Hunter Wars Omnibus Edition (Books 1 - 3)

by SD Tanner

  Studying him coldly, Ruler said, ‘I’m starting to wonder if you’re the man for the job.’

  His lower gut contracted and as sweat began to bead and run down his spine, he asked, ‘Why would you wonder that?’

  With a casual air, Ruler replied, ‘I’ve loaned you ultimate power and all you’re doing is worrying about how to make people happy. You’re not the man I thought you were. I’m quite disappointed in you.’

  Whenever he was away from Ruler, he felt like he was in control of the situation, but the moment he was with Ruler, he was always reminded he wasn’t. Feeling his fear and fighting to stop his hands from shaking, he asked, ‘What do you want me to do?’

  ‘What any decent ruler would do,’ Ruler replied amiably. ‘The way you control a population is not by being nice to them. That just makes them fat and lazy. Ask Mao Tse Tung. He promised the peasants a bowl of rice a day and they all stopped working. Of course, that did result in a famine and millions died, so it wasn’t all bad.’

  He didn’t like where this was leading and asked, ‘People won’t trust me if I starve or hurt them.’

  Ruler laughed and said, ‘I thought you were a smart man, but clearly you’re not. There are many ways to control a population. The one you want to use is where you keep the people ignorant, but happy and they become so comfortable, they never challenge your rule. As a long-term strategy it’s quite effective. However, for fast returns, suppressing people through fear is best, although eventually they do tend to get pissy and revolt.’

  ‘So, you want me to frighten people?’ He asked dubiously. ‘Isn’t that a short-term strategy?’

  Now sounding bored, Ruler replied, ‘I only have a short-term requirement. Plus it’s more fun for me this way.’ He started to walk towards the barracks and said, ‘Come along, Cry Baby. Walkies!’

  He walked with Ruler towards the barracks that currently housed the eight hundred refugees already at the camp. In his mind, he was trying to understand what Ruler really wanted. He figured it was not as simple as control. Ruler already had that over the refugees. For some reason Ruler wanted him to terrorize the refugees, but he didn’t understand why.

  Followed by the sobbing man, they continued to walk towards the barracks and Ruler said, ‘The problem with you is you’re needy and you want people to like you. You must have been an unpopular child. Now you need other people’s approval to have any self-worth. Of course, ultimate power ultimately corrupts and given enough time as the bogus POTUS, you’ll make an excellent despot. You’re naturally needy and greedy and you just lack confidence, but I don’t have time to wait for you to become corrupted. I need you to unleash the inner you.’ Gesturing widely and making the loose hanging skin on his arms clap loudly, Ruler boomed, ‘Be all you can be!’

  When he approached Ruler about taking control, he assumed that was all Ruler wanted. Power over people. Now it seemed Ruler wanted more than just power and he wanted misery and despair. In all the time he tried to win elections he was never motivated by a desire to cause harm. He wanted to be the boss, the one who called the shots and to have others fawn over him and do his bidding, but he never won an election so he didn’t really know what he wanted people to do for him.

  As if reading his mind, Ruler asked, ‘If you could do anything, what would you do?’

  He felt the conversation was taking a disturbing turn and he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Replying honestly, he said, ‘I don’t know. It’s not something I’ve ever had a chance to do.’

  Studying him, Ruler said plainly, ‘I’m not offering you the chance to be a bogus POTUS. That’s just a title. I’m offering you the freedom to satisfy your every whim, your every desire, no matter how unreasonable, inappropriate or pointless it may be.’ Smiling benignly and with a sweep of his claw-like hand, Ruler said, ‘I’m offering you a taste of what it’s like to be me. A little slice of heaven, if you will.’

  The opportunity to do anything he wanted, whenever he wanted and to have everything he could imagine at no cost to himself. He’d never thought about living that way. His life was one long series of compromises and had always been less than he dreamed.

  Sensing his horizons expanding, he smiled and asked, ‘What of immortality?’

  Ruler smiled back at him and said silkily, ‘As you wish.’

