Chapter Eight
The Hunt Begins
“Hunters?” I asked in is disbelief. “ What are hunters?”
“Hunters just saved your –“ said Michael. The oldest cut him off, “Michael! Enough.”
“What he asked,” Michaal said. “I don’t care shut up.” I had been in the room with then for a while and I didn’t like Michael. He was arrogant. All of then wore black shirts and jeans. Anyway I sat there unsure of what to say to that. It was true, they had saved me, but I wasn’t going to admit I was thankful to him. He was already to proud of himself. I looked at them,“ Okay fine. You still haven’t answered my question. What are hunters?” The oldest rubbed his chin and looked at the girl. I tapped my foot impatiently. She nodded and said, “ We hunt things. Evil things like we told you.” “
“ Ya I get that but how. “ I asked. Michael shook his head and said, “ vampires – cut there heads off or stake ‘em with a wooded stake. Werewolfes – silver bullet. Demon – exercise them . Ghosts dig up the bones salt and burn them. And those are just a few.” “Michael if you don’t shut up I’m going to salt and burn you!” The oldest one said, “ By the way I’m John, and this is Samantha, but we call her Sam” “ Joey short for Josef.”
“ Ya so I’ve heard.” John said. Michael stood up , “not that sitting here explaining all this to you isn’t fun, but don’t we have a monster to be hunting.”
“I want to help.” I said as they turned to leave. “ That thing hurt my sister I want revenge.” Michael was laughing and Sam was staring at him. “ No, it’s to dangerous. Besides,” He said to me then looked at them,” It’s probably long gone anyway.” Sam looked at me and said, “ sorry about your sister, she seemed like a good kid.” “Excuse me, your giving up ?!”, I said then looked at Micheal, “ What happened to ‘we can take on any thing’.” I said in a mocking voice. John cut him off before he could say anything, “Joey, no means no.” I stood up almost nose to nose with him, “ I want to help. Now either you can let me help you, or I can find it on my own.”
Michael was staring at me, “ your crazy… if you think we are going to risk your life after saving it just so you can satisfy your petty desire for revenge you’ve got another thing coming.” I bit my lip, arguing was getting me no where with these people. And I wasn’t good at pleading. SO the only other option I had was bargaining. I opened my mouth to say something but there was nothing I had to bargain with. Wait Amy! “ What if I could help you find a demon at the school?”
Michael shook his head and smiled, “ you mean that pitiful excuse for a demon Amy. We took care of her a few days ago.” I smirked, “ oh really cause I seen her yesterday and she looked alive and well.” His smile faulted, “ are you serious ?” I nodded, “ as a heart attack.” John crossed his arms, “ Why should we believe you.” I had to play this right. One wrong move and they’d leave and I’d be left to my own devices. “ Believe me don’t believe me. It’s you choice.” He sighed,“Fine. You win where is she.”
“I’ll tell you after we kill that Shtriga.” This was good, at least I’d won this battle. “Okay lets go, you too Joey if you still want to help.” Michael’s mouth dropped and Sam stared in disbelief. “ You CAN’T be serious. You’re taking him with us. Arg” Michael complained. John gave him a look that said just drop it.
We walked out to their Chevy Camaro. They put their guns in the back, and I stood there not
sure what to do. Then I seen the arsenal in the truck and thought what have I gotten myself in to?
I thought briefly about turning back and going back to the house, but I knew that was no longer an option.
John got in the car and started the engine. Michael gave me one last look before shaking his head and getting in the passenger seat. “ Hey, don’t worry he’ll come around.” Sam said. We both got in the back. John turned on the radio to a station I didn’t know and drove off.
We kept driving for about fifteen minutes before we turned down a narrow gravel drive way. At the end of the drive way was a ramshackle house, with peeling yellow paint over dirty cinderblocks. The small front window was nothing more than a tarp. “This place looks rough” I whispered under my breath.
In the front seat Michael sang along to “Carry On My Wayward Son” by Kansas. By the time we got to the back door and John turned the car off Michael was still singing, “ Carry on… You will always remember… Carry on! Nothing equals the splendor!” He finally realized the song had went off and that everyone was looking at him. His face turned red when John started laughing. “Shut up,” he mumbled and got out of the car.
As they walked into the house I lingered outside unsure if I wanted to go through with this. I hesitantly walked in behind them. Bad move. I was instantly grabbed by my forearm which was twisted behind me and I was shoved hard up against a white stone wall. I gasped and tried to struggle with the attacker. No use, whoever it was must be highly skilled in this sort of thing because as I struggled they used their body to tighten their grip on me.
