A hurried step can be heard from outside as a woman hurriedly hugged her children.The door swung open as a man stepped inside. A loud thud can be heard as the door closes behind him. The man released a breath of desperation.
"Honey!? What's Happening?!" The Woman screamed at her husband as she held her children's arms. The children trembled in fear as they saw their father, sweat dripped from his forehead as he breathed heavily.
"Take the children! an-" He screamed at his wife but was cut off, as a dagger pierced his chest. His body is lifted up as the dagger glides through his upper skull splitting him in half. He fell to the ground and began to shrivel. The wife screamed, tears fell down her cheeks as she hugged her children closely, she backed away from the door slowly.
A kick on the door opened it forcefully. A hunter entered their house, dagger in hand with his gun strapped to his belt. He glared at the wife's Horrified expression. The hunter walked slowly into the house, his cold eyes and emotionless face drew even more fear into the wife and children. His gaze pierced through his long black hair.
"Please! Anything but my children! Take me instead!" The wife begged the hunter on her knees, she held the leg of the hunter tightly as she begged for any shred of mercy from the hunter, her tears fell on to his boots as she wept desperately. But her pleas came on deaf ears as the hunter's took out his pistol and blew a hole in her head. Smoke rose from the barrel of the pistol. The shot killed her instantly, the image traumatized her children as they watched the hole that was once their mother's face bleed out.
"Mommy!" One of the siblings screamed as he saw his mother's lifeless body fall onto the floor and shrivel up. As the hunter walked closer as he stared into the child's red eyes, emotionless as he gripped his blade, he got closer and closer to him. In the blink of an eye the child was silenced, his head rolled down the floor. The Younger sibling screamed as he saw his brother mercilessly beheaded by the hunter. The hunter looked to the side, he stared down at the younger sibling as he desperately tried to back away into a corner. His tears fell to the ground as the blade inched closer and closer to his neck.
"Please... don-"
And in a fell swoop, his lifeless body dropped to the floor beheaded and began to shrivel.
The children were slaughtered next to their parents in a gruesome scene of violence and blood. As the hunter cleaned his dagger with a nearby table cloth, he thought the job was over, until the hunter heard a noise from upstairs. The cries of a baby. He slowly walked upstairs and at the end of the hallway. He found a well decorated baby room with one single crib in the middle of it.
He walked closer towards the crib, the baby cried out for their parents, He hesitated to kill it. He contemplated himself before the baby slowly opened their eyes and mouth. The red eyes and long fangs were a sure sign of it. The hunter took out his pistol, and from outside, A loud bang could be heard as the baby's cries were silenced. The hunter left the gruesome scene, as smoke rose from the baby's crib.
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Sometime after the gruesome scene…
The hunter can be seen as he dragged a black body bag through the city. He approached the back door of a pharmacy, He went into an elevator and went down to the lowest level. As he walked around the hallway he passed by a sign "Extraction zone" as he went further through the hallways he saw the usual drop point, a large hub with many areas marked with The Organization signature logo. The hunter placed the body bag onto one of the drop points. The overseer approached him and looked at the body bag. The overseer began to inspect the body bag, counting each head inside. As she marked her list she nodded and said.
"Good work today Nathan. Here is your pay." The overseer said to The hunter. She handed him a pouch that contained a few coins.
"That's it? I brought back 5 bodies" Nathan objected to the amount given to him.
"Lower quality, lower prices. And one of the corpses you brought is unrecognizable." The overseer calmly assured him of the fairness of the deal. As the clock approached midnight The Extraction zone began to be populated by more and more hunters, they looked at the request board for bounties and requests for their personal gain.
"Well, is there another job I can do?" Nathan asked in a tired voice, he looked at the request board, he wanted to find an easy way to make money quickly.
"Yes, but it requires two or more personnel. Do you even have a member for your team?" The overseer raised an eyebrow as she looked at Nathan expectedly, she knew what type of man he is, a lone wolf who doesn't take teammates. Nathan looked around the board to find a solo mission to no avail.
In the corner of his eye he spotted someone, a kid, the kid looked at a nearby request board. Who’s also looking for a partner. Nathan sighed before he approached him.
"Hey kid. Let's team up."
The kid was startled by Nathan's sudden invitation, and slowly turned around to look at him,
"Uh.. I-I ummm..." he hesitated to answer.
"It's a yes or no question." Nathan stared at the kid with a tired look in his eyes.
The kid looked up at Nathan with suspicion,
'Who the hell is this guy...' he thought, as he looked up at Nathan.
