Vampire Hunters, #1

by Trudie Collins

  She was enjoying herself too much to be annoyed by him. “I am. And don’t call me sis.”

  “Aren’t you going to reprimand her for that comment?” Craig asked JD, who had his eyes closed, enjoying the feel of her massaging his head.

  “While she’s doing that with her hands she can say anything she likes.”

  “So that’s how you tame him is it?” Katie asked. “Just stroke him in the right way?”

  “I’d like to see you try it,” Scott said, just loud enough for her to hear.

  They switched the TV on and Sarah noticed that Katie kept glancing at JD’s bare torso. “Katie, keep your eyes on the film.”

  “Sorry. He’s just so distracting.”

  “That’s your trainer you’re talking about.” Katie went pale and quickly looked away.

  “I can take my shirt off for you if you want,” Jonathon said. Katie hit him.

  As they watched the film, Sarah’s hands left JD’s head and worked their way down his chest, making him have to concentrate on not moaning out loud in pleasure. Soon neither of them were paying any attention to the film.

  She began to nibble his neck and he quietly told her to stop. She ignored him and he was forced to pull away from her. She relaxed into her seat and he moved back into her arms. Her hands continued to caress his chest.

  When she began to nibble his neck again he could take no more. “Sorry guys, but can someone please pause the film.”

  The scene on the screen froze and JD dragged Sarah to her feet. “I need to have a few words with Sarah.” He pulled her out of the room, then stuck his head back around the door. “You can press play. We won’t be coming back.”

  “But I wanted to see the end of the film,” Sarah said.

  “Then you should have stopped when I told you to.”

  He did not fully close the door, so they both overheard the conversation inside.

  “I bet he’s not going to punish her for it though,” Jonathon said quietly.

  “No, but he might discipline her, if you know what I mean,” Scott said in a much louder voice.

  JD turned to Sarah. “Wait here.”

  She grabbed his hand. “Jason, don’t.”

  He lifted hers up to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “Sorry, but I have to. I wish I didn’t, but I do.”

  He pushed the door fully open with a bang, making Scott exclaim, “Oh shit.”

  He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “I’m not impressed Scott. Really not impressed. Sarah was disobeying her boyfriend, which, apparently, she’s allowed to do. You, on the other hand, were disrespecting your trainer, so you will be joining her for her 10am training session tomorrow.”

  Without waiting for Scott to respond, he left the room, making sure the door was fully closed this time.

  He took Sarah by the hand, led her to the bedroom and pushed her down on the bed.

  “You’ve had your hands on me all evening, now it’s my turn,” he said as he laid himself on top of her.

  He lifted her t-shirt and kissed her stomach before working his way upward. He had just removed it when the alarm went off.

  “You have got to be kidding me.”

  “Which of us is going?” Sarah asked.

  “Both of us.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He nodded his head. “The way I feel right now, I want you with me for as long as possible. We’ll have to split up once we get there, but until then I don’t want you out of my sight, so get changed.”

  In the TV room, as soon as the alarm sounded, Jonathon started laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” Simon asked.

  “JD is going to be really pissed.”

  “I wonder which one will come with us tonight,” Katie said.

  “My bet is he’ll send Sarah while he takes a cold shower.”

  “Now why do you get away with comments like that but I don’t?” Scott asked.

  “Because I make sure I only say them when he can’t overhear me.”

  They each quickly said who their money was on, then went to grab their gear.

  They were all surprised to see both JD and Sarah in their hunting suits when they arrived at the front door, but made no comment.

  Before they left, JD gave them a pep talk, as usual. “Sarah, just do what you did the last few times you went on a hunt. Stick by Craig. From what I’ve been hearing, you work well together. Don’t let the fact that I’ll be with you make a difference. I can’t fight next to you; I have to be keeping an eye on everyone.” Sarah nodded. He had already told her this, a number of times.

  “Okay everyone. This is the first time we will all be hunting together. Don’t think about it. Just go out there and do what you always do.”

  He then grabbed a set of car keys, took Sarah’s hand and went to the garage.

  They arrived at a picnic area by a river, a popular place for courting couples to go after dark. There was nobody in sight, but the heat emanating from one of the barbeques suggested people had been in the area not long ago. Someone had brought a portable generator with them, which was still running, and the flood light attached to it was illuminating a large circle around it.

  A blanket had been placed on the floor, closer to the water, and a quick inspection showed drops of blood.

  “Split up and search the area,” JD said. Breaking off into pairs, they headed in different directions. JD found that his mind was not concentrating on Sarah. As he watched her head off with Craig, he went into fighting mode.

  Katie partnered with Simon as Scott and Jonathon moved closer to the water. They rotated who went with who so they got experience working with each member of the team. Sarah would start to do that soon.

  Knowing that JD was nearby, Katie and Simon didn’t look behind them as they moved through the trees. Hearing a noise, Katie turned to her left in time to see a vampire jump out from behind a tree, his long white fangs flashing in the moonlight. She quickly raised her sword, but Simon was faster, cutting deep into the side of his neck with a well-aimed stroke.

