That Which Devours

Doc jumped to his feet, his eyes wide. “I should stay here and watch Denver." He nodded frantically. "He’s my buddy, after all.”

Hawk growled. “No chance, Doc. It’ll take all three of us, since we don’t know if the rest of the cats are prowling.” His face turned red and his hands clenched into fists as he stared at Doc.

“I thought you wanted that bottle of moonshine I had,” I said. Both of them turned in my direction.

“Well, I mean, if you’re offering…” muttered the Doc, licking his lips. “I guess I could help out. For compensation, of course.” He pointed at my leg. “First, I gotta check you out to make sure it's safe for you to leave.”

I walked over to where he sat on the bench and placed my foot next to him with my knee bent. The bite mark looked substantially better. A few of the puncture wounds from the teeth were already closed.

“This is… You must have gotten a healing skill.” His head bobbed. “I wish I could unlock one.”

Hawk snorted. “Then you couldn’t get drunk, dumbass.”

Doc froze at the former soldier’s words, like he hadn’t thought of the connection between the two. He didn’t say anything.

I tucked my pant leg back into my boot and realized the dried blood from the cloth was gone.

“Smart move, cleaning up the blood,” said Doc.

I nodded, but inside I wondered what’d happened to it, since I’d done no such thing. Buzzing came from my shoulder and Noseen chuckled.

Well, he was a blood devourer after all. I almost glared at the little bug, wondering when I’d had blood on other bits of clothing.

Quickly, I moved to the empty containers near the wall and started stacking them into my inventory.

“The stew will be done shortly,” said Hawk. “We should eat something before we go.”

I didn’t let the frustration show on my face or in my voice. “Do we have time for that, and to make it back before dark?” After I vanished the last jug, I turned around.

“We have plenty of time,” he said, shaking his head. “It isn’t far. That's the only reason we haven’t left yet. I don’t want to be caught out there after dark, either.”

That let some of the hot steam out of my chest. Plus, free food would be good since I still didn’t feel full.

Hawk moved over to the pot and used a thick rag to pull the top off. He came back carrying two bowls. “Doc, fetch your own.” One bowl he set near me with a grin. It was a meat stew, with chunks of something else in it. “Cat stew with tubers that are native. We’ve been eating them for ages.”

Doc got his own bowl and came back with forks. Hawk started eating using a knife he’d pulled out from somewhere.

I took the fork gratefully, though it felt weird in my hands. The meat wasn't bad, though it had a strong smell, and the tubers tasted a little nutty. The texture was a little strange, since the meat was cooked, and I hadn’t been eating anything cooked lately. It felt weird in my mouth, but I ate it anyway. Food was food.

[You have devoured an Armored Jungle Cat. You have gained a minor insight into stealth.]

The notification almost caused me to pause eating, but I kept going. I didn't think I could devour things after cooking them, but I'd take it. I didn’t want to slow down, since I had a lot to do and still had to get back to John. The sooner I was done with this stew, the better, then we could get a move on. Not surprisingly I was the first one done, bowl empty. I resisted licking the inside of it; I had to admit it had been pretty decent.

“You can eat,” said Doc. He glanced at Hawk.

“I’m not level ten yet, so I eat like we did before.” They would know what I meant.

Hawk nodded, but Doc didn’t look convinced.

Surprisingly, I felt better after having eaten again. My stomach was satisfied for the moment, and I waited impatiently for the others to finish up the stew, thinking about my next steps. After the shuttle was up and running, we’d need to come back here to drop the sled off and take Denver to the mines or the colony. Somewhere he could get the medical attention he needed, at any rate.

“How’s Denver doing?” I asked, without thinking.

Doc brightened. “I think he’s gonna make it. His fever broke earlier, when you were napping. Hopefully, he’ll wake up tonight. We’ll feed him, and in a couple of days he’ll be good as new.”

“That’s good news,” I said with a smile. “I take it, then, you won’t be leaving?” I glanced between the two of them.

“Not a chance, “ said Hawk. “We will keep this settlement occupied. Now, hopefully, we can recruit a few new folks. Maybe some folks who want to level, either from the mines or the colony.” This was a switch from what he’d spoken about before, but I understood.

“Has Jimmy heard anything from them?”

“We can’t see that far during the day. Once nightfall hits, he’ll try again,” said Hawk, who focused on his bowl.

I’d be gone before nightfall hit; I had to be. Otherwise, I was going to be late back to the shuttle, and who knew what John would do in that case. Once we came back with the shuttle, they should have news from the colony, and hopefully the mines.

