Page 4 of Echo (A Monster’s Prey #2)

The closest living relative to a T-Rex is a chicken, and I was pretty sure that chicken lived in my Great Aunt Pearl’s coop. Behind this giant red dick of a rooster was a plethora of colorful eggs begging to feed me.

If the asshole would let me get close, that is.

“Look, man, I think I’m supposed to gather those eggs. What do you say? Let me get all that out of your way?” I opened the door to the coop for this monstrosity to let out a war squawk worthy of a viking cock and run at me, like I would personally escort him to Valhalla.

I screamed, closing the coop door. Not giving any fucks that his head almost got shut into it too. The fucker pecked at my hands, while I secured the latch.

“I will personally hire some giant, burly mountain man to behead you. And I’ll pay him with fried chicken that I’ll make from your corpse.” Yelling at a chicken was cheaper than a therapist, so I figured letting the chicken bear the bulk of my latest frustration was a healthy enough outlet.

Yeah right.

Despite this place being a ‘farm’ I hadn’t found shit, except this cock blocking rooster that didn’t want me touching his bitches’ eggs. And all I wanted was to eat at some point today.

I sat on the ground, outside the door, wondering how delicious those eggs were. An omelet would hit the spot after a bullshit day to top off an even worse month.

Ranger laid his head in my lap, trying to soothe the fury he could no doubt sense brewing in me?.

The hard ground was covered in little white flowers, and like the mature adult I was I picked one and threw it at the cage.

The flower managed to slide through the chicken mesh and onto the other side with the Keeper of Eggs.

To say the rooster attacked that flower like a starved man would be an understatement.

Who fed the animals while the land was exchanging hands?

I threw another flower and had the same response.

The hens all meandered up curiously wanting some too. “Are you hungry too?”

They didn’t answer. Instead, they cocked their heads to the side as if to wait patiently for more. Okay. If I were animal feed where would I be?

The barn.

I was being an asshole cause I was hungry. Of course, the animals would feel the same.

I opened the barn door, and the cows mooed at me. Shit, everything was probably hungry. If I was lucky, Eddie had fed them recently.

Okay. If I wanted stuff to feed me, I probably had to feed them. That was solid logic, right?

Eventually, I found feed for the cows, but nothing for the damn chickens.

Fuck a duck.

“What do chickens eat?” I asked myself. I fed the cows to fuel my sense of accomplishment and went out the other side of the barn to find a giant garden and orchard that I overlooked.

Okay, there was no joke about there being plenty of food, as long as I managed to keep everything alive. I was glad I didn’t waste my money. I went through the rows and found some squash that was in less than stellar condition. Probably from being over ripe.

I grabbed those and went back to the coop. “Okay. Mr. Dinosaur, Sir. Fair trade, okay?”

I opened the door, and tossed in the squashes, like they were hand grenades, snapping the door shut before he could attack me. The squash split in two when it hit the ground, and in seconds chickens were feasting on them.

I tip-toed in, grabbed a few eggs off the ground, and boogied out, shutting the coop door with my hip. But then I didn’t have a free hand to latch the door. I was suddenly jealous of that apron Hilda Falin wore in town. It would be perfect for this.

With some finagling, the door latched into place.

Madison -1, Dinosaur Chicken -1.

At least we were tied now, and I had something to eat. With plenty of stuff from the garden to put with it.

Ranger growled and snatched my attention away from my victory. His black fur stood up on the back of his neck as he backed into my legs, like he was guiding me away.

“Oh, fuck. What is it?” Please not the bear.

That’s when I heard it. Barking and growling from the treeline. I let out a sigh of relief.

It was four-ish, so there wasn’t a reason for a wolf or coyote to be active. The only other thing that could make those sounds was another dog.

And what was I supposed to do about it? Go in the house anytime an animal comes out?

Shoot it? Set traps? I didn’t think any of that was feasible.

People had to get things done. They couldn’t be stuck in their houses all day.

I didn’t know where the gun was, and if it was this close to the house, it was probably too late for a trap.

I scanned the treeline, searching for the source of the sound. It sounded pretty far off, maybe I should ignore it. Sallie Mae’s words echoed in my mind, respect the mountains .

Was this one of those things where, if I left it alone, it would leave me alone?

Ranger’s head whipped to the trees to the left and barked like he had a mission. My eyes went to where his attention was. As my eyes moved, I could have sworn in the corner of my gaze a tall figure moved behind a tree.

My heart stopped.

That wasn’t dog or bear-shaped.

Had he already caught up to me?

No. That didn’t make sense. It took me days to get here. Unless he’d been following me the whole time, And if he was he would have caught me well before now.

My throat closed and my lungs stopped working, as my heart pounded against my chest hard enough to make my breast bone complain.

The barking came from the trees again and released the fear gripping me. It was probably someone walking their dog, and they stumbled onto the property. Yeah, that made sense. Ranger wasn’t on a leash, they probably realized that and quickly dragged their dog away.

“Ranger. Calm.” I took some deep breaths. “Leave them alone.”

He bared his teeth and his snarls grew louder. He backed further into me, pushing me away from whatever he deemed a threat.

Eventually, he stopped and released his tense stance. I rubbed him down, getting the last of the tension out of him. “Good boy.”

I rewarded him with back scratches and he ate up the attention I gave him with a wagging tail and a long lick to the side of my face.

“Okay, let’s get these eggs inside and see what else we can find. Huh?”

He yipped in agreement, but I noticed he stayed tighter at my heel.

My father had insisted I have a fully trained dog after he lost his temper on me, thinking I was someone else. The first and last time he ever put his hands on me.

Which was exactly why my ex-boyfriend hated my dog and made him live outside, when he moved in a few months ago. Being outside hadn’t helped Mark. Ranger got into the house through the glass door. When I went to the emergency room, so did he.

All the signs of what Mark was had been there, but I ignored them, thinking I was being too harsh.

It was only a matter of time before he killed my dog, so he could do whatever he wanted to me. That was why I ran the first chance I got. Which failed. He found me again within hours.

This time there were states between us and no one but dad knew where I was going. I hadn’t told him why I was so quick to run, but I was sure he had suspicions, when I told him not to tell anyone where I went.

I didn’t think Mark would have the balls to call my dad, since it wasn’t like they had even spoken to each other before, and my dad knew that if I didn’t tell someone something it’s because that information wasn’t for them.

He’s the one who taught me that. But I couldn’t risk Mark making my dad think he was worried or scared.

I put the eggs on the counter and went back outside. I could swear Ranger was exasperated as he went ahead of me to check the perimeter of the garden, before gluing himself to my side.

I used my phone to do some research on when to harvest and gathered what looked ready. Ranger would growl at the treeline every once in a while.

“Knock it off.” The random growls set me on edge and made my hands shake. That said, I was glad someone with better hearing and eyes was watching my back.

I went to my knees on the ground to study a plant that I couldn’t identify. I didn’t think it was ready. I sunk all the way with my hands to get a good look at the thing, but I was curious what it was.

The sensation of a hot gaze lazily rolling over me, caught my breath in my throat. It reminded me of being in a bar and a man locking his eyes on me right before he devoured my soul and sent shivers down my spine.

Not all predators wanted to kill their prey, sometimes they wanted to leave their quarry with shaky legs and a blank mind. I just hadn’t been hunted by one of those in a while.

But out here in the wilderness, where no one was supposed to be, wasn’t ideal. Ranger gave a warning bark and the feeling slipped away.

“Good job, old man,” I told Ranger, giving him a pat as I climbed back to my feet.

Maybe it would be smart to keep my mace on me, even in these empty hills.