“Please, I can’t.” I pleaded with Miller and I coughed.

“We ain’t finiss’d yet, mah frend.” He cooed at me and moved it closer to my mouth.

“It’s too much. No more.” I tried to move my head away but a strong hand on my neck stopped me.

“Yus, ya cahn. Juss a little moar.” It touched my lips and I could taste the vile liquid.

“C’mon... Dats it.” Miller’s fellow tormentor encouraged me. My face grimaced at the smell and I opened my mouth slowly.

“Y’all learn to luv it. Hehehe.” Miller grinned at me.

“Bottoms up!” They yelled and I drank the shot of whiskey. My face screwed up from the taste and the fumes burned my lungs. I coughed again and they pounded my back with their hands.

“Hehehe. Mah turn.” Miller poured himself a shot and drank it.

“Yeehaw. Thass sum fine likker.” He pounded the glass on the table sharply and smacked his lips.

After I opened the door earlier, Miller and his posse barged right in and started placing bottles of whiskey on the dining table. He declared the welcoming party was now open and started passing around shot glasses. I demurred at the offered glass and reasoned that I was under 21 of age, therefore I cannot participate in their drinking binge. He chuckled and asked me “Who’s gonna arress us? Ourselves? Hehehe.”

I shrugged and poured my glass with whiskey. The alcohol loosened up my lips and we talked to each other like we were best buds for a long time. We discussed hunting in general, like the largest bounty we got, the rifles we used, the best lure available and other hunting stuff. We also embellished our stories a bit and the animals got larger with every telling. They were deputy hunters like me and they worked for a large county in Texas. We had a lot of something in common and I was having fun with the conversation. We compared a lot hunting tips and which techniques works the best for that particular animal. We also drank a lot too.

“How didya corral tha bear? I cud get me a wulf pardner.” He gestured carelessly with an unopened bottle and unscrewed the cap. I lost count of the number shots of whiskey I had and I was drunk as a skunk. Hera was watching another MMA fight and was mostly ignoring us. She tasted the liquor Miller offered to her but she didn’t like it and returned to her TV.

“Uh. Ish kinda difficulsh...difficult to do. You’ll both need to almosh die.” I slurred and told them of the circumstances of my bond with Hera. I felt comfortable talking to them about it and it was probably the alcohol.

“Hmmm. Ah cu’d try tha. Thass eashy enuff.” He eyed Hera and assessed his chances. He nodded and thought it was good. I was dumbfounded at his lack of concern of the danger and I giggled at the image of him babying a wolf pup.

“I’ll dig ya grave, Millah.” Posse no.1 quipped.

“I got dibsh on his knife.” Posse no.2 informed us.

“Fuck’yall! Thay don't cahwl me thuh numbah one hunter in Texas for nothin.” He glared at them drunkenly.

“Ya glass is draiyh.” He noticed my empty glass and poured some more whiskey for me.

--

“Stop shaking the bed, Hera. Please.” I whispered. It was seven in the morning and I was laying on the bed nursing my hangover.

“Chuff!” She ignored my pleas and shook the bed harder. I looked at the clock and groaned. I got off the bed slowly and examined the empty room. I didn’t remember them leaving. I probably blacked out from the whiskey and they dumped me on the bed.

“Okay! okay!!” I drank a glass of water and it made me a little nauseous. I forced myself to drink one more and then took a shower.

I took Hera to the woods at the back of the hotel and she did her business. I checked the clock on my holoscreen and judged we still had time for some breakfast. The breakfast buffet at the hotel restaurant was full and we waited for a few minutes for a table. The staff at the entrance blanched when she saw Hera and I had to pay for her breakfast. A group of deputies left the restaurant and we were able to get inside. The restaurant was a large one and it was full of eating people There were plenty of different foods and I took two plates for the both of us. Hera went directly to the pastry corner and chuffed at me to move quickly.

“Donuts again?” I took her favorite item with a pair of thongs but she pointed her nose at the Danish pastries instead. I shook my head and replaced the donut with the pastry that she wanted. I looked at her and added a few more. I scooped some scrambled eggs, a lot of bacon, two dozen sausages, a bowl of milk, some orange juice and placed the plates full of food on a nearby empty table. I looked around to see if the staff was watching and placed Hera’s plate on the floor. The food tasted good and ate it with relish, with my hangover now forgotten.

“Morning. You feeling okay, Hunter?” I was placing some sausages on Hera’s plate and I straightened up to look at the speaker. It was posse no.2 and he was carrying a plate of food and a cup of coffee. I think his name was Rogers.

