The faded wooden door of the Pub & Grub opened with a creak. Ollie stepped into the old building and waited inside, letting his eyes adjust to the darkened, smoky interior.
“Welcome to the Pub & Grub!” A plump, middle-aged woman with curly hair and a cheery smile approached. The smile faded slightly once she got a good look at his black eye. “Just one?”
“Yeah.”
“Right this way.”
With a deliberate sway of her hips, she led him past a row of empty booths. She laid a menu on the farthest one from the door, situated next to a wide window overlooking the Eureka Channel.
“Still early,” she said, “so you get the table with the best view.”
Ollie forced a smile. “Much appreciated.”
“Something to drink?”
“Coke, please.”
She left Ollie to look over the lunch menu. He saw the words, and the pictures of various sandwiches and burgers, but his mind was too preoccupied for any of it to register with him. The waitress came back and set his drink on the table. She pulled a pencil from behind her ear.
“You know what you want?”
“What kind of sandwiches you got?”
She rattled the choices off in quick succession. “Club, turkey, ham, Reuben, grilled cheese, meatball, and BBQ.”
“Ummm, a club, on wheat, please. Light mayo. BBQ chips.”
She scribbled something on a small notepad. “You got it, hon.”
“Oh, and do you have any kid’s meals? Like chicken strips or something?”
“We do. Chicken, hamburger, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, and PB&J.”
“Chicken. Make that one to go.”
“Sure thing!”
The waitress wandered back to the counter and relayed the order to the chef in the kitchen. Ollie leaned back in his seat, arm stretched across the back, and stared out the window. The restaurant was situated about fifty feet back from a long pier that jutted out and then cut left, running parallel to the coastline. A fishing trawler bobbed gently at the end, and two older men stood on the deck, chatting about whatever old fishermen chatted about. On the far side of the channel was Indian Island, a small islet made up of trees, mud, a few houses on the coast, and not much else.
He took a sip of his drink and set it down on the table, staring at the tiny bubbles inside the glass. An old memory surfaced, as he knew it would, and he rubbed his eyes, flushing away the mental images that popped up uninvited. He stared at the collage of local flyers and business cards on the wall next to the cash register, eager to find a distraction for his sour mood. He’d woken up this way, and it hadn’t improved with time.
“You just can’t get enough of me, can you?”
Ollie turned around to see Bobo approaching from the front, waitress in tow. The large man took the seat opposite Ollie, and the waitress set a menu down in front of him.
“You want your usual, hon?”
Bobo grinned like a Cheshire cat. “You know it, doll face.”
She left with a wink.
Bobo stared at the bruises on Ollie’s face. “Nice love taps. Fighter?”
Ollie ran his hand along his cheekbone. He winced.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“You win at least?”
Ollie shrugged. “I’m still alive.”
“Nice work.” Bobo held out a fist, and Ollie bumped it. “Proud of you. So, this your first time in here?” he asked.
Ollie nodded.
“Brother, I come here two or three times a week, at least. Best waffles in town. You doing breakfast or lunch?”
“Lunch.”
Bobo leaned back in his seat. “Breakfast for me. Got up with the noon bells on account of my late night.” He smirked. “What are you up to today?”
“Not much. Gotta be somewhere tonight, then I’m out of here. Done with my little project.”
“Already? Damn. You Hauks get it done, don’t you? I hope my love potions helped out some.”
“Definitely worth their weight in ketamine.” Ollie’s lips twitched, hinting at a smile.
Bobo leaned back and took a deep breath. He looked over Ollie’s shoulder and gave a wink, to the waitress Ollie assumed, then turned to look out the window. “I’m headed south after this, checking some traps I set in the woods out by Ferndale. You been there, yet?”
“I drove through it,” Ollie said cautiously. “Overpriced tourist trap. Especially the antique stores.”
