Exterminators Infected (The Exterminators Book 1)

by DeSantis, James

  Peter turned to watch Jin go. He never thought much about the young hunter besides the fact that he was Carl's friend. Maybe even another student of Carl’s. He never cared to ask before. Now that he witnessed the hunter wielding such tremendous power, Peter was intrigued. He was amazing at math, but this wasn't a problem he could figure out on his own.

  “Listen girl, let's just go to the dance tomorrow,” Marshall said, leaning against a store shop. He was talking to a girl from his class. While her name wasn't something Marshall cared to remember, he still found her cute none-the-less. The Halloween dance was tomorrow night and he still hadn't found a girl to go with. “I'll even pick you up. I might even get us some dinner. Whatcha say?”

  “I say you should get lost. I'd never go with you, anywhere.” The sting in her voice hurt.

  Marshall laughed it off. “Hey, I'm offering you a little slice of the Marshall pie. You don't take a scoop now you'll miss the best meal of the night.” Marshall gave a wink. She gave him a throw up motion in return.

  “I'd rather not go out at all, thank you very much. Everyone knows you're a slime ball. Just stay the heck away from me!” She stormed off; offended that he'd even ask her. She felt she was far above anything Marshall had to offer.

  Marshall wasn't a ladies man. He never hit it big in that department. He never really cared though at rejection, he just got used to it. He shrugged and walked away from the shop. If she wasn't going to go with him he was probably going to end up trick-or-treating with his little brother. It was something better to do on Halloween instead of sitting around at home all night. Still, he much rather be with a hot chick at a dance than walking around with his little brother picking up candy.

  The next day everybody at school was talking about the Halloween dance. Tonight was the night everyone dressed up in the craziest looking costumes they could find and come to a school dance with the best partner. Most girls were asked to go with someone weeks in advance. In the case of the four boys, Nick was the only one to have a date, so far. Marshall tried desperately but no one seemed interested. Fred didn't bother, since he still had a poor self-image of himself. Peter just didn't care. His sights were set on training. It was one out of four for the crew.

  Marshall walked into the lunch room. He saw Nick sitting a few tables down from the door. He began walking in that direction but stopped two tables short, bent over the empty spot and looked towards Lucy. Lucy was the girl no one was friends with. She never talked to anyone; she drew most of the time, and ignored almost all school activities. She was the loner of the juniors. Marshall found that as a perfect choice. “Hey Lucy, mind if I sit down.”

  “I do,” she said simply. Her blond bangs covering her eyes while she drew.

  “You mind if I sit down?”

  “That's what I said.” She kept her eyes on the paper she was drawing on; completing the left hand of one of her characters.

  “You know, I like the ones that are hard to get.”

  “I'm impossible to get.”

  “That's even hotter,” he replied as he sat down next to her. She gave a quick glance towards him before returning her attention to drawing. “Listen, I'ma be honest. Can I be honest with you? No girl wants to go with me. I really don't care about this dance but I don't want to go trick-or-treating with my little brother and his annoying friends. So I'm asking you if you could do me this favor and go with me. I'll pick you up. I'll take you to dinner if you want. I'll get you home. I just want to go and have a good time. Whatcha say?” He rushed to get his words out and then sat anxiously awaiting her answer.

  Lucy finished the other hand and looked up at Marshall. She looked at him oddly, not sure how to answer. Normally she would just ignore him until he went away since she had absolutely no interest in him. She really hated school activities. Yet somehow, she was intrigued by the way he asked her to go so out in the open. “Pick me up at six. Do not wear anything too gross or I will shut the door right in your face.” She went back to her drawing.

  “You got it!” He slapped the table in happiness. Then he stood up and walked away from the table, making his way towards Nick. He couldn't be happier. Finally he had found somebody to go with him to the dance! Not to mention no one really knew Lucy, he didn't even know Lucy, which meant he could talk with her plenty to find out more about her. He was excited.

  “Hey, why do you have the dumbest smile on your face right now?” Nick asked, putting down his food. Marshall slid into his chair, his smile getting even bigger. “Okay, now you're freaking me out. Joker much?”

