My transformation had torn my outfit to shreds, leaving me half-naked and bloodied after the violent encounter with the mysterious fourth vampire. As I made my way back to the abandoned factory, I unhappily admitted I needed new clothes to replace the tatters I wore. I couldn't risk looking like a vagrant, especially with new friends I was trying to seem normal around. What if I stumbled upon them again? Spotting a large department store in a different part of the city, I slipped into the alley behind it. The metal door yielded easily under the force of my shoulder, the hinges protesting loudly in the early morning hours.
Inside, the store was dimly lit, the only sound the hum of a few fluorescent lights. I moved quickly through the aisles, grabbing shirts, jackets, and a pair of sturdy jeans. A pang of guilt stabbed at me briefly, but I brushed it aside. There were bigger issues at hand than petty theft.
Back at the factory, I headed straight to the small washroom I had made. The water ran rusty at first, then clear, and I washed the blood and grime from my skin. The confines of the shower was a rare comfort, a brief moment of normalcy. I watched as the water swirled down the drain, tinged pink from the vampire's blood, and thought about how I used to feel guilty about taking what wasn't mine. But now, survival trumped all other concerns. Even survival of my fake persona I had put on for the humans.
After drying off, I slipped into the new clothes, the fabric clean and soft against my skin. I even took the time to shave, scraping away the stubble that had grown during my recent few days. My reflection in the cracked mirror looked almost human again, the lines of stress and fatigue temporarily softened. I needed to present myself well to Carter and his family. They had to see me as a normal person, not the creature that lurked in the shadows, hunting mauling people in the shadows.
As I dressed, a fleeting thought of Vicky crossed my mind. I wondered what she would think if she saw me now. Would she recognize the person I had become, the sacrifices I had made? Shaking my head, I pushed the thought away. There was no room for such distractions.
Carter had given me his cell phone number, but I had no phone to call him with. It was a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things, yet it felt like another hurdle in my path.
He mentioned I could drop by their house since I had been there before, but the idea of showing up unannounced made me uneasy. What if they weren't home? Standing on their doorstep like a lost dog seemed far too desperate. If Carter thought I was human, he might be testing me. Seeing if I could have enough presence of mind to have stayed observant and remembered the path to and from his house, even in the dead of night. A test I could easily pass. But, maybe it was best to wait until I got a phone. Until then, I would lay low, blend in, and avoid attracting attention. The hunters were out there, and I needed to stay one step ahead of them if I was to keep my ruse. One slip and they’d start asking questions. Or worse, they’d try to kill me. That wouldn’t end well.
I paced the stale-smelling confines of the forgotten structure, my mind churning with indecision. The factory's air was thick with dust, and the echoes of my footsteps echoed off the crumbling walls. Finally, I made up my mind. I would go to Carter’s. I could recall every twist and turn of the route we had taken, each intersection etched in my memory. Navigating my way there wouldn't be an issue.
The real problem was figuring out how to reach the destination without drawing unwanted attention. It was only nine in the morning, and the streets were already bustling with people starting their day. Running out in the open was out of the question. I considered the underground tunnels but quickly dismissed the idea. The stench that clung to those passages was intolerable, and I didn’t want it lingering on my freshly acquired clothes right as I meet them.
I decided to move through the shadows, sticking to the cover provided by trees, alleys, and other hidden nooks of the city. The urban maze offered numerous concealed routes where I could move swiftly and unnoticed. In the relative safety of these hidden pathways, I could run without the prying eyes of curious humans.
Despite the cover, I knew I had to be cautious. The hunters were relentless and always on the lookout. I had to stay one step ahead. What if there were others that I didn’t even know about yet?
As I slipped out of the factory, the early morning sunlight cast long shadows, creating perfect pockets of darkness for me to navigate through. I moved with purpose, blending into the urban landscape, a ghost flitting from one hiding spot to another.
The trees provided a natural canopy, their leaves whispering secrets in the gentle breeze as I dashed beneath them. The alleys, with their high walls and narrow confines, offered a different kind of security. Here, I could move like a phantom, slipping from one darkened corner to the next. Each step brought me closer to Carter’s home, my senses on high alert for any sign of a witness.