  This conversation cast a whole new light on his plans and he couldn’t quite get his head around how he could use this opportunity. It crossed his mind if he were to do exactly as he pleased there might be consequences Ruler couldn’t control. The refugees might object and they might even kill him.

  Again, as if reading his mind, Ruler said, ‘Of course you’ll need a Pretorian Guard.’

  Surprised, he asked, ‘What? As in an Emperor’s personal army?’

  ‘Well, you will be an Emperor won’t you?’ Ruler asked with cunning look.

  He visibly straightened his spine, pulled his shoulders back and said bossily, ‘Yes, I will be.’

  He watched as five hunters walked out of a nearby building and approached them. One was wearing body armor and the other four were typical bald hunters. This was the first time he’d ever seen them up close and he studied them with interest. The one in armor looked the same as the others except it had blue on blue eyes.

  Curious, he asked, ‘Why’s that one wearing armor?’

  Ruler casually glanced at the armored hunter and said, ‘Human bodies are annoyingly fragile. They are too easily damaged.’

  ‘And what about the others?’ He asked. ‘Can’t they be damaged?’

  Ruler smiled indulgently at the hunters and said, ‘No, they have been transformed into killers. Shame they’re so stupid. These five will act as your guard. If any harm comes to them, there are plenty more where they came from. They will obey your orders. Use them however you wish. They’re yours to command.’

  Five of them didn’t seem enough and he asked, ‘And if I need more than five?’

  With a barking laugh, Ruler said, ‘Don’t worry, my pretty pet. There are millions of hunters for you to use. If you break these, I’ll get you more.’

  ‘How do I get you to do that?’ He asked.

  With an angelic smile, Ruler replied, ‘Just wish upon a star.’

  CHAPTER EIGHT: Home is where the heart is (Woman)

  The swarming flies formed angry, buzzing black mounds over the dust and rock covered land. As the woman walked to one of the black mounds, she disturbed the flies and they lifted into the air like a black blanket, revealing the decomposing body of a hunter. Looking across the barren land, the woman saw there were many such mounds and she assumed they were all dead hunters. My home is not good, she thought unhappily.

  The only evidence of the original house was the outline of the foundations topped by unrecognizable ash-covered angular structures. A long and now black metal fence was the only legacy of the original Ranch that appeared to be intact. Continuing to walk across the area, the woman found a collection of burned out vehicles and trailers where all that was left of them were rusted metal skeletons. She poked at the remains with her foot and a human skull rolled out from under a piece of corrugated iron. She sighed and thought, my home is a graveyard.

  Walking further still, the woman found a pit filled with human body parts that were now so rotted it was impossible to know whether they were put there in pieces or exploded where they lay. Navigating around more hunter corpses, the woman found a large blackened pit with a horizontal skewer running through the middle. Walking to the center of the pit, she felt the coldness of ice rolling up from the soles of her feet, creeping through her legs and into her body. Puzzled, she looked down, but couldn’t see where the coldness was coming from. This place is wrong, she thought, what’s happened here?

  She walked away from the coldness of the pit and looked across the land she knew was once her home. Something bad happened here, she thought. Anxiety and sadness filled her and she decided, this must be fixed, it cannot be left as it stands, this is my home.
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br />   ‘Ip!’ A voice called.

  At the sound of the voice, she turned and saw a tall, well-built and tanned young man striding towards her. He had a mop of brown hair with a strongly structured face and he trotted up with the bulldog walk of a soldier. Like her, he was wearing black sunglasses that wrapped around his face, blocking all natural light. Catching up to her, the young man wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her in a tight bear hug.

  Pulling off his sunglasses, he peered at her intently and asked worriedly, ‘Are you okay?’

  She didn’t know this man and didn’t want to be touched by him. Wriggling out of his grasp, she pushed him away with both hands and sternly asked, ‘Who are you?’

  The young man smiled happily at her and said, ‘I’m Mackenzie. And you’re Ip. Thank God you can talk. I hate this whole telepathy thing, I’m never sure if I’ve understood right.’

  Not really knowing who the young man was, she assumed he must be the golden star she spoke to in her mind, but she didn’t recognize him and she asked, ‘I am it?’

  Still grinning at her, Mackenzie said, ‘No, your name is Ip.’

