Short Stories

1. Bad omen

The forest floor was thorn up, clearing it from leafs and covering it with scratch marks. Probably something large hunting a prey. It could be a bear, but Cora had her doubts. The feet seemed to far apart and the claws to big. On top of that, the tracks seemed to disappear in to thin air. The only tracks leading to the clearing were the tracks of the deer, which was now a carcass under a tree.

"What do you think?"

Ben's deep voice interrupted her strain of thought. She didn't answer right away and remained squatted while looking at the claw marks.
Eventually, she got up and turned to him.
Ben was an athletic man in his early thirties. A typical ranger, which his green uniform made clear, just likes hers.

"You know what I think, and you don't want my opinion."

He scratched his unshaved chin. "Maybe not ... But if we ignore the superstitions' and myths... Do you have any suggestions?"

Cora shrugged. "Wolf, bear, cougar, wolverine... Take your pick."
She looked up and met his gaze.

"You think a bear could do this?"

"No. But, like I said, I don't think my real opinion is of any interest to you."

Ben sighed and put his hands on his hips. "Shall we call it an animal attack and leave it unspecified?"

She shrugged again. "If you don't want to involve myths and legends, that is what we have left."

Ben's shoulders twitched, as if he tried to shake off the unpleasant atmosphere, before he turned to walk back to their Jeep.

Cora gave the carcass one last glance before she turned and followed him.

The forest they walked through was open and filled with deciduous trees. The ground was covered with a thick layer of leafs, and they could see far beyond the trees. The park was big and had plenty of biotopes. There were high mountains, vast meadows, beautiful lakes and deep forest.

Cora loved her job. There wasn't much more to say, but it had some down sides, and that included a lot of mysterious and unexplained stories with myths and legends.

It took about ten minutes to reach the car, but finally, they could lean back and let the car carry them the rest of the way.
The further they got, the more it started to look like a road in front of them.

The ranger station was located in a large clearing with thick old trees surrounding it. A simple gravel field worked as a parking lot where both private cars and the park vehicles stood.

Inside the station were several tables with maps in the middle and desks with computers along the walls with working areas, radios, computers, and a kitchenette that had a vague scent of burnt coffee.

"I can do the report, if you want to head home", Ben said and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"If you'd like to."

"Sure. You have a well-earned vacation a head of you and you can just as well start it right now. See you when you get back."

Cora smiled and thanked him for the kindness.
Ben gave her a nod and walked over to the other rangers, while Cora walked over to her desk to get her backpack before saying goodbye to her colleagues.