The Hunt

Drew continued to follow the side trail through the woods, desperately trying to keep or gain some distance between him and the first borne. Since watching the exchange between the two younglings, the first borne had gained ground on Drew. He could actually hear his pursuer's footsteps behind him, and the terror almost overwhelmed him.

Somewhere through the haze of the terror of becoming a new trophy of the first borne, he noticed a smell that had been growing in intensity. He could not place it, but it continued to grow as he raced up the trail. Sort of a bad BO mixed with earthworms and compost smell. It became palatable and continued to grow as has was about to enter a clearing.

The first flash of thought was "OH, you are fucking kidding me!"

It was just a flash, because behind him was certain death and in front of him was a large male grizzly bear digging in the remains of a fallen tree. The bear's eyes lifted to meet Drew's as he entered the small clearing. It was not clear who or what was more surprised at the meeting, but Drew did not falter. He continued to run towards the other side of the clearing, to the continuation of the trail. The bear, so shocked at the sudden intrusion into his foraging of insects, did not move for a few seconds. As the bear finally reacted to the new visitor, he scattered debris as he spun to get clear and enter the chase. Some of the debris caught Drew in the thigh, causing him to stagger and almost go down. He had to hesitate for just a second to gain his balance, so he did not sprawl on the trail.

Another instant flash of memory, he saw before his eyes the sci-fi heroines of the 50's movies always falling as they ran from the monster only to be killed.

"Not today" was his only retort.

The bear was almost clear of the log and rocks, following on a straight line to get him, when a series of grunts and clicks were heard with a growl of challenge as reply. The bear had started to shift his focus to a new distraction. The first borne had just entered the clearing and was seemingly quite surprised to find this very large predator in contention for his third trophy. Drew did the one thing he did not want to do, and that was to look back.

Human nature being human nature, he looked back and sent himself sprawling into the grass at the edge of the clearing. He looked back on a scene that only prey could truly enjoy. Both predators were facing each other and growling with challenge.

The first borne with his long dagger in his right hand and his bloody trophy in his left, crouched in a fighting stance facing the bear. The bear was stamping it feet and issuing its own challenge. All seemed to be at a stalemate until the bear caught a whiff of the blood still oozing from the gory trophies. There was no more challenge just a seemingly rambling gate as the bear charged the first borne.

The battle joined as the bear quickly gained speed and the two bodies clashed. The first borne was swept down, but not without striking the first blow. While the bear outweighed him by twenty plus times, Drew was amazed at the tenacity of the first borne. He was still fighting, still striking with the long dagger causing the bear to bellow, howl and growl even as he raked the youngling with claws and bit down on the youngling skull.

During the first few moments of the clash, Drew's youngling had entered the clearing and froze in shock.

After a few seconds of indecision, he charged the bear to rescue the first borne.

His first attempt at rescue was a thrust of his spear at the head of the bear. His attempt, while noble, brought him close to the bear and with one clawed swipe, Drew's youngling was sent sprawling in a yellow bloody heap. The bear, its muzzle bright yellow, moved towards his second conquest.

Drew reacted without thought, picked up his spear and rushed the bear. As he charged the bear, he was screaming the rebel yell and waving the spear. Partially to frighten the bear and partially to calm the fear of his own stupidity.

He charged directly at the bear. He was thinking now, and wondering "What am I doing?" His inner voice's comments reverberated in his skull.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing you idiot!" his first voice repeated with a little more urgency.

His second, inner child voice, came up with a different statement and a smile crossed his lips.

"Hold my juice box, and watch this!"

The surviving youngling was watching the ill-thought-out charge by Drew with open amazement. The Bear, seriously wounded, his nose full of nasty yellow glowing blood, now had another of these creatures, this one human, coming at him. His instincts were overwhelmed, and his internal programming told him to get away from further pain.

Drew was amazed at the bear grunting and shambling off. He stood there, bent double by all the running and mostly shaking from the adrenalin rush caused by attacking a wounded grizzly with a sharpened stick and hunting knife.

When his nerves started to calm down all he could think to say was "Well that was stupid".

