Halloween Horror (Pt. 7): Southside of the Haunt

A young woman walked through the alleyways, something that she knew was dangerous at this time of night, let alone on Halloween of all nights, but if she wanted to make it in time she needed to take the risk.

Something clattered behind her.

She paused before reaching into her jacket as she turned towards the noise, her eyes looking over the darkness behind her for any sign of movement. After a moment without any she let out a breath and continued on her way to her destination, wishing that there was an option for her beyond venturing through the city’s dark alleys.

The clatter came from above her this time.

Ever so slowly she glanced upwards and spotted a shadow perched upon the brickwork of the wall. Within this shadow she saw two eyes glinting faintly as they stared down at her, as well as a maw full of fangs slowly opening to release a growl from the beasts throat.

She took a step back and the beast moved, kicking off the wall as it lunged for her only to be tackled by a mass that had been hiding in the shadows. More specifically within her own shadow.

--- Valentina ---

The Scarecrow tore the Creep apart as she watched on with boredom, completely uncaring for the blood being splattered against the wall by the violent display of the Demon ripping the beast limb from limb.

(Fuck, I hate playing bait…) She sighed, wishing that she wasn’t the only member of her team capable of performing a counter ambush as she uncaringly watched the Scarecrow rip the creep apart in a display of gratuitous blood and gore.

“You know there’s no one watching to be scared of you right?” She felt the need to point out to the Nightmare Demon.

“It’S mORe… hAbIT thaN… aNYthIng…” The Scarecrow admitted, blood dripping from its maw as it turned to face her, a shadow of what it could be if she let the Demon possess her.

She gave her (pet) an unimpressed look.

The fanged bird skull seemed to grin as the shadows whispered, “Can’t blame me for trying.”

“I can, and I will.” She argued. “Especially when you use that stupid accent of yours to distract me.”

“Hey, English was not made for my vocal chords.” The Scarecrow told her in mock offense as she walked past.

“Maybe but your vocal chords were made for every language. So your accent is just laziness on your part.” She pointedly told him in Spanish, as she waded through the puddle of blood the demon had left around his prey and took a quick photo with her phone, refusing to let those Sanctuary cabróns cheat her.

“Is your accent laziness?” The demon retorted as it sunk back into her shadow.

“The difference is my accent doesn’t mangle what I’m saying.” She answered, before reverting to English. “And I’m not faking my accent because I think it’s sca-wy sca-wy.”

“Tal vez, pero tu inglés está afectando tu acento español.” The Scarecrow countered in an attempt to offend her.

“Really how does it affect this?” She wondered innocently. “Chíngate.”

“You’re putting too much emphasis on the diacritic to overcompensate.” The (asshole) Demon answered a smirk to its tone despite a distinct lack of lips.

She rolled her eyes as she opened an app on her phone and continued through the city streets, completely unbothered by the fact that she was a lone girl walking through the streets at night. (Well, I am more dangerous than any ‘threat’ this city could spit out…)

Going through the Hunter’s App, she took a look at the map marking where the various teams had spread out as well as any Creeps they’d taken out.

“Any thoughts?” She asked the Scarecrow as she held up her milagro to the phone, letting the artifact’s bird skull look at the screen.

“We’re close to the darkest hour…” The Demon pointed out in reference to the time. “We’re also nearing the seal…”

She glanced down at the skull. “Going to tell me where it is?”

Sanctuary didn’t give them the exact location, instead assigning each team a location to form a rough perimeter, while the actual seal was guarded by them. Of course given how the Scarecrow fed on fear much like the Demon the seal was keeping in check, her partner could find the seal location with even greater ease than he could track down the thing’s Creep minions. (Not that he’ll tell me where it is.)

“Not yet… If the perimeter closes by another half I’ll point you at it.” The Scarecrow assured her. “But you do remember why we can’t go near it?”

“Yeah, if you get too close the thing could use you as a battery to crack the seal.” She nodded, remembering the Haunt that led to them being Contracted together. “Though I don’t get why you don’t just do the reverse.”

“Not how the seal works.” The Demon reminded her.

“Which I would know if we ever got to the seal part of our lessons.” She reminded him before looking down a dark alley. “This one?”

“Mm… No… Not this one, but something is close.” The Scarecrow warned her as she moved on. “And my seals are based on Necromancy so… you need to learn that first.”

