10

Ayala ran as hard as she’d ever run in her life into the forest. She didn’t think about anything else – who she was, what she was about to be. For the first time in thirteen years, she didn’t have a single worry about spreadsheets and cookware and relationships – she was simply FREE. She allowed her animal instincts to take over, and she effortlessly skipped over tree stumps,through brush, and underneath branches, moving with a speed and grace that only a Dyani could.

She was so completely lost in the moment that only her lungs broke her reprieve, as she slowed to lean against the bark of an old tree to catch her breath. She took the moment to look around and enjoy the brisk, quiet, beautiful morning. She smiled.

“I’ve missed this.” Ayala said to herself. She’d been so busy with her career – for the last thirteen years, she hadn’t even allowed herself to stroll in the forest;the risk of breaking her sabbatical from her urges, her fantasies, was too great. Through that, she had forgotten how natural a place like this felt, this native connection to nature that was unique to her people.

Just then, Ayala’s frontal lobe caught up to her, and she remembered why she was here, or, more specifically, what was at stake. She crouched down and scanned the forest closely, allowing her ears, nose, and eyes - her enhanced Dyani senses - dial in on the environment around her.

She felt the confidence she had in her first two hunts rush through her body. She was going to WIN this hunt. She was going to walk into work on Monday, collect her severance pay, and make sure Remi got one long, last look at her before she went on fucking vacation.

“Hell, once I find the right job, I’m going to come back and take Lily along, too. But not Rob. Fuck Rob.” Ayala joked to herself.

Ayala’s proud moment was shaken when her ears perked up – picking up a sound in the distance. She found a small cove underneath a hill to hide, nestling into some brush that matched the color of her fur. She waited, and listened, as the sound got closer, and closer. Her heart began to race, her palms became damp with sweat, her pupils dilated.

“Just my luck.” Ayala lamented to herself. “She just happened to go the right way.”

Ayala took a second to plan her next move, plotting out an escape route if needed. She waited, hoping the sound would veer left or right, but it somehow kept getting closer. She realized that if she waited here and was discovered, she’d be supper for sure. She’d have to make a run for it and hope for the best, hope that Remi wasn’t a great shot – although, she realized, that the various trophies on display in her home would beg to differ.

Ayala took off as she heard the crunch of a twig that was just too close for comfort, as instinct led the charge of self-preservation as she dashed through the woods. She expected to hear the flight of an arrow or the pain of impact, as out of the corner of her eye, she saw Remi, standing, bow in hand, but strangely not drawn. Instead of the wisp of an arrow or the thunk of penetration, she heard something else – laughter - echoing through the forest as Ayala rushed out of sight.

Ayala ran and ran, until she doubled over in pain, her lungs feeling so heavy that she thought she’d cough up blood from the strain. But she was relieved when none came, and the familiar sounds of the forest flooded her ears once again. She shook her head, and looked up at the position of the sun – it was less than an hour into this hunt, and she had already nearly been snuffed.

Ayala felt her hand wander down her stomach, past her navel. She felt her eyes roll back into her head and she bit down on her lip, hard. That close call had made her impossibly horny – the sensation, the need for release hitting her all in a moment. One second, animal instinct carried her to safety. The next, she was drowning in insatiable lust.

She couldn’t deny to herself how this experience made her feel. She felt, somehow, alive for the first time in over a decade – valued, a prize worthy of being hung up. She had fantasized about this exact moment SO many times in her life. She let her hand slide further down and begin teasing her clit.

With an exhale, a snort of frustration, she pulled her hand back.

“This is my fantasy, but not my fate. I’m better than this.” Ayala convinced herself as she clutched her mother’s locket, in the same way she’d seen her mother do so many times before.

Ayala took extra care as she began to trot through the woods. This time, she zigzagged her path. She left footprints that led in the wrong direction. She broke branches and left a little fur in places that would lead Remi off her trail. There would be nothing more left to chance – no way to follow her – she would not be caught this time.

Ayala found a tree to rest underneath, and waited. She remembered her first hunt, how she was never seen by her bully. She remembered her second, where she had just one close call. This time would be no different, she thought to herself. She had already won. She could relax, rest, and enjoy the quiet until the sun set on this chapter of her life.

Her hand wandered south again, her cunt eager to be brought to orgasm in this place, just once, but she pulled it back.

“There will be time for that later.” She said to herself. “I’m going to masturbate myself to fucking death when I get home, Promise.”

Ayala waited for what felt like an hour, as she at least expected to hear Remi approach, but go the wrong way. She kept her senses finely tuned on the path she’d laid out for Remi to follow, honed in on that direction, ready to adjust as needed. But, she heard nothing, which wasn’t a bad thing. It just meant that Remi wasn’t as good a hunter as she thought. Ayala allowed herself to dream of the hot sauna she’d soak in when this was all over, while Remi would be left hungry, dreaming of Ayala soaking in her pot. She wouldn’t end up one of the heads on her wall, after all.