  Katie spun around to attack a younger vampire who had crept up behind them, but JD decapitated it before she had chance to make her first move.

  “Keep going forward,” JD said before heading back to check on Jonathon and Scott. He found them fighting back to back against three opponents. One quick look was all JD needed to assure himself that they didn’t need any help and would soon dispose of the vampires, so he went to look for Craig and Sarah.

  He found them deeper into the trees. The semi-clothed bodies of a young couple were on the ground nearby, as well as that of a middle aged woman, the blood covering her face indicating that she was, or had been, a vampire.

  Before he could react, JD saw Sarah skewer another vampire with her sword, running him through and pinning him to a tree.

  “Move out of the way,” he said, making her jump. She had been so caught up in the fight she had momentarily forgotten he was on the hunt with them. She obeyed and he swung his sword hard, severing the vampire’s head from his shoulders.

  Craig quickly disposed of his opponent and JD added up the number of dead vampires. It was how many Sanctuary 7 had said would be present, but he wasn’t taking any chances, so he sent Sarah and Craig off to check for more.

  Simon arrived and beheaded the two remaining dead vampires while JD checked the victims for any sign off life. He shook his head sadly when Simon gave him a questioning glance.

  When all three pairs of hunters reported back that there was no sign of any other vampires present, they all headed back to the cars to await Sanctuary 1.

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  “Good job everyone,” JD said when they returned to the Sanctuary and everyone had an energy drink in their hand. “I’m cancelling training in the morning.”

  “Does that include the 10am session?” Scott asked.

  “For your sake I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.�
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  He then took Sarah up to their room instead of celebrating with the rest. “Now where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?”

  “You said something about having your hands all over me,” she replied as he unzipped her jacket.

  The next morning, JD had a favour to ask. “I want you to deal with Scott for me this morning.”

  “Why?”

  “You’ll go easier on him. But I need you to get the message across. They can say anything they like to you, and you know the reasons why we have to allow that, but certain subjects have to be off limits when I’m around to hear them.”

  “But you don’t actually mind the comments.”

  “No, I don’t, but I can’t afford for them to know that. I have to maintain a rigid control over them. It’s what keeps us all alive.”

  “I know. I’ll take care of it.”

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  At 10am precisely, Scott walked into the arena. Sarah and JD were already there. JD smiled at her. “It looks like you have a new toy to play with. I’ll be back in an hour. Try not to break him while I’m away.”

  He started to walk away, then stopped and looked back at them. “Scott. Just one thing. Remember what she did to Jonathon in her assessment?” Scott nodded. “I thought I should warn you that she still fights dirty.”

  Sarah waited for JD to leave, then locked the door behind him. “So you think he disciplines me do you?” she said as she turned around to face Scott.

  “It was just a joke.”

  “Lucky for you I have a sense of humour. So here’s what’s going to happen. I have you for an hour. For forty five minutes you are going to try to hit me. As soon as you manage it, we take a break. For the last fifteen minutes, I get to hit you. Sound fair?”

  “That depends. What will JD do to me if I hurt you?”

  “Nothing. He’ll probably beat the crap out of me for letting you.”

  They grabbed their swords and began.

  Craig saw that JD was in his office as he walked past, so he knocked on the door and entered.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be torturing Scott?”

  “I’m letting Sarah do that for me,” JD said, grinning.

  “Nice to see you haven’t lost your evil streak.”

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  After forty five minutes, Scott still hadn’t managed to hit Sarah.

  “How did you get so good at blocking?”

  “I have to fight Jason regularly and he doesn’t hold back very much anymore.” She glanced at the clock. “Now it’s my turn.”

  Scott positioned himself ready for the attack and easily blocked her first strike. Instead of striking to his other side or backing off, however, she span anti-clockwise, bringing her sword down low as she did so and hit him hard in the lower leg.

  “Jesus Sarah,” he cried out. “That bloody hurt.”

  She ignored him and span back in the opposite direction, aiming her sword at his ribs. He managed to block that one, but only just and was prepared for her when she span once more. However, this time she changed direction half way through the spin and hit his unprotected side.

  She then backed off and allowed him to recover his stance. She noticed he wasn’t putting much weight on his right leg so she aimed for it again, causing him to cry out as she made contact.

  “Stop, please,” he begged after only five minutes. She stepped back and he sank to the ground. Sarah sat down beside him.

  “So, while Jason is around to hear, you are never going to make any comments about our sex life ever again. Understand?”

  Scott nodded his head.

  “Good because next time you will have to deal with him not me. You might want to pass the message on to the rest as well.”

  She heard movement on the balcony above and looked up to see JD looking down at them. “And don’t forget that he seems to have the ability to hear you no matter where he is in the house. I have no idea how, but I wouldn’t trust that he’s out of range whenever he’s home if I was you. Now get out of here.”

  JD noticed that Scott was limping as he walked toward the arena door. “I thought I told you not to break him.”

