The Blessed Blend (14 page)

The minutes ticked by slowly as the huge boar rooted around the log and through the fallen leaves. Finding a groundhog’s burrow, the big pig began rooting in earnest to get at the fat critter within. The ground hog ran out of one of its secondary burrows and scrambled down yet another one. Hell Hog gave chase, his deep woofing grunts and roaring squeals revealing his presence to the man sitting close by with his children.

Too damned close.

Callie wasted no time. She swiftly covered the thirty yards to get to her children. Euan was staring with a look of horror at the monstrous boar tearing at the soil with its huge tusks. As she reached him and the children, she ordered in a whisper, “Take the kids and run for the lodge before he figures out we’re here!”

“Wha’ the hell is tha’?!” he whispered in return.

“I said
run,
dammit!” she hissed.

Holding the twins close, Euan got up and ran like hell. Callie was right on his heels, looking back over her shoulder to make sure that they weren’t being chased. They made it to the lodge within four minutes and Euan collapsed on the steps to the porch, thoroughly winded.

Mike had seen them coming and had called for Darlene. Callie grabbed the children and ushered them into the lodge. “Hell Hog!” she wheezed.

That was all she needed to say. Darlene ran to the back calling for Jim, who swore under his breath as he headed inside to use the phone to call Jim Purvis, the local militia leader and the only person he knew of with military-issue .50 caliber rifles that fired armor-piercing ammunition. That damned hog could destroy everything they had worked for.
 
He had to be gotten rid of and it would take a hell of a lot of skill and luck to even find the porcine devil. No big hunting party or hounds this time. Just a few men with some really big guns.

Darlene was getting out the hunting rifles and ammunition while Caleb and Mike C. went down to the spring to see if they could pick up the hog’s tracks. Euan and John looked at Callie as Euan demanded, “Sae tell me aboot this pig, Callie! Where the hell did ye get one tha’ fookin’ big?”

Callie explained about the hogzillas and then said, “No one knows why they end up so much larger than either plain feral domestic hogs or wild boar. They just do!”

John asked, “Hoo big was he, Euan? Christ, yer face was white as a sheet when ye got here!”

Euan gestured with his hands as he explained, “He was as big as a fookin’ hoose, with tusks like
this
an’ ugly as sin!”

John nodded and said, “Like the Cuddy Black Sow!” referring to an ancient Celtic demon that devoured the souls of the newly dead.

“Nae, the Cuddy Black Sow would run afeart o’ this beast!” Euan declared.

Darlene motioned to Callie. “Call Jonas. We’ve got to get some men and dogs together to go after that hog.”

“Mama,” Callie reminded, “he’s up at camp, remember? Anyway, his pack will be no good for this. Hell Hog will hear them coming from miles away and hunker down to hide like he always does. Or he’ll kill ‘em like he did Mr. Walker’s hounds. Whoever goes after him will need stealth to get close enough to take a shot.”

Jim had entered the room and agreed. “We’ve got to get this son of a bitch and soon. We’ve got guests up in the woods! He’ll kill our business, not to mention our livestock or any one of us. Everyone’s tried to hunt him with dogs before and he just disappears somewhere, or he backtracks and attacks. Last time he killed a man, remember?”

John asked, “Can Euan and m’self help? We’re both good shots.”

Jim shook his head. “You don’t know the terrain here, John. There’s deep woods and hollows where you couldn’t see that pig if you were standing there looking at him. What you can do is protect this place. Ever shot a fifty-cal before?”

“When I served m’ two years in the military,” John replied.

“Well, you’ll get the chance to try one out again, then.”

Jim nodded to Darlene. “The boys and I will take turns on night watch. You’d better call your folks and let them know about this mess. And tell Layla to stay put up there.”

