Can You Hear Me?

Episode 3: Hunter Becomes Hunted

The men suddenly froze as one of the bushes around their group rustled. A black figure emerged. Its yellow eyes glowed menacingly.

Hey! It's me! I’ve regrouped and I'm ready to pounce on these guys.

Willow had to blink twice to recognise that it was a panther and that panther was Velkyn. She had thought the cat had gotten lost or something.

Willow quickly refocused on the men. They were backing away from the panther and weren't paying attention to her anymore.

She turned to the closest man on her left and fired a kick straight at his head.

He went down immediately.

She swung her fist at another one on her right, reaching for his ax. She punched him square in his face with one hand and slashed him across the chest with the knife in the other. He stumbled into a tree behind him shaking his head.

Recovering quickly, he swung his axe toward her head. She ducked. The blade embedded itself in the tree behind her. Whoa, that was close.

Before he could pull it free, she punched him in the face again, knocking him out.

She turned to the other three men to see Velkyn charging at them from across the clearing. She evaded their swings and launched for their legs. She bit and clawed at them.

Willow nearly missed the flash of metal as one of the men limped his way out of the fight.

He had a gun and he intended to shoot her.

She dove for the tree behind her but it was too late.

The shot cracked through the clearing. A hot blinding pain pierced her shoulder. She grabbed her shoulder and braced herself on the tree. The rough bark digging into her exposed arm.

Her hearing aid shrieked with feedback. The high-pitch ringing swallowed the sounds around her. She gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to rip it off. She needed it now more than ever. Looking back she saw Velkyn finishing off her targets. She pushed herself away from the tree and staggered deeper into the forest.

She needed to hide.

She hadn’t seen the gunman.

She stopped in the shadows of a tree. It was getting harder to breathe through the pain. She pressed a hand against her shoulder and winced. Blood seeped through her fingers, warm and sticky. Damn it! If she didn’t stop the bleeding, she'd leave a trail anyone could follow.

She held her breath for a moment and listened for footsteps. She couldn’t hear anything.

Suddenly, she felt a hand over her mouth and the other was holding her firmly to a chest. She tried to struggle out but the arms held. She went still when she heard someone swearing loudly. Looking up she could make out one of the men limping past their hiding spot.

“You b***h! You can’t hide forever!”

“F**k.” he muttered, clutching his side. He swore some more before wandering off.

She felt the arms around her reach for something.

“Stay still.” his voice whispered in her ear. His lips brushing the shell of her ears.

He pulled out a gun.

Willow tensed.

He pointed the gun into the darkness. A shot cracked through the trees. A curse echoed through the tree. Her eyes widened as something heavy hit the ground.

Then silence.

Willow!? Are you okay? What was that sound? I just want you to know that I knocked out your little friend. Didn't know how attached you were to him.

When the stranger holstered his gun, she broke free from his hold.

The sudden movement sent a jolt of pain through her shoulder, making her stumble. She ignored it.

With a burst of adrenaline, she fired a kick at his shin and chest.

He stumbled back, nearly falling but caught himself on the tree.

With a grunt, he straightened himself, brushing off his clothes." What was that for? I just saved your life, woman.” he said, glaring at her.

I'm here! What's going on? Is there another bad guy I need to chew on?

Willow backed away from the stranger as Velkyn approached her. Her fist rose, ready to punch him if he made any sudden move. She gestured for Velkyn to stay close. When she looked back at him, he was gone.

“He’s gone…” Willow said dumbfounded.

Whoa. I can't even smell him either, but I can definitely smell your blood. You're leaking everywhere.

“Thanks Velkyn. I didn’t notice.”

Well, clearly you NEED me. I can tell you from tonight's fight that I will have plenty of prey to chew on. I enjoyed this hunt.

Velkyn sat on her haunches licking her paws and muzzle. Her fur wet from all the blood that was spilled that night.

Willow dropped her backpack by the foot of the nearest tree and sat down too. With a sigh she laid her head on its rough surface.

“What a mess.” she muttered.

What are you going to do about the wound?

“I have some old clothes I can use as bandages in the bag. We can’t go home yet either.” she said, rummaging through the bag for the clothes. She winced every time her shirt grazed the edges of her wound. She didn’t know she was crying until Velkyn started to lick her cheeks.

Maybe it was the pain or maybe it was the blood loss. Or maybe it was that Malachi had sold her to strangers.

Are you going to be okay? I couldn't stop that human from using his strange weapon on you. It sounded so scary too.

Her voice sounded quiet and scared. It was another reminder that she was still young.

“It's a gun. It shoots a tiny ball of metal at you.” Willow said, rubbing the panther on its head with her good arm.

Sounds dreadful.

“It is.” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

After a few minutes of silence, Willow wrapped her wound as best she could and they made their way back to the clearing.

Ignoring the bodies around her, she focused her attention on Malachi.

He laid farther away from the fight. As though he had stepped back to watch the show. Her old friend had a s***h on his head that seems to have stopped bleeding.

“Come on, help me take him to the truck.”

What? You want to take this so-called friend back?

“Yes. If we don't, some animal might eat him.”

Then let the animal eat him.