Below is a short story I wrote back in college. It has sat dormant in my files since 2013. I’ve decided to share it, free of charge because I don’t find much value in it like I do other short stories I have written. I hope you enjoy it.
“Uncivilized”
He had hiked through these rocky hills for about 14 years of his life. He had grown up on these rustic mountain trails that his family had brought him to dozens over times each year.
Now this one time, this single moment, where he wanted to be his own man, he fucked up. He made an error, one that could’ve happened at any other time where he hiked through these woods with his family in the years prior.
But instead it happened this time and there was no realistic chance of him getting the heavy boulders off his right leg by himself.
Even if he managed to push the solid weight of stone off his leg was, without a doubt, crushed. Bones had definitely shattered like glass and flesh was most certainly shredded like the newspaper he used for a campfire earlier.
The pain, that was obviously there but his mind hadn’t checked that memo just yet. His current thoughts thrashed like a mad dog on a lead over the reality that he was trapped and all alone.
The brown clay dirt and rocks became dark with his blood as it seeped from under the offending trio of boulders. After his voice went hoarse from his cries for help and his futile cursing he finally acknowledged the flood of pain. The burning of the dirt in his exposed tissue and the throbbing of what muscle remained intact shook him into another panic. His fear of infection and slowly rotting away were now his new concerns.
Finally he crossed that threshold of fear and sat himself forward as best he could and then began tugging and pushing each of the main boulders that seemed to have swallowed his leg. The three offenders were stubborn and had no give. Or he had nowhere near the right amount of strength to make a difference. It was as if the rocks were always in that place on top of his leg.
After his efforts spiraled into exhaustion he fell back on the slanted dirt trail. Panting and looking up through the trees at the fading light. The pain was now becoming dull and he was losing feeling in the trapped leg. As struggled to keep his breath steady and the view of the world fade he saw a red figure tower over him as he finally passed out.
The smell of smoke woke him from his nightmare. No broken leg on an unmarked hiking trail, right? He went to sit up and the all too familiar pain of his dream snapped his mind into full attention. When he finally say up, shedding the heavy fur blanket off and saw that his right leg was wrapped in some brown cloth around two splints made from freshly split lumber.
“Where the hell am I?” He looked around the room and realized he was in a small cabin. It was cramped and couldn’t be much bigger than a living room. He saw a roaring fire inside a stone fireplace on the other side of the room. There were two fair sized windows on the adjacent side wall and a large rosewood door in between them.
Throughout the cabin large pieces of smoked meat and were hanging from the ceiling. Tanned skins and furs of various inhabitants of the wild were pinned and stretched out on the walls. On the slanted ceiling was a thicker skylight window that let in the sunlight.
At the edge of the bed was a small, level desk with several books stacked on top of it. Then he noticed the large chair in the middle of the cabin, facing the fireplace. His full view of the chair was made as the sunlight cast down onto it.
It was a large armchair covered all over with fur. The feet of the chair were covered with massive bear claws as were the ends of the arm rests. The top of the chair was decorated with two massive antlers and two skulls of what must have been wolf skulls facing opposite directions from the head of the chair. In the yellow light and even though he could only see it from this odd angle it commanded the presence of the entire cabin.
Aside from the feral home décor the cabin was empty. He was seated in the bed, unable to get up because he knew that his leg was in no shape for him to stand up. So he just sprawled out on the stiff wooden cot covered in fur and blankets then fell back to sleep.
About a few hours later he woke up with the urge to piss. He shifted his weight so that his feet were off the edge of the bed. His right leg stretched out like a plank. He took in a deep breath and then jump onto his good leg and held onto the wall of furs to keep upright. A few slow and painful one-legged hops he slinked around the mirror and basin on this wall, hopped around the corner, and reached the front door. But as he reached for the knob it began to turn on its own and as it opened he lost his balance and fell back on the floor, landing on his injured leg and screaming from the pain.
Standing in the doorway was a massive man. His chest was as wide as television screen and was covered with a crimson plaid shirt. His face was engulfed in a thick black beard and his head was covered with a wool cap. Tucked under one of his massive arms were four splits of wood. The man looked down at his fallen guest with steely eyes.
“You’re awake.”
“I have to piss.” The mountain man walked over to the fireplace and stacked the wood into the low flames.
“I suggest you get to it then. I’m not cleaning any piss off that floor.”
