Norman heard the crinkle of butcher paper as Martin took the package from the refrigerator and slipped it into his jacket pocket. He pushed open the back door and stepped out of the kitchen into the backyard. Bill and Norman followed. Martin wore khaki pants, work boots, and had combed his blond hair slick against his scalp leading to a neat taper at the nape of his neck. He looked over his shoulder and said, \u201cKarina and Marjorie are at her mother\u2019s house today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve seen the critters back there, right?\u201d said Bill. He needed a step and a half to match each of Martin\u2019s strides and scampered to keep up.<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly I just hear them. I sit out there sometimes. Marjorie doesn\u2019t like me drinking in the house, so I do it out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI got one of those too,\u201d said Bill, gesturing at Norman with his thumb.<\/p>\n
Norman looked into Bill\u2019s eyes, the way they darted from Martin to the treetops, and wondered if he\u2019d gotten into something already that morning even if it wasn\u2019t alcohol.<\/p>\n
They walked across Martin\u2019s manicured lawn and into the woods. The temperature dropped behind the tree line. Norman\u2019s breath vapor spread into the air like dragon fire. Soon, they couldn\u2019t see the neighborhood houses anymore. Norman tried to map the path in his head, to make sense of how the trail wound around behind the recently-built tract homes circumventing backyards and roadways. Bill\u2019s labored weeze, the swishing of their winter jackets, and the rustling of brush in the wind filled the silence. The path led to a high spot overlooking a trickling stream. Beer bottles lay strewn about. Norman stepped on something hard, looked down and saw bullet casings littering the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis where you drink, Martin?\u201d Norman asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes.\u201d He kept moving.<\/p>\n
A speed limit sign pocked with bullet holes hung from a tree. They came to a clearing next to a wooden hunting blind. Norman heard a car in the distance and realized they\u2019d come close to the highway.<\/p>\n
\u201cI set the egg back in there,\u201d Martin said pointing at the hollow at the base of a tree. \u201cCame back a few days later and found the shell broken.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe a fox or a snake ate it,\u201d Norman said.<\/p>\n
Martin looked at him with a flat expression, then turned toward Bill. \u201cIf you sit a while, you can hear them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bill sat on a downed tree, shoulders hunched, breathing hard. Norman sat next to him. Martin walked over to the tree hollow, knelt down, and unwrapped the butcher paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you got in there?\u201d Bill asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cButcher scraps. He gives them to me free.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you tell him?\u201d asked Bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I need scraps.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin stood up, walked over, and offered cigarettes. Bill took one. Norman hesitated, then took one as well. The warmth of the cigarette felt good on his fingers and in his throat, and the taste, along with being with Martin and Bill, reminded him of the good parts about the Army.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sit out here sometimes,\u201d Martin said. \u201cJust like this. You can hear \u2018em.\u201d Martin looked up at the trees. Norman followed his gaze. Bill inhaled with a grimace and inspected the end of his cigarette. Martin tilted his head and squinted at Norman. Then, he said, \u201cYou know, Bill isn\u2019t crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that,\u201d said Norman.<\/p>\n
\u201cI might be still, but Bill ain\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never said\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he was when I met him, when he gave me that egg, but it\u2019s real. Bill can talk plenty, and he drinks too much.\u201d Martin took a drag on his cigarette and kicked at the dirt with the toe of his boot. \u201cBill said you thought he was bullshitting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t say that, exactly,\u201d said Bill. He turned toward Norman. \u201cI know it\u2019s a hard story until you see for yourself,\u201d said Bill.<\/p>\n
Norman said, \u201cNah, I know you had a hard time, you and Martin, coming back from the war. And, you know, I thought gremlins were just some RAF story, something you hear about in bars. Those British pilots pop go pills like candy, and no wonder they see crazy shit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThoughtful guy. Practical guy,\u201d Martin said to Norman. \u201cYou helped my wife out around the house when I was at the V.A. You want to get Bill straight, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, Martin, I\u2019m not trying to start anything…\u201d<\/p>\n
He waved a hand at him and blew smoke out the side of his mouth. Strands of his carefully-combed hair came loose in the wind, and he pushed them back. \u201cYou\u2019re busy is all I\u2019m saying. Busy busy. Helpful guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess,\u201d Norman said.<\/p>\n
Something skittered in a tree branch overhead. They all looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think that\u2019s it?\u201d asked Bill.<\/p>\n
Martin put his finger to his lips. Another rustling noise came from behind them. Norman turned to see a shaking tree limb. Then, something fell from the air and hit the ground in front of them. A bloody scrap of meat lay on the forest floor. Norman looked at it, then looked over at the tree hollow where Martin had put his scraps. Empty.<\/p>\n
\u201cTold you they\u2019re here,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould be anything,\u201d Norman said. \u201cCould be\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
A piercing shriek came from the treetops, from everywhere, maybe from a group of animals hidden out of sight and watching. Afterward, the echo of the shriek faded into the cold air. Martin turned to Bill. \u201cThey\u2019re more and more of these little fuckers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Norman tried in vain to imagine an animal that could have made the sound. He sat in the cold and waited for the screech again, but it didn\u2019t come. He looked at Bill and then at Martin. He liked hearing Martin curse. He liked smoking with them out in the woods, and if he tried hard enough, he half-believed in Martin and in Bill. He wanted them to be okay, to be adjusting, coming back from the war just fine. He wanted to be scared of gremlins instead of everything else.<\/p>\n
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