“Yep,” he said. “Didn’t make no sense to me. Make sense to you?” I didn’t like his tone. I couldn’t say why for sure but it sounded forced.
“A little. It sounds like a video game, and some of us like video games. It said it was going to get dangerous, so we’re walking to town. We ran into a bobcat and it attacked us. It was huge.”
About that time, the man noticed Kaa.
His reaction was predictable.
Leaping up, he grabbed the gun and pointed it at the giant rattlesnake, shouting, “Look out for that fuckin’ snake! Lady, get out of the way!”
Samantha was in his line of fire. She held up her arms and started speaking frantically.
“He’s tame, he won’t hurt you! Look!” She knelt down, her eyes fixed on the man, and held her hand out behind her. Kaa moved up to her and let her touch his head.
“Scary fu… I mean, he’s scary, right?” said Joe. “But it’s tame, I swear. It won’t hurt you.”
The man relaxed a little, but didn’t lower the gun. “I ain’t never seen anybody tame a goddamn rattlesnake before. Even those Pentecostals get bit sometimes.”
“Well, he’s harmless,” said Joe. “So could you please put the gun down?”
The gun stayed up. But now it was pointed at Joe.
“You never did tell me why you had that bat, mister,” he said, voice much less friendly. “Maybe you should put it down, and call off that fuckin’ snake.”
“We’re not here to hurt you,” I said. “We’re just checking on people. You don’t want us here, we’ll leave.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” he snapped. “All of you, put your stuff on the ground. Now.” He swept the gun roughly over the group. The muzzle looked like you could drive a train down it when it pointed at me.
We were so shocked that none of us moved for a second. This just made him mad.
“I said NOW!” His voice rose to a shout. “John, shoot that fuckin’ snake!
There was a BOOM!, much louder than the pistol shot from before. Kaa suddenly twisted into a knot, rattle sounding.
And then all Hell broke loose.
Chapter 7
Turkey Shoot
COMBAT! Your group is in combat with Hunters x3. Since you are fighting as a group you have automatically been placed in a party. You may leave the party at any time.
“There’s more of them, take cover!” I shouted. At the same instant, the guy on the porch fired, and Joe fell backwards with an explosive grunt. Another shot rang out, but I didn’t know if it had hit anybody.
The group scattered, some jumping to get behind the four-by-four, others running for the trees. I grabbed Danielle and pushed her behind a little bush between us and the porch. It wasn’t much but it was all there was.
“Danielle, get ready to run,” I hissed. “Get behind them if you can.” She opened her mouth but before she could speak I said, “Here, kitty kitty!”
There was shouting and another gunshot, but I only had eyes for the Shadow Dancer. Her body blurred, and then she was… different.
I had an impression of red-furred ears and a face that was… sharper somehow. Danielle’s whole body shivered and she looked at me with eyes that were the same bright blue, but bigger. Much bigger. And slitted.
Like a cat’s.
“Go!” I said, and slapped her on the ass. She gathered herself and sprung, slipping through the shoulder strap on her duffel like it wasn’t even there. With one titanic leap she was behind the corner of the house and out of sight.
“What the fuck was that?” I heard a voice from behind a nearby tree shout.
“Kill it!” I heard the man on the porch yell. “Kill ‘em all!” He fired a shot toward the bush I was behind and dirt fountained up a foot from my head.
From the side of the house, there was a high-pitched scream of outrage, and then a reddish blur whipped around the corner of the porch and jumped onto the man’s upper body before he could so much as turn.
“I’ll kill you, nyaaaa!” The voice was Danielle’s, but it sounded like a furious demon. The man screamed. I thought I heard him say “My eyes!” but then there was just a gurgle.
COMBAT: Party Member Danielle does 40 damage to Hunter #1. Hunter #1 80/120 HP. Hunter #1 is Blinded! Hunter #1 cannot see until all damage from this attack is healed. Hunter #1 is Bleeding! 10 damage every ten seconds for two minutes.
“BILL!” came a shout from the trees. Another man, dressed like the first one and carrying a similar gun, ran out of the woods toward the porch.
“Mana Bolt!” I screamed, aiming at his leg. The bolt flew true and got him in the thigh.
COMBAT: Mana Bolt autotargeting off. Targeted Shot: Successful. 20 MP Mana Bolt does 20 Damage to Hunter #2. Hunter #2: 110/130 HP. Hunter #2 is Lamed! 80% movement penalty for one minute. 230/250 MP.
The man stumbled and fell with a shout, dropping his gun. Combat notices kept popping up and my vastly expanded mind processed them without thinking. Hideous sounds continued to come from the direction of the porch.
COMBAT: Party Member Danielle does 20 damage to Hunter #1. Hunter #1 60/120 HP. Hunter is Bleeding Heavily! 20 damage every ten seconds for two minutes.
I was afraid to get up knowing there was another gunman somewhere. So I just took another shot at “Hunter #2,” who was crawling toward his rifle, obviously in a great deal of pain. This time, I took a deep breath and aimed right at his head. As he was nearly sideways to me and not far away, the bolt smacked him square in the ear.
COMBAT: Mana Bolt autotargeting off. Targeted Shot: Successful. 20 MP Mana Bolt does 20 Damage to Hunter #2. Hunter #2: 90/130 HP. Hunter #2 is Dazed! 50% action penalty for one minute. 210/250 MP.
The man shouted and clapped his hand to his ear, rolling onto his side. Without thinking, I scrabbled up and lunged forward, trying to get to the gun.
BOOM!
Something kicked me hard in the ribs and I rolled to the ground, wheezing.
COMBAT: You take 20 damage from Shotgun Slug. You have been Winded! 50% of Max SP lost. Stamina regeneration halved for two minutes. HP: 90/110. Status: Winded.
Fuck, that hurt, I thought with confusion. Then something became very, very clear.
I’m shot. I’m SHOT!
I winced and put my hand to the wound. Absolute terror ran through me. I expected to find a giant hole in my side and maybe feel my guts falling out.
There was no hole.
There was no blood.
It was tender, but was like I’d been hit with a bat, not shot with a gun. While I was trying to figure out why I wasn’t dying, more notices came up.
COMBAT: Party Member Danielle does 20 damage to Hunter #1. Hunter #1 20/120 HP. Hunter #1 has Fainted!
COMBAT: Party Member Samantha does 150 damage to Hunter #3. Hunter #3: 0/150 HP.
I looked up and saw the man I’d Mana-Bolted scrabbling toward his gun again. I got up, gasping, and ran for it. I was suddenly so tired I almost fell, but he wasn’t any better off, one leg dragging and body swaying. I reached the gun and just fell on it so he couldn’t get it. I winced as I hit the ground, my ribs flaring with pain.