Hunters - Rising

by David Greer

  Chapter 22

  “Well you look awfully chipper this morning.” Grimey said. Kane had come strolling into the town square where the other two were waiting. There was definitely something different about his mood. A slight bounce in his step and a lightness of gait. The muscular hunter stopped before the two others. There was a sparkle in his eyes as well.

  “Morning.” Kane said with a smile before he turned and headed uphill on a road leading to the top of Khurt.

  “You know, he rarely speaks. He rarely smiles. That is the first time I have ever seen him do both.” Grimey said. Leo shrugged and followed his cousin.

  Their road snaked through tightly packed living quarters. It grew steadily steeper the further uphill it went. It wasn't long until the three hunters left the town behind them and came to the top of the hill. There they stopped a moment.

  Behind them was the town of Khurt spread across the flower-laden hillside. In front of them was a sea of barren, rolling hills. Not a tree in sight. The eastern sunlight illuminated the hillsides while casting the opposite sides in shadow. Their pathway dipped, rose, curved, and wound as far into the hills as they could see. Without a doubt, this was their road. Their only road.

  A draft brushed by the hunters. It carried a faint sound, just barely audible. An echoing screech that howled with the air. The sound passed and faded away leaving a tingle on the back of Grimey's neck. He looked at Leo unsure if he had really heard something or not.

  “Keep sharp.” Leo said. “This is the Windy Pass.”

  “Not that windy.” Grimey said trying to hide his nerves.

  “The wind will pick up quickly. And that sound will grow louder until we reach the source of it.” At least the sound was real, Grimey thought to himself. Whatever was making it didn't sound too friendly. He couldn't hold back a shiver as he replayed it in his mind.

  It wasn't long until Leo's words proved true. At the top of the next hill the breeze had grown to a strong wind. Unmistakable howls flew by as well. By the time they reached the third hill the winds were gusty and the howling could have been coming from something just ahead of them. And it only got worse. Every step was met with stronger gusts.

  The top of the fourth hill was different from the others. Instead of cresting into a smooth descent like the previous hills this one expanded out into a plateau. There was a slight downward slope to the ground but for the most part it was flat. However, the sides of the hill were almost vertical. The pathway led the hunters through the middle of the plateau and anything below the sides remained out of sight.

  A familiar tingling sensation nagged at the back of Grimey's mind. His instincts, honed by years of hunting, were warning him. This was a kill zone. Anybody following this path was vulnerable from both sides. Visibility over the hillsides was zero and the deafening winds made hearing questionable as the screeching howls blared from every direction.

  The wind.

  Grimey had never experienced such a force of air. It was difficult to walk straight. Stronger gusts blew sporadically knocking him off balance. It was a struggle to remain standing. And it came from all directions. It forced the hunter to constantly shift his weight to keep from toppling over. He realized how fatiguing this would soon become.

  “Keep sha-” Leo yelled but the wind shifted and cut off his words. His lips kept moving but Grimey couldn't hear anything over the roaring wind.

  Suddenly there was a howl louder than all the others. Grimey's first thought was to kneel but the wind knocked him off balance which caused him to instinctively regain his footing. He saw Leo point at something behind him but it was too late.

  Something slammed into Grimey's back hurling him several feet. He landed hard and stars filled his vision. Grimey sat up and shook his head clear. Above him hovering in the air was a large beast that filled all his vision. The end of its tail was wide, flat, and the end of it came to a triangular shape that resembled a fin. That must have been what struck him in the back. The beast's body was narrow at the bottom but wide at the shoulders giving it a narrow triangular shape. Large angular wings protruded from its shoulders. It must have had at least a fifteen foot wingspan. They beat steadily and despite the gusting wind the monster hovered easily in one spot. Its head was angular with sharp features. The entire beast gleamed black except for its two bright red-orange eyes. The beast reminded Grimey of a kingpin, except this beast was larger than any kingpin.

  The beast hovered for only a moment longer before letting out a howling shriek and taking flight. But it didn't simply glide away. It negotiated through the winds with powerful beats from its wings and by undulating its entire body. The beast swam through the air more so than flew. With all the gusting winds the beast smoothly swam upward through the air. Despite its menacing appearance, Grimey couldn't ignore its grace in flight.

  Several more of the shining black fliers emerged from beyond both hillsides. They swam through the air. Lethal and majestic. Grimey wasted no time and pulled a hatchet from his belt and hurled it at the beast nearest him. It was well within range but the wind took the small axe and blew far left of its target. The monster, aware the wind would blow anything thrown at it off course, didn't even bother to move.

