An hour before sunrise, Charlie climbed out of his sleeping bag. Myrna, his fiancée had already risen and stood at the camp stove making breakfast. Although they were in the midst of breaking up, they’d agreed to go on the non-refundable hunting trip they’d planned and paid for months earlier.
Charlie hurriedly dressed, shivering in the brisk morning air. From the way Myrna slammed the frying pan and utensils around, he could tell she was still angry.
“M-m-m smells good, Hon,” he said. “What are you making?”
“Bacon, eggs, and flapjacks!” She snapped. “The coffee’s brewed and in the pot by the campfire.”
“I take it you’re you still mad at me,” he said, lacing up his boots.
“What the hell do you think? You did the horizontal bop with my best friend, and I’m supposed to jump for joy and say, Oh, that’s okay honey?”
“Well, uh, yeah,” he replied, trying to make light the situation.
“That’s bullshit, Charlie! We were engaged to be married, you jerk!”
“Look,” he said, “I told you it was over, and I was sorry. Besides, I’d forgive you if the tables were turned.”
“But they weren’t,” she said.
He sipped his coffee, and quipped, “Damn hon, this is really a killer cup of coffee. It’s almost better than sex.”
She set his breakfast in front of him. “So, you’d better enjoy it then. It’s the closest you’ll come to having sex; at least with me, anyway. You know, I don’t even know why I agreed to come hunting with you.”
“Then, why did you?” he asked. “I thought we agreed, since we paid for the trip, we’d go and that everything would be okay.”
As Myrna donned her orange hunting vest, she replied. “Well, it’s not, Charlie. After this hunting trip. I’m moving out.”
“Oh, come on, you love me and want to forgive me. It’ll blow over.”
“Don’t bet on it,” she said.
Myrna removed her 30 cal. Remington automatic from the gun rack above the pickup truck’s back window. After checking the safety and ammo clip, she started up the trail toward a rocky peak.
“I’m going up the mountain. You can either follow me up or not. I don’t care anymore.”
Myrna disappeared into the thicket. Charlie finished his breakfast, and gathered his hunting gear. He slung his rifle over his shoulder and trudged up the mountain.
When he reached the hunting blind they’d set up day before, the lack of fresh footprints on the muddy ground told him Myrna hadn’t been there.
Charlie searched the mountain terrain, and caught a glimpse of Myrna’s day glow orange hunting vest. It looked like she’d set up another blind in a thicket a hundred yards a hundred yards below him.
He started to wave and yell, but stopped. His heart raced as the thought of getting rid of her suddenly crossed his mind. He could make it look like a hunting accident.
If he did, he’d be free to continue his relationship with Jenny. They’d secretly dated for a month before Myrna caught them, anyway. Besides, Jenny treated him much better, and the sex was beyond comprehension.
Something inside him kept repeating, “Go ahead and do it. No one will know.”
Charlie clicked off the safety, and sighted in on her orange vest. Then, he slowly squeezed the trigger. A loud gunshot echoed across the valley.
A hundred meters up the hill, Myrna stood from behind a rocky mound. She made her way down the hill to Charlie, lying on the ground with a pool of blood forming under his head. Although she’d hit him just behind the left ear, she checked his pulse.
“Well, Charlie, one jerk down and one conniving bitch to go,” she said, already planning on how she’d get rid of Jennie.
After retrieving the orange hunting vest from the bushes, Myrna returned to the campsite. She notified the state police, and waited for them by the fire drinking Charlie’s killer cup of coffee.
©2009 Hal Kempka
Hal Kempka’s stories have been published in magazines and ezines such as: Long Story Short, The Shine Journal, Fiction Flyer, Black Petals, and Microhorror.com, as well as The Beaches of Belmont hardcover anthology.
He is a former Marine and Vietnam veteran, and lives in Highland, California with my wife and son.
October 12th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Brilliant .. loved it !
As I go shooting with my husband quite often I think I will make sure I stick close to him