《Dante》


 Prologue

    I stood in front of the council as I outlined my recommendations. I had identified the dark ones worthy of my attention. They were on the cusp of redemption from an ugly future of self-destruction. It would only take the right nudge or assistance at the right moment to turn them from the horrors of their own machinations. There would be many associated with their lives in some way. I could not let the council ignore their potential for good. Their influence on the epochal times ahead were key factors to turn the balance away from the darkness that threatens earth.


    I felt like I was the only one that could see the intricate lines that intersect all the future events. This was why I was here. To bring it to the attention of those that would decide the fate of my duties as related to earth¡¯s future. They were the wisdom of the ages who determined the validity of the arguments amongst my kind. With their stamp of approval would come my action on earth. My heart sang of the need, the future survival of humanity hummed along its emphatic designs of hope.


    They called for my presence, as I had requested. I entered their chamber, stood before their seats of authority to present my case. I did not speak quickly. Nor did I stand in humble presentation at their feet. That is not my way, for I have no equal among them. While they might decide the fate of earth, I am the voice of powerful knowledge and action.


    Being the evolved managers of earth¡¯s progress, they generally knew and followed the proper directives set forth from the higher orders of personalities who assisted in the evolving worlds. My insight in this instance could not be overlooked, hence my presence here. Sometimes, when debating those of evil origins, these council members could hold toned views lacking insight. This is why my duty called me here at this moment more than anything. I would give them the infinite knowledge of wisdom which they craved.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I began to present my case, ¡°I have determined that the ones outlined in my report, which is in front of you, warrant special attention in the forthcoming events. Even with their evil natures directing them towards horrible outcomes, I propose a respite of non-action to turn them to our cause. It is my idea to participate in the future events so as to direct them at key moments to turn them away from the evil that strives to rule and corrupt them. Their actions in the expected epochal times ahead will turn the tide from the darkness if I am successful. To this end I have brought this to your attention for your approval.¡±


    Their primary spokesman chimed in, ¡°These ones you have chosen hold the potential to intercede in the cause of major destruction on earth. The natural evil that wallows in darkness and destruction on earth which will attempt to guide them into the ugliness of the shadows can be a powerful force. With your hand in their future I believe your course of action is in the best interest of all. Do we all agree with this assessment?¡± They all sounded in unison, ¡°Aye.¡± I did not expect any other response from them. This was the formal process which has always been used in the past. If there were any questions from them regarding the issue at hand, this discussion could have dragged out for days on end. They quickly approved my request and sent me on my way. Indicating in further statements to use all means at my disposal. Even time-shifting was now on the table. What could possibly stand in our way now?


    The evil forces from the lowest domains to the highest were now in full force on Earth. Without my hand on Earth, Earth would not survive, with self-destruction being the outcome. Earth would need every bit of help it could get if it were to survive the future.


    End Prologue

 Chapter One

    Life can be dangerous in most cities. Some places can be a step above that, as one man was only just realizing. ¡°Son of a...¡± The man mumbled as he walked down a side street in the late hours of the night. He wore an expensive looking grey suit with a red tie. His brown hair was perfectly parted down the middle without a single strand out of place. His gold Rolex he wore on his right wrist looked like it cost more than his suit and haircut put together. He had worked late at the office finishing up a coworker¡¯s job...as always. When he finally finished the project, he came down to see his ride had left him high and dry. With no money for a cab, he was forced to walk home. His night couldn''t get any worse¡­or so he thought.


    ¡°You gotta be kidding me.¡± he yelled as he stepped into a puddle, soaking his sock through his suede loafer. Without thinking, he turned down a dark alley to save a few minutes on his walk home. He stopped suddenly when he heard an unusual noise coming from behind him. When he looked behind him, nothing was there. ¡°That was strange.¡± He thought, as he picked up the pace. He heard the noise again but much louder, this time he spun around quickly, as it had startled him. Squinting through the darkness, he looked back the way he had just come. His nightmares of youth came to life. Right in the middle of the alley stood a tall dark shadowy figure. He wasn¡¯t moving, just standing there facing him. It was freaky, watching him just staring back at me. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± He yelled, praying inside that the stranger would just answer with something normal.


    There was no response, nothing. Then just as suddenly as he appeared, he moved into the darkest shadows disappearing from his view. The man¡¯s heart leapt in his chest, making him stumble backwards. Once his feet started moving, he couldn¡¯t stop them. Fact is, he sped off as fast as he could go, hoping that it was over. As he ran he could hear weird clicking noises behind him. Kind of like someone¡¯s nails clicking on a desk to the rhythm of a galloping horse.


