The Faery Hunt (The Wicked Grove Prequel) by Alexia Purdy

 
     
    The Faery Hunt
    “ GRAB YOUR GEAR, we’re almost ready to go ,” Jay hollered out to me . He was dressing in full hunting gear, cargo pants, black shirt with knives sheathed across his chest . A quiver stuffed full of arrows crisscrossed the belt of knives, making him look like a black ops soldier .
    Groaning , I pulled myself up into the back of the truck, grabbing my hunting gear that matched his and snugly strapped it on . “Oh come on, I was heading towards the mall to hang out with my girls . What’s going on that you guys had to screech on over here and interrupt my perfect evening?” 
    Jay tossed a bow at me and snickered, “I think this is much more imp ortant than shopping for shoes. “ 
    I glared at my brother, wishing I could give him a slap . He never cared for anything but the hunt . Sighing, I was glad I remembered to wear decent shoes, I had learned long ago that a hunt can happen at any time and it was better being ready than sorry.
    “Heads up!”   Craig yelled out from the cab of the truck . A flashlight went sailing out the window and barely missed my head . Catching it, I cursed him under my breath .
    “You could have killed me , moron!”  Stuffing the flashlight into my belt, I pulled the truck do or open and plopped on the seat , glaring at my older brother Craig .
    “Sorry P udge , didn’t mean to almost take your head off . Just helping you prime your lightning fast reflexes . It’s gonna be a doozy tonight!”  He stuffed a flashlight of his own into his jacket and hopped out . I did the same, slamming the truck door and scurrying towards the back to find him and Jay scoping out the woods.
    “Hey, don’t I get a say in the game plan?  This isn’t a ‘boys only’ club.”  I sighed, turning to scan the darkening woods before us . “And don’t call me ‘ Pudge ’!”
    A trail on our left led deeper into the trees, disappearing from the road after the first turn . It looked scary, and the pit of my stomach agreed . Shaking off the dread, I followed my brothers into the forest, letting the truck disappear behind us in the thick of the woods.
    “You sure there were sightings in these woods?  I don’t see any tracks yet.”  I knelt down to study the d irt, looking for any disturbances . The twigs and dead leaves cluttered the forest flo or and made it difficult to pin point any tracks . I studied it intensively until a small splash of dirt across some sapling leaves betrayed our prey .
    “This way,” I said, confident that I had discovered a tr ack . No way were they getting away from us this time.
    We tracked them for a bout an hour, as the dusk sucked the day light away . The trees rustled in the cool evening breeze and made it hard to hear any movement around us . As the night approached, the lights became clearer, marking the Faeries in the distance.
    “ Faery lights,” whispered Jay, motioning towards the darkness beyond . In the distance, firefly-like glowing orbs reflected back towards us . I sucked in my breath, steading my bow as I swept my flashlight back and forth, counting the lights . Faery lights were the retinal reflections of the woodland Faery tribes that hau nted the woods around the city . They had caused a number of disappearances lately, thus keeping us hunting them regularly.
    My brothers were on full alert, guns and arrows pointed and readied towards the flashing targets . They watched us approach, not wavering in their positions . Their confidence made the hairs on my neck stand on end; these were not so easily spooked like the others we’ve encountered .
    “Amy, take the left flank , I’ll take the ones on the right, Jay you’re center point man . Don’t spread out too much, stay together , ”   Craig said intently, stepping carefully towards his right as they expanded their perimeter .
    “Now!”   Jay gave the command as he had many times before . Craig and I followed with a cascade of arrows flying into the darkness,