Hunting Jessica

by Elizabeth St. John

  The waitress arrived after several minutes. I ordered a bottle of water and gave her my food order. A small order of French fries with ranch dressing would be my breakfast. I know it isn’t good for me. In my line of work, I take a risk with my life every time I hunt. I didn’t have time to worry about clogged arteries. Plus, the dressing was homemade and delicious. When she brought them to me, I thanked her with a smile. My phone rang in my pocket. It was my mother.

  “Jessy? How are you, honey?” She would always yell as if I couldn’t hear her.

  “Oh, I’m fine, Mom. How are you and Dad doing?” She told me they were fine and how my dad started a new project. My dad was retired, so now he find’s thing’s to do with his time. “How’s Robert doing?”

  “Your brother is doing well.” Talking to my mother was nice and all, but when she got going, there was no stopping her. She would talk my ear off for hours if I let her. I wish she would learn how to text.

  “Mom, I need to go to work now. Can I call you later?”

  “You know, Jessy. You should really find you a nice man,” she injected. I was so sick of hearing her say that. Her idea of a nice man was a guy who has a lot of money and who was in charge. A leader, not a follower. I had my fill of abusive relationships and didn’t need anyone, let alone a man to tell me how to live my life.

  “Mom, I don’t need a man to take care of me, I’m fine. I really need to go or I’m going to be late for work, mom.” I had led her to believe I was working as a telemarketer in Pony City.

  “Okay, dear. I love you.”

  “Love you more.”

  “Love you always.” She hung up. I did miss her and the rest of my family, especially my brother. I haven’t seen them in almost a year. They live in Oklahoma City. About an hour and a half drive south from my little town. They did try to come and visit me, but I had to make up an excuse so they couldn’t. I didn’t want my family in danger because of the vampires. I couldn’t take that risk, or the risk they would find out I didn’t have a normal job. I hated having to hide everything I did because of the secret I had to keep. I made a mental note to go to the city soon to visit them.

  After my deep-fried snack, I walked back to my house. Tank met me at the door and I bent and started to talk to him like a baby. “I got you something, baby.” Yes, I got the damn spiked collar. I pulled it out of the bag and he began wiggle all over. I put it on him. “Now, look how pretty you are. I love you, bub.”

  I took the stairs up to my office and turned on the computer to check all my email’s and internet games. I took care of most of my personal business from my home computer. My phone was for work mostly. I was clicking away on a card game when the sound of a truck sent excitement through my body. I looked out of the window and the sight I saw made my body heat rise.

  Gage was back and standing in the bed of his truck. He was wearing nothing but a white tank-top and jeans. I licked my lips at the sight of his body. His arms were covered in tattoos, and the way his muscles flexed as he lifted a box had me panting. My hormones were on high alert. I put the computer in sleep mode quickly and sprinted down the stairs to check if he wanted any help. I slowed to a walk as I stepped outside.

  “Hey, roomie. What’s up?” he was smiling. The sheen of sweat which covered his body made his tattoos even more pronounced. His extensive ink started at his wrists and lead all the way up to his shoulders, almost kissing his neck. He was a magnificent example of a bad-boy. I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing for me, but I didn’t care in that moment. I was enjoying the sight, even if short lived. From the looks of things, he didn’t have much.

  “I came out to check if you needed any help.”

  “Oh, thanks, Jess. Why don’t you grab that box and I can get everything else? I don’t have much, so I can handle the rest.”

  It was a small box, but when I began to lift it, it weighed a ton. “What the hell did you pack in here, rocks?” He chuckled as I carried it into the house and put it down on the table. He could carry it up. He finished bringing the rest into the house while I fixed us a sandwich. He sat at the table and blew out a big breath.

  “How was your day?” I shrugged my shoulders and let out a breath of my own. I could sit here and look at him all day but I had other things on my mind. I tapped my finger nails on the wooden table top. I was waiting for the right time to talk to him about what was in the paper.

  “Well, it was pretty good. I went out and I got you a key made” As I handed it to him, his fingers brushed against mine. Our eyes locked for a split second. He stood up and dug into his tight form-fitting jeans. I had to force my eyes to look away from the bump behind the denim. He pulled out some money and handed it to me.