    ¡°Someone help!!¡± He yelled praying for an answer. Only silence responded, as he was alone, none to hear his desperate shouts. This couldn¡¯t be happening to him, not at this point in his life. Tomorrow was his wedding day. His birthday was just last week, having turned twenty-eight. Right after college he had met her and after four years of dating the most beautiful-full-figured-sexy woman he had ever met, they were finally tying the knot. His dreams of raising a family were finally showing themselves in his life. The woman of his dreams, was finally his. He would have called her to pick him up, but he knew she was tucked quietly away at her parent¡¯s house sleeping after a long day of wedding preparations. There was no way he was going to call her to disrupt her family on this night. But now, with this turn of events, he realized that would have been much better than this.


    As his heart raced, he would glance back, catching glimpses of this shadowy figure that was chasing him. He couldn¡¯t figure it out. When he was standing in the middle of the alley, he resembled a man standing on two feet. Now, what he was seeing was very different. While he couldn¡¯t get a good look at it, the image was similar to a large-hairy-mountain of a dog with an arching back. This had to be a dream. His legs actually began to move faster now. This was crazy. He began to panic even worse, stumbling over something in the dark. He jumped back to his feet, expecting to die at any moment. He turned onto a sidewalk, running past storefront windows, hoping someone would be driving down the street that he could flag down. No one was there, only empty streets as far as the eye could see.


    He looked behind himself again. With the street lamps he could see pretty good now. It wasn¡¯t following him any longer. There was no way he was going to stop running though. This was a large city and he had a long run through the business section to get to a house where he could find people. After several more blocks of full-out-running, seeing no one following, he turned into an alley again to hide for a minute. The man needed to catch his breath. He wasn¡¯t an athlete, never worked out or anything. He began to feel safe now. As he had moved fairly deep into this alley, he had made his way behind a dumpster and into the shadows there. Whatever that thing was, it obviously decided to leave him alone, once he had moved out into the lighted area.


    As he squatted there behind that dumpster, it dawned on him. ¡°Crap!¡± He sputtered. Whatever that thing was, it doesn¡¯t like the lights of the street and he had just run into a dark corner of an alley. ¡°Oh my freaking god¡­¡± He said out loud, as he got up to move back to the street! Just as he stood up, he heard a loud clicking noise right behind him. Suddenly a hot moist wind came rushing over the back of his neck causing the hairs to tickle there to ignite his senses, moving down into his shirt as if something was above him breathing down on him from behind.


    As he screamed, all you could make out behind that dumpster was a thrashing figure being pulled into the deepest-darkest corner until the only sound remaining was the tearing of flesh and crunching of bones. It was just another day in a city where danger was common, yet sometimes a step above.


    *****


    ¡°Yes mom. I know mom. Don¡¯t worry I packed an extra pair.¡±, Dante muttered into the phone. He loved her more than anything. You couldn¡¯t ask for a more caring mother. She had always been overbearing even after he moved out, always coming over to bring him food or to clean his house. But he could never get her off the phone once she began her motherly duties, as she saw them. ¡°Alright mom, I will. Now don¡¯t forget I won¡¯t be able to call for a couple of weeks. Remember, there¡¯s no service out in the forest. But I will call when I come into town for supplies. Yes I will. Ok I love you too. I¡¯ll see you in a few months. Bye mom.¡±


    Dante grinned as he tossed his phone on his bed. He had worked the winter shift every year for the past three years. His mom acted like it was his first time, same as last year, and same as the year before. He didn¡¯t mind it though. Sure it was a long four months but he enjoyed it. He had always loved the forest, not minding the solitude. He actually felt more at peace out there, never really liking the big city life. Cities were just way too loud and busy.


    He went over and checked his bag one more time. He didn¡¯t want to forget anything. It looked like he had everything, his ranger jacket laid neatly on top with his gun underneath. Sure he had a permit for it but he still liked to keep it out of sight. He never was much into guns. He zipped the bag shut, placing it next to the door.


