by Lane, Terri
A sliver of unease moved down my spine. The full moon was rising and we were technically in their territory. Of course, the northern Washington half of Gifford Pinchot Forest had been flooded with Hunters. The wolves were more occupied with driving them out than nipping at our heels for inching into their running ground.
“We have a good five of them unawares,” Damien whispered. I had seven fighters with me, left of the ten I started out with. We'd decided to take the bull by the horns and do some hunting ourselves. Just like the wolves, the vampires weren't going to sit back and let the Hunters eradicate or drive us out of the region.
“We're in position,” Jeffers said. We were all in communication via earpieces. Since we had to spread out to cover a good bit of ground, it only made sense to go on our little hunting excursion with modern devices.
“Fine, everyone close in,” I said. I had a Hunter in my sights. I was high up on the limb of a fir tree and the human was stationary on the ground. It was a stupid move on that Hunter's part. I took one step into thin air and flew for a fraction of a second. The Hunter hit the ground with a muffled thud as I landed on him. I was quick to grasp his chin and snap his neck.
“One down, who needs help?” I taunted the team as I stepped over the fallen Hunter.
“I've got two more Hunters closing in on my position,” Damien replied. I moved swiftly through the tall pines. The ground was hardened by a layer of frost, but I couldn't feel the cold. Damien was just a short distance left of where I had been. I caught his scent in the air as I neared him and took to the trees. Two Hunters moved in swiftly just ahead of the tree I was hiding in. I scanned the area for Damien and found him even higher up on the tree next to mine. We made brief eye contact. His glowed a feral green as he readied for the kill. Like wraiths, we both swooped down into the path of the Hunters. They were quicker than the last one I handled. Dressed in deer hunting garb, they rose their rifles, aiming for our chests. Damien chuckled. The sound was dark and made even more menacing by my echoed hiss.
I noted the impulse of movement in the Hunter's neck, even before his finger could pull the trigger. I snatched the rifle from his hands, then swung the stock end at his temple. Beside me I knew Damien had engaged the other Hunter. But any distraction would only lead to my death. The Hunter was stunned for a second; I used that to deliver another blow. He staggered back which gave me enough time to turn the gun around and pull the trigger. The Hunter went down, clutching his chest. I spared no glance for the dead.
Damien had just killed the other Hunter. She was slumped against the base of a tree; her head was turned at an unnatural angle.
“I'm sick of this…” Damien said. “It's as if every human in Washington and Oregon is out to get us.”
“Don't complain, we haven't had a Hunter uprising like this since the turn of the twentieth century,” I said. “It's just fun.” I smirked at Damien, who rolled his eyes. He ran a hand through his silver blond hair then tested the air for any sign of more Hunters nearing.
“It will stop being fun when they start eliminating us,” he muttered.
“Team, how do we fare?” I asked. All six vampires checked in, we hadn't taken anymore losses for the time being.
“Should we regroup?” Jeffers asked.
“No, they're still crawling around we don't want to chance being cornered,” I said. “Continue combing through the area.” Damien and I stayed together as we made our way forward.
“I heard the wolves are losing a lot. Perhaps the Hunters could be our allies,” Damien chuckled.
“It's only natural. These people were originally animal hunters. They'd have better instinct tracking wolves than us,” Jeffers responded.
“Let's not get distracted,” I said. I glanced at Damien and pointed up. He nodded then we split up to take higher advantage. Our count for the night was twelve Hunters dead. I wanted to reach the quota of at least twenty. The last we heard from my father, two hundred Hunters had moved into Pinchot Forest. An entire town's worth had moved into the northwest region. They'd come from Canada and the northeast. There were a thousand Hunters surveying the forests of Washington and Oregon, at least.
Thankfully, my coven lived in Portland among the humans, so we were harder to track and kill than those covens in less populated areas. There were several covens in the northwest region. My family led most of them and my father headed the Prime Coven, which oversaw all covens in the region. In only two more centuries time, I'd be leading Prime Coven.