An image of the craters from the meteor shower came to mind, and I remembered that most of the colony was still in tents. There was nothing I could do about that, though. I had to focus on fixing the shuttle, and helping my brother. To do that, I needed to fill these jugs with water.

Their bowls were empty. “You guys ready?”

Hawk pushed back from the table. “Let’s get this done.” He stretched out overhead and smiled.

I stood up, stretched, and headed toward the door, pulling my cloak around my shoulders as I walked. Maybe at the mines I could bargain for armor, or something better. All I had were my normal everyday clothes, and the cloak John had lent me. Some of the hunters had leather armor that others had made. The leatherworking profession was in high demand, but maybe now I could prove I needed something more and could request armor.

Outside, I noticed two frames were set up along one side of the dropship. They were stretching out the furs from the cats.

“Are you a leather worker?” I asked Hawk, puzzled.

“Yeah, normally I don’t have anything nice to work with.” He motioned to the frames. “The miners always want more gloves. Denver is better at it.”

“Well, if you can make some armor, I’d love to get some more protection.” I motioned to my linen clothes. "I don't want to think about how I'm going to get yelled at when I request a different set of clothes from the Quartermaster."

Hawk chuckled. “The great Xander is limiting resources, huh?”

I tilted my head, thinking about it as we slowly walked toward the doorway in the fence. “I mean, only the main hunters currently have armor.” Jas and Mary wore armor, but they spent a ton of time out in the jungle. Though, given Mary's offer, maybe the two of them were splitting up to help others level up.

“But how are those main hungers chosen?”

I didn’t answer, since I didn’t know. There were hundreds of little things I accepted without thinking about them. My focus had been on gaining a class, and getting to level ten. I only needed three more levels to go to hit my target, and I couldn't help but smile to myself. Now here I was, working on that goal while wondering how best to protect myself.

During the dino hunt, Len had made the decisions on who did what, including who fought with the target. No one else had commented, but Mary and Jas had gotten the bulk of the experience for that. Why were they chosen, and not others?

“Good to see that you're a thinker and not a follower,” added Hawk. “You’re like your dad.”

That brought up a good point. Dad owned armor, and not the leather type. It was in a crate he stored in the tent we were using. Black, hardened body armor from Earth. The crate was locked with a code, and I doubted anyone else but the family knew he had it. It also held other things, like a baton and a useless rifle set. All of them were reminders of his time in the military, yet he hadn’t left them behind, he’d brought them with him. Just locked in the crate.

What else was in there?

“You both ready?” asked Hawk, looking between Doc and me.

My mind snapped back to the present and I pulled out my crystal knife. We were at the gate that led out of the fence. Doc stood next to me, silent, his face pale. He held a metal knife in one hand, and the other fluttered next to him in the air.

Hawk nodded at us and removed the thick board holding the gate shut.

I switched my attention to the tree line, moving my gaze back and forth in either direction. Leaves shifted in the hot breeze, but nothing else. I focused my hearing, trying to listen to anything that sounded different, but again, nothing stood out.

Doc went first, turning toward the left. I followed, and Hawk brought up the rear. He shut the gate behind us, but didn’t latch it before he pulled his bow off his shoulder and knocked an arrow.

There was a trail I hadn’t noticed before that wound through the treeline, heading north. Doc moved slowly down the dirt path, jerking each time he moved his head. My goal was to stay quiet, and I noticed each twig or dry leaf on the trail, avoiding them as best I could. The sounds of birds grew louder the deeper down the trail we went. Doc paused, his shoulders almost at his ears as he pointed his knife.

I peeked over his shoulder, trying to figure out what was wrong. A smell hit me, and I wasn’t sure if it was good or bad. My mouth watered, making it clear it could be food. Then again, food seemed to be a pretty broad category for me lately.

The trail widened after passing between two trees. Several trees had fallen or been dragged off to one side, creating a circle. In the center of the trees lay two dead cats, broken in pieces and with parts torn to shreds. Small birds littered the trees and ground, some feasting on the gruesome remains of the two cats.

Hawk moved up past my shoulder and motioned for Doc to continue down the trail. He scanned the sky, his bow held tight. Doc first moved reluctantly, then more quickly, down the path toward denser jungle. I followed, praying whatever had taken out the cats wasn’t still around. I avoided bits of carnage on the path, wondering why there was so much food just sitting there. Usually, predators and scavengers would eat this up fast. Instead, all I saw were small birds.