I said goodbye to my campsite and began my journey, stopping briefly to stand at the cliff face and survey the forest for a time. It looked pristine, untouched, not surprising as the surrounding land outside the cities was lush. Our ancestors had done a good job, they had shaped the environment and given us a good Earth to live on. I was thankful to them. The descent down the rock wall was easy enough, I was in good physical shape, as were most, and luckily there were plenty of rocks jutting out to grip on to. My foot slipped once and I felt my heart quicken, the blood rushing to my head. I focused my breath and collected myself, I was in the forest before long. My feet crunched the dry leaves.
After a while of walking I came upon something that had me genuinely confused. There in the middle of this paradise of forest there was a small wooden hut. I stood perplexed. I took out my console, nothing on the map to indicate a settlement and why wood? When scanned it was identified as a “wooden structure”. I rubbed my temple and put the scanner away. I wasn’t sure of what to do but in the end I didn’t have to do anything. After another few minutes trying to wrap my head around the scene in front of me my world went black.
—
I came to slowly, the back of my head pulsed, I could taste what I assumed to be blood in my mouth. I opened my eyes and closed them again, the sun was bright overhead, I had been out for the night. I tried to stand but my hands and feet were tightly bound. I opened my eyes again, and slowly focused on the shape of a man going through my pack. I recognized his hobby immediately, he was a hunter.
I had seen a hunter before, in a bar when I was younger. He was distant, and looked rugged and weathered. Besides some of my colleagues in the libraries, he was the oldest person I had ever seen. Hunters were myth in most cities, after all, most people never left the outskirts, they were content with their hobbies and each other. Many had seen them though, they liked alcohol, and there were trace accounts in the libraries. Hunters- a rare hobby, the worlds oldest ‘profession’. Although many inhabitants of the city may choose to hunt game, especially cooks, there were reports of lone men living in the woods. These hunters are differentiated by their skill, and joy taken in the hunt. They are often reported to live alone and do not associate with other humans. Rarely seen unless they want to be. Best left alone.
This hunter was weathered like the one I had seen in the bar, but not quite as old. He was bald, scarred, one of his eyes was bright white. My packs contents was haphazardly strewn on the ground. He thumbed at the cork on my bottle of wine, I noticed he was missing several fingers.
Z: “Awake are we?” He said without looking at me, and fiddling with the cork.
“What are we doing all the way out here? Not bringing me a drink I take it” His voice was ragged, uneven, like he was remembering an old dance he used to know well.
I considered answering.
Z: “Should be back in town, with yer hobby…”
He succeeded in wrestling the cork and grinned. He drank the wine and exhaled deeply.
Z: “ah but thats a fine wine you’re carrying” he sloshed the liquid back and forth in the bottle, “had a drink yourself I see?” He smiled at me through broken teeth.
All I once I was frightened, I had never thought a hunter would choose human game, the sort of thing was forbidden. Taking the life of another was like killing yourself. But the man looked so deranged, so wild, his eyes seemed like they wouldn’t flinch at death. Like they had seen it all before.
He stood up, almost sensing my panic.
Z: “Relax kid, I ain’t gonna hurt you” he drank the wine again,
“This is my land you see, I’m just keeping people like you off of it. I was a little spooked to see you outside my hut” he paused, “its been a long time since I seen one of you. Thought you might be someone else.” He grinned again walking over to me. He pulled out a large carving knife, and before my life could flash before my eyes he cut the bonds on my wrists and placed the wine bottle in my hands. “Have a drink kid, we’ll sort this out. Yer probably just a little lost.” He started back toward my pack.
I drank the wine like I was told, gathering my strength. He had calmed me somehow.
“I’m not lost” I said. He spun startled, still grinning.
Z: “So you have got a voice, have you got a name?”
I was confused by his question.
Z: “..I’m an archeologist.” I managed.
For a second he looked different, his eyes looked cold, somber, maybe sad even. Then the wild look and the grin was back.
Z: “Okay Archie, I’m Zee. why were you at my camp?”
His question made me look around, I noticed we were no longer near the wood structure. We were in some kind of desert, I could see the forest to the west. Quite a ways to carry me out here. “I didn’t know it was your camp, that it was a camp even, I was just following my map, looking for a library. I stumbled across you really, I can be on my way-”
He raised a hand and I stopped talking.
Z: “The libraries are back that way” he pointed past the forest “near the cities, you should know that, especially if you have a map.”
“I found a map to another one, to library 07”
He looked stunned. He walked back toward me, fire in his eyes. “There are six libraries, Archie, one for each city.”
“Thats what I thought to, until I found the map, it was just passed the forest near a lake-“
He raised his hand again, for the first time in the interaction I thought he might hit me. He didn’t though. He started laughing. Z: “A map!? You found a map… after all this time, there was just a map lying around.” He lapsed into a string of curses I didn’t recognize, there was one I did. “For fucks sake.”
I drank the wine again.
He started to collect my things and put them back in my pack. He found the map, the portable console. He seemed to recognize it, he swore again.”
Z: “Where’d you find this, I haven’t seen one of these in ages. What geezer left this intact” He maneuvered the console skillfully. “Now listen Archie, someones been playing tricks on you, I’m going to delete the bad information and send you on your way but you have to promise me you won’t try to come back here.” He looked at me and I nodded. I would’ve nodded to anything to get me out of there. He started back at the console again and then stopped suddenly, looking toward the forest.
There was a sound, a hum. It was beginning to get louder.
Z: “Oh Archie, you stuppidsunnova” he finished packing my pack quickly, stuffing the console back into it. He tossed it to me and took the bottle of wine back, draining most of it. Then he cut the rest of my restraints and shoved me back.
Z: “Start walking” he said, pointing away from the forest.
“But you said-“
Z: “I know what I said just go-”
Before he could finish I saw them. Two trucks driving through from the forest, gaining speed. I took a few steps back and froze. The trucks were full of hunters.
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