Lineak walked slowly through the underbrush relishing the feel of the wind whipping at his hair and the amazing new scents that it brought.  Who knew that a forrest could be full of so many amazing smells? His trained eyes searched for the presence of animals in the area he was not disapointed.  The forest appeared to be rich in animal life something that his stomache appreciated very much.  It took a few hours but he laid out a simple trap line hoping to fill his belly with rabbits or other small woodland fare.  Knowing that it could take several hours before any of his snares were tripped he sat down with his back to a tree and began drifting off to sleep.

A furrious whooshing of wings as birds rose from the canopy was the first sign that things were not as they should be.  As Lineak attempted to rouse himself his nostrils caught the sharp scent of unwashed sweaty skin.  He stood and stared into the trees looking for the man or woman to reveal themselves, they did.  A trio of men walked towards him holding a pair of rabbits between them. 

"Those are mine" he snarled.

"Whoa we have a fiesty one over here" the feminine voice came from behind him.  He tried turning his head to face the newcomer and was rewarded with a rifle butstock to the forehead.  He crumpled to the ground.

Trickling water was the first thought through his head as he awoke followed by really my hands are tied? He opened his eyes having to strain them to see anything in the darkness.  He tried to utilize his other senses instead.  A very faint breeze coming in from the right brought with it the smell of rabit and vegetables cooking.  The sound of water drops falling came from all around but not like rain, more like water dripping down a wall.  And then the last, voices, multiple voices both from the left and the right.  The ones on the right muffled perhaps by distance and the ones on the left echoing slightly.  He gritted his teeth thinking through the situation, it was bad.  He was in a cave, tied up in a cave, with at least four captors to deal with.

"So what exactly are we going to do with him, or have you even thought that far ahead?"

"Look at the way he's dressed he's obviously a local.  Looks like a hunter at best a farmer at worst.  Either way we can use him to help us stock our larder and when he's outlived his usefullness, well then he has."

"So now we need help feeding ourselves do we?"

"Yes, if we are sticking around long enough to get all of the repairs done and evading detection from the authorities.  Or did you forget we are being hunted."

A man and a woman from the sound of the voices, and the woman was the one who had hit him.  Who was this man it seemed like he was the one in charge even if the woman openly mocked him.  It seemed that he was indeed in a bad position he was going to have to prove usefull to these oafs if he was to live.  His mind went back to the clearing where he first encountered them trying to glean any usefull information.

The three men he had seen were of average height and build, scruffy as if they hadn't shaved in a few days.  All of them wore hats pulled down low over their eyes casting the rest of their faces into shadow.  That wouldn't do.  What else was there?  Gunsmoke and grease that might help perhaps? Had the men been armed? They had been holding his rabbits but he hadn't seen any rifles had he? Coats, they had been wearing long lightweight coats nothing like what he'd seen on the farm.  Not designed for keeping in warmth but for concealment that had to be it.  Belts with ammunition now that was interesting.  Pistols then and they had no qualms using them if their clothing reaked of gunsmoke.  The grease though that was tricky.  They didn't all smell that way, one of the men in particular did.  Why was the question.  He doubted it was from working on a tractor or a log splitter.  There was something else there if only he could wrap his mind around it.

"Good morning sleepy head" interrupted his thoughts.  The woman came closer a cup of water help out to him.

"Should I thank you or rip your damn head off woman?" Lineak growled out.

The woman frowned before throwing the contents of the cup directly into his face.  "You need to learn a little respect if you are going to stay alive.  The first lesson is don't speak unless spoken to you understand?"

"What happened to him being useful darling?"

There it was darling of course they had a relationship that was why he put up with her.  That and the fact that she was attractive, albeit a bit ripe smelling.  He filed the information away and turned his attention to the man who was with her.  The man rested against a cave wall sans coat returning his gaze.  One hand at his side and the other idley playing with a holstered revolver.  Something about the revolver and holster brought back stories he had heard in his youth.  Gunslinger that's what this man was.  The holster worn lower than normal with half of the length cut away, yes a gunslinger.  Lineak's blood ran cold.  However slim his chances of getting away were before, they had just dipped drastically lower.

