{"sf1_id":932541,"sf2_id":"r17ZzLRn","title":"Narrow Passes and Sheer Cliffs","author":"wwwerewolf","words":5121,"posted_at":"2015-11-11T03:34:50.000Z","tags":["Death","Human","Lion","Mourner","So Long","Wolf","the end"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/932541-narrow-passes-and-sheer-cliffs","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/r17ZzLRn","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/30/9c/309cf58f-3002-4231-a4a2-24deae149730","description":"The final book in The Hunters series. This has been great, but everything has to end somewhere. And this is it.  \n  \n  \n  \n  \nDon't have a clue what's going on? Welcome to the hunt. Start with the first book!  \n  \nGreat new cover curtsey of Negger  \n  \nComments and critiques are welcome.","content":"# Chapter 6: Narrow Passes and Sheer Cliffs\n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Pulling out a map, my gut still tightened when I looked at how far we still had to go.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Gods, English,” I said, turning to the leather pouch that sat in the corner of the small room, “You better count your blessings you were my best friend.\u0026nbsp; I wouldn't have gone even this far for anyone else.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;As usual, the ashes didn't have much to say.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;That was just one of the thousands of things that was so hard to get used to.\u0026nbsp; The old lion had been a part of my life for so long I still kept catching myself seeing him out of the corner of my eye, expecting to hear a quick quip or sardonic comment when I least expected it.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“I'm going insane, aren't I?” I mused.\u0026nbsp; “I'm talking to a man's ashes.\u0026nbsp; Gods, I'm already insane, I'm toting them half way across the gods forsaken world!”  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;We'd gotten a bit smarter this time.\u0026nbsp; The voyage from V-town to Japan had worn on everyone's nerves.\u0026nbsp; This time we got three different cabins.\u0026nbsp; Sure Rebecca and I spent most of our time together, but there is a limit on just how together even a couple can take.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Our first voyage had taken us from Japan to a little island town by the name a Jeju.\u0026nbsp; From there we hardly touched land before setting off again, this time to China proper.\u0026nbsp; Next was Shanghai.\u0026nbsp; It should have been impressive, but after the neon lights of Japan the crowded streets of China weren't quite as awe inspiring.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Back on another ship, now we were going south-west.\u0026nbsp; Along to coast to Taiwan, then to Sanya, we were almost to our destination.\u0026nbsp; Up head was our last stop by boat for some time, Qinzhou.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Landing in China, we were able to slip past the worst of the formalities.\u0026nbsp; We'd spent enough time around here that, while still foreign, we didn't look that out of place.\u0026nbsp; Humans were an oddity everywhere, but there were dogs and wolves the planet over.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The streets in China were near the polar opposite from Japan.\u0026nbsp; This place was closer to V-town in it's level of technology.\u0026nbsp; And that's not a totally good thing.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Dirt streets and collapsing buildings, it was like V-town before we'd began pulling it all back together.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;And there was one major problem here.\u0026nbsp; None of us spoke the language.\u0026nbsp; I could speak precious little Japanese, but absolutely none of the Chinese people were using here.\u0026nbsp; Well, at least I could still pick out the occasional written character.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Jon, ever the one present of mind, had brought with him a small phrasebook.\u0026nbsp; We were making use of it now, haggling with a street vendor over some kind of meat on a stick.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Yeah, I'll definitely qualify it as some kind.\u0026nbsp; I really didn't want to ask what it was.\u0026nbsp; If I did then I could just as well guarantee Jon would refuse to eat it.\u0026nbsp; And likely Rebecca and I for that matter.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;We weren't exactly here for pleasure, but that didn't stop us from taking in the sights and smells of the market while our food cooked.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;You think those stories of Asian street markets are fairy tales?\u0026nbsp; Yeah, think again, I'm smack dab in the middle of one, and it's busier and more frantic than anything V-town could put up.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I was just reaching for my meal when the sound of a crash came from up the street.\u0026nbsp; Like clockwork Jon, Rebecca, and I turned in unison.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;It took a moment to make it out through the milling throng of people, but someone or something was coming this way.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Uh... I don't think I've ever met an elephant before.\u0026nbsp; And by the looks of it that was about to change.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Old habits die hard, I can tell a chase when I see one.\u0026nbsp; The elephant was running flat our down the middle of the street and a dozen men were racing after him.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Huh.