by Paul G Mann
was heading south west, in to an area of open grasslands devoid of human habitation that the Hunki herded their prey to. If she reached there before he did she would be a sitting duck for the hunting parties and end up like so many before her roasting over an open fire while the Hunki made ready to eat. Knowing she was alive and the general direction she headed he threw caution to the wind, stopped following her tracks and set out in a direct line that would take him over the mountains to where he thought she would emerge from the trees into open country.
Two hours into his journey the forest around him went quiet; not totally silent but enough to warn him of danger. He sniffed the air and ascertained the faint smell of wood smoke and fresh cooked meat. He circled to his right keeping the smells upwind of him until he could pinpoint the exact direction the danger lay. On silent feet he ghosted through the trees, bow in hand with an arrow ready to knock and fire. Thin wisps of smoke from a fire left to burn itself out rose from a clearing ahead of him. He hid behind a tree, every sense strained to pick up movement or a sign of danger. He looked out; whatever or whoever had set the fire had gone.
Six feet, six hands and the bones of three people had been thrown in a pile to one side of the fire. Whoever they were, they weren’t from East Harbour. Their clothing, blood soaked and torn off their bodies was strewn on the ground near the bones. Two wicked spiked clubs and a crossbow had been smashed and left with the clothing; a grim smile crossed Fred’s features; judges, at least the Hunki had feasted on vermin this time. There was nothing here for him but being the hunter he was he gave the ground around the fire and human remains a quick inspection. A small footprint, purposely imprinted in the blood soaked soil had been left to mark the direction she had taken. It had been less than two hours since the fire had been left to die out; Liz had been here since the Hunki had left and was close, with a bit of luck he would catch her before the days’ end.
This far into the woodland food was scarce; a fact that Fred was only too aware of. The meagre supplies he had taken from East harbour were fast running out and he really needed to stop and hunt to replenish them. Deer and the native sheep never came this far in to the woods, even the rabbits that were in abundance around the towns and villages needed the grasslands to feed, the soil in the woods supported a number of plants and trees, mainly native to Newth but grass wasn’t something that grew in abundance here; the lack of light and poor soil prevented grass gaining a foothold for animals to feed on. If he hunted he would have to target smaller game; birds or the small skittish rodent like animals that fed on the smaller shrubs of Newth. His problem there being he would have to stop and lay traps, if he stopped Liz would get further away from him and the time and ground he had made in catching her would be lost.
He took a chance deciding to eat the last of his supplies on the move gathering what fruits and berries off the shrubs and bushes that were ripening as he moved. It was a foolhardy move this early in the year, not a lot was ready for eating except for a few root plants that would need boiling before they would be soft and palatable enough to eat. He pushed on at a breath taking pace through the rough terrain; his eyes and ears straining for sounds that would alert him to Liz being near. His nose caught the scent of a Ripper, but he knew the scent was made from the animal marking his territory not from the animal being near him.
Four hours after leaving the site of the fire he heard the growls and snarls of Rippers in the distance. He stopped, the birds still sang and the scurrying of the smaller animals could still be heard as they went about their daily lives. Danger from the Rippers wasn’t near but caution took hold, he un-slung his bow from his shoulder ready for any eventuality. He pressed on until he knew the Rippers had either caught or cornered something. The growls and snarls they made were in one place, they weren’t chasing anything.
He circled to get downwind of them creeping through the trees to see what they had trapped or killed. Two Rippers circled a tree, a third lay on the ground at the trees base, a crossbow bolt sticking out of its back, a crossbow and quarrel of bolts lay on the floor next to the beast. Fred scanned his eyes upwards; perched in the tree, a wicked judges spiked club in her hand was Liz ready to brain the first Ripper that came within range. Fred knew these animals well; before they went chasing up a tree to her they would wait till she fell out of it from starvation and lack of water. To supplement their diet while they waited they would eat their dead companion.
Fred took stock of the situation; he needed a clear uninterrupted view of the Rippers as they circled. His present position didn’t afford that; too many shrubs and low hanging branches and trees prevented a clear shot at them. He had to move to a position that gave him a clear bow shot, but to move would increase the danger, if the Rippers detected him he would have no chance of bringing the pair down through the thick foliage.
He looked around him before taking a number of arrows out of his quiver, left the quiver on the ground and slowly made a careful move to his right. Five yards and he stopped, not an ideal spot but one that gave him a clear shot at the prowling animals. He drew back on the bow and aimed for the nearest Rippers throat; the arrow sped through the air pierced the soft tissue of the throat killing it instantly. His second arrow was on its way to find its mark before the first had struck. In less than ten seconds two more Rippers lay dead at the foot of the tree.
By the time he collected his quiver Liz was down from her perch and running towards him. She reached him as he rounded a tree, took one look at him, ran to him shouting his name and threw herself in to his arms sobbing her heart out as she held him in a grip that on a lesser mortal would have crushed the life out of him. He held her, picking her up in his giant arms so her face rested on his shoulder and nuzzled into his neck; he was just as relieved to see her alive and well as she obviously was to see him. He let her cry herself out making soft shushing noises to let her know he was here and whispering words of comfort in her ear waiting for the sobs to subside.
Eight
‘It’s been a week of hell,’ she said later in reply to his question wanting to know what had happened as they sat around a small fire sipping the first hot drink she had had in over a week. ‘I’ve been terrified ever since the Hunki cut me out and told me to run. Ten of us headed for the lake, six went north while me and three men headed south along the shore. I suppose we were lucky it was hours before they started chasing us, they must have hunted the ones headed north before they came back for us. I remembered what you said about the Hunki not liking to hunt in the woods so I headed for the trees as soon as I could, the men shouted after me to come back and carried on down the lake shore; the last I saw of them they were running in panic as the Hunki ship came out of the sky after them. Fred it was horrible, they just killed them as they ran without even landing, then they landed and cut the heads off the corpses, then they butchered the poor buggers and took them back in to their flying machine. After that I just ran as quickly as I could into the trees looking for shelter or somewhere to hide from them. I know they followed me, I heard them crashing through the undergrowth so I left a false trail for a hundred yards or so and cut southwest. Since then I’ve hid as best I could trying to leave a trail I knew you could follow but the Hunki wouldn’t. I spent two days deep down in a small cave until I heard Rippers prowling about. I was worried in case they wanted the cave to sleep in or something so I left. This morning I watched the Hunki kill three judges, they butchered two and ate one, luckily one of them dropped his crossbow and club before the Hunki caught him.’ she tailed off as her emotions threatened tears again.
‘How did you know I would come after you?’ he asked.
‘I didn’t,’ she replied, ‘I just hoped. I had nothing except the clothes I stood in, no food or water, no weapon, nothing and I was terrified if the Hunki didn’t get me, how was I going to survive. I could eat berries and things but I knew those bloody Rippers would get me sooner or later. I prayed you would come after me, with you I know I’m going to come through this.’
‘They didn’t chase me,’ she admonished with a smile. ‘I heard them prowling about so I climbed the tree trying to hide. I got one with the crossbow, but I dropped it trying to reload it.’
‘Well you’re safe now, for a while anyway. We’ll have to head north; south takes us onto grasslands and the Hunki’s hunting grounds. If we go north the forests are much denser with a lot of Earth vegetation, that means better food and more places to hide from the Hunki, all we have to worry about are Rippers and if we’re careful we can keep out of their way. First though, there’s a small village back on the lake shore called Riggers Cove. We can pick up some supplies there, enough until I can retrieve my pack, once I get that back we will be fine.’
He told her what had happened to him since he left her in East Harbour as they walked through the rough terrain. She was aghast with disbelief when he recounted his killing of five Hunki with