The Hunter Version 1

They had been on the move for a long time, though how long, Ben could not say for certain. His captors had gotten tired of his dead weight as he refused to walk and had slung him over the broad shoulders of the strongest. Based on the whispered conversations, he was certain it was Sal, May, and Greg. They tried not to reveal themselves, but they could not hide their excitement and muttered to each other. As far as Ben could tell, the other man, Sam, was not involved, but it was to early to be sure. Eventually they set Ben down against a tree and tied his ankles as well. To his surprise, he heard them wander away, but not far. He wiggled in an attempt to loosen his bonds, but they had tied him well. He laid down to the ground to search for something to try to cut the rope with, but blinded, it was difficult. There were no rocks large enough or sharp enough to aid him, no broken branches he could use to try to cut whatever tied him down.
Exhausted, Ben gave up his frantic wriggling about and forced himself to be still and to think. He had not slept at all, and only ate very little, so even that was a difficult task. Breathing heavily, Ben let his head fall to the ground to wait. Max was sure to come, though this was likely a trap for him. How those three had realized who and what Max was and his affection for Ben, he could not guess, but he was not sure he wanted to know.
“What the hell is this?!” Sam yowled, startling Ben from his thoughts.
Immediately there was a pair of hands yanking the hood off and working the gag out of Ben's mouth. Ben glowered up at Sam, spitting the foul taste of the gag from his mouth.
“Damn it, Sam!” May snarled somewhere behind them as Sam moved to Ben's hands.
“Damn yourself! What the hell is this?” Sam repeated angrily.
“He's in league with that thing. He's bait! Just leave him before it finds us and kills us all!” Greg snapped.
“Just because that woman saw him survive an attack doesn't prove anything. Either way, he's human, just like us. You can't just go around doing shit like this!” Sam snorted.
He was struggling with the knots keeping Ben's wrists tied together and the fact that both of them were sweating heavily in the heat did not help. Ben wriggled uncomfortably, but there was nothing else he could do.
“What were you idiots planning on doing anyway? Attacking it with your fists?” Sam demanded.
He gave up on Ben's hands and attempted instead to untie Ben's feet. He had more success with that task and Ben soon was kicking away the vines the three had used as rope. He pulled himself up into a sitting position and glanced around. He did not see anything that may have been Max in the foliage immediately around them.
“Better to die fighting than doing nothing!” Sal yowled.
Ben shot him a wary look, but they were all ignoring him. Sam moved to stand in front of his companions, crossing his arms angrily.
“If you attack it head on like this, there is no chance of survival. At least if we keep moving we stand a chance!” Sam argued.
Movement in the trees above them caught Ben's attention and he glanced up. Max sat in the branches, not wearing his disguise. Instead he had on a simple pair of black pants and combat boots. Seeing he had Ben's attention, Max placed a finger to his lips and then jerked a thumb in the opposite direction of the four. Ben swiftly looked away and pulled himself up into a crouch. Still, none of the paid him any attention, so he bolted.
As he did so, Max leaped down from the trees, landing where Ben had bee seconds earlier, and kicked Sam to the ground with a simple kick to his back. Ben paused at what he thought was a safe distance away to watch and make sure Max would not need any help. Sam cried out in surprise and the other three jerked back with alarm at the sudden appearance of the tall man. A hand landed heavily on