Short Stories and poems

Interview with a Feral

A Vampire Reporter has an Interview with a Feral Human

Vanessa’s fangs rattled, as the trees flew past. Her hand gripped the barrier, her claws all but cutting into the palm of her hand. She looked at the vehicle’s driver, the werewolf seeming to be lost in the joy of wind rushing through her fur, not caring for the fear that was barely in check by her vampire passenger. One wrong move and she’d end up with a broken branch shoved into her body. There was no truth to the stories about slim and singular wooden stakes being deadly to vampires, but a bunch of them, especially large ones, piercing through the heart and lungs, that could do the deed.

There were plenty of bumps, humps, and mud puddles that the vehicle went through. The driver went through all of them, splattering both herself, and Vanessa. Soon, the UTV came to a stop in a clearing, kicking up more than a bit of dirt.

“That was fun!” the driver said. “It’s been a year since I last used that trail.” She got out a walkie-talkie. “Yo, Johnny-boy, you up, or are you still knotted with Roberta?”

“What is it, Hanna?” the voice on the other end asked. “Roberta cooked up some good maple-glazed ham for me to eat.”

“Trail 29 has some trees that could be cut by marker 32, as they look dangerous,” said Hanna.

There was a loud snapping sound, followed by some more.

“Additionally, marker 58 could use some inspection,” said Hanna. “Seems a pine tree fell, taking out a few others.”

“Got you,” said John. “If you see Jenny, tell her that the Softpaws have arrived, and they brought Phil.”

Hanna grinned. “Got you.”

“Let me guess, Jenny is a Park Ranger, and Phil is her boyfriend,” said Vanessa.

“You’re right about the boyfriend, but Jenny is one of the local Ferals, daughter to none other than Tobias Wrangler,” said Hanna. “Phil Softpaw, on the other hand, is a Pet-Son to a pair of werewolves.”

“Trying to lure her into becoming a Pet, I see,” said Vanessa.

“More like the other way around, and trying to get him to become a Feral,” said Hanna. “As it is, if you want to keep your fangs, refrain from talking about turning them into Slaves, Pets, and, especially, Livestock. Trust me on that. My family has lost more than a few teeth because of what we did to their one herd leader, and we’re lucky it was just our teeth.”

“What did you do?” Vanessa asked.

At this, Hanna got out a packet of papers, and handed it to the vampire. “Long story short, John Wrangler was a Feral that my father had caught due to a bear attack. Due to John saving my father’s life, he and his whole line were declared Protected. John died during a rustling attempt, about twenty-five or so years ago now. This park was set up as a way to honor him. Tobias is his son.”

Vanessa looked through them quickly, looking at the images of a heavily tattooed feral, one who made use of a walking stick with a dense knob on the end.

“What do these marks mean?” she asked. “I mean, I see the one for your family, the one for Protected, the one for being Prime Grade, not to mention for being Dangerous, but what’s with all of these others? Some of them look rather violent, and very graphic.”

“Each of those tattoos tells a story, a story of bravery, hardship, tenacity, and a willingness to do whatever it took to keep his family safe,” said Hanna. She pointed at a set on the human’s face, one of a smaller human behind a bigger one, who stood over two headless wolves. “The wolves represent a couple of poachers he killed. The small human is a child he’d saved from them. The larger one was him. More importantly, the child was one from a rival herd, one that the Wranglers occasionally fought against. That herd leader gave him those markings, and eventually, their one daughter became Tobias’s mate.”

“Why didn’t your family kill him?” Vanessa asked. “Clearly, he was Extremely Dangerous.”

“Only if you were a clear threat to his herd,” said Hanna. “Besides, we eventually found out that the Garlic and Silver Agency had a vested interest in making sure that he was alright.”

“Why is that?” Vanessa asked.

“It involved him saving the life of an agent from a group of murderous poachers,” said Hanna. “Whatever else one might say about the GaSA, they remember those that they owe their lives to. The fact that John killed two dozen criminals to protect this agent, among others, made the Agency want to keep an eye on him.”

“I’m surprised that the Agency would care so much for such a dangerous feral,” said Vanessa.

