Hunter

by Joanna White

  What if it was discovered I was a woman? I was sure no woman had ever tried to sneak into the prison before, and even if they did, the Aretul would have made sure no one ever found out about it. I was suddenly terrified that my secret would be found out. They would either kill me on sight or worse, torture me and prolong my death first. Either way, if I was discovered, my future didn’t look good.

  “Okay, in case we get separated I’m going to tell you about all the basic geography features of Zagerah that we know of, so you have at least some sense of where you need to go,” Wexx started. His tone was strictly business, so I paid close attention.

  I nodded and gestured for him to continue.

  “The whole area itself is a vast land going over thousands of square miles altogether; no one knows the exact amount. One main source of shelter is the caves, which usually is the first place the Hunters will always look for us, simply because it’s the obvious place to hide. The caves are to the southeast. Each cardinal direction has its own special terrain. North is covered in the ice-caves. There’s one entrance and exit to them, but they’re really just a complicated network of tunnels completely made out of ice. It’s one of the most dangerous places mainly because it’s so easy to get lost, with every inch of it looking the same.”

  “And?” I asked, sensing there was more to it than that.

  Wexx paused, stepping over a log as he held out his hand for me to stop. I did, so he leaned in to whisper in my ear. “Each region is dangerous because of the Hunters’ powers. Some have powers that deal with elements. For instance, in the ice caves, one of the Hunters who can control ice would definitely be an impossible fight to win. However, their weaknesses also are sometimes elements. We do know that one of them has ice as a weakness, we just don’t know who it is yet.”

  “It’s clear.” Sine gestured ahead of us and led the way.

  “What are the other regions? In the south, west, and east?” I asked Wexx as he trailed behind Sine.

  “In the south are volcanoes. They erupt every once in a while, but only toward the north, inside Zagerah. So, if you’re brave enough to risk hiking them and getting on their other side, you’d be safe. But, none of us has come close because the air is almost completely un-breathable. If they erupt, the only safe place is the caves or thousands of miles away in the opposite direction.”

  “The ice-caves,” I finished for him.

  “Exactly.” Wexx hopped over a log and used a sword to slice through a massive thorn bush.

  “Which wouldn’t exactly be safe either,” I muttered as I rushed to catch up with him. The thorn bush grabbed hold of me and I winced, but bit back another yelp.

  “Yeah. So, you’d better pray hard that the volcanoes don’t erupt as long as you’re here.” Sine cut through the thorns, freeing me from their grasp.

  “What? You say that like you haven’t—"

  “They’ve never erupted as long as we’ve both been here, but there have been stories about it happening in the past,” Wexx interrupted me as Sine and I caught up with him.

  “Well, we’ve seen them erupt before, but those are minor eruptions that never do any damage,” Sine countered.

  Wexx shrugged, stepping over a hole in the ground that looked like it had been made from a creature I didn’t want to know about.

  “And how long have you been here?” I furrowed my eyebrows and jumped over the hole as Sine did the same behind me.

  “I’ve been here nine years.” Wexx stopped to catch his breath. He glanced at me, but his eyes stared past me, looking far away—or maybe, years away.

  “I’ve been here for six.” Sine grimaced and knelt in front of a bush. “Thought these were berries, but…”

  I had to force myself to swallow back the lump in my throat. Six years. Nine years.

  What if that became me?

  Wexx shook his head to Sine’s comment about the berries. “Look rotten to me. Come on. We should keep going.” I barely heard their continued conversation as I rushed to keep up with them. Both of my legs ached and throbbed and my skin felt raw.

  “Municx’s been here the longest. He’s been here almost thirty years,” Wexx explained. “The next longest is Lehlax. He’s been here eleven years.”

  I wasn’t sure how to reply, so I simply asked, “What about the other directions?” The last thing I wanted to think about was how long I might be in here.

  “So, in the west are the swamps. Not entirely impossible to stay in, but dangerous all the same. Each region in here has its own risk; you just have to weigh the pros and cons and see if one outweighs the other.” Wexx pushed aside more branches as he spoke.

