Fall Prey: The Hunt

by Dallas Massey

  Asher produced an audible groan, failing to keep it in.

  “What’s that, Blackthorn?” asked Driscoll. He remained near the door, his eyes blinking rapidly as though he couldn’t believe what he heard.

  “Nothing, sir.” Asher didn’t want to risk a scene and made sure Driscoll didn’t see his irritated expression. The corporal wielded his power like a club.

  “Come on,” Driscoll coaxed. “I know you said something, Blackthorn. I’m not deaf. Let’s hear it.”

  “Trust me, sir,” Asher reaffirmed. ”It’s just a complaint, and you don’t need to hear it.”

  “Try me.”

  Asher rose from his seat and turned to face the corporal.

  Driscoll’s eyes narrowed when he looked up at Asher, irritated by his superior height. The light from the TV danced over his face, illuminating his pudgy features in the dark.

  “Sir, it’s just that I normally crash around like 12:30 or so. It’s going to be hard to sleep if I have to go to bed that early. We haven’t been required to wake up early yet, so there’s no reason to go to bed at 10:30.”

  “That was then, and this is now,” Driscoll’s voice was dismissive. “When you’re under my command, you will be up at 5 AM for the morning run.”

  “But, sir,” Aaron craned his neck to speak to Driscoll from his seat. “The captain already makes us go for a morning run at 8:30.”

  “You’ll be going on two runs then.” Driscoll grew frustrated. “You’ll need to be in real good shape if you’re going to last long hunting vamps. Trust me, I would know.” He looked at Asher as though he stared down a potential attacker. “Aren’t you kind of tired, Blackthorn? We had a long day at the range, and then we had to set up that second bunk for Aaron and me. Sure made me tired.” His gaze grew less severe as he spoke.

  “No, sir,” said Asher, barely able to keep from rolling his eyes.

  The corporal hadn’t lifted a finger to help assemble the second bunk earlier. He had stood by as the others worked, sure to point out their mistakes.

  “I must admit that I do not feel tired, or at least any more tired than usual.”

  “Very well.” Driscoll realized he couldn’t convince Asher. “Regardless, lights out at 10:30. I hope you don’t plan on defying my orders, Blackthorn. I wouldn’t want to write you up on my first night as your group leader.”

  . “I have absolutely no intention of defying your orders, sir,” said Asher, flabbergasted by the corporal’s insinuation.

  “I’m happy to hear that, Private.” Driscoll smiled. “We will all get along just fine so long as you do what I tell you.”

  Asher grew tense over the remark and felt a sudden urge to strike his superior, though he knew he would never dare act on it.

  Driscoll turned around and started for the door.

  “Where are you going, sir?” Asher crossed his arms over his chest. “That is if you’ll allow me to ask.”

  “I have some business to attend to.” Driscoll stood with the door open, failing to produce the volatile response Asher expected. “I should be back at ten at the latest to see if you’re all following my orders. I like to lead by example, so you can expect me to be in bed by 10:30 as well. I’ll see you later.” He remained by the door, motionless, expecting Asher to say something.

  “See you later, sir,” said Asher at last.

  “That’s it.” Driscoll’s smile was sincere this time. ”Keep it up, guys, and we’ll be a fully functioning assault group in no time.” He passed through the doorway, letting the door gently close behind him.

  Asher remained where he stood, listening to the corporal’s footsteps become more and more distant.

  “Ah, that guy.” Asher turned to speak to Aaron, confident Driscoll was out of range. “He is insufferable! I hope he’s not in charge of us for long. It’s going to be tempting to just hand him over to the bloodsuckers.”

  “Don’t say that!” said Milo from out of nowhere, sitting up to speak to them from where he lay on the bottom bunk.

  Asher and Aaron turned to look at him, taken aback by his sudden outburst.

  Milo set down the book he held and looked over at them, his already large eyes magnified by his glasses.

