JESSE CALNAN

AUTUMN RIVER

On a wide open blue beautiful lake on an early autumn afternoon the leaves had started to change colors and were just starting to blow. A man by the name of Henry Henderson was out on a kayak trip that he had been on for five days now. He decided he would stop for a rest and maybe a bite to eat, he had packed himself plenty of food and picked lots of naturals along the way through his travels. Although he had come a long way he had still anticipated on five more days as he was travelling to Big Pine Lake. He had to travel several rivers and waterways to get there, he had no urgent business to attend to it was just a great sight he had heard of but had not discovered for himself. Henry was the kind of guy who wanted to explore and discover whatever he could on his adventures.

He started traveling along the coastline, looking for a place to rest. He eventually came to an opening in the trees it looked like a nice place to sit in the shade and see what the spot had to offer him. There was a bit of a round bay just in front of where he was going to rest, it was a perfect size spot to tuck the kayak out of site. He pulled up against the coastline and first noticed that the water trickle into the rocky shore. He climbed upon the rock face and sat down on a fallen tree log he made a sandwich of stuff he packed and other things he had scavenged along the way. He was really enjoying the day with the nice breeze flowing from the lake into the tree line. After he was finished eating, he continued to sit there and just rest for a while.

After some time, he was just about ready to fall asleep then he started hearing some trickling water he was surprised he didn’t hear this earlier. He stared following the noise down a trail, it took him to the top of a series of waterfalls and rapids flowing into a big round pool of water that looked to turn into a small river of its own. It was going in the same direction he needed to go so he decided it would be fun to take a scenic route on the adventure.

He went back to where he got off and climbed down to the water and started fighting to get his kayak to shore, he got it up on the land and dragged it up the rocks with him and pulled it up to the top, he packed up his belongings then set travel wheels on the kayak and wheeled it to the falls. Once he got there, he had to pick it up over his head with his belonging on his back a difficult task but for Henry it was something he had done many times in the past, he was a very experienced outdoors man. The difficult part for him in this situation was carrying it down a steep cliff, he slipped at one point and fell almost a foot and thought it was the end. Luckily, he just caught his balance on a lower rock some how he felt very agile more so then ever he figured it must be the adrenaline kicking in. Once he got to the bottom of the rock face he was at the start of the river. He put his kayak in the water just outside of the rapid’s buildup he packed his belongings up nicely and started paddling his way down.

He paddled for hours through what seemed to be an endless forest. When he first got into this unknown river, he traveled past pine trees and mossy rocks. The trees he passed immediately went to beautiful hardwoods with bright majestic leaves there were clean rocks along the outside. As Henry kept paddling, he felt serenity for hours, he was alone and there was not a soul nearby. He paddled and whistled away. A while later the tree line opened ahead of him, and he got the feeling for the first time he was being watched.

Before he got to the open tree line he heard creaking through the trees, he had a very bad feeling. He looked towards where he heard the noise there was movement in the brush, and out of nowhere a branch came snapping down in the air. Then a giant beast grabbed on to him and Henry let out an awful cry. The beast was covered in fur it had the body of a man and a face of an ape; Henry knew this to be the legendary sasquatch that he never believed in. The beast let out a horrid cry, that turned Henrys cry into a ghost white pale expression on his face. The monkey man slapped Henry upside the head with contained force just enough to knock him unconscious.

When Henry awoke, he noticed there were three figures standing above him one had a great tall shape it was the big foot that he had recently met. The one in the middle was a figure that resembled a jack rabbit, but it was very great in size, and it had tall horns like an antelope. The third was also quite large, very muscular, he had rough red skin and one eye taking up most of its head. He was a very tall and strong looking Cyclops.

Henry just stared at them in shock and awe with his jaw dropped, with his heart racing, he was speechless! The horned rabbit yelled at the other two to take a step back and let Henry breath then he said, “Welcome Henry your arrival has been long overdue” Henrys face went from shock to confusion. “Don’t be so startled and confused” the rabbit told him. My name is Jack the Jackalope the leader of our community.” Then he pointed at the Sasquatch, and said, “Henry you have already met my friend Squatch and my other friend is known as Retina, together we protect these lands.