As they both were silent for a few seconds, Nathan sighed as he turned around and walked away. He waved his hand,
"Sorry to bother."
"W-wait!" the kid yelled out to Nathan.
Nathan turned his head around and stared at the kid as he yawned.
"Yes." The kid's voice barely a whisper.
"What?" Nathan replied as he scratched his head, annoyed at his indecisiveness.
"I'm saying yes to your invitation." The kid says with a stern look.
"What invitation?" Nathan said with a slightly confused look.
"Huh?... Y-You said you wanted to team up." The kid replied, matching his confusion.
As they both looked at each other in utter confusion.
"Oh right.... ok." Nathan responded as he walked out The Extraction Zone.
"... HUH?!" The Kid yelled out, he was taken aback to what just happened,
"WAIT UP!" The kid yelled as he followed Nathan out the door.
Nathan walked in the hallway towards the elevator while the kid followed him from behind, as they got on the elevator to the ground floor the kid would try to break the tension in the air.
"I-i am Jack by the way... Jack Teller." Jack said nervously.
"Nathan." He said coldly as he looked to the side.
"I'm guessing you have a family name?..." Jack said, he wanted to find some information on Nathan. But all he got was a cold stare from Nathan as if he just asked him an offensive question.
"O-or not..." Jack gulped in fear as he stared at the ground.
As Nathan eyes focused on the door of the elevator he sighed,
"Redford... that's my last name."
"oh.. ok Red- wait... REDFORD!?" Jack was shocked as he heard the name he muttered.
The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open,
"yep." Nathan said as he walked out the elevator into the pharmacy, as they walked out the pharmacy Jack would be in utter shock as he looked at Nathan continuously while they walked out the pharmacy.
"Redford... THE Redford?!" Jack said, his voice contained shock but also excitement.
"Can we Not talk about it, please." Nathan said in an annoyed voice as he scratched his head.
"Oh! sorry... hehe..." Jack scratched his head in embarrassment.
Nathan rubbed his eyes in annoyance as he regretted telling Jack his last name,
"I don't understand why people get overly excited over a name..." Nathan said as he picked his ear.
"How can I not get excited! He’s the most well known name of a vampire hunter of the 32nd century, He was basically a legend amongst men!" Jack said as he looked at Nathan with excitement in his eyes.
"What's so special about an old man who wasted his life doing nothing productive." Nathan raised his eyebrow as he sighed as he looked at Jack's direction.
"Well, he was an inspiration to Many! Including me... I wanted to be like him." he timidly replied to Nathan's remark.
"Don't waste your life kid, You still have a family don't you?." Nathan said as they continued to walk on the streets of the busy city. As smoke subsided from a nearby car engine, Nathan and Jack walked past the crossroad.
"Yeah, I guess... But they're counting on me, so I have to make it back." Jack smiled softly at Nathan.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"How old are you, kid?" Nathan asked, intrigued by his determination in contrast to his age.
"Fifteen, you?" Jack replied.
"Last time I remembered, twenty five." A small smile formed for a split second on Nathan's face, as he quickly returned back to his usual cold demeanor and said.
"Don't worry kid, I promise you'll make it back."
Jack breathed a sigh of relief as he heard Nathan's remark, as they continued to walk deeper through the slum. The neon lights in the city district seemed to get further and further out as they reached the edge. The city views transitioned into that of filth and trash befitting of the slums.
"Did you go to school?" Jack asked Nathan timidly, he wanted to know more about the man who was close to his idol.
"School? What's that?" Nathan was confused by that word, he believed his father said it once but he couldn't quite recall what it was.
"School... The place people go to learn? You know... Classrooms, friends, teachers." Jack explained as they continued their stroll.
"Never went there, sounds boring." Nathan showed his disinterest towards the place Jack described as he furrowed his eyebrows.
Jack sighed at his comment, he felt the grim situation both of them were in.
"Me neither... My family couldn't afford education for me... But I heard there was a library at the intersection!" Jack said excitedly as he pictured the place he wanted to visit.
"Why do you want to go to a library?" Nathan asked, oblivious about the place Jack mentioned.
"I heard it's filled with books, knowledge, and much more!" He said with excitement, he wanted to know more and be better for the sake of his family.
"Seems dull to me, I prefer hunting." Nathan said as he yawned.
"You're a cool guy, you know that?" Jack as he chuckled.
After they continued to talk for a while, they got closer to their destination.
