I smiled. This was going to work. With the same care as before, I brought the rifle to my shoulder and looked through the scope. The low light properties of the scope gave me plenty of four legged options to choose from. It was still dark enough that I wouldn't have to worry about the sun affecting the picture. So many variables.
The doubts faded, the potential repercussions of what I was about to do melted into the background. My finger slipped over the trigger, and I took a deep breath, steadying the nerves. I had my target. Execute.
The shot shattered the silence of the valley, the sonic signature reverberating off the sides of the foothills. The buck went down. At least I was fairly sure it went down, because as soon as I had fired, the time for stealth and caution was over. The next part of my plan would achieve fruition only if I could move quickly enough.
I slung the rifle and started down the hill at a half-run, half-slide. The window was a minute, maybe two. Maybe. I had to get to the buck. I hurled aside thoughts for personal safety, trusting my agility earned over the years to carry me down the hill, picking my spots for me as I leapt from one patch of ground to the next. The herd was moving south away from the fallen comrade. Their numbers and frantic running away from the valley masked my headlong scramble toward the kill. The human eye would be attracted to the biggest scene. I hoped.
The slope ran out, leveling off as it neared the valley. I took my eyes off my route for a quick glance at the town below. Sure enough, I could see people moving inside the rundown houses. They had heard the shot and would be up at my position in a matter of moments to investigate. The fallen elk was just ahead of me. I still had a chance.
Still at a dead run, I slid down behind the elk, putting its mass between the town and my prone figure. I gripped the rifle close to my chest lest a rattle should betray my position. I was gasping from the effort, my heartbeat was playing percussion on my eardrums. I inhaled through my nose and exhaled through my mouth, calming my wheezes as best I could.
Voices from below carried to my position. Less than a minute I figured, and they'd be on me. I could pick out individual people from the different pitches in speech, and my mind raced as I heard that intelligent, slightly wry, supremely confident feminine voice that had branded itself in my mind. She was coming. Twenty seconds now, at the most.
I moved my right hand off of the rifle to my chest. I was definitely outnumbered, and movement into view would get me shot. They would have weapons trained on the buck, ready to shoot if he was still alive. I would have to tilt the field in my favor.
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