Overview
Blake is a central character in “Hunters.” He is the narrator’s longtime friend, housemate, and running companion, and he helps turn the first chase with Alice into a recurring ritual practice.
Biography
Blake lives with the narrator in a Reseda bungalow and works as an agent’s assistant. He and the narrator grew up running cross country in the East Bay, and both have a college history with half-serious rituals dedicated to Glycon, an ancient snake deity referenced in the story.
When Alice describes an erotic fantasy of being chased, Blake is the first to say that he and the narrator could pursue her. Before the first chase, he brings out a cast effigy of Glycon and instructs Alice and the narrator in the ritual framing of the event.
Blake later hunts the narrator, then decides that the group should seek Glycon’s favor more seriously. He wakes the narrator at night, drives him and Alice hooded to a remote desert cave, and reveals a prepared ritual site with candles, food, and a caged animal.
After the sacrifice, Blake begins dating an actress and he and the narrator stop crossing some personal boundaries. He remains an ongoing member of the ritual group with Alice and the narrator, continuing the six-month sacrifices while his relationship with the actress becomes serious.