The Odd Family's Book of Bedtime Stories

The Tailypo

Aaron Jones was a tired old man who had no time for technology. He just couldn't understand it. When he was young, Aaron had sold everything he owned. All he had kept were his dogs and his gun. He'd used that money to buy a remote cabin in the Appalachian mountains. It wasn't much, but it was home. The cabin consisted of two small rooms with a fireplace on one end. One room was a sort of small kitchen. It had a wood stove, a cupboard, and a small table with one chair. An old metal tub laid against one wall, used for laundry and baths. The other room was his bedroom where Aaron slept with his three dogs; Georgia, Hank, and Willie. Hank and Willie were weathered coon hounds. Georgia was a smaller dog who made up for her lack of size with her enormous heart. The entire thing smelled of wood smoke and old pipe tobacco.

Overall, Aaron believed he made the right choice. He didn't have electricity or running water, and he rarely saw people, but he also didn't have bills. He didn't have to stress over anything as he had before and... he didn't have to see people. That was both a curse and a blessing. No, Aaron believed this was the way to live. What money he needed for food and taxes he could get from working his land. Aaron believed the closer the people got to technology, the further they got from their roots. They would pay ridiculous prices for various herbs, mushrooms, and berries.

The only problem with this way of life was that sometimes he miscalculated how much food he would need to get through the winter. This was one of those years. Aaron was running low on supplies, and it was still too cold to risk a trek down the mountain and into town. This didn't mean that he would go hungry, of course, it only meant that he would have to go hunting if he wanted to eat more than the bag of dried beans he had left. Aaron was sick of beans. He knew his dogs would appreciate it, too. Bundling up in warm furs, Aaron grabbed his gun and readied his dogs. He was low on ammo but confident that he could find some meat before he ran out. They all headed into the woods and began searching. All of Aaron's usual spots were empty.

As the day wore on, Aaron realized he had run into a spot of bad luck. One of his dogs had let him know about a rabbit here or there, but he'd been unable to hit it and only had one bullet left. He knew he had to make it count. Entering a quiet section of the forest, they had a good look around. There was something strange here. The forest was a noisy place when it came right down to it, full of life even in the cold. But now all he heard was the crunch of the leaves under his boots and the occasional whine from one of his dogs. No birds were chirping in the trees to bring in spring, no mice burrowing under the leaves, nothing. Even the wind was quiet here. Beside him, his dogs went still, following his lead.

Had Willie not cowered down, Aaron might not have seen the creature lurking in the treetops above him. It wasn't anything like Aaron had seen or heard of before. The creature was massive, long, and sleek, with thick, black fur and tall, pointed ears. It was cat-like but somehow not a cat at all. What startled Aaron the most, however, were its eyes. It had incredibly intelligent green eyes, staring down at him from its perch. They were almost human. Its tail swirled out behind it, readying to pounce. Aaron dodged away with a shout, sending his dogs yelping in every direction. The creature let out a fearsome shriek, sending chills down all their spines as Aaron spun and readied his rifle.

This wasn't about food. It was about protecting himself.

He'd never seen anything like it, but that didn't mean that Aaron wouldn't kill it, especially defending himself or his dogs. The creature leaped from one limb to another, heading deeper into the darkening forest. Taking careful aim at the massive beast, Aaron pulled the trigger. The shot rang out through the forest, echoing back and across the mountains. The creature's long tail fell instantly, draping over one of the low-hanging limbs. It howled horribly and fell toward the ground before catching itself on another limb and taking off again. There was something strange about the way it screamed. It sounded almost human. Having used his last bullet, Aaron didn't dare give chase and called his dogs back to his side. They barked and yipped with the excitement of a hunt.