The Hunt
By Marc Quick
Marc Quick is a senior student at The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) where he Majors in Art with a double minor in Marketing and Communication Arts. He was born and raised in San Antonio, TX, and he served in the United States Air Force before beginning his college career. Marc enjoys horror, fantasy, and science fiction.
Ricardo sat on a cold stone with his rifle slung across his shoulder. He waited for Ruben and Matthew to return from the car with a few items they had forgotten for this hunting trip. Ricardo was really looking forward to this – they had it planned for months. Suddenly, he heard a gunshot followed by Ruben screaming, “Oh my God!” Ricardo ran toward the sound of Ruben’s voice…
Ricardo made his way along the tree line that ran parallel to the spring. At the end was a wide-open field where the car was parked. Ricardo could see Ruben pointing his rifle into the tree line. He was yelling into the woods, he was alone, for Matthew was not by his side. Ruben began to fire his rifle into the woods. Ricardo was startled and yelled to Ruben.
“What are you doing! Where is Matthew…. Put your rifles down,” Ricardo yelled, as he ran to the car. He made his way back far enough to see the look on Ruben’s face. His skin was white, as if he’d seen a ghost. His eyes bulged from their sockets as if fear had blinded him. Ricardo could see his lips quivering while trying to form words.
“It… it just took him. It was so fast I just could barely see it coming,” Ruben stuttered. “Where is Matthew? Who took what exactly?” Ricardo was getting frustrated as to what exactly Ruben was trying to say. He thought to himself; did something or someone take Matthew from us?
“It was large, like the size of a wolf, but it had wings like a bat. I don’t know; it was just one big blur. It shot out of those woods so quickly. It pushed me down and by the time I got up, Matthew was gone,” Ruben explained as he continued to scan the trees with his rifle.
“AARRGH!” The scream came from deep within the woods. It was a male’s scream for help. An animalistic screech followed, and then silence. The two friends both looked at each other. Ricardo now understood the fear the haunts his friend Ruben. “That was Matthew. I know it was him,” Ricardo said as he swung his rifle forward. Ricardo pulled the bolt lever back to check to see if he had left a round in the chamber and released it forward.
“Come on, before it gets dark. I heard Matthew over at this side,” Ricardo urged, as the two began to run through the woods with their rifles in a low ready position.
The forest was thick and high, making it difficult to navigate. Each step was met with a thorny branch to the face. Each cut the men collected burned from the sweat that poured from their faces. Being somewhat still in shape, as former military troops, still couldn’t make up for this steep hike into the woods. They were losing daylight fast.
“We’ve completely lost track of ‘em. We should have found him by now,” Ruben stated.
“We need to head back to the car and find help…,” the screeching of the mysterious beast suddenly interrupted Ricardo.
Flaps of wings could be heard in the distance growing stronger and stronger. The two looked up to a moon lit sky to see large wings in the distance getting closer and closer to their spot.
“Run, get to the car, now!” Ruben ordered.
Ricardo started to run as fast as he could as Ruben stayed behind to cover him. As Ricardo stumbled through the woods, he could hear in the distance the blast from Ruben’s rifle. Again, and again, the claps of the rifle echoed through the woods as Ricardo tried to make his way into the darkness. Then silence fell through the trees, as Ricardo made it back to the clearing. He could see the car meters away. He realized that the gun fire had stopped, and this worried him. He fingered through his pockets to find the keys but found nothing. He remembered now; Ruben was the one who drove. Ruben still has the keys.
A booming smash hit the top of the car, ceasing his thoughts. It was Ruben’s body. He was dropped from the sky and crashed onto the top of their car. Sweeping wings soon followed. Both Ruben’s body and the beast were now on the car. Large wings covered the beast’s head as it crouched forward- echoing a bone-crushing crunch devouring his friend’s flesh. Its talons dug deep into Ruben as if to keep its prey from escaping.
Ricardo was frozen in fear. What demon stood before him? A true gargoyle-like animal now feasts on his companion. He thought; am I next? He noticed that on the top of the car, attached to the roof railing, was all their gear, including an extra propane tank. It was tucked right under the beast’s left talon. Ricardo raised his rifle, knowing he would only get this one chance. He aligned his optic to aim right on the center of the tank as he took in a deep breath. He gently squeezed the trigger as he exhaled. The shot was perfect.
Flames shot out from the tank, engulfing the winged fiend. It made a horrible cry as it rolled off the car and onto the ground. Ricardo lowered his rifle to pull the bolt back and then forward to reload. He began to approach the fireball that began to simmer beside the car. He walked around the car, where the flames scattered amongst
the ground surface. He did not see the burning body of the devil. Instead, laying before him, was the naked body of a blonde girl. She stared at Ricardo with one arm reached out. Blood ran from her mouth and eyes. Ricardo lowered his rifle. His eyes began to fill with tears. He could hear the young girl whisper,
“Thank you.”
Interview With The Author
1. First, how did you hear about Quirk submissions and what was your reaction to being accepted? I was so excited to find out. I enjoy sharing stories that people want to hear.
2. What inspired the creation of “The Hunt”? I’ve always liked fantasy as a genre and when I was writing “The Hunt” I wanted to create a scene of people out of their element and having to survive a force that is stronger than them.
3. How did you start writing? Honestly, I picture writing and structure and story how a screenwriter would because that’s how I begin to write was for Script, so my story boards and the events are all structured on the same formula.
4. If asked to define your work in three words, what would those words be? Interpersonal, suspenseful, playful
5. Is there anything you would like those who view your piece to know? I loved the movie Jaws.
Editorial Comments
From the first sentence of the piece, “The Hunt” jumps into the midst of the action that grabs the reader's attention, which was one of the main aspects that our team of editors wanted in this journal. This short fiction is fast-paced and keeps the stakes high for its characters til the very end. This thrilling piece can cause our readers to feel an adrenaline rush as they are also part of this Hunt.