Ayala’s spots scrunched together on her forehead, as she thought deeply again, remembering the familiar face on the far right of Remi’s wall. She KNEW her from somewhere, but where? She took the respite to concentrate – and after a spell, a name finally appeared in her head – Raleigh.

She met Raleigh at a Young Dyani’s Conference six months ago. She worked in logistics at a mostly humans shipping company. She was confident, witty, and was quickly rising up the ranks of her company, just like Ayala. They had agreed to stay in contact, but she stopped responding months ago. Ayala assumed she had just moved on, found a better job somewhere else, and they’d connect again, someday.

“Poor Raleigh.” Ayala sighed with an exhale.

Just as she inhaled back in, her nose caught a familiar scent. She couldn’t believe it – not only was it Remi, but she was impossibly close. Ayala slowly turned her head, and with every small rotation of her neck, the scent became exponentially stronger. Just as she finished turning, she saw Remi, standing in the open, bow in hand, arrow in the other. She swore she could see her teeth shining through a sinister grin on her face.

Ayala didn’t waste another second; she hopped to her feet and she was in motion before her head even snapped around. She expected the worst, for sure. Remi had gotten the drop on her, and it was all but over. She might have that reunion with Raleigh after all, if there was any of her left, as they both digested in Remi’s stomach.

“This is it…” Ayala said, closing her eyes, readying herself for the worst as she ran.

Still, eyes closed, body tense, her strong legs carried her. She did not hear the whoosh of an arrow or the string of a bow, but this time, just Remi’s voice, yelling, from behind her.

“That’s TWO!” Remi shouted, her voice echoing through the trees, birds fleeing from their perches at her boast.

Ayala ran so hard this time that when her body did finally quit, she crashed down on the forest floor with a thud, the fallen leaves flying in the air in place. As she rolled over on her back, gasping for air, like a fish pulled out of the water and soon to be slit open, she tried to process how this could be happening. She had hidden, she had covered her tracks, she had thrown her off her trail. How could she be so unlucky? Or rather, how could Remi be so fucking good at this?

"I just don't understand; this shouldn't be possible." Ayala said to herself. She really couldn't process it. Dyani were rarely snuffed in a hunt like this, and yet, Remi had the drop on her twice.

"Third time’s the charm." Remi’s words replayed in Ayala’s soon to be mounted head.

"She's just toying with me...I'm...I'm going to be eaten by her..." Ayala muttered to herself, her body language slumping, tears forming in her eyes. She was desperate for any sign, any hope, anyway out of this. She looked up at the sky, desperate to see the stars, some signal from her people of the path ahead for her. But, this time, a front of dark clouds moving in had obscured her sight, a harbinger of what was to come.

"I'm going to be her…dinner…” Ayala whispered.

Ayala felt her hand slide down her thigh once more, the need for release undeniable.

"...fuck it. I might as well have one."

Ayala slipped two fingers inside her soaked, aching cunt, with the other hand providing perfect pressure as it executed a perfect circular motion on her clit. She worked feverishly to bring herself to climax. The last thing she wanted was be snuffed before she finished; she had dreamt of this exact moment, of this perfect fucking release for so long.

She saw in her mind's eye her meat being served around to her co-workers at the next potluck. She saw them laugh and disregard who she was, remarking that this was the only thing she ever did that mattered. She envisioned her head, with a lifeless, blank stare, mounted on the wall, forever frozen in defeat. She no longer just fantasized about this, or craved it, she fucking required it.

As she erupted with orgasm, she let out a scream that echoed through the wood as waves of pleasure rushed over. She knew she exposed herself, but didn't care. She had to have this moment, and she gave herself every last second of pure, primal pleasure that she could milk out of herself, leaving herself completely exhausted. For the first time, the ping of regret did not overtake her body. Just a cool, quiet acceptance.

As Ayala slowly came down from her orgasm, and the reality of her situation crept in, she heard the sharp sound of a string going taut. Her legs quaked as she slowly stood up, planning to run, but she found herself frozen in place. A vacant, classic "deer in headlights" look flashed on her post orgasmic face as she stared forward and her eyes found Remi just fifteen feet in front of her, bow drawn, arrow ready.

Ayala didn't process another thought before she felt all the wind knocked out of her. She hunched over, her vision blurred, as she tried to focus her gaze on the arrow now lodged firmly in her lung. She went to reach for it, pulled for a second in vain, before crumpling over in defeat, landing face down, ass up.

Ayala felt the taste of blood in her mouth as Remi's boot pressed on her shoulder and ungracefully threw Ayala on her back. Ayala stared into the morning sky, the pain not truly set in yet over the shock, and she noticed the clouds completely obscured the sky, her view considerably darker, a shade cast over her life. Remi smiled, the whiteness of her teeth now the only remaining light in Ayala's future.

"I hope it was good for you, bitch. I let you have it to prove a point. That this is all that you were ever meant for." Remi said coldly.