An hour later several men met at the lodge. Jim Purvis and his brother-in-law Steve Jacobson were there, having brought a total of eight military-issue anti-tank rifles. The barrels were six feet long, and fired shells that were as long as a man’s middle finger and as big around as a fifty-cent coin. Purvis was describing the combination armor-piercing and incendiary properties of the ammunition to those assembled. He and Steve both explained the set up and use of the rifles, which usually required some sort of stationary support to steady it for firing, and had each man practice with the unloaded weapons to familiarize themselves with the handling and features, especially locking and unlocking the safety.
 

Euan had never before seen let alone handled such huge firearms. He listened intently to the questions the other men had and as those present recounted local lore about the monstrous hog they were about to go looking for. The men were sober-faced, verifying that this was no time for tall tales or fooling around.

Eli wanted to go get Jonas’ hounds but Jim shook his head. “We need stealth, son.
 
Hounds on the hunt make too damned much noise.”

At that moment Callie spoke up. “Let’s take the pack. They can track as good as any hound and don’t make any noise until they make the kill.”

Before Jim could even open his mouth to veto that notion, Euan growled out, “The hell ye will, Callie! I’ll nae hae m’ bairns wi’oot a mathair!”

Her jaw dropped as she whirled to face him. Shock was rapidly replaced with indignation. Holding up her left hand she indicated her ring finger. “Excuse me?!” she snapped. “What do you see here, Mr. Wallace?”

He glanced briefly at her finger before replying, “What’s tha’ got tae do wi’ anythin’?”

Callie responded in a level voice, “There’s no ring there, Euan. You’re not my husband or the boss of me. You don’t get to tell me what to do!”

Euan got up and strode over to her, his six-foot-four frame towering over her five-foot-even one. “Ye’re the mathair o’ m’ bairns, Callie!” he said, his deep voice rumbling like low thunder. “Whatever concerns them concerns me as well, an’ that includes
you.
I’ll be damned if I’ll joost stand by an’ let ye put yerself in harm’s way apurpose. If I hae t’ do it, I’ll tie ye up an’ sit on ye until this whole thin’ is over.”

Callie’s eyes narrowed. “You truly have a death wish, don’t you, Euan? If you think for one minute that I’d let you lay hands on me let alone truss me up and hold me prisoner in my own home, you’re sorely mistaken!” she warned, her voice dangerously soft.

“An’ if ye think for one minute tha’ I’ll sit by an’ do nothin’ whilst ye get yerself killed, ye’re
joost
as sorely mistaken!” he snarled in return.

Jim weighed in. “Callie, he’s right. This is too dangerous to risk your life for when you have two small children depending on you.”

Callie turned to Jim, “You need the pack and they won’t run with anyone but me, remember? I’m not going to try to kill Hell Hog, just find him so we can take him out.”

“If you find him, how will you signal us without him knowing you’re there and coming after you?” Eli asked. “Sis, you’re putting yourself in danger no matter what you do.”

“We’uns is in danger anyway with that ol’ devil in the area,” said Papa. “And the question remains as to what to do when we find him or he shows up at our door or barn. He’s been shot full of holes and it’s never even slowed him down.”

Callie paused a moment, her eyes indicating several levels of thought going on simultaneously. Eyes narrowing as something occurred to her, she asked, “All those gunshots were to his body, right?”

“Head, too,” Purvis replied. “Where you goin’ with this?”

“But his hide is thick and tough, his body protected by a good layer of fat and massive muscle under that, and I’m willing to bet his skull’s as hard as a rock and twice as thick,” she noted.

“Yeah, and yer point is?” Billy Dougherty asked, his blue eyes showing his irritation that a woman would even be included in the discussion. He didn’t think women were good for much except keeping house, raising children, and warming a man’s bed. The fact that Callie used to regularly beat the snot out of him when they were kids just
might
have figured into some of his hostility towards her, however.

“Everyone has hit him where he could take the hits,” she said. “What would happen if you shot him where he might be less structurally insulated, like his legs?”

