Hunter

Hunting

Hunter

I awoke early, loaded the rifle, and climbed down from the structure with the gun slung over my shoulder. I walked through the woods, gathered branches, carried them back to the structure, and tossed them into a pile. Next, I hauled rocks back and created a circle. Once I finished, I positioned the branches for a fire.

Someone had left a lighter in the structure, which would come in handy.

I gathered leaves and twigs for kindling, then set off to find food. I crept through the woods without sound until I heard rustling from the bushes. I stopped and waited. A deer stepped into view. I pulled the rifle from my shoulder, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The deer dropped to the ground.

I walked over to it as it twitched and shot it. After dragging it back to the campsite, I pulled out a knife and cleaned it. Next, I started a fire and cooked the meat before eating it. The deer would last me a week.

After eating, I walked through the woods until I found a stream. I ran toward it, dropped to my knees, and scooped water into my mouth. As I drank, branches broke.

I stopped and craned my head to find two men standing there. I reached for the rifle as one guy stepped on it.

"There will be no need for you to use that," the man said calmly.

I rose to a standing position and stared at the men dressed in slacks and overcoats. The man with his foot on my rifle had black hair and blue eyes. I spun on my feet to run when three other men appeared, stopping me in my tracks. I held out my hands and turned around slowly.

"We won't hurt you," the man with black hair and blue eyes said.

My eyes darted between the five of me as they surrounded me. I knew how this worked. The men would capture me and send me back. I wasn't going back to that hell. My instincts kicked in as my fists clenched.

The man with black hair nodded to a guy. He stepped toward me. I shoved my foot at him and landed it in his stomach. The guy grabbed his stomach and stumbled backward. Another guy moved toward me,
I slammed my fist into his nose.

"Fuck!" The man grabbed his nose and dropped his head.

Another guy brandished a knife. I grabbed his wrist, twisted it, and threw my elbow into his face. He dropped the knife. I grabbed it and shoved it into the toe of his shoe.

"Motherfucker! I swear to God. I will gut you, you little prick!" The guy grabbed the knife and yanked it out of his shoe. He charged at me as I dodged him.

"Enough!" The man with black hair barked.

The guy with the knife stopped and wiped the blood from his nose.

The man with black hair approached me with his hands up. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you, Hunter."

"How do you know my name?" I asked.

The five guys stared at me in shock.

"You can speak?" The guy with black hair asked me.

"Yes." I looked at the man like he was an idiot.

A smile curled on his lips. I rolled my eyes and walked past him to my campsite. The five men followed me.

I plopped down next to the fire, grabbed a piece of meat, shoved it on a stick, and held it over the fire. "I'm not going back. You can tell social services they can kiss my ass."

"We're not from social services, you idiot." Another guy plopped down next to me and held a handkerchief to his nose. "Thanks for busting my nose. I appreciate it."