Bone and Blood Volume I

3 - The Nest, 1926

It started as a tinny scratch. A scraping echo that roused Hook-Nose. As sound grew louder, Alpha shifted. Suddenly, the old grub shot to attention. He growled upwards and bolted into the darkness. Aggressive digging. Then silence. Well, silence other than that swishing, crumbling of rock as something descended the pit.

Hook-Nose cautiously lifted his weight onto his elbows. Burying himself might have been the best next move. Except he was afraid that he would get trapped under the sand. It had been hard enough to dig out the first time. He squinted up. The scraping differentiated into two bodies. They slid down the wall aided by a rope. Each held a flickering lantern.

Serana hit the sand first, but something in Demeko's hand caught Hook-Nose's attention. A burlap bag. Hook-Nose sniffed the air. Meat. The intruders had brought dinner.

Hook-Nose half-lunged forward, tumbling to a stop as he realized caution was warranted. The newcomers were tall and muscular. If Hook-Nose got into a fight with them, he would lose. Beyond that, some nagging, unremembered memory warned him to not to trust these two. He hunkered down to watch.

Demeko placed his lantern in the pit center. Walking a wide circle around it, he dumped the bag's contents. Hands. Both halves of a rib cage. Cuts of muscle clinging to bone fragments. Shiny organ slices. Indescribable flesh hunks. It all splashed onto the sand.

Seeing the scraps was too much. Hook-Nose scrambled forward. Flinched. Stopped. His back could not handle fast motions. His only option was to take it slow and hope that the others—He cringed. Chaser was already on the scene. Shoveling as much sand as meat into his mouth.

Four-Fingers slipped in beside him. Chaser shoved her back. She held her ground momentary, but a flash of teeth was enough to scare her off. She skulked beyond the light's rim. Digger hung back patiently, choosing to trace lines in the sand rather than confront Chaser. Spook was no bolder. He cowered by the wall, the lantern glow reflecting off his hungry, pink eyes.

Serana put a hand on her hip and waved at Chaser. "My bet's on this one being a royal if we got one." She picked up a rib rack and waved it in Chaser's face. He snapped at it, but it was above his head. She kept it out of reach as he climbed to his feet to jump for it.

"Don't play with it," Demeko huffed.

"I'm not playing. We're supposed to check them all out, right?" She tossed the ribs to the farthest wall. Chaser shot after them. The other grubs rushed into the pit center to grab their share. Even Hook-Nose finally made it to a forgotten femur on the edge. "Well, here's the rest of 'em."

As usual, Demeko's neutral expression wreaked of disapproval.

While the new grubs gorged, Scar wandered into the light. He sat by the lantern and stared up at the knights. Serana raised an eyebrow at him. Meanwhile, Chaser returned to the feast, glaring at the other grubs. His sights landed on Scar. As if to make some point, Chaser dropped to a crouch and brushed roughly into him.

Scar spared the new grub a glance, then turned his attention back to the knights. Confused, Chaser growled at him. Scar gently pushed Chaser away. Furious, Chaser lunged. Scar scootched back. Chaser bellyflopped onto the sand. That put an easier target directly in his line of sight: Hook-Nose. A grin spread across Chaser's face. He gave a full-bodied growl.

Hook-Nose narrowed his eyes. He was too hungry and had endured too much pain to give up the femur. His lips pealed back. A low warning hiss through bared teeth.

Chaser launched at him. Hook-Nose held fast. Waited for it. Then wildly biting the air. Chaser pivoted. The two grubs exchanged snarling teeth. Suddenly, Chaser was lifted. Demeko had him by the neck. Chaser struggled futilely until he was tossed aside. On landing, he yelped like a beat dog.