The Rogue Hunter

Chapter Four: Useless

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Kristine
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      I wake up and glance at the bedside clock. Four a.m., I am surprised I slept as long as I did. I slip on my jacket and grab my bag. It's the perfect time to move, no one will be awake at this time.
      I make it to the streets without seeing a soul. Taking precautions, I tug my hood to cover even more of my face. I hurry out of the large town and begin to walk along the road. The werewolves will be searching the forest and possibly near by small towns, but I don't think they would expect to see me walking along the road, alone. They will most likely be looking for a man and me, thinking the Rogue Hunter got me.
      The Council and the packs are naive. If they could have considered the Rogue Hunter being a female, they most likely would have had me locked up at this moment. But because it is assumed that only males are strong enough to kill, they are looking for a man. This information is quite useful to me though.
      It is very easy to hide when people are searching for a man. I could have easily blended into backgrounds, but I assume the Alpha will have given all the surrounding packs my description in hopes of finding me again. That will not happen. I was caught off guard by them, they will not get that lucky a second time. I can't believe I was basically caught the first time. In all my years, I had never screwed up like that. I need answers and being in cell or dead would keep me from getting them.
      I walk by the road for hours. Cars pass by. Some stop and ask if I need a ride, which I respond with a glare. When it got too hot to wear, I finally tie my jacket around my waist. I turn my loose pony tail into a bun and continue to walk.
      I see a forest that starts only a few feet from the road and decide to take shelter there for a bit. I look around and see no one, so I jump into one of the tall trees. I lean against the hard surface and pull a water from my bag. I don't know where I plan on going. Guess I should have had a plan before taking off again. I can't help but think of those rogues I was so close to getting. If I pass them up, I might not get another chance to get them. But if I stay, I run the risk of being caught.
      If I succeed with the rogues, I could have a new lead. If I get caught, I don't know if the pack will let me out of their sights long enough to escape. This could either be a breakthrough or a down fall. I have to take the chance. Ten years I have been looking for answers, and this is the closest I have come so far.
      I can do this. I can get information from the rogues and avoid being captured by the pack. Come on Kris, you have been doing this most of your life, you can do this.

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      I stay crouched in the tree. There has to be at least thirty of them. One of the largest number of rogues I have taken on at once. I close my eyes and take a deep breath before releasing the shurikens. The throwing stars fly from my hands and lodge themselves into six rogues. Immediately, there is an up roar.
     "Its Him! The Rogue Hunter! Prepare yourselves!" A rogue yells, informing me he is the one pulling the strings. I watch the werewolves try to sniff me out. I pull out six more shurikens. I watch them easily take out five of them, one of them was able to dodge. Eleven down, nineteen to go.
      "Find him!" The leader snarls. Fear starts to grow in the eyes of the rogues as they see the bodies of their comrades laying still.
      "He is attacking from everywhere! What do we do!" Someone yells, a mixture of fear and anger in his voice. They scamper about like bugs, some even shift. I decide to make my grand entrance, I drop from my tree and land elegantly on my feet. They all still.
      "Hello, I believe you have some information that I want." I say, rising to my full height. Everyone here towers over me, I look like a child next to them but the fear and anger in their scent is more than a child could ever get from a group of monsters. I'm the thing monsters fear.
      "And why would we give you what you want?" The leader asks. I cock my head and him.
      "Because if you don't, your death won't be as fast as your friends." I answer. They start to growl at me but none of them moves a muscle.
      "And what is to keep me from killing you, Rogue Hunter?" He spits out, I smile.
      "The fact that you won't be able to." I reply, twirling two double edged hunting knives in my hands. He signals his men to attack and I begin my well practiced dance. With a few twists of my wrists, a handful of rogues fall. I easily step out of the way of claws and mouths of the rabid animals.
      "You think you and your rabid dogs will kill me?" I question him as I take down more of them.  At last, I stand before the leader, my blades at his throats.
      "I want to know about the attack on the Farwell Pack eleven years ago." I state. The mans disturbing face twists into a sinister smile.
      "Oh, I believe I know what pack you are speaking of. Lots of screaming, blood, and crying. Oh the crying! So many people begging for their life or for the lives of their loved ones." He says, eyes alight with sick joy. I start to lightly dig the blades into his throat, unable to control my hands. The silver begins to burn him.
      "Why was there an attack on that pack?" I growl out. I draw a deep cut across his chest. He sneers at me.
      "I wasn't told. All I was told was that if I went along, we were taking down an entire pack." He tells me.
      "You monster! There were families there! Children!" I hiss, drawing blood. His smile worsens.
      "I know, they screamed the loudest." He informs me. I snarl at him, my rage growing to new levels.
      "Rogues! Stop!" A voice yells at us, I don't dare take my eyes off the rogue in front of me.
      "Looky there, a pack is coming. What is the little Rogue Hunter going to do?" He asks.
      "She's going to get the information she wants." I answer. "Why was there an organized attack on the Farwell Pack?"
      "Like I said, I don't know. I was just in on it for the fun." He replies, the sounds of paws and feet hitting the ground is getting closer. I watch fear finally start to show in the rogues eyes. I plunge one of the blades into his shoulder, all the way to the tree he is pinned against. He hisses in pain. "Are you crazy?! You are going to get us both killed!"
      "I'm not afraid of death, are you?" I ask the scared man. He starts to claw my  hands and starts to beg. "I thought you liked hearing begging, you just spoke so highly of hearing the Farwell Pack beg for their lives. Do you not find it as nice when it is you who is pleading?"
      "How can you not fear death when you are surrounded by it?" He questions with wide eyes. I bring my mouth close to his ears.
      "I am already dead, real death would be welcomed after I have my revenge." I whisper, I feel him start to shake with fear.
      "You are crazy!" He shouts. I smile at him. I know I won't be getting any more info from him. He is just a no body rogue who happened to be there. I put my hands on the side of head and his eyes widen even more if possible. "Please! Please! Don't kill me!" I snap his neck to the side and he goes limp. I retrieve the blades from the mans body and glance around.
      "Stop where you are!" A voice shouts. I freeze, I'm surrounded and I know the scent. This is the same pack that I ran into the other day.
      "Remove your hood and drop the bag." They order me, I don't move. I need to get out of here. That rogue didn't give me the answers I needed. I slide the knives into the palm of my hands. My hood hides my face and my scent is hidden, all they can smell are the rogues. I glance around and count how many of them there is. Too many.
      "Remove your hood." A familiar voice demands in his alpha tone. I feel tempted to smile, that won't work on me. I would have to recognize him as my alpha, something I will never do. My alpha is dead, along with my family.

Word Count: 1,565
Date Published: 7/17/16
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