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3: The Hunt

They had made good time toward the rendezvous coordinates with Jason's strike force when, for the second time in the last twenty-four hours, Matt again felt the first early warning sign of his possible irreversible change back into his human form, occasional lightheadedness. He had hoped that they would have found something to eat after he woke up that morning; even some of the fruits he was told that the Dorzeli often ate to supplement their dietary needs would have helped, but to his dismay he found out that they were out of season; he had to resign himself to an exclusive carnivorous diet.

His worries about Daihas' reaction to his reverting back into a human also bothered him. When both he and Javfeis had been forced by her to apologize to him for their subterfuge in front of everyone their eyes had met and he saw the anger in them over that embarrassing incident. The same feelings of menace returned when Feih signaled a halt upon Daihas' return from his scouting mission; their eyes met before he walked over to Feih.

Matt noticed a new yet familiar scent in the air while they whispered to each other His senses became more acute and his whole body went on alert as if he was readying for a hunt similar to the one he had the second day as a Dorzeli when his hunger drove him into an almost feral state of mind.

He saw Daihas look at him one more time and move off. Then Feih hand signaled him to move forward and stay on her right while she and the others encircled the area ahead of them. This caused him to suspect that his moment of truth may have arrived.

He picked his way through the bush for over ten minutes before he came upon a scene of destruction and carnage. Strewn across what looked like a well used trail were the remains of over one dozen armored personnel carriers similar to the one he had ridden in over a week ago when he was captured by the Soriss. Some looked as if they had been torn open. He also observed weapons in various states of discharge littered across the area. This evidence, the lack of bodies and the Dorzeli footprints that were everywhere, confirmed for him that another family group had attacked the column and, from some of the scents he detected, that some were present at the Alliance's base during the negotiation of the treaty. He was amazed that he was able to conclude this since he was still human at the time.

He armed both of his rifle's modes and his personal shield then walked out into the open where he saw the source of the strong scent that had reminded him so much of his growing hunger; next to one of the vehicles was a large pool of blood. He crouched down, leaned forward, opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, but at the last moment he resisted the urge to taste it and withdrew. He stood up and looked over the rest of the convoy and found similar pools, but, to his relief, no trace of any bodies which caused him to feel that he could postpone the fulfillment of Jason's order to at as they do, a task hat he had dreaded ever since his change, but one he would have to do to be fully accepted by Feih's family and the other Dorzeli. However, when he rounded a bend in the trail and walked to the front of the destroyed convoy, his hopes all but vanished.

Staked out on the ground like ritualistic sacrifices to some ancient god, were six live Soriss soldiers in their dull yellow and blue uniforms, five males and one female. He also spotted another wrecked carrier that had a message that looked like it was written in blood in Kroon standard on one of its undamaged surfaces. He did not attempt to read it as his attention was drawn to the humanoid forms before him who had become highly agitated when they first saw him approach. When, seconds later, the other members of Feih's clan emerged from the forest around them; some screamed out in panic, especially the female who had become hysterical. Only one among them, a middle aged, stern looking bald headed male, seemed resigned to his fate. Matt thought that this one must have been their squad leader. His assumption was confirmed when he heard him shout to the others, "Die with honor like the others."

Matt was so mesmerized by their presence and smell that he was startled when Feih came up to his left side and said, "The Gresiels did this and left these six out of respect for me and my family's accomplishments." She snorted in disgust and examined the Soriss prisoners. "They've always been envious of us and the amount of kills we've made." She looked the six Soriss over. "They know full well these six won't be able to feed all of us."

He recognized the name of that family. They had the second most successful record against the Soriss, were the most populous of the surviving families at twenty-two members and were led by twin sisters, Astari and Sakeesa, who had been best of friends with Feih when they were young, but, now as leaders of that clan, were her rivals and had often raided Desslat territory.

He managed to tear himself away from the small forms in front of him and look to and over the thirteen members of his adopted family. He had come to know all of their names and their personal stories of tragedy that were brought on by the Soriss occupation of their world during the past fifty-six hours: of parents or children lost or both and of the hardships they endured while on the run from a more numerous enemy that had superior firepower. He would have understood why they had taken their revenge in the manner that they had but the reactions he felt from the sight and smell of the six before him pointed to something much more.

"Matt." He turned to Feih and saw a worried, yet determined look on her face. "You're going to have to choose one of them. No matter what your human sentiments are none of them are going to leave here alive."

With no way out of this situation he decided to carry out the uncomfortable duty of the group's lead male: the distribution "food" amongst them. Feih begged off being first until he had when he looked to her and pointed at the group as a whole, so he called Daihas over. When he arrived Matt saw that his attention was drawn to the female.

He pointed to the female and said, "Take her; maybe she'll take your mind off of my sister." He also hoped it would also take his mind from him.

Daihas bowed to Matt, said, "Thank you," and moved in on the female, who was now screaming at the top of her lungs. He lifted her from the ground and removed her restraints and clothes. Her frantic struggles gained her nothing in his powerful grip. When he turned to leave he took one last look back at Matt; "You understand that I was only teasing you about your sister."

