Page 32 of Heart of the Hunted
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Taredd
Taredd waited in his hiding spot until late the following night, but not once did he see any other Humans coming or going. Even the female from the night before hadn't shown herself again. In fact, other than the local wildlife, he hadn't seen another living being in the area the entire time he had been sat there.
When the sun had set, and night had shrouded the area in darkness, he decided it was time to make his move. Taredd made sure to keep the entrance in his sights at all times as he searched the ground for anything he might have missed the night before. Once he was completely satisfied there wasn't anything else to find, he walked back over to the entrance.
As he inspected the area more closely, Taredd didn't see any peepholes of any kind. How the Humans expected to know if it was safe to leave or not without something to look out of was beyond him. That would be one of the first things he did if he was in their shoes.
He checked around the circular disk for a latch of some kind, that might be keeping it locked. When he didn't find any, he tested the handle. It was easier than he had expected to lifted up the hatch, but he should have known it wouldn't be too difficult. It was a Human hideout and they were a lot weaker than the rest of the species.
Apart from the light shining down and a slight squeaking of the hinges as he opened it, there was no other indication that anyone else was here. Taredd listened intently for any sounds that were coming from down below before he opened the hatch wide enough for him to fit through.
When he didn’t hear anything, he laid the hatch on the ground and inspected the tunnel that lead down. There was a metal ladder sticking out on one side of the entrance, and Taredd could see a tunnel leading away.
There was no light coming from anywhere inside the tunnel that he could see, but that meant nothing. There could still be a bunch of Humans hiding out inside, or at least the female he had spotted the other day. If she wasn't down here, then he didn't have a clue where the fuck she had disappeared to, but he was certainly going to find out where she was hiding.
Knowing Taredd's luck, she was probably going to be the Human Arun would find if she wasn't down there. If that did turn out to be the case, then there was no way in hell he was going to tell either Arun or Dain that he spotted her first.
He would never hear the end of it from either of them that a Human female had escaped from him. Not only losing the bet to Arun, but to also let a Human... especially a female one... slip through his fingers would be the ultimate humiliation.
With that thought in mind, Taredd quietly lowered himself into the tunnel and descended the ladder.
***
He was coming in.
Natalia could hear the hatch to the bunker as it was opened and froze at the sound, unsure whether to run or hide. Not that there was anywhere she could run to. For that matter, there wasn't exactly many places she could hide in here either. The only thing she could do was to find a cupboard or something that was big enough for her to fit inside.
That was easier said than done when there was only a handful of cupboards, none of which were big enough for her to fit inside, a child maybe, but definitely not an adult.
Natalia just hoped that he turned out to be a stupid monster that didn’t look in every nook and cranny. If he did, then there was no doubt she would be found, and easily since the only place she could hide was under one of the beds.
After all, this entire bunker was supposed to be their hiding place. They didn't expect the monsters to find them down here, but in hindsight they probably should have prepared for it anyway. They should have known that it was only a matter of time before their hiding places were exposed. They were lucky to have lasted this long without it being found.
Natalia never thought in her wildest dreams that she would be the one responsible for giving away their location. If anything, Natalia thought it would have been Bella that ultimately gave it away. But no, it appeared it was going to be her fault, and now she had to deal with the consequences of her actions.
With her hiding choices limited to either behind the sofa or under the bed, Natalia didn't hold out much hope of not being found. The bunker only had three rooms, one of which was a bedroom with a couple of built-in bunk beds. The largest was the living space which had a table and chairs, and a small kitchen area with a couple of small cupboards.
The only other room in the place was the washroom, a tiny little room with a toilet and sink. It was barely big enough to stand up and turn around in that room. So, the only place big enough for her to fit, and didn't involve her moving furniture around, was under one of the beds.
So, she was well and truly up shit creek without a paddle. There was no way in hell he was going to come down here and not find her. She might as well save them both some time and just hand herself over to him now, but she wasn't going to make it that easy for him.
If he thought for one second that she was going to go down without a fight, then he was sorely mistaken. Natalia was going to go out fighting if it came to it, she didn't stand a hope in hell of winning, but she certainly wasn't going to go down quietly.
It would be fantastic if she could take out one of the monsters at the same time, but that was highly unlikely. Even if she did know how to fight, she still wouldn't be able to take out one of them, even the weakest of their kind were too strong for her to take on.
If entire armies of Humans with a multitude of weapons that were readily available couldn't defeat them, then what could a single woman on her own with nothing but a knife do to them? Absolutely fuck all, that was the answer. Maybe piss them off a bit, but there was no way she could cause them any harm.
Natalia raced into the bedroom when she heard him begin to descend the ladder. Laying down next to the bed furthest away from the door, she shuffled as quickly and quietly as she could across the floor until she was pressed up as tightly against the wall.
Staying as still and silent as possible, she listened to his footsteps as he moved around in the other room.
Shit!
Natalia remembered that she had left the bowl of water next to the chair. That was bound to be a dead giveaway someone had been staying here, and recently as well. She could have kicked herself if it wouldn't have given away her position.
Trust her to leave shit lying around, and trust her to be the one that finally showed the monsters how and where they had been hiding from them for all these years. If Natalia ever got herself out of this position, she swore to be a better, kinder, and more considerate person.
Natalia sucked in a breath when the door opened and he walked in.