“What land? where the heck am I? Henry asked, in extreme confusion.”

This is the Autumn River my child, we were just lucky enough for you to be traveling on a beautiful fall day to find our passage. This must mean you are the one we have been waiting for.” Henry leaned his head to the side and just stared at the Jackalope. For centuries this river has existed but only a true adventurer is able to find it, that’s why you’re the one for the job.” Henry just kept staring at him waiting for him to fill him in a little better. “There are many beings through the Autumn River, but we have been in distress for a long time. The critters of our forest dwell in these parts and used to roam all through out, that was until the pack of wolf men grew stronger. They are similar to what you know as a werewolf, but they are not human whatsoever, and they can come out in the day or whenever they choose it is their permanent form. There was a wolf that was said to been struck by a magic lightning bolt that turned out to be a curse on him. He goes by the name of Wild Tooth. He started growing the ability to stand from there he evolved and found the way to use his arms and think like us. We are the only ones here that can communicate with you and have certain gifts. The critters of these woods do not have the knowledge to speak with you, but we are the wise elders. In case you are still wondering why we need you, the beast eventually bred throughout his pack, there is now an army of them lurking and taking whatever they can.

We need you Henry because you probably know that werewolves can be penetrated by silver. We have a grand weapon that only a true adventurer has the knowledge to use. You are not the first man to come here. Before the overtaking a man left an axe with a pure silver handle and blade that he had forged himself. Retina and Squatch have both tried throwing it and it was almost lost forever it was a journey in its own getting it back. We sense that with this axe an accurate hit between the eyes would finish him and bring the rest back to their natural states. That’s where you come into play that man was a master axe thrower and left us that as a gift; since you were able to find your way here you must have knowledge with axes.”

Henry started thinking of all the times he had hunted with an axe and had always been quite accurate. He believed that maybe fate had brought him here, to help these strange creatures. “Well show me the axe let me see what I am working with”

“Alright now were in business!! Squatch get him up to his feet.” Then the Sasquatch gave him a mighty pull to his feet. Henry thought his arm was going to come right off. He got to his feet and started dusting himself off then the Jackalope turned his back to him and said, “follow me I will show you everything you need to know about our place.” The Cyclops grabbed a rock and knocked Henry back down to the ground. When Henry woke again, he found himself in a small hole like cave, a dark space it looked to be a hole in the ground. The Jackalope stood tall in front of him almost hitting the top with his antlers, and the other two crouched on each side of him, as they were too tall to stand. “I’m sorry my child that we had to do that to you again, even though you may be the one we had foreseen we cannot have outsiders seeing our community, at least not until after you destroy our enemy. Not that I don’t trust you but if you are to be captured, they have awful methods of persuading anyone to speak.”

Then Jack picked up the lantern from the ceiling then lowered it down, Henry could see there was a glass case in front of him that contained a ferocious silver axe with a vicious blade and a strong curved handle. Henry gasped at it then said, wow that’s the nicest blade I have ever seen.”

“Do you think you can handle this vital task, if not we can send you home now.”

“No sir you can count me in on this you have my total commitment”

“Well, I guess we should start our journey I warn you again it will not be fun, this time we promise not to knock you out.”

“It’s a deal”

Then Jack slid off the top of the glass case and said now see how it feels in your hands. Then Henry reached in and griped on to the pure silver handle. He could feel a charge of energy flow through him it looked as if it would be extremely heavy, but it felt lighter than any small hatched he had ever thrown he was able lift it just effortlessly.

