TO NEGLECT AND DIE
The howling and barking from the Clint K-9 brigade seemed almost unrelentless. Jayson opened the rear door noticing the parking lot filling up like the street had earlier. There seemed to be a temporary break in the storm. A periodic halt in the sporadic on and off rainfall. The dark clouds above him swirled preparing for a final violent downpour on the awaiting town of Clint. Realizing that it was now or never, he closed the back door as quietly as he could. He hoped that he would be able to grab his cut and make it back before Sheriff Hanson noticed his disappearance.
Knowing that his time in Clint’s Sheriff Department was growing shorter and shorter by the minute. Unaware of how long Sheriff Hanson would wield the sword of Damocles over his head. The necessity to acquire his cut was more important than ever. Taking the word of Axel, he made his way down the perp walk ramp. Making his way around the other side of the station he knew taking his patrol vehicle for such a short distance would draw more attention. He decided to cut down the back alleys and take the nature path to Rock Ridge Falls. It would be the fastest way to get to the rear of the saloon and return to the station.
The K-9 Brigade continued to bark as if rabbits danced on the other side of the fence. A bellowing voice from the depths of an inside office, “Will someone go out there and shut those God damn dogs up? Hawkins…Cookie… Dever, where is God damn Denver? One of you go out there and shut those…” Clutching the phone to his ear Sheriff Hanson was unable to finish bellowing his order.
He watched out his window as Detective Hawkins disappeared around the back of the station. “Mr.
Attorney General I will have to call you back. It seems one of my detectives has decided to neglect his duties.” Without taking his eyes away from the window he returned his phone to the receiver with a
clatter. Reaching for his white Rancher Hat, he placed it on his head preparing to follow his intuition.
The rain continued to fall with the promise of ceaselessness. The wind howled above as lightning streaked across the sky. The light helped to illuminate the back of the Sheriff’s station. The chain link fence rattled against the torrents of rain. The K-9 Brigade seemed to grow anxious as if something in the shadows began its approach. The barking of warning had quickly turned into a snarling preparation. Every dog was on high alert as a large figure emerged from the darkness of the thundering rain.
Despite the thunderous noise and the pounding rain. Ears were picked up high as the approaching figure did little to detour the K-9 Brigade. The growing puddles began to tremble unrelated to the rain falling above them. A snort of indignation as the large bear appeared from within the darkness. Upon noticing, a few of the dogs retreated into their enclosure. Only two dogs remained near the fence line continuing their snarling. Either dedicated to their fearless training and commitment of duty or possibly foolishness. Teeth wrapped around the wired chain link fence desperate to attack the oncoming bear.
The bear seemed unaware of the barking or warning of the dogs. It lumbered past the racket of the dogs with its head drooping forward. Most of the dogs seemed prepared to let the bear pass with mere warnings of growling and barking. However, Pepper stood at the fence unafraid of the monster lumbering past it. Thick drool dangled from her lips as she barked ferociously sending spit to scatter in front of the looming bear.
Pepper’s bravery seemed to strengthen the resolve of the rest of the K-9 Brigade. Other dogs were beginning to take sides with her emboldened by her bravery. The bear snorted as the rain poured down on all of them. However, the brave resolve displayed by the Clint K-9 Brigade did not detour the bear. A large over excited Bloodhound barked with such ferocity sending its ears and skin to flap in
waves. Bounding on its paws the Bloodhound seemed anxious to attack. Impatient in waiting for Pepper to begin their assault.
Pepper continued to stare down the bear its one good eye focused lazar like on her. Unable to contain itself, the Bloodhound hopped one more time on its front two legs. It bounded forward leaping slightly forward like a dolphin would leaping out of the water. It ran against the fence slamming its body against it. A portion of the fence gave a metallic SNAP opening a small gap in the enclosure.
