Between The Crystals

Ch 93 Croc Hunt

Roxanne took the other porters to see the crystals, while the three who'd just come back from there gathered their groups to return to the new spots. Merryl opted to go to Beyond The Marsh with Ariel, making several trips to take most of my regular group with her.

I turned to Liam and the other croc hunters—half of whom had come from other groups—who were watching me like eager hounds. "Ready to go? I can take the eight and the cart to the sandbar first, just so you have some high ground to retreat to. Then I'll come back for the last twelve and make a detour to grab those weapons. By the way, if anyone gets bitten by a croc, you have to explain it to Grant, not me."

"I heard that." Grant's voice floated across the milling crowd of people behind me.

Most grinned in amusement. Eight separated themselves from the group and pushed the cart closer.

"Do you want us on the cart or hanging onto it?" Liam asked.

"You might as well jump in."

Within two heartbeats, eight men and women were in the cart. Several picked up wooden spears in case a croc was near the crystal.

With one hand on the cart and one on the crystal, I murmured, "Jungle Sandbar."

The air hazed around us, and the cart's weight didn't bother me as I dragged it with me. We blinked in the morning light as our view cleared. It was early enough that the crocodiles had only just started coming out of the water.

"If you stay up there, I'll head back for the others. Try to keep the crocs away from the crystal if you can."

They nodded or murmured in agreement, already turning their attention to the crocodiles while debating which ones were in the best positions for the hunt. I silently ported back home.

"Rest for five minutes," Grant advised me. "As excited as you are, I know you'll port straight from the Guard Station without a proper break."

I grinned at him, unable to even try convincing him that he was wrong. We both knew the truth, especially now that bouncing a twelve-group was a feasible endeavor for me.

"We'll make sure she rests between ports," a younger hunter reassured Grant.

I burst out laughing, as did a few of my regular hunters. Grant tried to turn his laugh into a cough without much success. The lad looked around in bafflement.

Eventually, Grant got himself under control. "If you can manage that, then you're more skilled than I am. Much like the dogs chasing rabbits, she'll work until she drops."

Cruz sent an amused look my way as he informed our latest recruit, "If she's very nice to us, she'll sit in the cart. But more likely than not, she'll keep trying to help us butcher, and we'll end up convincing her to carry small loads to the cart to keep her out of mischief."

"Shush, or I'm making you walk there," I grumbled in good humor, pointedly looking away from the hunter.

I didn't even have to see him to know he'd be grinning, as would the hunters I usually worked with. How long did I have to stay here? Oh yeah, five minutes. Which was about four minutes and thirty seconds too long with this group revealing exactly how well they knew me.

Their chattering about the hunt soon had me rejoining the discussion, although they immediately nominated me for the role of lookout in case a croc decided to sneak up behind them from the other side of the sandbar.

"Let's go before the others think I got lost," I said as I headed for the crystal. The twelve hunters immediately converged around me. As soon as they were holding onto me or each other, I said, "Guard Station."