the Hunter

I first remember I was hiking by myself, I was out in the desert at sunset.  I saw silhouettes of men with backpacks toward the setting Sun, and as I walked I noticed our paths will cross soon.  When they got close enough, they waved and yelled in a language I didn't know.  They all looked like they been out in the wilderness a good while, unkempt beards and hair, tired and careless apparel, all seven of them.  If you ever seen hunger, I saw it in their faces, their eyes were sunk and cheek bones prominent but not proud.  They gestured for me to follow them, and pointed at a nearby mesa.  They gestured with their hands "sleep" and I figured that's their camp, I followed.  When we got there, they had tents pitched and started a fire, then offered me some food.  I don't know what they were eating, it looked like dry Cream of Wheat before they added boiling water, but smelled funky.  Not wanting to be rude, I forced some down, then found as I looked at them that they were equally appalled. In relaxation, they shed layers of clothing and I saw they all looked emaciated.  It was kind of freaky, and I felt very out of place.  Earlier in the hike, I saw something that I thought could help (I saw this for real while hiking, is why I remembered in my dream).  I had seen a mule deer, he was old.  He had greying and splotchy hair, and I knew he had fought a lot because he had a broken antler and scars on his face.  I knew exactly where he was, and it would be a service to the gene pool if I removed the old brawler, who I figured was terrorizing the young bucks.  I had my shotgun, so I got up and left.  It was awkward, the men were confused and maybe thought I was trying to leave their hospitality, I tried my best to gesture I would be back, and I finally just left I didn't care what they thought because they would understand when I returned.  The old stag was exactly where I thought he would be, dispatching him was too easy and I carried it all the way back in the dark.  When I got back, the men were stunned, they quickly came to help me.  They said a lot of things I didn't understand with smiles and teary eyes as they processed the old deer, they were making a shitload of food.  They did everything, all I did was sit next to the fire and brew a pot of tea from Ephedra cutleri (botany skills!!!).  Then, they gave me a gift, it was a book with the cross on it, a Bible, and I was confused about the language barrier because the Bible was printed in English.  That's all I remember.