The journey was a delicate balance of speed and stealth. I had to reach my destination without leaving a trace. With every careful step, I drew closer to the answers I sought, the hidden paths leading me to the next chapter of my perilous journey. I was on a mission, so I didn’t stop for anything. No hunting, no stalking, no kills… nothing. I kept walking until I had finally found the turn off for the road that they lived on. I retraced my memories and ended my walk at the doorstep of the Chasse home.
The house was exactly as I remembered it; enormous, well maintained, sprawling yards that surrounded its entirety. It was perfect for their lifestyle. Not too many prying eyes.
I was a little hesitant as I raised my fist to knock on one of the hefty double doors mounted to the front of their house. I took a long calming breath and then just went for it. I banged my knuckles against the solid oak, trying not to blow a hole through the door, I was so nervous.
I heard a pair of quiet feet lower from a chair in their kitchen and walk carefully to the front door. They stopped a few feet away from the entrance and stood in place. I heard something being shuffled around, followed by a quick snap. The feet continued stepping towards the door.
I saw fingers poke around the curtains and spread them out far enough to see who was knocking. I saw a quick flash of brown eyes, the same ones I kept looking into just a few hours earlier. It was Autumn. I heard her toss something away, out of sight, and then turn over the deadbolts.
She pulled open the door quickly and immediately apologized, “I am so sorry, Sam. I didn’t know it was you.” Her eyes seemed stressed but promptly relaxed.
She said my name. She remembered it. She looked at me, and I was entranced. Her face almost held a hypnotic spell that sedated me when I looked at her. I had to remember to speak back to her.
“No… no, it’s my fault. I’m sorry. I should have called first,” I apologized.
I took in her scent. She smelled fresh, clean like she had just gotten out of the shower. Her hair was still damp, making it even darker than I remembered. I could smell her like I was holding her down, our bodies touching, and my mouth against her throat. That thought lingered through my mind for too long.
“My dad told us that you might come back on your own, so really, it’s no problem,” she assured, honestly smiling at me. “Does this mean you want to know more?” she asked eagerly.
I was nervous as I talked to her for the first real time. I glanced at her figure and clothes. She had on a snug pair of jeans and a loose-fitting green button up top. It was hard to not look her up and down while she stared at me.
“Yeah… I mean, I guess. I wanted to talk to Carter again. Is he here?” I asked.
“No, he and my mom left a little while ago to go run an errand. They should be back soon. You can stay until they get back,” she offered.
“Yeah sure, thank you,” I answered.
Suddenly, she turned around and walked back into the house, completely unannounced. I just assumed she was going back to whatever she was doing before while I waited outside for Carter. She had no reason to want to be around me, so I didn’t overthink it. Plus, I didn’t want to crowd her. She had only just met me, so I’d give her space. It felt the normal thing to do. I stepped back down off the porch and leaned against the stone support that sprouted out a wooden beam for their large gable.
I heard her light, quick footsteps coming out again, “Sam… what are you doing?” her lips curling up in the corners. She was amused.
“Waiting,” I said, confused.
“Outside?” she laughed
“Yes…”
“You can come inside, you know,” she teased.
Why would she offer me this? She was all alone, she had no one to protect her, and she was inviting in a pure monster. What was she thinking?
“But… you don’t even know me. Why would you let me come inside?” I asked, still confused.
“My dad trusts you,” she said. “He wouldn’t have offered you the chance to learn our family secrets if he didn’t. He’s a pretty good judge of character,” she added. “Plus, I can take care of myself.” She flashed a wicked smile, convincing me that she could, just… not from me.
She stepped to the side and opened the way for me.
“Well, thank you.” I began walking up the stairs. What the fuck was I doing?
“Come in,” she waved me through. “It really shouldn’t be too long. They just went to go talk to the police, then they’re supposed to come straight back,” she informed me.
She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and started to dial a number.
“Police?” I asked. “Do they know about this… stuff?” I pointed around their house as I asked, gesturing to their secret world.