  “I got someone to go out with me to the dance. It's gonna be awesome!” Marshall was so excited he sounded like a five year old getting a shiny new toy.

  “Really? Who's the unlucky lady?”

  “First, kiss my ass. Second, her name is Lucy,” he said proudly, pointing behind him to Lucy drawing. “She's kind of a quiet one, but she's pretty cute.”

  “Well, good for you. Please try to be on your best behavior. You aren't too good around girls.” Nick went back to eating his lunch.

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence. Why are we friends again?”

  “Probably ‘cause you couldn't live without me,” Nick mumbled.

  “Oh, I'd somehow manage, trust me,” Marshall retorted. He was beyond excited. So excited he ignored any insults Nick threw at him for the remainder of lunch.

  Fred walked with Peter towards the Station. Marshall and Nick went to their homes, getting ready for the dance tonight with their dates. Fred didn't bother asking anyone. He didn't feel like getting rejected. Peter wanted to focus on learning new elements and work on creating stronger ones. “So how's the training with the elemental glove coming?” Fred looked at Peter.

  “It's going well. I still can't create large impact strikes but I can use over seven summonses before I feel drained. My goal is to hit twelve by the end of November,” Peter answered happily. If any true emotion was to come from Peter it was almost always in relation to his power with the Rod.

  “That's great man! Keep at it. I'm sure you'll be able to do it. I'm trying to focus on using these boots, but also began training with the sword play. Nick and I were dueling the other day with ‘em and it's pretty amazing how great they feel. It's like whenever we create a weapon they just fit us so well. They flow with our body motion, you ever noticed that?”

  “I have. I think it’s part of the Rod. The more we use it, the more it becomes infused with our body. The more it infuses with us, the more it becomes part of us and enables the weapons to work as an extension of our body. It’s how we can use them so smoothly, it becomes a fluid motion with our body instead of just a weapon.” Peter pointed to his Rod. “Soon they will be an extension of us the more we use them.”

  “As weird as that sounds, it probably is exactly that,” Fred said laughing. “Hey, so why didn't you go to the dance? “

  Peter shrugged. “I'm not interested in any of the girls in my classes.”

  Fred's eyes grew. “None?”

  “Not really. Is that really hard to believe? Marshall gave me the same look.” Peter was beginning to wonder if he stood out more than he wanted. He tried his best to understand other people’s emotions and follow along. When it came to girls he just couldn't fit in. He hadn't found any girl in any of his classes attractive at all. He focused on his studies usually. At least until the training came along; now that took up all his thoughts. He felt there was no time to date a girl.

  “It's just odd, I guess. I mean there are some cuties in all my classes. What's your type?”

  “I don't have a type,” Peter answered awkwardly.

  “Everyone has a type.” Fred waved his hands around. “Is it some weird thing? Like the ugly red heads or something?”

  “No. I just don't find anybody attractive. I don't have a type. I don't care about hair color or skin color. I could care less if they are fat or skinny. I just don't find anyone I'm attracted to. I really don't see what the problem is,” Peter grumbled. H
e didn't realize it came off a bit rough, as Fred looked surprised.

  “Sorry, dude,” Fred muttered.

  “I took no offense. I'm sorry if I came off upset. I'm just not sure why I have to be attracted to someone in our classes. I find certain girls attractive - just none in our school.”

  “Well who do you find hot then?”

  “Well… my psychiatrist is beautiful.” Peter remembered her beautiful black hair reaching all the way down to her lower back. She had glasses and a smile most of the time. Pink lipstick was her favorite, so she always wore it. She had a very thin and tall frame, which Peter instantly found attractive. He also loved the fact she was extremely smart. More so she always spoke to him like he was an adult. Very respectful. He loved that about her.

  “I didn't even know you had a psychiatrist.” Fred was surprised. He'd been hanging out with the guys a lot the last few months. They mostly focused on training though and making plans during fights. He never really bothered to learn about Peter. He liked him well enough but they never teamed up alone. Now he was interested to learn more about this fellow Exterminator. “So she's hot, huh? Maybe you just like the older ladies. I can understand that.” He playfully elbowed Peter. Peter smiled back, as he pushed him away.

