Chapter 35: Hunt

"I ask people why they have deer heads on their walls. They always say it because it's such a beautiful animal. There you go. I think my mother is attractive, but I have photographs of her." —Ellen DeGeneres

"The search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions." —Dwight D. Eisenhower

"If we act like prey, they'll act like predators" —Alyxandra Harvey, My Love Lies Bleeding (Drake Chronicles, #1)

***

Every Sultenian was mobilized. Every fighter they have, trained and underwent grueling teachings to survive any predicament life could give them. In front of the hundred men was the stunning Lakambini, wearing the blood-stained white dress handmade and perfected by her fellow women.

"Grenoble," she began, "all of your hardships and sacrifices for our tribe have finally paid off. Oh, lost souls of mischief and sorrow, we thank all of you for granting us this opportunity to reach a new era of our time. Go and bring forth peace upon our land and claim the gifts of our god, which was brought here through the sacrificial lambs!"

And they all yelled in triumph, women cheering from the side while the men of the tribe moved forward to their new goal. They were marching towards the bottom of the mountain in order to claim the "gifts" from their god.

Calmly, each of them has a weapon of their own they will use to harvest the fruit of their labor. It was such a peaceful day that turned into a disastrous afternoon onwards with the ground full of cracks, now more uneven paths, and wet earth that was slippery if one is not careful.

"Get off me! Ack! H-Help!"

Faint but they could already hear the sounds of every Balmackian's cry resonating with each other. Grin formed in their faces upon hearing them, readying their weapons and picking up their paces.

"Hehehe! We prepared ourselves for this day! Spending a month of going on a Balmackian diet will now be worth it!"

They had to endure the fact that they have to fully adapt their taste buds to human meat, especially to Balmackian meat. Yes, they all stoop low as to cannibalize others in order to attain their long dream of acquiring ability from beyond.

"I'm afraid we still need to figure out what type of gift the Balmackian will encounter."

Baron leaped and landed on his feet just fine, eyeing his prey while creepily licking the edge of his sickle.

Before he could launch a sneak attack on the lone Balmackian who was confused as to where he should go, Grenoble tapped on his shoulder.

"We should let the others have their way first. By doing so, we will have different options later on if we want better gifts."

Baron somewhat did not understand what Grenoble meant while understanding him at the same time. Still, he decided to let the small fries claim their "gift" first while they watch from the back.

"Astolf," Grenoble called a random name from behind him, and the person mentioned stepped forward like a fine warrior being blessed by the opportunity to go hunt first. "Just do it quickly. You can eat whatever part you want and come back right after with the body to bring it with you. Then, you will bury it after you're done with purification."

"As you wish, sir!"

Astolf placed his right hand on his chest before parting with everyone, further down the mountain.

"Be on standby. Casualties do happen most of the time. If things go south, lend a hand to Astolf."

In case Astolf fails to finish his prey in an instant and finds himself battling for their lives wherein he could be in danger Grenoble put some of the other Sultenians to prevent an unprecedented casualty.

"Make a group with five men in it. All five of you will help each other find their prey, let everyone enjoy their own hunt, and resort to plan B if things ever go south."

Those who were close to each other began to look at each other, glancing with the intent of forming a group with them. And soon, every Sultenian was in a group. All they needed was Grenoble's go signal for them to scatter around the island in search of their "gifts".

As for Baron and Grenoble, they will be on the same team, consisting of four members, including the two of them.

"I want all of you to come back alive! Disperse! Find your gifts and be a part of the dark age of humanity!"

Upon scattering the tribesmen into all parts of the island, Grenoble and Baron were witnesses to how swift Astolf was with his prey landing that sickle on the poor guy's throat. He fell and was caught by Astolf on his shoulder with the guy's neck spurting blood all over Astolf's body.

"Shhh. Just stay still. I'm sorry but don't worry. It will be okay because you will serve a great purpose in my life from now on."

The dying man turned paler and paler as more blood flowed out of his neck and the new wound on his slit stomach. He did not feel the pain in his stomach and continued to sense the coldness of his body.

"Astolf did a good job. That sickle of his was coated with a special sap that numbs away wounds. A natural anesthetic plant is harvested on the higher parts of the mountain."

Slowly and gently, Astolf put the now dead man down on the ground, put one hand on the guy's ear, and placed his sickle, thus cutting it afterward.

"He went for the ears. A lump of small meat with immature bones in it. The texture will be kinda crunchy."

They were expecting him to either put it on fire for better consumption but Astolf just went and dug in on the ear. His face showed that he was having a hard time chewing on the ear because of its crunchy and supple texture.

"It should be pretty easy to eat, though. I've had ears in the past and they taste kinda good."

After several more chewing on the ear, Astolf finally swallowed the piece and waited for a couple of seconds before he was invisibly hit by a moving force, which delivered him to the ground.

"Was that...?"

"It seems so."

Then there was an agonizing yell from Astolf as he clutched his head like it hurt and wanted to explode. He rolled on the wet ground in pain, headbutting the muddy earth, trying to ease up the intense surge of pain in his head.

"And so the verse continued: "What comes after elation was the intense amount of stress and subliminal information from the previous vessel. Consuming the flesh means going on with life, carrying the burden of one's irredeemable sin."

~