Chapter Two

Ch. 2
Stalked in the Darkness

Traps set. Mules tied up. Horses tethered. Camp set. Fire ablaze and out of site. Time to cook. The sun was just below the horizon so you could only see the glow in the distance. The desert chill was setting in and the fog was thickening. Tonight's dinner consisted of crow, rat, and snails. I had other rodents and lizards I would cook, but they would be salted and jerked for reserve use later. We found some onions and cactus growing nearby that I used to add taste. As I cooked I saw Giggles whittling away at an old tree limb.
"What ya carving?"
"Betty." He exclaimed.
"Betty? Some sort of new saint?"
"Nope, Betty's my comfort. A short spear. Got some shrubs to attach on the back to make her drag a little. She'll fly point first. This here," as he held a rusted can of oil, "This'll be the tip. If I don’t kill it, it'll be sick enough not to follow us after a day or so. I'm not trying to die tonight and I’m not looking over my should this whole trip."
"Didn't learn that in the warfare center?" I pondered out loud.
"After the war started and our post was taken, I was 16, before the world wide attacks. I had to provide for my family and myself... I learned from an old man at a shack off the post. He was unaffected by everything. He lived secluded his whole life. Lost his family to Ramone's soldiers and soon after he did he taught me a couple things here and there to get by? Kinda like I was a son to replace the family he lost. He hid us after we lost the post. He tried to help..." Giggles' voice trailed and his gaze got distant. I could tell he didn't want to talk about it.
"Whoa, see that?" There was nothing, but I acted as if there was in an effort to clear his mind. After a distant stare and a brief silence I followed with, “Must have been a mirage or sumtin. Never mind."
"Ryan was his name. The post's own native warrior...He… I… Well, it wasn’t really. Ahh, forget it. So what’s stewing." He was catching on to my diversion now and following lead.
"Listen Corporal, I've heard rumors and I've seen it in your eyes. You've had a rough trip to get to here now, but I need you in this. There was a reason you were put on this mission, I don't know it, but damn it if you don't accomplish it. If you want to talk, talk. If you don't, don't. But just make sure your head is in the NOW. Myths are told around campfires, Legends written about in books, but both start with a hero and a problem. We can be either legend or myth, but first let’s become the heroes, then we'll fix the problems... bueno?"
"Roger." Giggles wasn't in the talking mood anymore.
As the sun fully set, we could see small glistening lights in the distance. Probably camp fires. Scoundrels weren't very light disciplined. Probably them I assumed. We were atop a hill and our fire couldn't be spotted. We were far enough away that I didn't see any posed threat. Not enough to ruin a comfortable meal anyways. Scoundrels would become more of a threat once we got further south. They seemed to thrive in the warmer climates. Their headquarters was said to be based in New Mecca somewhere. New Mecca was Mexico City before the blasts, one being directly over it. Radiation still lingered there, but sporadic and mellow. Only a couple hundred people survived nuclear attack, and they were enslaved and trained as mercenaries. Soon after, it was raided by Middle Eastern mercenaries and reclaimed as New Mecca. They would go raid colonies and take several teen boys to train. If they refuse to fight, then their families are kidnapped and tortured in front of them. They will maim and sometimes kill all but one family member and the boy is then given the option to fight to save the last life or lives of their families. It doesn't take long till they become accustomed and willingly accept the lifestyle of the now called Scoundrels; no longer mercenaries fighting for a price or a cause, but for the taste of blood and power.
Their leader isn't clearly stated, but it is said that it could be an Indian woman who believed that woman were oppressed under the Muslim ways and set out to make her name know. She waged war in Saudi Arabia and India before the World War and then led a pilgrimage to this side of the Atlantic after being exiled. A bounty was put on her head in India. She has only a heart of stone and fire. When she bleeds, they say she satisfies her vindictive thirst on colonies as a whole in order to fix her craving for revenge for the blood she loses. The war brought out the gruesome and ill hearted to lead some of the strongest forces. Scoundrels lacked structure and technique, but make up for it in numbers, brutality, and lack of care for life.
"Worried?" Giggles asked. He must have caught me gazing at the fires in the distance.
