Hot 'N' Dangerous

Chapter 54: The Beast Era (Part 2)

A shrill chirp threw me out of my slumber.

"What was that?" I cast a scrutinizing stare at the looming treeline.

"I dunno," Sasuke mumbled, his eyes narrowed in the dim moonlight.

"I'm going to wake Liz, it might be a night hunter," I got up from my sleeping bag and tiptoed over to Liz's still vigilant figure, "Liz, movement," I jerked my thumb back over my shoulder.

"Any idea what it is?" Liz asked, also getting up.

"I think it's probably something moderately sized, probably the same size or smaller than us, according to its chirp. I'm more worried about whether or not its a pack hunter," Liz nodded slowly as she listened to my concerns.

"Wake the camp," she said finally, "Better to lose a bit of sleep but survive than die from lack of vigilance," she shrugged, "I'll take east, you take west," she whispered.

I nodded and we split up, shaking each person quietly, trying not to make too much noise.

"Wuzz goin-" Naruto started to whine loudly but I clamped my hand down on his mouth.

"Sh," I hissed.

I continued to wake everyone until the whole camp had their eyes fixed on the treeline in the distance. A small shrub quivered and we caught the flash of a yellow eye with thin black slits in the moonlight.

"If it can hide in that bush, it's probably something smaller than us. Velociraptor, maybe? Or a Troodon?" I suggested to Liz.

"I'm putting my bets on one of those two," Liz crouched down and reached into her bag, rummaging around for something.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"A flare and a flash bomb tag. I wanna see if I can scare them away," Liz pulled out the two items she had been looking for.

"Wait, maybe they're just curious. Give it until dawn to leave, if they don't leave by then, you can do whatever you want," I looked back at the shifting shadows.

Liz sighed, "Fine, at least we'll be able to see if they decide to attack," she got up but the flare and the kunai with the flash bomb tag tied to it were still in her hands.

We quietly ordered everyone to sit in a line along the north side of camp, facing the forest.

Hana was quivering with fright, "A-are t-t-there lots o-of them, S-sasuke-kun?" she pinched Sasuke's sleeve.

Sasuke shook her grip off, "I don't know, you should ask them," he jerked his chin at us.

The girl made a face at us, it wasn't a pretty one, "Well?" she asked rudely, suddenly not scared anymore.

"Um, we're suspecting that it is about half our height. From what we have learned, these types of carnivores are usually pack hunters," I explained patiently.

"How do you know that they're carnivores?" Hana asked again, flashing us her attitude.

"You little-" Liz started.

"It's okay, Liz," I held her back and turned back to Hana, "I know that they're carnivores because I saw their eyes. Their pupils became slits when hit with light, this most likely means that they can be night hunters. Night vision is needed by hunters, it is very important to them while most herbivores sleep through the night, they usually do not have this ocular ability. Also, I saw that they have sharp teeth," I gave a quick smile.

"From all the way over here?!" she exclaimed, but then realized her face was betraying admiration and frowned to cover it up.

"Yes, I wouldn't want to walk right up to one of those nasty little devils and ask to see their teeth even if you paid me money," I crossed my arms in front of my chest casually.