Lying on his back still as stone and with eyes blazing a golden glow like flames gently catching air, the hunter stared at the W's on the ceiling.C
once more in relief from the absent weight. The ground was cold beneath his bare feet and, dra
e of brushing and washing his face, running a damp hand
g his face in the mirror and scratching at the w
ntil his earlobe twitched like the flank of a horse. He favor
nn
rise and fall of her chest. He saw the outline of her figure in his mind's eye, the single sheet drawn over her body as she rem
er beans, cabbage and a few tortillas which he ate while leani
motes of dust which spinned and wheeled about, winking in and out of his sight. He made a mental inven
placed it on the dish rack before halting halfway to the stove where the
t of the house and down the front steps unmoved by the wintry morning
e h
e had anticipated, and without much thought he found himself climbing the stairs with her
ver her like a looming sentinel casting a shrewd eye over the l
e was
knew what he was dealing with,
d dead in his tra
e him and a bird chirpe
and sensitive. As if he had just realized it had always been the
ew
nced. Curious as he was about the young woman and her origi
n drawn firmly in the sand, the line that withheld him fro
ill on a stormy night too strong for her fragile wings. U
er fractured elbow and broken leg, bind up all her wounds and
the huma
sured and unhurried, stopping once in a while to check out the traps he had lain in particular spots, rais
s were brie
and dropped a pin for the collectors to c
finish
f dark blood and matted fur. He had shifted in between the agony and his lower half was still wolflike while the top was all skin and flesh. His
ly, oh how they begged despite knowing the inevitable end to their lives. B
few
veins in his neck stood out like thick cords and one pulsed extravagantly in on his temple. "Filthy, cowardly b
r. It pulsed from his
g shifted causing a jolt of pain up his shuddering body. He screamed and the hunter listened. "You watch
devices, the prowling of enemies much larger than he, more insidious than lycanthropes. There was al
ed not. Or
few we
ri
d stitches in the back of her left mouth. He knew this because while she was
back to the man, unfazed. "Come a
g, was imprinted on her inner wrist. He knew this too beca
w days a
aniac's head fell back in rapturous laughter, spit rained all about him and his eyes bulged from the pres
e quiet and steady benea
ird. Hum
silent a
. h
the man who was leaning back and breathing heav
- she sweated, did her upp
ind out in
! You he
alk to
the heavy drag of each word, as if he had mused over their interact
tion towards him. Hiking the rifle higher on his shoulder, the hunter gave t
he man yel
aning as something cold set in. The realization that the hu
st have its
leave a c