Page 84 of Homecoming

“Digby, I need to do this. I have to get back on this team.”

“I know you do, and you know I’m going to do everythin’ I can to help you get there, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want a bigger family.”

“I know. And I told you if this doesn’t work out, I’ll think about it. But that doesn’t mean it’s definitely yes,” she smiles. “For now, can we concentrate on the program at hand?”

Kat watches as Digby steps away. He jogs backward down the path and tauntingly stretches his arms out from his sides. “Can you catch me?” he grins.

“Can I catch you? Do you want me to catch you?” she laughs.

“I said ‘can you catch me’—I bet you can’t.”

“Oh, I can catch you.” She watches as he runs faster. A cheeky smug grin now fills his face. “Oh… Oh I get it. Yeah, I cancatchyou.” She pulls at her tee-shirt to take it off.

“Uh-uh,” he waggles his finger, “no cheatin’. I said canyoucatch me—not her. I tell you what, catch me and you can fuck me in the forest.”

“And what if I don’t want to fuck you in the forest?” She tilts her head and with a lustful glint in her eyes, she teases a grin.

“Oh that’s fine and if you really don’t want to… just don’t catch me.” He laughs as he turns around and sets off at pace down the steep incline of the path.

“Hey… Hey, wait up! Oh, you asshole Digby Westwood.” Kat laughs as she gives chase and running quickly, she soon disappears into the shade of the forest trees.

“Digby… Digby, where are you?” Kat spins on the spot and sniffs. “You know I can smell you and I will find you… Oh, come on… Digby, where are you?” Kat takes a breath as she continues to search for him. “Alright, this is getting boring now. C’mon show yourself.”

She continues deeper into the trees as her eyes rapidly scan the overgrown bushes. “You know, if you don’t come out then I’m going to send Luna to find you and when she does… she’s gonna bite your ass so damn hard.”

With a resigned sigh, Kat returns to the path, but as she turns hopeful to the sound behind, she screams. Faced with the double barrels of a long hunting rifle pointed directly into her chest, it’s with a calm but rising fear Kat slowly raises her hands. Backing towards the tree at the side of the path, she thuds to a stop pinned against its trunk. Her nose sneers with a twitch as she sniffs the disgusting odor emanating from the decades-old-looking man in front of her.

“Now just wait a minute and hold up… please, you don’t need to do anything rash.”

“Why are you here?” The dirty vagrant gruffly snaps with a hoarse but menacing tone. Sniffing, the man growls and bares what Kat can see are gnarly yellowed teeth—the two front ones are missing and she immediately notices the way his hands violently shake. Wrapped in what might once have been described as gloves, his hands are now barely covered with tatty remnants of cloth.

“Please, I’m just out for a run. I’m not here to hurt you, so please… just to let me go and I swear if you do… I’ll be gone.” She holds her breath and swallows apprehensively as he again forces the barrel more firmly into her ribs.

“You’re one of them,” he sniffs. “One of those wolf people. I know your kind.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kat stares directly into his emboldened blue eyes.

The man is old, his clothes are extremely dirty; worn, torn and frayed in several places and even though he’s hunched over, his large build is still obvious. Kat notices the strength of his huge biceps as her eyes scan a glance of the forest behind him.

“Hey, asshole! Yeah, you… you asshole. You wanna hunt somethin’? Then come hunt me.” Digby strips off his shirt and sneers as the man turns around and points the gun at him. “Yeah, c’mon, old man. You wanna do it? You wanna kill somethin’? Kill me. Do it, but you need to let her go.”

“Digby!” Kat screams. “What in the hell are you doing? Are you insane?”

The man with the gun suddenly becomes distracted by the large looming frame of Digby behind him and as he turns, Kat snarls with a fearsome roar. She kicks out hard at the back of his knees, punches him in the side of the head, and makes a grab for the gun from his hand.

A shot rings out and as Kat wrestles the old man to the ground—punching and kicking him, she gasps in fear at the sight of blood splattered on Digby’s chest.

“I’m okay. Kat, I’m okay. It’s just a flesh wound.” Digby grabs the top of his arm before he strides forward with a snarl curled on his lip. “You fuckin asshole!”

He kicks the man as he lies on the ground as Kat guards the pair with the gun she retrieved from the ground. The man curls into a ball, protecting his head from the blows and begs, “Please stop!”

“Digby… Digby, you heard him. Stop or you’re going to kill him.” Kat grabs Digby's arm and tries to pull him away.

“Yeah, well, serves him right. Pullin’ a gun on you like that. He’s lucky I don’t rip his fuckin’ heart out and leave his bones for the bears.”

“I… I know what you are,” the man mumbles.

“I don't care what you know because it's not going to help if you're dead. What the hell are you doin’ up here anyway, old man?” Digby sniffs. “Ugh… my God, you stink so bad. It’s worse than Bud when he’s had curry. Do you live up here?”

---