"Just a little bit more." Nathan said as he cracked his knuckles and neck to prep them up. They continued their stroll until they arrived at the warehouse.
Jack felt anxious as he gripped his axe tightly and beads of sweat started to fall down his face.
"You nervous?" Nathan said as his eyes glanced at Jack's hands that shivered ever so slightly.
"W-well... this is my first hunt, I'm kinda afraid that I'm gonna mess it up..." Jack said as his gaze looked at the ground in front of him with a worried look.
Nathan stayed quiet for a moment, he sighed as he looked ahead of him.
"You'll do great, Just trust your gut."
Jack smiled as Nathan's word of encouragement ease his nerves a bit.
"Thanks Nathan." Jack would tighten the grip on his axe with determination on his face.
They arrived at the described location.
"We're here. Ready for your first hunt kid?" Nathan said to Jack as he grinned and loaded his pistol.
Jack nodded as he cautiously readied his axe and shield. Nathan quickly kicked down the warehouse door, the warehouse appeared to be empty except for a couple of boxes.
"Huh... I guess no one's here." Jack said as he looked around confused, he looked at the empty boxes for any clues.
"Nah, we got the right place; look up kid we got company." Nathan said to Jack while he looked at the ceiling, patting his shoulder. Swarms of red eyes began to open above them, followed by loud hisses as vampires began to rain down on them.
Nathan and Jack quickly dodged as they began killing the vampires. Nathan wasted no time, he shot the vampires in the head, his eyes darted back and forth from vampires to Jack. Jack didn't hesitate to decapitate the vampires before they could reach him, as the vampires came closer he used his shield and dashed back when needed. Nathan noticed the strength of the vampires in this hideout, he sensed something odd with how weak they are compared to the vampires he usually fought.
The vampires were fast, yet their strength was weaker than the average creature of the night. Something felt out of place to Nathan, but he decided to push the thought back and focus on his current task.
The duo quickly took down a dozen vampires as they ran around the warehouse, the distance they added for themselves provided aid in their hunt. A sudden ambush from above caused Nathan to be pushed to a corner.
But in the corner of his eye, he saw a vampire behind Jack. He quickly shot the vampire and caused it to bump the wall. He noticed a light switch behind the vampire, he flipped it on, the blinding light caused mass confusion amongst the vampires as they scrambled everywhere.
Nathan jumped away from the mass of vampires while they were stunned by the light. The vampires broke many of the lights around them as they tried to get away from Nathan and Jack that caused darkness to envelope the warehouse. One of them broke the roof in order to escape, the hole allowed Moonlight to shine into the dark warehouse.
"Let's finish up kid. Only a few more to go." Nathan said to Jack, just as he said that his pistol jammed that forced him to switch to his dagger.
After hours of violence and bloodshed, they finally finished the job. Both of them sat on the ground, surrounded by corpses as it shriveled. They breathed a sigh of relief as they looked around at the massacre done by them, a job well done.
"Good job kid, your first hunt... Your family would be proud." Nathan said as he smiled at Jack.
"Thanks Nathan... you know... my family is counting me. I was born in the far end of the slums, so I never really had much... but... I have always dreamed of becoming a hunter when I was younger..." Jack said to Nathan as he looked at his axe.
"They even bought me this axe with the little money we had..." Jack stood up and walked In Front of Nathan. Nathan followed soon and stood up.
"And now you are one." Nathan said, proud of Jack. For once he felt he found someone he could consider a friend.
"Thank you Nathan...I'll get better I Promise" he begins to tear up.
"I'm counting on it." Nathan says with a soft smile.
"Let's continue to be partners! I want to be the greatest hunter and go back to my Fam-" Suddenly, blood slowly dripped from his neck. Followed by a gust of wind that blew blood onto Nathan's face and blew his hair back, the moonlight revealed his dreadful face he had as he saw Jack's head as it fell to his heel, he stared up at him with its lifeless eyes. Followed by a thud as Jack's body fell to the ground. An elegant figure stood behind Jack's decapitated body with a disgusted look on her face.
"They called the reinforcements for This?"
The figure said as she wiped the blood off her blade.
Nathan, speechless by the sight, continued to stare at Jack's lifeless body as he slowly looked up at the figure in front of him.
"I'm guessing you're with him? Gosh, I can't believe–"
Without a second thought, Nathan took out his dagger and dashed at the figure to decapitate her. The Figure quickly dodged, she leapt away from Nathan. Nathan's eyes were still in shock from Jack's death. He moved purely from instincts.
