Grace of An Elder

Chapter 51

****MATURE CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNING IN THIS ONE, Y'ALL. If the idea of rape greatly bothers you, feel free to bump past this chapter. You've been warned. Please and thanks. :)

T'ahrou and Zaiyu chased after the hellhounds, occasionally losing sight of T'sha're because his jet black skin blended so well with the night sky that had spread across the territory.

When they crossed the river nearly twelve miles from the colony, T'sha're's hounds lost the scent trail and returned to their master's side, awaiting his next command. Meanwhile, Nracha-dte continued to search for the scent of the female. At times it would seem as if he found it again, he would pause as if considering something, then continue searching as before.

T'sha're offered the scent marker to the larger three once more, but they seemed uninterested given they had already searched and been unable to find it. Nracha-dte slowly continued out into the field in a scattered pattern, seeming somewhat confused by something that he was picking up on. As the hound eased closer to the distant tree line, T'sha're hooked the others to their chains once more.

"I should have thought to put a tracker on that female." Zaiyu kicked himself mentally as he began to pace with his hands folded atop his head as his sibling often did. "I should have known I couldn't trust her to stay put for very long."

"I have a tracker," T'ahrou mentioned as he continued to watch the defective hound, "but it will only hit if she is within a five mile radius."

"Why short-range systems?" T'sha're questioned now as he began to watch Zaiyu somewhat loose his mind.

"I didn't exactly expect to be in this situation." T'ahrou began to fiddle with the controls on his gauntlet a bit, running a forced search from the program. "I placed a tracker in her bio-mask when I was building it so it would sync with her gauntlet. It only tracks the mask when it's activated, otherwise it tracks the gauntlet." The larger male began to follow the defective hound that was now slowly trotting towards the tree line, still trying to pick up on the human's scent. "I will follow Nracha-dte and see if I can get a reading on her gauntlet. You two take the others and go in a separate direction. We should have better results if we fan out."

Zaiyu agreed and urged T'sha're to head to the east while He volunteered to go to the west, and T'ahrou continued south with Nracha-dte. It was another 8 mile trek before Nracha-dte paused on whatever trail he was following, snarled viciously, and took off in a full sprint through the nearby trees. T'ahrou was close behind, adrenaline surging through his body as he only imagined what the beast had hit on. Before long his gauntlet gave a shrill, beeping alarm. It was the tracker. A small, red blip signifying Dhadtoudi's gauntlet flickered on the display.

"Nracha-dte found something, and I got a hit on Dhadtoudi..! Sending you the location..!" His message to the others was swift as he transmitted the coordinates of the tracker to Zaiyu before returning his focus to the hound. Within what felt to be seconds, they rushed past a pile of torn black cloth and the damaged remains of the gauntlet. But the hound continued on, as did T'ahrou. Seconds later Zaiyu patched into the communication system.

"We're here, but she's not."

"Nracha-dte is still following something..! I will notify you later..!" Another agonizing mile and the hound tried to run up the trunk of a large tree. He was growling, and then whimpering again. T'ahrou tracked his line of sight toward the top of the massive piece of foliage only to find the naked body of a human female bound and tied upside down like a piece of meat from a hook.

Her body was covered in dirt, bruises, and cuts. A thick red substance was trickling along her skin from between her legs, down her torso, and along her outstretched arms and hands before finally dropping into a small pool of crimson on the ground below. T'ahrou called up the the female, but there was no response.

"Dhadtoudi..!" He called again, this time her grey eyes forced themselves open to reveal bloodshot sclera before they rolled back in her head. The smell of iron was overwhelming, but it was mixed with something else.

He could see deep gashes resembling claw marks on each of her hips, as well as on the back of her neck and thighs. T'ahrou's rage reached an all-time high as he watched her shallow, labored breaths escape through her slightly parted and bloodied lips.

T'ahrou sent the location to Zaiyu once more and set to the task of climbing the tree to untie the human female. Using his gauntlet blades, he was able to cut the metal cord that was knotted around her ankles, and carefully lowered her motionless body to the ground below. By the time they reached the ground the other two males had arrived with the remaining hounds and immediately tried to contact the healer.

"Who do you think is responsible?" T'ahrou seemed to disregard T'sha're's question as he looked for additional injuries to the human's small frame. "I do not recognize the scent...perhaps it was a random attack?"

"No," T'ahrou answered as he inspected a large bruise over Dhadtoudi's rib cage, "This was planned. Why else would they go through this much trouble?"

"A'ytu said to bring her to the lab immediately." Zaiyu spoke up now, and T'ahrou cautiously lifted the female into his arms. "T'sha're, go back and retrieve her gear. Meet us at the healer." The darker male nodded in understanding, his yellow eyes bobbing gently in the darkness before he turned to run back towards the grassy field with his hounds close behind. Nracha-dte stayed at T'ahrou's side the entire way back, occasionally looking up and whining to his incapacitated master.