Page 14 of Hunter's Valentine

I glanced down at the piles of scourge still burning away in my traps. My net was there too, but I could return for that later. For now, I should go.

Staying here was tough on my shuttle’s filter. It wasn’t just the smoke and ash from the fire but the aerosolized fungal spores from the dead scourge. The scourge’s symbiotic relationship with the fungus was what made them so difficult to fight. It put them at the top of the food chain in every biome it infested.

The fungus was toxic to any other creature, and anything dumb or desperate enough to eat the scourge, despite its horrendous stench, quickly succumbed to it. But the fungus needed to be back inside a scourge to complete its life cycle, so when it was time, oozing sores opened on the sick animals. The horrendous smell called every scourge in the area to it so that the weakened animal could be consumed.

The fungus also served as a secondary immune system for the scourge, fighting off infection and helping to repair damaged cells. It was a strong partnership, one the original Xarc’n military itself had created. It was still a mystery to me why they ever thought they could control it. No matter, they hadn’t been able to, and we were the ones created to pick up the pieces.

I ordered my shuttle to tail my little human, then started to strip off my armor. I ran my weapons and armor through the decontaminator first before stepping inside to clean myself. I stank of the scourge as well as of fire and ash, and I couldn’t wait to be rid of the smell. The cleansing light of the contamination unit passed over my body, tingling as it went. It didn’t quite clean as thoroughly as a good, hard rain, but it did kill the scourge’s fungus, which was important. It also neutralized the stench.

Sara’s fragrance hit me the moment I stepped out of the unit, bold and intoxicating.

Krux!

The shuttle was away from the dying embers of the burning pyres now, so I asked it to refresh the air in my shuttle. It did little to help. Sara’s essence was everywhere, like she’d sunk into the very fabric of the mat in my sleeping nook and molded the pilot’s seat to fit her form.

Was this what happened to hunters who found their mates? Was this why their life goals of hunting as many scourge as possible changed virtually overnight?

I didn’t want that to happen to me. At the same time, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I told myself again it was because she and I made a good team. She didn’t need to be my mate; she could be my hunting partner.

Sara was already at the edge of town. With the area cleared of the scourge and riding her two-wheeled contraption, she moved fast. She continued onto a long stretch of paved road where her vehicle really shone. It might only be powered by muscle and bone, but it moved much faster than she could on foot. She was only forced to stop when darkness fell.

As she made camp for the night, I found myself scanning the area to make sure there were no scourge or hostile humans. Then, knowing she was safe, I returned to our hunt site to retrieve my nets.

I spent the entire night in my sleeping nook, remembering the taste of her lips and resisting the urge to swoop in and carry her back to my shuttle.I wondered if she thought of me too.

She was moving again the instant it was bright enough for her to see the next morning. But unlike the day before, today was dark and gloomy. Clouds had blown in overnight, and snow was drifting down in ever-increasing amounts with every moment that passed.

Worse yet, she’d crossed over into hostile territory. The human survivors in this area were anti-Xarc’n and had shot at me numerous times over the last few months. I wasn’t sure if they were any friendlier to their own, but then again, the underground shelter Sara came from had been marked as hostile as well, due to negative interactions with hunters. With any luck, Sara would be through their territory by the time the weather forced her to stop.

But luck was not on our side today.

Chapter 9: Sara

I looked up at the sky in dismay. The snow was coming down, and it was coming down hard. The wind had picked up too, and the heavy, wet flakes was snowing sideways.

I decided to take my chances and get as far as I could on two wheels before the weather made it impossible. I prayed to whatever deity that was listening that it would just be a small snow, but nobody answered my prayers.

I’d expected the freezing cold; it was winter, after all. I’d even expected the snow. But I hadn’t expected the wind to be so strong that it threatened to topple me over with every gust. It slowed me down so much it felt like I was pedaling through molasses.

Eventually, I reluctantly admitted defeat. Mother nature had won this round and I had no choice but to stop. I’d made good time after the hunt yesterday, since all the bugs in the area were gone. I’d stopped for the night at a little motel by the side of the road and had started out at first light, eager to make up the distance I’d lost yesterday while with Mur’k.

I wondered what he was doing now. Probably setting up for his next hunt. Did Xarc’n warriors do that during snowstorms? Or did they spend them warm and cozy in their shuttles?

Man! To be in that shuttle right now! So much better than out here with the wind whipping snow in my face.

I turned into the parking lot of a mall that looked like it had seen better days. It was a small mall with all the necessities to serve the neighborhood. Even from the outside it looked rundown, and I knew I’d find relics from the 80’s and 90’s once I stepped inside.

I sheltered under the overhang for a moment, wondering if this was a good idea. Something niggled at the back of my mind, as if I was missing something. Then I remembered. This area on the updated map had been shadowed gray. I hadn’t been able to read the alien glyphs, so I didn’t know what that meant. I’d noticed that the area around my old bunker had been gray too. Did that mean there were human inhabitants here?

Fuck.

What a horrible place to be stranded in a storm. If there was anything I’d learned, it was that other survivors could be just as dangerous as the bugs. If anything, I’d been lucky to bump into Mur’k because at least I knew that a Xarc’n warrior wouldn’t try to eat me for dinner. Well, not literally, anyway.

What were the chances the survivors here were friendly? Knowing my luck, pretty damn slim.

But despite my misgivings, this mall was my only choice. The last shelter before this had been a ransacked feed shop that someone had driven a truck into. It wouldn’t protect me from the elements, and it was a little ways back. Given how hard the snow was coming down and how much the temperature had dropped, I didn’t think I’d make it. I was already shivering, and my teeth chattered so loudly that Mur’k could probably hear it from his shuttle. If I didn’t get inside now, the cold would be the end of me.

I tried to tell myself it would be fine, that while malls had been dangerous during the start of the apocalypse, they were safer now since they’d long been looted. There was no reason for anyone to be inside unless they were living in it. If therewerepermanent inhabitants here, there would be signs on the outside, like piles of refuse.

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