“It’s not just John,” Hanna said, as she got out of the UTV, in order to stretch her legs. “According to my source at the Agency, there’s at least a thousand Ferals that the Agency has their eyes on, for similar reasons. Then there’s the other agencies, in other countries, that have their own eyes on particular Ferals for similar reasons.” She looked at Vanessa. “You might as well get out – we’re walking from here.”

“Walking?” Vanessa asked.

“Any Obvious trail for vehicles past this point is a trap, hence that sign,” Hanna said, as she pointed at a sign saying “No Vehicles Allowed Past Here!” “What looks like a safe, and well-maintained, trail to use an ATV, or something similar on, tends to have hidden shallow pits filled with stakes to take out tires, causing you to get at least one, if not two, flats, unless you use one of our solid wheel ones.”

“Why do you allow them to do that?” Vanessa asked.

“Sometimes, poachers like to sneak in at night, and they like to use the trails,” said Hanna. “Guests are told not to ride past those signs – we tell them that it’s because Ferals don’t like the noise so near their camps, which is true. Plenty of Ferals associate the noise of an ATV and other such things with Poachers and the like – some even have PTSD from the noise, especially if they survived raids that cost them large numbers of their herds in the past. Of course, the real reason is, the trails are all trapped. Only vehicles with solid wheels can get through without issues, and we don’t rent those ones out – only park and emergency personnel get to use them.”

“So, how are we to get to the camp?” Vanessa asked.

“I already told you – we walk,” said Hanna. “The middle of the trail is safe for walking. But, anyone walking will be watched by two out of three guards.”

“Two out of three?” Vanessa asked, as she looked around. She saw a Feral up on a hill, looking down at her. Wearing a mixture of old clothes and deer hide, their exposed skin had streaks of mud and charcoal painting them, plus some of what looked like inked tattoos. They had a spear in one hand, and a shield in the other. “I see one of them, so, where’s the other two?”

“Second one is sneaking their way back into the camp, if they aren’t there already, letting them know that we’re here,” said Hanna. “As for the third, hiding among some brush, or debris, or behind a nice boulder, with a crossbow pointing a silver-tipped bolt at us, one that was smeared with crushed garlic.”

“Are you sure about that?” Vanessa asked.

Hanna grinned. “Maybe not silver tipped, nor smeared with garlic, but trust me when I say that there’s a crossbow pointing a bolt right at you,” the werewolf said. “It’s a standard method, and the shaft’s wood at any rate. Ever been shot with a crossbow bolt before? It’s rather painful.”

“Personal experience?” Vanessa asked.

Hanna nodded. “We were after a pack called the Bogeymen – an Extremely Dangerous group. They liked to ambush travelers, kill them, and then eat them. Vampire, werewolf, human – all tasted good to them. We hunted them down, Wolfes and Wranglers and other herds together, and during one of the fights, I got shot in the ass.”

“The Bogeymen shot you?” Vanessa asked.

Hanna chuckled nervously. “No, that was Tobias,” she said. “I was fighting one of the Bogeymen, who wasn’t going down so easy, when a second tried to rush me from behind, only to trip on a rock, smashing his face upon another. Problem was, Tobias had lined up a shot on him, and let it fly, but due to the fella tripping, the bolt missed him, and hit me in the ass.”

“Must have been embarrassing,” said Vanessa.

“For both of us,” said Hanna. “They had to carefully tug on the fabric to try to get the bolt out. The pants were ruined. My ass ached for a week. On the plus side, the next day’s breakfast was good, and we met up with Zavier Lone Pine – Tall Trees, who became Sally Wrangler’s mate.”

“I’m surprised that you didn’t decide to eat this Tobias,” said Vanessa.

“It wasn’t a killing shot to begin with,” said Hanna. “Besides, if Tobias had wanted me dead, he had quite the opportunity, when we first met. I still remember the look in his eyes, as he chewed that piece of filched venison. It was the same look that John gave my father, whenever father was going to sell some of the livestock to a grocery store, a butcher shop, a processing facility, a restaurant, or a private residence, to say nothing about when he gathered a number up for Big Meal Days. C-Grades, of course, for Big Meal Day, but grade mattered little to John – insofar as he was concerned, my father was killing a member of his herd. John was the sort that would die to protect his herd, but could do nothing to help. Still, John had come up with a rather clever, yet simple, plan that would of helped the herd to escape – teach them valuable skills, drug the family on Big Meal Day, open the gate, and watch the herd walk free, while he held the family inside the house – sadly, things didn’t go the way he wanted.”

