“I want you both to report to the nurse’s office. Damon, help Mona to the nurse and get your knees checked out,” Mr. Affholter instructed.
Damon crouched down to help Mona up. He could feel a sharp pain in both knees—the adrenaline from saving her had worn off. He grimaced as he held out his hand to help her up. “Hold on a second. I want to see if I can stand up on my own,” she said.
Mona took a deep breath and slowly tried to rise to her feet. Just when it looked like she was going to be fine on her own, she became light-headed and started to fall.
Damon caught her. “Easy now, I got you,” he said, throwing her arm over his shoulder. “Let’s take this slow, okay?”
“Okay,” Mona smiled. They gradually hobbled their way out of the gym.
When they got outside, Mona stopped. “Is everything okay?” Damon asked. “Yeah, everything’s fine. I just never thanked you. If you hadn’t caught me, who knows what could have happened. I could have died,” Mona said as she looked into his blue eyes.
Mona couldn’t believe how calm and collected he was after everything that had happened. His hair was even more tousled than usual, but that only made him more attractive to her. Mona decided to stop thinking. She tilted her chin up and just went for it. He was caught by surprise as her soft lips landed on his. After the initial shock wore off, he grabbed her firmly as their kiss intensified. She couldn’t believe she was doing this—right in the middle of the hallway, no less—but it just felt so good.
A door slammed in the distance, startling Mona into breaking the kiss. She looked at Damon and said, “Umm... Yeah, thank you.”
They walked the rest of the way to the nurse’s office in relative silence. They each had a slight smile on their faces from the moment they had shared.
When they got to the nurse’s office, they found the school nurse fully immersed in the book she was reading. Damon knocked on the door and the nurse jumped, then set her book down. “I’m sorry kids. It gets boring when no one’s here and it’s a really good book,” she explained.
Damon ignored what she said as he spoke, “Mr. Affholter sent us. There was an accident in gym class and she fell.”
“Oh my! Are you okay? Have a seat on the bed here and let me look at you.”
Mona climbed on the bed while the nurse put on latex gloves and reached in her drawer to pull out a light. The nurse looked at Mona and asked, “Do you have any pain anywhere? Headaches or dizziness?”
“No, not really,” Mona replied. “I was a little woozy earlier but it seems to have gone away.”
The nurse grabbed Mona’s head and held her eyes open as she flashed the light first into one then the other. The nurse put the light away and held up a finger. “Okay, keep your head still and follow my finger with your eyes,” she instructed.
The nurse slowly moved her finger left to right, from up to down. Her eyes followed Mona’s pupils as they shifted around; when she stepped away, she said, “Well, it doesn’t look like you have a concussion or any serious injuries. I would like you to take it easy for the rest of the day. Here’s a note in case anyone gives you any trouble. Now, why don’t you switch, and I’ll look at your friend’s knees.”
“It’s really no big deal,” Damon protested.
“I will have none of that. Get on this bed right this minute, young man!”
Damon sighed before complying. Mona slid off the bed as he hopped on.
The nurse changed her gloves and crouched down as she inspected Damon’s wounds. “Well, it’s a good thing you came in. These wounds could have easily gotten infected if not cleaned and treated,” she explained.
The nurse slowly cleaned his wounds and applied antibacterial cream. When she went to put on a bandage, she realized his cuts were bigger than any Band-Aids she had. She grabbed some bigger sheets of gauze and some medical tape. By the time she was done, it looked like Damon had two big knee-pads on. He shook his head; he knew how well this was going to go over with the guys at school. “Okay you two, get on back to class now, and if you feel funny don’t be afraid to come right back and see me,” the nurse instructed.
They both gave a smile and a nod as they walked out of the nurse’s office, but they were silent as they headed back towards the gym. They kept looking at each other, wanting to talk, but not knowing what to say.
When they got to the entrance to the girls’ locker room, Mona turned to speak “Look, about earlier...”
Damon quickly interrupted, “Hey—would you like to go out this weekend?”