\u0026nbsp; I hadn't even known elephants could run.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Still more than a dozen meters from us, the beast of a man was clearing people left and right.\u0026nbsp; And right in front of him was a old woman pushing a pram.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I would have rolled my eyes if I had time.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Not even bothering to drop the pack from my back, I leapt forward.\u0026nbsp; I didn't need to look over my shoulder, I knew Jon and Rebecca were with me.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I took the elephant, Jon the woman, and Rebecca dragged the pram away.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;It felt like I was no more than a mouse as I landed on the elephant's back.\u0026nbsp; I didn't do much, but I did slow him a measure, and I was able to use my weight to edge him off course, giving Jon the Rebecca just enough time to get clear.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Well, perhaps I was able to do a touch more than that.\u0026nbsp; Job finished, I was ready to leap clear.\u0026nbsp; The only problem was that we were going down.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;My extra weight must have set the elephant off balance.\u0026nbsp; He was struggling for all he was worth, but he were headed towards the ground.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Oh bugger,” was about all I was able to get out before we hit the dirt with a thud heavy enough to wake the dead.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Thankfully I wasn't on the bottom.\u0026nbsp; Well, mostly.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Save for my tail – that now feels like it's on fire in case anyone's interested – I was more or less free.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Tommy!”\u0026nbsp; I moment later Rebecca was at my side, joined shortly thereafter by Jon.\u0026nbsp; The dog was standing guard, doing his best to keep the traffic moving and people away while Rebecca tended to me.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Are you alright?” she asked, pulling the pack gently from my shoulders.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I worked up a grin.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Heh, yeah, Babe.\u0026nbsp; You always had a thing for guys with docked tails, right?”\u0026nbsp; I let out a groan as the behemoth behind me shifted.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;A handful of heartbeats and a new type of shout entered the mix.\u0026nbsp; I couldn't make out a single word they were saying but I knew the sound of bounty hunters when I hear them.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;And good ones by the sound of it.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;They came from the same direction as the elephant had.\u0026nbsp; And I had a feeling they'd seen everything.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Shifting, I tried to pull myself free from the weight that pinned me, but it was no good.\u0026nbsp; I couldn't do much more than breathe without fire shooting up my back.\u0026nbsp; Some days it really is the pits to have a long protrusion sticking out of your backside that's directly connected to your spine.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I couldn't quite see what was happening up front, but someone stepped up to talk to Jon.\u0026nbsp; A big someone by the looks of it.\u0026nbsp; A moment later the dog shifted and I was able to make out a tiger.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;He was speaking to Jon, but the dog was simply making 'I don't know' gestures.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Even I could hear when the cat switched to english.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“You brought him down, yeah?\u0026nbsp; The three of you?”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Jon shrugged.\u0026nbsp; “That would appear to be correct.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The cat grinned showing each and every one of his teeth.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Let's get the weight off your friend, yeah?\u0026nbsp; Good hunt.\u0026nbsp; Good hunt.”  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Well, the cat was good to his word.\u0026nbsp; A moment later he and a group of mixed comrades stepped forward and started prodding the elephant with long spears.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;For his own part the elephant still seemed stunned, surprised to find himself laying on the ground.\u0026nbsp; Thankfully our new friends were careful to make sure he rolled the right way to get up without crushing me.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The stitch in my side was acting up again, but thankfully my regeneration was taking care of my tail.\u0026nbsp; Once the elephant got off I was happy to see the damage wasn't that bad.\u0026nbsp; It had been pinned rather than crushed.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Though I was more than a bit concerned to note it didn't heal nearly as fast as I would have expected.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Good hunt, good hunt my friends, yeah?” the tiger said.\u0026nbsp; They'd already led the elephant away, but a good half dozen of the bounty hunters were still loitering around.\u0026nbsp; I didn't care much for the way they looked at us.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;It made me think of the way a house cat looks at a mouse.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“You not from around here, are you?” he asked while staring at my tail.