Jack didn't have long to wait. A small section of the forest was soon lit up bright as day before the light was swallowed by night again.

Whipping his rifle around, Jack could clearly make out two argu'n writhing on the forest floor, covering their eyes and ears. The trip line he'd attached to the flashbang had done its job. Now it was Jack's turn to do his.

The only problem was the fact that this was nothing like killing someone in the heat of battle. It was one thing to shoot an eight-foot-tall murder monster charging at you sword in hand. It was something else entirely to look through a scope and notice all the small things that changed the monster into a man, then pull the trigger. Was that necklace a gift from a lover? Were those claw clasps from a hunt that put food on his family's table? Did he get those scars fighting to protect someone precious to him?

Still, these were the raiders who had trespassed in Jack's backyard, threatened Jack's family, then kidnapped Em'brel. There was a price for such actions, and Jack would make sure they paid that price until they set Em'brel free.

Jack took a deep breath, released it, then held as he squeezed the trigger. Then again. Breathe, release, hold, squeeze. Two more lives whose tales had come to an end.

With that, Jack had finished off his second rifle magazine. As he ejected the spent magazine, a third raider took off running. That was fine. That was just what he'd been hoping for.

Jack had just finished loaded the next magazine when another flashbang went off. He lined up another shot. Breathe, release, hold, squeeze... Breathe, release, hold... wait... That raider was pointing right to Jack's location. He'd noticed the most recent flash from Jack's suppressed rifle.

Jack eased his finger away from the trigger and watched as the raider ran back to the camp.

-

Em'brel was woken by a loud commotion. One of the raiders ran through the camp and into the nearby tent belonging to the male in charge. The conversation was too muffled and distant to make out, but as she crept closer, the raider's voice came out shrill enough that his voice carried clearly over to her. "They're dead! All of them! Including the two who went with me to check on the campfire!"

For a moment, Em'brel felt a cruel surge of satisfaction. S'haar must have arrived and was showing these amateurs what a real warrior was capable of. But all too quickly, her stomach began to knot itself in fear. S'haar shouldn't be here! There's no way she and Jack could take on a camp this size. They'd just be walking to their deaths if they tried!

The conversations in the tent died off, and one voice spoke with enough clarity that Em'brel could make it out. It was the voice of the one she feared, but now he sounded...drunk? "It can't be the wench. We know she was too far away. There's no way she could have caught us already. That means it must be the man...Jack was his name? But I thought you said he'd had a spear put through his leg. Did you...exaggerate your story?" The word exaggerate had come out in a snarl.

The shrill voice shouted in protest before the unmistakable sound of flesh hitting flesh could be heard coming from the tent. "I don't tolerate that kind of failure. When he wakes up, put him on scouting duty. I don't want to see his face again!"

That was when another raider came running up and into the tent. There was more talking before the leader silenced the rest. "Like I said, it has to be this Jack! He's playing games to whittle away out numbers while we sit here in camp! I want half the camp ready to scour the forest in ten minutes!"

There was a bustle of activity as several raiders burst out of the tent, shouting in different directions as they ran.

Jack was here, and he was going to die, trying to save Em'brel! She had to do something! She grabbed at her collar to try and tear it away, but one of her guards walked right up and slapped her in the back of the head. He'd hit her hard enough to daze her somewhat, and when she looked up again, the camp's leader had exited the tent and was looming over her. When he spoke, his voice had an acrid scent to it. "You know, when I heard how easily your little 'human' had been beaten by only six scouts, I was...disappointed."

He looked into the forest in the direction the runners had come from. "But here he is, hunting us as though we're his prey."

His lips curled into a smile that echoed the madness in his eyes. "He might just be worth killing after all..."

-

Jack watched as the hills were swarmed with raiders. This was precisely what he had wanted. Rather than getting a good night's rest so they'd be ready to march first thing in the morning, the raiders were floundering out in the cold forest at night, running around with torches, exhausting themselves looking for Jack.

Of course, Jack had pulled back to a different location as soon as he saw the raiders running into the tent. There were still a few flashbangs out there, and Jack got a devilishly good chuckle every time one was tripped, but for now, he was too busy setting up some more surprises to welcome his guests.

Though it was somewhat troubling how quickly he was running out of breath... Jack hadn't thought he'd been physically pushing himself that hard...

-

Kal'noth was tired. The camp had spent the whole morning marching to "dragon's outpost" only to find out that they'd wasted their time. Even though the walls weren't yet completed, and the place was supposedly mostly deserted, they'd been told they might have to siege the place. Instead, the half dozen lightly armed scouts they'd sent ahead and caught their target out in the open and had been sufficient to overwhelm any supposed defenses they'd had in place.