The Bloodhound barked ferociously separating itself from the unit bounding forward straight at the bear. The bear, unshaken by the dog’s bravery, took its one arm and gave it one large swipe. A swipe that ripped through the air and smacked against the dog with a near thunderous CRACK! The dog howled with pain as it became nearly air borne. It flew several feet colliding into a powerline with a sickening THUD! The dog’s pained howl immediately fell silent as its limp body spun away splashing into a puddle of water.
The sudden strike of the power line tilted the rotted pole. Soon a loud CRACK could be heard as the power line began to tilt more. Cables snapped sending electric sparks to add to the falling rain.
The incessant threatening barking fell silent as the power line creaked more and soon toppled to the ground. Cables continued to snap as the pole hit the water with a loud BANG! The K-9 Brigade retreated from the area with frightened whimpers at the sudden destruction. However, Pepper remained giving one last menacing look at the bear who snarled in a mocking challenge. Pepper seemed to accept a temporary defeat snorted in unwanted capitulation, deciding to head back towards the station.
SQUEAK… Cookie’s eyes rose from his paperwork at the front desk. The electricity had suddenly died as his eyes traced around the room waiting for the backup lights to come on. It took several seconds but the small spotlights on the wall illuminated with a soft WHIR and a POP. His eyes traced his surroundings and soon landed on the window. He noticed the electricity had gone out throughout the entire town of Clint. CREAK… His eyes shot towards the front door. The wooden door
had opened a fraction of an inch. Cookie’s pen hit the surface of the report he was finalizing. Eyes watching the door return to its normal place. His ears almost hardwired from his training pricked up.
There appeared to have been a break in the storm above him. His head turned to the walls and traced over its surface. The many hung pictures did little to draw his attention nor distract him from his examination.
SQUEAK… In his distraction Cookie had missed the door opening again. It blew open a bit wider followed by an odd sound. A sound that his curiosity couldn’t ignore. The rookie detective moved towards the door with a puzzled look on his face. The rain resumed to pound against the windows as the strange sound could be heard again. It was a sound almost unnaturally animalistic. He continued to approach the door as it swung open wider letting the rain soak the floor.
Placing his hand on the door, he peered outside gazing into the dark. The only light illuminating from the flashes of lightning above him. He began to close the door turning away from the outside. BANG… The door opened colliding with him. He toppled forward to slide several feet before turning onto his back. The culprit appeared to be a large brown bear. However, this wasn’t an ordinary bear that he was accustomed to. This bear resembled something that had emerged straight from hell. It’s one good eye focused on him breathing heavily as if it had run a marathon.
The bear gave a roar that shook the very walls of the station. Cookie began to scramble backwards in mounting fright. The bear began to move towards him chasing him to cower behind the front desk. SMASH… The bear’s paws struck the top of the desk. The desk began to crumble as he tried desperately to remove his sidearm. The bear roared as the desk rumbled behind him. He frantically pleaded with his holster to allow the removal of his weapon. “Come on, come on…” He protested hearing the terror rising in his voice. Claws slashed against the wood top showering the room with splinters and fragments. Cookie’s once precious and pristine papers were shredded into pieces sprinkled across the room resembling a light snowfall.
Cookie released his sidearm with a relieved jubilation at his savior. The desk had stopped shaking and cracking as it prepared for its collapse. Gathering his courage, he gripped his sidearm and sprung from the floor preparing to fire at the beast. Raised to fire he planned on putting every round into the beast. However, his finger did not squeeze the trigger as frantically as he thought. In fact, it remained motionless as he stared at an empty sight in front of him. Sidearm shaking as he examined the silent room in front of him. However, his shaking had increased when he heard a low snarl from his left.
The bear had simply moved out of his peripheral view. Unable to turn in time the bear landed on top of him sinking its massive jaws into his shoulder and a portion of his neck. His sidearm clattered to the floor as his blood curdling scream deafened the breaking of bones inside him. His body immediately collapsed under the animal’s strength and weight. The bear began to tear into his body thrashing him on the ground like a helpless rag doll.
