Stalking Darkness

by J. L. Oiler

  Gavin signaled to the others that the coast was clear, and the entire group relaxed slightly. They would need to clean the scene up, dispose of the bodies, and figure out where to put the sole survivor of this mess until she either kicked the bucket with her friends or changed into the very thing they hunted. Grabbing a large bath sheet from a nearby shelf, Gavin used it to wrap the shapely female before picking her up into his arms. Her body was ice cold, a product of the change, and her breath came in shallow rasping breaths. She was close to one outcome or another. Her fate would be decided within the next twenty-four hours. It was something he’d not been prepared for. This particular group of vampires never left business unfinished, which said they’d been there only about an hour earlier. Muttering a low curse, he carried her out into the main room and toward the entry. He had no choice but to place her in the small cage in the rear of his vehicle. She was too close, and all the areas she could be safely confined were too far away. At least if he ended up having to kill the girl, she would be close at hand.

  “What are you planning to do with her?” Drake, his second in command and hand-to-hand combat specialist, asked as he pushed the button which called the private elevator to take him from the pent house directly to the parking garage.

  “I’m going to put her in Phynix’s pen until she dies or changes,” Gavin told him as a high-pitched ping signaled the arrival of his transportation. Phynix was the team’s pit-bull boxer mix. Usually a constant on missions such as this, the animal was currently back at the team’s temporary headquarters nursing a puncture wound to his hind quarters from their last operation.

  “And if she changes, then what?”

  “Depends.” Gavin knew Drake hated the idea, but someone gave each of them a chance at redemption when they simply could have killed them off. Who was he not to give her the same opportunity? If she changed and became like those they hunted, he’d be the first to bury a stake into her black heart. Until then, they could only wait and see Gavin thought perhaps the victims true self was the ultimate decision maker. A individual who believed in doing good in their human life refused the darkness inside them while others become the disciple of evil upon reawakening.

  Shifting her so he could pull the keys from his pocket, he clicked the button which would auto-open the rear tailgate. Setting her as gently as he could, he secured the woman in the cage and fastened the door.

  His team slowly rejoined him, each stowing the larger weapon they’d carried and giving the woman curled in the kennel a look before climbing into the dark SUV for the trip back to warehouse that they would be packing up over the next day. They never spent more than a week or two at any given location. Instead, they tracked their prey across the miles of map dots and stateliness in a vain attempt to catch up before the next group of college kids made the front page of the local paper for seemingly perishing in a devastating car crash or fiery blaze. Arrangements were already in place for this last group of casualties to die as the result of a local garage explosion due to illicit drug making. Gavin hated to ruin the reputation of the victims; however, there were only so many body-destroying car crashes or dorm fires before someone noted a pattern.

  Glancing in his rear view mirror, Gavin surveyed his team. Disappointment, anger and wariness stared back at him. They’d been too long after this group of bloodsuckers and always arrived hours too late.

  Raven Whitefeather sat directly behind him. The man was a full-blooded Cherokee who wore his long, dark hair in his usual braid and stared out the side window deep in thought. He’d been with Gavin a little over ten years now, joining a short two years after a werewolf attack devastated dozens of his fellow reservation members. Raven had been one of only two survivors at the time, and was later forced to kill his own brother to protect those who remained in the small community. The tanned six-foot male also had a sort of second sight that the team could thank for saving their asses on more than one occasion.

  Beside him sat Gavin’s wingman, Drake Knight, the onetime Special Forces soldier and a power to be reckoned with. Drake joined the team around the same time as Gavin. His was a story of tragedy and vengeance. Shortly after returning from his last tour in Afghanistan, he, his wife and their thirteen-month-old son were attacked by a group of vampires while returning home from a military family function. The bastards made him watch both die before using him up and leaving Drake for dead. Much to their surprise, he’d survived. The six-four soldier managed to take out the entire vampire clan responsible in a single attack.

  Beside Gavin, Hugh Bride steered the vehicle through the streets crowded with the first wave of morning traffic. The youngest and newest to the team, Hugh could drive anything with a motor. The former steelworker had arms the size of fire hydrants and honed his driving skills through street racing. Of course, he never expected to be attacked by what he originally thought to be an injured dog he’d struck with his car on a deserted back road. The man had a temper as fiery as his shaggy red hair.

  They were a rag tag group for certain: a death team designed to destroy the creatures that fed on the innocence of the world. Vampires, werewolves or any other sort of vile being was a target. The decision of when or who to target fell to the commander, a disembodied voice that reached out over secured phone lines to relay information, arrange supplies and assign missions. Gavin wondered what the man would say about their current cargo. There was no doubt he already knew about the girl; the commander knew everything, always did.

  “Cadence Farris,” Drake said, handing the college girl’s student ID over the seat. “That’s your girl. From these, I saw that we were missing two bodies from the little party we just left. A Julie Morris and a Brad Drain.” He handed those college IDs up to Gavin as well.