“Morning. I'm feeling fine now, Rogers. Earlier, not so much.” I indicated an empty seat in front of me and he took a seat.

“Sorry about last night. It’s a tradition of sorts for first-time attendees. The guys thought that the hunters who missed the first one should experience what it was like.” He shook his head and started eating his food.

“You were there at the first one? How was it? ” I gave Hera some more sausages.

“We were. The guys last night, I mean. The first conference was... Ha! I’ll tell you this much, there wasn’t a single sober hunter that weekend. Can’t really blame us tho. That was a bad year for hunters. A really bad one.” His voice was somber and he stared at the coffee cup. He shook himself and continued eating. I was respectfully quiet and waited for him to continue.

“When the Dalsau changed the animals, we had no idea they were getting more dangerous every season. After three years we realized that there were too many dead hunters and a conference for every region was established as a result of that. I think that was why we drank ourselves stupid that weekend.”

“It was that bad?”

“Yup. very bad. One of the results of the first conference was the creation of the Deputy Hunters, Police Animal Response Unit, and others.”

“So that’s how it...”

“Well, lookie here. I could make a nice jacket outta that.” Someone interrupted me and I looked up to see a Police Officer carrying a coffee cup and a large King Shepherd dog on a leash.

“Excuse me?” I said to the officer and examined him up and down. He looked like a male model wearing a police uniform. Light blonde hair, blue eyes, and with a fit body.

“You were just lucky in killing that Great Bear and they say you ran away screaming like a little girl. Some hunter you are.” He sneered at me and placed his cup on a nearby table.

“Who’s the douche?” I raised a questioning eyebrow at Rogers. He rolled his eyes and didn’t look at the newcomer. What is this? High School?

“How did you know? You stalking me or something? That’s a crime you know.” I told him as condescendingly as I could.

“Fuck you noob. Think you’re some badass bringing that bear in here. I’m here to burst your bubble.” He squared his shoulders aggressively. Hera sensed the man’s hostility and growled at the dickwad. The King Shepherd whined and tucked its tail.

“Control your animal! Noob! ” He said loudly like he wanted the people in the room to hear him and took a step back to emphasize that Hera was threatening him. I looked around the room and the people were staring at us. I knew he was baiting me and I responded in kind.

“By the way, Is the dog your handler? I think your dog needs to control you, Officer.” I mocked him loudly and I heard loud sniggers.

“Officer, Heel! Stand! Good boy! Do you want a treat?” I teased him as if he was a dog. The people listening laughed and mocked the dickhead.

“Woof!”

“Mebe he got rabies!”

“Get lost, Dumbshitski.” Rogers growled and twirled a butter knife in his fingers.

“It’s Dubanowski!” He corrected Rogers and stared at the knife.

“Whatever Dickinbuttski. Have your dog give you a walk. Let the real hunters talk in peace. Go, Fuck off.” Rogers pointed the knife toward the exit. Dubanowski face turned scarlet and but didn’t reply to Rogers.

“This ain’t over, Hunter... Come, Adonis.” He said menacingly to me and walk away with his dog to the exit.

“What his problem?” I asked Rogers.

“That dumbshit? He thinks you stole his spotlight when you came in with Hera. He supposedly captured a Razor Tiger, it escaped from a zoo in California last month.”

“Those are from Russia right?” He nodded. That country had a lot of different animals and I wished I could take a hunting trip there.

“He acts like he did it alone and he conveniently forgets that a lot of private hunters helped out. What a fucking poser. Just ignore him.” He explained and I hated the asshole even more.

“Where is thuh food at! Ah need a steak!” Someone hollered and Miller made his appearance. He saw us and walked in our direction. I tried hiding from him but failed.

“Hey thar, pardner. Ah got sumthin' for ya. Hehehe.” He grinned at me and offered me a flask.

--

“Recent samples taken from animals indicate that there has been an exponential increase in animal dimensions. There are also multiple indications of non-standard mutations in all the tested species.” The speaker pointed at a holographic 3D images of predators that were projected on the stage. The old Zoologist was the guest speaker for this morning’s dialogue.

“It is our belief that in 15 to 20 years, the animals will diverge completely into new separate species.” He continued and adjusted his suit and tie.

The room was packed with all of the two hundred attendees and I was glad that I able to find a seat. The ‘Present & Future Terrestrial Zoology’ presentation I was attending was very informative. The guest speaker showed us a lot of animals that I haven’t heard of before. They also compared the different behavioral patterns of the animals and a lot has changed since the cores were introduced ten years before. Some monkeys are even showing a primitive kind of intelligence like the Neanderthals. I hoped they won’t show them the Planet of the Apes movie.