Matt said nothing; he remembered some of the stories the others had told him of how Daihas had taken out his sexual frustrations out on his captives of both sexes during his scouting missions. But he found this in stark contrast to the soothing sounds he made to the whimpering female as he left to find a secluded area with Javfeis in tow. Still, he was glad that Sarah was on Mendall.

He next called over Wutakaih, the mother of Bisafah, the young Dorzeli he had first seen at the scene of his unit's massacre, and Bisafak, his father and now the group's second tallest male.

"You can let your son choose any of them except that one." He pointed to the one he assumed was the leader.

They both thanked him and called their son over. The young Dorzeli ran directly over to the remaining Soriss and licked each one, including the leader; he ignored their screams and protests and his parents warning for him to stop as he did so. Matt was about to tell them that it was all right until Bisafah picked up the bald one.

He stopped midway, looked up and appeared to become frightened. That was when Matt realized that he had growled at the youngster; it was low in volume but was still quite audible. Before he could apologize the immature Dorzeli placed the soldier back onto the ground and chose the one that seemed to have been praying the entire time. The moment the soldier was lifted into the air he went silent. Matt's sensitive hearing told him that the soldier's heart had stopped.

He also heard the screams of the female Daihas had carried off become more frantic. Bisafah wasted no time and bit into the body in his grasp and moved off with his parents.

Matt had become so upset at what he had just done and what his new instincts were telling him to do that he decided to end his unsettling task; "Feih, I'll let you decide what to do with the others." He handed his beam rifle to her, bent down and picked up the bald headed soldier. "But I would like to give this one a fighting chance by allowing him have a head start before I hunt him down." He looked directly at her. "Is that agreeable with you?"

She thought about his request for a moment then gave her approval, with one condition; "I insist that you bring back some proof of your kill."

He bowed to her and said, "I understand."

He turned back to the Soriss, who had taken a particular interest in his weapon, undid his restraints then placed him on his feet where, for a brief moment, they stared into each other's eyes before he smiled and bowed to him. Out of a sense of professional courtesy Matt returned the gesture. The soldier turned and ran into the forest and was soon out of view. Matt believed that the Soriss knew what was about to happen, but was still going to attempt to escape.

Fifteen minutes later, after Feih had helped dispose of the others (he had refused to watch and was surprised at how silent the deed had been carried out) Matt decided he had waited long enough and followed his intended victim's trail into the forest. But, in reality, it was the sounds from the Soriss female that had forced him to leave; her screams, which had begun to sound more like those of pleasure rather than of pain, had started to have a perverse effect on him. He did not hear Feih breathe a sigh of relief as he left or the final anguished cry that came almost five minutes later.

Her brother returned a few minutes later with Javfeis close on his heels. She frowned when she saw both of them licking blood and other fluids from their claws. When their cousin saw how angry she was he slinked off to the rear of the group while Daihas continued to approach her.

"I still cannot believe you allowed Javfeis last night. You could've gotten him hurt or worse if Matt had reacted violently to his advances."

Daihas smirked. "But he didn't because Javfeis is so good at what he does. That's also why I couldn't deny him after his failure and why you didn't punish him."

She had to fight off a smile of her own. "Yes, he did leave Matt a bit...stimulated."

"We all heard how much."

She resumed her earlier demeanor and growled, "You'd do anything to regain your position."

He turned toward the path Matt had used and looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. "I'll always will."

Disgusted she spat out, "You're hopeless."

He turned back and without any hint of anger in his voice he told her that, "If it wasn't for the refusal of the other clans to allow me near any of their females because they blame our parents for our banishment I wouldn't have to keep dealing with inadequate substitutes like that female Soriss or wait for Hatelo." He realized the mistake he had just made and quickly added, "I love Javfeis, but I need something more until she is ready; whether it's Matt or some other human, I don't care; and if it means that I have to lose to him again in order to find out how truly special he is, so be it. But if I win..."

She growled, "I told you before that you're not to touch him until he feels that he's ready." She calmed down for there was some validity to his words. Then she reminded him of the importance of her plan; "With the existence of a Dorzeli Prime in this sector after so many years, even a transformed one, all our hopes of getting off of this planet and back to our home worlds are as close to becoming a reality than at any time since our parents were exiled here, so I don't want anything to cause him to want to leave me...us and cause Jason to have second thoughts about our plan." She turned back to her lover's path. "If Matt succeeds in this he'll prove to the others that my trust in Jason was justified."

"But, do you know how he'll react when he finds out that he may have to leave the company of his people forever?"

"First, let him complete this task. Then I'll decide if and when to tell him of my other plans." She turned back to him and hissed, "And when he returns you're not to tell him what I suspect about his abilities, no matter what."

He saw how serious she was and had to keep his fear hidden from her when he agreed to her demands, "I won't, but what if he doesn't succeed?"

He heard a hint of doubt in her voice when she turned away and said, "I'm confident he won't fail me."

Daihas saw how worried she was and tried to lighten her mood by jokingly telling her; "Well, if he does can I have him?"

