When they killed the bear something caught the scent of the blood when they found the carcass picked clean it was irritated. It became dedicated to following the lingering scents to find something else to fill its stomach. It was walking into the grasslands as the moon illuminated its figure.
It was a tall woman with shaggy brown hair and fluffy ears atop her head. She is wearing a skimpy tribal garb around her waist while glancing around eagerly. Having picked up the scent there was a large smirk on her face that displayed a set of razor-sharp teeth. From her bicep down, and covering her thighs was thick orange fur with tiger stripes. The woman is a jinko, and having closed in on the scent her trail began swaying with excitement as she disappeared into the dark.
The jinko was creeping through the grass encroaching their shelter and was carefully observing their defenses. The feral felt no mana but saw the front of the cave was well guarded. Being hungry her strength wasn't at max, and fighting so many in a choke point could prove fatal. She cautiously waited till morning without moving a muscle.
Once the sun rose they were preparing to move out to gather supplies, and increase their fortifications. As they began pouring out of the cave the jinko crept forward to the edge of the grass. A small group of four was creeping within range as she lept out rapidly eviscerating all those in place. The jinko moved so fast they didn't even get a chance to shout. The only reason the others knew what happened was the squelching sounds and a strong scent of blood wafting in the air.
"Get in the cave!" Taylor shouted retrieving her pistols.
Seeing everyone scrambling for the shelter it dashed in trying to dwindle their numbers. As it was charging for Ms.Bishop and her students Taylor fired. With its reaction speed, it was able to come out with only a graze. With limited ammo firing, wildly would only result in their death.
Antonio lunged forward putting himself between the beast, and the students as he thrust his spear with all his might. The jinko caught it with ease and seized him by the throat. Seeing this they stopped and began turning back to help him.
"Go!" Antonio shouted.
"You humans are so pathetic." The feral smirked preparing to plunge her hand into Antonio's stomach.
Before it could pierce his flesh the feral dropped Antonio while jumping back with an irritated look on his face. Another jinko sprang down from the top of the cave engaging his assailant. Antonio was stuck staring in disbelief as a beautiful woman stood before him.
She had wavy black hair swaying in the wind, and her claws shimmered from the rising sun. The woman looked back at Antonio with a gentle smile before lunging forward to force the battle away from him.
The jinko that came to Antonio's rescue is a woman named Shiva, and she was devoted to protecting the humans from ferals. The two were locked together in a feat of strength as Shiva kicked the feral in the chest and turned towards the humans. Turning back Shiva noticed they were still in the cave.
"Get out of here!" Shiva shouted while pointing towards the south.
They had no idea what was going on, or what Shiva said. One thing was clear they were locked in battle, and it was the only chance they had to leave. Hunkering down wasn't an option cause the beast could survive, and starve them out.
"This is the only chance we have so grab everything quickly!" Taylor ordered.
"Let's just shoot them now." Demitri was preparing to aim.
"They are faster than the insects and were low on ammo. We can't afford to waste the ammo now let's go!" Taylor retorted.
They gathered their stuff and immediately began rushing from the cave. The feral saw this trying to close in, but Shiva left a deep laceration on her back. Knowing it would be fatal to ignore Shiva they engaged once more. Shiva wanted to help guide them to safety, but couldn't take her focus off her enemy. All she could do was point them towards a friendly tribe, and hope they could arrive safely.
"Why do you insist on protecting these scum?" The feral asked while letting off a barrage.
"You're just making the humans hate us more, and will cause others to get hurt for your actions," Shiva replied while evading the strikes.
Shiva lived around humans peacefully, and could sufficiently hunt game without inference. This advantage in stamina was allowed Shiva to receive only minor wounds as they battled. Taylor's group continued running till they were winded. Looking back they saw nothing giving chase, and took a quick breather.
"What was that about?" Kenny asked.
"Another dispute over us more than likely," Miguel replied.
"I don't think so. She was gesturing us to leave, and shouting at us." Wesley stated.
"You're reading into it too much. Why would a monster help us?" Demitri replied.
"Nothing makes sense here. Let's just hope we find some people soon." Taylor stated.
'Thank you.' Antonio looked back one last time before moving forward.
They continued through the grasslands cautiously. After walking for an hour in search of water their was a small village coming into view. The buildings seemed primitive, but they were manmade structures. Seeing this everyone got excited, and started running towards it. As they got closer a few figures were coming into view.
The village they were approaching was ruled by a clan of deathstalkers. They had bodies resembling a human with black armor covering their chest, with traces along their arms, and a spot on their shoulders resembling pauldrons. They had light brown skin, thick black hair, and animal hides tied around their waist. Most of their warriors were wielding wooden shields with a bronze khopesh in the other hand. Seeing injured humans approaching they sent a few people to ensure they were okay.
As the deathstalkers neared Taylor's group they could see they weren't humans. Seeing weapons in their hands Taylor raised her gun. Everyone was exhausted, hungry, and hurt, but they all huddled together prepared to fight. Seeing the odd weapon in Taylor's hands their warriors halted.
"We mean you no harm." A deathstalker said as he stepped forward.