The Hunt

The Night Part 2

ALINA

Damian’s scream filled my ears as though o was still standing beside him and Erik.

“HUNTERS!!” The one thing I was dreading, the reason I wanted guards posted. The reason I lost my home. The instant the word flooded my brain, I was racing back to the hills were I left the men. I ran through the town screaming, but I knew everyone already heard and I had our strongest flanking me to the hill while everyone else ran for the forest, hiding. Good, I’m glad they actually listened to me during the meeting we held. Within seconds, I was back at my post that I had just left. The second the scent hit my nose, I forgot all about some meeting and barred my fangs, snarling menacingly. The hunters don’t smell like the rest of the humans. Vampires tend to have a sweet, intoxicating scent; draws others, mainly humans, to us. Werewolves scent is earthly, like a dog that’s been wandering around the forest and rolling the leaves. It’s not unpleasant, but it’s not my favorite. Sirens smell of the ocean and flowers, a beautiful and inviting scent that also attracts their prey. Humans just smell as though the most delicious meal is walking right next you. Its nearly indescribable as the humans all smell differently. I have never came across any human that smells the same as another. But the hunters? They are sneaky. They can almost pass as human but they have a very unique difference. They smell normal. They don’t have a scent, or maybe they do and supernatural being just can’t tell. They are hard to detect, not only because we can’t smell or track them, they are silent. Even our sensitive hearing can’t pick up any sound from them. They can pass as human and they can die like humans but they are also otherworldly. They can heal themselves like werewolves, they move silently like vampires, they are untraceable and dangerous. They are trained from age 16 to track the supernatural and hunt them down. And they are good at it. I knew once I reached the hills that we were outnumbered. I knew if we stayed and fought, we would lose many brave warriors. Just as I reached Erik’s side, a small whistling sound caught me attention, I went to on the defense and shoved Erik as hard as I could. Suddenly a flash of white hot pain in my chest drew my attention back to myself. It was an arrow, dipped in dead mans blood. Erik swept me off my feet and raced toward the forest with Damian on his heels. I could feel the arrows effects kicking in, causing my eyelids to feel heavy and hard to keep open. I looked over Erik’s shoulder to see if the warriors had retreated. They were surrounded, they were outnumbered. One by one, each vampire fell to the hands of the Hunters. I cried in agony, watching my people suffer at the hands of these beasts. My tear filled eyes found Erik’s as I spoke

“They say we’re the monsters” I whispered as my eyes rolled back and I succumbed to the darkness just as we reached the tree line.

Erik

Damian and I watched as Alina walked back alone. I really wanted to be by her side and join her in the Siren meeting. I wanted to know what was happening. I know she would have filled me in later but that’s just not the same as being there. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, fixing my ponytail. I hated having to miss things because of this duty she put in place. I completely understand, of course, but I still hate it. I feel like we never spend time together anymore. She always takes the daylight shift because she is one of the oldest and strongest vampires we have. She can withstand the sun better than myself and I’m a few centuries older.

I sighed and slumped my shoulders, stuffing my hands in my pockets and started walking west.

“I’ll watch the western edge, you take the east.” I said quietly, knowing Damian would hear me either way. He nods, then pauses, tilting his head to the side, reminding me of a puppy.

“Is everything okay, Erik?” Damian asked, his voice sounding closer to me rather than sounding like he was walking where I told him to. Damian is my best friend. Of course he would know if I was acting off. I sighed heavily and turned to face him and flashed my well rehearsed fake smile.

“I’m okay, Damian. Really. Just missing Alina is all.” I shrugged. Damian watched intently as I stuffed my hands into my pockets. He furrowed his brows then relaxed and shrugged one of his shoulders.

“You don’t have to stay all night with me. I can handle the last few hours on my own.” He smiled and started heading east, he called over his shoulder, “let me know what you decide” he smiled and headed off, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Normally, I don’t mind being alone, it’s comfortable, quiet and peaceful. But lately, I’ve been feeling too lonely. It’s like Alina and I are on two different wavelengths, t o ships passing in the night.

My inner monologue was interrupted when Damian shouted. In a flash, I was by his side and within seconds, Alina was there too. She let out a menacing growl before I was knocked to the ground. I watched as an arrow buried itself to the feathers in her chest, just barely missing her heart. In an instant, I scooped her up and made for the forest. I knew where we could go for help. Alina wouldn’t be too thrilled about it but it’s the one place the Hunters haven’t been able to find. I just hope that we don’t lead them right to it. Damian and I join the rest of the town and start to weave through the forest, hoping that our warriors could give us a head start. I tell everyone where to met and we all split off into groups, trying to throw the Hunters off our trail. I glance down at Alina and start to pick up speed. She needs medical attention, she’s paler than before and her breathes are short and shaky. I’ve never seen an arrow slow her down like this. She’s been through much worse than an arrow through the chest, why did this one knock her down? Why did this one hurt her so bad? There’s only one way to slow down a vampire like this, but the Hunters don’t have that knowledge. At least, I didn’t think they did.

As that last thought floated through my mind, I pushed myself to move even faster. If they hit her with dead man’s blood, we need to get the arrow out now. I looked around, not recognizing anything and thought maybe I had gotten lost or took a wrong turn when a set of golden eyes caught my attention. I slid to halt and stood still, staring into the eyes. Bowing my head slightly, I gingerly hold out Alina “We need help, Hunters found our village” I could hear my voice crack and feel the tear that managed to escape my eye. “Please, we tried not to lead them here, we split up and took different paths to get here. My wife was shot in the chest and need immediate attention” I looked up to the eyes and saw the wolf nod, then turn around and started back in the opposite direction. I followed close behind, hoping that the wolves could help.