Mason Dixon - Monster Hunter: A New Templars Novella by Eric R. Asher

Author:Eric R. Asher
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
Publisher: Falstaff Books
Published: 2017-04-21T06:00:00+00:00

10

“Get out of here,” Larry said. “I can watch after Old Willie and the others.” He patted the monster rifle laying at his feet. “Just find that howler and take it down.”

“I don’t like killing things,” I said.

“Well get yourself over it,” Larry said. “Howlers have been breeding like rabbits the past few years. Taking out one or two aggressive bastards isn’t going to hurt anything.”

Larry was stressed, and I knew it, so I didn’t push the topic any further. It was interesting how he’d clearly been upset about the death of a gowrow, but now he wanted us to put down an Ozark Howler. But how many of those old panther legends were actually howlers?

“Leave the door unlocked when you go,” Larry said.

I chewed on more lower lip for a moment and then nodded. “Come on, Emma.”

“Back to the truck?”

“Yeah. Let’s see if we can pick up a trail. Look for bear tracks. Fresh ones, and it’ll probably be a howler.”

Emma led the way up the narrow staircase. She threw open the cellar door, and I thought I might go blind from the sudden blast of sunlight. I left one side of the door open so there was no way it would lock.

“You think Doc can get in and out of here without being noticed?” I asked as we cut through the switchbacks and headed back to the truck.

“I don’t know,” Emma said. “You said the ‘squatches don’t watch Larry too closely, right?”

I nodded. “They don’t have much interest in gowrows, as long as the overgrown soccer balls keep to themselves.”

“Well, it’s right across the river.” Emma glanced behind us. “And once you’re more than a few feet into the woods, nothing is going to see you from a distance. Except Dolly of course.”

“Sasquatches might be able to, too,” I said. “Especially trackers. They might be more civilized than you’d expect, but they have senses that will outperform a human any day of the week.”

We reached the truck and folded the rear hatch down. I lifted the floorboard out, revealing a touchpad safe. Six digits and the little red light flashed green.

Emma lifted the top of the safe. “Mason.”

“What?”

She eyed the ammunition inside. “I see three types of rounds here that are almost as legal as setting up a moonshine business in the middle of Saint Louis.”

I tilted my head to the side and nodded. “Sounds about right.”

“We run into any conservation agents and you’ll be in deep shit.”

“I’m more worried about running into a big cat with horns that disembowels me before I can put it down.”

Emma blinked. “I thought these things were like bobcats. Big bobcats, sure, but still just big cats.”

I grimaced. “If they’re anything like the stories, they’re going to be a hell of a lot faster than that gowrow we put down. And don’t think of them as bobcats. They’re more like a bear.”

“Christ,” Emma muttered, eyeing the rows of clips. “Steel core?”

“Custom made,” I said.

“Copper jacket?”

I nodded.

Emma blew out a breath and popped the cylinder out of her .

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