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I was becoming wary of this hunt, the most savage one thus far. It appeared he had earned his prize for a distinct reason, and he was showing it on the battlefield. It also appeared that he was use to being hunted, as he had never left his back unattended for no more than a second. He moved like lightning, accompanied by friends that scouted the area around him, another obstacle I had to take into consideration as they were as obliging to gun me down as he was.

And that was the worst part.

He knew he was being hunted by me. At a couple of failed attempts he had caught scent of my plan and my reason for following him onto this terrain, making him that much more ferocious and unpredictable.

The particular match had been dragging on, and I thought I might never be granted what I had come here for. I stumbled against the wall of a building that over looked a nearby objective, panting hard, recovering from a few lucky hits that nearly left me dead on the street that I had crossed to get here. No doubt that the assailant was going to be coming after me to finish what he had started. Time slowly healed my wounds, during which I decided to re-lode my weapon of the spent twenty rounds I had fired downrange at an unknown target, getting all of about two hits. With a fresh set of bullets firmly planted into the magazine well of my assault rifle, I readied to defend myself. Stock planted against my shoulder, finger on the trigger, I heard a familiar sound from behind.

It was the growl of another assault rifle, not much more different than the one that I currently held, but its distinction told me of who was using it. A quick glance back over my shoulder confirmed it. There he was, the target that I had been hunting the entire match, back turned to me and the end of his gun lighting up as it expended projectiles into my allies with expert precision.

I didn't hesitate.

I didn't think.

I just ran.

I revealed myself from behind the wall and charged at my target with fierce vigor. A chest high block of concrete marked by bullet craters was in my way, but was easily vaulted over. I landed on the other side with a hard thud and continued to dash. He was close to the objective, surrounded by a cluster of construction materials and half completed buildings. Soldiers were all around me, a mixture of friendly and foe that were fighting every which way. Bullets marked the ground in front of me, a not too far off enemy had his sights trained on me and was shooting, though no bullets hit. They zipped past my face and behind my neck, my vision becoming a blur of confused colors for a second but my eyes never lost their own intended target.

My breathing became harsh, my muscles were tense. I wanted to go faster, but I was already pushing myself to the limit. The distance between us closed fast even though it seemed like a full minute had gone by since I had appeared from behind my hiding spot. He still hadn't turned or detected me, I became hopeful. Off to the side an IFV was firing its main gun, drowning out my footsteps as I came closer. I wasn't for sure if it was an allie or enemy, I wasn't going to check.

My target was done shooting, his spent clip fell from its spot and clattered to the ground. His hand came back and fished a fresh magazine from his pocket and forced it inside his weapon like he had done many times before. My assault rifle fell to my side and my knife came out, clean and glinting in the light of the day. Just feet away from him, my target dropped to prone and focused his eyes on his sights again, maybe waiting for another of my friends to show themselves to his bullets. Finally close enough, I struck.

I pounced from behind, both feet planted on either of his sides and a paw that was as firm as a vice gripped his shoulder. My heart was thundering in my ears, drowning out all the excessive noise of the battlefield. Muscles roaring, I turned him over with ease and brandished my blade high above my head. For a split second our eyes met and within that miniscule amount of time I finally saw true defeat in his gaze. He couldn't react, and he couldn't fight back. I brought my knife down with all my might, plunging the blade deep into his chest until the hilt slammed against his sternum. Blood gushed against my fist and began to rapidly pool into his shirt, but I didn't let up on the pressure. He was still staring into my eyes as my other paw came over and gripped the chain that was around his neck, turning it around in my grasp a few times and then yanking to make it snap away.

I stared at my prize with deep admiration, the set of tags dangling on the line of beads still wrapped around my fingers and palm. I held it level to my eyes, one tag a dull silver that swung from side to side, but the other was a bright and shining gold that reflected light like a mirror.

For a moment I couldn't hear anything but the wind, not even the sound of my own heart was thundering. A small gust caught both of the tags, and they struck each other to make the most gorgeous chime I had ever heard.

I was lost in the moment.

Reality hit me with a bullet in the side and I was brought down from my moment with a shock of pain, but at no point did I turn my eyes from my trophy. Another bullet struck me in the stomach and soon after that a blaze of projectiles were striking me from every direction.

I didn't care though, I had gotten what I had come here for, and even as I crashed to the ground on my chest, the grin never left my muzzle for a second.