She held the phone up to her ear as it rang, “Not all of them. We have a few contacts in the human world that are in the loop,” she said. “Please,” she pointed to the couch just inside of the living room, “sit down. I’ll call my dad and let him know you’re here.”
I sat down on the leather couch, where she sat the night before. She walked into the kitchen and started ruffling some papers around and closing some books. She must have been doing some work for her college classes. I could smell the trail she left behind her as she passed through the house. It was… intoxicating.
I shouldn’t have gone there. I started to feel what the beast was already inching towards; the thoughts that I had been letting loose in my mind ever since I met her. They scrambled my mind all night since I saw her last.
I struggled at that moment. I had to remain clear. I didn’t leave my life behind just to get a new one. This was a life of exile, not some second chance at a family. I left my family, my friends, Vicky, Seth, I left…
STOP! I screamed in my own mind. I couldn’t think about everything I sacrificed. It was too hard. Just go numb… just go numb.
“Dad,” I heard her say, “Hey. Sam’s here. He got here like two minutes ago.”
There was a buzz in the speaker of the phone that I could hear if I focused, “He is? Good, I hoped he would come back. What is he doing?”
“He’s just waiting inside with me.”
“Are you okay?” he asked, concerned for his only daughter.
“Oh, come on, Dad. You know I’m fine. I always have my silver blade on me, and besides, he’s nice. He was going to wait outside,” she laughed again. “I had to practically drag him inside the house.” She continued putting away her college books.
More buzzing, “I know you can take care of yourself. I just worry…”
“I’m fine, Dad,” she assured.
“Okay, take him into the library and show him one of the bestiaries until I get back. Call me if you need anything.”
“Okay, I’ll see you when you get here.”
“Love you,” he said.
“Love you too,” she hung up after she spoke.
She finished putting her things away in the kitchen, stuffing papers into books, and then books into a bag. Then she walked past the living room and into the study. She set her black, tactical looking bag down on the desk and scanned through the stacks with her hand for a book.
I listened to her for a few moments, stepping slowly across the hardwood floor as she searched. I heard her place her hand on one and slide it out of the jam-packed shelf. Then she returned to the living room. She walked to the couch and eased down beside me, only a foot separating her skin and mine. She had a sizeable, black-bound book in her hands. We sat in silence for a moment as she flipped through the pages of the old tome. She seemed comfortable with space and in silence.
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I looked around the room and saw a crossbow sitting on the far side of a coffee table, close to the front door. It had a bolt loaded and ready to fire. That must have been her stop on the way to the door. It was her protection. It was a massive, bulky weapon. It looked like it could hurl that bolt a couple hundred feet per second.
I tilted my head toward the crossbow, “Was I about to take one of those to the chest?”
She looked at what I saw. “Sorry about that,” she apologized again, laughing as her cheeks blushed. “I guess I’m just paranoid sometimes.”
I laughed, “No, don’t be sorry. You never know what could be knocking at the door, I guess. Carter told me a few things last night that I couldn’t believe,” I said. “So, answering the door with a gigantic crossbow doesn’t really seem too unreasonable.”
“Exactly,” she chuckled.
Making her laugh made me feel close to her. I shunned the thoughts.
“Hey…” she thought about her words, trying to find the right thing to say. “I just wanted to apologize for last night.”
“What do you mean,” I asked. I stared into her dark brown eyes, the eyes that seemed innocent, but let off the faint truth of the hunter within. I couldn’t understand her. She was perplexing.
“I wasn’t very polite at dinner. I didn’t really speak to you at all or say goodbye when you left.” She grinned a little and winced, “I was kind of a bitch.”
“No, no. I thought you and your whole family were very nice. You all let me just come in here and join you, no questions asked. I couldn’t have asked to be treated any better,” I assured her.
“Well, good, I’m glad you felt that way. I was just a little… distracted,” she trailed off.
I knew what she meant; Patrick and his desperate pleas. I was still unsure what exactly that was about, but I wouldn’t ask.
“I thought you were fine,” I said quickly, slightly embarrassed with how much truth I was spilling. “Anyways, we kind of snuck out at the end while no one was looking.”
“Still, I’m sorry for not being a better host,” she said. “Usually, I have better manners.”