“So, ya're sayin' wer goin' t' see some dragons an hydras in thuh future?” Miller unabashedly interrupted the speaker. The scientist was unfazed by Miller’s rudeness and adjusted his tie to buy time to collect his thoughts.

“Maybe. Probably. If the alien’s records are to believed, then yes. We could see those types of beasts in time. Don’t forget the Watcher is meddling with the animals too.” The speaker pointed his finger to the roof.

“Shiyeet” Miller cursed and the whole room joined him.

“Fuck!”

“King Kong’s got nothin on me!”

“A real BigFoot!”

“What’s next? Werewolves?”

“Please hold your questions till we get to the Q&A segment.” He reminded the room.

That werewolf comment hit close to me and I winced at the furry image. Even though Doc Athlan assured me that it’ll never happen, I was still a little worried about that happening in the back of my mind. The room settled down and the speaker resumed his presentation. The topic was about animal strength and weaknesses and I listened intently. I continued taking notes on my holoscreen and Hera was snoring loudly on the aisle. After the Q&A session ended the presentation was over and I quickly walked to the restaurant for lunch.

We were checking out the vendor’s area after we ate and there were a lot of specialty hunting tools being displayed. The hall was a medium sized one and there were a lot of stalls of different product brands from guns to hunting apparel. A stall caught my eye and I approached it to ask the elf sales rep.

“Hi, how does that work?” I pointed to a spray canister on display.

“Hello, I’m Elethan.” We shook hands

“This product removes your body scent when you spray it on your clothes. The proprietary non-toxic liquid contains nanoparticles and other ingredients that effectively absorbs the molecules that your body produces.” He took a can of the product and showed it to me.

“Wow, That’s great! No more gauging the wind direction.” I exclaimed at the elf. It was a really useful product.

“Exactly. Unlike clothes that trap the wearer’s odor. This is more comfortable and less of a hassle to use. A single application will last for 24 hours.” He said proudly.

“How much is it? I’d like to buy one.”

“Unfortunately, you can only order them in bulk. You can give me your department's contacts and we will send a proposal to your office. Here, take this sample.” He smiled and handed me a can.

“Thanks. Here are the sheriff's office contacts.” I flicked the contacts on my holoscreen to his direction and stored the sample in my storage. I hoped I could convince the sheriff to buy them.

I said my goodbyes to the sales elf and continued surveying the other products that were on display. The products I found were interesting but I could probably buy them at Tordan’s and I called it a day walked to the exit.

The rest of the afternoon was filled workshops, roundtable discussions, and when the all activities was over, I called it a day and went to our suite after dinner. I turned on the flatscreen for Hera and switched the channel to her favorite program. I looked on as the bear eagerly watched the fight and wondered if Hera would go a tv withdrawal when we return back home. I jumped on the bed and just relaxed.

My mind was swirling with ideas from the new information I learned from the seminars. I replayed the speaker’s conclusions in my mind and I felt mixed emotions about what the future might bring. The possibility of an entirely new species of dangerous animals appearing on earth filled me with both excitement and dread. Two things were for certain in any event: The world will become more exciting and it will be good business for hunters.

--

“Ovher heyah! Hunner!” A grinning Miller was waving at me with his hat. He was in the front row near the raised stage of the auditorium and I sighed, then walked to the cowboy.

“Ah saved ya a seat. C’mon, it’s fixinn-ta start!” He patted the proffered seat clean and I sat on it. Hera laid down in front of me and yawned. I nodded to Rogers in greeting who was sitting beside me.

“Thanks. What’s the fuzz all about.” I examined the people in the room and they were talking animatedly. The buzz of the people’s conversations was loud enough that I adjusted my Auric Mod.

“Thay say thair's is a surprise later. This beder be good. Hehehe. ” He rubbed his hands and his eyes glinted.

“What’s he talking about?” I asked Rogers

“I dunno. The say it’s a demonstration of some kind .” He shrugged.

I took out the activity sheet and there was no mention the topic of the presentation. This was the final event of the conference and I expected more information from the organizers. I checked the time and the special guest speaker was late. We were making small talk for fifteen minutes and the crowd was getting antsy at the delay. Finally, a man wearing a suit approached the mic stand on the stage and tested the audio.

“Mic test. 1.2.3. Good Afternoon. My name is Joffrey Baumhuger, Professor of Zoology at UC-Berkeley. I would like to thank the committee for inviting me to this conference.” He introduced himself with a thin voice. He wore thick black glasses and had a malnourished look.

