Food of the G-d's, Retribution, Chapter 3 The Feds

 Food of the G-ds, Retribution, Chapter 3; The Feds

      It snowed lightly the first day of the Fall break with the promise of more to come in the evening.  Moonie questioned Rob,
     "We still gonna go? It's snowing" Rob nodded, they would leave tonight, after dinner, and hike the eight miles through the woods, carrying sleeping bags, matches, a flashlight and sandwiches. They would spend the night by the burned out shack.  There was a smaller cabin, used by the Grace family as a guest room.  The windows were broken and there was no furniture, but there was a fireplace. They could stay warm and dry, nobody would see the smoke from the chimney The Graces built their farm miles from the main road.
    Breaking through the bank of bushes they came to the main road leading to the farm. They both stopped short in their tracks. The road, seldom used anymore except by lost tourists, should have been free of tire tracks, but it wasn’t.  Worse then that, the tracks appeared to be fresh. Their worst fears were confirmed when the tracks took the sharp turn to the right, leading down to the path  going directly to the farm.  
     “Lets turn back” Said Moonie,  Robert shook his head, he wanted to get a glimpse of the night visitors. These might be the guys the Postman spoke of.
     “We could come back in the morning, when it’s safe” Moonie suggested, but Rob shook his head, his curiosity was peaked.
     “Whoever it is, they are not going to be staying all night,” Rob reasoned,  
    “After they leave, we could still spend the night”  Moonie stared at his friend,
    “Besides, its not a good idea to travel back to the home, through all this snow, so late at night.” Moonie was hesitant,
      “Come on” Rob coaxed,
“We can just take a look, but be very quiet, we can’t be seen”  
      It was late dusk, and the half moon illuminated the scene before them:  Sure enough they could see a long black car parked in front of the door in the driveway, but they could not see anyone in it.
    “Lets move in closer to get a better look” Rob suggested.
    The sky was gray with a promise of more snow to come.
    “Damn it Rob, my feet are getting cold, I don’t like this” Moonies complaint was silenced when Rob raised his finger to his lips, and then pointed to the window. They could make out light coming from within. The boys heard the side door slam and someone with a flashlight appeared from around the side of the building, and another figure followed, A third stocky figure heavily dressed ,was carrying a large case cradled in both his arms, it looked heavy. The man with the case went over to the trunk of the car and set it down, while the other two went back into the house.
     “I hope they don’t stay too long” Moonie started to say, but he was quickly shushed by Rob.
    “I wonder what they are doing” Whispered Rob. Moonie groaned.
    “Maybe they’re going to camp out too..”
The third man placed the box in the trunk of the car, and went inside to join the others. He left the trunk open.
      “I’m going to go over and take a look” Rob said.
    “You’re crazy” Moonie protested, “They could come out any minute, if they catch you snooping, we’re dead meat.”
    “They won’t catch me, You stay here, Hoot like an owl if you see their flashlights approaching the inside door,”  Before Moonie could protest, Rob edged along the side of the road, going from bush to bush until he was about twenty yards from the front of the house. The car was right before him. He could hear sounds coming from the inside. Bits of conversation, The three men were talking to each other but Rob could not make out the words.  Moonie watched as Rob appeared and disappeared from view, it was hard to see into the darkness.
     Moonie was peering at the lights behind the window intently, when suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes behind him. the hairs on his neck rose. He swallowed hard, a twig somewhere not too far behind him snapped. Oh Jeeez, he thought, It's behind me.  He turned quickly around, half fearing he’d see something, and half fearing he wouldn’t.  His breath was a frozen cloud of mist turning to vapor before him. He peered into the darkness, Yes, something over there was moving, it was a large dark silhouette.  It’s eyes were like red coals against a black shadow.  It lumbered just beyond the brush line.  He wanted to shout, but couldn’t, that would alert the men in the cabin, so he stood frozen like a statue fearing that any movement he made, might attract whatever it was.  
       Rob was close enough to the car to gaze into the trunk.. The box had stenciled letters across the side that read, “Property of the US Government”  The Farm door creaked loudly as it was being opened.  Startled, Rob looked for a place to hide. He ducked  to the side of the building as the door opened loudly, The first figure stepped out. They were still talking loudly with each other. The man shone his flashlight at the car. Rob crouched on the side of the house afraid to move, afraid to catch his breath, the vapor from his breath puffed like a steam engine. If the men wanted to go back around the house, he would see Rob for sure. There was only an open stretch from the side of the house, to the backyard.  Panting to catch his breath,  the sickening realization hit him that his dash had left fresh tracks in the snow. He prayed they wouldn’t spot them. The men talked among themselves as they went to the car, Rob could now make out fragments of their conversation.
    “Must have seeped, wonder if it’s still potent”
    “Lord” said the second, “I hope not, still we’ll have the boys run some tests, we’ve got a good sample this time.”  The third added,
   “Plugging it up was not a good idea, I knew this would happen,” The first said,
   “Looks like it will be open season on field mice. Lord I hope that’s all that gets into it. That damn stuff frightens the hell out of me, Can you imagine a twenty foot tall buck? A wasp the size of a vulture?”
  “I wouldn’t mind taking a shot at the buck” Quipped the second man. The men seemed oblivious to the new tracks in the snow, as they got into the car,
  “We’ll have the military seal it off for good, tomorrow”  The car engine choked on, that was the last of the conversation that Rob heard. The car lights switched on, Rob held his breath as the car pulled forward and abruptly stopped. The man in the back seat jumped out, ran to the back of the car and slamed down the closed trunk door. The catch mechanism locked. A glint of snow in the moonlight caught the mans eye, he stared back at the house. He listened intently into the silence of the night beyond the engines idle.
     As an agent trained at observation, he felt something was off. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it would come to him.  He shrugged, turned and got back into the warming car. 

