Shifter Hunter

by Dante Steel

  Underneath a bush was a panel. Only Yuna, Gary, and the girls could be able to see it, or so Yuna hoped. She did seem open to admitting that Smaug’s ability to tamper and hack the game surprised and alarmed her. Haru had only ever made excuses.

  As Gary placed his palm on the panel, he considered that he hadn’t seen Haru since Yuna had entered the game. That suited him just fine.

  Despite himself, Gary had to admit that he had grown to care for Yuna. She was a friend. Nothing more. Yuna did still eye him, and of course, she and Olivia flirted. Elena and Nicoletta seemed to think of her as a friend only.

  Yes, he still was attracted to Yuna. Yes, he had a few wet dreams about her since she had rescued them. He refused to masturbate for fear his thoughts would drift to her. The girls weren’t up for making love. Maybe Olivia was, but not the others. Gary wasn’t sure he was either. His body still ached from that fight, and he hadn’t even attempted to use his power since.

  The grass on the hill before him faded as the scanner accepted his palmprint. He opened the door and descended the stairs two at a time.

  More than anything, Gary hated being trapped in the game. He was beyond ready to move on. He wanted to return to his life… so long as that life still included his girls. That was his only worry.

  Well, he did have a few others, like a place to live and a job, but Yuna had said they would help with that. He was trying to think positive.

  The top of the stairs was dark, but the lower he descended, the more he saw the glow from the room below. It was almost like a lair. Yuna had described the place as a technological haven, just one room, and he entered it, expecting to be amazed.

  And he was… to an extent.

  Soft light from orbs illuminated the place, almost appearing as crystal balls. Several computers were set up, high tech ones the likes of which he had never seen before. Everything about the room screamed modern living in their world, completely the opposite of the wild nature of the landscape in Shifter War. While every town in the game had been from a different time period—the Wild West one, a Regency one where they had stuck out badly, and this one, which was based on the ancient Vikings.

  All of that was amazing, but one thing wasn’t. Yuna was gone.

  Curious, Gary walked over to the nearest computer. He touched the mouse, but nothing happened. The screen remained dark. He couldn’t get any of them to turn on, and he wasn’t about to ruin things by touching more than just the mouse.

  Maybe Yuna had grown hungry.

  Hoping that was the case, Gary returned to the town to see if she had come back. He had gotten in the habit of avoiding the gazes of the Viking-inspired NPCs. They tended to fight with each other and anyone and everyone. Gary had learned that the hard way when he first felt willing to walk around town after he rested and ate following the battle.

  The smell of the nearby sea normally made Gary feel happy and hopeful. Now, the salt and the brine irritated him. He entered the tavern, but Yuna wasn't there, so he headed to the inn. She wasn't in her room, either.

  “Did you talk to Yuna?” Elena asked, coming up from behind him. “The others told me you left to see her.”

  “I can’t find her,” Gary said. “She’s not here?”

  Elena frowned as she shook her head. Her long, red hair flew everywhere. “You don’t think she’s been lying about helping us, do you?”

  “No. I found the base. There’s equipment there.”

  “Untouched?” Elena asked. “Did it look tampered with?”

  Gary swallowed hard. “I don’t know.”

  “Let’s go check,” she said, rushing down the hall and banging on Nicoletta’s door. “Come on, girls. Field trip.”

  “What’s going on?” Olivia asked as she and Nicoletta came out to the hallway.

  Gary was already dashing down the stairs. Elena could explain. As soon as he left the inn, he took flight. He couldn’t fly quite as quickly as he normally could, but still, it felt good to use his power again.

  Olivia, arm in arm with the other girls, landed right behind him. They waited impatiently for him to access the panel when Nicoletta said something angrily in Spanish.

  Gary glanced up. All three girls were pale and staring at the top of the hill.

  Heart beating against his chest like a hammer, he followed their gaze.

  "Fuck," he said, backing away to take the last spot in line with his harem.

  At the top of the hill was Smaug.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Correction. At the top of the hill was not just Smaug. He was there with a bunch of werewolves. Smaug must have been missing his dragon pet from the original game because he was riding on the back of one of the werewolves.

