Lie in Wait

A lone wolf roamed a forest in the winter. He searched for food all around, finding nothing satisfactory for a long while. Eventually, he came across a sight that was expected yet still distressing: The frozen carcass of another wolf, lying next to a fallen trunk. For a brief moment, he wondered if it was the body of someone that he might have known before, or someone he could have met if fate had gone a different way. Who knows? Perhaps we could have been lifelong friends, he thought to himself. Then, with a calmness devoid of any hesitation, he began to eat the dead wolf.

This moment was witnessed by a thin man in his late twenties named Ellis Howard, who watched through a small gap in the barricaded window of his shack. He then shifted his gaze to the fireplace, and he added a much-needed wooden log to fuel the heat. He decided to open the hatch on the floor and start ice fishing, given that the shack was situated atop a corner of a frozen pond.

After about five hours, the sun had started to hide, so Ellis finished and closed the hatch. He pulled out a small journal and wrote the following entry:

November 19, 1892.

Good job, today you caught four herrings, a decent amount. You should be proud that you fished for longer than usual this time, you were getting too impatient before. And although you’re feeling cold, you’re running out of wood far too quickly, so be mindful of what you have left. The last thing you want is to go outside. Apart from that, you’re doing just fine. Stay where you are. Don’t end up like the dead wolf in the snow. Keep your fire going.

As soon as Ellis wrote that last line, he began hearing one of the voices in his head.

“So what’s the plan? What do ya have in mind now?”

Ellis turned his head and saw a slightly older man named Warren Bilford. The last person from his life that he would want to imagine...Well, maybe the second-to-last person.

“You already know, no point in asking,” replied Ellis.

Suddenly, Ellis heard another voice from the other side of the shack. It belonged to Warren’s younger brother Marty, who said “The point is to tease ya, and in that respect, it looks like we’re already succeeding.”

“Sure, you can tease all you like. Doesn’t change a thing. Out of all the endurance tests I’m facing, your presence is the easiest to deal with,” said Ellis with false confidence.

“Keep telling yourself that. Keep pretending that you got everything under control. It might even make you forget that he’s coming...” said Warren.

Ellis grimly laughed and replied, “Well, with you reminding me every waking second, it sure does get a bit difficult to forget.”

“You started hearing him yesterday, didn’t ya? He’s getting closer and closer,” said Marty as he got closer to Ellis.

“You hear everything out here in these woods, sounds of all that your mind can fear. But even if he is coming, and he’s nearby...” said Ellis as he looked towards his Winchester rifle. “I’m ready to do whatever it takes.”

“We probably said the same thing, and apparently we still died by his hand,” said Warren.

“You don’t know that for a certainty! You’re just assuming based on rumors!” yelled Marty.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if it was true. You two did everything in your power to piss him off, and you got what was coming to you,” said Ellis.

“That may be so, but I’ll leave you with this: If he did indeed find us, and he joyfully slashed our throats...it stands to reason that he’ll find you too and do the same,” said Warren.

“Hell, he might even be tired of simple throat-slashing. He might just have something new in mind...Just. For. You,” said Marty.

And with that, the two brothers vanished, leaving Ellis alone to his thoughts. How he’s always been.

At night, the wind howled and so did the wolves. At times, it seemed as if the howls had merged and become indistinguishable from one another. So with all the howling of the night, and the fear that his end was nigh, Ellis drifted in and out of sleep, always keeping the Winchester rifle in his right hand and a Bowie knife in the other.

When morning came, Ellis awoke and performed his routine check of all his belongings and resources. He casually looked through the gap of the barricaded window, where he saw a man sitting on the frozen pond. Since the man sat at a considerable distance from the shack, his face could not be clearly seen.

But what was fairly clear, however, was that he appeared to be looking right towards Ellis. An unblinking, fixated stare. A sudden rush of panic coursed through Ellis’ veins, and he instinctively picked up the Winchester rifle. Then, before he could make any other defensive move, Ellis saw a woman join the man at the frozen pond. She carried two fishing rods. Just a couple wanting to go ice fishing.

Ellis tiredly breathed a sigh of relief, and watched the couple as they settled in. He saw that they were making each other laugh, enjoying each other’s company, appreciating the scenery. What a day they must be having.

The voice of his mother Laura came to his ears, saying “They sure look like they’re having a good time, don’t they?”

Ellis turned and there she was, a comforting sight for tired eyes.

“They sure do. Good for them,” said Ellis with palpable envy. He picked up a herring, impaled it with a wooden stick, and started roasting it over the fire.

“Ever planning on having a good time yourself?” asked Laura.

“I’d say this is as decent a time as any. After all, I’m talking to ya. Could be a lot worse,” replied Ellis.

“Could be a lot better too, if you were really talking to someone else.”

“I know, Ma. It’s just that right now, this is the best I can do.”

Laura looked at the roasting herring and said “I’ve seen you cook better, that ain’t the best you can do.”

Ellis laughed and replied, “You got me there.”

Laura sat next to her son, looking at the fireplace that they both knew so well.

“Remember the last time we were here?” asked Laura.

“Yeah, I think it must’ve been we came over to visit Aunt Sarah a few years ago. I remember that you found an old scarf you were looking for, I think it was um-”

“The one your father had given me on our first Christmas. It really was quite beautiful. Did you keep it?”

“I wish I did, I’m sorry. It got lost again… amongst all your things,” Ellis wistfully replied.

“It’s alright. At least we’ll have the memory of it,” said Laura.

A brief moment of silence followed that last comment. Eventually, Ellis stopped roasting the herring and looked at his mother with remorse.

“Sweetie, you didn’t cook it for enough time,” said Laura concerned.

“Ma, I want you to know that I regret everything I did after our last talk. I knew that you were right, I shouldn’t have left so early and I - I shoulda been there with you before you passed.”

As Ellis hung his head down in shame, Laura placed her hand on his shoulder and said “You were always with me, even in the end. But your time has not come yet. You can still start anew and learn from what you’ve done.”

“But as long as he’s out there, starting anew is not an option. All my worst mistakes lead right back to him. There’s nowhere else for me to go.”

“That’s the thing. Look around you. Day in and day out, this is what your life is, what it’s become. And you don’t know how long it’ll continue this way. You’re just stuck here, while the world moves on around you.”

“I don’t know what else to do. I can’t just face him out in the open, I know I won’t survive. This is the best chance I have, simple as that.”

“I know you’re scared sweetie, I was scared too. Everyone is, believe me. But you can’t hide from him. Because one way or another, he will find you. And when the moment comes, you’re either gonna have to defend yourself…or surrender to him.”

Ellis looked at the dying fire, processing what his mother had said. He knew it was true. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, there was no other way about it.

Finally, he faced his mother once more and assured her “Whatever happens, I won’t let you down.”

Laura smiled warmly and replied “I know you won’t. And when we do see each other again, let it be when it’s your time. After you’ve lived through all that lies ahead.”

She hugged her son, kissed his head, and vanished into memory.