Chapter Four
Oak
"bravery"
Disclaimer: I do not own the series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Like, at all. It and all its respectable characters are © to Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, and ViacomCBS and Nickelodeon. However, all writing contents and semi-plots here are © to me, unless it is stated otherwise. All shows/ books/ video games/ songs that are mentioned in this chapter are all © to their respective owners, I do not own them.
Summary: Life had been simple. Shay had moved out of LA to Montana's deep northwestern woods with her kids. She had a ranch and house. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than LA. Shay, however, hadn't planned on hosting a bunch of mutant turtles that stemmed from old comics, movies, or shows. Just how far will she and her kids go to protect them from their tight knit community?
Notes: Thank you for all the wonderful words from you guys; I really appreciate it!
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A wounded deer - leaps highest
I've heard the hunter tell;
'Tis but the ecstasy of death,
And then the brake is still.
The smitten rock that gushes,
The trampled steel that springs:
A cheek is always redder
Just where the hectic stings!
Mirth is mail of anguish,
In which its cautious arm
Lest anybody spy the blood
And, "you're hurt" exclaim
— "A Wounded Deer – Leaps Highest" by Emily Dickenson
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"Prairie rattlesnakes are a common species here in Montana, but…they don't live up here. They're at least a hundred miles or more south of Kalispell. I'm surprised at all to see one so far north. Thankfully though, they're the only venomous species of snake we have to worry about in the entire state."
Shay poured herself a drink and took a sip. Added a little more liquor. Sipped again. She tapped the countertop, satisfied, and placed the bottle of Jack Daniels back in the cabinet. Electric energy still thrummed through her veins. It tingled and she almost felt well enough to go jogging through one of the forest trails again.
She found herself staring down at the picture on her phone. It was a near-carbon copy of a photograph her mother had once taken of her father over ten years ago. Korra had been the one to take the photo earlier, but only after Shay convinced her she was perfectly safe.
In the photo, Shay was grinning and holding up the snake with absolute pride beaming across her visage. It was a very worthy Steve Irwin-esque moment in time. Her mother had even said so in response to the text Shay sent to her earlier on in the day. Her dad, on the other hand, had all sorts of questions. It paid to have another avid animal nut in the family.
"Your catch was impressive, and you handled it quite well," Leonardo remarked, and Shay lifted her eyes off her phone screen to look at him.
"Why do I feel a 'but' coming on?" Shay sighed. Leonardo's lips quirked, his brow creasing slightly with lines of concern.
"But," he responded pointedly, tilting his head at her. "It was risky. If it had bitten you—"
Shay held up a hand, drawing herself back from the kitchen table, phone clacking noisily as it struck the surface. She was infinitely glad that the kids weren't downstairs to see this.
"I'mma stop you right there, buddy. As much as I appreciate the concern, I'm well aware of and understood the risks that I took. But I've also been handling snakes for over thirty years, and I would like to think that I'm experienced enough to avoid being bitten. So, please, save the lecture."
There was a heavy weight that settled in the air, and it practically radiated heat in the empty spaces, making the air muggy and oppressive. Shay held her ground, shoulders pulled back, posture straight, blue-grey eyes burning with a quiet hurricane.
Leonardo, to his credit, held her gaze with equal intensity and stoicism. It was a tense standoff, and one that was finally broken by Michelangelo speaking up.
"Bruh, what she did was amazeballs. Were you gonna go out there and pick up that snake, Leo? I don't think so. So, let's just move on, huh?" The orange-banded terrapin clapped his hands together and looked expectantly towards Shay. "What's for dinner?"
It was the icebreaker that was desperately needed. Michelangelo seemed to recognize that long before even Shay did. When she processed exactly what he was doing, she was instantly grateful for the reprieve. It was an option to elect out of continuing the conversation. Instead of blindly stumbling through the dispute any further, she lifted her hands in a show of momentary surrender.
