The Hunter General Part 4: Fight!

Jericho threw back his coat, and drew his heavy shotgun. His Guild training came into play; assess target, clear civilians, take it out – “Hunter Alert! Everyone get down!” he shouted, and shoved a round into his gun with a loud clunk. Panic ensued, but it was controlled and ordered. The citizens of Kinstower were trained from a young age to respond to a Hunter alert in very specific ways, and as Jericho dashed forward they dropped to the deck or huddled against the walls and railing.

The women began to scream as he thundered towards them, but one was cut off abruptly – the Incarnate, now visible to even non-Hunters, snarled and roared, its claws bloody from the fresh kill. One of the group hit the ground, her chest torn apart. The others had already fallen in a faint.

The creature spat blood as he shot from the hip and hit it in the face, he was not close enough! The Guild shotguns were powerful, but they sacrificed accuracy and range for it. As he cranked the chamber for another round, the creature darted forward and its grotesquely deforming arm swung at his face.

Jericho ducked. The claws tore great rends in the wall beside him, but he was already catching his balance and bringing the barrel around to bear on its chest. The gun boomed again – the Incarnate, now six feet tall and still growing, shrieked in pain as the Guild shot burned in its shoulder. Jericho cursed his lack of aim; one good blast to the head should take it down, just one! It moved like a snake and struck him wildly, throwing him back across the deck and into several cowering passengers.

He was on his feet in an instant. The creature snarled again monstrously while he loaded the gun a third time. Then Jericho stepped forward with purpose, intending to finish off this abomination before it attacked any other people.

It leaped away like a cat towards the aft deck, and without a thought he followed. Another blast was deflected by a door, torn paper-like off its hinges and thrown at him. The Incarnate was huge, now, fully eight feet tall with blackened claws and dripping teeth, and it galloped down the hallway towards the engine room, leaving smears of blood and shreds of clothing behind it. The Hunter followed, the pulsing light of the monster a beacon in his mind.

Part 3: Jericho

Part 5: The Command