I’m not writing this as a complaint, it’s just a way to vent, the association has fallen behind on payments again and that means we will have fewer resources to work with. This wouldn’t be so bad, if it weren’t for the fact that these last two weeks the requests have become much more frequent, to the point where we have had to stop the practices with the rookies.
A low rank order is best for instructing the new ones and teaching them the basics in the field so that they can perform alone with basic orders, but the training was stopped due to the increasing number of orders we have received, although it is not unusual, it has caused us quickly left without resources.
Within our sector we are currently nine people, of which five are active hunters, two are novices in training, one has the function of communicator and liaison and the last maintains order in the main base. I am among the hunters, I am not a veteran, but I am not a beginner either, I have been officially hunting for twelve years. Although I refer to us as “hunters” in reality we are more like trackers, at least it is the unofficial name that the suits use to refer to us.
Returning to the main topic, due to delayed pay the base has been short of resources, we have taken extreme precautions in the field to avoid injuries since obtaining medical supplies here is complicated. Food and water on the other hand are not a concern, we can boil snow and we have a very large amount of food that will last three years without rationing.
The resources we are short on are more on the utility side, traps, flares, ropes, and certain gadgets that have been damaged beyond our guard’s ability to repair, such as night vision goggles, trackers, and a pair of radios and ultraviolet flashlights.
A few days ago we received the request to track a smoker, it was nothing out of this world for us, the population of smokers in the surrounding area is considerable, however, the request was classified as medium range and it was specified that an investigation should be carried out on its diet, is high considering that it is only a matter of searching and observing.
I decided to take the order, I didn’t want to spend a lot of time at the base doing nothing because then the guard would have me take inventory of things or the communicator would give me paperwork and I prefer sub-zero temperatures to all that work. I grabbed my bag from the desk and set off to track down the smoker.
Tracking a smoker is not rocket science, you just have to follow drag marks with a foul aroma of decomposing vegetation and you will find it, they are not fast so it was not necessary to run either, it was the closest thing to a walk in the park. A walk in the park following the trail of a very large, smelly, hairy creature is still better than paperwork.
For a bit of context, smokers are large mammals that usually measure on average about two meters high by about four meters long, they have dark and very thick fur, their legs are short and wide and they have a very short tail, from their back hangs a long coat and when they walk this coat partially erases the tracks. Their most important physical characteristic is their neck and head. Their neck is elongated, measuring on average more than 80 centimeters and their head is round with small ears and eyes and they have powerful jaws with huge teeth. But even so, they are quite calm.
For novices, something so large and dark in color has no way of not being seen easily, in reality it is not that simple, they are nocturnal and during the day they bury themselves in the snow, their main habitat is the high mountains and they prefer to be near trees, they are so slow that you might mistake a smoker for a large rock. Their diet is based on roots, bark, herbs and rarely mushrooms and fruits.
Now the really attractive thing is what gives them the name of smokers, they have five pairs of holes on their prominent back, these are usually sealed, they store water on their backs. Normally a smoker eats until its stomach is full with crushed plant matter, its digestion process is slow and generates a large amount of heat, the water in its back is a cooling system, little by little while it digests the space in its back swells, until the holes in its back open and release a great jet of steam, an incredible sight when you see it for the first time, until you realize that it is less like a whale releasing water through its blowhole and more like a cow lifting its butt in the air and releasing hot gases. Hence their name and the powerful smell they leave in their wake.
It took me about two hours to find the trace of the smoker and approximately another two hours to find it, once I was close enough I was able to confirm why the order was of such a high rank to be just a trace, this smoker was colossal compared to others. At least five meters high and about eight meters long, its hair was grayer than that of other specimens and it moved slowly and slightly trembling. I noticed that the fur near its holes on its back was reddish, it was probably an old smoker or a very sick one.
I followed it for two days and its behavior was that of a typical smoker, it just moved aimlessly, eating snow to accumulate water and sinking its jaws into the ground to remove shoots and roots hidden in the snow. That is until in the middle of the second night he crossed paths with a mountain lion, the feline had in front of him a goat that he had just hunted, normally an smoker would growl loudly while retreating and the mountain lion, if it was not very hungry, would escape to not having to face something so big, but this damn creature ran like a lunatic towards the mountain lion as if he were possessed, the feline obviously escaped and disappeared among the trees, but that was not what worried me, the smoker began to devour the corpse of the goat, the noise of the bones breaking between the large molars of the smoker was nauseating, he devoured even the horns and I could swear that he shattered his teeth while doing so.
I observed and photographed the repulsive spectacle until I noticed how its back swelled. I have already seen smokers launch jets of steam, but I have never seen one create a smoke of boiling blood. When the smoker stopped eating and continued on its way, I silently approached to the scene, the smell of hot and rotting meat was horrible and I saw several pieces of meat and skin scattered among what was left of the blood vapor, it was impossible that they were remains of the goat because the digestive system and its back are separated, I took some samples and save them.
I already had the photographs and even samples of the smoker, I put everything in my backpack when I noticed some reflections in the darkness, when I pointed my flashlight I saw the smoker carefully observing my movements, my instinct said that I should run, the smokers are not fast, but now I had seen what this bastard was capable of and with so much snow in the middle of the night I would have no advantage. In an instant I ran towards a tree and climbed it as fast as I could, I almost fell when the trunk shook, I reached a solid branch and pointed my flashlight down, the smoker had a deep wound on his head from having rammed the tree. I took a rope out of my backpack and tied myself to the trunk. It wasn’t the first time I had to stay on a branch because a predator was waiting for me below.
I don’t know when I fell asleep or how I allowed myself to fall asleep in that situation, I looked down and the smoker was not there, there was only a trail of blood that went from the tree to get lost in the forest, I could notice that there were marks of blood on the bark, bumps and bites, it’s a relief that he couldn’t bring down the trunk. When I made sure I was alone I got off the branch and started my march back to the base.
I made my report and informed the communicator and the other members of the base about what happened last night, normally something like this would be taken as a joke or someone wanting to tell a scary story, we are prohibited from doing that, if someone comes with a report, As far-fetched as it may be, it is taken very seriously. I did the corresponding paperwork, I put the samples and photos on my desk, the others watched the evidence attentively and murmured many theories, the communicator interrupted them by collecting everything and packing it.
All of this goes to the association’s headquarters and we will receive the information on what is deducted as soon as possible. I hope there is also a bonus included in the form of an apology for not correctly warning of the risk. I write this while I’m in my room, my colleagues are reviewing new security measures due to my discovery, a smoker is like a rhinoceros, calm if not provoked, but smarter and with better vision, somewhat cowardly, but one with attitude predatory and violent is something very different, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next request is to eliminate it.
That’s all for today or for the week or for the month, I don’t know, if something interesting happens I guess I’ll make an update, there are no confidentiality contracts, although I suppose it’s something implicit in this line of work, as long as I don’t mention names , places or sensitive information, I don’t think anyone would bother me, I could even talk to the most veterans to share their stories, even if you don’t ask them, they do. Hunter out.