Rise Of The Hunters - Chapter 81

Moving through the trees in the early morning light, Xun’s arm ached. He had it tied to his ċhėst in a sling, to minimize movement, but the doctor was terrified of him, because the bone had already started knitting together.

The vampire had left few tracks, but he had a lot of experience tracking animals. This one was just a little smarter than normal. If he hadn’t been carrying Mary, it may have been more difficult, maybe even impossible. As it was, there were small signs of his passage in torn clothing, bits of hair snagged by passing branches, and slight impressions left in patches of frozen mud.

Gerald and Byrd were with him, along with his dad. The others had opted to remain back at the base, trying to break into the computer system. Apparently, when they didn’t immediately enter some code, somewhere, it locked itself down. Xun hadn’t wanted to wait too long before trying to track the vampire down, as he wasn’t sure how long it would take. He was kind of hoping that he would find it asleep in some coffin, somewhere, like in some of those books he had read, though he didn’t put much faith in it.

As the sun began to climb higher into the sky, he realized he was very close to the pantry he had filled with smoked meat. He paused to consider that for only a moment. When the path they were following took him to the same frozen river that Hayden had paused at to torment the bullies so long ago, he started to have an inkling of where they might be going. All doubts disappeared as they found themselves before the same dead end he had been at with Hayden when following those deer. This time, he didn’t turn away. Approaching the cliff wall, he could faintly see a deer trail heading straight to the wall.

Byrd and Gerald watched from a distance, believing there was nothing there, but his father came with him. He could smell the woman, even if he couldn’t smell the vampire.

When Xun saw the opening, cleverly hidden, he smirked. Hayden had probably known that this place was here, and hadn’t wanted to show it to Xun. When he and his dad disappeared, Gerald gave a small shout of surprise. It wasn’t long at all before Byrd and he stepped through the opening as well. They stood there for only a moment to marvel at the valley below them, before continuing to follow the trail.

It was almost easier here. The ground wasn’t frozen solid, so there were more prints. When they got to the concrete bunker door, a chill rushed down all their spines. Werewolf carcasses, along with a pile of giant dead rats and human remains, littered the ground.

“That’s creepy,” muttered Gerald, and they all nodded, unable or unwilling to speak.

His dad sniffed at some of the bodies, but shook his head and backed away from them. There was pain in his eyes, and it was obvious he didn’t want to talk about it here.

The door opened smoothly for them, when they pushed the open icon on the touch pad, and they saw the long hallway, brightly lit, stretching out before them.

Looking around, out of habit, Xun spied the helicopter, hidden by branches in a clearing not far away. Deep marks in the dirt showed where they had moved something heavy from it into the bunker.

Reaching for the straps to his bag, which were no longer there, he straightened his shoulders and headed into the bunker, closely followed by the others. Before long, a woman wearing a long white lab coat, carrying a clipboard, approached them.

“You must be Xun, the boy leader of the…compound,” she said, glancing down at her board.

“If you’ll follow me, Dr. Achak said you might be arriving at some point today.”

Looking at the others, they nodded at him to say they had noticed it too. This woman was a vampire just like the doctor. Following her as she walked back the way she had come, they soon saw doors lining either side of the hallway. Opening the first door to the right, she waited for them all to go in, acting very professional, and not at all like a blood thirsty vampire.

Inside was a table and several chairs. They looked a little worn and dinged up, but were solid when they went to sit down.

“I would offer you something to eat or drink, but I don’t think you would take either. Also, I don’t believe we have anything that you would care to have, anyway. The doctor is currently busy, but I’ll let him know you are here. He was very keen on speaking with you, so I don’t think he will keep you waiting for long.”

As she left, they all kind of looked at each other.

“This is odd. I never imagined being in a waiting room to see a vampire.” Xun’s dad ran his fingers along the edge of the table, where it was obvious some of the giant rats had chewed on it.

“Did you see the scratches in the doors?” asked Gerald.

Everyone nodded. They had all seen the faint traces of blood that had stained the concrete, too, despite someone trying to scrub it away.

After only a few minutes, Xun stood. If he sat for too long, he would fall asleep. His adrenaline was long gone, and the little bit of sleep he had earlier that morning was bȧrėly keeping him going. Fear was doing an excellent job of keeping him motivated, but sitting in an empty room wasn’t very scary.

“Ah, Xun.” The doctor was suddenly at the door. None of them had seen it open, or knew how long he had been there. There was no way to tell the passing of time here.

“While I am impressed with your ability to track me here, I had agreed to only speak with you. So you have two options. You can either send your companions back to your…compound, or I will see them as a peace offering and gift.”

Everyone surged to their feet in anger and outrage, but Xun held up his hand.

“You will NOT…”began his dad, but Xun turned swiftly to look at him. The words that were about to come out, died at the look on his face.

“We shall await your return, back at the compound,” said Gerald through gritted teeth. The doctor moved to the side as Byrd followed him out the door. They wasted no time turning to the exit and leaving.

Xun’s dad looked at him. They communicated all their heartache, pain, and fear, in the look they shared. Slowly, his father let out a sigh. It was laced with so much frustration and pain, that Xun’s ċhėst hurt. Looking at the ground, he left the room, following the others.