The bloody corridor reeked of death and the distinguished scent of the Monsters. I've always wondered how the Monsters, with their super sense of smell, could stand the wretched stench they produce. If I gagged after one swift sniff then they should've been puking their lungs out. But here they are, packed together in an abandoned subway tunnel in Pennsylvania like sardines in a tin can.

The beam of my flashlight scanned the dripping walls, illuminating the blood stained brick in an eerie glow. Bones littered the tracks below my feet, most of them decayed with age. Most of them. One bone had what looked to be a bloodied hand still attached. It was fresh; the owner had probably been alive two or three hours ago.

I felt sorry for the poor sap. They were probably just walking around, enjoying the sights of Philadelphia at night, when the Monster got them. But I got over my pity quickly; I learned long ago that there’d be casualties. I couldn’t save everyone and I didn’t have time to mourn the dead. If I wanted to save more lives I couldn't waste my time thinking about those already lost. The humans still living were my priority, not the decaying corpse inside a Monster's belly.

"This place smells like a pig sty. No, more like a C rated butcher shop." Said a voice to my right. I glanced over and saw my new partner covering his nose with his shirt. I laughed, Jacks was new at this so he had only smelled the Monsters once or twice before.

"You'll get used to it after a few hunts. It'll even come in handy at times." I said, casually shrugging my shoulders.

Jacks looked at me as if I was crazy. "How will this horrible stench come in handy?" He asked, shirt still covering his freckled face. Jacks was short for his age, at age 26 he was almost 5'6". But his height did give him certain advantages; he was the fastest Monster Hunter in our ranks. I he tried he could probably outrun a Monster. No, no human could outrun one of those things; they were just too fast and agile. Though, Jacks could give one a run for its money.

"Well, for one, it covers our smell in places like this. Their own scent is too strong for them to smell anything else, that's why most Monsters only live in packs of two or three." I paused for a minute letting the information settle. "But, there are exceptions. Some Monsters live in Hives, there are about forty in a Hive. There are so many Monsters that they don't have to worry about anything attacking them, they'll just rip it pieces. How did they not teach you this stuff in basic training?"

Jacks opened his mouth to answer, his shirt had fallen away from his nose exposing his freckled cheeks and pointed nose. A noise cut through the tunnel, like long nails scraping against metal. Jacks and I locked eyes, I nodded and slowly clicked off my flashlight. The darkness of the tunnel consumed us. I pulled a metal pair of goggles from the bag around my shoulder and placed them over my eyes.

My vision slowly returned, but this time with a green tint. I strapped the night vision goggles around my head securely, making sure they wouldn't fall off. I could see a little farther now than with the flashlight. I glanced at Jacks, making sure he had on his goggles as well, before upholstering the weapon at my hip. "Remember; keep your weapon on stun. We're here to capture a Monster for study, not its corpse." I said, clicking the small pistols' safety measures on.

I went into the tunnel first, Jacks only a few feet behind. I made sure to keep on the metal tracks; I would make less noise than the crunchy gravel. The farther in I went, the more bones I saw and the bloodier the walls were. I could hear the continuous dripping sounds of what I could only assume were blood; the smell surely didn't give me any other clues.

We soon came upon a split in the tunnel, one tunnel leading left and the other leading right. I held up my hand for Jacks to stop while I tried to peer as far as I could down the tunnels. I thought I saw movement down the left tunnel, just a slight shift of something almost out of range of my goggles. So far there was no movement down the right tunnel so I signaled for Jacks to take that one.

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I know, I know. I should never have gone off on my own, but I wasn't about to lose my partner. I had already lost one; I wouldn't let another one die on my watch. I'd much rather face the Monster on my own than risk Jacks' life. Jacks would get his time to shine and take down a Monster, but not fresh out of training like he was. Jacks took off at a slow jog down the tunnel; he barely made a noise as he ran. I guess they taught him better in training than I had expected.

I continued my pace down the left corridor, keeping my eyes right where I saw the movement. The closer I got the higher I raised my pistol. I stopped about ten feet away from the area of interest. I leaned in to get a closer look, but all I saw was gravel and broken bones. I sighed, I was on a fool’s errand. I turned to leave and came face to face with the most grotesque sight of my life. A Monster.

It opened its fang filled mouth and let out a roar, its eyes filled with bloodlust. I stumbled back and fell onto the tracks. I immediately raised my pistol and fired. An electric blast shot out toward the creature. The Monster dodged the bullet, flying upward at an inhuman speed. Well, it wasn't human.

