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Fish, Hike, Kill

  Rich Inman

  Copyright Rich Inman, 2015

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal and punishable by the law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author is appreciated.

  DEDICATION

  To my Father, who hiked up the side of a hill with me when I was a kid and followed that inlet back down for way too long.

  To my wife, who puts up with my writing, which she can’t be a part of while it’s happening. I love you!

  Chapter 1

  The alarm on his phone grated at Jacob’s ears, waking him up the only way it could, in the most irritating way possible. It was four a.m. when he rolled out of bed and shambled across his studio apartment to the bathroom on the other side of the room. A small couch sat in the center of the apartment facing a modest sized TV. Clothes and fast food remains were strewn everywhere. It was still dark outside and he hadn’t bothered to turn on the lights so he stumbled over the duffle bag of fishing gear he had put together the night before. “Damn!” he said as he caught his step. “Ow…” The only reason that Jacob ever considered waking this early was for fishing and today was no exception. So he pushed past the groggy start and took care of his business.

  His muscles ached as he showered, the long hours of work at his construction company lingering as they usually did. Jacob finished quickly and after a quick bowl of cereal he grabbed his Colt 1911 from its safe, holstered it at his belt along with his mult-tool and picked up his fishing gear before heading out the door. His Ford F150 was parked just outside the door of the apartment so it was only a few steps before Jacob threw the duffle into the bed and opened the door. The building took up half the block of the arterial it sat on so even at the early hour that it was the occasional car still sped past. He took a second to breathe in the brisk pre-morning air before hopping into the cab and getting on the road. There was something freeing about being on the road, no wife to nag him, – well, soon to be ex-wife – no kid to demand his attention. Just him and his thoughts. It was his favorite part of going fishing and why he always did it alone.

  Jacob turned onto the road and in just a few minutes he was headed east on the freeway. A few hours of driving took him into Idaho and toward his usual getaway spot at the north fork of the Coeur D’ Alene River. The eastern sky began to brighten with the sunrise when his phone rang. It was his wife.

  “Jake, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you since yesterday,” she said. Not even a hello. Typical. “You know it’s your son’s birthday tomorrow right?”

  “Yeah, I know. Tell Kyle that I won’t be able to make it.”

  “What do you mean you won’t be able to make it? It’s not like you didn’t know this was coming up.”

  “You’re right Trish, I know that it’s his birthday, but you have no idea what the last few weeks have been like for me.”

  “I don’t really care Jacob. You make sure your ass is here tomorrow.”

  “That’s not happening. No one will ever look out for me except for me, and I need this right now.”

  “You son of a…wait…you’re going fishing again aren’t you?”

  Jacob took the off-ramp to Prichard silently thanking God that he’d be out of cell range soon.

  “Screw you Trish. You never cared about what I needed, did you? It was always what you could get from me, leeching every ounce of life I had like a goddamn succubus.”

  “And you’re abandoning your responsibilities like you always do. You know what, just go tromp around in the water, we don’t need you.” She hung up, and he was perfectly happy to let her. If he never talked to her again it would be too soon. He threw his phone onto the passenger seat and continued along the twisting road. Jacob turned onto a side road. A short distance down the road he hit a pothole which knocked his phone into the floor. Jacob cursed and reached across the cab, taking his eyes off the road for a moment as he fumbled for it. He finally gripped it in his hand and shot back up to look at the road.

  A large black animal stood in the road right in front of him. He swerved to miss, skidding his tires as the end of the truck lost traction and swung around. He only caught a glimpse of the animal while he tried not to hit it and keep control of his vehicle. What he thought he saw was like nothing he’d ever seen before. All he could remember was the flash of sharp fangs on a gnarled face. He got his truck under control, skidded to a stop and then jumped out. Before he knew it Jacob had his gun in his hand and aimed at empty space where the creature should have been.

  Confused, Jacob holstered his gun and looked around for any sign of the thing. It stood taller than his truck so it shouldn’t be hard to miss. Yet, there was nothing but the early morning sun warming his skin and the birds chirping along like nothing was wrong. He checked his truck for any damage and when he was sure there was none, he got in, turned his phone off and threw it into the glove box then kept driving. Nagging wife, ghost creatures trying to run him off the road…it shouldn’t be this hard to go fishing.

  Chapter 2

  About another hour of windy mountain roads finally brought Jacob far enough away from society that he was unlikely to see anyone. So when he turned down the sketchy dirt path that edged the cliff next to the road the last thing he expected to see was a family camping at the spot he usually camped at. He slowed to a stop next to the family’s camp. A man in his early forties was starting a fire in the stone-circled pit while the mother prepared breakfast on a propane stove. Two children, a girl coming up on her teens and her much younger brother sat bored on a log next to the fire pit annoying each other.

  “Hi there,” Jacob said. The man looked up from his work and waved. He stood up and walked over to Jacob.

  “Hey,” the man said as he stepped up to the truck.

