The Hunt by Jack Cashill

Author:Jack Cashill [Jack Cashill, Mike McMullen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Permuted Press
Published: 2019-10-23T01:14:37+00:00

DAY

19

Matt

“Matt,” his father whispered, squeezing his son by the shoulder. “Time to take over.”

“Damn, it’s cold,” said Matt.

“Late October, clear night, ten-thousand feet, about what’d you expect. Good to go?”

“Sure,” said Matt, keeping his survival blanket wrapped tightly around him. He was not good to go at all. He had not slept—not for a moment that he could account for. Worse, the condensation caused by the survival blanket’s impermeable mylar left him clammy and damp. Still, he chose not to alarm his father.

“It’s about three now. If I’m not moving in a couple of hours, which is unlikely, give me a shake.”

“Did you see anything?”

“No, didn’t expect to. This is a tiny nook in a very big place, and the Mexicans have no idea where we are.”

With that his father leaned up against a tree and, as far as Matt could tell, fell instantly asleep. Matt watched him in wonder. Over the years his dad’s friends had told him, much as Thor did, that the old man was one of a kind—a work of nature. Matt was beginning to see that these guys were not just blowing smoke. He wondered if some day he might be as…self-contained, as confident, as together…as the man sleeping peacefully against the tree. He would like to think he could be, but he doubted it. His father, he knew, never would have lied about something as major as the death of his mother.

Tony

“Okay, Matt, I’m awake,” said Tony groggily, pushing the hand away from his shoulder. He took a moment to get his bearings, sat up shivering, and began to rub his arms. The temperature had taken a dive. He looked at the crystal clear night sky and checked his watch to confirm. It was earlier than he expected to be awakened.

He found Luke curled up right next to him and shook him awake, ready to cup his hand over his mouth if necessary. Luke’s eyes opened, and Tony whispered, “Get yourself something to eat and make sure everything is ready to go.”

As his eyes adjusted to the pre-dawn haze, Tony spotted Matt lying flat on his back, his survival blanket on one side, his pad on the other, and his Tyvek ground cloth at his feet. None of this computed. He could have sworn Matt had just woken him a moment ago. He crawled over and shook him gently.

“Thanks for waking me, pardner,” said Tony. Matt opened his eyes and looked back at him confused. Tony continued. “No time to go back to sleep. Get yourself a bite to eat and make sure your pack is loaded. Let me get a bearing, and then we’ll ‘ruck up and get moving.”

Tony pulled out his compass and a bag of jalapeno Cheez-Its, a weakness he passed off as a survival strategy, which it kind of was. Closing his right eye to make sure he maintained maximum night vision in a least one eye, he illuminated the compass for a quick look with his green squeeze light and then confirmed the indication with a glance at the sky.

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