Trapper Tommy works the woods of Florida, trapping all kinds of wildlife for his customers who don't want raccoons, possums, squirrels, or skunks near them. But after finding some mangled carcasses, Tommy comes to realize there's something much bigger and much scarier out there than anything he's ever faced before.<br><br>On the night of a full moon, Trapper Tommy gets trapped himself, and what he finds will change his life forever.

The Tale of Trapper Tommy

I scooched back on the branch I was on. The branch was plenty strong enough to hold me but I didn’t want to get out too far from the trunk. I got settled in again and focused on the bear-thing.


Its back was to me and it crouched down again. My gaze went over its back and shoulders, and again, I got that bear feel but deformed somehow. I wasn’t sure that it was aware of me. Had it been sleeping in the tree all day? Did it wake up to piss then decide to go back to sleep? 


It was another twenty feet up from me. I couldn’t see it clearly, couldn’t get a good eye on it.


I wanted to know what it was before I shot it.


It half-rose again, put its right paw on the oak’s trunk to steady itself. The paw was long and slender, furry, with four distinct fingers and a thumb. All tipped with black claws that looked to be about three inches long. Delicate looking almost.


Chapter 5