The Feeding Season

by Stoyan Stoyanov

The moon crept between the fragments of clouds and lighted for a moment the peaceful valley. Isolated by the stone enclosure, protected from the hostile rains and storms, the valley was an ideal place for the creatures, sliding now between Bars' feet. Unlike the gray slugs that are raised inside the Fortress, the green slugs are full of countless healthy substances and minerals, pulled deep from under the earth. The nutritional quality of one green slug was equal to ten whole gray slugs. Among such a priceless find, the group of starving boys could live for about a year, without having to seek for food out in the dangerous wastelands.

  Caught up in his dreams, Bars enjoyed his little nap. No one would doubt his skill as the best Hunter anymore. Vestule would acknowledge his superiority and wouldn't quote him the Textbook again. The boys wouldn't have to fight over the food and Leegan would be pleased with it. From here on out, everything would be different. Thanks to him there was food for everyone.

  They would survive until the Freezing season.

  The green slugs roamed about while Bars rested. They weren't afraid of him and didn't even suspect what awaited them once the starving boys arrived. The sight was a great reward of success for every Hunter and Bars was impatient to witness the mass feeding, which was about to take place. Time although passed imperceptibly and there was no sign of the group. During the past hours, Bars had slept quite a bit and thanks to the digested food, his strength had been renewed.

  Suddenly, the slugs began to nervously shrivel, and several of them burst open with an audible squish. After several more slugs’ squishing, the Hunter anxiously opened his eyes and turned his survival suit in the direction of the sound.

  That's when Bars saw the stranger.

  Only a few feet from him stood an unknown Shell, covered in the smashed insides of the green slugs. The configuration of his suit was different, even though it was constructed with similar parts.

  “I descended from the Fortress a few days ago! How long have you been outside?” Bars decided to try and make contact and raised his hands.

  The Shell opposite him cried out something incomprehensible and suddenly changed his position, then he froze in place again. His visor was down, but Bars felt that the stranger was watching his every movement.

  “Hey, calm down! Just...stay there if that's what you want....,” Bars was unprepared for this meeting.

  Who was this wanderer in an unknown Shell and why was he acting like that? Bars was certain that he wasn't one of the Savage Shells. They wouldn't have hesitated to attack without warning. Since he was still alive, that meant that this Shell was something else.

  “Who are you? Where are you from?” asked Bars without receiving any answers. He began to wonder what he should do.

  The stranger spoke a few more unintelligible words and slowly began to draw near to Bars, who began to seriously worry for his safety. It may not be a Savage Shell, but it definitely didn't want to do him any good. The slugs squished under his heavy suit and the ground was covered in their fluids.

  “Do we have to do this? Stop, you're making my head spin,” begged Bars, but the prowler didn't stop maneuvering.

  Bars lowered his hands despairingly and the stranger took advantage of it – he roared strongly and flew at Bars, while his suit shot blinding signal flares.

  Bars' Shell took the hit, but it wasn't solid enough to protect him completely from the force of the hit – the pain was strong and sobering. In spite of the unexpected attack, Bars succeeded in keeping his balance.

  When the enemy attacked again, Bars moved quickly out of the way and succeeded in

  avoiding him. Communication between them was impossible and the only choice Bars had was to defeat his opponent, before he lost the little strength he had recovered. The stranger

  circled Bars quickly like lightning, looking for a weakness in order to make a more serious attack. Meanwhile, Bars was defending himself and gathering his strength for one single hit. The slugs under their suits had been turned into a green mush, which mixed with the sand, and made it quite slippery.

  Bars already knew that the guy, who was attacking him, wasn't a Defender because by now he would have knocked Bars down on the ground. In spite of that, the attacker succeeded in planting some quick and accurate hits, which Bars had difficulty blocking.

  Gradually the fight turned into a test of endurance. Once the stranger had lost the moment of surprise, he used up much of his strength, unable to catch Bars again unprepared. The Hunter understood that his enemy was exhausted. His attacks had become quite weak and now came the moment that Bars was waiting for.

  At the next ineffectual hit, the opponent lost his balance and fell on his face on the smashed slugs. Before he could get up, Bars jumped on top of him and pushed him into the ground. The stranger tried to get away from Bars, but Bars was quick, and with a few accurate hits in the right places, Bars succeeded in breaking his legs. At least that had been worthwhile learning from Leegan.

  When Bars jumped aside, the stranger tried to get up, but to no effect. He continued to roll around on the ground, yelling something in his strange language, but that didn't help him either. Once he understood his fate, he became quiet and lifted himself up halfway using his hands. His whole survival suit was covered in the guts of the priceless slugs.

  “Look what you made me do, you bastard!” yelled Bars, who was truly sorry that it had gone this far. The defeated enemy only wheezed in fatigue, while his Shell creaked under its own weight.

  Now the peaceful valley was filled with the bodies of several smashed slugs. The wasted food was unbearable to look at. These little pests, which served for the food supply of the people on this planet and were supposed to be the food for the group, had been brutally smashed because two strangers were unable to communicate.

  Bars could only shake his head quietly and wonder what he should do now. He had shot off two signal flares, but instead of his group coming, this strange survival suit had arrived. It had been a careless action, but the group really needed this food, otherwise Bars wouldn't have risked it. Every minute spent here, put Bars in greater danger. Since his opponent had fired off his flares, the chances that the Savage Shells would come this way were quite good.

  While Bars hesitated over whether to leave the few surviving slugs, the handicapped opponent began to make strange noises. Soon he quieted down and then Bars saw that at one end of the valley two sets of lights had appeared. They quickly drew closer and Bars soon recognized them.

