THE HUNT

Four

    "It's my fault that my mother is dead." I tell him, gritting my teeth. "I know that."

    "My mother is dead too." He says, almost sadly.

    "Stop it." I bite the side of my cheek. "Stop- stop trying to relate to me."

    "Oh trust me," He leans in. "There is nothing we have in common other than the air we breathe."

    "You already know where the base is." I avert my eyes, his proximity causing the hair on the back of my neck to rise. "Just kill me already."

     "I haven't finished my story, Hunter." He says quietly. "The Resistance sent out an emergency transmission to their other bases." The corner of his mouth twists upward. "Nobody answered." Another set of tears rolls from my eyes. "The Resistance is dust and bones." He tells me, almost as if he's trying to soothe me. "Only about a dozen remain, hiding and fleeing like cowards on an old, trash-heap of a ship." I try to speak, but grief overwhelms me. A dozen. "I could let them go. Let them ferment in their failure, but they deserve to die." His grip on my face tightens. "I need to know where the last base is." He drops even closer to me. "I need to know where they are, Hunter."

    "I'm not telling you anything." I whisper. He scoffs, then pulls away.

    "I have your mind." He stretches his fingers towards my face, and the pressure returns to my temples. I press my hands to where the pain is manifesting, but it only increases with every second. "I could take you inside. Show you exactly what I'll do to them."

    "I don't know where they are!" I cry. The pressure releases. I crouch over myself, head touching the floor as a stabilizer. "It's a safety precaution." I shut my eyes. "I only know the locations of the bases I've been to." I look up, glaring at his impassive face. "Just kill me. I'm of no use to you." He lets out a breath, a short chuckle releasing with it.

    "On the contrary, Hunter." He stands. "I'm in need of a new spy."

    I laugh at that.

    "You think I would join you?" I sneer up at him. "The only way that would ever happen is if you pierce my mind and make me your creature." He watches me for a moment, then gestures for me to stand. I do, that invisible hand forcing me up.

    "My plan was to shatter your mind and, as you so accurately put, make you my creature." He angles his head. "But I think I'll leave you in there. So you can watch what you're doing."

    "No." I try to move away, but I'm stuck.

    "You called me a monster, Hunter." He reaches forward, gloved hands pressing against my temple. He keeps my gaze. "It's time for you to become one."

    "No!" I squeeze my eyes shut as the pressure increases. "Please, I don't know." I try to guard my mind, imagining shield upon shield slamming down on the hand he reaches inside my head, but he only laughs, cutting through them like it's nothing. I let out one last sob before his fingers wrap around the very core of my mind, and I feel something inside me snap.

    "Now," I feel the invasive pressure in my head recede, the fingers taking a shard of my shattered consciousness with them. "Isn't that better?" I try to open my eyes, try to do anything other than breathe. He snaps his fingers. "Open your eyes." Now I try to keep them shut, but I can't. Helplessness pulls at me as my eyes flutter open. He watches me carefully, then leans in close. "Hello, creature." He purrs, brushing a few strands of hair from my face. "You don't look like you hate me." The corner of his mouth twitches. "This is an improvement." He steps past me, bending to pick up his cloak. He wraps it around my shoulders, and cups my cheek. "Go eat, Hunter." He takes my arm and guides me, almost gently, to the table. I sit, and he hands me a fork. "Eat."

    I try and fight. I do, but that missing part of my mind, that missing bit of will, is like a gaping hole inside of me.

    He turns back to his datapad and we sit in silence for several moments.

    The food is good. I try and focus on that rather than my vulnerability.

    After I finish, I look at the plate, fork gripped in my hand. It takes him a minute to realize, but when he does, he takes both the plate and utensil. He looks at me for a second, then waves his hand. The hold on my voice releases, and I'm able to move my body on my own.

"Please." The word breaks on my tongue, and I cover my face. He stands.

"Get some sleep, Hunter." He gestures to a small cupboard in the wall. "Blankets and clothes are in there."

"Why are you doing this?" A tear rolls down my cheek. "I don't know anything." He leans forward across the table, and I lean back.

"Would you rather I kill you?"

"Yes." I say quietly. He shakes his head, turning to face the door.

"You'd die for a cause that you're unessential to?" He asks, not looking at me.

"Wouldn't you?"