Okay, people. Just a little reminder before you begin reading…if you have not read Hunt or be Hunted yet, I would advise you to do so. I just don't want a lot of reviews asking who these 'random' folks are. This is a SEQUEL. Read the fanfic that came before, and you should have some understanding of what is going on.

A sleek silver Sedan cut through the forest undergrowth, sending small animals darting for cover from the vehicle's tires. The driver was very careful not to run over the little critters as he drove, for he was rather fond of animals. In fact, Joshua's job as a scientist required him to work with rats back at his laboratory. When he had first started working there, he grew attached to a certain albino rat he nicknamed Luffy. Josh gave special attention to Luffy because he was different from the other rats; he was born blind. Rats that were that disabled were usually killed once the other scientists found out, but not Luffy. Josh was a sensitive fellow, and he could not bear to think of his rat dead. He had convinced the other scientists he worked with to let Luffy live for a high sum of money, and nobody could have let a few thousand dollars go by unnoticed.

Luffy…

He remembered the playful rat waiting for him back at the lab. Augh, how Josh wanted to turn the car around!

"Why couldn't Jane come home when she was supposed to? She's been gone a week already!" He steered the Sedan out of the way of a pine tree, and made a sharp turn to the right.

"According to mother's directions, Jane's office should be nearby…" Josh adjusted his glasses a bit, and kept his eyes peeled for any sign of civilization. To tell the truth, he was not too familiar with where Jane worked, or what she did for a living. Maybe she worked for the military, as she was always coming home with camouflage outfits on.

After a few more minutes of driving along, a small concrete building came into view. It was partially hidden between the mass numbers of pine trees as if it was a confidential place.

"Why would a building be so far away from the city?" Josh asked himself, and parked his Sedan on the dirt in front of the facility. He unfastened his seatbelt, and popped open the car door.

From what it looked like, there had been a stampede of sorts; there were many animal tracks scattered around the area. Josh knelt down to examine them, and almost instantly he could tell what had been there. Deer, rabbits, lizards, birds…it seemed impossible that so many different creatures could be in the same place! Though, there was one track that was not from an animal at all. Josh squinted in disbelief, but his glasses did not fail him.

"Boots…someone must have been leaving here, but it couldn't have been Jane. These are much too small." Josh slowly got to his feet, and headed toward the doorway.

The steel door that had once been latched firmly in the doorway now lay on the ground, ripped off of its hinges. Two deep marks were imprinted in the center of its frame, as if something had rammed into it with a great amount of force.

"Strange. Very strange." Josh quickly glanced at the door before heading inside.

It was pitch black inside the building. The only thing that gave even the slightest bit of light was the open doorway, which even then did not pierce the darkness. Josh fumbled around in his bulky white scientist jacket for his portable flashlight. When he finally found it, he clicked it on, and waved it around.

The beam from his flashlight landed on an empty cage in front of him, and Josh gasped. Was that blood on the wall, or was the light playing tricks on him? He decided not, for each and every cage he shined the light on had some sort of blood stain in it somewhere. Each one was the same as the last; empty. To Josh, this place looked like the local animal pound, for there were rows of cages where animals might have been kept.

"Jane? Jane!" His shouts bounced off the concrete walls, giving him the impression he was the only one here.

"Maybe she is in the back…" The scientist spied a hallway at the end of the rows of cages, and started strolling in its direction. On his way to the hall, Josh kept wondering if Jane was ever going to spill the beans and tell him what she really did for a living.

When he reached it, Josh gazed at the many doors down the hallway. Why, Jane could be in any one of them! "Knowing her, she is probably sitting in some comfy chair listening to her iPod." He rolled his eyes. Typical.

"I'll try the this one." Josh turned toward the first door in the hall, and reached for its shiny brass knob.

All of a sudden, a faint grunt came from nearby. Poor Joshua nearly dropped his flashlight in surprise. Something WAS here after all…

Out of the corner of his eye, Josh saw something move. He whipped around, and stood stock-still in shock. His eyes were fixed at something crawling on the ground.

That something writhing on the ground was a man. He was doubled over in pain, wincing at every move he made. It would have seemed like he could easily get up; he had enormous muscles like the bodybuilders Josh had seen on television. His short blonde hair was buzz cut and caked in dirt and dust as well as his khakis and boots. What seemed the most familiar about him though was his camouflage tee, which matched Jane's almost perfectly, save for the fact his shirt was much larger. A shiny silver chain around the man's neck jingled as he moved.

"I could have sworn…I heard someone…coming." His voice was feeble and weak as if he had been severely injured.

"Huh? Who are you?" Josh shined his flashlight in the man's eyes, causing him to recoil back into the darkness with a roar of pain.

"Augh, don't…shine that at…me…" The man growled, and tried to shield his face with his hands.

"Sorry. I can't see any other way. It's too dark in here." Josh shrugged, and repeated his question. "So…who are you?"

The man was silent for a few moments before he answered. "I…I work…here…I run…the place with…a few…others…but they are…all…dead." He had to stop frequently in the middle of his words to pause and gasp for air.

Oh God. Jane? Was Jane…dead?

"Is there a woman named Jane around here? She's my sister, and I drove over to come and pick her up. She hasn't contacted me for about a week now." The scientist offered his hand to help the man up.

The man hastily took Josh's hand, and tried to stand. He almost toppled over, but managed to steady himself a little with some help. It was then that Josh could see why the man was in so much pain.

There was a bullet hole in his left shoulder, and it did not look like a minor one. Whatever had shot him had used a high quality pistol…possibly even at close range.

"Ow. That doesn't look too good." Josh turned his head away from the wound. "How on Earth did you get that?"

The man sighed, and shook his head. "Funny…story…actually…" He managed to chuckle a bit. "A…weasel…shot me."

"Call me crazy, but did you just say a 'weasel' shot you?" The scientist gave the man a puzzled look, and waited for him to reply.

The man managed to nod. "Yeah…and he…shot…your sister too. She wasn't as…lucky. He killed…her on the…spot."

No. No, it could not have happened. Jane could not be dead. Josh went into a fast state of delirium and tried to convince himself that his sister was still alive. "Where is this so-called weasel? WHERE IS HE NOW?" He demanded, and shook the man as if he was not injured.

"Oww…easy kid, easy! Maybe…we can…find that…weasel. I'd…like to find out…where he is and kill…him just as much…as you would. He…got away and…escaped…with the other animals…" An angry glare swept across the man's eyes.

"Other animals? What other animals?" Now they were getting somewhere. Perhaps Josh could finally find out where he really was.

"Well…I run a…" The man suddenly clutched his shoulder in pain.

"You don't look so good…maybe I can give you a ride back to my place. You need some medical attention." Josh gestured at the man's arm.

"That would be…wonderful…" The man gave a wry smile. "Thank…you."

"No problem…err, what's your name?" Josh helped the man walk back down the hallway toward his Sedan waiting out front.

"Just call me…The Hunter…"