Short Stories and poems

A Deal for Food

A man makes a deal with a Goddess of Nature in order to provide for his family.

Eliot checked his bank balances on his phone. With a sigh, he exited the app. Between Disability and Unemployment, he had enough for the bills, but it would be peanut butter sandwiches and canned ravioli, and maybe milk and cereal. If it was just him, he’d be alright, but he had three other mouths to feed.

He got out of the truck, carefully lowering his foot to the ground, until his knee felt the impact. He then got the rest of the way out, only for his wrist to get caught in the steering wheel. He pulled his arm out of the wheel, carefully closed the door, and began to walk to the store.

That was when three masked men ran out of the store, heading for him. Eliot tried to move, but he was hit by the biggest one, and was knocked over, his head hitting the pavement.

“Keys!” they said, pointing a gun at him.

Reluctantly, Eliot pulled them out.

The thief took them, unlocked the truck, and his associates got in.

“Pathetic,” they said.

They then kicked him in the leg, only to yell out in pain, and start jumping. “Did you hide a pipe under your pants?”

They then swung at him, but Eliot blocked the punch with the arm on that side. Again, the thief yelled in pain. “Arm too?” The thief then hobbled into the truck, started the engine, and the trio sped off.

Eliot sighed. “Figures.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about them,” said a voice.

Eliot looked up, to see a well-dressed woman. “Rebecca, why would you say that?”

“Karma finds a way.”

There was a screech of burning rubber.

Eliot looked just in time to see the thieves hit a big buck, which rolled over the hood, and off the other side, before the truck ended up hitting a tree.

“Karma,” said Rebecca. She then frowned, as the deer got up, and walked away, with something of an odd gait, due to the one leg now being useless. “Pity about the deer, and your truck.” She then looked at Eliot. “Is your arm and leg alright?”

“Metal and polymer,” Eliot said, as he got himself up.

“I hope that you got insurance.”

“Not enough,” said Eliot. He looked at her. “You own that Mother Nature’s Butchers place. Do you have some sort of job opening?”

“Think you can handle the work?” Rebecca asked.

“I’ve dressed and butchered plenty of wild game, plus a few cows and pigs,” said Eliot. “Failing that, I can sweep floors and such. I need to feed my family.”

“I’ll think about it,” said Rebecca. “Contact you around six.”

By this point, the police showed up, and the would-be thieves were arrested.

Eliot sighed, as he walked over to the cops, carefully rubbing the back of his head. It hurt, but didn’t seem like anything was broken.

“You see what happened?” the one officer asked.

Eliot pointed at the big one, who was nursing his hand. “Well, at the very least, that one hit me, and stole my keys, along with my truck.”

The officer looked at the truck. “Well, that thing looks totaled. They mentioned something about a deer running right out in front of them.”

“Too bad it didn’t stay down,” said Eliot. “My family could have used the meat.”

“Eliot, if you need help-”

“I’ve tried the programs, Joseph, but no one is hiring, especially when there’s able-bodied people also looking for the same jobs,” said Eliot. He sighed. “I could use a lift though, front seat preferably. I hear enough talk as it is. I mean, the pastor’s wife claims that I killed my wife on purpose, and that it wasn’t a patch of black ice that caused the accident that took her away from me, to say nothing about my arm and leg.”

“I’ve heard that rumor too,” said Joseph. “I told her to stop that sort of gossip once, but she likes running her mouth. I’ll give you a lift, once you pick up your groceries.”



A while later, Eliot opened the door to his home, his oldest waiting for him.

“I saw that Uncle Joe brought you home,” they said, taking some of the groceries. “Something happen to the truck?”

“It was stolen, and then wrecked, Sampson,” said Eliot.

“Sounds like bad luck likes to hit us hard, doesn’t it, father,” Sampson said. “TJ and JT are playing one of those games upstairs. So, what’s for supper?”

Eliot pulled out a couple of cans of ravioli.

Sampson looked at Eliot. “We had that two days ago. I mean, did you bring home any meat for tomorrow?”

“Money’s going to be tight for a while, unless you want to find a part-time job to help out,” said Eliot.

“I want to, but then, who’d look after TJ and JT?” Sampson then looked out the window. “Funny, there’s a three-legged deer in the yard.”

