Chapter 1 – And So It Goes
A kick in the family jewels will have any man doubling over in pain, clutching his groin with both hands... if he is a normal person - and a mortal. But then, he isn't, and Mira frowned, as she gripped the sawed off shotgun tightly in both hands, anticipating the retaliation that will surely come any second now. The male vampire was drooling – badly. Well, vampires are always rabid, especially if breakfast is served early in the morning in a form of a virginal-looking female smirking at him, mocking his capacity to kill her in an instant. Vampires love it when they are being taunted by their prey. It makes them feel more powerful than ever, and will gladly take up the challenge of subverting the hunter that hunts them. Mira's awareness gets even more heightened just by anticipating the vampire's next move. Although her reflexes are smoother than oil, when the creature faked to pounce at her from the left, he actually tried to grab her from the right – which Mira easily dodged. The huntress has had more encounters with vampires than any woman her age, and for her, they've become predictable – even boring, at times. Even if the vermin are getting more and more intelligent in every encounter, she knows that her hunter's instinct always kicks in to save her neck.
Hunting had been Mira's life for as long as she can remember. Her parents were both hunters – not just of vampires, but of other creatures that fill a child's nightmare as well. There were ghosts, ghouls, demons, vengeful spirits – anything that walks, gaits, crawls or flies. In short, anything with claws, fangs or tails, her parents hunt them.
Mira remembers her mother say that, nearly two decades ago, hunters were nothing but a ragtag band of farmers and factory workers who decided to stand up and acknowledge that "there are things out there that go bump in the night." They had taken upon themselves the noble cause of ridding the world of these unsavory and unnatural pests that prey on human flesh, blood and brains. (Zombies, anyone?)
Mira learned from her parents that there was a time, not so long ago, that a mechanic had to repeatedly stab his wife, thinking that she had gone mad or had contracted some sort of brain disease. His wife attacks anyone nearby and feeds off their flesh and blood. It was only later that the mechanic found out that his wife had been bitten by a werewolf. Although the woman did not grow hairy and canine-looking, her eyes had taken on a wolf-like aspect, while her delicate hands turned into sharp claws and her mouth filled with rows upon rows of jagged sharp teeth. Since that fateful day, the mechanic became a hunter, tracking things that aren't human. He was Mira's grandfather.
In the next few years, men and women like the mechanic – who had lost a loved one or a friend in the hands of fiends – bonded together to form what now came to be known as the strongest band of hunters that hunt down anything that's evil, undead and everything in between.
When Mira was thirteen, her parents got killed by a coven of vampires that they were able to track down in the bayous of New Orleans. That same year, the gird had decided to take up arms and joined the same group that her parents had led. Being an only child, Mira did not have any hesitations in leaving school nor her friends and classmates, and became a hunter so adept in tracking, that she soon rose up in the ranks and became an ace hunter. Sooner than she expected, only seven years after she became officially a hunter, Mira became the most sought-after trainer when it comes to hunting. Many would flock to her shack in the woodlands of British Columbia for training – especially in terms of tracking their prey. Mira possessed a certain adeptness in finding the lair of vampires, werewolves, shifters and anything that lurk in the shadows when night falls. Even the veteran hunters would defer to her whenever they are out to track down the enemy. The young woman could easily single out the baddies, just as a hound would sniff out a rabbit within its warren.
With more years of hunting under her belt, the now thirty-year-old had a certain keenness of sight and hearing that is nearly abnormal for a common hunter. Her speed and agility could almost be mistaken for that of a vampire, if not for the flush of red on her cheeks that only pumping blood and adrenaline can cause. Many hunters from her band would voice their concerns that she might have been bitten or something, to be able to move that fast and precise. However, majority believe that Mira's ability can be attributed to constant training and diligence. After all, she is a daughter of two of the best hunters of their time. Just like her parents, Mira's specialty is hunting vampires, and her ability to track them down and move nearly as fast as the blood-suckers, gives her band an upper hand during raids.
An example is their current raid of a coven masquerading as workers in a cannery. The tip off came through the police line she and her fellow hunters were constantly monitoring on a CB radio, and boy, did it come with much wringing of hands on the hunters' part.
