A/N: Since I now have the OUTLINE written, this story is a lot easier to write. Thank you's to everyone who reviewed!!! ^_^ Once again, I'd like to apologize to everyone who liked the original version of this story, but the story is still the same, just a little tweaked, so you might be reading some things that sound familiar to what was in the first chapters.


Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing of interest or worth suing me for.

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Chapter 2:


Blood. The streets of London were soaked in blood, as was the rest of the world. Long after the bodies were dragged away and buried, the vile rust-colored stain would serve as a reminder to all of what lay in wait in the night shadows. You could almost smell the fear as it hung over the city, heavier than the grey clouds that always seemed present in the England skies. People lived and died in fear while the dead lived for the sweet promise of blood.

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Grey skies loomed in a promise of rain to come. The city seemed forever trapped in a limbo of sorts, between one storm and the next. The weather mirrored the ever-present feeling of morose gloom that settled upon people's hearts. Somber thoughts of how to best stay alive nearly occupied all of people's time as they went about their routine , pretending that everything was normal as they passed one another on the street.

Meryl shivered and pulled her coat tighter about her lithe form, trying to drive such thoughts from her head. She brushed through the afternoon crowd of people, all trying to get to their destination first. Very rarely did people give you the time of day anymore, not that they had it to spare. If one wasn't in be night fell. . .well, that wasn't an option anymore.

The petite woman cursed at a passing bus as it sped past, spraying her with dew that clung to the streets and hung in the air. London was in a perpetual state of mourning, as was the rest of the world. She shivered again, wishing she had thought to bring her heavier coat to ward off the pre-storm chill that had settled upon the city like a predator awaiting the perfect moment to strike. It was never a question of if the rain would fall upon them, but when.

Meryl watched a couple children run past, giggling as they weaved their way through the afternoon crowds. She smiled faintly, thinking back to the times when she didn't worry about anything, rarely noticing the somber looks upon the adults face around her. Now, however, the world had caught up to her, etching her face in an eternal frown and turning her hard and callous. Nothing was worth caring about when you knew you would eventually lose it.

Bernardalli loomed ahead of her, a large building surrounded by a mass of high-rise modern tech offices and quaint little boutiques. It appeared no different than the other edifices surrounding it, though its facade of being a normal place of business only extended to the front of the building. She waited patiently as the lights changed, allowing her safe passage across the street to her place of work. As she neared the entrance, she could see the bold lettering above the doors reading, "Bernardalli Hunters Inc.". Underneath in smaller lettering it said, "Est. 1417".

Meryl briefly wondered what it would have been like to be a Hunter when Bernardalli was established, working in a shroud of mystery, hunting an enemy that was thought to be a children's fantasy. She smiled and shook her head ruefully as she pushed open the doors and entered the warm building.

"Morning, Ms. Sryfe," the secretary greeted her as she passed by the large front desk. She gave the blonde a curt nod as she walked by, not really paying too much attention. Pressing the "up" button next to the elevator, she waited for the familiar 'ding' to allow her entrance. She didn't have to wait long before the doors slid open to reveal a metal gate and the elevator car behind it. Sliding the bars open, she stepped into the car and pressed the button for the fourth floor.

As the car neared the second floor, it began to slow and finally stopped to allow a few other passengers on. She nearly groaned as she saw a familiar blonde step into the elevator as well. "Meryl!" the woman exclaimed, beaming at the smaller woman, as she smacked a piece of gum loudly, "I heard all about that gang you brought down the other night! Must have put a nice chunk of change in your pocket, if I heard correctly."

"Hello, Karen," Meryl growled, wishing for once that the other Huntress would just leave her alone. Though neither of them ever admitted to their unspoken rivalry, one was always trying to outdo the other in the Hunt. Meryl was obviously more skilled at her line of work, but Karen somehow managed to rake in a few fangs to match her in the game. "The other night was nothing, just a group of Fledglings who thought a woman would be easy prey."

"No need to be so modest, Mer," the blonde chipped in, "I heard that you single handedly took out seven Vamps! That has to be some sort of company record. Especially for someone so. . . small."

Meryl gritted her teeth in a vain attempt not to snap at the caddish woman. She nearly bolted out of the elevator when it finally reached her office on the fourth floor. "See you 'round, Stryfe!" Karen called to her retreating form as the doors closed.

