Episode 15: A Funeral in Pine

## Content Warnings

"References to church services, death of a child, dog barking, monster sounds."

## Blurb

The county had taken a narrow little valley and dug themselves a reservoir to provide drinking water for the whole town and then some. As pretty as the lake and the surrounding woods were, it was still something wedged into nature by the hands of men — water stolen from rivers and collected here like a dragon's hoard, grounds that had lain untouched for centuries carved up and reshaped to serve human desires, seals broken and reset — all to meet the needs of the encroaching horde of townsfolk and hillfolk alike. Acts such as these have consequences, family.

Trust that they do.

## Plot Synopsis

Death Island is, as stated before, not an island, but a peninsula. Pine needles carpet the ground, covered with the shadows of the trees. A sacred space for young boys, a haven in the daylight. But at night, the wind blows cold and the shadows grow long, and no one lingers long. Even the troublemakers and older kids stay away from the Island at night.

Walter Ray Shepherd is a force to be reckoned with, and he notices when his boy Dallas Shepherd tries to sneak off for Sunday dinner at his cousin Shane Shepherd’s house. He allows him to go, as there is no evening service on the fourth Sunday of the month and his chores are done, but insists he take their old dog Sam.

The journey to Shane’s is rather long for the boys, but worth it for Shane’s Mamaw’s food. After dinner, the boys set out, admonishing Cowboy Absher to be careful and listen to the others as they go to Death Island.

Dallas whistles, and Sam barrels out of the woods and tackles Shane. A blind beagle mix, he has always guarded Dallas. He sends Sam out to check for snakes and he finds none, so they continue on. Archie Stallard teases Cowboy about turning back, but they press forward into the woods and along cliffs.

Death Island feels like a different world, dark and cool, and the boys love it. Floyd Absher shows Cowboy around, they fight with stick swords, and carve Cowboy’s name into a tree with the other boys’ names.

Curtis Kilgore notices as darkness begins to fall. Dallas whistles for Sam, who comes to them, and they prepare to depart. Curt, however, sees the shadow that has haunted him and used the voice of his daddy. Sam begins to growl, then bark, as the boys gather close. The shadow summons Curt and chastises him for not working, and Curt insists it isn’t his father.

The boys are knocked to their feet by a wave of cold force, Sam continues to defend them, and Cowboy steps forward, rebuking the shadow. He tells it to stop pretending it’s a person, and that Curt won’t go with it anymore. The shadow lunges forward and Cowboy flies backward, slamming into a tree and dying.

Stunned, the boys watch as Sam stands over Cowboy’s body, barking furiously at the shadow as the ground shakes. The earth cracks and ancient bones rise from within it, twisting into the form of a massive wolflike creature covered in a hide of pine needles that roars at the shadow. Sam runs to Dallas, who throws him over his shoulder, and the remaining boys flee as the Wolf of Death Island attacks the shadow.

## Relevant Characters

* Cowboy Absher
* Floyd Absher
* Shane Shepherd
* Dallas Shepherd
* Archie Stallard
* Curtis Kilgore