  “OK, yeah,” Milo’s voice returned to its normal volume. “I know Driscoll is a jerk, but we really should show some respect. I mean, he surely did something to attain a higher rank than us, and I think that in itself deserves at least some respect. We’ll just have to give him the benefit of the doubt before we call final judgment. We’ll have to learn to get along if we hope to survive. You got to be at your best at all times when you’re going after the vamps. It’s like they can sense our weaknesses and exploit them. I don’t know how many more of my comrades I can see slaughtered.”

  Milo gazed down at the floor and shook his head.

  “Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” said Asher, ashamed of being so willing to complain moments earlier. “I‘ll do what he says and try my best to be respectful, but just for the benefit of you guys and everyone else who ends up working with us. I’ll just have to get used to it.”

  “That’s more like it.” Milo gazed back up at Asher, a kind of glee in his eyes. “I can’t say it's the best attitude to have, but it’s better than the one you had a second ago. At least it’s a start anyway. How about you, Aaron? You OK with Driscoll as group leader?”

  “I guess I’ll have to be.” Aaron shrugged, turning to look at Milo through the darkness of the room. “I can’t do anything about who gets promoted and who ends up assigned to a certain group. As far as I’m concerned, having a superior who you don’t really like is just an incentive to do better in the hopes that you can be promoted yourself. Other than that, I’ll do whatever it takes to get us all back home in one piece.”

  With that, their conversation ended, and the tension in the room died away. The lull from the TV was the only noise.

  Asher was satisfied. He only wanted to relax and enjoy his time without Driscoll, certain such opportunities would be rare in the future. Asher slunk back over to his seat to continue watching TV with Aaron.

  Thud!

  Milo closed his book and rose from his bed, heading for the door.

  “Where you going, Milo?” asked Aaron. Both he and Asher craned their necks to look at him.

  “Nowhere, really.” He held the doorknob in his hand. “Kind of feeling riled up. I think I’ll go run the track to blow it all off. Might go down to the range and practice since it's open for free shooting.”

  “Have fun,” said Asher, waving goodbye. “Remember Driscoll’s curfew. You don’t need a wad like him chewing you out.”

  “Oh, I’ll be back way before that.” Milo opened the door. “See you guys later.”

  “Hey, Aaron, I think I’m going to turn in early tonight,” said Asher nearly an hour later, preparing to rise from his seat.

  “What?” asked Aaron, sounding addled. “Coming right off your standoff with Driscoll? He’s not even back yet himself.”

  “I’m just tired from the sudden change of pace,” Asher admitted. ”I wasn’t going to let Driscoll have the satisfaction of knowing that. Anyway, I went from cop to vampire-hunter-in-training in less than twenty-four hours. It’s already starting to wear on me.”

  He rose from his chair and walked toward the bathroom to change clothing and brush his teeth. He emerged moments later to make his way to the bunk opposite the door.

  “I suppose you need me to turn down the TV and stay quiet,” said Asher as he stepped past Aaron. “You can do whatever you want. Sound doesn’t usually get to me. I can sleep through most anything.”

  “OK, I’ll try to be quiet anyway.” Aaron pointed the remote at the TV and turned down the volume.

  “Yeah, if you don’t mind,” said Asher as he climbed onto the top bunk. He took the blanket from the foot of the bed and rolled himself up in it, facing the wall so he wouldn’t be bothered. “See you in the morning, man. Bright and freakin’ early.”

 
; “That’s why Driscoll insists on the earlier bedtime. Night, Ash.”

  Asher yawned, closing his eyes. The light from the TV’s LED screen danced upon the bedroom wall. The rise and fall of the voices caused him to drift off into a state of unconsciousness.

  * * *

  Asher awoke with a start, feeling as though he slept for only a few minutes. He heard a strange sound echoing up from the depths of the underground barracks. He brushed the trappings of sleep away by rubbing his eyes with his fist, listening for the sound.

  He wasn’t disappointed.

  The noise, the unmistakable howls of a pack of canines, and big ones at that, reverberated through the base once more.

  Goosebumps popped up all along Asher’s back, and his heart rate rose. Terrifying, blood-filled thoughts about the noise-makers raced through his mind. Whatever it was, the sound came from inside the barracks. Asher knew it contradicted every survival instinct he possessed, but he felt an urge to investigate.

