The ranger shook his head in disgust. “How long have your parents been gone?”
“Three or four days. Maybe a week, I don’t know.”
“I’m going to take a quick look around.” The ranger opened his door but Josh grabbed his arm.
“Wait, you don’t have to go out there. Can’t you just call my parents?”
“In a bit. I’ll be back.” He pulled away from Josh, grabbed his wide-brimmed hat off the dashboard and slid out. Josh hadn’t picked up anything around the campsite, and he’d discarded his own garbage on the ground. He slumped in his seat, watching the man, feeling like he was going to get in trouble for the mess. It wasn’t his fault! It was his parents’. He wouldn’t have made this mess if he weren’t so worried about them. He was just a kid, anyway.
The man walked off into the trees and out of sight. Josh wondered belatedly if he should’ve warned him about the monster. It was still daytime so he was probably safe. If the monster got the ranger, he would lock the truck.
A few minutes later the ranger returned and Josh sighed in relief. But he didn’t get right back in. He went to the back and pulled out a large duffel bag and a pair of leather gloves, and disappeared back out of sight.
Five minutes later he returned with the bag bulging. Whatever he’d found must’ve been heavy, he had to drag it back to the truck. It reminded Josh of TV shows when somebody was trying to hide a body.
He dropped the tailgate and lifted it in. He tossed his gloves in next to it, and got back in the cab. He looked at Josh curiously, as though trying to read his expression. “Did you see anything in the woods?”
“Did you see it? Did you capture the monster?”
“Monster? That there’s no monster.”
“What is it? What’d you get?”
“Josh,” the ranger said, “We’re going to the station and calling your parents.”
“But what’s in the bag?”
“Something that doesn’t belong out here. Never you mind that.”
“Okay,” Josh sighed. He supposed that’s what grown-ups did, they had a responsibility to make the monsters disappear. Maybe it was just a dead animal. Maybe his imagination had made something out of nothing. He stared out the window, watching the forest pass by in a blur. He’d been saved. Now the only things that mattered were food and warmth. He would be back in his own bed tonight, safe from monsters.
10
The man led him into a well-kept, very clean building. Stuffed and mounted dead animals decorated the walls and filled display cases. Deer, bobcats, and even a large black bear stared at him through glassy marble eyes, poised for eternity in mock ferociousness.
He noticed Josh studying them and said, “We’ve got a local that does a hell of a job at taxidermy. They look alive, don’t they?”
He shrugged. “I guess so.”
The ranger shrugged back. “Well, let’s call your parents, shall we?”
Josh flopped into a large chair with a soft yellow cushion and gave him the number. His clothes were damp, and he’d kept the blanket wrapped about his shoulders. He listened as the ranger introduced himself to his parents. They were alive! They’d be so happy to see him. He wished he knew what they were saying. The ranger nodded as he listened, eyebrows furrowed. He hung up the phone and looked over at Josh.
“Plans have changed, kid,” he said, “I’ve got to make another phone call in the other room.”
“Are they okay?” he asked.
“Yes, they’re fine. Aside from the littering ticket I’m sending them.”
“What’s the change of plans?”
“Nothing you need to worry about. I’m taking care of everything.” He disappeared for a few minutes and returned. “You’re all taken care of,” he said, “Hang tight. You hungry?”
He nodded eagerly. “Animals ate my food,” he said.
“If you leave it where they can get to it they’ll do that. Hold on, we’ve got some sandwiches. I’ll be right back.”
The man disappeared into the office again. He could hear him talking to someone else, a woman, who glanced out to look at him curiously. She wore the same forest uniform as the man. She had short curly blond hair and bright red lips. Despite himself, he eavesdropped. The man was taking far too long with those sandwiches.
“You should see that thing I found,” he said, “It looks like it crawled into that log to die. It must’ve been hidden there for years.”
“How’d you find it?”
“I could smell it. I can’t help but wonder, based on the markings, if the kid didn’t dig it up. He asked me if I’d found a monster.”
“So it’s in the back of your truck now?”
“Yup,” he replied, “I called up the Reclamation Department. I’m going to have them take it back with them. Kill two birds with one stone.”
She laughed, a high pitched nasally sound. “That kid looks like he’s been raised by wolves. And that noise! I can hear it clear in here.”
“He’s got some kind of damage. He wouldn’t talk about it.”
That’s why I never wanted kids, they break too easy. But I think someone had more money than sense, to just throw one away. I wouldn’t have spent the money in the first place.”
“Me neither, not on this salary. The wife though, she brings it up occasionally.”
“That’s why I settled for a dog,” the woman laughed again, “Cheaper to feed and I can tie her up outside when I’m not home. You get in trouble when you do that to a kid.”
“You just lock ‘em in a room, same thing, just more humane.”
“I guess. But it’s easier to clean up after them when they’re outside.”
“Well I better get him fed. Where’s those sandwiches?” the man asked.
“In the cooler. Don’t take the chicken one though, that’s mine.”
Finally. They were going to feed him instead of just talk about him. He didn’t like either one of them. He hadn’t been thrown away. The ranger returned with a sandwich. Despite his hunger, he tore off the crust, leaving it on the napkin. The ranger raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. He also handed him a soda, not one of his favorites, but he took it anyway.
“Hey Ted,” called the woman, “I think you took the chicken one!”
The ranger, Ted, called back, “I didn’t see a chicken sandwich in there. I don’t think you got chicken today.”
Josh quickly bit into the sandwich, hoping for chicken but getting ham and cheese instead. He didn’t say anything, but ate it quickly, before they had a mind to take it away from him to check for the woman’s chicken.
As he ate, he glanced out the window. Beyond the parking lot the trees pressed almost nearly to the concrete. Josh couldn’t see too far into them but he knew the forest held secrets. Secrets like the thing in the bag in the truck. He knew what the man had found. His curiosity wanted him to go look while in the safety of the sunlight, to see what had attacked him. Could it really be dead? He hoped so, but monsters always had a way of coming back at night. He intended to be as far away from it as he could be when that happened. A few more hours, and he’d be home.
11
Time passed slowly, and Josh had nothing to do but stare at the dead animals. They stared back, impassively. It would be strange to decorate in dead things. Back in the city, the only usable animals to decorate with would be squirrels, cats, and dogs. Would his parents go for that? He smiled at the thought of his mother hanging an angry squirrel on the wall.