She was pretty sure that many of those that hunted them would go after Lisa first. It sounded like they were required to fight amongst each other in order to win a woman for themselves.

Jo had left herself in the open so hopefully this would mean a whole lot of fighting before they continued to chase them. Some of these men would then go after Lisa and some would come after the three of them. It was horrible to think that way but it was true. The other two women might end up buying them some time.

What then?

What if they did manage to escape? Would the wild animals get them? Or the elements? Julie couldn’t think like that. One step at a time, one minute at a time. If it came to it, she would fight. They would all have to fight.

****

The male next to him bellowed as they caught sight of the female. A whole chorus of males shouted out behind him. Coal kept going.

What was the female doing?

Why was she still at the drop off point? She should have been miles away by now. This could only mean that she had decided not to run. She’d given up, before she’d even begun. As Coal grew closer he could hear that the female was crying, whimpering. She pulled herself into a tight ball. It reminded him of when Inferno had been a young boy. His brother would cover his eyes and just because he couldn’t see anyone, he would truly believe that others couldn’t see him as well. Coal felt saddened. He felt sorry for the female. At the same time though, she irritated him. There was no fighting spirit within her. No drive.

He slowed. What should he do? There was only one other male closest to him. Granite. The male was strong as nails but he wouldn’t expect Coal’s attack. He didn’t have his entourage with him. Mistake.

It would be easy to dispatch of the male to take the female for himself. She was his for the plucking. The only problem was, he didn’t want her. This was not the kind of mother he wanted for his children. If all the humans were similar to this one, he was in a world of trouble.

There were four more females. Four females that had actually chosen to partake in the hunt. This one seemed broken and useless. Even further down the food chain than a gazelle. At least a deer had the decency to run. To try. Still, it saddened him to see her like this.