A Place To Call Home

Little Surprise

Winter - January 2036

The snow was falling lightly and the sky was pure white, the surrounding areas of The Jackson Community were peaceful. One Stag wandered through the snow, he was looking for food. But if only the poor creature knew what was going to happen next, he was being watched by a group of hunters from The Jackson Community. The snow crunched beneath Ellie's boots, she beckoned to Joel while she couched behind a fallen tree trunk. She peered over the tree and watched the Stag, he was grazing by some bushes. She aimed her bow at the Stag, she closed one of her eyes and poked her tongue from the corner of her mouth. She steadied her hands and concentrated on the task at hand, she was ready to strike. Joel wasn't that far away from Ellie, he had his riffle aimed at the Stag just in case Ellie missed her target. She took a deep breath and pulled the arrow back, she had the majestic creature in her sights. She let the arrow go and it flew towards it's target, the Stag cried out in pain when the arrow pierced the side of it's neck.

" Got it!" Ellie smiled.

" Not just yet, kiddo." Joel said.

Ellie heard what Joel had said, the Stag ended up running away into the Woodlands. Ellie and Joel soon took chase, they hurried through the snow and kept the Stag in their sights. There was a blood trail, they needed to find the Stag fast in case there was any Infected around these parts. Joel pulled Ellie behind some rocks by her arm, he then pointed over to a clearing in the woods. She saw the Stag, it was beautiful. Ellie took aim once again with her bow, she planned to kill it this time.

" Steady..." Joel said.

" I've got this old man, keep your eyes peeled." Ellie said.

Ellie closed one of her eyes and concentrated once again, she then let go of the arrow. The arrow flew at the Stag and pierced it's side this time, the Stag cried out in pain once again. The Stag was about to run for it when Joel took aimed with his riffle and managed to shoot it more than once. Ellie peered over the rocks and she saw the Stag fall onto its side, it's chest was heaving. They moved fast from their hiding place and hurried towards the Stag, when they reached the Stag it was already dead. Ellie looked down at it while she breathed heavily, she always felt guilty when she went hunting for Stags and Deers. The Stag was beautiful, but every single part if it would be used at the community. The meat, the antlers and the fur. Nothing would go to waste, it was a hunting trip well done. Joel soon joined Ellie's side, he couched next to the Stag and ran his hand down it's neck. He told Ellie that it was a young buck, it's muscles were strong and it had some weight behind it. He went onto tell her that Tommy shouldn't be far behind them, he was checking on some other traps in the area for rabbits. Joel pulled the arrow from the Stag's side, he then threw the arrow to one side because it was damaged.

" Did you see that?" Ellie asked, she rested her foot on the Stag's side and held her bow above her head. " The Brick Master strikes again! Oh yeah!"

" Brick Master?" Joel asked.

" It's just an old nickname I use to call myself, it's a long story." Ellie replied while she pulled the other arrow from the Stag's neck. " What a beauty though, huh? It's gonna feed a lot of people."

" You're right, he's a handsome fella." Joel replied with a smile. " It's gonna feed a lot of people in Jackson for the next couple of days, we've done good."

" Also it could make a pretty trophy, you know if you fancy a Stag's head hanging over your fireplace." Ellie said, she turned her full attention to Joel. " Maybe the Tipsy Bison Bar could do with a new trophy, I should ask Seth when we get back."

" Don't you want the Stag head trophy in your apartment?" Joel asked.

" No way, it would cramp my style!" Ellie replied with a chuckle. " It's more of Seth trophy, I'm good."