"The snake's gone and living out its life safely in the forest, away from my animals and from us. Nobody got hurt. That's all that really matters. Lingering on the 'what-if' scenarios is only going to grow some hernias and then some, so why don't we drop the subject altogether, hm?"
Donatello stepped forward, patting Leonardo's shoulder. "She's right. Things didn't take a turn for the worst, so let's just move on."
With that, the anxious spell broke completely. Shay returned to the kitchen, intent on finishing cleaning up and starting dinner. Even after she slipped her earbuds in and turned a YouTube video on, she still couldn't help but linger on the prairie rattlesnake and its anomalous location.
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Dinner had finally wound down, and with the apparent peace struck between them all, Shay retreated to the porch to read quietly. Night proper would take its own sweet time to descend upon them and for now, the cooler air and still-bright skies were perfect. Donatello had asked permission to utilize her computer and Shay had consented. Michelangelo offered to watch the kids while Shay took some recovery time from the day's stressful events. They were all watching a movie in the living room. If Shay felt compelled to, she could sit a little further up and peek through the window to see them all.
Occasionally, she would see one of her cats snoozing in the other windowsills, looking content as can be. Chief and Evergreen were laid up on the porch with her, dozing lightly.
Leonardo was the only one outside, the same as Shay. He asked if she would be opposed to him training out back, far from sight of the road. She told him he didn't need her permission and shooed him away.
No, she thought and was distracted from her novel. Leo's not the only one out here.
Raphael was still out somewhere. True, she had noticed him earlier on out in the horse paddock, and her kids had told her that he was the one who alerted them to the danger. After that, he had vanished again. He had been avoiding the house proper ever since The Reveal. The only time she had even caught a glimpse of him was in the horse paddock.
After she had caught the snake and then had shortly released it far into the woods, Raphael had disappeared from sight again.
Fucking ninjas, man.
Shay couldn't fault him for his avoidance. She was the source of his hate for now and as much as it hurt, she understood his aversion. She had told him, his brothers, in such a blunt manner, that to her—to her world—that they essentially didn't exist. They were ink on paper, pixels on screens.
It was a concept she had often wondered about in stories, in fiction. It was a concept she had written about herself, but this…this was so much more painful to experience. To know that she was hated, even if she hadn't been the one to create the world and people that had suddenly come to life right before her very eyes.
The words in her book's page blurred. She couldn't find her focus. Just before she decided to call it quits, she was startled by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Shay located the source in a hurry and found herself genuinely surprised at the sight of Raphael standing on the porch opposite her. Carefully, she kept her finger stuck in place of her book as she closed it. She turned her full attention to Raphael. Chief and Evergreen looked up. Chief laid his head back down, while Evergreen got up and skittered away, her tail tucked between her legs. Raphael watched her go. The wolfhound slipped around the corner. He turned his eyes back to her.
"Dinner's inside, if you're hungry," she said, hoping it was enticing enough to keep him from wandering away back out into the woods again. His eyes slid past her and in through the window behind her. They returned to her momentarily.
"Thanks," he remarked stiffly. "Uh…what ya did earlier…wit' th' snake. It was pretty ballsy, considerin' it's…ya know, poisonous."
Shay waited for more and when none was forthcoming, she dog-eared the page she was on and closed her book completely. "It was technically venomous, but I'll let that inaccuracy slide for now." Shay offered a smile, hoping the light tone was enough of an icebreaker. "You were gone all day. Is everything all right?"
"No, it ain't," he barked back, teeth bared briefly at her. He recoiled immediately after his outburst, looking reticent on the matter. "Just…it ain't…easy, takin' in everythin' ya told us."
"I didn't like how it came out," she admitted, hoping that the truthfulness leeched into her voice. "I meant what I said before, about wanting to be more tactful. To ease the subject in. I didn't mean for my kids to just…drop all of this on you like they did. It all just happened so fast. I…I'm so sorry."