  Having never heard the name before and not believing it was hers, she said bluntly, ‘I do not have a name.’

  Reaching for her hand, Mackenzie said happily, ‘Yes you do, but you don’t remember it. Your name is Ip.’

  He wanted to meet her and she’d come, but she didn’t know why and she asked, ‘What do you want? Why do you want to meet me?’

  Suddenly looking concerned, Mackenzie said, ‘Come with me and we’ll talk. I’ve been worried about you.’

  Led by Mackenzie, they walked to an RV that was parked next to a small pond about a mile from the ruined house. The RV was the size of a bus. Inside it was a long narrow room with a padded built-in sofa and matching armchairs with a kitchenette at one end and the driver’s bay at the other. At the back of the RV, there was a highly polished wooden door.

  ‘Nice, huh,’ Mackenzie said cheerfully. ‘It’s got its own bathroom and shower. The chemical toilet works, but the shower doesn’t. You have to wash in the pond, but with so few animals and people, the water is nice and clean.’

  Looking at the comfortable furnishings, she said slightly accusingly, ‘You should have given me a ride here. I would have got here faster.’

  ‘I didn’t know how to find you,’ Mackenzie replied apologetically. ‘I only knew you’d come here, but you made it okay.’

  She made it, but others who threatened her hadn’t and she said bluntly, ‘People died. Bad people who wanted to hurt me.’

  Looking serious, Mackenzie said gravely, ‘It’s the way of the world now, Ip. You either defend yourself or you die.’

  She knew this to be true. The killing didn’t bother her, but if she had to choose, she’d rather not have to kill. Mackenzie pulled off his dusty boots and padded to the kitchen where he got two bottles of water from the fridge and handed one to her.

  Sitting down on the plush sofa, she tucked her legs under her and after taking a swig of water, she asked, ‘Why am I here?’

  Mackenzie sat down in the generously padded armchair opposite her and said, ‘I saved your life.’

  ‘I do not remember that,’ she replied.

  ‘You wouldn’t,’ Mackenzie said. ‘I saved your life by killing you, and now I need you to save the others.’

  That didn’t make any sense to her and she said, ‘You cannot save a person’s life by taking their life.’ As an afterthought, she added, ‘I would kill you for killing me, but I am not dead.’

  Mackenzie shook his head and said, ‘I shot you through the head. I hope it didn’t hurt.’

  This strange man was beginning to annoy her and she said sharply, ‘Make sense fool or I will leave. I have no interest in nonsense.’

  Laughing, Mackenzie said, ‘You never talked before, but we worked together a lot scavenging with Pax and the shooters. I always wondered what you would say if you could talk. Now I know.’

  Deciding all he had to say was nonsense, she untucked her legs and stood up to leave.

  ‘Woah!’ Mackenzie exclaimed holding his hands up to her. ‘Ease up. I’ll explain.’

  She sat down and watched him intently.

  ‘We were both infected with a designer virus,’ Mackenzie explained. ‘As a result we have a counter virus that kills hunters on contact, but the designer virus interacted with our DNA and it has a different impact on each person. My brain was modified by the virus and I have precognition.’

  Precognition meant he could see the future and surprised, she asked, ‘How do you see the future?’

  Now looking unhappy, Mackenzie said, ‘There are always many futures, Ip, and I can see them all. I saw your future if you lived. Everyone you loved died, but if you died then you would be reborn and the ones you love may live.’

  She didn’t understand and asked, ‘Who would have died? Who are these people I love so well? And why did I have to die so they may or may not live?’

  ‘Gears, Pax, TL, Captain Ted, Nelson, everyone,’ Mackenzie replied. ‘If you died, they may get to live.’

  These were not names she knew, she had no idea who Mackenzie was talking about, and she asked, ‘Are they humans?’

  Sounding worried, Mackenzie asked, ‘Don’t you remember any of them?’

  She shook her head and said, ‘Why would I? I have never met them.’

  Now looking dismayed, Mackenzie said, ‘Yes you have. You lived with Gears, Pax and TL.’

  ‘Who are they?’ She asked.

