Missisquoi River

One family's vacation turns into a hunting trip

In the back yard. On a brisk fall Saturday morning.  Parked on the lawn up against the back door is the SUV of the world's smartest dad.  The roof is loaded down with camping gear for a family about to 'rough it' for the next couple days.  Here comes dad now with a bag and some rope.  His wife is in the kitchen giving baby Bobby his num nums.  She just finished making snacks, and packing the cooler

for the six hour trip to the Vermont woods.  Little Brandi, the 10 year old, is quietly having a sandwich while watching her show.  "All packed!", triumps Bill, ".. How you doin' babe?"  Barbara calmly dictates, "Take that cooler and the baby bags,

and put Brandi in the car honey.  We'll be right there."  "Comon kiddo", Bill sways his hand toward the door.  "Daddy, I'm still eating.", Brandi pouts.  Bill smiles, "Did you know Alexander the Great was the first person to make a sandwich?  He

did it so his troops could march and eat at the same time...  So let's go soldier. March and eat, march and eat. Heh."  Off they go in single file while Barbara is wiping little Bobby's face, just steps behind.  Bill buckles his soldier in and turns around to a handful of baby.  Barbara hands Bobby over, "Here hon, take the baby and put him in his car seat."  Barbara gets in, starts the car and programs her iphone nav app.  Bill buckles Bobby in, then peeks in Barbara's window.  When Barbara looks out, Bill salutes her and signals her to take off like a navy jet pilot.  He hops in and off the go.  

Along the way they have to stop and get Bill some cheap cigarettes.  There's a truck in the parking lot with a deer strapped to the hood.  A hunter is walking out, with a box of ammo, just as the family walks into the little store.  "That's gross!", 

Brandi wrinkles her nose at him.  "That's food, little lady.", retorts the hunter.  Mom tries way too late to shield her daughter's eyes from the image.  Dad makes a goofy smile to the hunter and shrugs.  The girls go in and do thier business in the nastiest bathroom on the planet while dad gets his smoke on.  While he's waiting in the car, Bill watches some kids in a truck doing donuts in the gravel parking lot.  Bill and the driver lock eyes for a second and the driver peels rubber, speeding onto the road.

He cuts off a Mercedes.  The Mercedes scrapes the guardrail and spins to a stop while the truck races away.  The owner of the Mercedes staggers out of his vehicle and into the store, just as Barbara and Brandi come out.  Bill sits back like nothing happened

and they take off.  Barbara notices the vehicle in the road from her rear view mirror, and asks, "Bill, did you see that?".  "See what hon?", bill changes the radio station.  Barbara drives on, "Nevermind."  

They finally pull off the road.  Remembering her family trips, Barbara drives into the woods the way her mom did when they came here.  She stops as the trees become too dense, "We're almost there.  Just a few hundred yards that way to the

prettiest winding river.  You can pull fish right out with your bare hands, the water is so clear.  My mommy and daddy started taking me here when I was your age.  They were the greatest times of my life.  Brandi, are you excited to continue the tradition?... Brandi?"  "...... uh huh.", Brandi's face glowing from the flickering light of her ipad.  Bill gets out of the car and tries to look over the mountain of luggage to his wife, "How did your father get all of this stuff a few hundred yards to the river?"  "Um.. I don't know.  He probably made two trips.  Dad was always doing something.  He never stopped."  "I think we're going to amend the tradition to include this dad making only one trip.  Everybody grab something."  Bill puts a backpack on Brandi and gives her a bag to carry, "There.  Now you're evened out."  Barbara totes a bag. Bill drags the cooler with three bags, like a sled dog.  With a baby, in a chest harness, leading the way.. and kicking him in the balls with every other step.