"Not so much, more worried about this Ted guy... He better be alive. And he better be ready to pull a miracle out of his ass. General Tiersyn seems to think that this guy is some god. I just hope he knows how to get one up on Ramone and his bastard blasters. I have that odd feeling that this is all for nothing."
"Like the oxygen we breathe, you have to believe the miracle is there even if you can't see it or hold it." Giggles replied prophetically.
"Shut up and chew Giggles."
We ate, both knowing that any meal could be our last out here in the barren wasteland. Stars above, warm fire in the ground, shelter to sleep in. Prime real estate out here.
I heard something, as I looked up at the Corporal he snagged his lance from beside his log stool and crouched in an aggressive hunting stance. He had heard it too. He glanced at me and I returned a nod of acknowledgement. It was a growl, but not like an animal's, like a stomach. It sounded utterly human. Scoundrels? I heard a soft step close by in the darkness. Just before I got around the backside of the shelter I heard a blood curdling scream and the horses rose up. The mules stirred too. I heard the dead tree they were tied to break and I could hear them all set off into the darkness as the screaming ceased. We had problems now. Someone was close and readying an attack and possibly attacked already. We had no way to flee and no extra ammo if we get held up at up at all. What was the scream? Where was Giggles?
My eyes started to adjust to the pure darkness and I could see no threat. We went to check for the horses and they were clearly gone. We'd have to track them in the morning. Hopefully they don't go too far. As we approached the camp again I noticed that all our food was gone. It was an attack. They had to still be close. The ground was tosses and our food was dragged over the tracks that would have been there. Only Scoundrels could be this careless. But why weren't we attacked?
Just then I found my answer. Twenty feet from me, crouched and blended into the earth, was a pair of eyes staring directly into mine. Pure evil. They weren't human. Too round and enormous for being human. They glowed green. I heard a grumble, then a growl. This was an animal growl though, and a hunger grumble, not the same as I heard earlier. It was the belly growl mixed with a fierce and low rumbling prowling growl. This was the kind of noise that you had nightmares about. I slowly backed away as I was getting sized up. I felt the fear climb my spine and crawl up my throat. I'd never seen this animal before but knew exactly what it was. He showed his teeth just enough for me to know I was in trouble.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash enter my field of view and stick to the beast. He reared up roaring with Giggles' spear in his forward flank. He bolted towards me. I pulled my weapon from its slung position and shouldered it. Before I could get a fix on the sights he was on top of me I was pinned between his forward legs and held my rifle against his throat pushing the jaws of this mutated lion away from me. He was the size of a bear with razored bones protruding from his spine. He had huge eyes and teeth to match. He was young and hungry.
I yelped for help and looked across the way to see Giggles trying to fix a jammed rifle. He gave up and threw it down. With the rage of a badger and the brut of a water buffalo he charged at the lion's flank. I felt the lion's weight shift forward and down on me. He was embracing for the impact. As the two collided they tumbled one full rotation and the lion darted but only feet away and took an offensive position. I saw the lance back in the hands of the Corporal. I re-shouldered my rifle only to discover that the rustling around had dislodged and broken the magazine. I only had the round in the chamber. One shot; one kill. Better yet, one gladiator; one immaculate dinner. I sat aimed at the beast.
"THROW!" I yelled at Giggles. "If you miss I'll fire. I've only one round."
"I can't," came the reply. "I can't see him. There’s something in my eyes."
The mountain lion and he were now in a deadlock. The lion waited to see if he was going to attack and Giggles couldn't move for fear of provoking the lion. I aimed in. Just before I squeeze the trigger fully down, the lion turned away and cantered off as if to submit defeat and nurse up to fight another day.
"He was hungry. Food is too sparse out here." I was angry, “and now he has ours!"
Giggles stared from his parade rest position now. He seemed to think this might have been his fault. I had to calm down and collect myself.
"Major, I apologize. I should have followed your lead."
"No Giggles, You did right. Thanks boy. Next time that spear better go straight through though." My usual sarcastic tone was returning. “But that'll do for this time. How's your eyes?"