“And I could figure it out if you used a more… human perspective to teach it.” She told the centuries old Demon.

The (overdramatic) Scarecrow gagged. “Blugh, I may befriend my food before eating it but I’m not going to become food myself.”

“See that’s what I me-” She froze, feeling something ripple in the air around her. “What is that?”

“...Something dark, angry, and Mad…” The Scarecrow answered after a moment, an audible frown to his voice. “Let’s not follow it.”

“What scared?” She taunted, knowing any insinuation of the kind could set the Demon off.

“Less scared, more smart enough to avoid sharing hunting grounds with a rabid beast.” The Scarecrow assured her, not rising to her bait even as she ignored his previous warning and continued towards where the shifting in the air was coming from. “There’s easier prey this night than something already being hunted.”

“Every Creep in the city is being hunted, especially the ones coming down on this neighborhood.” She reminded the Demon, growing ever more curious about whatever he was trying to keep her away from. (It’s a fault, I know.)

“By you human ‘hunters’.” The Scarecrow scoffed with an amused huff. “But this, this is a real predator, and you shouldn’t get between it and its prey.”

She rounded a corner. “And why no- Oh…” She swallowed looking over a handful of Creep corpses that looked like they’d been torn apart by a beast just as savage if not more so than the Scarecrow. Their limbs tossed around, chunks torn out of them by something with teeth, and blood splattered against the wall, all inviting an image straight out of a horror movie.

“Yeah. That’s a pretty good example of why.”

--- Audrey ---

“Damn it.” She cursed looking over her phone as she compared her team’s number with the Creep projections, as well as the number of Creeps the various teams had already taken out. (At this rate we’re not going to make the quota…)

It wouldn’t necessarily be the end of the world, but given how she was already planning on throwing her cut of the profits into an emergency expense fund to keep them active. Whatsmore -whether or not she knew it- Val couldn’t actually afford to give up her cut like she’d previously offered given how the other girl had underestimated just how much money she was going to need to get her mom and sister a decent house in a safer neighborhood.

(Honestly, the only one of us who could afford it would be Artemis, but if she did that then she’d be admitting to her parents that this Hunter thing won’t work out.) And while she might be the default leader of their crew, she knew Artemis was the brains just as much as Val and the Scarecrow were the muscle, and they couldn’t afford to lose her. (Especially when Arty is nowhere near as confident as she pretends…)

She ran a hand down her face before taking a photo of the (finally) dead Creep wrapped in Stranglethorn Vines and submitting it, because while she knew no one would argue their kills -A perk of previously befriending a member of every Hunter team and gang involved in the Haunt.- she knew it could still put a delay on their payments from Sanctuary. (Which we can’t afford if we want everything squared away.)

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A call from Val interrupted her musings, just as she spotted a Creep leaping across a roof a few buildings away.

“What’s up?” She answered, starting after the Creep.

“Yeah, uh, weird question… You sense anything, uh… weird in the air?” The other teen asked her.

“Are you talking about the waves of Madness the Haunt Demon is throwing out?” Because she’d been feeling those for a while, and was honestly just trying to ignore them. (Though the fact that I’m worrying so much about our finances means it’s still doing something to me… Damn it.)

“Um…” Val paused, likely listening to the Demon not trying to kill all of them. (As far as I know.) “Probably related to Madness but probably not the Haunt.”

That sounded like something to be concerned with but, “You sure it’s not just the Gamer’s Guild throwing something around, you know a few of them join the haunt every year.”

“I’m not an idota, this is… darker than them.” Val tried to explain.

(Okay, more concerning but…) “You know Art is our sensor, shouldn’t you be calling her about this?” She would happily admit that outside of a forest her sensory abilities were probably the least of their trio.

“Yeah, I called her too and she’s definitely sensing something in the area, we were going to meet up to see if it’s a Boss Creep or something lurking around.” Val told her as the Creep she was chasing stopped for some reason. “Which if it is…”

“You might need my help.” She nodded in understanding as she reached into her jacket.

While Boss Creeps weren’t necessarily common when dealing with the kinds of Creeps that left corpses behind, they also weren’t unheard of and a handful popping up with this many Creeps running around wouldn’t be all that surprising. And even if they’d only be ‘Alpha’ versions of the more common trio of the Haunt’s Creeps, said boss’s had more than likely survived encounters with other Hunters making them smarter than their brethren.

