I'm Fragile Right Now!!!

Bill pulled a rabbit from his snare with a cold smile and placed it in his game bag. The rabbits had been a bit scare lately, probably because a lot of people were trying to get as much money as they could in order to stock up for winter, and it was the only the third rabbit he'd caught in his twenty or so strategically placed snares. Of course, someone might be stealing them but, if they were, they were good at hiding their tracks. He reset the snare and then moved on. Today he wanted to try and get a deer, or else something pretty big. It would be good to have enough money to feed the family over winter, as well as stash a little bit away for himself. He knew that he would soon go crazy if he didn't get out of here, even if no one else did, and he would need some money and supplies to survive out there.

The high pitched voice of a young girl cut clearly through the still morning air and Bill cursed under his breath. Not only was she scaring away the game, but it sounded as though she was getting towards the deer pit that one of the old gits from the other side of town had installed. Admittedly, it was on a deer track, but the subtle signs that the hunters left each other were a lot more subtle than normal. If this girl was stupid enough to be scaring away the game, then the chances were that she wouldn't be able to see the signs.

As much as he wanted to ignore the girl and just pretend that he hadn't been anywhere near the area, Bill knew that letting her fall into the deer trap would definitely set the Peacekeepers back onto him. He let out a light, rather theatrical sigh and then began jogging towards the sound of the singing. The girl had already scared away the game, so what did he care? Besides, it's always a good idea to let oblivious people know that you are coming, just in case they are both armed and paranoid. More than one life had been lost as a result of someone not being loud enough.

Slowing down to a fast walking pace as he approached the girl, Bill quickly summed her up. She was unnaturally short for someone with a voice like hers, so either she was a young girl with some freakish genes or she was a older teen or young woman who hadn't lost her child's voice yet. Judging by the way she walked, dressed and the backpack that she was carrying, the girl was probably no older than 14 and most likely didn't come from a hunting family. Even accounting for her clothes being too big for her, the girl could probably loose a little weight and had already lost most of Bill's respect. He hated anyone who didn't know what it felt like to work from before dawn until dusk every day just to feed a family. Her parents probably supported the Capital in secret.

The girl was only a few paces from the deer trap when Bill finally caught up to her and, in order to stop her from going any further, he laid a hand on her shoulder. No matter how Bill had disparaged her in the past, even he would admit that the girl was good at screaming. Tightening his grip, Bill jerk the girl off to one side, aiming to have her land against one of the trees that bordered the path. He was a little bit rougher than he had to be, mostly because of the screaming, but also because he didn't want the stupid girl from fleeing in the direction of the trap. At least this way he would have time to put himself between her and the deer trap.

And there morning was going so well, too.

Instead of running off or cowering against the tree, the girl attempted to slap Bill, who casually blocked her blow and then proceeded to ignore her little rant. He could now see that she was a freakishly tall girl, probably twelve or thirteen, and was definitely well fed. How dare she walk walk her fat backside through this forest, scaring away the game and then act as if he, the person who had saved her life, was somehow at fault. Well, he would teach the moronic child a little bit of field craft and sober her up a little bit. It was tempted to teach her a lesson by forcing her to walk into the pit and then hold her above the spikes, but that would probably end in a death sentence for him. Not for the first time, Bill decided that he hated kids.

As the girl continued to rant, Bill knelt down on the ground and picked up a crushed leaf with two sticks threaded through it. The girl, Kathrine according to her rant, had been standing on it when he had pulled her back and, as a result, it was pretty much in pieces. Now, if only the stupid old man had placed a red ribbon on a branch overhanging the trap, this might even have been avoided. Even the most incompetent of the townsfolk should be able to recognise that sign.

The girl finally finished yelling at him and, knowing that someone was approaching from off at the side, Bill decided that this was the most opportune time to start his lesson in fieldcraft. With any luck the other person would be a fellow hunter who would share similar feelings about townsfolk and the improv lesson could very well be passed onto their shoulders. Of course, knowing his luck, it was probably the girl's father or a Peacekeeper. In either case, he was probably going to get knocked around a little and would loose a fair chunk of the day making statements and explanations. Still, maybe this act of random kindness would earn him a little bit of favour with the Peacekeepers. One could only hope.

Holding the leaf up and passing it over to the girl, Bill began his lecture.

"That leaf is a universal sign amongst hunters, such as myself, for a deer trap, which is basically a giant hole in the ground with large, sharp sticks stuck in the ground. You were standing on that leaf when I pulled you back from the edge of the pit."

Bill moved over and poked a little hole in the covering of the pit to prove his point.

"I guess that you were too busy scaring off all the game with your singing to notice. Now, normally there is also a red ribbon hanging on a branch above the pit, but this isn't always the case and so, when walking on such a blatantly obvious deer track, it is always a good idea to keep an eye out for signs such as that.

"Now, seeing as you've pretty much ruined the current sign, you have to make a new one."

The trademark wolfish smile crossed Bill's lips for a second as he said this, and then he continued.

"I'm pretty sure that even a soft townie like you can manage a task like this."

