Rise Of The Hunters - Chapter 51

All three wolves quickly collapsed and burnt to a pile of ash. Xun ignored the dead people left by the werewolves, and headed back to the auditorium. As he entered the building, he saw that the door was about to buckle. Quickly dropping his bundle, he lit another arrow. There was just enough time to fling it as the door popped open, and the werewolf tumbled out.

The arrow bounced off its back, and the lit part touched its tail. Xun watched, fire dancing in his eyes as the wolf went up in flames. A second wolf, no doubt the one that had torn the ladder down, came barreling out of the door, crashing into the first when it couldn’t get enough purchase on the slick floor to stop.

Not wasting any more time, Xun grabbed up his bundle of arrows and went in search of other wolves.

Always they were preoccupied with their meal, so it was easy for him to sneak close enough and set them on fire using the practice arrows. He lost count of how many he had killed, the pain of his ribs fading to a constant ache he lived with.

As the sun started to set, he was coming around the corner of the tower in the middle of the compound, when a larger wolf than he had encountered before stepped out and saw him. Dropping all but one of the arrows, Xun turned back to the tower and made a beeline for the door. He could hear the thuds of its feet hitting the ground as it chased him.

He pulled on the door, and was shocked to find it locked. Turning to face the werewolf, he waited as it made a leap for him. He threw himself to the side, rolling out of habit, and almost fainted as his ribs complained. The pain was so severe, he almost forgot there was a wolf about to eat him. He rolled again, trying to ignore the pain, but tears streamed down his face. He felt the whiff of air as the wolf just bȧrėly missed him. Grabbing the firestarter from his pocket, he jumped again, but it was waiting for him to roll out of the way and managed to corner him. He screamed as his ribs let him know they were done with all of this nonsense.

The scream startled the werewolf and caused it to pause just long enough for Xun to light the arrow. The wolf made to bite him, and he shoved the fire down its throat, then passed out.

Growling in his ear woke him. He opened his eyes, expecting to see a monster about to tear out his throat. His ribs and ċhėst hurt so bad, Xun knew this was the end. A werewolf, different from the one he shoved the arrow into its mouth, was crawling towards him, arrows littered its body until it almost resembled a porcupine. As he watched, it managed to drag itself another meter before another arrow hit it and it fell to the ground.

He could hear it breathing hard, and wondered for a moment if he was hearing his own breathing instead of its. Then, as if watching a ball deflate, the monster returned to the form of a man and died.

When he woke up again, Xun found himself in a bed. There was bright sunlight streaming through the window to his left. As he went to shift his weight, there was a sharp twinge that left him gasping in pain. Pulling the blanket up, he saw that his entire ċhėst was wrapped in bandages.

“You shouldn’t move. The doctor said it was a miracle none of the ribs punctured anything important.”

Xun turned his head to look at Rick, who was sitting in a chair to his right. The big guy looked tired. His eyes were dark and sunken into his head, and his hair was standing up in all directions.

“How did I get here?” The words were slow and painful. Xun had never been in such a horrible condition before.

“Well, from what I know, a group of werewolves ran into the compound and started killing people. You went around and tried to single handedly kill them all, despite being horribly hurt, and then almost got yourself killed. The medics were going around looking for survivors and found you. I was put in charge of watching over you until you woke up after the doctors were done with you.”

Rick moved his chair, so Xun didn’t have to strain to see him. Then he continued.

“Willow and I were in the cafeteria when they attacked. Hayden came rushing in, yelling something about werewolves and then everything was chaos. We ran down into Bob’s bar and hid behind the counter before one came into the cafeteria and tore it up. It made a huge mess in the kitchen before its tail caught fire from the stove.

“Hayden decided he needed to find you, but Willow was determined we needed to stay where it was safe. I kind of thought the library would be safe, but Hayden won out. I don’t remember exactly what he said, but Willow still hasn’t forgiven him.”

“So, all the werewolves are dead?” Xun figured it was safe again, since Rick wasn’t carrying any weapons.

Rick nodded, and stretched. “I’m glad you’re going to be okay. We were all worried about you. It’s been three days, you know.”

“Wow. I guess I should probably try to eat something then, but I don’t feel very hungry.”

“Well, the doctor said the medicine they gave you for pain might make your appetite disappear.”

Xun was quiet as he thought that over.

Rick continued, “The nurses said they would bring some soup in an hour or so, just in case you were awake. I don’t know how they knew you might be awake. Thank you for saving my dad, by the way.”

Just then there was a gentle knock at the door. A middle-aged woman, carrying a tray with two bowls, came in with a smile.