Author's Note: Yes, I'm back! This chapter was hard to write, and I feel I got some things wrong somehow. Anyway…I hate Duke. Simple as that. Karen's Green Heart Event was hilarious ( I was actually cheering after Duke lost. My friends started looking at me in an odd way for some reason or another ). Anyway, enjoy! DBZ crossover fic incoming!
Prey to a Hunter
Chapter V
Stalker
Incident+179 Hours. Fall 18th, Year 5
I sighed as Charlie continued to bawl in his crib. Ann shook her head and held her hands over her ears.
"What's wrong, Charlie? Is someone upset?" I asked, trying to calm him down. A pair of blue eyes stared at me, and then continued to cry even louder. I winced. Revan whimpered and held her tail between her legs, and Malak was running in circles, almost in agony.
"Do you think he's upset by your arm? Can he smell the damage done?" Ever since my arm had been bandaged in the sling, it had reeked of ozone and charred flesh. It was unavoidable, and even the dogs wouldn't approach me now.
In disgust, I shook the cast, and small fragments of charred flesh fell out. Whatever had done this to my arm wasn't human; days after the damage had been done, there had been no improvements whatsoever. It was very disgusting, and Ann had taken over the task of watching over the animals in the barn and harvesting the crops, with help, of course, from the Harvest Sprites, who almost seemed to adore us as a couple.
As if they had been reading my thoughts, four tiny Sprites filed into our home. Red, green, purple and yellow hats bobbed up and down as they bowed slightly. Knowing to return the favor, I tried to bow, but fell as a new shockwave of pain shot through my arm.
"It's alright, budum. We understand" they chimed as I tried to bow again, only to almost miss crushing Revan under me.
"Good morning, everyone. Ready to get to work?" Ann asked. They nodded earnestly. Ann smiled, a sad smile, and walked outside, swinging my hoe and watering can over her shoulder.
The green sprite, Timid, hesitated for a moment and walked over to me.
"What is it?" I asked. He glanced around and said,
"I know what that thing is, budum" he murmured. I gasped.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, budum. You see…" Timid began, before Ann stuck her head back in.
"Hey, Timid! You coming?" she asked. He looked at me with his soulful eyes and walked outside.
"Just be careful, budum" he whispered before running outside. I wanted to hold him back, and have him explain further, but thought against it. If this thing had been to Mineral Town before, then, hopefully we could stop it now, before anything else happened.
I walked into town, intent on visiting Doug and see how he and the Marines were holding up. Doug was standing outside, mopping up what looked like a broken bottle of wine. I greeted him and asked him what had happened.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Someone spilled this bottle of wine. It looks like it was done yesterday, like whoever did it picked up and left really quickly. So, Jack, what's up? How's Ann?" he asked, smiling.
"We're both doing fine. How are our 'protectors' doing?" I asked, putting emphasis on the word protectors.
"At least they're quiet. Some of them are polite, but that one…Larsen, I think his name was, is a complete and utter pig" Doug growled.
"He spilled a keg of beer and expected me to clean up after him, like a maid. At least that last one, the one with short hair, is quiet enough…too quiet, I think. She's staying with Cliff…I doubt they're doing anything, though!" he guffawed heartily as he saw my expression of horror. The horrible image of Cliff...doing…I shuddered and ceased all trains of thought.
As if signaled by some divine influence, Cliff stumbled down the stairs. His hair was messy, but he at least looked like he had gotten some sleep, unlike yesterday. I cringed when I thought of Charlie's almost demonic screaming. And right behind Cliff marched a long procession of Marines.
"Move it, people! That's it! What are we waiting for, sweethearts? Breakfast in bed? HAH! Double time! Go! Go! Go! Come on, now!", the sergeant barked as him men filed down the stairs. Doug was at least prepared, for there were seven huge plates of pancakes laid out at the bar. The Marines sat down eagerly and began to wolf down the food.
I laughed silently to myself as the tiny marine, Nickson, tried to eat a pancake that was easily bigger than he was. Splattering syrup all over his tank top, he opened his mouth wider than I thought possible and inhaled the food. It looked almost comical as he licked his lips and sighed happily.
The other marines weren't as cute looking or neat. Larsen's pile of plates rose higher and higher as the seconds passed. Doug looked exasperated as he served the millionth plate of food to the hungry marine. The marine that reminded me of Ann, Takatura or something, had similar eating habits to my beloved wife. In other words, she ate like a pig. The food seemed to teleport into her mouth as Doug frantically tried to satisfy her and Larsen at the same time.
Finally, Larsen and Takatura burped loudly for the final time before setting down their forks and knives. Smiling and slapping each other on the back, they hoisted their weapons and moved out to the Town Square to collect volunteers to help them on their search for Rick. As much as I wanted to go, I knew I couldn't, at least in my current condition.
Zack, his head wrapped in a bandage, leaned on a lamp post as the Marines selected new volunteers for the expedition to find Rick and destroy whatever had taken him. Tim was hovering close by, a stoic expression on his face. I nodded at both of them as I saw the Marines take the first volunteers.
Looking around, I noticed the man in the black suit, the one I assumed was a government agent, scowling at me from under a dark lamppost in the background. No one seemed to notice him, like he was invisible.