Mona froze up and her eyes went wide. After she realized that it had indeed just happened, she squeaked out, “Yes.”
“Great! Let me get your number and I’ll pick you up tomorrow around three,” Damon said.
“Perfect, but I’d better go. I don’t want to be late for my next class.”
Mona barely held it together as she slid past the door of the girls’ locker room. Once inside, she laid down on the bench, a big smile growing on her face.
After she settled down, she rushed to her next class. When Mona arrived, she was almost disappointed that Damon wasn’t in this class. However, without any distractions, she was finally able to relax and learn.
The rest of Mona’s day seemed to fly by. When the three o’clock bell rang, as she left her last class she was a little disappointed that she hadn’t seen Damon since gym. She shrugged her shoulders, figuring he would call her tomorrow.
As Mona walked home, she had an uneasy feeling she was being watched. She stopped and looked around but, seeing nothing, only elected to walk much faster. When she got to the top of Craig’s Hill, she still had the feeling she was being watched. She stopped and scanned the area but still couldn’t see that there was anybody around. She shrugged off, figuring her nerves were on edge thanks to what happened in gym—Or afterwards, she smiled to herself. She was about to head down the hill when she heard rustling in the tall grass. She tried to look into the grass while staying as far back as possible, she was arched over trying to look in when she heard something behind her move. The sound startled her and she straightened up immediately. When she turned to see what was behind her a little green imp jumped from out of the grass behind her and onto her head. “For the master!” it yelled, hanging onto Mona’s hair for dear life.
Mona screamed as she flailed around trying to get the imp off her and was finally able to grab ahold of it. She yanked as hard as she could, throwing the imp to the ground along with a few chucks of hair in each of its hands. “Ow!”She yelled.
The imp hit the ground and bounced to its feet, beginning to dance around in celebration. Mona scowled at the imp and charged it. The imp froze as it screamed, “Aww! Brothers, help me!”
Mona kicked the imp, sending it flying into the tall grass. The grass all around her rustled and she spun around, trying to see where they were coming from, but the grass just kept rustling. Shouts rose from the grass. “For the master!”
Several more imps came springing out. Mona swung and connected with the first imp, sending it sailing back into the tall grass. The other imps took the opportunity to overwhelm her—they grabbed ahold of her arms and legs, forcing her to the ground.
For little guys, Mona was impressed by their strength as they quickly pinned her to the ground. They cackled and laughed at their easily conquered opponent. “Master wants this one dead, but we are supposed to preserve the parts, he said,” the imp sitting on her chest instructed as it reached into its stomach, pulling out a carving knife.
The imp raised the knife above its head. As it was about to plunge the blade into Mona’s chest, a large hand wrapped around the imp’s neck, causing it to drop the blade. The imp was yanked off her chest and thrown off the hill. The other imps on her arms were next. Mona struggled to sit up and saw Jason towering over her. He had an imp in each hand as he smashed them together. They exploded green goo everywhere. As the three remaining imps took off running into the tall grass, they shouted, “Master’s not going to be happy w
ith his monster!”
Jason looked down at Mona. “Are you okay?” he asked as he held out his hand.
Mona nodded and was just reaching for his hand when an imp leapt out of nowhere, slashed Jason’s shirt up the middle, and took off running into the grass. His shirt fell off of his body, revealing his well-toned chest. Mona rose to and stared in amazement at his body and muscle tone, but what really drew her in were the two huge scars on his chest in a giant X-shape that stretched from shoulder to hip. She reached her hand out to touch his chest, running her fingers along his scars. “What happened?” she asked.
All the fear and trauma Mona should have been experiencing were washed away by Jason and her fascination with his scars. She looked into his eyes as she asked again, “Please, will you tell me what happened?”
Jason looked deeply into her eyes. He knew better than to trust her—he had his reasons—but as he looked at her, his heart told him to tell her everything. “I’m not technically human,” he said.
“What?” Mona gasped and took a step back.
“Let me walk you home and I’ll tell you everything.”