“Looks like it,” said Vanessa. “No captive herd has ever successfully escaped.”

“Well, no herd of livestock of numbers exceeding fifty has successfully escaped within the last fifty years,” said Hanna. “Or, so Official sources claim.”

“Do you think that the offspring of that failed Liberty Rebellion managed to escape into the Wilds?” Vanessa asked. “Official sources state that all of them died.”

Hanna grinned. “Don’t believe everything you hear,” she said. “Some might have lived. Ferals got Rules where cubs are concerned, especially the really young ones.” She looked at Vanessa. “You getting out of the UTV?”

The vampire, much to her annoyance, got out of the vehicle.

“Empty out your pockets, and turn them inside out, and take off your jacket,” said Hanna. “We must show that we mean no harm.”

“Don’t they know you?” Vanessa asked.

“They do,” Hanna said, as she removed, among other things, a pair of handguns – removing the magazine from the pistol and the moon clip from the revolver to make sure that they were unloaded, and several knives. She then pulled out a large caliber rifle from a door scabbard, and made sure that it was unloaded, setting it, and the other firearms, on the UTV in such a way that the Feral watching could see that it was empty. She looked at Vanessa. “However, they don’t know you. No Feral in their right state of mind will let some unknown person – human, vampire, or werewolf – to just enter their camp without making sure that they aren’t carrying weapons. You want the full treatment – this is part of it.” She then reached up under her shirt, made a tugging motion, pulling out another knife. Then, she lifted her right booted foot up onto the hood, and pulled out yet another knife. Then, she did the same with the left.

Vanessa looked at all the weapons that the werewolf was removing from herself. “Seriously? You carry all of those knives and guns?”

Hanna grinned. “Actually, I got one more thing.” She then reached into the UTV, and pulled out a can of bear spray.

“Bear spray?” Vanessa asked.

“Ever been attacked by a Greater Beast?” Hanna asked.

Vanessa shook her head.

“Well I have, and it was not fun,” said Hanna. “Spray that stuff in their eyes though, they’ll run the other way. Although, if you get that stuff on you, or anything you own, wash it off – not just to get rid of an irritant, but after a while, the smell can attract them, which results in the object being destroyed by the creature.”

Vanessa looked back up at the guard. The Feral was pointing at Hanna, and indicating something in the UTV.

Hanna chuckled at this, as she grabbed her bag. She carefully opened it, and unloaded it. More knives, magazines, speedloaders, and –

“Seriously, you have one of those!” Vanessa exclaimed.

“You’d be surprised at how curious some can be,” Hanna said, as she placed the object on the hood.

“Whose is it modeled after?” Vanessa asked.

“My husband’s,” said Hanna. “Benjamin Greyfur.”

“Is he a porn star by any chance?” Vanessa asked. “I’m sure I’ve seen it somewhere.”

“He goes by the stage name Big Happy Wolf,” said Hanna. “He’s one of those Vorno actors.”

“Wait – isn’t he the one who does shows with heavily tattooed humans?” Vanessa asked. “He must go through a lot of sex slaves, and a lot must go through him.”

Hanna looked at the vampire. “He’s a Bone Carrier, just like me,” she said. “His co-stars happen to be the same group of humans he started his career with, mostly. The tattoos are simply fruit juice and the like, which washes off easily, along with stomach acid, after he brings them up.”

“You’re telling me, that the daughter of one of the most well-known human farm owners, decided to say ‘No’ to the consumption of human meat?” Vanessa asked.

Hanna held up a pendent, one that looked like a bundle of bones tied together. “This should have been your first clue,” she said. “Besides, my ‘Feral Human History’ makes more than a few mentions about it.”