There was a moment of silence as the assembled hunters thought that one over. Several began nodding as they saw the validity of that tactic. John said, “Take oot his legs an’ he canna run or charge an’ ye can get up close tae make yer shots count.”

Papa agreed. “The legs are solid bone and hide but not much fat or meat to absorb or deflect the shot. It
could
work.”

“Sae ye wouldna need Callie t’ track the beastie, then?” Euan asked.

“Any of us can track him,” Jim responded. “But the wolves can track him better and they answer to Callie. They’re her pack.”

“There’s still the matter of coming up with a signal that won’t tip the damned hog off,” said Jacobson. “Something that we can all hear that doesn’t depend on electronic signals that get lost in deep hollows or over ridges.”

“We’ll have to use the mobile units on broadband, anyway,” Jim said. “We’ve got to have contact in case of emergency. We could use the ear phones to cut down on audible static, but we’d have to keep our voices down. The other problem is the squirrels, jays, and crows raising the alarm like they always do when hunters are out in the woods.”

“Better use some damned good camo, then,” Purvis advised. “And mask our scent.”

Callie asked, “When he moves into an area, how long until he starts raiding the pens and barnyards?”

Purvis thought a moment and replied, “This time of year, he goes for easy pickin’s fairly early. Most of ‘em do, just like bear.”

“Too smart to lure?” she inquired.

“Pretty much,” Jacobson answered. “Won’t take poisoned bait and he’s learned to trip traps before he gets caught in ‘em.”

Okay, so the hog was probably too smart to fall for a trap but Callie was trying to figure out a way to get him to come to them and to the place of their choosing. It would lessen the risks to them and if there was a way to keep Hell Hog away from their camp sites…

Wait a minute! The campsites, where they had food supplies stocked and where food was prepared. What a perfect trap! That way they could set up tree stands for surveillance and set the monster up for an easier kill. She began to share this idea with the rest of the group, adding that the most recently use site would be the one most likely to attract their quarry. The group that John and Euan had been scheduled to be part of was vacating the site that day, and their hunting had been quite successful.

“There’ll be enough blood and stuff on the ground to attract him. If we juice it up with some bait inside the cellar, he’ll have to really work to get at it which should hold his attention long enough for someone to try to take him out,” she said. “Shoot his legs out from under him and he won’t be going anywhere fast. Then you can call for back up to finish the job.”

Jim grinned. “Might just work, Callie! We’ll need to get on this right away. Gentlemen, let’s suit up, full camo!” he ordered. “Face-masks, too.”

Purvis nodded. “Got plenty of that spray to knock out human scent.”

Mike C. and Caleb came in the door. “He’s headed up towards the gap near Bull Wallow Holler,” he said. “Them fellows is on their way back but I don’t think they’ll cross paths. We haven’t cleaned the camp site yet and….”

“No, that’s perfect, Caleb,” said Jim. “We need it that way to attract him.”

Jim explained the plan as Caleb and Mike listened. “We need to get a move on then,” Caleb said. “He’s meandering, but once he catches wind of the blood from those kills, he’ll be in tearing it up in no time.”

Jim turned to Callie. “You stay here, Baby Doll. If the hog comes here, don’t take any chances going outside for any reason. We can lose chickens or goats or calves. We can’t lose any of y’all.”

He handed John one of the big rifles and a box of shells. “Use it if you have to, son.”

“Aye, sir,” John replied as he took the firearm, his face showing his amazement at its size and weight. “Where should I put it sae the bairns nae be playin’ wi’ it?”

Jim looked at Callie and Euan. “You’ll need to keep those kids away from that thing,” he instructed. “If you have to tag-team them, then do it.”

Darlene vetoed having the huge gun in the lodge. “Take that thing outside and set it up in the garage loft,” she said. “You can look out over the barnyard, pens, and hen house from one window and over the pasture from the other. Do
not
shoot towards the house! That thing can pierce an inch of solid steel a mile away. As thick as these logs are, they’d be as easily pierced as a piece of cardboard.”