  “How long ya been camping?”

  “About a week now. Planning on heading out tomorrow.” The man peeked into Jacob’s truck bed. “Looks like you’re not planning to stay long either.”

  “Nope, just up for a few days of fishing. How’s it been?”

  “Fish seem to be most active between eleven and two.” The man shuffled his feet, seeming anxious to end the conversation. They were both there for the same reason after all.

  “Thanks for the tip,” Jacob said. “There’s another good place to camp a little farther down the road. I’ll head over there.”

  “Good luck,” the man said, turning and walking back to his family.

  Jacob moved his truck along, and started to feel some anxiousness of his own, not able to think of anything expect how soon he could get himself on the water. Luckily the second camp spot was empty so Jacob pulled his truck in, hopped out and started getting his gear together. A few minutes later and Jacob was geared up and on his way toward the river. It was already close to noon and Jacob wanted to get as much fishing in as he could before the end on the day.

  The sky was clear and there was only a slight breeze on the air. That and the river’s fragrance mixed with the earthy aroma of the forest made for the perfect day. Jacob soaked up every moment of it, taking extra time at each bend of the rive
r even when he knew the fish weren’t going to bite, then moving on. Several hours must have past because before Jacob knew it the sun was hanging low in the western sky. He wasn’t sure how far he had hiked upstream but he knew that there wouldn’t be any time for fishing on his way back. So, Jacob reeled in his line and began making his way back.

  The catharsis from the day’s activities was reaching its zenith as Jacob navigated over logs and boulders and then across the stream over and over again. Then his thoughts wandered to his family. With them holding him back he would never have been able to go on this trip. Trish had even tried to stop him from going and they weren’t together anymore. How long would she try to control his life? His relaxation turned to stress the more he thought about it, then his stress turned to anger at everything that Trish ever did or said to him. He couldn’t even remember how it felt to simply like the woman, let alone love her.

  Jacob was wresting with those thoughts when he turned around the bend of the river and looked out to see a creature standing a hundred yards away and just outside the tree line, staring right at him. He knew that this was the same thing he almost ran over with his truck earlier, but it was more of a gut feeling than recognition. He never did get a clear look at it before. But there it was motionless and standing on two legs, laser focused on Jacob. At this distance he was able to get a better look at the thing, and what he saw defied logic.

  The creature stood around ten feet tall covered head to toe in dark black fur. Its body looked modeled after a human’s, but there were exaggerations in its proportions. Limbs too long, muscles too bulky, but most noticeable was the way its fingers tapered into thin points. Those things were menacing to look at. Jacob locked eyes with the creature, every muscled in his body loaded like a spring in case that thing came running. He moved his hand slowly toward the gun holstered at his hip, and that’s when the creature crouched down to attack. His reactions took over as Jacob quickly drew his weapon and pointed it toward the thing.

  “Hey there son, better be careful with that thing,” came a voice from behind him and he swung around quickly to see who it was. “Woah there, what’s got ya all up in a twist?” An old man wearing an Idaho Fish and Game officer’s uniform stood just behind him with a notepad in one hand and the other hand in his pocket. Jacob turned back around to look at the creature, but when he did it was already gone.

  “There was just something…well, I thought there was…” Everything happened so fast that Jacob got disoriented and found himself unable to formulate a coherent thought.

  “Ah,” the old man said. “Saw something did ya?” His voice was a bit gravely and reminded Jacob of the quintessential wise grandfather voice. His gray hair was close cropped and flowed down into a cleanly kept short beard.

  “Yeah, thought it might attack but something must have spooked it.” Jacob shot a second glance over his shoulder just to make sure it was really gone.

  “Must’a been somethin’ pretty big to have scared ya so much.”

  “It was. Maybe a bear or something?”

  “Yep. Somethin’,” the old man said. The two stood silently for an awkward second. “Well, I’m parked up at a camp site, green truck at it. That yours?”

  “Sounds right.”

  “Mind keepin’ an old man company then? It doesn’t look like you’re doin’ any more fishin’ for the day.”

  “True. I was hoping to get back before dark. What’s your name?”

  “Arty,” he said holding out his hand. Jacob shook it.

  “Jacob.”

  “Nice ta meet ya Jacob. Now let’s get goin’ before we lose light.” They talked on the way back, but mostly about fishing and Arty’s long career in Fish and Game. It wasn’t until they were almost to Jacob’s camp that he felt comfortable enough to ask about the creature he was seeing.

  “So…I wanted to ask you before but I wasn’t too sure how,” he said, starting to feel uncomfortable again. Arty waited patiently for Jacob to find the words. “Has anyone been seeing any weird animals in the woods lately?”

  “Weird how?” Arty asked.

  “Well I didn’t want to say this before, but the thing I saw just as you showed up didn’t look like a bear to me. It wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen before and it scared the hell out of me.”

  “I see,” Arty said. He seemed to gather his thoughts before responding. “I think I might know what you’re talkin’ about.”

