The Fiction Games

Chapter Eleven - Hunters

Once the sun grew visible over the trees, mist dense enough to cut through began to dissipate. They saw clearly now why trees were fundamental. Predators seek their prey in broad habitats. Trees provide safety, allowing camoflauge for a short amount of time, permitting a brief soul enthusiasm for just a brief second.

Eventually they will be cornered like animals, Bruce Banner thought.

He twirled the ring in his hands  as though he thrived unwaverlingly so long as he held it close. During the night, as he burrowed it deep within his breast, he almost heard the ring whispering, breathing.

"Bruce?" Black Widow called. 

He stuffed the ring inside his jacket.

"The boy's starting to wake," she continued. 

"Good," said Dr. Banner. "I'll have a chat with him momentarily. Don't let the others touch him, especially those vampires. We need him alive. They can start hunting after dark, when the others are more vulnerable."

Black Widow folded her arms. "I'm not sure about that. They're getting restless."

"They don't have a choice," he commanded. "How is Wayne's project progressing?"

In the distance, Bruce Wayne fumbled with a device, his finger dancing over its screen. "Turns out the Gamemakers are considerate. He says it uses sonar to detect humans."

"Perfect," Banner cooed. "Hopefully it will run by tonight."

Selina Kyle kept watch on the boy, the Cullens prepared breakfast, Bruce Wayne scrutinized the gadget. Leia bore past the wall of trees, expecting someone to leap out any moment. Banner's eyes twinged.

"When is this princess going to stop moping around?" he inquired sharply.

Black Widow was stricken aback, words tangling in her mouth, "She just lost her brother, give her a break!"

Bruce Banner glared at her for the first time, and she feared he'd change into the Hulk. "Sooner or later, she will know she made the right decision. Her brother chose his own destiny. She'll see that once his name flashes across the sky."

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Hermione identified the tree precisely. Through droughts of air, she murmured a single word over coiling roots. Harry Potter materialized, blood seeping from his ribs, eyes fluttering to keep them open, heaving savory breaths.

"I went to fetch water when I saw you," Hermione quivered. "I couldn't take him with me."

Harry seemed to disregard their appearance, searching for something in the trees above. Foulness reached Percy's nostrils. He shuddered, "I can heal him. I'll run back to the river and..."

Together, he and Katara set Annabeth on a bed of leaves.

Katara, backpack slid off her shoulder and hair brushed aside, kneeled before Harry. She was carefull not to touch the wound, but hover her fingers ever so close. "There's no time. He needs attention now. It won't take long."

Her fingers whisked around, and with every spin droplets appeared from thin air, fusing together in a ball the size of a coin. 

"Impossible," Percy said, captivated. 

Katara justified, "There are more water sources than you think."

The lingering orb of water drifted for a moment before sinking into Harry's open flesh. He flinched, but succumed to the fluid channeling inside his injury. Instantly it illuminated electric blue. It was working.