Free Buck Fever by Robert A Rupp Page B

the sprinkler back in July. I doubt he’d be wondering over here this time of the year.”
    “Maybe we’ve got a burglar. The door was open earlier.” Jack lowered his voice and the two walked out the hall into the living room.
    ~ ~ ~
    “Oh, no. Oh, no, I feel faint. I can’t breathe,” Mandi said, grasping her chest.
    A pinkish streak with red spatters shown on the lush white carpeting from the dining room through the living room. Rummaging noises and barking came from the master bedroom.
    Jack hurried into the kitchen, closed the patio door and looked into the backyard. “I don’t see anyone. Aw shit, he found the deer carcass in the trashcan in the garage.” Bits of decaying meat and blood spots covered a path from the garage to the house.
    “Jack! Come here quick,” Mandi screamed from the master bedroom.
    “This is not going to be good,” Jack said, running toward the bedroom.
    ~ ~ ~
    “Ooh...ooh, he...he’s foaming,” Jack stuttered, seeing a terrorized dog sitting in the bed over an antler-less deer head. He held Mandi’s shoulders, consoling her.
    “I’m getting sick,” Mandi said. She leaped back through the door and down the hall. Vomiting sounds emanated from the bathroom.
    “Here, boy, come on.” Jack stepped toward the dog, grabbed the deer head and tugged it from the dog’s mouth. Rusty growled, then folded his legs and lay on the bed as in the den. “What’s gotten into you? You’ve never gone through the garbage before.” Jack headed out the bedroom carrying the deer head. “I’m going to pack this mess up and take it down the street to the party store and put it into their dumpster.”
    “Oh, God, what a disaster. How are we going to get this clean? How can you be calm? Oh, God...” Mandi said, holding her stomach as she walked back into the bedroom. She stepped next to the dog and sternly patted its head. “Get up, you scoundrel. Look what you’ve done to this house. Get up and get out.”
    Suddenly, the dog’s legs stiffened causing it to spring forward. Its jaws snapped open and clamped onto Mandi’s sweatshirt. The dog growled and refused to let go as Mandi struggled to get away.
    “Jack, he’s biting my boob. Ooh, it hurts. Get him off!” She stumbled to the floor with the dog attached.
    “Jesus, what’s going on? He’s never bit anyone before.” Jack grabbed the dog’s hind legs and pulled as the dog shook its head. “He’s not budging.”
    “Kick him...in the balls. Ooh, it hurts, Jack.” Mandi pounded on the floor with both fists trying to relieve the pain.
    Jack spread the dog’s legs apart and lifted his foot into the dog’s groin. Its jaws popped open as it let out a moaning howl. Jack dropped the dog on the floor. It kicked helplessly, becoming motionless.
    “Great, I’ve wounded Rusty,” Jack said, grabbing Mandi’s arm. The dog quivered, stood up, wobbled slightly and affectionately licked her face.
    “Ooh, get him away from me. He has blood on his nose.
    She sat up and rubbed her left breast. A set of red teeth marks dotted her sweatshirt. She lifted it up and pulled her bra off.
    “Look, he got me good,” she said, pointing to fresh bruises. Jack took advantage of the moment and gave it a squeeze. “Stop, it hurts. You’re cut off for a month, now.”
    “This sure has turned into the hunting trip from hell. It’s going to take us the rest of the day to clean up.”
    “You need to call the insurance company tomorrow. Bloodstains will never come out of the carpet. Not in my lifetime.”
    “Yeah, yeah, let’s see how it goes. I’m more worried about the dog. I hope he’s not turning mean on us.”
    ~ ~ ~
    “I’m going to tie the dog up outside while we clean up,” Jack said, grabbing the dog’s leash. As he put on his coat, the dog danced around him in the kitchen. “You want to go out, now? Bet you want to roll around in those deer guts out there.” The dog jumped on its hind legs, walked to the patio door, clasped the handle