Originally part of Chapter 1, I decided to make it chapter 2 and end chapter 1 where the AI voice bot read which you can listen to or read along with in a previous post. Obviously, chapter 1’s title will have to change since the ambush event transpires in chapter 2 now. So here is the rough draft to chapter 2 of Hunted Under the Light of the Moon.
Chapter 2 – The Ambush
If Jonas hadn’t seen Blue Suit enter or noticed the slight drop in noise, he might not have been aware or surmised that the stranger might have been the cause. It was a puzzling event to witness.
“Well,” Jonas said, quickly answering his friend’s question. “It was just another one of my hunting trips. This time around, I’d purchased the right to hunt a jaguar and there happened to be one which had been killing off farmers’ livestock down there in Venezuela and had also killed a couple of hunters hired to kill it.”
“Hold on,” said Ben. “You purposefully went after an animal that had already killed people?”
“Why not,” Jonas replied. “Such animals tend to be more cunning and dangerous. And it’s not like this is the first time I’ve done that. Remember that lion I hunted in Zimbabwe? It was a mankiller as well. As I was saying. So I’m hunting this jaguar with a zagya, this seven-foot-long spear…”
“You really got a deathwish,” Robert interjected. “I’ll never understand why you hunt animals with primitive weapons in the first place.”
“It’s only fair that they have a chance to live,” Jonas answered, he looked over at the man in the blue suit. He could have sworn that, for just a second, the man’s face had perked up the moment Jonas mentioned hunting trips before regaining a neutral expression. “It’s not fair to them if I use modern weapons to hunt them down. If they kill me, then I wasn’t good enough to beat them. But only for predator species. If I’m hunting for food, then I want it to be quick and as painless as possible for the prey.”
“I’ve always said ever since I’ve known you,” Robert said. “You’re crazy as hell. I’d be packing all kinds of artillery if I were to go off into the forest to hunt a jaguar.”
“Rainforest actually,” Jonas said, correcting Robert.
“What’s the difference? They both got trees don’t they?”
“Rainforest gets a lot of rain and has a dense tree canopy,” said Jonas, raising an eyebrow at Robert.
“Mr Know-it-all over here,” said Robert, taking another bite and looking at Ben.
“So what happened,” Ben asked, ignoring Robert. “You were out of town for quite a while.”
“Simply put,” said Jonas, rolling his left shoulder while grimacing. “I was following the jaguar’s tracks until they ended and I realized, too late, that the damn thing was waiting in ambush.”
Jonas leaned towards the table and picked up straw while his friends leaned in before he continued, “As the realization that I had just fallen into a trap registered in my mind, the jaguar had jumped out of the tree above me and swiped the back of my left shoulder. Luckily, I was already rolling to the side as the thought entered my mind. But the pain was still excruciating and the jaguar ended up in front of me as it knocked me off balance while in mid-roll. Just as I get out of the roll, I stab my spear in the direction of where I heard the Jaguar land.”
As he said this, Jonas jabbed the straw he was holding in Robert’s direction, which caused his friend to jump back in his chair and spill a bit of soda on his clothes.
“Damn it,” Robert exclaimed, quickly grabbing some napkins and cleaning the soda splatters from his apparel. ”My wife will kill me if I stain these clothes.”
“Luckily,” Jonas continued, smiling while Ben chuckled. “My reflexes bought me time as my zagya grazed the leopard before it could leap. Then we circled each other until I impaled it when the creature was in mid leap in a bid to kill me. So I ended up in the hospital for a little while to recover from my wounds. Though I made sure to send the jaguar’s body to a taxidermist.”
“How is your shoulder feeling,” Ben asked. Meanwhile, the waitress was starting to make her way over with their food, the bartender having left his post to help carry some of the plates.
“A bit stiff,” Jonas said, once again rolling his left shoulder. “I got lucky and the damage was minimal. But the scars are there.”
“Let’s see the scars,” Robert said, eyes wide and filled with excitement.