\u0026nbsp; My regeneration wasn't running at anything near normal speed but he was still enthralled watching it.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“No,” I said, rubbing my backside.\u0026nbsp; “We're from far to the east.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;He twisted his ears.\u0026nbsp; “You're not from Japan, yeah?”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I glanced at Jon and Rebecca.\u0026nbsp; I really didn't want to tell this man too much.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“No,” I said.\u0026nbsp; “We're from further than that.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;He seemed to shrug it away.\u0026nbsp; “But you're a bounty hunter.\u0026nbsp; I can see it in the way the three of you move.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Jon stiffened when he was called that.\u0026nbsp; Jon was one thing and one thing only, and that was a police officer.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I stood up, leaning on Rebecca.\u0026nbsp; My balance was still off with my tail not working properly.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Long ago,” I said offhandedly.\u0026nbsp; “Right now we're just travelers.\u0026nbsp; Just passing through.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I knew I'd made a mistake the moment the words left my mouth.\u0026nbsp; The cat's eyes lit up like it way payday.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Yeah?\u0026nbsp; Yeah!\u0026nbsp; You're bounty hunters!\u0026nbsp; You can't hunt here!\u0026nbsp; You need to be part of the guild.\u0026nbsp; I help you with that.\u0026nbsp; Hu help you.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I didn't care for the way he said help.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;A moment later the other bounty hunters who'd been loitering about began closing in.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Well, there was at least one upshot to this mess, our new friends were taking us northwest to Nanning, the general direction we wanted to go anyway.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I kept doing my best to reason with Hu, but it was obvious the tiger didn't want to hear.\u0026nbsp; I'd bet my last whisker he got a commission for pressing new bounty hunters into the guild and we, the three of us, were likely a good payoff for him.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The hike was hard, but not unusually so.\u0026nbsp; It did at least give us a few days to take in China.\u0026nbsp; This was the longest we'd spent off a ship since leaving V-town.\u0026nbsp; And bugger was this place green.\u0026nbsp; I was used to the verdant mountains of British Columbia, but this was bordering on silly.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;In any event we made it to Nanning in our own good time.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The place was a good sized city.\u0026nbsp; Nothing to be compared to what there was in Japan, and even a fair bit smaller than V-town, but a good sized place none the less.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The guild house sat at the outskirts.\u0026nbsp; This must be just a regional branch as it didn't look like much.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“So this is it?” I asked.\u0026nbsp; The question was more rhetorical than anything else.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Yeah,” Hu said in response as he pushed us forward.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Well, this was getting really annoying, really fast.\u0026nbsp; It seemed Hu was the only person around here who spoke english, and he'd buggered off as soon as he'd gotten his payout.\u0026nbsp; That left the three of us alone with a good dozen of what I could only assume where the high mukky-mucks of the Chinese bounty hunters.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;And they were about as pissed as I was that we couldn't get a word between us.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I did my best to mime may way into telling them we were just passing through.\u0026nbsp; Even Jon pulled out his phrase books and tried as best he could.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Yeah, this was not going well.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;It was about an hour before they finally lost their temper.\u0026nbsp; They called in some clerks who arrived with pots of ink and papers.\u0026nbsp; The only problem was that the contracts – and I'm sure that's what they were – were written in, unsurprisingly, Chinese.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“No,” I said, crossing my arms before me.\u0026nbsp; I think that action was pretty much universal.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;They said something, but I didn't catch it.\u0026nbsp; A moment later someone stepped up behind me, grabbing me by the shoulders.\u0026nbsp; I could hear Jon and Rebecca struggling as well.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Get off!”\u0026nbsp; Twisting, I was constrained by the heavy pack on my back.\u0026nbsp; Under normal circumstances I'd be free of the man in seconds, he's wasn't that good, but as it was I was all but immobile.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;There was a loud barking sound from the men presiding over us.\u0026nbsp; The clerks walked up and dipped my forefinger into the pot of ink.\u0026nbsp; Setting the paper down on a table, they pressed me forward.\u0026nbsp; I'm guessing a fingerprint was their equivalent of a signature.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I let a grin slip to my face.