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Expensive dress shoes sank into the mud of the forest as the trees overhead barely shielded the two mobsters from the thunderstorm. Their complaining seemed to echo in the Catskill Mountains in between the rolls of thunder that periodically interrupted them. One of them carried a shovel. They both dragged with leather straps a woman wrapped in a black canvas, who would also have complained if not for the gag in her mouth. Her soaked blonde hair clung to her face as she looked with hatred at the two men. From the underbrush, the hunter watched as well.
The two mobsters stopped near a patch of dirt in an open clearing and let the woman fall to the ground. The one holding a shovel started digging, while the second one reached in his pocket and removed a pistol. The rain dribbled from the brim of his fedora onto the canvas as he pointed it at the woman. A flash of lightning revealed her eyes closed, deep in prayer, thought, or memories. A shot rang out. Then, another.
The two mobsters lay dead, sinking into the mud, as the Sharps rifle the hunter carried slowly pushed its way forward from the shrubbery where he'd been crouching. The lightning revealed a young man in his mid twenties, with long brown hair that ran to his shoulders. His clothes were simple; a loose shirt and pants, dirtied by use, but with total freedom of movement. He slung the rifle behind his back with the leather strap on his shoulder and walked lithely over to the woman.
The hunter pulled a Bowie knife from the sheath at his side and quickly cut the straps binding the woman. She stood quickly, stumbling for a moment but catching her balance as she folded her arms. With the rain continuing to fall, the hunter picked up the canvas and handed it to her to wrap herself with. The man glanced off in the distance for a moment before returning his gaze to the woman.
"I live a few miles from here. You're welcome to join me, if you'd like. Of course, you could steal the car from those two, as they wont be needing it anymore. But I'm sure they'll have friends looking out for it. And you, once those friends see what happened here. Might be safer to lay low for a while."
She followed him up the mountain, traveling on a barely visible path, far away from the vacation spots and hiking trails. The rain had moved on and the first glow of the morning had begun to penetrate the grey sky that seemed to envelope them. He moved almost like an animal, steadily and lightly as he evaluated his surroundings. Before long they reached a very dense part of the forest, where she had to push through branches that seemed to realign behind her- it was a natural maze. Finally, they reached a small clearing. A small cabin sat next to a slowly running river, with grass and small flowers surrounding the meadow and mountains looming in the background.
The cabin was a single room. A small fireplace was located immediately across from the door. A bed ran nearly the length of the wall as one looked to the left upon entering, while the right side of the room contained a simple reading chair and a small, but full bookcase. Various animal furs decorated the walls. As the woman looked around, the hunter leaned his rifle against the wall and took a seat on the reading chair. |