She spun around and took a playful swipe at him with her free hand; her claws angled not to inflict injury if they connected. He jumped backward and easily evaded her.

"That remark," she snarled with a grin, "is going to cost you."

She was about to pursue her retreating sibling when they heard a series of muffled explosions in the distance. Fearing the worst she turned and started to run in the direction of the sounds, but halted when they all heard a faint roar.

"I guess he did it," thought Daihas aloud just before a brilliant flash lit up the sky.

4: His First Kill

Matt's powerful Dorzeli senses had had him so locked onto the Soriss soldier's trail that without the aid of an aircraft there would be no chance of escape and at his present rate of progress he knew it would not be long before he would catch him no matter where he hid in the Desslan forest.

He had wondered what he would do when he caught up with the Soriss: he did not want to do what Feih expected of him, but his increased lightheadedness told him that he had very little time left before he would begin to revert back into his human form. This and Jason's orders had severely limited his choices along with the thought of what could happen to him if he went back to Feih empty handed; nowhere in the records had there been any mention of her subspecies of Dorzeli being cannibalistic, but with the knowledge of her true heritage, combined with the look she gave him before he left, he did not want to be the first human to ever find out.

Lost in these thoughts as he made his way forward through the trees which had gotten more numerous and denser. Because of this Matt did not see the Soriss step from behind one of them to his left, but his hearing alerted him in time so that he was able to duck and avoid a particle beam which missed his head and caused a tree to his right to explode when it was struck with heat of the surface of a star. A second shot also missed him. However, he was not fast enough to avoid a third which grazed his left shoulder. He roared out in pain and collapsed onto the forest floor.

He held onto the damaged area of the suit with his right hand and looked in the direction from which the deadly beams had originated. His attacker stood less than fifty meters away and in his hands was a long barreled weapon similar to the one he had lost in the lake several days earlier.

"So," shouted the bald headed humanoid, "they transformed another one of you humans into a Dorzeli?" He gave off a laugh that irritated Matt's nerves to the verge of rage. "You're all fools to believe that that damned Freerah will save you when my people send our reserve fleet here; she's abandoned you and your leader to the fate that all of these vermin deserve." He raised the weapon and took aim at Matt' head.

Instead of thinking of his impending death, Matt felt the anger of being ambushed for the second time since landing on Dessla, which also reminded him of the comrades he had lost, rise within him. This, the pain in his shoulder and the urgency of his hunger overwhelmed him. Then the Soriss' weapon malfunctioned.

He thought, "Please forgive me", and allowed pure instinct to take over.

Shocked at his weapon's failure and what he saw coming toward him the soldier was able to press an auxiliary control on the weapon just before a very moist darkness enveloped and lifted him high into the air. He managed one last laugh of triumph before he lost all feeling in is legs.

Moments later Matt sat down upon the forest floor with his eyes closed, as a mixed state of shock and euphoria washed over his being. He inhaled then made one last final and difficult swallow and was rewarded by another wave of ecstasy and increased energy that was so intense that his that entire body shook. It was more intense than anything that he had ever felt in his entire life. The moment the tremors stopped and his senses returned to normal. He opened his eyes and raised his hands up to his face to confirm that what he had done. The sight of blood on his claws caused the full impact of his first act against a Soriss as a Dorzeli to hit him hard.

He wanted to cry and laugh at the same time as the conflict between his human and Dorzeli emotions raged with in him. He so wanted to believe that he had lost complete control over his actions, but he knew full well that he had enjoyed the act, and, what was worse, that wanted to do it again as soon as possible.

He stood up and sighed, "I guess I'm a full 'native' Dorzeli now."

His attention was drawn down to his body when he felt a very familiar and pleasant pressure in his groin. He saw that he had become partially erect and that he had strained his suit's crotch. That was also when he saw how big he had become when he saw how small the soldier's rifle had become and reduced size of the trees; he had grown to a size that nearly matched Feih's larger form.

"I didn't imagine that last night." he thought as he remembered what had happened, "Her nanites must have matched me to her in almost everyway. That means I'm part Dorzeli-Mu too!"

The full impact of this new discovery about his new form was cut short when his attention was directed to a familiar high pitched whine. He relocated its source within seconds: the Soriss' dropped weapon. He tried to and succeeded to will himself to shrink in size so that he could examine it without crushing it. When he bent down and looked it over he found it curious that it was very similar to the one he had lost, especially in the way its power bar graph on its control panel was blinking. That was when he remembered that most of the earth's more advanced firearms had been based on those that had survived their attempted invasion of Earth. This shocked him into action.

He set it down with care then searched the area for the source of the soldier's weapon as he had to have gotten it after the chase had started. When he picked up additional hums from near where the soldier had stood he hooked his blood caked claws into the dirt and pulled off a camouflaged metal lid that revealed a hidden weapons cache. Dread fill his being when he noticed that the ready lights of over a dozen of rifles and side arms and their energy packs blinked in unison to the one on the beam rifle and that the sequence was accelerating.

He dropped the lid, turned and ran. Seconds later all of the indicator lights locked into a steady bright glow.

Matt roared out Feih's name just as a white ball of energy overtook him.