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;They hadn't caught it, but I'd snuck away last last night and cleared the cancer from my body.\u0026nbsp; I felt better today than I had in weeks.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Not going to happen, you buggers,” I growled.\u0026nbsp; Taking a quick glance over my shoulder, I made eye contact with Jon and Rebecca.\u0026nbsp; Jon was stoic as ever, but Rebecca looked as ready to get out of here as I did.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Not to mention I didn't care for the way her guards were holding her.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Snapping up my arm I made a quick and unexpected, if not terribly hard, contact with my guard's nose.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The was a grunt from behind and the arms around me loosened slightly.\u0026nbsp; I took it for all it was worth and fought my other, ink smeared, hand free.\u0026nbsp; It also went back.\u0026nbsp; I had better aim now that I knew where his head was.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The black ink that they'd intend to sign me up with now now splattered across the guard's face.\u0026nbsp; Following that up by stomping my foot down on his was enough for me to break free.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I'd like to say it was as clean as that, but anyone who's ever had to fight in a crowd knows it never works that way.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Thankfully, this may be a bounty hunter's guild hall, but there seemed to be precious few actual bounty hunters around.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;One of the clerks rushed forward to try and help the guard restrain me.\u0026nbsp; I spun and he got the heavy metal frame of my pack to his face.\u0026nbsp; Next I looked he was down on the floor, dazed.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I'd thought I did rather good there, but when I turned to Jon and Rebecca I realized just how out of practice I was.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Jon's guard was laying neatly on the floor, hogtied up with a rope I didn't even know he'd had.\u0026nbsp; There wasn't a bruise on the man's body.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Rebecca?\u0026nbsp; Well, she'd gone for the quick and efficient approach.\u0026nbsp; Her guard was perhaps the largest of the three – a watter buffalo or something like that.\u0026nbsp; It worked well for her.\u0026nbsp; It meant the guy's crotch had been at perfect striking height for her fist.\u0026nbsp; The man – and he had my sympathies – was laying in the fetal position, clutching his balls.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Regrouping at the back of the room, I took a moment to case our surroundings.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Well, this was no Storm Front.\u0026nbsp; The room was simple wood, and not all that large.\u0026nbsp; The three administrators who we'd tried to talk to me were still standing up on a low stage on the far side.\u0026nbsp; They were yelling their heads off now, calling for help.\u0026nbsp; And, by the sound of heavy footfalls, that help wasn't going to be long in coming.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Did you catch the layout on the way in?” I asked Jon.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The dog nodded.\u0026nbsp; A single, curt, motion.\u0026nbsp; “Of course.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;And with that we were gone.\u0026nbsp; Out into the hallway, we hardly got ten steps before encountering the first wave of reenforcement coming our way.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Well, I had this one.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Raising my arms, I began shouting incoherently in something I hope vaguely sounded Chinese.\u0026nbsp; I waved and pointed back towards the room we'd just come from.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Chalk one up for overacting, it worked.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Running full speed back the way we came, we made it to the front doors.\u0026nbsp; Each group of bounty hunters we passed were easier to fool than the last.\u0026nbsp; They all seemed to expect us to stand and fight rather then run.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I grinned.\u0026nbsp; Resting a hand on the heavy leather pouch at my hip, I could only guess what English would have done at a moment like this.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Out into the fresh air, it was only a matter of seconds before we were down the street.\u0026nbsp; Too bad it wasn't fast enough.\u0026nbsp; From behind me I could see the guild had managed to get it's act together.\u0026nbsp; Bounty hunters were streaming from the doors of the guild house like hornets, all coming our way.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;And I don't think my little charade was going to work a second time.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Just... just how far have we gone?  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;It's been over two weeks.\u0026nbsp; Two weeks of running nonstop, hightailing it through an alien and mountainous country with a team of bloodthirsty, professional bounty hunters at our heels.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Does anyone have a clue where we are?” I asked as I set my bruised and strained butt end down on a worn thin bedroll.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Jon glanced up from where he was tending the fire with a bird – hopefully edible – roasting over it.