The Last Hunter: Collected Edition (Antarktos Saga #1-5)

“I think they’re ready to go,” I say.

My sisters and wife silently agree, and we head for the dinosaurs, all lost in our own silent reflections. The beasts crouch down allowing us to climb on their backs, Kat and I on Grumpy, the others on Zok. When the dinosaurs stand again, I look across to Kainda. “Ready...wife?”

“After you, husband.”

I grin, give Grumpy a gentle nudge with my legs and say, “Let’s go!”

The dinosaurs take off at a sprint, quickly reaching twenty miles per hour, the speed at which they can run long distance. The jungle passes in a blur, and with every step we take closer to the FOB, my elation over the events of the past few minutes is replaced by a growing dread that we might all be dead by this time tomorrow.





23



The rest of the trip is fairly eventless. With the dinosaurs carrying us, there’s no need to stop to rest, though we pause twice for me to use the bathroom. Apparently, getting unexpectedly married has had an effect on my nerves...and my bladder.

I spend the first four hours of our journey speaking to Kat, filling her in on the enemy forces. We cover everything from their numbers, to their various classes and capabilities, how to kill them, their potential tactics, their long history, their parentage and their ultimate goals. By the time we finish, Kat knows everything about the Nephilim that I do. When we reach the FOB, she and I will meet with General Holloway and any other officers that need to be there. I’ll answer any questions that come up, but it will be Kat’s job to figure out the best military response to each possible situation. I can lead the troops and do some serious damage, but modern military capabilities are something I know very little about.

When we’ve finally exhausted the topic, Kat goes silent, working out every possible Nephilim strategy and what the human response could be. With my riding partner preoccupied, and conversation with Em, Mira and Kainda impossible as the two dinosaurs weave their way east through the jungle, my thoughts turn inward.

I’m married.

How did that happen?

For a moment, I entertain the idea that this is something I’m not okay with. After all, it was kind of sprung on me. Sprung is probably too gentle a word since I didn’t even know I was getting married. To be honest, I have never once envisioned what my wedding day would be like. I don’t think young men really daydream about that kind of thing. Or at least, I don’t. It’s not a subject one thinks about much while fighting giants who want to kidnap, corrupt and ultimately possess you.

I try to envision myself dressed in a tuxedo, standing by the altar with Justin, Wright, Tobias and Merrill standing by my side. It’s impossible, I know. Some of them are dead, but my closest friends are all women and my imagination already has Em, Mira, Kat and Aimee standing beside Kainda, who I have to admit looks radiant in a white wedding dress. But then she turns to me with a look on her face that says, I will kill you for this, and I smile.

A traditional wedding, with a church and rice throwing and the Electric Slide would have never worked anyway. If I’m honest, the whole experience would likely make me nauseous, too.

While I might have been bamboozled into my marriage, it was simple and pure. It might be the one thing hunters got right, if they actually married for love. Who knows, maybe some of them did? When I was split into two personalities, Ull was a hunter to the core. He was cocky, brash, violent and quick to anger. He was passionate. But he wasn’t entirely negative. The first time I had feelings for Kainda, Ull was in control. It’s why we saved her life. If Ull can show compassion to another hunter because he has feelings for her, then it’s possible other hunters experience the same thing, though they would likely never admit it.

Tobias is another good example. He loved Luca and Em enough that they fled and tried to live apart from the Nephilim. And then there is Em. When I look at her, and hear the joy of her laughter and see the cuteness of her full freckled cheeks, I wonder how she could have ever been a killer.

But it’s not just hunters. The human race as a whole has the same kind of potential to overcome darkness. And it’s happening now on Antarctica. The people of the world came here divided, each hoping to claim a part of this new world for themselves. But now they’re united against a common enemy. The old hatreds, many of them created and encouraged by the Nephilim, are falling away.

If the human race loses this fight and is wiped off the planet, at least we’ll have fought as one. A hunter would call it dying well, and I think I would have to agree.