One Shot (Ruby Rose/Adele fan fic)

SEVENTEEN(Third-person P.O.V)

The sun is going down in the woods of north California and temperature is dropping. The little gray squirrel jumps from one tree to another and finally it climbs down to the ground full of leaves and brushwood, it has to hurry and get into its drey before it gets too dark... it doesn't feel like having an encounter with an owl, ending up being the bird's dinner. While it runs around some bushes it finds out something unexpected: a mound covered with dry fern leaves and some other kind of material it has never seen before but it's coloured between brown and green very similar to the forest floor. It isn't a very tall mound but it's pretty clear that it isn't made of rock and it wasn't here a week ago when the little animal came to this area looking for acorns... how strange...

The squirrel gets closer cautiously, scared, but the mound is still there, impassive and immobile, so it decides to jump on the lower area. Everything seems fine, even if that odd material is rough and it doesn't rustle like normal dry leaves do, however the mound smells like the rest of the forest: it smells of soil, dampness and chlorophyll... maybe it smells even worse... like those trees foxes use to mark their territories with urine, but it's not that: if foxes were around here the little squirrel would have ran away already. Slowly, the little animal climbs to the top of the mound and it stands on its hind legs while admiring the view from the height. The hill slopes down till reaching a stream and beyond, amongst the trees in the distance, a cabin like the ones humans build can be seen. The squirrel knows well the humans since they usually are a source of easy food though they're also dangerous hunters that enjoy killing other forest creatures. Luckily, they don't pay attention to squirrels except sometimes the little human cubs throwing pebbles... but they aren't very accurate with their slingshots. Come to think about it... this mound smells a little like them but the scent it's masked with stronger scents. The little animal feels confused but it remains alert when suddenly...

The mound is moving! The squirrel runs away and takes refuge behind the closer trees; however it's dying of curiosity at the same time and decides to climb to one tree in order to keep watching the ground from a branch just in case it can find some food even if it just can stay for a moment before it gets dark. Looking down from above it realizes that the mound has a long, narrow shape, and some kind of straight and thin dark branch is poking out from the front. All of a sudden, it moves again and changes slightly its position. How weird... is the mound alive?

The squirrel isn't aware of it but it has found the most dangerous predator of the whole forest, the best killer, foxes and owls cannot compete with him. Luckily, this predator isn't interested in little squirrels but in the cabin that can be seen on the other side of the stream. It isn't a little cabin, quite the contrary, despite it's made of wood and tries to maintain the aesthetics of the surroundings, the cabin has three bedrooms, living room, kitchen and three bathrooms, and everything is elegantly decorated. The predator knows it because he has studied the woods for days and he also saw a layout of the building before coming to this clearing in the woods.

It's been three days since the predator is lying here waiting, barely moving, sleeping at short intervals, barely eating and drinking a sip of water from time to time. His completely numb muscles have stopped aching long time ago and the scent of his own urine doesn't bother him anymore. He hasn't even noticed the visit of the squirrel, his brain is totally focused on what's happening before him: the cabin, his prey and the men that are protecting him. There're four of them and they're smart, they take shifts to monitor the surroundings, they stick their noses out of the porch from time to time but hey never, ever, let the prey to get close to a window, much less go out. The sun has almost gone and it's getting dark in the forest but the predator doesn't give a damn about it. He'll wait one more day and another one and another... as many as it takes him to hunt his prey. And finally, the predator will recover what was stolen.

His prey used to be an important man: one week ago he was in his office panelled in fine wood, talking on the phone to powerful politicians and wealthy businessmen when suddenly a dozen of men with guns, wearing dark blue jackets with three yellow letters printed on the back 'FBI,' rushed in his office and arrested him to stand trial. His right-hand man betrayed him and his prey, livid with anger, swore to make him pay with his own life along with anyone who helped him to put him in jail... the list included that stupid girl that had identify his personal assistant... The predator cannot tolerate that... He'll recover what was stolen and he'll keep it safe no matter what because it's his most valued treasure.

Some hours ago the predator had a good idea and he got in touch with the rest of his pack, the ones who have his back. They told the protectors discreetly that their hideout had been discovered and they're probably discussing whether or not they should stay in this cabin right now. They'll go out with his prey sooner or later and they'll make the mistake of exposing him in their attempt to protect him: the predator only needs 5 seconds to shoot him down because he's a good hunter. Unfortunately, it seems that today it won't be that day... it doesn't matter, even if they try to run away at night the predator will achieve his goal: he has means to see in the dark. Wait a minute...

The cabin door opens, the predator can see it perfectly through his telescopic sight. Two men go out: one stays near the door watching the porch and the other one jogs around the cabin to come back three minutes later with a car that he parks as close to the stairs that lead to the main door as possible. The porch is partially concealed by the vehicle now and the predator will only be able to see its prey while he takes three steps, but it's enough for him... Another man goes out of the cabin, looking around cautiously and talks with someone on the phone, they surely have people monitoring the perimeter but he doesn't care about it since the predator is well-hidden more than half a mile away: too far to be caught. The fourth protector goes out too and gets in the passenger seat; the plan is pretty clear now: one keeps the cabin door open and another one the car ready, the third one will take those three steps with his prey to protect him. If he's lucky enough he won't stand in the way of the bullet... The predator gets ready, breathing slowly, keeping his heart rate under control... he moves his hand and places it on the bolt of his rifle.

A complete minute goes by while the squirrel looks at the mound entranced. The whole forest seems to hold the breath, the soft breeze barely shakes the leaves of the trees, birds remain silent and no other animal dares to walk into the clearing where the most dangerous predator is lying down waiting to strike the final blow. Suddenly, a sound like a click coming from that weird, long and straight, black branch that pokes out from the front, scares the squirrel till the point that it thinks if it'd be better to run away. The rodent hesitates, staring intensely at the predator and all of a sudden the sound of a shot echoes through the woods... Terrified, the little animal leaves the clearing jumping from one branch to another.

It sees some movement out of the corner of its eye while jumping and it realizes that the mound ins running too, leaving behind dry fern leaves that are falling from his head and shoulders. The predator hasn't even stopped to make sure that he has hit the target, he knows his shot was perfect and his prey is dead from the moment the bullet flew out of his barrel, he knew it even before... as soon as he pulled the trigger... the predator always does a perfect job of calculating so he ran away when he heard the shot start echoing through the forest. Despite the slippery leaves, little rocks and dry branches that are hiding the path, the predator runs quickly and confidently without tripping over or missing a beat, carrying his big weapon on his back like it weights nothing. Finally, they arrive to a forest track were a huge black vehicle is parked. The squirrel stops, scared again, its heart beating fast while it stays grabbing a branch. The predator keeps running, opens a door and jumps into the vehicle.

"Let's go," a female voice says.

"Of course, but keep the window open please. Adele, I'm sorry to say this but you stink."

"Thank you, Xander. I love you too."

The huge car races along the road and vanishes in a dust cloud. The squirrel stays immobile for some seconds thinking that strange things are happening in the woods lately. The hoot of an owl startles the little animal and pulls it out of its trance. It'd better get back to its drey before night falls. Luckily, it's near here.