REVIVE ▸ d. winchester [2] ✔

Chapter 15

686 HOURS

Jackie's feet hardly ache as she places one in front of the other, following the muddy tracks set out in front of her. In fact, with every kill she makes, she finds a new strength to keep her going rather than fatigue. She decided that it was the adrenaline pushing her forward, along with the fact that each kill brought her closer to finishing the job. However, the girl had little idea as to what the Chimera's deaths were doing to her. She had yet to fully understand her situation.

Hour after hour, day after day, Jackie hunted. She found that each kill began to occur farther and farther apart, it becoming increasingly difficult to track down a beast. She wasn't shocked by this fact; if she was indeed hunting down twenty of Azrael's creations, she would have already killed off the easy ones. The remaining will have learned to be predators with smarts- they knew how to be monsters. She liked to think of it as 'survival of the fittest,' with only the best still alive.

But she had yet to be killed herself.

Jackie had gone longer than she ever had before she finally came across evidence of another chimera. The stream she had been following was far behind her. She decided it was time to break away from the water and venture into the dense forest. And she soon discovered that this was a good call. Having taken down numerous sharp clawed, large-toothed creatures in a reasonable amount of time, Jackie was beginning to gain the upper hand.

She didn't think much of the beasts she was taking down; she paid no attention to which ones were fast, which ones were strong, or which ones she thought could be part wendigo or vampire or rougarou. She just saw them as something in her way, and she removed the obstacle just as she was taught to do.

She was currently tracking what she believed could be her first lead in a long while. The footprints in the dirt started off muddy, but as she headed uphill, they became drier and harder to see. She now depended on the minuscule marks in the dirt that she suspected to be claw marks.

Bow in hand and arrow notched tightly, Jackie tracked the chimera for countless hours, but what really felt like days for the hunter. She fell deeper and deeper into her routine, giving all of her attention to her surroundings. She didn't think, she just did.

So when Jackie's feet were abruptly shoved out from beneath her, sending her to her knees, she only had a split second's pause before she jumped back up into a defensive position.

Silver met dark fur and claws. It didn't take long for Jackie to abandon her bow on the ground after sending a harsh blow to the creature's head with it. She reached for her makeshift knife instead- the one she had made out of an arrow after the shaft had snapped clean in half in the midst of a previous fight. The silver arrowhead wouldn't be wasted, not if Jackie could put it to use.

And put it to use she did. Still dazed from the blow to it's head, the dark creature loomed over the ground, paying little attention to Jackie. It was helpless as the hunter threw herself onto its back, jabbing the arrowhead into it's neck. She immediately felt a hot liquid run through her fingers, making her grab her knife in a tighter grip and yank it out, only to send it back in a moment later. She didn't stop until the creature stopped moving itself. Just like that, Jackie put an end to the tussle between her and the beast.

Jackie, as per usual, rolled off the beast, stood up, and picked up her weapons. She didn't bother wiping her jeans off or brushing the dirt and scum off of her arms- she was beyond dirty, and no amount of petty brushing could help her case. The girl simply collected her things and, giving a glance around, started off in a new direction.

The only thing she really gave attention to was the voice inside of her head, the one she had become completely comfortable with after all this time.

"You're doing great, my Shadow. One more. Just one last Chimera."