“Right? Place is crowded with people looking to burn money. I want to stop a few of them and ask what their line of work is. Not that I’m qualified to do anything else in this world ‘cept for bashing monsters on the head.” He chuckled, then his expression turned serious. “Anyway, I saw Ellie again yesterday. Remember what I said about the Rodriguez brothers? Jimmy and Timmy? She told me she saw their truck parked in front of some old barn south of Ferndale. She said it’s been parked there about two weeks.” His eyes widened, clearly implying that something bad had happened. “There’s about five miles of forest south of that town, and then some hills. All of it untamed. Prime goblin country if you ask me. Everyone else is busy scouring the Redwoods, like that place hasn’t been combed over ninety-eight million times by now. But it’s looking like they went out into those woods and never made it back. I’m headed out there today to see if I caught anything. Or if I see any signs of those two boys.”
Ollie felt a twinge of guilt at Bobo’s mention of the brothers. He’d known plenty of hunters who’d gone missing or been killed, or worse, but that was the danger they all lived with in this business. His dad had always told him, ‘Hunters die, you mourn them, you move on. It’s the life we live.’ It had felt cold as a child, and even more so in retrospect, but he also knew he couldn’t do his job if he got too attached to these people. Even to Bobo.
“You need to be careful,” he said, in spite of himself. “Don’t go running in there half-cocked.”
“I don’t do anything half-cocked.” Bobo grinned and winked. “So, you going back to, what was it, New Orleans? What’s out there in Cajuntown, anyway? Kol’sku?”
Ollie winced at the mention of those creatures. He shook his head.
“No. New Orleans is more… other stuff.”
“Ahhh.” A wide smile covered Bobo’s face. “Branching out, huh? I feel you. Good to have a wide range of skills, am I right?”
Ollie shrugged.
“Speaking of kol’sku,” Bobo motioned out the window with his head, “I heard there’s a guy in Oregon with a boat who takes it up and down the coast hunting those slippery devils.”
Ollie felt his blood boil. He fought to keep himself calm. “Good for him.”
“I’m surprised you and your dad aren’t doing the same. After what happened to your sister, I’d be dredging up every last body of water between here and Virginia looking to slaughter those bastards.”
Ollie bit his lip to keep from shouting. Fortunately, the waitress sauntered over and set down some napkins and silverware, interrupting their conversation. She stood next to Bobo, resting her hand on his shoulder.
“Who’s your friend, Robbie?”
“This here’s Ollie. Buddy of mine from back east. Amateur MMA fighter, in case you couldn’t tell. Ollie, this here is Mel. Prettiest girl in Eureka.”
“Hush,” she said, gently smacking his shoulder. “Good to meet you, Ollie. I didn’t know Robbie had any friends out here.”
“Me either,” Ollie deadpanned. Bobo and Mel both laughed.
“He’s a funny one,” she said. “And your food is coming right up.”
The waitress left, and Bobo eyed her all the way back to the kitchen.
“We’ve had a beer or two since I’ve been out here,” he said. “Nice girl. She’s studying to be – get this – a geologist. She got divorced a couple years back, and now she’s starting her life over. Going to school and everything, over at Humboldt State, I think.” He glanced back at her again. “You got a steady girl?”
Ollie shook his head. “There was one back in New Orleans, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
“Yeah, it’s hard for guys like us. Always traveling. Working nights. No such thing as regular hours or steady income. I’ve always said, it’s not a normal life, but that’s why guys like us love it. Cuz we ain’t normal, either.”
Ollie forced a smile, then looked out the window. He hated hearing the truth about himself.
“I guess that makes your parents even more unique,” Bobo continued. “Finding each other, same interests, hunting together, having kids.” He shook his head. “That’s hard to do, man. Really hard to do.”
Ollie shrugged. “I guess you could also say that’s why it fell apart.”
Bobo looked at him, sensing the undercurrent of disappointment. He nodded slowly.
“See?” Bobo leaned across the table and slapped Ollie’s shoulder. “We aren’t meant for normal things, brother. It’s not our calling.”
Ollie took a drink and stared out at the water again, watching the waves lap gently by. If he’d been born to different parents, or in a different time, he might know what it was to have a normal life. But that hadn’t been his fate. No, he was a Hauk, and he wasn’t meant for normal things. That much was clear by now.