Jason picked up the remains of his shirt. He put it on, trying to cover what he could of his scars.
They started walking down the hill as Jason begun telling Mona his story, “My life, as I know it, started about forty days ago. That’s the first memory I have—of when I first opened my eyes and my father...”
Jason fell to the ground clutching his head in agony. A voice filled his head. “What are you doing boy? You can’t tell her your secrets! I will not let you talk about me! Kill her!”
Mona watched from a distance, unsure of what to do, as Jason rolled on the ground. He wasn’t screaming but he was clearly in pain. Abruptly, he began to shout, “Father you can’t control me! I won’t let you!”
Jason rolled onto his knees as he raised his hands into the air. He screamed as he slammed both fists into the ground. Electricity danced on his skin before shooting in different directions.
Mona stepped back, trying to avoid being electrocuted. Fear filled her blood but her heart urged her to stay. Once Jason had calmed down, he slowly rose to his feet. His shirt now had holes burnt through it, and smoke was rising off them. He kept his head down as he spoke. “I’m so sorry you had to see that. You must really think I’m a monster. I’ll understand if you want to walk alone.”
Mona stepped closer. She could feel the heat radiate off Jason. She raised her hand to his face. The static electricity gave her a zap. She pulled her hand back before she rested it on his face. “From what I’ve seen, you’re no monster. Monsters aren’t born monsters. Only you can choose if you want to be human or a monster. You saved my life, and that makes you a hero in my book,” she said, kissing him on the cheek. “Now walk me home and tell me all about you.”
Damon took a deep breath as he stood in front of his hotel room mirror. He was nervous as he unsheathed his sword—the sword his father had given him four years ago. It was a day he would never forget. His father had come home from his latest hunt and sat him down. He looked his son directly in the eye and in his most serious tone told Damon he had a choice to make. He could go to live with his uncle and lead a normal life, or he could stay and train to become a hunter. The look he gave his father meant he didn’t even have to answer as his father handed him the sword he now held in his hand. He remembered his father telling him what the Italian inscription meant, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember it now. He held the sword up as it began to glow a bright blue. He put the sword back in its sheath as he strapped the sword to his back. He walked over to his bed where he had an assortment of silver throwing knives laid out alongside a single pistol.
The gun rarely killed anything Damon hunted, but it helped slow down some of the bigger beasts. He strapped a few of the throwing knives to his waist, put a few in his pockets, and then slid the pistol into his back waistband. He put on his dark leather jacket and made sure all of his weapons were covered.
Damon took one more glance in the mirror; after double-checking everything, he grabbed his keys and headed outside to his car. His 1971 Dodge Challenger sat in the first spot, right in front of his hotel room. He ran his hand along the powder blue fender. He remembered when his father and he first found the car two years ago. It was just a pile of scrap in an old junkyard where they were hunting some ghouls. Damon fell in love the first time he saw it and it didn’t take much convincing to get his father to help him move the car home. He had spent every minute he wasn’t training or hunting working on his car. It took over a year to get it into driving shape, and the next year he spent tuning the car into what he had today.
Damon climbed into the front seat and began to speak to the car softly. “Okay baby, here we go again. Let’s ride smooth and true.”
He slid the key into the ignition as the car roared to life. He pushed the clutch in, but just as he pulled out of the parking spot, he could hear his father’s voice in his head. “This one is too dangerous. Do not go alone. Wait for me or your brother.” Damon shifted into first. His tires squealed and he was on his way.
His dad should have known better. There was no way in hell Damon was going to sit around at home while innocent people were getting hurt and killed. He did everything his dad and brother had taught him. He had followed the doctor for weeks, learning everything he could about him, his home and his lab. He even followed the doctor’s latest abomination to the local high school. The biggest problem was that even after all of this research, Damon had no clue what the doctor wanted or why he was here. Still, important as such details were, they weren’t going to stop him from ending the doctor’s killing spree.
When Damon was getting close to the doctor’s home, he hit a button on his dashboard, killing the hemi engine. A quiet hum started under the engine as the electric motor he had installed propelled the car forward quietly. He killed the lights, rounded the corner, and came to a stop.