  Peter never talked about his psychiatrist. He never spoke about his problems to anyone. “I go to her ‘cause sometimes I feel...different. I don't know why I am the way I am at times. Sometimes I feel it's my...” He wanted to speak more. He didn't know why he found it easy to talk to Fred about the problems that clouded his mind. He just felt the words come out so easy. “I think my father being the way he is has made me not feel emotions like normal people do. I don't know if I shut my emotions off or I never had them to begin with.”

  Fred listened to his friend speak, formulating his own opinion on it. Peter looked at him, then to the ground. He was wondering if he went too far into detail about his problems. He was about to speak up but Fred spoke first. “I can understand that.” Peter looked back up at Fred. “My parents are never around. They provide for me, money-wise, but are never around to even be with me. Is that even parenting? I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I'm raising myself. I just want a normal family, yet I basically live in a house that's empty. I don't feel the love from my mom or dad, I don't know if they even love me, to be honest.” Just like Peter, it was easy for Fred to spill his thoughts. He wasn't sure why it was so easy either, but he had to get it off his chest.

  “I feel like the fact my mom never wanted me to stay out past four on school days growing up and my dad telling me to keep quiet, shut up, and stay in my room turned me into this. This kid with problems. I can't even understand people's emotions at times. It makes me feel weird, like maybe I just don't belong with people. With you guys…” Peter let his voice drift off as he felt the stress slowly leaving his body. The words he had kept in for so long were finally leaving. Finally they were getting away from him. He gladly let them evaporate into the air.

  “You belong with us. You're part of the team, remember?” Fred placed his hand on Peter's shoulder. “Don't ever doubt that. We're in this together, and that's that. When things get rough, we work through it, together. You can't feel emotions sometimes? That's fine. We'll help you. Don't ever think you don't belong with us.”

  Peter felt a tug, almost as if someone ripped away a part of him. The part he hated the most. The part that kept him under a shield. A shield that made him what he is today. That part of him just got stripped away. He felt like someone cared, something he never felt before. He felt like someone cared about him, and wasn't afraid to tell him that they cared. He felt like he had an actual friend. “Thank you,” was all Peter could finally say.

  They reached the house. Fred smiled at his friend. “Never need to thank a friend. Let's go do some training.” Fred walked up the steps. Peter took a look at Fred going up the stairs. He smiled, as he watched him walk to the door. He never had a real friend before. These guys were his unit. Now they were becoming his friends. He liked that. “You coming?” Fred looked back from the door. Peter nodded and began climbing the stairs.

  “You look amazing!” Marshall exclaimed as Lucy opened the door. She was dressed up as a zombie bridesmaid. She had on a beautiful white dressed with zombie makeup. Chunks of whole skin were missing on her face. Marshall felt under dressed in just regular clothes with ripped holes through his shirt. He also had a fake rubber knife in on his left leg. “You're by far the hottest zombie I've ever seen.”

  “You look like an attack victim. You aren't very scary,” Lucy said laughing. Marshall shrugged. “I like it though. It could be like I attacked you, and tried to stab you. We match up.” She shut the door behind her.

  They walked side by side, at first not saying anything as they went down the block. She wanted to say something but she was never good with conversations. She usually said something odd and it made people just look at her weird. She wasn't sure how to start a conversation.

  “I think this dance is going to be cool.” Marshall finally broke the silence. He wasn't really sure what to say after that. Lucy wanted to say something, instead she just nodded. “I mean I can't dance, but it'll be fun. I think. Can you dance?”

  “Not really. I have two left feet.”

  “Yeah, me too!” He sounded too excited. He tried to hold it back but she saw the excitement and giggled. “Hey, no fair. You can't laugh at me. You have two left feet, remember?”

  She put her hand over her mouth, trying to hold in the laugh. “It's just funny how excited you got at the fact we both have two left feet.”