Eliot took a look. It was the same deer that had been hit by his truck. “Go play with your brothers.”

“What are you going to do?” Sampson asked. “It isn’t deer season.”

Eliot looked at him. “No, but it is squirrel season. I’ll just take my crossbow with me.”

“What are you going to tell Uncle Joe if you get caught?” Sampson asked.

“That I found it dying, and put it out of its misery,” said Eliot. “It’s the truth. Now, go play with your brothers.”

Sampson looked at him, before heading to the stairs. “Just be careful.”

“If it makes you feel better, I’ll call Uncle Joe and report it myself,” said Eliot. “He might let me keep the meat.”

Sampson went up the stairs.

Eliot sighed, as he went to his hunting closet. He got out an orange vest with a small game pouch, and his crossbow. He could at least make it look semi-legal, at any rate. He also checked his phone. Fifteen minutes until six it said.

He walked outside. There, in the backyard, out of sight of most anyone, and in a safe direction, was the crippled deer.

“Hello buddy,” he said, as he slowly got the crossbow ready, not an easy feat, even with the necessary tools, due to having just one hand. “I can see that you’re in pain. Please, bear with me, and I’ll end it for you, quickly. In a way, you’ll help my family out. I’ll be sure to use what I can of you, and the Game Warden can claim your antlers, so that no one can say that I did it to get a trophy.”

The deer looked at him, but didn’t run. It was like it knew it was about to die. It walked up close to him, and seemed to just wait.

Eliot lifted the crossbow to his shoulder, and aimed. There would be no missing at this range. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

He pulled the trigger, only for everything to go grey, and still, save for him, and the deer.

“What’s going on?” He asked, carefully pointing the crossbow at the ground, as he knew that he’d pulled the trigger.

“Six o’clock,” said a familiar voice.

“Rebecca?” he asked. He looked, and saw that she was wearing that outfit of hers. “What’s going on?”

“I see you’re about to kill this deer,” she said. “You’ll also be doing it in a rather illegal manner, not to mention also out of season.”

“The deer is suffering from a lot of pain, and doesn’t look like it will last a week,” said Eliot. “It’s already dying, and my family could use the meat. I plan on calling it in.”

“The deer will be dead by the end of the day, and you’ll join them in death, either today for a short time, or permanently in three,” said Rebecca.

“What are you talking about?” Eliot asked.

“Let’s just say that Rebecca wasn’t always my name,” said Rebecca. “Some once called me Artemis, goddess of the hunt and wilderness, among other things.”

“Don’t tell me – this deer is one of your Sacred deer, or some such thing, right?” Eliot asked, nervously. There was always trouble where Gods and Mortals were concerned, especially for the mortal.

Rebecca chuckled. “No, the deer is just a deer. I’m afraid that most of those stories were embellished, or made up. That thing with Actaeon, just a braggart that needed to be taught a lesson, so I turned him into a deer – the dogs attacking him, more like I had them chase him, until he could run no more – I turned him back to normal after he apologized for his misdeeds.”

She walked up to the deer, and carefully petted it. “He’s lucky he made it this far. He’s suffering from internal bleeding and other things. Still, he has plenty of good meat on him, which you could use, along with another trio.”

“What are you talking about?” Eliot asked. “Also, why do you say that I’ll be dead in three days?”

“That knock to your head gave you more than a headache,” said Rebecca. “You’re bleeding to death, slowly. Within seventy-two hours, you’ll be just as dead, as this deer will soon be.”

A chill came upon Eliot, as he looked up at his youngest kids’ bedroom. He thought that he could see Sampson, still, as if making sure that TJ and JT weren’t watching out the window, where they could accidently see him killing the deer. Sampson was the one he was worried about – boy had watched his mother die in front of him six years prior, being ten then, the twins were barely two.

Eliot had been a cop then, and he’d taken his wife and son out to a nice place one winter night, only for him to hit that patch of bad ice. She died, and he’d lost his right arm and leg. The boy was fine, physically, but it took him time to talk about his mother, and he was worried about losing him.

Eliot looked at Rebecca. The woman made a living butchering and selling Exotic Meat, good enough that none thought to ask questions, as there was always some ranch or farm with exotic game in the area that wanted in on the market.

“Can doctors save me?” he asked.

