Chapter two. In the shadows

Joseph Mason decided to walk back to the motel, after he left the bar. It was late, and perhaps, for some people, it could be dangerous to be alone in the dark streets, so late into the night – but not for a hunter.

Joseph was in a good mood. He liked walking, and he didn't get a lot of occasions to do it, since he had to move around by car. The evening had been nice, too. Those young hunters, so impulsive, so immature at times. It was easy, for a moment, to forget that they weren't innocent in any way. Once on the job, they were professional, focused… but outside, they could actually be good company.

Not a good influence, though. Joseph was happy to have left when they started their bet. He wasn't sure how that was going to end.

The hunter looked around him and sighed happily. He liked this city, and when it was dark, you could see things daylight didn't show.

This wasn't the best neighborhood. The walls were dirty, the trash cans were threatening to spill what they contained all over the pavement, the shutters tightly closed over the windows were in dire need of maintenance, their paint peeling off… Few people were outside, and those who were, walked quickly with their heads down. A dog was barking in the distance.

Joseph liked those streets, though. It made him nostalgic. He'd grown up in a place like this. A drunk father, a depressed mother, and a reckless little sister… at the time he'd thought his life was a nightmare, and had waited impatiently for a chance to get away. Now, though, when he looked back, he thought of this time as "the good old days". Sure, it hadn't been easy, but Joseph had still grown up in a family – which wasn't perfect, but neither was he, and they had loved him nonetheless. The hunting life was one to which you could get used, with time, but Joseph missed the days when he wasn't alone, when he didn't know about what lurked in the shadows.

But that was then, and Joseph had gotten very good at living in the present. He took pride in having lasted so long. His forty-sixth birthday would be in a few days. No one would know, or be here to celebrate it, but Joseph was thinking of taking a day off. The monsters could wait. He wondered briefly if the young hunters would stick around until then, but already knew they wouldn't.

Joseph started whistling cheerfully. The air was frisky for a summer night, but he didn't mind, it kept him wide awake.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that he stopped walking. He frowned. In his years of hunting, he'd learned to trust his gut, and right now, it was telling him that something was wrong. Joseph looked around him, and didn't see a single living soul.

He turned right, towards a deserted alley. There were absolutely no lights here, and the hunter squinted, trying and failing to see through the darkness. He stepped forward, reaching for the gun he kept well hidden, but always easy to reach.

Something was definitely wrong. As he got closer, a chill ran down his spine. He couldn't put his hands on what was happening, but his years of hunting made him positive that something was hiding in that alley, something which wasn't supposed to be here. Something dangerous.

Joseph stepped into the alley, and suddenly froze, eyes wide. He was certain he heard a voice, a whisper.

Joseph…

One more step, the voice got clearer.

Joseph…

He frowned, his heartbeat sped up. It sounded like a little girl, and he could swear that voice seemed familiar to him. Then, he thought he saw movement, not far ahead of him. He got closer. The darkness closed in around him.

Joseph…

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Shae had no clue of what time it was, when she arrived at their motel. The sun was high in the sky, beating down on the huntress, who was impatient to take a shower and slip into clothes more adapted to the temperature.

Walking towards the room she shared with Kira, Shae looked around the parking lot, and noticed five cars were parked. That meant the whole group was still there. That was strange, but when she gave it a thought, not unlikely – they'd all had a late night, she certainly wasn't the only one who had overslept.

In front of her door, Shae knocked tentatively. She was pretty sure she'd forgotten her keys in Kira's handbag the previous evening. She wasn't a forgetful person, but after all, what was the purpose of alcohol, if not to forget?

She only had to knock once, and the door flew open moments later.

"Well, there you are!" Kira's half-annoyed, half-amused exclamation greeted her.

"Hi," she said plainly.

"Right," sighed the blonde. She stepped aside to let her friend come in.

Shae let out a happy noise at the cool temperature of the room.

"I swear," she grunted, "it's an oven outside!"

"Yeah, I noticed. Why you walked back is beyond me."

Shae glanced at her. "I'm gonna take a shower and change, then, you've got a story to tell."

"So do you," chuckled Kira. "The guys, too, except I'm pretty sure they're still sleeping like babies."

"What time is it anyway?"

"Oh, something like one pm." Shae's eyes widened, and Kira laughed. "Yeah," she said, "I was up at like, nine, I was starting to wonder if you were still alive. Don't you usually get up around six?"

Shae shrugged, grabbed some clothes and got in the bathroom. She stayed under the shower for a long time, much longer than usual, enjoying the sensation of water running over her body. When she got out, she dried up and got dressed quickly. She finally came out, wearing a pair of shorts and a light blue tank top, feeling much, much better. Deep inside, though, she couldn't shake the feeling she'd had since she'd woken up, a feeling that something was missing. She just couldn't figure out what, and it was terribly frustrating…

Someone knocked at their door, and Kira went to open. Hugh was standing behind it.

