Hairwolf
Chapter Forty Four

Foster starts off after her but Lillian pulls on him, “Don’t. She’s really better equipped for this than we are.”

He knows but he still wants to protect her.

“Let’s stay with the plan,” she says. “We’re supposed to meet her at the parking lot. She’ll be there.”

He concedes.

Back at Jesup’s compound there is little movement save the slow stirring of a very large branch. The Creature-Ralf crawls out from under it and struggles to his feet. He’s alerted to voices across the compound and escapes back into the trees.

Jesup, badly beaten and sore, leads two poachers to his cabin. When they exit, they’re armed with rifles. Jesup hands out ammo. “Keep track of what I gives ya. This shit ain’t cheap.”

They exit towards the frog pond and up the trail.

Foster and Lillian navigate the trail through the darkness. They hear the men approaching. Foster pushes Lillian into the bushes, drawing his weapon. Jesup and the other two approach running.

“What was that thing, Jesup?” asks one of the men. “And how we gonna catch it?”

“I ain’t gonna catch it. I’m gonna kill it.” Jesup says. “You got a problem with that, go find your own.”

Foster and Lillian react to Jesup’s comment and Foster steps out from the bushes. . . “Warden’s Service. Hold it right there. Drop the rifles.”

“What the hell,” Jesup says, angered.

“Drop your weapons,” Foster says.

“Like hell. You got no rights on me.”

“You’re suspects in an on-going investigation. I’m not gonna tell ya again. Drop your weapons.”

“We ain’t done nothin wrong, warden,” says one of the men. “We’re trying to catch a . . .”

“. . . Shut up, you fool,” Jesup says. “The way I see it, Warden, you’re out numbered.”

Lillian remains concealed, watching from the bushes. There’s little she can do to help.

Foster, not wanting to say it again, points to the man’s rifle. It drops to the ground. Jesup clenches his rifle tighter. The second poacher does the same.

“Two against one, Warden,” Jesup says. “You want to go for it?”

“Oh, do I,” Foster says, eyes locked on Jesup, taking a step closer. “Your move.”

Jesup slowly raises the barrel of his rifle. Poacher two, off to the side of Foster, does the same. Lillian bursts from the woods with a stick and strikes the poacher in the back of the head. He goes down. Foster rushes Jesup, gaining control of the rifle with one hand and commences striking

Jesup in the head with the pistol. Jesup goes down and stays. Foster notices the third man fleeing up the trail and lets him go, more concerned with Lillian. She’s still beating the guy with the stick.

“Don’t move. Stop movin. Ain’t so tough now, are ya. Got a woman beating your ass, don’t cha? Pull a gun on my friend, I will fu. . .”

“. . . Lillian.”

“. . . you up.”

“That’s good, Lil. Lillian. That’s good. You can stop now.”

“He was gonna shoot you in the back.”

“I know. I know. But you took care of it. Thank you. Thank you.”

“No. He’s still movin.”

“I think he’s pretty much done.”

She smacks him one last time with the stick, just in case.

Brizzbee, returning from the truck, hears a man mumbling to himself, running towards him.

“Screw this place. Whole god damn forest is loaded with creatures and wardens.”

Brizzbee steps into the brush until the man is close and then clothes-lines him with a straight-arm. He’s down. Brizzbee steps over him, “Freeze. Wardens, service. Good boy.”

A short time later, Foster has the men secured with Zip Ties, seated at the roadside next to the wardens truck. He crosses to Brizzbee, who’s checking on Dinks in the pickup truck. “How is he?”

“Bad. Somebody boot kicked him, hard. May have internal bleeding. I should take him. No tellin when our boys will get here.”

“Lillian. What do you want to do, stay or go with Brizzbee?”

Holding the poacher’s rifle, she levers a round in the chamber. A bullet ejects to her surprise. “I’m staying. Oh. Was it loaded?”

Brizzbee gently takes the rifle from her - “It’s still loaded.” Brizz ejects the remaining bullets. There’s only three. He picks them up from the ground and shows her how to reload the gun.

“When you lever that action, you load a round and the weapon becomes hot. Right now, it’s safe. Got it?”

Lillian loves the fact that he took that time to show her. “Thank you.”

“Do you got it?”

“I got it. Safe now. Lever the action, hot.”

“We’ll be at the parking lot,” Foster says.

“Lillian,” Brizzbee says approaching her. “This isn’t a dart gun. You only shoot if your life or Dave’s is in danger. Once you lever the gun, keep the barrel pointed at the ground until you’re ready to fire.”

She knows he’s taking this very seriously. She’s scared and memorizes what he says.

Brizzbee departs with Dink’s in the wardens truck.

Lillian searches the outside of the Tahoe. “She must have put the keys somewhere close.”

“That was quick thinking back there, Lillian. You had my back. Thank you.”

“No. I saved your life. Let’s not confuse the two.”

He leans on the truck next to her. “You’re right. You saved my life. Thank you. You okay?”

Whaling sirens can be heard not far away. She’s okay. A little scared but she’ll be fine.

“Here they come. Let me get them set up and we’ll head to the parking area. And Lillian, remember, nothing about Stef.”

“Got it.”

He walks up to the third poacher. He pulls him to his feet and walks him to the back of Stef’s

Tahoe out of earshot of Jesup and the other man. He starts frisking him, “What am I gonna find down there?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“I’m talking about bear skins, weapons, and ammo. Your friends are going away for a long time. Attempted murder on a law enforcement officer is a federal offense. You help me, I’ll help you.”

The man likes the deal and whispers the details to Foster.

Trooper Yates and two other law enforcement officers approach. Foster fills them in as they load the poachers into the prisoner transport. Yates and a second officer walk down the trail as the other remains with the prisoners.

Foster crosses to Stef’s truck and considers it for a moment.

“Her keys ...” Lillian says.

“She was wearing a dress,” Foster says, checking the top of the driver’s side tire and every tire after. “So, being the smart girl that she is, knowing the dress didn’t have pockets, she most likely left them – here.” He reveals the keys from the top passenger tire. He opens Lillian’s door but she’s concerned about the trooper. “Is he going to be alright?”

“He’ll be fine,” Foster says, crossing to the driver’s side.

As they depart, revolving lights of the transport and patrol cars brighten the area. The officer paces the roadside waiting on Trooper Yates to finish up at Jesup’s compound.

The rain and wind have subsided. A.C. units from the vehicle’s idling engines click on and off, overlapping the distant thunder of the departing storm.

Across the street, Ominous stirs in the bushes, his white hair standing out, lit by the revolving lights of the squad cars. The activity on the street has distracted him so much he hasn’t noticed the Creature-Stef, watching his every move from a tree limb just overhead.

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