Consuming Fire

Chapter 9: The Treacherous Moore

"I'm pretty sure he's hiding somewhere," Moore muttered, frustration evident in his voice.

"Hm, well, you've met him, right? And his name is?" Draven inquired, his interest piqued.

"Hunter. His name is Hunter."

"Hm, Hunter, huh? He's the one who's been stealing my resources and weapons. That damn b***h," Draven growled.

He stood up, his imposing figure casting a long shadow, and ordered Moore to find Hunter and bring him to him. Moore, ever the obedient commander, nodded in agreement. "Yes, sir."

Moore was a high-ranking commander in the Private Executioner Army, and he had been close to Hunter for some time. As he walked outside the compound, one of the soldiers approached, ready to assist in the search for Hunter and his friends. They climbed into a vehicle and headed towards the town.

Draven stood by the window, staring out at the desolate landscape. "Hunter, huh? Not a bad name," he mused to himself.

As Moore and his three soldiers made their way to the town, they noticed soldiers at the outposts checking supplies and listing what was missing. Moore ordered the driver to halt. "Halt! Just a moment."

He dismounted and approached the soldiers. "What's happening here?" he asked one of them.

"We're missing some ammunition and a pack of assault rifles and snipers," replied the soldier, who was busily listing the missing supplies.

Moore's mind raced. This had to be Hunter and his friends, stealing supplies. He quickly returned to the vehicle, and they continued their journey.

When they reached Region 22, they saw the same scene: soldiers listing missing supplies. It was the same in Regions 23 and 24. Moore's frustration grew. "This is not good. Let's find them quickly! Drive fast!" he exclaimed.

Their destination was Moore's town, a place he had once protected. As they arrived, they saw only a few remaining villagers; most had left with Hunter in search of safety. Moore commanded his three soldiers to question the remaining villagers.

"Where's Hunter?!"

"Where is this Hunter?!"

"Hunter! Do you know about this Hunter?!"

The villagers remained silent, unwilling to betray Hunter. The three soldiers returned to Moore, reporting that no one knew where Hunter was.

"Those liars!" Moore fumed. "Call the Section 4 truck," he commanded one of his soldiers.

"Yes, sir," the soldier replied, and made the call.

Section 4 was a unit number for a vehicle filled with special forces, a backup team for situations just like this. After a few hours, the truck arrived, and over twenty-four soldiers poured out, ready for action.

They approached Moore, who ordered them, "This was the town I was holding. Raid the village and kill all the people. Take it, and this will be the new outpost."

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers chorused, eager to carry out their orders.

Moore's town was the last place he had held back from conquest, but now it was to be transformed into another outpost for the Private Executioner Army on Hunchback Island.

The soldiers moved swiftly, rounding up the remaining villagers. Screams and cries filled the air as they mercilessly executed Moore’s orders. Moore watched, his face a mask of determination. He knew that leaving any trace of resistance could jeopardize their mission.

As night fell, the soldiers continued their relentless search for Hunter. They scoured every house, every corner of the village, but Hunter and his friends were nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, Hunter, Sarah, Durk, and the others were hidden deep in the forest, watching the village from a distance. They saw the smoke rising, heard the distant sounds of gunfire and screams. Sarah's eyes filled with tears, but Hunter held her close, whispering, "We’ll make it through this. We have to."

Durk, ever the strategist, was already formulating their next move. "We need to keep moving. They’ll never stop searching for us," he said.

Hunter nodded, his resolve hardening. "We’ll fight back. For every person they kill, we’ll make them pay tenfold."

The group stayed hidden until the first light of dawn. They knew the search would continue, and they had to stay one step ahead. Hunter’s mind raced with plans, strategies to outmaneuver the Private Executioner Army. He knew that the fight was far from over, but he also knew that they had something Draven’s army lacked: hope and a burning desire for freedom.

Back in the village, Moore and his soldiers were growing weary. The search had yielded nothing, and the night was dragging on. "Keep searching," Moore barked, unwilling to admit defeat. "Hunter and his friends have to be here somewhere."

But as the hours ticked by, it became clear that Hunter had slipped through their fingers once again. Moore cursed under his breath, vowing that he would not rest until Hunter was captured.