“He needs to eat more meat.” Rogers quipped and we snickered at the thin professor.

“I am here to discuss alternative methods on the suppression of cored species for eventual capture. We...” I frowned at the professor. Suppress and capture?

“Did he say, suppress?” Rogers asked incredulously

“Capture? What thuh fuk is 'e jawing about.” Miller said loudly and several people looked at him.

“Shush! I’m trying to listen.” I admonished them.

“It is not the fault of the animals when they attack humans and we should prioritize capturing them in the most humane way. We, humans, have encroached on their habitat and we should respect them, not kill them. Animals have rights too and they should be protected as if they were people themselves. My fellow professors at the UC-Berkeley have devised a way to neutralize these innocent animals without killing them.”

“Kay-yun ya believe this fucker!” Miller yelled at the man and the entire room joined with him.

“Fuckin tree hugger. Why did they invite him?” “I guess the animals have more rights than the victims!”

This was utter madness. I recalled how the Onyx Cougar ambushed Deputy Connelly and killed the biker. The cat almost got me too except Hera was there to protect me. The cougar’s method of hunting the two victims was eerily too cunning for a normal animal. The incident still nagged me a lot and it was as if a human planned the attack.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, please let me continue.” He pleaded with the angry crowd and the people quieted down. I glanced at the faces of the hunters and they were not happy.

“Thank you. I know this is hard to believe but I have a demonstration for you. This will rest your doubts. Officer Dubanowski, Please begin.” He announced.

As if on cue, a smug faced Officer Dubanowski entered from the from the side of the stage and supervised a team of men dragging a wheeled steel cage. The sound of shocked voices echoed across the auditorium and I stared at the snarling animal confined inside the bars.

“I, present to you. A Razor Tiger!” He said with a flourish. A snarling tiger was in the cage and it was a foot taller than Hera. It was shaped like a Siberian tiger but it was covered with a dark brown fur instead. I stared at the tiger’s large golden eyes and I could feel the hate coming from it. Hera saw the tiger when she was awakened by the snarls and she tensed up. She growled at the tiger and took off her gloves with her mouth.

“Easy, Hera.” I calmed her down and rubbed her shoulders. She ignored me and I sensed a challenge was being issued to the Tiger.

“I would like to thank Officer Dubanowski for capturing this beautiful specimen. As you can see, he is very agitated and aggressive.” The professor didn’t notice Hera growls and he continued.

“Now, here is the genius of our proposal. A dart filled with nanites.” He held up a modified tranquilizer dart and inserted it into a pistol. “When the nanites are injected into the animal, the nanites attaches to the part of the Tiger’s brain that controls its aggression and suppresses it completely. Please observe.”

We were completely silent and was watching the demonstration intensely. The professor aimed the tranquilizer gun at the Tiger and fired. The dart shot out and it embedded on the dark brown skin of the tiger. The pain of the dart made the Razor Tiger angrier and sparks flew when its knife sized claws hit the bars. The angry cat snarled loudly but after a few seconds, there was a remarkable change in its movements. The tiger became sluggish and it stopped battering the steel bar. The tiger then laid on the floor of the caged and it was completely docile.

“As you can see, the nanites work. We used this method in capturing this animal. To prove my confidence in this method. Officer?” He said smiled proudly and nodded to the officer. The smug man fiddled with the cage and my eyes were filled with horror when I saw him take out the bar panels from the cage.

“Jesus Christ!” “Stupid Fucker!”

The crowd backed off instantly and moved as far away as they could from the uncaged tiger. I couldn’t move because I was holding on to Hera. She was ready to charge the uncaged tiger but I held on tight on her vest.

“Hera, Calm down!” She relented and backed off.

“I’m outta here!” “This is fukin unsafe”

“Ah ain’t gonna be here wheyn that kitty changes its mahnd. Less go bois.” Miller declared. He and his posse started walking to the aisle.

I agreed with him that this demonstration was too dangerous no matter what that egghead demonstrated. I nudged Hera to follow me and I walked to the aisle. The crowd murmured and some people at the back rows started leaving the room.

“No, Don’t leave. It’s entirely safe. See.” The professor walked to the Razor Tiger and he was five feet away from the feline.

I didn’t care what he said and turned away from the stage. As I was about to step on the aisle, a terrifying sound reverberated through the room. I turned my head instinctively at the sound and my worst fear was realized.

*Rooooooooowl* The Razor Tiger snarled and pounced at the professor, pinning him to the stage.