“I find it hard that anyone with your family’s history would convert to that sort of religion,” said Vanessa. “After all, humans are nothing more than food, food that can talk. Of course, some are good enough to use for sexual pleasures or mundane labor.”

“Ever see a trophy set?” Hanna asked.

“What are those?” Vanessa asked.

“It’s when, after they kill you, a Feral chops off your head, hands, and feet, and puts them through a process so that they can be used as a trophy, and is a bit of a status symbol, showing off your killer’s prowess,” said Hanna. “And with a werewolf, the tail and hide is included. I’ve seen plenty of them.”

“So, what do you do when you see such barbaric items?” Vanessa asked.

“Depends on if the killer is still alive, or is dead,” said Hanna. “If they are dead, I might be able to convince the herd to give me the trophy, especially if there’s a bounty to be collected upon bringing in the remains of the victim. But, if the killer is still alive – then it depends on if they are trying to kill me or not, and if there happens to be a bounty upon the victim, one that might make the killer willing to give up the trophy, if it could benefit the herd.”

“What do you mean?” Vanessa asked. “Why not just turn the killer in?”

Hanna chuckled. “Because I don’t want my own head to be part of a trophy set,” she said. “Sometimes the victim was a highly dangerous criminal, one with a price upon their head. Sometimes the bounty is good if the person is dead. The bounty then goes to a charity, one that’s dedicated to looking after the herd – food, clothing, books, water, medicine, hiring a veterinarian – anything that could be used to help the herd.”

“So, why would you help out these herds?” Vanessa asked.

“Maybe because I owe a life debt, or because they’ve helped me out,” said Hanna. “I had a University professor give me what would have been a failing grade. He’d only change it if I did a sexual favor for him. I didn’t fancy doing that, and decided to cut my losses. Problem was, he decided to stalk me, especially since I had made mention that I was going to report him. Then, he grabbed me, and there was a look in his eyes – that of a Predator, and I was to be his Prey. That was when this female human slipped in between us, and stabbed him in the belly, with a short bladed knife, saying, ‘She said that she wasn’t interested in you. Now, leave.’ The injury wasn’t fatal, more of an annoyance, but I guess the professor got a good look into her eyes, and realized exactly what sort of human had stabbed him. He was smart enough to walk away. Good thing too – the knife was a Clinch Pick type of knife – the blade was reversed from the usual position. An upwards jerk, and his guts would have been spilled.”

“I see,” said Vanessa.

“Of course, what really clinched my choice into becoming a Bone Carrier was when I was trying to find out why some herds were getting ready for some sort of war,” said Hanna. “I found out. There was this illegal blood production operation, which engaged in poaching, among other means of illegally procuring humans. Several herds had lost members to this group, and thus came together to fight this common enemy – including a few herds that normally fought each other. They basically burned the place down, after saving those they could, and giving mercy to them they couldn’t. One of those that were given mercy was the daughter of a Herd Leader, who did the deed himself. The workers of that place were lucky if they’d been killed in the raid. The rest, they were burned alive, trapped inside the place.”

“Why didn’t you report them to the authorities?” Vanessa asked.

“Do you know how large producers produce their massive quantities of human blood?” Hanna asked. “They use these drugs that massively increase the quantity of blood that a human can produce, but the quality suffers. A-Grade blood, for instance, is comparable in taste to C-Grade blood produced by Small Batch Operation methods. One of the drugs renders the human braindead, and it’s difficult, if not impossible, for a human to come back from that. I had talked to that particular Herd Leader – he had a dozen teeth from vampires and werewolves on a necklace, and plenty more from various other creatures – Greater Beasts, rival humans, regular bears and wolves, not to mention those from regular hunting. He could handle himself, and was well-respected, even by rivals. As he told me the story, I watched as he broke, and began sobbing, uncontrollably, saying his daughter’s name, over and over, Alice, as if hoping that would somehow undo what had happened to her. Now, I’d eaten plenty of humans beforehand, and I’ve eaten plenty since, but, upon hearing that story, and knowing the sort of suffering he’d been through…. I couldn’t just buy, or hunt, a human, in order to eat them. Of course, if they’d been trying to kill me, or someone I cared about, that’s another story. I converted to being a Bone Carrier after that.”

