Moonlight Bounty Hunter- Chapter 1

Ariel has grown, and she isn't one to mess with.

             The wind whipped through her long brown hair, refreshingly cool. It was almost calming, soothing. The sound of it whispered along her ears, the stars out above her competed with the moon to shed light on the streets. She could make out Orion just above her if she looked up. Her surroundings were a mix of pale-lit buildings and shadow filled alleys. Tranquil enough, a good place to sit and think, right here on this rooftop. But, why relax? She was having too much fun, chasing this vampire from rooftop to rooftop.

            He had been feeding on a young beggar girl in the park when she had caught him, the poor girl slack in his arms. He obviously hadn’t been intending to simply feed, but to kill. She had tried to sneak up on him, but he’d seen her from the corner of his eye. Now, they were running at full tilt through the city, heading towards the trees of the nearby forest. She still hadn’t turned yet, wanting the thrill of being human for the moment. Her muscles ached slightly, her legs pumped faster and faster. He was still leaping from rooftop to rooftop. The silence he landed with was a great stealth measure, but her heavier landings had woken up the people in the past ten houses. Some of the residents were starting to peek outside, a few just plain ran out to the streets, shouting and starting a commotion. It was time to en this, her fun had run out.

            He leaped to the next roof, silent as ever, but he passed in front of the moon, showing his direction. Ariel sprinted to the next two houses down, and waited under it, slipping her rifle off her shoulder and shouldering it, waiting for him to leap over her. His foot passed over the edge of the roof, and a second later, is leg. She shot him in the calf. The rifle crack resounded through the night, and a few people shouted. She paid them no mind, kept her eye on the undead beast struggling to pull himself up the roof he was on. Smiling, she slid back the bolt on her rifle and aimed at his back before shooting again. He tumbled onto the ground, writhing in pain, screaming with all the air in his lungs. It was giving her a headache, and he was going to wake up more of the town. She pulled out a stake and stabbed t into his stomach, wedging it between two cobblestones. She raised her rifle and slammed the butt down onto it, ramming it into him. A few more moments of struggling, and he went slack, breathing hard.

            One of the men nearby ran over to her, a pistol gripped in his hand, and almost raised it before seeing who it was. “Vampire hunter,” He checked his arm, then holstered the gun calmly. “You’re sure you got the right guy? He looked like just an ordinary man, think I even saw him once or twice in the daylight two or three weeks ago.” He walked over slowly, pointing his gun down at the man stuck to the cobblestone ally.

            “Would an ordinary man be stuck to the ground like this and be completely conscious?” She kicked her victim in the ribs, and he groaned loudly. She shook her head, a grim expression on her face. “Just wait til the sun rises, and you’ll see, he’s a vampire. He simply isn’t the one you folks hired me to kill. He was turned a few nights ago, didn’t manage to nab the big guy though. I came around just after it happened.” Ariel’s amethyst eyes flashed amber for an instant, remembering her walk through the woods and how she had barely missed her prey. It wouldn’t happen again, she would make sure of that. She nudged the man on the ground with her rifle, and kneeled by him. “You and I are going to have a talk buddy, and maybe I’ll finish you quickly before the sun does it. Slowly.” With a motion of her hand, the people who had gathered in the alley backed off, most returning to their homes.

            A bubble of blood formed at the corner of the man’s mouth, and he gasped before shrieking at her, face mutilating into an inhuman mask of ferocity, fangs elongated completely. Grimacing, Ariel smacked her rifle butt across his face, knocking one of his fangs out. He howled sharply, raising his hands to cover his mouth, looking like a normal person again. “Damn you w***e!” His voice was muffled through his hands, which in the next instant, were broken in several places from another angry swipe of her rifle. He yelled more curses between groans of pain.

            She waited calmly, and during a few seconds of silence, asked, “Are you done yet?” A few minutes of silence followed, and one of the men that had stayed, the man with the pistol, edged closer. Ariel didn’t take her eyes off of her prey. “Stop. He’s still dangerous, he isn’t bound at all and he has one fang. He can still infect you.” She slung her rifle on her back and drew a revolver from its holster at her side. She placed the muzzle against the side of his nose, and asked “Ready for the first question?” he spat at her, and the blood dripped down her cheek. She pulled the trigger, and the bullet tore through the cartilage of his nose. After a few more seconds of screams, she asked, “Now?” He nodded slowly, shaking from the pain that he must have felt and the fear of the ruthless interrogator above him. “Okay then, answer me this. How many of you are there?”

            “There is just the Russian. I-I don’t know where he is or anything, don’t know more—Gaah!” Whap! The pistol barrel connected with the bridge of his nose, between his eyes. The edge cut into his skin, and blood oozed into his eyes. “T-the hut out in the w-w-woods,” he stuttered. “That’s w-where he g-got me.” He tried to blink the blood out of his eyes, unsuccessfully. He was starting to shake, the adrenaline of the chase obviously wearing down and allowing the pain to come forth. His eyes lost focus, and he started to gasp rapidly.

            Ariel looked at the man with the pistol and shrugged. “See Hicks, it’s a lot easier than most act to interrogate someone.” She looked back at the man on the ground. “Just show them you’re serious, and they talk. You two,” she pointed at two men hanging by the edge of the alley. “Watch him, make sure he doesn’t move. If he does,” she slipped anther pistol out and tossed one each to the men, “shoot to kill.” Her boots clacked on the cobblestone, and she didn’t look back as she walked towards Hicks. “Let’s get a drink, shall we? I could use a good brandy after that.”

            Hicks looked at her, half smiling. He ran his fingers through his gray-white, shoulder length mane, and nodded. “I suppose you deserve a drink for getting one of the vampires. You still didn’t get the Russian though, so the drink is all you get tonight.”

            “Did I ask for more?” She looked at him sideways as she passed, not stopping. Her purple eyes flashed in the moonlight. “The drink. Let’s go.” She ran her hands along the butt of her rifle. “I’ll get your Russian soon enough.”

Reviews

[SamBug]

This was also amazing. You need to finish this one!

[Ice Queen of the Vampir..]

This is a great chapter, you're doing a very nice job writing this story. Now I'm ready for more. ;) Fabulous work!!!

Heather

[Brette Medb]

I really like this so far. You've definitely got me hooked. The details and descriptions are good and now I'm wondering about what you said about her not letting herself turn just yet. So is she part vampire? Great write so far, looking forward to more.

Brette