My Everything

Hunter or Prey?

I gripped my rifle tightly in my hand, removing the leaves that had fallen into my face. Diane and I were positioned prone for what felt like hours. How long had I heard the gushing of the river? With our green camouflaged clothes we blended in with the bush but the ground was cold to the touch and a foul scent lingered from what we had used to cover our presence. The anticipation for a deer to show its face along with an uncomfortable length of time was killing me and I wiggled a bit more and more, trying my best to stay still. If Diane could do this, then so should I. All I have to do was bear with it and everything would be fine.

“Why did we pick this spot?” I whispered to her.

Diane’s head remained straight, looking at the river before us. “It’s downwind the animals wouldn’t be able to smell us.”

“Then if that’s the case, why did we put on that awful smelling thing for?”

“As a precaution, animals have great smell, nice Tpod by the way. For an amateur you’re fully kitted out.” She paused. “Sales pay that well?”

“Sometimes, so do I, can I have a cigarette smoke here?”

“What now? You had one before we even set up. Those things really aren’t good for your health. Instead, you should---.”

“No thanks, it keeps me calm.”

“Not now, maybe after, I don’t want to give away our position.”

“Fine.”

“And besides, they are other things to keep you calm.”

“Like what?”

“Well exercise, yoga, recreation, maybe when we are finished up here. If you’re not too busy, I can show you around town to a class of yoga?”

“What you teach those too.”

“Maybe,” she placed her hand up for me to be quiet.

I thought hunting was supposed to be fun from what I read about it. Then why did it feel so boring? I had copied everything I had seen Diane do, but this waiting for what felt like an eternity was the genuine test on my patience as the river flowed and the birds chirped in the area.

“I know it’s not comfortable and your body is adjusting to being accustomed to lying on the ground like this. So I bet you are regretting your decisions to come here now, but it’s only for a time.”

“I have been regretting it, looks a lot easier in the pictures.”

“Nothing comes easy like a bike you got to keep getting on after you fall off and riding to get better.”

The sun drifted from above, and the light was peeking at me now through the branches. The watch on my hand said it was now three in the afternoon and still nothing.

That was almost six hours laying here. My legs were cramping from being in the same spot for so long, and there was still nothing when I looked into the scope. I wanted to say something, but Diane seemed completely focused on what was in front of her. I checked to make sure my hearing protectors were both in properly.

“A deer is coming, can you see it?” Diane asked.

I looked through the scope of my rifle and shifted it to where Diane was looking at. Then I saw it.

It was strolling towards the water and it wasn’t alone a few others were with it. For something I wanted to kill, it seemed so majestic.

“I can see it,” I responded.

“Good,” Diane responded. She dropped her rifle and shifted to me, causing the bush to shake. “You’re going to take the shot.”

“Me?”

“Yes, it wouldn’t be fun if I did it for you. I am going to take my time and guide you. Steady yourself and take a deep breath.”

I did as Diane asked.

“Have you ever fired this rifle before?”

I thought about the question before answering. “The model I used it before, but this would be the first time in a long time.”

“On a gun range?”

“Yes.”

“I see that’s why you have those glasses.”

I nodded.

“You have a nice scope, so it should be easy compared to my bolt action gun without. Use your non-dominant hand to cover the uncovered portion of the grip. Place the thumb of your non-dominant hand just below the dominant hand thumb resting it against the frame.”

I took a deep breath looking at the deer in the scope for a moment it seemed to look directly at me and then I fired. The loud noise sent those around it scattering in every direction. The deer followed, unphased.

 Damn it, I had missed.

I pulled a bullet from off the butt of the gun and reloaded it, hearing a clicking sound. I pressed the trigger, and the rifle thundered a tree shook in the distance as the deer made its escape.

“s**t,” I shouted, standing up from the bush.

Another shot thundered as the deer fell to the ground. A chuckle from Diane followed it as she stood up leaving her gun on the ground.

“Patience and you will get one in time. You just need to relax, take your time and aim before you shoot. You’re a bit too quick on the trigger.”

“Yeah,” I looked at the sunlight and tighten my fist. “Not leaving until I get one.”

 Diane dust herself off and stretched her legs before picking up her rifle and holstering it. “Let’s go take a look at it first.”

We walked across to the deer. It was motionless and its eye looked back at me. Further off in the trees on a few of them it looked like claws had scratched them, maybe. Or was it something else? Should i mention it to Diane I wondered as she seemed lost in her own world? It couldn’t be that important.

“Do you want to?” Diane asked as she stooped down to the carcass.

“No, I would prefer not to do this. I will watch though.”

“Fine.”

Diane took her time dissecting the animal and breaking it apart. It was horrific to watch, but I stared, anyway. Isn’t it ironic how easy life can go? When she was done, the sun seemed like it was coming to set.

“You want to walk back or you want to camp out here for the night?”

“Or there snakes here?”

“No.”

“Ok, good.”

“A few wolves and brown bears, but they are pretty harmless and more curious than anything else.”

“Wolves?”                                

Diane grabbed a bottle of water from her bag, added some soap, washed it and wiped her hand in a cloth. “Yeah, the bear is of more of a concern, though. So you want to camp here? Don’t worry, I will protect you. I have been out here more than once if not we can make a rush back, but it will be pretty dark. I got a few lights with me as well.”

“I am not heading back until I get a deer too. Let’s camp.”

“We will make camp here.” Diane pointed. “It’s close to water, but normally it wouldn’t be a good idea to set up here. But I think we should be fine just for the night. Do you have bug spray? If so, try not to use it if it contains citronella. It attracts bears.”