  “You do?” Jacob asked as they rounded the last bend of the stream before they arrived at the camp site.

  “Sure. But I don’t think anyone else around here would have seen what you saw.”

  “Why not?” Jacob stopped just short of the camp site and turned to face Arty.

  “Not sure you’re ready for all that just yet, but you should know that if you been seein’ a strange creature, skinny thing all covered in hair and standing on two legs, I would turn around and head back home.”

  “You’re making it sound like some sort of monster is out there,” Jacob said skeptically.

  “I suppose it does doesn’t it?”

  “Really Arty?” Jacob turned his back on Arty and walked up into his campsite.

  “Believe what you want son, but if I were you I’d be driving back home, thinkin’ real hard about my life choices.” Life choices? Who did this old man think he was anyway? He spun around to give the old man what for.

  “You…” Jacob was cut short by what he saw behind him, or rather what he didn’t see. Arty was gone. He spun back around to find the man’s Fish and Game vehicle, but that wasn’t anywhere to be seen either. He spent the next hour looking for the man, convinced that there was a better explanation for what happened than he had simply vanished.

  He spoke with the family at the other campsite but none of them had seen anyone else expect for him. Jacob walked back to his campsite, brooding from the events of the day. This is ridiculous! Jacob thought as he finally began putting his fishing gear away. There’s either a very logical explanation for all of this or I’m going completely insane. Throwing his packed-up gear in the bed of his truck he stepped to the front and leaned on the grill with his head still reeling.

  From Jacob’s campsite he could see across the stream as it gurgled past and taunted him with its normality. Looking past the creek into the woods beyond Jacob saw the creature again, peeking through the trees, watching him. He jumped and the creature bolted into the woods. Jacob ran. There was no thought in his pursuit, he just wanted answers, and something told him that this was the only way he was going to get them.

  Chapter 3

  Jacob ran, dragging his feet through the underbrush as he dodged tree after tree. The creature was far out of sight but Jacob ran anyway, heedless of the distance he was traveling and heedless of the darkness that was slowly descending upon him. Exhaustion began to slow him down and the burning in his legs and chest forced him to stop and rest.

  When Jacob finally caught his breath he looked up to notice that twilight was falling on the forest and it was now too dark to see. He looked around and discovered that, in his haste, he had gotten himself lost in the forest. Now he didn’t have a choice but to camp where he was and try to make his way back to his truck in the morning.

  There was plenty of dry wood around thankfully, so Jacob collected it and built a small fire pit. Using the flint and steel attached to his multi-tool Jacob got a fire going then piled up some foliage for a bed and sat down, alone with his thoughts. Why had he taken off like that in the first place? Sitting there now it was obvious just how ludicrous the idea was, especially if that monster was real. Would it be back to try and kill him? Well, sitting and stewing on what led me here isn’t very productive, he thought.

  Jacob’s stomach rumbled loudly at him and that was the point when he realized he hadn’t eaten since he left the house that morning. Putting off meals when there was something that needed to be done was a habit he had gotten into many years back. It was a trait he thought made him a more reliable pe
rson but now he was cursing it.

  Some unknown amount of time went by as Jacob continued to stew over his mistakes, and when he finally laid down on his makeshift bed he was asleep before he could wonder if sleeping was even a good idea.

  ***

  Birds chirped in the distance as the light of the morning sun hit Jacob’s face and woke him up. He had slept hard, but not well. His back hurt and it took some stretching to work through the tightness in his muscles. In the light Jacob finally got a good look at his surroundings, but he didn’t really like what he saw.

  The forest stretched out past his view in every direction and though he tried, there was no indication of the direction he had come from. In fact, the entire area seemed different from the night before. It wasn’t unusual for surroundings to take on a different atmosphere in the day than they did in the night, but this was different. The trees seemed to be laid out differently than he remembered, but the most distinct change was the lack of evidence that he had started a fire.

  Jacob stepped over to where he thought he had set his fire but found no sign of one. There was no burnt wood, no charred underbrush, nothing. The reality of Jacob’s situation was starting to dawn on him, something supernatural was happening. He held on to the last thin line of rationality he could find and decided to take his best guess on the way he had come and start walking. It wasn’t his worst plan ever. He checked his gear before he left and was horrified to find that his gun was missing. Where did it go? He thought as he looked around frantically. He checked his bed and dug through the surrounding underbrush to find it. It was a full hour before he finally gave up. He left the area reluctantly, still thinking that his gun was somewhere he hadn’t looked yet. At least he still had his multi-tool.

  Walking through these woods wasn’t easy. The underbrush was extremely thick and most of the time Jacob found himself fighting thorn-covered bushes rather than paying attention to which direction he was going. The futility of the exercise settled in quickly so Jacob tried to the nearest felled tree to sit on and think. Before he could find one though he noticed a sound a little ways to his left. It was the unmistakable sound of running water. Had he inadvertently stumbled back in the direction of stream?