“Where did you two want to meet up?” She asked, before throwing a seed at the Creep, her magic sending it flying the distance with ease even if it meant the seed would be slower acting than something closer to her.

“Since you’re between us we were thinking of that gas station near you, the one across from that burger place?” Val answered as the Creep turned towards her with a growl, inaudible at their distance.

“Alright, just let me finish this one Creep and I’ll be on my way.” She told the Scarecrow’s keeper as the werewolf Creep started towards the building’s edge only to freeze.

She frowned, feeling the threads of magic between her and her seeds and knowing that they hadn’t done anywhere near enough damage to even begin slowing the Creep down. “Alright, why aren’t you attacking?”

A moment later the Creep began to fall, a trail of neon light following it down as the chimera crashed into the pavement, splattering blood all around it with the impact. An effect made all the worse by a figure on the Creep tearing into it with their bare hands, something she was pretty sure was beyond most humans given the typical thickness of the Creep’s hide.

Ever so slowly she began reaching out with her magic to grasp the seeds within the Creep’s corpse, intending to redirect them into binding the figure should it prove hostile. (Hopefully this is just someone from those Hack and Slash guys… This looks like it’d fit their theme…)

The figure froze and she just knew it was aware of her presence. It looked up and her eyes met two glowing red eyes, shadowed beneath the increasingly familiar neon light.

A growl rumbled from the figure, one that had to be inside her own head given how it had to be too far away to hear naturally.

The figure pulled a familiar axe from the Creep’s corpse and began stalking towards her.

(Wait…) “Jon?” She whispered, causing the figure to still once more.

Remembering something Val had told her just a few moments ago, she swallowed down a sudden sense of apprehension before slowly pushing her magic into the air and trying to sens-

(The bloody Huntsman slaughters its prey to Defend the innocent from the darkness and cast the world in the Moon’s maddening light…)

“F-fuck!” She cursed, hunching over as an ice pick drove itself through her temple.

She’d felt Madness before, any magic user living near a Wonderlander had, but that, that had been something entirely different from anything she’d ever felt from the gamer guild’s GM.

Feeling a dampness on her lip, she wiped away what she knew had to be a blood only to pause when it seemed to glint black beneath the moonlight.

Swiping at her eyes she readjusted her glasses, before double checking and finding her blood to be a surprisingly comforting crimson color.

“Just, just in my head…” She told herself, that sense of dread feeling so much worse.

Glancing up she found the figure (you know it’s Jon) had disappeared.

“Oh, that can’t be good…”

--- Artemis ---

“Where is she?” She couldn’t help but frown impatiently.

“She said she had to deal with another Creep, and you know she’s the slowest fighter between us.” Alejo reminded her once more before calmly sipping at the drink she’d gotten from within the corner store that for some reason had remained open during the demonic invasion. Not that most people knew one was going on. (But still, whatever they’re paying that guy is not enough.)

“Yeah, but this is still pushing it given how she was closer to this place than either of us.” She sighed, feeling another ripple of something malicious through the air. “Then again, it might just be that Demon screwing with my head.”

“How bad is that getting?” Val asked her curiously, since the Scarecrow rendered her more or less immune to [Fear] effects. (Actually, I think she might just outright eat [Fear] like some kind of incarnate now…)

“It’s getting stronger as we get closer to the dead of night.” She admitted, rubbing her arms as she felt a chill that she knew was solely in her head. “Hopefully, once that passes things will start to lighten up a bit.”

“Want me to see if I can do something to help?” Val offered, a bit of her buried compassion leaking through after a night spent slaughtering Creeps had cooled her ever present temper. “Might be able to wiggle a weak blessing or something out of the old crow.”

“Thanks, but I’d rather not give him any hooks if I can help it.” She told the Demon’s Mortal Keeper.

“Suit yourself.” Val shrugged, before letting her eyes drift up. “Is it me or is the moon looking a little bright tonight?”

Artemis looked up to her namesake’s domain, and found that, “Yeah, it is looking a bit brighter than normal. Probably just reacting to the Anima we’re all outputting, moonlight is a lot more sensitive to that kind of thing than daylight. It has to do with the conceptual shift between the two and how the moon is usually more actively related to magic than the sun is, though the sun does have its own influence on more physical magics or magics with a more ‘positive’ metaphorical charge.”

