Sandra rolled as she hit the ground hard, her limbs and weapons flailing and catching under her repeatedly. The pain was immense and blinding - it was hard to tell whether or not any of her bones had broken from the impact, though she would hardly be surprised, if she could have even thought through it all. When she finally came to a stop, the armor that had been supposed to protect her felt like weights weighing her down, pressing against her injuries and pinning her in place. She had to move, but there wasn't a chance in hell that she could. She could hear the monster coming for her, ready to finish her off, and there was nothing she could do about it.
His footsteps were fast and heavy, coming from behind her, and his shadow passed over her for only a moment. The monster's roar ripped through the air as she heard the sound of his lance tearing into the monster's hide, piercing deep and pushing it away from her. She knew what he was doing. He was pulling its attention, keeping it from going after her. He was saving her life. And she knew that he was a powerful hunter, far more skilled than she, but this was...
This monster was more than anything that she had heard of. It was massive, and the slime that it threw around the field was somehow a deadly explosive - the moment it left its body, it began to heat until it combusted. Even with his shield, if Marcus was covered in that slime, he was going to take heavy damage. That was what had sent her flying - she hadn't even been covered, but merely gotten too close to one of the piles right as it exploded. The force was immense and had sent her soaring through the air to smash into the rocky ground, the volcanic heat piercing through her armor and skin to make the exhaustion that much more difficult to handle.
One more blow and she wasn't going to make it home. Marcus must have known that, and was putting himself at risk trying to do something about it. She didn't know which would be worse - him getting hurt because of her, or never leaving the field. They were hunters, after all. This was what they were putting on the line, wasn't it?
The next thing she knew she was being wheeled back into town. She didn't know what had happened. Her armor had already been removed, and when she looked around, she saw Marcus walking beside the cart, carrying her armor and weapon, as well as a bag of collected pieces from the defeated monster. He had done it.
He didn't even look down at her, but he seemed to know that she was conscious again all the same. "Hunters don't just hunt," he said, clearly to her. "We hunt for and with each other. It's not enough to beat the monster. You have to keep everyone safe as you do so. No hunters left behind."
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