“I didn’t know if humans understood that concept.”
“We aren’t dumb. We have a song about it and everything, sung by the great Elton John.”
“No, you aren’t, but you did save the arrancar when you should’ve left her alone.”
“To freeze or starve to death, or get eaten?”
“Yes.”
Esme wiped her slobby and bloody fingers on her pants. Oh, well, they were ruined anyway. A little blood wouldn’t make a difference. By this time tomorrow, she probably wouldn’t be able to tell the blood from the other stains that covered her clothes.
“Well, Piper’s lucky that I have a heart. I gave her a chance to live. When this is all over, she’ll be as good a hunter as her mom was.”
“You’ve domesticated her. When you leave, she’ll die shortly after.”
Esme inhaled a sharp breath. “You’re going to kill her?”
“She doesn’t know how to take care of herself or how to hunt and kill. She’s grown fond of company and attention. She’s trusting. She’ll happen upon a hunter or prey, and they’ll kill her for either food or for her fur. If that doesn’t happen, she’ll starve to death. Arrancars are solitary animals, but the mothers care for their pups for the first year of their life, teaching them how to survive.”
Esme stared at Piper. She’d eaten the chunks and was licking what was left from the grass. Piper noticed she was being watched and wagged her tail.
“I’m not going to be here for a year.” Panic swelled in her chest. She hadn’t expected to be here for as long as she had either, but here she was. “Wait. Am I?”
“No.”
She trusted Bradliix. She was unsure why and she didn’t know what Bradliix had done to gain her trust, but she did. Esme calmed down and stared at Piper. Esme thought she was doing something good, but she’d only prolonged the inevitable.
“You can take her with you. We wouldn’t have any use for her in the arena now. She would try to befriend prey rather than hunt them.”
Esme perked up. “Really? She can come with me?”
“If you won, I don’t see why not.”
“What would happen if I didn’t win? If…” I’m caught by a hunter.
“Then the arrancar’s fate would depend on the hunter.”
Esme pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. There was always the threat of getting caught hanging over her head. Whenever she thought she was beating The Hunt, surviving and progressing in good time, a hunter waited around the corner to capture her.
Before this, it’d been two weeks since she’d run into one. She’d chalked it up to being smarter. She left her treehouse every few days, and that was only when she needed to replenish her water and food stash. She also had kept her traps hidden. She hadn’t wanted a hunter to find them and stake them out. But then an alien had gone and done exactly that. She’d thought she’d finally found her groove.
Esme focused on the dead hunter again. She’d had a few run-ins with this one. Their last encounter had been at the river. His persistence had proved to be the end of him. There hadn’t been an epic struggle like the last hunter she’d killed. This one had sprung out, and on instinct, she’d plunged her knife deep in his belly.
There hadn’t been one stab, but many. She’d only stopped when the hunter had fallen into a heap, leaving Esme to wonder how she had done it again.
“How many hunters are left in this arena?” she asked.
“I don’t think I should tell you.”
“Why?”
“I wouldn’t want to discourage you.”
Esme’s shoulders deflated. “That many, huh?”
Bradliix didn’t reply.
“I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. I’ll just have to kill them all.”
“That would definitely guarantee you a win.”
Piper crawled on her lap again, and Esme leaned over her, cradling the arrancar close. “Then I’ll get to leave, but I won’t be able to go home.”
“I’m sorry, you can’t return to Earth. But there are many other suitable planets for humans. If you’re planning to take the arrancar, you should consider her needs as well.”
Esme ran her fingers over Piper’s fluffy fur. “She needs cold weather. She tolerates the heat, but I notice a difference in her behavior between the day and night.”
During the day when it was hotter, Piper was slower, and her breathing was labored. At night, when the temperature dropped, Piper was like a brand new puppy, bursting with energy.
“There’s a planet in this solar system that’s very hospitable to both humans and arrancar. I’ve done some research for you, and the weather would be comparable to that found on your Alaska, Earth. Have you ever visited there?”
Alaska? Esme snorted. “I’ve never gone there and I’ve never had the urge to visit.”
“You don’t like cold weather?”
“Where I’m from it’s very hot. It’s not that I don’t like cold weather, it’s that I don’t appreciate it. I mean, I could probably live somewhere like Alaska, but that wouldn’t be my first choice.”
“Not even to take care of your arra—Piper?”
“I guess since I ruined her it would be my duty to take care of her.”
“The planet is called Pi Vesna. It’s very hospitable and has a family-oriented culture. The natives are welcoming to visitors and wouldn’t be intimidated by the arrancar. When you win, you would be given enough credits to find suitable accommodations. The economy is thriving. You could invest your credits or start a business. It would be a good start to a new life.”
New life. She’d thought about that often. But she’d never equated that with anything good. She would have a life without her family and friends. She wasn’t just leaving them behind. She was also giving up everything that had made her who she was.
“I can deal with the cold, just not all the time.”
“Don’t let the weather be your only focus. Think of this as a new adventure. Settling on Pi Vesna would be good for you and Piper.”
She frowned, remembering where she’d heard that name before. “Wait. This planet you’re talking about wouldn’t happen to be Xrez’s home planet, would it?”
