ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK! You could barely read what was left of the flaky white paint sprayed onto the rotten wood sign at the entry way to the forest. It wasn’t my first time here, probably wouldn’t be my last. This land was actually deeded to me when my father was killed by an earthacoy.
I obtained my license online like I did every October, it was the season to hunt the earthacoys. I aimed to kill as many as I could, they had revenge coming. Few participated in this sport, probably because it wasn’t for the faint at heart. I stumbled down the dusty path using my gun as a walking stick, ready for my first sighting.
The king and queen of the earthacoy’s normally stood over a hundred feet tall, mated every July and their eggs hatched the end of August, that’s when the true game began. Mom and Pop earthacoy’s bodies would sink down below the dirt with only their heads visible. Their babies were nearly thirty feet tall by the time the hunt was legal, they ran quickly through the forest, hopping and leaping over anything in their way. I put my stand about sixty feet above the action. I shot at every one of them I could see. I had yet to bring home the prize.
I cried a little bit today, drank another six pack and leaned back thinking about my father. I held the empty beer can and chuckled, he gave me my first sip at two years old and a whole one when I was six. I loved that man, we had so much in common. That’s when I heard that distinct noise they made. “Clack, clack, clack” I put my arms behind me, pushed myself up, grabbed my rifle, and let my shots ring out! I was sure I got me one.
I crept up to my prey. “Dad, I was just putting a new sign out! I’ve been hoping for years that you would stop drinking and realize you’ve been shooting at trees this whole time!” He was always the protective type, my boy was even in college. He helped me back to the farmhouse just as the earthacoy’s grew back to height.
Leesa Writes 