Chapter 3 The hunters to the hunted

Outside, the Hunters signaled the aircraft they are on, which then hovered just above the cart that they were on.

And after being dropped with four ropes, they all attached them to the corners of the cart. And after they were secured, The man with the sword and the girl with the mace severed the connection between the other carts, cutting them off from the engine.

But then, just as they were slowing down, the man with the metal gauntlets saw vehicles coming from the direction where the train is going.

He then shouted. "Pull up! Pull up!"

And so, the aircraft pulled up as the Hunters clung onto the cart for dear life.

But then, as they got up in the air, the vehicles approaching them all came to a stop before the people inside, got out.

And as the aircraft headed for the mountains, the people inside the vehicles assembled a weapon, which dug itself into the earth as they pointed it at the aircraft.

And, with a press of a button, the weapon began charging up, producing a distinct noise. "Mmnmmnmmn!"

And after another second, it fired upon the aircraft as it tried to hide behind the mountain. But, despite their maneuvers, the red ball of crackling energy which was fired upon them managed to clip their wing.

And as the Hunters gripped tightly onto whatever they held onto, the aircraft began spinning out of control.

And after a few twirls, it hit a cliff, knocking the girl with the crossbow off.

And as the others could only watch her fall to her doom, they continued to spin between the cold, frozen mountains.

And then, with a bit of luck, they managed to steer clear of a cliff, which eventually led them into a snowy plain.

But then, the ropes couldn't bear the stress anymore and snapped, disconnecting the cart from the aircraft, which continued to spiral out of control.

Then, as the cart landed on the snow with a loud thud, the aircraft crashed in the distance with a loud boom.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Then, after a few moments of silence, the woman with the claws called out. "Say something if you're okay...! Ugh!"

The man with the sword and the girl with the mace shouted. "Here...!"

Then, as the woman picked herself off of the snow, she saw a blood stain under the cart and the girl with the knives near her.

Walking over to her, she asked her. "Hey, are you okay, Anna?"

But the only answer she got was a cold, blank stare as blood dripped from the girl's forehead.

As the woman gritted her teeth with a frustrated expression, the man with the sword limped his way towards her, asking. "Let's mourn her after we are safe. Come on."

Then, with a nod, the woman helped the man hold his sword as he held onto his dislocated shoulder.

The girl with the mace then said as she approached. "The truck inside seems fine, we can use it to get away."

After hearing her proposition, the other two nodded as they made their way toward the mostly intact cart.

And, after entering, the girl's eyes landed on the capsule which was held in place thanks to the metal supporting it.

And as the woman helped the man get into the cart, the girl asked as she knocked on the capsule. "You still alive?"

Then, the man inside calmly stated as he stared back at her with his covered eyes. "Can't say the same for the rest of you."

Then, as the woman carved a way out of the cart using his sword, the man in the truck asked. "You're seriously not thinking about taking him, right? This truck should be enough for the three of us."

Then, the girl with the mace shouted as she slammed her mace onto the supports of the capsule. "But what about the others?! The people they left behind?! What are we going to give them?! Sorries?!"

Then, the man continued. "We don't even know if he really has a bounty."

But then, as a large part of the wall slammed onto the snow outside, the woman with the claws threw him back the sword as she said. "Just... let her be."

And a few minutes after that, the metal capsule was now on the bed of the truck as the three remaining Hunters got in on the seats.

As the woman sat behind the wheel, the girl asked. "Do you know how to move this thing?"

Then, as she pressed every single button in front of her, the woman replied. "No better time than now."

Then, after turning a knob, the engine roared.

"Uh... Pedal, yes."

And after a bit, they were off and traversing the snowy plains.

As they traveled, the man inside the capsule asked. "It's only a concussion, you aren't bleeding from anywhere."

Then, as she held her head beside him, Miya said. "Yes...ugh..." Then, she slammed against the wall as she tried to keep her balance.

After about an hour or so, the pure white plains slowly began growing green as barks of trees arose from the horizon.