"Good Sir"
I went over to my game sack and pulled out my stash of moonshine. As I threw back a standard swig I could only be thankful that this ended how it did given the circumstances. I handed the flask over to my new found best friend and protector. For the first time, I saw his bearing break just slightly. I found his kryptonite as he smirked and threw back a titan sized gulp followed by a sigh of contempt.
Water, food, and weapons gone with the horses. I had second guesses about taking all the tack and gear off after dinner, but my mind was set on food. Now we suffer the reality of not following protocol. Hurting from the inside out, no supplies, and no idea where we will end up but all I can do now is sleep. We would have to do this in shifts. Giggles first. I posted him and put my head to rest on a pillow made of dirt and shrubbery.
When I woke in the morning Giggles was already full force ready and had collected 6 hares from the traps. He said one was snapped with blood around it. That explained the scream last night. It was the hare being taken by the lion. A short distance from camp he said he also found a bedding area.
A short distance was too close not to peek. We went off and checked it out. It seemed to be recently used. Not for long though, nothing had accumulated. No grease marks from the fir. No patterns of continuous use. I assumed it was the lion last night. He probably laid there plotting and stalking. The question was where did he go after the attack? Was he still close? These new breeds weren't studied yet and no one knew enough to even name them. Razorback lions is what we called them at posts. The first I have ever seen and I now have conformations of my doubts about the stories. They are demonic and hostile creatures of the night. Only Hades could claim those as a creation of desire.
The tracks in and around the bedded area were the size of a grizzly's paws. The magazine I dropped had been crushed under the massive weight of this ghoul. If I never saw another one, it'd still be too soon. Now we have to find our transportation and supplies though.
We started tracking from the broken tree they were tied to. All the tracks were running off in the same direction together. The ground was hard which made imprinting tracks hard, but those that did imprint, held well over night. I would get excited every time the strides shortened but it seemed like they would only slow down for a couple steps, maybe to regroup, and then the strides opened up again. Our campsite gear was packed into our game sacks and starting to get heavy. We pushed on. I could feel blisters forming on my heels. As we came to a small stream I found a large rock, grounded my bags, took my boots off and tended to my feel and rested. I advised Giggles to do the same. As if he was immune to the elements, he denied.
"We don't want to lose ground on these animals, Sir." I could hear the worry in his voice
I knew the horses couldn't go long without food and water and would stop to graze for a while soon. The one advantage we had on them was opposable thumbs that allowed us to eat, drink, and search all without slowing our pace. The downfall to us was the lack of stamina, power, and reinforce soles to our feet. We had to keep healthy and treat for infection if we were going to make this trek alive.
"Swallow the damn pride, sit, air your digits and treat yourself accordingly. Otherwise we have problems, understood warrior?" I demanded.
"Yes Sir," short and crisp was his response as he searched for the right spot. I heard the laces of his boots screech out of the eyelets. He slowly removed his boots and revealed soaked socks. So much sweat. As he removed his socks I saw a rust colored fluid dripping from his feet. Then I saw it, his feet looked like they had been skinned from the ankles down. I remembered that he had just gotten in from patrol when we headed out. He probably hadn't removed his boots in forty eight hours now, and who knows how long since he had a chance to bandage his wounds. He didn't flinch a bit. He rinsed his feet in the stream and wrapped them up in gauze.
"Wait!" I halted him. I walked over to a nearby aloe Vera plant and broke off a piece. Then to the cactus and did the same. I peeled both and pushed them into each other over and over. "That water is full of bacteria, rub this in thoroughly, then wrap and lace up. Keep that mix, keep applying it till the infection is gone. It'll help with the swelling too."
He gazed at me blankly, slowly took it and started rubbing it in with pain in his face. Not a word said, but he'd appreciate it in the long run. As he laced up I caught a glimmer of something in the direction from where we came from. I picked up my spotting scope and sighted in. Amazingly, the razorback lion was still behind us crouched behind some shrubs. He was stalking us, probably waiting for sunset. He knows Giggles is injured. We had few options. We wouldn't be able to scare him away, he was too hungry and devoted. We can't out run him. We needed to come up with a way to kill him. I still had one round in my rifle and since Giggles jammed his weapon and broke his firing pin, I had plenty of rounds in magazines now. He was smart though, he kept out of effective range. He has probably hunted people out here before, unfortunately. Tonight, either he would dine or we would. For now, we continue tracking the transport animals and devise a plan.
