The next morning, Ava crawled out of her lean-to and looked at the fire. It was almost gone, but morning had arrived, so she did not need to rebuild it yet. She glanced at Mark’s lean-to. He was already waking. She ate the fish leftovers she had saved from the night before. She tried to sneak off for her first solo trap run, but it didn’t look like she would get away before Mark was up.
As he crawled out of his tent, he said, “Good morning, Ava. You’re up early.”
Ava said, “I am going to check the traps like you asked.”
Mark said, “Okay, did you need help?”
Ava said, “I remember what you showed me. I will take it slow and be careful.” She sighed. Adults always think they have to baby you. She quickly took the little carrier and put the stalker in it. She stored the tools Mark made her and quickly headed into the forest before Mark thought to follow her. She could handle this; it was going to be easy. The first trap was empty. As Mark had shown her, she checked it for any signs of wear and made sure it was ready.
Two traps later and she found the first animal. When she set the cage down with the stalker, it saw the squirrel and started to snarl at it. This caused the squirrel to panic and start bouncing around the trap. Ava tried to kill the squirrel, but it was so agitated from the stalker that she ended up knocking the trap over, and the door opened, and the squirrel got away.
Ava said, “You know that was your fault, right?” The stalker just sat there looking back at her. “If you keep misbehaving, you’re not getting food.” The stalker just sat down and put its paws over its face. “Argh.” She sat down and fixed the trap. She had broken it when she knocked it over. It took her a while, and it was probably not up to Mark’s standards, but it would work.
She picked up the cage and turned toward the next trap. Something moved to her left. She stopped and searched in that direction and found nothing. Something was out there, but she could not figure out what it was. She more cautiously headed to the next trap. It was empty, but she noticed it had been triggered, so she fixed it. The next trap had a mouse. The stalker started to growl, and Ava looked it in the eyes and said, “Be nice. If you don’t make me lose this one, you can have it to eat.”
The stalker sat down as if it understood what she had told it. Placing the cage down, she went to work killing and collecting the mouse. She had learned that calming it first made the job quicker. As she watched the mouse, she was surprised that it, like the stalker, seemed to calm down when she looked at it. She quickly finished the job and looted it. When she went to open the cage to give the stalker the mouse to eat, it jumped out between her hands.
Ava looked at it as she said, “Hey, you!” The stalker stopped running and sat down. She looked surprised; she thought that now that it was out, it would try to run off. But instead, when she talked to it, it sat down. She just watched it while it was sitting there. After a few minutes, she pulled out the mouse and dropped it. The stalker looked at her, then back at the mouse, and slowly inched towards it like it was hunting.
About a foot from the mouse, it pounced. Ava giggled. “You know if it was not already dead, you would have never caught it.” After it had finished the mouse, she bent down to pick it up. “Let’s get you back in the cage.” Just before she was about to touch it, it darted away. “Fine, whatever. If you get lost, it’s your own fault.” She turned around and headed toward the next trap. After a step, she glanced back to see what it was doing. And it was just sitting on the ground.
After a few more steps she finally heard it rooting around a bush just a step behind her. They continued through the traps, finding another squirrel. She killed and looted it. And the stalker just followed along looking in every bush. They were almost to the stream when she heard a growl, and it darted behind a tree. Then a yip, and it ran back out. It ran behind her legs and hid. Nothing was following it, so she reached down to pick it up.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
That was when she saw the blood. Something had bitten its nose. “Aren’t you the mighty hunter? Enough running around back in the cage.” Before it could dart away, she scooped it up and put it back into the cage. She finally made it to the stream. She set the cage on the bank and waded in and found a fish in the trap, which she collected. She was about to wade upstream to the other trap when it started to yip in its cage.
Its nose rubbed against the cord holding the cage closed. Ava opened it, and the stalker darted straight into the stream. It reached deeper water than it expected and began to whine when it could not get back to shore. Ava grabbed it before it drowned and set it on the bank. This time it only stuck its head into the water for a drink. It followed her upstream while she collected a fish and checked the remaining traps, exploring the bank beside her.
* * *
Mark walked into the forest heading east. As he walked, he watched for tracks and trails. Last night he and Ava had put out two traps heading east. Today he continued that same path. Passing the two from yesterday, he continued making a line mostly heading east. He could tell by the tracks and worn paths that the animals were bigger here than those in the west. He placed eight more, making a string of 10 traps going east.
Something had been through here. Something bigger than he could handle. His pace slowed to almost a stop as he inched forward. When he got to the tree, he examined it. The claw marks were deep. Whatever that was, if it hit him, he was dead. He passed a few more trees and found another dug up area. He went over and moved some dirt to see what was there. He could see the remains of some vegetable he had not seen before.
He was about to turn around and head back when a noise to his right startled him. He looked that direction and froze. Something was there, and it was huge. Mark could not identify it. Then he realized it had heard him, and it was turning in his direction. The thing moved; it was slow but large. Not something he could fight. Before he could think, he was running away from it through the forest. He went crashing past bushes and trees, making a huge amount of noise.
Then he realized he was making a mistake; with that much noise, it would find him. Stopping and looking back in the direction it had come from, he realized he had lost it. More likely, it just wasn’t worth the effort. He was just starting to calm down when behind him he heard a snort. His chest started pounding again; it was behind him. He turned; wait, it was something else. His vision flashed.
[Ironhide Boar]
It was standing around fifty feet away. It just stood there looking at him. This was bigger than the rootback he had killed. It was much bigger. But it was nothing in size to what Mark had run from. Mark stood there looking at the boar. He had made a huge mistake; he ran from one problem right into another. As he looked at it, he considered how he would trap it. The trap that killed the rootback would not stop this thing. But he could make something bigger, stronger.
The beast then took a step forward towards him and then another. By the third step, it was picking up speed. Without thinking, Mark pulled out his bow and quickly shot off an arrow. The arrow grazed it, but with no serious damage. He slowed his breath and aimed again, taking another shot. He hit it in a better spot this time, but it hardly scratched it. But it did stop, and it shook its head at Mark.
It snorted one more time and then turned away. Mark was happy to be alive and stood there shaking. He finally turned south toward his new trapline and camp. He needed bigger and better traps. This wasn’t the same forest as the other area he trapped. It had bigger and meaner things, some of which he was not ready for. His shaking had gone away by the time he reached camp. When he arrived, he could see Ava sitting on her chair, safe for now.
He needed to keep her that way. He had just sat down on his chair when Cora walked out of the woods in front of him. She walked over and placed a few more items on the table. Mark picked up the three items he had made her and handed them to her.
Mark said, “I went east and then north today and found something huge.”
Cora said, “Is it whatever clawed up the trees?”
Mark said, “Yes, that area. Be careful; it’s huge.”
Cora turned to walk away, then stopped, turning back and looking toward Ava. She quietly said, “You’re sending her out alone now?”
Mark said, “She needs to learn.”
Cora said, “She’s not ready yet, but she’s not useless.”
He already knew that. But hearing it from Cora made it feel more real.