Chapter Four: Blow Your Own Cover

For a moment- all I can feel is….nothing. Numbness in my mind as my body goes through the usual motions- grab the salt, sharpen the knives, hide them on you, start the truck, make sure the dog is in said truck, accidentally run over Dean’s foot when he tries to stop you- whoops. Maybe that last one wasn’t a part of the usual motions per say…..

Well, either way, he would have one hell of a time driving after me now. Unless he let Jayce drive (which let’s face it, with Dean’s ego- he would never let Jayce drive his car). Selena’s engine revs in that noisy old junker fashion, but she speeds along faithfully as Rip lolls his head out of the window with his tongue out. Ripper know’s where we’re going. He knows by heart the way to Clayton’s house. He loves going over and playing with his poodle, Villa, while Clayton and I partake in some rather viciously competitive video games. In fact- I think Ole’ Rip may have a crush on little lady Villa- but I keep quiet about it and let him think I don’t notice. I don’t think Rip realizes that we aren’t just going over for some late night fun at Clayton’s house tonight, tonight- when even the stars seem darker than usual….

I pull into the driveway- and the first thing I notice is that all of the lights are off. Which is very unusual in the Berker household, since Clayton has one older sister that should be coming home from college any day now (Missy), a younger brother (Quinton), and a mother who is usually always home. Usually someone has left a light on or is still up. But there’s nothing- just darkness through the windows as they reflect the eerie glint  of the dim stars. ‘Darkness ignites fear’ I remind myself, ‘and they thrive off of fear.’.

It’s one of the base principles of supernatural lore. In the beginning every monster, creature, spirit, demon- was created to explain some terrible disaster or occurrence that otherwise, would’ve been inexplicable or to be truthful, unthinkable. Like brutal murders in the dead of night- a demon must have done it, because it was unthinkable that one of their own, a human could have done it. But what these primitive people failed to realize, is that sometimes, over time and years of stubborn ways- what you give the power to hold fear over you, even something of your own mind’s invention, will sometimes find a way to manifest in a manner that is not as elusive as it was before. In all civilizations, even current day civilizations, there will always be the liars. The ‘wannabes’. The attention seekers. Those who have long claimed to have seen these demons, spirits, creatures, etc. all for just a moment of attention- when the real thing manifests, they are the first targets. The monsters always seem to sniff out the liars first- and that is one of the tell-tale signs that we always look for in an investigation. Was anyone who long said they have seen unusual things killed, did they disappear without a trace? We refer to these unfortunate souls as the ‘Caeci’, or ‘The blind ones’. They never expected their sins to come back for them, certainly not to come kill them. One of our duties as hunters is to give the Caeci a sacred burial, to ensure that the creature does not come back for the remains (or in some cases- ensure that the remains themselves don’t turn into a creature). Families never find out what has happened to the Caeci, we can never show them the gravesite or tell them how they died. The Caeci, blind to their own sins, are left blind to the eye of history as well.

After the Caeci, they usually sniff out the ‘assecula’, or the followers, the disciples that have sometimes worshipped it, or tried to call it forth- they take credit for it’s appearance, but in reality it would have taken form anyway. Fear and time are two of the most powerful entities anywhere. Fear and time can do almost anything. Sometimes, if the creature is brutal enough, it will destroy it’s own followers before it destroys the liars. Those are the ones that are particularly hard to destroy- evil runs deep…..evil runs in blood through the floorboards…...evil runs like a river of crimson…..evil runs inside of all humankind. Which means that,

Yes- Evil runs inside us Hunters too.

 Hunters are only human.

Humans with knowledge that is both dangerous and life-saving.

If there were a monster here, in my own hometown, I would have noticed. I would have found out. This much I am certain of. So that means that Clayton’s family is the creature’s first set of victims. Which means that someone in Clayton’s family is a Caeci. Which one though? Who would would feel so inclined to lie about something like that…..

I draw my pistols and break down the door with my steel-toed block-heeled boots. The silver buckles and studs glint in the reflected light from the windows and night sky behind me. Say what you want- but heavy yet stylish boots have saved my life on more than one occasion. The smell of blood overwhelms my nose, the stench of sweat and fear mingling with it to create a strong perfume that can only be described as the scent of death. Whatever is here has created the perfect environment to stay contented and happy. And now it has a snake in it’s den. What would it choose to do next?

