Little Hunter

Nanku couldn't shake the feeling.

It wasn't a whim. Not a fleeting feeling. It was a solid and determinant sense of something. Different from Lily. With Lily, the sensation had been hostile and—Three? Three senses all layered atop one another.

With Dean, it was more muddled but less hostile. Something quieter and softer.

He seemed like a quieter boy, despite the tone of what looked like muscle under his clothing.

"Taylor Hebert?" he asked. "Your old friend? The one that—"

"Died when Nilbog when went postal on a summer camp for no reason?" Emma propped her cheek against her palm. "Yup."

The boy gave Nanku an inquiring look. "Is she—"

"Crazy?" Emma asked. "I don't know. Maybe she just wants attention. Which is still crazy if you ask me, but whatever."

Dean frowned. "Emma."

"You're the psychology major."

"Which is a long way from being able to know if someone needs help. Never mind that this isn't the right environment."

Nanku listened quietly, uncertain if they'd forgotten she was at the table or not.

"You and I both know you can," Emma said.

"No. I can't."

"Well, you can at least tell me if she thinks she's telling the truth, right?"

"You know it doesn't work that way."

"I think we both know it does."

"Emma."

"Dean."

They seemed very absorbed with one another.

Nanku wasn't sure she qualified as a good judge of relationships, but she saw it. If they were Yautja, Emma would be trying to throw Dean across the room. Nanku supposed that's not how it worked for humans, but still. They liked fighting with each other.

Nanku couldn't remember her own parents ever fighting, but she'd been very young when they'd both been alive.

Maybe they just didn't fight when she was around.

Emma pointed her free hand over her uneaten food. "Just look at her when she says 'I'm Taylor Hebert' and tell me if she's lying."

Nanku huffed. "I'm Taylor Hebert."

Dean sighed. "She's not lying. There. Happy?"

How could he possibly know that?

Dean's eyes narrowed, and the tenor of his gaze intensified. Nanku felt that feeling in her mind intensify, like something somewhere was looking directly at her.

She didn't like it.

She didn't know what it was and she didn't like it.

"Stop."

Dean recoiled. "Sorry. I"—his shoulders became tense—"didn't mean to do that. Stare, I mean."

Emma's brow rose, and Dean took a seat on the third of the bench she wasn't occupying. Her brow rose higher. Dean either didn't notice or ignored the reaction. He focused on Nanku, looking as if he saw something.

"Stop," Nanku repeated.

He flinched. "Sorry."

"Are you two punking me?" Emma scowled. "Because this is not funny."

"No," Dean promised. "But—They never found any of the bodies. Right?"

Emma gawked. "Hold on—"

Dean leaned over the table, eyes fixed on Nanku. "Let's say you are Taylor Hebert. How did you survive?"

Nanku considered, but there was no reason to really lie.

"Boat motor," she answered. "And a knife."

Emma and Dean both stared at her.

"I used the knife twice," Nanku clarified. Technically she used two knives but petty details.

"What?" Dean's hand tightened. "You… killed them?"

Nanku's brow rose. "The monsters?"

"Yes. The monsters."

That was exactly the kind of question she wanted to be asked.

"Yes," she answered.

And she waited, curious.

They'd clearly figured some things out, but they'd also blamed them on a cape that had nothing to do with it. So how much did they really know? Did they know that the R'ka had acid for blood? There was evidence at the camp from those that had been killed, but for all the local enforcers knew, the creatures spat acid.

Nothing on Earth bled it. Not like the R'ka.

Dean's reaction to her answer was interesting. Odd.

He looked like he wanted to question her, but instead, he moved on to another topic.

"Okay." His voice was disbelieving. Doubtful. What about what she'd said made him doubt? "Did you kill all of them?"

"No." Nanku frowned, recalling when she'd realized. "There were too many."

At first, the R'ka only came in twos and three. She didn't realize their numbers were growing until just before Pe'dte arrived.

Dean didn't seem to question that answer at all. "So, how'd you escape?"

"Pe'dte found me."

"Pe'dte?" Emma asked. "What kind of name is that."

"Tribal."

Nanku didn't want to constantly watch herself. If she talked enough, something would slip. A good hunter never lied, and it wasn't just about good character. It was about survival.

Lies—a denial of truth—killed.

She could obscure things without fully lying.

"Pe'dte's family stumbled through. They found me and helped me escape."

That too, Dean didn't seem to doubt though he did appear curious. "Okay. Why'd you never come back until now?"

Nanku turned her gaze to Emma. "She knows why."

Emma shrugged. "Maybe. You tell me."

"I'm twenty. My mother can't shut me in a room anymore."

"She could find that out if she dug far enough," Emma snapped. She leaned forward, glaring. "She's lying. She's—"

"She's not lying," Dean said.

"But—"

"You're the one who asked me, Emma. I'm telling you. She's not lying."

Curious. Curious enough, Nanku asked, "How would you know?"

