we found a nice shaded area, had dinner and suited up to head back to camp. I drove a bit faster on the return trip, but I still kept my 10/22 "Spray n' Pray" aiming out of the driver's side door.
Upon arriving at the bottom of the hill where I had parked my car, I noticed something that I hadn't before. There was mud streaked down the driver's side of my car.
"Did someone s__t themselves?" Adam asked, referring to the foul odor in the air.
"No," I said. "Keep your guard up. We might have something in the area."
We rolled cautiously up to the cabin... and there it was in all its horrifying glory. Matted, disgusting hair, tinged green and dead-leaf yellow. The moment it saw our headlights, it dropped on all fours and ran into the thicket behind the cabin.
"Day number two, and this is it already, boys," I muttered as I shut off the engine and set the parking brake. I got out of the Rhino and handed Adam the 10/22. "How many spare magazines do you have for that thing?"
"Umm... three 20-rounds and one 10-round," he answered. "We're not following this thing are we?"
A sudden anger overwhelmed me. "Yes, if you want to stay in the cabin, stay in the mother_______ cabin."
"I'm coming," Joe said.
"Why the f___ not," Adam replied.
Next page:The hunt
THE INTRUSION
I was awakened by a lot of commotion. My mind was a bit blurry since I just woke up, but Adam related the whole story to me. He had been sleeping on the couch with the windows open, letting the cool air blow into the living room. He had been drifting in and out of sleep until he had smelled something reminiscent of rotting animal and feces. He knows what a bear smells like, so he slowly closed the window, picked up the Ruger off the table and went over to my room to knock on the door.
The moment before he began to say my name, something had thrown "itself at the side of the cabin."
Adam quickly spun around and dropped to a crouch and clicked the safety off the Ruger. I threw open my door behind him and stood there a moment, trying to get my bearings. I asked Adam what had just happened and he clarified the story for me. I glanced at the clock. It was shortly after six in the morning. Heh, our friend Joe never even awoke through the whole ordeal.
Adam and I spent the rest of the morning sitting on the couches, cradling our weapons and chain smoking cigarettes. We didn't speak much; we already knew what it had been. After eating breakfast and telling Joe what had happened, I went out to inspect the side of the cabin to see what type of damage had been incurred. There was mud on the window and a large gash in the roofing. The roof, at that point, is approximately eight feet from the ground.
We all sat down around the dining table and discussed our plans. My plan was to get a body.
Adam's plan was to record this thing and Joe wanted nothing to do with it. After two glasses of beer, we had decided on it. We were going on a hunt.
THE FIRST SIGHTING
We loaded the Rhino with a day's worth of water, food, weapons and ammunition. Any MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources) officer who would've seen us would've thought we had come to take over the country. It was a damned hot day, and I didn't make it any cooler by rolling the Rhino through the thick trails at 5 mph. By five in the evening, we found a nice shaded area, had dinner and suited up to head back to camp. I drove a bit faster on the return trip, but I still kept my 10/22 "Spray n' Pray" aiming out of the driver's side door.
Upon arriving at the bottom of the hill where I had parked my car, I noticed something that I hadn't before. There was mud streaked down the driver's side of my car.
"Did someone s__t themselves?" Adam asked, referring to the foul odor in the air.
"No," I said. "Keep your guard up. We might have something in the area."
We rolled cautiously up to the cabin... and there it was in all its horrifying glory. Matted, disgusting hair, tinged green and dead-leaf yellow. The moment it saw our headlights, it dropped on all fours and ran into the thicket behind the cabin.
"Day number two, and this is it already, boys," I muttered as I shut off the engine and set the parking brake. I got out of the Rhino and handed Adam the 10/22. "How many spare magazines do you have for that thing?"
"Umm... three 20-rounds and one 10-round," he answered. "We're not following this thing are we?"
A sudden anger overwhelmed me. "Yes, if you want to stay in the cabin, stay in the mother_______ cabin."
"I'm coming," Joe said.
"Why the f___ not," Adam replied.
Next page:The hunt