The Path of Evil

Jeff moved softly through the leaf strewn forest floor. He had been quietly working his way toward this spot for the past hour. This was the same area where he'd had a shot at that big buck last fall and he was hoping that he could find the same spot again. But this afternoon, if his luck held and the big deer stepped out in front of him, he didn't intend to shoot him, but simply take his picture! The actual hunting season didn't open for several weeks yet and this was just a scouting expedition to refamiliarize him with the terrain he hadn't experienced since last year. He'd left his Blazer parked off the side of the fire trail a half mile or so behind him and he'd been enjoying this quiet stalk through the early fall afternoon. He had snapped a number shots of small wild life creatures, squirrels and such, during his careful movement, but no deer. He was about to move off the direction he'd chosen, when he saw the ragged remains of a fallen oak just ahead. And there at the left end of the rotting trunk of the old tree, was the stump that he had sat against a year ago. He quickly moved toward it with the intention of sitting and hoping for a glimpse of that big deer in the forest in front of him before heading back to the Blazer. He sat with his back against the stump, camera at the ready, but there was no movement other than the rustling of the leaves as a gentle breeze played through the trees. After an hour, he decided to start back, thinking maybe he'd be luckier on his walk out of the woods. As he got stiffly to his feet, he suddenly glimpsed movement off to his right and froze in an awkward half standing crouch while searching the trees for the movement that caught his attention. And there he was, about a hundred feet off the end of the fallen oak. The big buck stood looking at Jeff; ears tilted forward, head held high, a large majestic rack on his head. Jeff felt a surge of excitement at seeing this magnificent animal in all his glory, just standing there as though posing for some wild life magazine. Jeff slowly started to bring his camera into position, but the buck sensing this movement, turned and quickly bounded deeper into the forest and out of sight. Jeff stood upright, heart pounding, experiencing an adrenalin rush from the close encounter with the big deer. He took a few steps down the length of the old oak tree, in the direction the deer had disappeared into the thick forest. But stopping, he realized that trying to see the deer again was going to be impossible today. Turning to start back to the Blazer, he suddenly saw what appeared to be bones strewn along the old tree trunk. Thinking it must be the remains of a dead animal, he stepped nearer to take a closer look and was suddenly horrified to see what appeared to be the skeletal bones of a human being, including the skull! Jeff felt the hair on his head move and was sure it must be standing on end! He had seen dead bodies before, but this was not a body, but the rotted remains of a body, the sight of which was so unexpected and so gross that he was nearly nauseated. Obviously, these remains had been strewn about by prowling animals and the very thought made Jeff gag. Stepping back and away without conscious thought, he brought up his camera and began snapping picture after picture of the scene. There were still bits and pieces of flesh and body parts clinging to the bones, as well as putrified remains of skin and hair on the skull. Jeff instinctively decided that this was what remained of what had once been a woman ... but from these remains, he had no idea of what her age might have been. Controlling his nausea, he stepped several feet away and reached for his cell phone clipped to his belt. It was habit more than anything, that he had the phone with him at all. Normally, when he went tramping or just walking through his hometown neighborhoods, he would leave the cell phone behind, just so he would have the freedom of being away from business for a while. Now he was grateful that he had not left the phone in the Blazer, or worse yet, at home in his cabin. Dialing 911, he was suddenly concerned that he might not be able to send or receive in this remote area. His fears were quickly relieved however, when the surprisingly clear voice of the 911 operator answered his call. After several cursory questions, she transferred his call to the Sheriff's office and he found himself explaining the situation to a Deputy Carstairs. Jeff had some difficulty in trying to explain exactly where he was, but solved the situation by directing the deputy to the fire trail where his Blazer was parked, saying that he would go back and wait for him there. By the time Jeff reached the fire trail, he could hear the sound of automobile engines coming from the county road a mile or so away. As he stepped out into the open, he glanced down the trail at his Blazer parked a short distance away and saw a sheriff's car already there. A deputy was standing behind Jeff's Blazer and talking on his radio. Jeff realized that the deputy must have been running a check on his vehicle and probably him too. As he started walking the short distance to the Blazer the sounds of engines he'd heard were suddenly close behind him. Turning, he saw two more sheriff's cars and what appeared to be an oversized van. Jeff wondered how in the world they could have arranged all these vehicles this quickly. "Mr. Lawson?" The deputy by the Blazer said as Jeff walked up. "Yes sir, that's me' Jeff said "You must have flown to get here this fast." "Yeah, well I got the call and I was only a couple of miles from here checking on a dog complaint” the tall deputy said. "My name is Bill Tuttle and I understand you've found something interesting out here" sweeping his arm in the general direction from which Jeff had emerged on the trail. Jeff said "Well, I'm not sure I'd call it interesting, I'm still trying to keep my lunch down!" At that moment, an older man came walking up, although as Jeff watched, he felt that the term 'bustling' would have been a more appropriate description of the way this fellow approached him. He was somewhat overweight and carried what could only be described as a 'beer belly' over a tightly drawn belt. He too, was in the uniform of the county sheriff and as he drew closer, he in fact introduced himself as: "Sheriff Tommy Beck" which struck Jeff as a peculiarity for a man of his years being called 'Tommy'!