“They wouldn’t be able to find it in time, and it won’t clot like most would,” said Rebecca. “But, there is a way to save your life, and that is to work for me.”

“And this job you’re offering, to save my life, just what is it?” Eliot asked.

“Simply put, you must die, at least once a day, sometimes more,” said Rebecca. “Your soul will be placed in the body of an animal that’s about to die, and you’ll die in their place instead, as they go on to a place of happiness. After you die, your soul will then go back into your body.”

“How does that help me?” Eliot asked.

“By being one of my servants, I have certain abilities, like healing your injuries you get in my service, and your head wound counts,” said Rebecca. “I can’t do a thing about the arm and leg though.”

“But I’d still have to die,” said Eliot.

“I can make it painless,” said Rebecca. “You go to the animal’s death, and I can protect you from the pain.”

“Why me?” Eliot asked.

“You aren’t the only one that I’ve decided to do this to, but for a number of them, it’s a punishment for their misdeeds towards animals,” said Rebecca. “Those that accept their fate feel no pain, while those that resist, well, being eaten alive, for instance, hurts a lot.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’d want me to work for you,” said Eliot.

“This isn’t your first time poaching,” said Rebecca. “There’s two other crippled deer that you ‘found dying on your property’ that you ‘gave mercy to’ and then used the meat of to fill your freezer.”

Eliot sighed. “If I didn’t, someone else would have, and I got children to feed. Also, it wasn’t like I’m a trophy hunter, or some such thing.”

“You had other options,” said Rebecca. “You could have gotten a job, food stamps, welfare.”

“I’ve tried to do that,” said Eliot. “But no one wants to hire a one-armed man that only has one leg to boot. Same with other things – it isn’t enough or I make too much. Like I said, I have three more mouths to feed besides mine.”

“What about your brother-in-law?” Rebecca asked. “Joseph has offered to help.”

“And what would folks think if I had to ask for help in order to take care of my own children?” Eliot asked. “I have enough issues dealing with those that think that I killed my wife.”

“I’m willing to help you out,” said Rebecca. “I can help you with getting food for your family.”

“How?” Eliot asked.

“There’s a sow bear in those hills, a mile in that direction,” said Rebecca. “Get to her, lay down before her, and her cubs, and I’ll show up, to start butchering the body. Whatever you want for your family, I’ll cut out for them, and leave the rest for the bear and her cubs to start feasting on. I’ll then prepare your meat for your family. I’ll then show up back at your place, wake you up, drop the meat off, and make it look like I was hiring you to be a butcher.”

“Do you mean it?” Eliot asked. “I die in this deer’s place, and you’ll make sure that my family is provided for?”

“Paycheck and everything, and I’ll butcher whatever animal you are, if you want me to,” said Rebecca. “But, you must do the job.”

“And, if I refuse?” Eliot asked.

“Then your boys will be orphans,” said Rebecca. “In three days.”

Eliot sighed. “It will be painless?”

“As long as you do the job,” said Rebecca.

“And, suppose after the three days, I decide to not do it afterwards?” Eliot asked. “What happens then?”

“You’ll die then,” said Rebecca. “You can’t just break a deal with a goddess, and there’s a time limit on this sort of thing, where you must do the job, or suffer the consequences.”

Eliot gulped. “For how long must I do the job?”

“My minimum punishment is three years for this sort of thing,” said Rebecca. “It’s the lowest I can do, and after that, I can, basically, release you from my custody. After that, you can live your life, or you could keep working for me, with no strings attached – do a job when you need to fill the freezer for instance, or maybe you want a quick trip to a place you’ll otherwise never see. Let’s face it, plenty of places you always wanted to go to, but never had the money to do so – Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, Australia, Antarctica, not to mention other parts of North America.”

“The deaths are painless?” Eliot asked.

Rebecca nodded. “There’s going to be enough trauma as there is, especially since, for the most part, you’re going to be eaten alive. There might be some other deaths, where you possess an abused animal, or a pet, or whatever, that will soon die. The soul will already be in the afterlife, but the body still needs to go through the process of death, which will be within an hour or so.”

Eliot sighed. “Sampson has a baseball game Friday. I promised him that I’d be there.”

Rebecca smiled. “I can set something up. I’m offering this as a way to help you, and your family.”