“Still doesn’t explain why you didn’t report them to the authorities,” said Vanessa.

Hanna chuckled. “Oh, trust me – I did. Garlic and Silver. Seems that they were after that group of illicit blood producers. The herd got a nice sum of money, as it were. Didn’t bring Alice, or the rest, back.”

She looked back up at the sentry. The human made a motion. Hanna then began to place her items back where they belonged, including a rather impressive dildo.

“Thought that you said that they don’t want armed strangers near them?” Vanessa asked.

“Like you said; I’m not a stranger to them,” said Hanna. “You, on the other hand are, and have yet to show that you aren’t carrying anything.”

“And if I don’t take off my jacket and empty my pockets?” Vanessa asked.

“In this case, the interview will be refused, and we’ll head back to the cabins,” said Hanna. “In any other case though, they’ll strip search you, and they won’t be too concerned about your fancy clothes being intact during the process. Believe me when I tell you, whenever I’m meeting with members of a large herd that have yet to formally meet me, beyond chats with a hunter, scout, or guard, I take off everything, and I enter their camp either naked, or in something that they have provided.”

Vanessa looked up at the guard, trying to sense where the second one was. Something caused her to turn around. There was something that looked like a funny log. However, the more she looked, the more she could make out what she was really seeing. She looked at Hanna. The werewolf had a grin upon her face.

“Took you long enough,” she said. “Your jacket and pockets. And, don’t forget to unbutton the top of your blouse – they want to make sure that you’re not carrying a neck-knife.” Hanna looked at the guard with a crossbow. “Trust and respect are important currencies to a Feral. Don’t give them the one, you don’t gain the other. Treat them well though, they might trust you with something that they don’t like, but will do it if you show them respect. Tobias got shot with a crossbow bolt that had been smeared with feces, and he got an infection once. Healer couldn’t fix it, but a veterinarian could. We had to take him to a large place – local clinic couldn’t do it. You have no idea the amount of trust that required. However, he took the chance, and not only was the place able to save his life, and deal with the infection, they were able to help heal the injury itself much more easily.”

“So, why did he trust you enough to do that?” Vanessa asked.

“I helped his mate deliver his daughter, while we were hiding from a hostile pack,” said Hanna. “Your clothes?”

Vanessa removed her jacket, and unbuttoned her blouse, among other things. “So, you delivered his child into this world, and didn’t try to claim her?”

“Betraying the trust of a Feral is a great way to end up as a trophy set,” said Hanna, as she looked the vampire’s stuff over, emptying it. “Better an Honest Enemy than a False Friend – a rather common saying that they like to use.” She chuckled at a memory. “There was a time a Greater bear broke through the fence, and it went after my little brother, Billy. Cub was so scared, he couldn’t move. John, despite his bad leg, managed to run quick enough to intercept that bear, and crushed that creature’s skull with his walking-club. Blood, bone, and brain matter, all scattered. Ferals got Rules, one of them being to look out for the children. So, me keeping that cub safe from harm allows Tobias to trust me a great deal. Even those who are normally enemies are willing to respect those who rescue their cubs.” She then made a signal to the guards.

Vanessa watched as the one with the crossbow got behind cover, while the one with the spear and shield made a gesture that indicated something. “What does that mean?”

“We’re free to use the path,” said Hanna. “Told them that you were clean.”

The werewolf started walking, the vampire following after her.

“So, how far away is the camp?” Vanessa asked.

“A mile, uphill, and if you don’t take the safe path, you’ll end up in a net,” said Hanna.

“A net?” Vanessa asked.

“Or a fifteen foot deep pit.”

“A pit!”

“Safest traps for a Feral to set up, actually,” said Hanna. “They’ll even mark them, if you can understand Feral Script. Worse thing to happen in a broken leg, or arm, as the pit isn’t wide enough to make you tumble head-first, and thus you could climb out on your own free will, if your arm or leg isn’t broken.”

“And you Allow them to Make these things?” Vanessa asked.

