THE HUNT

Three

I'm hungry.

Hungrier than I was when I was being force fed pieces of mold bread just a few days ago.

A plate of food, real food, sits on the table. I watch it with wary eyes, glancing towards Kylo Ren, who's been sitting at the chair opposite the place set for me. He's seemingly focused on his datapad.

I'm cold, too. I tossed his cloak and Maeve's coat on the floor the moment he left yesterday. Now I sit against the wall with my knees pulled up to my chest, still nearly bare. He's been watching his datapad for what feels like hours, not looking at me even once since he offered me the food. It was steaming then. It must be cold now. I flinch as he sighs, taking something from his belt and tossing it onto the table. It looks like a heap of metal formed into to some kind of hilt. It rattles for a moment, then comes to a rest.

"You can't go hungry forever." He glances up. "And I can tell that you're freezing."

"I don't need anything from you." I say, voice small.

"Maybe not, but you'll either die or get sick if you continue on like this." He waves a hand, and the plate scrapes against the table, then begins a slow advance towards me, floating through the air. It arrives before me, dropping at my feet. "Eat, Hunter." I shake my head, maybe a little too hard, since my vision begins to swirl. "You're going to need your strength."

"I don't need anything from you." I repeat, gritting my teeth. He presses his lips together, the leather on his gloves creaking as he tightens his grip on the datapad. My heart begins to tremble.

"I am being kind." He says carefully, words clipped. "It is rude to decline my hospitality."

"You are anything but kind." I kick the plate away, rage replacing fear. "You, Kylo Ren, are a monster." I stand, head spinning. His eyes darken, and the pressure in my temples increase. "A filthy, bloodthirsty, vile monster!" He clenches his jaw, and reaches his hand towards me, beckoning with a finger. My body wrenches towards him, and I cry out. He wraps his hand around my neck, pressing his thumb against the sensitive part on my throat, causing me to cough, unable to suck in another breath.

"I'm a monster?" His voice is dangerously low, and I claw at the hand choking me. "Sweetheart," He leans in closer, breath brushing across my face. "I haven't even started."

Then, my vision whitens, and I hear birds. I blink, and the pressure on my throat moves to my temples.

I look up, seeing the rolling hills of D'Quar, smelling loam and ship fuel. I let out a breath, the pain in my chest lightening.

Home.

I turn, seeing a towering figure. I step back.

"Where are we?" I feign confusion, and he looks around, head tilted upwards.

"D'Quar was your home base. You grew up here." He watches a ship ascend into the atmosphere, which then vanishes into hyperspace. Then he turns his gaze to me. "I know of this one." He waves his hand, and immediately, a fleet of First Order destroyers pulls into the crystal sky. I gasp, stomach tumbling. He points to the lead ship. "That, Hunter, is a dreadnaught." He waves his hand again, and I'm looking at D'Quar, now from space.

I'm in a ship.

"Are the auto cannons primed?" I turn, seeing a stiffly dressed man watching the planet. My planet. A woman stands beside him, just as stiffly.

"Primed and ready, sir." She replies.

"No." I turn to Ren. "No, this isn't real." He only watches the planet silently.

"What are we waiting for?" The man demands. "Fire on the base!"

"No!" I rush forward, pressing my hands against the thick glass separating me from the endless void of space. Ren says nothing, and I can't tear my eyes away as the surface of the planet implodes. I fall to my knees, nausea roiling throughout my body. I'm finally able to avert my gaze, pressing a hand to my mouth. "This isn't real." I cry out as his gloved hands grab my hair, wrenching my head upwards. He's kneeling behind me, and his lips are pressed to my ear.

"You called me a monster." He says lowly. "That is exactly what I am, Hunter." He tightens his grip, forcing me to look at the cracked planet. "Do you want to see what happens next?"

"No." I whisper.

"Liar." Now I'm on the bridge of a different ship, and there are a handful of escape transports just out of range of the shots bouncing against their shields. There's an icy planet to the right, and he offers me a large circle of glass, which magnifies about a dozen specks into escape ships. "They tried to trick us, but they failed." I watch in horror as one by one, the ships explode, until there are only three left. "A handful of the Resistance is all that's left."

The horrific scene vanishes, and we're back in the room. His hand drops from my throat. I collapse to my knees. He crouches before me, forcing my chin up with the knuckle of his pointer finger.

"You're lying." I choke out, tears tumbling down my cheeks.

"I know the planet of D'Quar. Illenium System. Outer Rim. I know that was your main base."  His face remains expressionless, and he tilts his head. "I know you grew up there with your mother, Naja." He continues, and my heart drops, guilt tying a knot in my stomach. "I know she was killed when you were only eighteen." He leans in closer. "And I know that it was your fault."