Damon quietly opened his car door and slowly stepped out. The large three-story house looked like a small fortress from where he stood. Every window was tinted and barred. The house was surrounded by a ten-foot hedge. He kept low as, slowly, he crept his way up to it, then put his hand up and tried pushing it through. Something solid blocked his path. He tried a few more spots, but every time he hit something. There must have been a fence under the bushes. If he was going to get through, he was going to have to climb.
Damon reached up and grabbed a handful of branches, trying to find a firm enough grip to climb on. Finding a good grip, he jumped up and started to climb. Hand over hand he climbed the fence, trying to be as silent as possible, but the bushes rustled as he climbed. When he reached the top, he popped his head over and surveyed the yard. Everything seemed completely empty and it was deadly silent. He was about to swing over the fence when he heard something moving. Looking around, he spotted an imp directly below him, perhaps waiting, but not watching.
First double-checking that there weren’t any more imps in the yard, Damon hopped over the top of the fence. He fell with such a force that the imp splatted everywhere as he landed. Reaching down, he scooped some of the imp goo off the ground and threw it over the fence. “That should stop you from coming back together,” he whispered.
Damon stayed low as he hurried across the yard to a ground-level window with a light on. Creeping up close, yet trying to stay out of sight, he hugged the wall. Inching closer to the window, he could hear two voices arguing back and forth. He arched his head to peek around into the basement window. Jason Franks was screaming at his father, Victor, or as Damon called him, the doctor. He listened as they argued. “You insolent insignificant snot, I don’t know how you disobeyed me or why. But when I give a command, you obey!” the doctor screamed as he struck Jason across the face. “Do you understand boy?”
“Why her? Why does she have to die?” Jason asked.
“She isn’t supposed to be alive—and there’s something about her. She somehow affec
ted my control over you. I need to study her and figure what she did to you.”
“You can’t have her!”
The doctor pulled out a small black device and clicked a button. Jason fell to the floor screaming in pain. “You haven’t been alive very long, but you will soon learn that I always get what I want. She will be dead and on my table before this weekend is over,” the doctor taunted.
Fighting through the pain, Jason rose to his feet. “I won’t let you!” Jason yelled, grabbing the device out of the doctor’s hand. “Remarkable,” the doctor whispered.
Jason flipped off the switch and crushed the device. He slowly stepped towards the doctor. “I will not let you harm a hair on her head,” Jason said as he puffed out his chest.
The doctor just smiled and put a hand on Jason’s chest. “My dear boy, you can’t stop me,” the doctor said as he shoved Jason, hard, sending him flying through the window. Damon fell back as the bars on the windows shot off into the bushes with Jason following behind. He landed about halfway into the yard, bouncing once before coming to a stop.
Damon scooted away from the giant hole in the house. He rose to his feet, his eyes darting between the unconscious Jason and the ruined wall, and drew his blade. It began to glow a bright blue, and he waited, poised to attack the doctor the moment he walked through the gap. Damon would sever his head if he could.
After a couple of minutes, Damon wondered why the doctor hadn’t come through the hole yet. He slowly inched towards the hole, his blade at the ready. When he could finally see into the hole, he noticed the basement was empty. “Where did you go?” he whispered.
Damon’s question answered itself; he heard the doctor’s voice coming from down the stairs, “Go grab my worthless son and get to work fixing the hole in my house.”
About half a dozen imps came running down the stairs when one of them screamed, “Master—intruder! It’s a hunt…”
A silver throwing-knife silenced the imp as it pierced the imps face, pinning it against the wall. Damon threw three more knives, pinning three more imps. The two remaining imps charged forward as they reached into their bellies pulling out knives. They leapt at Damon. He swung his sword forward and its blue aura flew forward in an arc. The imps were cut in half as they hit the blue aura, and screamed when they hit the ground. Then they went silent. Slowly, they slowly disintegrated into piles of ash. The blue aura faded out of the air.
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