  “They’re skipping town and took some food for the road,” Hugh said without taking his eyes off the road.

  “Increasing their numbers to create a distraction,” Raven said softly in the eerie tone that said he’d seen the fate of both students, before turning to glance at the cage behind him. “She must fight to survive if we’re to find them.”

  “Won’t matter much if her mind’s broken,” Hugh added as he pulled through the garage doors and into the dark warehouse.

  Gavin knew that was a very true statement. He’d seen a dozen people make the transition to vampire. Of those, a total of two managed not to turn psychotic and start killing. Most he’d ended up putting down himself, and this woman might just be the next. He’d never faced termination of a female who’d been turned and it was not something he relish the thought of doing. Gavin spent the biggest part of his human life protecting those like her, laying his life willingly on the line so she could go to college, get married and have a pack load of kids. Instead she’d become vamp bait.

  Popping the hatchback on the SUV, he looked at Cadence, still curled in a tight fetal ball inside the kennel. She was a mess, and he knew if she survived many of the gashes covering her body, they would scar. Looking at the small, smiling image on her student ID, Gavin shook his head. The clan they trailed had an eye for the pretty ones.

  Lifting her out of the cage, he headed for the shower room. The warehouse was once some sort of chemical storage operation that requiring a decontamination area. It proved to be a great place to clean her up. Laying her gently on the cool tile of the floor, Gavin snatched a towel from a nearby metal shelf and tucked it under her head. Cadence Farris was in for a long twenty-four hours. The change was painful, and if she survived, the girl would need lots of hot water.

  Shuddering, he remembered his own journey from human to vampire. Hours of mind-splitting pain and the purging of anything from his body the new form did not require. When it was complete, he’d woken covered in human slime and smelling like a week-old corpse. He’d scrubbed and showered until long after he’d exhausted every drop of hot water and three bars of soap.

  Reaching around to the back of his belt, Gavin pulled the specially made titanium cuffs from their loop and secured her wrist
around one of the steel reinforced concrete supports. He needed to get some rest, and the last thing they needed was a new vamp wandering about. Standing, he frowned as Cadence began to thrash about in what he knew to be only the first of many painful, convulsive fits. It would definitely be a long few hours.

  Chapter Three

  Cadence screamed. Pain ripped through her abdomen as though someone were inside clawing to get out. Lurching, she spewed blood and globs of things unidentifiable across the cracked tile where it slowly oozed down the drain holes. Never had she felt so sick. Attempting to get up, she jerked at her arms, discovering them cuffed around a pillar up near her head. What the fuck was going on? Cadence was about to scream out for help when yet another wave of pain ripped through her, reducing her to a quivering mass of flesh.

  What she guessed was hours later, judging from the faded glow of sunlight pouring through a dust–covered, cracked skylight pane, Cadence opened her eyes. The pain was gone, replaced by immense hunger and wariness. The pungent smell of death filled the area as she tugged halfheartedly at the cuffs holding her. Was that stink coming from her, she wondered as she scrunched her nose and tried to twist so she could get a better look at her surroundings.

  “See you made it through the day,” a deep male voice said from somewhere nearby, startling her.

  Cadence stilled, uncertain if she should move or not. Swallowing, she turned her head slowly to look over her shoulder at the large frame of the man who looked down at her from the opening, which she guessed one time contained a door. From the angle and the dying light, Cadence should not have been able to see him in the clear detail she did. His eyes surveyed her with a curiosity, suggesting he looked for her to do or react in some way; he was uncertain when she did nothing but stare back at him.

  “Where am I?” she asked, her voice cracking and her throat feeling raw with each word.

  “How do you feel?” he asked without answering her.

  “Tired,” she replied, turning her face away from him. “And hungry.”

  “You’ve been through a lot. Your strength will return with rest and a feeding,” he said, stepping into the tiled stall where she could see him and twisting the rusty looking chrome knobs.

  Hot water rushed through the pipes, clanking and groaning before spraying from the overhead shower onto her. Steam rose from her body and though she was certain the water must be scalding hot, it felt barely tepid on her naked skin.

  “I brought you some shampoo, soap, and a couple towels. If you promise to behave, I’ll unfasten you so you can wash up.” He knelt down beside her, a key dangling from the keychain in his hand.

  Cadence looked in his deep green eyes, surprised even in her current state of undress she did not feel threatened by a man who was easily three times her size. The calmness she felt lying there confused her; she should have been frightened, screaming for help. Instead, she simply looked at this man as if there was nothing unusual about her current predicament. Nodding in agreement to behave, Cadence relaxed as he unfastened both wrist and offered her a hand up.

  “My name’s Gavin. If you need anything give a shout, but don’t leave this stall until I return with something to wear and some salve for your wounds,” he said as he assisted her to her rather wobbly legs, making certain she was steady before walking back through the door and disappearing.