  “Don’t panic,” Elena said, her voice surprisingly calm.

  But Gary definitely felt like panicking when the werewolf Smaug sat on turned its head, and he spied the crescent mark over its one eye.

  This werewolf was none other than the leader of the people in the Wild West town.

  “The cursed townspeople,” Gary muttered.

  “What was that?” Olivia asked.

  “The people who were cursed. The NPCs shifters who couldn’t shift.” Gary glowered at Smaug.

  “Do you think he cursed them?” Nicoletta asked.

  “And then saved them so he could twist them to his evil plan,” Elena said.

  “Wouldn’t put it past the bastard,” Gary grumbled.

  “Or maybe he can just hack the game and make the shifters do whatever he wants,” Olivia suggested.

  “I fucking hate that idea,” Nicoletta muttered.

  “No matter where I go, you lot keep showing up,” Smaug said.

  “Uh, more like the other way around, pal,” Olivia said. “I like your pet dog. Can I pet it?”

  “If you want your hand bitten off, then be my guest.” Smaug’s smile was chilling.

  “Dude, did someone bite your dick or something?” Olivia demanded. “You’re such a dick.”

  “Do you want me to rip your tongue out of your mouth? Because I think that is precisely what you are asking for.”

  “Nah, definitely not. Do you need your ears checked as well as your head?”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t aggravate him,” Gary whispered to her.

  "Stalling. Hopefully, Yuna can show up ‘cause I have a feeling we're gonna need her to save our asses again," she muttered back.

  He gulped. They had handled Smaug before and lived, but now, potions weren’t working. Three of them were in the game. The stakes had never been higher, and the foes in this game had already been more than they could handle.

  They were fucked.

  “Look,” Gary said, taking a gamble, “we know who you are.”

  “Do you now?” Smaug eyed him. His dark orbs appeared lifeless. Their archenemy’s presence chilled Gary to the bone.

  “We don’t know how you got here.”

  “How I found you? Easy. Your fingerprints are all over the game.”

  Fingerprints? Gary frowned.

  “How you got to Shifter War,” Elena corrected.

  “Only the top five players were granted access to this elite issue,” Smaug said.

  “The fuck are you talking about?” Nicoletta blurted.

  Gary was too shocked to speak. Were Haru and Yuna conspiring against them behind their backs? But why? Everything from the very start had seemed off, from the moment Gary hadn’t been assigned a superpower. What kind of superhuman game didn’t even give everyone a superpower? And the mages. The wizard. That had bothered Jorge from the start, and of course, Smaug had been given that power.

  The quiz that assigned the superpowers. The fears. All of it was making Gary question if this was all some kind of twisted mind game.

  “Your ignorance is not amusing,” Smaug said. “Only you four have stood up against me. No longer.”

  “Dude, who gets enjoyment from killing other gamers?” Olivia asked.

  “I do.”

  “Try your
hand.” Olivia waved hers and then made a gesture like she was stroking air-cock. “Maybe you’ll realize that sex is a better stress reliever.”

  “You’ve never killed before.”

  “I helped to kill plenty. Dragons, sabre-toothed tigers, a woolly mammoth—”

  “That’s not the kind of killing I’m talking about.” Smaug straightened. Around him, the werewolves grew restless. They wanted to attack.

  Gary called forth his telekinesis. The sight of the twin blue banded circles of light around his wrist and above his hand comforted him.

  "You wish to fight my friends and me?" Smaug smiled.

  “I’d rather talk more,” Gary said, “but I don’t trust you.”

  “My reputation does precede itself.” Smaug buffed his nails against his cloak.

  “As does your previous attacks on our lives,” Nicoletta said dryly.

  “I suppose. Picky, picky.”

  “Where’s Yuna?” Gary blurted. “Did you do anything to her?”

  The girls glanced at him, surprised or upset. Maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned her, but Gary had to know.

  “As I said before, only the top five players are allowed in this elite issue.”