Dean and Emma both gave her a blank and wary look.

Very curious.

"I could be lying," Nanku conceded. "Only I am sure I'm not."

"Is Pe'dte why you have that accent?" Dean asked. "You stayed with them all this time."

"Yes."

"Where?"

"Wherever. We don't live in cities."

"Wilderness types?" Dean nodded. "There's more of those these days. Between capes and the Endbringers, lot of people just want to go it alone."

"We prefer self-reliant," Nanku said.

"Dean!" Emma turned on him. "This is not—"

"She could just take a DNA test," he said. "If she's so insistent. Find out the truth. There were two other survivors. It's possible she made it out, and because of her home situation, she stayed quiet."

Dean stood and held a hand out.

"Let's go to the authorities. They can work on—-"

No.

Nanku scowled.

That was wrong. Something about it was just wrong. And she didn't like it.

"Which authorities?" Nanku asked.

Dean's reaction told her even before he spoke.

"I think the PRT would be the ones to go to," he said. "Right?"

He didn't think. He knew.

"I'll talk to the PRT when and how it suits me."

Nanku wasn't going to be lured into a trap. She didn't know its shape, scale, or closeness, but she saw it in his eyes. He wanted her somewhere for some reason. Until she knew more, Nanku wouldn't go within an inch of whatever it was.

"I only came here for one thing," Nanku declared. She focused her eyes on Emma and Emma alone. "I want to speak with my mother."

Emma turned her nose up. "And why would you want to talk to someone you say you ran away from?"

"We have things to settle between us."

Dean held a hand up. "I think—"

"Well, too bad." Emma shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest. "I have no idea where she is." She frowned—genuinely sad, Nanku thought—and slouched into the booth. "We stopped talking to Aunt Annette a long time ago. I wouldn't know how to find her."

Nanku's brow rose.

Emma seemed truthful, and sad that it had happened.

Dean, however, seemed uncomfortable.

He hid it well, but Nanku could almost smell discomfort on him.

A conversation was just another sort of hunt. Information was the prey, and body language the trail as much as any word. Maybe she didn't know enough about humans, but she felt certain.

But why would Dean—whom Taylor had never known as far as Nanku recalled—know something about Annette Hebert Emma didn't?

That seemed profoundly strange.

Was Emma lying? If she maintained contact with Annette Hebert and was dating Dean, then he might have met her. Emma could simply be a better liar than Dean.

Nanku mulled it over, but Emma's mind seemed made up.

"Fine," she declared. "I'll find her another way."

She rose and moved to leave. She kept her pace steady but no one moved to try and stop her.

Behind her, Emma started to rise, but Dean pulled her back into her seat.

He shook his head and spoke softly. Nanku couldn't get a bug close in time. She'd allowed herself to become distracted.

Emma hissed back at him, and then Dean said something that stilled her. He said a few more words while Emma listened. She asked a few questions as he spoke. They talked far too low for any of the bugs Nanku planted nearby to hear them.

No matter.

Nanku hurried her way from the mall. She took note of Lily watching her from the doors into the clothing store but kept going. She needed to hurry and get ahead of Emma and Dean.

Her mind was swirling.

Emma didn't seem to know where Annette Hebert was, but Dean recognized the name. Did they know each other in school? A play date? Nanku couldn't remember. She'd managed to remember a lot more than she expected, but some things were bound to slip through.

It still didn't matter.

Nanku hurried out of the mall and found a secluded spot. Dusk and Dawn dropped from the roof, and within minutes Nanku had swapped out the human clothes for her armor and weapons.

Dean and Emma were still inside talking when she slipped her mask back over her face and plugged it in.

Then they rose.

Activating her cloak, Nanku scaled the walls onto the roof and sent the twins into the air.

There was something here.

She didn't know what or why, but something.

Dean knew Annette Hebert.

She watched as he walked Emma to a car, and out in the open, Nanku activated her mask to listen in clearly.

"—he's not Taylor," Emma said firmly. "I'm telling you, it's impossible. I—"

"I'm telling you, that's not the thing that matters right now," Dean said back. "Look. Don't go home, okay? Go to the dorms and hang out for a bit. Be where other people are. I need to go talk to someone about what just happened."

Emma leaned on her car door. "Someone with spandex?"

"You know I can't answer that, Emma."

"We both know you can, you just choose not to."

"Emma. Not now. Please." He placed a hand on her shoulder, and Emma's expression softened. "Go somewhere safe where you won't be alone. If you see that girl again, call the number I gave you."

"You're not even a you-know-what anymore."

"Doesn't matter. They'll answer, and someone will come get you." His hands fell on her shoulders. "Let me handle this. Okay? Just go."

Emma got into the car and left. Dean started moving across the lot.

Very, very, curious.

Jumping from the roof, Nanku landed in a darkened spot no one was looking at. The shimmer of her cloak on impact drew one person's head, but they moved on after seeing nothing.

