Rise Of The Hunters - Chapter 10

The food sat oddly in his stomach, heavy and filling. It was nothing like the food he was used to eating, nuts, berries, meat from the animals killed and cooked over a fire. This food had been thick, like potatoes boiled too long, and tasted heavily of salt. He tossed and turned as his stomach hurt in the night. He could only remember one time his stomach hurt this bad, and it was at the end of a really bad winter when they had been forced to eat food that was spoiled.

Xun wasn’t sure if the food was spoiled or not, but as he sat on the toilet the next morning, he decided he would avoid their food if possible if it was something he wasn’t familiar with. Flushing the toilet, he marveled once more at the plumbing these people used. Returning to his bed, he glanced around at the other beds in the room. This room appeared to be an overflow room for the guards to sleep in between shifts. Several were snoring quietly near the door, just as muscled as Joe and the other guy that had greeted him at the gate.

Quietly examining the pelt, he noticed another man enter and look around. When he saw him, he began to make his way closer. Xun needed to finish working on the hide, but knew he probably wouldn’t get a chance. Motioning with a wave, Xun followed the guy and left the barracks.

With a frown at the bag he carried with him, the guy walked a little faster. Xun followed him to another a building that had huge windows that let in lots of light. They walked through the large entry to a hall that had doors on either side. They stopped at one, and the guy opened the door for him to enter first. Inside was an auditorium with chairs built into the concrete floor facing a stage. On the stage was a table where many people were sitting and discussing things. Xun saw several people sitting in the chairs and the guy pointed to a seat for him to sit.

“When the leaders call your name, go up the side stairs and stand on the red mark on the floor. You’ll need to answer all the questions they ask you.” Looking at him for a moment longer, as if waiting for him to ask a question, he finally turned on his heel and left.

Xun settled into the chair with his bag in his ŀȧp. The room was huge and he could hear bits and pieces of the conversation between the leaders. Time passed slowly as he waited for his turn. People would be called up to the stage and questioned, then allowed to leave. Some came in and went straight to the leaders, then left after speaking with one. He was starting to wonder if they had forgotten him.

“Xun!”

He hurried to the stage, quickly making sure to stand on the red mark.

“The report from the gate states that you were let in just before dark, and wish to stay here?” asked one woman, glancing at a piece of paper. Her hair was piled high in red ringlets.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. His father had taught him to refer to older women as ma’am; that it would make them more pleased with him.

“How old are you, Xun?” asked a man, leaning forward and studying him closely. He wore wire framed glasses that looked fragile on his face.

“Almost thirteen, sir.”

“Impressive,” he leaned back in his chair and wrote some things down on another piece of paper.

“Doesn’t look thirteen,” said another man next to the first, gazing at him bored. He was slouching in his chair as if the whole thing was dull and boring to him.

“Do you have any family?” asked the woman, ignoring him.

“No. They’ve all died.”

“Why do you want to stay here?”

“I want to learn how to fight the monsters and get stronger.”

“Xun,” a woman who had been silent up to this point took off her glasses and set them on the table. “Where did you live before coming here?”

He looked at her for a moment. The various compounds he had lived in flashed through his head. Should he tell about all of them?

“Which time? I’ve lived in many places, ma’am.”

“A migrant,” muttered the bored man, tipping his chair back.

Paying him no heed, she continued, “How about right before you came here?”

“There’s a ruined city on the other side of the ridge that I stayed in for a night, before that I lived in an underground compound further to the east.”

“And why did you leave the underground compound?” she asked patiently.

“Slavers raided it.” His voice was just above a whisper. Would they see him as a threat? Would they make him leave?

“Slavers!” His chair slammed down with a bang and he leaned forward, the first hint of interest in his eyes. “How did you escape?”

“I hid and waited for them to leave.” Xun didn’t want to explain about the tunnel. He wasn’t sure how they would feel about it and didn’t want them to give it away if Slavers came again.

“Xun,” the woman was rubbing the bridge of her nose as if she had a headache, “how many times have you escaped the Slavers?”

“Four times, at least,” he said, hesitantly.

“Lucky kid! I’d love to know how you did it!” The guy almost stood up, but contained himself.

“Max…” said the first woman, threateningly.

“I know, I know…it’s just, we don’t have anyone who’s managed to evade them that many times.” Max regarded him with excitement.

“So, are we in agreement, then?” asked the guy with the glasses as he pushed them up.

“He’ll be ȧssigned a room with the other transplants, and begin classes tomorrow. Who should we ȧssign to him?” She paused in her writing to push a strand of red hair that had fallen from her updo out of her face.

“I’ll take him!” exclaimed Max.

The other three sighed and rolled their eyes, but Max didn’t seem to notice.