"Good morning, ma'am," came a more familiar and more welcome voice from her left as she slumped into her chair, letting her pack fall to the floor.

"Morning, Millie," she greeted, sitting up fully and arranging the papers on her desk out of habit. "Any new reports for me to see?" Milly handed her a couple of folders, already coded in order of importance. "Thank you," Meryl said to which the taller woman merely nodded in response. Meryl briefly skimmed through the folders, sneering in distaste. "They insult us with such easy prey! The hardest case in here in a gang Fledglings who are attacking people's pets! This is ridiculous."

"Maybe we should just take that one, Meryl," Millie said cheerfully, taking a sip of cappuccino, "After all, it pays more than the others."

Meryl sighed and pulled the file out, examining it more meticulously. "I suppose." Inside was pictures of the suspects as well as information about them from their lives. All were under the age of 25 and looked rather disgruntled, staring up at her with blank eyes from black and white photos. "Nothing more than brainless ghouls," she sighed and sat back in her chair, rubbing her temples to ward off an already building headache.

"What's wrong, Meryl?" Millie sounded concerned as she set to work on arranging the paper work for their newest case. Medical liability forms and contracts seemingly appeared from nowhere as she began signed and marking different spots and passing them across the desk to Meryl.

Meryl wrote her name on each form without putting much thought forth as her scrawled signature began to creep down the lines of each page, a stark contrast to Millie's loopy letters. She had put her name to so many such forms during her time in the agency that she didn't even glance over what she was signing. "I don't know," she mumbled as she reached for the next bunch of papers Millie was holding out to her, "don't you ever feel like this job gets too. . .repetitive."

"What do you mean, ma'am?" Millie knew very well what Meryl meant. The job would begin to wear on anyone after as much time as Meryl put in. However, she wanted to hear Meryl say it herself.

"I guess," Meryl sighed, "it's all the same thing, day in and day out. Young vampires with little to no experience, offering no resistence as we cut their. . .lives short, denying them the very thing that they sold their soul for. The problem is, I'm tired of the same bland cases over and over again. I need something more than a nice fat check for bagging yet another gang of hopeless demons."

Millie smiled sadly and handed the last packet to Meryl. "Who knows, Meryl, maybe something exciting will come along soon. Be careful what you wish for, right?"

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Meryl pulled her stocking cap down over her ears to ward off the late-afternoon chill that had settled upon the somber city. There were fewer people in the streets now that dusk was beginning and night fast approaching on its heels. A large armored bus roared pass her and disappearing into the light fog that hung in the evening air. She sighed contentedly and thrust her hands into her pockets.

She didn't notice the footsteps that matched her own so well until she stopped suddenly to reach into her pack for her gloves. That's when she could hear the faint clicking of boots behind that stopped a step after she did. Though she wanted to dismiss the noise as nothing, some instinct inside of her told her more than what she wanted to know: she was being followed.

Trying not to show fear, she slipped her gloves on and continued down her route towards her house. Slipping one hand into her coat, she grasped one of the many small derringers that she kept there. The feel of the coll metal against her palm and the reassurance of the silver that resided in its chamber was enough to calm her fears a little.

The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up by the time she reached the last three blocks between her house and work. Her steps had become faster and she swore she could feel the eyes on the back of her neck, which kept her steps light and quick. Even the thought of her many single-shot guns hidden beneath the folds of her coat didn't keep her fear in check as she nearly ran down the street.

Just as she hit the corner of her block she knew she would be safe. Suddenly, she felt her feet lose their track beneath her as she flew forward, trapped for a moment in weightlessness as she fell through the air. She hit the ground hard, her gun she had been holding onto scattering far in front of her and out of her grasp. Twisting around, she prepared for the attack, trying to protect her face and neck from the creature.

It took her a moment to realize that there was no attack, no demon trying to rip out her throat and drain her of her blood. There was no vampire scratching at the large metal collar she had clasped about her slim milky neck, trying to gain access to the feast beneath it.

She would have laughed in she hadn't been so damned scared.

Picking herself up she grabbed the lost derringer and ran to her apartment, not bothering to look back for fear of the eyes that still lingered on her small form as she slammed her door behind her.

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A/N: THERE! Chapter two finally done! Yay team! I hope you guys liked it and it you did, or even if you didn't, you should click on the little box marked "review" down here.

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