by E. C. Fisher
What are those other two doing now? Alex asked as he went to behead the stragglers.
“No change. Still standing there.”
They haven’t moved at all.
“No movement.”
Transport me back inside so I can reload on ammo. Alex placed the Hunter’s Blade back in the sheath as his body illuminated and he vanished.
He found himself back inside the secret room and immediately went to the remaining trays of bullets and started to load fresh mags.
“What do you think they’re waiting for?” Alex finished loading the third magazine.
“Not sure, this is quite strange. If they’re undead they should have been a part of the horde. The system can’t differentiate between creatures of darkness. If they aren’t undead, I can’t guess what they might be.”
“Nothing like the present to find out.” Alex finished loading the last of the four magazines. He dispensed the empty mags from the guns and loaded them with fresh ones. He placed the two remaining mags, one of each, in a drop leg carrier.
“Be careful. I don’t like the way this feels.”
“I will. If I can, I’ll try to bring one back. Hopefully, you can read its mind to find out some more information.”
“You do realize they are undead. There is no brain function.”
“I’m new to this. Who would have guessed you could read the mind of a stone creature?”
“It wasn’t stone when I read its mind. The undead are…dead. There is no brain function.”
“Okay. I get it. I’ll finish this up so we can rescue Vali. Transport me to them.”
“Right in front of them?”
“Yes.”
A second later, he found himself face to face with the undead pair who had been waiting in a clearing located west of the house.
The undead man stood taller than Alex. His head was missing clumps of dark hair. His face was gray-colored and sagging. His eyes were black. His left ear was detached along with a piece of his jaw. He wore ragged S.W.A.T. officer tactical gear. Alex recognized the handle of the Hunter’s Blade on his back.
The woman was a few inches shorter than the man as she stood beside him. She had thinning light brown hair. The right side of her head was burnt; the eye and ear were missing. Her face was similar to the man undead. She wore the same damaged tactical gear without the sword.
“You’ve grown up, Alexander! It’s good to finally meet you after all this time.” The undead man said, his voice soft and tender.
“Dear, is that the first thing you say to your son after so long,” the undead woman added as she placed her hand on his arm.
“Son!? W-who are you?” Alex stuttered as he took a step back.
“I’m your father, Take, and this is, your mother, Eleanor.” Take gestured to his wife.
“Th-that’s not possible. My parents are dead. Vlad said so himself!”
“Vladimir told you, how is the old man doing? How’s his daughter, Validina?” Take asked.
“That doesn’t prove anything. Just because you know their names doesn’t mean you’re my parents.”
Alex, what’s wrong? What do you mean? Mordekai asked in Alex’s mind.
“Is that you Morty! It’s been a while since I’ve heard your voice,” Take answered.
Morty! Only Take calls me Morty, but Take’s dead—but wait, then how does he hear me—Take, is that really you?
“That’s what I’ve been saying this entire time. El, it doesn’t seem like my old friend or even our own son, believes us.”
“Well, it’s no surprise from Alexander, dear, he’s never met us, but for Mordekai to act like this. I never would have imagined.” Eleanor tilted her head as her facial features drooped.
“How—how are you both still alive?”
“Well, I would say it’s a long story, but it isn’t. Yes, El and I were caught in the explosion, but we only suffered these superficial wounds. We were taken to Dr. Frankenstein, he brought us back from the brink of death, tortured us for information about Validina or about the Hunters until he killed us. He turned us into undead. We told him he would never enter the dimension that HQ was located in and that’s when he found out about Monty. His goal has changed to finding Monty and using his powers to further achieve his goals. He knows of the Accord, that’s why he sent a werewolf after you. If he kills you, then the Accord we set with Monty would end and he could gain control over him,” Take explained.
So that explains why Malcolm called me Hunter back then. Alex thought. “So, Dr. Frankenstein ordered you to complete Malcolm’s task?”