Euan nodded. “John an’ I’ll stand watch,” he said. Turning to Callie, he pleaded, “Please keep the bairns and y’self safe inside. I doona want tae risk losin’ ye.”

Darlene stated, “We’ll stay inside, and Callie and I can handle our regular hunting rifles if Hell Hog shows up. If you hear any shots from the offside of the lodge, you’d better come running.”

John and Euan headed out to the garage and Jim and the other men, dressing in camo, headed in the opposite direction towards the spring and up the mountain. As they settled in, one watching out each window, John asked, “Wha’ if it comes here, Euan? We’ve hunted deer, ye ken, but nae a wild boar an’ shuirly nothin’ as big as wha’ ye’ve described. D’ ye ken if we’ll be able tae take ‘im doon?”

Euan thought a moment. He could still taste the fear in his mouth that had risen up upon first sight of the beast. It had looked like a cross between a rhinoceros and a hyena, truly monstrous in size and appearance, and he hadn’t needed anyone to tell him the danger it presented.

Thinking back, he realized that Callie had been even closer to it than he and the children had, meaning that she had been in even greater danger. Knowing Callie, she would have sacrificed her own life without a moment’s hesitation if it had even looked as if the pig were going after the children. He was certain that she would have gone down fighting, just as he was certain that he would have put the twins up a tree and tried to save her.

He shuddered at the notion of the children having to see their parents torn to pieces by a wild pig. Nae, if it came down to it, he’d do whatever he had to in order to take the beast down before it could even think of harming anyone else. “If it comes here,” he said to John, “it’ll die here and tha’s for aye!”

An hour passed, then two. The guests had come in and settled into their rooms to stay the night, unaware of the situation. Dinner would be elk stew, salad, and bean bread, which Darlene and Callie had already prepared.

The two women helped Darlene’s brother, Dave Robertson, process the meat from the hunters’ kills, most of which would remain with the lodge. The flank steaks and other choice cuts of meat would be aged, sealed, frozen, and shipped in dry ice for the clients. The trophy parts were already on their way to the taxidermist for shipment when completed.

The sun was setting when squirrels in the woods began to bark and blue jays and crows called out warnings. The pack had been resting under the back porch gnawing on deer and elk bones and came out growling with tails and hackles raised. Brutus, who had been lying on the porch with his bone, started barking.

Euan looked out past the barnyard and saw the goats and cattle running full-tilt for the barn and the horses and mules stopping with their ears forward as they stared intently at something up in the woods before they also ran for shelter. “Something’s oot there,” he said to John. “The beasties arre afeart o’ it.”

“Well, it’s nae the wolves, Euan,” John replied. “They’re running towards the forest wi’ the dog!”

There was a cracking sound, like a tree being splintered and the squeal of wire being stretched beyond its limit. A deep growling grunt and roaring squeal followed and both men felt their hair stand on end. There were more sounds of breaking and splintering coming from the forest.

At that moment the two-way crackled. Darlene’s voice came over the waves. “What’s going on out there?” she asked.

Euan replied, “Something’s in the forest. The stock hae come running in an’ Callie’s dog and wolves arre a’ the edge o’er there barking fiercely.”

“Roger,” Darlene said. “I’m headed to that side of the house with the binoculars.”

A moment later something big emerged from the woods and nobody needed binoculars to see it. Euan recognized the huge hog as the one Callie called Hell Hog. He didn’t need the two-way, either, to hear Darlene calling for Callie. Within thirty seconds, the windows in the northward attic gables were opened and the barrel of first one, then two large rifles appeared.

“Sweet Jesus, wha’ the hell is
tha’
?!” John exclaimed, his eyes wide as saucers. “Is tha’ it? Is tha’ the beastie?”

Euan glanced over at John before nodding and replying, “Aye, tha’s it.”

“Big as a hoose m’ arse!” John swore. “The bastard’s the size o’ the Queen’s bloody castle!”