The Wolf's Daughter

6 - Good Hunting

'C'mon you beautiful bastard, just a little more to the left.' Shifting on my stomach, I watched the deer graze close to the length of wire I'd set up. Pulling my radio to my lips, I commed in.
'Mina you seeing this?'

'Yup, couple more steps and we'll have him.' Her red beanie peeped from behind a tree that was directly opposite me at about fifty paces. The stag shuffled forward, his blazing red antlers pointed down to the ground as he nibbled at the grass. He was the alpha male Carmina and I had been tracking for a few weeks now. Every time we'd caught him so far he'd managed to evade us but not today. This time, our trap was perfect. As its cloven hoof stepped onto the wire, a loud bang was triggered. Flustered, the stag bounded forward and careered straight into the net we'd strung up between two gnarled trees.

'Boo-yah!' I cheered, punching a fist into the air. Rushing over with Carmina, we took in the sight of the knotted net wound into its majestic antlers.

'You wanna shoot it or should I?' Carmina lifted her assault rifle and I swung my bow on my back.

'By all means do the honours.' I bowed slightly, stepping back and she snorted.

'You're such a dork Wren.' As she giggled, the deer twitched before bucking backwards and catching Carmina right in the face.

'Shit!' I scrambled to assist her as the stag tore the netting from the trees and fled. 'You okay?!' Pulling her gloved hands from her face, a trickle of blood slipped out of her nostril and she grimaced.

'We almost had him!'

'Carmina come in.' My friends' radio fizzed to life and her mother's voice leaked into the forest.

'Hey mom.' She chimed, using a wrist to wipe the blood away.

'Sorry to ruin your fun but I need you back. Rush is due to show up tonight and I could do with some help setting the place up.'

'Sure thing, won't be long.' Holstering her radio, Carmina wiped at her face again. 'Maybe next time huh?'

'Oh definitely next time.' I gave her a wicked smile before giving her a hug. 'You sure you're gonna be okay?'

'Course! It's just a knick.' Her cheeky smile faltered as she accidentally said his name, pulling away from the hug. Uncle Nick had been missing for at least a month now, taken by the Highwaymen who'd decided to encroach on the county.

'Mina-' I tentatively reached towards her but she shuffled backwards.

'I better go.' She started to walk towards Prosperity hurriedly. 'I'll see you soon Wren!'

'Yup. See you soon.' I waved half heartedly until she was out of sight. Yanking my bow off of my back, I began my own journey home.

***

'Stupid deer.' I grumbled, trudging along through the woodland. We were so damn close. Even just one of those antlers would get me enough components to upgrade my bow. Lost in my thoughts, it took me a second too long to notice I was being tracked. Pausing, my fingers twitched and I slowly reached for an arrow. Out of nowhere a wild dog leapt down from the nearby rock-face, its jaws open and coated in saliva. Tearing my arm up, I stabbed it in the chest with the arrow and felt it go slack on the end. Rabid barks echoed behind me and three more started to give chase. Time to run. Darting through the woods, my boots pounded into the dirt as the dogs snapped at my heels. Rooting around my utility belt, I snatched up a grenade and tossed it straight at one of them. 'Fetch this!' Instinctively, the dog grabbed the explosive in its mouth before being blown to smithereens. 'Man that was cool.' I praised myself just as a canine tore at the fabric of my sock. Not the time to get distracted. A large branch hung down in the distance, thick and sturdy enough to hold my weight. Pelting it forward, I leapt up and grabbed onto the wood. Heaving my body weight upright, I balanced carefully and produced my bow. 'Night night!' I cackled, shooting both dogs in the head with an arrow each. I had to take a moment to catch my breath. Hope County was such a crazy place to live. Rasping heavily, a yowling sound hissed from above me. Turning my attention to the next branch up, I saw the slender long tail of a cougar dangling towards me. 'You gotta be shitting me.' I was too slow to act. The cat pounced, tumbling onto the ground with me in its grip. Claws raked into my back and I clenched my teeth in agony. 'Get the fuck off of me!' Pushing my feet upwards, I jabbed them straight under its ribs and managed to shrug it off. Struggling upright, I ran as fast as my legs would carry me towards the house whilst nursing my back. I was on the home stretch. 'C'mon, c'mon.' Needles embedded into my shoulders as the cougar grabbed me, pinning me onto the floor. Writhing under its grip, I tried to crawl forward to no avail.