The treetops began to sway with a strong wind. With it came the scent of Hunters and a lot of them.
“Be on alert,” I said. My nostrils flared as I also caught the scent of wolves. The instinct to hunt down a vampire's existence-long foe was strong. But I was forced to ignore it to handle the moment's true enemy.
“There are ten Hunters incoming, they look elite compared to what we've just faced. Twelve wolves are tearing in from behind us,” Jeffers reported. I could already hear the wolves as they ran through the forest. The mongrels would certainly make the Hunters' jobs easier.
“Damned dogs,” Damien murmured.
“Make a band between the Hunters and the wolves. We'll watch from above to see what effect the wolves will have on them,” I said. One by one, my fighters appeared in the trees around Damien and myself. We watched down below as the black combat gear clad Hunters encountered the pack of wolves.
* * *
“They look like a SEAL team rather than Hunters,” I muttered.
The wolves had engaged the Hunters. Bullets were quicker than teeth and claws, so it was inevitable that three wolves were killed almost immediately. They were at a disadvantage just like that. I almost felt bad for them. The wolves killed by knocking their opponent down and going for the throat. They moved in packs because this fighting style caused vulnerability.
“They will all die, outnumbered as they are,” I said.
“After the Hunters are done with the wolves, they will look up,” Damien said. I glanced around at my seven.
“Engage,” I said. One by one, we dropped from the trees. We targeted the Hunters. They were surprised of course, but they must've known we were near. The wolves growled and snarled at our presence. But there wasn't much time for complaining. We went right into action. Dodging the shots of rifles and taking the Hunters down methodically. We suffered no losses, but the wolves lost two more. At the sound of renewed snarling, I turned back to see one of them had shifted back to human form.
“You wait until after our slaughter before swooping in?” he asked. Shocked at his vehemence and his beauty, I remained briefly silent.
“A slaughter would require the death of all your wolves,” I answered.
“Don't waste your time speaking to it Sophie. Let us continue,” Damien said. I nodded and my vampires took to the trees once more. I held back for a second, taking in the features of the indignant wolf. He was physically imposing, not lean, and seemingly delicate as a vampire. He was tall and filled out with muscle. His black hair was long and lush; it hung loose down to his shoulder blades. His features were beautifully masculine, again, not like the cold angular features of a vampire. Though he had a strong jaw, and intent brow, there was a warmth and culture to his high cheekbones, full lips, hazel eyes, and tan skin.
Before I could jump up into the nearest tree, I heard the hard footsteps of a group of Hunters nearing us.
“Sophie!” Damien yelled. I jumped up just as the first shot flew by my ear. Inexplicably, my chest filled with anxiety at the thought of the wolf taking the shot instead. I hung from the lowest branch and saw that he'd successfully shifted back and was regrouping his pack. It appeared as though he were the alpha.
“I see ten more Hunters,” Jeffers said.
“Climb higher Sophie,” Damien said. I silently moved higher up then looked back down in time to see the rain of bullets going straight for the wolves. The wolves had taken some semblance of cover behind trees. But they wouldn't hold out until the Hunter
s were in striking distance.
“Engage,” I said.
“What?” Damien asked.
“There aren't enough wolves to offer distraction to the full squad of Hunters,” I needlessly explained.
I ran from tree to tree to meet the Hunters who hadn't yet crossed past our cohort in the trees. I heard a screech from one of my own. We'd lost another vampire.
“Their rounds are vampire grade!” Jeffers shouted. That posed as more of a problem.
“Use stealth!” I yelled. That meant keeping to any darkness and striking with more speed than usual. A hush blanketed our part of the woods as my vampires virtually disappeared. I could hear the Hunters' breathing, as well as the presence of the wolves. I'd half expected them to desert us. I'd sheathed myself to a tree and waited for a Hunter to pass it by a fraction. One was cautiously walking right for me. Several of the others were slowly scanning the area for us while a few Hunters went to deal with the wolves. I could hear their fight just a few paces away.