She didn't know how to express her grief and regret without it sounding as though it was fake or forced. It was exhausting, trying to figure out a way to repent for something she couldn't even help. Shay wasn't the one who even made them in her world. She was simply a consumer, but…did that make her just as complicit? Just as guilty? Wasn't it bad enough that she was even a small component that assisted somehow in the workings of some great machine?
Trying to figure it all out was emotionally and mentally draining.
A sliver of her wanted to simply retreat to her room and hide out from everything and everyone beyond her own family. It was extremely appealing to follow through with, but she was able to hold off on it…for now.
"I…I found somethin' weird, out in the woods today. While I was walkin' 'round earlier."
That drew her attention. She sat up straighter in her chair and set aside her book completely aside.
"What did you find?"
He took in her sudden focus. Considered her. Nodded.
"Were ya th' one t' set up th' fences?"
"I did, around as much of my property as I could." Indignation flared inside of her as she regarded Raphael, but her temper wasn't aimed at him at all. "Let me guess: you found it cut apart in some areas."
"Ya knew?"
Shay cursed under her breath, shaking her head. "I've had issues with poachers, and the whole damned town knows who it is. Even fucking Terry—fucking Terry knows."
Acidity laced every inch of her tongue and burned right through the moment she released the words. Rage rose up inside and spread through her core, her limbs, her digits. The urge to hit something was high. Raphael's jaw clenched and his brow furrowed at her.
"I'm missin' somethin', ain't I? Who's Terry?"
"Terry is the local sheriff. And he knows that I've been having issues with poachers," Shay hissed back. "There's this family that had some of the property I now own. The Polks. They feel entitled to continue hunting on my land, simply because they used to hunt around here."
Raphael grunted at her. "An' they been botherin' ya."
It was a statement more than anything, and it took Shay a moment to realize it wasn't an inquiry.
"I've found evidence of their previous hunts on my property, and yet, Terry and his stupid-ass deputies won't make a move against the Polks. Too much 'respect' for those old bloodlines that've been here for decades. That, and they keep chalking it up to random predatory kills, even when it's obviously not any of that. It's all fucking bullshit. The Polks have left gutted remains on my fucking porch more than once, for god's sakes, but of course, Terry won't do a thing. Fucking useless!"
Raphael's eyes narrowed at her, sharp inquiries dancing like fire in his gaze. There were more, though. Accusations. Blame. Shay took a few moments to gather her words. If he was curious enough ask, she should at least be honest with him. Shay threw herself up onto her feet. Raphael didn't flinch, but she noticed he did tense himself, even as she began to pace.
"I'm still not sure about all the legality issues, it's…all buried under confusing legalese. What I do understand is that the Polks lost out on about ten or twenty acres of their property and some of it was integrated into mines long before I even bought the place. The previous owners were the ones to soak it into theirs. And yet the Polks have continued their hunting outside the legal parameters on my property. I've had to deal with trying to prove to the cops that it wasn't my doing before they moved on to the Polks."
Shay's breath stuttered out of her chest, muscles constricting tightly over her ribcage as she struggled for her next words.
"I…I've been dealing with them poaching on my property for about two years. It's why I put in the fencing. It didn't work in keeping them out, obviously, but them breaking in should have been enough, ya know?"
Raphael looked away. Even when she saw the spark in his eyes, Shay was unsure of what he was thinking. Instead of waiting, she barreled on through, her mouth getting ahead of her thoughts.
"The cops won't fucking do anything, because of all the supposed legality issues. Their usual excuses are a lack of proof. They haven't caught the Polks with any illegally poached animals outside of the lawful hunting timeframes, so I have to do it for them. I'm so tired of finding animal guts lying around on my property in the middle of summer or spring and I—I…"
Her throat pressed in close, tight and constricting, the lump impossible to swallow past at first. When she was able to breath around the hard knot, she managed to continue. She knew she was going in circles, repeating over and over. She couldn't help herself.
