Slayer: A Demon Hunter's Tale

by Nick Cranford

  “I live here.” Emily replied, much to John’s surprise.

  “You live here?” John echoed her statement. “By yourself?”

  “Yep.” She answered.

  “Where’s your mom and dad?” He asked.

  “I dunno.” Emily said as she swung her legs back and forth off the edge of the cot. “I can’t remember.”

  John felt a pain in his chest at the girl’s words. Their situations may have been drastically different, but John knew better than anyone what it was like to be alone. He could only imagine what the girl had gone through, but there were more important matters at hand.

  “How do you eat?” John asked. “Where do you get food?”

  “The nice people over there.” Emily said as she pointed out the window beside her.

  John turned and followed the girl’s finger to another building next door. Just like the one they were in, it looked old and dilapidated; weary from years of disrepair.

  “They give me stuff to eat.” Emily stated. “They’re funny.” A slight smile appeared on the girl’s face, but it quickly faded. “Only a few of them talk to me.” She gazed down at the floor. Suddenly she sprung back up as she remembered something. “There was a nice man here that gave me food too… but he left.”

  “You’re a big girl, Emily.” John stated. “It must be hard living here alone.”

  “It’s okay.” Emily suddenly hopped down from the cot. She walked over to a broken table and retrieved what looked to be a few makeshift blocks before returning to her place beside John. She shoved them together with a loud clacking sound as she talked. “There’s lots to do here.”

  John watched as the girl played with her wooden blocks beside him. After a short while she laid her head down on the dusty mattress and closed her eyes. Within minutes she was sound asleep. Aerin had made her way over from the threshold and had sat down next to John on the cot. Together, they both sat in silence for a while as the little girl slept. Eventually, Emily wiggled her way over toward John in her sleep and rested her head against his leg.

  “Looks like she likes you.” Aerin whispered with a smile.

  “Yeah, it does, doesn’t it?” John reached down and brushed the hair away from the girl’s face. “You know, it’s funny.” He said. “She looks just like a girl I knew back in Station.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, I…” John paused as he thought on what he was about to say. “Well, I guess it’s about time I told you this.”

  “What?” Aerin asked with a concerned look.

  “A while back Meredith asked me why I was so eager to become a Slayer. She said you had wanted to know.” John stated.

  “Yeah…” Aerin looked down away from John. “Sorry, I just-“

  “Don’t worry about it.” John cut her off. “Before I met you I was a courier. I used to deliver packages all over Station.” He paused briefly before continuing. “One place I would deliver to regularly was this big hospital in the middle of town. Mostly the children’s wing.” He sighed as he stopped to collect his thoughts. “I don’t remember how it happened, but I got to talking with this little girl. She was blind and her body was real weak. Her parents had died in an accident that had messed her up real bad.” John stopped and gazed down at Emily. “She was alone, just like me, and I guess that just sort of clicked with me, you know? I lost both of my parents when I was real little, so I knew what it was like.” He paused briefly as a small smile crept up on his face. “Every time I was out that way I made sure to stop in and see her, used to bring in a dozen donuts to share with her. We became real good friends… Well, she was pretty much my only friend. I know that must sound pathetic.” He said with a forced laugh.

  “No.” Aerin disagreed. “It’s not pathetic.”

  John was slightly caught off guard by Aerin’s words. It took him a moment to regain his train of thought before proceeding.

  “Anyway… I guess I became the closest thing she had to family. She requested the hospital to add me on as a guardian, and I was happy to accept. Because of that, I got regular updates from nurses when I couldn’t make it to visit. Well… one day I got a call.” John suddenly stopped. His eyes shifted around as he stared off into nothingness. “There had been some complications with an operation and she was in real bad shape. The doctors weren’t sure if she was going to make it or not.” John sighed. “I was out of town, so I drove back as fast as I could. But…” He paused once more. “I wasn’t fast enough. She was dead when I got there.”

