Siobhan Feinsinger's Story

It was deployment day for Siobhan, she was to go out on patrol for two weeks alone in her assigned patrol area. Being a border hunter saw daily action as maneaters would purposely lurk near the border trying to lure out humans. If a maneater found no prey in their home area, they would go near Rhineland in hope of feeding. So far, Siobhan was also the only known border hunter who didn't have any body modifications aside from a cochlear communications implant. She was hoping to get some implants one day to make her job easier. But for that to happen, she would have to earn a veteran status or become severely injured in the line of duty. Also her pay depended on how many recorded kills she got. Without kills she would only receive base pay, but if she performed outstandingly and lure in maneaters and kill a dozen on them in one tour, she could probably buy a small car from the bonus. So far this is only her third tour with 22 kills so far on her first two.

Her vacation had however been cut short due to reports of a high number of maneaters closing in.

"Shivvy (since Siobhan is pronouned Shivonne), get yourself ready. Your lift will leave in no later than two hours. Your armor has been improved for increased comfort, flexibility and protection. No matter if it gets hot or cold outside, it should keep you at a decent temperature and keep you warm at night. Are your weapons in order?" Her commanding officer said.

"Pistol is calibrated and katana is sharpened. I am guessing the armor maintenance team sharpened the fingers?" Siobhan said.

"Yes. If you run out of bullets or need to use hand to hand combat, your fingers should be able to pierce any organic matter for the entire tour." The officer said. "If that is all, then you should go and get changed now."

Siobhan went into the changing area and took off her uniform and slipped into a skintight black bodysuit. She checked the charge on her cochlear implant. It was at 52%, so she plugged in a cable behind her ear which charged the implant within seconds and then she pulled it out again. She opened her locker to find her armor. It weighed quite a bit, but due to training, lifting it was no problem and wearing it was barely noticeable weight wise. Pushing a button it opened up and she stepped into it. As soon as she had her arms into its sleeves, it closed automatically. It was sleek and black, almost like another bodysuit. Every part of it, even the face part of it fit to the skin. Only around the mouth and the eyes did it leave room for mouth movement and eye movement avoiding irritiating them.

She grabbed her weapons and attached them to the armor. Siobhan then left the face part open. Grabbed her armored backpack and headed out to the chopper.

3 hours later...

Siobhan jumped from the helicopter onto the terrain below. Around her was a ruined urban landscape with buildings overgrown by plants. Already there she began to release pheromones which would lure out the maneaters or to be more precise a pheromone trap so that she could ambush maneaters from hiding.

Not even an hour later would a maneater find their way to the site. It was a female, probably in her 20s, around the same age as Siobhan. She had the traits of a maneater: pale skin, red eyes, sharp teeth and was sniffing. Siobhan tracked the maneaters movements and followed in hiding behind it. When the maneater noticed the trap, Siobhan came out of hiding. "That's far enough. Your biggest mistake was coming this close to Rhineland. I give you two choices. Accept your fate without a fight and I will make it as painless as possible or you can fight and die like a wild animal who lost a fight with one of its peers." She said.

"Oh crap. I don't want to die! I just can't resist the urge." The maneater said. Siobhan then replied: "There is no cure and a cure isn't likely to happen. So you need to realize that the urge makes you a danger to the humans I am sworn to protect. So I am giving you the choice how your life should end. A quick and painless death is giving you mercy. You aren't a savage animal are you?" The maneater chose to flee. Siobhan then said to herself: "I will make this quick as they chose not to fight and have fear."

Siobhan ran behind the maneater like an olympean and said: "Please understand that if I dont kill you, you will kill others who are innocent." "No. Please no." The maneater said as Siobhan tackled her. She pinned her down. "Even though I hate maneaters. I first check their character whether to show mercy or be merciless. I am sorry." Siobhan said as she took out her pistol and pushed it against the back of the maneaters head and pulled the trigger.

The struggling of the maneater stopped and Siobhan got off of her. She took a picture of her and sent it to HQ. "Sometimes it even hurts a huntress to kill what she hunts, but as long as maneaters kill innocent humans, I will kill maneaters." She said.

As always ruins is where he rested in between runs. Buildings overgrown but a pleasant place to stay and read an old book with plants all around, though sun was somewhat annoying. He lied on a roof of one old building, that seemed to have some historical value once…was his guess. Page after page, time flew by as he read and now reached for traveling mug, filled with best poison of the day…water.

He had to get back to sitting position, and as he slowly drank…chopper flew by. Surely it was one of the so called man-eater hunters, and surely it will end badly – was what he thought. Minutes passed and he even got to see that so called hunter, a person wearing black armor. Person even had an armored backpack. Curious he still sat, now on the edge, covered partly by plants and watched as whatever will be will unfold into…something.

