Hunting Ground
is an ongoing story by Therealjackieboy on Fictionpress.
Selma Oaxaca is just an ordinary prostitute in Laredo, TX. She gets abusive customers, is treated like dirt by the residents of her cathouse, and is under the ruling thumb of its mean-spirited madame. All she wants is to move to San Antonio and live with her pen pal. Given the chance to acquire a job of her choosing through a mysterious headhunter organization, Selma accepts the offer and attends an interview. Things are off to a good start, until Selma discovers that the headhunters are more than what they seem, as it's in actuality a racist vigilante squad led by rich entrepreneur Lance Morrison, Jr., who seek to hunt down and kill any Mexicans they perceive as illegal. Now Selma must survive a chance encounter of a lifetime, putting her skills to the test.
Essentially a modern day reimagining of Richard Connell's short story The Most Dangerous Game.
This story provides examples of:
- Bad Samaritan: Rico poses as a working man who persuades poor-looking Mexicans to come to a job interview. Unfortunately, it's all a trap to lure these people into becoming prey for his partners' racist hunts.
- Badass Longcoat: Lance wears one. Selma compares it to Angel's.
- Big Bad: Lance Morrison, Jr., the one behind the Headhunters.
- Boomerang Bigot: Rico Rodriguez is the only Mexican in the Headhunters, but shares their love of hunting people, especially Mexicans.
- The Bully: Cyclona acts as one to Selma, constantly picking on her and making fun of her dark past.
- Creepy Souvenir: Carson keeps severed teeth he himself tore out from the people he kills in a jar.
- Deadpan Snarker: Selma, though mainly to highlight how cold she is to the world around her.
- Decoy Protagonist: The prologue introduces the reader to Maria, whose husband is on the run from the Headhunters. She ends up dying before the chapter ends at the hands of Lance.
- Driven to Suicide: According to Cyclona, Selma's father committed suicide after he returned home from a war.
- Expy: Lance is clearly inspired by Emil Fouchon. Both are rich leaders of a group of hunters, and both wear black trench coats. Lance even looks, sounds, and is named after Emil's actor Lance Henriksen.
- Fat Best Friend: Monica is this to Selma, acting as her moral support.
- Faux Affably Evil:
- Lance acts like a kind gentlemen during his interview with Selma, and is able to fill her with some much needed confidence. But that's all just a mask to cover the smug, murderous racist that he really is.
- Rico at first appears to be a suave, smooth talking hispanic who convinces Selma to come to the job interview. Once he reveals his true colors, Rico shows that he's nothing but a hunter who finds humans, Mexicans especially, a thrilling game to chase.
- Groin Attack: Selma bites a man's penis after she's forced to give him felatio.
- Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: The basic premise, this time a racist vigilante group up against an "illegal" immigrant.
- Insane Troll Logic: Lance and the Headhunters will use whatever excuse they can to hunt down and kill Mexicans, even going so far as to ignore green cards. They'll even kill American born Mexicans whose older relatives were born in Mexico, just because they came from a bloodline of immigrants.
- Jerkass:
- Cyclona, who insults and makes fun of Selma's deceased father to her face, all just to get a rise out of her.
- Carson and Gretch, even before they reveal their true colors, act snide and rude during Selma's interview.
- Last-Name Basis: Randolph Carson prefers to be called by his last name.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Even though everybody knows her name, Gretchen still prefers to be known as "Gretch".
- Politically Incorrect Villain: The Headhunters are all racists who hunt down and kill whomever they view as illegal immigrants.
- Shout-Out:
- The first part of Chapter 1 has a lot of similarities to the first scene in Eaten Alive! (1976). Right down to the line "Name's Buck, and I'm rarin' to fuck," though Mark's cut off by Selma, who knows immediately what he's referencing.
- Lance's appearance and character are an homage to the character of Emil Fouchon.
- Cyclona's named after another Mexican prostitute from the movie Freeway 2: Confessions of a Trickbaby.
- The Stoner: Selma's friend Monica, who enjoys lighting up a blunt every once in a while.
- Would Hurt a Child: Lance shoots and kills a baby in the prologue.
