The Last Hunt
A work of fiction by Tsao Alexander
Waterton Publishing Company
No part of this book was created using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
This is a work of fiction. The events described are imaginary and the settings and characters are fictitious and not intended to represent actual places, companies, or persons.
Copyright © 2026 by Waterton Publishing Company. All Rights Reserved.
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THE LAST HUNT
CHAPTER 10
The group charged with transporting Thomas and setting up his basecamp arrived at the trailhead at about the same time Clarence was examining the track. The road had been bumpy and rutted, and Tom was in no better mood when the time came to pack in on foot. Jane, Gabelo, and three porters carried the tents, bedding, tables, cookware, utensils, firearms, knives, food and water. It would be a two-hour hike through sometimes dense, sometimes thorny undergrowth with sparse shade.
Soon after embarking on their journey, the group came across a freshly killed wildebeest. There was no sign of the predator, but it was likely lion. Gab removed his rifle from his shoulder and looked around.
This was too much for Tom. Rather understandably, he barked, “Give me a rifle! Now! I need some protection and what if I see a tiger!”
Jane answered: “We will not see a tiger here and we will not give you a weapon. We do not want any accidents and we do not want you to kill something because you get frightened.”
“Did you talk with Yvonne? I am very experienced in safari hunting! I do not panic and I do not have accidents!” Thomas was incensed.
Jane and Gabelo would not budge. After a hundred meters or so, Jane spotted the likely culprit, a lioness with a cub off the trail about fifty meters from them. Then one of the porters spotted the male laying under a tree nearby. Jane advised Tom to remain calm and walk casually.
“I killed a lion once,” Tom mentioned, “a big one, bigger than that one, shot him in the neck.” Jane winced. Gab said, “We will not kill any lions on this trip.”
“No, no, of course not,” Tom added, “I just wanted you to know that I am not afraid of killing large predators. That’s all.” Jane grimaced.
And she could not take any more, so said, knowing the answer, “Is the head on your wall now?”
“It certainly is!” Tom exclaimed proudly. “I get to see him every day!”
Both Jane and Gab frowned. Jane told Tom that tigers are more dangerous than lions. Tom replied that he already knew that and then asked where Hunter’s Paradise got the tiger for him to kill. “Asia somewhere,” Gab said, “I don’t know exactly where.”
“Well, I hope he’s a big one!” Tom yelped. “To add to my collection!”
Gab thought about Tom’s remark for a minute and then muttered, “Be careful what you wish for….” Jane concurred under her breath.
Further along the path, the group ran into a small herd of zebra and two elephants at a watering hole, and soon after that a large herd of buffalo. Tom asked how much longer they would be on the trail and Gab said that it would be another hour or so but that they would soon take a break. Sure enough, a couple minutes later the group was sitting and laying and eating snacks and sipping water under a canopy of trees.
Tom chose then to ask about his allotted weapon: “Which rifle are you leaving me? What make and caliber? I need to make sure it is clean and in good working order.”
Jane ignored Tom. Gab finished a bite of sandwich and then answered Tom; “You will not have a rifle. You will have a handgun.” Then he took another bite.
Jane looked off in the distance and thought to herself how foolish it was for this guest of Hunter’s Paradise not to have read the contract. Sure enough, after Tom finished staring at Gabelo in obvious disbelief, he said softly, “Alright, that’s a pretty good joke, now tell me which rifle I will be using.”
“Our guests do not use high-powered rifles to kill their prey,” Jane said while looking intently at Thomas. “All of our guests are armed only with a handgun and knife.”
Tom started laughing. “You guys! Come on, the fun’s over, now tell me the truth!”
Gab stood up and said that they had another hour to go and it was time to get going. Everyone except Tom stood and started organizing and lifting their packs. Tom did not budge.
“Come on Tom,” Jane said, “we want to be able to set up camp before nightfall.”
“I’m not going any further,” Tom responded; “I want my rifle now, or we go back and I get a full refund. I’m not hunting tiger with a pistol.”
Jane and Gabelo looked at one another and then Jane said to Tom, “We thought you were a brave hunter, Mr. Stevens, that’s what you told Yvonne, that’s what you told me, that’s what you said in the agreement. Are you a brave hunter? Or are you a pile of mush? Which is it?”
Tom stood. “I don’t need to take this. I am the client. You are the guide. Quit jerkin’ me around and start acting like professionals. Give me the goddamn rifle!” Tom’s face was red and his hands clinched in fists.
Gabelo pulled his three-fifty-seven from its holster and pointed it at Thomas.
Then Gab said, “We are not going back and you are not getting a rifle and you are not threatening us any more. You knew this was a different type of hunting ranch. Our materials say that. You didn’t bother to read the contract. We gave you every opportunity to leave. We offered you a partial refund even though you didn’t read the contract. And now, now that we are almost to the camp, you want to turn back. Well, you are not going back.
“You are going to be left alone in the camp with a gun and a knife and water, even a two-way radio, and you will have seven days to kill your tiger or your tiger will have seven days to kill you or any number of other predators will have a chance to kill you. Maybe a lion will find your damaged karma. It is you and them. And, if you choose to shoot a predator, you take the risk of injuring it and making it even more deadly. And if you can’t find food, well you will get very hungry indeed. So, Mr. Stevens, you will be a brave trophy hunter and you can tell your story to your grandchildren, of how you survived in Africa with only a sidearm and a knife.
“But first, you must survive. And if you cause us any more trouble, I myself will make sure your chance of survival is even lower, because you will only have a knife. No pistol. Understand?”
Jane quickly added, “One other thing, if you are chicken now, we will make sure your reputation as a Great White Hunter is no more. We will advertise the fact you are a coward who only kills from afar when others are helping. You turned tail and ran like a hyena back to your home. We are all witnesses. Now, you don’t want that, do you Mr. Stevens?”