"Would you look at that it almost looks like he recognizes you" purred the woman.

The man studied Lineak's face for a few more seconds before responding, "Not me, but what I am.  That might be a good thing, it means he knows if he tries anything stupid he'll be dead before he knows it."

"Who the hell are you and why me? What did I ever do you you?" The words rasped from Lineak's thoat.

The man and woman looked at each other and laughed darkly.  "If it's names that you're after you can call me Fang.  As for her, I suggest you watch what you call her.  She's got some violent tendencies you should know first hand.  As for the why, I'm pretty sure you heard already.  You my good sir are going to make our stay in this primitive little dump a little more hospitable."

"I'm going to need something to eat before I do anything.  You and your men stole my rabbits, and then you ruined them."

The woman raised an eyebrow, "Ruined them how?"

"Who eats rabbits with vegetables?" The last word was laced heavily with contempt, he'd been forced to eat those horrid things his whole life.  Meat, fresh bloody meat that was what made a meal now.  His stomache growled thinking of the prospect of such a meal. 

"There's more to this one than meets the eye Fang.  Nobody can smell that well, nobody.  Who knows what else he's hiding."

"I suppose you're going to want to put a constant guard on him just to make sure, right? Go ahead and get the others and brief them on the way.  Damn son, why did you have to go and make yourself a threat? That just means more work on our part.  More work means more stress and more stress means more chances you eat a bullet."

The woman walked towards the cave entrance and Lineak was forced to admit she looked just as enticing from the rear, perhaps even more so.  If his lustfull gaze offended the gunslinger there was no sign of it, at first.

"Don't go getting any thoughts in your head.  She's mine and make no mistake about it.  If I even think that you and her might go there my crew will be down one body and you'll be feeding the worms.  But enough of that, tell me about yourself."

"Not much to tell.  I'm me, I'm tied up, and you are going to kill me when I'm of no use to you anymore.  What more do you need to hear?"

Two more voices rang out from the cave interior and the other two men Lineak had seen strode into view.  One of the men held a steaming bowl in front of him and offered it to Lineak.

"Here you go, go on take a sip.  Mind you there's chunks in it."

Fang pointed to each of the two men in turn, "This one's Malik and the other Salvin they'll keep you company for a while.  If you need something let them know.  They may help you, but they're just as likely to dump your body in a hole somewhere." On that note he walked away towards the cave entrance.

"Boss lady says to keep you alive for now but there's plenty we can do to you and still keep you alive.  You hear me? By the gods I can't wait until we can get off this craptastic rock. Of all the places to crash why did it have to be this worthless planet?"

"Look at that Malik he's confused.  Poor idiot has no idea about space travel.  I wonder if he knows anything at all."

"Have to admit he knew how to set those traps out there.  Not enough to know that he'd be feeding us though haha."

"Just another ignorant savage.  Well, you're taking first watch while I take a nap."

Ignorant savage indeed Lineak thought as the beginings of a plan began to formulate in his mind.  He slowly began working the rope holding his hands tied behind his back.  The rope bit into his skin rubbing it raw and then biting deeper into his flesh.

"Water I need some water Malik, please" Lineak tried sounding as pituful as he could.  When the man turned his back to grab a cup Lineak made his final move on the ropes squeezing his bloody wrists free from the restraints.  As Malik turned towawrd him with the cup of water Lineak threw his body up from the floor of the cave.  At the last moment he uneashed a powerful uppercut smashing Malik into unconsciousness. 

The small moan that escaped did little to disturb the sleeping Salvin.  A quick search of Malik's body later and a Salvin was left to an eternal sleep with his throat spraying arterial spray all over the cave walls.  Malik followed close behind.