"We'll be sending out the first patrol this evening. Until then, everyone, continue business as usual. By eight o' clock, lock all doors and windows and don't venture outside. Got it, everyone?" the sergeant barked. The townsfolk nodded. The sergeant turned on his heel and addressed his troops;
"Alright, boys and girls! When I joined the Corps, we didn't have any kind of super-vehicle to cater to our every whim! When we wanted something, we had to haul ass to HQ to go get it! So, make like I did and HAUL ASS! MOVE IT, people!" he yelled. The Marines began their sweep of the town and the outskirts of Mineral Town, including my farm. Bidding farewell to Zack and Tim, I headed back home.
Ann was sitting on top of a stump in my field, tears running down her face. Surprised, I ran up to her. She was holding a shovel, and the ground around her looked like it had recently been disturbed.
"What happened?" I asked anxiously.
"I had to. The bodies…they were spread everywhere…the animals…all dead…" Ann moaned before sobbing harder. I was surprised at Ann's emotional outburst. I had never seen her grieving this badly, or even just acting like this, since when she was pregnant with Charlie. Could it be that she was…no, it couldn't. Ann's monthly physical would have noted if she was pregnant again.
"What happened? Did something get into the barn?" I asked, already guessing the answer.
"Jack…I'm sorry. When we went into the barn to feed the animals…it was a massacre. Blood was everywhere. The remains of some of the animals were still there, though. They looked weird…like something blasted them apart at the last moment. Take a look inside" Ann gestured, pointing sadly towards the barn.
The barn was reminiscent of the chicken coop. Blood stained the walls, as if something had come in and feasted on my animals. A huge scorch mark was on the wall, and the roasted remains of my one cow, Bastila I recognized, lay on the ground. The pattern on her fur was matted with blood, and a huge hole blasted in her side suggested she hadn't even seen the attack coming.
Examining the wound, the flesh around the wound was charred and blackened, yet didn't look like it had been blasted open with conventional explosives. If there had been explosives used we probably would have heard them, anyway. In fact, the wound looked almost fused, like whatever fired the shot was so hot, it fused the wound again after it hit.
Just like my arm. In horror, I realized that the alien warrior had struck again. The stink of burning flesh filled my nostrils as I sprinted outside.
"When did you find this?" I asked Ann.
"This morning, after you left. I opened the barn door to feed the animals…and…oh my god, it was horrible! All the animals dead, the stink…the stink, it was revolting" Ann moaned, turning a hideous shade of green. She wobbled unsteadily, and I rushed forwards to aid her.
"Maybe we should go to the clinic. Sit tight, I'll go lock down the house" I told Ann, firmly setting her down on a stump in the field and running back towards the house. Opening the door, I put Charlie in his crib. His bright blue eyes stared into mine as I put him down in his crib. Revan was curled up in the corner, and Malak was lapping up water from his dish. I locked the door and windows, and set out with Ann to the clinic.
"Ohh, I don't feel so good…Jack, I think I'm going to be sick" Ann groaned as we approached the town.
"We'll stop here. If you have to throw up, you can do it in the brush. I'll be here" I told her. Ann nodded gratefully before sprinting off towards the brush. The horrible vomiting noises stopped after a minute or two, and Ann re-emerged from the bush. Wiping her mouth, Ann nodded at me as we continued forwards into the town.
A rustling in the bush behind us made me jump and reach into my pack. I grabbed the handle of my axe, and quickly threw the weapon at the moving undergrowth. My aim was less than perfect, even worse than my aim with the shotgun. The axe spun in an uncontrollable arc and imbedded itself into a tree as Private Stacker and Jenkins emerged from the bush. Jenkins' eyes darted to my extended arm and the quivering axe handle in the tree five inches away from his nose, and remarked,
"Now, if I wanted a nose job, I'll go pay for one. Thought's appreciated, though" he smirked, handing me back my axe. The huge weapon, his smartgun, tracked the motion of my hand as it extended outwards to grab the handle of my axe.
"She's a beauty, isn't she? Name's Big Bertha. Not really original, but it still fits" he shrugged. Sensing the look of apprehension on my face, he added,
"Bertha here won't fire unless I pull the handle, like this. See?" he said, pointing towards what looked like a bike handle brake at the end of the weapon. It looked like it could be squeezed together, like a bike brake.
"We'll be on our way, now. We're going to the clinic" I said, turning to leave.
"We'll go with you. Those two, the winery owners, claim to have seen something last night at around this time. Their story sounds like the thing that attacked you, Jack. We'll just escort you there. Our patrol's done; we were heading back" Stacker offered. I gladly accepted.
As we marched along, the trees above us rustled ominously. Glancing nervously around, even the marines looked a tad bit uncomfortable. Every movement of the trees seemed to be that invisible predator, coming around for the final attack. Every shadow seemed to shimmer in the night air, like the camouflage of the creature as it swooped in for the kill. I shuddered at my memory of the creature and pressed on, trying to go as fast as possible without tiring Ann, who looked exhausted and very sick. The night seemed to leer at us as we continued towards the clinic.
