Hunted
A short by Cadence Andrysiak

“Iiiii’ll fiiiiind youuuuu~”

That singsong voice drifted through every blade of grass and the air above, like a gathering storm in the distance. To the most primal parts of Cadence’s brain, it was a hint to keep running.

The civet continued running despite everything telling them to stop. Their lungs ached. Their legs were starting to feel like lead weights. Lactic acid accumulated to critical in the panicked creature’s calves.

“You can’t hide forever~”

That voice again. Cadence recognized it. A threat, a threat they hadn’t heard in a long time. Inhale. Exhale. Gotta keep moving, gotta keep running- No, they had to stop, this was their hunter, their predator’s plan. How the hell did prey creatures do this regularly? The civet didn’t know, biology and ecology were their worst classes. Sociology and anthropology was where it was at, but none of that book knowledge would help them now. Cadence limped forward, almost literally dragging their feet along the dirt, eventually collapsing next to a towering spire of grass.

“C’moooon little bug~ Come and face your des-ti-nyyyyy~”

“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, FUCK” Cadence gasped, trying to crawl into a position where they thought they would be safe. The shadows of the plentiful blades of grass would have to do for now until they could recover. Sweat drenched the creature’s button-down outdoorsman shirt, as well as the waterproof cargo pants they wore for their hardiness in the field. Cadence clenched their eyes shut, trying to keep the sound of their hyperventilating to a minimum.

Thud.

THUD.

THUD.

Footsteps. Closing.

Cadence looked out across the strands they were using for cover. A towering, leatherlike structure lifted high into the sky some distance away, before coming closer. Looking up, Cadence could recognize the features of a massive wall of white fabric, faded red lines stitched into them. That structure abruptly terminated in another, even more massive structure, massive, tan, speckled with jet black spots, each the size of a large… Cadence couldn’t even think of a good simile.

“You’re so much fun, Cadence~ thinking you can escape? I know all about you, you know.”

Deep breath. Inhale… Exhale… A massive shadow fell overhead, blocking out just enough sun for the civet to take notice and start holding their breath.

“You’re trying to outrun a King Cheetah. You’re smart. You should know how futile that is!” The predator was toying with them. Manipulating their fragile, panicked mental state like a marionette’s strings. “Don’t be dumb like the other ones, you’ll just be tired when you end up where you’re going~”

Inhale…

“You DO know where the other ones are, right?” The cheetah chided. “They’re still serving me, just in a more time-limited fashion. I’m sure you knew some of them. Don’t worry, Cay-Cay, I’m sure you’ll be happy to see them again~”

Cadence looked up in terror. The cheetah had stopped taking footsteps, and was now squatting onto his haunches. He didn’t need to tromp about the grass anymore, he had narrowed down a specific area of Poa pratensis to search in greater detail.

Unfortunately, it just so happened to be the area Cadence had chosen to hide in.

“Don’t you wanna see the rest of your little *peasant* friends again?” The cheetah’s snark conveyed itself easily through the vibrations in the air. “Don’t worry, Cadence~ You’ll get to see them allllll over again. Only, I’m pretty sure they look QUITE different now!” Another pair of thuds could be heard. That damn beast was patting his stomach!

“Stay… quiet…” Cadence whispered to themselves.

“Just think… you don’t even have to do the work! It’s the perfect work-from-home strategy. I’ll be doing all the work! Every footstep, every twitch of muscle fiber expending what you little folks once were down to the molecular level… And you don’t have to do anything more than just give up, and quit your foolish attempts at hiding.” The cheetah leaned slightly forward, his yellow eyes scanning the grass. He reached a hand out, fingers brushing against the green ground cover.

Cadence stopped breathing, seeing the creature’s hand come closer, closer… just hope, just… pray…

“Fouuuuund youuuuu~!”

Cadence didn’t realize the mistake of clenching their eyes closed until it was too late. In less than a second, their diminutive form was pressed against the leathery palm of the cheetah’s hand.

“Gosh, Cay! You’re SO itty-bitty! I could just eat you up! Oh, wait…”

Cadence was macabrely happy that they couldn’t see what was happening, but they could feel the elevation change, especially as their ears popped. The experience of gaining many, many feet of elevation tensed the civet’s blood vessels. The leathery pad of the cheetah’s thumb slowly and cautiously manipulated the civet into facing their predator, a claw-nail keeping the creature from falling back to the very earth they were just snatched from.

Cadence opened their eyes.

“You are EXTREMELY horrible at hide and seek, you know!” The cheetah giggled. The scent of their breath swirled up Cadence’s nostrils- the scent of a meal from hours ago coalescing in the civet’s scent receptors.

“Sarkre, p-p-put me down…” Cadence stammered, out of breath, out of strength, and most certainly, out of hope.

Sarkre giggled, it was one of those Disney-esque villain vocalizations. He knew he had the upper hand, and he absolutely reveled in it. He reveled in every little bit of power he held over the tiny civet. He let Cadence escape into the grass, he let them tire themselves out, and now, he was happy to reap the rewards of the little game he just won.

“Does putting you down on my tongue count?” Sarkre grinned, slowly opening his mouth. He had intentionally been letting his salivary glands run wild, and the glistening strings of silvery saliva straining between fangs were just as awe-inspiring as the rest of the features of his mouth. He moved his hand slowly toward his open maw, starting to lay his tongue out like a congratulatory red carpet…

Cadence winced. It was all the civet could do in their exhausted state. 

“No! Not again! Not this agai-”
______________________________________________________________________

Sarkre reclined in a chair on his patio, humming a little song to himself as he unknotted the laces in his hiking boots. He thought for a brief moment about what he had just spent about fifteen minutes of his weekend doing, and gave his stomach a pat. No doubt that the little civet he just effortlessly swallowed was having some degree of ‘fun’ in there. The powerful muscles of his gut, controlled entirely by an unconscious process, were in control now. The tiny civet was probably doing what they could, struggling in the fetid darkness to the top of a chewed mass of a protein bar. Sarkre’s stomach lining was probably already producing a potent mix of protein-processing enzymes and hydrochloric acid, mere drops of a substance that could reduce even the hardiest meal into a simple nutrient soup with the aid of his churning belly.

Sarkre removed a small notebook from his shorts pocket, turning to a partially completed page before fetching and clicking a pen from another pocket.

“Cadence should have definitely known better than to tell me they could reform after getting, as they called it, ‘game over’d’ by folks my size. We’ve known each other for years, and I’m more than happy to let them get up close and personal with my insides as a way of getting used to me being around again.

This was the best little move-in present ever!”

Sarkre clicked the pen back into its dormant state. He could feel a rumble in his gut. A sly grin crossed his muzzle as he worked his little diary back into his pocket. He’d reproduce what he wrote in the digital version on his computer sometime later. He set about shutting his eyes, perhaps a little nap in the sun would be the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Another gurgle sounded from his midsection. Sarkre grinned toothily.

“Cadence always did like being a part of something greater…” he thought, releasing himself to drift into slumberland.

His stomach had a lot of work to do!