Palace of Horns

“It’s quite the trek to travel here.” Will nodded but didn’t say a word. He didn’t need the small talk to feel comfortable unlike Jimmy. Jimmy liked talking, and sometimes it was difficult to follow because there were too many unnecessary words. Every conversation consisted of 70 percent of the known facts that didn’t need to be repeated. People do that to avoid silence because silence might be read as a sign of hostility. Jimmy Price had no reason to think Will was hostile to him in any way. Except for… people never needed a reason for anything. “The victim wasn’t dragged here… he came on his own.” Jimmy continued, not giving up on his idea to make a conversation. “Do you think he knew the attacker personally?” “I’m not sure of that,” Will gave up. Jimmy was a nice person, easy to like, and there was no reason Will should offend him. “At least, not on the first name basis… The victim was aware of him.” “Aware? Like afraid?” “No. Aware like noticing and not paying any attention.” “So, let’s narrow it down, shall we?” Oh, boy, Will thought and said nothing. “Either the victim did know the killer through some… I’d say mutual hobby? The bird-watching…” Here comes the “or”, Will thought, and he wasn’t disappointed. “Or,” Jimmy was trying to talk and walk at the same pace as Will, and he started to get out of his breath a little. “Or the killer is someone you expect to see in the forest. A game keeper. A ranger. Or a fellow bird-watcher… are we there yet?” Will stopped. It was pretty obvious that Jimmy Price came over-prepared to the forest, just the way a person who had never really been to one would do. Take everything, leave nothing at home. Who knows, we might need a pair of scissors. Throw in a folding chair because why not. And how about two thermos bottles of tea? Who needs one when you can have two? “Let me help you with some… stuff you have in there,” Will nodded at the brand new backpack Jimmy was carrying. “That looks heavy.” If it had been Zeller, he would have declined. It was Jimmy, the likable one, and he agreed with a grateful look. “Thanks, I feel I got too much into the over-thinking spirit when I was packing…” “When I said the victim had been aware of the killer… I meant that the killer didn’t come unnoticed,” Will said while Jimmy was rummaging through his backpack. “He approached close enough to kill, and that didn’t worry the victim.” “How so?” “The tracks of the killer… those boots… I think they’re the wrong size. Intentionally wrong size. To deceive us.” “That’s a very unique word to choose… deceive… oh, here it is!” Will looked at Jimmy’s smiling face and asked: “Why on earth did you bring the ax?” “Why? Is that too grim for you?” Jimmy held out the ax to him. “I thought it might be useful…as long as we’re in the forest… a little hand with this one?” Nothing is too grim for me, Will thought and took the ax. Dad was really good at making a camp even after they had been on trek for so many hours that the shadows changed, and the sun was on the other side. Will knew it was going to get dark soon, and the shadows under some of the trees scared him a little. They looked grim and mysterious. There would be a fire. And scary stories… Dad was good at telling them. The best part was that Will never knew if Dad was just making it all up. Or so he had thought.