  Standing beneath the hard spray, Cadence allowed the water to wash over her, taking with it the grime, blood and stench that covered her. Lathering the scrap of cloth that passed as a washcloth, she began to scrub herself, noticing for the first time the large gashes in her hips abdomen and shoulders. She closed her eyes and raised her face to the hot water. What had those bastards done to her, and where were the others? She did not recall seeing the male who’d been helping her among those at the party and something inside her said he was not part of the vile group. Did he know anything about what had happened to her or about her friends?

  A familiar old feeling gripped her: abandonment. Cadence had struggled with that feeling for the past seven years. She’d nearly drowned in the emotion when her parents and little brother died in a car crash a few days after her sixteenth birthday. If she’d had a nickel for every time her aunt Gretchen told her it was just part of life, and she needed to learn to take care of herself, Cadence wouldn’t have needed to take out a single student loan. The arrogant woman had no problem making certain her only niece knew what an inconvenience she was. Cadence could honestly say if it were not for the modest inheritance, the woman would have allowed her to be homeless. In the end, she’d grown strong and independent on the outside and a puddle of jelly inside.

  ****

  Gavin stood watching as Cadence lathered her hair for the third time. The frothy white bubbles cascaded across her tucked waist, washed away with the debris of her change. He could see her wounds were already beginning to heal, and even with the scars they would leave behind, she was the sexiest woman he’d seen in quite a while, long legs, full breasts and a round ass that left him hard. When she turned slightly so he caught a glimpse of the well-trimmed triangle of her pussy, his cock jerked uncomfortably in the confines of his fatigues.

  The commander had already been in contact and, as expected, knew about Cadence. He’d suggested the group keep the woman close at hand until they dropped her off at an old military installation now used as a sort of retraining and psych ward for the recently converted. If she survived, the commander hinted that he considered assigning her to their team. The problem with that was Gavin’s sexual attraction. Hell, they’d not spoken more than a dozen words, but when he managed to be a dozen feet from the woman, his dick sprang to life. Knowing the sexual desires that came with becoming a vampire, he doubted it would be long before she had her long legs wrapped around him and possibly the others. A complication which could spell disaster for the group, who up until now seemed to function without much personal conflict.

  With a sigh, he turned his head. He was looking at the glass half empty. Cadence may be just the change they needed to find the group of monsters they currently tracked. There was also the fact none of them knew her. The woman might just be the biggest shrew this side of the earth, repelling all thoughts of sex between them.

  With a new certainty that his urges would be put to rest, Gavin headed toward the shower, a soft towel and clean clothes in hand.

  "Feel better?" he asked, reaching over to turn the faucet off. "I brought you something to wear."

  "Thank you," Cadence responded. She took the thick blue towel and attempted to wrap it around her.

  The cloth was far too small to cover her completely and only seemed to accentuate her full curves. Clearing his throat, Gavin placed the t-shirt and camo pants he'd brought on the shelf and stepped outside the shower cubical. He needed a bit of space as she dried off and dressed.

  "As soon as you’re ready, I'll take you to meet the others and we’ll discuss what’s next for you."

  “What do you mean?” her soft voice over his shoulder caused a chill to race along Gavin’s spine. “I need to get back to campus for graduation.”

  "Sorry sweets, but I'm afraid that ship has already sailed. We've a lot to discuss," Gavin said, turning to face her. He'd intended to act cold and indifferent, hoping to receive the same in return. Instead, she simply frowned at him and dropped her eyes to the floor at her feet.

  "Something’s wrong with me, isn't it," she said in a voice which was no more than a whisper.

  Gavin's gut twisted, and he felt like a total ass. He remembered the feeling of confusion and loss when he'd been changed. He'd thought everything was lost to him, his future vanishing in a single night of blood and pain. It had been cruel to discount the things she'd be losing with such indifference. It made him no better than the monsters that left her in that hotel room to die.

  "Listen," Gavin said, reaching out to grip her shoulders, "A lot has changed for you, but you’re not alone. And I promise things will be all right."

  He w
asn’t sure why he'd made such a promise other than it was what he thought she needed to hear at that moment. He had no real way to guarantee things would be okay, but he intended to do what he could to help Cadence adjust to what she'd become, at least until she was in someone else’s hands. She nodded to him, and a slight, tight smile graced her face.

  Gavin led her through the halls of the large warehouse, up a set of rickety stairs and into what once served as the place’s cafeteria where the others waited, seated around the building’s only table still in usable condition. He felt a strange sense of pride, his chest swelling up as he brought her to the others like some sort of prize.

  ****

  Cadence stared wide-eyed at the men who sat gawking at her as if she might bite them. Why were they looking at her as if she was a danger to them? Swallowing hard, she took the seat Gavin pulled out for her.

  “So, have you told her?” asked a large red head seated to Cadence’s left; his black biker boots were propped up on the edge of the table.