BANG.

The cat grew limp, claws un-embedding themselves from my skin and toppling to the side. Raising my gaze, I caught sight of the stern face of my father approaching. His now faded red sniper rifle steamed lightly from the barrel.

'I was handling it.' I protested, getting to my feet.

'Don't fuckin' look like it to me.' He retorted, spinning me round to study the scratch marks that had torn into my back. 'Ya shoulda whistled for me.'

'I was a little pre-occupied!' His fingertips grazed across the wounds and I took a sharp intake of breath.

'How many?' Dad asked, pushing his now light red hair from his face.

'Three dogs. Just the one cougar.'

'I fuckin' hate radioactive nature.' He griped, taking me by the shoulder and gently shoving me towards the house. 'Get inside, we'll patch you up.' I felt embarrassed that he'd caught me struggling. At this point I should know what I was doing. Stepping into the kitchen, mom gasped at the sight of me.

'Jesus Christ Wren! What the hell-'

'Dogs chased me back and then a cougar got me off guard.' Tugging my shirt over my head, I grabbed one of the kitchen chairs and spun it round so that my chest was pressed against the back of it. Dad dragged another one up behind, med-kit in hand.

'They've been coming closer and closer to the house recently.' Mom's brow furrowed as she looked out of the window. 'It's those damn Highwaymen. They're taking all the territory away and forcing the animals to find new grounds.'

'I'll set up more traps tomorrow.' Dad mumbled, focussing on dabbing cistanche extract into my wounds. The plant sap stung at first but soon started to soothe the raw skin and stem the bleeding. 'Good hunting?'

'Nope.' I replied, bracing my hands on the chair. 'We nearly had the damn thing too but it got away again.'

'Maybe you're both just shit hunters.' Dad's tone was serious but I knew he was joking. That's just the way he was. 'Want me to come next time?'

'Absolutely not.' He chuckled at my indignant response, bandaging me up and then leaning back, dusting his hands together.

'You gotta learn to accept help when ya need it kid.' Dad advised. 'That's the best thing I ever learned from your mother.' He gestured to her, a tight smile forming under his beard. She returned it before turning back around to continue tinkering with components. They'd never really spoken to me much about their life together before the Collapse. Whenever it came up they'd try to divert the conversation to something different and share uneasy glances.

'Y'know I'm seventeen now. Maybe its about time you guys told me about how you met and stuff?' I asked politely, getting up from the chair and tucking it back under the table.

'Oh that's a long story.' Mom laughed nervously, keeping her head down.

'Yeah, maybe go hit the hay kid. You're gonna need rest so your back can heal.'

'C'mon-' I tried to protest but dad gave me one of his do-what-I-say-or-else looks. 'Alright, alright.' Raising my palms, I picked up my scrunched up shirt from the table and tossed it over my head. As I reached my bedroom door, I looked at my shoulder at them both. 'Knock if you want to include me at any point.' Feeling bitter, I shut the door behind me and flopped face first onto my bed. It wasn't fair. I felt like I was having an identity crisis. Who was I? How did I come to be? Who were my parents before the Collapse happened? Both dad and mom were like a mystery to me. 'Urrrrrgh...' Punching my pillow, I tugged my radio from my belt and pressed on the button. 'Mina come in.' The line buzzed with static. She was probably busy. Huffing, I chucked the radio in the floor and slammed my cheek into the soft fabric. For so long I'd lain in bed and make up stories about my origins. I knew dad was a military man, that was evident from the jacket he wore under his coat and the dog-tags that hung from his neck. And mom must've been in the police force because I'd heard Aunt Kim refer to her as 'Deputy' over the radio a few times. But everything else was a damn enigma. Perhaps they met at some kind of government event? Or maybe dad saved her life? Come to think of it, mom could've saved dad's life. She could be a total badass when she wanted to be. Staring at the wooden wall, I let my thoughts wander until I was dozing in and out of sleep. Today would've been an okay day if we hadn't lost that fucking deer.