"If nobody else will do anything, then I have to do something. I don't care if I have to break their legs and arms in the process, I want them out of my fucking life, off my goddamn property, and away from my kids. This bullshit's gone on too long."
Shay saw her kids as the most important thing in her life, above all else. The Polks weren't sane. Everyone in town knew that. And yet they treated that family as though they either didn't exist or were some kind of cautionary urban legend to beware of. It was terrifying, finding piles of guts shoved on her front porch, full of maggots and decay and covered in thick swathes of black flies. Korra had had nightmares for days after those incidents, especially after the wolverine incident.
Shay only had one real and solid confrontation with Polks and ever since, they've been at odds with one another. They had become a kind of boogeyman in her particular neck of the woods. She aimed to defeat and conquer them, no matter what it took.
"The point is, I know that they've gutted multiple animals on my property out of season—which is illegal—and then left those same guts on my property throughout the woods. The last time I went out with my kids for a hike around the woods, I was attacked by a fucking wolverine. It was just…bizarre, they don't usually attack people. I had to keep it away from my kids and I haven't taken them out there since then because I'm afraid something bigger might be out waiting for us. I've mentioned bears before because we're deep in grizzly country, but there's also coyotes, wolves, lynxes, mountain lions. All big and nasty and territorial predators."
Raphael found that comment striking a chord with him. If it had been the woman on her own, he was almost certain she could care of her own damn self…
But the kids? They were young. Innocent. They didn't deserve some wild animal coming after them for any reason. They didn't deserve poachers endangering their lives for the sake of stubborn family prides and entitlement.
Raphael couldn't let himself to be heartless on the matter involving the kids and projecting his anger on them for their mother's crimes.
…even that sounded wrong. He knew she wasn't truly at fault. She was only a convenient scapegoat. It was easier to lay blame on her for his resentment. Yet, if he laid blame on her, he'd have to lay blame on the kids too, in the end. They knew about him, his brothers, his father, April and Casey—just about everything. The kids were the ones who had exposed everything to Raphael and his brothers in the first place, after all.
It didn't seem fair, after all intents and purposes were said and done. If one person had to suffer blame, then so did everyone else connected. It was difficult to release his hold on the matter, but he had to. He needed to.
"What're ya gonna do, then?"
The woman—Shay. She introduced herself to them as Shay…met his gaze without flinching.
"Did you happen to find any entrails? Rotten guts? Any discarded remains, any sort of organic materials that would suggest dumping, decomposition…anything?"
Raphael considered her and thought back on his trek throughout the surrounding property. He knew of several spots on the western fencing that had seen evidence of sabotage or tampering. And he could think of one particular spot that suggested of decomposing remains. The rotted stench alone had kept him at bay from investigating any further earlier in the day.
"I might have an idea or two."
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It took Shay the better part of twenty minutes to get Hemlock saddled and loaded up properly. He pawed eagerly at the ground as Shay swung herself up and into the saddle. She adjusted the holster for her pistol and machete, checked the hunting rifle in the saddlebag after. With a firm kick of her heels, she urged Hemlock forward, keeping a firmer grip on the reins.
Hemlock took off at a fair clip as she guided him into the forest and began following a trail once within.
The density of the trees pressed in close, covering the forest floor in a world of shadows and dappled sunlight and endless, rich greenery. Wildflowers and berry bushes lay hidden in clustered clumps along trails and worn pathways. Shay eyed them, filing their locations away as she took note of which ones were huckleberry bushes for later harvesting. The early evening chorus of insects and birds was winding up and providing a heady lull after the day's heat and long, bright hours. Shay kept her eyes peeled as she scanned ahead and kept Hemlock focused on his track.
She had to keep an eye on him; he would occasionally try to stop and graze. Nightshade was just as bad, if not more so. She had curbed the habit as much as possible, but some behaviors slipped through the cracks from time to time.
