Chapter One
The darkness of the midnight hour consumed the forest during the height of the winter's first new moon. The fog crawled along the ground slowly only to be moved by the cold winters winds but is soon to be replaced by more fog. Other than the cruel howl of the winds, the forest seemed to be silent and lifeless, but looks and sounds can both be deceiving. Walking slowly and quietly within the forest where four hunters.
These hunters were no ordinary hunters out to hunt common game. These hunters were out to hunt the things that went bump in the night. They hunted the beings that hunted us; vampires, werewolves, the "boogeyman", and all the monsters that terrorize humans on a daily basis. The leader of the hunters was Antonio, a tall Spanish man with a permanent smile plastered onto his face and calming emerald green eyes. The Spaniard always carried a silver axe on a strap on his back along with a pack that each member of the group was made to carry by the Management. This pack held wooden stakes, a small first aid kit, holy water, silver crosses, silver bullets, a pistol, silver daggers, flashlights, and flash bangs.
To Antonio's right walked Ludwig, who was the second in the command of the little group. He was a tall burly German with short blonde hair that was almost always slicked back and bright blue eyes that betrayed every emotion the German refused to show in his daily life. Ludwig carried a large derringer pistol in a holster on his hip, which he fondly called "the Completionist", along with two of the required packs, his own and Feliciano's. He also carried with him the ability to see and speak to the dead and other small magical creatures that were not normally able to be seen by the naked eye. This was a little gift that he and his dear companion Feliciano called the "sight".
Flanking each of the leaders were the Italian twins, named Feliciano and Romano. They were, for the most part, identical and were only able to be told apart from the curls they each adorned on the sides of their heads and their own personalities.
Feliciano, the younger of the two, had a little curl sticking up from the left side of his head. His hair was a light brown that shown brightly in the sunlight. His eyes were almost always in a squinted fashion, most figured it was so others could tell him apart from his twin. Feli, as he liked to be called by others, carried an extra first aid kit which was bulging in his left pocket and a big white flag. He was a pacifist and never believed in fighting unless it was for his loved ones. Feli too had the "sight" just like his friend Ludwig, they would often tell the tales and stories they heard to each other as both a fun pastime and a way to make sure they're both not insane.
Romano, in contrast to his younger brother, had much darker chocolate colored hair. His curl adorned the right side of his head and his eyes were the color of ripe green olives. In accordance to his hair, Romano's personality seemed a bit dark and rough with a semi permanent frown stuck to his round face and enough pessimism for the rest of the world. Romano carried with him twin revolvers in holsters strapped to his chest under his jacket with silver bullets, silver daggers that were holstered to his sides, and a single silver switchblade in his pocket, along with his pack for he did not have the "sight" and felt it was his duty to protect his little brother.
As the group walked down the barren road through the seemingly dead forest, Antonio sighed a small contented sigh. "The fog seems to be the hand of God coming down and helping the earth to spin, helping to keep balance in one of the most desolate ways possible. Does it not?" Antonio said quietly. Feli whined softly before hanging onto Ludwig's left arm tightly, "L-Luddy! This fog reminds me of the weather we saw at Alfred's place when we fought the Zombies." Feli whispered hastily. "Feli. Do not cling to me this way. What if something jumps out at us and I'm not able to protect you?" Ludwig whispered harshly. Feli squeaked and apologized softly before moving to Ludwig's right arm. Romano huffed angrily and whispered, "Shut up and focus on the job ahead."
Antonio chuckled softly and patted Romano on the back as the group entered an open field. The hunters stopped walking as they met with the center of the field and looked around. None of them would dare say it out loud but they each held the terrible feeling of being watched. They each surveyed the all encompassing blackness surrounding them wondering what exactly had stalked them into the middle of the field. To the hunters' right, the sound of something crashing through the woods caused each of the team members to jump nearly out of their skin and shine their lights at the offending noise. There, standing frozen in the lights stood a single solitary deer. The team sighed a collective sigh of relief. Antonio laughed happily and threw one arm around Romano, "It's ok my little Romanito, I'll protect you!" Romano huffed and struggled to escape, although some would say he liked it as it looked a little too pretend. "Let me go you bastard." Romano growled. "I-it's just a cute little deer, Luddy! Aren't you happy?!" Feli exclaimed giddily. Ludwig nodded thoughtfully. He still felt the uneasiness he had felt before and could tell that Feli could too by just looking at him.
