<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">It sounded like a stampede, as though a herd of animals was unleashed on the forest. She knew it was a single beast, one vicious and angry monstrosity with a taste for blood. The ground quivered, tremors becoming more prominent beneath her as it neared. Slowly pushed herself up, careful not to disturb the foliage that concealed her too much. Through the scope watched as Wes emerged from the distance, another wave of relief moving over her as it had before. What sense of ease she felt was fleeting, a tiny glimmer that appeared and faded the instant that she saw the raging beast not far behind. Impatient, the sense of urgency in her climbed as he approached the trap they laid. Every second it took for him to make it there was torture, each one that passed baring the potential for him to fall victim to gnashing teeth or shredded by sharpened talons. <br/>
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Refraining from acting on the impulse to pull the trigger out of concern, she waited until the Hunter reached the wire, roughly sliding beneath the strings. Behind him the Grunch continued to charge, blinded by rage and acutely focused on its prey. Its front legs clipped the wire first, the tension snapping under the force of its fall and wrapping around its limbs. It collided with the ground harshly, body thundering against the dirt. Ava seized the moment, springing from her hidden position. Her knee firmly planted to the earth, she aimed and aligned the crosshairs with the creatures’ head. With a slow exhale she pulled the trigger, the soaring projectile whizzing through the air and striking it between the eyes. A spray of blood spurted from the back of its head, a ruby red mist in the air. <br/>
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The gunshot was followed by two others, slightly less precise as they reached their target in other regions of the face. Residual actions persisted, its brain still attempting to achieve the primitive processes as it sluggishly pulled itself toward the Hunter, body twitching erratically like a crashing system before it collapsed. It was almost unreal, the silence that fell over the woods and the success of their plan. Ava had still yet to lower her rifle, the barrel still trained on the still corpse that lay ahead of her. A part of her believed that it would spring to life, re-animate with a furious second wind, but it was dead. Warily she lowered her weapon, and simultaneously the guard that maintained throughout the mission. A long breath escaped her, eyes closing as she finally felt the threat of danger lift. <i>Ben so owed her a favor</i>. While one Grunch was enough to call them even in exchange for what she needed, <i>two</i> Grunches was not exactly within the scope. “I need a drink.” After the evening they had, it was an understatement. She needed a few drinks. “Let’s get you cleaned up and get back on the road . . . Before another one shows up.” She shivered, the thought making her hairs stand on end. Offering Wes a hand, she assisted him to his feet and led the way back to the car. <br/>
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The walk was slow though she was eager to put distance between herself and the woods. It had lost all its allure, the peacefulness she once spoke of was restored but was tarnished by the intensity of the mission. Ava opened the trunk once they emerged from the woods, stepping back onto the narrow path that led them there. She pulled her bag out, setting it on the ground along with his so that she could open the bottom hatch. Inside there was a first aid kit, and she undid the latches so that she could take a quick inventory of the supplies within. “Hopefully whatever scratches you got under there aren’t deep enough for stitches. If so, we can just use what’s in here to clean them up and bandage them until we can get some thread. So, lift . . .” She said, her eyes indicating to the bloodstained shirt he wore while she prepared cotton with a hefty dose of hydrogen peroxide. “This is going to burn like Hell, but just think of it as a punishment for doing something as stupid as tackling a Grunch to the ground like a linebacker. You might want to use that bottle of Jack for drinking if you need a distraction.” She smirked, though it faded a bit as she remembered her own distractions. <br/>
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Ava could vividly recall his lips on hers, the feeling of them and the taste; smokey from the cigarette he had taken a drag from and the sweetness from the pull of whiskey. Despite the ash on his lips, she couldn't quite stop replaying the moment in her head, reliving the unique sensations that it invoked. She unrolled a few pieces of gauze, "Listen, about . . . <i>back there</i>." She started, trying to think of the best way to proceed. "We probably should keep things strictly business. I don't want what we're doing to get any more complicated than it already is, you know?" She explained though the temptation was still there. So close it was hard to ignore the pull, his infuriating magnetism that seemed to draw her in. "So . . . Um . . . Let's just be professional." Ava said, trying to put a little more conviction in her tone.  </span>