"Oh! How are you two holding up!" Evelyn dashed through the doors to the entertainment room, both of her hands clutching onto her chest. She waved her hand and turned the projector back on. She quickly flipped through a number of channels before coming across a seemingly still image of a tranquil forest. "The Hunt is about to begin. I don't know about you two, but my heart is racing. I don't know if I'll be able to sit still through the entire Broadcast!"
"I hope your entire family gets eaten," Itzel snapped back. Evelyn froze, staring at Itzel with a single eyebrow raised while her lips curled upside down. A word lingered on the edge of her lips, only for her to turn around and focus on the projection instead.
"I hope you don't plan on talking like that through the entire event! I'll let it slide this one time because I promised Mag to keep the mess to a minimum." The woman turned towards the BRUTE robot in front of Itzel. With a mere glance, it obeyed her silent command and pointed the weapon at Itzel. "But another rude quip like that and I'll have to resort to more serious measures. I’ll have you know, I’m than all right with using the heavy cleaning chemicals and stain remover!"
Itzel remained still, her eyes staring back at the older woman. She struggled to fight the urge to say something back as Evelyn maintained the same disappointed glare.
On the screen, there was rustling among the leaves. All three focused their attention on what was transpiring on the enormous floating projection instead of each other. Among the ambient sounds of nature was a familiar hissing sound.
"That noise," Janus said. He leaned forward as much as he could in his seat. "I know I've heard it before."
"Spittler," Itzel replied coldly. "Sounds just like one. Must be getting ready to attack."
"You're telling me that there's Essencima in there?" Janus asked.
Evelyn shook her head. "I can't believe it either. I'm not a fan of letting those dreadful creatures roam around in Eco-Dome. Not only do they make the Hunt all the more dangerous, but they leave quite the mess behind whenever they're slain."
"Gurk has to fight through your lunatic family, Mag's crazy friends and now Essencima?" Itzel shouted.
Evelyn nodded. "Yep."
"And this is somehow fun to you? How does he even stand a chance against all that?"
"To be fair, darling, the Essencima do fight back against the hunters. It's not like they exclusively go after the targets. Four people chasing one lone Neo-Sapia wouldn’t be very fair now, would it? The hunters have to deal with the other threats in the Eco-Dome. Mag says its crucial for the ‘entertainment’ factor."
"That beautiful slice of nature. Wasted for your barbaric game!" Janus cried. "Imagine all of the good you and your family could do if you grew crops or housed the impoverished instead of using it to foster destructive monsters!"
"The Grani family has given sizable donations to a multitude of charities. The Hunt is a way we treat ourselves for all the good we do!"
Itzel wadded her fists and grit her teeth to hold back from letting her tongue get the best of her. Evelyn maintained her massive smile, watching the projection with her hands behind her back and her head rocking from side to side as she stared at the screen with glee. "Oh look, here comes one of those Spittlers you mentioned." The Essencima trudged through the center of the screen, its head turning from side to side. It continued straight on, unaware that it was being watched.
"What other types of monsters do you house in there?" Janus asked.
"The usual varieties. A whole lot of Lurkers. Mag hates those in particular. They pose no real threat, yet they show up in such abundance. We also see Taurias and Jagmaws here and there with the occasional Ogre. Nothing too exotic unfortunately."
"Unfortunately," Itzel repeated under her breath.
"And of course, no Sand Carvers. You'd need an environment with sand for that to be possible!" Evelyn giggled to herself. "But that doesn't stop Mag from wanting to try to force one in there. He says he wants a real challenge when hunting, but that's when I put my foot down. Do you know how much destruction those things could cause? And I'm not going to let my husband and my daughter get devoured by one of those horrendous beasts just so he can have a chance to gloat to his drinking buddies!"
"Nice to know that you look out for you husband," Itzel bemoaned. "If only you felt the same way about other people."
"I do! Just depends on the person. You can't express concern for everyone in this world. You wouldn't have any left for yourself and those that matter in your life if that were the case."
"Wise words," Janus muttered. "If I make it out of here alive, I'll be sure to remember them."
"Oh Janus," Evelyn said as she turned around to look at him. Her smile became smaller yet still looked genuine. "You've been quite the guest. It'll be a shame to see you go."
Janus stared at her, failing to mask his anger. From the corner of his view, he could see the BRUTEs standing motionless with their fingers ready to pull the trigger at any moment. He took in a deep breath and calmed his nerves.
Behind the woman, there was more movement on the screen that caught Janus' attention. He shifted his eyes from the unnaturally polite hostess to the large object that was approaching on the screen behind her. It was a massive metal chamber, carried on a hovering platform by a pair of BRUTE robots.
"What's going on now?" Janus asked as he watched the scene unfold. Evelyn quickly turned around and clapped her hands together.
"Oh! They must be dropping off one of the targets!"
"One?" Both Janus and Itzel called out simultaneously.
"Yes! Sheila and Mag will have two targets to go after for this event! They always drop off the prey in a random location within the Eco-Dome. A major part of the Hunt is actually tracking down the target. I wonder if it's your friend or the other one we've secured."
All three watched in silence as the metal chamber was let down in the middle of the forest floor. The two BRUTE robots left the scene once the dormancy chamber was placed. A few moments passed before the front door of the chamber opened up, letting a thick cloud of steam escape from the machine. Once the steam stopped flowing, a foot stepped out of the chamber and onto the grass.
It was a webbed foot, much like a duck. It was also small, roughly the size of a child. The rest of the Neo-Sapia stepped out, revealing a mallard and human hybrid. She wore a short brown and tattered dress. Her feathers were sparse, but the ones that were visible were a brilliant gold that glistened. The young being stepped forward, wobbling from side to side, struggling to maintain her balance.
"A child?" Itzel shouted. "That's Mag's idea of a formidable foe?"
Evelyn shook her head. "Oh no. She must have snuck in there! She is nowhere near ready for this!"
“You going to call off the Hunt?” Janus called out. “You’re going to get a child killed!”
Evelyn shook her head. “Oh no. Mag is going to be so upset. Those Neo-Sapia are so expensive to create. Not to mention all the time it takes to foster one to maturity! He’s going to throw a fit when he sees that specific specimen snuck in there.”
“And that’s why you need to call off Hunt!” Itzel barked. “There’s no way a kid like that is going to survive for more than five minutes when you’ve got Spittlers and Tauria running rampant!”
Evelyn shrugged her shoulders. “It’s out of my control. The viewers are all ready watching and we’ve behind schedule for a while. Besides, it’s not like we can’t just grow more. Your friend should provide more than enough genetic material for us to grow more powerful Neo-Sapia. Losing this one will just be a minor inconvenience.”
“Why I—” Itzel hung up on her sentence as another entity emerged from the Dormancy Chamber. Another duck Neo-Sapia crawled out. Her feathers were the same color as the child’s; a brilliant gold that glistened in the light. The adult Neo-Sapia’s build was tall and slender, towering over the younger one. Her tattered dress fluttered as she ran towards the duckling, embracing her in a hug and hiding her beneath her wings.
“Ah, so the other target was still dormant,” Evelyn said with a sigh of relief. “I was worried that the other Neo-Sapia died before the Hunt even started.”
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Janus said queasily. “A mother and her daughter?”
“It was supposed to just be the mother,” Evelyn replied. She looked at Janus over her shoulder, giving him a small yet sinister grin. “But the more targets, the better!”
Art Spotlight: Mother Duck and Duckling Neo-Sapias
