Twins of Prey by W.C. Hoffman Read Free Book Online Page A

heard.
    Though they were quiet now, the damage had been done. The deputies’ earlier chorus of laughs and trudging throughout the woods had carried straight down the river valley and alerted the twins that they again were not alone in the woods. Drake was hesitant to go on the offensive, wanting to wait them out hoping they were just hikers passing through the area. That was until he smelt the burning of Coleman's sock on the air. Drake immediately smirked, thinking back on the times Uncle said, “Campfires are often ignored but trash burn piles never are.”
    Now Drake knew that was truer than ever.
    The twins estimated the approximate location of the fire and knew they had to hike a good amount through the dark. Gathering supplies quickly, they loaded the backpack that had been scavenged off of the hunters and headed out. Three hours later, the twins found the group. With just embers glowing in the fire, the twins climbed a nearby oak tree for a better observation point.
    “Five sleeping bags, guns everywhere,” Tomek mouthed silently to his brother. Drake agreed with the assessment, adding that every coat sported badges. Drake and Tomek knew they were now dealing with the type of people Uncle had warned them about. Not knowing what part of the “government” these intruders represented was not an issue. All that mattered is they were government and that was enough to eliminate them. Even if they were doing so in Uncle’s honor, it was the right thing to do in their minds.
    While sitting in the tree 60 yards away from the sleeping intruders they devised their plan. Tomek would stay back at 20 yards using his bow on the three bags closest to him. Drake would stalk up and wait for Tomek's first shot. While the intruders’ focus was on where in the dark the arrows were coming from Drake would use his throwing knives and eliminate any left standing.
    The plan seemed simple and had little risk to the twins. However, their entire outlook on the situation changed instantly when Tomek spoke to his brother, this time clear and out loud,
    “They have a wolf.”

8 Wolf
    S itting in the canopy of the oak tree amongst the growing acorns and unrelenting mosquitoes Drake clearly heard what his brother had said. Like many of the other obstacles they faced, Uncle's voice was there with them as they pondered what to do.
    “A wolf is a hunter, a killer and yet still a pack animal. When you find one alone, you must kill it before he can tell the pack where you are. Just like a pack of wolves, you two must fight and hunt together. Alone you are weak, together you are unstoppable. Never fight a pack of wolves. Separate them and take them out, one by one.”
    When Tomek looked upon the group he saw a wolf, unlike his brother Drake. Drake thinking more broadly saw a pack. “I’ll shoot the wolf first. Once it is gone we can take on the rest,” Tomek said. Drake knew that shooting a wolf would not be a silent matter. That was the difference between killing an animal and a man. A man dies in silence, scared of his fate and in shock. Drake knew the wolf would howl and scream upon being hit with the arrow and alert the rest of the deputies in the pack making them much harder to eliminate.
    “I have a better idea” Drake informed Tomek while pulling out a jar on honey from his back pack. Tomek seeing the jar smiled, immediately he knew that his brother’s plan was the perfect solution. Uncle had killed a black bear this way once after it continued to invade the garden night after night. The old bear’s skin was so thick Uncle's stone arrowhead would hardly penetrate the bruin’s hide. So like Uncle before them, they knew that for the rule of After 5, Stay Alive was going to come into play.
    With his brother’s approval, Drake climbed down with the nightshade and death angel tainted honey jar and his steady accompaniment of knives in tow. The deputies foolishly had set camp right along a narrow, dirt-packed game trail. The absence of