Ripper is snarling, as though his guard dog instincts just now kicked in. Sometimes I think he may have some severe delay complex when it comes to actually being vicious. But hey, thats what makes Ripper. Half puppy love and half inborn killing machine. That’s how you get your very own Ripper Singer. There’s a constant whimpering that I’m sure is Villa, either she’s been pinned up and doesn’t like it (Which was rather wishful thinking on my part, but she is a very sweet dog), or the creature had already injured her. Possibly quite badly. It doesn’t matter to a monster who they hurt- if they have to kill a dog to get to the master they most certainly will. The same goes metaphorically. Because the more intelligent creatures call us hunters ‘Dogs’, slaves to mankind by our own knowledge. Because honestly, when you know what you know, and have seen what you’ve seen, are you really going to walk away and let these terrible monstrosities run free?

A few hunters have tried to walk away from their duties before, but those are the ones you find in mental institutions. Driven insane because of the guilt and grief, because no normal human will ever believe what they have to say. It’s a tough choice- live a life on the brink of insanity and paranoia, or live a life that is almost absolutely assured to be cut painfully short. I wonder if mom’s in a mental institution now, nobody believing her when she says she was once married to a monster hunter, stuck in a padded cell with bars on the windows and wishing she had stayed. I hope she is. I hope she regrets deeply what she did to my family- because it isn’t hers anymore. But chances are we don’t even cross her mind, she’s a selfish woman who stopped caring a long time ago.

“Villa……” I call softly, stepping through the dark house that reeks of death as my blue-green (Not quite blue but not quite green either) eyes adjust once again to complete darkness. I tilt my cap at an angle and follow the sound of her whining and yipping. If anything dares to show it’s face I’ll just put a silver salt-cased bullet in it’s head. That usually works. Usually. I peek around the corner and see a mass of white quivering fluff covered in red and sprawled in the corner. The damn parasite had the nerve to injure the poor dog.

“Hey Villa. It’s me….V….you know me…..” I coo, kneeling down to soothe her matted fur back and give her a bit of condolence. She’s so ripped to shreds that I seriously consider snapping her neck to put her out of her suffering- but she’s held on this long, and with the way she’s looking at me….I couldn’t bear killing Ripper’s girlfriend. I’m pretty sure he’s had dreams of her that somewhat resemble Lady and the Tramp anyway.

“I’ll be back, ok? I’ll come back for you- yes, that’s a good girl...Rip is gonna stay with you, alright? You won’t be alone, just hold on until we can get you fixed up….” she gives a weak pant and a whine, her paws scrambling slightly as Rip sits beside her like a knight in shining armor- you know, if dogs could wear armor. Or be knights. Oh hush it’s a metaphor, ok? Nobody said it had to make sense.

I get to my feet and go into the master bedroom, the door is left ajar and darkness seems to coil out of it like a palpable chill. The moment I step inside my nose is assassinated by the scent of rotting flesh and blood, fear and evil. Seriously- I’m actually worried I’m going to lose my sense of smell. I’ve heard that can happen. It happened to my Pa. True story, couldn’t smell anything. It’s why we always had him clean out the neighbor’s barn when they asked for help. Cuz trust me- that ain’t a pretty smelling place. And you might as well make the man do it who isn’t gonna wind up caring if he smells like horse manure for days.

A shivering pale form is on the bed, a form I recognize. It has rough bandages around it’s leg like someone who had NO CLUE what they were doing tried to patch him up. The crimson blood has soaked through though, the sight of it worries me. Why would a monster try to patch you up? This bodes very ill indeed…..

“Clayton- who did this?” I say in a sharp voice that slices through the air like a knife.

“You better hide, V, she’ll get you….she doesn’t like you…..she never has…..She’ll kill you if she finds you….Quinton tried to stop her… and she sicced it on him...it murdered him….I tried to take her on…..but she injured me….”

“Who is she Clayton?!” I snap.

“It’s not polite to yell.” A remarkably calm voice pierces the night from behind me. I turn slowly and freeze. Short bob-cut auburn hair. Fairly dark hazel eyes. A few sparse freckles and a sturdy built tall figure that beats mine by a couple of inches. A large knife in her hand and blood sprayed up the side of her pink hoodie.

“Missy.” I say slowly. “Missy, what did you do….?”

“I thought I’d taken care of the dog already…” she muses,

“I guess I forgot one…..”

Reviews

[Catherine Frain]

Dean, the idiot, that doesn't move fast enough. Hence V must run him over.

[EmaleighLynn]

..................I. Am. Stunned.

What just happened?! Oh my god............ STOP IT WITH THE CLIFFIES!!!!

[Catherine Frain]

...I....I...am very speechless. It is a wonderful chapter, full of good information. The ending is such a cliffhanger though woman!

[RedRozeNinja13]

toldja it was a doozy XD

[Catherine Frain]

XD Geez woman

[RedRozeNinja13]

is it not a doozy? XD

[Catherine Frain]

Yes, it is a doozy! Shame on you!