  “Mostly, you just need to be smart about it,” Sine interjected.

  “And the east?” I was struggling to keep all this information straight; names, places, directions, safe, unsafe.

  “The cliffs. Trust me, unless you can climb, avoid them at all times. If you get cornered there, the easiest thing to do would be jump and end it for yourself the quick way, ‘cause there’s no other way out of that.” Sine grimaced and ducked beneath the lower branches of an older oak tree.

  “How do I know which direction I’m headed? I can’t tell in here; everything looks the same.”

  “North is always where the moon rises, and south is where it sets, same with the sun, but you’ll see the moon more often. Once you find north, east is to the right of north, so you can find east and west. And then of course south is the opposite direction of north,” Sine explained to me.

  I nodded, trying to wrap my mind around the confusing concept.

  “Also, there are creatures that the Hunters use—all different kinds. They only use them when they’re in the mood for bloodshed and games. Most of the time, the creatures in here will leave you alone if you leave them alone. At the cliffs there are these flying rep—"

  Sine cut Wexx off. “He doesn’t need to know about that yet.”

  Wexx shrugged. “Okay. Fair enough.”

  “What?” Curiosity got the best of me.

  “You don’t want to know. Just stick with us and pray we don’t get separated. You don’t have a good chance either way, but at least staying in groups gives you somewhat of an advantage.” As he spoke, Wexx shot Sine a narrowed look.

  I could only hope he was right.

  Chapter 4

  JARED

  I was so weak I couldn’t even untie the ropes that held me to the tree. It was frustrating more than anything. I tried contacting Malik, but I couldn’t use my telepathy. Frustratingly, I couldn’t see anything, couldn’t sense if anyone was near me, and if they were, I couldn’t sense anything about them or get into their minds. The longer I stood there, the angrier I became. A worthless runt managed to get the best of me and only because I had allowed him to. As soon as I was freed from the ropes, I would kill him. I didn’t care what Hindah ordered, that new prisoner was mine.

  I’d only ever had my weakness used on me two times. Once, when I first became a Hunter, so I’d know what it felt like… To make me understand the seriousness of keeping my weakness a secret.

  The only other time I’d experienced being completely vulnerable like this was when my weakness was used on me by accident. I’d been so deep inside the caves, I couldn’t see anything. That had made me realize that pitch darkness, in a way, was my weakness just as well. When extreme darkness came, and I couldn’t see…I couldn’t use my powers.

  An image hit me, so hard and suddenly, I thought I was hallucinating, which was impossible. Someone towered over me and placed something over my eyes so that I couldn’t see.

  They erased your memory…A voice whispered in the back of my mind. I realized this was the image in my head, and not actually what was happening.

  I don’t know how long I was there. Exhaustion and fatigue settled in. After a while, I was too weak to hold myself up; the only thing that did was the ropes on my hands, which only fueled my anger and annoyance.

  “Jared!”

  “I’m h
ere!” I yelled back. Or, at least I thought I had yelled. My voice was weaker than I thought. I forced my legs to push myself up higher, to lift my chin higher, wiping my expression clear of everything. I pushed the exhaustion and hunger deep inside me until I couldn’t feel it.

  “Jared!”

  “Where is he?”

  “What happened?” They were speaking out loud, which meant they realized I couldn’t communicate with my mind.

  I couldn’t stop thinking of how this had happened. How had Municx known about my weakness? And why mention it just then if he had known for longer than that?

  “Here!” a voice yelled. It sounded like Novarch.

  “Jared!” Malik called.

  “What happened?” another voice asked. That one was Becx. The blindfold was ripped off and suddenly, I could see. The sun was rising slowly in the sky.

  It was morning already?

  “What happened?” Hindah glared down at me like a traitor.