    Dante walked from his room to the bathroom which was attached to his bedroom. His bedroom was pretty plain. It had wood panels along the wall that ran all the way down to the brown shag carpet. The room itself wasn¡¯t very big. He only had his bed in the center and a dresser against the back wall. The closet was on the right while the entrance to the bathroom was on the left across from the nightstand. The only thing that seemed out of place in the whole room was a blue lava lamp atop the nightstand, causing blue and black shadows to form ever moving landscapes across the wall at night. Just the way he liked it. No telling how many nights he had stayed up late watching them tumble, filling his imagination with other-worldly scenes of mystery and intrigue.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Dante washed up real quick, as he wouldn¡¯t have much time in the morning for that. Harry could get pretty gruff with him if he was late. He brushed his teeth, trimmed his beard, liking how his beard matched his short brown curly hair. That was Dante though, always with the perfectly kept features. He liked it that way, making him feel in control. Working outside gave him the perfect tan to match his neat appearance, causing girls to take a second look at his chiseled frame when he passed them.


    ¡°Well, I think that¡¯s it.¡± He told himself. Making an early night of it, he decided to turn in. With a long day looming tomorrow, he had to get an early start. Slipping into his blue cotton peejays which had images of diverse sized planets with space as a background to match his lava lamp, gliding under the covers, he reached to turn the lights out. Sometimes he would just turn the lights out and watch the lava lamp interact with his peejays as he stood against the wall. It was like watching one of those space films tell the story of some far away galaxy being formed. Those were his favorite peejays after all.


    A loud noise outside stopped his hand, just as he was about to twist the switch. Leaping out of bed, he quickly retrieved his 9mm from his bag. Not seeing anything as he peered out the window from the side, he decides to go outside. ¡°That was a pretty loud racket, someone has to be out there.¡±, he thought. Before he opened the front door he peaked through the peephole. With the light on outside, he still couldn¡¯t see any movement.


    As he opened the door, he carefully scanned the yard. Jumping back suddenly, as a figure appeared next to his trash can. ¡°Howdy neighbor.¡± The fear drained from Dante¡¯s face. It was only Bo the hobo as he was widely known. He was one of the local homeless around the city. He mostly stuck to wandering up town where he could grab up throw aways from the surrounding restaurants. But at night he liked to go through residential areas hoping to find some unfinished home cooked meals or if luck was on his side a good pair of cloths tossed out in his size.


    ¡°Bo what are you doing?¡± Dante relaxed his arm releasing his finger from the trigger. ¡°Oh you know what they say. One mans trash and all.¡± He grinned showing his rotted yellow teeth or what was left of them anyways. He smelled worse than the trash that he had been digging in. Wearing a ripped up brown jacket over a long sleeved grey shirt covered in god knows what and a pair of brown slacks with matching stains. A pair of mismatched yellow and red shoes and to top off his attire was his pink ear muffs with red hearts sticking out the sides.


    ¡°Get out of here Bo, it''s late. I gotta be up early.¡± Dante turned to walk back inside glancing back at Bo putting back the trash lid. A knot swelled up in his throat. ¡°Wait here a moment.¡± Dante ran inside leaving Bo waiting patiently for his return. After a few minutes he returned with one of those big brown paper bags you get from the stores. I had filled it with lots of goodies that would keep, like canned goods, fruit, a loaf of bread and a lot of other stuff. Bo peered inside the bag. ¡°Why I can¡¯t take all of this.¡±


    Despite his situation he was a proud and kind man. He never stole from anybody only taking what they throw out. You would never catch him begging for money on the corner. Heck one time Dante saw him give his only dollar to a woman who was short one trying to buy some diapers for her baby. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m going away for a few months. It¡¯s all going to go bad anyways.¡± Which was true, and he would rather see it get eaten than go bad. Who better than Bo? ¡°Thank you so very much.¡± Bo¡¯s eyes actually watered as he turned to leave. ¡°One more thing.¡± Dante reached inside the door and pulled out a black jacket. ¡°You look like you could use a new one.¡±


    He tossed Bo the jacket. Bo took off his old jacket and threw on the new one. Perfect fit, though he didn¡¯t toss the old one knowing he might need it again one day. ¡°You¡¯re a good man Dante.¡± With that he took his leave. Dante smiled as headed back to bed. This time, he nodded off quickly, with nothing to break the quiet of the night.


    *****


    Dante found himself running through the forest as fast as his legs would go. Branches slapped him in the face but he wouldn¡¯t slow down. Just behind him there was a huge wolf with blazing red eyes. It was chasing him, closing in fast. The biggest wolf he had ever seen, with fur as dark as a moonless night. Teeth gleaming their white song of death as fear filled every pore of his body, making his heart pound hard against his chest. He looked back to see the wolf was closer than he thought. He could almost feel it¡¯s hot breath pushing against his back.