“The very same.”
Well, this conversation is over.
Esme plucked Piper from her lap and stood. She no longer had time for self-wallowing. She retrieved the animal who’d had the misfortune of getting caught in her trap. It wasn’t big enough for a full meal to split between her and Piper, but luckily she had two more dead animals to add to this one.
“No, thank you. I don’t want anything to do with Xrez.”
Esme stomped in the direction of her treehouse with Piper bounding through the grass beside her. Every step disrupted the luminescent microscopic ecdysozoa, sending a million shimmering lights billowing around her legs and Piper’s paws. If Esme turned around, she would see her footprint perfectly outlined on the ground. She didn’t worry about being followed. In a few minutes, the luminescent microscopic ecdysozoa would settle back into place to cover the bare spots.
“Xrez didn’t take you from Earth, and he didn’t bring you here. If it means anything, you were already on Turolois before he inherited this business and became the game warden.”
Did that change anything? Esme shook her head, trying to shake any inkling of forgiveness from it. “That doesn’t matter. He’s still keeping us here, and he lied to me about it.”
“There are contracts in place that he’s duty bound to uphold. There is no way around that. He did lie to you. That deceit was against my wishes. I thought there were other ways of motivating you than providing false hope. But you have to admit, his lie inspired you, and because of it, you’re where you are. Without his help, I highly doubt you would’ve progressed from Level One.”
“Yes, I would’ve.” Esme lifted her chin. “Xrez followed me around, but he didn’t interfere. He had a policy against it.”
She ducked under a tree and dropped to her hands a
nd knees to crawl the ten feet to where she could stand again. She couldn’t see Piper in the high brush, but she saw the parting of weeds and flowers and knew where to find her.
“He told you about The Hunt, how to progress forward and warned you against getting caught.”
She snorted. “I’m smart. You don’t know everything about me. I would’ve learned all that on my own.”
“Yes, but before or after you were caught by a hunter?”
Before or after you were caught by a hunter. She mocked his voice in her head. “Whatever.”
“He misses you very much.”
She could’ve laughed out loud at that one. “He’s not thinking about me. Xrez wanted me to get to Level Three so the price on my head could be higher. Well, he should congratulate himself, because he succeeded. I’m sure now he’s rooting for a hunter to capture me so he can get a return on his investment.”
“Honestly, I don’t know how he would react if a hunter captured you.”
Esme grunted out a laugh. “He would probably act like someone who had made a lot of money. I don’t know about here, but on Earth, those people are generally happy.”
“He’s far from happy, Esme.”
“Not my concern.” And it wasn’t.
She stomped now, crushing the grass beneath her feet. She shouldn’t be thinking or talking about Xrez. When she beat The Hunt, she would leave Turolois and Xrez far behind her.
“I’ve downloaded a file to your comlink. It’s of Pi Vesna. When you get the time, you might want to view it.”
Pft. Time was all she had.
Her treehouse was really a treehouse. Her original plan had been to sleep high on one of the thick branches, to help protect her from any predators on the ground. She’d planned to secure her sleeping bag to the three-foot-wide branch, using the rope to keep her stable, but to her surprise, there’d been a hole near the top. She’d crawled through to find a five by six-foot space. It was cozy enough for her and Piper. It didn’t compare to her old cave, but it was safe, and if she used her firesticks sparingly, she could keep warm during the cold nights. Unfortunately, firesticks weren’t unlimited in this level. She could only call for two every four days.
Esme laid on her back, and Piper curled at her side, snoring lightly. The wind raged on outside, the breeze whipped by the crawl hole and brought enough chill to make her shiver. She snuggled deeper into her sleeping bag.
What could be the harm in looking at the file?
* * *
Xrez stalked down the hallway, seething at the encrypted message he’d been sent from the bureaucrats.
Equal partners?
The thought made his anger boil, his muscles tensed and jaws clenched.
He passed two workers as he made his way to the prey intake center. He must’ve looked exactly how he felt. Murderous. The employees took one glance his way then flattened against the wall, allowing Xrez ample room to pass.
He wasn’t a terrible boss, he was sure the employees didn’t see him that way, but he had to admit he’d been an absentee one. Since he’d taken over, he’d spent his time gallivanting throughout the arena, neglecting his duties with his mind wholly focused elsewhere.
It was time for him to concentrate on his business—before he lost it altogether.
Xrez turned toward a passageway that angled downward. He passed through the security doors, and the bright walls gave way to drab brown that matched the floor. Also gone was the clean smell of fresh air. Now it was heavy with antiseptic. The fans that circulated the air within the medical unit made a hint of noise.
He approached another set of security doors and slapped his hand on the scanner where it analyzed the molecules that made up his specific genotyping. The heavy door opened and he passed into a bright room comprised of medical equipment, unconscious prey laying on beds and the medics who examined them.
The next batch of prey were in a sleep-induced state. Medics of various species, all dressed in sanitary suits, hovered over them providing exams and used handheld devices that tested for disease, overall health, and suitability to participate in The Hunt. Each medic had an impressive resume.
