Other Writings When I Am Not Drafting The Sci-Fi Universe

Hunted

       Benny was holding the binoculars and scanning the forest following the trial of a deer while Jenny was standing beside him readying the rifle in a clean Sunday afternoon. Benny was to teach Jenny, his sixteen-year-old daughter on how to hunt in the wild, as every members of the Halls should. 

       Two hours of poking around, they found the deer's trial in the woods far away from camp. They had been tracking it for half a day through dozen streams and trees and were exhausted when they sighted the deer in a tall meadow which provided covers for them. The wind went west, they were west of the deer.

       Benny tapped on Jenny's shoulder signaling her to prepare the rifle for fire while he monitored the deer's movement through the lens. The deer had not detected their presence yet and was enjoying the food under the sun.

       The deer kept getting her head down posed a problem to them, they were aiming for a shot to kill instantly. They had no time to waste and choose the second option, a shot at the hearts.

       Jenny traded the rifle for her dad's binoculars and distanced herself quietly in anticipation of the shot. Benny took his time at steadying the aim and breathed much slower. The deer turned around and continued the eating. Benny pulled the trigger aiming for the heart, it went wide with the force kicked back at his shoulder but still managed to hit the target.

       The deer went down instantly as Jenny watched it from a far. Benny soon recovered from the recoil and walked towards the deer. It was a dead doe.

       Benny instructed Jenny to take out the hunting knife from her tool belt and slice the area where the bullet went in to retrieve it. Jenny couldn't do it at first as it took a tremendous effort to cut the firm meat of a deer, but with Benny telling her how to went through the meat avoiding the muscles and bones, she dived in and out with a hand full of deer's blood but didn't find any bullet. The bullet went through the deer.

       The deer was small enough Benny could carry it on the shoulder himself. They were prepared to leave when Jenny found a fawn lying nearby, she squatted to check the little deer and found the bullet went through the front thigh. She couldn't help but cried at its unfortunate, Benny bent down and gave a comfort pat on her back.

       Jenny insisted on holding the tiny one all the way back to camp. She had stopped crying when they arrived but still couldn't let go of the fawn, she caressed its soft fur, treating it like her cat, Rally.

(More about deer at Wikipedia)

(Hunting, Is it a thing for you?)

[Mid-Autumn Festival special? Nah. Anyway, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!]