The screaming and desperate attempts to remove the powerful animal were futile. Soon Cookie’s thrashing legs and arm grew limp falling to the floor. Seemingly disbelieving of his passing, the bear continued to thrash the limp body underneath it. Blood pooled underneath him and grew larger by the second.
A door opened feet from the carnage, Kenny emerged stopping dead in his tracks. Frozen in fear he saw the bear’s head raise from its victim. Blood smeared over its near disfigured face,
“Oh…crap!” He said simply as the bear surprised by the newcomer roared mere feet from him. He felt the sprinkles of Cookies fresh blood as he retreated backwards. Immediately he realized that this was the wrong action to take. The bear quickly stepped over the body of its victim.
Kenny scrambled backwards until he realized that he was in the holding area. Without thinking, he ran into lock up slamming the iron bars with a CRASH! The bear collided into the door
with a thunderous, SLAM! The entire cell seemed ready to rip from the entire building. Desperate to reach him, the bear continued to slam against the iron bars. Reaching its arm through the metal bars, the width denied the bear much access. It snarled in blood thirsty frustration as it tried desperately to get to him cowering on the floor. The bear’s desperate attempts to reach him began to fade. Soon, it accepted defeat, slowly recoiling itself from the iron bars.
Its barrel sized head gave one final look around lock up and accepted its impenetrability. It snorted in frustration returning to the lifeless body of Cookie. Kenny sat on the floor unable to divert his eyes nor silence his ears from the bone crunching and ripping of flesh. The bear began consuming the deputy tearing away chunks of flesh relishing Cookie’s blood.
A door towards the back opened as Kenny saw to his surprise Denver enter the hallway directly behind the bear. “What in God’s name is going on in…” His sentence lay unfinished as he had frozen in fear. The cigar in his mouth dangled from his lips. His mouth dropped open in not just shock but utter terror too. Kenny’s warning became caught in his throat watching in horror as the bear’s attention focused on the new arrival.
Denver watched in absolute horror as the massive bear noticed him. It slowly removed its head from its current meal and turned with an eerily drawn out turn of its head. Its disfigured face coated in fresh blood as its milky eye reflected the floodlights within it. Pieces of flesh and skin dangled from its lips as more fell to the floor, PLOP… PLOP… PLOP! The bear’s low growl trembled his body to release the mushy cigar from his mouth. Eyes wide with terror, he watched the bear turn towards him.
Its foot sank into the mangled body of the deputy squelching loudly under the mess of blood and innards. Denver trembled feeling his fear grip his very soul. He watched the bear move towards him rising onto its hind legs. Unable to move his legs, his hand went towards his waist almost instinctively looking for his sidearm. His eyes widened in renewed shock as his hands felt nothing but
the waistband to his jeans. He turned his attention from the approaching beast gazing down at his empty hip. He had forgotten that he had relinquished his sidearm when he was assigned to the care of the K-9 Brigade until his upcoming retirement. However, he didn’t have time to try and recollect where it had been placed.
A growing shadow cast him into darkness as his eyes slowly returned forward. Body trembling and eyes wide with fear he saw the bear’s large figure dwarf his. Cast into darkness and paralyzed by his own fear. “DENVER, RUN…” Kenny’s warning seemed miles away. Dever watched as the bear slowly raised his arm unable to move. Eyes locked onto the arm raising high and then sent crashing down towards him. Adrenaline coursing through his body as the bear’s paw slashed from his shoulder down to his stomach. He collapsed to the floor with a loud SMACK! He could feel his blood rushing out and pooling underneath him. His clothes soaked up the blood as his breathing grew shallower with each exhale.
The bear seemed to accept Denver’s fast approaching demise. It turned from his bloody body and returned to the carnage of the deputy. Eyes fluttering as Denver struggled to retain consciousness.
