Tainted Hunter (The Huntress Bane Book 1)

by Derek Shupert

  Boots to flat ground, we stride over to the buggy. Lucian removes his rucksack from his shoulders. He makes a beeline for the passenger side. He tosses the bulky pack into the rear of the vehicle and hops up into the bucket seat. I secure the kukri inside its sheath and slip into the driver’s side.

  Lucian glances to his right, then his left with a stressed expression on his flush, sweaty face.

  “Come on, come on,” he urges with fidgeting fingers.

  I turn the engine over. The bright glow of the digital gauges on the dash spring to life. A thin layer of dust coats the various gauges, which makes it hard to ascertain the status of the vehicle.

  I wipe away the dirt and grime, revealing the solar panels’ current output.

  Lucian leans over and glances at the dash. His eyes cut up to me with a worried look.

  “Are we going to have enough juice to make it to Black Fields?”

  “We’ll worry about that later. For now, we just need to get out of the city in one piece.”

  My foot mashes the gas pedal to the floorboard. I rev the engine as the makeshift frame rattles and vibrates. My hand cups the gear shift and works it back into reverse.

  The tires squeal and spin wildly in place before the buggy surges backward. I spin the steering wheel to the right, which sends us whipping around. I pump the brake, and bring the vehicle under submission long enough to shift into drive.

  I punch the gas once more. The buggy lunges forward as the rear drifts to the right some. I work the steering wheel, shifting from side to side to stifle our out of control motion.

  Lucian braces his hands on the rusted black roll bar that runs along the dash’s cracked and faded exterior. His head stays on a swivel, glancing in all directions for the raiders who are after us.

  My eyes divert regularly from the congested streets down to the digital gauges displaying the buggy’s remaining power levels. It’s at fifteen percent. It’s going to be close, but I think we may make it. At least, I hope we will.

  The road is rough and choppy. My teeth chatter inside my skull. Massive fissures snake along the streets in all directions. The tires sink in between the wide openings. The steering wheel shimmies from side to side as I wrestle the vehicle from its hold.

  I jerk the steering wheel hard to the right, sending the bulky vehicle darting across the brief opening to the opposite side of the street. The front end narrowly misses the rusted remains of a sedan on its side.

  Tires squeal as the remaining tread struggles to keep its grip on the pavement. My feet work the brake and gas pedal in unison. Swerving in and out of piles of rubble and cars that have been abandoned for some time, we navigate Old City as best we can without a guide.

  Bugs and dirt pelt the plastic windshield protecting our faces. It sounds like tiny pellets striking the hard barrier without pause. Damn it. I was in such a hurry that I forgot to put on the goggles.

  “I’m not seeing them anywhere.” Lucian’s voice is low and subdued by the power of the buggy’s boisterous engine and the surge of wind engulfing us. “Perhaps we’ve left them behind.”

  That’s optimistic. I can only hope that’s the case.

  Block after block, we blaze down the street like a bat out of hell. I’m pushing the buggy as fast as it’ll go, hoping that it’ll hold together. The rattling coming from the engine, mounted in the rear, is not too reassuring.

  The raiders are nowhere in sight. I’ve lost track of their movement due to the raucous noise of the buggy’s engine. Still, I maintain my heading and focus. The goal here is to get out of the city in one piece.

  I catch movement out of the corner of my left eye from the alleyway we’re passing. The two small trucks barrel through the narrow gap.

  My foot presses down farther on the gas, if that’s possible, as they emerge out onto the street behind us. My eyes cut up to the right, and peer into the cracked rearview mirror. It rattles in place, shaking so hard that it looks as though it could fall off at any moment.

  Lucian’s head snakes back over his shoulder as his body bounces up and down in his seat.

  “They’re gaining on us.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I curtly reply. “I’ve got it maxed out. Can’t go any faster.”

  My eyes switch from the street to the mirror rapidly. All I can see is the grille of the beat-up truck closing the gap behind us.

  I swerve to the left, then back to the right. The faint crackle of gunfire tingles my ear. Stray bullets ping off the buggy’s rusted frame as Lucian covers his head with his arms.

  Up ahead, I spot the other two transports pulling out from one of the side streets. They come to a grinding halt in the middle of the street, blocking any retreat that we may try to make.

  My foot stays pressed down, and the buggy barrels toward the road block before us. The side doors of the transports open, revealing a handful of raiders with weapons. They shuffle out of the vehicles and take up positions on the street. We can’t go through them, so we’ll have to alter our course.

  To our left, I spy an opening between two vehicles that should be wide enough for us to slip through. I’ll have to work swiftly to avoid any rubble and other clutter in the street beyond. It’s not ideal, but it’s all I’ve got.

  The truck in pursuit rams us from behind. The buggy jerks, wildly, swerving from left to right. Bright yellow flashes gleam from the raiders’ weapons as they open fire.

  The incoming rounds hammer the buggy. I pull the steering wheel from side to side to avoid the barrage of hail fire. We’re caught between a rock and a hard place.

  Lowered down in the seat, Lucian looks my way.

  “How the hell are we going to get out of this?”

  “Hold on and keep your head down.”