  “He’s not broken. Just a little dented here and there.”

  I’m thirsty

  Sarah was still at work when her phone rang. “Hi honey,” she said as she answered. “I was just about to call you. I’ll be leaving shortly.”

  “The alarm has just gone off, so don’t worry if we aren’t here when you get back.”

  “Thanks for letting me know. Have fun.”

  “Don’t we always? See you soon. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  She hung up without telling him to be careful. She had hunted with him so many times that she knew there was no need. He was always careful; he didn’t need the reminder. And he made sure everyone on his team was as well.

  JD put his phone down and got changed. A thrill went through him when he heard the alarm, as it always did, and he wondered, not for the first time, if that would ever change.

  He gave his team the usual pre-hunt talk then took a set of keys from the bowl by the door, noting that Simon took the other set.

  It was a dark night, with clouds blocking what little light the crescent moon was giving off, but that didn’t worry him. He made his team practice blindfolded or at Sanctuary 12 so often they performed almost as well in the dark as they did in the light.

  He parked the car beside the woodland that 7 had sent them to and got out. Simon pulled up behind him. Everyone collected their swords and headed out, JD slipping the keys into his pocket as he walked.

  Scott, Jonathon and Katie headed left, while JD led Craig and Simon to the right. Hunters from Sanctuary 9 were also on their way, but it would take them a lot longer to get there.

  They moved cautiously, scanning all directions for signs of movement and listening for any sounds of something alive nearby.

  JD was the first to spot the corpse lying next to a path. He looked around him as he felt for a pulse. He failed to find one. He took a small torch from one of his pockets and scanned the body, looking for puncture wounds.

  “Keep your eyes open,” he said to the other two. “There are at least five vampires out here.”

  In the distance they heard a shout from Katie. Craig and Simon both looked at JD, but he shook his head. The others were more than capable of looking after themselves. The body was still warm so he felt certain the vampires were nearby.

  He signalled and they continued moving forward. Out of the corner of his eye, JD saw a bush move. Before he could shout a warning, a vampire leaped out, knocking Simon to the ground. The attacker was a large, muscular man who easily used his body weight to keep Simon pinned to the ground. He held Simon’s head to one side, exposing his neck. Before he could sink his fangs in, JD slashed at him with his sword, neatly severing his head.

  He turned around to see Craig fighting with a female, who had armed herself with a large knife. Craig could easily handle her so JD turned his attention back to Simon, who was regaining his feet. He signalled that he was alright and JD started to scan around once more, looking for the other three vampires.

  A small man jumped out at Simon, wielding a metal chain. It wasn’t a weapon that they had been trained to face, but JD was confident that Simon was up to the task. Instead of assisting him, he continued looking around. There were still at least two more out there.

  Then he felt something slam into his back and he was thrown to the ground. He had been looking around not up. Vampires had never been known to hide in trees and ambush people before so it had never occurred to him to look there.

  He tried to rise, but was unable to do so. He could feel two sets of hands on him, one on each side. Their heads were close to his and he could smell the blood from their latest victim on their breath.

  He was helpless
as they held him in place. They then sank their teeth into him, one each side of his neck. But they didn’t drink his blood. A scream of agony tore from his throat as they both pumped him full of venom.

  Craig had just stabbed his opponent through the heart and was watching with satisfaction as she slipped to the ground when JD’s scream reached his ears.

  He spun around and saw JD’s body on the ground with two vampires on him. “No,” he cried out and ran forward. Not caring what internal organs he hit, he stabbed one of them through the back.

  The next thing he knew, Simon was beside him, beheading the other one with a powerful stroke, which almost cut JD as well.

  While Simon set about beheading the vampire which Craig had ‘killed’, Craig rolled JD over. He was in so much pain his entire body was trembling.

  “Venom,” he managed to gasp.

  “Shit,” Craig said as panic began to set in. He took a deep breath and tried to bury it. “Don’t worry. We will get you back to Doc. You’re going to be okay.”

  “Liar,” JD hissed at him.

  “Simon,” Craig called out. “I need your help. Now.”

  Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see one of the hunters from Sanctuary 9. “What happened?”

  “JD’s been infected.”

  He didn’t need to hear any more. “Get him out of here. We’ll take care of the clean-up. Where are the rest of your team?”

  “The other side of the wood.”

  “I’ll send someone to get them. Go.”

  Craig saw someone run off as Simon picked JD up. He was much stronger than Craig was so would be able to get him to the car faster.

  Craig collected both Simon and JD’s swords, then ran after Simon as he jogged down the path, the still screaming JD held protectively in his arms.

  Katie, Scott and Jonathon arrived just as they got to the cars. Craig searched JD’s pockets for the car keys and threw them at Scott. Besides Jonathon, he was the fastest driver they had, and Jonathon needed to be with his brother instead of behind the wheel of a car.

  Jonathon climbed into the back and Simon passed JD to him. “Go,” Craig said to Scott. “Drive as fast as you can. Don’t stop for anything. We will make the calls. The gate will be open by the time you get there.”