The Feeding Season Read online

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  The night became even darker as Bars took his first steps among the huge rocks. In spite of the bad visibility, he didn't dare turn on his searchlights. He proceeded with caution while the wind howled over the rocky peaks. The storms had dug out long corridors, which in places narrowed to only a meter's width, and in other places widened and branched off in several directions. Even though it was quite difficult, Bars succeeded in finding the correct path through this natural labyrinth.

  Sometimes a few rocks trickled down from above gathering other rocks and creating a little landslide of sand and rocks. Then, because of the cloud of dust, Bars was forced to feel along the walls, in order to find his way forward. He continued on trusting in his built-in compass, even though his limbs were weighed down with fatigue.

  When the rocky formations thinned out, Bars slowed down his pace even more, because there wasn't a clear corridor to follow. Instead of being certain of his path, he roamed between the separate spires hoping he wouldn't get lost. He kept on walking, longer than expected. Bars began to get dizzy and his eyelids, tired from continually staring into the darkness, which was all around him, were getting heavy.

  Again a piece of rock broke off falling down from above, the sound of the landslide it started echoed among rocks. The sleepy Hunter jumped edgily and opened wide his eyes but his vision was cloudy. However much he stared into the darkness, he was unable to focus his eyes. His body weighed more with each step. Bars' total fatigue won out and he sunk into a deep sleep.

  Then, for unknown reasons, into his foggy mind swam memories of his distant childhood.

  When he was still young, he loved to play hide and seek with his friends.

  Once, trying his best not to be found, he had gone far into an old abandoned corridor of the Fortress. There it had been so dark that he just calmly stood still, while his friends passed only centimeters from him, trying desperately to find him. Bars had found the perfect hiding place and none of his friends could find him, no matter how long they searched.

  When he began to feel hungry, he understood, that it was time for evening roll call and so he headed back, sure, that he had won the game. Having been so caught up in playing hide and seek, he had gone much farther down the abandoned corridor than he thought. He didn't remember how he had gotten there and he didn't know how to get out, no matter how much he tried. Once he began to feel true fear, he started to yell for his friends for help, but they didn't answer him. He heard only the sounds of the disintegrating Fortress. No sound of any living being reached his ears.

  So Bars searched around all on his own for what seemed an eternity. When he eventually succeeded in getting to an inhabited part of the Fortress, it turned out, that he had been roaming around down there going on 4 days and nights.

  He was the only one of all his friends that had returned.

  They, unfortunately stayed back among the abandoned corridors somewhere and were never found, even though search parties had been sent out. After that, they sealed those corridors and forbid them to play any games in the old parts of the Fortress. Boys had disappeared many times before that, but no one had suspected what had happened to them, not until Bars had returned. How many kids would have been lost forever, caught up in their adventures, if he hadn't succeeded in making it back?

  Terrible nightmares tormented Bars long after that tragic game of hide and seek had finished. With time though, they passed and all that remained was the experience, learned at the cost of much fear and suffering.

  This rocky labyrinth wasn't a problem for Bars and he would be able to get out of here, only if he had a little more strength. He wouldn't give up. He was the best Hunter and the group depended on him.

  Another noisy landslide slid down among the stony walls. The roar of the falling rocks startled Bars and he took a deep breath. He blinked, but his eyes were still heavy with fatigue. Nothing. He could continue on in that condition. He needed to keep going without stopping.

  “I've done it before!” Bars said decisively and stretching his arms out to the side. He took a few steps and then when he touched the hard surface of the rock, he adjusted his course.

  Walking like this was very slow and difficult, but he didn't have the strength to do it any other way. With his head hanging down, tripping after every few steps, Bars determinedly made progress. He did everything that he could to reach the group, however small his chances might be. His steps counted off the seconds, the seconds turned into minutes, and the minutes into hours of endless walking. And that's how the time dragged on until Bars stepped onto something different than the dry, hard ground. The sound of his heavy footsteps was muted by something soft that sounded like a squish. The Hunter opened his eyes with a suspicious thought of what he had found, and after a few seconds struggling to focus, he saw his find.

  At Bars' feet laid a smashed slug!

  Even in that condition, he could clearly see that the slug was bigger and fatter than any of the other ones they had succeeded in finding until now. And that wasn't all. Nearby were at least a hundred more just as plump!

  “Where is Vestule now!” Bars couldn't believe his eyes. “I found them, without even looking!”

  The priceless find was in a narrow valley, surrounded on every side by the ancient rocks. The green slugs were everywhere calmly lounging on the surface even during this time of night – that's something that deserves to be edited in the writings of the Textbook!

  Once his initial giddiness over his amazing success had passed, Bars took out his feeding probe and stuck it into the nearest slug. Finally, food! The terrible contents began to pour into his dried out throat, but it was the only thing he had to fill the empty pit in his stomach. While he ate, Bars fell into some kind of trance and without knowing it had consumed three slugs, before he started to feel sick. After such a long time of starving, it wasn't good to eat too much, so he stopped feeding. His full stomach started to digest the food and Bars could relax in his Shell. Having a full stomach was a great feeling, especially after so many trials. The other boys needed to experience the same pleasure as soon as possible, so Bars shot off his signal flare. To be sure that they would see his signal, he shot off one more. The light of the flares lighted up the sea of slugs, that Bars was standing in.

  It was a great sight. Not every Hunter could boast of such a catch on his third day after the descent from the Fortress. Bars could now peacefully close his eyes and restore as much as his strength as he could, before the rest arrived. For the first time in a long time, he snored happily in his Shell. The green slugs didn't protest.

  Chapter 13