  “That's not good.” Grimey said. He threw another hatchet at the same beast this time aiming to the right to compensate for the wind. But a different gust of wind took the hatchet further right. “Nope, not good at all.”

  The beast let out a piercing shriek and, riding on a gust of wind, dove at Grimey. The bearded hunter dove aside just as its tail whipped against the ground. Dirt and rock flew up from the tail strike and a small crater was left in the earth. These beasts weren't messing around. That tail strike could do some serious damage.

  Another flying beast targeted the bearded hunter. It tucked its wings close to its body, shrugged its shoulders close to its chest turning it into a shiny black bullet that shot down from the sky. At the last moment it unfurled its wings and whipped its tail. Again, the hunter just barely avoided the attack and the whipping tail. “Damn buzzards!” Grimey yelled.

  The buzzards generated tremendous speed when they dove. If caught just right a flick of a tail could knock a man's head off its body. At the very least it would send a man flying as Grimey learned moments earlier. The hunters scrambled to avoid the attacks. After each dive the buzzards would disappear below the edge of the hillside only to rise up a moment later ready for another attack. The hunters were pinned down.

  “We need to get to the next hill!” Leo screamed. The others couldn't hear him over the wind but the urgency in his face and the fact he was pointing at the next hill made the message more than clear.

  The hunters scrambled across the flatland surrounded by shrieks and tail whips. They lunged, ducked, dove, and rolled to avoid all the whipping tails. Grimey knew throwing hatchets would be useless so he drew his axe. Another loud shriek shook the air. A buzzard had tucked into a bullet aimed straight for the bearded hunter. Grimey squared off with it, axe in hand. The buzzard swooped in, its tail prone, ready to strike. The instant it began to open its wings Grimey rolled to the side, came up on one knee, and swung his axe in a wide sweeping arc. The blade just nicked the buzzard's wing but it was enough to knock it of course and send it crashing into the ground. Twisted, mangled, and mashed the beast was not getting up.

  Kane saw how Grimey had taken out the buzzard and used the same technique with his spear. It worked. The spear-tip just caught one of the beasts and sent it crashing to the ground. Two buzzards down, a sky-full to go.

  The hunters continued to move across the plateau and eventually made their way to the end where it dipped down into a trough leading to an incline up the next hill. The sides of the pathway were no longer vertical cliffs but were still steep slopes. At least there weren't any more blind spots. However, the pathway narrowed and there was less room to move and there was now a hazard of being knocked off and sliding far down the steep hillside.

  Grimey noticed Leo moving wi
th his bow in hand and wondered why he didn't draw his sword. Arrows would be useless in this wind. Nevertheless, Leo kept a firm grip on his bow as he evaded the swooping buzzards. The island hunter moved on the ground with a grace equal to the buzzards in the air. He spun, ducked, and rolled while keeping his forward progress. He wasn't struck once by a buzzard tail.

  Kane moved much slower but managed to take down another flying beast. Grimey had no such luck. Leo, who had broken out ahead of the others and was beginning the ascend the next hill, noticed that the beasts were going after the other two and leaving him alone. He watched for a moment. One buzzard dove for Grimey, drawing the hunter's attention, only to turn away so another could swoop down from behind and knock the hunter to the ground. The monsters were beginning to work together. This isn't right, Leo thought, they've never been this coordinated before. They were choosing their targets. Grimey was back on his feet quickly but Leo saw him spit red. The buzzards used the same trick on Kane. They wouldn't be able to take many more hits like that. The two hunters made little progress down the hill before having to evade an attack or were struck by one. Leo glanced at his sword and thought about charging in to help. But he paused. The buzzards were swimming above Kane and Grimey, circling for their next attack. Leo shook his head, turned, and took off uphill.

  Grimey and Kane stood back to back, both battered and bleeding. Their eyes scanned the windy skies above anticipating the next attack. Grimey noticed Leo had run off. Perhaps flight was their best option at this point. He nudged Kane with his elbow and signaled after Leo. Kane nodded. A buzzard swooped down and the two hunters rolled away and immediately sprung to their feet and ran.

  The wind made it difficult to balance. Gusts of wind would steer them off the pathway where the ground was uneven. Grimey stumbled over loose dirt and rocks and fell to a knee. There was a howling screech and the hunter automatically rolled to the side. He felt a rush of wind just above him and saw a shadow pass over. Working to regain his footing, Grimey stood only to be knocked back down by a buzzard tail. He shook the cobwebs out and crawled back to the pathway before standing again.

