Daemonium
Chapter One: Critter Hunt
"Hunter? Do you like to hunt?"
A wry smile and a brief rolling of my eyes answered that question for me. Fucks sake, like I haven't heard that line before in my thirty years of life. I gather the few bags of items I had purchased, nodded my thanks to the clerk behind the counter and walked outside.
The fall air hit me immediately as I exited the hardware store. The smell of rain and piles of wet leaves flooded my nose. “do I like to hunt?” well if you're asking me I'd have to say yes and no. You see I don't hunt the things other people hunt for like Deer, Elk, Turkey, shit like that is just what normal people do with too much time on their hands and a lust for violence.
No I hunt “other” things.
Things that would send most people into therapy and a life of drug addiction and alcohol...
The snap of my zippo clicking open brought me out of my thoughts. The unlit cigarette already perched between my lips out of pure habit. I hadn't realized I'd taken it out of the pack already. I should really quit. Lighting the cigarette I take a deep drag off the delicious nicotine filled smoke rushing into my lungs “yeah, I like to hunt I guess” talking to no one in particular as I exhaled the smoke slowly and began walking to my truck.
You see I'm not like normal people, Yes my name actually is Hunter and Yes I do like to hunt. It's pretty much my life's work, but I don't hunt the way most people think when they originally ask me that question. I was born with a rare genetic disorder, you may have heard of it? called “My Mom tried to overdose on crank while pregnant”... poor bitch, couldn't even do that right. And now here I am, thirty years old and a life of shitshow after shitshow already under my belt.
You see when my mother overdosed, she technically "died" for ten minutes before the EMT's were able to resuscitate her. During that time according to her she went to hell. Yup you heard me right, Demons, Devils the whole shebang. 666, Lucifer, yeah you get it, moving on. When she was brought back something followed her, clinging to her damned soul and apparently when it saw poor little innocent me trapped inside her womb I was the perfect candidate for a demonic possession. Yeah I know, a possessed baby, Not just some screaming shitfactory either, but an actual possessed baby. But hey it wasn't all bad I basically got a father figure I never had while growing up, which is just slightly less terrifying than what I imagine my real father was like. I'm told he was a real prick. One of those hard ass military types that was more at home in some third world conflict than back in the states raising a bastard kid and settling down.
Anyway I'm getting off topic, having a demon squeezing your soul like a stress ball comes with a few perks, number one, I can see and communicate with the whole crazy spectrum, Ghosts, Cryptids, Ghouls, Demons, even Angels. It's like having Google translate permanently stuck in your ear. You may not always understand it but you still get the general idea behind what they're saying. And two, I can't fucking die. I mean I've tried, my brooding teenage years saw to that. But no, the entity that's now bound to me on a level I can't begin to comprehend makes sure of that. I heal quickly from shit that would otherwise let others retire on disability within hours and if I do actually “Die” I always wake up a few days later naked laying in some random location like a fucking Costco parking lot with a wicked headache and a nice new scar to remind me not to be that stupid again. And let me tell you, I have quite a few of those. Physically and emotionally.
Oh yeah, in case you're wondering about the demon that's stuck to me, I've named him Frank, I don't know why I called him Frank exactly, it just popped in my head one day and I could tell he didn't like it much and so the name stuck. I can see Frank, I just can't hear him. I get thoughts that aren't my own pushed into my head whenever he's trying to communicate with me. An otherworldly six sense I'll call it.
He's always close by as well, never more than a few hundred feet from my side. I liken it to what others would consider owning a dog is like, tethered by a leash, feeling pulled towards each random squirrel that runs by. That's if the “dog” was a seven foot tall black mass of swirling miasma with demented broken horns and glowing coal red eyes. And the squirrels were actually some cryptid that decided to take a paranormal shit all over my days plans… But I digress, I hunt these things. It pay the bills on occasion and keeps the crushing sobriety at bay. Not that I don't want to drink or anything but a downside of healing so damn quickly means I can't get drunk. And that ladies and gentlemen fucking sucks… I swear I'd deep throat a twelve gauge for just one bottle of whiskey that actually worked.
Arriving at home I pushed open the door to my double-wide tucked far away from civilization deep in the woods of rural South Dakota. Tossing my truck keys on the counter I hefted the few bags of goods I'd need for the hunt tonight onto the kitchen table. Frank eerily peered through my chest to see what I had purchased, his broken horns blocking my view from the text I was attempting to read.
"Would you move your fucking poltergeist ass somewhere else please? I'm trying to work here!"