    Coming out of the thick trees, he came face to face with a lake sparkling in the moonlight as if stars were actually swimming through it, alive with life. All choices gone, he came to a stop, spinning around to face his impending death, only to see the wolf a few feet away. Standing there staring him down with those glowing eyes of horror eating through his very being, those damn eyes, tearing through him, peering straight into his soul with an overpowering feeling of impending doom. The undeniable touch of destiny¡¯s hand seeking to render ones¡¯ own desires impotent! Uncaring of man¡¯s inner turmoil¡¯s of righteousness or damnation, the moments turned to slow motion as those blazing orbs of death grew in size, swallowing his world, shaking his soul in despair, as they came bounding ever closer. Leaping in the air to tear into him with the knowing of helplessness in his weakness of life, forcing him to close his eyes, knowing the end, the final moments of his whole life, had finally caught him despite his greatest efforts to avoid this very point of time. After an eternity passed, leaving him standing there cringing with uncontrollable shivers that divided his soul from his body, but the world grew suddenly quiet. Nothingness filled him as deafness of action filled that very moment of epic ending. After a few more seconds passed, leaving him quivering but untouched, he forced his eyes back open. Not wanting to see but after the many deaths of time going unfulfilled, he could not stand the darkness further. Yet it was gone. ¡°What the...¡±, he thought. As he peered into the night only to find the quiet with all its normal sounds and motions of life. His beating heart, making rhythm with the universe in all its glory, the wolf had vanished, as if it had never been. Turning, looking behind him towards the lake, an image caught his eye. Looking deeper into the water, the image began to come into focus in the clarity of the moment. He stared into his own eyes. As he focused deeper into his own canvas of life, a shimmering reflection stared back in all its horrifying glory. A large wolf with distorted grotesque features of beastly death glared back. Those crazy blood filled red eyes blazing like twin orbs made from the sun itself. Those white fierce teeth tearing into his very soul with fear and dread of the darkness with its unknown hand.


    Dante woke with a start, drenched in a cold sweat, his heart still pounding against his chest. He couldn¡¯t manage to catch his breath, his hands clenched tight around his sheets. Scanning his room, making sure he was alone. Of course he was, it¡¯s not like he would actually see a giant wolf with glowing red eyes standing in the corner of his small room with moving images of blue and black clinging to the walls. ¡°Come on Dante, get it together man.¡± He told himself.


    This wasn¡¯t the first time he has had that dream. The earliest he could recall having it was back when he was a kid right after his dad left. His screams had filled the whole house bringing his mother running into his room. Her mind filled with all manner of mayhem and murder. Many times since has found him waking from that horrid imagery, and yet it only grows more powerful as it appears more and more frequent of late. He could never get over how real it felt. Those damnable blazing orbs of death haunted him every day nearly. Every time, he swore it was actually happening. Like a vision or something. Holding a life of its own. Taunting him into submission each time. It didn¡¯t feel like a dream. It was like stepping into another world or dimension. It had a firm grip on his soul, swearing to never release him until it had ravaged his very world. He was beginning to wonder if he needed some type of therapy, but he refused to even consider that as it might cost him his job. If some therapist imposed on his real life with a type of concern for his mental health, his job would disappear just as quickly. He kept it locked inside, never discussing it with anyone. If he was crazy, he would keep that demented soul secured tightly inside his own head.


    He reached over and took a drink from the glass of water beside his bed. He finally managed to catch his breath. He laid back down trying to go back to sleep but sadly he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be as easy this time around. It was going to be a long night after all.

 Chapter Two

    The chilled winds of the north carried far as the searing monstrous howl tore through the moon filled night. It was the kind of sound that would wake even the deepest of sleepers in the dead of the night. Keeping them up, shivering in deathly fear. Till dawn found them cowering beneath their covers, begging to survive the night.


    The shadow of the large beast took motion as it looked up from its bloody meal lying lifeless with pieces scattered among the thorn filled bushes and leaves. As the shadow slowly transformed from the towering beast to the thin shape of a near naked man, ¡°great¡± the small shadow turned to run but paused to look back at the large chunks mixed with clothing, grass, leaves and hair that had just served as its meal. Reaching down to unclasp the shiny gold Rolex as the morning light brought its beauty to life on the severed remains of an arm. Then in a flash, the creature was gone, melding into the neighborhood of houses.