Citronella, I had a bottle or two in my bag. If the bugs came one couldn’t hurt, I am sure in the morning if we don’t get one we will be gone.

Diane moved around, setting up the camp and creating a fire. I stood in one spot watching her as the sun’s light went out, only the fire from the camp remained amiss the howling wind. The trees almost seemed to change nature as the light reflected on them. Diane moved the pieces of the deer she had had cut out towards the fire.

“You can take a seat around the fire and take of your bad. You don’t have to be so stiff.”

“I am not stiff. It’s just… I realized at the moment I am not much of any help and it’s all new for me.”

“That’s fine. I guess you’re accustomed to always being in control. That is a good way for sales to get information and confidence across to the customer. We have someone like that back in town. He makes a ton getting people to buy his crappy stuff.”

I sat down, flicking the hair out of my face, and looked at the fire. “Yeah, you can say that. I do like to be in control.”

I thought hunting was supposed to be fun from what I read about it. It seemed that way then why did it feel so boring? I had copied everything I had seen Diane do, but this waiting for what felt like an eternity was the genuine test on my patience as the river flowed and the birds chirped in the area.

“I know it’s not comfortable and your body is adjusting to getting accustom to being on the ground like this. So I bet you are regretting your decisions to come here now, but it’s only for a time.”

“I have been regretting it, does look a lot easier in the pictures.”

“Nothing comes that easy like a bike you got to keep getting on and riding to get better.”

The sun drifted, the light peeking at me now through the branches. I looked at the watch on my hand. It was now three in the afternoon and still nothing. My legs were starting to cramp from being in the same spot for so long, and there was still nothing. I wanted to say something, but Diane seemed completely focused on her scope. I checked to make sure my hearing protectors were both in properly.

“A deer is coming, can you see it?” Diane asked.

I looked through the scope of my rifle, shifting it to where she was looking at before I saw it.

It was slowly walking towards the water and it wasn’t alone a few others were with it.

“I can see it,” I responded.

“Good,” Diane dropped her rifle and shifted to me. “You’re going to take the shot.”

“Me?”

“Yes, it wouldn’t be fun if I did it for you. I am going to take my time and guide you. Steady yourself and take a deep breath.”

I did as Diane asked.

“Have you ever fired this rifle before?”

“The model I used it before, but this would be the first time in a long time.”

“On a gun range?”

“Yes.”

“I see that’s why you have those glasses.”

I nodded.

“You have a scope so it should be easy compared to mine, bolt action. Use your non-dominant hand to cover the uncovered portion of the grip. Place the thumb of your non-dominant hand just below the dominant hand thumb resting it against the frame.”

I took a deep breath looking at the deer in the scope for a moment it seemed to look directly at me and then I fired. The loud noise sent those around it scattering in every direction. The deer followed, unphased.

 Damn it, I had missed.

I pulled a bullet from off the butt of the gun and reloaded it, hearing a clicking sound. I pressed the trigger, and the rifle thundered a tree shook in the distance as the deer made its escape.

“s**t,” I shouted, standing up from the bush.

Another shot thundered as the deer fell to the ground. It was followed by a chuckle from Diane.

“Patience and you will get one in time. You just need to relax, take your time and aim before you shoot. You’re a bit too quick on the trigger.”

“Yeah,” I looked at the sunlight. “Not leaving until I get one.”

 Diane got up from the ground, holding her rifle in her hand before holstering it. “Let’s go take a look at it first.”

We walked across to the deer. It was motionless and its eye looked back at me. Further off in the trees on a few of them it looked like they had been scratched by claws maybe, or was it something else?

“Do you want to?” Diane asked as she stooped down to the carcass.

“No, I would prefer not to do this. I will watch though.”

“Fine.”

Diane took her time dissecting the animal and breaking it apart. It was horrific to watch, but I stared, anyway. Isn’t it ironic how easy life can go? When she was done, the sun seemed like it was coming to set.

“You want to walk back or you want to camp out here for the night?”

“Or there snakes here?”

“No.”

“Ok, good.”

“A few wolves and brown bears, but they are pretty harmless and more curious than anything else.”

“Wolves?”                                

Diane grabbed a bottle of water from her bag, added some soap, washed it and wiped her hand in a cloth. “Yeah, the bear is of more of a concern, though. So you want to camp here? Don’t worry, I will protect you. I have been out here more than once if not we can make a rush back, but it will be pretty dark. I got a few lights with me as well.”

“I am not heading back until I get a deer too. Let’s camp.”

“We will make camp here it’s close to water but normally it wouldn’t be a good idea to set up here. But I think we should be fine just for the night. Do you have bug spray? If so, try not to use it if it contains citronella. Bears are attracted to citronella.”

Diane moved around, setting up the camp and creating a fire. I stood in one spot watching her as the sun’s light went out, only the fire from the camp could be seen. The trees almost seemed to change nature as the light reflected on them. Diane moved the pieces of the deer she had had cut out towards the fire.

“You can take a seat around the fire and take of your bad. You don’t have to be so stiff.”

“I am not stiff. It’s just I realized at the moment I am not much of any help and it’s all new for me.”

“That’s fine. I guess you’re accustomed to always being in control. That is a good way for sales to get information and confidence across to the customer. We have someone like that back in town. He makes a ton getting people to buy his crappy stuff.”

I sat down, flicking the hair out of my face, and looked at the fire. “Yeah, you can say that. I do like to be in control.”