Chapter 5

During the next two weeks, Crystal continued working with Uno and Bravo, stepping up her time with them. Taking over their days and making them dependent upon her for food and attention. She had them fetching whatever she threw. They would even walk away from a plate of biscuits and gravy to come to her when she called. They would follow her and Dog as they walked in through the back door of the cabin and out the front, circling the cabin, time after time.

Steve made her a training dummy as close as he could to the ones used in his training with Dog, back in the mountains of northeast Georgia. He didn’t use his clothes. They bought clothes at a yard sale in town. He used the dummies to frighten the young pups at first. He’d hang them from a tree and let them drop down as the pups came close to check them out.

Then it was time for Dog to get into the act. Crystal told Dog to kill as Steve let the dummy hang with the legs touching the ground. Dog went for the throat. As he attacked, Steve loosened the rope, letting the dummy fall to the ground as Dog tore at the leather covered throat.

After Dog had worked with the dummies, Steve told Crystal to pretend the dummies were attacking her, then call the pups to come help her. The first time they tried it, Uno and Bravo thought it was another game.

The next time, Crystal screamed and fell to the ground pulling the dummy down on top of her. Before they could stop him, Dog ran to her, tearing the dummy’s head off. His pups were attacking the dummy as soon as Dog did.

By the time they repaired the dummy the third time, all she had to do was pretend the dummy had struck her. Steve would make it swing into her as she walked by. Uno and Bravo would take the dummy down, tearing the entire leather neck out before they could make them stop. Slinging it from side to side, they fought over the dummy as they killed the attacker.

After that, Crystal had only to yell kill when the dummy struck her as she walked past. They were spending more time repairing the dummy than training the pups.

“Lets try this Crystal,” Steve said. Walking past her, he slapped her shoulder with a loud pop. Uno and Bravo came off the ground so fast, he had to block them off with his knee and both arms. They were about to take him down. Crystal yelled stop and they came to her, wagging their tails ... Still looking at Steve, growling deep in their throats as they glared at him.

Steve killed a young deer with his bow, then hung the fresh carcass from a rope and told Dog to kill. He leaped into the air and came down with the deer’s throat in his jaws, throwing it from side to side before Steve stepped in and yelled stop.

They hung the deer carcass again and Crystal yelled kill, pointing to the deer carcass hanging two foot above the ground. That was the last time they were able to use that one. Uno and Bravo had the deer shredded, in the time it took to stop them.

“They’ve gotten the taste of blood now. The next time they attack something that bleeds, the feral dog will come out and they’ll be hard to handle, even by you. You’ll need to be very careful how you use that power over them.”

“I will, I promise! I never saw that with the dogs daddy and I were training.”

“You never worked with wild dogs. You had domesticated dogs that were raised in a pen or around a family, for generations. These pups are probably fourth generation in the wild - maybe even five generations. They will always be feral dogs ... Even though we can feed them, pet them and train them to obey certain commands. They’re wild and when they get a taste of blood, they revert back to their, feral dog nature – to attack and kill. Be very careful when you point and say anything that remotely sounds like the command to kill. Though they’re just over four months, they’re as big as Dog was when I first got him from the obedience trainer at six months old, and we started his basic training.”

“You mean they will grow to be even larger than Dog?” Crystal asked, with a slight grin.

“Yes, from the way they’ve filled out and put meat on their skinny frames since we began working with them. I’d say they will top out at over a hundred pounds, possibly even one-twenty. Dog weighs nearly a hundred now, maybe a little over.”

“Will we be able to feed them?”

“They will feed themselves as they follow Dog.”

“I realized that, when I remembered them tearing into that deer carcass. Are you going to let them finish that?”

“No. I’ll haul that one off and throw it out on the side of the road at least a mile from here. They can learn to kill they’re own food. They don’t need to rely on us to feed them. The next time we’re running or riding back in the forest and see deer, we’ll tell Dog to kill one. That will put them right in the midst of the kill. Once they’ve experienced killing their own food and eating it on the spot, you’ll never have to worry about them going hungry.”

“Steve, I love this! Training them, yet letting them remain wild. Will they ever leave and go back to the wild side of life completely?”