    A younger man, with dark hair and features you would associate with a South American heritage, walked up to a run-down house sporting a new Rolex upon his right wrist. The loosely fitted watch looked out of place as if it belonged to someone with a much larger wrist. Most of the windows of the house were either busted out or covered in cardboard. The peeling yellow paint hung off the house as if it was trying to free itself from an old fling that ended badly. The young man didn¡¯t look much better. Only wearing a tattered pair of jeans half covered in a dried red liquid. His shaggy long hair hung loosely down to his shoulders fitting well with his scruffy unshaven facial hair.


    As soon as he walked through the door, a well-aimed fist greeted his unsuspecting face, slamming him to the ground in one smooth motion. ¡°What the hell was that for?¡± ¡°What were you thinking Carlos?¡± demanded Jax. Jax, with his nearly six and a half feet frame, loomed over Carlos like a grizzly bear standing over its newly caught trout. Veins rippled through his body like long slender snakes slithering across a desert landscape, protruding even atop his hairless scalp. His biceps were twice the size of Carlos¡¯s. A deep wide scar ran down the side of his face as if he had tried to peel his own face off starting from the left side.


    ¡°What, I got hungry. It¡¯s not a big deal Jax.¡± Carlos responded as he got to his feet. ¡°Tell him Marco.¡± Marco stepped out of the shadows. He had the same brown skin and black hair as Carlos, giving the appearance of brothers. His hair was much shorter though, coupled with his full beard, there wasn¡¯t much resemblance to carry that line of thinking. He was a little bigger than Carlos also, but nothing like Jax. ¡°No way Carlos, you know the rules.¡±


    ¡°Oh come on, it was one man. Nobody saw nothing.¡± Carlos defended himself. He looked around to see if anyone would back him up. The other four remained hidden in the shadows, refusing to step forward. Jax reached out at surprising speed for a man his size, using only one hand, lifting Carlos by his neck until his feet were dangling in the air. ¡°Yea, lucky is more like it. Did you know the one who chased you was packing a silver bullet?¡±


    Carlos tried to answer as his face began turning red, no words could make it through Jax¡¯s vice-like grip. As Carlo¡¯s eyes began to bulge, Marco took a step forward as if he wanted to say something. A sudden leering glance by Jax warning him to stay out of it, made the message clear, this isn¡¯t your fight. ¡°Of course not¡± Jax¡¯s grip tightened ¡°I only brought you on as a favor to your cousin. But that doesn¡¯t mean I won''t slaughter you like a pig if you disobey me again. We carefully pick our prey to stay off the radar.¡±


    He dropped Carlos to the floor leaving him holding his neck, writhing on the floor as he gasped for air. He wanted to get up, show him he wasn¡¯t afraid. One look into Jax¡¯s eyes ripped that thought right out of his mind. Realizing that would¡¯ve been the last thing he would have ever done. ¡°Ye¡­ yes sir.¡± He said once his breath returned to him. ¡°Jax¡± Marco interrupted. ¡°The forest will be closed tomorrow.¡± ¡°Good¡±. Jax seemed pleased with the news. ¡°Then I guess it¡¯s about time we head up there.¡±


    *****


    Beep beep beep...Harry¡¯s hand flew over to the alarm slamming down to shut it off. He lay in bed for a moment before looking over at it. 5:00 am, he couldn¡¯t believe it, he was always up before that cotton-pickin contraption. ¡°I¡¯m losing my edge.¡± he told himself as he laid there. He went to get up and a sharp pain shot through his back forcing him back down. This happened every morning now. His back locked up overnight as he slept. ¡°Come on old man. You¡¯re too young to be acting this way.¡±


    He forced himself to get up. After a few minutes he could breathe again. ¡°There you go¡± he said as he stood up. He took a moment to look around. The ranger station was only made up of three rooms; the front office where the computer sat on the desk, across from the desk was a table with the radio on it. That was the only way to communicate with the outside world. It connected to a radio at the police station and Harry¡¯s own radio he kept at his house. Then there was a small room for the ranger¡¯s to sleep in. There was a small stand up closet that Harry had put up himself and a three drawer dresser that doubled as nightstand along with a fridge shoved in the corner. Oh and the bathroom of course which wasn¡¯t even big enough for a tub, only a small shower.