  My lips tugged down into a deep frown. “Malik picked one of them up, so I attacked. I was about ready to stab the oldest one in the back of the throat, but the new prisoner tried to fight me. I underestimated him. It won’t happen again.”

  “That scrawny thing got the best of you?”

  “There’s something else,” I blurted.

  “What?” Hindah’s irritation came off him and toward me in waves.

  “I can’t sense his mind. I can only get vague feelings, no deeper ones, nor any specific thoughts. It’s the first time something like this has happened.” I narrowed my eyes just thinking about it.

  “Hmm. He might be special,” Hindah murmured.

  “You need anything?” Becx asked. He was trying to know what I needed to power up, without seeming nosy about it.

  “I’m okay; just thirsty.” I finally realized how much my throat hurt.

  I sat down and leaned against a different tree, as Malik moved to lean against the opposite one. “I would’ve come back, but I found another group of prisoners, so I went after them.” Though he sounded sorry, deep inside, he wasn’t. He replayed the kills in his mind, relishing it.

  I nodded. “Municx knew my weakness, Malik. That’s never happened before.” With a deep frown, I glared at him.

  “How?” His eyes widened in surprise.

  I shook my head. “And why did he choose to use it now? I’ve come across him plenty of times recently and he’s never...”

  “Maybe he just now figured it out,” Malik suggested.

  “Maybe,” I murmured, looking through the trees. I could see through objects close to me but still couldn’t see far away. Becx handed me a canteen, so I took a sip of it. The water soothed my throat and body, restoring energy and replenishing it. If everyone else wasn’t around, I would have taken the canteen and poured it all over my face.

  “Jared,” Hindah said, his voice deep and stern.

  I looked up at him. “Yeah.”

  “I want you to find out as much as you can about this new prisoner. Find a way to get close to him since you can’t get inside his head. Did he ever see your face?” His tone suggested no room for mistakes.

  “No. It was dark.” I finally could sense a little of what he was thinking. The thought of being able to find out why I couldn’t sense Dalex’s thoughts, how I underestimated him, and how he’d been able to tie me, with Sine and Wexx’s help…I finally could make sense of it and get back to the life I knew. Although, I didn’t like Hindah’s idea. He loved it, considered it to be “fun.” Playing with the new prisoner…

  I just wanted to kill him, get rid of him, and be done with it. As I stood, I kept my face impassive and finished the last of the water. Malik handed me another canteen, not saying anything.

  “Then get to it.” Hindah’s tone was short and clipped as he turned around to talk to Novarch. “Malik you go with Jared partway. Make it interesting.” He smiled as he added that order.

  Malik nodded and took off. I took off jogging, but once I got out of Hindah’s sight I stopped and walked. I had just had my weakness used against me, and I didn’t want to waste any more of my energy than I needed to. At least, until I could drink more water.

  Malik, I’m taking it slow. Let me know if you find them, I thought to him. Internally, I debated whether disobeying Hindah would be worth it to kill the little runt. Then again, even I had to admit, knowing why I couldn’t sense Dalex’s thoughts did sound appealing. I could find out why and then kill him and be done with it.

  I took another drink of water and drained half the canteen.

  The small stream I’d been looking for after about an hour of walking stretched out along the horizon just ahead. I finished the water from the canteen and drank from the stream before I splashed some water on my face, letting the coolness soothe my skin. I splashed some more on the stab wounds in my legs, and let the water clean the wounds.

  Fortunately, if any of us used our strengths to rejuvenate ourselves, we could also use them to heal our wounds, unless our weakness had been used against us, then the wounds couldn’t be healed quickly.

  After I filled the canteen with the water from the stream, I splashed my face once more. With a sigh, I stood and started to take a step forward, when my foot brushed up against something.

  A dead body sprawled on the ground at my feet, its flesh too decayed to tell whether it had been young or old. Not that I cared. Kneeling, I rummaged inside a pack that was lying near it. Luckily, the pack had some medical supplies. Taking the medical string, I quickly sewed up both wounds. Within five minutes I was walking through the trees again as I took another drink of water. By that time, my strength was fully replenished.

