Captain’s Logos

Two park rangers walked slowly, steadily up the path as the crisp morning sunshine made it's way down to the forest floor. One ranger, a tall gaunt man with a neatly ironed pair of pants and shined boots was leading the way, keeping pace with a rhythmic march. The other, smaller and less kept, with tousled hair and a pair of crooked glasses, was scurrying behind the ranger with quick movements, taking a few steps off the path one direction, then off to the other side, then in front and then behind.



"They said it was about a mile up from here they last heard from him," the tall man said. "Must've been a hell of a way to go."



They came upon the body in a small, flat clearing where the trees receded from the path in a symmetrical ovular shape, and the snow had been trampled down. What was left of the mangled corpse lay cold and stiff, reminding the smaller ranger of half-eaten enchiladas left out all night.



"What's all over his hand?" Said the tall ranger. "It looks like he shit his pants or something."



The smaller ranger, now leaning down over the corpse, looking at it through his crooked glasses noticed a bit of tin foil hanging out of the torn and bloody pocket of the boy. "I think it might be chocolate," he said.



"How 'bout that." Said the tall man. "Poor little chunker had to have one last snack. I've heard of chocolate after a bad date, but you gotta really love it to have the presence of mind to sneak some before you get mauled," he chuckled. "Well that's Darwin at work for you, kid didn't have a chance."



"It doesn't seem like he should have been this far behind," said the smaller ranger. "I mean, if you stay with the group, you're safe. If you get on your own though, there are a thousand ways you can get ravaged by wolves out here."



"Let's clean it up and get out of here," said the taller ranger.



The two rangers did there best to wrap what was left of the body up in a tarp and they began carrying it down the mountain. As they left, the shorter ranger, though struggling to hold up his end of the bag, briefly saw what looked like an eyeball laying in the snow.