Hanna turned to look at the vampire. “Yes. Otherwise, the pits are filled with long sharpened stakes, the nets are instead swinging boulders or heavy logs, which may have long stakes attached to them,” the werewolf said. “Feral humans have Many enemies, including, but not limited to, Werewolves and Vampires, like you and I, rival Ferals, Greater Bears, Greater Wolves, Greater Cats, regular wolves, bears, and big cats, and a few other things that may see them as a meal or something to kill. Ferals are not Tamed Pets, Slaves, or Livestock, to say nothing about those Free Domesticated humans, who may not be able to tell the difference between one end of a blade or the other, or have the ability, or willpower, to use them to stab you in the stomach and gut you like a pig. If you put a Feral in fear for their life, or those that they care about, they will Kill you. Keep that in mind, at All times, when dealing with them.” She looked back up the trail. “That being said, the most dangerous ones Are of what some call Homo Sapiens Familiaris – the Domesticated Human.”

“Aren’t they the one who get sexually active while being eaten or drained?” Vanessa asked.

“The very ones,” said Hanna. “The John Wrangler line seems to have these very genetics – even Tobias himself enjoys being swallowed, not that he’ll admit to it. That being said, during a seven year period, from the time he was about seventeen, until he was captured at the age of twenty-five, John Wrangler killed at least fifty vampires and werewolves, that I know of, at least two dozen were done during the rescue of the Garlic and Silver agent that I told you about. He would then mutilate the bodies, making it look like some bear had done the deed, or some such thing. Bella killed at least sixty during a twenty year period, that I know of.”

“And this Tobias?” Vanessa asked. “How many has he killed?”

“More than two, but less than a hundred,” said Hanna. “Depends on if you’re counting those he killed personally, or those he helped others to kill. I know that he helped to kill a couple of rustlers that stole my family’s herd.”

“And since then?” Vanessa asked.

Hanna looked at the vampire. “How many humans have you drained directly, or caused the deaths of?”

“Why does that matter?” Vanessa asked.

“The difference is the Why,” said Hanna. “Those that Tobias killed were out of a need to protect those he cared about – Poacher, Rustler, Abductor. The humans you caused the deaths of were simply because you wanted human blood, instead of something like cow or pig. I still have dreams where I see those I’ve eaten – poured plenty of brandy, whiskey, wine, vodka, and other alcoholic beverages over the area that my family used the remains of our past human meals as fertilizer for. I STILL see them. Guess you wouldn’t know what that feeling is like.”

“Really, you’re worried about your past meals haunting you or something?” Vanessa asked.

“If you ever encounter a Vendolg, you just might,” said Hanna.

“Superstitious nonsense,” said Vanessa. “A spirit of vengeance haunting those that killed them.”

“They don’t always haunt their killers,” said Hanna. “I remember an interesting situation – something was keeping me up when I was camping one night while on a long hike. Took a good look around the site, until I found a skull. Luckily, I had a jug of some Strong Juice, and thus poured some over it. Slept better afterwards.”

“Sounds like a dumb superstition,” said Vanessa.

“Not to the likes of us,” said a male voice, right behind them.

“A little earlier than expected,” said Hanna. She carefully turned around. “Caught your scent further up the hill.”

Vanessa heard a chuckled.

“Well, I had to take a piss, and thus moved downhill,” the male speaker said. “Good decoy.”

“True,” said Hanna. “Vanessa, you can turn around.”

Vanessa turned around, and saw standing five paces away, was a Feral human. Around their neck, a string full of teeth from various creatures, including humans, vampires, and werewolves. The outfit they wore, much like the one lookout, a mix of worked animal hide and discarded clothes. In their one hand, a staff, which had a thick knob. The bare skin that was visible had a number of tattoos. However, it was those eyes that held the vampire captive. Those eyes made quite clear that, despite the seemingly calm exterior, this Feral was Extremely Dangerous, and could easily kill her.

“Vanessa, this is Tobias, leader of the Wrangler herd,” said Hanna. “Tobias, this is Vanessa, from The Times.”

“Hmm, good paper,” said Tobias.

“So, you read?” Vanessa asked.