The murmurings present when the door had opened suddenly stopped. Someone gasped. Xrez stopped in his tracks, swinging his gaze from one medic to the next until he caught sight of who he’d come all this way to see.
“Bradliix! Do you know what those…those…greedy bureaucrats demanded?”
Bradliix had been receiving a medical diagnostic on one of the prey. At hearing his name yelled across the room, Bradliix lifted his head. While everyone else’s eyes were wide with surprise, Bradliix didn’t seem perplexed in the least.
“Did they demand you expose yourself to diseases and parasites that we might not have a cure for?”
When Xrez started toward him, Bradliix was quick to cut him off, and without touching him, Bradliix led Xrez out the security door and back into the passageway.
“Really, Sir,” Bradliix chastised as he pushed the medical suit down his body and stepped out of it. “We have rules in place for a reason.” He opened the door and tossed the jumpsuit inside the examination room. “We can’t have Ancients only knows what infections and infestations breeching our medical ward. We could end up with a catastrophe on our hands.”
“I tried to contact you on your comlink, but you didn’t answer,” Xrez pointed out.
“It’s part of the security system. We have to protect our interests.” Bradliix looked off, deep in thought, and tapped a finger to his chin. “There’d been an incident during your great-grandfather’s tenure. One of the medics had taken pictures of incoming prey and provided them to potential hunters. The hunters then paid the medic to insert tracking devices in prey they were interested in. That entire hunt had been compromised. Since then we keep tight control on incoming and outgoing communications here. Comlinks are disabled once you enter the first set of security doors.”
Xrez wasn’t surprised that Bradliix had a detail memorized from a point in time that he hadn’t been alive. If it was regarding The Hunt, Bradliix would know about it. Xrez would’ve known that too if he’d been properly engaged in the business. He pushed aside his guilt. Everything would change this instant.
“The bureaucrats are demanding I give them an equal stake in the business.”
Bradliix’s mouth dropped open with a gasp. “They wouldn’t dare.”
“That’s not even the worst of it. They also want it written into the contract that their shares are passed down to their families.” Xrez handed Bradliix the encrypted file.
Bradliix stared at the file in his palm. The shock was written across his face. “What will you do?”
Xrez punched a fist into his hand. What he wouldn’t give to throttle them all. “I don’t know, but I can’t give in to their demand. This business has been in my family for far too long to hand it over to them.”
Bradliix’s eyes opened wide. “But we’ve always done as they’ve asked. If we don’t, they’ll send the authorities and they’ll shut us down. We’ll be fined and possibly taken into custody. Too much is at stake to resist.” He leaned against the wall, hanging his head.
Xrez scrubbed his hand down his face. He was lost. “And too much is at stake if we let them win.”
Xrez shook his head. This was all so unbelievable. For ages, the bureaucrats and the ones before them had been content receiving their payoff. They’d never wanted to be involved in the illegal business. They’d never wanted to take on that risk.
“If I give in, The Hunt will never be the same. My father’s and his ancestor’s legacy would be wiped away.” He teemed with frustration. There was nothing to pummel. There was no release for him.
He would rather shut Turolois down than give in to extortion. He thought about all the employees who’d made Turolois there home. They would have to leave. He would have to destroy all of his father’s files, his encrypted communications between the bureaucrats and any recordings Bradliix kept stored…
Wait. An idea began to form. But could he pull it off? “I will not let that happen,” he vowed.
Bradliix straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin. “I’m at your disposal. We’ll get through this together.”
Chapter Thirty
It was the coldest night yet. The wind howled with gusts so hard she doubted there would be any bark left on the trees in the morning. The tree she’d made her home for what she guessed was the past month, was sturdy enough that it didn’t bend or waver, but stayed resilient and strong against the assault raging outside. She’d made a barrier for the hole that served as her homes only way in and out, weaving vines and branches together and reinforced it with mud and leaves. That helped to hide her position as well as keep the wind from barreling in, but it didn’t do a damn thing against the chill. And just her bad luck, she wasn’t due to receive more firesticks for a few days still.
Esme huddled in her sleeping bag, teeth chattering and body shivering. She couldn’t get her fire started again. The kindle she’d gathered was in a useless pile off to the side under the d firestick. If she weren’t so cold she would try again, even though she knew her efforts would be futile.
She hugged Piper close to her body. The heat Piper provided was so welcomed that Esme ignored the stench radiating Piper’s coat. Besides, Esme was sure she didn’t smell much better herself. Neither had taken a bath in the past week. The few hunters that were left had been staying close to the river, the only times she’d been spotted had been there.
How many nature programs had she watched the predators staking out the watering hole to catch their prey? A lot. She now knew why the helpless animals still went to it while they were constantly under the threat of death. They were dying of thirst.
Since when did I become a gazelle?
Well, that question was easy enough to answer.
Since I was abducted from Earth.
Esme the gazelle.
“Does that make you a gazelle too, Piper?” Her voice was too deep and her throat scratchy.
Esme wanted to open her eyes to make sure Piper hadn’t magically turned into a gazelle. Then she remembered Piper’s three eyes, red lips and rows of serrated teeth.
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