Chapter 1

Hello, Reality Sphere. I am Ruteuf, the Beholder of the Future. Continuing the instruction given to us by The Maker, I have taken it upon myself to tell another story concerning the Hunters of Horror. This story takes place not long after the altercation between Eli and the creature known as Jeff the Killer. Who knows what evils our heroes will have to overcome this time. Well, I do, but it wouldn't be as fun for you if I told you everything.

It was about 0300 hours when Eli walked up to a shack in the middle of the forest and tried unsuccessfully to open the door. After a few more tries, he pounded on it a couple of times. "Hoodie! Open up in there! The security is acting up again!" he yelled. After a few minutes, the door was opened by a teen wearing a grey jacket with a hood, dark hair, and a white mask with black facial features. "Hey, Mask. Where's Hoodie? He needs to deal with the security fuck ups." Without a word, Mask turned and led the way down a set of stairs.

"I know, I know!" called a low voice from around one corner. "Of course he's pissed, Mask! It's three in the morning and there's a bug in the security protocols. I'd be pissed, too." They rounded a corner to find a young man sitting behind a desk with computer consoles all around him, working furiously to fix the problem. His orange hood from which he took his name was pulled down, showing only the back of the black mask he wore. "Sorry about the trouble, boss. It kicked up some time yesterday and I've been trying to fix it. I've almost got it cornered now, if you'll give me a few minutes."

"Whatever, I'll type up my report after I catch a bit of shuteye, Hoodie. I'm tired and Jeff was a pain in the ass." With that, Eli left them to go to bed.

"What's with him?" Hoodie asked as he looked to Slendy.

"It is getting harder for him to control the Horror inside him. I assume he will be meditating quite a bit before he actually goes to sleep," Slendy said. "Has my clay come in yet?"

"Yep, just last week. I put all of it in your craft room, just the way you like it."

"Thank you, Hoodie. I shall take my leave, then."

The next morning, Eli walked into the main room to find Hoodie and Mask both typing at the computers. "I thought it was only going to take a few more minutes, guys."

"That's all taken care of, boss. We've got a new assignment. String of murders in the area of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The last one was yesterday and the big wigs have told the local authorities to rope off the crime scene and leave it alone until we get there."

"A serial killer? Not our usual thing. What got this one put in our court?"

"Well, I was looking over the case reports. There's a lot of blood, but no body or sign that the body was moved. There's not even a sign of forced entry at any of the crime scenes. Odds are, it's a Horror we're dealing with." Mask looked at him. "Yeah, I'd say so. Probably D or L class."

"Is there any connection between the victims?"

"None. In fact, the only things they had in common were the fact that they all lived in Cedar Rapids and they're all children."

Eli walked over to an intercom and pressed a button. "Slendy, we're on the move again. Meet us at the garage."

"Wait, all of us?" Hoodie asked.

"I want all hands on deck. The only reason you two weren't on the last one was because you were already on a case, remember? I'd rather have all four of us on a killer case than divide us. Mask, how's the connection?"

Hoodie looked at Mask and then turned back to Eli. "He says that the body's going to be fine for at least another year before we'll have to visit another morgue."

"Good. Let's roll."

It wasn't long before they were all packed into the mobile unit with Eli driving. Conversation was light and continuous until Hoodie brought up something. "Boss, I've been going over the numbers. I don't know if you've noticed, but there's been a lot more Horror activity lately than when we started. I mean, just this year the amount of trouble has doubled. If it keeps up, I don't know if we'll be able to keep up."

"We'll keep up. We have to. This group was made to keep up with them, either by killing them or making sure they are safe to be around people. When the time comes, we'll do whatever it takes to keep the human race safe."

It was a full 24 hour's drive until they reached the outskirts of Cedar Rapids. "Slendy, no more hiding in the shadows. I meant it when I said we're not being subtle anymore. Especially not now. I can't handle it." Soon, they arrived at the police station and walked inside.

"Just one moment, sir," the officer behind the front desk said as he looked up from the paperwork in front of him. After writing a few things and handing it to another man, he folded his hands on the desk in front of him. "What can I help you with?"

"We're here about the serial killings. I believe our bosses told you we were coming. I'm Eli Jackson."

"So you're the government's dogs," the officer replied as he looked over the group. "I guess they know what they're doing, but you guys do know that Halloween was a couple of months ago, right?"

Eli sighed as Slendy put a hand to his head. "Yeah, yeah, we've heard that one before. Who's the detective in charge of the investigation."

"Right, you'll be wanting to talk to Detective Callahan. He's watching over the crime scene right now. Here's the location."

"No need. We know where it is. Thanks for your help." Without another word, Eli turned and led the group out of the station with every eye on them. A short drive brought them to the crime scene with a plain clothes officer standing on the sidewalk looking at the house.

"Detective Calahan?" Eli said as he stepped out of the van with everyone else in tow. "We're from the government."

The detective looked around and sighed. "You know, when they said not to be alarmed at your appearance, I thought they were joking. What the hell are you?"

"Classified. We're just here to stop the killings. Where's the mess?"

Callahan shook his head. "This way. We haven't even set foot in the room. Not since the Feds told us last time."

"Good. Sorry for the trouble, but it's better for us to see it as fresh as possible. Now, the victims are all children, yes? Did their parents say they were acting strangely at all?"

"Not that they were aware. Why?" asked Callahan with a quizzical look.

"In our line of work, it's better to be sure of what the conditions of all things were. This is the room?"

Callahan looked up. "Yeah. Here's the rundown. About three days ago we got a call from the parents of one Robert Kessinger, nine years old, in a panic because of screams coming from his bedroom and they couldn't get in. When the officer on site arrived, he did all he could to open the door with no luck. We had to break the door just to see what happened."

Sure enough, the door was lying in two pieces on the wall outside the room. Inside, blood was everywhere. Carpet, wallpaper, and ceiling had all been painted that barbaric red. Eli took a step inside and said, "We'll take it from here, detective. Go back to the station and leave it all to us."

Callahan opened his mouth to protest, then closed it and turned to leave. Before he walked down the hall, he said, "Just do me a favor and catch this bastard before he gets another one." Then he was gone.

Eli waited a few minutes, then walked into the center of the room. "All right, let's get to work. Slendy, I want you and Hoodie to go over the lawn with a fine toothed comb. If there's anything there, you need to find it. Mask, start looking for footprints. With this much blood, I'd be surprised if there wasn't any."

Slendy lingered a bit. "Eli, how are you holding up?"

"I'll be better at the end of this, Slendy, but I'm still here."

All right, people. I'm back! After a huge break (much needed to refocus on what I was doing), a few new jobs, and a lot of deciding where I was going with my stories; I have returned with a new Horror Hunter story. To those of you still waiting on me to come back to the Homestuck fanfic, I haven't abandoned you indefinitely. I've had to reacquaint myself with the source material and even then I was having trouble which I will explain when I finish and post the next chapter of that. Until then *gets down on knees* please don't be mad. I'm working as hard as I can!