Life with Hunters

Ch 13 new pack member

The hunters that went off to find my bag and supplies came back a few moments later with said items. They were confused when they saw the others crowding around Jacob and sniffing at him. I glanced at them and told them to find Jacob's bag and supplies for him. They pouted at me, but set my things down and ran off again to find Jacob's things. The hunters that had pinned the guards and Chuck had let the people go, and they all ran away. Chuck was the only one that said anything as he ran.

     "We'll hunt you down you little demon! We'll hunt all of you down!" He shouted as he tried to keep up with everyone else running farther from the gate. He didn't sound convincing in his threat so I assumed he was bluffing. The hunters that were currently the errand boys, came back with Jacob's bag and supplies and set them down by mine. I shooed the hunters away from Jacob and handed him his bag and supplies. Jacob took his things and packed his supplies in his bag before shouldering the backpack. I did the same as the alpha called the pack's attention to leave. I took Jacob's hand as the hunters herded around us and started leading us out of the camp. The alpha at the head of the pack and leading the way down the road. The front gate of the camp slammed closed once all of us were out of its range. Jacob looked back momentarily after the gate had been closed. I looked at him.

    "Do you want to go back?" I asked noticing the look in his eyes as he stared at the gate.

    "No. I told you. I want to go wherever you go. I'm not going back on my word." Jacob looked away from the gate and at me with a smile. I smiled back and the pack made various noises of approval. Jacob raised a brow in confusion and looked around at the hunters in a protective circle around him and I. "What do those noises mean? Are they gonna eat me?" I laughed at this.

    "No. If they wanted to eat you they would've done so in the camp when they hopped the wall. They approve of you. Which means essentially you're a pack member now. Right alpha?" I looked at the alpha. He looked over his shoulder at Jacob and I and nodded. Jacob sighed in relief and held my hand tighter when I loosened my grip on his. Everything went quiet as we all walked along the road towards wherever the hunters thought was safe for Jacob and I. Jacob asked me questions about the hunters in a hushed voice and I answered them in the same whisper voice. When he was confused I explained things so that he could understand. The hunters spent their time scanning the area as we walked, on guard in case any danger suddenly appeared. Which even way out here, anything could happen, including infected attacks since the infected have been leaving the cities in search of non-infected. Granted the hunters were infected themselves but they didn't actively search for non-infected unless they were a threat that needed to be dealt with. Or they were looking for me. I've seen them eat other people before but the people were usually a threat to my safety so I never said anything against it. But other than that I had no idea what the hunters ate. However they knew very well what I ate, so they taught me how to hunt for my own food, after hunting for me for about 3 months. Granted their hunting methods were odd, I learned them and tweaked them to suit me better so I could be independent in getting my own food. As for water I either boiled it when I found it or looked for bottled water. With Jacob though, I didn't know if he knew how to hunt or not. If he didn't then I could teach him. But if he already knew then maybe he could teach me something while finding his own food. But since he was new to the pack, the hunters would likely hunt for him until they see he can hunt for himself. I remembered to explain this to Jacob when he asked if the hunters knew what we ate. He seemed briefly bothered by the fact that the hunters would find his food for him, but after I explained that the hunters would stop after he proved he could find food himself, he returned to his neutral state of being. Occasionally the hunters would try to talk with actual words and compared to how they spoke 6 months earlier, they had improved quite a bit. I smiled at them.

     "You guys have improved quite a bit with your speech while I was missing. Which by the way I am sorry for disappearing." I said and the hunters all took their turns saying, or attempting to say forgive. Jacob was surprised they could speak.

     "I didn't know they could talk." He said flabbergasted.

    "They picked speech up from me, and I guess they've been practicing so they could communicate better." I looked up at Jacob and he turned his head toward me.

    "So the infected are smarter than we think?" He asked. That was a good question. I had asked it myself a few times but I could never tell for sure. It was possible since the hunters were relearning human speech. But could the same be said to other infected?

    "I guess so with the hunters. But as for other infected I don't know." I replied. Jacob nodded as he thought over other possibilities. I went quiet and let him think as he walked along side me, with my small hand in his large one. Some of the hunters made teasing noises at the hand holding but were quickly silenced by the alpha growling at them. The alpha seemed slightly agitated and I tilted my head confused at him. 'What's got him so cranky?' I wondered as he turned off the road when a barn of some sort came into sight. It was cold and I just now noticed that the sun was setting, telling me that we had been walking all day. 'Maybe he's just tired from walking for hours.' I tugged Jacob by his hand lightly to change direction with the rest of the pack and head towards the barn. The temperature was dropping as the sun sunk lower behind the horizon. Jacob and I both shivered from the cold. The hunters seemed to notice this and started moving faster. This made Jacob and I pick up our pace so that we wouldn't get trampled over. The alpha went into the bar first with a few other hunters, scouting it out for any danger. This took a few minutes but eventually they came back out giving the signal that the barn was safe. Jacob and I quickly rushed inside and go to work on starting a small fire to warm up. we built a fire pit with what we could find in the barn and threw in some hay and whatever sticks and wood the hunters brought in from outside. Jacob started the fire the old fashioned way with a couple of sticks and friction. Once the small fire was going Jacob and I sat close and cuddled for more warmth. The hunters all roamed around the barn after closing the doors. Some laid near the fire, some climbed up to the second level in the barn, and some wandered about, putting things up to block the broken windows to keep the heat in and to block the light from the outside. The alpha stayed closest to the door on guard duty, with some of the beta hunters. Jacob yawned, which made me yawn. He chuckled at me and got booped on the nose for it. I laid down on the ground with him after we got our sleeping bags set up so we'd be somewhat comfortable. We kept up the cuddling though since it kept us warm with the heat from the fire. The hunters occasionally moved around and before I knew it, I fell asleep with Jacob, wrapped up in his arms and my face buried in his chest so I could hear his heart beat.