So, this was the real, unburdened Autumn. Whatever Patrick was doing last night was bringing her down, but this seemed to be her normal state. She was very courteous, funny, and kind. But really, I knew this to be only one facet of her persona. I could sense a fighter behind her soft eyes.
She flipped open the books to a certain scrawl filled page. There were long paragraphs and hand-drawn depictions of strange-looking men, but I didn’t want to get into this yet, so I kept asking the questions.
“So, why is Carter talking to the police? Do they have a tip for him, like last night?” I interrupted before she began to tell me about the book.
She shook her head, “No, we rarely talk with the police, only when our world bleeds into theirs. Sometimes they figure things out and don’t know how to proceed. That’s when our ‘Detective’ friend gives us a call,” she said. “The tip we got about the vampires last night was actually from another vampire.”
What did she mean? Why would a vampire tell hunters where to find other vampires?
“How does that work? Why would they help Carter? I mean, your dad?”
“We know a vampire that doesn’t live like the rest of them. He gives us information when he can and tries to keep tabs on certain vampires, or even people, for us.”
I couldn’t believe it. The only four vampires I had ever met, all last night, only wanted to kill me. It didn’t seem like any of them could live a different way. I guess there was a possibility. Just look at me.
“But, right now, our detective friend thinks he has some information that we might want to look into. So, that’s where my parents are.”
“Why didn’t you go with them,” I asked.
“My dad doesn’t want to push the small amount of trust we have with this guy. He only talks to my parents. If I came, he might not be as talkative since he doesn’t know me.”
I couldn’t imagine anyone not wanting to talk to her. I was just chatting away like an average person, like I wasn’t a killer by night. I was shocked at how easy it was to be around a human and be able to act normally, without trying too hard not to swing my claws into someone’s head.
“So, what’s this?” I looked at the large, black book in her hands, finally ready to dive in.
“This is a bestiary. We use it to keep track of different kinds of creatures that we come across,” she answered.
“Yeah, your dad said something about this last night. He told me about… wendigos,” I recalled the name.
“Wendigos? That’s a strange one,” she spoke, furrowing her brow.
“He just named off a few different things, and I had never heard of that one before. So, he told me about them,” I explained.
She had a sharp look of realization, “I am so sorry,” she said. “Can I get you anything to drink? Or eat?” she offered.
“Sure.” I had to think about what an average person would ask for, “W-Water’s fine.”
She got up from the couch and paced into the kitchen. I arose and followed her silently, trying to maintain my distance so I wouldn’t startle her.
She opened a cabinet and pulled a glass from the shelf. She saw me enter the kitchen as she did, but she didn’t think it unusual. She just continued. She ran the sink for a few seconds and then filled my glass. She placed it in front of me.
“Thank you,” I said, really meaning the words. I didn’t even think about it but I was falling into old habits. Old mindsets of normalcy. It felt good.
“Not a problem,” she replied as she flitted back to the cabinet.
She grabbed another glass and then closed the cabinet door. She turned and opened the refrigerator, pulling out a bottle of dark red juice. I didn’t see the name of it, but it smelled like cranberries. She filled her glass halfway and put the bottle back in.
She spun towards me and asked, “So… what are you thinking?”
I watched her sip on the juice, taking small tastes. The only things that I was thinking were about her. I wondered if… if I was human, would I have a chance with her? She was beautiful, extraordinary, and one of a kind. Her hair danced around the edges of her face, putting off a scent that wouldn’t leave my nostrils. Her physique was impressive for a human girl. She looked lean and powerful, but fast with her skinnier frame and tight muscles. She had to only weigh one-thirty, maybe one twenty. Her build was solid muscle. She had confidence hidden just behind her kind and generous personality.
“About what?” I asked.
She laughed a boisterous laugh and smiled at me in a way that almost held a question. Her eyes seemed to look right into my soul. At least, that is what it felt like when she looked at me. I felt like she could see what I was. It was like there was no hiding from her all-seeing gaze.
Why did I feel so paranoid around her?
“About all of this; vampires, wendigo… the entire new side of the world you just learned about,” she said, bewildered that I couldn’t realize what she obviously meant.