“Well, could you help me up at least?” The mountain man stood up look over at his fallen guest and walked out the door. His soft and gritty voice muttered,
”Do it yourself.” The injured hiker was shocked at this and struggled to get back to his feet. Technically, it was just his foot. He fell down three times to the familiar surge of pain in his leg. Now dripping with sweat and his bladder about to burst he was able to stand up and open the door. Outside he saw dozens of trees on the slanting hill in front of the cabin. Off to the right he saw a GMC Jimmy truck caked in mud, parked on a narrow path.
He hopped off the porch and almost fell down but caught his balance at the last second. He couldn’t see an outhouse anywhere in the front of the cabin. He found a large and thick stick on the ground and was able to pick it up to use as a constant support.
After limping around the building he saw his host splitting small log segments. The work area around him had hundreds of split pieces of wood under a wooden canopy.
“Excuse me. Hey lumberjack! Where’s your outhouse?” The stranger didn’t look up from his work.
“Half a mile up the hill.” The man looked up at the steep hill of trees.
“Are you kidding me! Why is it all the way up there?”
“The smell of shit will attracted bears. So I keep it upwind from the cabin.”
“Look I’ll just go piss behind those trees over there.” The axe drop and the split pieces flew in opposite directions.
“No!” His voice blasted out like a thunderbolt.
“Why not?”
“Your piss will attract wolves who’ll think your marking their territory. So go piss up the hill or don’t piss at all.” He looked up the hill one more time and looked back to see his host looking at him with his ax raised. He turned and started limping up the side of the hill. It took an extensive amount of time for him to get up the hill until he saw the outhouse; it was on top of an extra steep slope that had to be another thirty feet away.
His leg throbbed with so much pain it felt as though it might burst like an overfilled water balloon. He looked back to see if his rugged host was in sight. He moseyed up to a nearby tree and relieved himself onto it. His trek back down to the cabin was hazardous as much as it was easy; the sloping hills were what led to his broken leg. Even with his walking stick he took delicate baby steps down the uneven dirt slope.
When he finally reached the cabin it was getting close to nightfall. His host wasn’t anywhere outside. Once he stepped back inside the cabin it was dark out and he looked out into the open door and took notice of how ominous the black woods were with the absence of man-made lights. Inside the cabin there was a good supply of light coming from the fireplace and the owner was seated in his taxidermy throne of a chair.
“Did you fine the outhouse?”
“Yeah, took me a while.” The bearded fellow said nothing as he stared at his guest.
“Do you think you could take me to a hospital now?”
“Not at this hour.”
“What? Why?”
“The only road out of here, if you could call it a road, isn’t safe to drive through at night. There are some hazardous pitfalls by the rivers and the path isn’t straight by any means. So you’re just going to have to sit back and wait until the morning.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. You’ve got some nerve.” The host jumped to his feet and towered over his critic.
“First off, shut that door, you savage!” The hiker complied.
“Second, I could’ve left you to die on that trail on the other side of the mountain. So you better show some respect to actual hospitality.” The hiker fell to the floor staring up at the massive frame of flannel and facial hair.
“Okay, I’m sorry, I’m just tired and I’m in a lot of pain so-”
“If you were sorry than you’d shut your mouth. Don’t add more petty excuses.” The cabin owner large hands were positioned in a way where they might yank the injured man off the floor and throw him out the front door. After a few seconds of silence the massive hands dropped the waist-side. The eyes were hidden in their sockets due to the limited light of the fireplace.
“Would you kindly help me up? Please?” With just one massive hand the hiker was back on his good leg and given the smaller chair from the desk to sit on, next the throne. Once both parties were seated the hiker steadied his breath and cleared his throat.
“Thank you for saving me sir.”
“No need to mention it, it’s only the past.”
“My name is Tobias by the way. I owe you my life.” The eyes of the mountain man glanced over at Tobias, showing them to be a reddish brown in the light of the fire.
“I’m Ernest. You hungry?” Tobias was taken a back and thought for a second. Then his stomach began to growl.
“Now that you mention it, I am. What do you have to eat?” Ernest walked over to his fireplace, threw a fresh block of wood into the orange flame and then picked up a covered iron skillet that had been sitting over the heat.
“Some deer steaks?”
“Oh, I don’t eat meat. I’m a vegan.”
“Then I guess you’re not that hungry. All the same I only have enough to fill my belly.”
“Don’t you have some fruit or veggies?”
“I have mushrooms, some berries, and mixed greens that aren’t poisonous. But I keep thin in a cool storage shed outside.”
“Could you get it for me?”
“No, it’s not a good idea to go out there at night.”
“Why?”
“There are dangerous creatures out there.”
“Like bears?”
“No, the bears don’t often come out at night. The hybrids are usually out at night.” A faint howling started to come from outside.
“You mean wolves?”
