A Day in the Life of a Hunter

As I pulled myself out of my sleep-vision-stories and picked myself up off of the cold- stone- landing ground I took a deep whiff of the cold- lung- biting air. As the sensitive nodes in my nostrils sifted through the confusing color-flavors it picked out one that tasted like the pipe- stinger wielding prey that were at the same time dangerous and tasty.

I grinned and pulled my hood over my head. I grunted to the burn- water spewing large- noise dying brothers that followed me as they attempted to raise their bloated forms off of the floor. The black- noose- tongue- food- stealers that also followed me swung down from their ceiling perches and looked at me. When the bloated burn- water- spewers had finally risen to their feet I took another sniff of the air and immediately pinpointed the location of the red- yellow- meat- sack. Just 1 of them.

I grinned and my flesh biters glinted in the light. Enough for everyone. I crouched and bounded out of the looking hole in the wall. I felt those few seconds of body lightness as I sailed through the air. Then as the world weight started taking me lower I reached my hands out and grabbed one of the smooth shiny- grippers that stuck out from almost all of the once- home- now- not towers and swung myself up onto the top of the nearest once- home- now- not landing spots. The thick-skin- below- flesh- slashers landed first and my world was suddenly backwards as my jump- speed carried me forward and landed me in a crouch.

Not wanting to loose my prey I kept moving toward the color- smell that the red- yellow- meat- sack gave off. Nothing can hide from my hunter's eyes. Then I saw it, a red- yellow- meat- sack standing alone under my perch gripping a pipe- stinger. It moved slowly and carefully. I taste his color smell from here. A mixture of pipe- stinger- stings, red- yellow- meat- sack- not- good- to- eat- paste, and the always-present scent of fear. I licked my lips in anticipation of the coming meal. As I tensed to spring the red- yellow- meat- sack stopped moving and looked around. He yelled and his pipe- stinger let lose with a furious storm of stinger- pellets. There was an agonizing scream and I realized that one of my fast- runner- not- so- special brothers had been killed.

My blood boiled and I pounced. I could have accepted the fact if my fast- runner- not- so- special brother had beaten me to the kill. That was the way of the world. But to have been cut down by a red- yellow- meat- sack was an inescapable wrong. I caught the red- yellow- meat- sack in the back and took him to ground. He tried to bring his pipe- stinger around but I knocked it to the space between two of the once- home- now- not- towers. He rolled over under me as I straddled him and began to mercilessly rip at his pink- meat- that- covers- bone- pipe- stinger- holders. He fought me back and as I lowered my mouth to bite him he opened his sound- maker- without- flesh- biters and I felt a pipe- stinger handle hit me. I rolled to my feet and was caught off balance as a hail of pipe- stinger- stings slammed into my chest. My feet carried me away as the pain became too great to bear. I opened my sound- maker and screeched my loudest hunting call to the world.

I dragged my ruined form into a fast- moving- hit- hard that had long since stopped moving and watched around the corner. There had been five of the red- yellow- meat- sacks. How had I not seen them before? I flexed my flesh- slashers and tensed to spring as the holes made by the stinger sealed over. I knew I could not win but I could take my intended prey down with me. As I crouched to jump I heard a roar and looked around. They had come. My pack had caught up at last and had even snagged a few of my fast – runner- not- so- special brothers. Behind them all trailed one of the ground- shaking- earth- breakers. The red- yellow- meat- sacks pointed their pipe- stingers and yelled something.

The one I had hunted broke away from the group and ran. I noticed that he had white face fuzz. I watched him flee. I stored his face away for later use. I did not want to follow him now. Not when there was sport to be had and revenge to be taken. But a hunter never loses his prey. I would find him again. As my brethren passed I launched myself over my hiding place and landed on another red- yellow- meat- sack and with a sweep of my flesh- rippers knocked the pipe- stinger out of his grasp. The other red- yellow- meat- sacks were starting to panic. One of my black- noose- tongue- food- stealer brethren shot out his food- taker and dragged the screaming and chocking meat- sack up the side of a once- home- now- not- tower. The other two were retreating back and still their pipe- stingers fired.

All this time I had been ripping at the flesh of my prey. His screams had subsided to gurgles and I finished him with a swift swipe of my flesh- rippers across his throat. His sound maker stopped making noise and bubbled with salty- sweet- life- water. Then the ground- shaking- earth- breaker swung his stone- smasher and sent one meat- sack flying. I leaped off my dead prey and snatched him out of the air. I smacked his head open on the black- yellow- stone and saw his thinking juice spill out onto the ground. My fast- runner- not- so- special brethren were already tearing the final meat sack to pieces. As I gorged myself on the dead- like- me- but- not- moving- again- meat- sack I allowed myself to enjoy the meal that I had won. As the last of the sweet- to- eat- meat slid down my throat I sat back and closed my eyes.