Page 21 of Hunter's Valentine

“Point taken.”

Then, because he genuinely seemed to care, I told him the whole story from the beginning. I told him about the prepper forum, joining the bunker, and how everyone was great to me until the baby was born and my services as a midwife were no longer required.

“I guess they don’t plan on having more children,” I finished up.

“But you are more than that. You are brave and quick-thinking. And you are a good hunter.

I raised my brow. “A good hunter? You said I ruined your hunt.”

“That was before. Your help with the flyers resulted in my best hunt to date on Earth. And I would have struggled against the centicreep without your assistance.”

“I guess we did make a pretty good team.”

“Affirmative. And that’s why you should stay with me. We will hunt together. We can be hunting partners.”

Oh. So that was the real reason he wanted me to stay: he wanted a hunting partner. The mind-blowing sex and good company were just a very convincing bonus. Still, it was tempting. It was a different life, and after being in the bunker for so long, I was ready for something new.

But I still needed to see what was at New Franklin first. What if there were pregnant women there who needed my help? Maybe after I got to New Franklin I’d ask him if he wanted to come visit. He’d mentioned trading with them, so he must spend time there.

Mur’k had viewed me as a liability at first, and I appreciated that he was able to change his mind. But as much as I hadenjoyed shooting the flyers and thinking that I’d helped him immensely, I knew that I couldn’t put my life on hold for that.

Now, if we’d spent more time together and he was professing his undying love, that would be another situation altogether. As it was, though, he was looking for a hunting partner. And that wasn’t me. Not yet.

“I need to go to New Franklin.”

I couldn’t miss the disappointment that flitted temporarily across his golden eyes. His body language changed too, stiffening. The hurt of rejection transcended species, and I immediately felt horrible for turning him down.

I wanted to tell him that it wasn’t no forever, that he could come visit me in Franklin once I got set up, that we could go hunt then, but I couldn’t find the right words. Everything sounded so dumb, like I was making excuses.

He got up from the bed, the screen and the peaceful display of the alien meadow disappearing as he did.

“Where are you going?” I asked as he tied on his loincloth.

“To retrieve your items.”

Right. I’d almost forgotten about them and those poor people still stuck under his net.

He must have seen my thoughts on my face because he said, “Do not worry, they will not suffer long. I will return to take care of the infected after.”

“After what?” I asked.

“After I take you to New Franklin. It will be faster and safer.”

“Oh! Thank you.”

I was glad we were traveling together for a little while longer. I’d hate to part when things were still awkward. Maybe by the time we got to the settlement, I’d have found the right words.

Unfortunately, things between Mur’k and I were still strained by the time we got to New Franklin. I decided that I just had to spit it out, but he stomped out of the shuttle before I could speak to him. He’d left me with a man named Roger and disappeared to visit the hunters’ compound.

The settlement of New New Franklin—yes, it officially had two new’s, though it was usually shortened to one—was situated in an industrial zone on the outskirts of the town of Franklin. There were covered pathways linking the buildings, and bridges connecting the rooftops. There were also several greenhouses, and from Mur’k’s shuttle, I’d noticed several fenced-in fields too. This was a community squarely focused on long-term survival and not just relying on everything they’d saved up before the collapse.

The nest at the center of town was hard to miss; from the shuttle, I’d seen the white tendrils of mycelium from the bugs’ fungus stretching out for several city blocks. Mur’k had explained that it was considered a medium-sized nest, while the one by my bunker had been a tiny one, big enough to be marked on a map but not large enough to merit a dedicated hunter group. Minor nests came and went, being destroyed by hunters only to be replaced the next year by migrating scourge from bigger nests like New Franklin’s.

This was why hunters got together in the summer to fight the swarms together—to reduce the number of scourge that could make it out to build new nests. The disappearance of small andmedium-sized nests was the first sign that they were winning the war on any given planet.

The hunters and humans here worked together to eradicate the nest. I already knew that from Jack’s radio show. Roger, it turned out, was this group’s human leader. I didn’t know who I’d expected to be New Franklin’s leader, but it definitely wasn’t someone with piercings and an overgrown mohawk flopped over to the side, sporting a t-shirt from a band I’d never heard of. But if he was good at what he did, who was I to judge? He was friendly and didn’t set off any of my alarms. So, I told him my story.

“I heard onStaying Alivethat Jack’s wife is pregnant, and I thought maybe my expertise would be useful here,” I finished.

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