The Hunter Version 1

Ben got to his feet and stumbled down to the river to get some water and wash his face. He crouched at shore, staring tiredly into the water.
“Ben?!” a voice called distantly, waking Ben up from his daze.
He glanced around and heard his name called again. From the sound of it, it was Max. Ben was pretty sure he did not want to meet Max at that point in time, so he kept silent. The calls got more distant until Ben could not hear them any longer at all. He relaxed slightly and bowed his head, closing his eyes. A sound across the river from him startled him into wakefulness and he jerked his head up in time to see an older woman stumble through the trees. They stared at each other for a moment before the woman screamed and leaped backward in fright, falling.
Ben scowled at her, not interested in getting involved, and got to his feet. He turned away and began to walk away. The woman called out to him, begging him to wait, but Ben did not want to stick around to see what would happen if Max found him with her. He did not want to get involved with anyone at that point, Max's threats still clear in his mind. The woman, however, was not about to give him the chance to escape. She scrambled up to her feet and plowed through the water to grab Ben's arm.
“Get off of me!” Ben yowled, trying to shake her off, but the woman was much stronger and more well fed than he was and refused.
“You've got to help me! It's going to kill me, please!” The woman sobbed.
“Yeah, I know! Don't get me involved!” Ben snapped, trying to break away from her.
The two of them struggled against each other for several moments, Ben demanding she let go and leave him alone, the woman refusing and begging for help. Ben stumbled, tripping on the woman's feet, and fell face down with her to the ground. His head smacked against the dirt, hard, and he lay there stunned for a moment, groaning in agony. The woman fell silent and frowned at him as he gripped his forehead with his hands in an attempt to stop the pain.
“Fucking hell,” came Max's sigh from just behind.
Ben flinched and froze up, fear making him fall silent and become stiff. The woman, on the other hand, had the opposite reaction. She gave a scream and leaped to her feet. She tried to pull Ben him, to get him between her and Max, but Ben shoved her away and ducked his head, not wanting to see what would happen next. He heard the woman sprinting away, toward the beach, and a sound like a heavy wind in the trees passed Ben as Max dashed after her. Max paused, however, and returned to Ben's side.
“Are you alright? Did she hurt you?” Max asked in a low voice, placing one gloved hand on Ben's back and another over Ben's hands on his forehead.
Ben risked opening his eyes and saw only a veil of leaves and bones in front of him. There was not a speck of blood or gore on Max, as Ben had feared. His head throbbed painfully and Ben flinched and closed his eyes again, pressing against his forehead more. He did not reply to Max, but the man seemed to understand Ben was in pain and gently began to rub his back.
“Did she hit you? Throw something at you? Was she attacking you?” Max questioned, his voice tight with restrained anger.
Ben shook his head slightly at each question. He shivered at the sound of Max's voice in his ear, but did not try to push him away. After a moment he opened his eyes once more and moved his hands away. Max replaced Ben's hand with his free hand and lightly massaged his forehead.
“I just tripped. And hit my head.” Ben finally admitted when it became clear Max had no plan of leaving.
“I see. Alright. Why don't you go back to your camp and eat some of the food I left for you. I have to clean up my mess, but I'll be back to check on you. Don't go to sleep, ok? I need to make sure you don't have a concussion.” Max murmured affectionately.
“Sure, whatever you say.” Ben said.
Max chuckled and got to his feet. He strode away at a pace that quickly carried him from view.