I really need to get more time in with her. Maybe if I get these fucking hillbillies off my property for good, I can take her out on the trails again. Work with her more closely.
Nightshade was more prone to panicking than Hemlock was. She was a headstrong and moody mare at times and that made it a little more difficult to work with her. But it was justly rewarding with how far Shay has already come with Nightshade. The mare was a lot more affectionate now than she had been when Shay first received her.
"Ya planning on shootin' someone wit' all that firepower?"
Shay jerked on the reins, dragging Hemlock's head back. He jolted to a stop with an offended squeal, gnawing at his bit. Shay twisted in the saddle, her pulse racing as she laid eyes on Raphael. He was leaning against a tree, arms crossed over his broad chest. She slowly pulled her free hand away from her holster, breathing a soft sigh of relief.
"Only if they give me trouble first. And I thought I told you I could handle this on my own."
"Sure ya could. Clearly." He said, nodding to her guns, a smirk slowly spreading across his scarred lips. "But it's always a good idea t' have someone watching yer back. S'been my experience, anyway."
Shay considered him for a few moments, words to dispel him ready to fly from her lips. He held up a hand, stopping her from answering prematurely.
"I ain't askin' t' come along. I'm doin' it whether ya want it or not."
She scoffed at him, clenching her jaw as she tugged on Hemlock's reins and gave him a firm kick with her heels. He took off at a sedate pace. "Fine. Whatever."
She could see Raphael keeping up from out the corner of her eye. They picked their way through the trails as they traveled deeper into the emerald world.
"So…how long ya lived out here?"
She scanned the woods, keeping her eyes ahead. She wasn't simply keeping an eye on the scenery for the sake of enjoying it. She needed to stay on her toes due to the wildlife. She worried about the bears, of course, but there were also mountain lions, black widow spiders, packs of coyotes, even moose. She didn't fancy a run in with those particular ungulates. Especially if it was a mother.
The wildlife could be deadly if she didn't watch out for and respect it properly.
"Moved up here…about three years ago? Three and a half. Before that, I had moved back to California. It's where I was from originally. I…I was recruited out of there."
"Recruited? Fer what?" There was surprise colouring his tone. Dare she say there was even a spark of interest.
"Military. I was in the Marine Corps."
"Tough li'l thing, ain't ya? Fulla surprises."
She swore she heard something close to admiration. Or was it barely masked sarcasm? Shay wasn't sure.
"California, huh."
"Yep. Los Angeles. Or, close enough to it. I was in for eight years."
"Why'd ya get out?"
"Back's fucked up. Had surgery twice on my left hip and it's still fucked. up. Chronic pain and shit. Just overall medical idiocy. Body's breaking down and it really fucking sucks. Most of all though, I wanted to go to school full time and get my degree."
"Don't ya got a husband or something to help out? Or a boyfriend? Er…girlfriend?"
Shay glanced at him, wondering what was with the sudden change of heart and the game of Twenty Questions. She drew her eyes back up to scan a head. "We're divorced. And he's back in Wisconsin with his family. We, uh…we met while I was in. He was a Marine too." She cleared her throat. "We were married for ten years. We've had our ups and our downs, but the downs, they uh, they outweighed the ups. It's…really complicated. We're cool now, though, so there's not really any bad blood between us. And my parents are here in Montana. Fifteen minutes away from my house."
It grew quiet after that, the only sound being Hemlock's soft snorts and nickers, the light clop of his hooves, and the sounds of the forest that teemed with unseen life around them. Raphael's footfalls were nearly inaudible as he walked alongside her on the trail.
"Sorry t' hear 'bout that."
"…thanks."
Shay flinched at the sudden rise of voices in the distance. She pulled back on Hemlock's reins and he drew to a short stop. He nickered gently and shook his head. Shay tilted her head, straining to hear. It took longer than she liked to pinpoint its direction. In fact, it was Raphael who did so before she did. She cursed her hearing loss. Living on an airbase for four years, working right on the flight line…it hadn't done her any favours.
