Chapter 61 - Hunters versus Jim

Jim shook his head and sighed. He laid down and said; " I don't know man. You just kinda know. I mean when I awakened, I just knew it. Awakening an ability is natural and you just know, you know, like you can easily make use of your ability, like it just feels natural, as if you have always had it. The difficult part is controlling it. Look, I don't know how to explain it. If you have awakened your ability, you just know that you have. Simple!"

There was some peace and quiet, with Wilson staring on expressionlessly at Jim and the latter feeling increasingly uncomfortable. After a while, he could not endure it anymore.

"F*CK! You know what, why don't we try to figure this sh*t out tomorrow, after a f*cking good night sleep. As good as the f*cking cold will allow. So, stop glaring at me. F*cking please!"

"Okay!" Wilson's response came immediately and he just laid back down on his previous lying position.

"Goodnight!" Wilson greeted.

"I will try my f*cking best!" Jim muttered in reply and quickly hugged his bag to his chest with one hand and used the other arm as a pillow.

Both young men soon fell asleep, totally oblivious to the fact that the wilderness is never supposed to be so quiet. Not even on biting cold winter nights. There were always predators on the prowl, especially in this kind of weather, at this kind of environment, where the rare and ferocious Snow Tiger reigned supreme.

***************

Wilson was the first to wake up, but Jim was the first to stand up.

"F*ck man! Snow is falling again." Jim, having just woken up, was already cursing again.

"Don't you think it is still too early to have started cursing. Don't ruin the day, with your choice of words. It's very bad omen." Wilson warned and stood up while groaning slightly.

"Hey! I will f*CK, sh*t and damn this world with my mouth, whenever, wherever and however I wish to, okay?" Jim rebutted.

"Don't jinx the day is all what he is saying." A deep voice suddenly sounded from afar.

Slightly frightened, Jim and Wilson turned their heads in the direction the voice came from but all they could see was some silhouettes.

"And who the f*CK is that?" Jim yelled back but in his mind, he was a little cautious. What kind of person is able to hear over such a long distance. That kind of person was either one with a sense-enhancement ability or magic technique or equipments, or somebody who has trained in the very secret and likewise, monopolised martial arts and is already at master level.

Jim continued to yell and inquire for self-identification at the 'eavesdropper from far away', not forgetting to occasionally blast some expletives at the snowy weather in anger, even as the silhouettes approached and slowly became visible. Wilson, on the other hand, had already clenched his fists and loosened his stiff body, alert and ready for battle.

The silhouettes arrived in front of them. Four in number. There were two muscular males, one tall and on the slimmer side and the other, short and stocked with muscles. He was even dressed in clothes so tight, they seemed to be screaming; 'look at these muscles!!'. The other two were females. One of considerable beauty but the other was so stunningly attractive, Jim blushed a little and quickly lowered his head to hide his blush, then cleared his throat before raising his head and talking again.

"Ahem, umm.... hello there, fellow travellers..." Jim greeted with a smile.

Wilson's neck made a snapping sound from how quickly he turned his head to look at Jim. What was with this sudden change in attitude? His tone and choice of words even had a 180 degree turn. Why was he suddenly so polite? Were this people so scary? Jim did not mind the staring Wilson.

"My name is Jim, may you be so kind as to introduce yourselves?"

"Why should we?" The same burly voice that spoke up the last time came out of the mouth of the short and stocky man. Wilson turned his head to look at the speaker and could not help but notice his height. His height was even more apparent because of his tall companions.

"Well, we are all wanderers in this snow-filled wilderness and....." Jim had just begun to give his awe-inspiring speech when he was rudely interrupted.

"We are not all wanderers!" The extremely attractive lady cut in. Jim's eyes brightened instantly.

"Such a beautiful voice from such a beautiful person..." Jim began but was interrupted again.

"Look here, we don't have much time. Have you seen any snow tiger in the area?" The slim one asked.

'Oh? They are hunters?' Wilson thought. He was about to point in the direction he remembered being chased by the snow tiger but before he could move his finger, the attractive lady spoke again.

"Why do you bother asking? As if the snow tiger is so easy to find. Even then, if by chance, they came across the snow tiger, with their level of intelligence, they'd either be dead or seriously injured."

"Oh, I guess that's true!" The tall, slim one said as he nodded.

"Let's go then. We don't have much to left before the snow tiger goes back to hiding." The short man said and led the way. He walked by Jim and harshly stomped on his foot. "That's for daring to yell at me and ignoring my warnings." He said as he walked past.

Jim was about to yell expletives at the short when he smelled a faint whiff of perfume from the attractive lady. He quickly changed tactics.

"Ahem., actually, I saw it. I saw it up close and I even know where the tiger's lair is."

They all stopped and turned around to look at Jim, who continued unbothered.

"I can point the way out to you and even lead you halfway there. But, it doesn't come cheap. You hunters are gonna have to pay me in three ways. One, I need a functioning watch with an updated map...."

The hunters looked at each other. Were these two idiots really lost? This request seems to be pointing towards the likelihood. They paid attention to the watch on Jim's wrist. Now that they looked closer, the watch did not seem to be in good condition.

"Two, some money worth this kind of legit information..."

Okay, that's quite normal and expected.

"...and three, I want these beauties to kiss me in the lips." Jim concluded. An amicable smile on his face.

The beauties he was referring to both frowned deeply, their expression changed. Both male hunters immediately shook their heads in pity. Even Wilson quickly gave everyone some distance. He recognized that expression the most and so he looked at Jim in pity as well. Jim should have just listened when he was warned against jinxing the day, now it was too late. Sh*t had just hit the fan and he did not even realise it. He was still smiling happily and contentedly, fantasizing about the kiss.

Both ladies took two steps towards him and kicked him in his... in tandem.

(A/N :- At this point, should I go with nuts or crown jewels? By the way, I should be able to update chapters 5-6 days a week.)