"You know... it's rude to interrupt a lady." She smiled softly as a drop of blood dripped from her cheek, she put her hand on her cheek as she noticed the scratch. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Impressive~ You're pretty fast for a human, unlike that one on the floor. He didn't even notice my presence! How rude!" She placed her hand on her chin with an annoyed expression on her face.
"I'll show you Rude... You damned Corpse!" Nathan gripped his dagger tightly, screaming at the figure before him.
"Corpse?! How dare you! don't compare me to your friend there! If anything he's the corpse." She would say offendedly as she pointed to Jack's body.
Nathan dashed forward for her neck once again, but she dodged it. but Nathan's intuition predicted that she would leap away, with a change of trajectory he stabbed her in the stomach, he pinned her down to the floor and stared at her with eyes full of hatred. She looked back at him with nothing but a smirk.
"Good hit." She kicked him with such force that he crashed into a pile of empty boxes, as Nathan groaned in pain she picked up Jack's head and walked away.
"It was fun while it lasted, but I do have to get going... I'll see you around, Hunter."As she turned around Nathan suddenly appeared next to her, his hand moved to slash her, in a split second she would dodge Nathan's attack.
As She stumbled back in shock, a bead of sweat fell from her forehead. She knew that attack would have wounded her if she was a split second too late.
"What the…" She was shocked and confused by the immense burst of strength and ominous aura that came from him.
Nathan glared at her blankly as he gripped his dagger in his hand, his body stood in a stance,
"I'll make you regret coming here!" Nathan rushed towards her as his dagger barely grazed her arm. She would take out her dual knives to parry and return his attacks with more speed than Nathan could handle.
Slices and cuts formed on his hand as her attacks are much faster and stronger than his, in a final attempt to kill her Nathan would swing his dagger at her with all his might, but all he is met with is the metallic sound of his blade as it shattered to pieces.
Nathan's body was wounded as he fell on the ground exhausted from the fight.
"Are you done? This is getting bothersome..." she kneeled in front of him and lifted his chin up,
"Since you did put up a decent fight, I'll spare your life. so be grateful you get to see another day... Hunter." She would stand up and jump through the ceiling onto the roof, Nathan was left on the ground while he tried desperately to stand up.
Suddenly a ring could be heard, it came from a device in her ear, it startled her for a second, she answered her earpiece with a sigh.
"It is done... Of course I have proof... yes, they are all dead... yes... I'm coming back to base. Over..." The device omitted a beep as it was turned off.
"Okay time to get this proof to base, now if I'm not wro-" She turned around, there he was, standing in front of her.
"wha-" before she could finish her sentence, he punched her stomach with enough force that she flung back towards the edge. She quickly regained her footing and glared at him as she pulled out her knives in advance.
Nathan's body moved oddly, his pupils twitched as it matched the excruciating amount of pain he felt from her attacks. Masked by the adrenaline that was in his system he continued to march closer to her.
'He's still standing?... This just got more interesting~' She smirked and stood up to face him,
"I have never seen a human as durable as you!" She said as he hid the pain from Nathan's punch earlier.
As Nathan stepped closer to her, his mind was running on instinct, in his mind only one message was repeated.
KILL
"You will pay!" Nathan screamed as he dashed towards her with blinding speed. She barely dodged the attack as she dodged Nathan's destructive punches, she jumped down to a nearby alleyway to distance herself from Nathan.
Using her slimness to her advantage, she returned Nathan's punches as she avoided his slow yet powerful hits. As the two of them battled it out in a nearby alleyway.
As the fight progressed, she was slowly pushed back into a dead end as Nathan's relentless strikes targeted her. She uses her last resort, a hidden blade on her wrist; she uses the blade to tank Nathan's hits with all her might. The shockwave took off her coat, it flew away as the moonlight illuminated her red dress. Her crimson red lips glistened in the night. Her blond hair flowed freely with the wind, it shined like gold on this gloomy night.
"Remember my name, Hunter, for we will meet again. For I am Elise Alexandria Beatri-."
"Grrah!" Nathan interrupted her with a punch to her abdomen combined with his monstrous strength it caused a hole to be made where he hit, with the swiftness of his attack Elise was pushed back into the concrete as she bled profusely. Nathan gazed upon his bloodied fist, he felt his legs turn to jelly as he fell on his knees before he lost consciousness.
A few minutes later he awoke, his ears ringing and his body restless and bruised, he looked at the bloodied concrete where he struck his enemy, only to find... Nothing.