The girl didn't seem so bad. Once she'd found out what Bill had done, she seemed to mellow, and even offered up an excuse as to her behaviour. Another person might have softened up a bit, but Bill found himself staying hard. After all, he had no idea how to actually treat the girl now that she was being nice and apologetic. Well, perhaps he could tone down the sarcasm a little bit. After all, he did understand what it was like when a family went through a rough patch, even if he didn't think that that excused Kathrine's actions any.

"Look, my family is going threw a rough time right now. And-"

Kathrine broke off just as Bill realised that the footsteps had stopped. He imagined a Peacekeeper standing crouched in the bushes, looking at him down the sights of a gun, just waiting for an excuse to open fire. Well, he definitely wasn't going to appear nervous. He turned back to Kathrine, painfully aware of the prickling sensation that he always got between his shoulders when he knew that someone with potentially hostile intent was watching him. Only when he faced her did Bill realise that Kathrine looked more uncomfortable than he was.

"I can make you a new sign. There, perfect substitute for a red ribbon. Now, I think we need to leave. Someone's here & they may not be friendly."

Bill was just about to take the jacket back down form the tree and give it to the girl, having a ribbon of his own and knowing that someone would probably take the jacket the first chance they got, when he saw the girl glance at the shadow of the hidden stalker and turn back with a look of horror on her face. Up until now he'd dismissed her nervousness as either paranoia or perhaps guilt at being out in the forest, making a fool of herself. Now that he saw the look on her face, Bill knew that Kathrine was deathly afraid of something. He wondered what a young girl like her would have to fear, and the few options that came to mind weren't very pleasant.

Nevertheless, despite any misgivings that he might have, Bill knew that he couldn't let the girl run off. If the person hiding behind the tree was a Peacekeeper and the girl had committed some great crime, it would be a bad idea to help her escape, even if he didn't know that he was doing that. He needed to find a way to stop the girl from running, while keeping her safe if the lurker really wasn't friendly.

"Kathrine, get behind me."

Having made his mind up, Bill walked forward, putting himself between the Kathrine and the lurker. His hands were by his sides, but he knew that he could draw his hunting knife and stab the lurker if they rushed him. The wolfish grin returned again, but didn't leave Bill's lips, this time. His eyes were just daring the stalker to try something stupid.

"Who the hell are you, and what do you want?"

The hidden man called out to Bill, anger controlling his voice.

"You've messed with my family once too often. I'm going to enjoy cutting you up."

Messed with family once too often? Bill had never seen this man before, let alone interfered with his family. Unless...A quick look back at Kathrine confirmed the suspicion that had just formed. They had similar facial features, and Kathrine obviously knew the man from somewhere. In theory, he should just stand down and get out of the way in order to prevent a conflict. And yet the terror on Kathrine's face stopped him. It wasn't just the fact that anything that happened to Kathrine would probably blow back on him that kept Bill standing in front of her. The idea of one family member being able to terrify another so easily and without actually doing anything overt caused him to feel indignation and anger.

"Be careful. This man will hurt you."

Suppressing his anger, Bill digested this new information and allowed the cold smile on his face to grow He would take so much pleasure in killing this S.O.B if he attacked. Bill's hand moved idly to the hunting knife on his belt as he took a step forward, the move of an aggressor rather than that of an easy target. He could feel the adrenaline flowing through his bloodstream and his senses being enhanced. Features of the forest suddenly became clearer and Bill found that he could hear his opponent breathing. Without knowing that he was doing it, Bill shuffled his left foot moved forward slightly and shifted his weight back to his right foot. He began anticipating stabbing his opponent and cutting him up.

As high on adrenaline as he was, Bill still had enough of a sense of self-preservation to yell back to stalker. He knew that he had to shout a warning, just in case someone was coming and heard it. That way, when he killed the stalker, he couldn't be charged with murder. That was all it took, a simple warning.

"I'm warning you! I will fight back if you try to kill me, and I won't let you hurt Kathrine. This is your one and only warning!"

"Move away from Kayla & you get out alive."

Kayla must be Kathrine's family's pet name for her, unless she had been less than truthful when she'd told him her name. Well, that would have been fair enough. He didn't exactly instil a sense of safety in anyone. And yet, he sensed that Kathrine was starting to move up beside him. Either she had no idea of the danger she was in or she doubted his skill. It was hard for Bill to work out which idea irked him the most. If it was the first, then it was going to be hard to keep her out of harms way, but the second was an affront to the skills that he had built up over the year. Of course, he hadn't exactly been in a knife fight before, but it wouldn't be much different from chasing down a deer and killing it with a knife, except that this deer could fight back.

"You have no right to kill anyone, and especially not someone like Kathrine."

Bill glanced down at Kathrine quickly, and noticed that she was reaching towards her knife. Turning his attention back to the stalker, Bill carefully reached out with his left and and brushed her hand away from the knife and motioned for her to get behind him. He wasn't sure what their attacker was going to do, and it was conceivable that he would dash in, attack Kathrine and then run off before Bill could hurt him too badly.

"Get behind me, and don't draw until he does, unless you want to give him a legal excuse to attack. If you're going to attack him, wait until I've got his knife hand occupied."

