Snippet #1669653

Ayo blinked, surprised. What medic in the world would willingly go into a forest filled with deadly creatures without backup? How could someone unarmed survive in the wilderness without help? That thought went away rather quickly. If there was something Ayo learned in Mali, is that you should never underestimate someone. She probably had some hidden weapon, and she just didn’t want Ayo to know. Privacy, Ayo thought. Or maybe she would stab him in the back once she had her imp.
Again, Ayo banished the thought from his head. Not everyone is a deadly assassin trying to kill you! Relax. She’s just another hunter, except a non-violent one. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Ayo raised his hand in order to shake the doctor’s hand in a harmless way, when he froze. He looked up slowly, his eyes fixed on the imp he had seen a second earlier in a tree right above the woman’s head. He pulled his hand back slowly, trying not to lose the imp, and touched his throwing blades. Ayo knew the taser wouldn’t reach the creature this far, and if he injured it in the leg or in one of the wings, it would fall from the tree and become an easy prey. Of course, if he missed the creature would either glide away and vanish or it would jump in the woman’s head and reduce her to a bloody pool of flesh.
The creature was hideous. Ayo could feel the roughness of its gray skin just by looking at it. Its mouth was salivating, and from time to time the creature would shake its head and the viscous substance would glue everywhere. Its eyes were staring at something… Then Ayo noticed that the imp was making a pathetic attempt to reach a bird nest way up in the tree’s crown, and the creature was so dedicated to it that it didn’t really seem to be aware of Ayo or the woman’s presence.
Ayo unsheathed one of the short blades. He passed it nervously from one hand to another, waiting for the best position. Then he threw it, aiming for the imp’s leg. The blade hissed, cutting through the cold air…