Sorry for this being late but I kind of hit wall for a while. But please enjoy anyway!!
The Search for Hosts
"Fuck; this planet is hot" Shank said disgruntled as the three of them continued to make their way through the dense jungle foliage. It had been almost a week since they had left the new hive and a particularly hard day for a march and the sheer pressure of it was making even José feel tired.
"Yeah that's why they call it a tropical rainforest!" José replied sarcastically as his gaze fell on Kawhali who didn't seem even remotely fazed by the heat.
"The heat aside we should probably consider looking for large grazing spaces or watering holes where your "hosts" can congregate" Kawhali replied calmly his eyes moving to meet José's.
"Yeah, you're right Kawhali, but since we're unsure of where exactly a good one is we're just going to have to hope we get lucky" José said as he hefted one of his newly made weapons to his shoulder.
Nearly three days ago they had come upon remnants of an ancient volcanic eruption and a considerable amount of volcanic glass. Struck by inspiration and some time spent as a Delta Force operator in southern Mexico he had crafted both a one handed and a two-handed Macuahuitl a weapon widely used by the Aztecs.
He had heard great stories and old legends about these vicious weapons being used by Aztec warriors to decimate their enemies before the arrival of the Spanish and in one account one of these weapons had decapitated a warhorse in full charge, now he might actually get to see if these weapons could live up to their ancient reputation.
"You know, when we were being flown in by those ugly bastards I think spotted a fair size river that lead to some kind of savanna; that might lead us to some good wildlife" Shank spoke up thoughtfully as he paused trying to remember where he had spotted the river.
"Do you think you could lead us to it from what you remember?" José asked hopefully as he turned to look at Shank. "I believe so, but it's kind of hard to tell from down here with all the damn plants"
"How did you manage to see all of this? Kawhali asked as his eyes scanned the foliage for any sign of danger.
"I told em' I had to take a shit and it just so happened that it had some view ports, so I think that a large river combined with a savannah near the jungle could attract some large herds of whatever the hell resides here" Shank replied as he turned to regard José with self satisfied smile.
"Alright, if you think you can get us there than lead the way Shank" José said motioning to Kawhali to follow. Shank had guts, cunning and a finely tuned sense wilderness survival, José could definitely see that as the three of them made their way through the jungle almost effortlessly and seemingly undeterred from finding what they were looking for.
"Tons of wildlife but none of it seems ideal for hosts, will I EVER catch a break" José thought disgruntled as he continued to follow Shank's lead. Ever since they had started their search the jungle had been alive with many species of bizarre animals however all of those that they had come across so far was either too small or just didn't seem right as a host.
"Listen! It's the sound of river rapids" Shank's voice came out as a hushed whisper but both José and Kawhali immediately became alert. Sure enough after all of them could here the faint rushing noises of a fairly large river. "It has to be a couple of miles away for the rushing of a large river to be so faint" Kawhali replied thoughtfully as turned in the direction of the sound.
"Yeah it's a long shot but it's our best bet" Shank said as the three of them moved as quickly as they could. As they approached they could hear it becoming louder and louder. By the time the trio neared a ridge there wasn't a doubt in José's mind that it was the river. However just as he felt like celebrating getting a good search location he heard commotion on the other side, fierce primal screams where echoing from the river so loud that it made the hair on the back his stand up straight. Motioning the others to keep quiet José crawled soundlessly to the top of the ridge with Kawhali and Shank flanking him closely.
"What the fuck? Hey check this out" José whispered as his eyes took in the bizarre sight. Dozens if not hundreds of large simian-like creatures were at the edge of the river engaging in what seemed to José like a highly charged, smelly and violent orgy.
"Jesus, horny frustrated little bastards aren't they" Shank said keeping his tone low as he peered at the bizarre spectacle through the dense foliage.
"Will that be acceptable?" Kawhali whispered as he drew his spear closer to his prone body.
"Yeah but it's not enough, we'll come back and round up some of these with the hive later, right now I want to find a larger population and the place for that would probably be the savannah, besides, I don't want to deny them their simple pleasures yet" José replied as the trio retreated back down the ridge and began to head north along the river towards the river trying to forget at least part the disturbing scene. Each of the animals had been bipeds and stood even taller than Yautja. In any case José had no doubts about whether or not they were acceptable.
"How many do you plan to breed then? It must be a substantial amount to say that what we just saw is not enough" Kawhali asked hefting his spear to his shoulder and taking point.
"Not sure it will probably take thousands to utterly destroy them" José replied as he looked ahead at the thinning tree line, in the last few hours the jungle had dissolved into a forest as a sign that they were drawing closer and closer to the savannah all three of them hoping against hope that there were at least a few large herds of animal residing there.
"Wholesale take no prisoners battle? I like it, I like it a lot" Shank replied excitedly as he exchanged positions with Kawhali at the head of their small pack.
"Yeah, that's general the idea" José thought to himself hopefully, suddenly a series of loud groans sounded out just beyond the last line of the trees breaking José's concentration.
