Wanted

Chapter 36

The biggest problem John had that night was having to stay awake until it was time to go. He had to make sure all the adults were gone to bed and also fast asleep before he could sneak downstairs to get the weapons, he wanted to bring with him.

Numees' bow and knife were kept beside the gun rack under the stairs with all the others. He knew his own would be of little use against a cougar and Matunaagd's was hard to handle. Apart from that he would have never dared to touch Matunaagd's in the first place. He was tempted to bring a gun, but they were heavy to carry, and he also wasn't sure how Jeremiah would react if he took one. The last time he had disobeyed him on that rule, Jeremiah was pretty cross with him. "If you ever touch one of my guns again without permission, I'll make sure you'll regret it. Make no mistake of it, boy," Jeremiah had said to him. The words had frightened John at the time despite not knowing what Jeremiah had meant by it. He had never touched one since, at the time he'd done anything to not be sent away.

It was different though now. He was mad at Jeremiah and didn't want to care. He wanted to show him that he didn't need him anymore, but his main objective was to impress Matunaagd so he would take him with him when the time came, when Jeremiah had enough of him. In the end he didn't take a gun though, they were too heavy, and he couldn't find the shells for them anyway.

Instead, he took a bedroll, God knows how long he would have to sit still and wait for the cat to show. He might as well be comfortable, John thought. He decided to go with Enkoodabooaoo's method since he had no idea how to make the sound of an injured calf or deer convincingly. Using Edward' satchel, he also packed a flask of water, an apple, and some sandwiches. He was terrified he'd wake one of the adults while he was busy in the kitchen, but to his own surprise, it all went without the slightest hitch.

Leaving the actual house was the most difficult part that night. Initially he wanted to leave through the bedroom window, climbing onto the roof of the pantry and then jump, but he feared, he'd wake Bert. The pantry was below the window that was directly above Bert's bed. It would have meant he had to either climb over him or move the bed with him in it.

So he woke up Carl again and enlisted his help to lock the front door after him with the big wooden bar that was placed across it during the night. At first Carl protested but then went along with it when John threatened him again with exposing him to his father. He also promised Carl that he would lie, when later caught. He'd tell everyone that Carl was fast asleep when he'd climbed out of their bedroom window. Because John was under no illusion, in the end he would be caught, needed to be caught in fact, but it would be worth it.

It was a long walk that took him most of the morning, but he had no problem finding the cougar's kill. By mid-morning he had found the spot where Enkoodabooaoo thought the other calf was killed at the edge of the forest. After that it was relatively easy. All he needed to do was to follow the tracks the cougar had made when he was dragging the dead animal into the woods. By lunch time, he had found the dead animal hidden under leaves and some fallen off branches in a small ravine with two steep hills on either side. The ravine was dry now but there were signs that there once was a brook running through it, maybe even quite recently as the soil was muddy and damp.

John climbed up the side of the hill along a narrow path that some animals had made, probably on their way down to access the water below. When halfway up, he came to a small ledge, he stopped and made himself comfortable. It was the ideal place for a stake out. He had a clear view of what was going on below without been seen, as he sat there with the bow at the ready, practising stillness the way Enkoodabooaoo had taught him.

Sitting there, he was reminded of the windowsill of the room he had lived in with his Ma and his little brothers. He used to sit there for hours, watching the busy street below. He used to love watching the people go by on the sidewalks or sit on the stairs in front of their houses, conducting their business. He liked making up stories about them, wondering what lives they might lead behind their closed doors. Sometimes he was sitting there anxiously though, waiting for his Ma to come home from work. Hoping for her to come home unhurt, with money instead of bruises, fearing she might not come home at all, while his little brothers slept in the bed, he shared with them. As soon as he'd see her approach, he jumped into bed and pretended to be asleep when she came into the room. She didn't like the idea that he worried about her. It had made her cry once. All that was gone now from him, and he wondered if they ever fixed that house up again after the fire and if someone else was sitting on his windowsill now.