  I slow the buggy down enough to keep the trucks hot on my tail. Their bumper nudges the rear bars of the buggy’s frame as more gunfire strikes the front portion. Bullets bust through the plastic windshield with ease as I try to focus on the street.

  The narrow opening approaches rapidly. I glance from the raiders to the gap, and back again. I wait until the last possible second, and cut the steering wheel hard to the left. I mash the gas to the floor as we slip through the gap and thread the needle.

  The sides of the buggy scrape along the rusted panels of the vehicles. Sparks fly. I cringe as I try to maintain control.

  The trucks pursuing us slam on their brakes, and swerve wildly to avoid crashing into the transports in the middle of the street.

  I work the buggy through the maze of cars and rubble at high speed. I slam the brake and cut the steering wheel to the left, sending the vehicle barreling down one of the side streets.

  Lucian cautiously lifts up from his hunkered down position. He glances out of the bullet-ridden windshield before glancing back over his shoulder.

  “That was freaking intense.”

  His chest heaves as sweat races down his face.

  I release the tension swollen up in my lungs as we widen the distance between us and the raiders. With any such luck, this will be the only encounter we have until we make it to Black Fields.

  TWENTY

  Another close call that I have narrowly escaped. That is the story of my life. If it’s not the wretched vampires coming after me, or their undead servants, it’s the unscrupulous humans who have aligned themselves with the enemy.

  They have made a deal with the devil. I wonder if the raiders truly comprehend the gravity of their alliance with the demons, and what Mathesis has planned. Do they really know what’s at stake? More so, do they even care?

  I can only imagine that their eyes see nothing more than the riches the vampire god himself has promised the naïve vagrants. Ultimately, their own self desires will backfire in their faces, and they’ll kneel before the vampires they fight alongside.

  The thought of the betrayal turns my stomach inside out. I almost view the clan of subhuman rejects lower than the vampires. They’re a waste of living flesh.

  No matter. My
kukri doesn’t discriminate between the dead and the living. Either way, it will dispatch whatever needs to be eradicated without undue prejudice.

  Barreling out of Old City, the wind whistling through the bullet-ridden windshield, I think of Alex and Cindy, and whether they managed to slip away without detection. I imagine they probably did. They’re cunning, and extremely resourceful. Living in such despair as Old City, one would have to be. Then again, most places are nothing short of horrible.

  A part of me hopes to see them again. Although, I can see how they might feel differently. I did ransack their world. Granted, they were living on borrowed time. Staying within such short distance of the vampires was a ballsy move, but to each their own. There is no governing body anymore to dictate how we live.

  Chaos is the new world order.

  People have to fight to survive any way they can. Fortunately, some haven’t lost their humanity. In a world gone mad, doing the right thing by your fellow man is one key ingredient that will help sustain our species.

  Together we are strong. Divided we are ripe for the vampires to finish us off.

  I mull over the past day’s events like a video stuck on rewind. It plays over and over again inside my head. I dissect each minute and what it all meant. I know what Mathesis’s endgame is.

  They intend to enslave what scraps of humanity are left on this floating rock, and rule over this crap heap of a planet as they see fit.

  That’s the easy part, and one that hasn’t changed. Afterall, when you get down to the bare-bones of the matter, most of the vampires are nothing more than mindless, wild animals looking to devour everything in their path and serve their master.

  But Mathesis is no mere thug in the night who attacks without a purpose. And that’s the problem. If it was just his brood of bloodsuckers, this would be much easier to figure out. Given their proclivity for complex thinking and strategy, it would be infinitely easier to battle the demons and thwart their baser animalistic goals.

  Brash?

  Cocky?

  Perhaps, but given my special and unique skillset, I think I’m qualified to make such boastful statements. That’s why the demons, and I think even Mathesis, fear me. Although he has yet to form those words, it seems logical considering how close he wants to keep me. Just within reach, and right under his thumb.

  A weapon, such as me, that can walk in the strident sun could aid in his campaign in snuffing out any resistance that the humans throw at him. But I am no servant. And I am no longer a pet for him to do with as he pleases.

  For now, I am vengeance and wrath rolled up into a powerful woman that will ultimately be his downfall. All of those years of hurt and anguish I endured at the pale fingers of that demon will be avenged. I am his executioner, and I will exact my pound of flesh.

  The paved road we’re traveling over changes to dirt and rock. The treads of the buggy’s oversized tires sling the chunks of stone under the bulky vehicle. They pelt the undercarriage in rapid succession, sounding like a rifle discharging from underneath us.

  The constant sharp pinging sound of the stones under the buggy breaks my thoughts, and distracts from the demon’s plan. I focus on getting to Black Fields to warn them of the coming storm. Hopefully, we aren’t too late.

  The remainder of the ride through the wastelands is an uneventful venture. The seemingly long road of nothingness fills our gaze.

  The buggy’s power core teeters on the line of empty. I’m unsure why. Could be an issue with the solar panels, or something in-depth. A rogue bullet could’ve struck something important. Who knows. I’m no mechanic. Regardless, I keep my boot mashed to the floor and the engine running full out.

