Page 86 of Homecoming

“Wait!” the man quickly steps forward. “That is mine. You can’t put witchcraft on it. I’ve seen witches make words disappear.”

Digby stifles a laugh as he pushes the man back to where he was. “You just slow your ass down and stay put.” Digby raises the gun. “She’s not doin’ anythin’ to it except taking a picture.”

“Doing what?” The man frowns, eyes focused in awe on the flash from her phone.

“She’s taking a pic… You don’t have a clue what a phone is, do you? Man, you're even more naïve than Noah.”

The man gestures anxiously and as Kat now hands back the document, the man rolls it with care and places it back inside the gold tube, before he hides it again under his worn and tatty jacket.

“So, do you really live up here all alone?” Kat looks around. “Then what do you do for food and supplies?”

“The land provides what I need.”

“But it doesn’t provide those.” Digby points to the paint-peeling tin trunks. “So where’d you get all the weapons and ammo?” He lifts the lid on the largest box and finds it filled with an assorted array of rifle cartridges, magazines filled with bullets, and all kinds of weapons: guns and hunting knives. “No sir, this little collection didn’t just grow on the land and what about that sleeping bag—it looks almost new?” Digby now lifts the lid and checks the bubbling pot on the fire. He can’t make out what the meat and bones stewing is among the broth, potatoes, wild carrots, and herbs. “What the hell is that?” he sniffs long and hard, trying to familiarize himself with the smell.

“I said, the land—she provides what I need. Those guns are from the hunters she provides. I scare some away the rest… I take what they have. I thought you were them—poachers. There have been many more on the mountain—the kind I’ve not seen before.”

“That’s the truth, Noah said exactly the same thing—that there were more hunters and poachers around on the mountain.”

“No, not hunters—not all of them. Well-dressed men coming in bird like machines. I see them. I take care of the ones that come on to my land. I told you, the land provides me.”

“What do you mean, you ‘take care’ of them? You shoot them—kill them? You can’t get rid of that many, or I mean there’d be bodies all over the place and someone would start to notice,” Digby laughs.

The man goes to the pot and stirs it. “Man has to eat. Bears have to eat. Poachers get lost—the mountain is a danger if you don’t know her well. Someone could die up here and no one would ever know. They’d just disappear like a whisper in the trees, a rustle of leave or a snowflake on the ground.”

“What the fuck…” Digby looks aghast as Kat shrugs.

“I guess it’s maybe true?” Kat shrugs. “You do see those stories all the time on the news of bodies found in the snow after fifty years… but in warm surroundings like these, a body would decompose in no time or, more likely, get eaten by some kind of animal.” Kat shudders as she concentrates to erase the gruesome thoughts from her mind. “So what should we do with him now?” she questions Digby for a decision.

“I don’t know… I mean, we could kill him, right? If what you just said is true that no one would know… but actually if I’m honest, he seems pretty harmless, and apart from wavin’ a gun at us, we never knew he was here before that. I mean, we’ve run this path every day for two weeks and I’ve never even noticed him, or this before. I say we go on our way and leave him be.”

“Yeah, I have to agree. What about you? Do you agree with that?” she turns to the man who’s closely studying her. “That we just go on our way and you stay here? That we leave you to do your thing—whatever that is?” Kat looks at him, her green eyes staring into the deep soulful blue of his. The numerous years of his age are hidden behind the youthful stare of his eyes and Kat wonders what tales he could tell of this land.

“You do no harm to the mountain, I will let you go.”

“Oh,you’lllet us go?” Digby laughs loudly. “Now listen the fuck up, old man, this is not aboutyoulettin’ us do anythin’! The question here is, do you wanna stay here and be alive or be dead for the bears?”

“I choose to be alive.”

“Good. Now, I’m gonna take this here gun with me and when we get back on the path, I’ll leave it. You’re gonna need it more than I will. But if you dare to come after us with it again, I will kill you. Am I clear?”

Kat takes one more opportunity to look around and as she does, she notices the old book laid on top of a tarpaulin-covered box. She lifts the lid on what is actually a vintage brown leather traveling trunk. Studying the contents, she notices it’s filled to the brim with ancient hide and leather-bound books. “Do you read all these?”

“That’s no concern of yours. They’re mine,” he slams the trunk lid closed, just missing her fingers. “Get off my land. Don’t come here again.Youneed to stay away. I know what you are.”

“Yeah, you said that. And you’re right, we did come from the commune. Did you grow up there too?” Kat’s brow hitches, awaiting an answer. “The ranger I was talking about is one of my mates. So, I do know a little something about Rangers.”

“You know nothing. You need to leave. This is my land. I have papers.” He again reaches inside his rag clothes and pulls out the gold tube.

“Yeah… we know.Godammit…” Digby sighs, “you showed us that already. Kat, this old coot is as crazy as a hornet on bear dung. Let’s just get the fuck out of here and leave him alone.”

Kat agrees and with that, the pair slowly back away before hurrying to find the path from where they came.

“Are you okay?” Digby sighs as the ground levels out and they emerge from the tree cover in the denser part of the forest to a more open piece of grass-covered ground. The cabin is now hidden as if it and the old man had never existed.

“Yeah, I’m fine, but that was more than weird, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, it sure was and that guys, wow one crazy old coot, but then I guess livin’ up here all alone would be enough to send anyone insane. C’mon let’s go home and get cleaned up. I need to get that freakin’ awful stink off my skin.”

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