  “Hey! What took you so long?” joyfully exhaled Bars. “Where's the rest of the group? There's still enough food for everyone!”

  “Bars! What a luck!” Thirteen couldn't believe his eyes. “We got lost when we took off after you. It's a good thing that we saw your signals!”

  “What happened here?! Who's he?” Yazo asked in surprise when he saw the foreign Shell.

  The stranger observed them quietly but didn't make a move.

  “You won't believe it, but he's not from the Fortress!” said Bars.

  “What do you mean he's not from the Fortress, he can't be from anywhere else!” Thirteen didn't agree with Bars.

  “Ask him then,” Bars suggested. “Maybe he'll be more talkative with you.”

  “Hey, what year did you leave the Fortress... Damn! What did you do to him, Bars?!”

  “It was in self-defense. He attacked me without warning and he didn't give up. I had no choice...”

  The stranger started to get angry, cussing them in his own language, while the three boys watched amazed.

  He was a proof that they weren't alone on this deserted planet.

  “Nowhere have I heard, or read that there could be other survivors besides us!” declared Thirteen shocked. “I thought that the only people were those that were left in the Fortress!”

  “What else don't we know...?” asked Bars

  “Guys, I didn't even expect something like this, but I'm also terribly hungry, so I'm going
to eat now, and later we'll think about what in the world is going on here,” said Yazo grabbing the nearest slug.

  “You're right!” replied Thirteen and joined the banquet.

  Bars stood next to the stranger and looked him over. He really was sorry that his first contact with this foreigner had been hostile. Anyway, what's done is done.

  “It's great to once again taste their disgusting flesh!” shared Yazo blissfully.

  “You have to try this! You won't believe how juicy it is!” said Thirteen wonder struck.

  “Ah, if you had arrived earlier...,” replied Bars thoughtfully.

  Suddenly the banquet was interrupted by screams from the stranger. He tried to get up, but without success. The boys wondered whether he yelled from pain or fear, but they didn't understand a word he said.

  “What's going on with him? Why the sudden change?!” asked Yazo anxiously.

  “Make him stop, Bars!” Thirteen yelled trying to be heard over the stranger.

  “What do you want me to do?! Don't you see that he doesn't understand!” replied Bars, who tried to get the stranger to close his mouth by using hand signs.

  Then the stranger stopped, looking toward the rocks at the end of the valley. The boys followed his look and saw that a few silhouettes were standing there.

  “I never thought I would say it, but I really hope that that is Leegan with the rest of the group,” Thirteen stuttered.

  The distant silhouettes stood there immobile and watched the frightened boys. In a few moments, a few more figures joined them. They were quite a distance away, but one could clearly see that they were different.

  “That's not them!" Bars confirmed their fears.

  The stranger started to laugh evilly and that was one thing, the boys understood clearly. They didn't know who he was or where he came from, nor why he was so hostile toward them, but it was clear that now he was taking pleasure in the fact that he was going to receive retribution.

  “How many are they?” asked Yazo.

  “At least twenty, but more keep coming!” answered Bars anxiously.

  “Wonderful! What will we do now, huh?” Thirteen began to panic. “How will we explain what happened to their friend?”

  The situation really looked bad.

  “There's no other way, we'll have to abandon the slugs and try and get out of here immediately!” said Bars, staring at the opponents that outnumbered them.

  “What if we wait for our guys? Maybe they're close by?” suggested Yazo.

  “That's exactly what I'm afraid of!” replied Bars. “Even if they get here in time, we are fewer than they are. We're hungry and tired without any chance of beating them! They'll defeat us in no time!

  “Damn!” cried out Yazo disappointed. “We've just found the damn slugs!”

  While they were talking, the group of foreign Shells had gathered and now they started their descent between the rocks. They were like a small army, whose one goal was the three frightened boys.

  “Screw the damn slugs! Let's get out of here, before it's too late!” screamed Thirteen.

  “Not that way!” Bars stopped him. “We need to take a different direction! We need to lead them away from our group. If they reach us, at least they won't catch the rest of our group!”

  Yazo and Thirteen looked at him stunned.

  “If we don't re-unite with our group now, we won't ever find them again! You don't want us to stay alone in this wilderness, do you?” said Yazo anxiously, unsure that he would be able to do what Bars wanted.

  “I know, but we have to!” replied Bars. “But be assured, that this is the only way we can save them! We have to head out through the rocks and now!”

  The foreign suits descended with even more vigor into the valley and that helped Thirteen and Yazo make their decision.

  “Let's go then!”

  Even before they took a step, the stranger reached out and grabbed Bars by his leg. Putting all his strength into the hold, he succeeded in bringing Bars down and he started to yell out to the coming horde.

  “Damn it! Not now!” yelled Bars desperately and started to fight for his salvation. Yazo and Thirteen turned back to help, but the savage foreigner wouldn't let go. Both of them grabbed Bars and started to pull, unfortunately again without any success. While they struggled helplessly to free their friend, the threat drew ever closer.

  “It's not working!” yelled Bars. “Go on without me! Go, before it's too late!”

  “Are you crazy?!” replied Thirteen, swimming in sweat. “We won't be able to find our way without you. You're our pathfinder!”

  Then Yazo stood up and enraged by his fear and desperation smashed the opponent's visor with one hit. Leegan would have been proud of him, if he had seen it.

  Once the grip loosened, Bars immediately jumped to his feet.

  “Hurry!” he yelled and the two boys ran after him.