“Now Mr. Henderson” The Jackalope said, “that is not the only thing you will need on our journey, here is dagger.” Jack handed him a large thick bladed knife with a strong wooden handle. Jack moved the lantern towards the wall and shined it on a tall length bow with a quiver of a dozen steel arrows. “Now grab your tools Mr. Henderson and we shall be on our way to the mountain where the wolf man calls home.” The Cyclops stood and put his arms up in the air and lifted a large rock from the ceiling, then the light shined into the cave. “Retina lead the way out of here.” He grabbed on to the surface and pulled himself up with ease, the sasquatch did the same thing, “Now your turn Mr. Henderson. Henry walked up to the opening and reached up he could barely get a good grip to pull himself up, the two others each grabbed his arm and gave him a great yank out of the cave. Once Henry was out of the way Jack took a great leap out of the hole, he flew right over everybody and landed right in front of Henry. “Now we go!”

When they got above ground Henry seen that they were in a very thick desolate spot in the woods there was a cluster of red leafed trees all above him and around him.  Jack scurried through the woods, Squatch and Retina ran behind him both had large battle axes on their back ones that would be much too heavy to throw, and they were not made of silver. Henry ran behind them doing his best to keep up, after the initial sprint they traveled at a steadier pace for hours until they could start hearing the howling of wolves. That is when Retina and Squatch pulled out their weapons; Henry could feel an uneasy sense over him, he pulled his bow off his back and made sure he was ready to shoot it at any moment. They kept moving onward until one of the beasts jumped out the tree line and leaped at Jack.  Henry fired an arrow right into its skull dropping it to the ground, two more leaped out one went to attack Retina but with one slice of his axe he chopped its head clean off. Another attacked Squatch but he grabbed it by the skull and snapped its neck bringing it to the ground. The four started running again at a full pace Henry looked behind him just for a second and seen one on his tail. He shot an arrow and again it hit perfectly right between the eyes.

They finally made it out of the forest and arrived at the bottom of the mountain where the wolf men called home. They were greeted by dozens of the wild beasts Retina and Squatch went into battle mode Henry started firing arrows as quick as he could hoping not to run out.

Jack looked above and seen the leader up on a high cliff and bounced back where Henry was, he grabbed on to him and said, “let’s go.” Jack took one of the greatest leaps he had ever made, and they both soared up into the sky towards the cliff leaving Squatch and Retina to defend themselves. They were greatly outnumbered. Jack and Henry landed up on the cliff right in front of Wild Tooth “now you die,” Jack yelled, “it’s over!”

The beast looked mean and ferocious it had long dark yellow fangs with bright yellow eyes covered in mangy fur standing on its slender creepy legs. The beast immediately took a run at Henry before he could get the axe ready to throw. The Wolf Man stuck its claws right into his skin and made him bleed uncontrollably he took a bite out of his ear then he threw him over his head this sent Henry flying in the air sending him right over the edge of the cliff then Wild Tooth rushed towards Jack. The last thing Henry did as he was going over the edge was, he grabbed the silver axe and gave it everything, he had spiraling it in a wild non aimed throw that sunk right into the back of the leader’s skull. Wild Tooth dropped to the ground and became nothing but a blanket of fur. The enemy’s that surrounded Retina and Squatch instantly turned into regular wolves and started heading up the mountain to see their leader. Jack jumped back down to his friends, and they ran back their village.

For Henry his fate was falling from nearly a thousand feet to a shallow part of the river where he would surely be dead, but when he hit the water, he landed perfectly on his kayak and was in a whole new location. He was in a place with a big wide-open lake with pine trees all around the shoreline as he looked he realized he had made it to his destination of Big Pine lake. He sat on his canoe with all his belongs in perfect order completely confused by the situation.

He didn’t know what had just happened to him, but all he knew for sure is that he just went on one a hell of a trip.

Jesse Calnan   ©    2024.

AN UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT 

A ninety-year-old man had lived in the same house his whole life. His name was Jerry; he had a twenty-year-old neighbor that lived next to him, and they were good friends.

The young man’s name was Mason; Jerry called him Martin or Mart most of the time. He was bad with names. Mason would come over almost every night, they would sit outside drinking a beer in the summer, or in the winter they sat inside drinking and enjoying the hockey game.