Frank just turned his head a full 360 degrees to look up at me from my own chest and blinked totally unphased by my insults before slipping away to find some other part of the house to haunt. He thinks he's clever, but the connection to my soul told me he was currently possessing one of the stacks of old Playboy magazines littering my bathroom. No doubt waiting to turn one of the nude models into some grotesque manifestation of my mother the next time I reached for some light “reading” material while doing my business.
The phone in my hand buzzed again, I'd momentarily forgotten about it. The new message was in response to my question if I was still “On” for business tonight. The no named contact simply had replied “Yes” and sent me a screenshot of the house and address from Google maps. Good, Not too far from here. Maybe it'll be an early night? I highly doubt it, but hey a guy can hope.
Dumping the bag's contents onto the table and checking to make sure I had grabbed everything I would need. Zip ties, roll of plastic, hacksaw blades, and a small bottle of lighter fluid. Good, everything is there. The last bag I left tied up and unopened. That bag contained something I couldn't get at the hardware store, but would definitely be needing it tonight. The bag stirred slightly as if something was waking up. I grimaced knowing full well what was in there but didn't want to deal with that just yet. I was going to have to later on anyway so placing it in the sink I continued on towards my bedroom.
Out of nowhere it hit me like a goddamn freight train;
"Blood, gore, Intrals, eyes ripped from their sockets and limbs gnawed and strewn about. The head of a young girl missing her lower jaw blinked staring straight at me as her tongue pushed against the dirt before the last ounce of life literally dripped from the stump of her shredded neck. Teeth, Claws, Gnashing of sinew and flesh. Hatred, Evil, Malice. The torso of a naked woman ripped in half was skewered to a tree branch. Her intestines dropped liked coils of rope on to the ground below."
The vision had sent me pitching into the wall. Bile formed in the back of my throat as I tried to clear my head. Frank had seen it as well and came out from his erotica hiding place, grinning from demonic ear to ear. The visions shook me up more than him, always so brutal and sudden. A massacre right before my eyes, death and decay of things that have either happened or were going to happen if I didn't do something. Frank on the other hand was practically shaking in excitement. I don't want to know what makes a demon get his rocks off and I don't pretend to know, but if he could pop a smoky hard-on I'm sure that's exactly what he would have done.
"What the fuck was that?" I yelled at Frank who was already revelling in the gore filled vision we had just seen.
I turned to my closet and opened the door, flicking on the light I was greeted with the sight of shelf after shelf lined with weapons of all manner. Guns, Knives, Bats, Tasers, A rusted piece of broken rebar I had found in a dumpster after one of my "revivals" that I thought might come in handy. I quickly looked over my choices, I didn't know what I was dealing with tonight. My contact had only told me that he needed some help handling a "critter" issue and to come prepared, but after that vision I had no idea what to expect. And it certainly seemed to be more than some "critter" for that level of carnage.
I strapped on the worn holster and grabbed my Colt .45 thumbing back the hammer in the process. She was old and well worn but trustworthy and that's what I needed on a run like tonight. Slipping some spare ammo into my pocket I closed the door. Frank was already hovering by the pickup as I scooped up the items off the kitchen table quickly tossing them into a bag and grabbed my keys. Damn, I almost forgot as I grabbed the now bloodsoaked bag in the sink. It dripped across the tile floor but I was too in much of a rush to care and it wasn't like I really had the time to stop and Mr. Clean the house before heading out anyway.
Tossing the bloody bag into the back of the pickup and hopped in. The old Ford roared to life on the first crank and soon we were speeding down the dirt road headed towards the address Google maps was taking me. Frank stuck his wraith like hand into the radio and soon it was blaring away on the old broken speakers. Just as I was getting into the song playing Frank changed the station again, a surge of electrical static and then Mick Jagger starts singing the all too familiar lyrics "Please allow me to introduce myself …" Seriously? Sympathy for the Devil? I just rolled my eyes at the irony of the situation and flicked my cigarette ash out the window. Well shit, he was a demon after all and honestly I can't complain… it was a good song.
We pulled up to the house around 11:30 ish, I was a little earlier than intended but the vision had only fueled my need to get this thing over with. Looking around from the front seat I couldn't see anyone. No lights were on, no signs of a bloodbath either. My contact hadn't given me his name but a sign on the driveway said "Harris" I'd heard the name around town before and if my memory was correct he was some well known and respected attorney.
No damn wonder he didn't want to give me his name, bastards too "well to do" to be seen contacting a paranormal "hitman" I guess. Hard to write that one off on your taxes… And don't get me started on taxes, it's not exactly like I get to look forward to a refund either. Under "occupation" I'll just put Ghostbuster and hope that counts for something. Goddammit now that tune is stuck in my head… Frank just looked annoyed by my musings. Whatever, he can go fuck himself.