“No. We escaped during the fuss of his failure. We joined the ranks of the undead sent here for Monty. We figured it would be best to seek you out and help you during this time,” Eleanor said.
“Help me? You’ve been standing here the entire time I was fighting all the undead. How do you expect me to believe you are here to help me?”
Alex let his anger burst out as the situation brought up painful feelings. He had buried them deep inside; the bullying he had to endure, the restless nights wishing his parents were alive. And they were here this entire time, just watching.
“It didn’t seem like you needed us,” Eleanor answered.
“Son, you’re the first to share the powers of both Gods. Even though you just completed the ritual you’ve battled with two Gargoyles and hundreds of undead, all by yourself. That’s a feat your mother nor I’ve ever completed—”
Alex interrupted Take, “But I still lost Vali. She was taken, I wasn’t strong enough to protect her.” Alex fell to his knees as the memory of her being taken surfaced. He cupped his face with his hands as he teared up.
“Do you still wish to protect her?” Take asked.
“Of course, I do. I’m just not sure how,” Alex answered through his hands.
“Good answer. Stand up, son. If you truly wish to protect her then you have to be prepared to do everything within your power to do so.” Take clenched his fist out in front of him.
“Everything within my power,” Alex mumbled. He raised to a knee before he slowly stood fully up.
“Yes. And to do that you must strike down your mother and me,” Take said, his arms wide open.
You can’t be serious, Take! How do you expect Alex to kill the both of you? Mordekai shouted.
“We aren’t alive, Morty. We’ve been dead since the explosion. Vladimir didn’t lie, we’ve only become a shell of our former selves. It has to be done this way, and it will be good training for him. We can finally end this miserable existence—Eleanor and I have had enough.” Take had crimson tears streaking down his cheeks
“Alexander, your father’s right. Stand tall, face us and prevail. Let us train you so you’ll have the strength to protect what you must. Give us the chance to help strengthen your heart and body and let us be at peace,” Eleanor pleaded.
Alex used his right hand to grasp the handle of the Hunter’s Blade and unsheathed it, while also reaching into his left breast pocket and withdrew his gun.
“I like the look in his eyes, Eleanor, are you ready?” Take asked his wife as he withdrew his Hunter’s Blade.
“Yes, dear,” Eleanor replied as she prepared herself in a fighting posture.
Chapter Ten
Alex shuddered as his instincts told him to flee. They’re staring at me as if I’m prey. A tiger and a cheetah. He shook his head to remove the image from his mind.
I survived a werewolf attack, fighting against gargoyles, and defeating a horde of undead, yet that doesn’t even compare to staring down my parents. This is the most terrifying experience I’ve faced yet.
In a split second, they vanished from sight and prepared to ambush him from opposite sides. Eleanor reached him first. She had been given power from Assadarsya, her strength and speed were impressive. Alex concentrated on her movements and activated Quick Eye. Even with her movements slowed, he had a hard time evading her punches. He could feel the rush of air from the power in her punches.
Her strength is above mine. She definitely backs up Mordekai’s and Vlad’s assessment of her.
Alex glanced to his left to see Take advancing on him. He aimed his gun and fired three rapid shots toward him. Take deflected the bullets with ease.
“Good, your instincts are sharp. Your reflexes could be better; it’s too bad you weren’t able to go through the proper training. You would’ve been the best. Aside from your mother and I,” Take said after he deflected the last bullet.
“You need better control of Quick Eye. And you aren’t using your strength to its fullest capabilities. We were right, Take, this is the best way to train him. Fight us and overcome this test, son.” Eleanor continued to throw punches as she instructed Alex.
He fired two shots as he turned the gun toward Eleanor. She avoided the bullets with a backflip, distancing herself from him. Alex twirled to block the strike from Take. Their swords sparked as they made contact. Take and Alex exchanged blows as Eleanor dashed toward them. Alex had to empty his clip to keep her away as he deflected Take’s flurry of hacks and slashes. Take’s attacks overwhelmed him, and he dropped the spent gun so he could use both his hands.
