Chapter Seventeen
The second day of monster hunting was much the same as the first, except that it was snowing.
I was desperate to get to the post office, but couldn’t think of an excuse to slip away. For all I knew a plane was already on its way to collect me.
I continued to see disturbances in the water, but grew reluctant to say anything. Hank could not hide his displeasure at wasting film, and I couldn’t stand the look of disappointment on Ellis’s face.
The third day was gloomy and dark, and the air was heavy with the threat of rain. Everyone was cranky and cold, and I was even more distressed about not having sent the second telegram.
A few hours after we set up, Ellis realized I wasn’t pointing anything out and accused me of not pulling my weight.
Shortly thereafter, I saw a large disturbance very close to the opposite bank and raised the alarm. It turned out to be a swimming stag, which climbed out of the water and shook itself off, right on the landmark I’d found with the compass.
“Wonderful! Fantastic!” Hank cried, throwing his hands in the air. “I’ve got twenty seconds of crystal-clear footage of a fucking deer. And that’s the end of this reel.”
He wrestled the camera off the tripod, pulled out the film, and chucked it into the water.
“What the hell are you doing?” Ellis said. “What if we accidentally filmed the monster?”
Hank dug around inside the duffel bag. He pulled out another reel and another flask. “We’ve filmed plenty of monsters. Maddie’s ‘monsters,’ to be precise,” he said, making quotation marks with his fingers before shredding the film’s yellow box in his haste to get it open.
“For God’s sake, control yourself,” said Ellis. “We need the original boxes to send to Eastman Kodak.”
“I wouldn’t worry. Apparently we’re going to have all kinds of empty boxes,” said Hank, thrusting the new reel into the camera and then struggling to put the side panel back on. He slapped it twice with the heel of his hand.
“We’re not going to have anything if you break the goddamned camera,” Ellis barked. “Stop acting like an idiot, and give me the fucking thing. It’s not lined up properly.”
Hank swung his head around to face Ellis. His eyes were wide, his expression murderous. I thought he was going to throw the camera to the ground, or maybe even at Ellis. Either way, I was absolutely sure they were going to fight.
They stayed that way for a long time, their eyes burning and chests heaving. Then, for no apparent reason, Hank seemed to snap out of it. He reattached the side of the camera, screwed it back on the tripod, and sat down.
Ellis picked up the flask and took a long swallow. He held it out to Hank, pulled it away when Hank reached for it, and took several more gulps himself. When he once again held it out, Hank glared at him for a few seconds before snatching it from his hands.
I was dumbfounded. In four and a half years, I’d never seen Hank and Ellis turn on each other. There had been plenty of bickering and sniping, especially if one of them came up with a quip that hit too close to home, but this was entirely different. They’d nearly come to blows, and probably would have if I hadn’t been there.
I was too shaken to keep scanning the surface for disturbances, particularly since my sighting of the stag had caused the explosion. Even so, I ended up keeping my binoculars glued to my face, because Ellis noticed that I’d stopped looking. After that, he spent more time making sure my binoculars were moving than looking through his own.
I couldn’t believe that sitting on the bank with a camera at the ready was their whole plan, but despite the scientific trappings and meticulous measuring of conditions, that did seem to be what they had in mind. That, and drinking, and blaming me for doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing.
Finally, I set my binoculars down and said, “Why don’t we try something different?”
“What’s that?” Ellis muttered with a complete and total lack of interest.
“Why don’t we bait it?”
He and Hank lowered their binoculars and turned to face each other. After a moment of silence, they said incredulously, and at exactly the same time, “Bait it?”
They burst into peals of hysterical laughter. Hank reached out and grabbed Ellis’s thigh, giving it a hearty shake before falling backward and bicycling his legs in the air. Ellis also fell onto his back, hugging himself and stamping his foot.
“Sure,” Ellis finally said, wiping tears from his eyes. He looked demented. “We’ll string a few sheep up over the water, shall we? Or do you think it prefers children? I’m pretty sure I saw a school in the village.”
“Better yet, why don’t I just whistle for it?” Hank said, giggling maniacally. “Maybe it will do tricks for us if we offer it a treat?”
“Whistle for it!” cried Ellis. “Of course! Why didn’t we think of that before?”
They began howling again, purple-faced, thumping the blanket with their fists.
I clamped my mouth shut and turned away. I’d finally realized what was going on. Although it was barely noon, they were completely sloshed.
—
An hour later, when the drizzle turned into bullets of water and Ellis and Hank’s hysteria had turned back into deadly, drunken purpose, I couldn’t stand it anymore.
“I’m going back,” I said.
“We can’t pack up now,” Hank snapped. “There are several hours of daylight left.”
“I’ll walk,” I said, climbing to my feet. My legs were achy and stiff from being folded beneath me. “Where’s the road?”
“Right up there,” Hank said, pointing over his shoulder. “Turn right. It’s only a mile and a bit.”
I leaned over to pick up my gas mask. Ellis was watching me.
“Hank, we have to take her.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s raining.”
“It’ll be raining on the boat, too,” Hank pointed out.
“What if she can’t find the inn?”
“Of course she can find the inn. She’s a clever girl.”
“It’s all right,” I said. “I’ll find the inn.”
“Well then,” Hank said. “If you’re sure.”
Ellis was still looking at me.
“It’s okay. Really. It’s not that far,” I said.
Relief washed over his face. “Atta girl, Maddie. You’re the best. They broke the mold when they made you.”
“So everyone keeps saying.” I started up the hill, barely able to bend my knees.
“She’s terrific, you know,” said Hank. “Best coin toss you ever won. And now I suppose I’m going to be stuck with Violet…”
“You shouldn’t complain. She’s miles better than the mewling, needle-nosed sheep my mother had lined up for me,” said Ellis.
I stopped and turned slowly around. They were perched side by side on the blanket, searching the loch through binoculars, unaware that I was still there.