“As I said, they’ll always be wild. They’ll take off and be gone for a day, maybe two – just like Dog. But they’ll never be too far that they can’t come when they hear you scream.”

“Can we try that? I mean, to make sure they know to come if I scream as if I’m in danger?”

“We’ll work on that one. I’m certain that will be no problem with them. Uno and Bravo are your dogs now, even though they’re still wild pups. Even Dog will do that for you. You’re here with me and he has accepted you.”

The 4th of July, 2009 was on Saturday. On Friday, Julio and Janelle arrived around 3:00 in the afternoon. Crystal had been on the phone with Janelle most of the way, as they drove up to the cabin. They were excited about seeing each other again, and getting to spend almost a week together. They were excited about the fun things they were planning.

Janelle wore a long tee shirt as they drove up. That was all she wore. The two friends wanted to go running through the forest together with the dogs, while Steve and Julio visited over a few beers and put the meat on the smoker.

Crystal was standing inside the doorway of the cabin when she heard the beep of the driveway alarm. She ran from the porch to stand naked in the driveway as they pulled up in Julio’s 4x4 pickup. She and Janelle were hugging, dancing, and laughing as Crystal pulled Janelle’s T-shirt over head and threw it in the seat of the truck.

She turned to see Uno and Bravo stalking Janelle and Julio. For an instant, she was afraid of her own dogs.

“Come here babies. Its alright – come to Mommy, and meet our friends,” she cooed to them in her familiar voice. Hearing each of their names, they started wagging their tails and walked slowly toward her, ever wary of the two strangers standing nearby.

They cowed down, rolling over in submission while she rubbed their bellies.

“Janelle, squat very slowly and pet them. They’ll let you, just move slow and talk to them softly. Their names are Uno and Bravo. Talk to them so they will know your voice.”

Janelle squatted, not sure she even wanted to – but did as her friend asked. She reached out slowly, talking softly, saying their names repeatedly. She scratched both pups on their chests and rubbed their bellies as they squirmed and licked both womens hands.

When Crystal and Janelle stood slowly, the pups stood and ran playfully back to the porch as if waiting for them to follow. Dog walked toward Janelle. His head was low to the ground, his eyes looking up, as if he were stalking.

Janelle backed up, afraid at first, looking at Crystal as if wondering what to do. Crystal knew what was about to happen and she laughed just as he raised his head and licked right up through Janelle’s smooth crotch.

She yelled when Dog licked her pussy. She was laughing as she pushed him away.

“Is that another of the tricks you’ve been training them to do?” she asked, and all of them laughed.

“He did that to me the first time we met. Just so happened I was wearing clothes. I know to watch him now when he comes up to me. When I saw him stalking you just now, I knew what was about to happen, and so did Steve. Look over there, he’s laughing his ass off.”

Steve and Julio were already drinking a beer as the two women came to the porch.

The two friends were busy laughing and making more plans as Steve and Julio washed, prepared and seasoned the meat for the grill. They were planning to stay up all night if necessary, to make sure the meat cooked to perfection.

Crystal couldn’t wait to show Janelle the falls and the pool. They were getting their running shoes on...

“Crystal, get your knife and let Janelle put mine on. Take your bow and your extra field arrows – you never know ... Even though Dog, Uno and Bravo are with you, I want you armed at all times.”

“Sorry, I was so excited about Janelle being here I was about to forget. I would have come back though, when I realized how naked I felt without them.”

She grabbed the knives and her bow, with her quiver of arrows she carries when she runs with Steve.

“Uno - Bravo, let’s go boys,” she said and they took off running toward the falls.

“Go with them Dog,” Steve said, pointing as Dog look up at him.

He caught them in a matter of seconds.

“Amigo, I swear ... every time I come up here, I want some of this very thing you have. You’ve got it made, Man. You finally have a woman ... hell, a country girl who loves you and loves living back in the woods like this. If Janelle and I can work out our little differences and stay together, I want to find us a place up here like yours, so we can be neighbors. Hell if she still wants to work, she can. I’ve saved everything I’ve ever made, waiting to find the right woman and buy a place of my own. This is the life I want to live. Being free, with no one telling me what to do, or when to do it.”

“Julio, go for it, Man. What are you now, forty? Hell, give it up and get a place up here of your own...