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Somewhere to the south of Dimapur,” he said.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I rolled my eyes.\u0026nbsp; “Great.\u0026nbsp; Now anyone mind telling me where in all the gods' names Dimapur is?”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“To the west of where we were last time you asked,” Rebecca said with a chuckle.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;You know, we should all be on edge and frightened, having been on the run for our very lives for the better part of a month, but it just seemed like another day after what we'd all been through together.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Thankfully the pheasant – or whatever the local equivalent is – was good enough to get us back on our feet again the next day.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;You might think we were just being paranoid, thinking that we were still being tracked after this long.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Yeah, funny that.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;We'd managed to pick up a few snatches of Chinese over the last few weeks, just enough to get by.\u0026nbsp; And the read the wanted posters that had seemingly been posted everywhere.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;By the sounds of it Nanning wasn't exactly a big bounty hunting outpost, but we'd managed to get there while some higher ups had been watching.\u0026nbsp; I was starting to think that's how the tiger had timed it.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;And, as many great and grand bosses are, they didn't take kindly to us showing them up.\u0026nbsp; We'd made the news, and news travels faster than a group of foreigners like us.\u0026nbsp; Every time we entered a new town they already knew who we were.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Well, that had it's ups and downs.\u0026nbsp; It looked like the bounty hunting guild here wasn't quite as well respected as back in V-town.\u0026nbsp; A good half the people we met were more than willing to help us.\u0026nbsp; The problem was with the other half, those who did everything they could to turn us in for the reward.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;We were up in the mountains again.\u0026nbsp; Gods, this place had more mountains than the Rockies!  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Our supplies are getting low and, unlike back home, we didn't don't know enough about the wildlife here to say for sure what's safe to eat and what's not.\u0026nbsp; Not to mention it would be nice to know exactly where we are again.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;None of the maps I'd brought from home had anything more to say about this part of the world other than 'yeah, it's here'.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;When we saw a sign for 'Noney' we were more than happy to follow it.\u0026nbsp; Not that any of us knew what in all the gods' names 'Noney' was.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Thankfully, it looked to be a village.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Stepping in, it was clear we weren't in China anymore.\u0026nbsp; For one thing all the effort we'd put into learning the language was for not.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I had to laugh.\u0026nbsp; Jon couldn't even figure out which phrasebook to pull out.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Up the hard packed dirt path, we stepped into town.\u0026nbsp; Well, you know you're remote when everything stops the moment visitors walk into town.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;For a long moment all people seemed to do was stand and stare.\u0026nbsp; The only motion was that of the rest of the village walking tentatively up to their windows to get a better look at us.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;At long last an old fox woman stepped forward.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I smiled.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Why is it always old women?\u0026nbsp; They seemed to be the ones that made the real decisions the world over.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;She said something that was totally lost on me.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Sorry,” I replied, keeping my voice calm, “I don't understand.\u0026nbsp; We only speak english.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;There was a long pause, then she made a gagging sound.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“English?” she said.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;My eyebrows just about hit my ears.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“You can understand me?”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;She smiled, showing the most hideous gap toothed grin.\u0026nbsp; I felt right at home.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Well enough.”\u0026nbsp; Her words were slow and rusty, but I can't tell you how good it felt to have someone new to talk to.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Things proceed quickly from there.\u0026nbsp; A few stern commands from the woman and the rest of the town got back to work as if we weren't there, save for a few quick glances out way when they thought we weren't looking.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The woman led us down the street to a small timber building that I could only guess was her home.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“You are welcome,” she croaked, waving us on, “Enter.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Brushing off our dirty feet, we stepped in.