The Hunter

Chapter 2
New Battle

Chapter Description: Adrul (now Addy) finds himself in the custody of a kind-hearted soul named Heather who eats away at his nerves as he can no longer do anything for himself. When trouble brews and the pair are ambushed by giant spiders, they will see just how helpless he really is.

A few days after Addy had arrived at his new home he again found himself lying in Heather’s lap, but in a carriage this time. It was hard for Addy to piece together their schedule, but apparently Heather had people she had to go meet. Addly kept his eyes closed as the carriage made its way toward their destination. He had suffered humiliating diaper changes, gawking, cooing, doting, pampering and was getting very fed up with the situation in which he found himself. Whenever they passed through a town it was as if Heather couldn’t show him off enough. On occasion, he tried to reflect back to his previous battle with the Sorceress, but he couldn’t remember anything beyond his impending doom of being impaled by his own sword, which, as he recalled, was nowhere to be found when he awoke.

Addy briefly opened his eyes. Heather, who was looking down at him, caught this change in her son’s state, and proceeded to playfully taunt him. "Oh, look who’s awake!" she pulled out a toy wooden sword that was small enough for a baby to hold. Addy hated this exercise. She would always lower it to within his reach, then yank it away as soon as he started to move. Apparently this was funny. "Come on, little one, grab the sword! You’ll never be a big, strong soldier if you can’t grab the sword!" Addy didn’t know what was more humiliating; the fact that he had been an elite soldier before and would have been able to completely and utterly make her eat her own words, or the fact that he just wasn’t fast enough to grab it. At first he tried to ignore it, but as time went on, and for lack of something better to do, he decided to humor her and try to get the toy sword. Every time he reached for it she seemed to pull back with lightning-fast reflexes which ensured that he couldn’t ever hope to latch his pudgy fingers onto it. After playing this game for a while, Addy grew tired.and closed his eyes again. "Sleep tight, little one."

Addy hated her names for him. Having been a Demon Hunter, his new station in life couldn’t be any more beneath him. Everyone who attended to him annoyed him and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. As he thought about how much he hated his present life, he felt his stomach start to rumble. In spite of the rumbling, he kept his eyes shut. Warm, goopy shit filled the back of his diaper. As the scent of his excrement filled the carriage, he couldn’t help but let out a whimper. It was so uncomfortable. The last thing he wanted to do was give in and cry his eyes out. To him it felt like his only options were to cry or not to cry. "Oh, guess the little guy needs to be changed again," he heard her mumble to herself. Addy tried to keep his eyes closed as she changed him. For apparently being a first time mother, she was very gentle with him and seemed to know what she was doing. "You are just too cute," she said as she finished changing him. ’Cute’ was the name Addy hated worst of all. He opened his eyes to look at Heather, "Ah, you were awake the whole time, I see how it is. Well, since you’re awake now it’s time to get you fed."

Next, Heather pulled down her blouse to reveal a pair of generously sized boobs. Addy didn’t much care for this, but he knew he had to. With Heather’s assistance, Addy latched on. Like clockwork, he drank the warm, creamy milk. He stopped once he’d had his fill. Heather shifted him to over her shoulder and patted him on the back until he let out a long, loud belch. "Oo, baby let out a big one," Addy really hated her commentary, but didn’t much care at this point. He was so full that he was fighting to keep awake at this point. Figuring they were in no immediate danger at the moment, Addy let go of his mental awareness and just let his mind float off into dreams of another time. Heather gently stroked his head as his consciousness started to fade, "That’s right, little one, you just go right to sleep." She started to rock him back and forth to help aid in the process, which didn’t take too long.

Several hours later, Addy was shaken awake as the carriage started to rock violently. Figuring it to be a rough section of road they’d come across, Addy tried to nod off again. Seconds passed, then the shaking continued, but this time more violently. Addy was wide awake at this point.. The rocking was so violent that he couldn’t help but start crying. "Sh, SHH! There, there," Heather coaxed as she held Addy close. Addy noticed the toy wooden sword was just out of arm’s reach. During the shaking, it must have flown out of her bag and was now on the seat beside them. He didn’t exactly know why, but he had to get a hold of that toy sword. The carriage shook violently again. "We’re under attack!!!" he finally heard.

Carefully holding Addy to her chest, Heather stuck her head out the door, "What’s going on?" Her answer came in the form of a giant spider attacking the horses. Addy caught a glimpse of the spider, ’Shit,’ he thought, ’those spiders travel in groups. We’re not going to be able to get away.’ Addy became very frustrated as he thought up his limited options. If it were just one Demon Hunter to on giant spider, he could make quick work of it, but as fortune would have it, it was a group of man-eating spiders against a carriage that consisted of two horses, a driver, a shotgun, a woman, and her baby, who although retained memories of a Demon Hunter, didn’t exactly qualify as an asset, seeing as he lack mobility in the generalist of terms.

Addy watched as the driver and the shotgun both hopped offf the carriage and ran for their lives. "HEY!" Heather called out, "WHAT ABOUT ME AND MY BABY?" The driver gave her a quick, apologetic looked before turning his back and bolting in the opposite direction. "HEY!!! HEY!!!" she screamed desperately at the shotgun. The lad didn’t even turn around. He made a run for it in a different direction than the driver, leaving Addy and Heather all alone.

