Death's Favorite Child

30. The Hunt

[A/N: This chapter might need some editing, but I'll check it later.]

(Beast) "Idiot human. I hope you don't die on us during the trip," Alis shouted at Daniel, and the other hunters laughed.

"..." anymore Daniel understood the word 'human' and some essential words like 'food' and 'water'. However, he also realized Alis added 'honorifics' to the word human, making people laugh.

They had been on the trip for two days now. The First Settlement Village was one week traveling to the West. Daniel didn't know where the gates were, where they led, or how to activate them. Flying home would take months, if not years. So, he had to follow this ragtag group to the main village.

The group consisted of 7 hunters and Daniel. This was a trip they made every two months to exchange resources and gather news -- so all of the hunters had experience. It was a treacherous trip through dangerous areas, passing very close to the Lizard tribe territory. Alis had volunteered to be on the team. She always liked visiting the main village -- it somehow scratched her itch for traveling.

The goods were shared in backpacks, and each member -- including Daniel -- had to carry their portion. Crossing the forest was not easy, and there were no roads available.

'Cap, remember the last time we hiked through the forest? It was in the Amazon. We were chasing that group of rogue agents,' Jon said, breaking the silence in Daniel's mind.

"Hmm," answered Daniel.

'Two months without any supplies... How many people did we lose to eliminate them?'

'Cap... Did you ever think if we were on the right back then? They were trying to destroy the organization,' added Jon.

"They killed children. They crossed the line," replied Daniel immediately.

Jon remained silent. Then, he lightened the tone,

'By the way, Cap, good idea to take the last position in the group. With the two Panther ladies walking in the front, there is better... motivation. Hehe.'

The third night, they arrived at a clearing around dusk and set up their camp. It was evident that the clearing was used regularly by hunters. From a strategic point of view, it was the worst possible outline—a big clearing with the forest line all around. In general, Daniel was shocked how these people survived all these years. They had minimal training, shabby weapons, and no discipline.

He set up his tent and started walking towards the forest.

(Beast) "Human, where do you think you are going?" Alis grabbed his hand but immediately backed down.

Daniel looked at her and turned back to the forest, disappearing in the treeline.

(Beast) "Hey, where is he going? He'll get lost or eaten," one of the hunters asked Alis.

"Tsk," Alis replied, obviously pissed. The Chief asked her to keep an eye on the human, but she was not about to risk her life because he wanted to stroll in the forest.

After an hour, the hunters heard some rustling in the trees and grabbed their weapons. Daniel walked out, carrying a giant boar over his shoulder. In his bag, he had several cooking herbs he had been gathering the last two days and some roots. He was tired of eating the tasteless food provided by the group.

(Beast) "What's he doing with those leaves? He is destroying delicious meat! Alis, did you lend him your spear or bow? How did he hunt?" asked one of the hunters.

(Beast) "How should I know? Tsk," Alis answered. Everyone thought of her as the resident human expert since she spent a few days guarding him.

The hunters watched as Daniel created a fire pit, prepared the boar with the herbs, and made a spit roast. The smell was breaking their nose.