  “Thank you, but you didn’t have to pay anything right now,” I explained.

  He smiled, “I know that.”

  I sat in silence while he ate his sandwich. I couldn’t even think about eating. My thoughts were scrambled eggs. “I got the paper today. It had an interesting story.”

  “Oh?”

  “You might be interested in reading it.” I pushed the paper in front of him.

  He read the paper as I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “That’s weird.”

  “What do you think it is?”

  “Probably a stray dog.”

  My mouth fell open. He couldn’t be serious. Were he and Jay brain-dead or ignoring the problem? “Jay said the same thing.”

  “Do you think it’s something else? I mean, he’s usually right about these things.” He took a large bite of his sandwich. A dab of mustard clung to the corner of his mouth. His tongue slipped out and licked it. His brow pinched as he watched me. “What? Do you want to check it out?”

  “It would be a smart thing to do, don’t you think? I want to know if I should be hunting something else.”

  He shrugged his wide shoulders and finished his food before excusing himself to the restroom. While he was gone I read the story again. The words which stuck out at me were, throat ripped out, mountain lion, and, pack of dogs. I couldn’t figure out why but it was bothering me. I had never seen anything like the animal before. “Could I be making this more than it is?” As I inspected the picture, I remembered the money in my hand. When I unfolded the bills, I counted out -eight-hundred-dollars. I was shocked, “I guess he plans to stay a while.” I looked down at Tank but he was sleeping at my feet. “Great, I’m talking to myself.”

  CHAPTER

  5

  Working with Gage this past month was becoming routine. Every night was the same. Jay would call one of us and tell us a place and time. Tonight, we had a job in the small neighboring town of Blackwater. The sun was setting and the vampires would be waking soon. I liked to catch them sleeping, but sometimes things don’t work out the way I like.

  We walked out of our rooms at practically the same time, dressed in our hunting apparel. He looked damn sexy in his black leather jacket and faded blue jeans. I was wearing a dark brown knit sweat shirt about two sizes too small, tucked into my skinny jeans. My leather jacket and boots tied everything together. He looked at me and smiled. His eyes flashed with excitement, which was most nights. “Are you ready?”

  “Ready.” I smiled.

  In the truck, we called Jay and put him on speaker phone so both of us could hear what he had to say. “I got a whiff of a new location tonight. Gage, do you know the old house on Kaw Road?”

  “I do,” he replied and backed out of the driveway. The sun was fading fast. He hit the gas and the powerful engine of his truck roared angrily as we traveled toward Blackwater. “We will be there in fifteen.”

  “Blackwater is a good thirty minutes from my house.”

  “I’ll get us there,” he grinned and hit the gas.

  He did not stay on the highway. He got off and turned down an old dirt road I had never been on. I never thought his large truck could maneuver on the road as well as it did. He got us there in time to see everyone else arriving. A small red convertible pulled in
after us and my stomach turned with displeasure as I spotted her blonde hair waving in the wind. I hated working with Dawn, so much. She was a decent hunter and had been working for Jay a lot longer than me. The problem I had was her passion for complaining, as well as being a snob. She put Gage on a pedestal. She was a huge flirt with every man at T&J, even Jay at times. I would never say anything about it, but it did bother me that she liked Gage.

  Dawn and I had a mutual understanding of hate, but Rayce was even more of a mystery than the man sitting next to me. In the beginning, he would give me a sultry stare and winks. Then, everything stopped abruptly and he became the biggest jerk alive. It was a real shame too. I had my eye on him from day one. He was adorable with his messy dark-auburn hair and chocolate eyes.

  The structure we were in front of could have been a house at one time, but now it was a leaning shack of dilapidated shit. We gathered together as a team to discuss our course of action. I stood next to Rayce and waited for the disgust to slam into me but nothing came. His energy was welcoming tonight. I felt comfortable next to him, even if he was stand offish. Dawn stood across from me and all I wanted to do was find a way to barf all over her red suede high heels. Her hunting wardrobe baffled me.

  Jay told us the game plan with great intensity, “I have been doing some sniffing around and have been led to believe this dump is a nest of at least three. Dawn, you go in first. Gage, you will kick in the door for her. Jessica, you follow in after Gage. Rayce and I will hold down the fort outside.”