  Gary wanted to punch the smirk clear off Smaug's face. Players? Did he mean Yuna wasn't a player, so she didn't count? Or that she wasn't allowed here? Had he found a way to remove her?

  Had he killed her?

  “Enough talking,” Smaug said. “You bore me. My brethren, attack!”

  As one, the massive wall of werewolves descended down the hill. Gary brought up a forcefield as Nicoletta blasted a small firewall. Some of the werewolves hesitated, but most jumped over it. Olivia took flight, and Elena stepped forward to start hand-to-hand combat with the werewolves. Hand-to-claw?

  So many werewolves, too many to count. Gary tried to see if Smaug remained on the top of the hill, but the battle had begun. He couldn’t waste time looking around, not if he didn’t want to get killed, and he definitely didn’t want that.

  “Time for some fire target practice,” Olivia said. “Ready, Nicoletta?”

  Nicoletta rubbed her gloved fingers over her palms. Her hands hadn't had much time to heal. Why did she sometimes burn when using her power? The previous burns had healed completely, only leaving behind the burnt mark from when she had been a little girl. Would that be the case this time? Chances were high she would re-aggravate the burns she already had, and he hated that.

  “You can do it,” Elena said. As it turned out, the girl made of metal was almost powerful enough to kill the werewolves with a well-placed punch.

  Gary winced as the werewolf she had hit whined and cowered back.

  “Don’t kill them,” he blurted.

  “Are you serious?” Olivia exploded.

  “You don’t understand,” Gary said. “They’re forced to fight us. I know them.”

  “They’re NPCs! They aren’t alive. They aren’t real.”

  Gary knew she was right, but it felt wrong. Never before had any of the enemies they had faced backed away like that. Sure, one of the dragons had stopped chasing them, giving up. That had been because the game told it to stick around in one spot for its quest. These shifters, though, had been manipulated by Smaug. They weren't supposed to be fighting them. At least Gary didn't think so. They were supposed to be town inhabitants. They were supposed to give them quests to embark on so they could become heroes and then megaheroes and superheroes.

  Right now, Gary felt anything but super.

  Olivia was taking point, probably because she hadn’t physically been injured in the other battle. Honestly, at this point, Shifter War felt accurate. This wasn’t just a fight. This was war.

  War against Smaug.

  “Come on, Nicoletta,” Olivia urged. “Elena’s right. You can do it.”

  Nicoletta glanced at Gary. Looking for confirmation?

  He shrugged. This felt so wrong. Maybe he was ridiculous. Maybe he had been inside the game for too long that he felt as if the NPCs were actually people. After all, they interacted with him. That boy, at least he was too young to shift. Gary couldn't handle the thought of—

  Fuck. Some of the werewolves were the size of normal wolves. The other werewolves were three or four times that size. Did that mean the kids were here to fight them, too? The entire clan or pack?

  Nicoletta nodded. “All right. I’ll do my best.”

  She conjured fireballs. Olivia tried to guide them to hit the werewolves. It would’ve been a great plan except the werewolves were smart. They ducked and jumped out of the way. More leaped past the short firewall, and Elena could only handle so many. Gary had kept some of the saber-like teeth, and he fought back to back with Elena. It didn’t matter. The werewolves were closing in, fire be damned.

  And then, it began to rain and not a slight drizzle, either. The rain poured down, dousing the fire, and the werewolves swarmed them, coming at them from all sides as if they were the trash compactor and Gary and his harem were merely pieces of garbage.

  Gary wasn’t about to let them die, not if he could help it. Instead of focusing the forcefield on himself and the girls, he expanded it outward to hold the werewolves at bay. This was much harder to do, what with roughly one hundred werewolves attacking the field, desperate to get inside.

  Olivia landed beside him. “Do you think you can have a second forcefield?”

  “And do what with it?” he asked through gritted teeth.

  “Block the rain.”

  He muttered a curse. “I can try, but I won’t be able to fight outside of keeping them and the rain at bay.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll protect you.”

  She locked arms with him and flew him up.