"Hey there!" A wide smile spread across his lips. He looked both of them over. "I just woke up. Coffee, anyone? I spotted a shop just down the street."

Shae shrugged, Kira grinned. "Absolutely," she said. "Are the others coming?"

Hugh shook his head. "Nah, John's still out cold, and I haven't heard from Joseph – I knocked, I don't think he's in his room. Probably out for a walk or something."

The girls followed him outside.

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A while later, the three of them were sitting on a park bench, under the shade of a tree, each holding a hot cup of coffee in their hands. The girls were listening to Hugh telling his story from the previous night. Well, they actually weren't listening that much at that point – the man was chatty, there was no denying it, and he'd been going on and on for fifteen minutes. The girl's name was Lilly. She was funny, she was beautiful, she was perfect. They'd spent the night at her place, she'd woken up before him and cooked breakfast, and they were planning on meeting again soon. Throughout Hugh's story, Kira and Shae had exchanged looks: first, amused, then surprised, then almost worried. It seemed like the hunter was actually falling for the girl. Shae felt her throat tighten. Hugh really was quite new to the hunting life. Her conscience told her she should open his eyes, tell him to stay away from that girl, break her heart and run, protect her… But seeing him so happy stopped her from opening her mouth. She just couldn't. And, looking at Kira, she guessed the other huntress was having the exact same dilemma. Neither of them said what they were really thinking. Shae decided they could talk to Hugh later. Now was not the time for realism. Now, he could just be happy…

Kira and Shae nodded, smiled or laughed at the right times, and when Hugh finally stopped talking, he turned to the blonde woman.

"So, your turn. What happened?"

She shrugged, but Shae noticed the corner of her lips trembling, biting back a smile.

"Well," she started, "I just sat at the bar alone and waited for someone to show up. Someone showed up in less than a minute."

"What a surprise." Shae rolled her eyes.

"Shut up. So, good-looking guy. Funny. He bought me a couple of drinks, then I let him take me back to his place. We actually just talked for a while. Well, we did other stuff afterwards. Anyways, this morning we woke up around the same time. I stuck around for breakfast, then I let him drive me back to the motel. I warned him I wouldn't be in town for long, he told me to give him a call." She looked at her cup. "I wish I could see him again, he seemed nice enough," she sighed.

"Well, what's stopping you from seeing him again?" asked Hugh.

She stared at him for a moment, her gaze unreadable, then turned towards Shae.

"Your turn, girl!"

"Alright," grunted the brunette. "Nice cute guy. Drinks, his place, a bit of fun, a bit of sleep, I left before he woke up."

Kira sighed and rolled her eyes but said nothing, Hugh waited for a second before crying out: "What, that's it?"

"Yup, pretty much!"

The man's eyes flew from one woman to the other with a look of desperation on his face.

"Damn, you girls are cold."

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Once they got back to the motel, Kira and Shae packed up their stuff in less than five minutes. John had woken up in the meantime, and Joseph still didn't answer his door. They said goodbye to the men and headed towards their cars.

"So," said Kira, "I think I found us a case."

Shae looked at her with scrutinizing eyes.

"Us?"

"Yeah," answered the other huntress. "You up for a little team work?"

Shae hesitated for a moment, her hand on the door handle of her car. "Yeah, sure," she decided. "How far from here?"

"Couple hours."

"Great. I'll be right behind you."

They exchanged a smile, got into their cars and drove away, Kira leading the way.

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Hugh distractedly watched the two cars driving away. When he returned in the motel room, John was shoving the last of his clothes into a bag.

"You found a case?" asked Hugh.

John looked up at him and nodded. "Want to come with me?"

Hugh didn't answer for a moment. He considered his options. He was a hunter, he would have to find some work sooner or later, and he liked working with John. But a part of him just didn't want to leave right away. Maybe it wasn't the wisest choice, but… Lilly was here, and he really liked her, and why not try to make it work?

"No, thanks." He cleared his throat, looked at his feet. "I think I'm just going to stick around for a while."

John looked at him, then shrugged while tossing his bag onto his shoulders. "Alright," he said casually. "I'll see you around, then."

"Yeah."

John left, and Hugh sat on the edge of his bed. He told himself it was a good choice to stay here, to check if Joseph was alright. His car was still in the parking lot, so he couldn't have left town, but then why hadn't they heard from him at all? The last time Hugh had seen him was when he'd left the bar.

The hunter decided he could wait a little more before worrying. If something was wrong, he would look into it. In the meantime…

He took out his cell phone and dialed a number. After just two rings, a cheerful voice answered him:

"Hello?"

Hugh grinned widely. "Hey, Lilly!"

…..

Hey guys! So, I think the boys will come into the story next chapter. I'm sorry, this story is going a little slowly, but it's going to pick up speed soon, promise! I hope you enjoyed reading, maybe drop a review if you've got time! By the way, thank you to Happygoddess2003 for your review last chapter (I was intending to send things into that direction, just wait and see I guess ).

Alice