  I looked at Rayce and he didn’t have a care in the world. His manner was calm. He looked at me and winked. I blushed and looked at the cold hard ground. Gage must have seen it because I could feel how rigid he’d become, and then he cleared his throat loudly. I found it a little strange and flattering he would be offended by Rayce making the gesture toward me.

  “None of those disgusting blood suckers’ will get passed us,” Dawn stated as she pulled the crossbow from her shoulder.

  “Geez, get a grip,” I snidely said. Rayce snickered.

  “It will be dark inside. I would watch your back. I may mistake you for one of them.”

  Heat flowed through my entire body and across my scalp. My adrenaline was pumping as her words cut through me. I severely hated her. I gripped my gun in my right hand and stepped up to her, “Are you threatening me, Dawn?”

  “Catfight,” Gage announced. I heard the happiness in his tone but ignored it, for now.

  “Ladies, enough,” Jay growled. I didn’t move a muscle as I glared into her shit colored eyes. She had too much eyeliner on and fibers of her thick black mascara clung to the skin below her saggy eyes. She stepped back a little but Jay pushed himself between us. “The real fight is inside. Save it.”

  Dawn stepped back and grinned at me. She was a prissy Barbie bitch and I was ready to knock her on her ass. I had never been a hair puller but I would rip every glistening strand from her scalp if given the chance. She climbed the steps to the porch but one of the old board gave way. She stumbled but caught herself.

  “I suggest you stop wearing hooker heels when hunting,” I called. “You should save them for when you’re working that pole.”

  She shot me a loaded look. “Fuck you, bitch.”

  “Jessica, enough,” Jay barked. “Dawn, get ready.”

  Gage followed Dawn up on the rotted porch and kicked in the door as instructed. Jay and Rayce were on opposing sides of the shack. I followed once Dawn entered. She waved for us to come in. We entered, and all I could smell was mold and what smelled like a dead rat. The small living room was clear of anything living. An old tattered chair sat askew in a corner. The cushion had been torn and the fluff was coming out. We moved on to the hallway. Now, this was where the fun happened. Gage nearly filled the entire space with his size. The first door was to the right. Gage opened it and stood back so Dawn could search. I turned around to watch our backs.

  “Nothing,” she whispered. The next room was also on the right. We go through the same thing and nothing. The third door was to the left. I could tell Dawn was getting pissed off. “This is bullshit, there’s nothing here. Jay is so full of shit.” She lowered her bow and kicked the wall. I hissed through my teeth and waited for an attack.

  “Dawn, look behind you.”

  She rolled her eyes and looked. “Oh, look, another door. Let me guess, nothing is behind this one too,” she said as she opened it. When she did, a putrid smell poured out of the room. We discovered the dead rat smell. Dawn gagged and covered her nose. I took one hand off my gun to cover my nose as well. Gage turned on his flashlight. We walked into the room and found two bodies. Both drained of blood and their skin was turning green. My stomach lurched. The smell was dreadful. The mouths of the poor people were hanging open in a sick way, as if they would be screaming forever. Their eyes were white with a hint of gray. My stomach turned again. I turned away from the death in the room as Gage got on his radio. Vomit was fighting its way out of my body. Dawn’s gagging wasn’t helping me.

  “We have two bodies drained and decomposing. It smells awful in here,” Gage reported over the radio.

  “Keep looking,” Jay replied over the walkie.

  Dawn exploded in rage and snatched Gage’s radio from his hand, “There’s nowhere else to fucking look! It’s empty!”

  Gage snatched it back from her. I looked at the stupid obnoxious bitch in front of me. “Shut up and look behind you, stupid fucking idiot,” I growled passed my palm.

  Fire burned in her eyes but I could care less if she liked it or not. It was now getting dark out and I didn’t want to get killed because she was having a fucking fit. She and Gage looked and what they saw was another door. It must lead to a basement.

  Gage looked over to me and winked, “Nice find, Jess.”

  “Oh, Jess, is it? Whatever.” Dawn rolled her eyes. “Stupid name for a stupid bitch.”