“Without any proper training, you handle your sword well. We don’t have time to teach you the basics. You have to listen to your instincts. There are hundreds of years of Van Helsing and Maximillian genetics to rely on,” Take said.
Alex was too focused on Take to notice Eleanor sneak up from behind. He felt her presence at the last moment and ducked her swing. He kicked her in the abdomen, knocking her through a few trees. He didn’t have a moment to pause as he brought his sword up over his head to block the strike from Take. Alex withdrew the second gun and pulled the trigger five times into Take’s stomach.
“That was a good move, son—if I were alive, that would have killed me, but you forgot the most important thing.” Take stood up unfazed. “I’m already dead—if you truly wish to finish us, you’ll need to shoot right here.” Take pressed his finger against his forehead.
“Why are you doing this? We don’t have to fight. Help me take care of Dr. Frankenstein, together?” Alex pleaded.
“We can’t, Victor Frankenstein’s made it so we can’t harm him or even his minions. Your mother and I wish to die. We’re asking you to help us make our wish come true, son.”
“I understand.” Alex placed his gun back in the holster. He grasped his sword with both hands—his knuckles white. “I’ll take this more seriously to grant your wish, father.”
Eleanor had gotten up and charged at Alex. She leaped into the air and attempted to land a dropkick. He rolled underneath, spun, and connected with a roundhouse kick. She flew at Take, who caught her.
Alex rushed forward as he swung his sword. Take tossed Eleanor aside to block it, but he overpowered him and broke through cutting his chest. Eleanor recovered and threw a swift punch at Alex—he caught the strike with his hand, absorbing some of the blow as he was sent into a tree, losing his sword. He spat up blood and air knocked from his lungs. He fell to his knees, the blade of Take’s sword grazing his cheek. The sword was implanted into the tree to the hilt. Alex was stunned for an instant before he stood up and raised his fist, ready to fight the duo barehanded.
Take appeared in front of Alex in an instant. They aggressively punched at each other; they deflected and attacked without a moment’s pause.
“Dr. Frankenstein’s castle is a fortress. Don’t try to scale the walls or drop-in from above; it would be suicide. This assault on you here has weakened his defenses, but that doesn’t mean it is any less difficult. The best point of access is from underwater, a small entrance leads to the holding cells. The cavern’s five hundred meters below sea level. We’re not sure of the distance from the opening to the surface, but we estimate at most three hundred and fifty meters from the opening to where the holding cells are,” Take explained as he dodged all of Alex’s punches.
“Mordekai will know of a way to get you to the cavern. The entrance is small, you’ll have to make the journey without the oxygen tank and equipment; the hole is only big enough for you to get through.” Eleanor threw in some punches of her own. Alex had to abandon his attack and concentrate on evasion.
Alex maneuvered Eleanor in front of Take and used the moment she stood in front of him to kick her into him. Take caught her, as he had expected. He withdrew his gun and shot Take in both kneecaps.
“Using your mother as a feint so you could immobilize me is a good move, son. You need to learn to use what’s around you more. Every situation will be different, but it’s how quickly you can determine the situation and turn it around in your favor that will guarantee victory. Don’t assume you’ll win every battle; make it so that it’s an absolute.” Take knelt there with his knees busted as if nothing was wrong.
Eleanor had recovered and headed toward Alex—she slid under the shots he fired and kicked the gun from his hand. Alex found himself in a fistfight with his mother.
“Undead don’t tire, but you do. You need to make your movements sharp and precise. Immediately strike the killing blow. Werewolves are quick and fierce, but they feel pain, maim them, and then you can kill them just as easily as a human. The gargoyles are ferocious but thoughtless creatures. How you dealt with them before, by taking your time and waiting patiently for the moment to strike, is the best method. They always charge at you, use that moment to strike them down,” Take explained as Alex and Eleanor continued to brawl.