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Well, wasn't this charming.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;To call the village the middle of nowhere would be praising it.\u0026nbsp; The inside of the home, well serviceable and clean, could best be called rustic.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The woman made sure to close the door behind us the moment we were inside.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Not safe,” she said, fighting against her own throat to form the words.\u0026nbsp; “The...” she made a coughing nose, “Are not far behind.\u0026nbsp; They were at the neighboring village.\u0026nbsp; On their way here.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I didn't even bother sitting down.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Okay, folks,” I said.\u0026nbsp; “We'd best get back on the road.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“No,” the woman said, laying a hand on my shoulder.\u0026nbsp; “It is dangerous at night.\u0026nbsp; You must stay here.\u0026nbsp; They are no friends of ours.\u0026nbsp; They have taken far too many of our brothers and sisters over the years.\u0026nbsp; It is right we should shelter you.\u0026nbsp; You are our guests.”  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I was a little bit concerned about what they might feed us, and how we could pay, but the issue sorted itself out.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The woman cooked up a thick soup of meats and vegetables I had no names for.\u0026nbsp; The was a welcome change from the trail food we'd been living on for so long.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Paying her, and the village, back was surprisingly easy.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I'd said Noney was out of the way and I'd been right.\u0026nbsp; We were likely the most distant travelers they'd seen in a century.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The woman had to translate, but Rebecca and I told stories of V-town and Canada.\u0026nbsp; I didn't think they'd ever even heard of it.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I made sue to leave out the fact I'd been a bounty hunter, myself.\u0026nbsp; Or mayor.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The evening passed pleasantly, and far more comfortably than any in recent memory.\u0026nbsp; Even the beds she provided were soft.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Well, it was nice while it lasted.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;It had to be about ten at night and we were good and bedded down.\u0026nbsp; We were warm, and the town was quiet.\u0026nbsp; I was just about as happy as one could reasonably expect.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;And it had to happen.\u0026nbsp; From outside I could heard the heavy trod of many feet.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Who is their right mind would be traveling at this time of night?\u0026nbsp; Well, it didn't take long to get our answer.\u0026nbsp; Soon there was a soft but frantic knock on the door.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;A moment later a man was in the room with us, speaking in hushed tones with the old woman.\u0026nbsp; I couldn't make out a singe world, the the thrust was simple enough.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;We'd been found.\u0026nbsp; Again.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Okay, folks,” I sad, sitting up.\u0026nbsp; “It was a nice few hours, but it looks like it's time for us to vamoose.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The old woman raised a hand.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“There are only three ways out of the village.\u0026nbsp; Everything else is blocked by the mountains.\u0026nbsp; And,” she paused for a man to speak with the man, “They've all been guarded.\u0026nbsp; Your arrival here was seen.”\u0026nbsp; Her expression grew dark.\u0026nbsp; “It was not one of my village that betrayed you, but you were seen none the less.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I let out a long sigh.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Fine, then what?” I asked.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“You wait.”  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;And that was that.\u0026nbsp; Much of the night was a stand off.\u0026nbsp; The bounty hunters wanted to search the village building by building, but not even they could pull it off with nothing but moonlight.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;That didn't stop them from trying.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The village wasn't large, perhaps only a dozen or so structures in total, all clustered around a single dirt road.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;And, from what images I could snatch out the windows of the home where we sat, there might just be more bounty hunters chasing us than there were villagers.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“I'm open to suggestions,” I said once the old woman was gone, leaving us alone.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“This is my fault, Tommy,” Jon whispered.\u0026nbsp; “I should have scouted the terrain and stopped us from camping here.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;It took everything I had to keep from laughing.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Your fault?”\u0026nbsp; I reached out and set a hand on his shoulder.\u0026nbsp; “No, my friend.\u0026nbsp; It's my fault for bringing the two on this adventure at all.