My abdomen fills with pain and all breath leaves my body. What just happened to me? Was it something I ate? Maybe it was a mortifying cramp? I can't remember the last time I have felt this bad. Come to think of it, I can't remember much of anything right now. Where am I? I look around and see all of my family running away in terror, zipping wildly through the trees. I know I should run, but I just can't. With my eyes slowly narrowing, I tell my brain to run just one last time, knowing this could be my last chance to escape. My back legs collapse. With the remaining power I have left, I look down and notice an arrow plunged deep into my torso. My vision fades to black.

 

“Snap out of it!” says George as he violently slaps me across the face. Startled, my heart racing, I lean back against a tree. Was it a dream? Why did it feel so real? George begins lecturing me about losing the biggest buck he has ever seen. “Why didn't ya’ take the shot, Ron? What’s wrong with you?” 

 

I tell him I just couldn't bring myself to take that buck away from his family, and I had a vision that I was the innocent deer.

 

Seeming to understand, George pats me on the back and says, “Ya’ know buddy, it’s normal feelin’ bad about killing the ole buck, but we ain't hunting for game, we’re hunting to survive. We ain’t had meat in weeks and if we don't have any meat by tomorrow, we’ll be the ones that die!” He takes a deep breath as he prepares to continue his lecture but then, he stops. 

 

Alarmed by his sudden pause, I follow his eyes deep into the forest and notice something. Something brown and magnificent. 

 

George shuffles close to me and whispers, “That deer could feed a whole army, Ron!” George moves to the edge of the deer stand to get a closer look. I realize this is my one chance to prove who I am. With my bow drawn and my breath steady, I release the arrow.

 

After a long day of skinning and cooking what is now my dinner, I sit alone next to the fire thinking to myself,  “He tastes better than deer meat anyways.”