  “John… I’m, I’m so sorry.” Aerin tried to look up at him.

  “I was angry, more with myself than anything else. Even though she was my friend, I left her alone when she needed me the most.” John stopped for a moment as he let his heartbeat return to normal. “I couldn’t take it. Every time I saw the hospital I got mad. I couldn’t do my job anymore, I couldn’t drive. I ended up staying at home, sleeping late, and just laying around. Finally I had enough, so I left.” He looked over toward Aerin. “When you came along, I jumped at the chance for something, anything.”

  “John…“ Aerin looked extremely concerned.

  “And now that I think about it, I really am pathetic.” He said with a slight laugh. “I let a single death destroy me. When we took down Holland, I saw a look in your eyes. I felt what you felt; you’ve lost loved ones before. Compared to you, I’ve got nothing to feel sorry for.”

  Aerin glanced down at her hands as she gripped the bottom of her hoodie tightly. Seeing this, John immediately wanted to take back what he had just said. Before he could say anything else, Aerin spoke.

  “Losing someone isn’t easy.” She stated. “I’ve lost my parents and I’ve lost friends…” She gripped her hoodie even tighter. “Lots of friends. I know exactly how you felt. I’ve been mad at myself before. I’ve thought ‘If only I had been stronger.’. But that’s the only thing you can do.” She reached over and touched John’s arm. “Get stronger, and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

  “That’s it?” John glanced down at her hand and then looked up into her eyes.

  “That’s it.” Aerin answered.

  “It’s really that easy?”

  “It’s that easy.” She assured.

  It was strange, hearing Aerin’s words seemed to make all the emotions clouding John’s mind wash away. He felt like he could think clearer now, and he looked away as he tried to hide the expression on his face.

  “You know, you sounded like an old man just now with all that wise talk.” John wiped his eyes and smiled.

  “Well I’m not exactly as young as I look.” Aerin said sarcastically.

  “I had a feeling.” John leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. “Hey, thanks Aerin.”

  “What for?” She asked.

  “Everything.”

  Aerin smiled up to him and gently nudged his arm. “Don’t mention it.” She said. “I’m glad you’re my Slayer.”

  “So what do we do about her?” John asked as he gestured to the girl asleep on his lap.

  “Well, she’s a spirit.” Aerin stated. “I figured it out, that’s why I lost her earlier. When she was hiding she subconsciously suppressed herself.”

  “A spirit?” John repeated.

  He looked down at the girl; she was still fast asleep on his leg. He suddenly knew why she seemed familiar, it wasn’t because she looked like a girl he had known before, it was because she was the same as him - dead.

  “As an Angel, I have an obligation to help her pass on.” Aerin explained.

  Suddenly Emily groaned softly as she stirred. She rose up slowly from John’s leg and wiped the sleep from her eyes. She had a funny expression on her face as she slowly surveyed her surroundings. Once she was content with where she was, she yawned and looked up at John.

  “What… happened?” She asked in between breaths.

  “Don’t worry.” John assured. “You just fell asleep.” He said, patting the top of her head.

  “How long was I asleep?�
� Emily asked.

  “Not too long.” John paused for a moment as he figured out how to say what he needed to. “Say, want to go on an adventure?” He asked with one eyebrow raised.

  “Where to?”

  “That’s a secret.” John said with a smile before grabbing Emily under her arms. “Alright, up we go.” He lifted her up off of the cot and set her down onto the ground. “Alright Aerin,” He said glancing back. “Do your thing.”

  Aerin stood up from the cot and kneeled down next to the small girl. She smiled as warmly as she could as she held her hand out.

  “Alright, sweetie, give me your hand.” Aerin said.

  “…Okay.” Emily seemed unsure as she placed her small hand inside of Aerin’s.

  “Now close your eyes.” Aerin instructed. “And think of something nice.”

