The Hunter

Keep Driving

Gravel crunched under the truck's tires as Claude eased it out of the parking lot. Despite knowing the Hunters would soon be coming after them, Mira couldn't help but relax as the adrenaline from the past few days eased out of her system. Maybe she could take a short nap. She groped around for one of the stolen sleeping bags that she'd thrown into the backseat.

Right when she finally got comfortable with it, Claude said, "Merde, we're going to have to stop for gas soon. While I'm glad the truck is so comfy, it does burn a lot of gas."

"Sorry." Mira stretched and feebly tried to stay awake despite the little nest she'd made with the sleeping bag calling her to sleep. "The others were worse for the most part. The majority were rust buckets that somehow still managed to run."

"I've seen trucks like those." Collin reclined his seat a bit and put his boots on the dashboard. The Hunter next to Mira stiffened and glared at the shoes. "I honestly have no idea how they work. How the engines have fallen out yet is beyond me. I mean if the outside is so nasty, wouldn't the bolts holding the engine in place have rusted?"

While Collin and Claude droned on about engines and car parts, Mira yawned and tried even harder to stay awake. Why couldn't they pick an interesting topic -- something in which she could actually participate?

"So did our little friend in the backseat give you any trouble back there?" Claude glanced in his rearview mirror at the Hunter. "And another thing, how are we paying for gas? I have no cash on me."

"Nah, he was harmless as a lamb." Collin chuckled. "Oh man, so many lamb and lion jokes I could make right now. Well, other than making Mira think I killed you and joined up with other hunters for a while, it all went fine."

"I couldn't smell Claude and I could smell blood!" Mira huffed, her weariness completely gone. "What was I supposed to think?" Collin opened his mouth, but Mira kept on talking. "Oh, and I got some money from a locked chest. Search the bag with the guns for the cash. We can just use that to get gas."

"How much stuff did you get?" Collin ruffled through the bag at his feet. "I mean seriously, the entire back is full."

"We needed all of it." Mira diverted her gaze out the window. Leave it to men to be ungrateful. She'd even gotten shot at getting his stupid guns. "Plus I've never had to take care of a human before, so I didn't know what all you required to survive."

"Wow." The boots thudded to the floor as Collin twisted to look at her. "I'm not a pet or even human for that matter. Last I checked, I could for the most part, take care of myself. Maybe I couldn't kill all those rogues on my own, but I did get us plenty of food."

"I didn't mean it like that." Mira sighed. "I just meant you need different nutrients than a wolf. We live primarily on meat. I got a bit much in the area of food because I wanted to be safe. Plus I got each of us a steak since I thought we deserved a bit of a pick-me-up."

"She just won my vote on this argument." Claude glanced sideways at Collin. "Wait, what cut is the steak?"

"Filets." Mira smiled at Claude and winked at Collin.

"Yep, she definitely has my vote." Claude's statement made Collin laugh and shake his head.

"Traitor." Collin still had a smile on his face, though.

"What?" Claude shrugged his shoulders. "She got us steaks... Steaks! Cats love steaks. Seriously, why wouldn't I side with her over something like this?"

"I'm not even sure what to say to that." Collin cocked an eyebrow, and Mira giggled at their silliness. "And you. Don't think I'll be as easily bought. I do love a good steak, but it's not enough."

"I did get you swords." Mira plastered her biggest smile on her face. "And throwing knives. Plus a beautiful array of guns."

"Damn you, woman." Collin sighed and this time Claude chuckled at him. "It's not funny. Okay, maybe it is a little funny. But we still have the issue of all the stuff in the truck bed. Although the guns and weapons stay."

"Well, all meat products should stay." Claude shrugged when Collin gawked at him. "Some poor animal gave their life for the meat. The least we can do is not let it go to waste."

"I honestly don't even know what to say to that." Collin hadn't stopped gawking at Claude.

"Well, you can think about it while I fill up the tank." Claude pointed to a small gas station up ahead. "At least we found this place, right? Give me forty bucks."

After Collin put two twenties into Claude's outstretched hand, Claude pulled the truck up next to pump number 3 and opened his door. Mira caught a whiff of a familiar scent and not a good familiar. They had to leave. Now. Even if that meant she and Claude had to push the truck later, it was better than this.

"Claude! Get back into the truck," she whispered, but the door slammed shut at the same time she spoke and Claude was off to the convenience store. "Shit! We need to go."

"What?" Collin's brow furrowed and he turned to look at her. Claude paused for a second before continuing into the store-he'd caught the scent. Sadly, he wouldn't know whose scent it was. "We have to get gas before we leave."

"See those three guys over there. One of them is leaning against the building." Mira fidgeted on her seat. Why couldn't they catch a break? When Collin nodded and glanced back at her, she continued, "The one leaning against the building is Trevor. The leader of the Redwood trackers. There will be more trackers in the woods behind the building. They never move in groups of less than seven when trying to find me."

"Shit." Collin let out a breath. "What do we do? We have to get gas. It was almost on empty."

"I guess we hope they don't catch my scent." The Hunter next to her wiggled closer to the door. "Don't even think about it. They won't hesitate to torture you into telling them everything about your town. Do you want that?" The Hunter's eyes went wide and he shook his head. "Then I suggest you stay still and don't bring them over to us. You're safer with us than them. Trust me."

The door to the store opened and Claude stepped out. Trevor sniffed and cocked his head to the side. His eyes flickered around until they landed on the truck. Of course Claude would have a bit of her scent on him, and Trevor wasn't the head of the Redwood trackers for anything.

A metallic click came from the front seat and her eyes drifted down to where he was loading the pistols she had gotten for him. Wonderful. They had three options: face off with them here and risk humans seeing them; running into the woods where the others would be waiting for them; and her preferred method to date, Mira running off on her own to draw them away.

Somehow she didn't think Collin would appreciate the last one very much, but it seemed like the safest option. Claude lifted the nozzle and started to fill the tank, but based on the tenseness of his shoulders, he could sense Trevor watching him. Mira moved closer to the door just as Claude shook his head.

Damn him for knowing her so well. Did he really think staying and fighting would be their best option? They had a Hunter, a lion shifter and a wolf shifter against at least seven trackers. She didn't exactly like their odds.