When they get to the river they find an old stone fire pit.  Bill and Brandi collapse.  Brandi falls on the bag she was carrying.  Barbara goes down to the river bank and stands triumphantly.  Bill sits up and looks around.  He takes a swig of 

water and lights a butt.  As he thinks about fire he realizes no wood is around.  "We're going to get some wood.  Want to go on an adventure Honey?"  "Have fun you two.  I'll clean the campsite and set us up.", Barbara waves.  The two walk into the woods as Bill points toward a piece he spotted on the way in.  "So, how many boyfriends do you have today?", Bill nudges Brandi.  Brandi smiles, "I like Gary from my class, but all he wants to do is squeeze my breasts."  "O.K.  Oh look, there's a piece of wood.", stammers Bill, "You should take that one back to camp and I'll find one further out."  "O.K. daddy.", Brandi heads back dragging a branch.  "You should tell your mother about Gary, sweetheart.", Bill finally thinks of something to say.  Tens of yards away by now, a faint Brandi says, "Mom already knows."  Bill turns around and scratches his head.  He gives an extra look at Brandi as she disappears.  He opens his butt pack and lights a joint.  With a couple quick hits he douces it and forages on.

Barbara gets a broom and sweeps the twigs and leaves away.  "Hey honey.  I didn't expect you back so soon.", she notices Brandi, "Check out the river."  Brandi walks over to the river and stares at it, but quickly looks elsewhere as if she's bored.  Barbara walks over to her, "Do you know how to skip stones?"  "No.", Brandi's head shakes.  Barbara finds a couple round, flat rocks and hands Brandi one.  Barbara leans to one side and down a bit to practice throw.  She wings back and lets it

loose a couple feet off the water.  The rock hits the water nice and flat and it skips 20 times, at least.  Brandi tries and skips the rock almost three times.  "Nice one for your first try.  You're a natural.", applauds Barbara.  The girls throw a few

more times and Barbara heads back to set up the tents.  She sets up one tent, and Bill arrives with arms full of branches.  Bill drops the wood and lights up.  He takes a big drink of water.  "Cottonmouth, dear?", snickers Barbara.  "Yup.", Bill squints a smile.  "Feel like setting up a tent?", Barb feels Bill up for his special pack of smokes.  Bill shrugs and nods.  "I'm gonna go pee.", Barb winks and waves the pack at Bill.  "How do you pee out here mommy?", asks Brandi.  Barbara knows, "You

just lean up against a tree and watch out below!"  

      When Barbara gets out of sight she lights up the joint and strolls happily

into the woods she grew up in.  She finds the tree her teenage boyfriend carved their names.  She thinks about Brandi and her future boyfriend on chaperoned camping trips.  Barbara finds a dead tree and digs some grubs out.  She takes them to the river where she baits a stringer and throws it in.  With a few more grubs left, Barbara makes her way up the river bank to the campsite.  Bill's got the tent up and is kicking back in a folding lounge chair.  He's staring at the fire and poking it with a long stick.  Barbara sits in a lounger Bill set up next to him.  He hands her a beer and they both stare at the fire.  As dusk sets in, Mom hands out hot dogs on a stick.  Dad immediately lights his on fire and whips it out.  He looks at how black it is and says, "I like it that way."

  

About an hour before sunrise the Brody family wake up to shotgun blasts.  Everyone comes out of their tents to a voice, "You have until dawn before I kill you."  "Who?", asks Bill into the blackness.  "Who do you want to kill?  Just don't hurt

my family."  The forest is eerily quiet.  As if the animals knew what kind of evil was around and ran away.  "Hello?", Brandi checks one last time.  "Holy s**t!  We gotta get dressed NOW!", barks Bill.  Bill bolts into the tent and lights up a butt.

He's getting dressed when Barbara and Brandi look inside.  "What are you doing sweethearts?  Get dressed.", Bill begs.  Barbara motions Brandi to go to her tent and gets the baby.  She goes into her tent and Bill has already filled it with smoke.  "What's going on?", Barbara hopes Bill will have an answer.  Bill exits the tent puffing away and looking frantically into the night.  He gets the water and ties them to him like a bandelero.  He gets the knife and flashlights.

