A Thirsty Intrusion

A Thirsty Intrusion
By: Jake Jollimore

         He opened his eyes hastily in response to the sharp crack that wandered into the three man lean-to from the woods outside. His hand tensed around the stock of his rifle and his ears turned ever so slightly, like satellites in a storm.

         The first blue light of day leaked through the seams of the grey-green canvas of the shelter, broken only by the silhouette of the stealthy figure roaming near its entrance. Upon seeing this break in the light, he gently nudged his fellow guerrillas who lie on either side of him. They awoke and looked towards him, quizzically—the finger against his lips telling them, “Ssshhh”

         He pointed to his own eyes with two fingers in the shape of a ‘V’, and then in the direction of who—or what—ever was moving outside. The two most recently wakened men complied with the silent command and looked.

         All three men were silent for a moment, until the snap of another twig sounded and the silhouette broke the light again. The first man, named Edward, made another silent gesture to the others in response to the most recent sound, this time telling them he was going outside.

         He slowly rose, one knee at a time until he was standing, crouched, under the simple shelter. His boots already covered his feet and he walked slowly towards the exit opposite the unknown adversary. His head penetrated the opening and he looked both ways—all clear.

         He beckoned to the others, and they waited just behind him. As he stepped out of the makeshift tent, both other men took positions similar to the one Edward held prior—heads sticking out of the tent.

         Edward stood, back against a tree, facing the tent and waiting for another sound to reach his ears. In the meantime the two other men emerged completely from the tent, each knelt near the edge on opposite knees, ready to burst ‘round the corner and begin firing (one held a sawed-off 12-gauge, the other a .306).

         Finally, the sound Edward had been waiting for came, and he slowly rose to peer over the peak of the lean-to. The other men watched him as a smile crept across his face, and they looked at each other—eyes narrowing—perplexedly.

         Edward knelt once again and looked at the men, one of his hands forming half a set of antlers against his forehead. The two men’s previously narrowed eyes became the total inverse and smiles larger than the one on Edward’s face formed.

         The men couldn’t have asked for a better intruder, as they had run out of real food two nights before. Since then they had been living off canned beans and sour candy.

         Edward motioned for the two men to burst ‘round the corner, as they were positioned to do, when he cocked his own rifle—an eighty year old AK-49.

         With the command in place, Edward proceeded to load a bullet into the chamber with a loud percussive *CHK*. He rose in unison with the sound and took aim at the massive deer. *BANG* A shot and a miss.

         The two men had followed Edward’s command and were both on their feet on either side of the tent, their firearms raised. Two shots rang through the forest, but sounded as one. The deer staggered and then fell.

         “Alright!” cried the shorter of the two latter riflemen.

         “Meat!” exclaimed the other.

         The three men, happy in their triumph over the hearty creature knelt ‘round it and all took a part in cutting then pulling off the still warm flesh. They wasted no time in doing this, as the task only becomes harder with time.

         Edward smiled, as did the other men, while tearing apart the creature. He was happy that it was a deer, and not one of the invading American troops. At the same time however, he was sad that it wasn’t an American they were gutting.

         The horrors that many Canadian families experienced at the hand of the American oppressors were numerous, and Edward knew someone had to teach them a lesson.

         While thinking about what fun he’d have with an American corpse, he took a long drink of water from his canteen—the very substance they were being invaded for—and laughed.

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Note to the reader: I realize that the end of this story may be offensive to many people, Americans in particular. I just want you all to know that I didn't write this story out of any hatred or dislike for America or its population. It is merely a fictional extrapolation of current events.

**Please remember, all feedback is greatly appreciated, positive or negative, just so long as it's honest and constructive.