Minutes later Malik exited the cave glancing over towards the roaring fire and the man and woman who stared upwards into the stars.  A gruff "gotta pee" and he disappeared into the trees.  He quickly shed his hat and coat taking a moment to thank the gods that his ruse had worked.  Lineak was free.  But not free from being hunted.  He was certain the death of their mechanic would come back to haunt him.  He shrugged his shoulders and patted his "new" revolvers on either hip he wouldn't be such an easy target nex time.

Over the course of the next few hours Lineak watched with interest as the skin on his hands and wrists regenerated.  He had never seen such a thing, and it was amazing.  As much as he wanted to crawl into a hole and sleep for a week he needed to put some distance between him and the remaining two members of the what would you call them? Space travelers? Rogues? Pirates? Whatever their names he needed some space between him and them.

The yet unnamed woman rolled off of Fang, "Mmmm thank you lover.  Time to check on the boys and see if they're still behaving."  She grabbed a torch and dipped it into the still crackling fire before heading into the cave.  "I'll be damned" she whispered when she encountered the corpses.  "More to this one indeed, I'm going to have to find you.  I guarantee you won't like it when I do."  The woman leaned down over Malik's corpse and licked the blood from his neck grinning as she did so.  "Mmmm Malik you taste so good."  A quick flash saw her fingernails grow into claws and seconds later Malik's heart was free from the confines of his chest cavity and on the way to her stomache.

Fang approached as his lover was gorging herself.  "My dear you have no idea how hot that is.  Do you mind if I snack on Slavin though? It's been far too long since I've dined on real flesh.  I fear we're going to need our strength to find our missing friend."

Hours of hurried travel left Lineak hungry, thirsty, and starved for a plan on how to deal with the threat coming after him.  A pool of water was the perfect place to help with two of the three.  He quickly slaked his thirst on the cool refreshing water before trying his hand at fishing.  It took patience but at last he was rewarded with a couple of decent sized trout.  No need to waste any of it, he gulped them down bones, entrails, everything.  Weariness was attempting to force his eyes closed but the hunter in him refused to let it.  A plan he needed a plan.  What did he have that these folks did not? They had longer range guns, she had a rifle after all.  Fang was a gunslinger there was no way to compete in a gunfight in the open.  How could he hope to survive?

Traps, I need traps lots of traps.  Strategically placed I can funnell them into a kill zone.  Ambush these same punks who ambushed me.  How epic would that be? As that thought passed though his mind his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out into the darkness of sleep.

"Lydia we're going to need the rest of the men, you know that right? Well maybe all, keep two behind two scavenge for food in case it takes time to track down our guest."

"I contacted them already Fang, they'll be here within the hour.  Did you dispose of the bodies yet?"

"Of course not.  The men need to see the horrific damage that the young man inflicted on one of their friends.  They need to let the hate build inside of them."

"Fang, you are truly evil.  I love it."

There are trails and then there are false trails and then there are hidden trails.  I need all three of them to pull this off and I need lots of them.  I need traps, all kinds of traps.  I need time more than anything.  How can I pull this off?

The first thing I need to do is find the perfect spot for an ambush.  High ground with a view of the ground underneath.  Somewhere they won't be able to hide from my bullets.  But it has to be closish to the surrounding vegetation and my traps that I lay.

It took time but Lineak was able to find such a place, minutes after finding it he began working on putting his plan into fruition.  Vines of all sizes were needed in large quantities and these he found in abundance.  Wood for spikes, wood for spears, wood for fire, wood for shelter all in abundance.  The true test would be in putting everything together.  If it worked he might just live to see another day.  If not, well he just might not.

Miles away a small army of men and women began following the trail left behind by a man running for his life unheeding of the people following behind.  Lydia tuggen on Farn's hand ensuring his attention would be directed to her.  "I promised you having a tracker with us would be a good idea didn't I?"

The heat beat down through the trees as Lineak wiped sweat off of his forehead.  He was finished with the preparations.  Now it was just a waiting game.  He would need his wits about him when the two came calling.  He mentally ran through the list of traps that began 500 yards from the begining of his kill zone.  Every snare, every dead drop, every noose, every single trap was in place he could only hope that they would work.

