Kira had traveled many different ways since she had left her hometown five months ago, but this was by far the worst. Trapped in a small crate, tied up, and in the back of a bumpy cart. It was her second day like this and she was beginning to hate her life more than usual.

The only good thing she’d had this trip was they had removed her gag and allowed her hands to be tied in the front for more comfort. The rule was she would be allowed to be more comfortable provided she didn’t start any trouble for the caravan. She’d quickly agreed and shared a murderous smile with the trader who had bought her.

Utin was a rodent of a man if she’d ever seen one. He had a rat like face with a sharp pointed nose and large teeth. His eyes always moved from head to toe on everyone he spoke to as if he was measuring up how much they were worth. Despite his gaunt face, he was rather portly in the stomach and the arms. His fat jiggled every time he walked, and Kira wondered how his thin legs supported him.

The caravan barely stopped throughout the day, and they kept up a fast pace considering the bumping. They would stop briefly midday and once more before the sun set. These were the only times Kira had the luxury of using the restroom outside of her tiny box and getting fed. She considered herself lucky. They hardly gave her enough to survive so she didn’t have to defile her box. The caravan probably just didn’t want to smell her in a shitbox under the sun. Even if she was being shipped off, she hoped her life wasn’t going to get as low as that.

Kira leaned against the wall and sighed. This was the day she’d come to fear almost four months ago. This was where her life truly came to a halt. She wasn’t afraid to lose her life to some monster, at least there she could fight. Now Kira was just an animal in a cage. She had to bid her time to try and escape, but with every passing minute, despair crept into her. There wasn’t a lot else to think about while she waited.

Kira had been sixteen back in her village when the traders had come. She had a simple life back then. Her mother had taught her how to do all the chores a woman was expected to do. Kira could clean, sew, command children, and cook. All that was left for her to do was find a good man and start pumping out as many babies as she was able.

Kira’s mother had always sickened her. Mother of seven and all she did was curse herself for being so infertile. It seemed all her little expanding village seemed to care about was breeding. It was all women were good for, so they might as well get right to it. Kira had had many suitors but she’d turned them all down. By the age of sixteen, people began to wonder what was wrong with her. She should’ve been married off two years prior. Most of her friends had children of their own while Kira remained at home.

It was the worst moment of her life when Kira’s parents became fed up with her attitude. They had arranged a marriage for her and told her she would have to leave soon. Her husband to be was just a couple of years older, and he had finished a home of his own. All he needed to complete it was a wife.

It was about that time Kira’s troubles were overheard by distant traders visiting her town. They told her they could take her away from her home. She would have to work hard in her new home, but there she could scrap together a life of her own. Kira was wary of the strange men, but they weren’t pushy like she expected. They simply offered her a different life if she wanted it.

She would have never taken their offer if not for her parent’s actions. A day later they removed her possessions from their home and moved them to her future husband’s. They told her to go move in with him. Nobody would look down upon her for living with her future husband. In truth, everyone in the village applauded the idea. Kira didn’t want to, but it was sleep under his roof or no roof at all.

He was a perfect gentleman until the sun came down. Kira awoke in the middle of the night to him walking into the room she was sleeping in. She told him to leave, but he wouldn’t. His eyes said he wanted what would soon be rightfully his. He’d climbed onto her and held her down. He kept one hand over Kira’s mouth as he tried to force himself on her.

If he had paid more attention to Kira than to her body, he would’ve known she wasn’t just another meek girl. The hand he covered her mouth with was bit into so hard his fingers broke. His forcing body received a quick knee and he was silenced. As he crumpled to the side of her bed, Kira grabbed the heaviest item in the room and smashed it over his head.

It wasn’t until after she’d calmed her racing heart and discovered a light did she see the truth. Kira hadn’t just repelled her attacker; she’d killed him. Blood dripped from the back of his head and his chest did not rise or fall. Kira held a hand over her mouth as she thought about what she’d just done.

What surprised her the most was how his death didn’t bother her. What scared her was how the village would treat this. Nobody would take her side. Now that she was in his house, even if her parents had forced her, she was expected to give him anything he wanted. She had no rights here.