I heard Michael laugh behind me and John said, “let him go. He’s with us.” My attacker grunted, but let me go. “ Who is he?” A girl’s voice said behind me. I turned around and seen a tall girl with fine sandy blonde hair and dark brown eyes staring at me mincingly. “My name is Joey.” I said, rubbing my arm where she had gripped it so tightly. She looked at me then John then walked away from me and over to Michael who was still laughing.
“Don’t let Claire get to you. She doesn’t get along to well with new people.” John said.
I nodded and said, “ So I see.” “ Okay so you up for orientation?” I just shrugged.
“Well this is the main room of the building. Nothing special just some chair for meetings and a table for eating.” John said as we turned to corner toward a gloomy hallway, “ then down this hall is the bedrooms. This is home for all of us. And this is the bathroom.” “Now for the people. The blonde, Claire, started hunting around the same time I did. She was an emancipated orphan. She was living on the streets when I found her. Ya see we were both hunting the same thing. It was a vampire – they are real by the way – and I had gotten knocked down and the sucker was just about to drink me, when she cut off his head,” He explained making hand motions that went with his story. “ What about Michael and Sam?” I asked. Johns face took on a somber and remorseful look, “ their parents are dead. They’re siblings”
“What happened?”
“Plane crash. It devastated the whole family. The plane was fine at take off. But then I just fell out of the air. We suspect it had to do with a curse. Cause one things for sure plane don’t just fall out of the sky for no reason.” “ Oh,” I whispered. “ What plane?”
He hesitated, “ flight 236.”
I stopped in my tracks, “ As in flight 236 Austin to Cabot”
He nodded, and looked at me puzzled. “ Ya how did you know that?”
I felt tears burning behind my eyes, “ My parents died in the same flight.”
“Dude, I’m so sorry.” I looked down and shrugged. What good would his apologies do? He finished his story, “ so they thought it was suspicious and started looking in to it. Been hunting ever since.”
We walked back into the main room and I looked at Michael. He looked at me and I looked away. Awkward. “Okay, any leads on the Shtriga?” John asked. “ Ya one. It seems to have been sighted near an old underpass by other hunters but they didn’t have proper ammo so they couldn’t take it down.” Claire said, “ I’m willing to bet it’s hiding out around this general area.” She pointed out a three block radius on a map hanging one the wall. “ But first things first. What about him?” she asked pointing at me.
“He wants to hunt. We’ll give him a hunt,” John answered. I didn’t like the sound of that. “ Okay on a more serious note tomorrow we’ll do some weapons training and defensive combat with him and then we hunt this Shtriga. Okay?”
Every one nodded, even Michael gave a small reluctant nod of agreement. “Good, Joey you can stay here tonight. In the guest room. Michael will show you where that is.” If looks could kill Michael would have just murdered John right there.
As the others retired to their rooms Michael and I walked to the back of the hallway. “ Here it is.” He said and gestured for me to go in. He followed. “Look Josef. This is your last chance to back out.” He said.
“ I’m not leaving, forget it. I’m here to stay.”
He shook his head, “are you trying to kill yourself?”
I was irritated already by the looks Claire had given me(and Michael) at the meeting that I said, “ look you don’t like me and I don’t blame you. But I’m here to stay. For now any way. I want that Shtriga dead and I won’t take no for an answer. I’ll leave after I see its heart stop beating, but not a moment sooner.”
He shook his head and laughed. He crossed his arms and leaned on the door frame. “ You don’t get it do you. Once you start hunting you don’t stop. It changes you and not always for the better. If you don’t leave now you never will. Trust me I know.”
I thought about this, but said,” whatever the cost. I’m in all the way.”
“ Okay your funeral.”
He started to walk away and I said, “ Oh by the way I’m sorry about you parents.”
He didn’t sound angry just upset, “ what would you know about that.”
“More than you think.” I murmured.
Now he looked mad, “ What do you mean by that?”
I looked him in the eyes. He had forest green eyes. “ My parents died in flight 236 Austin Texas to Cabot Mexico.”
He looked at me then took a deep breath. “ night Joey.”
It wasn’t the reply I was expecting. Honestly I don’t know what I expected, but that wasn’t it. On the bright side though, he did seem less hostile there for a moment. After all he called me Joey and not the usual him. Maybe just maybe he was a decent guy after all. I laid down on the broken mattress thinking about Kay. I wonder if I’ve been reported missing yet. After all I never went home today. Either way I knew it was only a matter of time before I was reported missing. And then what. I couldn’t answer that cause I didn’t know. So I shut out the thoughts and fell into a light dreamless sleep.
A/N
I’m not very good at writing authors notes, but I’m working on it. SO let me know what you think about this chapter!