The young man agreed to go, and the three took off into the wilderness.
The misstep took place during their first hunt.
Adrian remained back from the boys, studying them. The animals they stalked were dangerous. It was a breed of animal created about five hundred years previous, something lab-developed and released in a limited area for the exact reason Adrian now used them. They were modeled after velociraptors, though they had shaggy hair like a bear’s and weighed less than a raptor. Even the name was only slightly modified: a rapcor.
They traveled in packs of five or so and were dangerous creatures, if a bit rash in their decisions. They had a pack mentality, and when the pack rushed, they could make mistakes.
They came across a pack about two hours into their hunt. The creatures chittered, devouring prey that had been lab-created for them. Their backs were to the boys as they feasted on a beast that crawled on the ground like an alligator.
Romulus took the north side while his friend took the south, and they crept up slowly and quietly on the animals. With only two hunting, Adrian knew they would need to use tricks to win.
The young man made the first mistake. He wasn't as careful with his footwork as Romulus. Even in their feeding frenzy, the rapcors heard the snap of the twig. One of the furry animals lifted his head and looked in the direction of the noise.
The friend froze. He, of course, was trained in battle, as did all boys his age, but he'd never fought a rapcor. The animal chittered as it turned to face the human. Others in the group turned as well, chittering in their haunting way.
Adrian watched the friend, not moving. He had a StarBeam at his waist, but he wouldn’t pull it unless it was necessary. Death had to be a possibility before that would be used.
The rapcors spread out, their dangerous clawed front limbs pointing directly at the friend. Romulus stood behind them, as yet unnoticed. The pack mentality had focused them on the single newcomer. The boy still stood frozen.
Romulus moved then, and Adrian was furious. It was a stupid decision and a costly one. Adrian remained still, his face set as he watched a game he knew the end of.
Romulus moved with the speed that would make him famous. He had swapped his wooden stick for a metal one that had a blade on each end.
The rapcors didn't hear him immediately, but when he shoved the blade through the one in the middle, they quickly understood that more than one enemy was present.
Three turned toward Romulus while the remaining two remained focused on the frozen friend.
Romulus wielded his pole, keeping the animals at bay. One feinted to his left, and when Romulus sliced, the rapcor on his right leaped on him. The creature’s talons ripped down his back, opening his flesh.
To Romulus' credit, he didn't falter. His blade flashed behind his back and impaled the animal, but in doing so, he left his front open.
The rapcors fell on him. They were already atop his friend, the talons ripping him to shreds. Adrian might have watched the boy die, but he couldn't watch his progeny do the same.
He moved out of the woods that hid him and used the small laser pistol he held quickly. A shot to the head of each rapcor left them on the ground, bleeding and dead. One of them fell on Romulus, its long talons piercing his son’s chest.
Adrian checked both of them quickly to ensure they hadn’t taken enough damage to die here and now. When he’d assured himself that they had time, he picked up the teenagers and slung one over each of his shoulders, grunting slightly at the weight. He was a strong man, but this would be a test of both strength and endurance.
He carried the bleeding teenagers back to the cabin and dressed their wounds. He wouldn’t let them leave this cabin until he was able to talk with his son. There would be scars from this endeavor, without a doubt, but surgery could correct those later. What mattered right now was that his son had learned the lesson.
Two days passed. Fevers gripped the teenagers, and Adrian tended them as well as any nurse could. Although he told the boys there was no help out this far, he would never leave his son without medical attention. His bloodline needed to continue.
That was the point of his life, after all.
At the end of two days, the fevers of both children broke. Adrian let the friend sleep, but he went to Romulus’ bed.
The boy’s bedroom was simple: no holos, one desk, and a single blanket. Adrian had already removed the medical equipment and replaced it in its hiding place.
“How’s Triam?” Romulus asked as his father entered the room. He hadn’t seen his friend during the fever.
Adrian thought it a good first question. “He’s fine.” He moved to the bottom of the bed and placed his hands behind his back. “You almost died. You both did. If I had not been there, Romulus, you would have died.”
His son opened his mouth to speak but quickly realized it was not his place right now.
“Good,” Adrian said. “Listen instead, since you have barely made it back to life.”
Romulus nodded and remained silent.
“Do you remember what happened?” Adrian asked.
His son closed his eyes and thought, probably trying to recover his memories. Adrian had to hope he remembered because the lesson needed to be his, not his father’s. Adrian could diagram how it had happened and explain it, but in the end, it wouldn’t hold the same weight.
Finally, Romulus opened his eyes and nodded. “I think I remember, yes. Triam made a noise? I think it was a stick or something, but he spooked the rapcors. They turned on him and I moved in, but they spotted me too.”
He paused, his face growing stern and his eyes vacant
