Hunters moon

14: Naledi Diphiri

Still breathing, still alive, the hyena laid grunting on the ground, it's arm gone, the shoulder gone, ribs exposed, even the skin on it's face was missing, a bare, partially fleshed skull was all that remained of the right side of it's muzzle.

"It's, it's that one you point blanked with the twenty mil!" Frits said still aiming the Browning.

"Fokkit! You really don't know when to die do you!?" Koos yelled peeking over the top hatch but still had his finger on the trigger.

The hyena gave a quick laugh "I assure you, if you shoot me now, I will die, that I know" It spoke, catching Koos and Frits completely off guard.

"You can talk!?"

"What?" It struggled for breath "That boy with you told you nothing?"

"No! And he's been a real pain in the ass about it!"

"Well, good then, it's better you know nothing, even if you don't shoot me, I probably won't make it, and if I were you I'd leave, and forget you ever saw me" It wheezed and lied down.

"Hoi! Don't die here! I want answers!"

"Oh spare me, I told you, it's better you don't know" It heaved, but gave another laugh "At least I could confirm one thing, the rumors about the South African defence force are true, you really do... Put up... One hell of a fight..." It closed it's eyes.

"Fok! Piet! Get a medkit out here! Now!"

Piet grabbed the kit and came out around the Ratel, he halted in his steps "Fucksakes! look at this thing!"

"Fix it up Piet, as much as you can"

"But it's basically a carcass!"

"Bandage it up! Lift it slowly, even if you have to use all the bandages"

Piet started following the order, he heaved it into a sitting position, then bandaged it up, even using his shirt as an extra. He then laid it down again.

"Good job Piet, now stick it with adrenalin, make that three, stick it with three tubes of adrenalin"

Piet took the three tubed needles and stuck them into it's neck, squeezing out all three, it wasn't even a second and the hyena gasped flying up, Piet jumped back "O fok!!" He yelled lifting a shotgun to it.

"What have you done!?" It yelled at him.

"Saved your life! That's what!" He yelled back.

"I told you to leave me! More like me will be coming here! And I doubt you have the ammo left to go another round of cannonball run like you did before!"

"If you knew more hyenas are coming? Then why tell us? Why not stay silent and allow them to surprise us?"

"Because they aren't hyenas, they're werewolves, and I hate them!"

Koos grunted 'Werewolves?' he thought.

"Can you get into the Ratel?"

"Why!?"

"Let me guess, if they come here and find you like this, they'll kill you right?"

The hyena hung it's head "Yes"

"Then get in!" Koos bellowed.

The hyena looked up at him angrily, then heaved pushing itself up with one arm, it slowly came around and squeezed through the hatch.

"What the f**k!? You're helping it!?" Quintin yelled bewildered.

"Hey kiddo" It said.

"Oh f**k! You again!"

"You two know each other?" Koos asked.

"It's the leader! It almost killed me!"

"Oh shut up kid, you're too loud" It said and lied down on the floor of the Ratel. Bare chested, Piet jumped in and got first gear.

"Back to the border Piet" Koos called as they drove off.

"No, you can't go to your camp with me!" The hyena said.

"You need urgent medical attention"

"No, I'll be fine, head west"

"West!? That's deeper into the hotzone"

"There's a neutral zone between your hot zone and our hot zone, I'll tell you when to stop" It said and lifted itself, looking out of a peep hole, they drove for about fifteen minutes when it told them to stop. Koos looked out the hatch, then checked the coordinates, they were still safe so he agreed to this spot "Find a big bush and hide it Piet"

"Yes sir"

Koos closed the hatch above him then turned to the animal now laying on its back.

"Ok hyena, spill it"

It glared at him "f**k you! I'm no soldier of yours, nor am I in your dept for saving me, I don't have to tell you anything asshole!"

Koos felt his head throb, all this confidential s**t and shooting at animals trying to kill them, this type of a day was one of the worst he has had in his twenty years serving in Angola, he reached for his cooler and took out a beer, then cracked it.

"I couldn't help noticing, but are you female?" Piet asked straightforward.

"Yes" She smiled "What gave it away?"

Not taking into consideration that she was an animal, nor did her damaged face faze him "You have a big rack, couldn't miss it since I had to bandage your chest up" He smiled at her, she looked away, Koos could swear she was blushing, and Piet really had a screw loose if he smiled at her because of it.

"You'll only get that lucky once" She replied.

"You have a name?" Piet continued.

"It's Naledi"

"Naledi, that's a nice name, doesn't it mean star?"

She looked at him "How did you know that?"

"My previous battalion was mixed with Vambo and Angolan men, they taught me some of the language"

Naledi frowned "Thirty two battalion?"

"Yeah, so you heard of them hey?"

Not only did she hear of them, she could swear she has met this man before, but, maybe three years ago, when that very same battalion marched into her town to camp for the night.