  Running uphill was never a hobby of Grimey's, and doing it with a swarm of monsters out for his head was certainly not an ideal situation. But he and Kane pushed on. Their legs burned having to drive up the incline while adjusting for gusts of winds that threatened to veer them off course. A particularly strong gust threatened to topple Grimey over but as he was about to lose his balance Kane's hand shot out and caught him. When Grimey was stable another strong gust blew by and he felt Kane's grip tighten as the islander used Grimey to keep himself stable. Several times one hunter had to reach out to help stabilize the other but they drove on and kept just barely ahead of the buzzard attacks.

  That is until one buzzard used its wings instead of its tail to strike. The beast dove directly from behind with its wings spread and clipped both hunters from behind. The beast landed easily and just as quickly launched back into the air. Kane took the hit at the back of his neck and fell unconscious. Grimey was struck in the back of his head and crashed upon the hillside. He was dazed and his vision blurred. The familiar taste of blood filled his mouth. But he was awake.

  The bearded hunter slowly rolled onto his back. The effort involved sent fatigue and pain coursing throughout his body. He breathed slowly, eyes only half open. Disoriented, he wasn't sure where he was. Shadows swam through the sky above. How graceful. How beautiful. One of them noticed his admiration and turned to approach. That graceful shadow began to grow larger. It began to speak. Words didn't come out but there was a sound. Grimey strained to listen thinking he could make out words. Instead he only made out a screaming howl. He knew that sound. It reminded him of something. Comfort? No that wasn't it. Danger? Maybe that was it. Yes that was it. It meant danger.

  Danger! Grimey's vision cleared as he snapped out of his daze. But he was too late. The buzzard was too close for Grimey to avoid another hit. He braced himself. The beast's tail was poised for a direct hit to the face. That black spade of malice filled all of Grimey's vision and he never looked away. This is gonna hurt, hopefully I wake up.

  Then nothing happened.

  The tail rushed by and a loud thud followed. Grimey turned and looked. The buzzard laid dead against the hillside, an arrow lodged in its neck. The hunter stretched his body back to look uphill. At the hilltop was Leo, his eyes radiating a brilliant white, the ink on his skin flowing like rapids, his hair whipping in the torrent of winds. He nocked an arrow, aimed somewhere far to the left, away from all the buzzards, and fired. The arrow curved and spiraled with the gusty winds back to the right, lower, then higher, then directly into the path of a buzzard.

  Through those radiant eyes Leo saw everything. The path of the winds, the sporadic gusts that ripped across the hills, the currents of air flows. Everything. Focusing on the many air flows, Leo saw how each arrow would be affected by the winds. At that moment he saw a gust coming from the left, an updraft further ahead, and a curving current bending to the right and a buzzard hovering right there. He adjusted his aim to the left and down and let the arrow fly. It caught the gust and blew right, then raised higher in the updraft before reaching the bending air current, which took the arrow directly into the buzzards neck.

  Leo picked out a path for each arrow and sent it along to its target. He did not miss a single shot.

  Three thwacks of the bow, three more buzzards dropped to the ground. The air paths became all too clear for Leo and it wasn't long before he could fire in rapid succession. At one point Leo aimed down just above where Grimey and Kane laid. When he fired, an updraft vaulted the arrow skyward and it lodged between the eyes of a diving buzzard.

  It wasn't long until the skies were clear and the ground was littered with shiny black corpses. And it wasn't even noon yet. Leo diligently collected his arrows while Grimey, once returned to his senses, roused Kane. When the muscular hunter woke slowly then surveyed the scene and gave a grunt of approval.

  “The worst of it is over.” Leo yelled when he returned to the others. The wind still made it difficult to hear. His quiver was fully stocked once again. “I doubt we'll run into any more. Now we just need to make it out of these hills before sundown. It gets cold and there's no way to keep a fire in this wind.”

  The winds had not let up one bit but at least they no longer carried those howling shrieks. “How much farther?” Grimey yelled. The three surveyed the horizon ahead.

  “There's the next three hills, then that large one.” Leo said.

  “What's beyond the large one?”

  “No idea. I've never been that far.”

  “Great. Well let's get to it then.” Grimey said. He spit out a mouthful of red saliva and began trudging along the pathway.

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