  “Hey, Aaron, you hear that?” Asher turned over to ask Aaron, who was asleep on the bottom bunk across from him. The howling came to a stop before the words left his tongue.

  “Uh… Man, hear what?” Aaron gave him a less-than-friendly answer. “I don’t hear anything. You’re probably having a nightmare or something. Just go back to sleep. It’s like 2:30.”

  The howling resumed, louder this time, but still requiring a certain amount of concentration to hear it.

  “You surely heard it that time,” said Asher.

  “OK, yeah, I kind of heard it that time.” Aaron was up on one arm to speak to him through the dark of the room. “I have no idea what it could be, and I honestly couldn’t care less right now. Whatever it is, I don’t think it would be anything that can hurt us. Isn’t this place supposed to be secure or something?”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Asher reluctantly rolled himself back up in his blanket to face the wall once again.

  The howling started again, just as he closed his eyes.

  “OK, that’s it,” he said, pulling off his blanket to slide from his bunk, his bare feet landing directly on the cold tile floor, nearly causing him to lose his balance. “I’ve got to find out what’s making that noise.”

  “You just going to go out there in a t-shirt and boxers?” Aaron groaned. “Better hope it’s just a dog or something, or all you’ll be doing is giving it a nighttime snack.”

  “That’s ridiculous.” Asher tried to remember where he put his shoes as his feet felt as though they might freeze to the floor. “Of course I’m not going out there like this. I’ve got to get my shoes on first.”

  “Oh, that’ll help.” Aaron’s voice was sarcastic to the core. “Though, I guess if you get desperate, you can throw a shoe and distract whatever it is while you make a run for it.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  Asher bumbled around the bottom of the bunk, surprised to find Milo still asleep. He discovered his lost shoes only when he nearly tripped over them. He slipped them on, eager to separate his skin from the ice-like tile floor. Asher remained near the bed, crouched down in the darkness as he waited for his eyes to adjust, wanting them to be at their best before he left the room.

  Content with his vision, he slowly made his way toward the door, arms outstretched in an attempt to keep from running into something. As he neared the wall, he reached for the doorknob, grasping at the air before his fingers came in contact with the dull, cool metal. He pulled the door open, looking back to see Aaron still lying motionless in the bottom bunk.

  “You comin’ Aaron?”

  Aaron hastily threw his blanket off and sat up in bed to look over at Asher. “Guess I have to, now that you’ve got me all woke up. Not like I’m going to get much sleep anyway since you won’t shut up. Just give me a second, OK?” Aaron stared at his feet for a few moments, rubbing both eyes with his fists, unable to shake the tiredness away.

  Just when Asher was sure he was about to have second thoughts, Aaron slowly rose from his bed.

  “Dang, this floor is cold,” he said, immediately making for the dresser at the other side of the room. “Let me go put on some socks or something.”

  Asher could have laughed seeing him move, his fellow private looking like a chicken walking a tightrope, making sure his feet made as little contact with the floor as possible.

  Finally fed up with the cold, Aaron all but sprinted for the dresser, barely stopping before he slid into it. He yanked open the top drawer and groped for his socks.

  “Come on, man, just hurry up.” Asher impatiently waited for Aaron to pull on his socks. “The howling could stop at any moment, and then we won’t be able to tell where it’s coming from.” He briefly considered leaving him, concerned that the howling might stop altogether if they didn’t leave the room soon.

  The howling sounded once more, increased in volume this time, remedying Asher’s concern. Milo groaned from the bottom bunk at the opposite wall, acting as though he might wake this time.

  “Hurry up, Aaron,” Asher hissed, trying to hold his voice down to the softest level possible. “You’re going to mess around and wake up Driscoll. He’s just waiting for a chance to bawl us out.”

  “You keep talking this much, and somebody will absolutely hear us,” Aaron hissed back, finally finished putting on his socks.

