Light Camera: A Short Story

Thomas Cherian (USA, 01/07/09)

Justin was an avid biker. Avid is a lighter term to use for his obsession. He lived to get on a bike and set out to the woods. It was single minded devotion a release like what a devotee would get by going to a place of worship. He subscribed to the biker magazine, researched about various trails during his office hours and dreamed about conquering the trail as soon as possible.

One could say he lived and worked to get on the bike during the weekend. During the week he worked as a database administrator in a large multinational firm, a meek and mild IT geek who one would remember by function but not the face or the name of the person. Justin was a wiry guy with glasses and a receding hairline. He was very quiet and kept to himself. The IT geek during the week was as related to the pumped up biker during the weekend as was Clark Kent to Superman.

The research on the web had brought to his attention the ‘Witch hunt trail’ which was about 30 miles away from the town he lived in. Justin had saved the information away as place to bike till that cold weekend in November, a week before thanksgiving. The trail even during summer was not crowded as the pathways were rocky and overgrown bushes with thorns hugged its narrow sides. Various wildlife including coyotes and cougars had been spotted on various occasions which further stopped a lot of bikers from venturing into the Witch hunt woods and trails there in. 

Justin reached the park early morning around six with Sun still hiding behind blankets not willing to venture out in to the cold night.  He looked around the parking lot and it was still with not a vehicle in sight. The cold wind and steep drop in temperatures overnight had prevented many a hardy soul from leaving the comforts of their bed and blankets. The biking population has a sharp decline during the winter and a park like Witch hunt with a small base of visitors would have no human presence during the harsh winter weekends at such an early hour.

Justin got out of the truck cheerful, humming a tune in his head as he walked to the truck bed to get his bike out. He was dressed for the occasion with caps, glows, sweaters and jacket. It was still cold. He got his bike down from the truck put his helmet and slowly eased in to the trail enveloped in haze and cold darkness. In spite of the various animals in the wood it was quite as if ….

Cold wind greeted Justin’s entry into the darkened woods and speed of the bike added to its bite. The trail was narrow with twists and turns at small intervals which made the ride a challenge. In spite of various challenges Justin was making good progress and he constantly glanced at his GPS to ensure the speed, the distance and calories burned with every push of the pedal.

He was riding for almost an hour and sun was mildly peeking from the confines of darkness. The early morning sun rays were playing a game with remainder of night to see who would blink first; the interplay casting the entire woods in a hue of mythical allure.  Justin saw that he was now a stretch of path which was straight and long; he changed gears and increased the speed.

Before long the trees and woods were a blur and the wind teared up his eyes in spite of the glasses. Then he saw him standing in the middle of the road and yelled “heads up”. The man was oblivious to the bike and Justin’s warning.

He called out again and angrier now. The distance between the bike and man in the woods was reducing at an alarming rate; Justin reduced the gears and made a sharp turn. He closed his eyes knowing the outcome.  The bike ran off the path into the thorny bushes and Justin landed on his head with a thud. He was shaken and thorns were piercing in through the thick layers of cloth. He got up fast and walked out dazed with a spinning head and body still learning the rules of gravity.

He looked to see the man standing in the middle of the path staring into the woods. He was an older guy in his early sixties with thick flowing beard and hair. He was short in stature with a serious face and thick eye brows. The man had a camera on his neck and he was focusing on something in the woods. Justin could not believe the stranger was not at all aware of the happenings around him.   

“Hey you” called out Justin

The stranger turned and looked at him. He was angry at Justin for having disturbed him.

“Did you not hear me?” asked Justin

“Go away” growled the stranger. The voice had an edge cutting through the stillness of the woods.

Justin was taken aback but still hurt and walked towards the stranger.

“You little runt”

“Go away” said the stranger staring into his eyes. Justin felt a coldness seep into his body through the warm clothes chilling his bones.

“Not your time” continued the stranger

Justin crunched his fingers into a fist and rushed to hit the stranger. The stranger raised his camera to defend against Justin’s impending blow.

Justin aimed his fist at the strangers jaw and the stranger clicked. Justin was taken aback and stopped in his tracks; the light from the flash taking him by surprise.

“Hey” said Justin and covered his eyes.

He opened his eyes a bit dazed by the light and still recovering from the fall. He looked around and he was alone. The stranger as if had vanished in to the woods.

Justin turned and looked around him. How could the old man run away so fast? That was strange he thought. He walked towards the edge peering into the woods and the spot old man was gazing at. He jumped back, his heart pounding at the site of the cougar.

Then he realized the animal was dead and pale, as if death had taken away light from its being.

He walked back to the bushes, grabbed his bike and turned around. He was tired and the remainder of the ride looked insurmountable to him.

                                                *************

He had not reported to work for a couple of days and was not picking up his cell. The human resource manager called the number listed as his local contact in case of emergency.

She had broken up with him and was reluctant to check on Justin. That evening she decided to pay him a visit and found the cops at his doorsteps.

“You know him” enquired one of the cops.

She nodded.

“The neighbors called in. It was the smell. No foul play is suspected”

She walked in and saw the body. His eyes were fixated staring into the distance and the face was very pale. It was a sight she would not forget for a long time, those eyes and the pale face as if death……..