Twenty people crawled through the forest intent on finding a lone man.  On point one man whose job it was to track him down.  The first ten miles a child could have followed the trail, then things got strange.  Tracks appeared and disappeared at ramdom.  There was no rhyme or reason.  Hours of time were eaten trying to find the correct path among false path after false path.  Frustrated he leaned against a pine tree.  In a split second a log swung down from a tree opposite leaving nothing more than a smear on the pine tree.  A collective gasp rose from the ranks of the army.

The sound reached Lineak's ears and he groaned in frustration.  This was going to be far more difficult than anticipated.  He began running down the hillside if he was going to live through this he was going to have to help narrow the odds a bit more in his favor.  The wheels in his head turned as he ran thinking through all of the trap placements, maybe the sheer volume would work in his favor.  Dramatically in his favor he hoped.

In the forest below the army was begining to find out just how trapped the area truly was.  Fiskin was the next to die when he idavertently stepped onto the trigger of a dead drop five hundred pounds of assorted rubble crushed his body and trapped Leksyia's body halfway underneath where she would bleed to death in minutes.  Father behind Nadelin felt something touch her neck just seconds before the ground disappeared beneath her and she was suddenly dangling with a noose around her neck.  Several crewmen rushed to her rescue just in time to find themsevles skewered by swinging branches laced with barbed points.

Lineak ran to what he hoped was the flank of the group of people heading towards his hill.  He smiled in satisfaction as he heard the cries of the wounded and dying.  He would have to do this quietly at first no sense in giving his position away.  He moved quickly, but quietly, through the woods searching for his target.  A flash of color gave away the man's position and it was all Lineak needed.  He ran towards his target wrapping his hand around the man's mouth and stabbing him in the kidney before pulling the blade free and ramming it in the side of the man's neck barely missing his spine.  From the shouts of frustratio he heard coming from in front of him his work was far from done.

Fang surveyed the scene, at least what he could see and hear of it.  Numerous dead and wounded and still they were in the blasted forest.  He was looking forward to exacting his revenge on the worthless piece of rubbage who was inflicting the losses on his men.  He looked over to his right and smiled at the blood lust in Lydia's eyes.  "Yes darling, there will be blood to dine on tonight.  Perhaps enough to bathe in.  But let's just make sure to kill this nuisance first shall we?"

Lineak continued moving in from the flank his next victim saw him for a fraction of a second before a spear passed through his open mouth drowning out his shouted warning.  Lineak pulled the spear free of the man and continued moving.

The next two to die were on opposite ends of the skirmish line.  Raz and Jabel both thought they were being cautious as they slowly took in the forest around them. Neither one noticed the trip wires, nor felt them as they were tripped.  Both bodies ceaced forward movement as they were impaled to the forest floor from above by spears that had quickly hurtled down piercing from skull through groin.  As the army dwindled groups of men and women began to clump together believing there was safety of some kind of numbers.  This was only partly true. 

Lineak encountered his first grouping of individuals, two men and a woman, who spotted him and began to fill the forrest full of lead.  This was a first for Lineak, and he could honestly say that he  did not exactly enjoy it.  A bullet grazed his tricep as he ran through the trees attempting to make himself for difficult to hit.  So much for the quiet approach, it was time to put these people down.  He pulled one revolver loose of it's holster and checked the chamber, six shots three people.  No problem in theory.

Trying to keep moving quickly and find a clear shot was difficult not something the hunter in him was used to doing.  His first shot aimed at one of the men hit high and to the right, five left.  His second shot hit the woman in the leg.  Damn he had been aiming at the man to her left.  Shots three and four though those hit their target perfectly putting an end to the man on the woman's right with bullets through his throat and chest.  The woman was losing blood and that was alright that might put her out of the fight for the moment that left two bullets for the other man.  Where was he though?