Jonas sighed, stood up, removed his blazer exposing his broad shoulders, and then lifted the collar of his shirt up enough to show some of the scarring on his left shoulder and the back of his lean, muscular arm. A gasp came from the waitress who had just arrived at the table, while the bartender gave a low whistle. As Jonas was turning around, he made a surreptitious glance towards the middle eastern man who was just turning away from looking in their direction.
“Madre de Dios,” the waitress said as she arrived at the table, “What happened to your shoulder?”
“Hah,” Robert said as he slapped his leg, then pointed at Jonas. “My man over here tussled with a jaguar while he was down in Venezuela.”
The waitress started placing Jonas’s food in front of him and said, “You are Venezuelan? But you don’t speak Spanish?”
“Sorry,” Jonas replied, catching a whiff of coffee, vanilla, and the floral undertones of her perfume as she got closer than necessary to him. “I’m American made, born and raised. But it seems my mixed heritage makes me appear Latin American to some.”
“What is your ethnicity,” the waitress said a little quietly, her cheeks slightly reddened as she placed Ben’s order in front of him. “If you don’t mind me asking?”
At this question, all three friends said simultaneously, though Ben and Robert said it in a mocking tone, “I’m too white to be black, too black to be white, and not red enough to be Indian.”
“Oh,” the waitress said, puzzled as she took Robert’s order from the bartender and placed the food in front of him.
“Don’t mind him, little missy,” Robert said, giving her a wink. “He likes to be mysterious.”
”Not really,” said Jonas, looking down at his food and raising an eyebrow at what he noticed. “It’s just the easiest way to explain it without bogging people down with the details unless they really want to know.”
At that moment, Mr Roxton, owner of the town’s local comic book shop and wearing a superhero shirt, was waving to Rosalita who, as she started to walk over to his table, said, “Maybe you can tell me later?”
Jonas gave a noncommittal shrug as she left while Ben was looking from his basket of fries to Jonas’s then back to his basket to Jonas’s and then Robert’s. Robert, who immediately started diving into his food, saw Ben looking back and forth and said, “What?”
“I think the waitress gave Jonas most of my fries,” Ben said, smirking as he pointed to his basket of fries which was only a third full and then pointing to Jonas’s basket which was over the brim.
“What the hell,” Robert exclaimed, looking at his own plate. “Me too!”
Robert reached over to grab some of Jonas’s fries who quickly pulled it away from him and said, “It’s only fair that I get something from you guys since you both stole my height.”
“Still annoyed that you’re short, huh,” said Ben as he motioned for Jonas to give him some of the fries.
“I’m not short,” Jonas retorted, pushing the basket of fries over to Ben who took a handful to fill his basket. “I’m vertically challenged. Maybe if you guys shared some inches with me, no homo, I could be 5’9” instead of 5’6. Either way, you will never know the struggle of being a short man.”
“Doesn’t seem to stop you from attracting the ladies,” Ben quipped. “Just look at how the waitress is treating you.”
“Oh,” Jonas said. “Give it a rest.”
Robert just grinned as he continued to wolf down his cheesesteak which he had added some fries and mozzarella sticks to. Jonas started to munch on some fries and, every now and then, covertly glanced Blue Suit’s way. The atmosphere was still subtly subdued since the man’s entrance and some diners were displaying nervous ticks or gestures. Mr Dango’s arm, Jonas noticed, around his wife had gone from loving and relaxed to appearing more stiff in anticipation and protective.
“So,” Ben said, “I assume you’re adding the jaguar to that little local museum of yours?”
“Of course,” Jonas replied, sticking a fork in one of the boneless buffalo wings, cutting it in half with a knife, and eating a piece. He always loved the tangy, spicy taste of a good hot sauce “Just one of the ways I can think of to honor the animals I’ve hunted. It also gives the young kids in town a place to hang out and maybe learn about wildlife. That, and the money I spend for those special hunting licenses to go after the large game goes to preserving the species for additional habitats and breeding programs.”
“Like those wolves you wanted to help reintroduce back into New Jersey,” Robert said, his mouth full of food.
“Yeah,” said Jonas, shaking his head at Robert talking with his mouth full. “The Wolves for Wharton program a few years back. You know, one day you are going to choke on your food.”
