The bear fastened its bloodshot eyes on Aro. Drool dripped from its open jaws. Aro could not help shaking- he was terrified. Never once in his life had he encountered such a big beast, one that could kill him with one swipe of a paw.
The bear took a step closer. Then another. Aro was sure he was going to die. He closed his eyes, his finger tightening on the trigger. But before he could send the last bullet through the beast's brain, it gave a violent jerk, and slumped to the ground.
Aro stood there, speechless. He lowered his gun. What the hell?
"What the hell?" Rave read his thoughts.
"What just happened?" Jacque looked confused.
Aro ran a hand through his dark hair. "I don't know." He holstered the gun, stepped towards the fallen animal.
"You didn't kill it," Rave started to say. He gestured to the spear that stuck out from the side of the bear's head. "Someone else did."
"Impossible. We're the only ones around." Aro felt a sudden churn in his stomach. They were alone, weren't they?
"We're not alone." The realization sunk in as someone pressed a cold blade against Rave's neck.
###
"He's going to die..." A girl's pleading voice.
"We can't save him. It's too late," a man replied gruffly.
"There has to be something you can do."
"I'm sorry. It's too late. I can't help you."
"Please. Just do something. I need him," the girl said. The man let out a deep sigh.
"Fine," he mumbled. There was the shuffling of feet, then someone fumbling in the drawers. "Here. Place three pinches of this powder onto his tongue. That should do it."
"Thank you," the girl sounded excited.
"That would be a hundred," the man said. I opened my eyes just in time to see her put a blade into his heart. The man let out a soft gurgling sound, and fell to his knees, grasping the hilt of the knife sticking out of his chest.
"I don't think so," she kicked him over, sending him sprawling face down on the dusty ground. She pulled out the knife from his body, cleaning the blood off with a piece of cloth.
I felt myself getting dizzy. My eyes rolled up in my head, and I passed out again.
###
"Don't move," the stranger said behind the mask. Rave couldn't tell if it was a male or a female. He swallowed hard, feeling the cold metal press harder against his skin.
"Who are you?" Aro demanded. He began to reach for his gun.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the masked stranger hissed. The blade dug deeper into Rave's neck, drawing blood. "Touch that gun, and I'll slice his head right off." The threat was as cold as ice. He, or she, was dead serious.
"Who the hell are you?" Aro asked again. "What do you want?"
"Where is he?" the question took Aro by surprise.
"What are you talking about?" Aro frowned.
"You know the hell what I'm talking about. Where is he?"
"He..." Aro elbowed Jacque, shutting him up.
"Stop fooling around. I swear I'll-
"He got away," Rave cut in. "If you're looking for the guy we're after, forget it. He got away."
"Fools," the bear-killer spat, and removed the blade from Rave's throat. "When you find him, tell him I was looking for him."
Rave ran a finger across the long scar, grimaced at the pain. "And what do we tell him?"
"Tell him the hunter was looking for him."
And before the three men could utter a word, their lifesaver had vanished, swallowed up by the trees.
YOU ARE READING
HUNT, OR BE HUNTED
Mystery / ThrillerHe was always blacking out, always confused, losing control of his actions. And when he did, he would have no memory of it. What he didn't know was that there was a monster inside him, a monster that he couldn't control. Once it took over, not a sin...