Ludwig looked around the field once again. He just wanted to be sure that the feeling was just a feeling.
Suddenly, Antonio's laughter is cut off by another's more manic, feminine laughter. The group all looked up as a woman with burning red hair and ruby red eyes stood levitating above them. Her gypsy like clothes moved in the nonexistent wind and her smile would melt the hearts of any man if it was not coupled with white piercing sharp fangs. "Hello, boys." The woman mused as she landed softly and gracefully upon the ground. Ludwig instinctively pushed Feliciano behind him as he, Romano, and Antonio all glared at the pale goddess standing in front of them. The vampiress laughed once again and started to walk slowly toward the hunters. "Do you honestly think you can keep his sweet, sweet blood from me?" She asked charmingly. With each step she took Feliciano took one back respectively. Ludwig quickly pulled out his revolver and pointed it at the vampire's heart. "Stop where you are or I will shoot." He warned menacingly. The vampire stopped and smiled at the hunters. "Whatever you say." She said curtly.
Feliciano stopped moving with the woman in front of him. But he still felt as if he was in danger. Before Feli knew what had happened, a second woman appeared next to him and grabbed for him. Feliciano let out a terrified scream as he and the black haired vampire tumbled to the ground with only the oaken rod of Feliciano's flag keeping any distance between him and her razor sharp teeth. Antonio, Romano, and Ludwig all looked back at Feliciano startled by his scream. "Feli!" Ludwig and Romano yelled in unison as they processed what was occurring. Before anyone else could move, a third vampire appeared behind Romano and wrapped her arms around his neck and chest. Romano yelled out as the blonde vampire bit deeply into his tan colored flesh. Antonio turned to Romano and the blonde swiftly as he noticed what exactly had happened. "Let go of him you bitch!" Antonio yelled. He quickly charged the vampire feeding upon his friend and swung his axe at her. The blonde vampire was able to detach herself from Romano and dodge Antonio's attack. As her sister was dealing with Antonio, the red headed vampire pounced on Ludwig as he was headed to help Feliciano. Ludwig was able to dodge the red heads attempt at him and glared at her before pointing his gun at her and pulling the trigger. The redhead had little time to react and just barely missed the bullet. She laughed manically as she levitated once again and attacked Ludwig. This time Ludwig was able to fire a shot directly into the red headed vampire's heart. With a deathly scream the red head burst into flames and disintegrated into ashes. The blonde and black haired vampire's screamed out in the agony of losing their sister and transformed into their true bodies, ugly grey skinned bat like creatures, before flying off into the darkness.
Feliciano stood up quickly with tears streaming down his tanned cheeks. He looked over at Ludwig, their savior, his savior, but he was not looking at Feliciano. He was staring at Antonio and Romano. Feli looked over at his brother and Antonio, scared at what he would see. Antonio held onto Romano's bleeding neck as he laid unconscious upon the ground. Antonio's face held not only the fear of losing his best friend but also his lover. "Romano! Romano please wake up! Please mi amor I'll do anything! Please don't leave me!" As Antonio begged, fat tears rolled down his cheeks and sobs wracked his entire body. Feliciano ran over to his brother and knelt next to him and Antonio, "Oh Dios Mio! Fratello! No!" Sobs started to shake Feliciano's small frame as he touched his brother's paling face.
Grief had blinded Antonio and to the point that he did not even notice that Ludwig had moved over to them and was feeling for signs of life from Romano. Feli looked up at the German and watched his eyes for any sign for hope. Suddenly, Ludwig's eyes lit up and looked at Antonio. "Antonio! He's alive. We need to get him back to headquarters for help! Now!" Ludwig exclaimed. Antonio calmed himself quickly and nodded at Ludwig. "But Luddy! It's almost an hour hike out of here, plus an hour drive back to headquarters!" Feliciano cried. " Antonio's demeanor changed almost in an instant, "Than we have no time to waste. Let's go!" Antonio ordered. Feliciano took out his first aid kit and handed it to Antonio who placed a clean bandage on the wound and wrapped a cloth safely around Romano's neck. Then he lifted Romano into his arms while also keeping pressure on Romano's neck wound. Ludwig nodded and lifted Feliciano into a "piggybacking" position and the two hunters ran off towards the vehicle and towards help.