The Smoke Blower

She dragged the object by the square metal piece to the base of a tree. She knelt down beside it and began twisting at the oval pieces. Soon the object made more sense to Lloyd, the oval metal pieces were now strained by Ms. Pearce tightening the coil at their base. Any animal that stepped foot near that thing when it was at full tension would be certainly captured if not maimed in the process. Lloyd stared on as she went to work and soon rose wiping the sweet from her brow. Without saying a word she turned and continued walking in the direction they were going. Free from the heavy weight Lloyd could now enjoy their surroundings. The wind whistled through the trees and rustled the falling leaves. The sun glistened off patches of leaves but the majority of the wooded area was sparsely lit. Eventually they came to a wide clearing. Ms. Pearce paused as she reached the open space, taking a deep breath. `Have you ever shot before?' she said turning to Lloyd. `No Ms. Pearce, I haven't.' he replied, still trying to catch his breath from the brisk walk. `It's easy.' She loaded the gun, pulled it up against her collarbone. She stood tall with her shoulders back. Her eyes narrowed. She drew her tongue slowly across her top lip, from left to right. She aimed the gun into the air and fired. A bird fell from the sky as the rest of the flock scattered across the blue sky. Lloyd exhaled loudly. He tried to mask a twitch in his arm. A cold shiver rushed through his body. `Do you want to practice now?' What was he meant to say? It was too late to turn back now, where would he go anyway? `Yeah, why not.' Lloyd answered hesitantly. `There's a birch tree amongst the firs down there, about twenty yards, do you see it?' `Yes, I see it.' `Stand with your shoulders back, the gun tucked high into your chest and hit that white birch down there.' Lloyd aimed; he could feel Ms. Pearce's breath on his neck. He shot. It hit nothing. He turned nervously. `Try it again.' Ms. Pearce muttered. It was the first time Lloyd had seen patience from the woman. `This time, hold your breath before you shoot to help steady the gun.' Lloyd tried it, and sure enough he hit the green stained cream birch tree. This time he turned around with a bit more enthusiasm. Ms. Pearce was already walking down the grassy hill towards the center of the wide clearing. Moments later Ms. Pearce found the pheasant she had shot. She picked a small branch from the ground and taking some twine from her pocket; started tying the bird to it. As she did this Lloyd got a chance to get the full panoramic view of the trees that circled the green concave. Lloyd took the two empty rounds from his gun. The gun snapped as he pulled the long barrel of the gun down. From the corner of his eye he saw movement in the trees about 150 yards away. He slowly raised his head not paying attention to his gun any more. The royal beast stood staring from the edge of the woods on the far side of the open space. His neck was arched down towards the ground but his golden antlers looked like two hands reaching towards the sky for a prize. The broad antlers spanned what looked like about 40 inches apart. His red coat shone and reflected the dark brown shadows of the trees. He remained still. Lloyd had never seen a, in real life before, never mind as close as this. Tracing the image of the stag, his fingers outlined the tall antlers mounted on top of the stag. He stood so proud and assertive. He traced the front leg's thick muscles. The imprint of the fine animal was still so crisp on the bottom of the tanned leather book. The edges of the book were slightly worn now, but the animal and tree impressions on the front cover remained vibrant in a chocolate brown color. The smooth pages were a yellow hue. He sat on the floor beside his white wrought iron bed reading one of the stories. The thin mattress was of no great comfort. The shutters on the windows blocked out most of the day's brightness but Lloyd found a sliver of light to study the book. There was no carpet on the floor; only a small rug beside the bed covered the untreated bare floorboards. Dust particles floated through the air like snowflakes. Pale grey wallpaper with scattered bunches of flowers clung to the cold walls. The only clue that it was a child's room was the pile of small clothes that sat on the dresser. The wardrobe was empty. On the stairs Lloyd could hear footsteps. He jumped up and stowed his book under the dresser and sat at the oversized desk opposite the window. He pulled open one of his copybooks from his satchel and began scribbling something on it. Something, anything, he scribbled furiously. The footsteps on the stairs became louder and louder. The floorboards on the landing creaked as the person drew closer. The door swung open. The unoiled hinges scraped against one another. Lloyd remained still. His gaze did not diverge from the copybook. His palms became moist as he tried to control his shaking. His head lifted slightly from the table as he studied the flowers on the wallpaper with their pink and yellow petals. The sharp crack of the belt shattered the silence. The metal buckle dug deep into his back. In the split second before he realized the pain, he celebrated the end of the uncertainty. He winced over the table. The second strike was harder. She was now standing over him now. He protected his head. As he heard the belt swing through the air again he shouted out, `Stop, mummy, STOP.' She paid no heed to his cries. Her face was expressionless. The only movement was her tongue tracing a line along her upper lip. He tried to turn to show her the pain in his eyes. Her trance like gaze did deflect from her target. The tears wheled in his eyes as he flinched when the belt crashed down on his upper back again. He hugged the table. Unable to move. He whimpered to himself as she returned downstairs, crying would do no good. The book his only companion. Ms. Pearce stood up once she had finished tying the bird to it. She was about to commence walking when she saw Lloyd's eyes fixated on something, in what looked like a trance. `What are you staring at?' she snarled, her voice resonating in the open space. The beast lifted his head at the invasive noise in his habitat. Lloyd didn't answer. He hoped the animal would scatter back in the trees, it didn't move. She followed his line of sight and paused once she saw the beast. The bird fell to the ground immediately. The stag had seen them but did not anticipate any danger as they were nearly 400 feet away. Lloyd snapped out of his daze as her rifle snapped shut. She burrowed her hand into her coat pocket and loaded the rifle, before took a deep breath. The shot hit the tree about two meters to the right of the stag. Startled from the noise, the animal bolted back into the forest. The quite rustling of the leaves under hoof was the only noise that could be heard, it echoed around the desolate concave, mocking her. It took a moment before the fresh silence was shattered.