Eliot looked up at the window. “Those three are the most important things in my life – they mean everything.” He sighed, and looked at Rebecca. “I’ll do it.”

“Good,” said Rebecca. She placed a finger upon his forehead. “You will now know where to go.”

Eliot looked at the deer. “And, how do I possess the deer?”

“In this case, simply touch them, upon their forehead,” said the goddess. “I’ll help you out with others.”

Eliot set the crossbow down, where it would do no harm. He stepped up to the deer. “I hope you go someplace better.” He touched the deer upon the forehead.

Next thing Eliot knew, he was looking at himself, his eyes glazed over.

“Your body will be alright,” said Rebecca, as she carefully steered the body to a chair. “Anyone just glancing will just think that you got a little drunk, high, passed out, got tired, or just took a nap. It will take a lot more for folks to realize that your body is just a slowly breathing shell.”

Eliot looked at her, hoping that she’d keep her word.

“I always do,” said Rebecca.

Eliot blinked in surprise, wondering if she could read his mind.

“I can,” the goddess said. “Now, you know where to go. Start walking.”

It took a little bit to get used to the body, especially given how there was a limb that was ruined, and another he hadn’t used in years.

Then, as if guided by instinct, he slowly made his way to his destination, where the deer was to die. As he walked, he’d stop to enjoy the view. He listened to the other animals. It was interesting to hear this sort of noise in his own backyard, practically. If he’d had the time, he’d of just stayed still, but as he’d been told, he was on a deadline, with an emphasis on dead.



Soon, he made it to a cave that was dug into the side of a hill.

“Now what?” he wondered.

The wind shifted, blowing into the cave. Out came a sow bear, and two cubs. The sow looked at him.

“Well,” he thought. “Here’s dinner.”

That was when the body gave out, and he collapsed.

The bear walked over.

Every instinct in Eliot screamed at him to get up and run, so he tried to do so, only for the bear to press his head down.

“Just hold on a moment,” said Rebecca, as she appeared. “I have a deal with him.”

The bear looked at the goddess, and nodded.

“Um, I hope that you don’t think that I was going to run away,” Eliot thought. “Must have been the instincts of the body.”

“You would have tried that earlier,” said Rebecca, as she knelt down, and carefully rubbed his back. “You did well for your first time. Have a nice walk?”

“Reasonably,” Eliot thought. “Would have been nice to have just wait the day out.”

Rebecca chuckled. “Now, how do you want the meat?”

“A few steaks would be nice, but things like hot dogs, sausages, and beer burgers will be alright,” Eliot thought. “Things that would be easy to explain as extra stuff that you could just afford to give away.”

“Alright,” said Rebecca. “Keep looking forward. This can feel uncomfortable.”

That was when it happened – something cutting him. He was being skinned alive! Again, every instinct told him to get up and run.

“It’s alright,” Rebecca said, gently. “Remember, this is all painless. This is to help your family. They need the meat.”

Eliot breathed slowly. “At least the deer I skin were already dead.”

“True, but keep in mind, you are to be punished, and just killing you would be letting you off too easily,” said Rebecca. “I have rules that I must follow, and while some of the stories are exaggerated, there is a certain amount of truth to them.”

“Alright,” Eliot thought, as he felt a section of skin being removed. “I just need to focus on the fact that the soul is already gone, and that I’ll soon be back in my body.”

“It will be,” Rebecca said, as she gently patted him. “I give you my word, and goddesses always keep their word.”

Eliot could feel parts of him being removed. “How long does this last?”

“Until you die,” said Rebecca. “Sometimes it’s fairly quick, other times, it’s slow. Is there any particular meats you’ve always wanted to try?”

“Well, there’s plenty of deer I’ve always wanted to hunt; elk, caribou, moose, and a bunch more,” Eliot though. “Bison would be nice, but those burgers are so pricy. Maybe even other Exotic Meats that one can legally get.”

Rebecca chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do.” There was some more tugging, and cutting. “Now, time to flip you.” She easily flipped the body, walked around, and began working on him again.

Eliot found himself looking at the bear, and her cubs. It was clear that they were hungry, as if they hadn’t eaten in a few days. Still, they waited.

Some more gutting and tugging later, Eliot heard a bottle being opened, and water being poured.