As he assessed the wreckage of the first borne' s body, he stooped to pick up the long alien dagger and to note the co-mingled blood of the bear and first borne lacing the grass around the field of battle. Drew paused briefly looking down at the dead body and the carnage that the grizzly had wrought. "You died well," he stated out loud without thinking. It was all that he could think in homage. He then saluted with the dagger, like some old movie.

Drew's youngling was struggling to stand. He was less damaged than he had hoped. The garbled English human word "Brother" came from the maw of the wounded youngling as the youngling pointed to the shredded body of the first borne. Drew's fighting stance stiffened, and he held his spear and confiscated dagger between himself and the wounded youngling.

"You understand our language" Drew said as a statement, not a question.

"Scientist student," the Youngling stated in a very garbled manor, pointing back to himself.

"Well? What now?' Drew asked, silence answered. Drew, becoming more agitated, responded to the silence "Do I have to try and kill you? And you, me? I just saved your life. Doesn't that get me off the hook?"

"No understand 'off hook'?" was the reply.

"Can I go free?" Drew asked

"No one go free, lie, little white pet." was his youngling's answer

"So, I have to kill you now?" Drew asked

"Maybe try, not sure who win," the youngling said dragging his torn leg around and holding his stomach while using his spear as a crutch. "But one chance to live, not free." the youngling responded.

"You mean live as a pet?" Drew said with a bit of arrogance.

"Yes, but free pet, like little white one" the youngling countered "Run to tower, run now, I chase, not get far."

Drew did not have many options to weigh. Waiting around for the bear to return, fighting a "kid" that was still lethal even though wounded or running for his life. Drew started to run but stopped after a few paces.

He turned and asked one last question "so, will they come get you?"

The youngling pointed to a band on his arm and said, "I push, they come."

The youngling straightened himself up and said, "Go now, run, try live."

Drew watched. The Youngling turned to look over the body of his brother, the first borne.

Drew exited the clearing and ran to find a quiet space around a bend. He paused to fill his water bottles at a near-by stream. He looked up at the peak of the mountain and knew that he could never make the peak in time while avoiding any other younglings that may be looking for a second trophy. He could feel the effects of the hunt already on his body and he made the decision to stick with his original plan, to break the rules.

He turned to make sure he was not followed and could not be seen, and then turned away from top of the mountain and headed down, down towards death or life. Within an hour he had reached a low ridge overlooking the original clearing where this little adventure began. He swung very wide of the area he assumed would be filled with the bulk of the alien space craft. He crawled slowly to the area of the invisible entrance and poked his head inside. Just as he had prayed, no one was standing guard or anywhere in eyeshot.

There stood his prey, the gold van still sitting on the ramp leading up into the ship. Drew slid over to the van and saw that it was unlocked.

His first thought was 'damn, no keys, but at least it was still unlocked'

The little "Pet Colonel" had not relocked it after they had rummaged around removing the food and water. He remembered seeing a pile of things in the passenger front seat and slowly moved to check it out. He was in luck; it looked like a pile of things taken from the prey.

He was hoping for something of use, so he continued to rummage, a purse, Kyra's of course. That gave him a twinge and he prayed she had made it. He also found wallets, extra clothing and then, Jackpot! His hands fell on something cold, heavy, and metallic.

"It must be the Biker's pistol," Drew thought.

"What a nice 45 the asshole left for my use" he added.

He pulled the magazine to check on the number of rounds and then slammed it back home, and slowly, quietly racked a round in the chamber.

He heard a sound in the distance; it became a growing calliope of noise and movement. He slid down to the floorboards and on his way down adjusted the rear-view mirror so he could see out the back of the van from his low vantage point. Up came the Colonel, moving excitedly into the ship.

Next came the adult carrying two large bundles, one in each hand. It was hard for Drew to see clearly but he got the general idea of what was going on. Next the younglings came, several with trophies strapped to their backs. The ghastly skulls and spines were like large red stripes down their backs.

Last came two younglings, his and the female, hobbling at the end of the procession. At the top of the ramp, the adult turned and growled and clicked at the two dragging up the rear. The female hurried faster, but his youngling was just trying to stay on its feet.

