The Hunter

2044

Heavy footprints sunk into the wet mud. The owner walked to a rhythm only they knew. Three legs shifted one after another through the soggy underbrush. A slight breeze pulled them to a stop. An elongated nose tracked along the ground, sniffing for other life. A sound carried along the wind and its ears responded immediately—vibrating to catch the exact location of the source.

South. It came from the south.

It started off to the north—veering off of its original course to avoid pursuit. Galloping over a fallen trunk it picked up the pace even faster. The same sound again. The sharp crack of a branch by a careless hunter. From the south. Still from the south.

It now galloped in such a way that the planet itself sang to each footfall. The silence of the forest amplified each beat. One-two-three. One-two-three. One-two-three. The creature was much like a horse in the fact that its feet were hooves—albeit much larger than any natural horse’s hooves. Its face was kept bent down toward its body as it ran—its large lips kept tight together as it sped up.

It barreled through another fallen tree like it was nothing. Very strange that so many have fallen over. The wood splintered and then snapped. It screamed out as pain flared in its rightmost leg—its face darted to see the source—a metallic object had pierced the thick fat of its leg and it was now coursing blood onto the ground. It tripped over itself and slid across the dirt and stones. It was a trap. All along. I was a fool.

A figure leapt out from the darkness onto the creature’s back and tore the object from its leg—eliciting a roar of pain from the creature. The figure—a woman—held the creature’s head back as she drove a knife to its throat and drags it across. Black blood pooled from its neck onto the ground and the woman’s arms. She relaxed as the creature’s head relaxed and the life faded from its eyes. Silence returned once more to the forest. She stood off the beast’s back and lifts its head upward to get a closer look at her kill.

She dropped the head once more and took the object that had pierced the beast’s leg—a silver lance with a head coated in the beast’s blood. She took out a cloth and wiped it clean and then held it out in front of her. Pressing a button on the side, the lance retracted into itself until it fit into the palm of her hand. She fit it into an indentation on her armlet and returned to the beast’s carcass. From her bag she brought out a thick rope and began working it from a nearby tree. She took in a deep breath and bent down, lifting the creature up and over her shoulder. After hoisting and securing it from the rope she took a moment to look at its body—hanging and gently swinging. It looked like it’d give enough meat to last a few days.

She unsheathed the knife from her belt and took a deep breath. This part was always her least favorite. She steeled herself and began dressing the carcass—first cutting a coring ring around the beast’s anus. Next, she made an incision near the hind legs and guides the knife up to the breast bone. She breaks through and stopped.

Inside she clears out the diaphragm from the chest cavity and saw all the strange internal organs of the creature. No matter how many times she saw this It was still like looking at the inside of an alien. She reached in and grabbed the thick windpipe with her left hand. With the knife she cuts it free and now can easily remove the rest of the organs.

She’s going to need to let the blood drain out of the body, so in the meantime she cleans her hands and began working to build a campsite. With enough kindling she starts a fire—and just in time as the maroon skies have begun to shift to the reds and violets of night. The moon hung on the horizon with its crimson glare.

When her camp was set up and the blood drained from the body, she worked on skinning the creature—and finally an hour later she’s carved up the meat and tends to it over the flame. There’s a sound from behind her and at first she thinks its another of the creatures come to investigate the smell of cooking meat, but she relaxes. “How long have you been there? It was rude to stare.”

A figure emerges from darkness—a man in silver plated armor from neck to toe. He had black curly hair and a splash of humor on his face. “Well, I would have thought it would have been plenty rude to just stride on in uninvited.”

“It would have been,” she said, not looking at him.

“Oh come on, not even a flash of recognition?”

“I’m not dumb, Felix.”

“Oh, so you do recognize me.”

“Your voice is irreplaceable.”

“You don’t sound too thrilled.”

She sighs and pokes at the peak, cutting a piece open to check the insides. After not being satisfied she turned it over to cook for longer.

Felix took a step closer toward the camp. Her lance lands just before his feet, sticking in the ground reflecting the red moonlight. It was a clear warning. He held his hands up, shrugging his shoulder. “Sorry, standing right here. I’ve been hearing all kinds of things about you, you know? About how you found a way to kill the Creatures of the Night?”

She turned to look at him for the first time and saw that his face had worn with the lines of age. It had been some years since she had seen him last...not since…

A faint pain dwells in her side, she breathes it away and focused back to his face. “Maybe.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Felix bent down to look at the lance, “Hm, is this it?” But before he can get close enough the lance returned to her side, landing in her outstretched arm, retracting and she replaced it back into her armlet.

“For me to know.”

“Secrets never looked good on you,” he said, shrugging. “Well, with as honestly I can say I hope you know we share the same goal. If you let me in on your plans we can work together to complete them faster.”

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t be like that.”

“We both know that’s not your only goal. That isn’t the only rumor you’ve been following.”

“How can I not?!” He broke his cool and reels it back in immediately. “Sorry. You know how I feel.”

“I do. Doesn’t change anything. What you’ve heard is wrong.”

He’s staring at her with increased focus—his eyes straining.

“Good luck trying to read my mind. I’ve closed that avenue a long time ago. You’re not going to find anything useful.”

He relaxes, realizing her point.

She turned back to her meat and inspects the color again. This time, pleased with the result, she took it off the flame and handles it carefully over to her cloth. “You’re free to share a bite if you don’t have anything else. If you can spare it I’d prefer if you left, though.” She said.

“You know what I need to do, Allison. Please stop making this harder than it has to be. We both know—”

“We both know…? Tell me what we both know? That I’m going to be on your hit list when this is all over? That if I work with you on taking out the others that you’ll just turn around and spike me when you find it most convenient? Or because you have some deluded fantasy that you have a child out there you want to kill too?”