Heather went back inside the carriage as the spiders’ legs struck at the wood. The carriage was reinforced, but would only hold for so long. Heather and Addy heard the screams of the two men that had left them. Apparently kharma had dealt them their final hand as they were being mauled and eaten alive.Addy had seen spiders eat others in his days as a soldier, and could not help but imagine what grotesque carnage would await him upon the spiders’ forced entry.

Heather huddled with Addy in a small corner where they were sure to be as safe as they could be, given the circumstances. Out of other options, Heather was screaming frantically for help of anyone who happened to be passing by. Addy thought of how foolish it sounded. Nothing less than a group of Demon Hunters could dispatch a starving horde of giant spiders, but Demon Hunters usually didn’’t travel in groups and always wanted compensation. Granted, Heather could probably reward even a Demon Hunter handsomely, but it just wasn’t in their nature to seek damsels in distress. Aside from that, all she was doing served to draw the spiders’ attention to the carriage, which shook all the more violently.

The carriage started to crack under the spider attack. Heather huddled next to Addy in what she assumed to be their final moments. Addy’s eyes shifted towards the toy sword that had fallen right in front of him.. ’Heh,’ he thought to himself, ’guess I’ll be able to take it after all.’ Addy grabbed the toy sword.

Addy started to feel ill, and he knew it wasn’t from motion sickness. He recalled the light that had possessed him but a few days earlier. It had brought a slight sense of peace to his troubled soul. That peace was starting to fade. Addy felt all his prior anguish and his hatred of the world return as his previous existance came more fully into focus. He felt like he was a cloud of dark mist that was gradually expanding. As he became aware of his surroundings, he found himself cramped a corner of the carriage with none other than his nemesis, the Sorceress Vanessia herself.

As their eyes met, it was Vanessia who broke their silence. "Took you long enough," she hissed at him in a low whisper, Adrul didn’t understand what she meant. What did she mean took him long enough? Seeing his quizzical look, she continued, "Forget it. I can’t use my powers right now so Ill need you to hold them off while I concentrate-"

Adrul didn’t even need to think about his next action. His Cursed Blade fully restored, he drew on Vanessia. After he dispatched her he’d only have to escape the spiders and claim his bounty. As he attempted to strike a killing blow, his head felt like it would split open. "No!" said a voice inside his head. Adrul stumbled backwards as his attempt failed.

The Sorceress laughed bitterly, "Like it or not, we’re on the same side for now. You can’t hurt me and I can’t hurt you; such is the decree of our master... and for the record, changing your diapers and feeding you has been the most cruel and unusual punishment I’ve ever had to endure. If I’d have had my way, Heather would have strangled you and been done with it." Adrul turned deep red at the mention of his prior state. It would have been one thing hearing his own mother discuss the past in such a manner, but hearing his enemy complain about babying him a few hours ago just melted his guard against her. If he’d have had any control over that situation whatsoever then it might have been just a little less humiliating. "Get it together," she continued, "I’ll need you to hold them off while I focus my energy."

The carriage continued to split and finally broke apart as she started meditating. Adrul slashed leg after leg as they struck at them. "Why can’t you use magic? Why are we even on the same side?" Adrul wandered out loud. He waan’t much of a talker and under any other circumstance would have just accepted what was going on, but this turn of events left him shocked and bewildered.

"Hush, little one, Mommy’s working." he heard Heather’s vvoice. He turned around just briefly enough to see a bemused smirk on Vanessia’s face. He wondered why she referred to Heather as someone other than herself.

Adrul turned back around just in time to deflect a few more blows and smite a spider that lunged at them. He continued to parry the giant, thrashing legs. He could count at least twenty of those attrocities. Guarding a Sorceress atop an exposed carriage wasn’t particularly easy, but Adrul felt he was holding his own fairly well. He’d considered himself foolish for staying to protect someone whom he’d set out to kill, but continued to do so for fear that he’d be punished again.

Ten minutes of blocking spider attacks had sapped Adrul of all his energy. He was a grown man who had only had an infant’s share of milk for the past few days, so his energy started to wane. One missed block earned him a blow to the chest which sent him flying into the wall of the carriage, which tipped over and rolled toward the forest.

The remains of the carriage splintered into rubble. Both Adrul and the Sorceress were llying on the ground exposed to the spider attack. Vanessia appeared to have been knocked out cold. Adrul wanted to at least get up so he could flee, but the attack and his lack of energy left him motionless. He saw a dried out corpse in the distance, and considered that that too, would be his fate.The spiders continued to advance. They were minutes away from being eaten alive!

As Adrul lay there, defeated, and ready to share the fate of their other companions, he saw Vanessia get up off the ground as easily as if she had risen out of bed from a long and refreshing slumber. Her eyes were glowing red. Vanessia began to chant a forbidden tome. "Rain! The Earth is corrupt and tainted! Send forth the floods that purefy and cleanse all! Firestorm!

As Adrul passed out, he saw the sky turn a fiery red. Brimstone rained from the sky, igniting the horde that had come close to devouring them.The last thing Adrul saw as he passed out was the burning, shriveling corpses of their monstrous attackers.

NEXT: CH 3 ORIENTATION