  Emily closed her eyes and the two girls sat there in silence. John could feel an odd aura emanating from Aerin as she focused. A minute passed by but John could see no noticeable change or accomplishment. When Aerin furrowed her brow, he could tell something wasn’t quite right.

  “That’s odd.” Aerin observed.

  “Trouble?” John asked.

  “It’s not working.”

  “I’m not gonna say you’re losing your touch…” John said with a smile. “But you’re three for three right now.”

  “Hey!” Aerin looked up at him with a slightly agitated look on her face. “We figured out the first thing, we’ll figure this out too.”

  “Are you guys married?” Emily asked suddenly.

  The question caught both adults off guard, but in very different ways. Aerin’s face blushed as she averted her gaze quickly from John. John had seen the girl’s question as comical, and it caused him to laugh suddenly. He shook his head at both her and Aerin.

  “Nope.” He replied. “We’re just partners.”

  “Yeah…” Aerin agreed. “Just partners.”

  “So what’s the problem then?” John directed them back towards their problem.

  “Something is blocking her from moving on.” Aerin answered.

  “You think it’s that barrier?” John suggested. “The one we felt earlier.”

  “Could be.” Aerin said as she stood. “I don’t know why, though. I don’t sense anyone else here.”

  “Think they could be suppressing their spirit?” John asked.

  “It’s possible.” Aerin said before she bent back down to face Emily. “Have you seen anyone else here?”

  “Nah uh.” Emily shook her head. “Just you.”

  “What about that guy who gave you food?” John said as he bent down next to her as well. “When did you see him last?”

  “A few days ago.” She answered with an unsure look.

  “Alright then.” John said. “What did he look like?”

  “He was old.” Emily stated bluntly. “He had white hair and, uh… hair on his face.” She said motioning to her chin. “And he had a big white coat.” She made an exaggerated motion outward with her arms.

  John's narrowed his eyes at the girl’s words. There was one man he knew of that would have fit that description, but he shuddered at the thought. As he looked down to see Aerin staring back up at him with a look of great concern, he knew she was thinking the same thing as him.

  “You…” John began to speak as he furrowed his brow. “You don’t think?”

  "I'm not going to say it's impossible..." Aerin said before trailing off.

  "What's wrong?" Emily asked.

  "Emily…" John said as he crouched down next to the small girl. "What would the man do? Did he just bring you food?"

  "Yep." Emily answered with a nod. "Then he would go to his room."

  "His room?" Both John and Aerin repeated in unison.

  "Mhm." Emily nodded. "I'll show you."

  Emily turned and motioned for John and Aerin to follow. She led them out of the room and down the hallway to the staircase they had previously chased her up. She walked carefully as her small legs navigated the steps down to the ground floor. Emily turned at the main entrance hallway John and Aerin had entered from and led them down a corridor they had not previously explored. At the end of the hallway she opened the door to a very unassuming room.

  The room wasn't quite as dusty as all the others. Though it did contain a veritable amount of dust and clutter, it showed obvious signs of life having been there at least somewhat recently. There were footprints in the dust layer on the floor that led to the center of the room and then back out again, as if someone had merely walked in and out of the room many times. There was no furniture to speak of save for a few overturned tables, which was the story of every other room in the building. All in all it seemed completely empty.

  "There's nothing in here." John observed.

  "No, there's something here." Aerin disagreed. She walked toward the center of the room and closed her eyes. "It's subtle, but it's here."

  "What?" John asked.

  "There's a barrier in here." Aerin stated. "It's a small one too." She added as she searched around close by. "Let's see... should be around... here."

  Aerin clapped her hands together and crouched down placing them on the floor. There was a bright glow suddenly as a rectangular outline traced itself out on the floor. The concrete floor within the rectangle suddenly began to shimmer as it slowly faded away, revealing a set of stairs that descended down into darkness below.

  "Magic!" Emily cheered with eyes wide open.

  "Looks like someone wanted to hide something." Aerin said as she stood back up.

  "Well let's go take a look." John stepped up next to her.

