The Depth

Chapter 3

As soon as I see the horizon water emerge above a short hill, I pace right away while opening my pack and grabbing the small jar that contains the baits. We settle on the banks near the cabin, Alan and I built three years ago. The cabin houses the gear we use for hunting- a couple of rods, five snares, and some of Alan's knives and spears he created himself.

I set the rod and hinge the bait through the hook, and catapult it with force in the air, straight to the open water. Alan grips a knife in his palms while waiting on the edge for the catch. For a second, I stare at him. His look of determination while haunting still mesmerizes me every time we hunt. His muscles flaunt as he moves.

Then he releases a straight shot through the shallowest part of the lake, and he retrieves his knife with a huge catfish pierced through it. I quit my staring when he walks towards me and hands his catch upside down from the tail.

"What?" I ask.

"You said, you needed fish" He answers, "Here it is."

My eyebrows compress "Yeah, but that's your catch."

"I don't need it. I already had lunch" He says.

I take his offer still confused. What about his Mom and his brother? He could have saved this for them later. I guess his skills are too significant for just one catfish. I'm pretty sure they have a lot of supply of wild meat because of his raw talent. From him, the fish is free, but if it were sold in the market, it would cost several pounds. Fish are at a high value in the industry. The fresher, the higher its price.

The clock hits a quarter to ten. It's almost noon yet the breeze feels like it belongs from dusk. Cool and frigid. Even though I have one catch from Alan, I still need one for a perfect lunch.

We wait and talk through time. Meanwhile, a strong heavy pull nearly overpowers my hold, and my muscles start to clench. Alan helps with the pull and a huge bass flies off the water. I maneuver it directly to the ground beside my foot so it won't have a chance to flee. The last thing I would want right now is free food escaping.

Alan helps me tie the line beneath the gills, and straight through the mouth. It is the most convenient way for us to hold the fish instead of bringing a bucket.

"You should come over." I suggest, "Mom's making this into stew."

"I'm full, I already had lunch." He says, "Remember?"

"Then just come over. I'll be heading to the Market anyway. Maybe you can help me with something." I say.

Alan's left cheek pulls a bit higher, "Okay, fine"

We return the gear to the cabin and bring two snares with us to set up near the rice field on our way later. Grooslings might be in flocks because the weather is just right. No unusually large winds and no sign of rain coming either.

We walk in a different path than we came since the ricefields are to the east. The plan is we leave the snares resting on the ground covered by bushes till we come back in the afternoon.

Even though the vastness of the wilderness seems like a maze, we can almost get in and out without even looking. We were thirteen when we first let our feet have a taste of the muddy banks and spiky pathways. It was once a horrific scenery to us. About the stories and legends living in this place. Now, that we are nineteen, I could almost say that the only thing Alan and I are afraid of here in the woods is if there was no catch in a day.

We continue hiking downhill. Peaceful and mindless we walk until the both of us inhale an unusual scent of death.

"What is that?" I instantly pinch my nose between my fingers. "That is vile."

We scan the place for the culprit. Nothing on the ground and behind the bushes. I wonder where it comes from since the smell is too powerful, surely, it's anywhere close to us.

Alan points above the tree. My skin tightens as my hair rises from its roots. "What is that?" I shudder.

"It looks like a dear." Alan answers, " It's gross."

A deformed and decomposing body of an adolescent deer, infested with worms and maggots is impaled through the mahogany branches. But what predator could do such a morbid attack on innocent prey? There is no way that a black bear nor even a pack of wolves committed a horrific crime.

Bears are notorious for mauling their victims with power but I'd dispute anyone who insists that a bear did that. A couple of bears would be reasonable but that would be a much rarer case. The only predator that sets the bar for this kind of attack is a crocodile or an alligator since they possess a massive amount of bite force to crush blends. But looking at the deer impaled 12 feet above ground makes it impossible to believe.

We proceeded to the rice fields, thinking that it might have been just a prank. But a silly joke doesn't match up to the carcass. If it was, it must've been very difficult for them. But still, I wonder what creature could do such a violent kill. What creature has the strength to lift an average dear into the air, and impale its crippled body through branches?

We set up the snares twenty yards apart from each other. No birds to be seen yet, but we are certain that fresh meat awaits when we come back later. We take a different path back to where I left my bike so we won't have to pass by the horrors of what we saw earlier.

"What do you think did that?" Alan asks.

"Probably a pack of wolves," I answer.

"A pack of wolves purposely impaled a deer through the branches?" He queries.

"I'm confused too." I snap, "Maybe it was an already dead carcass on the ground, and someone took it out and put it there."

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