“No, I mean wolf-dog hybrids. They’re much more dangerous, they’ll probably attack you because of your leg.”
“But wolves don’t attack people.”
“That’s because they’re not ordinary wolves so they’re less likely to be scared off by people.” The howling kept going and Tobias could make out more than one wolf howling.
“How many are out there?”
“I don’t know, I don’t bother them and they don’t bother me.” After the steak had cooled Ernest picked it up with his bare hands and started to eat it like a ravenous animal. Bits of the charred meat were caught in his beard.
“So when can you take me to a hospital?”
“Maybe tomorrow, if I can get to it. I’ve got to clear some trees down by the water.”
“Why are you cutting down the trees?”
“I need to repair the outhouse and repair my roof. It shouldn’t take me more than a few days.”
“A few days! I could have internal bleeding or something and you want to waste your time playing lumberjack?”
“First off, I am a lumberjack by trade and second, you don’t have much of a choice unless you want to start limping to find your way into town. If the hybrids don’t kill you, the dark with disorient you enough that you’ll probably starve to death or break you other leg. So if you’ve got any sense in that uncivilized head of yours you’ll be patient, take the risk of your health and I’ll get you into the town soon.”
“How can you be so selfish?” Ernest scarfed down another large mouthful of the venison. Once he swallowed his food he retorted,
“What’s selfish is the sense of entitlement you’ve given yourself. You’re a guest in my home but don’t think that I’m at liberty to wipe your ass or something just because you broke your damn leg like a fool.” Tobias’ face turned red. His stomach was growling even more over the aroma of the venison Ernest scarfed down.
“Well, that wasn’t my fault.”
“Oh, hiking on a mountain trail by yourself wasn’t your idea? Walking late in the day wasn’t your choice? Isolating yourself in a place you don’t understand was out of your hands, was that it?”
“Hey, I’ve been hiking and camping on these mountains all my life. Accidents happen.” Ernest pulled a rag out of his back pocket and wiped his beard of food bits.
“Accidents happen more often when you go in over your head. Just because you’ve camped doesn’t mean you can live out here. And just because you’ve hiked the same trails doesn’t mean that it will always be safe. So stop making excuses and take some damn responsibility for your negligence.” Tobias was appalled but at the same time he grew curious over the conversation that was happening.
“You speak very poignantly for someone who lives alone in the woods.”
“People of all walks of life can acquire knowledge if they so desire and put it to use. You don’t need to live in the uncivilized world to be, what you would consider…smart.”
“What do you mean by uncivilized world?”
“Where you come from: your towns, your villages, and your cities. What you call civilizations.”
“How is living in a city uncivilized? You live like an uncivilized person out here. You don’t have running water or electricity.”
“I don’t need those things. I know how to care for myself without being dependent on systems that people like you use for a life support. I say I’m civilized because I respect my faults and flaws. I am not invincible and I am not any better than any other human. I am civil to my life, while you folks are arrogant and uncivil, thinking you need to consume everything you like rather than what you need. You are spoiled, selfish, utopian and ungrateful for the fact that you can survive on just dumb luck and inherited safety.
I’m responsible for only myself, I am civilized because I know that this world will go on without me and I keep that respect going.”
“But you cut down the trees and you built a cabin in the woods. That’s not natural.”
“It’s what I need to survive and that’s all I look for and the aftermath of my consumption will be miniscule compared the uncivilized savages who claim some made up right to conquer the very land that they need to live. They enslave their resources and won’t have it any other way. And like many slave owners they claim to have a guise of being civil yet they abuse their necessities like a greedy parasite that isn’t satisfied.” Ernest took a swig of boiled water from his tin cup.
“I don’t expect you to understand Tobias. You’ve grown accustom to your societies. I rejected them long ago after so many failed attempts to show people humility. So I quit teaching and helping others and decided to just help myself. Out here I only have to worry about my own needs. Occasionally I have to trade with the people in town when I need to fix my truck or acquire some hand tools. Otherwise I’m happy with how and where I live.” Tobias scratched his head and scanned Ernest up and down. Here sat a man who wanted nothing to do with the modern world. A man who was content to live some cramped gritty cabin, all alone.
“Well you should get some rest. Hopefully your leg won’t give you too much trouble in the night.” At that mention Tobias’ leg was starting to ach in the stiff splint. Ernest stood up and changed right in front of Tobias, stripping to his boxers and putting on a thermal shirt and long-johns from a trunk that was under the bed in the corner of the room.
“You can have my bed, since you need to rest that leg. I take the floor.”
