Honor Thy Father: Chapter 5 - "Providence"
The Bear-tooth Mountain Archive
Welcome back for the fifth and final chapter of Honor Thy Father. This serial short story (set within the world of The Bear-tooth Mountain Archive) has been a blast to put together.
For those who have read each chapter, thank you for your support. There’s a lot more to The Bear-tooth Mountain Archive (including a tale coming later this month), and while Honor Thy Father does stand alone, it’s only a taste of what’s still to come.
As Jude returns home, having been guided by the light of an angelic messenger, he prepares to make his final stand against the Beast of Bear-tooth Mountain.
Jude knew that if he went back inside the house without his father (especially being filthy as he was) that his mother would only get worried, so he decided that it was up to him to protect their home on his lonesome.
Inside the barn, he amassed a collection of raw materials that he planned to distribute in and around the property, setting traps that the monster might not see from its enormous height.
He grabbed thirty feet of rope, some fishing line, a few bear traps his father kept around, a rake, a pitchfork, some spare wooden posts used to repair their fence, and a shovel. He thought about adding some of his father’s barbed wire fencing, which was rarely ever used, but decided that it was too likely that he would harm himself in the process.
When Jude piled all these things into a wheelbarrow, he discreetly moved them out of the barn and back toward the fence nearest the forest.
With a determined fervor, Jude set up his traps at the edge of the treeline. He strategically hung the rusted bear traps from the lower tree branches, knowing that, though his father would be able to evade the danger, the giant wouldn’t see them before it was too late. They would likely stab and bite at the creature’s knees, sending it to the ground.
Next, he weaved a considerable amount of fishing wire between the trees standing on the very edge of the forest. Six or seven trunks were included in this special surprise, which would plunge the beast straight into their family’s tough wooden fence where he placed the rake and the pitchfork. The crash would be heard instantly and might give his family enough time to hop into their father’s old truck and escape if need be.
Jude knew that he couldn’t fight the creature one-on-one, but he could slow it down. He hoped to possibly wound it enough so that it would relent its pursuit.
After that, Jude used some of the thicker rope to build a similar trap to the one he made with fishing wire. If the giant was smart enough to evade the ropes, it likely wouldn’t expect the fishing wire also. He tied them together further back in the forest.
Of all the traps he placed, Jude spent the most time digging several holes between the forest and their family homestead. In them, he placed the wooden fence posts — well, parts of them anyway, they were a bit too long to fit without trimming — upside down so that the sharp pointed sides were faced up. The giant would certainly trip and step into one or more of these holes and find a horrific surprise below. Jude wasn’t quite sure his holes were wide enough given the giant’s stature, but he hoped it would never get this far to find out.
Although the boy wanted to sit there on the fence and wait for his father, he reckoned that he ought to inform his mother of what happened. He dreaded walking in the door without his father and explaining to his Mama that Papa was fighting a fairy tale giant. He wasn’t sure that she would even believe him.
He was confident that his father had told his mother of the creature the same way he had been informed, but he wasn’t entirely sure. Instead of prolonging the inevitable, the young boy walked right into the house and was greeted by his mother and sisters sitting comfortably by the fire.
“Oh, Jude! You are back. And you are filthy! What happened to you?”
“Mama, I have to tell you something,” the boy said solemnly.
His mother stood up at once. She directed him out of the parlor and back out to the porch where she could speak freely without frightening her daughters. Jude realized his mother did, in fact, know everything his father did, though his sister’s weren’t yet privy to the same information.
“Where is your father?”
Jude explained everything to his mother. How he had put them in danger, how the giant chased after them, and how his father thought it best to split up. He told her how they had encountered the blue light in the forest, and how he saw the angel again later. He even told her about all the traps he’d put in place to ensure that they would be safe.
But mostly, Jude told her that he was sorry for all of it.
“It is all my fault, Mama. I should have kept silent like Papa said, and now he is fighting the beast by himself. I am a bad son.”
Like her husband, Marian Anthony was an expert at hiding her concern. Their families had both immigrated to the United States many decades earlier, and though Elroy and Marian had both been born in the country, they had been taught to keep many of their opinions (even those shared by others within the community) strictly to themselves. If some of the local cowboys could’ve diagnosed it, they might’ve said she had a good poker face. If she had any fear throbbing inside her, Jude never knew it.
