Hunt of the Night

c h a p t e r s i x t e e n ( a n o n y m o u s )

9:00 pm on Friday

I walked on. I traveled leisurely because I knew there was a while until they all arrived at the lake. As my feet carried me through the dark familiar woods, I didn't hear nor see anyone, so I began to move more freely. My body loosened up and I didn't cautiously check where my heavy boots stepped. That was until gasps were heard within ear shot. My body reacted before my mind could catch up as I quickly jumped behind one of the trees around me, and pressed my lean figure against the rough bark.

There were some murmurs heard that my keen ears knew came from the near distance. They were close, but not close enough to see me due to the darkness and abundance of shrubs and bushes.

"Did you guys hear that?" one of them asked loudly, but was shushed by another.

There was more whispers among the duo before I heard their footsteps again. They seemed to be trying, and failing, to be quiet.

After they walked on for a little while the masculine voice spoke with a slight slur, "It must've been an animal or something. A person would have made more noise than that. Why don't you guys take a hit of something to calm your nerves."

A breath of relief slipped from my chapped lips, but I stayed put until I was sure they were gone. I moved on, trying to be more quiet this time.

I wasn't sure how long I had walked, before that haunting feeling of loneliness fell upon me. The feeling that had caused this whole ordeal. Well, that and a mix of whiskey.

My hands reached into my pocket and quickly pulled out my phone. My fingers typed the memorized numbers. The old flip phone pressed to my ear, I waited impatiently for the familiar voice to speak, "Hello!"

Ignoring the overused greeting, I skipped directly to my favorite topic of discussion, "I found her."

Taking another silent step, I listened to the voice ring through the phone. They were very happy to hear from me, but I got bored of listening to their chatter after only a few seconds so I hung up without another word.

I was about to take another step, but then I heard a husky voice say, "It was probably just an animal, stop bickering."

Two other higher pitched voices said something quietly, but with urgency as well. Due to our distance and their hushed tone, I was unable to decipher the mumbles.

However, the male spoke louder than the women, "You guys are just paranoid. It's probably from lack of water."

The two said a few other things quietly before I heard them move on.

Wow, two close calls in less than a half an hour. That's a record for me. I thought as I walked on. After checking the time I decided it would be necessary for me to speed up so I carried on in a slight jog until I finally reached my house. I unlocked the door and walked in, flipping on the lights in the process. There were boards on all of the windows, except the ones in the back of the house. I didn't need to fret over anyone seeing the light.

I stepped in, and decided to look through my scrapbook before I headed out to get my next lover.

My hands reached down into my nightstand and grabbed the heavily used book. I laid back on the old, creaky mattress. I crossed my legs in front of me and adjusted the book on my lap. My fingers grazed the old, worn cover. My eyes ran over every detail; every scratch, dent, tear on the front of the book.

I slowly peeled the cover away from the first page. A smile grew on my lips as my eyes scanned the pictures of my women. I remembered every single one; their names, age, hair color, eye color, even their perfume. I figured that no one had found them, or found me most importantly, which meant that I was destined to get a new one every year.

They were just for me.

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QOTC What do you think he's going to do to Jade?