The Vegan's Hunter (2 page)

She watched as he walked away, studying everything about him that she could. His short, messy brown hair with its wisps of gray, his hiking boots with patches of dried mud on the side, the tiny hole in the bottom right of his back pocket where his wallet stuck out. Anything that she could revisit in her mind once he left the room.

He paused at the doorway and looked back. This time a smile parted her wet lips. He smiled back. He had a warm smile. A smile that would just get better with age as lines framed it the more he used it. It would be nice to be the cause of those lines. He gave a quick wave and was gone.

“Who was that?” Kayley asked, shocked by the intense reaction. Her body had never reacted like that to anyone before.

“Oh, does someone have a weak spot for the outdoorsy type?” she teased.

Kayley felt her face get flush. “I do now.”

Natasha chuckled. “That there was Mr. Tyler Hart.” Tyler Hart she repeated in her head. Kayley Hart. I could get used to that. She smiled to herself.

“He has his own show on the network.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Bow Hunter.”

Kayley slumped her shoulders down and felt nauseous. I’ll never find anyone.

“You haven’t seen it?” Natasha continued. “Well I guess being a vegan you don’t watch many hunting shows.” She laughed.

“Not really.” She wanted to shrink away and be alone. She sensed a connection between them. Something that happened so rarely these days.

How could fate be so cruel? Don’t let that bother you. This is a big day for you. One that you worked really hard for.

“Would you ever date a hunter?”

“No.”

“Even one as hot as Tyler?”

“No.” Kayley didn’t feel like talking anymore. That didn’t stop Natasha who kept right on going. “We’ll he’s single if you change your mind.”

“I won’t.”

“There’s something sexy about a man going into the woods all by himself with just a bow and arrow and coming out with a kill.”

Kayley gave a look of disgust. “I think it’s barbaric. Why would you shoot a free, majestic, animal with an arrow giving it a long, excruciating death when you could eat a bean burrito? A steak can’t be that much better to inflict that much pain and end the life of an innocent being. I could never love a hunter.” Tyler’s smile flashed in her mind and all of a sudden she wasn’t so sure.

“Well I think it’s hot.”

Kayley thought about it with a frown on her face trying not to notice her heart beat increasing.

The show went great. “Looks like we have a new star at The Adventure Network,” Al said, giving Kayley a hug after the director yelled
Cut
. She made little jokes that the audience laughed at, she didn’t spill any ingredients and most importantly she didn’t burn her vegan eggplant lasagna or blueberry muffins. And she actually had fun. She loved being in the spotlight with the cameras on her. It was something that she could get used to.

She smiled at the cheering audience. Don’t forget why you’re doing it. If one person watching makes a vegan lasagna instead of chicken breasts or pork roast than you’ve done your job. One less animal dead on someone’s dinner plate.

The audience was still clapping as the crew surrounded her saying ‘Congratulations’ and slapping her back. “AHHHH,” Natasha screamed running over and throwing her tattooed arms around Kayley. “That was amazing. You killed it.”

“Really?” Kayley asked.

“Baby you are so cute. The people will love you.” She grabbed a muffin off of the cooling rack and broke off a piece. “Oh my God these are to die for.”

A camera man handed out forks and the crew dove into the lasagna like they hadn’t eaten in days. The audience began to clear out, most of them looking over to the feast that she had prepared hoping to be invited over. The audience was full of disappointed looks as the usher escorted them out the door. The whole studio smelt like freshly baked blueberry muffins. Not an easy thing to walk away from empty handed.

Kayley loved watching people eat her cooking. She found that most people complained about vegan meals until they tried one. Then they couldn’t stop raving about it and how they couldn’t believe it was vegan. She felt like a thousand pounds had been lifted off of her shoulders now that the show was done and everything went smoothly. Waves of relief flooded over her and she couldn’t stop smiling.

Until she saw Tyler.

