The Hunt (Star Wars Rebels)

Predator

Ezra reached the beach and glanced around. There was no sign that the ship had been here the night before. The beach appeared deserted.

Roy's warning burned in Ezra's ears. The Trandoshans would all be hunting him, like some prize animal. Nowhere was safe.

Ezra wondered what he should do. He supposed that he could find a tree to hide in, and just wait for Kanan and the others to come. But that had its own problems. It was possible that a Trandoshan would spot him and attack him. That could end badly.

Ezra glanced back towards the forest. Something about those trees made him uneasy. Dogan had gotten that jawbone from something. Something with sharp fangs by the look of it.

Ezra thought he saw something moving in the shadows. He wished he had his lightsaber, or even his energy slingshot. Any weapon would be nice. He tried to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

A blaster fired in the distance, making Ezra jump. He glanced around, searching for the source. Probably a Trandoshan. Ezra decided that he was too exposed standing on the beach. He moved back into the shadow of the trees, eyes scanning the skies.

Ezra heard a low growl and spun around just in time to see a monster lunge through the trees towards him. Ezra had never seen anything like it in his life before. It had pale yellow/gray fur with darker gray stripes. It was similar to a Lothcat because they both looked like felines, but that was where the similarities ended. This beast had a triangular head with a large mouth full of needle sharp teeth. Its head alone was as large as a supply crate, though it was almost totally flat. The monster, including its tail, was as long as four supply crates that were side by side. It had a long rat's tail and four clawed feet. It had four beady eyes on the top of its flat head and spiked black fur along its back, similar to spines.

One of its claws caught Ezra's jacket as he attempted to dodge away, sending him tumbling to the ground. He felt the scratches on his back burn where the beast had clawed him. Ezra scrambled to his feet and ran for the nearest tree, but the creature pounced and Ezra felt its jaws close on his arm. The creature whipped its head back and forth before opening its mouth and sending Ezra flying into a tree. He shook his head, trying to clear it. He was seeing double. It looked like two beast were pacing closer in perfect sync.

A spear appeared out of nowhere, embedding itself in each beast. Ezra's vision cleared. The spear had caught the beast in its rib cage. It roared in fury, crouching closer to the ground. Dogan appeared, waving his staff and jawbone aggressively. The beast roared one last time before running into the trees.

"Stupid Nexu," Roy growled, coming into view. "That was my best spear."

"We need to make this quick," Dogan warned. "The blood will attract other predators."

"Let me see that arm kid," Roy said, kneeling next to Ezra. He used a fang which looked like it came from another Nexu to cut away Ezra's sleeve. The arm underneath was a mess. Ezra closed his eyes.

"You're lucky," Roy said. "The arm is mostly intact. I've seen kids lose arms to a Nexu bite. Your shoulder is dislocated as well. Looks like you fractured a rib too."

Roy bandaged Ezra's arm with a bit of his sleeve which had been cut off. He helped Ezra to his feet.

"We've got better gear at our hideout. Come on," Roy said.

"I've got to watch out for my master," Ezra protested.

"And you can't do that dead, can you?" Roy pointed out. He grabbed Ezra's good arm and began guiding him through the forest, away from the beach.

"I'll scout, you stay with the kid," Dogan said. He climbed up a nearby tree and vanished from view. Roy picked up a large stick from the ground and pulled Ezra into the deepest part of the jungle.