Robert purposefully took another bite of his cheesesteak before replying, “Never going to happen. Besides, I can’t help it when I’m hungry.”
“You haven’t hunted any wolves yet,” Ben asked, looking at Robert in disgust.
Jonas rubbed the back of his neck, eyes partially closed, more to use this posture to watch Blue Suit as he answered, “That’s true. I’ve hunted lions, cougars, tigers, grizzly bears, polar bears, and jaguars. But never any wolves yet.”
As he finished off the list, Jonas noticed that Blue Suit had reacted to him listing off the animals he had hunted with a contemplative look followed by a wolfish grin. Maybe it was just a coincidence, or his imagination, for there was no way Blue Suit could be able to hear him talking with the hum of conversations taking place all over the bar while “We Are One” by Alter Bridge played over the speakers.
“Ben,” Jonas said quietly, putting his elbows on the table and leaning real close to his friend, his hands clasped together to hide his mouth from Blue Suit, and whispered. “See the man in the blue suit at your four o’clock? Do you recognize him?”
His buddy recognized the tone and casually glanced in the direction, a slightly curious expression on his face. But as he noticed Blue Suit, Ben’s expression immediately turned neutral and he said, in a voice trying to sound nonchalant, “Yeah, he’s a semi-regular. Lived in town for a long time but keeps to himself. Rarely comes to this bar though.”
“You know his name,” Jonas asked, having noticed his friend’s reaction to seeing Blue Suit.
“Nope,” Ben answered a little too quickly. “I’ve never heard his name or been introduced to him.”
At this point Robert, his mouth still full of cheesesteak, looks in the same direction, gasps, and immediately starts choking. As he choked, Jonas got up calmly and quickly walked up to Robert until he was behind him who, at that point, was pounding the table with his fist, and quickly smacked him on the back a few times before wrapping his arms around Robert and applying several abdominal thrusts.
On the last thrust, Robert ejected a large piece of partially-masticated bread that lands on his plate as he gasps once more for a breath of air.
“What was that all about,” Jonas asked, returning to his seat.
“Nothing,” Robert wheezed in a high-pitched tone before taking a big gulp of his soda. Ben just shook his head at Robert with a warning expression on his face.
“Am I missing something,” Jonas pressed, trying to get an answer, but his friends just waved him off. Raising his hand, he attracted Rosalita’s attention and she walked over to their table. Her customer service smile widened into a more genuine one as she neared their table.
“Yes, sir?”
“Roalita,” Jonas said, gesturing for her to come closer, putting a hand on the side of his mouth to hide it, so he could talk quietly to her. “Do you know the gentlemen in the blue suit on the other side of the room?”
The waitress didn’t even look towards Blue Suit and said, “I know he is a regular here, but I haven’t been told his name yet. My boss simply pointed him out the first time I saw him and told me to make sure he is taken care of over everyone else, but not to ask him any questions or talk to him unless he talks to me first. This is the second time I have seen him since I started working here a couple months ago. Sorry I can’t tell you more.”
“It’s okay,” Jonas said, sitting back in his chair. “Thank you for the information.”
“Is there anything else I can get for you gentlemen,” she asked, grabbing her pad and pencil.
Robert’s eyes lit up as he said, “Oooh, I wouldn’t mind getting some dessert…”
“No,” Ben said, his eyes slightly narrowed and mouth pursed. “Sorry, but it’s close to midnight and we have a training session for that group of security guards tomorrow.”
“Right,” Robert slowly said, picking up the pace on devouring the remaining food on his plate unaffected by his recent near-death experience.
“Then we’ll just get the check Rosalita,” Jonas said. “If you please.”
Rosalita’s mouth turned down briefly before smiling again and said, “You got it. I’ll be back with the check!” As she walked away, Jonas stared at Ben wondering what was going on. Whatever it was, they didn’t seem inclined to talk about it.
“Is this something to do with your time in the military,” Jonas said, eyebrow raised, as he probed for answers.
“You could say that,”Ben curtly replied before standing up and pulling out his smartphone. “I need to make a call.”
Robert waved generally in Ben’s direction while still eating as Jonas said, “Sure thing.”
