I saw her, and two… no, three others. The short, muscular one, the tall, wiry one, and this new fellow I’d never seen before. I tried to listen to what was being said, but a buzz in my ear stopped me…

“Terry, you need to move! There’s another bounty hunter group headed your way!”

“What? I thought-”

“Never mind what you thought! Get hidden, and fast!”

I scurried up a nearby tree. Perfect for watching Elsha and her friends, yet hidden among the black of the forest. I strained my ears to listen…

“… don’t think we could… it’d be pretty hard to manage… "

“… not crazy, mate… "

“… unidentified threat monitor… broken piece of… "

Then I saw them. The Black Hood, the most elite corps of bounty hunters in Australia, were here. Here! There were four of them, and they seemed to glide across the forest floor, constantly making hand signals and nods.

Elsha and her friends seemed to notice something was afoot. They started looking into the forest, trying to piece together the darkness…