The Depth

Chapter 5

That is what I like about Harold. He never disappoints. Sometimes, even a small catch, he buys it all from me at full price. And if his not around, that's when Jody and I display our products to the public, which is more hustling than being bought by Harold in seconds with the same price, but still, we leave this place empty-handed.

When we flee our way out, we take the route on the sides of the building so we don't suffocate through the exit one. A secret passage Harold only lets us use. It is also a shortcut to the woods. By the time we get out, we directly pass by several small houses in the street. At the end of it, some trees and bushes lead to the stream. A shortcut from the Market to the woods.

When I see Jody, staring at the ground with a frown, I ask. "You alright?"

"Of course," she smiles.

"You know what?" Alan interrupts, "Maybe, we should buy a drink."

"She's seventeen," I say, with a rise in the tone.

"She has a problem. Obviously" He snaps.

"You have a problem!" I snap back.

"I'm fine, you guys." Jody chuckles. "No need to get into trouble."

As we reach the end of the street, we jump across mud puddles and bushes till we see the stream running downhill. "We're close," I think.

We decide to head for the snare first since we feel confident there is meat already trapped in. We head towards the same path we took earlier where we found the carcass of the impaled deer.

I have been anticipating to witness it again which is strange. I'm pretty sure Alan did too. There's not a lot of strange or mysterious stuff discovered in this small town ever since. Now that we found one, somehow it's alluring. Even when it's a dead carcass.

As we walk, the scent has become more potent than the last time. The smell of the rotting flesh that has been left out in the open air can be fatal. It lures bacteria and viruses. It could cause sickness, or worse, death.

"What is that?" Jody covers her nose.

"You should see this." Alan coughs, and sprints. "It was so bizarre."

By the look of Jody's hazel-brown eyes, I say she's nothing less than surprised.

"What is that?" She asks in disbelief.

Because of the extreme case of decomposition, the deer doesn't seem like it at all. It looks like a large hive, since a lot of insect flies around circling it, and its horns camouflage like it is part of the branches.

"It's a deer," Alan answers. "Weird isn't it?"

All of our faces turn sour from the revolting smell. I walk first so they'll follow. I may be fascinated by the looks of a rare mystery murder case, but I won't risk my health for it. If I contract another flu, I don't know if I can take it.

The clock points to one which means we only have five hours to deliver our catch to Harold. He's very strict about time since he is a busy businessman. At least that's what he always says. Jody checks the trap on the left while Alan scans the other. Just as I expected, we caught a couple of pheasants stuck right in. Luckily, its heart is still beating. The body is still warm. I promised Harold the freshest meat, thus I always try to keep it that way. Sometimes, I bring half a bucket of ice before fishing, especially when the weather is burning too much. So if the catch dies then the ice helps to contain its freshness.

We tie the pheasants together in their feet to keep them from fleeing. Quickly, we reside in the lake to save time. Alan holding the pheasants, Jody with the snares and I with the buckets. And we march back to the stream, and through the woods.

Right when the horizon waters appear again, we pace, and I insert my hands in the pack and search for the baits. With the same pace this morning, we draw the gears out of the cabin, except for the snares since we won't be using them. Jody and I both with the rods while Alan searches on the banks for any fish on sight that his knife can reach.

"You remember when they say about the creature that owns this place at night?" Alan asks.

"Yeah," Jody answers. "Why?"

"Do you think that might be the one that killed the deer?" Alan's forehead curls.

"You believe that story?" I chuckle.

As soon as the clock hits four, we finish the hunt with seventeen fish. Two of them are massive. About the size of Alan's long calves. I'm positive we can trade them for a price the same as their sizes. Huge. We retrieve the gears back to the cabin as the sky starts to lose its light and the sun descends beyond the horizon. If we don't get out soon enough, our deal with Harold might be trashed. But the worst part is if the night catches us before we escape. I'd rather lose the money than get impaled and rot on a branch like that poor deer we saw.

"Hurry!" Alan yells.

We run through grasses, leap on rocks, and crash through dirt and mud just so we can escape the woods before nighttime catches us. Looking at the clock, it's a quarter to five already. The cacophony of birds screaming, crickets crying, and frogs croaking collides into a sound ensembling that night is approaching near and fast. Buckets bang into tree stems and rocks, and our breaths race with each other until we finally reach the streets where we first came.

We gasp for breath when we pause. I position my palms on my knee, supporting my upper body, and breathe and sweat heavily. Alan, on the other hand, rests his body straight to the ground. Although the sky still has bare light, the woods show nothing but total darkness.

Before, during school days on the weekends we usually panicked when our watch crossed two. Today, we may have been relying on each other's comfort that we're taken aback that we were losing so much time.

We pace directly to the market to trade our catch to Harold. At night time, the market is less crowded. Providers are likely doing a clean-up at this hour.