"That way," he said, motioning up ahead and to the left.
Shay considered her options before swinging out of the saddle and down to the ground. She led the horse to a tree with low-hanging branches and tied him off on the strongest one she could find and reach. When that was done, she grabbed her hunting rifle, checked the chamber, and then slung it up onto her shoulder by the strap.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa—ya ain't killin' anybody!"
The rifle was jerked back and very nearly yanked her shoulder out of its socket, the pull from Raphael was so strong. Shay hissed as she held on tight to her weapon and tried pulling back from him but couldn't even get him to budge. It was like trying to push over a solid brick wall.
"I ain't shooting anyone, but I'm taking this as insurance—I ain't going in there empty-handed." Shay all but snarled, twisting to glower at the taller turtle. He kept his tight grip on the barrel, unmoving. Tension crackled in the air between them as she waited for him to relent. She hated that she broke eye contact first.
"Fine. But when—not if—they start shooting at me, I get to say, 'I told you so'."
He snorted and released his hold at last. "That ain't gonna happen."
Shay reluctantly stashed the rifle back into the saddle holster, patted Hemlock on his rear flank and took off. Over her shoulder, she called, "Stay out of sight for now. If I need you, I'll let you know."
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A trio of deer were strung up by their back legs, two of which were gutted open. Blood still dripped from their hollowed corpses while the white and pink of their skinned bodies glistened in the subdued lighting. The third was awaiting the same fate as the other two. Three men huddled close by, working on the third body. Two rolls of deer pelts sat close by on the ground.
They worked in partial silence peppered with hushed conversation. The heaviest set of the three men whacked one of the others on the back of the head.
"No! You're doing it wrong! Quick, clean cuts! You're butchering the damn pelt, boy!" His voice rose above a whisper to a hoarse shout that cracked halfway through.
"Sorry, Daddy. My hands just won't stop shaking—"
Another flat-handed smack.
"Excuses! Abel, take the knife away from Ishmael and do it right before he fucks this up any further!"
Raphael kept his distance, watching as Shay inched her way closer toward the poachers. At the same time, he kept glancing at the three men working away. He picked his way to higher ground, taking to a raised hillock littered with plenty of cover that could hide him from sight. For now. And of course, Shay had her pistol out. Damn it.
He'd failed a spot check.
Raphael probably should have had her leave that behind too, but the rifle had been bigger, easier to focus on.
Shay moved nearer still, choosing her steps with care as she worked her way toward them. She took out her phone and began taking pictures, snapshotting the men as they worked. This was possibly the first time in two years that Shay has been able to gather the proof she needed to turn local law enforcement on them. She kept creeping nearer until she was within spitting distance and stashed her phone away. She came to a pause just as Raphael settled into his own higher vantage point.
"Hands up, Jedediah. You too, boyos."
The men whirled on a dime to face her. The heavyset man in the middle sneered at her. The skinniest one of the other two men held up a hunting knife in her direction. The heavyset man Shay had addressed as Jedidiah reached over and motioned for him to lower the blade.
"Leif." The man said with a grudging nod.
"Polk." Shay replied, managing to keep her voice level. Inside, she had a roiling concoction of lividness and triumph battling it out with one another.
"Taking a stroll out in our neck of the woods, I see."
"Ain't your woods no more, Jedediah. You lost out on it. You lost your appeals, every single one of them, to retake your land again through the courts. The law leaned in my favour every time."
"Oh, enough talking! Daddy, there's more of us, let's just get rid of her, once and for all!"
"Hush, boy! The adults is talking." Jedediah snarled at his knife-wielding son and for emphasis, he snatched the blade away from him. Jedediah returned his attentions back on Shay, storing the knife in a sheath belted on his hip. "I'm sure we can all come to an understanding here. We're all civilized folk, ain't we?"