Hearing the horrifying sounds of the bear disemboweling and eating its meal. He felt his body growing weaker and decided to seize his opportunity to escape. The bear distracted by his meal being face deep inside Cookie’s stomach. Denver turned and crawled towards the nearest office.
Denver dragged himself inside the back office with pained grunts. Barely able to move his body thumped across the floor like a caterpillar crossing a branch. He moved to the corner and propped his nearly broken body up. He grumbled under the pain clenching his wounds tightly. The blood seeping out from between his fingers as he knew it would only be a matter of time. He gritted his teeth straightening up his body when he froze in renewed fear.
C-c-click… c-c-click… The sound of nails hitting the floor paralyzed him to the wall. Denver’s
eyes locked onto the ajar door as a shadow could be seen displayed on the walls. The backup lights illuminating a dark creature coming towards him. The approaching c-c-click… c-c-click chilled his body as he waited for his assailant to come and finish the job. His heart shuddered in his chest watching the oncoming dark shadow spread under the doorway. His breath gasped in his chest as he waited for the bear to reveal itself.
The door creaked open to reveal not the bear but another murderous beast. “P-P-Pepper…”
gasped Denver in surprise. And for the first time, he gave a relieved little smirk at the sight of the dog.
It was not the bear coming to finish him off. “Pepper,” he repeated letting his head hit the wall with a soft THUD! His eyes opened and the smirk of relief now faltered. Pepper remained motionless as her eyes focused on him. Unable to ignore the helplessness of her longtime rivalry. “Pepper…” Denver’s tone had changed as if able to foresee her inner thoughts.
Blood sprinkled from his hand as he raised it towards her. “Pepper,” he repeated trying to plead with dog. However, his pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears. Slobber ran down her jowls as she lapped her lips almost hungrily. She snarled revealing those jagged teeth of hers. Her mouth opened wider as she bound towards him. In his weakened condition he was no match against the muscled body of Pepper. She tore into him as the faded screams were silenced by a sudden rip of blood spraying across the door.
Meanwhile down the road Jayson had made his way behind The Wagon Wheel Saloon.
“Hello… Axel…Sydney…” He called out as he cautiously approached the black van. The lone van was parked crooked in front of rusted blue dumpster. Nature sprouted green life from the trash of yesterday waving him forward. He examined the empty deteriorating parking lot before he gripped the rear door handle.
The door gave a soft CLICK that seemed to reverberate off the trees and back of the saloon.
The double doors swung open as his eyes focused on two lone items. A brown gym bag and another large muddy Styrofoam cooler. Hesitating for a moment his mind trying to remember Axel words outside the Sheriff’s station. He reached for the gym bag and opened it with a slow ZZZZZZZ. Green bills bundled in old rubber bands immediately caught his eye. The bag closed just as fast as it opened.
His eyes darted around again as it confirmed his cut. He pulled the bag away and prepared to return back to the station.
“AH HA…” The booming voice and quick snatch of the bag had caught him by surprise. Eyes wide like an old Bloodhound discovering an open cookie jar. Locked onto him as the bag tossed in his hand, “S-S-Sheriff Hanson?” Cheeks flapping as if he was shaking himself dry. Jayson attempted a quick grab that Sheriff Hanson was easy to dodge. “What have we got here?” “Sheriff, please give me that you don’t…” “What am I going to find in here?” Sheriff Hanson raised his fingers reaching for the zipper. “You know I always knew there was something wrong with you Detective? Something was up and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I blame myself for being too wrapped up in trying to keep this dying town from its final breaths. I should have known when I noticed Mountain Jack coming in here all the time! I was on the phone with the attorney general. I saw you sneak out the back. You fail to arrest your own brother-in-law and you’re sneaking out during this rain. Don’t take this old dog to remember the hunt boy and a little rain aint detour me neither.”
Jayson gave one final reach that Sheriff Hanson dodged ripping the bag easily from his fingers.