  “We do not have time for one of your tantrums, Dawn,” Gage stated. “Take a look around. The sun is setting and they will be waking soon.”

  She calmed down instantly and smiled at him, “I’m sorry. You’re right.”

  She aimed her weapon at the door. Gage pulled it open and stood back. There were stairs leading into the dark. Fear hit me as I hated small dark spaces. I was glad Dawn was going before me. Dawn started her way into the basement, Gage and I followed. Vampires had a distinct scent. They smelled like butterscotch with cinnamon. It’s too sweet and disgusting. It wasn’t as powerful a smell as the rotting bodies upstairs but pungent enough to cover the putrid smell. The basement was filled with it. Four vampires were still sleeping. “Holy Hell, Jay said three vampires, not four.” I didn’t like the fact we were all in this small 8x8 space with soon to wake and starving vampires. They all looked so young. The youngest I estimated to be fourteen to fifteen years of age when he was turned. He didn’t even have facial hair yet. “Wow,” I whispered.

  “Dawn, keep an eye on the door,” Gage ordered.

  She sprinted past me, knocking her shoulder into mine. I ignored her as our adventure was about to begin. Gage pulled a long silver blade out of the sheath on his belt. He approached the closest to us. I stepped back but kept my gun ready. Gage put his head back and smelled the air. I saw something I was sure he didn’t plan on me seeing. He smiled slightly and sighed. He literally sighed in almost relief or pleasure. He lifted his knife up, and just as he was about to plunge it into the first chest, its eyes opened. Then the rest.

  “Fuck,” I aimed my gun but they were too fast. They rushed us and I found my ass on the floor. I heard gunfire and covered my head. I went momentarily deaf from the weapon firing in such a closed space. A high pitch squeal echoed in the room. As I gained my focus, I looked up the stairs and Dawn was holding her neck. She pulled her hand away and blood gushed like a fountain.

  “That little fucker bit me,” she screamed before toppling to the floor.

  Gage rushed up and put his hands on her throat. I checked the room but it
was empty. I wanted out of the darkness and ran up the stairs. I stepped past my hunting companions and readied my gun for an attack. Gage pulled his large hand away to look at the wound. It didn’t look like a bite. It looked like her throat was cut. Blood poured out onto the floor and coated his hands. He grabbed her throat with his huge hand tightly, as if he were choking her. I fished my radio out of my pocket, pressed the talk button and started screaming.

  “We have movement…Dawn’s been bitten…she’s down and bleeding out!” Her eyes were rolling in the back of her head. With the grip still on her throat, Gage looked up at me.

  “We have to make a choice.”

  I nodded. I knew what he meant. He knew she wasn’t going to make it. If we didn’t take care of her she would turn on us. Then we would have five vampires on our hands. I turned my back to him, trying to watch our asses. Dawn whispered a gurgle to Gage while he held her throat together.

  “No, I’ll be fine.” She was obviously delusional. “I’m not leaving you.” She was looking up at him and reached to stroke his face. She knew this would happen. It happens to anyone of the crew who was bitten.

  “Dawn, you will turn. We have to.” Gage gripped both sides of her head but I had to look away. I might not have liked her but I didn’t want to watch her neck be broken.

  Then the shit hit the fan. Gage let go of Dawn’s neck and stood ready to fight. His blood covered hand reach for his shotgun. The first came, a female from the left. He took the shot. She dodged it and moved closer. I fired at her and she hit the floor. I run over to her and pulled my knife. I stuck the tip of the silver blade into the back of the vampire’s neck and severed the spinal cord.

  “Where in the fuck are Jay and Rayce?” I bellowed frantically and clenched my gun tightly as I stood.

  “Jess, watch your ass,” Gage bellowed.

  I turned and the youngest one was on me. Gage aimed his gun but couldn’t fire without hitting me. The vampire grabbed me by the throat and slammed me against the wall. My head spun slightly as he dropped me and started to walk away. I stood up and took aim. My bullet hit him in the shoulder. He turned to me with fang’s dripping with blood and his arm nearly hanging off. He must have been the one who had bitten Dawn. He would stop at nothing to finish the job. He readied to charge me when a knife blade burst through his chest.