“Hmm…” Val nodded, clearly interested if more in the effects themselves than the technical theory behind it. (She’s always been on the art over science side of the argument.)

They both stayed there staring at the moon in a moment of silence, one she’d normally find almost romantic. A romance she’d be tempted to act on if not for-

Another nonexistent chill ran down her spine, as paranoia and fear whispered within her mind.

-(That…) She sighed.

“Don’t look so down to see me, otherwise I might feel offended.” A familiarly snarky voice called out.

“About time you got here.” She shot back, letting her impatience bleed through.

“Yeah, sorry, got held up by something.” Audrey confessed, with a swipe of her nose.

“Anything we need to deal with?” Val asked, shifting the bag containing her bat.

“Maybe…” Audrey frowned, glancing over her shoulder. “That said, I think I figured out what it was you guys were sensing…”

Val’s eyes narrowed. “You ran into the Boss Creep?”

She didn’t bother pointing out that they were sensing something Madness based, and that these Creeps were more magically oriented, meaning whatever they were sensing wasn’t a Boss Creep. (But that would be beside the point when we have a threat on that level prowling about.)

“It’s not a Boss Creep, but it is something we might want to keep an eye on.” Audrey admitted. “But first, and more importantly, what’s our total kill count so far?”

“Me and the crow are up to four-” Val’s head twitched and she smiled. “Make that fifteen.”

(Was wondering why the shadows were so still.) The Scarecrow loved to move the shadows around its Keeper, if only to creep and intimidate anyone who could see them. (Though knowing she’s let its leash go that far isn’t exactly comforting…)

“I’m only up to six.” She admitted after a moment, exchanging one discomfort for another because even with the number of Creeps on the street she was not built for heavy combat. “I can only really put down the strays that break from the pack or the occasional flier.”

“And I’ve got eight.” Audrey nodded, her count higher due to being able to pin Creeps with her Stranglethorns. “All in all, that’s twenty nine, which with what we’ve claimed over the last few weeks we’re at eighty-seven with-” The other teen checked her phone. “-five and a half hours until dawn.”

She grimaced, as she spotted Guy stepping onto the street, shotgun in hand. “Thirteen kills shouldn’t be too hard.” (If we ignore all of the competition and the fact that the Creeps will start their escape in two hours…) The sunrise was probably the one thing they were scared of.

Audrey shook her head with a sigh. “No, my magic is starting to run low. I've got maybe an hour before I have to tap out. What about you two?”

“I’m at about half capacity.” She shrugged, sparking a pink fireball in her hand to ward off another chill. Of the three of them she was the most efficient with her casting style, even taking into account the fact that Val’s Scriptcraft had the lowest magic cost overall. (Though that does depend on if…)

“There’s enough miedo in the air that the Scarecrow is staying topped off, but that’ll start bajó as people start crashing for the night.” Val admitted, slipping a bit as she realized what they all had. “But I’ve probably got another hora or two before I have to reel him in. Might be able to cover more ground… get more muertes…”

Audrey leaned back a bit before shifting when she realized there was nothing behind her, and running a hand down her face. “Actually I… might have a way to cash in more kills than that, if we’re willing to wait for verification…”

“Taking photos doesn’t take up that much time.” She pointed out with more venom than she’d intended.

“Yeah, but…” Audrey pulled out her phone. “Val how many Creep corpses do you think you saw from that thing you were worried about?”

Val blinked. “Uh, three or four… They were a bit too chopped up to count…”

“You want to take credit for that thing’s kills?” She couldn’t help but frown as she crossed her arms. “You know that kind of thing can bite us hard -like losing your license hard- and besides none of us can pass those as our kills.”

“That’s not entirely true…” Audrey grimaced, realizing how bad of an idea this was.

“So we’re going to say el espantapájaros killed them?” Val figured, willing to cut more corners than Artemis on this kind of thing.

Audrey seemed to grimace even harder, before taking a deep breath and explaining that, “Well, he wasn’t the one to kill them, and the one who did is on our team… technically.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, getting a bad feeling that had nothing with the Demon of the Haunt.