  Lucian sits in the passenger seat with his hood draped over his head. No eye contact is made. Words are but a distant thought at this point. I did promise answers, what little I have to give, once we make it to Black Fields.

  Not that he is owed as much, but seeing how he’s saved my life and stuck with me through all of the shit we’ve been through, I feel inclined to let him in. I rarely, if ever, fully open myself up to such vulnerability, but leading this crusade alone is going to be problematic.

  To win, we will need each other, and that means that all cards will need to be on the table for everyone to see. Including mine.

  The digital display for the buggy’s power core flashes its yellow warning of imminent power loss. The solar panels attached at the rear have kept the engine chugging along for longer than I thought they would, but given its lack of time to recharge without being heavily used, it’s barely holding on now.

  My finger raps the screen, which catches Lucian’s attention.

  “Engines almost dry,” I call out.

  He shrugs.

  “We should be good. We’re almost there.”

  Lucian points out through the windshield, and past the cloud of dust that the tires whip up around us, to a massive formation on the horizon.

  It’s Black Fields.

  I hadn’t realized that we had come this far. Being lost in my own thoughts, I hadn’t kept track of how much ground we had covered. Receding into one’s mind does have its perks at times.

  I estimate that given our current rate of speed, and if the power cells hold out, we should reach the city within the next fifteen minutes or so. It’s a welcome sight, considering what I’ve faced lately.

  TWENTY ONE

  Black Fields.

  One of the last strongholds left in this region.

  An impressive presence of human dominance in an otherwise dismal world. Encased in dense steel plating, the massive, black steel walls reach toward the heavens. It spans for what seems like miles in both directions. Creating the ridge of the wall, one can spot the tops of a few of the larger buildings within the city.

  Even from the outset, it’s sheer size and scope is a wonder, especially now. Teetering on the brink of extinction, mankind was forced to put up walls, and try to fortify himself from the demons who now roam the lands. To this day, it’s held strong and firm against the legion of vampires who seek to bring it down.

  The buggy’s engine spits and sputters. The power core has been toeing the thin red line for the better half of ten minutes now. No matter. We’re basically there.

  Traveling down the main road that leads to the entry gate to the city, we find that there’s little traffic to slow us up. Not that there would be an overabundance of vehicles anyhow. The only folks outside of Black Fields that have any sort of motorized transportation are mostly the raiders and any individuals with the technical prowess to fix up and slap together a jigsaw puzzle of a ride.

  Most people that come to the city, whether it be for trade, residence, or a multitude of other services, arrive on their own two feet.

  I ease off the gas and slow the buggy down as we pass by nomads trudging along the sides of the road. My head twists to the left to eye the homely individuals who walk with little excitement in their step.

  A man and his family stay close to one another. They keep their heads pointed toward the dirt. The little boy to his left, turns and looks up at me. Dirt coats his beige flesh as his large brown eyes show sadness and despair.

  The mother pulls him close and holds him tight as his eyes fall hopelessly to the ground. It’s more of the same from the others heading toward the city. Every walk of life is seen—the destitute, the forgotten, and the hopeless all trying to survive in this hell we call living.

  Glancing past the sad faces, I peer out over the landscape of various machines that have been plucked clean of any viable part, leaving behind only their steel carcasses.

  Farther out are the remnants of toppled over structures. Sprawling buildings that were once the staple of a thriving nation are now nothing more than an eyesore that the earth is swallowing whole. The structures lean to the sides as their lower halves have vanished within the ground.

  I wonder if Remus and his clan of demons are lying in wait within the dark nooks of the ruins. There’s a plethora of choices
for Mathesis’s brood to hold up in till they’re ready to strike.

  It pisses me off that I don’t have more intel to go on and to share with the powers that be of Black Fields. Although I’m welcomed within the inner sanctum, some of the leaders find me to be of unnotable character. Perhaps it’s because of my charming personality and pleasant disposition.

  My one ace that trumps most of this is my blood, but only a few know what lurks within its red mixture. The vampires venom. Ultimately, that’s the main reason that I’m tolerated. A means to an end.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” Lucian asks. “You’re staring off at that rubble as if it’s speaking to you or something.”

  I divert my gaze back to the road, and away from the vapid wastelands.

  “Just wondering about Remus and his legion of bloodsuckers, is all.” My eyes soak in the scope of the wall as we get closer. “The city doesn’t appear to be on fire or in utter chaos, so I guess that’s a good sign that we aren’t too late.”

  Lucian tilts his head back to take in the sheer size of the wall. His hand paws at the thickening scruff coating his face.

  “I was thinking the same thing. I would imagine if they had gained entry, there would’ve been visible signs screaming that danger lurked within. That, and I doubt those guards would be right there.”

  Lucian points out the three armed men standing watch in front of the main entrance into the city. Behind the guards is a giant steel door that spans half way up the wall. Sizable rusted rivets rim the outer edge all the way around. Large dents and nicks within its facade tell the tale of battles that have been waged against the city over the years.

  Smaller in scope, a scaled down version of the reinforced door is used for any nomads looking to gain access. The much larger half is only used in times of crisis. As in, if a mass evacuation had to occur. I doubt that would ever happen, given the less than desirable options that are left in the world.