Rise Of The Hunters - Chapter 36

Xun was staring at the map on the wall, with the papers of notes clutched in his hands. He had drawn a line to show where the marsh was along the southern coast, that blocked the Slavers from getting their wagons to the compound. It didn’t stop the werewolves, but he was glad that it stopped the Slavers.

He had also drawn a line to show where the rock slide had blocked off the elk herds to the north. He hadn’t explored it as well, but he was confident that if the elk couldn’t get through, the Slavers probably couldn’t with their wagons either. That meant the only route left that the Slavers could take was the same one he had traveled. He was pretty sure there was no way they could come that route in one night and still have time to get back before dawn.

A knock on the door behind him, warned him before it opened. Rick peeked in, holding a tray of food.

“Hayden saw you come in, but you didn’t head to the cafeteria, so we figured you might be hungry.”

Xun’s stomach rumbled at that moment, reminding him that he had indeed skipped out on several meals lately. He nodded in thanks as Rick set the food on the table and came to look at the map. Willow and Hayden trailed him, pausing only as far as the table though.

“You disappeared so fast yesterday that we didn’t get a chance to catch up to you and talk,” said Hayden, sitting at the table.

Rick sat down too, but Willow came around the table and gave him a hug. Xun froze as she wrapped her arms around him. Everyone was staring in shock.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

Xun didn’t know what to do, his heart started pounding.

“There,” she stated dryly, pulling back and turning towards the table. “I thanked you for saving me. It never needs to be mentioned again.”

Xun blinked a few times as Rick cleared his throat, a small smile on the edges of his mouth.

“For a moment there,” began Hayden.

“It never needs to be mentioned again,” she growled, enunciating each word.

Hayden threw up his hands in defeat and Rick couldn’t help laughing. As she threw Rick a look, Xun sat down with a shake of his head.

“Where did you disappear to yesterday?” questioned Rick.

“The werewolf came from the south, along the coast. They never travel alone, so I went to see what happened to the other one.”

Everyone stared at him in horror and shock.

“Since when did werewolves get the buddy system?” Willow asked, incredulously.

Hayden rolled his eyes, but Xun looked at her in confusion. Rick sighed and said, “Don’t mind her, she’s always making odd comments like that. Don’t take anything she says to heart, she doesn’t really mean to be rude.”

“When people around me act or say something that is stupid, it is my legal obligation to give a sarcastic remark.” She looked at Xun as if daring him to mock her.

He glanced at Rick before dragging the tray of food over to him and picking up the fork. She rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything.

“Did you find any other werewolves?” asked Hayden, trying to get the conversation back on topic.

Xun nodded as he took a bite of eggs. They had something yellow-orange and creamy melted on top that tasted pretty good. After chewing and swallowing he said, “I hid on a ledge, thinking it wouldn’t find me, but it was strange. It crawled up and collapsed on the ledge, turning back into a man. Has that ever happened before?”

The others looked at him like he had grown a second head.

“No?” Rick guessed. “The few times we’ve had werewolves to kill, the corpses were taken away immediately after they died, and were cremated. I’ve never heard of one turning into a man.”

Hayden looked thoughtful, “Is that what the vampires do when they take people? Turn them into monsters? I always thought they ate them.”

Willow looked at him in curiosity. “Did he say anything? I’m guessing he died? You obviously didn’t return with anyone.”

“He mentioned a Dr. Achak, said he enjoyed tormenting people. That it would be better to kill yourself then let them capture you.” He looked down at his food, thinking about all the people that he had befriended in the past, that ended up being taken by the Slavers. Had they all been tortured?

Willow and Hayden also had faraway looks on their faces, so Rick cleared his throat.

“Did he say anything else?”

“I asked him how to kill the vampires, and he said to burn them.” Xun returned to eating his food, intent on not answering any more questions until it was all gone.

Hayden still seemed lost in thought, but Willow looked at him like he was crazy.

Rick turned to look at the map thoughtfully. “Do you think any of those Slavers might follow them here?”

Xun scraped the last of the potatoes into his mouth, then wiped it with the back of his hand.

“The ground to the south is too marshy for them to get their wagons through. The trees and brush were too hard for even me to push through, so I’m going to say it’s a pretty safe bet they won’t be coming from that direction. There was a rock slide to the north that blocked that route off, so that only leaves the ocean to the west, and the mountains to the east.”

“They won’t travel in water, not even on a boat,” said Hayden. Xun was sure based on his certainty, that there was a story behind that comment, but he wouldn’t ask. If Hayden wanted to tell his story, he could do it when he felt the need.

“The mountains to the east are pretty extensive, so I’m pretty sure they won’t be coming from that direction,” stated Xun, leaning back in his chair.

“So, we’re safe?” asked Rick in surprise.

“We haven’t been attacked before, as far as I know, you’d think if they could, they would have by now.” Willow gave him a look of irritation.

“But, that’s great! We can post some guards or build a wall along the southern route for any werewolves that might come from that direction, and we’ll be good.” He sat back cheerfully.

Xun shook his head. “It’s not that easy, Rick.”