Kira gathered anything she had and packed a bag. She took her dead fiancé’s sword and shield and vanished into the night. She didn’t know where she was going to go, but it had to be away from there. Kira headed down the road and into the wilderness. The wild animals here were nothing compared to her village.

And Kira would have died out there. Sure, she’d beaten the first few creatures, but she had no knowledge of how to heal or hide herself. If not for the traders heading to the next town, then she would’ve fallen in the jungle. As it was, they picked her up and she agreed to their deal. She would gladly work for someone provided it meant a different land and a new home.

For a few weeks Kira’s life was good. The traders showed her some of the tricks of the trade. She learned how to use her sword better and how to survive the wilderness. She saw different towns, and eventually, they made their way to the ocean.

Kira had never dreamed she would see the ocean. Its beautiful blue waters were more amazing than she’d ever imagined. The trader surprised her once more by saying she was going across it. She had squealed with delight as he led her to one of the big ships. The trader shifted some merchandise with the captain, and then, he told her what her life was going to be like.

“Across the sea you’ll find a different land and home. You’re going to work for a family for two years to pay off your passage. They’ll probably have children and other duties for you. Basically, you’ll be a live in maid. Sound good?”

To Kira it sounded like heaven. Only two years of work in exchange for a voyage across the sea and a new chance at life. She’d never been more excited. She couldn’t thank the trader enough before she left. He stayed on the dock to wave goodbye to her as the ship left port.

The journey was nice enough. In the end, everyone smelled worse for wear and the food was getting kind of stale. Kira slept on a cot with another girl and found many girls like herself were headed off to be maids and nannies. All of them were nervous but excited. It wasn’t until they made it to port did they all found out the ugly truth.

There were no families waiting for them. No new lives of excitement and adventure, only greedy merchants and slave traders. The lucky ones were sold as household servants. Those girls had been the most plain and unattractive. Kira and a dozen others were sold into prostitution.

Some stayed in the cities, most were shipped further inland. It was there Kira became the property of Sheen and struck up her deal. She would hunt the monsters for their hides instead of being a whore. She explained how she was good with a sword and knew how to hunt. Sheen had tested her, and Kira had passed. Kira could hunt instead, provided she brought in enough profit to beat out the prostitution ideal.

It was a losing battle from the get go as she had no more possessions by the time she reached Sheen. Kira had to rent a sword, shield, and other supplies which only further put her into debt. Still, every day she wasn’t a toy for some wealthy man was a victory in her eyes. She’d still take the claws of a beast across her back over the hand of a man.

And now she was back to being in a crate. Her time was up, and the battle was lost. The war for her body wasn’t over though in her eyes. The minute she got a chance she’d make for the desert just as she’d done for the jungle before. Kira just needed a chance to become free.

Kira didn’t have anyone to talk to other than a young apprentice in the wagon carrying her crate. As far as Kira could tell, everyone was either in horse dragged wagons or were running next to the caravan. People seemed to switch places throughout the day. Kira assumed this was so even though not everyone had a horse, they could keep up a decent pace.

“Are you comfy?” asked the young man again. Kira rolled her eyes at the man’s question. It seemed to be every other line which came out of his mouth. Kira wasn’t sure whether he actually expected a different answer or not.

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“Just dandy,” muttered Kira.

“I’m supposed to watch over you, so I want to make sure you’re comfortable.”

“Oh I’m so comfortable,” said Kira. “I’m about as comfortable as I am entertained.”

“Really?” asked the man stunned. “I love going to the different cities, but I find the travel terribly boring. What do you do to pass the time?”

“Well I started this morning on the west side of the box. Later I decided to shift to the east side. Maybe one day I’ll be brave enough to sit on the north side of the box, but not today. No, that is an adventure for another time.” She glared at the young man in hopes that he understood her mockery. The man smiled and looked ready to retort when he was interrupted.

“SAND HERMIT!” screamed a nearby rider. Kira rose to the top of her cage and tried to look around. She didn’t know what a sand hermit was, but the man’s voice suggested it was dangerous. The following screams of panic made her believe it.

What Kira couldn’t see was a nearby sand dune coming to life. The sand fell aside to reveal a gigantic spiral shell. Two bulbous eyes came out on stocks from underneath the shell and eyed the caravan greedily. Dozens of horses, humans, and other tasty things.