Admittedly, only one of the scouts made it back, but still, there hadn't been a reason to mobilize an entire camp made up of the best warriors from multiple tribes for this measly job. Still, at least they were going to be paid well in meat and metal in addition to these new coats they'd been gifted. He had no idea why that whelp could be worth so much to anyone. Though he had to admit that even with her broken elbow spike, she was easy to look at...

But here they were again, the better part of the camp out exploring in the cold dark forest with only some warmed stones and a torch for heat, and for what? A single male who had deluded himself into thinking he could save the girl? Kal'noth didn't know why the new boss was so obsessed with finding this male. It seemed like it would be better to just pack up and move as a group. Let the wilds sort him out.

That was when Kal'noth came across an interesting scent. It smelled of blood and warmth, and most importantly, not like any other camp members...

Remembering the orders they'd been given before being sent out, Kal'noth shouted for all the nearby men to group up on him before investigating further.

He was quickly joined by five other men. If six scouts had been enough to overwhelm this whelp on his home turf when he'd had backup, they'd certainly be enough to handle the male on his own. Taking courage from each other's presence, they followed the scent to its source.

Kal'noth could practically smell the breeders that had been promised to anyone who caught or killed this "Jack." Maybe he'd even get a turn with that new girl they'd come all the way out here for...

As the smell grew stronger, the group picked up their pace until they practically on top of their quarry, but quite suddenly, the scent dead-ended up a tree. Kal'noth was just lifting his head to look up the tree when an odd rock fell down between the branches. Kal'noth laughed. If this was the male's best attempt at dissuading them from climbing the tree after him, it was pathetic.

As he examined the stone more closely, Kal'noth was surprised to see a cloud start to spew out of the thing. Remembering the stories he'd heard about their prey's tendency to use odd magics and tricks to unfairly win his fights, Kal'noth nervously tasted the air in case he'd missed something.

Immediately Kal'noth was overwhelmed by a burning sensation. It began with his tongue, but it quickly spread to his mouth, nose, and even his eyes. He felt like they were all on fire, but no matter how furiously he rubbed or scratched, all he succeeded in doing was making it worse somehow. Every second was an eternity of anguish.

As if this new hell hadn't been bad enough, Kal'noth soon had to cover his ears as impossibly loud peels of thunder rang out over his head. He quickly lost count as it struck his ears over and over again until, in desperation, Kal'noth opened his watery, bloodshot eyes to see everyone else lying around him in bloody ruins. Looking up at the tree again, Kal'noth could see a small misshaped male pointing a metal stick at him.

Without wasting time for thought, Kal'noth lept up into the tree. As he jumped, he heard another one of those loud thunderclaps and realized they were coming out of the stick the other man had been pointing at him. It must shoot lighting somehow because Kal'noth could feel it graze against his chest plate, tearing a gouge out of his side. Still, it wasn't enough to stop him. At the peak of his, jump Kal'noth was able to grab the branch the man was standing on and pulled himself up beside his prey.

He barely had time to register the look of surprise on the strange argu'n's face before a loud cracking indicated that the branch they were both standing on was starting to give way. Kal'noth lept for his target as the male pointed his metal stick at him, and another crack of thunder reached his ears.

Together they fell. Kal'noth could feel his claws get purchase on his prey's arm, but when he hit the ground, he lost his grip and rolled away. With the smell of blood so strong he could taste it, Kal'noth lept to his feet to finish what he started.

Or rather, he tried to. Pain shot up his foot, and he collapsed again. Looking down, Kal'noth could see his lower leg was in ruin. Digging his still good foot into the ground, Kal'noth launched himself as best he could at this evil trickster god...

-

Jack finished off the last raider with a shot to the head from his handgun. This trap had almost gone perfectly, but he'd gotten cocky and underestimated how far up an argu'n male could jump. He'd thought twenty feet was high enough, but evidently, he'd miscalculated.

Now his leg was in more pain than ever, he was bleeding profusely from his arm, and worst of all, he'd needlessly wasted more ammo. It also didn't help that the chemicals in the air hadn't entirely dissipated by the time he'd fallen. Now his eyes were watering, and his nose was running. As Jack retreated to the next couple of traps, he made sure to leave behind a bit of a blood trail leading right into the next tripwire.

Ejecting the nearly spent magazine, Jack could see there was only one bullet left. He secured the magazine in the pouch from which he pulled a fresh magazine. Out here, every shot was precious, and it might come in useful later.