"Cut the bullshit, Jed. You know why I'm here. What you're doing is illegal and what's worse, you're leaving everything behind that you don't want and I'm getting all sorts of predators heading my way. It's endangering my kids and my animals, you backwater ingrates—ah-ah-ah! Hands where I can see 'em, all three of you."
Shay aimed her pistol at one of Jed's sons and he froze, halfway leaning toward the trunk of a tree. She saw the faint glint of metal catching light. Either a rifle or a shotgun, but it was there all the same.
Shit, she thought. Failed a spot check like a damned idiot.
"I swear by my shiny little pistol if your hands touch metal, I will end you."
Jedidiah thwacked his son in the stomach with the back of his hand.
"Up, boy. Now, look here, Miss Leif, I'm sure we can come to some kind of agreement, hmm? Something that'll satisfy us, and you and your kin. This whole ancillary feud we got going on, it ain't healthy for any of us. We can't get back our land, but we still wanna hunt. It's our God-given right, for Christ's sakes. You got some good hunting trails through here. One of the reasons we liked it so much. Such a pretty patch of land."
"Fuck, no."
The words came out, clipped and swift, without second thought or doubt.
"Here's what you're going to do. You're going to file out of here with me, I'm gonna call Terry and his deputies, and you're going to prison for illegal and out-of-season poaching on private property, not to mention the act of trespassing on private property." Her eyes slid to Jed's sons each, and she could see the storm brewing just under the surface. It was in the clench of their teeth, the tension in their limbs. They looked ready to jump. "And I might add in threatening my life if you don't comply fast enough. Now let's get a move on."
Jedediah opened his mouth to respond, but the words caught in his throat like a frog, when Ishmael leapt forward. He lunged for Shay, while Abel dove for the weapon leaning against the tree. Shay stumbled back, just barely scuttling out of Ishmael's charging grasp. Shay caught a split-second glimpse of Jedediah's face before she fired two quick shots. They went whizzing off harmlessly into the air, and the other two dived for cover.
"Get the gun, Abel! Get the goddamn gun!" Ishmael screeched.
Shay dove for her own shelter, ducking behind the thick trunk of a tree just as the hunting rifle went off not with a thunderous clap, but a more sedate pop. A split second later, shards of bark flew in different directions, some even striking her arm. Holy fuck-nuts, another second and they'd've got me. They got a suppressor on their weapons, no wonder I didn't catch them right away.
"RED!" She shouted; her throbbing pulse sounding like the roar of a waterfall in her ears. "I FUCKING TOLD YOU SO!"
Another shot was fired. It rang in her ears, drowning out other noise. Shay counted to three, then leaned out from behind the tree. She took aim, lining up her sights and popped off two more rounds. Ishmael went down with a scream, collapsing onto his backside as he clutched at his knee.
"Bitch shot me! Daddy, Abel, get her!"
She heard Jedediah crashing through the underbrush first before she saw him. He came whipping around the tree she had hidden behind with a bellow. The hunting knife flashed as it caught a fractal shaft of sunlight. Panic threatened to overwhelm her and thought came second as her body reacted first. She threw up her left arm, reaching to block his oncoming one and twined it around his at the same time. She used his momentum and heavier weight to twist him around enough to get him to both drop the knife and throw his entire self to the ground. With the other hand, Shay adjusted her hold on her pistol, flipping it so she held it by the barrel and swung hard like it was a miniature club. The grip rose to meet the side of Jedidiah's temple.
She felt as much as she heard a sharp crack resounding from the blow.
Jedediah went down with a dazed, surprised look painted across his visage, a pained and shocked grunt spewing out. He collapsed to the ground, dazed. He glanced up at Shay blearily right as she struck the side of his head with her steel-toed boot. She heard another crack when leather and metal struck skin and bone, and just like that, he was out for the count.
