Bounty Hunter

Chapter 27

"Ohnsha." my mind whispers. Unlike Red I have no cloaking mechanism and I am left open and vulnerable to his gaze. "I was going to escape," I snarl. I twist my shoulder against his grip but my interference only elicits a tighter grip. Underneath the natural response of fear is a layer of adrenaline pumping through me. With a rough push he releases me from his chokehold. One hand remains gripping my shoulder as a warning. As I peek over at his hand I notice that his nails are sharpened into piercing points. My throat closes as I attempt to avoid the bloody smell that permeates his presence. His rigid hand guides me down the bright corridor. The white fluorescent light that ignites the path is almost too bright and causes my eyes to flutter. As I slow my pace to match his I cannot glean a single emotion from this creature. He does not seem malicious or cruel, only animalistic and stoic. His entire skin is pitch black with skin that shines with hundreds of star like freckles. The pupils of his eyes are so dark they almost swallow the entire sclera in darkness.

As we walk ahead I can feel several pairs of eyeballs tracing our path. The aliens in their holding cells peer out at me in curiosity mixed with a certain thirst, for I am out here, while they are inside there. Down the corridor we go where no light lies. While I have to squint to make out the faintest shape, Ohnsha seems to have no trouble guiding us through the fuzzy darkness. Without letting go of my shoulder he pushes open a swinging door. With one finger he pushes me down and I can feel his narrowed eyes slither against me in a dare. The tip of his nail pierces my skin. "Defy me and I will kill you," he seems to convey mentally.

The sandpapery sound of a wooden stick grating against a paper scratches my eardrums. The hot flame ignites and causing the torches pinned to the wall to ignite like a stack of dominoes being toppled over. He drags me off of the floor and seats me in a chair, but to my surprise he refrains from using any restraints. I look around to see a kitchen that that looks as if it were carefully designed by a loving hand. Black granite counters, stainless steel freezer, and adjacent to me on my left, a row of deadly keen knives with not a dull edge in sight. I gulp looking away and wipe the sweat from my upper lip. I never did like knives. The sight of anything with a sharp edge, even my own razor, is enough to make my stomach curl.

Ohnsha has seated me directly in front of a gigantic white cauldron. I would have expected to see traces of blood along the walls but the entire kitchen appears immaculate. Someone must have hired Mr. Clean. For the first time I can thoroughly examine his face and it causes me to almost topple backwards out of my chair. His skin is covered in a thick black fur with the sleek appearance of a seal's skin. The pupils of his eyes are so widened that he appears demonic. He has a small thin mouth and red markings above and below his eyes. He walks over to the knives swiftly plucking one out as if it were a delicate instrument. The setup between us mimics that of a Chinese restaurant where the chef cooks in front of you. While Ohnsha chops the vegetables across from me his eyes never leave mine. He chops up a collection of red vegetables on his white cutting board that ooze out a thick liquid resembling blood. His nostrils widen and his eyes roll back as he tilts his head to inhale deeply. Dropping the knife, he begins to walk towards me. He does not stalk towards me as if I were a prey but it is even worse, for now I realize I am a chicken moments away from being slaughtered.

A long black tongue akin to that of a giraffe's reaches out toward me and I choke on my own gasp. The long tongue licks a stripe across my neck feeling warm and leaving a trail of saliva. My mouth shrinks as my face crumples in revulsion. No words slither out from him and I guess that he must like to taste his meal before killing it.

"Listen to me," I gulp out in attempt to hypnotize him, but the trembling in my voice would not be persuasive enough to convince even a child. Ohnsha's long black tongue overwhelms his lips as it rolls over them. He returns to his chopping board to cut the vegetables with lighting like precision.

"Don't worry it will all be over soon," he whispers. Somehow he manages to swipe his knife across the vegetables while maintaining eye contact with me. At that my heart stutters. I could get up considering I am not bound, but what if he were to attack me with the knife? I'm unarmed. If I am to have any chance of escaping I need to grab one of his knives. The vegetables are tossed into the boiling water and waves of heat roll off misting my face. The heat and moisture that the pot emits causes sweat to drip down my forehead. He puts the knife down and turns away from me. He walks over to where the knives have been congregated to hang above the counter. His back is only turned for a second but in that second I notice that the stack of vegetables has disappeared into the boiling water. His black furry hand reaches past the row of knives to settle on a particularly long one shaped like a rectangle with a thick blade. I recognize it as the knife of a slaughterer.

He whips it out and turns slowly toward me. I wait for him to inch closer as the fog rolls across me drenching me in humidity. One step further and the blade will slice my neck like a chicken. If I were wearing boots this would be a whole lot easier. My calves hurl outward in a furious kick as I gather all of my strength to knock over the cauldron. The soles of my prison shoes are thin and offer no protection against the searing fire that burns my feet causing me to howl. Luckily for me, it is Ohnsha who receives the worst of it. The water bathes him in its boiling waters causing his mouth to open in a horrible howl of despair. It is a sound I would like to forget but never will. He drops the knife and it clatters to the floor. Red mentioned a specific knife of his that could cut through anything. This knife, the one he prizes the most, the one he uses to slaughter his victims, this is it. The metal glints as if it were winking at me. Come and get me, it taunts. I snatch it away from where it has fallen near to the rest of the knives.

Triumphantly I run towards the door but an oily palm knocks me down. Still clutching the knife, I attempt to rise up. But the bony end of a sharp knee plunges into my chest thwarting my efforts. The two black pits stare into mine in a satanically calm manner. Two strong hands wrench the knife out of my hands and wrench my head back. I scream as the knife dives down at my throat about to bite. I grab the striking hand, struggling to keep it away from my neck. My strength would be no match for this alien's if not for my adrenaline which refuses relinquish my desire to live. My stomach tightens as I groan under the strenuous tension required to hold him back. With a sudden rapid movement he rips the knife away and it strikes at my neck. I twist my neck out of the way with a mighty leap. As he attempts to slice at me again with the same expression, devoid of even malice, empty of anything except hunger, I throw my hand out to stop him. Instead of tearing through my hand, the knife is deflected by a web of blue lighting that rips forth with eight arms like that of an octopus to strike Ohnsha down. The smell of burnt flesh penetrates my olfactory senses and I clutch my neck desperately. A strangled noise gurgles out of his mouth as he tries to reach for the knife with a surprisingly quick movement for someone just struck by lightning. My movement is faster though and I grab the knife before he can take hold of it. I turn away to run out the door, but as I turn to leave a furry hand clutches at my ankle. Whipping around madly, I bring the knife down on my assailant's hand. Crazed as if I were living out a scene from one of my childhood nightmares, I plunge the knife into his chest before pulling it out. The sickening sight of blood oozing out from his wound causes me to sway in nausea. The sensation of throwing a knife into another's flesh almost causes me to faint. The light has gone from his eyes instantaneously. Not even the glint of hunger can be found in his death.

"Chef Ohnsha, but you've been chopped," I spit out, quoting my favorite tv show.

a/n: I'm back lil spicies! Thank you for being so patient. Let me know what you think of this chapter. Oh, and do not fear for soon Kai will be here ;)