The beast had the face of a bat, its skin a pale white. The creature was armed with razor sharp claws on its four fingered hands and knife-like teeth sharpened to a point. Under its arms ran an extra flap of skin, wings. The Monster was skinny; its ribs looked like they were trying to push their way out of its body.

I fired again and again at the beast landing a few shots that stunned it for a few seconds. The shots hit it in the chest, which would only stun the Monster. I needed a headshot to knock it out. The Monster let out a feral roar again, this time it swooped down at me. Its razor claws were ready to tear me to shreds of bloody meat.

I rolled to my right at the last second. The beast's claws sunk into the gravel with ease. I couldn't help but grimace at the thought that the gravel would've been me a few seconds ago. The Monster roared again and leaned over to take a bite out of me. Its jaw snapped shut inches in front of my face. The beast, clearly wanting to make a meal out of my face, scrambled closer to take a bite, its jaws chomping at a speed unmatched by anything.

Its milky yellow eyes gleamed with insatiable hunger for blood. My blood. The only problem was that I really wanted to keep my blood. And I'd do anything to keep it inside of my veins, I'd even play dirty. I sent a foot out and caught the creature in the jaw with my heel. The Monster didn't even budge; it just let out an evil growl. The look in its eyes made my blood run cold. Before, it was hungry for my blood. Now, the beast was pissed.

I knew there was no way I was making it out alive now, but I was going to make sure the Monster left this tunnel in the same body bag as me. I clicked the safety off my gun, no more playtime. I raised the gun and fired three shots each hitting their mark in the Monster's chest. A greenish goo secreted from the bullet holes as the Monster wailed in a high pitched scream. Gone was the Monster's evil roar, it was replaced by a feral, blood curdling scream. This fight just got personal.

It attacked with ferocious intensity, clawing and trying to bite me. I rolled, dodging the Monster's teeth as they chomped the air. I could avoid the fangs, but it was just too fast for me to avoid the claws. The creature's claws raked into my skin, leaving bloody marks behind. I grunted as the beast swiped its claw across my face, leaving a deep gash in my cheek. At least I wasn't bitten. That would mean certain death.

If the beast even grazed my skin with its teeth then I'd be done for, within a matter of seconds I'd turn into one of them. My humanity would vanish from my veins and I would crave blood, an endless amount of blood. I'd become the beast that I've fought so hard to destroy, and I wouldn't let that happen. Not now, not ever. I rolled to my feet and raised the pistol once more. The beast quickly grabbed hold of the gun and pushed down as I fired.

My aim was thrown off but I managed to hit the Monster in the leg. Its twig of a leg splintered and bone pierced the skin. The creature let off another howl before wrenching the gun out of my hand and throwing it behind itself, far out of my reach. The Monster was now limping toward me at a slower pace. It could've gone much faster if it wanted to, but it was enjoying this moment. Like playing with its meal before chomping the life out of it.

I quickly assessed the situation. The pistol was too far behind the creature for me to roll and grab, and the Monster was too fast for me to run around and grab the gun. I only had one option left, and it was probably suicide.

The Monster had little balance now with only one foot. If I jumped on it I could probably push it to the ground and skid far enough so that my gun was within reach. But that would also put my body within the dangerous reach of the Monster's fangs. I could be bitten and turned. Like I said, the plan was suicide.

I didn't waste any more time wrestling with my conscience and threw myself at the beast. My sudden aggressiveness surprised the Monster and it lost its balance when I slammed into its chest. My momentum slid us across the gravel towards my gun. As soon as we landed on the ground I reached out and fumbled for my pistol. Sadly, the Monster's stun surprise didn't last long and it started snapping at my body. My other hand found its way to the creature's jaw and pushed. I used all of my strength to keep the Monster's teeth from biting into my skin.

I felt a pain in my hand but had no time to register it because my hand finally gripped the pistol. I immediately let go of the creature's jaw and wrapped both hands around the gun. The barrel of the gun found its way into the Monster's left eye and I squeezed the trigger. I kept firing into the Monster until the magazine of my gun was completely emptied.

I stood up off the creature and wiped my face. I was covered with green goop, the Monster's blood. The beast lay still on the ground now, twitching slightly. So much for bringing one in alive. A raging pain resonated in my hand. I gulped as I glanced at my bleeding hand. Bite marks were clearly indented into my skin and I knew it was over. My worst fears were confirmed.

I had been bitten.