Why I Hunt

Chapter Three

3

Our village is pretty well-secured for its threat level. We are positioned in a region of plains and hills. In every direction, one would run into a forest. The founders of this village chose an amazing place to build on. There was a wooden wall with wooden spikes to prevent any monster ramming its way in. Around the perimeter are watch towers that will alert the town in case of danger. The buildings in the village are all sturdy, being made of stone. Because of this, villagers will retreat into the nearest building and wait out the monster's exit if the hunters are out. If the hunting team is home for the time being, they will deal with the monster once the villagers are hidden.

During the day, it was normally safe to play around in the fields outside of our town. David and I were kicking a rubber ball back and forth as we talked. It was a simple yet relaxing activity. Surprisingly, we never got bored of it. Right now, however, I am not enjoying this.

"I've seen the way you look at her. You can't deny you have a thing for Charlie," Dave insists for the one-thousandth time.

"We're best friends, Dave; only best friends. I just find it funny how she acts over the Aptonoth herd."

"Funny?" he questions. "Not 'cute'?"

I don't disagree. I do find her pretty cute at times... but I have to deny him. "Funny. That's all. We are only friends and I don't have interest in changing it."

"Give it a month or two and I'm sure it will. She sure likes you."

"I'm sure she'd say we're just friends, too." I tell Dave.

"Yeah, of course she would SAY that."

"You know, I don't-," I am cut off by the arrival of a very pale William.

"Where are the girls," he asks us softly. "We need to talk as a group."

"I think Emily and Charlie are both at the Aptonoth ranch," David answers. With this, we head for the ranch.

- - - - -

"Why do I already have a feeling as to what this is about?"

"Ok, ok, OKAY!" Will is freaking out. Something is seriously wrong, and we all know what it is. "All you bastards were fucking right. I admit it. I'm an idiot."

"So some big gambling guy finally put the fear of God in you?" Charlie asks.

Will doesn't respond for some time. "Will?" I am trying to get his attention now.

"He..." Will is falling apart. He's a mess right now. "He's gonna kill my family in front of me if I don't get him the money he wants..."

We all fall silent. None of us knows how to react. Do we get mad at him? Of course we're worried, but he brought this on himself. However... this is different, because now he's gotten others in trouble as well.

Charlie is the first to speak up. "What do you need us to do?"

"Charlie?" David questions.

"Do you have a problem? Yes, Will brought this upon himself with his irresponsible actions, but he's our friend, is he not?"

"Charlie's right," I agree. "He's our friend, and we're gonna help him."

"Fine," David gives in. "What do you need us to do?"

"Well, I need to find a way to get that money."

"Do you expect us to just pay out of our pocket?" Emily asks. "What sum of money are we talking about here?"

Will hesitates. "10,000 zennies." Zenny, abbreviated "z," was our currency. This is a large sum of money. David shakes his head in disbelief and Emily gasps.

"Will," I begin, but struggle at pulling the rest together. "There is no way you can tell us to come up with that much."

"Why don't you just tell the authorities?"asks Charlie.

"This guy knows the right authorities to hear that I went to them. I don't know which ones, though. He said if I go, he'll know, and he won't wait the full week."

"You only have a week?!" the four of us exclaim at once. Will nods his head and sinks to the ground.

"Do your parents have the money?" David asks.

"They're going through a rough patch... my dad might literally kill me. I can't tell them. They can't know."

"Don't you think this guy is only bluffing?"

"Would you take that chance?" Charlie questions.

All five of us are at a loss of ideas. We need to figure this out, and fast. We decide to meet up after we each eat dinner and decide.

- - - - -

"I am SO pissed off. You have no idea," Pete tells my parents and me over dinner. "This tournament is a waste of our money and time. It is nothing more than a publicity stunt."

"Well, Kevin would be one for publicity stunts, wouldn't he?" I add in.

"Yeah," Pete agrees. "Sometimes I want something to happen to him on a hunt. Sometimes I consider 'just missing the chance to save him' in a hunt, but it's against my values. I save his ass all the time..."

"Who could blame you," our father says. My mother proceeds to scold him.

"If we win that tournament, Kevin won't stop there. With all that publicity from the city, he'll want to apply there. The team won't want to agree, but we'll have the city to back Kevin up and it'll just be a mess."

We sit in silence for a while. Later, Pete tells us, "At that point, I might as well quit. Maybe I'll become a trainer in our village. It'll help out our economy if we can get an academy going. So many of our youth don't have that chance since the closest academy is pretty far away." Again I ponder the idea of me hunting.

Then it hits me. This is how the five of us will get the money. We can hunt. We can take up a mild case hunt. But the thing is that none of us can hunt. We'll need a teacher...