PART I: Chapter 1
The air tasted stale to Freyja as she walked down the dark alleyway. The town was on the small side and only a stop to where she wanted to be, but Freyja had injured herself on her last hunt and needed time to recover. She paused in her stride when the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Freyja like all hunters had developed a sort of sixth sense when she was around the supernatural, or maybe she was just paranoid.
The black-haired woman continued walking removing her hands from her leather jacket's pockets. The weight of her weapons had always given her a sense of security, without theme she felt naked.
Freyja reached into the inner pocket of her jacket, hands firmly gripping the handle of her most trusted hunting knife. Her free hand reached out and stopped the perpetrator from grabbing her, while she raised the one clutching the knife prepared to bring it down hard into her attacker's chest. Freyja paused, her breathing even as she looked at the young face that tried sneaking up behind her. The boy looked 16, if not younger, and his eyes were widened in fear, focused on the knife which she still held near his chest. Ice blue eyes glared at him from above, the unknown boy flinched back again at the sharp gaze. Wordlessly she stood up releasing him and turning her back towards him, determined to get to her motel before another homeless child tried to pickpocket her and she ended up committing murder.
Freyja was almost out of the boy's view when he called out to her. The deep tone of his voice confirmed the age she had originally thought he was. "Why?" The question carried over the distance, stopping Freyja again.
The woman turned back to the boy, taking in his features. The boy was tall, but his height wasn't immediately noticeable because the boy hunched his shoulders and was severely underweight. He was skin and bones, Freyja could not blame him for trying to rob somebody. She scrutinized him taking in his tattered clothing, the grime that clung to his face and hands, and his bare feet littered with cuts and sores.
"Parents?" She asked, ignoring his question. He looked down, shrugging his shoulders. "Never met them." The boy looked up again, making eye contact with her briefly before he turned away again. His eyes were a shade of brown so light they seemed yellow. The strange color of his eyes stood out against the amount of dirt he had gathered on his person, making him a sight you wouldn't want your children to see. Freyja didn't know why she hadn't ignored the boy and returned to her motel.
Something was keeping her here, some kind of external force.
Freyja had seen the look in the boy's eyes, it was the look of someone who had seen death. 'It takes one to know one' was true. She used their common experience to justify her next actions. Freyja stuffed her hands in her jackets again, approaching the boy. He looked up at her from his bent-over position, fear still clear on his face from his near-death experience with her. Freyja glared at him, her voice even as she spoke. "If I told you that the monsters in stories were real would you believe me?" The question was a strange one to anyone who didn't know the truth, but the boy's reaction had been just as unusual. Tears began forming in his eyes and his shoulders sagged like a heavyweight had been lifted off of them. "If I told you I saw something that wasn't normal, in any kind of way... Would you believe me?" Neither had answered the questions, but they knew what the answers were.
Freyja had told the boy to follow her and made her way back to the motel. Once they were inside she removed her jacket leaving her in a long-sleeved t-shirt and a short-sleeved flannel shirt. The boy stood awkwardly by the door as she moved around the room. Freyja grabbed the motels extra blankets and pillows and prepared a bed on the couch. She then moved to the bathroom and turned on the shower setting the water temperature just right. Freyja realized that she had moved too quickly in the boy's direction. He flinched away from her again and she sighed.
Somewhat uncomfortable and unsure about what to do, Freyja sighed. Taking in a deep breath she sat down on the bed, patting the spot next to her indicating for him to do as she had done. He hesitated but she waited patiently for him to sit down. The boy took his seat slowly avoiding looking at his rescuer. Freyja had noticed all of the boy's habits by now and worked out what she had to tell him. "My name's Freyja Branwen." She stated simply, facing his direction. The tone of her voice implied that she expected him to share the same information with her. "Rex. I don't know my last name." Freyja nodded, "That's okay, it's not relevant. The showers running for you, so you're going to clean up. I already put out a set of clothing for you to change into when you come out. There's a toothbrush and some toothpaste, use it. And scrub." He laughed softly and briefly before he became still again.
Freyja stared at the side of his head, wondering what else she should say to him. This kid was broken beyond repair, and she had made him her problem. Freyja cursed herself, she didn't know how she was gonna take care of this kid, but she knew she wouldn't abandon him not know. Whether it was because she wanted to, or because it was willed by the Universe Freyja knew she was stuck with the boy she had nearly killed. "And make eye contact with people when you speak or are spoken to okay." Rex slowly lifted his head, struggling to hold her gaze. Freyja gently placed her hands on his spine and righted his posture. "And don't slouch." He nodded, taking her in silently.