The soldiers continued their search, scouring every inch of the village and surrounding areas, but as dawn broke, there was still no sign of Hunter. Moore knew that this was just the beginning of a long and grueling hunt. He could feel it in his bones: Hunter Freeman was not going to be easy to catch.

– – –

"That's Moore. He's with the Private Executioners," said Hunter.

Sarah didn't believe that Moore was one of the Private Executioners. "That traitor. That's why he's not in the house when he left the village."

Now Hunter had an idea why, when he was looking for Moore, he saw he wasn't at his desk or in any room inside the big house. He stood up, went back to the cave, and picked up his rifle. After picking up his rifle, he returned to the place where they were hiding and watching Moore in the village.

Sarah asked him, as she saw Hunter holding a rifle, "Wait, Hunter, what are you doing?"

"I'm gonna kill that guy. I'm sure he reported me to his boss." He c****d his rifle and aimed at Moore's head, but Sarah stopped him, warning him not to shoot as the soldiers might see them and discover their hiding place. Despite this, Hunter pulled the trigger and missed the shot.

Moore quickly reacted as he heard a piece of wood being shot. He looked at the distance where the bullet came from and saw Hunter with Sarah. "There you are, b***h," said Moore.

While Hunter kept trying to shoot Moore, Sarah was stopping him. Suddenly, a sniper gunshot alerted them, and the bullet hit the tree beside them. "Oh, s**t! We have to run!" said Sarah.

But as they tried to retreat, they were cornered by the Private Executioners. "We got them! Don't move or we'll shoot you! Stop!" shouted one of the soldiers.

Hunter and Sarah didn't move, but after a moment's pause, Hunter made a move, picking up his rifle and trying to shoot one of the soldiers. However, Moore shot him with a tranquilizer, and Sarah was hit as well.

They both fell down, and Hunter saw Moore walking towards him. "Find the others and kill them all," Moore ordered his soldiers. "Thanks to Sarah, now I've captured you, puppy." He kicked Hunter in the face, causing him to be knocked out as the tranquilizer's effect was slow.

After a few hours of being unconscious, Hunter was punched in the face and woke up in surprise. He found himself sitting in a chair, his hands tied to the armrests and his feet bound to the chair legs. He saw Moore in front of him, and beside him was Sarah, tied to a chair the same way.

"We're so tired of looking for you. Fortunately, you missed the shot because of Sarah," Moore said, then looked at Sarah. "Thanks, Sarah."

Then Draven Grimlock arrived. "Well, what do we have here? Hunter?" said Draven.

Hunter's anger suddenly surfaced, growing worse than mere anger or hatred. He couldn't speak as his mouth was covered with duct tape. His hands clenched into fists, trembling with irritation. The way he looked at Draven was like a predator eyeing its prey.

"So this is Hunter. You're the one who steals my resources, huh? Well, that's not so bad. In exchange for what you did, I'll take your partner's life." He pulled out his 1911 pistol and shot Sarah in the head. Sarah's head exploded as the bullet went through, blood splattering on the chair and the ground.

Draven kicked Sarah's lifeless body to the ground and turned to face Hunter. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill you," he said. "Bring more contestants!" He commanded his soldiers, who then brought in four people who were members of Hunter's group from the cave. Their hands were tied together, and they were kneeling on the ground.

"Hunter," said Draven, "watch how I exterminate people." Hunter shouted, but they couldn't understand him with his mouth covered in duct tape. Draven began shooting them, one by one, in the head. After killing the four people, Draven said to Moore, "Take this asshole to jail."

"Yes, sir," Moore replied. He and his soldiers took Hunter to the jail at the back of the compound.

Inside the jail, Hunter was filled with rage. He wanted to kill Draven if he had just a chance, but he was tied to the chair and imprisoned. "I'm gonna kill you, Moore, along with your boss," he muttered. Tears of anger streamed down his face as his tightly clenched hands bled.

Meanwhile, Durk and three other friends, Joseph, Oliver, and Becker, were captured. Durk witnessed his friends being shot in the head by Draven. He was left alive and taken to the prison as well. All the people captured in the cave were killed by Moore's soldiers, and the stolen supplies, weapons, and ammunition were recovered.