to town. I don’t want to hear nothin’ else about it. We’ll take turns tonight keeping watch. They won’t trick us again, and anybody who shows up won’t be walkin’ out.”
“Who’s goin’ first?” Andy moaned.
“I’ll go, I’ll take the first watch,” Doc Stanley said, casting a contemptuous glance at Andy. “But you will damn well have to do it at some point, by God.”
“Right,” Tom said. “Jack, can you take second watch?”
“Yah,” I muttered. I would say I wasn’t scared, but that would be a lie.
“I’ll take next, then Travis. And Andy, I think you can handle the last watch till sunrise.”
Andy didn’t look too confident, but he didn’t complain. It was the best he could hope for.
“Good,” Tom said, looking to the west. The sun had fallen below the horizon, and soon it would be dark. “I suggest you all get some sleep,” he continued. “It’s going to be a long night.”
Chapter
7
As I walked to my tent, I noticed Doc Stanley pulling a crate close to our fire. He held a rifle in his hand, the same I knew I would have to bear in only a few short hours. I hoped I would not need to use it. He rubbed oil along the stock, and I could tell he was trying desperately to remain calm. I grabbed two logs and walked over to him. As I threw them on the fire, he looked up.
“Thank you, Jack,” he said quietly, rubbing a thick rag back and forth along the rifle. I simply nodded and took a seat on the ground next to him. For a moment, I just sat there. He didn’t speak, and I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t know, of course, what was coming or when it would hit, but I had a feeling that whatever it was, Doc Stanley had the best chance of seeing it first.
Finally he broke the silence. “You should go on,” he said. “You won’t get much sleep, and there’s no telling what you might see.”
I simply nodded in reply. But I had a question before I went.
“Doc, I saw Joe. I saw him today out in the woods. Tom didn’t want me to say anything, but I saw him, and ain’t no man did that. No animal, either.”
Doc Stanley held up his hand. “I know,” he said simply. “Tom told me about it. Didn’t want you to say nothing cause of what it would have done to Andy.”
“Then, you know we ain’t dealing with nothin’ you can kill with that gun?”
He turned and looked at me then, and I saw fear in his face. He knew all too well.
“We survive the night, then we get out of here. He has power in the forest, but not in the cities. He is the lord of a lost world. He draws his strength from the wild.”
“He?” I asked stupidly, as if I didn’t know.
“The Wendigo,” Doc Stanley replied matter-of-factly. “No question of that now.”
“But I thought you didn’t believe in that?”
“Oh, I believe,” he said. “Seen too many things out here not to. You would have come to believe, too, even if this had never happened. But now it has. We are at the mercy of the Old One now, and there is no power we possess that can stop him.”
There was a haunting call in the distance, as if to punctuate the doctor’s words. I saw his eyes narrow and then, “Whippoorwill,” he said. “Bad sign. They should be long gone by now. But they follow death, so I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised.”
“Is there any way to stop it? The Wendigo I mean?”
“You ever met anybody who has seen the Wendigo?” Doc Stanley asked.
“Well, no,” I stammered, “but I had never even heard of it ‘til this trip.”
The doctor allowed himself a chuckle. “Fair enough. But I will just go ahead and tell you that I've been wandering these woods for thirty years, and I've not met a soul that saw him and came out of it alive. So, I don’t suppose there is a way to stop him.” Then, he paused. “Of course, the legends do speak of a weakness.”
Doc Stanley looked up
“Who’s goin’ first?” Andy moaned.
“I’ll go, I’ll take the first watch,” Doc Stanley said, casting a contemptuous glance at Andy. “But you will damn well have to do it at some point, by God.”
“Right,” Tom said. “Jack, can you take second watch?”
“Yah,” I muttered. I would say I wasn’t scared, but that would be a lie.
“I’ll take next, then Travis. And Andy, I think you can handle the last watch till sunrise.”
Andy didn’t look too confident, but he didn’t complain. It was the best he could hope for.
“Good,” Tom said, looking to the west. The sun had fallen below the horizon, and soon it would be dark. “I suggest you all get some sleep,” he continued. “It’s going to be a long night.”
Chapter
7
As I walked to my tent, I noticed Doc Stanley pulling a crate close to our fire. He held a rifle in his hand, the same I knew I would have to bear in only a few short hours. I hoped I would not need to use it. He rubbed oil along the stock, and I could tell he was trying desperately to remain calm. I grabbed two logs and walked over to him. As I threw them on the fire, he looked up.
“Thank you, Jack,” he said quietly, rubbing a thick rag back and forth along the rifle. I simply nodded and took a seat on the ground next to him. For a moment, I just sat there. He didn’t speak, and I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t know, of course, what was coming or when it would hit, but I had a feeling that whatever it was, Doc Stanley had the best chance of seeing it first.
Finally he broke the silence. “You should go on,” he said. “You won’t get much sleep, and there’s no telling what you might see.”
I simply nodded in reply. But I had a question before I went.
“Doc, I saw Joe. I saw him today out in the woods. Tom didn’t want me to say anything, but I saw him, and ain’t no man did that. No animal, either.”
Doc Stanley held up his hand. “I know,” he said simply. “Tom told me about it. Didn’t want you to say nothing cause of what it would have done to Andy.”
“Then, you know we ain’t dealing with nothin’ you can kill with that gun?”
He turned and looked at me then, and I saw fear in his face. He knew all too well.
“We survive the night, then we get out of here. He has power in the forest, but not in the cities. He is the lord of a lost world. He draws his strength from the wild.”
“He?” I asked stupidly, as if I didn’t know.
“The Wendigo,” Doc Stanley replied matter-of-factly. “No question of that now.”
“But I thought you didn’t believe in that?”
“Oh, I believe,” he said. “Seen too many things out here not to. You would have come to believe, too, even if this had never happened. But now it has. We are at the mercy of the Old One now, and there is no power we possess that can stop him.”
There was a haunting call in the distance, as if to punctuate the doctor’s words. I saw his eyes narrow and then, “Whippoorwill,” he said. “Bad sign. They should be long gone by now. But they follow death, so I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised.”
“Is there any way to stop it? The Wendigo I mean?”
“You ever met anybody who has seen the Wendigo?” Doc Stanley asked.
“Well, no,” I stammered, “but I had never even heard of it ‘til this trip.”
The doctor allowed himself a chuckle. “Fair enough. But I will just go ahead and tell you that I've been wandering these woods for thirty years, and I've not met a soul that saw him and came out of it alive. So, I don’t suppose there is a way to stop him.” Then, he paused. “Of course, the legends do speak of a weakness.”
Doc Stanley looked up
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