The Hunter lay face down in the mud, his quarry lying dead just to his left. With a grunt he rolled over, propping himself up on his elbow with his hand. He took a deep breath, letting out a sigh at his lack of effort. The rifle in his hand was clicked open, its mechanism showing no signs of fatigue from the shot that earned him his kill. The man, who appeared middle aged, looked on his kill with an indolent gaze. The wolf's head was at an awkward angle, having been blown to the side, its golden eyes staring blankly into the nothing.
As he stood up, the Hunter went over his equipment. He had a wide selection of rifles, pistols and knives and an assortment of medical supplies with which to carry out his profession. He never went anywhere without his aging mac-10 pistol and a large assortment of ammunition and knives. There was a bag at his feet, his hunting knife nestled next to it in a scabbard. A fifth knife was strapped to his thigh, its use known only to him. On his left, just above his hip, was a large rectangular object. The tool of his trade, a signal flare; it was one of the few things the Hunter didn't carry.
However, as he was about to head back to the woods to find any more downed game, something caught his eye. Something was coming down the road, but he couldn't make out what it was. It seemed to have the same corpulence as the other humans and he had been dealing with enough of their species to know not to underestimate it. But, a flare could save his life. Not caring to experiment with today's world, he pulled it out of his pouch, tucked it down his clothes and started off toward the road.
The Hunter was halfway to the road by the time he noticed the person was also heading that way.
"I'll just stay out of your way then," he said to himself as he meandered toward the road, his rifle held at the ready. He stopped at the side of the road, his shadow merging with the shadows of the overhanging trees.
"You can have whatever you want," yelled out the Hunter as the person came into full view. It was a stout woman, her fat belly fully exposed for all to see. Her skin was leathery and coarsened from the sun. She's an older woman, the Hunter thought to himself, at least 70. There were two more behind her, both young men, both armed with axes and other crude weapons. They must be showing off for the woman, he thought. They were probably far too shy to show her their wood cutting prowess in private.
"The old one has some loot," said one of the young men. The other nodded in agreement and started forward, holding his axe high.
"Wait, boys," the woman said. She had a deep gruff voice and stood with her feet squarely planted. "Let me talk to our friend first. I've been around a while and maybe I can get him to leave peacefully." Her words were far from sincere, but the boys complied with her orders.
"Well, we still want to talk to you but you need to be quick," the older of the two said. His companion grunted in agreement.
The Hunter remained silent. His thoughts wandered to what he could do. His rifle was not a good weapon in close quarters, so he would have to use a gun. The older one had an axe and the younger one some sort of large knife. A pistol might be enough.
"We saw that wolf you killed, but he ain't much to look at," the older one said, moving closer to him. "You'll have to give us some of it though, as we helped you see it." The Hunter didn't respond, but allowed the older one to move closer.
"So, where are you headed?" The woman was now speaking to him.
"Up north, to get more game."
The woman nodded. "You're not going to need much food with what's to come. The comet will be here within the week. I heard in the village that it's hot enough to burn the skies and turn people to dust. At least you'll be getting some action before it hits."
The Hunter squinted at the woman. A comet was coming? He didn't know what to think, but he continued with the conversation. "Well, I'll be getting back to my business."
The boy had wandered past him and the Hunter slipped his left hand into his pouch.
"They say it will be a great spectacle and it will be best if you can see it from the top of Mount Samuel. I believe it is the highest peak within our land. However, the comet will be nearer to the ground, so we'll need to get to that place as fast as possible before it's too late."
"I don't think I need to see it." The Hunter's voice was firm.
"Well, you can't say no to a woman now, can you?" The woman said and moved closer. The smell of sweat, alcohol and other foul odors emanated from her. The Hunter found this most unpleasant and ignored it, his weapon still unholstered.
"I'd rather not. I just need a ride to my destination. Then, I'll be able to get some rest." He was making an effort to be polite to her, now he was focused on the boy.
"Well, that's silly. Everyone knows that the comet will kill everyone and it will be a good thing for scavengers like us that survive. What's the world's going to do without us?" At this, the younger boy let out a hearty laugh.
Too far gone for the boys to understand, the younger one rushed the older one and was upon him. It's a fair fight, the Hunter thought to himself, but he didn't worry about it.
src
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