Morning all. I hope everyone is feeling fabulous today. Thus far I’ve had no issues posting this morning. Yesterday the computer just went a little mad. No clue why. It fixed itself after a few minutes, but it was a bit annoying of a way to start the day. Hopefully today will be better. So let’s jump into the morning prompt shall we? Timers at the ready and off we go.
This was not quite where I expected this story to go, but I have to admit that I really do like it. Someone on the cusp of adult hood and ready to define himself apart from his family, about to be dropped into something that will make him more of an adult than expected and about to possibly find out family secrets. Kind of a story I can sink my teeth into. I haven’t had that for a bit. Kind of nice to see it today.
Tuesday, August 22nd: They followed the deer trail.
They followed the deer trail. Calvin stayed towards the back. He had his gun loaded and ready but knew he wouldn’t be shooting at anything today. He loved shooting at targets and was quite good at it, good enough to earn praise from even the sternest of his uncles.
In fact as it was the only thing about him that they seemed to like, he worked hard at becoming a better and better marksman. He could even admit that he liked the technical bits about guns and shooting. He liked calculating wind speed and understanding the mechanism of how the bullet came out of the gun. Those things interested him. He loved the details, the mechanics of things. And when he turned that love towards firearms the rest of the family had less of a desire to mock him for his attention to detail.
But he had no desire to turn the gun on a living thing. His plan during this trip was to linger towards the back and make sure he never had a clear shot. As they had been out here for three days and hadn’t seen a single deer, Calvin was beginning to suspect that the deer had been apprised of the party and were staying well clear of them.
‘And who could blame them?’ He thought. After three solid days in the company of his family, he was ready to scamper off to parts elsewhere. In fact, he had plans to do so relatively soon. But he was her trying, at least until he left.
The deer trail widened out to a small clearing. Calvin wondered if this was simply the end of the trail and if this is where they would camp today. He blinked as he noticed one of his uncles motioning him forward. It was Sammy. Sammy was always trying to help make him a real man. While he knew Sammy meant well, Calvin tried to stay clear of him. As everyone else shuffled aside, this time, Calvin had no choice.
He slipped forward, quiet as a shadow. Much quieter than the rest of the party, truth be told, and he caught a smile of approval from Sammy. Calvin tried to let his resentment go knowing Sammy was trying to do what he thought best and that it came from a place of love. Calvin followed Sammy into the clearing. Knowing that bushcraft was not his strong suit, Sammy quietly pointed out the signs of an animal having been in the clearing.
There were several directions they could use to leave the clearing and Sammy let Calvin choose. Knowing it was some sort of test, Calvin studied each trail. He could see several signs of passage, but which was the freshest. Then he spotted it. Calvin bent down and looked. There was a spot of blood, but moreover caught on the thorns was a scrap of cloth. As far as he knew only human animals wore clothing. He frowned and waved Sammy over. Sammy knelt, pleased when he saw signs of passage, but frowning deeply at the blood and the cloth.
Ten til Midnight 