above him. Now only 12 feet away, Magee was still very unaware that he was not alone. Tomek, with his bow drawn and hand at its anchor point just under the cheek bone, stood there wanting to kill the deputy. Only he felt that simply killing the shooter of his brother with an arrow from behind was not enough.
“ This demon must pay for what he has done .”
Again, the anger was boiling inside of Tomek.
Reaching the edge where Drake’s body had rolled off into the valley, the deputy illuminated the valley with his flash light. There, just below the edge, was the body of what he knew to be Mowgli. The murdering boy that, as far as he knew, had taken out two hunters and a police K-9 unit. Drake did not look so menacing now in the dim light’s beam. The boy lay there on his side with his arm draped over his head. Face down in the dirt with the remains of frothy blood still surrounding his mouth.
The flashlight hitting the brother’s body also allowed Tomek to see his dead twin for the first time. Deciding it was time to begin his mental assault, he picked up a stone and tossed it into the roots of a tree just 10 feet from Magee.
Magee jumped to his side as the stone plinked against the tree. Drawing his pistol and holding his light across the top of his gun arm in a tactical fashion, he quickly realized nothing was there but a tree. As fast as Magee had confirmed he was alone, a barred owl called from his perch in a tree behind him.
“Who-who-who, whoooo...”
The startled deputy spun 180 degrees, now illuminating the tree line where the owl had previously been roosted. The light beam’s subtle shake, coupled with the deputy’s labored breathing, allowed Tomek to see that his brother’s killer was slowly losing his nerve here in the dark woods, thanks both to Tomek and the random bird of prey.
“Who-who-who, whoooo,” the owl cried out, this time from just over Drake’s body, again causing Magee to spin in fear while pointing both his light and gun at the noise coming from what seemed to be every direction.
For Tomek, the barred owl was a welcomed guest to this kill party. Uncle’s teachings on stealth and camouflage often relied upon the skills owls displayed in the wild. Both boys could identify every owl species by its particular call, often translating them into English and the barred owl now terrorizing Magee was no different.
“ Who, who cooks, who cooks for you ?” the call of the barred owl again rang out from a different spot. Again Magee spun in an attempt to discern the source of the sound. Only this time, the owl was directly above Tomek’s head and as the light beam hit Tomek in the face, his fingers released the bow string.
Magee, astonished at what his flashlight had shown him, had no time to acquire the target and shoot. Magee never saw the arrow in flight and as the razor-sharp stone head made contact with the glass lens of the light, it shattered, breaking the bulb and forcing both the light and his gun to flip out of his hand to the ground. The arrow had also ricocheted up off of the light and toward Magee’s mouth. Knocking multiple teeth out upon impact and slicing the right corner of his mouth, the arrow left a gash in his cheek from mouth to ear.
Now Magee found himself in total darkness, bleeding profusely from his mouth and face. While attempting to not choke on the warm iron-like blood that began pouring into his throat, he dropped to the ground in a frantic search for the pistol that had, unbeknownst to him, fell off of the ledge behind him. Tomek leapt down from his perch on to the rock and even through the dark he could see Magee on the ground searching for his weapon.
“Who are you?” Magee yelled out upon hearing Tomek land. The words strained coming from his torn-open mouth while spitting out gobs of coagulated blood mixed with broken tooth fragments.
“I am the night, I am the fire, I am the owl and I am the woods,” Tomek answered while circling Magee, who was
“ This demon must pay for what he has done .”
Again, the anger was boiling inside of Tomek.
Reaching the edge where Drake’s body had rolled off into the valley, the deputy illuminated the valley with his flash light. There, just below the edge, was the body of what he knew to be Mowgli. The murdering boy that, as far as he knew, had taken out two hunters and a police K-9 unit. Drake did not look so menacing now in the dim light’s beam. The boy lay there on his side with his arm draped over his head. Face down in the dirt with the remains of frothy blood still surrounding his mouth.
The flashlight hitting the brother’s body also allowed Tomek to see his dead twin for the first time. Deciding it was time to begin his mental assault, he picked up a stone and tossed it into the roots of a tree just 10 feet from Magee.
Magee jumped to his side as the stone plinked against the tree. Drawing his pistol and holding his light across the top of his gun arm in a tactical fashion, he quickly realized nothing was there but a tree. As fast as Magee had confirmed he was alone, a barred owl called from his perch in a tree behind him.
“Who-who-who, whoooo...”
The startled deputy spun 180 degrees, now illuminating the tree line where the owl had previously been roosted. The light beam’s subtle shake, coupled with the deputy’s labored breathing, allowed Tomek to see that his brother’s killer was slowly losing his nerve here in the dark woods, thanks both to Tomek and the random bird of prey.
“Who-who-who, whoooo,” the owl cried out, this time from just over Drake’s body, again causing Magee to spin in fear while pointing both his light and gun at the noise coming from what seemed to be every direction.
For Tomek, the barred owl was a welcomed guest to this kill party. Uncle’s teachings on stealth and camouflage often relied upon the skills owls displayed in the wild. Both boys could identify every owl species by its particular call, often translating them into English and the barred owl now terrorizing Magee was no different.
“ Who, who cooks, who cooks for you ?” the call of the barred owl again rang out from a different spot. Again Magee spun in an attempt to discern the source of the sound. Only this time, the owl was directly above Tomek’s head and as the light beam hit Tomek in the face, his fingers released the bow string.
Magee, astonished at what his flashlight had shown him, had no time to acquire the target and shoot. Magee never saw the arrow in flight and as the razor-sharp stone head made contact with the glass lens of the light, it shattered, breaking the bulb and forcing both the light and his gun to flip out of his hand to the ground. The arrow had also ricocheted up off of the light and toward Magee’s mouth. Knocking multiple teeth out upon impact and slicing the right corner of his mouth, the arrow left a gash in his cheek from mouth to ear.
Now Magee found himself in total darkness, bleeding profusely from his mouth and face. While attempting to not choke on the warm iron-like blood that began pouring into his throat, he dropped to the ground in a frantic search for the pistol that had, unbeknownst to him, fell off of the ledge behind him. Tomek leapt down from his perch on to the rock and even through the dark he could see Magee on the ground searching for his weapon.
“Who are you?” Magee yelled out upon hearing Tomek land. The words strained coming from his torn-open mouth while spitting out gobs of coagulated blood mixed with broken tooth fragments.
“I am the night, I am the fire, I am the owl and I am the woods,” Tomek answered while circling Magee, who was
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