Jonas watched as Ben headed straight for the bathroom before bringing the smartphone up to his ear to make his call. Blue Suit’s eyes never looked in Ben’s direction and remained focused on his glass of wine.
“Hey,” Robert said, after a huge swallow. “Where’s your smartphone? Did you buy a new one that’s six figures too?”
“No,” Jonas said, a sardonic smile on his face. “I would never spend that much on a phone. And it is in the car charging.”
“Shame,” said Robert, sitting back in his chair with a satisfied smile on his face while patting his stomach. “I was curious to see what such a phone would look like. Would it be blinged out in diamonds and dipped in gold?”
“Oh,” Robert continued in a slightly sarcastic tone and exaggerated gestures to accompany his next words, “My bad. Blinged out in red diamonds.”
Jonas simply shook his head, not even deigning to respond to his friend’s mocking tone. Out of the corner of his eye he had watched Blue Suit quickly finish the red wine and call for the check. Rosalita noticed him and quickly got to him, even though Jonas knew they had asked for the check first. Despite Blue Suit’s standing in this establishment, no one else had greeted him, acknowledged him, or even approached him. Only the staff had been the ones to interact with him as the night wore on. And all he had done was drink some sort of red wine. A very deep red, similar to a Douro Red, Jonas noticed as the man had finished his drink shortly before Ben had left to make his call.
After Rosalita had finished with Blue Suit’s check, she made her way to their table as Ben returned and sat down. But, Jonas noticed, not before looking in Blue Suit’s direction and noticing the man’s absence. Jonas made a slight gesture to her for the bill and she held out the black bill presenter to him smiling. Without looking at it, Jonas pulled out his wallet, placed a credit card in the portfolio and asked, “Was our friend in the Blue Suit drinking a Douro Red?”
“I don’t know,” Rosalita said, puzzled as she accepted the bill presenter back. “It’s from a private stock that my boss told me to serve him from. The bottles are unlabelled and I don’t know a lot about wine.”
“Still too young to legally drink,” Robert asked, teasing her.
“Si,” she replied, cheerfully.
“Hey Ben,” Robert said, looking over in Ben’s direction. “Remember those days of drinking while underaged? Damn, those were some fun times!”
“I remember those times,” Ben said, a smile on his face, though a little strained, as he glanced once more at the recently-vacated seat.
“Which part was fun,” Jonas said, slightly smiling as he locked eyes with Rosalita who was watching him. “The part where you guys would throw up, snot running down your noses while crying that you will never drink again? Or the countless times you tried hitting on girls while drunk?”
“Whatever,” said Robert, waving his hand dismissively in Jonas’s direction. “I don’t remember anything about what you are talking about. Even if that were true, we still had fun while you stayed boringly sober.” He then gave a conspiratorial wink at the waitress, “I’m sure Rosalita knows how it goes when at that age.”
“Actually,” Rosalita said, a sheepish expression on her face as she walked away to process the payment. “I don’t drink. My papa, mama, and abuela would skin me alive.”
“That’s very wise,” said Jonas to her as she walked away.
“Appreciate you picking up the check,” Ben said.
“Always happy to.”
“Me too,” said Robert loudly as he let out a huge sigh of satisfaction. “Hey Ben,” he continued, before leaning over to their pale companion and then started whispering low enough so that Jonas couldn’t hear them.
Jonas just stared at them, eyebrow raised, as they whispered to each other for a minute before shaking hands and looking back at him.
“What are you two plotting,” Jonas said, eyes narrowed in suspicion of whatever it was his friends had just planned.
“Nothing,” was the simultaneous reply as the waitress returned.
“Here you are Mr Ames,” Rosalita said, placing the portfolio down swiftly in front of Jonas, her cheeks slightly red as she quickly walked away.
Picking up the bill presenter and opening it, Jonas saw the cause for the waitress’s red cheeks. Her number was written on the customer’s receipt copy with the words “Call me” written on it. Maintaining a neutral expression, he pulled out a silver-tipped fountain pen, signed the receipts, and placed two, hundred dollar bills inside the portfolio with the words “One for you and one for the bartender” written on the receipt copy.