Tobias slowly limped to the bed. He didn’t have any of his clothes to change into so he just took his boot off from his good leg. He saw Ernest take a wool blanket from off the wall and covered it over his body as he lied down on the bear skin covering the hardwood floor.
After several hours of pretending to sleep and when the fire finally died down Tobias sat up and began to tie his boot back on. Think you can keep me here you psycho? I’m out of here. Tobias quietly opened his backpack that was next to the head of the bed and found his flashlight. He stood on his good leg, used his light to navigate the room and searched for the keys. He threw his backpack over his shoulder, just as light as it was from his hike.
Outside the howling was gone. Tobias looked all around the cluttered room but couldn’t find any keys or anything that might hold them like a lock box or a hook. He took notice of how still Ernest was, lying on the floor, not snoring. His flashlight caught something shimmering over by the desk at the foot of the bed.
Tobias teetered his way to the desk and made sure not to creek any floorboards to wake Ernest. He grabbed the keys and the rest of the way to the door was easy, the embers of the fire were nothing but a dying orange glow as he passed the grizzly throne. Just before he turned the doorknob he heard a howl from outside, how far away it was he couldn’t really tell. He shook the chill out of his spine. He was in desperate need of help, real help.
He limped outside in the still dark of the forest. The moon was in its crescent waning phase so the light it typically offered was absent. Tobias shuffled through the dirt. He was no more than ten feet from the car when he looked back at the cabin for one last moment, panting. Ernest wouldn’t know hospitality if it bit him on the neck.
Then something large and powerful struck Tobias in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Some horrible growling sound broke the silence of the night as a series of pointed teeth dug into Tobias’ left arm and started the tug with intent to remove the arm from his shoulder. Tobias’ gasped for air and screamed as his free right arm struck at the mouth and head that was tearing at his arm.
Then another set of jaws clamped on his injured leg and the pain shook every nerve in his body before being blocked by a surge of adrenaline. Then another mouth clasped his shoulder and the three separate attackers pulled in opposite directions and actually lifted Tobias off the ground as his flesh began to break under the pressure of the thrashing. His screams were breaking under his desperate struggle to break free.
Out of the darkness heavy footsteps thundered through and something heavy struck the animal that had Tobias’ leg. A yelp of agony came from the fallen creature as what seemed to be the heel of a boot collided with the face on his left arm. His arm was free but the jaws clasped on his shoulder started to pull him away and his right fist smacked at the face on his right shoulder; the position of the face made it impossible for his strikes to cause any damage.
“Get off him you motherfucker!” Ernest screamed as he jumped over Tobias’ body and threw his heavy fist into the face of the wolf on his shoulder. The jaws would not yield as the knuckles made contact, the monster only held on tighter. Ernest could sense this futility and then grabbed its face and dug his thumbs into its eyes. The jaws opened and Tobias plopped to the ground, bleeding and burning with pain.
He saw Ernest shoved the animal away, and then one of the wolves Ernest hit before jumped at him. What Tobias could make out in the dark was the animal standing on its hind legs trying to knock Ernest off balance and snapping at his throat. It seemed extremely close to the target. He could just see Ernest’s hands grab hold of the jaws. He could see Ernest’s face through the opened mouth of the wolf; he was slowly lifting it off the ground, forcing the mouth open wider.
The other wolf, the one he blinded was still shaking its head trying to regain its composure. Then a loud crack came and the elevated animal cried out as Ernest threw it to the ground, it laid on the ground twisting in its own agony. The blinded wolf was back to its senses and growled at Ernest, sizing up the grizzled adversary. Ernest locked eyes with the animal that was on standing just above Tobias’ head. Ernest stepped to the side and the wolf paralleled the position.
“If this is the last time I breath on this earth. Be it in the true world of vigor and honor then in the prison of the uncivilized world.” The wolf growled as if commenting or criticizing Ernest’s lament.
“Fill me with what I need-” He charged as the beast leaped from its haunches,”-Motherfucker!”
The clash of the two beings evened out in the air and they tumbled down the hill. As they thrashed in the darkness Tobias felt the same burning from his broken leg searing in his fresh wounds. He noticed the wolf with the broken jaw was trying to get back to his feet; the other was lying dead with an axe buried in the middle of its spine. The thrashing down the hill continued, Ernest screamed and cursed as the snapping of jaws and the scrapping of claws quarreled with the dropping of fists and the massive frame of Ernest lurching around.
Then in the starlight of the clear sky he saw that the wolf had its jaws clamped on Ernest’s arm as he screamed and seized hold of a large nearby rock, lifted it up and smashed it about five or six times on his adversary’s face. When the jaws opened Ernest wrapped his attacking arm around the animal’s neck and locked it in a strangled hold. He pulled the monster off its feet and as it thrashed more and more Ernest held on and squeezed tighter.
