The Hunt

Chapter 20

The Director sits behind his desk, gazing with cold eyes at the trembling form standing before him.

"So, Billy, why don't you tell me what happened?" The director says. His voice is crisp, cold, calm. Too calm. It's the kind of calm that is found in the eye of a storm.

"Well, sir..." Billy says, his voice shaking with every word,  "the vampires came. They surrounded us. The darts wouldn't work. They were too strong... too many. They took the others."

The director sighed, a deep sigh, channeling his frustration. It had been going so well until now. One hundred years of winning and now this.

"What happened when the darts were fired?" He asks. "Did they have a new armour or something?"

The vampires don't wear armour. Never have.

"No, sir." Billy says, still looking at the ground, unable to meet his eyes. "They just stopped in the air. Somehow fell to the ground."

Magic. New magic. He must be gaining power, getting stronger. And now he has five hunters, that'll make it worse. This is not good.

He looks round at the four wolves sitting on their haunches behind his desk, looks into the eyes of the alpha. The wolf lets out a growl of confirmation.

The Director responds, his voice a mix of growls and snarls. Wolfspeak. The conversation goes back and forth. He turns back to face Billy. The boy's eyes are wide and he looks even more shocked, more scared, confusion mingling with his fear.

"My wolf tells me they let you go so you'd tell us what happened. Apparently Darren refused the freedom he was offered." Billy nodded his agreement.

The director's anger is boiling now, simmering to the surface. He's been outplayed and it could be disasterous to his plans. He should have paid more heed to what was going on in the depths of the forest. He'd been complacent with his victories. Foolish. But not again, there was still time to correct his mistakes.

He looked at Billy. The boy was terrified. Weak and pathetic. "Useless." He mutters.

He raises a hand, unclenching his fist. Billy is raised from the ground, suspended in the air by an invisible force. He swipes his hand sideways and Billy's body flies through the air, crashing into the hard stone wall. The thud echos through the cavernous room. Billy falls to the ground, whimpering. Hurt but breathing.

"You should have stayed in the trees." The director says, walking towards the prone figure. His voice is seething, filled with rage. Quiet but deadly. "You represent the failed attempt, foolish human."

He raises Billy from the ground, maniuplating the air around him and pinning him against the wall, crushing his throat. Tears are streaming down the boy's face, mixing with sweat. His eyes are blood-shot.

"Such a weak species." The Director spits with venom. He clenches his fist again, Billy's eyes bulge. He claws at his throat, fighting the invisible grip, thrashing his legs. Any pain is clearly forgotten, replaced with pure animalistic panic. Starving for air and longing to survive. The director smiles, an evil grin.

Billy's eyes roll back in his head and the light of life goes out, his brown eyes dull and his body goes limp. The Director unclenches his fist and the body drops to the ground, lifeless.

The director steps away from the body, paying it no more attention. He nods at the lead wolf and the wolves move forward, padding gently towards the figure. They lock their jaws onto the arm and pull their meal towards the back of the room, into the shadows. The sounds of their crunching jaws drifts towards him.

Was it foolish to send the boy out to catch that vampire? No. They would have captured another group, another hunting party. Those vampires had been sent out to bring in the humans. To feed the strength of their master. It was no chance encounter. He was sure of that.

Until now he'd felt so sure that his humans were unbeatable. The armour and the darts had not been beaten in one hundred years, his victory was assured. It should have been easy, it should have been over soon.

"We're going to have to attack early." He says out loud. "We have to change our timetable." His voice was calm again. Killing had made him feel better, a chance to let it all go and lose control, to funnel his pent-up anger into the magic around him.

"Yes, Sir. I understand." Mike says, kneeling on the ground, looking down at the floor. There was no fear in him, no trembling. His kneeling was a sign of respect, an acknowledgement of authority.

Yes, they had to attack soon. There was no way he was going to waste a century of work. He would not lose this one. Not this time.

"Stand up." The Director says. Mike stands and looks at him.

"Find me the best we've got. We need the very best for this attack, we cannot afford failure. I want a full report and summary in order of competence."

Mike nods. "Without the darts the humans are too weak to fight, even the best of them. How can we hope to win?"

He had some ideas. With his cells full of both humans and vampires he was powerful. He should be more powerful than his opponent. His magic must be stronger. He should be able to counter the spells, at least for a while. But he'd have to go with them for the most impact. They wouldn't expect that.

And he'd need information. More information. He didn't answer Mike immediately but turned to the wolves behind him. They were sitting, ready, all evidence of the body, their meal was gone.

He gave them instructions. The orders escaped his lips in a string of snarls and growls. The alpha acknowledged with a howl and the others joined, filling the room with their mournful cry. They padded quickly from the room and on their way.

He sent them to the darkness, to scope the strength of his enemy. Closer than ever before.

The end was coming soon.

He turned back to Mike. "That part you leave to me. Get me the best we have. Get them ready to fight."

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