The Longest Winter - Chapter 22 - By BloodyBoots

The Longest Winter

Chapter 22

Back at the hunting cabin, Sheriff David Stone had finished another beer as the water had continued to trickle into the plugged sink. The foal trapped inside peeped and chirped nervously as the water began to pool beneath his little hooves. It was ice cold, coming through pipes fed by well water from outside in the naturally autumn-chilled ground. A light snow had begun to fall upon the isolated cabin.

At first the foal hid in the corner of the sink - the only dry area - but soon the water was unavoidable. The foal was now desperately trying to climb the slippery metal walls, shivering as the cold water soaked its fluff.

David watched with morbid excitement as the foal cried out in fear.

“What’s the matter?” The sheriff asked menacingly. “Is the water too cold for you?” He chuckled to himself as he grabbed another beer from the fridge. He then grabbed a handful of ice from an old bag in the freezer, tossing it into the sink. The foal squealed in agony as the freezing water numbed its legs.

“Awww.” Stone said with a grin. “Here, let’s warm you up.” He said as he grabbed a metal pot from the cupboard, filling it with water and setting it on the stove. He turned the burner on and waited for the water to boil as the sink slowly continued to fill.

Meanwhile the other two foals huddled together for warmth, hungry and scared inside of their plastic Tupperware prison. Stone walked over and picked up the see-through box and dropped it into the sink so they could watch their brother suffer.

“Enjoy your front row seats.” David laughed as he checked the pot of water heating up on the stove. It was beginning to steam. He didn’t want to get too boiling hot, that would be lethal. He wanted it just hot enough to create first degree burns. He grabbed the handle and was about to pour it on the foal in the sink when suddenly he saw headlights coming down the driveway through the cabin window.

“Shit!” He whispered to himself. He quickly grabbed the foal from the sink and threw it into the container. He ran over to the closet and hid the box underneath the towel. The other fluffy shivered with fear as he put the muzzle back on and tied its legs so it couldn’t move.

“Stay quiet or you’re dead.” The sheriff threatened before closing the door.

He had made it just in time. The headlights pulled into the driveway behind David’s Bronco and out stepped Deputy Tanner. David stepped out into the driveway to meet him.

“What are you doing here Tim?” The sheriff asked, annoyed. “I’m off duty after working a double shift. I’ve earned some time off.”

“I know boss, but I figured you would want to hear this, and you weren’t answering your radio.” Tanner explained.

“What part off ‘off duty’ do you not understand?” Stone replied, rubbing his temples.

“It’s Ruth.” The deputy said bluntly. “Someone took her fluffy foals, and it wasn’t Ralph Donner.”

The sheriff went stiff. “What?”

“He was at the bar when it happened.” Tim continued. “Becky the bartender confirmed it.”

The sheriff swallowed the nervous lump in his throat. He was counting on framing Ralph for kidnapping the fluffies. He hadn’t planned on the exterminator having a solid alibi.

“So what are you doing here?” Stone inquired slyly.

“Well without Ralph I’ve got no leads.” Tanner explained. “I was hoping you might help me find the culprits.”

“Tim, their just pets.” David said with a sigh. “I love Ruth, but I’m not interested in pulling a triple shift for her little ponies.”

“Oh…” Tim said, slightly taken back. Normally the sheriff was a workaholic. “Ok then. Guess I’ll call it a night. See you tomorrow then?”

“Nope.” Stone replied. “I’m taking tomorrow off, and I expect you to handle things without me, understand?”

“Yes sir.” The deputy replied as he climbed back into his cruiser.

As he pulled away he watched in his rear view mirror as the sheriff walked back into the cabin.

“That was weird.” Tanner said to himself. “I’ve never heard of that guy ever taking a day off outside hunting season, especially with a close family friend in trouble.” He shook his head as he wondered. Something just didn’t seem right.

He pulled out of the dirt driveway and back onto the road. He headed back toward town, passing a Cadillac as he drove away.

Inside the Cadillac was Bill Creiger. He watched the police cruiser drive by nervously before breathing a sigh of relief as it drove out of sight. He then parked the car on the side of the road.

He had already stopped by the sheriff’s house and realized he wasn’t home. The only other place he could have been was at his old hunting cabin, famous for being the envy of all other hunters in the area because it was smack in the middle of prime hunting grounds - with a variety of wildlife in abundance. Bill and Bobby had been poaching in the area multiple times and knew the cabin well.

Bill stepped out of the car and popped the trunk. He grabbed the binoculars out and closed the trunk before locking the car. Now he just needed to get close enough to the cabin to spy on the sheriff without being noticed.

Chapter 23

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don’t forget your name after the title

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I know Bill works with some serious scumbags and very well might be one himself, but his hesitance makes me hope he has some semblance of a conscience here to intervene or get help. That or ideally Honey somehow leads Ruth there directly to take care of this shit before it gets bad. No idea what kind of ramifications this would even have for the sheriff considering how fucked up this town seems to be, but I hope something will be done. Would be hilarious if the exterminator somehow contributes to justice being served here, but he’s monstrous enough in his own right that it wouldn’t change much for him lol.

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Buck is about to get the worst case of Good news, Bad news of his life

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I hope things go well for the poor family, like ive said before on other chapters, if the fluffys were fixed they would be useless to the crime family and no one would be after them. Sad though cause honey deserves a good life, hopefully ruth can take down all these awful monsters!

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