Finally the wolf lost the energy to resist and with a quick twist and squeeze the neck snapped under Ernest’s arm. He waited a few seconds to confirm that the animal was dead, and then got to his feet, panting. He staggered over to Tobias and the injured wolf. He pried the axe from the dead one and buried it in the neck of the wounded creature with a heavy thud.
“You really fucked up now.” He grabbed Tobias by the collar, pulled him up and slung Tobias’ right arm over his broad shoulder. The two stumbled up to the cabin door and went inside. Once they stepped through the doorway Ernest dropped Tobias to the floor; the fall was unpleasant and sent a barrage of pain through his body as Ernest slammed the door shut and shuffled over to his chair, panting and hunched over.
Ernest slumped into his chair, working to catch his breath as Tobias lay on the floor, bleeding. Ernest threw some pieces of wood and kindling onto the embers. He fanned the coals back to light as they ate up the kindling. Soon the room began to fill with light and Ernest leaned back in his chair, his breath beginning to steady while Tobias continued to moan and struggle for oxygen.
“Hey, Ernest, I’m bleeding. I need your help.” No response. Ernest just continued to gaze into the fire that grew. Ernest examined his cuts and wounds. He stood up and walked over to the bed and pulled a heavy foot locker out from under it and produced a first-aid kit. Ernest walked back to his chair sat down and began to dress his wounds.
“Hey, what about me! I’m bleeding out here!” Ernest didn’t look up from his work and tightened the bandages on his arm. He held a small mirror to the light of the fire and examined his face for any marks. Once he was done he poured himself a cup of water from the kettle that was next to the fireplace.
“Look, I’m sorry Ernest. I just couldn’t wait around here. I need real medical attention. Could you at least help me, I’m bleeding over here.” Ernest said nothing; he closed the first-aid kit, put it on the floor next to his chair and looked back at the fire. Tobias looked at the kit on the floor across from him; still out of breath Tobias turned onto his stomach and began to pull himself towards the kit with his good right arm.
Each pulled forward was excruciating and Tobias could barely get halfway to the kit. He could see a trail of blood behind his broken body. Once he finally reached the metal box he pulled it to his side and took a break. The entire time Ernest didn’t once look at Tobias.
He opened the kit and dressed his wounds, but neither his pain nor his exhaustion dropped after the wounds were covered up. Once he finished covering the torn flesh with gauze and tape he laid back and stared up through the skylight. The stars were promenade through the window and the dim glow of the fireplace as he was dizzy with the loss of blood mixed with the inevitable drop in adrenaline.
“In the morning, you’re out of here.”
Tobias only nodded.
When the sun finally rose Ernest carried Tobias to the truck and placed him in the bed, laying him across a few blankets. Neither of them had eaten anything since the night prior and Ernest still hadn’t spoken a word. He climb in the driver seat and started the engine. Tobias sat himself up and could see to his right the bloody bodies of the three beasts that Ernest had slayed in the night. As the truck tumbled down the hill Tobias laid back and recounted on the whole series of events.
His broken leg, Ernest’s cabin, the bear pelt throne, the hike to piss, the hybrids, and the scars that would stay for years to come. All of that was going far into the past as he watched the cabin on the hill grow smaller through the back window of the truck. Throughout most of the ride down Tobias had to lie down due to the pain in his body and the rocking of the truck on the unpaved trail. After what felt like four hours the truck stopped. Tobias sat up, he nodded off once or twice on the ride over.
The back door of the truck opened and two EMT’s slowly lifted Tobias out of the back and onto a stretcher. They rushed him into the large hospital floor with its stinging florescent lights and reeking of bleach. His clothes were cut off and dozens of gloved hands applied proper medical dressing to his ripped flesh. A proper splint was put around his broken leg and an IV of morphine was applied to finally drive away the agony.
Several hours later a nurse came up to ask Tobias if he was feeling any better, he looked around and realized that Ernest was gone.
“Where did he go?”
“Who?” The brown nurse asked without looking up from her clipboard.
“That man who brought me here?”
“What man? You came in with just the EMTs dear.” And just like that Ernest was gone. Tobias didn’t have to be outside to know that his savior had left, back to his home away from the phony people in the backdrop world. Tobias relaxed in his hospital bed and knew that he would never find that cabin or bother to tell anyone what had happened. It was better that way. People like Ernest chose to live their way and didn’t need the world stepping in on their lives.