    It was time to get moving. He knew he had to get his stuff done before Dante showed up. Not like that tinder foot was going to be on time. He quickly got dressed into his ranger attire. Then he started to get his stuff packed up. He wasn¡¯t going to be sleeping here for a while with winter coming.


    Harry just about had everything. He went over to the nightstand to grab his picture. As he picked it up he had to take it in. It was his late wife Betsy. She was a beautiful woman, black hair that laid over her shoulders and a smile that he could watch all day. Her eyes were as green as the grass in spring. She had passed over twenty years ago from cancer. Harry was never able to move on. No other woman made him feel the way she had.


    He smiled and put the picture in his bag. ¡°Enough of that, you got work to do.¡± He zipped it up and headed out the door. As he walked outside he took a deep breath. There was nothing quite like the smell of the forest in the morning. He has worked here most of his life but he never got tired of the view. The trees were a wonderful blend of red, yellow and orange. Leaves would rain down from the trees all around as you walked through every fall.


    Harry also loved stopping and listening to the birds sing. It was better than anything you could hear on the radio, except maybe for some Johnny Cash. As he drove through the park he looked around for any other vehicles. They seemed to be all gone which was good since they were supposed to be cleared by sunset last night. Harry drove up to a cabin that still had a little blue car parked outside. It belonged to Ms. Dalen, an old friend of his.


    He made his way up to her door. He wasn¡¯t afraid of waking her, she was an early riser like himself. No more than thirty seconds passed after his knock before she opened the door. ¡°Well, good morning Harry, please come in.¡± She stepped to the side letting him through. ¡°Good morning Marge, how are you doing this fine day?¡± Harry was happy to see her in high spirits.


    She had already changed out of her nightgown into a lovely red dress covered in blue flowers. She always kept her white hair pulled up in a bun. Despite the fact that she was ten years older than Harry with the wrinkles to prove it, she seemed to get around just fine. ¡°Wonderful now, are you leaving for the winter?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s that time of year again. Will you be staying a few extra weeks again?¡± He wasn¡¯t supposed to let anyone stay but he had a soft spot for her. She and her husband had been coming here for years and he was very good friends with the both of them. After her husband passed he made sure to keep an eye on her. Marge liked staying in the cabin a few weeks after close to enjoy the quiet. It was her and her husband¡¯s favorite place.


    ¡°Yes I think I will if that¡¯s ok. But only a week this year, my grandchildren are coming to visit!¡± Her face lit up as she told Harry. ¡°Of course, you¡¯re always welcome here. Well I better get going, still more to do.¡± Harry smiled and turned to the door. ¡°Oh wait I have something for you.¡± Marge walked over and handed him a bag of homemade cookies.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say no to that, thank you.¡± Harry loved her cookies. She gave him some every year. He gave her a hug and was on his way.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    *****


    Before Harry walked back out of the station he flipped through some paperwork. He had to make sure he didn¡¯t forget any. He set them in his passenger seat as he heard a truck pull up behind him. He turned to see Dante pulling up. He had taken a liking to the kid over the years. Out of all the rangers he had worked with he had come to like him the best. Not that he would tell him that. He didn¡¯t need him getting a big head.


    Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out some dip. Sure it was a bad habit but he had done it his whole life and it hadn¡¯t killed him yet. He waited for Dante to park his truck and hop out. ¡°Hey Harry, how¡¯s it going?¡± Dante said as he closed his door behind him. ¡°You¡¯re late Dante.¡± Harry decided to shoot off from the start. I didn¡¯t want him relaxing already. Dante looked at his watch with a confused look. ¡°What are you talking about you crazy old man? I¡¯m ten minutes early!¡±


    Kids these days, they had no sense of pride in their work. Back in his day if your boss told you to be in at eight you had better been there by seven thirty. ¡°Oh Well.¡± Harry thought. No point in trying to explain it to a whipper snapper like him.


    Harry spat a wad of chew to the side. ¡°Anyways...¡± He started. ¡°Everything looks pretty good around here. Everybody¡¯s out of the park. Well, except for Ms. Dalen of course.¡±


    ¡°Alright sounds good.¡± Dante replied. ¡°Did you get the front gate locked up on your way in?¡± Harry already knew Dante had. He wouldn¡¯t make a rookie mistake like that. He just wanted to ruffle a few feathers. ¡°Yes harry I got it.¡± He could hear the sarcasm in his voice. ¡°Alright then I¡¯m going to check out the campgrounds one more time then head out the back gate, i¡¯ll make sure it gets locked up.¡±


    Harry walked over to his truck. He could see the way Dante looked at it. As if it needed to be taken out and shot. But he loved this old truck, his wife bought it for him as a birthday present the year before she passed. He could never give it up. ¡°Ok thanks. You be careful out there, you know how dangerous it can be for an old defenseless man like yourself.¡± Dante smarted off.