"I didn't think we would be this far south already. Head for the green plains, we will take a rest somewhere around Viridis." Said the man as he supported his shoulder.

Then, the woman driving said. "I see a town over there. Let's warm up a little before continuing, shall we?"

"Sounds good." Said the girl with the mace.

"You?"

"Just... Make sure it's safe, I had enough trouble for one day." Said the man with the sword and a dislocated shoulder.

Then, as the white snow still dominated their surroundings, the Hunters drove into a run-down town.

But as soon as they entered, the woman slowed down her driving while glaring left and right.

"Is something wrong?" Asked the girl with the mace.

"No, it's just... Too quiet." Replied the woman with the claws.

"What do you expect? We are still in the middle of nowhere." Asked the man with the sword.

"Shh!" Commanded the woman.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Nothing." Said the man after waiting.

But then, just as they traversed down a street walled off by crumbling buildings, a large group of people suddenly rushed in front of them, carrying makeshift barricades made out of logs.

Seeing this, the woman looked back the way they came from, only to see it be the same, blocked and barricaded with people.

Then, with an annoyed expression, the woman with the claws looked at the building surrounding them, locking onto an old wooden building.

Then, without hesitation, she slammed her foot onto the pedal as she guided the car towards the wooden building.

Then, after ramming straight through the front door, the woman continued to drive through the building as the others with her braced themselves.

But then, just as they were about to slam against the outer wall, the floor underneath them gave up, taking two of their wheels and nearly tipping them over.

Then, as the woman did everything she could to get out of their predicament, a crossbow bolt found its way onto their tire, deflating it.

Then, with a reluctant expression, the woman with the claws said to the other two. "It's our unlucky day. I'll try to get us out, but be ready."

Then, as the other two nodded, all three of them got out of the truck with their hands raised, but they still held onto their weapon.

Then, as they stared at the group of people in front of them, they gazed at their clothing.

One was wearing a literal potato sack, one was wielding a bident with two differing blades, and one was wearing a shirt with three different colored cloths used to patch up holes.

This style extends to their entire group.

Then, the man with the sword whispered to the other two as he fixed his dislocated shoulder. "Vultures, get ready."

Then, as the tension between the two groups began growing, a clap was heard, followed by a laugh. "Hahaha, ladies! Ladies! Plus man. Calm down."

Then, a man with a makeshift crossbow stepped forward, causing the others with him to stop in their place.

Then, the man continued as he gazed upon the three Hunters. "Are you guys lost?"

"We are good, thank you." Said the woman with the claws with obvious hostility.

"Now that's what I'm talking about, manners! That's what you guys lack!" Shouted the man with the crossbow as he turned towards his group.

Then, the girl with the mace asked. "Since you seem reasonable, could you let us go... please?"

Then, after turning around to face them once more, the man with the crossbow laughed. "Hahaha!" Before saying. "No."

Then, at that exact moment, the fight broke out.

The three Hunters split apart as they choose their target.

The man with the sword quickly sliced off the hand of the Vulture in front of him as they tried to raise their weapon.

And with a kick, he pushed them away as he dodged an incoming attack. Then, with a slash, he sliced off a Vulture's makeshift sword with his.

But suddenly, he received a crossbow bolt to the chest. Staring at the direction where it came from, he saw the man with the crossbow, grinning at him as he loaded another shot.

Then, with an arrow still in his chest, the man charged at the man with the crossbow, slicing through his barely armored enemies.

But then, a woman wielding a bident suddenly stepped forward, stabbing him in the abdomen as she pushed him away from the man with the crossbow.

As he gritted his teeth, he tried cutting the woman in front of him with his blade, but it got knocked out of his hand after someone threw a severed hand at it.

Then, with a press, the woman wielding the bident forced the man onto his knees as she stepped to the side.

And before the kneeling man knew it, he received another crossbow bolt in his forehead, causing the man with the crossbow to grin sinisterly.

As this happened, the girl with the mace knocked a woman off of her feet and into a wall, causing it to crash down with her.

But suddenly, she received a punch straight to the jaw, staggering her. And with another punch, she was disarmed and slammed to the ground.