As that person stood there, and as he wondered…he realized pheromones were released, to attract man-eaters.
“Someone wants to die today, it’s great to hunt them with that, but you can catch something you don’t want to catch…especially today.” He muttered

Quickly a man-eater came, and hunter stalked its prey, prey that thought to be a predator. Prey that soon noticed said hunter. Two seemed to talk for a while, then there was a short silence, and…female that came to feed started to run, she ran as fast as she could…but was caught in the end, and killed.

He sighed, this little game was…annoying to say the least. As he now stood and watched, he realized something stood beside him. He turned to see a man-eater, grinning at him, and he went for a gun, shot at it…only to realize it wasn’t real.

“Great, wasted last bullet on a memory.” He wasted a bullet indeed, but he also gave out his position by doing so.

He looked bellow, to a place where hunter was, his black clothes could be easily distinguished from between plants– he had to smile, for his memory got him into troublesome situation.

Quite sure that no one will believe a human is safely traveling and calmly spending time outside, that hunter will try to kill me... - he thought as he continued to smile.

Siobhan heard a gunshot ring out. She cautiously went in the direction of the shot. Climbing through some rubble she spotted a figure nearby. With her gun out, just in case the figure was hostile, she approached the figure. He didn't seem to be a maneater, but if he was human, what was a human doing outside of Rhineland in enemy territory where there would be tons of maneaters out to get him.

"You don't have the typical characteristics of a maneater. What are you doing out here? Did they trick you to leave Rhineland or are you here on your own behalf? If you are human, you should know pretty well that pretty much everything out here that isn't a hunter is out to get you. It is my duty to get you back to Rhineland safely. And if you do turn out to be a maneater, then the barrier will reveal that." Siobhan said. "Explain yourself."

A bit of time passed, and he heard some rubble falling, hunter was most likely climbing. After next few minutes of standing, rather than running, he heard voice - asking who he was.

He stared at the hunter in silence with question ringing in his ears, silence that he soon broke with short answer.

“Oh, just a traveler, no less and no more…” He paused, hoping that it is obvious as to why he is here, but just in case he wanted to continue.

“As to why I am here…traveling I guess?” He smiled lightly, for it had to sound at least a bit crazy.

Then he opened his mouth once more, as he now remembered there was something needed to be said.

“Also I advise using stairs behind me, to our, uh, my right, not really safe but better than climbing.”

"Anyways traveler or not, you shouldn't be out here alone. It is within my duty to grant you safe passage to Rhineland. I cannot allow a civilian to die while wandering outside of Rhineland. I might end up leaving a trail of maneater corpses while fulfilling my duty but it isnt the first time a hunter has done so." Siobhan said.

"And if you decide to wander off, I will trail you and if you collaborate with maneaters, I can kill you. Do you understand?" She continued. No matter how condescending she might have sounded, outside of Rhineland, her duty was the priority.

He sighed, for going back was…the last thing he wanted to do now.

"Sometimes I hate being honest, but I’d rather stay here for now, being around humans for past few days was a real…pain.” Humans talk, and fight, are far more emotional than thirsty maneater…who you can just shoot or scare away like any other animal.

Eyes closed for a moment, mind filled with ideas, ways to escape this annoying hunter…but each would fail here or there.

“Could we just do your hunting thing first? I’m in no hurry when it comes to returning to safe zone, especially in no hurry since…well, never mind, just give me time if possible.”

"What are you talking about? Maneaters were once human. They can get pretty emotional too. Some are afraid and run away. Others plea for mercy. And some few ask for a quick and painless death. They feel like we do, but I cannot let my own emotions get in the way. There is no cure for them yet and as long as they are near Rhineland, they pose a danger to its people and need to be dealt with. If there was a cure, I wouldn't be hunting them down to cure them, but to give them the antidote." Siobhan said.

"Give me a moment to call my commander to ask how you should be dealt with. I personally do not want to force you to anything if you arent under the influence of a maneater, but on the other hand duties are duties." She then called her commander on a communicator. After a couple of minutes, Siobhan came back to the guy. "With my commander, it is fine if you trail me while I hunt. If I cannot bring you back by free will, then your escort to Rhineland has lower priority. Since we forgot to introduce each other, my name is Siobhan Feinsinger. I am a lieutenant with the elite hunter squadron and am assign to near-border duty. Also I am the only hunter that isn't cybernetically enhanced, but that makes me no less dangerous. It be nice if I at least knew your name. If you don't want to tell me background information, that is up to you." She continued.