A Hunter stepped just a fraction past my tree. I acted before he could even turn. I yanked him towards me by the neck, causing him to drop his gun. I covered his mouth and nose to stifle any noise from him. He had a knife strapped to his chest and I unsheathed it before he could get a hand on it. I was quick to shove it into his neck. I let him drop, then sprinted to the nearest tree. I saw Jeffers struggling with a Hunter. Another Hunter had picked up on the noise they were making. I quickly went to back him up by engaging the nearing Hunter. He didn't see me coming. I attempted to pull his gun from his hands, but it was strapped around his body. He grabbed my arms and kneed me in the stomach. I took the blow, then headbutted him. He staggered back a few paces and had just enough time to point his weapon up at me.
“Not so tough now huh sweetheart?” he snarled. Before either of us could make a move, a giant brown wolf mowed him down. It pinned him to the ground and ripped at the Hunter's throat with his teeth. I stared at the wolf, shocked that he was helping me. He lifted his head and speared me with his hazel gaze. It was the alpha who'd yelled at me. He snarled and I remembered the battle around us.
“Jeffers,” I called. I searched for him and noted Damien finishing a kill. Roland and Nia were still standing, but the others were fallen. “It's time for us to go,” I told my team. Damien nodded and the four of us grouped up. There were only three wolves left and they drew nearer to us as well.
“Listen…” Nia said. She inclined her head to the left. There were more Hunters incoming.
“It's like they're spawning from thin air,” Damien growled.
“We need to move,” I said. Our odd group moved deeper into the forest, away from the humans tracking us.
“This is counterproductive Sophie,” Damien said. We were moving deeper into the territory the Hunters had seized.
“The safe house,” I said. We were nearby one of our coven's cabins. We'd set it up on the edge of the wolf-vampire boundary, just in case any of our kind encountered wolves while out hunting stray hikers. It was far enough east that I hoped it went overlooked by the Hunters.
“Can we make it there?” Roland asked.
“If we hurry,” I said. I shot off towards the direction of the cabin and even the wolves followed my lead.
* * *
We ran for hours, though it felt like days. It was the first instance in my life that time meant anything to me. I found myself praying for it to slow just for us. I wasn't dying at the hand of a Hunter. Soon I saw the thick bunching of trees that hid the small cabin from sight. One of the trees was nearly covered in moss and vines and acted as a subtle marker for the safe house. When I slowed, so did the group.
“You wolves should shift into normal form. We have to squeeze past the trees,” I said. I didn't wait to see them shift, we simply continued forward. The size of the cabin—above ground—was only the span of one room. It was unassuming as we could make it. It had a kitchenette, a futon across from a space heater, and one bookcase by the small window.
“This is the safe house?” said a deep voice behind me. Whoever spoke was answered with three hisses from my fighters. I was tempted to leave the wolves above while we took solace underground. But the facility below was extensive and would hold us all comfortably enough. I moved towards the window and slid the bookcase to the side. It sat on a section of the floorboards that were in fact the bunker's hatch, like a manhole. It took some work, but I managed to get the thing open.
“You first,” Damien said when I looked up. I nodded, then jumped down the manhole. The only difference was it being square apart from circular. I quickly moved out of the way as everyone else jumped down. The alpha wolf was the last to jump in, he pulled the hatch shut tight.
“What about the bookcase?” one of his wolves asked.
“It was off center before, now it appears as if it's in place,” I said.
“That's…semi-smart,” he scoffed.
“Relax Joseph,” the alpha said.
“Why haven't the lights come on yet?” the remaining wolf asked. He sounded almost prepubescent.
“We have to switch on the breakers,” Damien said. He sounded irritated, though it was safe to say everyone was. What with the amount of losses we took and being forced to hide out with our longtime enemies.
