by Tom Harem
Beast Hunters II
By
Tom Harem
Beast Hunters Book II © 2019 by Tom Harem. All Rights Reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Table Of Contents
Other Parts
Preview (part one)
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIV
Chapter XV
Chapter XVI
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XIX
Chapter XX
Chapter XXI
Chapter XXII
Chapter XXIII
Chapter XXIV
Chapter XIV
Other Parts
First Book
Blurb (Part One);
James' day has finally come: to slay the Reapers' beasts, climb up the ranks and conquer women and glory.
After three years in the Hunters' Academy, he's finally ready to join his brothers in arms and prove that his father's suspicions about corruption within the organization were wrong, once and for all.
On his very first day, he ends up being tasked to kill a beast alongside two stunning women. The beautiful, yellow-clad Fire-Controller, Maggie, and the dark, metal-whip-cracking Goth, Kendra.
But when they confront the Reapers' creature, they make a shocking discovery; one that can jeopardize the whole world and undermine their loyalty to the Hunters. There are beasts out of the ordinary and their organization - The Hunters - might be involved.
It's a race against the clock to beat the bloodthirsty beasts, and all the while the relationship between the three of them is getting more and more complicated. A clash of personalities is imminent as new members join the group and colleagues become lovers, but James can't lose focus on the fate of the world. With everything hanging in the balance, can James and his companions slay the beasts and stay one step ahead of both the Reapers and the Hunters?
Preview (part one)
He closed his teeth, gnashing, and turned his face, grabbing Kendra's whip and using it to pull us toward him and to throw us across the air. Our bodies rolled down the road, our knees peeling and our hands scraping on the asphalt. Kendra's body fell on mine, my hands on her hips and her hair in my face. The sun overshadowed her face and her green eyes took on amber contours, her warm breath brushing against my neck and one of her knees between my legs.
"I... Ah... Get off me!" Kendra said, tripping over her own words.
"You have to get up first!" I answered, looking to the side, seeing Maggie's fireballs losing color and shrinking in size, almost like mere clicks bursting in her hands.
Kendra got up, straightened her clothes and grabbed her whip which was on the floor, the end covered in a brownish liquid with a smell that almost made her vomit. The policemen murmured among themselves, with their hands in the holsters, already doubting that we would be able to achieve victory. A mere level 2 monster, and we couldn't even defeat that.
Chapter I
It took them about 25 minutes. A black car followed by two ambulances. Despite the urgency, the sirens were off. The heat had also deserted us, and we were shivering from cold, our clothes ripped, and our bodies slashed. Ashen's eyes were open but he couldn't move, unlike Kendra who had fainted once again. The cars stopped in front of what was left of the house, the dust swirling in the air under the gloomy moonlight and the stars that had not hidden behind the black curtain.
A paramedic pulled out of each ambulance and rushed towards us. Both wore fatigue in their eyes and their faces were unwashed. Ramels trapped in their untrimmed eyebrows, snail beards and taller hair on top. In fact, they looked like brothers from a different mother. I helped one of them lift Kendra up and lay her on one of the stretchers. Maggie and Elisa helped the other one to get Ashen in the other.
They thanked us for the help and tried to smile, but the desire seemed to be lost halfway through and we were left with only one awkward result. A black suit man too well dressed to be a man of action came out of the car and walked up to us. He didn't seem to be in a hurry from the way he walked calmly, hands in his dark blue pants pockets, or probably black. At night they all looked the same.
He greeted me with a strong handshake and waved to the girls.
"You're Crash, right?" He asked me. He seemed to know the answer, but he still wanted to be sure. Not that it was hard to know when I was the only man there.
"Yes. And you? Where are you taking them?" I replied, looking at the ambulances closing their doors.
"To a hospital we have a few minutes from here. Don't worry. Don't worry. You'll be able to visit them as soon as we take care of a few things." The man said and paused. The important part was coming, and we could feel the tension in his voice and in the intonation, he added to certain words, as if some were more important for the sentence than others, "Is what you told the operator all true? I am not doubting you but, as you can imagine, we cannot act without confirming the truthfulness of all the facts."
"Yes, it's on camera. Maggie..." I said it, and she pulled the camera out of her eyebrow and handed it to me.
It was imperceptible at night, although it caused itchy skin. I gave it to the man. He looked at it for a few seconds and then removed a small sealed white package from his right pocket and tossed the camera there. It had one of those openings where you had to drag it sideways and all the way to the end to even have room to put two fingers in and take something out of it.
"Well done. We'll investigate it. The best thing now is to come with me. We'll get you some warm clothes and a place where you can spend the night. I warn you, one of you will have to stay up all night. We're having several conferences and all help is welcome." The man said, without ever smiling or showing any kind of emotion... For him, everything was rational, everything was as it had to be, no matter who was wounded or the upcoming blood storm.