The woman's scream of terror made Lineak look around.  Oh, he had misjudged one of the traps.  The man had tried to circle around behind him and had got his head in a snare that once triggered had pulled the snare tight and sent it forcefully into the air.  Meant to have the target strange to death it didn't quite do that.  The corpse tumbled to the ground as the head went sailing through the air.

"Die you bastard!"

A bullet ripped through his left thigh.  Enough was enough she wasn't out of the fight just yet.  Lineak aimed the revolver at the woman and put both bullets through her chest.  Hmm he was going to have to go back to high ground now and hope that he and the traps had done enough damage to help narrow the odds.

Lydia and Fang came upon the trio of bodies and licked their lips each dipping a finger into a corpse and sucking the blood from it.  Fang was the first to notice the blood trail.

"Would you look at that? Looks like they actually managed to hit him and pretty good too if the amount of blood is telling the truth.  Looks like you and I can have the pleasure of finishing him off."

The wound in his leg hurt and hurt bad.  It was slowing him down as well something that he had not counted on.  Looking behind him he could see the trail of blood and groaned.  Not good not good at all.  He was midway through the killing field when he was spotted by another group two women and a man.  Whoops and catcalls came floating towards Lineak as the group came running quickly towards him intent on picking off the hapless prey.

The trio quickly surrounded Lineak and began toying with him.  Spitting quick kicks to his legs and punches to various body parts began in earnest.  Lineak felt none of it, indeed seconds after hearing the first of the calls his mind had gone into hyperdrive trying to find some way out of the bad situation.  While the three continued mocking and beating him he tured his body slightly and with minima effort reached out to grab the man's crotch in a vice like grip before twisting that hand along with his body towards an oncoming blow.  He lowered his head and proppelled it into the oncoming fish hearing the satisfying crunch of bones breaking.  Still holding onto the man's genitals he ripped free his knife and slammed in into the throat of the female with the broken hand.  The remaining woman pulled out a pistol but was quickly cut down with a thrust of the knife through her left eye.  The man was put out of his misery just as quickly.

Lineak continued hobbling towards the hill looking back behing himself occasionally he was mere yards from the hill when he saw the two of them exit the woodline.  Damn, he had hoped the traps would have killed them off.  The fact that they hadn't been killed did not make him feel very good about his current situation.  Groaning in pain and frustration he continued plugging on upwards up the hill until he passed out from exhaustion.

Both Lydia and Fang noticed the small frigure at the base of the hill and their excitement grew to a fever pitch.  They strode forward unminding of any possible danger they could possibly be in as they attempting to make contact with their prey.  Closing in on ther prey Lydia turned to Fang with a gleam in her eye, "Let me deal with him, please.  I've got something special planned for him."  How could he turn her down? Fang was quick to agree to the request.  Roughly half an hour later the duo came upon Lineak in a crumpled heap on the hill.

Lydia gave out a small cry of glee as she ran forward and flipped him over onto his back.  She slapped him accross the face violently one, twice, and a third time.  "Wake up you.  You and I are about to have a bit of fun." 

Lineak's eyes opened briefly and closed again, this was it this was the end.  All the planning and preparation, all the hard work was for nothing.  All of it just do die at the hands of this woman.  Lydia moved quickly straddling the prone figure leaning down close to whisper next to his ear, "Fang has never killed twenty people in such as short time.  Do you know how badly that turns me on?"

By the gods this woman was sadistic.  The thought raced through Lineak's mind not quickly enough to be finished before Lydia still astride him pulled loose one of his revolvers put the barrell underneath her other armpit and pulled the trigger.  Fang fell wordlessly to the ground a bullet between the eyes.  "Now where were we?" Lydia purred seductively as she leaned down to tease his bloody mouth mith a kiss.  Lineak's body had no choice but to respond, and respond it did.  Not the way that Lydia anticipated though.  A flash of steel and Lineak's blade buried itself in her temple black blood dripping down from the entrance wound onto his battered face.  He rolled the corpse of his body and lay staring at the sun.  It was over, finally over.

Ok think this should qualify for my 50 points!