He almost didn’t take his copy of the receipt, but then changed his mind as he saw his friends still staring at him. The young woman was very attractive, nice, polite, and seemed to be well-raised by her family and he hadn’t been on a date in a little while because of his injuries. He folded the receipt in half, so his friends wouldn’t see what was written on it, and, as he took it out of the portfolio, Roberts banged his hand on the table, exclaimed “Ha!” and then held an open hand in Ben’s direction while gesturing to him.
With a long sigh, Ben pulled out his wallet, drew out a twenty dollar bill and started to place it in Robert’s outstretched hand before stopping and said, “Proof.”
With a “Really nigga” look at Ben, Robert, who had been smiling like the Cheshire cat, said in a singsong tone, “Oh Jonas. Can we see your receipt?”
“No,” Jonas responded immediately, maintaining a neutral expression as he got an inkling as to what his friends were whispering about.
Robert’s eyes narrowed, the smile becoming toothy and a mock anger replacing it as he said through gritted teeth, “Show me what’s on the receipt, Jonas.”
“No,” Jonas said again and crossed his arms. “And if you try to make a scene, I won’t ever pick up the check for our get-togethers.”
“Sorry Bobby,” Ben said as he slowly put the $20 back in his wallet, a smirk on his face.
“Oh hell nah,” exclaimed Robert. “You know I’m right about that bet!”
“No proof,” said Ben as he put his wallet away. “No payout.”
Robert made a disgruntled noise, sat back in his chair, and folded his arms while the waitress returned to pick up the portfolio and said, “Thank you for coming to the Knight’s Folly gentlemen, I hope you have a great night.”
With a shy smile in Jonas’s direction she tucked the portfolio back in her apron and left to attend another table.
Once she was out of earshot Robert leaned over the table towards Jonas and whispered through gritted teeth, “I know she gave you her number. Show it to us.”
“No,” Jonas said, a small smile cracking through his neutral facade at Robert’s annoyance, before standing up. “Shall we go, gentlemen?”
“”You go on Jonas,” Ben said, still sitting at the table. “I need to talk to Bobby for a few minutes regarding some last-minute changes I got from tomorrow’s client during that phone call. We’ll see you Wednesday night for poker like always?”
“Of course,” Jonas replied as he stood up, adjusting his blazer. “Drive safe and I’ll see you both Wednesday.”
His friends waved as he walked towards the doors leading out to the parking lot, giving a small smile and quick wink to the waitress as she also waved goodbye to him while taking an order. Exiting The Knight’s Folly through the single door leading in and out, he entered the still-full, dimly lit parking lot.
In the furthest corner of the parking lot was his car where he had been forced to park at due to the lot being almost full upon his arrival earlier. He could just make out the outline of his black Tesla Models S Plaid from the parking lot lights. Though, the light that was supposed to illuminate the area his car was parked in wasn’t on; which he could have sworn was working when he had arrived a couple of hours later.
While there was a full moon out, it was currently hidden behind thick clouds and there wasn’t any wind. His car was barely visible in the darkened section of the parking lot. Though why the parking lot was still full, since no one had entered the Knight’s Folly since Blue Suit’s departure, barely registered in Jonas’s mind.
Gravel crunched under his black and silver trail running shoes as he approached the car. He was glad he had decided to wear them since he wanted to do a quick jog before going to bed in order to burn off some of the calories from dinner. Pulling out his car fob, it wasn’t until he noticed it as he stood right next to the car door, looking into his vehicle as his close proximity caused the interior lights to turn on.
It was silent outside.
Complete and utter silence.
The kind that makes the hairs on your arms stick up. The kind of silence that elicits a chill running up your spine. The silence where every living creature is holding its breath to avoid drawing the attention of a predator. Silent witnesses watching and waiting to see what would transpire within the next few seconds. Just as he noticed that silence, the screen of his smartphone lit up where it rested while charging inside his vehicle.
Suddenly, a number of things happened almost simultaneously. A shadow moved in his direction that he caught out of the corner of his eye, a breeze without sound was at his back, and then there was a pressure on the back of his head while barely registering in his brain that the car door frame was rushing up to meet him.
Then he knew no more.
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