    ¡°Show some respect to your elders you little prick.¡± Dante always had a smart mouth on him but he knew it was all in good fun. ¡°Now remember kid, I¡¯ll stop by in a month or so to check up on you. But if you happen to have an emergency, you can get a hold of me on the radio in the station.¡±


    ¡°Yea yea you tell me that every year. Now get the hell out of here you old fart, you¡¯re starting to stink the place up.¡± ¡°Alright kid, just watch your back. I don¡¯t wanna have to clean your corpse off the walkway cause you let a bear get ya¡­Tinder foot.¡± Harry let out a laugh. He wasn¡¯t sure how many more years he could do this but he would miss Dante when the time came to retire.


    *****


    Harry pulled up to the campgrounds. As soon as he did he threw the truck in park and jumped out. ¡°Crap!¡± Harry saw a small fire going in the bushes. Somebody hadn¡¯t put out their campfire before heading out. He ran over and started to kick some dirt on. It was spreading to quick. All of the trees and bushes were dry from the winter.


    He ran back over to his truck and pulled out a shovel and a jug of water. ¡°I hope it¡¯s enough.¡± He said as he shook the jug around. Harry ran back over and started to pour the water around the surrounding grass. He had to stop it from spreading any father. ¡°Damn, out.¡± He tossed the jug behind him. He started digging up piles of dirt with the shovel and tossing them over the fire. Harry probably worked on that for an hour or better. Finally he got it all put out.


    Harry dropped the shovel and set on a rock beside him. ¡°Stupid kids could have burned the whole place down.¡± He couldn¡¯t stand the thought of losing the old forest. It was as much his home as his own home town. He stood up to grab the shovel and jug. A sharp pain shot through his back. He hadn¡¯t felt it until now thanks to adrenalin but he threw out his back. He wobbled over to his truck and pulled himself in. ¡°Just a small rest.¡± He told himself as he closed his eyes.


    Harry dreamed about his wife. The time they first meet in the forest. He saw her standing under a tree as the leaves fell around her. She was so beautiful he almost thought she was a part of the forest. The scene changed to their wedding day. He had never been more happy. She glowed in her wedding gown. For all he cared they were the only two in the room. When she said ¡°I do¡± His heart about jumped from his chest.


    The scene changed again. She was laying in a hospital bed, her time was almost up. He didn¡¯t know if he could make it through life without her by his side. She reached over and grabbed his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry my love, even though we go our separate ways for now we''ll be together again one day. I don¡¯t want you to cry over me but to live for me instead. I will always love you..¡± Her hand fell limp as she let go. Harry cried out in pain but he told himself that he would live until the day he could be with her again.


    ¡°Betsy!¡± Harry¡¯s eyes shot open. Confused he looked around forgetting where he was. He wiped a tear from his eye as he looked at his watch, Five o¡¯clock! No way, he had slept the day away. He was about to start the truck when he heard some voices coming his way.


    He looked out his window to see three kids walking up to the campsite. There was two girls and a boy. They looked to be about seventeen, maybe eighteen. The girl on the left was really pretty with her dark blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. She had on a blue low cut shirt despite the cold. Obviously trying to show off for the boy in the middle. She held on tight to his hand as they walked. He had black hair that ran all the way down his back. Harry just couldn¡¯t understand how boys could let their hair get long like that. All it did was make them look like a girl. Plus those jeans, why bother buying a pair of jeans with holes already in them. It made no sense to him. The girl on the right stood a couple steps away from them. Even Old Harry could tell she was a third wheel. She was built a little heavier than the other girl. Her hair was a weird color of blue and she wore a black choker around her neck.