Manna sighed and went to bed. She could have sworn something was looking at her from outside of her window, but she wasn't sure what it was, if anything at all.
Duke, her husband, was watching TV while sipping a beer. Their relationship of about twenty two years was uneasy at best. Duke was apathetic to some of Manna's problems, and Manna, at least Duke claimed, was a chatterbox.
Something had been following Manna. Even though she would look over her shoulder and there would be nothing there, she still felt like there was something watching her, stalking her. She had felt this before, about two years before that nice farmer, Jack, came. During that year, and about five years before that, too, when Manna had first came to Mineral Town, there had been some…mysterious disappearances in the townsfolk.
One had been a man named Greg, a fisherman friend of Zack's. He had been an avid collector of everything fish-related. His only reason for coming to Mineral Town in the first place was to catch some kind of legendary fish rare everywhere else. One day, during a very hot summer, just like this one, he had gone into the woods and simply vanished. There had been no trace of the man, except for a dark, bloody smear on a tree trunk, found by Harris. It could have just been a wounded deer or an escaped chicken, but it could have been the final trace of Greg the fisherman.
Another missing person was Louis, a very close friend of Gotz. He had disappeared in the year before Jack had arrived in Mineral Town. He had been, like Greg, an avid bug collector. Manna remembered the man as being huge, tall, and very strong, just like Gotz. Gotz had considered taking Louis as his partner before Louis, one hot, summer day, just like Greg and Rick, disappeared without a trace. Gotz had found nothing except the remains of a net, which looked badly charred and singed, like a white-hot inferno had passed over it. Their remains had never been found.
As Manna closed her eyes, she felt a presence sit on the left side of the bed and pull the covers off of her. Duke, the arrogant bastard, stealing the covers like that. Manna kicked at Duke, hoping to at least stun him. Whatever she hit wasn't human, because it felt cold, like metal. An iron grip wound round her ankle, and pulled her upright. It certainly wasn't Duke as Manna's eyes flew open in surprise.
A pair of yellow eyes glared at her, floating in mid-air. They were more like two, glowing yellow dots than eyes. The thing growled and chuckled, and Manna realized the thing was translucent, and she could see right through it. Blood painted the walls of the room behind her, and Duke's body was slumped across the floor. He looked like he was sleeping, save the massive, gaping hole in his backside, that was spraying blood all over the floor.
"I'll take her home" Duke's voice rang, distorted, from the shimmer in front of Manna. Manna opened her mouth and screamed for all she was worth as the thing leapt out of her window.
A scream startled me as we neared the clinic. Jenkins hesitated before saying,
"I'll go check it out. Go on ahead" he motioned to Stacker. The scream had come from the winery.
"We're here. Tim, are you still up? Tim?" I called. No answer. Ann's eyes nervously darted left and right, like mine, glinting in the darkness. I noticed her shallow breathing and pale face, and was beginning to really worry.
"Maybe they're asleep?" I queried, trying to break some of the tension in the air. Stacker slammed his fist into the window three times. Nobody stirred.
"Elli?" Ann called into the deserted clinic. The silence was unnerving.
A loud scream pierced the crisp night air. Ann jumped, my good hand flew towards my pack, and Stacker rolled and dropped into a combat stance, rifle raised. His eyes seemed to glow green because of the vision enhancers built into his helmet, and they scanned the darkness, looking for any sign of motion.
"Get inside. Quickly!" Tim yelled, Elli trailing along behind him. Elli was desperately helping Tim stuff medical equipment back into his bag, and as he fumbled with the keys for the lock, the sound of automatic gunfire pierced the night, startling all of us. Stacker looked like a prarie dog, poised to run.
"Stay here. I'll go check it out!" he instructed, inserting a grenade into the grenade launcher under his rifle and pumping the stock. He sprinted towards the sounds of weapons fire. Several bright muzzle flashes illuminated the town for a split second before dying out. The flashes momentarily blinded me, and I felt Tim yank me inside of the clinic, slamming the door and locking it fast behind him.
"Sorry about that. We got an urgent call from Barley just now. He told us May had found Lillia on the floor in her house. She wasn't breathing. She's alive, but just unconscious. We'll be back in the morning. What brings you here at this time of night?" Tim asked. I motioned to Ann.
"Ann's feeling sick. I don't know what's wrong, but it seems urgent" I began. Elli nodded at Ann and led her into the examination room, while I sat down and tried to ignore the distant sounds of gunfire crackling in the distance.
Manna screamed as the thing carrying her hoisted her above its head as a Marine drew into view. He was carrying a long weapon, and when he saw Manna, seemingly floating in midair, he opened fire, screaming,
"SERGEANT!" he bellowed into his throat mike as he pumped round after round into the shimmering menace. The first dozen shots splintered the doorframe as the creature leapt away.
Two tracer bullets, glowing in the darkness, shot past Manna's head. Manna screamed loudly and flailed, and more bullets whizzed past her ears as the creature almost flew into the trees. Trees exploded and birds fled as another marine began to lay down a hellish crossfire, shredding trees and fencing. None of the shots found their marks, though, as the invisible predator descended into darkness, Manna kicking and screaming all the way.