"I'll stay. They'd better get some sleep." I said, "Am I going to meet the boss?"
"No, you don't... Not yet." He said, tripping over his words, losing his composure for the first time. He didn't seem to be expecting that particular question and had lost his lead, " We better get going. It won't be a long journey, but there are people waiting for us."
He walked along with us to the car. He opened the back door and invited the girls in, asking me to sit in the front seat.
"We need to have a word in private." He said when he sat down, fully knowing the girls could hear him.
The car had the air conditioning on. The heat contrasted with the street cold and our bodies shivered with the change. Maggie even sneezed as soon as the doors closed. But the warmth was welcome, and the man waited a few seconds before turning on the engine. It rumbled for a few seconds before it silenced, allowing only the birds' whispers to be heard, almost like a moonlit serenade. The man reclined his seat, moving it a few inches back, and yawned.
"I'm so sorry. I had to stay professional around the others. Damn it, we' re looking at a s
hithole, right? I believe you. Actually, Ashen had already told me about this possibility. We went to the academy together, you know?" The man said and took a cigarette out of his pocket, "Do either of you want one? I usually never smoke, but it helps me calm down."
"Me," Elisa answered. She tore the sleeves of her white uniform until she had only the straps and what remained to cover her chest.
"I don't smoke but thank you," Maggie answered him and yawned. She was sleepy, tired and less cheerful than usual. We hadn't yet talked about how she felt about her father, and at this rate, it would still take a while to get a few minutes alone with her.
The man rolled up his and Kendra's window. He handed her a cigarette and from the car drawer he picked up a lighter with which he lit both. The smoke flooded the car until it snuck out of the window and the smell stayed as the orange light mirrored in the glass and spread across the light brown roof.
We stood silently while the two of them smoked their cigarettes all the way to the tip. They expelled the smoke and fogged up the windows, but not before the tobacco odor had risen up our noses. Elisa was making smoke hoops that moved forward until they dissipated along the way.
"They'll be all right, won't they?" Maggie asked, the face damped by the flood of tears that flowed down her cheeks, "I can't help but think it's all my fault. I should have known what my father's goal was! If I had been more aware..."
"No! You have to stop!" I told her, frustrated by the whole situation. It was as if something in me had broken, and now what once was hope was taking on an angry form, "It's not your fault! It's all their fault, I told you once. The albino, the Shinner, the reapers, your father, everyone. And we'll get them, even if only one by one. My father sacrificed himself to get us where we are. Ashen and Kendra aren't in the hospital for nothing. It's up to us to get out of the pit, even if covered in dust and boulders as we are and stop them. There's no way I'm going to let you stay like this."
"But..." Maggie started but was interrupted by the man.
"Crash is right, girl. There are moments for everything. Now we have to regroup and see what our options are. I assume you want to stay together, right? You're going to need a watcher or a new member, at least. It is also likely that you will be assigned a new leader."
"I know who I want for our team." I answered him, while he was starting the engine, "Do we really need a new leader? Can't we wait for Ashen to get better?"
"We'll see what the others think. I'm not allowed to make those kinds of decisions alone. Well, we better get going." The man said.
We were already on the road when he apologized to the girls and, at the push of a button, a black glass split us from them. He told me that they couldn't hear us and that he preferred not to have to do that but had no other option.
"The others will judge you. Your group is made up of a thief's sister, the daughter of a tyrant businessman and someone who is not even a Hunter. Not to mention that your watcher got to know the Reapers chief of technology which is also one of their leaders. Ashen shared everything with the rest of the bosses. There are many of them who fought so that the group would not proceed but our leader gave him a confidence vote. Without Ashen there, the others will try again. It's nothing against you, but they're scared. The protests are increasing, and now human robots... Most people are stressed, and they won't think twice before they blame you."
I didn't answer him right away. I looked straight ahead to the empty road. We seemed to chase the moon without ever getting close. Meters ahead of us, was a van whose blue and red siren illuminated the opposite lane, as well as two men burning the wreckage that we had left behind. I watched them as the fire melted what was left of the car's metal. We drove past them, but I still turned my neck to see them grab the inanimate body of the beast and put it on the back of the van.
"Let them judge. We're the ones who discovered this whole conspiracy. Everything that was happening behind the shadows. And I know we can go further." I answered him. I looked at my hands covered in dirt and blood, "We... We all have a past. Doesn't it matter what we do now? I don't know, don't I get a vote of confidence? After all, this all started with my father."
"Maybe you do. Some people support you. I just wanted you to realize it won't be easy. I didn't want to say anything that they'd hear because they wouldn't like to know how they're seen. Plus, I know Elisa can be a little... explosive."