I reached for the Colt at my hip reassuring myself it was still there before retrieving the flashlight from out of the glove box. Opening the door and stepping out into the cold night air, It was October and the nights were just starting to get that " I'm going to dump so much fucking snow on you" vibe. South Dakota weather was the pits, 8 months of winter and 4 months of road construction and that's about all it had to offer. But at least it wasn't Halloween yet, I still had a few more weeks to go before dealing with that paranormal orgy.
Walking behind the house waving my flashlight between the backyard and the treeline I looked for any clues of what this "critter" may have been. Still no sign of the family anywhere. But I assumed they were asleep or just didn't want to get in my way.
Peaking through one of the windows, I was able able to make out someone sleeping on the couch. A young girl, with pretty blonde hair and from this angle quite the cute ass too. She stirred in her sleep and rolled over as I quickly hid my light but not before getting a peek at her face. She was the same girl I had seen in my vision, decapitated with her jaw ripped off, but this time she was much more intact.
I sighed in relief, at least I know I wasn't too late. She's still alive and… Suddenly my minds eye sends me an image of the girl laying on the couch as if I was standing right next to her. She looked to be around twenty something I couldn't tell but she was definitely younger looking than me. Her shirt slightly pulled up exposing her midriff and pierced belly button, silver and fake gemstones glittering in the faint light. Her ample cleavage stretched the fabric of the nearly see through white… Wait a goddamn minute!
Shining my light into the corner of the room, there was Frank practically salivating at the tempting treat laying on the couch before him. His lust broadcasting clear as day into my brain. Turning the flashlight on to my face and making the best attempt at a "Get your ass back out here" glare as I could muster, I stared him down not wanting him to take this any further than he already had. Darkness enveloped me as Frank slipped through the window and passed directly into me. Sending thoughts to my mind of "maybe later". Groaning I quickly pushed them from my head. We were here to do a job, and I really needed to get my head back in the game. Still though, I couldn't help to think what knowing her might be like. Taking her out to the bar, maybe hitting up a bonfire or two, Those massive tits bouncing in my face as we fucked in the bed of my truck, Jesus Christ I was almost as bad as Frank now...
The Backyard was larger than originally expected. Behind the house was an impressive looking patio complete with grill and outdoor bar. Lawn furniture and an ornate stone table sat in the center of it all. Something white caught my eye on the stone surface. Shining my flashlight across it I saw there was a thick envelope with "Hunter" written in black ink propped up on the table. Upon opening it, two stacks of large bills fell into my hand. $2,000 to be exact, still wrapped together in paper bands from the bank. Also a handwritten note,
" I trapped it in the shed. I don't know what it is but it's fast as hell!
Do Not let it get away from you! I have included your fee in the envelope plus a little extra to keep this quiet.
R. Harris"
Well at least he made my job a little easier. Scanning the backyard I hadn't seen a shed anywhere. Just then my light fell on Frank several yards away pointing to a small gravel path leading directly into the woods. "Of course it's in the woods, I mean why wouldn't it be?"
Walking down the gravel path we had traveled quite a few hundred yards from the house deeper into the pines there sat a small wooden outbuilding. The windows had been broken out and boarded shut years ago and it looked like it was more of a fire hazard at this point than a usable structure.
As we approached I could faintly make out sounds of something smacking against the wooden building. Shining my light I saw a chain and padlock swaying against against the door as if something was pushing against the wood frame from within. Just enough to cause it to stretch and swing back with a soft thud. The moment my light hit the door the swaying stopped, the door no longer moved and the chain finally came to rest letting eerie silence surround us.
Frank had decided it was his time to retreat back inside me. Not out of cowardice, but he had to become one with me to keep us both alive. He was powerless without me, and I guess in a way I was also powerless without him as well. It's just the way it all works. If something happened to me while he was separated from my body, I became mortal again. Which meant technically I could die for good. But the mental strain of keeping a full on demonic possession in check was enough to fry your own brain if we remained that way for too long. the longest we ever remained conjoined was about three days, after that my control would start to slip and I'd black out. The human mind wasn't made to handle such massive amounts of pressure like that, something had to give. And usually that's what an entity was banking on. Breaking you down until the collapse making for easy prey. Frank and I tried to limit our time to around thirty minutes but never longer than an hour without a break. I may make fun of him, but I get the feeling he could snap my mind like a twig if he truly wanted to. So at least this way I could make use of his supernatural gifts and he didn't involuntarily turn my brain into a steaming pile of dog shit.
