The meeting began with its usual fervor and ambience. Father Bear began shuffling around with his muzzle covered in berries and honey. Still groggy from his long nap, he plopped down next to Skunk, almost crushing him. "Watch it you damn oaf!" Skunk cried and everyone echoed in unison.
Owl, seasoned and ancient, began to notice the high numbers that had survived winter. Father Bear said, "I realize who and what I've devoured before my big nap, but did you see the size of the Rabbit clans? "
Elder rabbit added, "This year has been kind to us. No thanks to some of you, we've survived a hard winter. Oddly enough, the Huntsman has taken no pelts this year." Chatter broke through the meeting as a lone figure approached. It was Fox. His family had been strong at one time, but due to the Huntsman, all but one disappeared.
With cheerless eyes he looked on all present. "I've watched his cold house this Winter, no shadows, no smells, no warmth or smoke." Bear looked at his mangled paw, a relic served by a trap hidden for his kind. Could his old enemy be dead?
Owl proclaimed, "After Father Bear killed his mongrel, maybe he left. In all his killing he walked with that monster."
"I hope his spirit broke with it." Bear sat back and laughed, "Mauling was too good for that damn beast, from the very pits of Hell it came. It bit me and got through to my skin. I still carry the lump from the old tooth it left in me"
Squirrel arrived late as usual, eyeing Owl with a certain fear and respect. "We can all see what he did to the mighty bear, yes we can," laughed Squirrel, "That dog hated me, yes he did, from my branch I'd cackle. He'd bay and scream, I'm always out of reach. Tricked him I did, try to eat me many a time he did, Missed me. I miss him though, it seems so lonely here without him. Used to make him run in circles and bark till he was hoarse . . . "
"That's enough Squirrel." Owl glared in his direction. "You know good and well the danger we were in when that monster was about. He was anything but a toy." Squirrel tried to respond, but Owl paid no heed to him.
"Tomorrow we will go to his cabin, and Fox will keep an eye on it tonight." Owl commanded, "Remember the monster is dead, but its Master may still hunt us. Think of the heads of our families he keeps; a mockery of their lives, stuffed and lifeless, for his pleasure."
"But . . . " Squirrel wanted to explain the implications of his friendship with the monster, but Owl cut him off. "Silence rodent, or I will silence you. We all know about the corn he's laid out for you in Winters past."
Owl's eyes beamed to the sky. "We meet at dawn, for now I must eat." As Owl's wings beat against the night, Squirrel turned an scrambled away.
"Is he gone?" Squirrel repeated as he hid in the branches. The others paid no attention to him, until Bear got up and smacked him out of the tree. The beasts began to gaze hungrily at each other, but this was not the time. As things looked, food would be plentiful this year.
Squirrel looked nervously around, if he was going to survive this year he would need help.
The night sky gave way to the sunrise. A dew-ridden Fox stood ever vigilant across from the Huntsman's cabin. Owl came to rest on a branch not far above him, "How is it, old man?"
"The butcher shop looks closed," sighed Fox.
The snap of twigs forced them out of their thoughts as Father Bear arrived.
"Owl, did you know Squirrel made a pact with the Mouse clan against you." Owl made a strange noise in his throat and spit a large wad of bone and hair.
"What the hell is that?" Bear asked.
"The mouse representative," Owl replied; "Did you hear the wolves last night?"
"So something is dead or dying out here," Fox replied.
They looked uneasily at each other as they advanced toward the cabin. Bear looked up and sighed, "your friend is on the roof." Owl took to the air and swooped down upon the hapless Squirrel.
"I just want to see what's going on. Please let me be a part of this, and stop trying to kill me." Squirrel stooped as Owl's talons streaked by.
"You've been nothing but a pain to me since you were spawned, you little menace."
Squirrel ran to the edge of the roof and dived into the guttering as Owl made another pass. He stopped midway down and climbed through a rusted hole to the window pane. "I see him!!!!" Squirrel screamed. The others hearing this, stopped. "He's not doing anything."
Squirrel began to scratch at the window oblivious to Owl approaching behind him. Owl landed on the pane knocking Squirrel off. He peered into the dusty remnants of the cabin. Something was wrong. The old man lay crumpled on the floor with his hand at his chest.
Owl relayed this to his friends. Fox ran under the house and found an entrance inside. Bear not being able to fit under the house made a grand entry, splintering the front door. No movement came from the Huntsman. For so long the animals feared him. They only knew him from his fearsome sight, dressed head to toe in the pelts of his kills, and his cold look when caught within his trap. His eyes now starred void and dead.
He laid in a heap upon the floor covered in his crumpled, wrinkled flesh. The pelts he had wore were strewn next to him.
The other animals entered the cabin. They looked at their families, skinned, stuffed, and altered. Some sat dumbfounded, some rubbed against their father's or mother's pelts, some ripped the stuffing out of their former mates. When they were done, the cabin was left in tatters.
They heard the wolves howling in the distance. Bear picked up the Huntsman's body, and carried it outside, others followed as he lumbered up the hill. He stopped short of the peak, in a place overlooking their dens, caves, and nests. Bear watched as the wolf pack followed them up the path. Alpha, their leader came forward, "let us have him Father Bear, it's the way things are."
"Leave us, carrion feeders." Bear wanted no part of them here. Years ago while his son was trapped, they came. His young cub fought vigorously to live and removed two from their numbers, but in the end, they won. Alpha approached and Bear reared up "Mine" he roared loud and strong. Thunderously enough to be heard throughout the valley.
Alpha knew that he would be no match for the Elder Bear; But he knew that all that were gathered here would receive his visit one day.
The pack turned and fled down the hill. Those present burrowed a hole in the earth. Owl began to speak, "We gather here today to lay to rest our greatest of enemies; he hunted us for food, and for greed. He laid upon us a mark that we will all carry to our own resting place."
Fox interrupted "We place him high above us to never do harm again. Let this place be a point of solitude and thought. While we rest here, not one of us harms another. This is a place of peace." The body fell into the burrow, and Fox methodically covered it with dirt. He looked at the mound, then to the others, and left without a word.
Father Bear circled the site, packing the earth. He glanced into the Forest, and with the others, left; All except one. Squirrel sat upon the ground, and for the first time in his young life, experienced silence.
William Brian Johnson is currently attempting to make it into Pharmacy school. The writing is what he does to keep his level of sanity in the green until the acceptance letter arrives. He is currently working on two novels (which have absolutely nothing to do with each other).
E-mail: BELZEEBUBBA@worldnet.att.net
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