“There we are,” said Rebecca. “Easily fifty pounds of meat for you and your family, with plenty more for the bear and her family.” Again, she flipped him, so that the bear could easily access the open cavity. “Do you want me to stay, until you die?”

“Yes,” Eliot thought. “I don’t need to tell you, but-”

“I know.” Rebecca gently scratched the back of his head. “It will be over soon,” she said.

Eliot noticed the bear and cubs moving around a bit.

“Just look forward.”

That was when the pulling and tugging started in earnest, along with the removal of certain body parts, like his intestines and stomach. Then, there was the liver, and kidneys – those were easily pulled out. Then, a lung was removed, followed by a tugging on his heart.



Next thing Eliot knew, he was clenching his chest, feeling like he’d woken up from a bad dream. However, he saw the crossbow on the ground, and signs of a deer that had walked away, limping on three legs.

“So, not a dream?” he asked.

“It wasn’t,” Rebecca said, showing up in front of him, with a freezer bag filled with some of the prepared meat. “I got sausage, venison dogs, burgers, as well as some steak and stew meat.”

Eliot looked it over. “Thanks.” He set it down. “Is that my cut, or are you holding the rest?”

“Got to make it look plausible as some leftover goods,” said Rebecca. “I’ll give you some more later.”

“Will all of my deaths be like that?” Eliot asked.

“That’s something I cannot tell you, because I don’t know,” said Rebecca. “But, look at it this way, you’re providing for your family, and you’ll see some wonderful sights.”

Eliot sighed. “Well, it’s nice to know that even gods don’t know everything.”

Rebecca chuckled. “Just focus on the good parts. Now, let’s get inside – I’m sure that Sampson will be glad that you’ve just snagged a well-paying job that will make him see you as a food provider.”

Eliot chuckled. “That’s one way of looking at it.”

“Now, let’s get inside,” said Rebecca. “I’m sure that your boys will want something other than ravioli.”

Eliot picked up some of the steaks. “That they will.”



A few days later, Sampson was at bat. The bases were loaded. He saw Uncle Joe, and a number of other police officers he saw as honorary family. But, he didn’t see his father.

“Hey, I heard that your father was a real pushover!” the pitcher yelled out. “Couldn’t even stop a thief!”

“Let’s just do this without the insults,” Sampson muttered.

“Couldn’t even stand on his own two feet,” the pitcher said. “Oh, wait, he doesn’t have two feet!”

Sampson looked at the Ref.

The Ref looked at the pitcher. “Another comment like that Richard, and you’ll be kicked, and I’ll have words with your coach.”

“Well, my dad’s my coach.”

“Why don’t you put your arm where your mouth is?” Sampson called out. “Shut up and pitch!”

There was a wicked grin on the pitcher’s face. “As you wish!”

The pitcher wound up, standing on one leg, about to pitch, only to scream out in pain, and fall to the ground. “Help! Something bit my ankle!”

Sampson blinked in surprise, as a rat ran from the pitcher, towards him, only to stop, and look right at him. There was something about those eyes, in the way they looked at him, that caused a smile to come to Sampson’s lips, as the rat resumed running, under a closed off section of bleachers.

Sampson looked at the pitcher, as the ref looked them over, and had him taken off the field, because the young man was having trouble standing. “Who can’t stand on his own two legs now?”

A substitute pitcher was brought in. He walked up to Sampson. “I’d like to apologize for what my teammate said about your father. I’ve heard about him. My own fell in the line of duty.”

Sampson nodded. “Seems Richard has his own issues with his own feet.”

The other pitcher grinned. “Never saw a rat just do that sort of thing. Still, there’s a reason those bleachers are closed off – seems that there’s a rare subspecies of rattlesnake denning there, and the Animal Control guys want someone else to handle the relocation of them.”



Eliot saw the snake, as he walked around the underside. “A moment, please?” he thought. He looked back towards the game, and watched as the second pitcher went to their plate.

There was the wind up, the pitch – then Sampson swung the bat, and the ball Flew Out Of The Park! Going, Going, GONE!

“Way to go!” Eliot thought.

That was when the snake struck, but Eliot felt no pain. The rat was dying of cancer anyways. Eliot continued to watch his son ran the bases, as the rattler when about the process of starting to make him a meal.