“Good to read it, before using it to wipe one’s ass,” said Tobias. They looked at Hanna. “You coming to the Joining Ceremony later?”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” said Hanna. “Hope you don’t mind me bringing Vanessa along.”

“Only if she behaves herself,” said Tobias. “Is she a Fang?”

“If she is, it’s not close enough to worry about,” said Hanna. “We can trust Rex there.”

The human turned his head and spat. “Very well,” he said. “I suppose that she is the one you want me to be interviewed by?”

“Folks have been right curious about Feral humans, ever since my article was published,” said Hanna. “Some might want to hear things from your own mouth.”

Tobias scoffed at this. “Alright.” He walked up to Vanessa. “Ever hunt a Feral before?”

That was when Vanessa picked up the scent coming from the human – that of garlic. Garlic was one of the things that could mess up a vampire – causing them to not be able to heal up from a wound so easily, possibly even be fatal if ingested, much like silver was for werewolves, and did similar things to them. She looked down, and noticed the blades that the Feral had – one was bound to be a silver-steel sort, possibly quenched in a solution containing garlic infused oil.

“You didn’t answer the question,” said Tobias. “But, if you really want to inspect my blades, HERE!”

The human’s hand moved so quick, Vanessa almost missed it. The butt end of a knife was shoved right into her stomach, hard, causing her to fall to the ground. She needed to catch her breath as a result. She was able to smell more of the garlic.

“If I was intending to kill you, that would be one way to do it, stab you in the belly, and then gut you like a pig,” said Tobias, as he holstered the blade. “Done that before.”

“Tobias, I told her that she’d be unharmed,” said Hanna.

“She’s still breathing,” said Tobias. “She also didn’t answer my question; did you ever hunt a Feral?”

Vanessa looked up at the human from her position, which was an eerie feeling. “No,” she said. “Bought my blood, and humans, from the store.”

“So, farm-bread and farm-raised are all you’ve tasted?” Tobias asked.

Vanessa nodded. “To the best of my knowledge.”

“Probably that blended stuff, tainted by braindeading drugs,” said Tobias. “The pure, unblended, stuff, like that of a small batch production method – totally different. A straight C-Grade tastes just like a blended A-Grade batch that has traces of those drugs. Those drugs probably affect those who drink said blood, as I’ve encountered a lot of dumb vampires, and more than a few werewolves.” He looked at his necklace, and tapped a few of the teeth. “Let’s talk about these three, and how their hunt ended.”

Vanessa gulped. “Did you kill them?”

Tobias grinned, which looked eerily predatory. “Let’s not jump ahead of ourselves,” he said. “Tell me – do you get off of draining humans?”

Again, Vanessa gulped. “No.”

“Hmm, guess you’re a step up from some,” said Tobias. “These ones did. Perhaps we’ll have that interview, after all.”

“So, were those three hunting you?” Vanessa asked.

“No, but they’d hunted some others, and didn’t have permits,” said Tobias. “I was hunting some deer when I found them. There was a werewolf, and two vampires. The werewolf had already eaten – their Meal was long past saving. To be honest, the two tied up human bared the marks of a herd that tended to fight over territory against mine. Probably could of left them to die, save for a few issues; the one human, a female, was pregnant, there was items that signaled that their group’s intentions had been peaceful ones – trade goods, including a jug of good Strong Juice for one – and these hunters were operating in Wrangler territory. Now, I could of let those two die, but once a herd is known for allowing poachers to pick off travelers without trying to stop it, it all but tells others that herd can no longer be trusted, with allies turning against them, refusing to aid them, and enemies attacking them without punishment from other once-allied herds. So, it was a matter of honor to try to rescue them.”

“So, you killed those three?” Vanessa asked.

“Jumping ahead a bit,” said Tobias. “I asked them if they had tags. They didn’t have any.”

“Why would you ask them that?” Vanessa asked.

“If they had tags, then I would have let them live, after I gave them quite the beating – mother always said that it was safer to beat them for being on our territory without permission, than just killing them, if they had tags,” said Tobias. He looked at Hanna. “After all, hunters aren’t going to just talk about how some human messed them up, without looking weak, for the most part.” He looked back at Vanessa. “It’s a matter of pragmatism really – too many go missing in area without an explanation, and next thing you know, some Special Hunters get sent in, and they might not have the decency to play by certain unwritten rules, such as those that Hanna has learned. Thus, it endangers everyone to kill too many.”

