Chapter 3
He’s All That
Victoria was feeling better, and it was hard to deny that she had enjoyed her time off work.
With only two days left, they were finally going on a hunting trip.
It wasn’t that she hadn't enjoyed the gathering and then the fishing, but she loved hunting as well.
When she got back to work, there was no way to be sure that she would be able to go on any of these trips.
That's why she was happy that they were doing it now while she still could.
It was a smaller group than usual because they were doing it mostly for her, rather than because they really needed more meat.
Not everyone who wanted to could go, but others would get the opportunity to go on the next small hunt, and she wasn't sure that she would be able to.
Somehow, Oret managed to go on every hunting trip.
Maybe that was because he was willing to trust his assistants to handle things when he wasn't there, and apparently, they hadn't let him down yet.
He told her she was too controlling, and maybe that was true, but that was the way she was. Maybe she would try to work on that.
The hunters lined up behind them. When they went, Oret and she often led the hunt.
This time, he went first, and everyone followed.
Those hunters at the end of the line were experienced hunters with the best weapons.
That was because they were venturing into areas they had not explored before, and there was no telling what kind of predators might be lurking there, waiting for them.
Inexperienced hunters, especially those in training, were positioned in the middle of the lineup.
Safety first, and that was the most important thing because they couldn't lose any of their people, especially in such a violent way.
Everyone was instructed to be aware of their surroundings and to watch out for those nearby.
It was a surprise when it happened, and they had not even reached the area they were headed to.
There was a horrible scream, and a winged creature like a dog snatched one of the younger hunters off their bike.
Victoria did not hesitate as she shot the creature, and it dropped the child, and one of the other hunters caught him.
Many hunters began learning at a very young age, and this hunter was not older than ten years old.
Thank goodness they had gotten him back without any injuries.
The creature escaped with a wound, but she suspected it would recover.
It was probably not the only creature like this on their planet.
The only other winged creature reported on any other planet had been a winged lion.
The chief would be interested in hearing this.
They were trying to log all the unusual animals so that they would know what they might encounter on new planets when they arrived.
This was the first time this animal had been seen.
It was more dangerous than the other predators so far because it could swoop in and grab anyone at any time.
The reason it had chosen a younger person was that it was not big enough to carry an adult.
That didn't mean that there might not be some of these creatures that were larger and could carry away an adult.
Eventually, they might be allowed to get a few exoskeletons that they could use for exploration, which would be safer than just going out on an air bike.
They were making them in a factory on Jaded now.
The factory also produced other items, so they were only manufacturing a small number of exoskeletons.
They were currently making ones that looked like horses.
If they placed an order, the chief would expedite it due to the presence of this dangerous predator.
That only made sense with the dangers that a predator of that kind could represent.
It was the kids that everyone wanted to protect the most because they could not protect themselves.
At this point, the only thing they could do was continue the hunt and keep a lookout in the sky, as they had been doing.
That creature would probably not return because it had been injured, but they couldn't be sure that other creatures might not appear.
It had been a single hunter, but that didn't mean its kind might not hunt in packs. They knew almost nothing about most of the predators on this planet because they didn’t have time to explore.
The time they had to explore was when they were hunting, fishing, or gathering.
It was only with the group that they could go past the borders of the area where they had protection.
That was brought home by what had almost happened to a young child.
As they crested the hill, a savannah came into view, teeming with animals—including lurking cat-like predators watching for easy prey.
The winged dog held the top predator spot, but the cats were fierce competitors.
Scanning the edges, she saw hunters everywhere; nothing was safe.
Everyone stayed alert, some visibly terrified.
Caution was good, but too much fear bred carelessness, making vigilance even more crucial.
Oret broke the tension by taking the first shot, dropping an elephant.
Victoria, who had worked to save elephants on a now elephant-less Earth, refused to shoot any, her affection for them unwavering.
She knew that the elephant that he had taken out had been lame, and it was possible that it might have died on its own.
Victoria still had no intention of shooting any of them.
When she checked it, it was dead. Now she turned her gun on a gazelle.
She'd been told they tasted a lot like deer, which she liked.
Everyone went wild, and they had a truck filled in no time.
They had been lucky with so many untrained shooters that there had been no accidents.
It was the diligence of the skilled hunters that made that possible.
As much as she loved hunting, it was obvious why it was considered work.
The diligence required to take out the prey while not being taken out yourself made it a job.
Training those who were unskilled was also difficult.
Once they filled the trucks, cleaning and cutting up their kills was a hard job, and even harder when you were training others.
She still loved it and hoped that she would always be able to do it even when she got much older.
Victoria was old enough to worry about what would happen when she got older.
Right now, she was in great shape and could keep up with almost anyone, but that would not always be the case.
Her ability with her knives was probably better than anyone's, except maybe some of her children, whom she had trained.
She'd loved Earth at one time, but it wasn't the Earth that she had known.
Escaping their home planet had been a relief and a blessing.
That was one of the things that motivated her to work hard and strive to make this colony successful.
They owed the chief, and they needed to make sure that he was aware of how much they appreciated him.
Victoria didn't know how he managed to keep up with all the work that he had to do.
All she'd loved Earth at one time, but it wasn't the Earth that she had known.
Escaping their home planet had been a relief and a blessing.
That was one of the things that motivated her to work hard and strive to make this colony successful.
They owed the chief, and they needed to make sure that he was aware of how much they appreciated him.
Victoria didn't know how he managed to keep up with all the work that he had to do.
All she and the rest of her family could do was try to make things as easy on him as possible, as far as this world was concerned.
There were rumors not about the monster moon, which had already been decided, but about the other moon.
She suspected her youngest son, James, would be going there with his small family.
a position, and she knew that meant they would be spread out to the four winds.
There was nothing that she could do about it except hold on to them as long as she could.
Victoria knew that they had to follow their fate wherever it might lead, and all of them were capable and would likely end up in jobs with a lot of responsibility, probably far away from home.
They continued the hunt, and she put her mind on what they were doing.
Another truck was filled, and they took a break from the hunt to gut and cut up their kills.
Victoria didn’t love this part, but she also didn't mind it. She’d done this since she was young, and she was good at it.
Perhaps even better than good, since so few people possessed these skills anymore.
They were training others to do this, and some learned better than others.
Young kids picked up skills quickly, but they trained them in steps. Kids were taught one cut at a time.