Away From The Light

It is the rainy season on Crows Crossing Road it is near the mountainous area near the twenty forth turn where Jake and Ansel Cabbot have stopped to scope out a hunting area. They have ventured into the deep woods about a half of a mile in, there is mist and fog mixed with drizzling rain, it is difficult to tell if there is any sign of legitimate game because of the conditions, two steps further, and Jake hears the first screams coming from the deep woods up on the hillside. It raises the hair on the two brothers necks, but they come to believe that someone is in trouble, so the make a decision to proceed up in the tree infested hillside, never dreaming for a second what waited there hidden just out of sight. Away from the light.

Leonard.



October twenty sixth nineteen hundred and thirty eight, near turn twenty four, three miles from Templeton’s general store and gas station. Lies the cabin home of Bernard Lawrence and his young son Leonard and his daughter Annabelle, Lenny and his sister have no mother and throughout the entire area Bernard Lawrence is known as a brash two fisted alcohol swilling bully, and the only food and care for the small family is provided by the hunting and parenting skills of thirteen year old Leonard, he cooks, he cleans, and he cares for his little sister all the while being constantly beaten on a daily basis by his drunkard of a father. It is seven pm in the evening and as per usual it is raining . Leonard knows that his bastard father has been away at Templeton’s gas station and general store doing mechanical work all day, he also knows that the money made would be spent on liquor.


Bernard would come home and take to getting mean with his children because they were in his opinion the one thing holding him back. But this time, things would be different, because young Lenny has had enough, so to protect his nine year old sister he has taken her to a neighbors house two miles down the trail where she would be safe, leaving Leonard to deal with daddy in his own way. He waited for two hours past twilight and then he could hear Bernard lumbering up the walkway to the cabin, drunk off of his ass. He kicks the door in only to be met by silence, he bellows for Leonard and Annie to get their asses in there to feed him, but when neither comply he becomes angry and slowly moves through the cabin knocking over objects as he goes, stopping at the back porch, where Leonard is waiting.


He has a long piece of timber in his hands, and he is crouched below the porch when he strikes the first blow hitting Bernard in the right knee. The older bigger man rears back and bellows in severe pain. And it is then that Leonard realizes that now he has to see it through. Now there will be no turning away from this. He runs but not too fast, so that Bernard can follow him as he leads the way into the dark woods, and Bernard does. deeper and deeper into the woods Lenny leads his father until he has him confused as to where he is, he is stumbling down the path yelling out Leonard’s name cursing him, Leonard however has planned it all so very carefully and has lead his father to where he has a hunting knife hidden, and is waiting to make his next move. he comes up behind the older man stabbing at him two times, the second time raking the knife across the side of his belly cutting him open.



Leonard runs deeper down the path and the wounded but very enraged father still follows. He stumbles and falls. Now bleeding badly, “LENNY!! You little Bastard!!” The rain falls harder now, his angry shouts echoing through the trees through the down pouring rain. “Lenny! You think this makes you a Man? You ain’t never gonna get rid of me! Not now.. Not ever!!” he has stopped right where Leonard wants him to, on a Thirty five foot cliff overlooking the rapids of the Saddlehorn river. he stumbles but does not fall as Leonard has hoped that he would, instead he stands almost defiantly bleeding slowly to death while taunting his young son, Leonard can not stand anymore, he comes at him on a dead run down the path still wielding the bloody knife, and almost to the very edge of the cliff he leaps at his father violently stabbing him as they both fall over the edge and into the rapids of the Saddlehorn river. Young Annabelle Lawrence never sees her father or brother Leonard again.



Crow painting "Against The Wind." by Sherries Cherries..



Jake and Ansel Cabbots hunting excursion has been rudely interrupted by the screams of a man in the deep woods. They move closer to try to pinpoint the exact direction of the strange screams, and when they see the figure of a bloody man standing on the cliff they begin to have serious question’s concerning their own courage, and when the ghostly figure turns and begins to move towards them they beat a hasty retreat back down the trail the way they came. they reach their vehicle several minutes later and don’t even stop to check it over before they jump in it and speed away , neither one of them even notices the old bloody hunting knife sticking out of the spare tire in the back of the truck, with the letters L.L. carved into the handle.. The rain is still falling here, It will be a long wet season, for the true hunters that wait here on Crows Crossing Road.

Scratch.. A.B.T.Copyright© 2006.