Operation Phoenix:  The hunt for Samhain


Part 2



	Samhain ran off into the woods, continuing his run away.  He had no 
idea how many there were coming, but he was going to take a few of them out 
before they got the chance to catch up to him.  And, if he was lucky, he'd 
survive until it was dark.  And then, the tables would turn.  But he had to 
live that long first.  And to do that, he had to make sure he could move 
faster than his pursuers.

	"How better to slow down a pursuer than with a few obstacles?" 
Samhain thought to himself.  "Of course, obstacles come in many shapes and 
sizes... and some," he grinned, "are of the lethal variety!  Hmm... let's 
see... they run very fast, and very quiet, and follow my path almost 
exactly, or straight at me at any rate.  So if I do this..."

	Samhain took out a spool of monofilament cutting wire he'd taken 
from the corpse.  Super strong, and incredibly deadly if you aren't careful 
with it.  He paused briefly, tying one end of it around a thick oak tree, 
then on to the next, which he did a loop around, then 2 more so that the 
line stretched across 3 large gaps in the trees... gaps that they'd run 
through if he kept moving in a straight line away from here.  He tied it 
off, and continued on his way, albeit a little slower, to be sure his path 
didn't change direction too much.. and also because he wanted to know if 
he'd managed to slow them down or make them think a little before pursuing.

	He did.  He heard a gruff, gutteral grunt and choke, followed by a 
thud in the distance.  Actually, he heard a pair of them.  SO... they'd 
found his first gift for them the hard way.  Good.  He took off running 
again...



	The lead pair of the X'hirijq elite were hot on the trail of their 
prey.  The Mujeheddim known as Samhain would not escape... they could sense 
his presence and direction, thanks to the majick instilled in them... they 
could feel his fear, they could smell his odor, they could taste...

	their own blood as they ran smack into the neck-level monofilament 
booby trap, slitting their own throats.  In their eagerness, they were 
running much faster than they should have been, and weren't expecting 
anything like that, even after seeing one of their brethren fallen by the 
brook.  Ah well, it had been his own fault for being alone and so far 
ahead, wasn't it?  But now they understood, a split second before their 
deaths... they were chasing something far more dangerous than a mere game 
animal.  They were chasing something fighting for its planet, for its race, 
for its own life.  And that was a dangerous game indeed....

	The X'hirjq commander approached, and surveyed the scene.  He was 
not pleased.  He growled at his group, and ordered them to move more slowly 
and carefully... this one was more dangerous than they'd been told... no 
wonder Lord Barney wanted him dead...



	Ahead on the trail, Samhain paused to catch his breath and check his 
wound.  It was healed.  There was still a bruise, but he was OK.  So he 
figured he may as well take this chance to set up another surprise for his 
friends...



	The X'hrijq moved through the woods easily and quickly, but they 
were being far more cautious now.  They had scouts up in pairs, and the 
bulk followed.

	A scout pair off to the left signaled that there was a trip wire 
set there... their prey had been there, all right.  But unable to see for 
sure where the wire led, they opted to swing a bit more to the right than 
they otherwise would have.  Confident that they'd found the trap set for 
them in the area, they completely missed the tripwire set about a foot 
above the ground off to the right... smack in the middle of where they had 
swung to in order to avoid the other wire...



	Samhain was taking his time now, and being careful.  Suddenly, some 
distance behind him, he heard all hell break loose.  First, one rifle 
firing on full auto, followed by several screams of agony and death.  
Samhain grinned, his trick wire had led them right into the real trap.  The 
original rifle fire was followed by a mass of other rifles returning fire.  
First rule of warfare, right?  If you're shot at, shoot back.  But there 
was nothing there other than the one X'hirjq rifle on a string, and they 
would soon feel QUITE foolish...

To Be Continued...


"The Hunt for Samhain"
Copyright 1995, David R. Hibbs
All Rights Reserved.