And as she tried to get up, she took another punch to the chin, knocking her completely out.

With her companions down, the woman with the claws tried to fight her way out. But as she stabbed another man to death, she suddenly received a crossbow bolt through her hand, destroying one of her claws along with it.

Then, came a kick in the abdomen, instantly knocking her down to her knees.

Then, as the other people slammed her face into the floor, the man with the crossbow walked up to her and asked. "Care to answer some of my questions?"

To which the woman replied as she got restrained. "Die, you ugly sack!"

"Aaah!" The man with the crossbow gasp before gesturing to his side as he said. "How rude! Saying that to your friend!"

Then, the people with him slammed the knocked-out girl onto the floor before the woman.

The man with the crossbow then continued. "She is alive for now, maybe till another year or so, but only if you answer my questions."

With a defeated expression, the woman said. "Name your price."

"Good. Good." The man with the crossbow said as he knelt beside the woman.

"Alright then, my first question is... What were you guys doing on that... Train, I believe that's what it's called."

"Train?"

"Oh, you know, the one that goes 'choo! choo!'. The one that you were just on."

"I have no idea-"

But then, the woman was prevented from talking when the man kicked her in the face while shouting. "Don't play with me! That was supposed to be our target! Why were you there?!"

As she spat out some blood, the woman said. "Ugh, a fox told us..."

"A fox?!"

"A young female, she told us to be there a couple of days ago. She even gave us that... Aircraft, to fly over to it."

The man with the crossbow then stared back at his group, which then all nodded.

He then turned back to the woman, asking. "Did this 'fox' by chance, stroll around with a monster?"

"A black-skinned monstrosity of a man? Yes."

"I think we have been played like pawns."

"Huh?"

The man with the crossbow then said. "Looks like you and I are in the same position, pawns in a game larger than both of us."

"What are you trying to get at?!"

With a serious expression, he replied. "I'm satisfied the way I am, but I would be even more satisfied if you told us everything you know."

"What?!"

"We are in the same position, but YOU and your group got special treatment by receiving an aircraft or whatever it is."

He then gestured at the truck that she was driving, but more specifically, the metal capsule at the back of it.

"And you return, with... This!"

"What about it?!"

He then asked. "Who is that inside?"

"I don't know!"

Then, with a swing of his hand, the people with him raised the knocked-out girl's neck before pointing a blade at it.

With a panicked voice, the woman yelled. "I really don't know! We just brought him with us for a bit extra!"

"Likely story, cut off an ear or something."

"No!"

Then, the man stared the woman in the eyes and said. "Who did you risk your life for?! Who is in that capsule?!"

"I don't know! Ask him yourself!"

"Ha! Like hell, you saw for yourself what kind of weapons was on that train, I wouldn't be surprised if that person in there could kill me with a thought! Now, my little guinea pig, who is in that capsule?!"

"I! Don't! Know!"

"Answer me or your little friend dies!" Said the man as he aimed his crossbow at the knocked-out girl.

With a panicked look in her eyes, the woman yelled. "I SERIOUSLY DON'T KNOW!"

With a kick to her face, the man shouted. "That train headed straight west! Whoever is inside there must be important! Tell me now or she dies!"

"No!"

But then, before anybody else could die, a loud explosion followed by a crash erupted nearby.

As everyone turned their attention to it, the capsule's door lay dead on the opposite side of the room.

And as he stepped out of the now open capsule, the man's restraints slowly fell off one by one, without him so much as grabbing them. They were just falling off of his body.

As his black clothes with yellow accents fluttered in the air, he clapped his hands while saying. "Ladies, ladies, and ladies. I think everyone had their time already. Now, it's time for YOU to answer MY questions."

And after pointing at the man with the crossbow, the man from the capsule reached for the metal sheet covering his eyes.

Then, without much effort, he crumbled it like paper, causing the metal to screech all the way through.

Then, as he threw the crumpled piece of metal aside, he stared at them with his golden eyes as he said with a calm, calculating smile. "Let us start, shall we?"