Shay swiveled on her heel, nearly tripping over an upraised root. The hunting rifle went off again and she gasped, stunned, as she saw Raphael drop down behind Abel, smacking him aside like a fly. The man went airborne with a scream that was cut short as his upper body smashed into a tree and he collapsed to the ground in a boneless heap. She didn't see where the rifle went soaring off to. Shay held her breath, counting the seconds. Nobody got up. Nobody else moved.
She let out the air in her lungs she'd been holding back. It gusted out heavily as relief washed over her in an oncoming wave of calm. Ishmael's whimpers were the only sound she could hear now. It was interspersed by hoarse little cries of, "Daddy? Daddy, where are you? Abel, I-I don't hear you neither—oh, my knee, that bitch shot out my knee—ARGH!"
His words cut short after a quick and sharp kick from Raphael.
"Don't be callin' her a bitch, ya little bitch."
A faint chuckle bubbled up in her throat as she sidestepped Jedediah's prone form and started toward the red-banded turtle. Raphael noticed her coming and watched, his lips twitching. Not quite a smile, but it wasn't not a smile, either. Shay slid the safety back on her pistol back on and shoved it into her side holster.
His not-not a smile faded, however, as Shay closed the distance between them. Whatever he had to say was cut short before they could come up. His eyes drifted downward, then back up to her face. He motioned to her leg.
"Yer bleedin'. You okay?"
Shay halted on the spot, blinking at him stupidly. She glanced down at her right leg first, saw nothing, and moved to the left. She froze at the sight of red blooming along the outside of her thigh.
Oh. They did get me after all, she first thought. She twisted her leg to get a better view, gingerly tugging at the new tear in her jeans with hushed apprehension. Relief came to her seconds later when she saw the extent of the damage and huffed out a laugh.
"Just a flesh wound. Jesus, it could've been worse."
"Ya gonna be okay, right?"
Shay straightened and bobbed her head. Now that her adrenaline high was puttering out, all her aches and pains were clamouring for her attention. Her newest one in the leg stung like hell, but she doubted she'd even need stitches. She counted herself more than lucky on that front.
Shay continued her short trek and closed the distance between herself and Raphael.
"Thought ya weren't gonna shoot them."
"And I told you I wanted my rifle for insurance but nooooo. So, here I go: I fucking told you they'd shoot at me. I told you so."
"Tch. Yeah, yeah. I heard ya th' first time."
"Sure, you did." Shay sighed with a light roll of the eyes. She couldn't help the smile that stretched across her face as she addressed him again. "What took you so damn long? I shouted for you, like, ten minutes ago."
"It wasn't ten minutes ago! I came when you called!" Raphael shot back, before growing reticent and reserved as he pointedly looked away from her. "I…I thought I saw somethin'. Somethin' big. It had…horns, I think. Bigger'n these things up here."
At first, Shay was stiff and alarmed at his words as he brought them out before she noticed he was pointing to the dangling deer. She was just as quick to relax.
"It was an elk. So long as it ain't rutting season and we ain't bothering them, they won't bother you."
Raphael seemed to process this in a short, yet thorough, amount of time. He tilted his head in understanding towards her before stopping himself short.
"What's rutting season?"
"It's when the males fight other males so they can earn the right to mate with the females. It's basically a whole ritual centered around 'who wants to fuck' energy." She flapped a dismissive hand at him, ignoring the snort he elicited. "Forget about it. Could you be a dear and please bring me Hemlock? I have rope in one of the saddlebags, and a first aid kit in the other."
"Ya gonna be okay here alone wit' them?"
"Third time you asked if I was okay, and this is the third time I'll say it: yes. I'll be fine." The large turtle hesitated only for a brief moment, but gave her a sharp nod, and stalked away into the underbrush. His form was quickly swallowed up by the dense underbrush. Shay swayed on the spot once he was gone, legs quivering beneath her frame.
"Holy shit pickles, I finally did it."
Two years. Two whole damn years. She was halfway there in earning her reward and that was some damn peace and quiet with her family. Now it was all a simple matter of holding out until she crossed the finish line.
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