The Hunt

The morning was grey and bitterly cold. The chill of the light fog and piercing winds would make even a bear shiver, yet young Cortano, clad in only his deer-hide loincloth, did not so much as flinch. Crouching behind a fallen oak, the youth waited with his three-foot hunting spear and seventeen inch dagger, listening for the sound of hooves on damp dead leaves and snapping twigs.

The boy made no sound or movement as he waited for his prey. Long ago, he taught himself the discipline of a Hunter. Finally, Cortano heard the sound of hooves draw near. Ever so slowly, he raised his head to peer over the edge of his hiding place. A buck, old from the number of points on its antlers, was making its way in the field in front of the young man. The beast, unaware of the fixed eyes of the hunter, began to make his morning meal of the fog-moistened grass in front of a young pecan tree.

Cortano carefully picked up the spear without making a sound. He turned on his heels and prepared to make his strike on his prey. The dagger secured in his loincloth, the spear in his right hand, and his left on the tree, the young man said a quick prayer to his Gods. Thrusting himself over the fallen tree, Cortano charged down the hill toward the buck. He had made his way halfway down the hill when the buck became aware of its impending danger. As the buck raised its head to look at its attacker, the young hunter threw the spear with all his might. Before the animal could even move, the spear found its way into the stomach of the deer, and lodged itself in the tree.

The buck twisted and contorted in its attempt to free itself as blood spilled from around the edges of the spear. Cortano moved closer and drew his antlers into the lad but Cortano swiftly dodged the lunge.

“Steady, steady my friend,” the youth said to the beast, “hold still; I will make your death quick and your pain to an end.”

The animal, with a look of fear and understanding in its eyes, stopped moving around. The sounds of the buck’s heavy snorts were the only sound in the woods. Cortano cut the animal’s throat with his blade, and wiped the blood of on the pelt. It took all the hunter’s strength to free his spear from the tree and beast it was lodged in. Using some vines from a nearby tree, Cortano bound the feet of the buck’s feet to his spear and lifted it to his shoulder to carry it home. The youth thought of the smile his mother would have as he brought home this buck to feed her, his sister, and himself. And then the youth’s mind wandered to the hunt ahead of him…