I laid there, letting my mind drift back to the days before my death. I am guessing that my calling in life started back when I was working at the slaughter house. Once a week the owner would get a few of us together for a hunt. We would track and kill two legged animals that had been let loose on his property. Where he got them no one was sure about but he made sure they were not likely to be missed anytime soon. Our prey was usually young teenage runaways, mostly girls, but once in a while a boy would be thrown into the mix for the more advanced hunters. Before the hunt he would throw a party where the prey would be passed around the group for some fun. Alcohol and drugs were supplied and by the time the hunt was ready to start we would be ready for the kill.
Our prey would be released into the woods and given a one-hour head start as they were usually not moving too fast by the time the party was over.
Moving out into the forest we would spread out and comb the woods. Our hunt would last for hours as we would get close then back off giving a little hope to the person we were stalking. Moving in again we would take all hope away until they couldn’t run any further.
Someone would finally take their shot and together we would haul the prize back to the slaughter house to be made ready for the company picnic leaving a few fresh steaks which were placed on the grill for dinner.
The heart which was considered a delicacy was always awarded to the hunter that had made the kill.
There would always be a company picnic the following day with the main dish being the ‘dear’ killed the night before. I have to admit though that the girls were more tender and tastier than the boys.
The sheet was jerked off of me, time for more punishment from these two maniacs I had not even heard re-enter the room. The top of my head was removed again but this time he used his fingers to poke around inside. What he was doing didn’t hurt but it did feel strange. He replaced his finger with a blade and a pain shot through me. I wondered what he could possibly be cutting on in my head, then felt relief as something was taken from my skull and handed to his assistant. It looked like a blob to me but I didn’t have a good angle to see by so I listened to what he said.
” Check it out, Roy, and see if you can find anything interesting. We still haven’t determined the cause of death and that should help.”
I fell and hit my head on a rock you Idiot, it just wasn’t making since, what were they looking for? The doctor continued digging around in my head, while waiting to hear what his assistant found.
I still didn’t understand why they didn’t know who I was, they could have just looked in my wallet to find that out. A woman’s voice rang out in the quiet room asking for the doctor to come to his office. How could my wife not know I was dead? She was the person that found me. Does this mean they don’t know I’m dead? They were expecting me back from my hunt which consisted of getting a deer and a human then mixing the meat together. This made the taste less wild, I would feed this to my family who loved deer. I get the meat that I crave, they get a great source of protein. I used to hunt alone no matter what I was hunting, but have recently let my oldest son join me when he was home. I enjoyed skinning both types of animals. I liked the flavor of the human meat the best and unlike my teacher I only hunt females in their mid-twenties. The fat they have on them the better the taste and teenagers were usually too skinny. The more fat makes a better burger when mixed with the deer meat giving it a better texture and making it moister.
The door opened up again as the doctor returned.
“Sit down a minute, Roy,” the doctor said, “I need to tell you something very important.” Roy took a seat on one of the stools, he wondered if he was going to get fired from this sweet job. “We have found out the identity of this John Doe, it’s your father. Your mother has been notified and asked if you could make the arrangements for him to be cremated.” Roy looked at the corpse then back at the doctor, “will you let me finished helping you with him now that we know who he is?”
“Well since you have been in on it since the beginning I see no reason to stop you now. The only thing left to do is to close up his head and get him ready for transport.”
Roy finished up with tissue that had been taken from his father’s skull, then he held up his hand. “Found it.”
Found it? What did he find? What were they looking for? I have a few question but no one to ask them for me.
“What is it?” asked Doctor Johnson as he moved across the room and took the object from Roy.
“Looks like a bullet fragment from a powered rifle to me Doc,” he said.
That was news to me, I thought I had tripped and fell. Some ass wipe had shot me in the back of the head? ‘Who would do something like that?' ‘Well,’ I thought, ‘it doesn’t matter now as there is nothing I can do about it.’ I can’t feel the parts of me that have been removed so when they cremate my body will that mean my soul would finally find freedom?
Suddenly everything went black and I felt myself being moved once more. When the bag was again unzipped I was in a cold damp room. Roy started moving around like I did while skinning my hunts. He was working on me but for some reason I could not feel what he was doing. I felt myself being put in a bag. I was removed from the bag and could feel a scrapping sensation before being pulled and stretched over a hard surface. I could feel heat, not fire, but the heat of a fire, like I had done when I dried the skin from animals I would hunt. After tanning the hides, I would use the leather to make clothing. I wondered if this is what was being done to me. Time stood still as the process took days or maybe it was weeks. Then I heard my wife’s voice, what the hell was going on here? I started listening to what was being said.
“Roy, are you done in there yet?”
“Not yet” he said throwing a blanket over me, “Mom! I told you not to come in here. This is my work room now that Dad is gone.”
“Ok, dinner’s ready so come eat while it is hot.”
“I will.”
I heard the door close then my son started talking to me like he knew I was still here.
“Well dad, I hope you like the job I did on you. Mom wanted to keep you around so she has your ashes on the mantel. Don’t worry I will continue the hunting like you taught me, the rest of the family doesn’t need to know. Then, like you, I will teach my oldest son how to hunt.
He picked me up and our skins touched as he slipped his arms through mine. Pulling me snug against his body it felt as if we were one.
Roy looked at himself in a mirror admiring the leather jacket he had made from my skin. Seems like I won’t be missing out on any future hunts, I thought.
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