The Hunt

Chantria [2]

It was a huge cargo plane, with ten seats on either side of the main area. I could see a second area above the seats, with cargo nets for walls.

I sat on the bench labeled '56' and was immediately strapped in by automatic restraints. From my seat, I craned my neck and spied six guards on the upper-level balcony. It was strange. We were the 41-60 plane. I had thought that that plane served Europe.

"Hey! 56?" I turned to the left to see 55, who I assume had paged me.

"Yes? Hi?"

"Hi, my name is Chantria. Chantria Linder. I was wondering if you wanted to form an alliance? Also, what's your name? Your sign? Preferred weapon? How many-"

"OK!" I said, cutting her off. "Hey, Chantria. I'm Rivi Indger." I said, unsure. My friend - well, now Old Friend, since I was a Hunter - and I had never introduced ourselves. Our families just thrust us together.

"I...like knives. And daggers. And throwing darts. What do you mean, sign?"

"Oh, like zodiac sign. But you probably don't care about that stuff. But anyway, how many people have you killed?"

"What!? I've never-" Before I had a chance to finish, a siren sounded and I heard the clanging of metal doors slamming shut. Before I could comprehend what was happening, all the seats were filled and all the girls buckled in.

"Attention, everyone. In approximately 24 hours, we will arrive at the Abandoned Place. It is a huge wasteland. You will all be dropped at separate spots around the continent in increments of 15 minutes. Also, spread throughout the continent are thousands of flags and gems. The flags can earn you extra points, as there are abandoned cities as well. The flags contain clues that will help you during the Hunt. When there are five girls remaining, out of the five, whoever has the most gems is declared the Head Hunter. Once all have been dropped, the Hunt will officially start."

I could feel the groan of the plane as we took off. In 24 hours, I would be in the Abandoned Place.

"When you are all Hunting, there will be plenty of flora and fauna for you to survive off of. Remember, the part of the Abandoned Place you will all be Hunting in will gradually shrink as the Hunt goes on. If you happen to come to the edge, you will see a buzzing white fence. Do not touch this fence, as you will be electrocuted."

Interesting. Perhaps I'd have to shove someone into it.

"And one final thing. You may take as many weapons as you want when you go Hunting, and you may choose your clothes. In addition to as many weapons and clothes as you want, you may take one extra item. After this, we will allow no extra assistance to you. While on the plane, we will allow no fighting, but as you all know, anything goes in the Hunt.

"We are now at cruising altitude. You are all allowed to move around the plane and are free to do whatever you feel like, until you hear your number called."

With a beep, the radios turned off. The restraints on our seats unfasted and we all stood up, rubbing our wrists where the straps had chafed the skin.

"So, Rivi?" I turned to see Chantria, stretching. "You were going to tell me? About how many people you'd killed?"

"Oh! Right," I said, nervously futzing with my hair. "Well, I've never killed anyone, per se, but...you know what? I'll tell you more when we meet up in the Abandoned Place."

"Right!" affirmed Chantria. "Guards! May we have a map of the arena?" One of the guards nodded, and with a flick of their wrist, a map unfurled on the floor beneath us. I looked at my hand and saw it was filled with red and black markers. Well.

"Ok, so our drop points are going to be here. Pretty close," I said, pointing at the two dots labeled 55 and 56. "So, you see that copse of trees between us? There's probably water there. It should be around half a day's walk. We can meet there and make that our base. Sound good?"

Chantria nodded. "Oh, and also, we'll have to figure out a way to get food. I'd hate to finally become a Huntress, only to starve as soon as I get there."

I nodded.

"Hey, rats! Out of the way," said a voice. We glanced up to see a blondie, with a squad of brunettes behind her. "I don't care if you rats wanna skitter around on the ground, but get away from me if you're going to! You probably have rabies."

I stood up and resisted the urge to sweep-kick her.

"Oh, I see what this is. You're a sweet little city girl who, by some mistake, ended up on the Hunt! But no worries, your prim little possie here will protect you. Oh, wait! No, they won't, because as soon as we all are dropped in the Abandoned Place, it's everyone for themselves. And you'll die. Sound about right?"

She huffed, then turned on her heel and walked away. The other three girls, however, stayed.

"You seem tough. We want in," said one of them. "I'm Sylvia. That's Iela and Vinder. Can we join your team?"

Chantria was about to say no, I could tell, so to stall for time, I asked, "What are your numbers? Our strategy hinges on speed."

The girls held out their arms. Sylvia was 43, Iela was 52, and Vinder was 49.

Chantria huffed. "Ok. Do you guys see this copse? Make it there by sunset, after you're dropped off. Do that, with sufficient food, and you can join our team. But fail, and I'll kill you."

My jaw dropped. Chantria, who'd seemed bubbly and sweet, had just threatened murder with a cool gleam in her eye. I knew she'd be a great partner.

"We got it," affirmed Iela. "We'll be there."

We nodded and saluted, and the girls went on their way.

"So Chantria, I just had a thought," I said, still processing her steel side. "What if- no, what do we do when we get injured? Should one of us bring a medkit into the Abandonded Place?"

"I thought about that too," said Chantria, circling something on the map, "But check this out. The people said that scattered throughout were gems and flags. The flags will give us clues, right?"

"Right," I said. "But how does that help with the medkit?"

"Take a look at this field. Squint at the area surrounding the field. Don't all the trees sorta resemble-"

"A hospital cross!" I gasped.

"Bingo. That must be where medical supplies are hidden!" I high-fived Chantria and drew a dotted line from Copse to the medical field.

"That's a days' journey, so we should plan on doing that after we've established a base. Or maybe before? What do you think?"

Before Chantria had a chance to answer, the radios crackled again.

"Attention, everyone. In one hour, beds will unfold and there will be more food served. We highly recommend that all of you should sleep for at least twelve hours before your Launch. That is all."

"Will our beds be numbered too?" I wondered aloud.

"Who cares about that? They have Big C!" said Chantria, suddenly realizing there was food. While she ran over and started raiding the snack table, I jogged over to the other side of the plan and took a gander at the weapons rack.

It was filled; Belts full of knives, swords with custom hilts, bows and arrows, and javelins. There were also bags of ninja stars, maces, and chain bombs. Daggers, darts, and what looked like bow staffs were also heaped onto the table. A bunch of things I couldn't even name but looked dangerous completed the deadly ensemble. As always, no guns. No one quite knew why.

"Rivi!" yelled Chantria. I turned and was presented with a hot Pop-Tart.

"Eat up! I have some celery for you after this, and then a ham and cheese sandwich," she said, fishing around in a woven satchel she'd gotten from who knows where.

"Ok, thanks Mom," I said jokingly, burning my mouth on the frosting.

"Shut up," she giggled. "Now let's find a place to sit."