I don’t think any of us really knew all of the implications involved in Kell ascending to the post of Herd Thinners, Inc. CEO but now, a week after the fight, it’s all beginning to sink in.
I’m back at Beige University within the cozy confines of Tree, filling her in on the details. Fenton is texting his mom, trying to get additional information out of her.
All these years I’ve only been dimly aware of the Herd Thinners corporate environment, having only been there once. (Although that was eventful!) Now it’s come into focus with a vengeance. Kell’s life is in actual danger.
Basically, the winner of a challenge gets exactly two months to be exempt from another challenge. The clock starts ticking from the moment they are declared the victor. This provides both stock stability and time for the victor’s wounds to heal. Then, any current Herd Thinners staff member can challenge her in a fight to the death.
Kell seems confident that she will be able to round up allies by then, but I have doubts. This could be my inner prey species talking, but she may be overestimating how many others will come to her defense. Predators, by and large, are mainly swayed by demonstrations of sheer power. After the special circumstances of her promotion, something tells me she’s going to have to win at least one battle on her own before others will join her. I hope I’m wrong.
Meanwhile, she’s instituted some very controversial reforms: eliminating quotas and having the predators hunt in groups, whether it’s traditional for their species or not. My next post will report on how that turns out.
