It was around midnight when Thomas Kreiger heard the shots. With a huff, he rose from his bed and headed to the window to look outside. The storm hadn’t subsided yet. The rain lashed against the glass panes, generating a continuous rattle.His wife Florencia woke up with a start. “What happened?” she whispered. “It’s the Pinkertons.They are hunting in our land again! Where is my rifle?”, Thomas whispered furiously. Florencia realized what Thomas was upto. “Thomas no. Not in this storm. Let them scavenge a rabbit or two. We will confront them tomorrow” she said, putting herself between Thomas and the gun case. “No Florencia. If we don’t respond now, those imbeciles will continue this day after day. Now is the time I put an end to it.”, he said. Going around her, Thomas picked up the rifle from its box and swung it around his shoulder. “I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry,” he said and headed out. And before Florencia could say another word, he had already left.
The year is 1918. The Kreiger family and the Pinkertons were wealthy landlords. Everything was swell except for a piece of land that was covered with dense trees.The Kreigers claimed that the land was theirs. The pinkertons did not concur. Thomas Kreiger, was entering that very land. He followed the gunshots. Judging from them, he concluded that it was only one person. “It must be Scott. That bastard…. Just wait till I get my hands on him,” Thomas whispered under his breathe as he made his way through the soaking land. The rain was lashing down on him, carpet after carpet. He pushed through it. As he went deeper, the trees seemed to cave down onto him.
That was when he saw something a few meters ahead. It was a deer carcass. Freshly shot. “Scott, goddamn it!” Thomas was furious. Scott wasn’t hunting rabbits. He was hunting his prized deer! He could hear grass ruffling in the distance. It was Scott, coming for his kill. Thomas hid in the bushes next to the deer, opposite to the direction from where the sound came from. And soon enough, a figure emerged from the dark vegetation. It was Scott. As he approached the deer, Thomas emerged from the bushes. Scott froze in his path. “Thomas?” He seemed surprised. “Yes. It’s me. I thought we talked about this Scott. This land is mine. The deer, the bunnies, the trees, and every last goddamn blade of grass in these woods are mine. Now why do I see you, hunting MY deer in MY land?” Thomas bellowed over the storm.
Scott scoffed. “We talked about nothing, old man. This land, it ain’t yours to take. It’s with the Pinkertons. Now get outta here before I whoop ya ass across the fence.” That was it. Thomas lost it. He lunged at Scott and landed a solid blow across his chin. Caught off guard, Scott lost his balance, but regained it quickly. Blocking Thomas’s right hook, he brought his knee to Thomas’s stomach, knocking him down. As Thomas hit the ground, Scott levelled his rifle at him, but Thomas swatted it away in the nick of time, with the round whizzing mere millimeters past his ear. Enraged, he delivered a kick to Scott’s knee, making him fall face first on the ground. As Thomas scampered to get up, a bright flash blinded him. Both the men yelped and covered their eyes as thunder rumbled overhead, as if in dissatisfaction over the scuffle. Thomas could hear wood cracking and the start of a crashing sound. A stifling blow landed on his back and pressed him against the ground, and the world went dark.
“Thomas! Holy Jesus! Thomas!” It was Scott’s voice, coming to him as if from inside a well. Slowly, the sound sharpened as his ears opened. He became distinctly aware of the rain lashing down on him and a humongous load on his back. Thomas slowly opened his eyes and looked around. “Thank god Thomas!” Scott exclaimed. Thomas turned to look at him. The tree had fallen on him too. Only, he was facing the sky. “Blistering Barnacles Scott. What happened?” Thomas groaned, as he looked around. It was pitch dark. The rain was unrelenting. “The lightning struck the tree and it toppled on us” Scott groaned. “I figured as much. Come on. Let’s get out of here. Heave!” he said, pushing his arms down on the ground, but to no avail. The old oak must weigh at least ten tonnes. It was a miracle that they were alive. Thomas and Scott tried a few more times, but it wouldn’t budge. “Reckon we wait till our families send a search party in the morning then...” Thomas said, coming to terms with his fate. He was stuck with his nemesis for the rest of the night.
It had been an hour. There were no signs of a search party yet. “Well guess we wait till dawn then,” Scott mumbled. Thomas looked at him. Scott was just a kid. Barely through his twenties. His father had died of pneumonia last year, leaving him with all the burdens that the Pinkerton tag came with. And that included the Kreigers. Thomas didn’t feel so angry anymore. Scott had been set to follow a bad example. He had grown up to be like his father. An angry, judging hateful man. Scott was not bad. He was just, misled. Here, Thomas saw a window for change. The Kreiger-Pinkerton scuffle had been dragged along the generations for too long. Thomas wanted to put an end to that now. “You know what kid, when we get outta this mess, keep these woods.” Scott looked at him, bewildered. Did he really hear what he had just heard? Did Thomas just give up the land he had come stomping through this storm for? “What? Really? Why?” he asked. “This scuffle kid, it’s been out here for too long. It’s time we put an end to that. All these years of hatred. All these years of fighting, it ain’t worth it.” Thomas replied. “So, what’s the catch? What land do you want in return? Wha-” Scott started asking, but Thomas cut him short. “There is no catch kid. I don’t want any other land in return. You want this land? Keep it”
Scott was genuinely surprised. “Wow. I sure didn't expect this from you…Dad always described you to be a backstabbing, unreasonable and untrustworthy prick. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.” Thomas laughed. “Your father, well your father misled you in many ways. He made you the man that you are now Scott. I pity ya Scott. I figured you’d grow up to be better than your father.” he said. Scott thought for some time. "Maybe you’re right, old man. I wasn’t brought up right. But now, we will change for good. There will no longer be any squabbles between us anymore.” Both the men smiled.
That was when they heard footsteps in the woods around them. “Must be the search party! Call out to them!” Thomas bellowed. “Hey!! Over here! Over here!” Scott screamed. “Right here fellas! Under the fallen tree! Right he-” Thomas froze. A pair of eyes glowed in the darkness. Several more appeared like floating ghosts in the dark. A symphony of deep growling followed. It wasn’t the search party. “Wolves” he whispered.
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