The Plan

With our spokespersons approval we exited the village and returned to where they had setup their fire earlier.

"Haaah , well that was an experience", I sighed.

"No kidding! I really thought it was over with after Dave went berserk but regeneration...what a pain in the ass!!!" Brandy scowled.

"I've never heard of or seen anything like that," Jer mused. The others nodded in agreement.

"And we've lost our weapons, well most of us anyways." Derek side-eyed Dave, who was clutching his sword like a lifeline. He was clearly still pissed because he growled in reply.

"Yes, well, I see what you mean about not touching Dave's sword." I raised both my hands in a show of surrender when Dave narrowed his eyes at me.

"Taya, that mutant seemed to have an interest in you. It didn't even spare Jer and I a glance when we retreated, it was too busy watching you." Derek sent me a puzzled glance.

Grreaat. A mutant stocker, every teenaged girl's dream-NOT!

"Well, I felt similarly when I first met you." Demi chimed in.

My mouth dropped open as I turned to him.

Demi shrugged, "That's why I impulsively registered as a hunter."

Way to drop a bomb; I just knew it was on impulse!

"Huh, well I guess we won't have to worry about bait then!" Brandy chuckled and Demi glared at her. "But we still need to come up with a strategy to kill it before it heals itself."

"Well we've learned that pummeling it isn't enough. Though that might be able to keep it occupied while the rest of us aim for vitals."

Ohoho Derek had more than just muscle.

"Rather than just vitals it would probably be best to chop off its head. The problem is that mist. If it disarms us and sets up a shield then we've got nothing." Demi's brow furrowed, seemingly trying to think of a way around the issue.

"Not only that, there's no known weight restriction when it comes to what it can pick up with the mist. It could just throw us out of the way like it was throwing debris earlier."

I wish mister smarty pants, neat and tidy would come up with a solution instead of more flaws!

"We could tie a rope to our swords and then tie the other end to our hands. At the very least we won't be separated from our weapons. It's interested in me so it probably won't fling me away. But since I'm not as skilled as the rest of you I would need a way to kill it in one shot."

"If you're right in front of it you could slash its eyes and then one of us can behead it." Brandy suggested.

"That requires us to believe that it's interested in keeping her alive. If not, she'll be dead before she can attack!" Demi's voice rose.

"We could try dousing it in oil and throwing a flare at it."

I should really stop judging people so quickly. Apparently strength wasn't the only reason Derek was a well-known mercenary.

"So let's setup a multi-tier plan. We'll tie weapons to ourselves like Taya suggested. Then Dave will attack first. If he's able to make contact then Demi will kill it while it's distracted. If not, Brandy will douse it in oil and I'll throw the flare. Derek will act as spare muscle. As a last resort, if the mutant approaches Taya, she will blind it and whoever gets there first will kill it."

"It's a pretty good plan," Brandy said while giving Jer a high-five.

"Wait." Demi interrupted. "I want to stay as close to Taya as possible. I'm not about to risk my partner based on a mutant's interest."

"Hmmm then Derek, you take Demi's part in the plan. Taya will stay behind Demi and he can play bodyguard in case both plans fail. Does that work?"

"That's probably as good as it's going to get," I replied before Demi could. He still looked displeased but didn't contradict me.

"We'll need to gather supplies first. Our village is the closest so let's head there. We can get some food and a little bit of rest before tonight. We also need to warn the guard to keep people far away from this village."