Back to the van, Jayson watched Sheriff Hanson’s smile disappear into his sagging cheeks. ZZZZZZ…
The bag opened as his eyes now bulged within his head. Disbelief on his face at the sight of the stacks of money. “I’ll have your badge for this detective. You disappoint me detective. You disappoint me and make me feel ashamed that we carry the same shield. You grew up in this town. You are the legendary Jay Hawk at one time. The best wide receiver in the state of Idaho. And the thing that disappoints me the most son. You know what that is? Even though the attorney general is helping to
draft unincorporation papers at this moment. You betrayed not only this town, but you betrayed yourself. You grew up in Clint…right here by Rock Ridge Falls. I will not have corruption on my…”
Sheriff Hanson’s final words were lost under a roar that suppressed everything in its surroundings. A bear massive as a small car began mauling Sheriff Hanson as blood splattered over everything. Jayson took large splashes of blood across his brown rain poncho.
Shuttering under gasping breaths of terror, he watched as Sheriff Hanson cried in howling pain.
Blood curdling in his throat as he sounded increasingly like a dying dog. Hand outstretched towards him with a pained pleading in his eyes. Watching in horror as his fingers twitched towards him jerking underneath the snarling bear. The bear distracted by his meal the bag now mere inches from him.
Jayson lowered his body slowly trying desperately not to distract the bear. The sheriff’s lifeless eyes watched every slow movement. The outstretching of his fingers to grab the brown gym bag.
The blood continued to run across the parking lot pooling into a small lake underneath them.
The fabric of the gym bag soaked up the blood as his fingers intertwined with the handles. He pulled the bag slowly desperate to collect his money. The raising brown bag mirrored in the sheriff’s twitching eyes. The beast had lost its focus as it turned towards the slightest of movements. It’s one good eye had caught the levitating bag as it’s milky eye twitched as if desperate to get it to reactivate.
Cursing his own greed, Jayson could feel the breath of his own mortality breathing on his neck.
SWISH… The bear’s front claws slashed towards him catching the gym bag. The bag’s fabric was no match for the broken claws. It tore across its side spilling its contents into the lake of blood underneath them. “My Money…” He exclaimed in a forced calm. However, the sudden noise had startled the bear. Bellowing Jayson stumbled back and toppled backwards into the van. The bear snapped its jaws at him missing his face by inches. Jayson scrambled backwards his feet trying desperately to push him as far away as possible.
Scrambling towards the seats as the bear prepared to climb inside the van. Undeterred from the cramped space or the body of Sheriff Hanson. The van rocked in loud metallic strains. Jayson retreated towards the front seats as the bear’s weight unbalanced the back of the van. He nearly toppled towards the bear losing his footing on the smooth van floor. Scrambling to retrieve his sidearm, he withdrew it from the holster and pointed it towards the bear. In his retrieval the bear’s head had grown too close for comfort. It snapped at him startling him into fumbling the gun in his hand. It spilled from his hand between fumbling fingers. He watched it flip over itself before clattering to the floor.
Jayson kicked his legs falling into the driver’s seat. He barely dodged the bear’s massive teeth, SNAP! A loud CLUNK could be heard over the commotion. The top of the Styrofoam container came off spilling its contents. Multiple packages of white shrink-wrapped powder scattered in front of the bear. This change distracted the bear as its barrel head lowered to sniff them. Realizing that the packages were Remington’s legendary Meth. He reached over to the door handle seizing his chance to escape. He heard the door give a light CLICK just as the bear had taken a brick of Remington’s Meth and began tearing into it. The powder flurried over the van and into its mouth. He nearly toppled out of the van trying to escape as fast as he could. Without a backwards glance and into the pouring rain, he ran around the side of The Wagon Wheel Saloon. The noise of the bear ingesting and tearing into the bricks of Remington’s Meth dissolved under the now torrent of renewed rainfall.