Alex felt overwhelmed by Eleanor’s continuous assault. Her strikes were slipping through his defenses.
“Quick Eye has evolutions. We are trying to force a level increase in you. Don’t fight against it. Let it happen,” Take urged.
Alex concentrated on activating Quick Eye. He saw her movements dull and was able to counter her punches. His eyes stung and watered, but he pushed past the pain and focused harder. His vision narrowed on spots around his mother’s body. He instinctively knew they were weak points in her defense. Alex swung a left hook into the spot indicated on her right shoulder. His blow connected and shattered the bone; her arm fell limply to her side. Eleanor reacted with a swift kick to shove Alex away, but he caught her leg and struck with his left elbow, crushing her femur. He stood there as she crawled toward Take, who had leaned against a tree for support.
“You’ve achieved it. Almost no one reaches this level. Son, finish us off, go rescue Validina, and stop Dr. Frankenstein from getting Monty. You’re the next generation of Hunters, make us proud.” Eleanor reached Take and embraced his chest.
Take, Eleanor, I’ll never forget the both of you. Sorry, I wasn’t able to do more for you, Mordekai sobbed.
“Thank you, Mordekai. Please, continue to take care of our son. I leave the future of the Hunters with you,” Eleanor said.
I will, Eleanor.
Alex found his discarded gun nearby and reloaded the mag as he approached his parents.
“Sorry we weren’t there for you. I’m not sure of the life you lived until now nor the life you’ll have in the future, but I do know one thing—you’ve become a damn fine Hunter,” Take acknowledged.
“No, I’m not a Hunter—I am a Guardian,” Alex corrected.
“That’s right. My apologies, Guardian,” Take laughed.
Alex pointed his gun and fired twice.
Chapter Eleven
Alex buried his parents’ bodies and left the graves unmarked. He stood over them in silence as he tried to make sense of the events that had transpired.
My parents were alive, not really, but they weren’t as dead as I believed. Dr. Frankenstein had captured them, tortured them, and turned them into the undead. They helped train me to further grasp the new abilities I was bestowed. They provided information on how to infiltrate his palace and to better fight against his minions. And in the end, I had to kill them.
“A Guardian, huh,” Alex mumbled as he stared at their graves.
Alex, you can’t dwell on this for too long. Every minute we spend wasting is
time Vali is in his grasp. Your parents came to provide you with valuable information. Don’t let their sacrifice be in vain,” Mordekai counseled.
“I won’t, Mordekai.” Alex turned his back on the graves as he headed back toward the house. “Do you have a way for us to get into the underwater cavern they mentioned?”
“I do. The Hunters were overly prepared. They have standby equipment around the world for any situation. There’s a boat prepped in Miami with all the equipment we need,” Mordekai answered.
“That’ll save time. I need to load up on ammunition and prepare more timed explosives. If I can’t complete my task, Dr. Frankenstein isn’t walking away intact.”
“I’ll teleport you here—”
Alex interrupted Mordekai. “No. I’d rather walk back.”
Mordekai must have realized he needed more time to himself and changed the subject. “I’ll work on how to use the explosives effectively. I was able to obtain an understanding of the palace layout through the gargoyle’s memories. I can find structural weak points to plant the explosives. Since the cavern is a tight space, you’ll only be able to carry so much.”
“You do that. Also, I brought back my father’s sword. I thought we could make a memorial with it.”
“That sounds like an excellent idea, Alex. We can place it inside HQ, as an honor for all Hunters. But first, we must end this, so all Hunters can rest in peace,” Mordekai responded before he went to work on the plan.
Alex strolled through the forest in a silent daze; the noise of the evening insects and crunch of fallen leaves under his foot muted. He had walked back to the aftermath of his assault on the undead horde. The stench caused his mind to flashback on his parents; the image of him holding the gun and aiming it at their heads. The shots fired to the center of their foreheads.