His gun reloaded and holstered, Jack turned his attention to his arm. Luckily, the pain medication for his leg had deadened his senses enough that it didn't hurt as much as it should, but he sprayed it with disinfectant and applied a healthy dose of medical glue to seal the injury shut. He followed this up by wrapping the wound to keep it clean. Giving it a once over, Jack decided his handiwork wasn't too bad for someone who hadn't had to really use this kind of survival training in a few years.

However, Jack had to keep moving. After all the noise he'd caused, he knew more raiders would be hot on his trail in no time.

-

The rest of the night passed in a blur. Jack had to continuously move and fight, though he never repeated the mistake of taking on a group larger than four with anything other than the rifle at long range. If too many raiders got too close, he just tossed one of his flashbangs or pepper bombs and retreated until he could engage on better terms.

Jack hit himself with another dose of pain meds. He'd probably had more than he should at this point, but his leg was getting worse. He was no longer walking as much as limping. Of course, the meds weren't making it any easier to focus either. He found his attention wandering more and more and had to fight to focus on the tasks at hand.

It also didn't help that he always seemed out of breath, and his heart was constantly racing. To top off the list, now that it was day, his advantage was lost. With proper light, warmer weather, and a diminishing ammo supply, Jack didn't know how much longer he could maintain the upper hand.

He was so lost in a haze that Jack didn't even realize he'd almost stumbled into another party of raiders until it was too late. They seemed every bit as surprised to see him as he did them. Word of the small argu'n who'd single-handedly massacred nearly a third of the camp had spread and caused just enough hesitation that he had enough time to draw his handgun.

With a shot that was more muscle memory than thought, Jack took out the closest raider. Turning his focus to the next target, he pulled the trigger again, but the gun clicked empty.

Jack stared at the gun stupidly for a moment. He'd just reloaded it after the last fight! Or had it been the fight before that? He had one more full magazine, right? No time! Grab a flashbang! Wait, no, those had all been used up three groups ago...

The raiders had frozen at the sight of their friend being gunned down, but as one moment passed into the next, and the small pale argu'n did nothing but stare at the odd weapon in his hands, they started to gather themselves and began to circle him.

That was when a voice cut through the haze in his head. "Charge forward, through the raiders! Run as fast as you can. I don't care if you tear every remaining muscle off your bone. Just run!"

Jack shook his head to clear the strange spirits from his mind but realized he had little choice in the matter. Soon the raiders would have him surrounded. If he ran backwords, the raiders would catch him before he'd made it very far. His only hope was the element of surprise.

With little other choice, Jack pulled out one of his knives and charged the largest argu'n directly in front of himself, screaming in a way that would leave his throat raw afterward. The argu'n blinked in surprise, hesitating long enough to keep him from raising his sword into a guard position in time to deal with the tiny maniac.

Jack lunged at him, intending to bring his knife down into the raider's neck at its base, just above the bony plate. But his blurred vision got the best of him, and the blade slid across the plate and out of Jack's hands.

The raider dug his claws into the skin of Jack's face and started to squeeze, but Jack rammed his head forward, causing the claws to tear into his skin and across his left eye as he did so, but he succeeded in his objective of slamming his forehead into the raiders nose, resulting in a nasty crunch Jack could feel as well as hear.

The raider pulled his hands back to his face, and Jack scrambled up and off the raider, running forward and putting as much distance between the raiders and himself as fast as he could. His leg was on fire, his left eye was blind, and his heart felt like it was going to rip out of his chest. His only advantage was that he did have a bit of a head start due to his unexpected assault.

It didn't take long for Jack to hear the sounds of pursuit behind him, but the strange voice continued speaking from inside Jack's head. "Keep going, just a little further, don't hold anything back now!"

Jack felt something in his leg tear, and he stumbled. The sounds of pursuit were getting closer. Attempting to slam his leg into the ground again resulted in blindingly searing pain, and the leg simply gave out. Jack fell into a heap that continued to roll a few feet before ending up at the base of a small hill.

The voice in his head had betrayed him, and Jack was out of time and out of options. Jack drew his handgun again and ejected the mag but knew there wouldn't even be enough time to grab the next one off his belt before the raiders were on him.

From behind him, Jack heard a bellow that sounded like it had come out of his nightmares. Looking up, he could see another raider leap off the hill, swinging a sword into the lead raider that had been chasing Jack with such ferocity it clove through him and into the next raider to his left.

Drawing the blade back and continuing her spin, the new raider thrust the sword into the neck of the raider to her right, who'd been stunned by the unexpected appearance of a new foe. The last raider turned and ran, leaving Jack alone with the new arrival.

As she turned and looked at Jack, the raider spoke. Oddly, her voice seemed to be filled with concern. "What happened..."

She was cut off when Jack raised his handgun to point it at her then pulled the trigger.