  "Right." Aerin responded. She turned and crouched down next to the small girl before patting her shoulder. "Now you stay right here, okay? We'll be right back."

  "But I don't want to stay." Emily protested.

  "Hey now." John kneeled down next to her and patted her on the head. "We need you to stay up here and keep an eye out for us." He said with a smile. "You hear anything, you come running and tell us."

  "Okay..." She said with a sigh.

  John ruffled the small girl's hair once more before following Aerin down into the stairwell. The stairs went deep down beneath the building into a thick, heavy darkness. John pressed his hand against the wall and walked down slowly step by step. The light above them began to fade away as they reached a level section of ground. The hallway stretched forward, further into the darkness. Suddenly, lights turned on above them. The change had been so sudden it made both of them jump, though they quickly shook off their surprise and continued on down the path. Lights turned on section after section ahead of them as they walked, as if inviting them further in. At the end of the hallway was a set of doors that John pushed open, revealing a familiar sight beyond.

  The doors opened up to a large room that was slowly lit up by the lights that flickered to life above. John and Aerin walked down another smaller staircase into the main bulk of the room. The walls that lined the room were a pale gray, while the tile below was a bright white. It gave off a very sterile look that matched the tables covered in all sorts of instruments. John approached one table while Aerin walked over to examine another. There were vials filled with multicolored liquid within them next to a microscope and other instruments John couldn't recognize.

  "Yeah, it looks like a lab to me." John observed.

  "But is it his lab?" Aerin asked.

  John continued farther into the room as he looked for any sign that could point to the lab’s owner. All the vials and devices were devoid of any incriminating evidence, no logos or markings of any kind. At the far end of the room, something caught John’s eye. He looked over to see Aerin busy reading through a stack of papers, and decided to inspect on his own. There were a few large, rectangular, white boxes around a few screens along the back wall. It looked almost identical to the large computer he had seen back in Holland’s lab before. John sat down in the plush office chair and pressed the power button on the side of the neares
t tower. The machine within whirred to life with the sound of a few dozen cooling fans.

  “Hey!” John shouted back to Aerin. “Come check this out!”

  “A computer?” Aerin asked as she walked up beside John.

  “Looks like it.”

  The screen came to life and a dozen of lines of code ran across it as the system booted up in what looked like the first time in a long time. After a minute or so a login screen appeared before them.

  “It’s probably password protected.” Aerin said.

  “Maybe.” John moved the mouse over and clicked on the only profile available. To both his and Aerin’s surprise, there was no password prompt, and instead it logged straight in. “Huh… guess not.”

  “Guess he figured nobody would ever find this.” Aerin stated.

  “Probably.” John agreed. “Alright let’s see what we can find.”

  The black screen suddenly became bright as the desktop was displayed. There were no icons or links of any kind displayed, the only thing that was there was the standard taskbar and a background with the word LEVIATHAN written there. John glanced over at Aerin and saw that her eyes were narrowed as she stared at the computer screen.

  “No… it can’t be the same one.” She muttered.

  “What’s wrong?” John asked.

  “Leviathan was the name of our task force back in the day.” Aerin stated. “Remember the one I told you about?”

  “Yeah, I remember.” John said as he turned the chair to face her.

  “We were a spiritual strike squad that Meredith formed with the US, but we were dissolved after our first mission.” She explained.

  “So what?” John began. “You think Holland was trying to start it back up?”

  “Maybe.” Aerin rested her chin on her hand in thought. “Or he could have thought it would be funny to use the name. He was pretty sick like that.”

  “Even in death that guy still pisses me off.” John said with a sigh.

  Aerin motioned for John to move over as she took hold of the mouse. She clicked through folder after folder looking for anything she could find. Surprisingly she seemed pretty good with a computer, something John wouldn’t normally have pegged her for. He watched as she searched the machine high and low, but unfortunately couldn’t find anything. It appeared as if the computer had been wiped long before they had arrived.