... Hey, Amigo, I know just the spread not two miles from here. There’s just over a hundred acres and there’s a small log cabin on it. It’s been for sale for over two years now. The market has busted on the property up here. No one wants to pay what it’s worth, even now.”

“No shit, Steve? Can we go take a look at it while we’re here? Man you got me itching now. Hell I put all my money in CDs back when the market started falling in early ‘08. I need to invest in something like that while my money’s still good and the prices are down. Fuck man, I’m ready to get the hell out of the city. I was raised over in New Mexico where there wasn’t a damn tree in sight. I need to look out and see trees like these all around your place. Does it have a swimming hole, or a creek at least. Or maybe even a river close by. Hell a mudhole even – I’m ready to go now.”

“There are two creeks on it and the timber has never been cut. I talked to the woman about it once. She said she wanted to sell out and move in with her only daughter, now that her husband was dead. The same river that borders my east line, borders her place on the east side. Hell we could cut us a trail across the land between us and cross when we wanted to ... Even better than that, we could make an offer on that place between us. There’s not but fifty acres separating my property and hers. The fifty acres is long and narrow where the river cuts back this way, then bends back over to the old woman’s place. Shit, we could get it for little or nothing!”

“Steve! Shut the fuck up, Man. You’ve already gotten me ready to run over and write a check for it.” Julio scolded him.

“Hell Julio, just think, we could get us some ATVs and ride this country like we owned the whole forest, if you and Janelle moved up here.”

“Dammit, hush now. Shit, if Janelle was here, I’d throw naked ass on the ground and fuck her right here, I’m so excited.”

“Want to paint up real quick and go find them? Crystal loves for me to run her down and fuck her from behind, like a wild animal.”

“Get the fucking paint out here. Hell man, I need some relief. You got me so fucking excited, I want to go over and see that place as soon as we can.”

“Hell yeah! If you don’t buy it, I may buy it now. I got my self worked up about it, now.”

“Get back, you greedy land grabber! That’s gonna be Janelle’s and my place,” Julio told him as they laughed, planning for a time they would be neighbors.

They placed the meat on the smoker and knew it would be morning before they needed to touch it again. When they’d painted in their camo body paint, they grabbed their knives, bows and a 9mm Beretta each. Then they were off.

They started slow, letting Julio loosen up. Then they kicked it up as they moved easily and quietly. Like a breeze shifting the leaves of the forest, they ran. Not intruding upon the forest. Becoming a part of it as they ran swiftly, making no sounds.

Steve knew Crystal would take them over to run along the east line, above the deep river gorge. The air was cool and fresh rising up from the cold, tumbling white rapids below.

Across the river on the north side – the same three men sat looking at the two naked women running along the road. They didn’t see the man or the dogs this time.

“Fuck, would you look at that? That fucking redhead has another cunt running with her.”

“Hell I didn’t even see any pussy hair on either of them when they rounded that bend. I’ve never fucked a bald pussy before, have you?”

“Hell no, and I reckon I’ve waited long enough to fuck one. Come on, we can get across this gorge down here just a little ways. I know a place where the bluff on the other side can be climbed like door steps. We can get us some of that pussy and them ol’ gals will probably pay us to come back again.”

“You in on this with us, Jr.”

“Hell, you’ve both about got me talked into it now, seeing as how them dogs and that old tall boy’s not over there. Lets go fuck some fresh pussy. What an ass on both of them. I want some butt today. You fellers can have both them pussies.”

“You got a deal. Come on, while they’re resting, we can be hid out around the next bend and jump their naked asses when they start running again.”

“That redhead’s got her bow and they both have knives, are you sure they can be had?” Jr. asked, needing a little more convincing.

“Fuck Jr. get your ass up and come on ... Or, you can just sit there and watch us fuck them naked asses through your field glasses while you jack-off.”

“Here I come, wait for me.”

The three men ran through the cover of the trees on the their side of the river, excited about the prospect of getting some fresh pussy. Especially pussy that belonged to that ol’ boy who’d told them to leave his property more than once.

They had never liked outsiders coming up here, buying up the land and acting as if they knew about living in the forest. Fuck, they’d been raised right here, living off the land. Stealing food and gas from the campers, taking pussy too, when they could catch a girl or a woman alone.