Jerry used to complain about the way the world was sometimes. Everything had changed drastically since he was a boy. The thing he hated the most about the change in the neighbourhood was an arrogant mechanic that had a business on the other side of him. Jerry had a big backyard that was home to a beautiful vegetable garden. The whole block was like that there was even a community greenhouse next door. That all changed when Rick, the auto mechanic, bought the next lot over and turned the yard into a parking lot for his shop. He had plans that he wanted to do the same thing to Jerry’s property.

Jerry always said, “That jerk will never get my property. I swear to God I’ll blow his brains out before that happens, if it’s the last thing I do.” Jerry was just a short man with a high voice and crooked teeth, so it was funny when he complained like that.

Jerry didn’t quite own the house. His brother, who was the owner, had just passed away, and Jerry did not have the ownership yet, so he couldn’t name Mason as the beneficiary of the house like he wanted to.

Mason used to cut the grass for the jerk mechanic, until one time, while he was getting a quote, Rick said, “Maybe once I have Jerry’s place I’ll rent it to you, and you can help fill in the garden.” Mason never got work done there again.

That winter, Mason got a job working nights and he couldn’t see Jerry quite as much. Eventually, the loneliness got to Jerry, and he died months after Mason took the job.

Mason was very sad his best friend was dead. Now, he would be just as lonely as Jerry. The house was put up for sale and although Mason tried saving enough to buy it, he didn’t have $50,000 for a down payment, unlike Rick. Rick had been talking to the bank and soon would be able to buy the house within a matter of days.

One night, Rick was at his shop clearing out his safe, he put $50,000 in a small shaving bag he had strapped in his coat. It was dark, cold, and windy that night. He planned to take the money home with him and go to the bank early the next morning. But just as he was about to leave, the power went out in the neighbourhood.

At the same time, Mason was sitting in his attic watching a hockey game. When the power went out, his best friend’s face appeared in front of him in a shining blue light.

All he said was, “That S.O.B isn’t getting my house; I told you what the last thing I was going to do was.”

Then he disappeared, and the lights went back on in every place, except for Rick’s. Rick started to leave, but the wind and snow started blowing at him hard. He couldn’t see anything, with his parking lot being pitch black from the power outage. As he got to his truck, a bunch of snow came off the roof blowing at him, knocking him to the ground and loosening his money bag.

Rick got back in the truck. The whole time he drove, his truck was shaking from the wind. He finally got to his beautiful home. He sat by his fireplace and poured a fine glass of bourbon. Then he made sure his gun was sitting on his wall with a bullet in it. He had one in his living room and bedroom, in case someone ever tried to invade his home. As he sat there, he watched the snow come down from his window. Then suddenly, he saw a large chunk of wood drop in front of his door shaking his house. His gun dropped from the fireplace, pointing right at him. He got up to look.

Then he said to himself, after inspection, “That’s a lucky mistake I made; I never put it on safety.” Then he decided to go to bed for the night.

After getting comfortable in his bed to sleep, the storm became even worse. His window blasted open, causing the shattered glass to fall all over him. He stood up with the freezing wind coming at him, covered in glass. He was freezing cold, only this cold seemed like a different kind of cold than the weather. While he stood there frightened, a large chunk of a tree came smashing through the ceiling. He screamed, then he felt a great gust push him back.

While he was falling backwards, Jerry’s face appeared, and he said, “You think you’re cute? I’m a hell of a lot cuter.” As Rick fell back once more, he tried to grab onto whatever he could. He grabbed onto his rifle; it came down barrel first at him. But as it came down, it slipped on his finger, pulling the trigger, allowing Jerry to do the last thing he said he would ever do.

The next morning, Mason stepped out his back door and saw a shaving bag with fifty-thousand dollars in it. He ran inside and hid in the most secret part of the house. He called the bank and told them he got his inheritance from a friend. The police questioned him once about the money and the death of Rick, but there was too much evidence that Rick committed suicide, accidental or not. So, there was no further investigation.

After Mason bought the house, he turned it into a garden shop. He put a greenhouse in one corner of the yard and made the rest a garden. He also put a flower shop inside the antique-style parlor that greeted the door.

Jesse Calnan    ©    2022