“Oh, that.”
She smirked at my response. She couldn’t understand how it wasn’t a bigger deal for me. I had my own monster to deal with for the past two years, so the rest came easily for me.
“I mean, it’s… crazy. I guess I’m still processing it all, but I’m glad that I know,” I said.
She laughed. “Well, I will say that I have never seen anyone take it as well as you. Most people go through denial and refuse to believe, even if they actually see it first-hand. Some people just can’t accept it. They don’t stick around long…”
“How long have you known?” I asked.
“I’ve known since I was thirteen. My parents wanted me to know what was out there so I could protect myself.”
“How did you take it?” I asked.
She was serious for a moment, “It was… hard. Scary. I had to basically give up my friends once I knew. It’s hard to keep friends when you are lying to them all the time.”
I felt terrible for her as she spoke. I wanted her to have friends. More than anyone I had ever met, she would definitely be deserving of friends.
“I was scared in the beginning, and all I wanted to do was study and train. I wanted to know everything there was to know about monsters: how to fight them, their weaknesses, anything I could use against them.”
“Sounds tough,” I stated.
She shook out of the old emotions that the thoughts brought up, “Yeah, but everything has worked out. I wouldn’t go back and change anything. I like who I am now.” Her honesty was pure. I knew she was talking about the warrior within.
I liked who she was too. She was strong, mentally, emotionally, and physically. She was probably one of the strongest people I had ever met. I could only imagine how I would have reacted, at thirteen years old, if I found out about all of this. She was more durable than I probably would have been.
“So, I’ve been wondering,” I said. “How do you fight them? I saw Frank with a machete and Carter with a silver blade. Do you fight the same as them?” I asked. I couldn’t picture her on the ground, toe to toe with an inhuman creature.
“I’m long-range,” she smirked behind the glass of cranberry juice. “I’m good with bows… crossbows,” she glanced at the loaded crossbow by the table. “My parents had me in archery and sharpshooting since before I can even remember. I usually hang back and support the others from behind.” A devilish grin came across her face, “But, sometimes I have to improvise and get my hands dirty like the rest of them. We all carry silver blades, and I know how to use mine just fine.”
She pulled her blade swiftly from behind her back. It was hidden under the tail of her shirt, horizontally on her belt. She held it out and extended it to me. I grabbed the handle from her as she grasped the blade end. Ever so slightly, our fingers touched. I glanced up at her, my heart beating just slightly faster from the contact. I felt something. Did she? I wanted her to. I was starting to want a lot of things.
Sam… you have to stop. You aren’t human anymore. She is, and she deserves someone better than you. She deserves a man, not a monster. Remember why you’re here. Remember why you left your family. You have to be alone. You can’t abandon Vicky and get with someone else.
I berated myself internally.
I pulled the blade from her hand, trying not to feel her fingers underneath mine.
“You’ve used one of these before,” she stated.
I had used Carter’s, the silver knife that I thrust into the bald vampire’s chest.
“Your dad says silver works on everything… that it’s like a poison?”
“Yep,” she said. “Silver can kill anything. They are so weak to it that they can’t even touch one of our silver blades. It would be too painful for them to pick up, let alone hold one.”
It was strange… I was holding it right in my own hand. Nothing was happening, I felt totally unaffected. This was the joke from last night. I shouldn’t even be able to touch the bars of the cell in their basement, or the blade that I killed the vampire with. Carter and the others had no fears of me being a vampire or any other type of creature since the silver didn’t affect me. This must have been the reason they trusted me so quickly. They were sure I was just another innocent human. This was probably why they hoped to bring me into their world. They’d have another hunter. Someone to watch their backs.
It didn’t make sense at all. I was the quintessence of a monster, an unstoppable killer with no equal, yet, to stop or destroy me. If the silver was going to work on anyone, it should be me.
I flipped the blade around in my hand, examining it at every angle, looking for anything unusual. It looked like dull silver metal to me, yet the same twisting symbols were etched into the spine of the blade.
I handed it back to her, making sure that my hand was on the blade side, far away from where Autumn would grab.