Six long crab legs poked out of the shell and the sand hermit lifted itself out of the sand. On fully extended legs and with its shell it was twice as tall as a man. Two long arms unfolded out of the shell and snapped sets of very impressive pincers. The sand hermit moved forward to grab its prey.

Caravans as large as Utin’s had between forty to fifty people in them and many of them capable fighters. Sand hermits were dangerous creatures but not to trained horsemen with spears. The trick was to stab up into its shell and pierce the weak innards. The danger came from those long arms grabbing a rider before he got close or the sharp beak under the shell.

Riders began to circle the sand hermit and keep it contained as the caravan hurried away. They stabbed at it with their spears and avoided the long sweeps of its arms. This fight would be over once they had it fully surrounded.

Then the screams of panic started again, and the riders realized they were not alone. More sand dunes were disappearing as the large crabs crept out. There were five of them now, and the riders would not be able to keep them all away from the merchants and travelers.

The sand hermits were brutal killers, but fortunately, very quick about it. The minute they snatched someone off the ground or horse the arms immediately retracted towards the large beak. There was a sickening chomp and the victim would go quiet. The more the people began to scatter the more the sand hermits pursued them. This was a feast waiting to happen.

A frightened hiss went out as the first sand hermit went down. It had killed one man, and while it tried to eat his horse, the riders had forced their spears into its unprotected flesh. It came down with a large crash, almost squashing a man in the process.

“They’re coming! They’re coming!” shouted the frightened man as he slammed next to Kira’s crate. Kira banged her hands against the side he was on.

“Let me out I can fight!” she screamed.

“What?” asked the confused man.

“I was a hunter!” she shouted. “Let me out and I can protect you.” Kira backed away from the top as a desperate man’s face appeared, and he asked her desperately.

“Really?” She showed her scarred arms to him.

“No, I got these knitting,” she said sarcastically. “Now get me out of here!” The man nodded quickly and began fumbling with a large set of keys. Kira grinned at her chance when suddenly another man appeared and shoved him aside.

“Don’t be stupid!” Kira growled and wished the man was close enough to grab.

“Every non-fighter take the cargo and flee!” shouted the lead guard. “The rest of you get to work and drag these things down!”

The cart jolted suddenly and Kira heard men cheering the horses on. She sighed as they were being pulled away from the fight. The sounds of battle were disappearing quickly. The sand hermits weren’t fast creatures, and they didn’t exactly want the caravan. They just wanted something to eat. The guards and their horses would work just as well as the merchants.

Soon the sound of the fighting disappeared altogether. Kira groaned and hit her head against her crate. She hoped that enough of the guards would get killed, and she might have a chance to take one’s place. Anything to get herself out of this damn crate.

A loud garbling noise descended over the caravan, and she heard people screaming again. For some reason the noise was very familiar to Kira. She wished she could see, but her stupid crate was aimed at the damned sky.

“What’s going on?” she demanded. The man from earlier appeared over her crate.

“Oh gods, we’re all going to die.”

“I can’t see,” said Kira irritated. “Push me over so I can see it.” The man was so panicked he did what she asked without thinking about it. Kira landed on her back and the blanket fell away.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The merchants were running about as two guards tried to battle an enormous creature. The rest of the guard was fighting the sand hermits, and the two that had stayed with the merchants were woefully inadequate. It was probably why they left the fight in the first place.

Attacking the now vulnerable caravan was a sanpaco. Not just any sanpaco but her sanpaco. Kira recognized its split beak where she’d slashed it. Its armored wing tip even had a missing piece where Sakien had sheared it away in the attack. She had no idea what it was doing so far south, but she reasoned it was a bird. What took the caravan two days probably only took it half a day. Either way they were screwed.

“Can you fight it?” asked the man desperately. Kira stayed on her back and gave the man a bizarre grin.

“Before I would’ve fought but after seeing this guy? You know, no. I think I’m content getting eaten.”

“What!” cried the man hysterically.

“This is just too funny. What are the odds?”

The sanpaco spun in a full circle and swatted both guards off their horses. Before they could rise it hopped on one and pecked the other to death. Merchants ran around panicked as the bird danced gleefully through their ranks. It gave a flap of its wings and landed on cart. The horses were so scared they ripped right through their harnesses and fled across the desert.