“Come on Jr ... Damn man, you’re slower than snot on a snail’s lip. You’re gonna be left out if you don’t get your fat-ass in gear and climb this bluff.”

“Fuck you. You’re the lard-ass of family...

“I want to fuck that redhead’s ass. Man, I bet her pussy even tastes good.”

“You ignorant bastard. We ain’t never had a pussy-eater in this family and you better never let Ma hear tell of you talking crazy shit like that. She’d cut your fucking tongue out.”

“If you two don’t stop with your yacking, you’re gonna run our pussy off. Then I’ll cut your nuts out and feed’em to them wild-ass dogs. Now shut up and get over here. I see them through the trees over there. We can sneak up on them dumb-ass women and have them fucked before they even know what’s up...

“Y’all stay here and let me take the lead. Hell you two sound like a herd of fucking buffalo coming through the fucking woods. Now stay here, and stay low. I’ll get the drop on both of them, then you come on in and get them pussies lathered up.”

“Damn ... just look at Jr. run through them briars and bramble bushes! Fuck man, he’s stopped to take his damned clothes off. Now he’s sneaking up behind that redhead. Get naked little brother, we’re about to get some fresh, bald headed, pussy.”

“OH FUCK! Look over there behind Jr ... Ain’t that the big ol’ wild-ass dog we saw with them before? Fuckkkk! Now he’s stalking Jr.”

“Reckon we need to holler at him?”

“Come on Rafe, it’s too late to holler now. Here comes them young dogs. Look at them little motherfuckers run! Get over there and help Jr.! That fucking big dog has got him down already.”

“Crystal, look behind us! Dog has a naked man on the ground. OH MY GOD, he just ripped his balls off and ate them,” Janelle screamed as they jumped up and looked behind them.

Crystal saw two more naked men running right toward them. She looked back to see Uno and Bravo running like black panthers, low to the ground and stretched out, as they ran right at the two men.

She pulled her bow up and reached over her shoulder for a field arrow. Just as she nocked the arrow and pulled it back, Uno and Bravo attacked the men. The big men were kicking the young dogs off with their feet and she was afraid they would stomp her pups.

“UNO, BRAVO, KILL,” she yelled as loud as she could and the two young curs left the ground in a leap, knocking both men backwards at the same time.

When the men fell to the ground on their backs, they were dead. The two pups swallowed the last of what had been their throats. They were in a frenzy, tearing at the dead bodies, dragging them, pulling at their arms, legs and feet as they gnawed on them. Growling and gurgling as they swallowed chunks of flesh.

“OH NO! Crystal, look at that first man over there. Dog is stalking him again and the man’s guts are hanging out. He’s trying to run with his hands over his guts.”

“Dog, STOP!” Crystal yelled as the man stumbled across the dirt road and fell over the edge of the gorge, landing in the rushing white waters of the shallow rapids fifty feet below.

“CRYSTAL,” Steve yelled as he and Julio rounded the bend in the road running as fast as they could. They’d heard the blood curdling screams from Crystal, and the man who had his balls ripped out.

Crystal and Janelle ran to them as they watched Uno and Bravo tear at the flesh of the two men.

“Stop them Crystal! Tell them to STOP or they’ll make a bigger mess than we can cover up,” Steve told her.

She ran toward them, screaming, “UNO, BRAVO, STOP—STOP!” she screamed over and over.

The young dogs looked up to see her, wagging their tails as they ran to her and fell to the ground at her feet, waiting to be petted.

She knelt between them, tears running down her face. She was scared, but she was elated that they had killed at her command. She had just killed two men, using a weapon she had never known before today.

Dog walked over to the pups and the three began licking the blood from each other’s mouths, necks and faces.

“Julio, help me get these two bodies over the edge of the bluff without getting blood everywhere. We need them to hit the water, not the sides of the bluff,” Steve told him.

The four of them grabbed the bloody, shredded bodies and lifted them one at a time, swinging them over the side.

They looked at the bloody scene in the dusty road. The three dogs were lapping up the dust clotted blood.

Steve and Julio took leaf clusters and brushed lightly through the dust, covering their tracks. They left the tracks at the bloody scene where the dogs attacked, and the men had fought and died.

