“Alright Beau, are you ready to go hunting!” George yells inches to my ears.

“Uhhhh… Give me a minute, ok.” It had to be today; after an intense basketball game vs. our rival and 3 hours of homework, I have to hunt. It’s not like I hate hunting, but it’s so early to do this after a day like yesterday.
“Come on Beau! Don’t make me get your mom down here!”

“Please don’t! I beg you, just give me some time to get up and ready, ok?” I throw my pillow square into his face and he goes off chuckling down the hallway. I swear I never get enough sleep in this house. I’m 15 years old and I play varsity basketball; all I want is to get some sleep every once in a while.

When George finally left, I was now able to get my hunting clothes on. Now you have to put on 3 layers of clothing on just to stay warm. I just wish that the opener was earlier than this.

I got upstairs and I noticed that there was no life in this house. I figured that my mom was at work already. She did leave me something though. It looks like she left me a 12-pack of Mtn. Dew for me in my stand and some extra bullets for my 30.06. I felt that I would go through withdrawals without the Mtn. Dew on my person.

George was waiting for me next to his truck; the truck wasn’t even running right now! “Got everything now from Mommy,” he said mockingly. “Let’s get a move on we want to get there before the deer do.”

He hops into the truck and starts up the 6-cylinder engine. When I got in the truck, it felt like the North Pole was put in the truck! “You know, you could’ve started the truck up earlier, George!”

“Ya, but then I wouldn’t be able to see your face all frozen and contorted from waking up 5 minutes before going into the freezing cold,” George smirked that little smirk of his. “Get your seatbelt on; we need to get out there soon before the sun gets up. Get some more sleep so that prize buck doesn’t walk right past you.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll get some sleep.” Now I can get some more sleep; finally! I just hate when you’re thinking something in your head and you fall asleep in midthou….

“Alright, wake up Sleeping Beauty. We got to get ready and go to our deer stands.”

I almost couldn’t open my eyes; they got frozen shut from the cold! It was still pitch black outside. I wouldn’t be able to see my hand 5 inches away from my face. The trucks’ lights were on so we could load our guns and get our stuff on in time before the sun came up. “Alright, you go down to the creek and get yourself settled. I’ll take the hill up there and take watch. I’ll call you to tell you when one is coming your way. Will you be fine by yourself in the dark?”

“I should be fine, but I will need a flashlight. It’s really dark out right now.”

“Here, hold on,” George went into the truck practically fishing through his tools just to find a flashlight the size of a baby carrot! “Ok, this should protect you in the dark. If you need me to, I can teach you some Morse code in case you get into some trouble.”

“Very funny George. Got some whistles and bells in that rusty truck of yours?” I retorted with some satisfaction in my words and a big grin on my face.

“Just go to your stand.” George walks off to the left, disappearing like a ghost with each step that he takes into the darkness. Now I can start walking down to the creek and get ready. I hate where my stand is; it’s in an area where all you see are squirrels and birds next to this little creek that runs on the right of my tree stand. The neighbors get all of the animals that go around us; last year they got a 20-point buck on that creek line!

The nice thing about my spot is that I get a really beautiful view of the wilderness, especially at night. There is a small opening in the canopy where my stand is and it lets all of the moonlight onto the grassy floor. You can see the reflection of the moon in the running water if you look closely. I would come over here any day if I’m mad so I can just relax in this tranquil beauty.

I’m almost at the ladder to get up my stand when I hear a loud “Crack!” I turned to the noise so quick with my gun ready, I felt like a Marine. There was another “Crack.” It made me even more alert. The first thing that I see is these huge malevolent maroon eyes. Those beady eyes were starting to advance closer and closer to me. Its grizzly face started to show through the brush. Its monstrous teeth were out and looking for blood. Those huge ears were up like satellites, detecting for any movements that I might make. Its husky body moved towards me like a tank; battle scars littered its body and face, like an ancient warrior. The menacing growl made my heart drop and shatter into a thousand pieces. This is the biggest monstrosity I’ve ever seen and I knew that my life is on the line.

I know what I should do, but my body won’t move at all! The animal started to advance; it grew more aggressive every step it took. I snapped back to reality when it was 20 feet away and I shot! I hit it right in the chest; it got on its feet and roared. The birds flocked away and in the background I heard George yell, “Are you ok?” The bear retorted with another roar of fury and it charged at me.

I booked it to my stand and climbed the ladder for my life. The animal swiped at my feet with its big, meaty paws and missed by inches! I was up in the tree like a bird but the creature was not far behind; it started to climb the tree! I could feel the steel bend to the animals’ intense weight and one by one it got closer to me. I pulled out my gun and took aim, I took a deep breath, and I shot again. But before I shot, I saw its eyes again. For a second I could see all of the pain and anger in its life and I was a little sad to pull the trigger, but when your own life is on the line, you shoot.

The body fell down with a loud thud. There was one more echo in the forest and at first it seemed like time stopped for a second and the world was still. Time seemed to come back when George pulled up in the truck. He yelled, “Are you ok up there? What happened down here? It looks like Satan sent a hell hound out here or something.”

“Don’t worry; I’m fine, thanks for asking. Hey George, can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“Can we get this beast to a taxidermist, I want it in my room,” I couldn’t help but have a huge grin on my face.