"You've got be fucking kidding" he thought as they crouched behind the last of the forest brush and gazed in awe at the savannah. Many huge herds of various rhino-like species had gathered and were stretched out across the horizon as far as their eyes could see.
"There must tens of thousands of them" Kawhali said more to himself than anyone else.
"So will that do the job?" Shank asked cracking a bloodthirsty grin.
"Yeah, it seems that even with all my shitty luck I can at least catch a break sometimes, alright lets go get the hive and start collecting" he said as he began to turn around for the long journey back to the hive. His thought were interrupted however as a massive shriek began to emanate from the herds and a portion of the creatures broke into a panic and began running in both utter chaos and confusion.
"What in the hell" José thought focusing his eyes and trying to discern what was what in all the chaos. The herd was being driven into chaos and pursued by what seemed to be canine type animals unlike those found on earth however these ones seemed to be much larger, kind of like dire wolves but in possession of what seemed like scaly armored skin.
"Let's go before that pack learns that we're here" he said quietly motioning to the others to begin their retreat back into the forest. He had barely begun to move when he heard a wild howl come from behind him.
"Figures, my lucky breaks never last" José thought frustrated as he spun to see that four of the armored wolves were bearing down on them teeth bared and ready for their impending meal.
"Alright, I got these two, divide the remaining ones amongst yourselves" José said as he felt a sense of primal bloodlust rising in his chest. Raising the Macuahuitl to a ready position he began to square off against two of the advancing wolf monsters.
"Alright, which of you is up first" he thought shifting his gaze from one to other. He wouldn't have to wait long. He was barely able to finish his thought before the smaller of the two gave out a hungry yowl and charged at him its jaws wide open with the anticipation. José was ready however and at the last possible moment he sidestepped the charge and swung the large Macuahuitl right into the monster's face. His attack came so suddenly that the beast couldn't dodge in time and the sound of the obsidian blades cutting into the beast's unprotected face greeted José's ears.
"One down" he thought glancing at the dying beast before moving to challenge the second one. The Macuahuitl had done its job well on the first beast; the impact of the blow had shattered a number of the obsidian blades and the shards had imbedded themselves into the beasts face creating an excessively gory death mask. As José squared off with his new opponent he noticed several signs that this one would be much tougher to take down. His new opponent was much larger and on top of that seemed older and more cautious with motions befitting a seasoned hunter.
Slowly José began to move sideways towards the right with his opponent mimicking his motion. As they circled each other José was dimly aware of the other wolf combatants howling in pain as a sign that the others were doing well in their battles.
"Alright, let's see how much better you are" he thought as his eyes locked with the creature's and sensed that wisdom as well as aggression would now be a factor. At last the creature decided to make the first move and charged in, unlike the first however it seemed to charge in half heartedly. José stepped in and swung casually like he did against the first armored wolf. However before his strike could impact the creature shifted direction and ducked the swing. Moving with precision the creature lowered its head and snapped at José midsection missing the flesh by millimeters before it disengaged.
"Shit, I can't get careless again or I'll done for" José thought angrily as he watched the creature retreat a short distance and begin to circle him. José held his ground however and watched for signs of an attack. The creature shifted it eyes for the slightest moment and then charged full bore unleashing a demented howl as it went. "You're not going to get me like that twice" he thought shifting his position just as the creature aimed to snap at his leg. José dodged the snap with ease and let loose a front kick right into the armored wolf's vulnerable soft underbelly. The kick caught it squarely in the stomach causing it to let out a snarl before it crashed to the ground.
"Alright, this is for trying to take my leg" he growled bringing his weapon over his head for a finishing blow. As his blow came down however, the creature's hind quarters twitched and in a quick motion it dodged the blow and stood up growling viciously before it jumped at José its jaws dead set on tearing out the jugular. José reacted so quickly not even a Yautja would have seen it coming and as the beast lunged into the air José slashed upwards catching the wolf on its unprotected neck.
Blood gushed everywhere as the obsidian fractured into the major arteries. The beast hit the ground, staggered, and tried to stand before it too fell to lie dying beside its comrade in a pool of its own blood.
"You better really be dead this time" José grumbled scornfully as he turned to see how the others had fared. Shank was standing a few feet away with a head in one hand and a head in the other.
"Goddamn, I love this shit" Shank yelled out to no one in particular raising the grisly trophy above his head in triumph.
"Always the showboat" José thought amused as he turned just in time to see Kawhali plunge his spear through his opponent's brain.
"I think we should leave now" Kawhali said quietly as he observed the rest of the wolf pack starting to rally.
"Yeah I think so too, come on boys were pulling out!" José called out loudly.
"Big, plentiful, and stupid as shit, I guess we've hit the mother load" Shank spoke up cheerfully as the three men began their retreat into the forest.
"Indeed, we might just survive after all. Wait for me Young Fury, I promise I will see you again" José said to himself quietly as they ducked into the brush and out of sight. For the first time in a long time José felt hope flood his body readying him for what lay ahead.
Hope you have enjoyed my latest chapter, I will try to get another out soon now that I am back on track. See you then. Please review if you can, it really helps the story develop because I take each one very seriously.