“She’s out there and she’s going to ruin everything! Is that what you want? Everything you’ve worked for to go up in smoke?”

“You haven’t cared about what I’m working for, not ever. You don’t get to play that card.”

Felix took a deep breath and tried to keep from looking at the ground. “I don’t have to kill you if we can be sure that she is dead.”

“She is dead!”

“Then let me see it! Show me the memory!” He yelled back.

“You have spoiled this,” she started to wrap up the meat. “So thanks for that. “I’m not showing you anything because you don’t deserve anything. Not even this fire,” she glanced in its direction and it was sussed out with a gust of wind.

“Allison.”

“Stop. We’re done. Stop following me. You can try to kill me all you please—it’d be the second biggest mistake of your life, but I’m nothing if not honest. I wouldn’t kill you if you tried, but it’d certainly make getting to the nearest outpost one hell of a challenge, but just give up on chasing this nightmare of yours. If you want to fight the Creatures of the Night then great. Go do it on your own time and stop wasting mine.” She had finished packing her things together in the rucksack she typically carried with her. “The plans I have are incompatible with the feelings I have for you. Accept that and make something of yourself.”

Felix laughed, “You’ve always been an aggressive over-planner. You talk about being dedicated about your goals, but listen, I’m just as motivated for mine. Just because I’ve adapted doesn’t mean I’m chasing dead ends. And if I could chase them without interfering with you trust me, I gladly would. But I can’t do that, babe. We’re intertwined in this and you have to accept that. I can’t accept you going at it alone.”

“Tough.” She strung the bag up and stamped on a remnant spark from the fire. “For both our sanities I’m moving elsewhere. I’m extending you a pleasantry in not maiming you now—please take advantage of it and find shelter somewhere else for the night, because if you do continue to follow me I will do just that.”

“You don’t have to go it alone, that’s all I’m saying.”

She walked over to him and cupped his chin in her hand. “I’m not,” and gave him a smile. She headed off south from the campground, not watching his reaction. She’d know soon enough if he did choose to follow her, but she didn’t think he would. Not now. If he would he’d wait enough time so that she couldn’t sense him. That gives me a good head start to plug some distance between us.

About half an hour away from her old campsite she set up a second—smaller site. Smaller fire, just enough to warm her dinner back up and to keep her warm. She finished the food in peace and preserved the rest of the raw meat securely. Clean, organized, just how she liked it.

She was moving toward a village in the south of what would have been New Jersey in her other life. Now at the tip existed a village called Remira. Felix wasn’t the only one who traveled on the wings of rumors—she had heard tales of people spotting a dragon in the mountains near Remira. A detail normal people would have passed off as myth or hallucination, but immediately grabbed her attention and focus.

The Creatures of the Night often took the forms of different animals in their truest states. Not quite corporeal, but enough that a few townspeople could make the mistake. She took out her tablet from her bag that had her notes on the different creatures.

Sakonna. That was the one that took the form of a dragon when not wearing human skin. She was one of the oldest ones on their planet, so she’d have to be extra careful about handling her. She chuckled to herself. Someone normal might not even believed she existed, but that would be foolish. She even had a previous encounter with Sakonna—one she’d not soon forget.

She closed her notes and opened up the story she’d been writing. She looked with a fondness on the pages she’s written so far—for so long she had wanted to write something of her own but the ideas never came to her—not in the way that she wanted. Not in the way she felt deserved to be told.

When she was much younger she had an imaginary friend named Jace who stuck with her when she had nobody else. She liked to believe that he was still with her, but it wasn’t really the same as it used to be. Things rarely do stay the same as when they used to be.

Ever since she’d wanted to give Jace the story that he deserved. In some way down in her heart, it was how she spoke to him on these cold and lonely nights.

For now all she had was a concept. She had a few images fresh in her mind that came back to her repeatedly. She saw a floating city—high above a forest below. She thought this was where Jace will have grown up, but the world below will be so much more expansive than just the floating city. The whole kingdom is called Seraphen. She knew from the start she wanted the land to feel holy—angelic almost. So taking the Latin root, Seraph, made the rest of it rather simple.

In her mind’s eye, the capitol city of Seraphen rested in the center of the continent—a walled city named Larinae. It is known as the Central Kingdom that the lands surrounding it pay tribute to—smaller kingdoms and territories of their own accord, but no matter the size all hail to Larinae. She had a map drawn up on her tablet—it had taken many nights to get just right, but she felt proud in the work she created.

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Jace’s floating city was off in the east—that’s where the forests were thickest and the tall trees helped to protect the city.

She finished a biographical entry on Lord Aesolus—the establishing ruler of Windruth before turning the tablet off and setting it aside. She rests her head down on her bag and closes her eyes. Sleep comes easily enough, her mind wanders to all sorts of different topics that she didn't remember when she woke except for one distinct scene of a burning pyre. The smell of cooked flesh emanated from the mass. She saw the walls of flame that surrounded whatever the bundle had been before—closing in and suffocating until the flames joined together and fused the mass into one lumbering heap of desecration.

When she woke up she had a particular guilty feeling, but cannot place the origin. The dream didn’t mean much to her—not that she was big into decrypting dreams as it stood. She eyed her pack and felt tiny comfort in the fact that her sleep was a fully undisturbed one. It has been some time since she got a full night’s rest. She still had some time to go before she made it to her next destination, so she had to take sleep where she could get it. Something told her that she wasn’t going to be able to get much of it in the coming times.