“Sounds like you’ve had experience with them,” said Vanessa.

Tobias grinned. “Not personally, but I heard of one that liked taking a cub hostage while looking for specific Ferals of certain herds,” he said. “He made a mistake though, and the one he took hostage ended up taking that mutt’s knife and stabbing him in the heart and lung, buying the kid time to escape while the rest of the herd grabbed their weapons and killed that hunter. He’d killed at least a dozen supposedly Dangerous Ferals, only to be done in by some cub that had yet to grow a beard. Kind of funny. Had to laugh when I heard the story, and saw that trophy set. It was real good for the cub – they were an escaped pet or something. Now, he’s Joined to more than a few Herd Leaders’ daughters, due to his actions. But, let’s get back to these three.”

“Yes, those three,” said Vanessa. “I take it that they had no tags.”

“No, and they laughed at me after I’d asked them,” said Tobias. “The male vampire looked at me, and said, ‘We don’t need permits to hunt vermin.’ So, I told him that I had to agree. He found out that I had quite the arm, and that I was real good with my spear. He died quickly – got him right between the eyes. Well, I ran – and the female vampire and werewolf took chase. We ran past a trap that I triggered – a swinging spiked log. They ducked when it swung by, but then it swung back – werewolf got a nice spike through the back of the skull. Now, maybe they could have healed up, but given that they had a sharpened branch through their brain, no amount of meat will heal that up. Still, I kept running, until I led the female to a spiked pit, which I’d jumped over, and she fell into. She certainly fell onto a few of those spiked, especially since she’d fallen in head-first, due to a trip trap just before the pit. After that, it was merely a matter of collecting the teeth, finding a cellphone on one of them, and contacting a Garlic and Silver agent I know of. The agent was quite happy to find those three – highly dangerous murderers that trio was, and I was the one that had dealt with them. The rescued humans were quite happy too – managed to establish a treaty as a result, which will now be solidified with the Joining Ceremony tonight. I’m quite proud of that fact. My father had done a similar deed, hence how I got to know my first mate.”

“Were those the first werewolves and vampires you killed?” Vanessa asked.

Tobias nodded. “First three. It was something, having those two chase after me – had to keep in mind that my father killed two dozen in one fight – if he could do that, two would be no issue, especially since I knew where the traps were.” He pointed behind Vanessa. “Look at that tree, the pine with the X on it.”

Vanessa turned, and saw the tree. “What about it?”

“That one has a net trap attached to it,” said Tobias. “No too far from it is a pit. Also, as I’m sure you’ve heard, the trail is trapped too. You enter our territory uninvited, well, as the saying goes; you do so at your own risk.”

“So I’ve been informed,” said Vanessa.

“Well, let’s head on up to the camp,” said Tobias. “Jenny has been talking about how Phil said that he and his Owner-Parents would be at the park within a day or so. I’m not a big fan of her spending time with a Pet like him, when she could be spending it with Tonan of the Chopper herd – decent fighter and hunter, that one – but, Phil did help save her life, breaking his foot in the process, so, I can’t just say he isn’t worth it.”

Hanna chuckled. “Well, about Phil. It seems that he and the Softpaws are here.”

“Hmm, guess I’ll have to allow them to come to the Ceremony,” said Tobias. He looked at Vanessa. “Well, reporter, you’re about to be in for a treat. No one from the Times has ever done an article about one our weddings, as you’d call them, is done. It’s quite the honor, actually.”

It was then that drums began to pound.

Tobias grinned. “Someone needs to learn their beats better,” he said. “Still, the little ones are full of enthusiasm.”

“That they are,” said Hanna. “Let’s get going – I wouldn’t miss this for anything in the world.”

The group began walking, Tobias in front, Hanna behind him, and Vanessa wondering what she’d end up seeing, and what questions she’d ask during the interview. One thing was certain; this was not going to be an ordinary interview.