Page 14 of Hunter’s Harvest

All I heard was “fuck” and “hunter,” but somehow I didn’t think she was asking for me to mate with her.

She chuckled and reached over for one of the food bars. She peeled open the wax wrapping and tossed it over to me. I caught it and took a bite. They were the ones made here on Earth, and they were glorious compared to the fish I never wanted to eat again. She picked up another one for herself.

“Mer-maid,” she said slowly.

“What is a sea-maiden?” Somehow, the word did not translate the same when I said it.

“Half fish, half human.”

I frowned. “I have hunted in the ocean for fish. I have never seen such a creature.”

She raised a brow. “You? Hunt fish in ocean?”

“Affirmative. I am a strong swimmer.”

“Wadaboutdasharks?”

I tilted my head, not catching any of the words.

“Shark. You meet shark?”

“What is shark?”

“Big fish. Predator. Many teeth.”

Ah yes, the sea hunters! I grunted. “Affirmative. Big hunter with many teeth. They are fast. They do not eat hunters.”

“Nevaseenapurpo fish,” she said, grinning. “You like eat fish?”

I made a face. “I do not. But there was not much else. And I did not wish to hunt the animals already trying to survive the scourge on land.”

She nodded approvingly. “Thank you.”

She was thanking me for not hunting the land animals when they were already struggling with the scourge.

“I have spent many hours in the ocean. I have never seen sea-maidens.”

“Not real. Make-believe.” She tapped her brain.

I still didn’t understand what she meant, but she was struggling to eat her bar with her dull teeth, so I held my hand out, requesting it from her. She shrugged and handed it to me. I extended a sharp claw and started cutting it into pieces for her. She leaned curiously and watched as I worked.

“What is make-believe?”

“It’s pretend. Imaginary.

“I do not understand those words.”

“S’okay.” She made a bunch of noise that all sounded like one giant never-ending word.

I must have made a face because she put a hand on my forearm. It was colder than I liked. “S’okay. You’ll see. We go New Franklin.”

She wanted me to go to New Franklin with her. But that would mean letting all the hunters know I was here.

She was speaking again, and all I could catch were a few words. The first was “sister.” Which, according to my less-than-useful translator, was a female who shared parents with her. Then there were the other words she’d said several times: “Ha-low-een-har-vest-hunt.”

Was this a best hunt and a feast? Perhaps going to New Franklin was required after all. I couldn’t continue not understanding my female. I needed to get my translator fixed.

She’d stopped talking and was looking around the shuttle. Something had shifted, and sadness emanated from her. She was thinking about her friends. They mattered a lot to her.