She didn't really care about them, when it came to anything war related, she was more focused on her own war, but that's when she saw him sitting one side, instead of having a rifle like the other men, he had a pump action shotgun.

"Who brings a shotgun to a bush war?" She asked him bluntly that day.

"Me" He gave her a blunt answer back, she sat down with him, they started talking, started drinking alcohol, one thing lead to another and they ended up sharing a bed.

It was one part her fault one part his, she saw him as a quick fling, a chance to try some new meat, and boy did she enjoy it, but that next morning he was gone when she woke up, and she remained angry at him for that till this day, but now, how will he respond if he found out it was her? Would he even remember her? She barely did, and maybe that was because of that scar on the side of his face.

"I heard about them, Buffalo insignia, nicknamed 'The terrible ones' so why are you here? Babysitting?"

The three men burst out with laughter, Quintin folded his arms grunting.

"Well, we don't really know why were here, we were told to escort this kid here so he could safely study hyenas, we just didn't expect you to be this kind of hyena" Koos said.

Naledi looked at Quintin, then at Piet, refusing to speak to Koos "Do you have anything strong to drink?" She asked Piet, this was the very question she asked him when they started to get along back then, and that time Piet produced a bottle of brandy.

"Frits, there in the back is an ammo crate, check inside" Piet said.

Frits opened, and sure enough he took a bottle of brandy out "How long were you planning on hiding this treasure Piet!? Do you know how hard it is to find this stuff here!?" Frits asked, but Naledi sat up and took it from him

"Hoi!"

"Sorry, I get the first sip"

"You can have the whole bottle, There's about six more in here" Frits said taking another out.

"Good" She opened the bottle with her mouth and took a drink, tilting her head to one side preventing the liquid from falling out her right lipless side, the three men started to chuckle and she looked at them.

"What?"

"No it's just weird seeing a hyena drink out of a bottle" Frits said.

"Oh f**k you!" She turned to Quintin "Well kiddo, it's time to start talking, because I'm not saying Jack s**t!"

Quintin looked at the three men with them, they were watching him with sincerity, he sighed and told them of the four laws, the war of the werewolves being covered up by their war, but he left the part he played out. The soldiers sat thinking, it must be a lot to take in.

"Well, I can't say I don't believe you boet, I mean were sitting with such a creature here right now" Koos said "But, what were you doing here?"

"Well, I need permission to tell you that sir, with all due respect, I have my orders"

Koos nodded "Very well, I can live with that" He looked at Naledi, she was down on the floor, the bottle of brandy finished, her eyes closed.

"Hoi! Are you dead!?" Koos yelled and her ears flattened.

"No! You loudmouth bastard! The alcohol kicked in quicker than I thought, I'm going to sleep now!" She yelled not opening her eyes. Koos took a bottle of brandy for himself and handed one to Piet.

"It would have been nice to have some ice with this" Frits said.

"How can you three drink it clean like that?" Quintin asked.

Frits held a bottle out to him "No, I don't think I can handle brandy, I can barely stand wine"

"Take it!" Koos said loudly.

"But!?"

"It's your punishment! For putting us through this s**t!"

He slowly took the bottle, then opened it. "You will drink that whole bottle Frikkie" Koos said as Quintin winced at its smell. Quintin took a sip, but swallowed too quick then coughed "f**k! I'm gonna die!"

The three men laughed, even Naledi couldn't help it.

"You're such a p***y" She said.

"Look who's talking!" He said still coughing "You're there on your back because of this s**t!"

The night went on like this, the men drank, Naledi did pass out eventually, and Quintin drank himself sick until he also passed out.

***

"The Diphiri clan has been wiped out your Majesty, there would be no better opportunity to take the Delta"

"Are you sure all off them are dead!?"

"There were no survivors known of"

"Good, the Delta never concerned me, but I am glad that wretched pack has been dealt with, tell me? How did it happen? It must have been a very skillful pack to succeed at that?"

"It was no pack your Majesty, it was the SANDF"

"What!?"

"Yes your Majesty, the soldiers accidentally succeeded in killing all of them, in an attempt to save themselves"

"This is worrying..." She stood up "When is the next moon?"

"In about three days your Majesty"

"Good, I think this will be a good chance for Naomi to prove herself, before the SANDF gets too much grip on whats really going on"

"They are mere humans your Majesty, why worry?"

"The Diphiri clan was the only one's who knew my true intentions, they had the same goals as I did, and they were literary the only pack who stood in my way, next to that, they were also the biggest in terms of sheer numbers, so if the SANDF figured out how to kill us, the word will spread, they could be drawn in, and a another barricade would drop in my path, I want all my competition dealt with before I act, it needs to happen as quickly as possible"

"Yes your Majesty, as you wish"