Vampire Hunter’s Revenge

Chapter One

"Hey... It's Eva. I know it's been a long time, but... I need your help. I'm in Sanctuary at Oasis. God I hope you get this. I don't know what to do..."

Zack read the message over and over again as the elevator descended. He'd listened to it a hundred times over the past several weeks, written it down, memorized it... trying to find a clue as to whom this woman was, and why his father had never mentioned her. Finding Oasis had been an easy matter of tracing the phone number she called from to Los Angeles, followed by a quick internet search. Hopefully, whatever she needed help with would be just as easy.

He tucked the slip of paper back into his pocket and heaved a bored sigh. The elevator was still moving. Just how deep was this place? Intrusive thoughts of the elevator breaking down made his throat tighten and his stomach turn, but he did his best to push them out of his mind. Now was not the time to panic. That wouldn't exactly make a good first impression on whom Zack assumed was one of his dad's old contacts.

At long last, the elevator bumped on the ground and the doors slid open. The dimly lit, narrow, hallway that extended to a single iron door did not ease his nerves at all. What the hell was this place? Stepping through the doors before they could shut on him again, he pulled his leather jacket a little tighter around himself against the cool, damp air. Stopping in front of the door, he took a deep breath to steady himself, and rapped his knuckles against the iron twice, paused for two seconds, then knocked three times. Just like the cute redhead behind the bar told him to. Apparently, people were only allowed down here by invitation. Who was this woman?

The door jerked open far more quickly than it should have. "Dad, thank god, I - " the voice cut off sharply, giving Zack a chance to actually see the woman that stood before him. She was a mess, that was for sure. Her left arm was in a sling, unmistakable bite marks covered the inside of both her wrists, and the left side of her throat. A freshly healed scar ran the length of her sternum. Her right hand was now on the pistol at her side, ready to draw. "You're not Allen," she stammered, suddenly paralyzed with fear, brown eyes wide as she stared at him.

It was only then that Zack processed what she had said, and anger rose in his chest. He took a step into the room, and she stumbled back away from him, her eyes darting to the floor behind his feet. "No I'm not. But you should tell me right now who the f**k you are, and why you're calling my father 'Dad'!" Zack demanded, completely ignoring the way her pistol lifted an inch out of its holster. He also ignored the fear that flashed through her eyes. Sean would be telling him to calm down right about now. Maybe even start the introductions over again. Zack stopped trying to make him understand a long time ago.

Eva breathed a deep sigh of relief, fastening the holster strap back over her pistol. "You must be Zack." Allen had told her a lot about his two boys. Zack was the protective one. It was weird seeing him now. She'd never expected to ever meet either of them. Turning away from him, she walked to the refrigerator across the room, tossing him a beer before opening a hard cider for herself. "Don't worry, I'm not your sister. Not really." She assumed that was the source of his anger. It was obvious Allen had never told them about her. Speaking of... "Where is he, by the way? Did he finally get out?" That was the only reason she could think of why he would send his son to her. Unless... no...

"He's dead," Zack replied simply. Hollowly. Her stomach clenched and her throat tightened. She'd known it was a possibility. As the years went by without a call or letter, she knew it was likely. But she had told herself that he'd gotten out. Fell in love, settled down, left all things hunting behind. Really though, she should have known better.

She waved her bottle towards the couch before taking a deep swill. Might as well get comfortable; this was going to take awhile. Once her guest settled on the recliner across from the couch and opened his beer, Eva settled on the sofa, relaxing back against the arm rest and stretching her legs out in front of her. "So... what got him?" Taking another drink, she watched him carefully.

Zack followed suit and took a swig of his own beer. "Demon," he replied casually. Normally he'd be a bit more tactful, but considering they were in an iron bunker that was covered in wards, sigils, and runes, the walls lined with books, jars filled with herbs, and her wounds that were obviously from a vampire attack... she was a Hunter too. Her chuckle startled him, and he glanced over to see her staring at the wall across the room with an amused grin.

"Atta boy, Allen," she whispered under her breath. Catching him looking at her, Eva shifted her gaze to him to explain her reaction. "Leave it to Allen Holsman to be such a pain in the ass that the legions of Hell itself come after him."

