[Ayden Cross]: 183.Hunter Story

Hunter Story

On a night, fully lit by the moon, a young man gasped for breath as he trekked through a vast forest. He knew not where he was going, nor where he was. All he knew was that something was chasing him. A deadly and quick monster was approaching, he heard it coming closer. He tried to run, but the monster was gaining on him. It seemed to mock him as it got closer, and it was thrilled with the hunt.

The man was a simple villager, he had taken the wrong turn in the forest, and had gotten lost. The forest was a devious asylum that held in its dark and shady trees, many ghosts, sprites, and others mischievous creatures. Including that of demons. Werewolves, mutants, and ogres ran rampant through these woods, ready to devour any human passersby unlucky to be stuck inside this forest. Yet, the most dangerous of all creatures was the Vampire. The vampires ruled this forest. They were a raging epidemic, with the streets of the world invested with their kind. They feared no one, and humanity stood idly as they were being devoured by the vampires.

The man took cover behind a tree and tried to silence his loud breathing. He breathed rapidly and sweat drenched his face. It took all his will power not to fall down and scream.

“I have to make it out of here. I don’t wanna die...Oh God...Please save me...” The man cried as he gazed in a panic. The night was visible, which everything much worse. The man could see the outline of trees, and the night sky, but the entity chasing him had yet to make itself known. He couldn’t see anything past the tree ahead of him. But he heard.

“...God can’t save you here...” A voice emitted from above.

The man looked up and saw a man up in the treetops with gleaming eyes. He shrank back in fear and blinked for a second. The man disappeared in that same instant, but his image was burned inside the man’s head perfectly. His eyes illuminated a silvery light but his pupils were a crystal blue. He was deathly pale, draped in a black tunic, and wore an expression of dementia on his face. His hair glittered a stark white, and as fierce looking this man seemed, his face contorted into an even more terrifying one as he smiled. His teeth displayed two large and immaculate fangs. Razor sharp, pointed, and so dangerous, it seemed as though the man could already feel the lethal points of the teeth piercing through his neck, biting through his carotid artery, his windpipe, and other vital organs, as blood flowed freely and the vampire feasted.

Things were looking very grave for Anthony Wu. His was losing mind in this chaotic forest. Hours before, he had witnessed for the first time in his life, death, and what it meant to survive. His best friend, Tyson was killed by a werewolf. In a depressed state, a walk through the woods ended up being much more than it was supposed to be. Anthony was so sidetracked, he lost sight of where he was going. Getting lost in these woods was the stupidest thing anyone could do. And it happened to Anthony.

Strange images filled Anthony’s mind as he stood idly, terrified. Unbeknownst to him, he was under the vampire’s trace, and was moments away from being bitten. Warped images of corpses, blood, and death filled his mind, subliminally. He nearly screamed until he saw just inches from him, a small child. It was a boy, with soft brunette hair, wide eyes and pallid skin. The child looked at him in a curious manner, and muttered words Anthony could not hear.

A second later, the horrible eyes appeared again, in an insane frenzy, and the vampire was just inches from sinking his teeth into his flesh. No time to move, no time to react, only time to die...

SLASH! The vampire gasped and pulled back abruptly. Something had pulled it back by force. Anthony looked at the vampire and saw a blade protrude from its chest. It moaned in agony and writhed and thrashed about, like a fly in a web. But soon, it ceased to move.

Anthony stared in amazement as a young man stepped from behind the vampire. He pulled his blade out of the vampire and walked towards him. Anthony nearly sank with relief as the man looked remotely normal. This man strode up to him in all black, he wore a scabbard, and was fully equipped with an assortment of weapons and gadgets. The man pulled out a flashlight and shined onto Anthony’s face.

“You alright?” The man asked as he examined Anthony.

Anthony sighed in relief. “Thank God, you saved me. He was chasing me and-”

More lights shined in the dark, as people began gathering around where Anthony stood. They appeared out of nowhere, like they were somehow drawn to that place. Anthony saw that they were all wearing identical outfits. With similar type weapons, it immediately dawned onto Anthony who these people were.

“You’re vampire hunters...aren’t you?” Anthony stammered.

“Yeah, we’re the Black Plague for vampires.” The man said with a grin.

“There’s so many of you. I didn’t think-”

“What? That anyone did anything about them? Well, we’re kind of low key compared to other guys.” The man explained as he turned his head to his left. A younger man walked up to him, but in an interesting manner.

The older man straightened his posture, and cleared his voice. Apparently, this young man was their leader, and just by his appearance, commanded respect.

“Good job, Drake.” The young man congratulated. He looked at Anthony, and in a mix of awkward gestures, he pulled Anthony closer to him and examined his neck.

“Hey, I wasn’t bitten, okay?” Anthony said as he resisted.

“Sorry, just making sure.” The young man apologized. His outfit was a bit different than everyone else’s. His spiked black hair and narrow eyes made him quite intimidating. He looked as though he fully aware of everything around him and was very capable of himself. He wore a black trench coat and had a sword at his side. This was the ideal vampire hunter.

“How’d you guys find me? I was alone, and I’m pretty sure no one even knew I was gone.” Anthony queried.

The young man closed his eyes and smiled to himself. He brushed some hair out of his eye and spoke.

“Well, consider yourself very fortunate, kid. Because, we weren’t looking for you.”

“What? Then what-” Anthony began but was interrupted by yells of the hunting squad. A large group of vampires had jumped onto the scene and began attacking. Dozens of them threw brutal attacks towards the hunters.

The young man’s eyes seemed to glaze over with a sort of excitement. He gripped his sword handle and smiled.

“This is more like it.”


To be continued.