"We have to go now!", Bill checks his pockets one last time.  Brandi and Barbara come out dressed.  Baby Bobby is strapped to Barbara's chest.  "OK, where to honey?", Bill looks at Barbara.  "I don't know where to go!", Barbara screams.  "We have to find

people.", Bill whispers, "He's probably listening to us."  Barbara starts to say where they can go, but Bill covers her mouth and motions with his hand to go.  She starts to lead the way.  Bill says, "Can you pick up the pace?"  A few hurried steps later into 

the pitch black forest and a few tree limbs to the face slow the family down.  With flashlights bouncing toward their next step they maintain a quick walk.  They find a path and pick up the pace to a jog, only slowing when one starts to run     off the blessed path.

The sun has still not shown itself, but things are becoming visible.  Dawn is announced with a, not too distant, shotgun blast.  A collective gasp and stop step engulfs the family.  The following steps become fleeter and with more purpose.  This brisk sprint doesn't last long.  Gasping for breath, Bill holds his hand up and bends at his waist for the last few steps.  The exhausted family catches their breath.  Barbara speaks in half words, "You.. gotta.. take.. Bobby."  An arrow pierces Barbara's shoulder

and comes out the back of her baby's head.  She screams from the pain.  When she opens her eyes and sees her dead baby she screams louder.  Bill grabs Brandi's hand and Barbara by the waist and urges them to keep moving.  His wrenched eyes fill with tears when he sees his boy.  Barbara drops her shoulder and moves on with Brandi looking behind them as they go deeper into the woods.

         After half an hour goes by, Barbara stops. She asks, "Bill.  I can't hold him anymore.  Help me."  Bill takes out his knife and begins to cut off the arrow sticking out Barbara's back.  As soon as Bill touches the arrow Barbara yells, so he lets

go.  She grits through her teeth, "Juss do it!"  He takes hold of the arrow and starts sawing.  Bill follows Barbara as she starts to kneel, the pain shows through the veins in her neck.  Barbara exhales when he snaps the end off only to take fast, deep breaths while she looks down.  She re-grits her teeth and tries to slide her baby, and the arrow, off of her.  Barbara convulses in grief until the pain makes her stop.  She looks at Bill.  He holds his son.  Bill puts his foot on Barbara's stomach and slowly pulls

his baby.  Barbara falls to the ground.  Bill lays the little body on the ground and Bobby's head turns as the arrow digs in to the dirt.  Barbara's glance toward her son turns into a wide, terrified gaze.  "We have to go on.", Bill urges Barbara to get on her feet.  Bill tears off the bottom half of his shirt.  He wraps it around her wrist and slides it up her arm and onto her shoulder.  The family pushes on, minus their newest addition.  The hunter finds the baby and, 'tsks'.  He collects the feathered part of the arrow and seperates the baby from the other half of the arrow in three quick jerks.  He puts the baby in a trash bag, slings it over his shoulder, and follows the tracks.  The Brody family maintain a decent pace and manage to stay ahead of the hunter until night falls.  "We have to get some sleep.", Bill pants and lights up a smoke.  "Have you lost your mind?", Barbara flicks it out of his mouth.  "Suck on this!", Barbara hands him his baby's pacifier.  "What are we going to do Daddy?", Brandi sobs.  "Shh honey.  We're going to get out of here in the morning.", Bill attempts to be convincing.  Bill, Barbara and Brandi huddle together in a bush and manage to rest some of the night.

The morning brings chirping birds and thirsty, hungry people still running for their lives.  "We have to come up with a plan or we're dead.", Barbara decides.  "What do you have in mind?", Bill asks.  Barbara stands to talk with her hands, "I know 

this place pretty well, maybe better than that a*****e.  If we head south we'll come to a river and where there's water there's help, but.."  An arrow whizzes past them and into a nearby tree.  Brandi yells, "Comon!", and runs in the direction her mother pointed.  Bill is the next to run away with Barbara running more frantically.  She calls for Brandi to stop, but Brandi is on a mission.  Their other child busts through the bushes and right off a pretty high cliff.  Brandi's scream lasts a couple of seconds until, silenced when she hits the ground.  She fell about a couple of stories to the river that Barbara was talking about.  Her open eyes signify that

she didn't survive the fall.  Bill skirts the edge of the cliff with a lifesaving change of direction at the last second.  Barbara catches up a second later to Bill.