She ran, sprinting across the lot as she tried to get ahead of Dean. He was moving toward a back corner. There were a few cars there, but she wasn't sure which one she wanted until he took out a device from his pocket. One car's lights flashed, and Nanku ran between other vehicles and kept low to the ground.

He was just getting inside when she came up behind his car and slipped a tracker into the bumper.

Still low to the ground, she slipped away as he backed up and held herself perfectly still.

The car maneuvered into the road, turned about, and drove off.

Nanku rose, calling for the twins to follow with her power.

"Where are you running off to?"

Nanku followed Dean deeper into the city. Where the buildings were tall, and the streets narrow.

His car slipped out of her sight, but the tracker kept her close and following along until he parked.

When she caught up, he was sitting in front of a corner café, foot tapping the ground as he closed his phone.

"Waiting," Nanku guessed.

She sat down, the Twins moving to her sides and settling themselves to do the same.

Waiting for who, and for what? What did Dean know? Why did he know it?

She still couldn't recall ever meeting him before. Maybe Emma lied and was better at it? They both knew Annette, but then why was Dean hurrying off to talk to someone? And why did he seem so afraid of Nanku that he worried for Emma's safety?

She waited at least an hour.

A taxi rolled up to the corner.

A woman stepped out.

Nanku's blood ran cold.

Dean stood as she approached him, handheld up. She nodded and greeted him in turn. Nanku barely managed to activate the computer to start following the conversation.

"I'm sorry about this," Dean said. "If it didn't involve Emma—"

"It's fine, Dean. What happened? You said someone approached her? Started asking questions about me?"

"Yeah… Yeah." Dean sat and folded his hands together. "You should probably sit, Miss H—"

"You can just call me Annette, Dean. Or Anne."

"Sorry. Sometimes forget I'm not a kid anymore, you know?"

"At one point in time, I did. Part of growing up. Eventually, you'll start wondering when you became so old. Now, tell me what happened."

"Mom," Nanku whispered.

The word stirred a range of emotions. Memories too. Some she hadn't expected. Anger and bitterness, yes. But longing too. A wish that things could go back to what they had been. Before her father died. Before, she needed milk for her cereal that badly. When they'd been a happy family and normal.

"This girl"—Dean leaned forward, hands folded together—"she said she was Taylor."

Nanku snapped out of her memory and focused.

It was stupid.

You can't hide from the world, and the world doesn't give a damn for anyone's happiness.

She had a hunt to complete.

"Taylor?" Annette asked. "Taylor who?"

"You know who. She said she was Taylor Hebert. Well—No. She said she used a different name now. Namco? I don't know. Maybe something tribal, but she went looking for Emma specifically because she wanted to find you."

Her mother was still, still in her seat and looking straight ahead. "Me?"

Dean nodded. "She wanted to find you."

Annette's hands tightened in her lap. "This is Rain's doing."

"I don't think it is." Dean shook his head. "She—She has her hair tied in dreads. She looks like she lives in the woods. I don't know if she's crazy, but I know she's not lying. She says she's Taylor Hebert, and she believes it."

"This is too far." Annette started to rise. "That brat—"

"It's not Rain," Dean hissed. He looked about and waved Annette back into her seat. "Mis—Anne. Please. I'm worried about Emma. I'm pretty sure that girl isn't lying and I'm very sure she's very dangerous."

"Dangerous how?"

"Like the first thing she did on seeing me was assess all the ways she could kill me."

"Taylor would never—"

"Maybe I'm wrong, but what if I'm not?"

Annette didn't give an immediate answer, and Nanku didn't care to really follow the conversation anymore.

There she was.

Right there, across a street and down a dozen stories. Her mother. A woman she had so many things she wanted to say to. So many, Nanku wasn't sure what to say at all. There were so many options.

Furiously berating her for locking her away. Terrifying her that she'd never leave the house ever again. Getting drunk every night because Dad was dead, and it was all Taylor's fault. They both knew it, but her mother was the one who should have stepped up and done something.

Nanku wanted Pe'dte.

She wanted advice. Guidance.

She'd planned nearly a year for this moment, and now that it lay before her all the plans fell apart.

There was too much baggage. Too many emotions. Too much anger and pain.

Dusk chirped and pressed into her side, and Dawn fluttered her wings reassuringly.

"Listen," Dean said. "What if she is Taylor? None of the bodies were ever found. Two of the kids got away, maybe another did too. One with a reason not to want to go home, who might have been found by someone else, and kept quiet."

"It's not possible," Annette said. "Taylor's dead."

Nanku scoffed.

She didn't know how right she was.

She buried the emotions. Forced them down. Strangled the life from them.

Nanku didn't need the sentiment.

She had a hunt to complete, and Annette Hebert had answers.

She wasn't a child anymore. She wouldn't be denied like one.

Her mother was right there.

She just had to talk to her.