"Shower now." He sprang up and made his way to heaven. Freyja reached for the phone and ordered a ton of food. He needed to get some fat on his bones, and she was starving as a result of her injuries trying to heal themselves. She bunkered down in front of the motel TV while she waited for the food to arrive and for the orphan in her care to finish cleaning up.
The horror film running was amusing to Freyja, seeing as she saw much worse every day thanks to her job. She was chowing down on the Chinese half of the food when Rex finally stepped out of the shower. Freyja didn't even have to tell him to eat. The moment he saw the food he rushed over and dug in. She almost lectured him about table manners but thought better of it. The boy had had it rough and he deserved to experience something good. They ate mostly in silence only ever talking about the movie. Rex didn't ask about what would happen tomorrow and Freyja didn't say anything either. When the food was finished and the movie had run its course, Freyja directed Rex to the bed.
The boy refused to take her bed from her, but with some persuasion and a lot of glaring he eventually conceded and went to bed. Freyja sat at the table, taking care of her more personal weapons. She cleaned out her gun twice and made more stock of the rock salt bullets. Then she took care of her blades which came in handy with the physical creatures. She had a lot of weapons in her arsenal, but her pistol had belonged to her mother, and her hunting knife had been her Uncles.
Freyja mused about what she was going to do with Rex. She had already established that she wouldn't just abandon him. But her job wasn't exactly the most stable and she didn't know if he would be okay with being raised in the Hunter life, once he knew what it was exactly. A loud snore distracted her from her thoughts, Rex grumbled nonsense next and then turned over going still.
Shaking her head Freyja assembled all of her weapons and fell asleep on the couch, not even bothering to get under the covers.
A loud crash startled Freyja who had fallen into a night of deep sleep. In one smooth motion, she sat up and retrieved her gun from under her pillow.
Rex stared down the barrel of the gun, his hands in the air as the universal sign for surrender. Only once Freyja was sure they were alone did she drop the gun. Rex relaxed along with his caretaker and he focused back on the older woman. "I'm sorry, I startled you, I was just trying to clean up..." He trailed off, looking away from her. Freyja put the safety on the gun and then stood up. She walked towards Rex placing her hand on his head and roughed up his hair. "I'm using the shower. Don't leave the room, and don't open the door for anyone. If someone's here come get me." He nodded silently pinks cheek from the motherly affection she showed him.
Freyja wasn't sure what came over her but she didn't have the heart to be cruel to Rex. She saw a lot of herself in him and what her life would have been like if she wasn't raised as a hunter. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Freyja knew she had decided on what to do with Rex. Her shower was quick, she didn't want to lose daylight, especially if she was going to begin training Alex.
When Freyja entered the room again the place was clean and the bed and couch were made. She smiled softly to herself, before making her expression neutral as she approached him. He looked up at her in a daze and she had an idea about what was going through his mind. She sat down next to him, and Rex tensed. "You know the motels have people to clean the rooms right?" She asked, watching him carefully. Rex sighed, preparing to speak, "I wanted to do something useful, so you wouldn't throw me out. I have no place to go, and no family left... And... I'm scared. The thing I saw... it wasn't human or animal, it was something else." Tears pooled in his eyes and threatened to fall. The golden iris' were shiny and imploring.
Freyja picked up her journal and handed it to Rex. "We're called Hunters, we kill anything that supernatural and evil, or we die trying." She motioned for Rex to open the book. "There are different kinds of monsters, and there are some that no one ever heard of, but for the most part, we know a good bit. The information in this journal is particularly valuable." Rex paged through the book, scanning over the words and the drawings. Freyja paused to give him time to process what he was seeing. "I want you to learn everything about every monster in here, and when I think you're ready I'll take you on a hunt. In the meantime, you need to pick up more weight so that we can start training you to fight." Rex looked overwhelmed with joy and fear, but Freyja left him to his feelings.
Freyja turned his attention to the built-in closet of the room and opened it. She revealed to Rex all the details of the last hunt she had been on. The posters and notes of research she meant to take down before she left showed the other side to hunting. "You need to be able to fight monsters who are ten times stronger than you, but being physically able isn't the only requirement of a hunter's job." Freyja tapped the side of her head for emphasis. "You've got to use your head. Most monsters are intelligent. If you charge in you'll get killed. Always know what you hunting." When Rex nodded wide-eyed at her, she knew he was hooked.
And so began the crash course to supernatural hunting.