“Come back out here in the brush and grass and let’s see if we can find where they crossed the river. We need to find their clothes and let the dogs tear them apart like the dummy we used.”

“Why Steve?” Crystal asked him.

“So it will look like they were attacked by wild dogs ... which they were. If their clothes were torn off them, it will look legit. If the clothes are still in good shape with no blood on them, someone will wonder why they were naked.”

“Steve, over here,” Julio called.

“Janelle, you and Crystal stay there.”

“Steve jump across the road in the grass. Here’s their clothes by the river bluff. Two sets of them anyway, I don’t see the other man’s clothes,” Julio said.

“Don’t pick them up, take a stick and lift them. We’ll carry them back to the attack scene and drop them. Crystal can tell the dogs to kill and they’ll do the rest.”

“Steve, over here is where Dog ripped the other man apart, there’s blood every where. Janelle said she saw Dog rip his balls off and eat them, then the man was holding his guts in his fat belly as he stumbled to the gorge,” Crystal told him as she and Janelle stood next to the thicket where the man had hidden and pulled his clothes off.

Steve walked over to them, looking the scene over. They stayed back to keep from leaving footprints in the tall grass as he looked around.

“DOG,” he yelled and his big black cur ran to him.

He pointed to the pile of clothes, “kill!” He shouted and Dog shredded the clothes into pieces as they watched.

“Leave these clothes here and walk a wide circle back over to the log where you were sitting.”

“Julio, you ready?” he asked.

“Yeah, whenever you are.”

“Crystal, walk down the side of the road, in the short grass and tell Uno and Bravo to kill.”

She did as he asked, and when she was close, but still in the short grass, she called them to her and pointed to the pile of camo clothes. “UNO, BRAVO, KILL!” She screamed and the dogs ran to the strange smelling clothes, ripping them to shreds, dragging them through the dust and blood, back and forth around the attack scene.

They watched for a few more minutes and Steve told her to stop them.

“That’s enough! There will be coyotes, wild dogs and every other varmint come through here here tonight. We’ll not even come back this way until about noon tomorrow. Then we’ll call the sheriff’s office and report what looks like a bloody attack of wild dogs on our property,” Steve told them.

They called their dogs and started walking back. At first, there was not a word said, then Julio spoke...

“Janelle ... I want to move up here!

“Steve and I want to go look at a hundred acre property just across that field back there. He said it’s owned by an old woman who wants to sell out and move away. There’s a small log cabin, with trees and creeks just like this place. I hope you’ll come with me. After seeing this today, I know this is where I’m supposed to be. I really do want you with me, Janelle. Tell me now – are you in or out?” he asked her.

“You mean we’ll be neighbors with Crystal and Steve if we live here? Can we have dogs like theirs? I am so fucking turned on and horny, we may have to lag back a ways, or get nasty in the dirt, right in front of our friends.

“If you buy a place up here, you better load my clothes and bring my ass too. I’ll get a huge settlement in my divorce and I know you’ve stuck money back, as stingy as you are. We can pay cash for it, if you want to ... Fuck yes, I’m in! Let’s get dressed and go see the woman now! Can we?”

“Janelle! I love this. We’ll both be back home and we can run naked and hunt naked and we’ll never have to worry about anyone ever coming here again when news of this attack by wild dogs gets out.”

“Steve, do you think we could all load up and go see the old woman today, if she’s even home?” Julio asked. He was just as eager as Janelle to buy a place up here.

“You mean this caused you to want to live up here? I was afraid when this happened both of you would want to get the hell away from here and never come back.”

“Fuck naw, man. I want a place where I can have dogs like yours. Dogs that will protect my woman, just like these dogs did. Hell man those two are just pups and they killed those fat fuckers like they were Dog’s age. Hell, Dog was toying with his prey. Those two pups went straight for their throats,” Julio talked as he and Janelle walked close, arms around each others waists.

“We can go right now, OR, we can stop at the falls and cool off, then still have time to get over there before dark. It’s not even 6:30,” Steve said as he looked at the sun.

“Lets stop at the falls. Crystal and I dove in and swam on the way back here. I want to fuck Julio in that cold water – then we’ll get dressed and go,” Janelle told them.