  Asher held the door for him as he waited to venture out into the hallway. Asher proceeded through the entryway, the hallway just as void of illumination as the room. Aaron followed, both of them using the now continuous howling that came from underneath the base to guide them down the lightless hallway. They kept as low to the floor as possible, their arms spread wide to avoid running into walls. It was the only way they could move both quickly and quietly through a near pitch-black environment.

  They neared the heavy wooden doors that separated the sleeping quarters from the rest of the base within seconds. Asher held out his palms as he felt for the dense wood. Finding the door, he searched for the handle. The cold metal nearly caused him to pull away as he wrapped his hand around it.

  He opened the door, his movements cautious and methodical. Light from the adjacent hallway poured through the ever-widening opening, revealing that the base did indeed stay busy both night and day. Aaron caught hold of the door just as Asher proceeded through the entryway, closing it quietly behind him.

  They rushed onward, the two young men in t-shirts and boxer shorts racing down the well-lit hallway, one stomping through in untied shoes and the other sliding around in socked feet. They scrambled past the cafeteria, stopping for only a moment to peer through the open doors. Instant relief washed over them when they found nobody within.

  Ding!

  The elevator rang as they approached, stopping them in their tracks as the doors slid open. As though on cue, the far-away, underground howling suddenly came to a stop. Before they had time to turn and run in the other direction, the doors slid open and Lieutenant Tarango stepped out.

  “What are you doing out of bed?” asked Lieutenant Tarango, his face folded in a deep frown. “Privates aren’t allowed access to this area at this time without permission. Sometimes it’s allowed in case of emergency, which this isn’t.” He didn’t look upset, though the edge in his voice suggested otherwise.

  “Tell you what,” the lieutenant continued, a strange, slightly crazed-looking smile forming on his face. “I don’t consider being up after hours to be a real big deal so long as you return to your quarters now. I’ll just let you off with this warning.”

  He stopped, and the howling resumed, even louder than before.

  “Can’t you hear that, sir?” asked Asher, feeling courageous. “We just wanted to figure out what it was, since it’s kind of keeping us up.”

  Aaron looked over at Asher and then at Tarango, expecting the lieutenant to lose his cool.

  “Of course I can hear it, Blackthorn.” Tarango’s frown returned, revealing his irritation with Asher’s question.

  “Would yo
u care to tell us what it is, sir?” asked Aaron, directing the lieutenant’s attention away from Asher.

  “I’m not at liberty to give you that information until the appointed time,” said Tarango. ”I recommend just getting used to it for the time being.”

  “It sounds like you have a pack of werewolves chained up in the basement,” said Asher, the hairs on the back of his neck stiffening as he spoke. It wasn’t the most unlikely of assumptions. “You can at least give us something, you know, so we can sleep at night. I swear we won’t tell anyone.”

  “Absolutely not!” Tarango roared, his rage exploding and his carefree demeanor gone. Angry though he was, the lieutenant only stood looking up at the ceiling, silently counting to ten before continuing. “What’s classified is classified, and you have to respect that.” His voice went flat as it returned to a regular volume. “There is nothing down there that will harm you, and that ought to be good enough. Now go back to bed before I have to write you up for insubordination. I can’t tell you how much I hate filling out that paperwork, but I’ll do it if I have to.”

  Tarango covered his face with his left hand, pointing toward the heavy wooden doors with his right.

  “Yes, sir,” said Aaron and Asher in unison. They rose to their feet, turning around to start the sullen walk back to their quarters.

  “Hey, guys!” Tarango called back to them in his typical pleasant tone, causing them to turn back around. “Hey, no hard feelings.” He gave them a genuine grin. “Just don’t do it again, and there won’t be any problems.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “OK, off to your quarters then.”

  “Yes, sir,” they both said for the last time. They followed the lieutenant’s orders, all the while making a mental note to step lightly when they had to be near him.

  Chapter XIII

  The Kresnik

  “Where exactly are we, doctor?” Cyrus yelled into his headset over the mechanical sweeping sound of spinning helicopter blades.

  “Once again, Mr. Blackthorn, we are taking you to a training facility,” said Dr. Shen, giving the same answer for at least the third time. “It is to be the site of your first field test.”