Hunted

HUNTED(BOOK ONE)JOURNEY TO THE NEW WORLDByMEDUSA STONE First published by Medusa Stone Books 2023 at AmazonCopyright © 2023 by Medusa StoneAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.Medusa Stone asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.Medusa Stone has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks, and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.Amazon Edition, License Notes.This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.First Edition Chapter 1Eliott woke up from his troubled, feverish sleep, to the terrifying sounds of wooden arrows cutting through the air, and death. His long auburn hair, falling in tangled curls over his pale-green eyes, kept him from witnessing the surrounding massacre. Too scared to stay in plain sight, and too sick to run, he dragged his aching body in search of help, but there was no one left to protect him. No one alive, no one at all...“This one will do.” Was all he heard before his world went dark.Romania, 1631.The group of men had left the road behind and were now wandering through the undergrowth of a thick black forest. They had left behind their horses, their carts and their fire, feeling small and inconsequential in the primeval darkness of the Romanian forests.Fourteen of the fifteen men were natives. They were led by the best huntsman in the land. If it had been any other than Gareth One-Eye, many of the guides never would have dared to go on this foolish deadly hunt.The fifteenth man was sorely out of place. An Englishman, and a city man, he looked lost in his fine coat and kid gloves. He carried a narrow tube of what looked like wood, with pale bands going up and down the sides. In his other hand, he carried a small leather case which contained ten darts made of light wood and tufted with bright feathers.Gareth put the thirteen guides at ease, but the city man made them nervous. He blundered clumsily through the thick undergrowth, stepped on every twig, and cursed the loudest when the thorns scratched his clothing. His presence was quite unsettling, considering what they stalked. Gareth and the guides knew how easily the hunter could become the hunted, an idea that the city man couldn't seem to comprehend.Gareth One-Eye went up to the city man during a quick breather. The man was exhausted and taking a swig from a small metal flask. He protested loudly when Gareth knocked the flask away."Shut up," he said coldly. "You are a very stupid man. The only reason I am doing this at all is for the money, and I cannot let you put us in danger because you won’t shut your mouth."The man sat there, tight-lipped, and furious."We are close to the beasts, and they are vulnerable now. They have young and wounded. You need to have your wits about you if you want one alive and better hope that your heathen toy will work."With that, Gareth turned and whispered curt instructions to the men in Romanian. The men sheathed their sharpened hunting knives and picked up their crossbows. Each one looked terrified, aggressive, and hungry for action.Even the city man, who only had a bamboo dart gun and a handful of tipped darts, felt the excitement.****Her name was Agnes, and she was the alpha. She was a short, stocky woman with cropped dark hair and golden eyes. She had managed to hold her pack together, keeping them alive and healthy for fifteen years, but now she was afraid.There was no moon in a sky crusted with stars. Thirty ragged shivering individuals, not including babies and children under ten, were huddling near two small smoky fires. An infant briefly squalled, before a young woman shushed him and offered her breast. The pack had fallen on hard times. Hunters were getting smarter and more relentless. The prey was scarce, and half a dozen had died from a brief outbreak of typhoid.Agnes got up and walked restlessly. A young man, young enough to be a child still, coughed wretchedly as Agnes placed a hand on his bony white shoulder. The boy had wandered in barely a month ago, filthy, starved, and thorn scratched. He had been babbling deliriously in a language that she recognized as French and, after accepting him into their tribe and trying to nurse him back to health, he had become a bit of a pet among the pack, and they all enjoyed his humbleness and calming presence, appreciated his grateful attitude and eagerness to learn