"Giggles, we need to lure him in. A couple hundred meters, that it. He can't know it’s a trap either."
"We split and one of us circles around behind?" Giggles suggested.
"Who gets the rifle?"
"Go ahead Sir, I'll circle around now. You get over that hill there and get about half way down the other side once I am behind him." Giggles said while pointing at a small rolling hill about half a mile ahead of us. "I won't come over the hill so make sure the shots hit."
"One problem there Corporal, he's on your blood scent. Take the rifle, give me the spear, and get over that hill war dog. One more for the wall, make it happen." I told him as I handed over my rifle, took his spear and headed at an angle backwards to flank the lion. I traveled through the stream to throw my scent and started back perpendicular to the path we were on. I turned to spot the lion and couldn't find him. I heard no shots yet either. They were experts at being one with the terrain and this proved it. I knew he was there stalking still. I knew where he used to be and where he wasn't. I just needed to get behind where he was and start up behind him. Hopefully he'll pick up and trot right into the sights of Giggles.
Right as I thought we had him pinned between us, I heard Giggles yelling in the distance. Then I saw him pointing in my direction. I felt my heart drop and then I realized why when I heard the heavy trotting of massive animal behind me. I turned, took a low attack stance and put the spear out in front of me. He slid to a halt feet from me. Giggles was too far away. I felt death inches from my face.
He started circling me. I could see him sizing me up and heard him wheezing heavily. Then I saw blood dripping from his side and his nostrils. Bright and bubbling blood. Every step he made I center up on him and pointed the spear straight at his chest. He was standing tall and sizing me up. His eyes level with his neck. He was massive. The razors down his back were tattered and chipped. He had a brown brindle colored short and mangy fir. I saw scars through his fir. This animal had been through a lot to survive and had proven his whit by outsmarting our plan. The spear Giggles hit him with earlier did its damage though. He was clearly afraid of the spear now and obviously in a bad state of being from the stab earlier. This mighty beast held at bay by a whittled piece of wood.
I glanced over to see Giggles sprinting towards me. He was too far away still. The razorback knew this and knew where the biggest threat was. He had to make his move before the rifle was in range. This was no primitive beast. He swatted at the spear over and over. Every time I would step back and reset my positioning. He finally had me pinned between a rock face and him. The beast lunged at me with the force of an elephant and the eyes of death himself. I tripped trying to sidestep and again ended up under the man eater fighting for my life. The worst case scenario was at hand. Giggles couldn't shoot now because of the chance that he would hit me. I couldn't hold on much longer. I had my arms wrapped around his neck and tried to keep as close to his chest as possible. He couldn't bite me if I did this. I felt like I was hugging a fifty gallon drum. I was holding Azrael himself back in an attempt to stay alive.
The lion would raise up and slam his front quarter in and attempt to shake me free. He shook left and right vigorously. I felt my grip slip and the ground seemed to jump to slam into my back as I met it.
Just then, the lion froze. Blood oozed from his fir atop his head and covered my upper torso. As he started to collapse I rolled as far left as possible and watched the life fall from his eyes. I swore I heard thunder as he hit the ground. I lifted his massive paw up and shimmied out from under the giant. I felt like I fought a brick wall. I stood to see the expressionless face of my Corporal standing over the animal with blood splatter all over his face. He had impaled the lion's head with a stone I don't think I could even attempt to lift. This kid ended up being my protection. This must be why the General chose him to accompany me.
"Check it out." He said as he nodded in the direction of our last camp. It was our horses and mules far in the distance. They had circled around to the last safe place they knew. They must have been tracking us too.
"Ahh, forget it. Let them come to us. I'm tired of chasing animals today. Let’s skin Satan’s kitty and start up camp here." I replied, knowing there was still a couple hours of sunlight left but not caring. Tonight we were settling in, setting up a safe camp, tending to our wounds and enjoying life. At least we knew there wasn't any more of these beasts hunting us. A Predator this big had to have tons of land claimed if he was going to survive.