Last week, Mira and her fellow hunters had found a vampire nest squatting in an old warehouse, just south of the abandoned cannery on the seedier part of town. The hunters were able to kill at least half of the twenty or so creatures, but the other half either got away or exploded, as though they had been puffed up like balloons and then pricked with pins, spraying any hunter within range with gore and brain matter.
The hunters did some preliminary investigation at the scene, however, they never found any telltale signs of what could have caused the vampires to go kaboom after gorging themselves on human their captives.
Mira pursed her lips and took aim but the blood-sucker merely hissed, drool spilling over his distorted mouth. Unlike vampires of lore that only have two fangs, the real vampires of Mira's world have sharp teeth, which the untrained could never discern from the teeth of normal humans.
Mira scoffed at the thought, but yes, the Twilight books and movies had vampires almost down pat – bloodshot eyes, pale skin and nearly angelic beauty – except for the glittery skin. Real vampires do not glitter when under the sun. Instead, they get sunburn – well, not the type that would actually make them combust, just as in the movies – but direct sunlight would cause vampire skin to turn really red, and blister, once exposed. The sun may not completely burn vampires, but it could slow them down to the point of incapacity.
The male vampire grunted, sniffing the air where Mira had been standing when he tried to grab her. However, instead of lunging for the hunter, it backed off, quite unsure of himself. Mira's left brow raised in confusion, but only for a moment. Rule number one in the hunters' guidebook to survival – never trust an non-human enemy. When they show doubt or confusion, attack!
And Mira did attack. Instead of pulling the trigger of her sawed-off, she whipped out an iron-bladed bolo from a sheath strapped to her thigh. With a wide swing, she was able to slash through the vampire's neck, sending his head thudding onto the metal grate underfoot. Before the head can roll off, Mira grabbed it by its pomade-slick hair and tossed it to Julian, one of the oldest members of their band, who then tossed the head onto a pile of about half a dozen others. Another hunter sprayed liquid butane on the severed heads and lighted up the pile with a pair of matches.
Mira wiped her blade from the flannel shirt worn by the vampire she decapitated and placed it back into its sheath. She sighed and scoffed. It would take her nearly the whole day to clean up her weapons – especially those that came in contact with blood. God, how they would rust, if left untouched.
"Anybody still got more of that cleaning fluid we picked up from Missouri?" she asked no one in particular.
Somebody from the group tossed her a small plastic canister, which she deftly caught with her left hand. Gingerly, she shook the can and nodded. "I'll have to sequester this, Marv," she added before placing the can into her camouflage patterned duffle bag, and then hefted it over a shoulder.
Without looking back at the others who made sure that the heads would burn to ashes, Mira made her way out of the warehouse as the morning sun began to peek through the eastern horizon. Another day, another successful hunt, she thought acidly. How long do they have to keep up with this kind of life? No matter how many monsters they kill in a day, in the end, more than double the number are still out there, ready to rend hunter flesh if the opportunity arises.
Mira momentarily turned away from the rising sun and turned to face the part of the city still clad in darkness. Only God knows how many are still out there, lurking in the dark, ready to pounce at her and rip her flesh into shreds. Mira knows that her reputation as a highly skilled hunter precedes her, and she is certain that the monsters want her dead. It's only a matter of time before one of them vermin would get to her in her sleep and cut off her head, just like the way she does them.
The weary hunter sighed and cleared her throat. "Mom," she whispered to the wind. "I can't imagine how you faced this kind of constant worry and fear, and still raise me. Something's out there, and it's coming closer every day. It's after me, I can feel it. When the day of confrontation comes, I hope you and Dad would be there to back me up."
Mira hung her head and inhaled deeply, stemming the tide of conflicting emotions before it can manifest into tears. She mustn't let the other hunters see that she is weakening. It would certainly crush them – and that would be an opportunity the baddies are waiting for. Nearly two dozen lives – not to mention their families and friends – are relying on her strength of character and bravery when facing the enemy. She can't just let her personal demons get in the way and fail them.
As the sun climbed higher in the horizon to claim the land for itself, Mira began to trudge toward the battered pickup truck she shares with Julian, the only remaining father figure that she has.
It's only a matter of time before everything around her crashes down and disintegrates to nothing. And time is something she doesn't have too much of.