"I understand you. But I don't like to be hiding something from them. We're not expecting to be met with hugs and kisses. We just want them to know what's going on, how dangerous it is and to let us help. I'm not asking for much, am I?" I answered him.
"Not really. Some of the leaders are older men, who do not understand or accept that Hunters have become so-called celebrities. Some hated, some worshipped."
A green light above the car radio indicated the time. 2 am. Time had gone by so fast that even I hadn't noticed it. I thought it was still 11 pm. I leaned against the bench and admired the moon's beauty besieged by stars. As we headed towards the different city exits, the bright spots became less and less until there was no more than a dozen of them left. The man, whom I did not yet know the name, had not answered me. He drove with one hand on the wheel and looked out the window like he was guiding himself by the stars. He took the first exit to Okinita City and turned to me again.
"We shouldn't take too long now. Although I always miss the right exit. I hope it's this one." He said, looking around, frowning his lips as he saw a blue sign indicating that the city was less than 50 meters away, "Okay, this is it. But, anyway, what we were talking about before... I hope everything goes well. We don't need to talk about this anymore," he added and pressed the same button as before to lower the thick black structure that separated us from them.
"Finally." Elisa said, "She fell asleep." She pointed to Maggie who had her face against the window glass, red eyelids and blonde hair covered up with brown patches. She didn't snore, but her breathing was heavy.
"When we get there, I'll wake her up. Better let her sleep now." I said, "Elisa, have you ever been here?"
"You think so? It was always Ashen who came here. And after what happened, I was never interested. I don't even think they'd let me in if it wasn't for an emergency like this. It's like I told you, Hunters follow the rules too much."
"The rules were made to be followed." The man answered her.
"Not always, don't you agree? There are moments for everything. How do you think the reapers have grown so much? You think they follow the rules? That there's a manual on how to be criminals?"
"That's what distinguishes us from them. We can't do what we want," the man said as he turned left, heading down a narrow street. The buildings on both sides were old and did not seem to have been occupied for over a decade. The sidewalk by the entrances was full of garbage, doors were graffitied and only one of the lamps was not broken. Despite the closed windows this did not prevent the smell of rotten banana and tuna from slipping into the car.
"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Elisa asked him, changing the conversation, "Damn. What a horrible smell."
"It's a disguise. The best place to hide is somewhere where no one will look."
"Or in front of everyone, like Shimmer." I added.
"We already have someone following him. Don't tell anyone I told you this, but we were already suspicious of him. We've just never been able to prove it. And he's not the only one we suspect," he told us, looking out the window and looking at the numbers on the doors.
"At least they're doing something... productive." Elisa said sarcastically.
He stopped the car in front of door 9 on one side and 10 on the other. He took a gold key out of his suit pocket and put it back in there.
"Just to confirm that I hadn't forgotten her. Let's get going. Wake her up," he said, glancing at Maggie before opening the car door.
I got out of the car and opened the back door.
"Maggie..." I whispered as I slid my palm's backside over her cold ch
eeks, "Wake up. We have to go." I told her, my hot breath brushing the surface of her face.
"But..." She said and yawned before she continued, "Now? I'm so tired."
"I know, but we're here. Don't worry about it. It won't be long before you're in a comfortable bed."
I watched her stretch, her bones pop, and she is straightening her hair. Before leaving, she looked in the mirror on the car's front to confirm that she was presentable. Elisa, on the other hand, leaned against the car and asked for another cigarette.
"I can't. There are cameras all along the street. You shouldn't smoke on the job."
"After all, we do have someone here who doesn't follow the rules." Elisa told him, already with her classic sarcastic smile...
"Don't come at me with that. You guys were devastated, and I thought a cigarette would brighten the mood. Ashen was my friend too. It's not easy for anyone," he replied, his voice was trembling, and he placed his hands in his pockets, "Maybe you're right. Perhaps some rules can be circumvented once in a while, but if we live to break them, how can we say that we are not on their side?"
He took the key out of his pocket again. He went to the 9th door and put it on the latch. He didn't flip it either way. He waited until he heard a click and pushed the door. The entrance hall was spacious, depressing, and conveyed a sort of melancholy. The walls squealed, and whispers crossed through them. Spiders had made the corners their homes and they wandered along the webs they had built. There was no light except for the moonlight that shone in through the broken windows upstairs. Even the tiles on the floor trembled with every step we took, and, for a moment, I thought it was going to fall apart.
"Let's take the elevator." The man said, "I forgot to tell you my name, didn't I? You can call me Tom."
"Is that your real name?" I asked him, dodging the dead rats on the floor.
"I'm not allowed to say it."
“Mister I have no nome,” Elisa said, a sarcastic grin on the right corner of her lips.