“No, you are not a bad son,” his mother replied. “Your father is a strong man; he will be fine. But we must wait for him and prepare for the worst.”
“Mama, the angel who helped me find my way home, he said that Papa would return.”
“Then we will continue to pray that he does so soon, and without any injury.”
As his sisters sat unaware beside the fire, Jude and his mother rested on the porch looking toward the treeline that marked the beginning of the forest. Marian Anthony occasionally prayed silently to herself, but mostly hummed hymns to keep them calm as they watched and waited.
Unsure what to do with himself, Jude imagined the battle his father was fighting. He imagined that the giant had caught up with him, and that it had its lanky claws around him. Just then, his father sliced off the giant’s hand, and with blood splattering everywhere, continued to hack until the whole arm came loose. Jude pictured that his father came across several smooth stones, as David had done, and that he hurtled one straight into the creature’s forehead. As it collapsed in Jude’s mind’s eye, the boy envisioned his father hacking off the giant’s head and tossing it into one of the holes he’d dug.
It was a battle of epic proportions, rivaling all the conflicts between the covenant people of ancient Israel and the giant nations who once roamed the Promised Land. If anyone could take out one of those things one-on-one, Jude was certain that his father fit the bill.
“Jude, you are a brave young man,” his mother finally said, dissolving the silence. “Your father and I have wondered for years when the right time to tell you about this was.
“The Anthony family has been tasked with protecting these lands from the giant you saw with your father. Years ago, when the first Anthonys journeyed west in hopes of a new life, they came to this place. Here, your grandfather first saw the beast that lurks in the Mountain. Since then, our family has been the guardians of this valley. Your father has hunted this creature many times, but it is smart. It has lived a very long life and knows only bloodshed. You were right to be afraid, but you cannot let that fear stop you from pursuing truth and honor.”
She stopped for a moment, looking deep into the forest, but then continued with the same conviction in her voice.
“We knew that you would be strong enough to bear this burden. Your father will not always be around. It is very likely he may die one day in battle against this creature. But there must always be an Anthony here to keep the darkness at bay. There is no telling what would happen if it found its way into the greater world. When God gave us you, we knew you would do something special.”
“If Papa cannot, I will slay the giant, Mama.”
She nodded her head. “I know you will, my boy. But do not let killing this beast rule your entire being. There is much beauty in simplicity, and you have a full life yet to live.”
“Yes, Mama.”
Another hour passed as the boy and his mother waited there. With each passing moment, they wondered if the angel had delivered the wrong message. It would be dark soon, and still there was no sign of Jude’s father.
As he stared into the woods from their porch, Jude thought he saw movement. He stood up tall and unsheathed one of his father’s hunting knives he had secretly lifted from the barn. Before his mother could stop him, Jude ran across the field, past the barn, and directly to the fence, where he crouched and waited for whoever it was wandering in there.
The ground was not quaking, so he was confident that it was not the giant, but it had gotten the drop on them once before.
Happily, Jude recognized the figure stumbling out of the woods. The man wandered through, avoiding Jude’s clever traps in the process.
It was his father.
Jude put his knife away and fumbled through the fence to meet him, careful to avoid the holes he’d dug between them. He embraced his Papa yet again, and this time his father didn’t break the contact. They stood there holding each other for quite some time before Elroy Anthony knelt beside his son.
“I am very proud of you, my boy. You did well in keeping your mother and sisters safe.”
“Did you kill it, Papa? Is it dead?”
Elroy shook his head. “I am afraid not, my son. But it lost interest. I am glad, else I would be in much worse shape.” Jude could see a soft smile creep up from beneath his beard.
Jude and his father went to meet his mother. She kissed her husband passionately as he embraced her, both relieved to be home together.
“We have a very brave young man on our hands,” she told him.
“Aye. One who honors the Anthony name well.”
Jude couldn’t help but smile.
With the danger passed, the three of them retired inside and the family was reunited. Although the threat was still out there, they each rested well in the fact that they were stronger together, and that the hand of providence had rested firmly upon them.
Well, that’s all folks! Thank you again for reading Honor Thy Father. If you enjoyed this serial tale, and want to witness the final confrontation between Jude Anthony and the giant that lives on the Mountain, be sure to pick up my 2023 novella, The Beast of Bear-tooth Mountain.
Though the book is available on Amazon, it can also be purchased directly from Sower Bible Bookstore.