She took it by the hilt and slid it back into its sheath behind her back.
She took another sip of her cranberry juice. I could hear her heartbeat as she answered my questions. I could hear her blood flowing through her body, her symmetrical breaths in and out spiking every now and then for extra oxygen. I noticed too much about her, and it was all dragging me in. I couldn’t look away, and she wasn’t either.
I had been alone for so long. It had been two years since I was last with a woman… Vicky. Everything about Autumn was appealing, and I wasn’t superhuman when it came to resisting what attracted me. And Autumn… she was a major attraction. I had to stay vigilant. I couldn’t act on anything.
“They’re back,” she said, looking towards the garage. She jumped up and walked to meet them at the garage entrance.
I was thankful for the sudden return of her parents. It was just the thing I needed to break up this little powwow we were having. Keeping us apart would have to be a preemptive battle from now on. If I let her too close… I’m not sure if I could resist my thoughts for too long.
The garage door was opening. How had I not noticed Carter and Eleanor’s arrival myself? I was too focused on Autumn to pay attention to my surroundings. She was a significant distraction.
Carter and Eleanor parked the car and shut it off. They got out and walked inside the warm house, leaving the garage door open to the chill of the coming winter. I could hear their footsteps approaching the side door that led into the house. Autumn met them at the door.
“Hey,” she greeted them.
“Hey, sweetie,” Eleanor returned.
“He’s in the kitchen,” Autumn told her father.
They all made their way into the kitchen while I waited, water in hand.
“Sam,” Carter welcomed as he turned the corner, “I’m glad you decided to come back. I’m sorry we were gone. I hope you weren’t waiting too long.”
“Not at all, Autumn was keeping me company. She was telling me more about silver.”
“Silver, huh? Well… we may need to get you some silver here in a little while,” Carter said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Our contact inside the police department has given us something to look into,” he said.
“What did he want?” Autumn asked.
Carter looked unsure, “There was a crime scene that was… unusual.”
“How do you mean?’ she asked, intrigued.
“Well, there were at least four people killed, slaughtered to be more accurate. All of the bodies looked like they had been torn apart, it almost looks like some kind of animal attack,” Carter said. “And we all know what that could mean.”
I was about to ask what he meant by that, but Autumn was too quick.
“Highly unlikely,” she stated.
“Well, that’s what it was looking like to the police, but there was something else. There was a fire, and it was set intentionally. The Fire Marshal found accelerant all over the third floor, where the fire started, but it was a gas pipe that was sheered from the wall that caused the explosion. Someone knew what they were doing, and it looks like they killed all these men and then set fire to try to cover it up.”
I froze on the inside. They were talking about me, the men responsible for Emily Smith’s murder, the men that I ripped to pieces in pursuit of her justice. I thought I was smart, I thought I had covered my tracks well enough. Well, I had covered them adequately for the cops, but this was before I knew anything about the Chasse family or this new hidden underworld of monsters.
Eleanor spoke, “We just don’t know why something would do that. The fire was unnecessary, it would just bring more attention to them, and most of them have rules to follow.”
“Nothing is nailed down right now, but the police are not sure where to go from here. All the men were known gang members and drug dealers, so they think it could have been drug related. Maybe an example that had to be made by a rival gang,” Carter repeated what the Detective told him.
The answer was staring them all right in the face, literally. I killed them. I was the one that set fire to cover my tracks so the cops couldn’t link me, a dead man, to four gruesome murders. It was to purge any DNA traces of myself, if they still existed.
“So, we’re just going to go make a few rounds, ask a few questions. That’s all I told him we would do since it doesn’t really have the M.O. of any creatures that inhabit this area,” Carter said.
Just then, a vehicle sped up into the curved drive and stopped in line with the front door. Frank popped through the double doors and joined us. He looked excited about something.
“Hey, Sam,” he excitedly greeted. “You ready to go on your first hunt?”
I tilted my head to the side, “Yeah… sure.” I grinned a little, excited. He must have rubbed off on me.
“Well, it’s not going to be a real hunt,” Carter said, “but we always treat our outings like a hunt. So, let’s go gear up.”