4

The cage Usiko found himself shoved into in the dark compound was a far cry from that in that miserable hunter's ship; it was large, for one, about the size of a large family room, and it wasn't just a plain cage. There was a raised platform with a covered space beneath it that was obviously supposed to be a sleeping pallet in the middle of the left wall, and behind it, a toilet. He peered inside and found it wasn't a flushing toilet, but the bluish water far, far down into the ground from the bottom of the cage smelled strongly of disinfectant and cleaner. It was very sanitary. He briefly thought it might be a way to escape, as disgusting as it may seem, but just under the water were three iron bars; spaced wide enough for the waste matter to pass through, but not for anything living unless it was a squirrel or a small house cat.

On the right side of the cage was an array of items apparently for exercise: something that almost looked like a jungle gym complete with a bar to swing on, a few ascending rope ladders towards the top of the cage, where a large artificial log spanned across the top. Towards the back was a long belt along the floor of the cage, and a short examination showed it to be a non-electric treadmill. At the top, above the bed, was what looked like another sleeping pallet, though it was more like a cubbyhole near the roof of the cage with a ladder leading to it. With the exception of the privy, everything was in full sight of anyone passing, including the beds. They were covered on the left side and back but the other two were completely open. The top bed had a railing on the side to prevent falling to the ground below. To the left front there was a small counter-like thing jutting out from the cage bars with a bolted down stool, a table for his meals he guessed. Usiko sighed.

Beside him, the young Mutant cub had been put in a similar cage, though his "jungle gym" looked more like a playground item with a slide and a small swing, clearly prepared for a child. Everything else was the same. Ze'ev had not looked around his cage at all, only crawled under the sleeping pallet and curled up with a blanket he had found somewhere, crying a little. Usiko wished he could comfort the kid, but he himself could hardly see with his feline eyes; he knew the cub would have difficulty reading his lips. Shaking his head, the Thunderian looked around his own cage, wondering where Ze'ev had found his blanket, and finally discovered a small door on the solid side of the bed; a cubbyhole with a blanket and a pillow. Taking both, he curled up on his own bed, happy to have something to cover himself with.

Sleepless, Usiko listened to Ze'ev's quiet crying until the cub had exhausted himself and finally fell asleep. Usiko was not so lucky; sleep did not come for him for several hours.

Early the next morning, Safari Joe opened his eyes at the sound of his alarm, a loud trumpeting like that of an elephant. The hunter grinned; he had a new exhibit for his patrons that day. Plus he had three feral creatures that were simply untrainable, and one that was getting old; these he would let loose in the sealed off jungle quadrants for some of the hunters to go after, for a fee of course. They hunted in the miles of jungle until they caught their prey, and when they killed it, they of course were allowed to keep the pelt and the head. The paws and tail too, if they wanted The rest of the flesh was used for food for the living species. Wouldn't the intelligent ones love to know that?

All around the resort, people were waking up, as all the workers lived at the resort. Safari Joe wandered among them as they started about their duties while the sun rose in the south, promising to be another hot day. "Hey, Kamata, you headed for the west wing?" She was the one that always handled Safari Joe's prized catches; she was his most trusted employee and second in command, so to speak. In fact, she had been the one that had given Usiko and Ze'ev their baths the day before.

"Yeah, I was going to get the Thunderian and that Mutant kid for their first training session."

Safari Joe grinned. "Good. Just the basics at first, right? Name, age, and race or clan." The breed was usually obvious, but it was the willingness to answer that was the important thing here.

Kamata laughed. "Got ya, boss man," she said, shoving he short, light brown hair out of her eyes. She had a friendly affectionate relationship with her employer, as most of the older employees did. She well knew his tendency to make sure everything was done right, though the workers knew their job well.

"And the huntees--"

"Kito and Terran already have them in their jungle quadrants." She gave him a list of the names of the hunters that would be hunting them. "They're already paid up," she said before Joe could say anything else.

The hunter laughed. "You got things well handled, Kamata."

"Always do, Mr. Gregor," she said with a grin, as she started off.

Safari Joe scowled, as his face flushed at the name, and he grabbed the shorter woman by the lapel of her tan uniform shirt. "I told you not to use that name!" he growled.

She had caught it, but it was too late. "Hey, easy, boss man, I forgot. Sorry, my usually magnificent memory failed today." She grinned again at him, knowing he had a temper, and knowing how to dispel it. She was used to it.

Safari Joe had to chuckle. "All right, all right, go bring those bipeds in here. I want to be there for this session."

She narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a playful poke in the ribs once he released her shirt collar. "Only if you stay out of it and let me do my job," she said.

Safari Joe returned the hostile glare, then laughed. He never could outstare her. "Okay, okay, okay. If I don't, you can kick me out."

She laughed. "Deal." She gave him a wave as she went to retrieve the prey.

Part 3

Part 5

Table of Contents
ThunderCat Stories Page
Main Page