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I wasn’t new to the idea of hunting for prey, but what I’d done years before had been about hunting to kill.
A strange series of visions popped into my mind, something I’d refused to allow for years. I’d turned a new leaf. I’d become a better person. Or had I?
Maybe I should resort to hunting for pleasure instead of seeking carnage.
“If you think you’re getting out of this, boy, you got another think coming. Now, get your ass out there and hunt down that fuck or you’ll be the next participant.”
My dad laughed as he’d pushed my shoulder, forcing me to take off running. In my hand was a bow, several arrows in a satchel on my shoulder. It was my weapon of choice, maybe because I’d taken it in school, a sport I’d excelled in.
My brothers were already into the game, hollering like wolves as we took off running in different directions. As my blood started pumping, I had to admit the hunts were the highlights of the quarter. My father chose his victims with care, anyone who dared cross us. Lately, he’d been creative in the way his soldiers had captured the son of a bitch so there was no possible trace to the family.
When the worthless bastards were brought to the estate, the hundreds of acres our playground, they were stripped bare, told if they could make it to the finish line, they would be allowed to live.
That never happened.
Even after all these years, my brothers and I had remained well-trained predators, enjoying the chase as much as the finish in the corporate games we now played. Why was my mind drifting into the past even more? We’d always caught our prey, savoring the moment when the blood poured and the light slipped from the enemies’ cold, dead eyes. We’d been turned into monsters by a brutal man with no conscience.
And for me, the past hunts had allowed me to feel free instead of locked inside the prison walls he’d kept us in. The visions continued in vivid color, complete with agonizing noises coming from the man during the event I was remembering.
I moved stealthily through the densest part of the trees, the dimming light adding to the ambiance. My eyes easily adjusted to the shadows. I knew every inch of the woods, every tree stump and fallen limb. I also knew where the bodies were buried, a burden that I would keep for the rest of my life.
Hearing a cracking sound, I grabbed an arrow, taking my time to position it in the bow. I took my position, my patience one of the reasons I was so damn good at what I did. My brothers and I always competed to see who got off the first strike, high-fiving each other later. Tonight was my night to win.
I didn’t need to wait long, the stupid asshole spinning and almost tripping more than once. He’d had the fucking nerve to try to blackmail us with what he thought he knew. Of course, it had been easy to wipe his computers, hack into his back accounts, and remove every dollar he’d made illegally. I was a glorified computer hacker, the pride and joy of my father’s regime. I’d helped make the man richer than he’d been while catching some son of a bitch red-handed, determined to bring down our family.
My pulse kicked into high gear, the rush of adrenaline exactly what I needed to calm my nerves. Just when I was ready to take a shot, my mother’s face drifted into my mind.
“My baby boy. My sweet, angelic baby boy. You are my little man and I love you.”
Hissing, I shoved the memory aside. She’d left me. She’d left us. She didn’t give a shit. How could a mother leave her own children? She’d said she loved me, that she would never leave and one day she was gone without a trace. And there’d been no note.
I felt my blood pressure rise from the rage building inside of me. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. I hated her and always would.
When the prey came into view, I finally smiled, the memory fading. I pulled back the bow, taking aim and waiting for the perfect moment.
When I took the shot, I was rewarded with it hitting the son of a bitch directly between the shoulder blades. As if in slow motion, he threw out his arms, the blunt force literally picking him off his feet. It was as if the man could fly, his body catapulting forward.
As he came crashing down to earth, tumbling over my favorite rotten log, I stood to my full height, feeling like the conqueror I’d become years before. As my two brothers rushed toward me, both stopping short, I could tell they were angry yet delighted at the same time. I’d won this round but there was plenty left to do.
I was the victor and as I took a deep breath, it seemed the air smelled that much sweeter.
“Dude. Are you with me?”
I was jolted out of the bloody vision, realizing the cords on the side of my neck were tight as drums, my breathing ragged. Goddamn it. I hated that period of my life. I’d changed. I was no longer the primal beast our father had turned his three children into. Fuck. Fuck.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about all the papers I need to grade.”
Marcus threw open his door. “I was talking about hot chicks and you disappeared. It’s possible you really need to get laid, buddy.”
Oddly enough, that was going to happen tonight. However, I certainly couldn’t tell him that or how I would be satisfied. I snickered from the thought. I should be concentrating on my summer plans. But no. I was here with my buddy about to down a couple of beers. What the heck? Alcohol was good for the psyche.
With the rain picking up, we raced into the dive bar, the bartender recognizing us and nodding within seconds. I was struck by how comfortable I was in the place. It held the aging stench of old booze and cigarettes when smoking had been allowed. There were pictures on the walls from forty years before, even some famous people who used to drop in when in Chicago.
No longer.
This was a shithole in the middle of nowhere.
But it was our bar, a place we could be ourselves.