Ayala responded by coughing up blood, the pain, and reality of her situation, setting in. Her mind began to race, her eyes became wide, and she stumbled to her hands and knees to crawl away. Ayala made it twelve paces before she slumped over on her belly in pain, landing on the arrow and screaming out as she inadvertently jabbed it further inside her. She rushed to lie on her side, quivering, broken, considering surrender.

“This doesn’t make any sense…” Ayala muttered, between heaving breaths that spat up blood. “How could you find me so easily?”

Remi chuckled to herself as she walked over, kneeling down in Ayala's field of vision. "Haven’t you figured it out by now? I’d never leave your destiny to chance." Remi flashed her Smartphone, with an app that looked distinctly like a map. Ayala focused her gaze to realize it was a topographical map of the forest, with a flashing red dot in their exact location.

No, Ayala’s exact location.

"But...that's illegal!" Ayala shouted, before coughing out more blood. “You can’t do THAT! It’s against the law! The hunt has to be fair! You’re going to fucking prison!” Ayala declared, the fury in her voice only tempered by how difficult it was to speak.

"Oh, my little doe. I was hoping it could be OUR little secret. Can you keep a secret for me?" Remi teased, licking her lips.

"...fuck you." Ayala muttered, a look of pain and frustration on her face. Ayala knew the truth now - she'd been cheated. Somehow, Remi had gotten a tracker on her, no, somehow got one inside her, and she never had a chance in this hunt.

"It's okay, really. I've got a feeling you won't be telling ANYONE where you're going. Do you know where you're going next, Miss Dinner?"

"It's Diner." Ayala muttered.

Remi's teasing expression turned to a scowl, a look of disgust forming on her face. She grabbed at the arrow piercing Ayala's lung and gave it a tug. Ayala screamed out, the pain more intense than she could've ever imagined, her eyes wide as saucers as she tried to remain still, lest make the pain any worse.

"No, you're not Miss Diner. You're not anything, anymore, and ever again. You're going in my fucking stomach, right where you fucking belong. You're going to be served next to the mashed potatoes just like your kind has been served for hundreds of years, because that's all you're fucking good for." Remi snarled.

Remi pushed the arrow this time, the blade cutting deeper into Ayala’s body, causing blood to shoot from her side like a squirt gun. Ayala could only scream in agony, her eyes slammed shut, her hope shifting to the realization that this, all of this, would be over, very soon.

"I really don't understand how WE ever let something like YOU ever live among us. But don't worry, I've made it my personal mission to hunt down "accomplished" little does like you and put you in your proper place. You thought you were going to be Sales Lead of Thompson Cookware, but really, you were born to be served in it."

Remi rolled Ayala on her stomach and dropped all her weight on Ayala’s back, crushing the arrow into Ayala's lung. Ayala's head and torso shot up in response, desperate to create some space, and on cue, Remi grabbed Ayala by the chin, pulled her head back, and exposed her neck.

"Now...as much as I'd LOVE to spend all day playing with you, I have an interview to be Head of PC at another corporation next week that I need to study for. So, I'll make you a deal - admit what you are, and I'll end your suffering.”

Ayala could only watch as Remi ripped her mother’s locket from around her neck and threw it carelessly on the ground. She wailed in pain – worse than the pain from the arrow – but from a place deep in her heart, when Remi took an adjacent rock and smashed the locket into hundreds of pieces. Tears ran down her face as she realized that there was no escape from this – that she too was shattered. Remi had won.

"You know what I want to hear. WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" Remi shouted, pulling Ayala's head back further, Ayala feeling her neck may snap any minute from the pressure. Remi flashed the blade of her hunting knife in front of Ayala's eyes, allowing Ayala to see her reflection as conquered prey.

Ayala closed her eyes for the last time on who she once was.

"I'm...Miss Dinner…" Ayala admitted, surrendering control of her identity to Remi.

"Perfect. How FUCKING perfect." Ayala boasted, a maniacal laugh coming over her. Remi’s expression soon turned from jovial to a look of absolute certainty.

Ayala felt the blade jab forcefully on the right side of her neck, being held in place at first, keeping her blood from splashing out.

"Oh, GOD, it's ACTUALLY happening. I'm going to be eaten!" Ayala’s thoughts scream, the last cognizant thought she ever had as her entire body quaked from the sensation of feeling steel in her windpipe.

Remi took her time jaggedly cutting across Ayala’s throat. Ayala’s blood splashed out like a fountain. Her eyes began to glaze over, her jaw locked in that helpless, defeated stare that she’d seen on some many Dyani trophies.

Ayala had fantasized about this exact moment so many times, as she’d imagined to be the hottest sexual experience of her life. But, here, alone, in the forest, she felt no arousal at all. Instead, in her final seconds, she saw her life flash before her eyes. She saw her mother, she heard her mother's song. She felt a sadness, realizing that despite her mother’s warnings, that she would end up...

…and then everything for Ayala went black.