The corners of his lips lifted in a small grin. He'd never thought about it that way before. She wasn't wrong though. Simultaneously, they tapped their drinks together in a silent salute to the fallen. Zack suddenly felt the urge for something a bit harder than beer, but they had a bit more talking to do and he should probably be sober for at least most of it. "Alright, your turn. What's the story with you and Dad?"

Eva sighed, looking down at her cider. This was not a conversation she'd been expecting to have tonight, and she wasn't looking forward to revisiting that part of her life. But she knew she owed it to Zack, and she needed to be honest with him if she was going to ask for his help. At this point, he was the only hope she had.

So she told him the story about the camping trip with her family. About the werewolf that decimated their campsite, being killed moments before it reached her. How the Hunter that had saved her life felt responsible for the death of her family, since he hadn't gotten there sooner. The man that taught her all about the things that go bump in the night, and how to protect herself from them. Finally, how that man had found a group of Hunters to take her in, change her identity and take care of her until she turned eighteen. Allen had kept in touch with her, especially the first couple of years, but the phone calls and letters had gotten fewer and further in between, until she just never heard from him again. She wished she'd been able to say goodbye.

Zack listened intently as the young woman explained how she knew his father. It made sense... Allen spent a lot of time in California after Sean joined the military. Zack had always just assumed it was their father's way of staying close just in case Sean changed his mind. Maybe it was more Allen trying to make up for the way he failed his sons by trying to do right by someone else. As much as he wished he had known about this psuedo-sister earlier, he fully understood why the man never mentioned her. It wasn't like Zack would have exactly handled it well back then.

As she wrapped up the story, he went to the fridge and grabbed them each another round, handing her the bottle as he sat back down. "So. Your message said you need help. Judging by your injuries, I'm guessing you need help with vampires." Popping open the can, he took a deep sip while he waited for the response.

The woman nodded, a sobering expression falling across her face. "Yeah... Soon as I heal up, we need to clear out their nest." She wasn't going to send him in to face them alone, and she certainly wasn't going to send anyone else in there with him.

So it wasn't an easy ghost haunting like he'd been hoping for on his way to Los Angeles, but it wasn't like Zack hadn't cleared vamp nests before. "How many?"

Eva took a small sip from her bottle, her gaze unfocusing for a moment as she tried to recall how many she had seen. "A few dozen, at least. They're holed up in an old boarded-up warehouse." Zack released a low whistle. It was an impressive size, but he shouldn't have been shocked considering this was Los Angeles. They could each drink their fill and turn a new victim every night and never run out of prey.

"What else can you tell me about them?"

A darkness settled over her brown eyes as her gaze dropped to the bottle in her hand. Several moments passed in silence, and Zack was starting to realize there was a lot more to this than an average vampire attack. When she finally spoke, her voice was so quiet he had to strain to hear her, even in the otherwise silent room.

"They're sadistic. Feed slowly to make sure their prey suffers. We've been stalking their feeding grounds for months, trying to thin their numbers. Last month, they captured one of our best Hunters." Her voice cracked, and Zack sipped slowly at his beer while waiting patiently for her to continue. She did so after a few deep, slow breaths. "By the time we were able to track him back to their warehouse... He had already turned." Tears glistened in her eyes, but she blinked them away and took a long drink from her cider. "He told them everything about us. Our names. Our histories. Our tactics." And he'd become just as sadistic as the rest of them. That was part of the story she hoped she wouldn't have to tell him. "That's why I called Allen. In order to have any chance of wiping them out, we need someone that he's never worked with before." At the very least, Zack still qualified there.

The man nodded slowly, lifting the can to his lips once more. The worst part about Hunting was when you had to take down one of your own. Zack didn't envy these Hunters, nor did he blame Eva for the emotional response. "So how long do you think it'll take you to heal?" He wasn't in a hurry, and her wounds looked pretty bad. There were plenty of hotels he could crash at, and he wasn't going to deny her revenge by doing the job without her.

"Another couple weeks, probably," she replied with a small shrug.

They continued to talk for awhile, and Eva couldn't help but notice the way that Zack seemed to be lingering. Every time one conversation drew to a close, when she expected him to say his goodbyes and promise to check on her soon, he asked her another question. Not that she was complaining. The man was good company, and even though she'd spent the past few days in the safest room in the world, she realized that she felt just a little bit safer with him sitting between her and the door.