  “Well, you kind of make me nervous.”

  “I make you nervous?”

  “You do. I think you're cute.” Marshall may not have been a ladies man, but he had no problem speaking his mind. He could always straight out tell someone what he was thinking. It was his gift and his curse.

  Lucy smiled, her face turning bright red. She had boys ask her out before, boys even telling her she's cute, but never someone saying it so out in the open. Through text or online messaging is one thing, but to say it to her face is another. She felt happy, scared, nervous, and excited all at once. “You know what, I think tonight is going to be pretty great,” she told him.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, I'll try to make it as memorable as possible,” Marshall returned smiling. He slid his hand in hers. Her heart stopped for moment then she gripped his hand tighter. She could feel the heat of his hand and she loved it. She gave a quick glance over at him and he looked back. She smiled. Little did Marshall know he already made this night memorable for her.

  Nick moved his body in such an odd way it made Kelly almost fall over laughing. Nick didn't know how to dance, but that didn't stop him from trying. Kelly found it to be the funniest thing she'd ever seen. She slapped her knee, she gasped for breath, and she even begged him to stop. Still Nick proceeded to shake like an epileptic patient having a seizure, throwing his hands in the air. The people around him gave him odd looks as they moved away.

  “Please babe, just stop!” Kelly threw her hands in the air. She couldn't stop her laughing, though. The song ended a few moments later and Nick stopped moving.

  “Hey, people just jealous of my awesome dance moves,” he told her laughing. She shook her head, grabbing onto him. He loved it when she grabbed him and pulled herself closer. He gave her a long kiss; something he wanted to do over and over again then grabbed her shoulders and pulled her even closer. Kissing her even more, he felt the old lust feeling finally turning into love.

  They began a slow dance, working with the music and each other. They let the sound of the room move their bodies in a graceful motion. They went back and forth, close to one another, lost in each other. The feelings they felt for each other grew with each step they took together. Nick had felt so lost as of late, but with Kelly he felt whole. He felt like he was finally someone.

  The song came to an end, and they pulled awa
y from each other. “Let's go get a drink,” Nick said, while grabbing her hand. As they walked back to the table of drinks they ran into Marshall. He was talking to Lucy, both laughing loudly. “Hey man, how's it going?”

  Marshall turned to Nick. He gave him a boy’s handshake. “Great man, this is Lucy.” She shook both Nick and Kelly's hands. “We just got here a few minutes ago, this place is jam packed.”

  “Yeah, no joke. We just got here about thirty minutes ago, and been dancing as much as possible.” Kelly grabbed harder onto Nick. She was so pleased to be with him. “Well, we're going to grab a drink. See you on the dance floor.” Kelly waved goodbye as they walked away.

  Marshall grabbed Lucy's hand. “Let's get to dancing. We should at least try to dance,” he said winking at her. She giggled back at him and they went to the center of the dance floor. The song was a fast paced one so they both broke into a frenzy of throwing their hands around and shaking their bodies. To everyone around them, they looked insane dancing, but they both were laughing the entire time together.

  Nick and Kelly arrived near the refreshments. “I'd actually like some water,” Kelly told Nick. Nick nodded and went to go grab a bottle. As he reached over the table he saw an odd statue standing behind the drinks. He leaned his head over the table and saw an address on it. Only seven blocks away from the school. His eyes got wide. He checked his watch; it was already getting close to eight o'clock. “A mission,” he gasped.

  Chapter 16 – Bullet

  Nick wasn't sure how to handle the situation. He knew he had a mission, but he knew he couldn't just leave Kelly at the dance. He gazed at the rock once more, mentally taking note of the address. He stepped away from the table and back over to Kelly. She tapped his chest. “Hey, you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost.”

  Nick looked towards the dance floor. “I should tell Marshall,” he thought to himself. He then saw Marshall dancing like a crazy man with his equally crazy-looking date. “I can't ruin that for him.” He turned back towards Kelly. “Yeah baby, I'm fine. Here's your drink.” He could feel the sweat crawling down his face as he handed her the water bottle.