"There's a place to go down here, but he's so close now that we'd be sitting ducks.", Barbara weeps.  The two trek away from the cliff, but keep close proximity.  Barbara looks at Bill.  He seems to be eating cigarettes.  "What are you doing?", Barbara shakes her head.  Bill chews, "I'm addicted ~gasp~ and hungry."  "That gives me an idea.  Light up honey.", Barbara motions.  Bill gladly obliges. Barbara quickly takes it out of his mouth.  She runs away from the cliff and puffs away.  An envious Bill follows even though he has no idea what's going on.  She flicks the smoke and returns to the cliff.  Barbara finds the way down and Bill follows.

The hunter quickly picks up the scent and the trail and skips downward as well.  He slips a bit and loses his bag.  It flutters past the two as they make their descent.  "What was that?", Bill asks.  "Hey!  Has anyone seen my baby in a bag?!?", chuckles the hunter.  Barbara slides to her knees and covers her mouth as she looks down.  Bill yells up, "Yeah.. Come and get it!"  A lit stick of dynamite bounces past the parents and explodes twenty feet below.  "You m**********r!", quivers Bill.  "I'm coming for you", yucks the hunter.  They make their way to the the field Barbara was looking for.  A bright yellow, and as high as their shoulder, dry grass.  Barbara asks, "Bill, give me some matches."  Bill hands her the box and she takes some.  She gives him the box back and grabs his hand.  They make a beeline path away from the cliff.  After about a hundred yards she stops.  "We'll each circle

back, lighting the grass on fire, and light his a*s on fire.", figures Barbara.  Bill agrees and they split up.  With each match strike that doesn't light on the first try Barbara becomes more determined.  She makes her way around her semicircle, lighting matches and starting the blaze.

Bill climbs a nearby dead tree and spots the hunter.  He signals the hunter to where his wife is and where she will be, and he walks out of the forest.  He makes his way to the hunter's garage.  The two had worked out this plan for months.  

They had used the U.S. Mail to correspond with each other.  Bill, being upset at the loss of his two children, yells, "You fucked up!"  His wife comes out and yells, "No.. You fucked up when you left me for dead!"  She blows Bill's knees off with a shotgun.  When Bill frantically looks around he sees Barbara loading another round into the shotgun.  Bill holds his hands out and gasps to talk, when she shoots through his hand and into his face.

Barbara saw Bill's tree climbing and pointing.  She did what she knew was the plan, but light the fires closest to the cliff after she was already inside the circle.  Barbara took a risk and grabbed a limb from a dead tree as she circled around behind the hunter.  The fire's crackling hid the sound of a limb snapping into a sharp point.  When Barbara saw the hunter, she saw the death of her children, and rammed the pointy limb into his back so hard it lifted him up.  When she felt him leave his feet, she drove her own feet quicker until he was atop a four foot stick.. Like an umbrella.  Barbara pulled down on the stick, when she lunged off her feet, to plant it into the earth.  The sudden stop forced the hunter onto the stick enough to kill him.

    

Reviews

[cpapme]

Thank you for your total lack of feedback. It made me rethink the ending altogether. It should be finished soon.

[cpapme]

Please give me honest feedback.

[cpapme]

Or... a 50 yd wide mudslide pushes all three off the cliff to their deaths. And Brandi lives to be raised by beavers.

[cpapme]

perhaps.. the remaining Brodys' befriend the family of the hunter they killed. The Mercedes driver btw. Until years later, when their still living child finds them.