Selene is only 16 years old, and she's a monster hunter. Werewolves are her specialty... and her curse. In fact, she shares their keen sense of smell.
Four months ago, a pack of werewolves kidnapped Raoul, her best friend, her only love. Selene will...
On the ride back in the van, she felt everyone's eyes on her. It was a truck without seats but with two long benches along the walls, so they were all sitting facing each other in absolute silence. As soon as Selene lifted her glassy eyes, the other hunters quickly looked away, turning their heads, but not fast enough for her to miss their glances. After all, seeing a girl her age covered in a peer's blood wasn't an everyday sight.
It wasn't supposed to go that way. It was meant to be a straightforward mission. Selene and Raoul had been sent to Emilia-Romagna to join a junior hunt. Selene would have preferred a "real" hunt instead of the "fake version for toddlers"; that's how she had described it to Lucas, who was traveling with her and Raoul, and she had even added a pout. But her usual haughtiness couldn't diminish the excitement. Selene had daydreamed throughout the car ride from Sulmona to Brescello, a small town in the province of Reggio-Emilia, overlooking the Po River and the Lombardy border. Not even Raoul's undertaker-like face could dampen her enthusiasm. It was her first real mission as a huntress, and she couldn't wait for it to end so she could start a new one.
The objective was simple, almost a game among friends: capture the Mazapégul. It was a sprite, a sort of mischievous monkey that infested houses and farms, with a nasty reputation for bothering girls. Apparently, it even wore a little red hat.
They arrived in the evening, on the riverbank where the sprite had its den. There were also adult hunters with them, some locals to supervise, while others, like Lucas, were there to accompany their protégés. They wouldn't participate in the hunt; their task was only to observe, get bored, and maybe have a few laughs. The kids were paired up according to their age. Selene wasn't paired with Raoul because he was two years older than her. Which, in Selene's opinion, was just unfair because it meant emphasizing the disparity between the pairs. So she was teamed up with a Tuscan brat, Loris, who talked too much and swallowed all his "c's". He must have had a few screws loose because he showed up to the hunt armed with grenades.
"Were you given drugs instead of milk as a baby? – Selene had asked him wide-eyed.
"Look, we gotta catch it alive, the Mazzapegùl. Just get it out of its den, and I'll blow it to bits."
"For one, it's called 'Mazapégul'. And what magic wand do you expect me to use to lure it out?"
"I heard that Mazapegùls live by the river because they like watching girls in bathing suits. Maybe if you get in one too, we'll find it before the others... ow!"
Selene had rightly slapped him. If it were up to her, she would have left him behind long ago. Unfortunately, they had all been handcuffed together to teach them to work as a team. So you couldn't run away or slow down without making your partner pay for it; and Loris had the brilliant idea of coming in sneakers, getting stuck every other step.
Meanwhile, Selene watched Raoul moving nimbly alongside a long-legged girl who looked like she stepped out of a Vogue Italia insert.
"Hey, wait up, I'm stuck..." her partner complained for the umpteenth time.
"Loris, if you don't stop, I'll cut those feet off."
"No, I swear, I can't get it out, maybe it's a root, or another hole..."
Selene turned, ready to slap him again; but when she looked at his leg, she held back.
"Loris... what the hell is that, it's moving..."
The boy also gradually realized that whatever was wrapping around his foot couldn't be good. Terror painted his face as Selene looked up past the riverbed, searching for the nearest adult hunters.
She waved frantically: "Hey! – she shouted – There's something weird here, come and give us—
But she hadn't finished speaking when the monster sprang out of the mud where it had been hidden. And it became clear to both of them that Loris's shoe wasn't stuck in a hole, nor in a root. It was instead wrapped in a mouth, wide enough to swallow the ankle and leg and then begin to gulp down the whole boy.
Loris screamed, clutching the handcuffs. So Selene was forced to pull in the opposite direction while watching the monstrosity devour the boy alive. It was a boda, a giant toad, standing a meter and a half tall and twice as wide. Selene tried to reach for her knife, but the yank she received was so violent it slammed her face into the mud, losing the weapon. Selene found herself being dragged through the mud while Loris was swallowed by the beast's tendrils and wrapped in its tongue.
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"Help us! Raoul! Lucas! Help! – the frightened girl screamed.
She saw Raoul closing the distance between them with long strides. But he was still too slow. Loris was almost entirely inside. Selene saw her partner's face disappear, wrapped in the beast's tongue. The boda's lips opened, ready to take her too.
And then... the monster exploded. Selene found herself legs in the air, hit by the blast. She would later realize that the blood and guts covering her weren't just the monster's; the hand of Loris, caught in the handcuff, separated from the rest of his body, and with a grenade pin clutched between his fingers, told her as much.
Later they would discover that the Romagna hunter responsible for the mission had led them into a hunting area protected by the scouts, committing trespass. Lucas had punched him until he passed out; then the Abruzzese hunters got back on the truck. The next day the Romagna alcove would ban the culprit from the guild.
But now Selene didn't care. Nine hours of toll-free roads and sleeplessness awaited her, and all she could think about was the blood drying on her face.
She started scrubbing, trying to get it off. But Lucas, sitting next to her, stopped her.
"Do you know his name?"
"... Loris."
The old ranger nodded. Then he reached into a bag, where there were some hunter's cards. He offered one to Selene and another to Raoul. That would be their card, their badge declaring their belonging to the guild. Then he took a third one.
"To Loris, for his last hunt."
At that point, Raoul, who had been watching them in silence, stood up, and taking the corner of the card Lucas held, he ritually tore it along with the mentor.
"To his last hunt."
Then Raoul sat next to Selene, offering her the torn piece of Loris. The girl sighed, and resting her head on Raoul's shoulder, finally found sleep, grateful that her first hunt hadn't been her last.
***
Another dive into Selene's (bloody) past. Unfortunately, this episode took up the entire chapter, but I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!
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