Using a cliche in an unusual way

31 Dec 2012
(prompt from The Write Practice (thewritepractice.com) on using a cliche in an unusual way. I chose the "one shot left" idea that turns up in so many movies, with a twist)

There were two of them, and I had only one shot left. She was about 100 feet away, a little to my left. He was off to my right about the same distance. If either of them spotted me, I could be in trouble. At least they were upwind and facing away from me, less likely to hear me creeping closer. I decided to go after him since he was the bigger challenge. Still had to keep an eye on her, though, in case she doubled back and sounded the alarm after spotting me.

The afternoon was getting late, but there was still enough time to get this done before they could slip away in the dusk. The sun was behind me as I faced east. Easier for me to see them, blinding for them if they looked my way.

They moved up the slope a little further. I walked in a crouch up to the next tree, trying to keep them in view while not stepping on noise makers. They moved up again and she disappeared over the crest of the hill. The shot would soon be ideal, so I sneaked up to the next tree. Wouldn’t get better than this today.

Looking through the lens, I zoomed in and lined up the shot. Just then he was standing on the crest and the light was perfect. Click! That was calendar material. Startled by the shutter, the buck trotted off down the other side of the hill. I retreated back down my side. My editor was sure to be pleased with this photo, which meant some timely cash to pay the bills. I swore to myself that next time I’d take more film, or maybe it was time to think about one of those digital cameras my grandkids kept talking about.