My aim? Survive.

I was walking. There was nothing better to do after all. Those who locked themselves in their house are dead; those who fled the city are dead. They had remained too long in the
same place. The only way to survive: keep moving. Forever. As far as possible from our last bivouac. And alone, always alone. But, I don’t care about that, I’m a loner.
Now, only the smartest, the most resistant, the strongest guys will be called the Chosen…
At least that’s what the rumors says. Joining the Chosen… that idea disgusts me.
But, some people take this story at heart. A Hunter don’t hesitate to kill so that they may achieve their goals. That is why my family is dead; it’s their fault, the Hunter’s fault… Only
my wife and I survived…
She thought she would be with me for the rest of my life, and I ended up believing her. What an idiot I was… She finally died in my arms, a sweet July evening, her death was my fault. Her entire future disappeared.
I will never forget the sensation of her warm blood on my hands, the sound of my knife when I stabbed her, and I will never forget her expression... First the expression of surprise, a pretty expression. But then, it was compassion and… finally... a smile. That smile shattered my soul. I didn’t bother to bury her corpse. I left it there, at the mercy of wild animals and cannibals. I left and ever since I have been walking, this smile haunted me.

At one point, I arrived in a village. In the world where I now live, the inhabitants would have chased me; but nobody was here. Here, I had the feeling like time had stopped, like
the freezing wind which chilled me to my bones had vanished. I was in a paradise, an unreal landscape … Maybe a magic place? The moon, above my head, made me drowsy.
Without even noticing, I was sinking in a deep sleep.

When I woke up, it was the day, the
sun was shining and the birds were chirping. Three or four people were looking at me, wary, I pulled out my hunting knife. I noticed, at this moment, that I was crying and shaking but I just couldn’t stop. My knife slowly fell on the plains’ grass. A man came closer and offered me some food. I accepted. That very evening, a party in my honor was improvised. The same man advised to me that I rest a little in their village, he said that, here, nothing could
happen, that I had nothing to fear. I thought for one second and answered that I could stay, the time of regaining my energy and eating some food.

This marks the beginning of my story in the tribe. The locals taught me their customs, their knowledge on their regional plants and their hunting methods. I came to like this simple
life, I wasn’t alone or in danger anymore and I liked it. I wanted to stay in this place and bring my help to the tribe. So I officially joined the village’s Council; this represented that
I was not a stranger anymore but a real part of the clan.
I put in place a police to protect the village and do explorations to find and help the injured people around the village. I became the leader of this police and pushed my guys to go more and more far away to help as many people as we could. I wanted other people to know this village to give them the same chance at a good life that I got, I wanted them to live happily despite the change in the world and I wanted them to forget the cruel game of surviving.

Since my arrival in the tribe more than 2 years, the population has tripled. The chief treated me like his son from the very beginning, his gratitude filled my heart with joy. I continued my job and brought back more and more people from our explorations. In one of these outings, I
caught sight of a pile of fur. I hurried towards it; the meat became rare in the village.
When, I was closer from the shapeless mass I noted that I had never seen this animal. One of my guys approached me.
-“I saw this animal while I was on one of my patrols, it was just done drinking. He showed me the new river; lets bring him back to the village, maybe our doctors could save him”
The look on the man’s face was frank, so I accepted. After all, it’s thanks to this animal that we can eat fish.

We carried it to our health centre, and after several hours of care,
the doctor approached me with a great smile. I figured out that it was a success, the beast was safe. I went inside and had a hard time recognizing the animal. The old mess of hair had become a long and silky coat which reminded me of the radiance of the moon. The animal came closer to me, it was impressive when it was on its paws. It looked at me and I got the impression that the animal was analyzing my soul. It finally rubbed its head against
mine. It was alone too; I sensed it at its touch. A huge feeling of sadness emanated from him.

Since then, he never left my side. He never slept; the day he was with me and at night he stared at the moon with a worried look. I decided to call him Sköll like the wolf in
the Nordic mythology that had to pursue the moon until the end of the world. This happy meeting gave me the feeling that I was stronger than before. He helped me in my goals
and thanks to him I could go on explorations accompanied by him while the others took care of other explorations.
One day, the other group brought back a woman. It was strange because often women travel in groups and never abandon their comrades. She was put into quarantine, fearing
contamination. The doctors had done their jobs beautifully and she quickly healed. The village took advantage of this time and organized a party. The much-wanted evening came and the Council was gathered because the lady has requested shelter and a place in the Council. Her request was accepted thanks to her admirable comprehension and her notebook full of description of new regional plants useful in medicine. I was put in charge of giving her the answer, and this is how I was obliged to face my worst nightmare...

Her face, her height and her manners, all reminded me of my wife. But she was dead… The young lady smiled and it took me back 3 years in the past. A metallic taste invaded my
mouth and I understood it was my blood which flowed in. I tried hard to hide my confusion and gave her the good news. She seemed happy and I left the room immediately. Sköll
noticed my feelings and came near me with the same worried look like if I had become as white as the moon. I smiled briefly and he gave me a knowing look. A look that meant that
he would follow me no matter what.
The party arrived faster than I thought; And I hadn’t made my decision: go or stay?

The party went pretty well for me; the tribe had the annoying habit of getting drunk during these types of parties. I didn’t drink at all, the
village needed someone to protect them while the others recovered. The party finished slowly, and quickly all the villagers had already succumbed to drunkenness. The lady came
near me and asked me to follow her so that we could talk. I sighed and stood up, how could I refuse? Sköll did the same but I asked him to keep an eye on the villagers, I didn’t
want to let them defenseless. His look caught mine and he sat back down. We walked until we arrived at the edge of the forest and here, the young lady embraced me, and said:
-“I sensed your loneliness; I can be there for you if you want me to. I want to be present for people who are in pain like….”

I wasn’t listening; I hated the simple fact of speaking with her so I needed her to release me. I stepped back but she continued to speak:
-“…. Please, I need to know that I’m not alone. In this forest I got the feeling of dying.”
-“But you are dead to me!!”

For the first time in a long time, I raised my voice. A long silence came after, I heard my soul die. She stepped back and I saw her lips move but I heard nothing. I sensed the
presence of Sköll by my side; he was holding my knife in his mouth.
I took the blade and smiled at him. I plunged myself into a trance and stabbed the lady. Sköll lied down; he
wanted me to mount on him. He took me back to the center of the village and showed me my knife one more time. My spirit yelled at me to be myself again... after all we can’t fight
against our nature.

It was a massacre; the ground became blood logged and muddy.
Covered in blood, in the middle of corpses, the paradise I found 2 years ago became a real hell. I raised my eyes towards the moon; she was stained with blood, an extremely rare
astrological event.
I couldn’t help laughing.
Like for the first time, a sensation of well being engulfed me. I finally came to get the expression that I wanted to see from my wife.
I wanted fear, a deep and incontrollable fear. I turned my face towards Sköll, his coat was
also red, a beautiful red thanks to the blood of my guinea pigs. I could see that he was proud of me and I could read a touch of respect too. I smiled and left the hell that I had
created, Sköll stood up and walked by my side like he promised.

I know what you are thinking, why did I kill the villagers too? What a stupid question, I told you that at the
beginning.
A Hunter doesn’t hesitate to kill to achieve his goals. Me too.

After all I am one of them.
My only aim ?
Survive.