  When Gary flew, it was natural, fluid. It took effort, yes, but it wasn't truly work. Having Olivia guide him through the air was entirely different. Her flight was graceful, but having her do the heavy lifting made him feel weightless and free.

  “Whenever you’re ready,” she murmured.

  Gary did his best to divide his focus. The clouds above them were just as bright and white and fluffy as they had been all day. Was this just a sun shower? Or was it magical? Either way, Gary had to keep the water at bay. Elena was slowly killing werewolves through the shield, careful to move as fast as possible so that the flames didn’t affect her, too. He couldn’t fight, Olivia was helping him, and right now, Nicoletta was neutralized. Eventually, he would wear down, and the forcefield would be no more. Then, they would be dead meat. These werewolves looked hungry enough to eat them whole.

  The first try at a forcefield to stop the rain didn’t work. The water was just too small and somehow managed to pass through despite his efforts. Gary was sweating from the effort of creating a much deeper, more impenetrable forcefield, but suddenly, that sweat was the only water on him. He had done it.

  “Now!” Olivia shouted.

  This time, Nicoletta threw some fireballs directly at the werewolves.

  “Do you trust me?” Olivia shouted in his ear. It was the only way he could hear her over the growling and rumbling of the werewolves.

  “Yes,” he said without hesitation. “Wait. Why do I feel like that’s the wrong answer?”

  Too late. Olivia released him and flew away. He wasn’t able to make himself fly and maintain the two shields, and he fell…

  …but only about a foot. Then, he hovered in place.

  “Oh, thank God.” Olivia grinned from below. “I wasn’t sure that would work.”

  “I’m your lover, not a Guinea Pig!”

  “Could’ve fooled me. Besides, we’ve technically never made love yet, so… are you my lover?”

  “I’m anything you want me to be.” He grunted. Flying under someone else’s power while not holding on left him feeling vulnerable.

  “Alive,” he thought he heard Olivia say. She grabbed one of his saber-like teeth off the ground and began to fly around and fight the beasts. Elena faced northward, Nicoletta concentrated her fi
re to the southeast, and Olivia had the southwest.

  Did that mean Gary only had to shield the southeast? He started to shift toward only Nicoletta and her werewolves but then remembered Elena was partially metal. He didn’t want her to slip on a slick surface. If she went down at the same time a hole formed in his forcefield, it would be absolutely terrible.

  He could only pull away from the southwest. With Olivia flying around, she didn’t have to worry about the rain so much.

  Unless she lost her grip on the fang. Which she did. While she was outside of his forcefield for some reason. Which she did.

  Gary was about to yank her back inside his protection, but she was already lost beneath a pile of werewolves. One had leaped onto her and dragged her down, and Gary sure as fuck hoped she logged off immediately.

  “We have to kill every one of these fuckers!” he shouted. “Otherwise, when Olivia logs back in, she’ll be dealing with them.”

  “Get your ass down here and fight,” Nicoletta yelled back.

  “The forcefields,” he said, “they’re too important.”

  “Fly me. Then you won’t have to worry about keeping one around me.”

  “But Elena—”

  “Only around her.”

  “The rain!”

  “Trust me!”

  Muttering a curse, he yanked Nicoletta into the air and released the rains. She had to create larger fireballs that were greatly diminished when they hit, but she was still making them effective. Once he was confident she was all right, Gary tried to use a saber-like tooth as he had before, zipping it through the werewolves, but he couldn’t. Not because he still felt for the shifters. He physically—well, telekinetically—couldn’t do it. Gary was just too exhausted. He hadn’t fully recovered from the last battle, and this one was just as taxing.

  He dropped down to the ground and picked up the fang. He had to stay and fight against the werewolves. They crowded around him. He had kept a small circle around Elena, and he only now realized he needed a circle around himself, too. His reflexes were too slow, and one of the werewolves chomped down on his arm.

  Gary opened his mouth, but no scream came out. He was too furious at himself for letting his guard down and too tired to waste time and effort yelling. He shoved the tooth through the werewolf’s eye and sliced the throat of a second werewolf that tried to leap and tackle him. Paws hit him from behind, and he landed face first in the dirt.