“Can't you wolves see in the dark?” I asked and turned to face the wolves head on. They simply stared at me instead of replying. A breath later, the room lit up. Underneath the cabin was set up much like a small underground base. It had a control room, kitchen with ample seating, a common area—where we stood—and several rooms with adjoining bathrooms. The common area was set up much like a lounge; it had a few small couches and two chaise lounges all angled towards the single hallway that led to the rest of the base. There wasn't much by way of entertainment in the bunker, unless one wanted to sit in the control room to watch the video feeds from the hidden cameras set up around the cabin.
“Feel free to explore. There should be enough rooms for everyone…we should regroup in a few hours to discuss a plan to get back to safety,” I said.
“Who made you leader?” Joseph asked.
“This is our safe house dog, you'd be sure to remember that. Not to mention you are outnumbered here. We certainly don't need your dead weight around here,” Damien snarled.
“Damien.” I said his name softly and he stood down, though he kept his angry gaze leveled on Joseph.
“Shut your mouth before you get us killed, or left to the Hunters,” the alpha ordered. Joseph didn't say anything more. “We'll behave if things remain civil here. Until we figure a way out of these woods,” he told us.
“What's your name?” I asked.
“Kai, and this is Nick,” he said. Nick was slimmer and a bit shorter than his counterparts. His youth was apparent in his wide blue gaze. Like Kai, he wore his hair long, but that was all the resemblance between them. Joseph sported a bald head and battle hardened features. There was a long thin scar that went from the tip of his eyebrow to his jaw. His dark eyes were like onyx in the diffuse, power saving, light.
“I'm Sophie, this is Damien, Roland, and Nia,” I said. There was an awkward beat of silence. It would be more than strange to turn my back on a werewolf. But Kai did kill a Hunter in my benefit. “We will agree to be civil,” I said.
“Great…is there food in this place?” Joseph asked.
“Above, in the kitchenette there are some non-perishables,” Roland said.
“Great…” Joseph said. I took a deep breath and moved to sit on one of the chaise lounges. I watched as Joseph moved with surprising stealth to climb back out into the cabin. He was quick in passing all the food there down. There was about a week's worth of canned goods there.
Kai appraised the containers that were passed through. “This should last us three days, four if we stretch it,” he said.
“Hopefully we won't be down here that long,” Damien muttered. Nia and Roland had lost interest in the wolves' food hunt. They sat on the couch neare
st me. As siblings, I was sure the main reason they were still alive was because they stuck close to one another. They shared the same angular features, curly black hair, and bright moon colored eyes.
“They really are animals,” Damien muttered as he sat next to me. I shot him a warning glance and he held his hands up in mock surrender.
“I feel tired, entirely too tired,” I sighed. Joseph and Nick took the containers of food deeper into the bunker. I hoped they stored it in the kitchen.
“If you need to feed?” Damien offered me his wrist, but I shook my head. In emergencies, such as the one we were in, vampires could feed from each other sparingly. It gave the direct nutrient we needed to keep us going for a time. “I would suggest resting, but I don't like that Joseph. Kai seems honorable and Nick harmless,” he said.
“True…” I said.
“We are going to get a few hours' rest Sophie, Damien,” Roland said. We nodded at Damien and Nia before they went to find rooms.
“I've always thought they were too close for brother and sister,” Damien said. I chuckled and shook my head.
* * *
After we heard most everything quiet within the bunker, Damien and I retired. He took the room right next to mine. As I stood at the foot of the bed I realized just how large the bunker was. An entire queen sized bed fit in the room. There was also a reading chair in the corner, opposite the bathroom door. Each room was identical as well.
I went to clean the battle off me and decompress. In the bathroom, there was a set of clothes for a male and female. They were combat leathers, nothing I wanted to change into right away. I took a quick shower and settled into bed naked. Though we didn't need as much, vampires still slept, especially without having fed to replenish the energy spent in fighting. As I closed my eyes, all I could picture were the faces of my fallen vampires. All were intrinsically loyal and each had plenty others who would mourn their loss. I lay in bed for three hours, staring at the concrete ceiling, and tried to force myself to sleep. I gave up when I heard voices passing by in the hall.