Chapter 11
1022 Words
“Wait what?” I said after a pause.
“Xavier, he is here, and apparently the odds-on favorite of this tournament.” Walker said. He looked like he was having difficulty even understanding that. “I don’t even get why he would be in this tournament.”
“What in the hell is Xavier doing here?” I asked. “He does not sound like someone that would be into these tournament things, as I see it.”
“He is not,” Walker said then he added, “I mean as far as I could tell all he cared about was himself and his ambition.”
“Do you suppose that this whole thing is some egotistical way of getting himself some more praise.” I asked.
“I honestly don’t think so, this whole thing is not something he would participate in.” Walker said. “I think he would have sent one of his goons instead. Like why Xavier did not send that guy…what was his name. They called him something like the Fort Gorilla or something like that.”
“Fort Guerilla?” I asked c*****g my eyebrow.
“The elites in the Iron Hand all have some weird fascination with apes.” Walker said. “I remember Aries started calling himself after an old Ape God of Fakir lore called something like King….Konga was it? I don’t remember the stupid legend was idiotic. This giant monkey punched a dinosaur in the face to save some blonde woman from it, from what I remember.”
“A giant monkey…” I said c*****g my eyebrow trying to remind him we knew of one monkey that it could have been referring to.
“What?” Walker said. “There was no way in hell that was Hanuman.”
“Why not? It seems like something he would do.” I said.
“He can’t become a giant monkey,” Walker pointed out.
“Not that we have seen at least,” I shrugged.
“Fine, that is beside the point I was trying to make.” Walker said.
“So, the Iron Hand have names after apes, that is a strange breed then.” I said. “It must be a pack name or something I remember we had a pack of Beghrest back home that named themselves the Thunderclaps or something like this. I suppose that this is the same?”
“In a way,” Walker said.
“There you guys are,” Umberto said suddenly.
I shot him a glance. I wondered how he had done that. He had somehow appeared without me noticing him. I had noticed that before, that he had done it. Too many times I had dismissed it but right now it had been too obvious he had somehow gotten passed my keen senses.
This was some feat, as even with so called cloaking technology that Eva boasted her Kitsune having I could sense them. The only other person who had that ability, that I could recall at least was Hanuman. Umberto was no Hanuman so it made me wonder more about him.
“I’ve been looking for you Hunter,” Umberto said.
“Why is that?” I asked.
“This,” Umberto said throwing a bag at me.
I caught it and looked at it. It was a clear bag with something in it that looked like a picture. I looked at the picture and studied it. I looked up at Umberto before looking back at the picture.
“So?” Umberto said.
I was staring at another Beghrest. It was looking back at me. But this picture was very grainy, and not at all clear. The picture looked green and it looked very dark. I could however see the outline of a creature. From the looks of it, it looked like it was about to charge at someone. It looked just like a Beghrest. It was walking on its hind-legs and it had hands much like my own.
“Why is it so green?” I asked.
“It was shot in night-vision,” Umberto said.
“Night vision?” I said.
“It’s something that a camera has that makes it see at night,” Walker explained as he grabbed the picture from me and looked at it. “Oh wow.”
“And it makes it look green?” I said.
“In a way,” Umberto said.
“I have night vision and it does not look green.” I said. “So why does this stupid thing make it look green?”
“I think the way it works in essence is that it takes whatever it is seeing and amplify it and project it onto a screen to represent an enhanced version of what it is seeing.” Walker said.
“This is not enhanced this is a piece of garbage if you as me.” I point out. “You furless creatures and your dependency on technology that is essentially meaningless.”
“Be that as it may,” Umberto said. “Is that one of your kind or not?”
“I mean it could be,” I shrugged.
“Where was this taken?” Walker said.
“Up on Bray Road.” Umberto said. “There’s been a rash of sightings over there as of late. This picture was taken was taken by a boy who was on a trip with his parents on this road.”
“That’s right Bray road is in the Lemurian forest…it’s called something like Onawaya Park or something like that?” Walker said and I looked at him. “It’s a place where the Lemurians go to camp for a weekend or something.”
“I still can’t guarantee that, this is a Beghrest,” I said. “It could be a wolf, or maybe even a bear, or maybe something hat Norman Hunraken concocted as you remember he turned Marx into that Berserker.”
The thought of my former Master Marx brown did leave a bit of a stinging sensation in me, especially since as of right now his death seems to me to have been for naught as there was nothing really happening here on Vega.
“Can you at least take a look?” Umberto said.
“I suppose that I can, however it will not be right away.” I said. “We have to do this meat and grrr eat or whatever its called.”
“Meet and Greet,” Walker said holding his forehead.
“That’s what I said.” I shrugged.
“Meet and greet?” Umberto said.
“Yeah Erika De red or whatever…” Walker said.
“That girl fighter?” Umberto said sounding skeptical.
“She’s a better lead that this business.” I said throwing that picture back at Umberto.
“What do you mean?” Umberto asked.
“That name she has,” I said then pointing at my own belt. “It’s definitely a Beghrest name and that belt she has.”
“Really?” Umberto said. “Let me go with you then.”
“Do what you will,” I shrugged.
- Writer
