Author's Note: RATING MAY CHANGE AS STORY PROGRESSES! Enjoy, and please, review!
Prey to a Hunter
Chapter II:
Discovery
Incident+13 Hours. Fall 11th, Year 5
Yawning and stretching, I smiled at the prospect of a new day on the farm. Trayus just hadn't run out of surprises for me yet. My animals were always up to something new. It was only until I swung my legs over the bed and knocked over a Remington Model 87 shotgun that I remembered the events of the previous night. Grabbing the fallen weapon, I half expected some evil, black hissing bug like creature to pop out of the walls and attack. Nothing. There was nothing.
Karen was passed out on the table. A small pool of dribble ran out of her mouth as she snored quietly. Ann slowly rose and yawned beside me.
"Hey…check out Karen…" I giggled. Ann paused, almost expecting to see Karen lying a pool of her own blood. But seeing Karen, asleep at our table, drooling all over the place, was too funny. Ann covered her mouth to stifle her giggles. The sight was just too funny; Karen, the town hottie, passed out on farmer Jack's table, drooling all over the place. If only Rick were here to see this…I quickly banished all thoughts of Rick out of my mind.
Grey and Mary were sitting up. They looked a little disoriented, but otherwise were alright.
Karen stirred. I quickly shoved my shotgun under the bed. Ann eyed the weapon with distaste; firearms were as rare as mean neighbors in Mineral Town. I could only think of two people in the entire town who owned some kind of operational firearm: Saibara, the blacksmith, owned some moving parts and the stock of a Thompson sub-machine gun from his glory days in World War II, and Doug, Ann's father, kept a revolver hidden under his pillow at night. Rumor had it that Doug had once been robbed and attacked at night by a passing stranger, and he didn't intend for it to happen again.
"Uuunnggh…ooh, my head" Karen moaned as she sat up. Staring around at Ann, Grey, Mary, and myself barely trying to repress our laughter, she scowled.
"Well? What is it?" she asked imperiously. I burst out laughing.
"Wipe your chin, Karen!" I managed in between laughs. Grey had a smirk on his face, and Mary and Ann were cracking up and leaning on chairs for support as Karen, to her horror, wiped a massive amount of drool off of her chin. Grimancing in disgust as she flung the horrible stuff off of her hands, she glared at each of us in turn as we cracked up. Even the normally Spartan Grey was laughing his head off. Karen scowled and huffed as we slowly stopped laughing. Looking around, Karen asked,
"Has anyone seen Rick?"
Everyone immediately stopped laughing. Ann shifted uncomfortably, Mary and Grey exchanged looks, and I quickly searched for words.
"You…don't remember last night?" I asked finally. Karen shook her head.
"I don't. All I remember is going to Mother's Hill with you guys, and then waking up here! Why?" she asked. Ann and I looked at each other sadly. Ann decided to break it to her.
"Karen…Rick's dead. Something…attacked us in the woods. We don't know what it was, but it…it…it killed Rick. I'm sorry," Ann mumbled, glancing at the ground. Karen's look of shock was quickly replaced by a look of mischief.
"Hahahaha! Very funny, Ann, but I know my Rick- he's probably just hiding! He's watching this little prank. Rick! You can come out now!" she called, opening the door outside. Karen stumbled outside, calling for Rick to stop hiding. I shook my head at Ann and stepped outside after her. I was not prepared for the scene that greeted me outside.
My plots of vegetables were ruined. Trampled. A long, winding path had been cut through my large fields of sweet potatoes, eggplant, and pumpkins.
"My…my fields! Ruined!" I exclaimed in horror. Ann rushed outside and gasped. All of our hard work…for nothing.
"It's not all ruined. It only seems like some sort of path's been blazed through, like someone carelessly walking, or something" Mary observed. I gave her a strange look.
"What? It does!"
Grey was poking around the chicken coop when I heard him scream. Glancing over at Karen, who was wobbling unsteadily on her feet, still calling for Rick, I quickly dashed over to Grey, praying that whatever killed Rick didn't get Grey too. Ann went off to check Karen, to make sure she wouldn't do anything…hasty. I repressed my pity for the moment as I reached Grey. Grey pointed mutely to the chicken coop's door. There was nothing wrong that I could see. I looked at Grey quizzically. He pointed towards the doorknob. There was nothing wrong with that, either. I reached to open the doorknob…
…and the door swung open, to reveal the carnage within. Chicken feathers were scattered throughout the barn, like the chickens had panicked and run in circles in their final moments of life. Eight eggs lay smashed open on the ground, and heavy footprints still lay in the straw that littered the floor of the coop. Blood splattered the walls, painting a gruesome scene.