Drew now noticed that both bundles being carried by the adult were moving, then the one on the right came partially open and an ebony leg trust out and thrashed about.

'Kyra,' Drew exclaimed to himself.

His hand tightened on the pistol, and he said out loud to himself, "Well, so much for not doing anything stupid again".

As the procession crossed over the top of the ramp, Drew reached for the interior door handle to the side door in the van, but he caught motion coming his way. He settled back down and saw the Colonel heading for the Van. The Colonel reached the driver side door, opened it and was face to face with Drew holding the 45 to his temple.

Drew grabbed the lapel of the Colonels jacket and told him, "Nice of you to join me... asshole, move into the van and climb between the seats to join me back here."

Not that Drew let go of the lapel, and practically pulled and carried him to the center of the van. Drew slammed him down on the seat face down. The Colonel was babbling incoherently. Drew told him to shut up several times and finally reaching into the piles of discarded clothing, found a t-shirt and stuffed part of it in his mouth. With bits and pieces of other discarded clothing he trussed the Colonel up like a chicken ready to be plucked.

With the Colonel, all situated, Drew fished out the van keys, and pulled the gag from his mouth.

He held the First-born dagger to his throat, and whispered "One word asshole, just one and you are dead."

Drew reached into the Colonel's ear and pulled out the receiver hidden deep in the canal.

"Can you understand them with this?" he asked.

The Colonel just shook his head in the affirmative. Drew placed it in his ear. "So, what are they doing now? What is with the grand parade?" as Drew plucked the gag temporarily from his mouth.

"Well," the Colonel said with his slow Georgian drawl," There seems to be some problem with the way the female was caught."

"Her name is Kyra you jerk," Drew broke in.

"Yes, yes, I am aware. As for the other gentleman, well the youngling has decided to keep him for a pet."

"And Kyra?" Drew asked again

"That is to be decided," the Colonel continued.

"What about my youngling and the First Borne? "Drew questioned.

"The youngling assigned to you is waiting to find out his punishment for trying to help his brother instead of focusing on you," the Colonel responded.

"Is it true that you charged the Grizzly to save him?"

'Not your issue Colonel," Drew responded.

With that, Drew stuffed the rag back in his mouth and started to tie him to the bench seat so he could not kick and draw attention to the van. Once satisfied, Drew climbed out of the van and started to creep up the ramp into the ship.

It was somewhat dark in the hold of the ship, with one exception. An area in the center of the hold was well lit and everyone was concentrated in this one area. He could hear human voices, first Kyra and then the male voice started up.

"I cannot be a pet. It would conflict with my religious views. I cannot be tied to a non-believer and inferior species," said the male voice.

The Hunter flinched at the comment "inferior", clicked the word "kill" and walked towards the prey. The youngling holding the potential pet used his blade. A stroke was made against the throat of the male.

Dead in seconds, not a sound was heard. The youngling standing next to the dying male began the dissecting process without hesitation. The male still alive moved from the pain, but soon subsided into little movements and jerks.

Drew moved farther into the hold and found some earth style supply boxes to hide behind. He read the label on the box "Coffee" he thought. "They come millions of miles and bring back coffee?" Drew looked over the scene. His youngling was very close to him sitting on another pile of boxes adjacent and in front of the ones he was hiding behind. The female youngling was close to him, seemingly trying to edge away from the adult and his growing agitation

Kyra, opened her mouth and stated, to the Adult "It's not fair, I won, I made it to the tower and then she cheated and took me from behind."

The adult just glared at the female youngling. He broke out in a series of clicks and grunts. Drew's ear translator sprang into use. "Where is that useless pet of mine? I need him here now to help translate."

The female youngling started to click and gurgle herself "Let me kill the female animal. I took her, she had not touched the tower, but was only standing beside it when I took her."

The adult started to lose his patience "Quiet!" he deeply growled "Do not dishonor yourself further."

He started to scan the room and Drew sucked himself tightly to the boxes keeping his head down.

"Pet, where are you? Come now!" the adult roared.

Drew swallowing his fear stepped forward shaking and grabbed the female around her body, so the first bone's dagger was pushed vertically into her throat. With his right hand, the 45 was placed at the temple of his youngling.