     The car rattled down the driveway, Turned left at the secondary road from the gate, then found its way to the highway that led back to town. Rob stared as the red tail lights disappeared down the road. 
      “They didn’t see my tracks,” Thought Rob, very much relieved. He couldn’t wait to tell Moonie what he had heard.  
     “It’s alright Moonie, you can come out, we’re safe,” Rob looked for Moonie, half expecting him to be standing in  the path of the departing cars headlights, Yeah he thought, that would be just like him,  but Moonie was nowhere to be seen.
    “Hey Moonie, C’mon out, Why didn’t you signal me, I almost got caught”  Silence.  Rob called again,
    “Moonie ?” Still no answer. It was now almost pitch dark, except for the deep charcoal gray of the cloudy sky that cloaked the moon.  Rob fumbled through his backpack and found his flashlight, He ran back to the bushes where he had left Moonie.
    “Hey, C’mon out, they’re gone, are you sleeping?  Moonies voice startled him, in a loud whisper from over on the right
     “Shut up Rob, It’ll hear you”  Rob spun toward the voice, there was a clump of old apple trees in his path, His friend was not to be seen.  
    “Moonie, are you all right?”
    “Yeah, but you’re not, if you don’t shut up” Came the reply.
    “There’s a monster over there, somewhere. It might still be around.”  Rob aimed his light up the tree, the beam caught Moonie some ten feet up.  
   “How’d you get up there?
   “How do you think? Do you see anything?” Moonie asked, his voice trembling, it sounded funny to Rob, but it also occurred to him that his friend wasn’t joking. Rob swept the beam in a full circle.
   “There’s nothing here now”  Both boys listened in silence.  Moonie climbed down to the lowest branch, and jumped to the soft pack.
   “It was a mouse” Moonie proclaimed.  Rob started to laugh,
   “A Mouse? You jerk head, you had me…” Moonie wasn’t smiling, in fact he was pale, even under the flashlight, whiter then the snow.
  “Let’s get back and build a fire, I’m freezing, then you can tell me what you saw.”  Relieved that Rob wasn’t making fun of him, Moonie continued,
  “I heard a noise, I saw something moving over there”  He pointed to a clump of snow clad bushes,
   “It was too dark to see much, but it was big Rob, at first I thought it was a bush, but it moved, I could make out it’s shape, it had two red eyes and a pointed face and long possum type tail, as long as a man. I got scared and climbed the closest tree,”  He gave a shiver, and it wasn’t just from the cold,
  “I hope it’s not around, It may still be around” Panic was beginning to creep back into Moonies voice.
  “It was real, Rob”  Rob  arced his flashlight beam in the direction Moonie had pointed. The snow glittered under it’s beam. Then Robs heart froze. In the beam,  animal tracks!
    “There, you see” Said Moonie,  “I wasn’t making it up, I didn’t think you’d believe me.” The boys approached the tracks.
    “What are they from?  Rob had seen raccoon tracks in the mud, that’s what these tracks reminded him of, but the size of them! each foot was larger then a pie pan.
    “Moonie” Rob said in a whisper, “Let’s get back to the house, real fast. The Postman was right.”