"My chickens!" I exclaimed angrily. I dashed off towards the barn. Opening that, I was relieved to at least see my other animals alive and well. Bastila, the youngest calf, rubbed her nose against my thigh. I patted her head in return. The other cows, Jamia, Jaden, Anna, Rebecca, and Jen happily moo'ed at me. The four sheep, Odysseus, Penelope, Visas, and Kriea all balefully gazed at me as I moved in to inspect them. No damage done. Stepping outside, I gazed angrily at the damage done to our farm. No matter what had happened, who had done it, they would pay. Dearly. This was an atrocity, coming to my farm, slaughtering my chickens, destroying my crops, and most importantly, brutally slaughtering Rick!
"What's going on, Jack?" Ann asked me quietly as I gazed out at the destruction wrought upon my farm. I answered truthfully.
"I don't know, dear. I really don't know".
Karen was huddled in the corner of our house, her knees hugged against her chest. Her eyes were glassy, and she muttered something to herself every three seconds, as if trying to convince herself of something. I didn't catch all of it, but I did hear the words "still alive" and "Rick". Poor girl, she must be in shock.
Mary and Grey had returned to the Library to inform Anna and Basil about what had happened. Too disgruntled to continue farm work, I headed into town to see the mayor. The poultry farm, blacksmith, winery, supermarket, clinic, and inn all blended into a whirling collage of images and scenes as I knocked on mayor Thomas' door. The door opened to reveal Thomas, a grin on his face.
"Jack! How are you! Oh, my, are you alright?" he inquired suddenly, noticing my bloodshot eyes and pale face.
"Someone, call the Doctor!" Thomas called. As he called the Doctor's name over and over, I remembered that the Doctor and Elli had stayed on Mother's Hill, although the rest of us had left. As the doors creaked open, my eyes rolled into my head and I collapsed. The last thing I saw was the Doctor, scrambling to hold me upright as I fell…
-
"Doctor, I think he's coming around!"
Elli's voice stabbed through the veil of my mind as I slowly opened my eyes. The Doctor, Tim, Elli and Thomas leaned over me, peering in concern.
"What happened? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Tim exclaimed. I inwardly groaned; I had to stop mentally referring to him as 'The Doctor' from now on. He was a person; he had a name, too!
"Tim, weren't you at Mother's Hill last night? You and Elli?" I asked. Elli flushed bright red as Tim glanced down.
"Umm…yes, we were. You saw us, Jack. Why?" he asked, confusion apparent on his face.
"Where did you go afterwards? After we all left?" I asked.
"Well, ummm, …." Tim trailed off, he himself blushing now. Elli piped up in a squeaky, embarrassed voice,
"We fell asleep".
I arched an eyebrow at them.
"So soundly asleep that you missed a cry for help?" I asked angrily, sitting up. Thomas, Tim and Elli looked at me, surprised.
"No one cried for help last night, Jack. What happened?" Tim asked.
"I don't know how to say this, really. Ummm…" I began, searching for the best way to break the news to them. Tim looked at me imploringly.
"Yes?"
"Rick's dead. Something killed him last night" I mumbled. Tim gasped.
"Do you have any proof?" Thomas asked. My anger spiked at Thomas' slowness to react. Harris should already be calling in reinforcements from the mainland by now!
"PROOF? FOLLOW THE PATH BEHIND THE LIBRARY FOR A BIT, AND YOU'LL FIND YOUR PROOF!" I exclaimed angrily. Thomas backed up in surprise and Elli recoiled. Tim, however, held up his hands.
"Alright, Jack. Who was with you at the time of the murder?"
"Who else? Ann, Mary, Grey, and myself. Go ask the killer if you want proof" I growled angrily. Rick was DEAD! DEAD, and not coming back!
"Jack! Calm down! This isn't helping! Now, are you certain that Rick is dead? Did you see a body? Did you see who killed him?" Tim asked.
"Rick is nothing more that a little piece of meat on the side of a path! He's been smeared all over the woods, Tim! He's been brutally mauled! His killer is still in those woods! Well, I don't care to sit here and wait! I'm going to get help, and you can just fuck off and die if you're not gonna help me at all!" I yelled, letting my anger get the best of me as I stormed angrily out of the Clinic.
-
Unbeknownst to Jack, or anyone else for that matter, a dark shadow crouched outside of the Clinic window. The creature's attempts at unraveling the enigma presented to it were…amusing at best. The creature had seen the human's fear last night…after he had hunted. A successful hunt, to be sure. But there would be more. There would always be more.
Pressing a button on the side of his helmet, the Yajuta warrior replayed a recording of the human's words, 'fixed' so a warrior like him could pronounce them correctly.
"Fuck off and die". It sounded just right. Right before a kill.
He was ready. The hunt begins now.