Stealing my nerves I searched the shed for any other points of entry and found none. Just the front door and conveniently the key to the padlock had been left dangling on a nail. I slipped the key into the rusty lock and with a bit of extra effort the lock gave way and clicked open. As if on cue I could hear scurrying burst to life in the shed, knocking over unknown items in the process. With Frank now a part of me I could see almost perfectly in the dark and had no need for the flashlight, I tucked it into my belt and slowly drew the Colt from my holster. The chain slumped off the door piling on the ground with much more noise than I had intended. Muttering a few choice curses under my breath my hand gripped the door handle tightly.
It's now or never, time to find out what we're dealing with tonight. And I began to pull the door open.
The room inside was much smaller than I expected. some loft space above crammed with boxes only accessible by a ladder with various other boxes and old lawn tools scattered across the floor were all that could be seen. Stepping inside I made sure to close the door behind me. I didn't in particularly like the idea of blocking my only means of escape but I also knew it would be the only way out for whatever was trapped in here with me too. Scanning every corner I didn't see anything out of place, Some rakes and shovels in one corner and a pile of old water hoses covered in cobwebs in the next.
"What the fuck, there's nothing here?" I said maybe a little disappointed.
I had worked myself up just to walk into this place and not to mention the vision had also given me a direct dose adrenaline to the brain as well, all for this? Some musty smelling garden shed and a few dead spiders? Somethings way off about all this. My Visions don't just come up for no reason, I mean sure I've been wrong before, but at least there's always a good explanation! No ghosts, no cryptid trying to disembowel me, Damn that was the easiest two grand I've ever made…
Satisfied that there was nothing else in the shed with me I turned to leave, the door I had shut was now wide open. I hadn't even heard it.
Oh, fuck… He wasn't lying when he said it was fast.
Running up the gravel path I could hear something up ahead. Sounds of scraping metal and growling filled my ears. Running past the house I could see no lights were on still and whatever creature it was hadn't seemed to bother with anyone inside. Then I heard the sounds again, metal being scraped and chewing loudly came from the front of the house. I just remembered the bloody bag I had tossed into the back of my pickup and I groaned as I already knew what was happening. Rounding the corner of the house, gun in hand I could see the pickup shaking while something grey and covered in fur was darting around in the back of my truck.
Getting closer I could tell it had heard me because it was now being quiet and crouched out of sight behind the tailgate. Heart thudding in my chest I approach the back of my truck trying to picture all the cryptids in mind of what it possibly could be. Chupacabra? No not this time of year. Sasquatch? Hell no I would have smelled it from a mile away and not to mention way too big. Lycanthrope? Possibly. I didn't have silver bullets with me but I could still wound it long enough to tie it up and dispatch it later back at my house.
Cocking back the hammer of my Colt I was only a few steps away from the truck when a low Growl started emanating from the darkness in front of me.
Two more steps.
One more step...
I peered over the side of my truck when fur and vicious canines came flying at my face. I quickly swatted it away with the barrel of my gun as it crashed to the dirt in a pile of angry fur and green eyes. Recovering quickly I trained my barrel in its direction and went to squeeze off a round directly between those glowing eyes…
Wh-what?
Is that a Coyote?
A fucking coyote. Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me?!
I kicked some rocks in its direction and he turned and fled off into the night still clinging to the remains of the rabbit I'd found nearly dead on the roadside earlier. I had planned to use it as bait for the "critter" problem I had assumed was something far more nefarious than this. Apparently it worked anyway.
Two thousand dollars… for a coyote… I guess a live trap and a bullet was just too "dirty" for someone of your stature Mr. Harris? I can't believe I just wasted my night for this. Still I did get paid and quite handsomely for practically doing nothing. We'd just keep the "running off" part to ourselves, poor thing looked half starved anyway.
Frank manifested himself as I climbed into the truck and fired up the engine. Well? Are you coming? Frank just passed through the side of the vehicle to sit next to me. A puzzled look on his face, well I'm guessing he was puzzled, it's really hard to read a twisted demonic entity on a good day let alone in the middle of the night after a total shitshow like this one.
Driving off I lit up a smoke and put it all behind me. I had gotten paid, an innocent creature had been spared and I was beyond ready to crash into bed and get some sleep. Maybe I'd dream some of the cute blonde, Who knows? I left the driveway in a cloud of dust and pulled onto the highway. Another night over with and I just didn't have it in me to think about it anymore.
Frank just sat there eyes glued to the rearview mirror. He didn't impress anything upon me, just let me wallow in my sleep deprived misery.
He also didn't bother to share about the two gleaming red eyes watching us drive off from the dark house window either…