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;At that we smiled.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;And the bounty hunters came another building closer.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;One more building to go.\u0026nbsp; They were just about on our doorstep.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Okay,” I said.\u0026nbsp; “Here's the plan.\u0026nbsp; We wait until there just about in here, then pile out through the window.\u0026nbsp; We'll head towards the west pass.\u0026nbsp; That's where we want to go anyway.\u0026nbsp; We'll have to fight our way though.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Jon shook his head.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“No, Tommy,” he said.\u0026nbsp; “There has to be at least twenty men out there, never mind who they might have guarding the passes.\u0026nbsp; Not even we can make those odds.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I was just about to begin arguing when the old woman steeped carefully through the door.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“I'm sorry,” she said, her words halting.\u0026nbsp; “There is nothing more we can do.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Standing up, I took her hands.\u0026nbsp; “It's not your fault.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Rebecca was by my side a moment later.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Thank you for everything you've done,” she said.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Turning, I looked for Jon.\u0026nbsp; He was nowhere to be seen.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Oh bugger.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I couldn't even tell how he'd gotten out of the house.\u0026nbsp; The door was still closed and the windows intact.\u0026nbsp; Nonetheless a moment later I heard a howl.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;A clipped, on-key, textbook perfect howl.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I swore so much under my breath I'm surprised the room didn't turn blue.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Rebecca and I scrambled to the window just fast enough to see a German Sheppard shaped silhouette racing south through the moonlight.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Jon was off and running like a champion sprinter in the prime of his life, and behind him, falling fast, were at least two dozen bounty hunters.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Bugger, bugger, bugger.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;We'd made a run from the house as soon as the coast was clear.\u0026nbsp; Heading west, Rebecca and I followed the original plan, the one Jon knew about.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I couldn't think of anything else to do.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The pass was already clear.\u0026nbsp; The guards here must have taken off after Jon.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I didn't like that dog's odds.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“But what about Jon?” Rebecca asked as soon as we'd put enough space between us and the village to stop for a much needed rest.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;My tongue was lolling out and the stitch in my side was screaming bloody murder.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“I... I don't know, Babe,” was all I could get out.\u0026nbsp; “He...” I stopped and closed my eyes.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“But we can't leave him,” she said, but there was no conviction to her voice.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“I know, Babe.”\u0026nbsp; Reaching out, I pulled her close, pack and all.\u0026nbsp; It suddenly felt very lonely, surrounded by his alien land.\u0026nbsp; “If anyone can make it, it's him.”  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;The night was the longest one I've ever seen.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;We traveled slowly for the next week, straight as an arrow west, stopping at every town to ask if they'd seen a brown and black dog skulking about.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Nothing.  \n  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;We had to be getting close to India now and every step was a test for me.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“Are you alright, Wolfy?” Rebecca asked one day when we stopped for our fifth break of the day.\u0026nbsp; We were in a nice little clearing with the sun shining down around us.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“I... yeah, Babe.\u0026nbsp; Just out of breath,” I said between pants.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Reaching into my back, I pulled out a small knife.\u0026nbsp; It looked like it was that time again.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“You might want to go for a walk, Babe,” I said, gasping for breath.\u0026nbsp; This is going to get bloody.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;And I wasn't lying.\u0026nbsp; Every time I'd had to do this the cancer had been worse.\u0026nbsp; Soon it would be filling up my whole insides.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;“No.”\u0026nbsp; Reaching out, she took the knife from my hands.\u0026nbsp; “I love you, Tommy.”\u0026nbsp; Leaning forward, she kissed my rather surprised lips.\u0026nbsp; “How do we do it?”","series":{"name":"The Mourner","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/932224-brand-name.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/932825-the-scent-of-flowers.json"}}