Free Jase & the Deadliest Hunt by John Luke Robertson Page A

question remains: Which weapon will you choose this time?

    If you pick the crossbow, go here .
    If you pick the shotgun, go here .
    If you pick the sword, go here .
    If you try to leave the island because you’re worried, go here .

MWAHAHAHA

    THE SECOND TIME the candles go out in the living room isn’t because the wind blasts open the doors.
    No. Something inside the room blows them out.
    You’ve been waiting on the couch for the count to return. You’re almost asleep when you hear the puff of air and everything goes dark.
    “What’s happening?” you ask, wiping your eyes. “Willie? Cole? John Luke?”
    “Something’s in here with us,” Willie says in a low, soft tone.
    “Where are you, Cole?”
    “Over here.”
    “I’m here too,” John Luke adds.
    Your eyes are adjusting to the dark, but not fast enough. A streak of lightning glows through the window. The whole lodge seems to shake as the wind howls.
    “Let me try to find the matches again,” John Luke says.
    You hear movement, then a jolting, breaking sound. Something crumples to the floor.
    “John Luke?” Willie shouts.
    There’s more movement, more shuffling, more breaking.
    Now you’re up and trying to help somehow.
    You find the matches and light a candle. It stays lit long enough for you to see what’s happening.
    There are cougars in the room. Except these cougars are standing.
    Really? Come on.
    Then one of them with white hair like Winchester’s launches itself at you.
    The candle goes out, and so does everything else.
    The wind howls outside.
    You can’t see the moon above, but you’re betting it’s a full one.
    THE END
    Start over.
    Read “Let the Good Times Roll: A Note from John Luke Robertson.”

THE HORROR

    YOU STAND ON THE BEACH as rising waves crash onto shore. The wind picks up as the sun goes down. You hold your katana high and wait for the monster to raise its ugly head again.
    You are the only one left.
    It’s taken your group out one by one.
    The relentless, soul-sucking beast.
    A creature of the dark, with a heart residing in the night.
    First it forced John Luke to go back to the lodge, his ankle twisted after getting stuck in a two-foot-deep hole.
    Then it bit Cole on not one ankle but both. Wretched, deep bites. He too needed to return to the lodge for treatment and pain medicine.
    The sickly, terrible animal.
    You don’t even want to remember what it did to Willie. How it attached itself to his face, laughing all the while.
    Oh yes, the brute laughs and laughs.
    The possessed pariah protecting its turf on the beach.
    Willie cried like a baby while screaming for you to get the thing off his beard. There was a point where you couldn’t tell the difference between the thing and Willie’s beard. It was a truly terrible sight.
    You checked Willie out after you managed to knock the gopher away, and he simply had some scratches on his face. No big deal. He was being overdramatic.
    But now it’s only you and the monster.
    You know it will be nighttime soon. The creature (and its foul stench) will go back to the hole it came from, and you’ll miss your chance.
    Hopefully you’re not going to let that happen.
    I’ve come seeking revenge.
    I’ve come for payback.
    I will avenge my family.
    You stand still, peering here and there. The holes on the beach are clearly visible even in the twilight. You have all been busy today. Not only fighting the foul creature of the night but also digging and trying to find him.
    “Come on out,” you call.
    It’s time for the final showdown.
    Then suddenly a head appears out of the ground, a whole fifty yards from you. Here it comes. The evil, awful thing. The horrific monster.
    It’s a gopher.
    And it’s approaching you.
    It’s running now.
    Getting ready to attack.
    You hold the sword, totally prepared, and then you think of Willie screaming as the thing launched itself at his face.
    Closer now . . .
    Your hands are shaking.
    Your sword is poised to strike.
    And then