    Harry got out of the truck to go confront the kids. They weren¡¯t supposed to be running around the park. He also had a sneaking suspicion that they were the ones responsible for the fire. ¡°Excuse me, what you are doing here!¡± Harry made sure to raise his voice enough to startle them, it worked. The girl on the left nearly jumped out of her skin. ¡°OMG you scared me!¡±


    The boy looked back at him and quickly put on his game face trying to look brave for the girls. ¡°We are camping, what does it look like?¡± Both girls started to snicker. A wise guy huh. ¡°Are you the morons that don¡¯t know how to put out a campfire?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? I had that out early this morning, old man¡± Replied the boy, still trying to be tough. ¡°Is that right? Then why did I stumble upon a small forest fire when I got here? If I hadn¡¯t shown up this place would probably be up in flames by now. How cool would you be then when you were surrounded by flames because you thought you had it out? Even if you made it out, starting a forest fire is a serious crime, accident or not.¡±


    ¡°Well I¡­¡± The boy started to say something but his girlfriend stopped him. The other girl stepped forward. ¡°We are very sorry sir. We will be more careful in the future.¡± At least one of them had manners. ¡°You¡¯re not even supposed to be here. The park is closed. I¡¯m going to have to ask you to leave immediately.¡± ¡°Of course sir, but all of our stuff is back down at our cabin. May we please grab it before we leave¡± asked the other girl who still wouldn¡¯t let the boy speak?


    Harry sighed, ¡°Alright but hurry up. When you get to the front of the park, stop by the ranger station. Ask the ranger there to open the front gate for you.¡±


    ¡°We will, thank you sir.¡± They all three ran off as soon as they could. Harry watched as they headed back down the path. He hadn¡¯t seen a vehicle back there. Maybe they were dropped off by their parents. He thought about giving them a ride. Nah...It wasn¡¯t that far to the station, Dante could do it himself. Besides he was running enough behind. He looked at the sun that was slowly going down behind the trees.


    ¡°Better get a move on.¡± He told himself as he headed back towards his truck. Harry drove down a narrow road towards the back gate, if you could call it that. Most ¡°roads¡± were just paths beaten down over the years from wear. But this was one of the worst. It didn¡¯t get much use and was real rough. Harry hated driving down it but you gotta do what you gotta do.


    Harry was so lost in thought about the events of the day he almost didn¡¯t see the giant branch laid out across the road. He slammed on his brakes coming to a stop just in time. ¡°That was a close one.¡± He sat in his truck calming his nerves. He stepped out to look it over. It must have fallen from that storm last week. He looked it up and down not sure he was going to have the strength to move it. He heard some rustling back in the trees. But Harry had gotten used to all the sounds of the forest over the years. He didn¡¯t give much thought to it.


    ¡°Alright here we go.¡± Harry grabbed the branch and lifted, it barely budged. He was afraid he might have to go grab Dante. No. He told himself. He could do it. Harry lifted with all he had and tossed that branch off to the side of the road. ¡°Ha! I knew I still had it.¡± He congratulated himself. As he went back to his truck he heard the the rustling again. But this time it was closer and accompanied by a low growl. Harry wasn¡¯t sure what it was. There shouldn''t be any wolves or bears up in this part of the forest. He slowly inched his way towards the brush with his hand on his gun. He carefully pulls the limbs to the side to get a better look. The sun had finally set, he could barely see inside.


    A large dark furry shape flies at Harry sending him backwards landing heavily. Harry quickly scrambles to his feet. He couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. This thing was bigger than any animal he had ever seen before. It began on four legs but as it stalked him, it stood up on its hind legs. It was pretty dark so Harry couldn¡¯t make out what it was other than a lot of fur and those yellow eyes that seemed to shine from within.


    Harry wanted to get in his truck but it stood in his way. Left with no other choice he ran. He hoped to be able to make a circle back towards his truck. He could hear the beast chasing him. ¡°What the hell was that thing? I''ve never seen an animal stand straight up on his hind legs before.¡± Fear ran through his veins. Just thinking about that thing catching him made him tremble. He stopped behind a tree to catch his breath. Harry pulled out his gun. He had to make a stand if he didn¡¯t this thing could make its way back towards Dante. He waited for the steps to get closer. Now, He turned around and aimed. Nothing, did it run away? Almost relieved, his heart jumps into his throat as a warm breath touches the back of his neck.


    Harry turns and points his gun but it smacked it out of his hand. ¡°What are you?¡± The beast did not respond. As it raised its arm, it''s harry hand gleamed, showing long claws protruding from the tips. Harry closed his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m coming, Betsy.¡±  Harry heard the slicing of air as the massive claws made their way through his flesh. Fresh blood now painted the trees and ground a dark red for anyone to see who might pass by later.