After waiting for a while, and listening to what she had to say.

His reply couldn’t be long…

“Well, you can call me Blackie.”

Suddenly he looked around, eyes quickly glancing over surrounding environment. He felt uneasy, as if something was lurking around, something that observed them, his intuition again strikes just before they strike…or it was his past, or imagination.

“I think you may have a bit of a problem…” What hunter spread to catch another hunter, may have brought more than desired, especially since he used a gun…

Siobhan sensed the presence too. She readied her katana. "If it is another maneater, I will try my best to quickly dispatch them for your safety."

Siobhan had to use plain eyesight since it was warm enough outside that maneaters would be practically invisible in thermal vision. She spotted a male figure down near the trap site. The maneater noticed the corpse of the other maneater, but couldn't discern if it was killed by another maneater in a quarrel, since sometimes maneaters fought amongst each other, or if it was by a hunter. Anyways he needed to be cautious and decide quickly whether if he could take on a hunter, if there was one or get away just in case the hunter might be too much for him.

Meanwhile Siobhan tried to find a vantage point.

The moment she focused on maneater, he used chance that been given to him. Left side of the building had a nice hiding spot below, where one could hide little and big secret by covering it in vines and other things.

Getting to, and using rope that he left on the said side earlier was easy, but as he went down, to where his ride was hidden…he realized that it was a bad idea to leave her up alone. Not because of her possibly struggling with few maneaters for she would’ve surely be able to deal with them, the dead air that he noticed once he got down was what worried him.

“Great, not two maneaters, but a horde of them.” He muttered

Dead air, a strange phenomenon that is rarely brought by the usage of hunter pheromones always made him uneasy. – After all the amount of maneaters varied each time.

She should’ve realized what is transpiring in front of them by now, unless they are hiding well and if that's the case only hint will be what Dead Air creates. Wanting to leave, yet worried because of the unknown, he looked at the hiding spot of his, then at the rope, even if chance of her being in trouble was low, he couldn’t bear risking it, not again…

He reached for rope with one hand, thinking about Dead Air in his little time that he had left to spare – how it affects living beings, humans to be precise…first there is a feeling of cold, as if temperature has suddenly dropped, then it changes into air being harder to breathe in and out, and finally all you can hear is you own heartbeat, as if everything else died…few people know this feeling.

The moment his other hand rested on a rope, he noticed something in the corner of his right eye…but it was too late, for something had tackled him to the ground.

Ah, fuck – Crossed his mind as a pair of deadly eyes looked into his, a gaping open mouth with sharp fangs, facial expression then formed in something similar to smile or grin…

(Umm, I hope you don’t mind it being too long, and what do you think of Dead Air, should I change it in any way? Oh, and I left it at grin on purpose, a bit of suspense I guess ^^ )

(OOC: Sorry, my PC broke. I had to get new parts and reinstall windows. And the dead air part is fine.)

Things went silent. Too silent. Suddenly a mob of maneaters appeared. "Well this is going to be a lot of work for me. But I best should stick close to the other guy." Siobhan said. Between her and Blackie were two maneaters, who however were more focused on Blackie's scent. It gave her the chance to ready her black katana and tear through them. She decapitated both to make sure they were dead.

She raced up to where Blackie was and saw him pinned to the ground. She couldn't just stab the maneater without risking to hurt Blackie and shooting from behind wasn't an option either. "Finally time for the claws." Siobhan thought.

She grabbed the maneater's head from behind. The claws began to make the maneater bleed, however the pain didn't make the maneater budge as their hunger was greater.

"Close your eyes, you might not like what you are going to see and I hope you can forgive me for this." Siobhan said. She sunk the claws into the maneater's head like knives. Soon the maneater went limp and she could toss it aside.

"Usually I don't have to resort to that kind of violence when dealing with maneaters but some are so difficult that I have to use the claws." Siobhan said to Blackie. "But the fight isn't over yet. There are more and they look like they havent eaten in a couple days. They wont stop unless we are dead or they are dead."

(OOC: Ouch, I understand, dead air- great to hear that ^^)

Another maneater dead…in front of him, just seconds after the weird smile it gave him. He got up slowly and was a bit saddened at the sight he saw seconds ago, all while listening to what hunter had to say.

“I don’t blame you for violence, violence is a part of human being whether I like it or not, but I’d like to leave now…” He knew she would most likely disagree, or prevent him from leaving for that might be suicide, or may mean leaving these maneaters here to wound or worse…kill other people.

“I won’t be of much help, at least not with a gun that happens to have one bullet left.” He then quickly added, still clinging to hope…hope that this bloodied situation may yet change.