He was standing against the wall in the back of the room watching the scene with a smile on his face. Had he been there the whole time? Something in Keeley’s mind made her wish that he had been. That he saw her in her moment of triumph. Those automatic thoughts were instantly suppressed. I wish he would leave, she said to herself, but feeling the opposite.

Tyler looked at Kayley and smiled. She whipped her head away, turning her back to him and began to clean up the counter. She plugged the drain and squirted a splash of dish soap into the sink. Don’t look at him, she ordered herself, fighting every urge to look back at Tyler.

Bubbles rose from the sink like mini clouds and Kayley began dumping dishes in. “Need help?” a raspy voice said to her from behind. “You wash, I’ll dry.” It was Tyler.

“No thanks. I got it,” she replied, keeping her head down and her eyes on the dishes. She scrubbed a glass bowl with her rag with much more force than was necessary.

Tyler grabbed the last muffin off of the tray and popped a piece into his mouth. The crew began to disperse now that the food was gone. It was just the two of them left. She still hadn’t looked up at him.

I hope he chokes on it, she told herself, actually nervous that he wouldn’t like it.

“These are great.” He popped another piece into his mouth. “I can see why they gave you your own show.”

Kayley ignored him, scrubbing the bowl harder even though it was already clean.

“Did I offend you or something?” he asked.

Water splashed over both of them as she chucked the rag into the sink. “Your entire existence offends me.”

Tyler took a step back, looking shocked and surprised at the sudden aggression.

“Why do you think you have the right to take another animal’s life? An innocent animal that is doing you no harm. Does it make you feel like a man to kill a harmless creature? Do you think it makes you a tough guy?”

Tyler put down the muffin with a look of confusion on his face. “I um-” he stammered.

She ripped the towel off of the oven handle and wiped the soap off her hands like it was acid burning her skin.

“You have no right to kill an innocent animal. Just because it’s not as intelligent as a human doesn’t mean it can’t feel pain. It doesn’t mean that its life doesn’t have value.” She threw the towel at his muscular chest, trying to suppress the thought of how it would look without a shirt on.

“People like you are so quick to judge,” he said, recovering from the initial shock. “Always so quick to take the moral high ground.”

“I’m allowed to take the moral high ground. I don’t kill innocent animals. And you’re even worse than everybody else. You teach others how to kill.”

“I hunt in an ethical way,” he said, defending himself. “I either eat or donate all of the meat from a hunt to a local woman’s shelter who desperately need-”

“Oh don’t tell me you need meat to survive because that’s bullshit,” Kayley yelled. “They can eat vegetables and they’ll be just fine. There’s no need to kill anything. You are a murderer and a coward and I hope a moose impales you with his antlers the next time you step outside!” She spun on her heels and stormed out of the studio.

In the past she would always get a high from cutting a hunter down to size. She loved the feeling of being on the side of animals and arguing against cruel hunters. This time she got no satisfaction from the altercation. All she felt was regret. She couldn’t help but feel bad no matter how many times she told herself that she did the right thing.

Tyler heard the bucks bugling in the distance. The sudden cry piercing through the silent forest sent a chill shivering down his back. They’re close. He dropped his backpack with a thud and rolled his stiff shoulders. The bag was heavy. He’d been hauling his ninety pound bow, three cameras, food and equipment through the mountains like an overworked and underpaid mule and was thankful for a break. He was in the San Juan National Forest of Colorado, one of his favorite places to hunt. The mountains were breathtaking. Literally. At an elevation of 11,500 feet even someone as in shape as Tyler would be struggling for air after a few miles of hiking.

I should get the bucks calling on camera. He pulled out two of the cameras from his pack and attached the medium sized camera to his tripod. He looked down the hill into the valley below assessing the shot. The sparse trees were to his advantage if a bull elk decided to make an appearance. No dense trees to hide him. There was a lazy, slow-flowing river to the right plopping and gurgling along and the snow capped mountains towered in the background like an Albert Bierstadt painting. The sun was shining, lighting up the landscape just for him.