  ‘They’re brothers who set themselves a mission to destroy all hunters and restore order,’ Mackenzie replied.

  Looking doubtful, she asked, ‘And I lived with these three men?’

  Mackenzie smiled and said, ‘You were only romantically involved with Gears.’

  That was even more surprising to her. She didn’t recall ever having any romantic involvement with anyone, but she had no cohesive memories of anything before waking alone in the white room and sounding surprised, she said, ‘I had a romance? I do not remember.’

  Watching her intently and with a worried look, Mackenzie asked, ‘What do you remember?’

  Answering simply, she said, ‘I remember being in a white room, walking outside, talking to you, travelling here.’ Still confused by what Mackenzie told her, she asked, ‘Who did you kill?’

  Mackenzie sighed and said, ‘You. I killed the body you were in. I knew you would be reborn. I saw your future if you died, but I didn’t realize you wouldn’t remember anything.’

  Looking put out, she said, ‘You killed me because you had a dream.’

  Sounding frustrated, Mackenzie said, ‘They’re not dreams, Ip, they’re visions of the future. I saw your future after I killed you and this is that future. I even knew what you would look like. I just didn’t know where you were, but I knew you would come here. You actually look a lot like your previous self.’

  She couldn’t understand why he placed so much confidence in a dream, but it did appear his dream was accurate. Even so, she thought, he couldn’t possibly have been so sure and she said bluntly, ‘That was a risky tactic. What if you did not have precognition? What if you were just insane?’

  Mackenzie shook his head, smiled and said, ‘No, I can see the future. Decisions we make now change what I can see.’

  If that was true then Mackenzie should know what would happen next and she asked curiously, ‘So what happens now?’

  ‘There are multiple futures,’ Mackenzie answered. ‘Which one will happen depends on what you decide.’

  She didn’t know she had a decision to make and asked, ‘Decide about what?’

  ‘About humans,’ Mackenzie said.

  ‘What about humans?’ She asked.

  Sighing, Mackenzie said, ‘The problem with killing you is it’s wiped your mind clean. The previous you decided you were human and you sided with the humans against the hunters. The new you has yet to decide, so there are multiple futures. Which one
is true will depend on what you decide to do. Side with the humans or side with the hunters, or side with neither.’

  ‘What happens if I side with the hunters?’ She asked curiously. ‘Or with the humans?’

  Mackenzie shook his head and said sternly, ‘I can’t tell you that, Ip. It might influence your decision.’

  She huffed and asked rudely, ‘I think shooting me in the head influenced the future, so why is that a problem now?’

  ‘That was different,’ Mackenzie replied. ‘If you could remember, you would have gladly died to save the people you love.’

  She huffed again and said dourly, ‘You think I would have chosen to die for a romance I cannot remember. If it were so important, I would remember it. You took a big risk killing me.’

  ‘No,’ Mackenzie replied. ‘There was no choice. If you lived then the future was known and everybody died. If you were reborn as you are now, there’s a chance you will choose to side with the humans.’

  It seemed drastic to kill someone to avoid a future. She wondered what would make her do something like that and decided it would be an act of desperation and said, ‘You were desperate for a solution.’

  Looking relieved she understood, Mackenzie said earnestly, ‘Yes and I still am. You have free will, Ip, and you need to decide what you want to do.’

  She huffed and said bluntly, ‘I think you cast enough of my future by killing me. From now on, I will make my own decisions and I am not human so why do I care about humans?’

  ‘Neither of us are human, Ip,’ Mackenzie said. ‘But I choose to side with the humans. If the humans lose there is no hope.’

  ‘No hope for what?’ She asked.

  Looking worried, Mackenzie said, ‘Hope is not a specific thing. Hope is a feeling. Humans have an infinite capacity for hope and without that there’s nothing here, but existence.’

  She was confused, but she knew with or without hope there was life and said, ‘Existence is life. Without hope there is still life.’

  ‘No, Ip,’ Mackenzie said firmly. ‘A tree has life and it exists, but it has no joy. It just is. Without hope, there’s no faith and without faith there’s no joy. If we lose hope we have nothing.’