“Steve wants some pussy too, don’t you Steve,” Crystal said, pulling him close.

“No man in his right mind would turn that offer down...”

They dropped their weapons as they neared the pool, and ran laughing and holding hands into the deep cool water. Steve and Crystal swam the circle and came back out. She kissed him and turned to sit on her favorite boulder on the property. A smooth rock, waist high to her.

The four friends washed and played and splashed after making love in the cold water. They gathered their weapons and ran up the smooth rock slope to the cabin. Steve opened his gun case on the pretext of putting his 9 mm Beretta’s up. He got two boxes of ammo for the two 30-30 Winchesters he’d put in the overhead gun rack in his pickup, when Julio and Janelle told them for sure they were coming. He hurriedly opened his money stash and stuffed some bills into his pockets. He never counted, he just grabbed a handful Franklins.

When they’d dressed and put Dog in charge, they drove over to the neighbor’s house, a little over a mile and a half away. Steve drove his truck, with Crystal sitting across his lap, to give Julio more room as Janelle sat on his lap.

They were laughing and having fun like kids. Glad to be together, glad to be back in the woods without a worry in the world.

Ms. Maudie Hanner lived back off the county road, like Steve. She too had some bad dogs running loose in her yard. Hers weren’t as wild, just bad-ass guard dogs.

She heard all the commotion when the pickup drove into her yard and went to the door with her shotgun.

“Alright ... who air ye and what do ye want here?” she yelled from the doorway.

“Ms. Maudie, it’s me, Steve Randall. I’m your neighbor from down the road. I talked to you once about your place.”

“Yeah, I remember you. Hell, Boy, come on in. Did you finally get a wife? Damn she’s a pretty thing. My girl and her daughter has red hair like that. Y’all c’mon on in here,” she said and spat her snuff at an old dog pissing on her porch.

“We drove over here to see if you still wanted to sell your place and move down to your daughter’s,” Steve said.

“Hell yes I do! You here to make an offer? Them damn real ‘state people sure as hell couldn’t sell it fer me.”

“This is my friends, Julio and Janelle and this is my wife Crystal. Julio and I were over in Iraq together for a while. He and Janelle wants to move out here to get away from all the noise and commotion. He wanted to meet you and talk about a price when I told him about your place.”

“Julio, what do you think of this log cabin? Me ‘n Pa built this thing ourselves with a team of horses pulling the logs up to stack them. It’s solid as the bedrock she’s settin’ on.”

“Ms. Maudie, I love this cabin. This is what I’ve always dreamed of ... and Janelle was raised over in southern Illinois, in the back country.”

“Well, I’ll be damned! I was born and raised over there too. Girl it sure is a small world, ain’t it.”

“What were you asking for your place Ms. Maudie, when it was listed with the real estate companies?” Julio asked.

“Well, they wanted me to list it on the market for a hunnert and twenty-five thousand at first. Then we come back down to a hunnert when real ‘state prices fell. Now that they’re out of my hair again and I can do what I damned well please. I’d take ninety fer it, cash money in hunnert dollar bills and leave it just like you see it settin’ here right now. Furnishings, tools, barns, sheds and all.”

“Boy, that’s a hard bargain, but I sure hope you mean that. Janelle and I want to buy it, just like it is,” Julio told her, accepting her offer

Ms. Maudie jumped up and started dancing a jig around the room.

“Ms. Maudie, would you sign an affidavit to that, if we gave you some earnest money up front until we can get the rest to you by Tuesday?” Steve asked.

“Hell yeah I would, Steve. You done me good, bringing Julio and this good looking Janelle up here to buy my place. How much you got to put down?”

“I just grabbed a few bills when we left ... Let me see.”

Steve counted the money... “Looks like I got ten thousand here, will that do until Julio gets the rest to you?”

“Shit, I reckon it’ll do! Hell you draw them papers up Janelle, saying what he just said, and we’ll sign them right here, right now. I’ll call my daughter and granddaughter and they’ll be up to get me tomorrow. Hell you can move right in if you want to. I’ll give you her phone number and you just call me when the legal papers are done. Then you just count my money out and it’ll be yours free and clear! Boy, my daughter is gonna be so happy I got shed of this old place.”