What Bill didn't say was how he would keep the man's knife hand busy. In all likelihood, the man's knife would end up in his chest and Bill would ahve to try and stop him from doing too much damage. That was assuming that the man came at him with the knife grasped in a typical knife hand grip. If he used an icepick hold, then Bill had no clue as to what he should do. Perhaps he could get under the man's reach and then thrust up under his ribcage. That was a risky move if the man was aiming for his neck, but that was just about all that Bill could think about doing in such a situation.

And what would he do when the man stuck him in the chest? That was the real question. Bill decided that he would keep his knife low and, when the man began to stab him, he would stab the man about an inch below his belly button and then slice up towards his left hip. That should sever an artery and cause the man to bleed out quickly. Additionally, no man would ever feel comfortable with the possibility that their nether regions might be cut up. Hopefully those two factors would combine to give Bill and Kathrine enough time to get out of there and find a Peacekeeper. As hard as he found it stomach, he did need the Peacekeepers right now if he wanted to survive for very long.

The stalker and Kathrine had a yelling match, allowing Bill to sum up his enemy. He would be big, probably in excess of six feet tall, and would be built like a bull, as he definitely seemed to have the temper of one. That little bit of information was both good and bad for Bill. He knew that he could think more objectively about the situation than the stalker, but the stalker would probably be able to shake off quite a bit of damage, probably without even realising that he had taken it. Om the other hand, Bill was not someone who could take a lot of damage. He might be able to keep on going with a couple of stab wounds to his stomach just from sheer perseverance, but it wouldn't take much more to floor him. This was going to be an interesting fight.

The stalker charged and Bill drew his knife. The man was big, at least six inches taller than Bill, and was absolutely ripped. Despite the cold eyed, animalistic look on Bill's face, his heart skipped a beat as he realised what he had just gotten himself into. Then, as a large dagger came for his throat, Bill bent his knees, taking his head down below the arc of the knife, and launched himself at his opponent, hitting him with his shoulder, just under the man's solar plexus. The man barely moved, although he did crumple slightly, bending over Bill's shoulder slightly. Bill, on the other hand, felt the impact more acutely. The shock of running in such a solid mass of muscle jarred him and distracted him enough that he forgot to jam his knife in the man's groin.

Pain erupted in Bill's back as the man plunged his knife down, breaking a couple of ribs and puncturing a lung. Screaming in pain, Bill straightened himself, smacking the top of his head against the man's chin and making it awkward for him to extract the knife. Bill also took the opportunity to jam his knife below the man's belly button and rip it through stomach muscles and the large intestine. The knife finally smacked against the man's hip bone, and Bill realised that the man had screamed with pain the second he had been stabbed. Knowing that the man would still be able to fight and might still be able to kill him, Bill yelled at Kathrine.

"Get behind the bastard and cut his throat!"

Then Bill made sure that he was standing straight and wrapped his left arm around the man's right arm, keeping the knife in his back. Hopefully the stalker wouldn't be able to wriggle his hand around enough to cut anything up and, hopefully, Kathrine would kill the man quickly, because Bill could already feel the blood starting to work its way up his throat and, once that started, it would be difficult to keep the blood out of his other lung. It was already getting hard to breath and Bill realised that now, more than ever, his survival depending on a girl whom he had deemed soft and unworthy of being in the forest.

Bill was surprised with the cleanness of the cut Kathrine made. It wasn't just a shallow cut across the windpipe, it was a deep slice that completely severed the windpipe and opened up the carotid artery. He could tell all of this while still looking at the ground because the stalker's blood was now flowing freely down Bill's face, neck and back. It was warm, sticky and, even though he knew that he should enjoy that particular feeling, Bill relished it. Still, as soon as the man let go of the knife to clutch his throat, Bill took the opportunity to dodge out of the way. He didn't know how much damage had already been done, but it could only get worse when the man realised that he was dying and started thrashing around uncontrollable.

The extra exercise had allowed a trickle of blood to get into Bill's good lung and he had a brief coughing fit, until the pain get so great that he forced himself to stop. He felt as though he was choking, but to keep on coughing would mean more pain than he could handle. The pain had served, though, as a way of breaking his concentration enough for him to take stock of the situation.

With the stalker dead, Bill knew that he had to get some medical attention if he was to survive. They were, what, a kilometre or two from town and there was no way that he could make it in his current condition. Kathrine would have to run into town and tell the story. The Peacekeepers would probably keep him alive for at least as long as it would take for them to arrange his public execution and, possibly, longer if they somehow believed him when he told them about what happened. Perhaps the stalker had a worse criminal record than he did. That would make things easier. And, of course, Kathrine would vouch for him.

Suddenly wondering how Kathrine was, Bill looked around until he found her. He wasn't sure if she'd even moved since she'd killed the stalker, his thoughts were becoming more and more befuddled even as he was thinking this, but he could see the blank stare in her eyes and knew that she'd gone into shock. He swore mentally and then called out to her, not sure if she would even hear him.

"Oi, Kathrine, are you still with us?"