"Your pet will not be coming, but I have his translating device. May I help?"

The female started to struggle, and the blade started to cut into her throat. "Please tell her to stop. There is no need of further bloodshed."

The adult growled again "Be still" and her struggling stopped.

Drew looked into the eyes of the adult and asked, "Please let her go," his eyes traveling to Kyra.

"She won but you are dishonoring her, why?" Drew asked

The Adult did not answer but drew his dagger and swiftly cut her bonds. Kyra stood and rubbing her wrists but did not take her eyes off the adult. She slid around Drew and his armful of Youngling.

"So, what now? Do I have to kill one or both younglings to go free and win?" Drew questioned.

The adult growled "Those were the rules that were spoken by my pet."

"Yes," responded Drew "But there is another problem, I do not kill children," and with that statement uttered, Drew dropped the pistol to his side, kissed the top of the head of the female youngling, dropped the knife away from her throat and shoved her with his knee towards the adult.

There was a moment of silence by everyone. Kyra uttered the first words "NOOO, Oh shit!"

The female youngling spun and looked like she would leap back at Drew's throat. He had raised the dagger in a defensive position.

A large growl and click was heard "Stop!" the Hunter bellowed.

A noise came from the adult, it took Drew a second to recognize it, and it was a chuckle. The adult started to laugh, and it continued and got louder. Finally, it stopped, and he clicked and grunted at Drew.

"Your species never ceases to amaze me, so full of contradictions, so ...silly at times," he paused just staring at Drew, "Did you kill my pet?"

"No... but can I?" Drew asked. The Hunter chuckled again.

Drew saw a change come to the eyes "So it is true, you charged the large carnivore to save my fourth son?"

Drew silently nodded.

He paused and asked "why?"

"Instinct." Drew shrugged "I still view them as children, and we protect our children. I did not think, just acted." he replied.

"A true answer. Is it also true that you honored my first son as he died? By noting how well he died?" the Hunter requested.

"Yes," Drew replied "it was all I could think to say, seeing him take the grizzly on, face to face"

"Grizzly...Grizzly ...Hmmm, Good name. Strong name for an honorable foe." the Hunter stated.

"My fourth son told you that you will not be set free but kept as pets... if I allow it. Do you understand?" the Hunter questioned.

"Yes, what are the rules?" Drew replied.

The hunter towered over Drew chuckling. "Such a silly species. 'Whatever I tell you' is the answer to your silly question."

***

Drew and Kyra knelt in front of the Hunter. Drew's youngling was behind them fiddling with some instrument. He stepped behind Drew and pressed it to the back of his head right behind his right ear. The Youngling stated, "this will hurt". He pulled the translator from Drew's ear and then an amazing pain shot through his head as something was injected behind his ear. The pain seared through his mind.

Drew's head exploded and then the pain slowly faded. Somewhere in that moment of pain Drew heard a human female scream and knew that Kyra had been treated the same way.

Once the pain had ebbed, he realized that he was hearing and understanding the Hunters without the ear translator. The Hunter walked over and towered over the two still kneeling on the pine needle floor of the Forest. "You are both now pets of my house and fourth borne. When he calls you answer? Your lives are bound to your obedience. You have the mark of our house behind your ear. If you encounter anther of our species, show the mark, and be spared."

***

As the gold van drove down the country road, Kyra slid the passenger seat back as far as it would go, opened her window, and placed her bare feet on the dash. He briefly watched her toes play with texture of the vinyl dash padding. Both were smiling and just getting over the drain of almost dying.

"So...what's your feeling of our new "master"? Kyra asked as she stretched and curled her body into the comfy van seat. Her left hand wandered over Drew's body. First twirling his hair, then sliding down his neck. Drew could tell this was sensual play, not just her looking for human touch. He slid his right hand from the steering wheel to her knee.

She continued to play with the back of his ear. And then slid her hand to his front where she started to unbutton his shirt. Her other hand continued to play with her injected ear.

"Will you quit playing with your translator, it may get infected," Drew commented, catching glimpses of her fiddling. He did it smiling so she would know he was just screwing with her.