We arrived and I pulled my truck first up to where the elk was laying. It was the bigger of the two so I wanted to get it out of the way first. I should mention that along the side of the highway was forest on both sides. I imagined what had happened was the elk was being chased by the cougar when they both ran out across the highway being struck almost immediately. Cars moving at a steady sixty-five plus do not leave many living creatures after they are struck. This was proof of such laying on the side of the road. There were no cars or trucks except for the rare semi which cruised through while we were loading the bodies. The cop had turned off everything but his lights so the night was very silent. The lights on top of the trooper’s car were sending red and blue beams in all directions which was how I caught the eyes when they reflected those flashes of light. I don’t know if it was the hue of the lights but the eyes looking at us from the forest not more than maybe twenty feet, were amber-red in color and they were a good seven maybe eight feet off the ground. next page | |