“This can’t be happening,” whispered the man.

“Ever get the feeling the world has a twisted sense of humor?” laughed Kira.

“What is wrong with you?” demanded the man.

“Long story.” The sanpaco turned towards them. “Hey, you better run.”

The man screamed and leapt off the cart. The sanpaco happily gave chase and leapt over Kira’s crate. She was trapped in a box with no defenses and yet she was sure she was calmer than everyone else.

Nobody came to stop the sanpaco. The guards were far too busy fighting the massing sand hermits to bother. The sanpaco got its fill of food and left before anyone ever raised a sword to it. It only killed a handful of people, but it did more damage to the caravan’s merchandise than the sand hermits ever did. Kira waved as it took off.

The guards returned a while later battered and bruised. The surprise attack had taken many from their ranks. The head guard was arguing with Utin and others about the attack and loss of life. The men were trained fighters, but they were better suited for bandits than monsters.

“I’ve told you before we need real monster hunters for these kinds of moments,” shouted the head guard.

“And I’ve told you they cost far too much,” said Utin. “This almost never happens.”

“How dare you,” demanded the head guard.

Kira was still on her back smiling as she listened to the conversation. She stuck her hand out of the crate and waved to the direction of the noise. “Not that it matters now, but I’m a monster hunter.”

“You can’t be serious?” swore the head guard.

“I am. I was the one who gave that sanpaco the cracked bill a week back. It flew away before I could finish it.”

“Then why did you just let it destroy the caravan?”

Kira held her hands out in pleasure. Sweet, sweet pleasure as she made sure Utin heard every word as he examined his wrecked caravan. “Nobody let me out.”

The next few moments were almost the happiest of Kira’s life. Utin was just a merchant and had no idea about Kira’s past. He thought she was just some other foreign girl being taken to the markets. If he’d known she was an official hunter he would’ve let her out the second the monsters showed up.

Not that the head guard gave him a chance to explain. Before Utin could utter a word, the head guard punched him so hard he knocked him out. Better, it was done within sight of Kira. Her hands balled into fists and her smile had never been bigger.

Damn that was good to watch, she thought.

“You bastard,” said the head guard as he spat on Utin’s unconscious form. “Who here oversees this idiot’s merchandise?”

“I do,” said a frightened man. “Or at least I think I do now. The man over me is dead.”

“Then you have inherited his responsibilities. Get everyone moving and everything you can onto functional carts. My men will rally any of the horses that fled. We’re moving in twenty minutes so get going.”

“What about the wounded and dead?” asked the man.

“Don’t be daft man. Put the wounded on the carts. Leave the dead where they lay.”

“You would dishonor their bodies!” cried the man. The head guard wasn’t ready to argue. He walked over and took the man off his feet with one hand.

“Do not talk to me about dishonor as I just watched ten of my men die so your sorry ass could run. We do not have the capacity to carry the dead. We are in the wilds and any large animal that sees us will know we’re weak right now. Those sand hermits may decide to pursue us. That sanpaco may come back. There may be worse things on their way.” He threw the man to the floor and headed back to his horse. “We are leaving in twenty minutes, whether you’re ready or not.” The man nodded his head sorely and scampered away to give orders.

The head guard leapt into his saddle and shouted a few quick commands. He then turned to look at Kira. She waved delightfully to him, sensing her opportunity was now.

“I could help you,” she said cheerfully. He pulled his horse over to her and sighed.

“As mad as I am, freeing you right now will only get me in trouble and in debt. I’m afraid I cannot.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said with a glare.

“No, I’m not. However,” he turned to look at the surviving members of the caravan. “Listen to me! If we have any more trouble, whether it be monsters or bandits, you unlock this cage and give this girl a weapon! I do not care what anyone else says, you do as I command. If we get attacked, and I find out she was left in chains, someone will answer to my blade. And whoever that is will be her choice!”

He rode away, and Kira was left with a mixture of emotions. She was frustrated that she hadn’t just escaped, but on the other hand, there was some real opportunity here. All she needed was one more attack from anything and she would be free. And even if she wasn’t set free, she would have one last shot at revenge. She eyed Utin’s unconscious form with glee.