The Hunt

THE HUNT

‘Dear citizens, it has been decided that Humans are no longer an endangered species. 

Earth is no longer a restricted zone and open hunting may begin.’

I looked at Natalia, still holding the hem of her snow white wedding dress in my hand. Her gloves were half off, her bun falling out and the lipstick on her face smudged.

Her ring shone like a star on her finger.

Our eyes were locked on each other for an amount of time I still can't calculate, both of us struggling to comprehend what we, and apparently the rest of the world, had just heard. My mouth felt dry, like the voice that just spoke had sucked all the moisture out of me.

'Open hunting may begin'?

‘No longer a restricted zone'?

It sounded like some apocalyptic quote out of a shitty sci-fi novel you'd find in a Tescos.

"Nat-"

A retching scream tore from outside, loud and panicked. Almost worse than hearing it break out, was when it was almost immediately cut short by a fleshy, hatching rip followed by a heavy thud.

That's when the chorus began; almost in unison, like a choir, a chorus of gut-wrenching, guttural screams broke out throughout the city.

I felt too terrified to take notice of the calmness that glazed Natalia's sunken eyes.

"Nat! Nat, we've gotta go. We really gotta go!" I looked around at the door, the windows in the room, very much open and very much break-in-able.

Leaping to my feet, the soft wedding silk fell from my hands, and I reached for her flexing hand as my eyes scanned for where I had left my gun.

I tried not to slip over the army pants I had chucked on the floor yesterday after getting home, other hand still reaching for Natalia's, waiting for her to grab on so we could get out of here. I knew where a safe base was; as a respected, well-off navy leader I had my own small bunker in the west of the city in case of emergencies.

And, left hand on the bible, strike me down if I'm wrong, this is an emergency.

The relief I felt when Natalia finally met my hand lasted less than a second. Rather than the soft, maybe trembling skin of her delicate fingers that I expected, warm, wet lips met the back of my hand. As much as I love kisses from my now wife, I didn't think this was the time.

"Nat, now's not the time-" I finally spotted my gun, left haphazardly on the makeup locker. "We have to-"

Pain like nothing I have ever felt before electrified my body like a burning lightning. It made a 5mm bazooka bullet feel like a teddy bear.

Heat and stark cold and hissing, sizzling pain flooded up my nerves from where my hand had been.

My stomach churned as a slick, wet tongue slithered up my arm slowly. Slime coated my skin as it licked and slurped. And swallowed.

I knew I shouldn't have looked at it.

So I didn't.

I scrambled for my gun, trying (and failing) to ignore the suck of the abnormal tongue. My head knocked into the wood of the dresser, and the gun fell onto the floor beside me. I snatched it up, mindlessly aiming for the general direction of my arm.

Whatever it was, I had to get away from it. Natalia must have gotten taken by it in one gulp while I was looking away.

Seven shots fired before I felt prepared enough to catch a glance of it. I readied myself to take in the sight of the ugly, horrendous creature that had taken my Natalia and was trying next to kill me; slimy green skin, multiple large, unblinking eyes full of malice, tentacles and spores and moles and holes. Stereotypical alien-monster-supernatural-creature type stuff.

Her mouth was like a cave, seemingly bottomless, jagged white teeth covering every inch like stalactites. Wet, slick lips, and a long, slimy tongue that had snaked its way up my arm, and was sucking at the stump where my hand had been.

We were both still.

Me, in fear. Her, in excitement.

I stared at her.

Into the eyes of my wife.

The eyes of a monster.

"N-natalia?" my voice trembled as I spoke.

She smiled at me like she had just found out the local store had vegan pistachio ice-cream.

"Yes, hunt?"

A loud splatter echoed through the room.

Thick red blood cast the room into a thin scarlet light as it began dripping down the window.

After another second, a thick slab of bloody meat slapped against the window, making a cruel, pitched, churning noise as it slid down the window slowly.

The monster looked over at it and blinked, pleasantly surprised.

"Ah, Marcus!" she said cheerily. "It seems Maria did choose a good one! I mean, do you see that marbling?"

Marcus had served with me in the same training division, and had been my best friend ever since. He had helped me through my awakening of liking girls after we had met Maria, and was my right-hand-man in asking out Natalia.

They had gone on their honeymoon a month ago, and came back last Sunday in time for me and Natalia's wedding.

"Being a vegan is oh so boring, you know." she suddenly interrupted. "But, waiting for your meat is definitely worth it."

Her tongue resumed its slow slithering up my arm, almost at the shoulder now. My fingers felt too numb to work my gun, and it fell from my shaking fingertips as I watched what must have devoured my wife start on me--because it must have devoured her.

It spoke with her voice, and looked with her face, but this wasn't my wife. The woman I would give my heart to.

"St-stop speaking with her voice, monster." I tried to sound steady. "Don't you dare disrespect her that way!"

The door slammed open. A second creature, with a similar mouth to the monster with the face of my wife strutted through the door.

This one looked with the face o- of Maria.

"You almost done, 0 2?"

Nat looked at her, eyes narrowed. Maria's eyes trained on me, eyebrows raising.

"If you keep taking your time like this, there'll be no humans left by the time you're done!"

The monster of my wife sighed.

"I'm aware, 3 5. Let me enjoy my first meal, at least."

I glanced between them. What the fuck.

"Save this hunt for later, if you really want to savour it that much. I sliced and diced my hunt the second the announcement was made; God, it's about time, am I right?"

She plucked a tooth from her gum, using the rough end to file her nail.

Natalia glanced at me, then back at her monster pal.

"I suppose. You don't have a meat capsule left, do you?"

The Maria monster barked out a laugh. "After over 2 and a half millennia? Not a hope in hell! I can't go 5 centuries without losing one of those tiny buggers!"

Natalia groaned like it was the biggest inconvenience in the world.

"You know like half of them have gotten in two hunts by now? You haven't even gotten one! So kill your assigned hunt now, and then we can go find humans that a hunter didn't choose and have a feast!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "I hear 0 9 1 camped near here."

Natalia's eyes lit up then at the mention of this '0 9 1'.

"Really? But they're, like, one of the top hunters! Alright, gimme like 3 ticks to finish this meal and then we can go on a spree, and maybe meet 0 9 1."

Maria sighed, shaking her head with a smile.

"The things you'd do to meet a hot Hastalore. I swear, you're more desperate than a lonely human!"

Natalia rolled her eyes but quickly turned her attention back to me.

Sweetly, she said: "Remember our vows, honey?"

"I remember the ones I made with Natalia." I spit out.

"You said you'd give your heart to me. Well, now's the time I take you up on that offer, I think!"

She smiled sweetly, that smile I remember so vividly from when I first met Natalia. I yearn for it; wish I could see it one last time. Look into her eyes one last time, feel her body one more time, kiss her lips.

One more time.

Just as the Maria monster had done, this one plucked a sharp, scoop-shaped tooth from her gums and inspected it for a moment before readying it in her hand.

"I just do hope it won't be too messy; I am quite out of practice!" she gave one last soft laugh before casually plunging the tooth into my chest, scooping out my heart from its tethers.

"My my. I must say, I think I got a better one even than 3 5!" She sucked some blood from one of the flowing arteries, almost moaning at the taste.

"God, it's been many millennia since I've tasted hunt this good!"

She smiled at me as my eyes began to flutter closed, and I felt my body slow.

The last thing I ever saw was the face of that monster, I know it. But for just a moment, just a single moment, I could have sworn I saw the star-shining face of the woman I loved.

"One last ti-"

And the hunt was on.