  Malik sent me a mental nudge. Do you know how exactly you’re supposed to get close to the new one?

  Hindah was thinking along the lines of going undercover. As I replied, I leapt up into the tree above me for a look around the area.

  What about the others? They’ve seen your face before, haven’t they? Malik asked, out of curiosity more than anything else.

  Not in full light, I answered him.

  How are you planning on getting them to believe you’re a prisoner?

  That’s what you’re going to help me with, I thought back, smiling to myself. Even I had to admit that this would be a little bit of fun.

  The sun was only a short time from setting. Another half-hour and it would be night again, even though I had been walking for a couple of hours. I had gotten so used to only a few hours of sunlight, and so many of night. Despite my weakness, I lived for the night. Most of us Hunters did. Though it was fortunate the moon provided enough light so that it wasn’t dark enough for me to be blinded.

  Not finding any prisoners nearby, I jumped from the branches and ran at full speed, enjoying the feel of the power within me, the energy that flowed through me, the feel of the wind as I sped faster than a human eye could see. Hindah wanted us to toy with the group of prisoners, so I looked through the trees, seeing through the trunks, looking off in the distance until I found the group that had gone with Lehlax to help him. It wasn’t where the new prisoner was, but to toy with them, I would take out everyone around them until they were the last ones alive. At least, that was what was expected of me until I fulfilled Hindah’s plan to get them to trust me.

  I sped through the group, grabbing the youngest among them, Luke. He had been one of the youngest to arrive until the new one, Dalex, showed up.

  “Luke!” Despite that he was hurt, Lehlax jumped up, grimacing as he did so, and looked around desperately.

  I smiled as the boy grunted, attempting to escape my grasp. Squeezing his neck, I laughed as he struggled to get free. “Got some fight in you, do you?”

  I wrenched his arm behind his back until I felt, as well as heard the crunch of bone, and then threw him against a tree. He slammed against it with a hard thud and then collapsed against the ground.

  By that time, the others had figured out which direction I had run in and were almost at a place wh
ere they could see me. I grabbed my Inquiri blade and gently pressed it against the boy’s back, just in between his shoulder blades. As I pressed the blade deeper into his flesh hard enough so that his body twitched, he cried out in pain, but I made sure it wasn’t deep enough to kill him yet. I twisted the blade so that he was forced to look up, just as the others had reached the area. His eyes met the eyes of his father, who had fought so hard to hide the fact that Luke was his son. Unbeknownst to him, I had known who his son was all along.

  I gave them a few seconds; just enough so that both realized that Luke would die, and Lehlax would never see him again. Then, I slammed the blade deeper into his back. He screamed, ear-splitting and thick with agony. He began to gasp as if he couldn’t get enough air into his lungs. I twisted the blade, just as Lehlax yelled, “No!”

  The boy’s gasps turned to gurgles and he coughed up blood.

  A few of the other prisoners came running to attack me, as Lehlax and the old man ran to help Luke, whose eyes were rolling back in his head. I yanked out the Inquiri blade and danced out of the way as the three prisoners charged at me with their own swords.

  I darted around to stand behind them in only a few milliseconds. They tried to figure out where I went, but by the time they turned around to face me, I was gone, already far to the left of the one that had been closest to Luke’s body.

  I ran toward the trunk of the tree, then back flipped off it, and landed on top of him at the same time I stabbed the blade into his stomach. The prisoner next to him turned, saw him on the ground, then lunged toward me. I pulled out the blade and still had plenty of time to dodge his attack. Coming around behind him, I sheathed my blade and pulled out the whip on the right side of my belt. One flick and it wrapped around his neck several times.

  He gasped and foolishly dropped his sword out of shock and fear, using his hands to try to remove the whip. Jumping upwards, I used the tree once again and smoothly vaulted over a branch directly above him. I landed smoothly on the ground, which pulled his body upward rapidly.