He took a deep breath, inhaling the pine scent of fresh mountain air, and smiled contently. How can I be the only one here? Why isn’t there hundreds of people admiring the view? Connecting with nature. How can people live in cities and never once step foot into the untamed wilderness? Lives filled with traffic, reality shows, overtime and Twitter seemed like a waste. He shook his head and turned on the camera. Why were people so afraid to get back to their roots? It’s better off this way. I wouldn’t want tons of people around to ruin it anyway. But he couldn’t help but think that once in a while it would be nice to share it with someone. Kayley flashed in his mind. No not her. Anyone but her. He hadn’t seen her in two weeks and he still couldn’t get her out of his mind.

He steadied the camcorder onto his tripod and placed himself in front of the camera. “It’s day three at about two o’clock in the afternoon and I’ve just heard some bucks calling in the distance. We’re going to try to get some into view,” he said into the camera. He pulled a small call out of his shirt that was hanging around his neck. “Now when I’m making the cow call I’m not using my teeth at all. You’ll get a much better tonal quality if you only use your lips.” He wrapped his lips around the small wooden piece and blew out. A high pitched, piercing, squeaking call resonated into the valley. Tyler waited a few seconds in silence and repeated it.

A long, throaty, chirping call answered in the distance. He turned to the camera smiling. “That there is a bull elk. Let’s hope he comes to check out the cow.” He turned on the larger camera and zoomed into the far off distance where the bull was calling back. This would be so much easier with a camera crew. It was a shame that none of them worked out. They were all too slow and unable to keep up with Tyler’s grueling pace. In the end he decided with The Adventure Network that it would be better for him to do everything on his own. That meant extra hiking to set up cameras for different angles and the extra burden of carrying all the equipment himself. That didn’t bother him. He was always looking for ways to push himself further.

Just as he pointed the camera on the tree line below a six by seven bull elk trotted into view. Tyler gasped. He was magnificent. Easily the biggest bull that he had ever seen. His thick, strong antlers sat atop his head like a crown. He must be at least twelve years old. That meant he had survived twelve winters. Twelve hunting seasons. It would be hard to get closer than he was now. Elk were used to being hunted by predators and to survive twelve years out here you had to be good at avoidance.

Tyler concentrated on steading his shaking hand. He needed a still shot for his show. The bull strutted around and stopped, looking in Tyler’s direction. He felt lightness in his chest and had to remind himself to breathe.

The bull stood as still as a Greek statue and waited. Tyler put the call to his dry lips and blew. The bull stormed into a quick trot for forty yards and stopped. He called back to the fraudulent cow in frustration. He circled a few times and then caught wind of something and spooked off, disappearing into the tree line as quickly as he came.

Tyler stepped back into the shot of the medium sized camera. “What a bull,” he said. “I’ve never seen a bigger one. Let’s try to get a closer look.” He turned the power off of the camera and put them both back in his pack. He couldn’t believe his luck.

His mind kept flashing back to Kayley. She would never get it. She looked at hunters as psychopaths, killing everything that moved. No one can respect a bull more than me. Those animal rights activists were always so quick to judge. They didn’t understand. They would take the high road, criticizing him for taking the life of a wild animal while they were draped in leather and eating cows and pigs that spent their life in pain and misery raised in factory farms. They were completely disconnected from what they ate, buying meat from cows pumped with antibiotics and hormones with one hand and pointing the finger at him with the other. Hunting was very emotional for him. Intimate. It was about the connection that comes with it. A return to our natural selves.

Tyler always hunted on public land. He hated
canned hunts
. Hunts where animals are caged in a ranch and unable to escape. He always donated any extra meat to a local woman’s shelter, never wasting anything. He was an ethical hunter and was sick of people like Kayley vilifying him when they didn’t understand what hunting was all about.