"Essencima morphology and their behaviors are my fields of expertise," Donva said as he prodded the humanoid body with a stick. "The Primore travel in packs. And just because this one has been slain doesn't mean that we're in the clear yet. If anything, the ruckus generated from the gunfire has most likely made the others privy to our location."

"So you're saying we better get a move on?" Bodahn asked as he looked towards the trees.

"If the plan is to survive, then yes. Do you know the fastest way out of this place?"

The gunslinger pointed into the charred thicket behind Donva. "Right on through there. We could cross the plains, but there's another burned down forest on the opposite side."

"Either way we'll have to move through the trees, won't we?"

"Pretty much."

"Drat." Donva got up and looked in the direction that Bodahn had pointed in. "That's where the Primore want to be. We'll be putting ourselves at a serious disadvantage by trying to escape through their territory."

Bodahn looked down at the belt of ammunition wrapped around his waist. Most of the pockets were empty save for the few that were towards the bottom. "I've got a few rounds on me. But that's not enough to take on an entire family of ragin’ Essencima, even if I managed to get a kill with each shot. How 'bout you, Will? You got enough bullets on ya?"

"You know as well—" Willheim winced as he covered the gaping wound in his arm with other hand and let out a deep grunt. "You know as well as I do that this rifle fires too slow to take on a bunch of screeching Primore. I was planning on sneaking out of here until that intruder came in!"

"How about yourself then?" Bodahn asked Donva. "You got an affinity or something that could help us get out of here?" The gunslinger then looked down at Donva's mutated limbs. "Those arms of yours do anything special?"

"Yeah. They're imbued with some kind of Essencima related powers. It's a long story and I won't bore you with the details now." Donva looked at his hands and watched as the dark veins continued to pulsate. "I'm still learning how to use them, but I think I could pull something off if the need arose."

Just as Donva finished his statement, the sound of cackling seeped through the dead forest. All three looked up, turning their heads to figure out from which direction the ominous noise came. "I hope that special power of yours comes through. Sounds like the Primore are already closing in on our location."

"Then I suggest that we get moving." Willheim staggered to his feet, hand still on his wound. "If we just sit around here talking strategy, we'll get mauled in no time."

Donva walked up to Willheim and placed a hand on his uninjured shoulder. "Perhaps we could put aside our differences for the time being. Surviving is your main concern, correct?"

The hunter's response was an irked yet understanding glare.

The researcher pointed towards the gaping wound. "You won't be getting far on your own with that bullet embedded in your arm. Our odds of making it through here only go up the more of us there are."

"He's right, Will. I'm mighty peeved at ya right now but there's no way I'm just gonna let you get torn to bits," Bodahn said, keeping his pistol pointed straight at the man. "I say you keep your head on straight for the time-being. I don't want to see anyone die if they don't have to."

Willheim took a deep breath, his face still bearing a look of frustration. He gave his head a short wag before taking one hand off his wound and moving it the grip on his rifle. "Fine!" he barked. "You've got me convinced. A brutal death by a savage swarm of Primore is the last way I want to go!"

"Good. I'm glad we managed to find a common enemy so quickly." Bodahn twirled one finger in the air, instructing in silence for Willheim to turn around. "You're gonna take the lead. Still don't want you blasting us in the back if we ever let our guard down."

With a snarl, the hunter obeyed. He kept his gun low as he walked through the toppled remains of the burned trees. The charred branches and leaves crunched underneath each step, breaking the silence of the area. Bodahn kept his gun aimed at Willheim while Donva stayed in the rear of the pack as he scoured for any movement in what remained of the foliage.

"I think we should just go for a full sprint," Donva whispered to the gunslinger. "There's no way we can sneak through this forest quietly. Every step of ours is just going to alert the Essencima to our location."

"But that'll be even louder!" Bodahn stopped moving. Willheim stopped next before turning around to face the group. "We're all taking our steps as quiet as possible! If we just rush through, they'll find us for sure!"

Donva put a hand to his chest and looked at the opaque lenses in his mask. "Trust me. I know this variety of Essencima well. They have acute hearing. They will find us. Regardless if we take our time or if we make a full-on dash."

The gunslinger looked at Willheim. He returned his glare with an irked look. "I can't run," the hunter whispered. "My gun's too heavy. Not to mention I'm carrying a bit of extra weight with this bit of lead lodged in my arm."

"Looks like running's outta the question," Bodahn said to Donva.

"We should at the very least pick up the pace. This slow procession isn't doing us any favors."

Bodahn waved his pistol towards Willheim. "You heard him. This fella knows his Essencima. Let's hurry up and get this show on the road." Willheim turned around, stomped one foot and continued at a faster pace, taking longer strides. The other two followed suit, trekking through the forest at nearly twice the speed as before. As the leaves crunched and branches snapped underneath their feet, the cackling from before seemed to follow them.

The ominous noise continued, coming in from every direction. "They're on to us," Bodahn said in between breaths. "Everyone, keep your eyes open!"

A tree fell over a few feet in front of Willheim. He stopped in his tracks, staring at the fallen debris. All eyes looked up through the blackened leaves above. Narrowed yellow eyes peered down at them through dark. Donva took his pistol and shot upwards, placing a bullet between a pair of eyes staring down at him. The next second, a limp Primore corpse plummeted, breaking branches on its way down before splatting onto the forest floor.

"Keep running!" Donva shouted once he saw the Essencima's body splatter across the ground. Without further discussion, the group took off. Willheim mustered the strength in his good arm to hoist himself over the fallen tree with Donva and Bodahn right behind him. The yellow eyes above them began to move through the canopy above, making deep grunts as they knocked down more branches with their movement.

Bodahn's aim went from Willheim back to above him. As he ran, he kept his gaze fixed on the movement of the pack of Primore, taking another precise shot. The creature let out a low and anguished grunt before toppling out of the tree.

Up ahead, three creatures jumped out of the trees and landed in front of Willheim, forcing him to halt. The stood on their hind legs while their fronts were kept balanced their knuckles firmly planted on the ground. They opened their large and round mouths and flashed rows of jagged and uneven teeth. Each one let out a deep and primal like yell before standing only on their hind legs and beating their chests with their enormous, clawed hands.

Two more stayed hanging on low branches, remaining in view. They too let out their roar cry as they bashed their bulky chest with one hand. Both Bodahn and Willheim kept their guns raised as they pointed to different targets.

"What are they doing?" Bodahn asked quietly of Donva.

"Looks like they're calling for their pack leader."

Willheim shot one of the Primore hanging onto a branch. The bullet severed its arm clean off, sending it to the ground in a motionless pile. "Then don't let them do it!" he shouted as he pulled the lever on his rifle back to take another shot. The Essencima turned around to look at their fallen pack member. After only taking a moment to see that it had been, the remaining ones turned to Willheim. The one closest to Willheim leapt through the air, its arms outstretched as it lunged for the hunter.

Willheim squeezed the trigger, but not before the Essencima took hold of his rifle, swinging it to the side and making the shot miss completely. The weight of the creature sent Willheim down his back as it pinned him down. It kept the rifle pressed against the hunter's chest by pinning it against his body with its powerful hind legs. One hand of the Primore was raised high in the air with the sharp claws spread out, ready to strike the hunter.

Author's Note:

Sorry about the lack of an update. Royal Road has gotten me depressed this past month. 500k words, a year of writing and not much to show for it. I don't know if I'll ever be motivated enough to upload at the same rate as I used to, but I would like to finish the arcs of my current stories. I don't know how long it would take but I'd hate to leave my characters out on a cliffhanger. 

If you still decide to stick with the story, thank you. I appreciate it. You helped to push me this far.