The Hunt

Nick lay on his back in his tent. He watched as the campfire made irregular shadows dance on the tent’s canvass. He listened to the laughter coming from outside. He longed to be out there with his father and the rest of the hunting party, but he new that if he wanted to be up bright and early he would have to get some sleep. He imagined that tomorrow he would hunt down a wild African beast. The rest of the party would cheer and praise and his father would finally be proud of him.

When his father had told him that he was going to Cameroon, he could hardly contain himself. For so long he had wanted to go with his father on one of his famous hunts but he was never allowed. Now was his chance. His father told him they would be hunting the wild African elephant. Nick had heard stories that it was illegal to hunt the elephants, but no he thought his father would not do anything illegal, would he? So the stories must be untrue.

Nick noticed that the sound of the men was gone. No not gone, just farther away. Nick listened. He stepped out of the tent. The men were nowhere to be seen. He could still here them laughing yelling and something else, a whip. He heard a whip cracking. And he heard the faint cries of some jungle animal. It sounded sad Nick thought as he walked toward the sound.

Suddenly the roars of an elephant drown out all other noises. Nick heard a gunshot. Then he heard a scream, the scream of a man, the scream of his father.

He began to run.

When he reached the men all noise had stopped. The first thing he noticed was an elephant, a baby elephant. It was lying on the ground shaking. Its body was covered with deep cuts. A whip was lying next to it. He then noticed the men were gathered around something else, though. They were gathered around his father.

Nick’s father lay motionless on the ground. His face was covered in blood. His legs were crushed. Broken ribs shown from holes in his chest Nick wailed. Tears raced down his face. One of the men put his hand on Nick’s back, but said nothing.

Without warning an elephant appeared from the brush. The men fired their rifles. In the instance he saw him, Nick noticed a deep gash above the elephant’s left eye. He heard one of the men yell “That’s the one, kill it!” Then as quick as the beast had appeared, it was gone. The men ran after the animal leaving Nick alone beside his father