The Hunter

By the time the sun had begun to set, Ben had managed to construct a crude lean-to where the life raft had been. It did not fall over when he shook it and the leaves stayed in place for the most part. Finished and pleased with the result, Ben turned to Toby to see what he thought. Toby had been pacing the entire day and Ben wondered where the other boy got the energy to do so. Perhaps it was just sheer will power that kept him going. Ben's stomach gurgled loudly and he wished he had been able to keep the fish down the previous night.

“Toby,” Ben called and the other boy paused and looked up.

Seeing the lean-to, Toby gave a nod and stumbled over. He suddenly seemed to realize he was exhausted and his movements became slow and sluggish. The two boys made their way into their shelter and curled up to sleep.

A few hours later, a figure entered the camp, pausing to finger at the arrow before moving closer to watch the two for a few minutes. Sure they were asleep, it leaned down and placed something by Ben's head. It then wandered about, almost seeming to be patrolling the edges of the camp. There was a rustling in the trees and the figure froze. A second figure stepped into the camp and glanced around, not noticing the first. This one, after careful observation, did spot the boys in their lean-to and began to stride toward them, pulling a large stick up off of the ground.

The first figure charged at the second, a sound of wind in trees accompanying it. The second figure finally took notice of the first and ran. A few minutes later there was a scream of absolute terror and then silence. Ben and Toby were completely unaware, deep asleep for the first time in days.

Toby shook Ben violently awake, jarring him from dreams of food he could not actually remember having ever eaten. He sat up swiftly, searching for danger, but it was only he and Toby. The sun was starting to rise and birds sang out loudly from the safety of their perches high in the trees. Allowing himself a large yawn, Ben stared questioningly at Toby. The other boy jerked his thumb at a rock at the base of the tree Ben had set the lean-to up against. He had not noticed it before, but now that he did, he almost could not believe what he was seeing.

Piled on the rock were three carrots, a bunch of grapes, and a small orange. Ben turned back to Toby, who simply shrugged. Again, turning his eyes to the rock, Ben crawled closer so he could grab it and pull it into the lean-to. His and Toby's stomachs rumbled angrily at the sight of the food, but they were a little hesitant.

“Do you think it's from the bush-thing or that jackass from yesterday?” Ben whispered.

“Do you really think that guy would have left us food after wrecking our camp?” Toby snapped, reaching for a grape.

“It could be poisoned or something,” Ben mumbled uneasily, but Toby shot him an annoyed glower.

“Are you joking? Seriously? Why go through the effort of poisoning us when we are already on death's door? Just eat it and let's be thankful to whoever gave it to us. Bush-man or human.” Toby growled.

He popped the grape into his mouth and then reached for another, his face twisting from the sour-sweet taste of it. Ben watched him eat for a moment before he picked up one of the carrots and nibbled at it. He did not much like the taste of it, but he thought it would be the most filling out of everything. It was not long before there was nothing left of the food except for the orange peel, which both the boys had taken to chewing on. Ben's stomach was not exactly pleased with him, but at least this time he did not think he was going to throw it all up later.

“I'm going to go get some water,” Ben announced softly and got to his feet.

“I think I'll try to work on making some baskets or something. That way we can bring food with us rather than leave it behind and risk it being stolen again,” Toby grumbled, also standing.

They parted ways, Ben heading cautiously for the stream and Toby into the trees to find flexible sticks and vines. Moving farther upstream from where he had been attacked by both the crazy deer and the bush-thing, Ben soon found himself back at the small lake.

Scanning the area with a slow sweep of his eyes, Ben decided it was safe enough and moved to the water's edge. He knelt to drink, but a familiar sound of wind rushing through leaves filled his ears and he swiftly stood back up in a panic. All he could see was a black hand reaching out for him and the next thing he knew, the hand had engulfed his face and he was being thrown into the water.

Slightly behind the bush-thing, he thought he could hear the pounding of hooves. As he came up, sputtering from the water, Ben saw the psycho buck from the night before rearing in the shallow water, snorting angrily at Ben and his savior. The bush gave a loud growl at the deer, shoving Ben back down into the water with a hand that gripped his shoulder with incredible strength.

Torn between his fear of the beast and his fear of the bush, Ben allowed his head to sink down, taking a deep breath before. The bush-man kept a hand pressed firmly against his shoulder for several moments for before dragging Ben back up, coughing and sputtering. The buck had vanished in the short time he had been under, but the bush still stood beside Ben, leaves floating every which way. The hand on his shoulder felt an awful lot like thick leather, Ben thought. The bush pulled away and began to trudge back to shore.

“Wait!” He barked, scrambling forward only to have his knees buckle from under him.

The bush paused and glanced at him over it's shoulder. Ben was silent for a second, not sure what he had wanted to say, but he knew he had to say something, or it would leave. He blurted out the first sensible thing that came to mind.

“Who are you?”

“You ask who,” a male voice called softly from the leaves, “and not what? You are a bit more clever than the last few people I've dealt with.”

Ben shivered at the sound of another human's voice. This man, because that was what he truly was, Ben was sure now, spoke softly, just barely loud enough that Ben could hear. His voice was gentle and soft, but something about it set off warnings in Ben's mind. The man turned fully to face Ben.

“I am Max and that's all you need to know. I can't linger here any longer, so make sure you are more observant of your surroundings. The animals here are not fond of intruders,” he called to Ben, a little louder.

“...But why?” Ben asked swiftly as Max turned away again.

Max's leaf covered body began to tremble violently and it took Ben a moment to realize he was laughing. The man gave no answer and instead continued moving out of the water. He lifted an arm and waved to Ben before moving into the trees and immediately vanishing from sight. Clenching his teeth, Ben struggled to his feet and decided to head back. He wanted to talk to Toby about what had just happened. Also to figure out whether or not this Max guy was a threat. He had tried to kill Ben the first time they met, and maybe he thought about it again the second time, though Ben was not exactly sure what had happened then.