Hunters: The Beginning

Prologue: Annalise

Ch. 1

Annalise's POV

I was five when it all happened. I remember the day painstakingly clear. My dad had received the call right around 8 or 9 in the morning.

He was always receiving weird calls at different times of the day. I think he thought I didn't know what his job was. He was a hunter, at least that's what I heard during one of his private calls. I was not eavesdropping if that's what you're thinking. I was nonchalantly walking passed his office door that just so happened to be four doors down from my bedroom and I casually leaned my ear against the door trying to see if it was cold or not.

It was on a day just like that where he received that call. The call that unknowingly changed not only my life, but someone else's. "Hello?" I remember his masculine voice had said. There was a high pitch  voice coming from the other line. It was a lot more girlie than the ones I normally casually heard.

"Don't worry sweetheart. I'm on my way," he said. I heard him shuffle about through his office. I quickly ran into my room as fast as my five year old legs could carry me.

Shortly after, I heard my dad yelling my name through out the rented house we were currently living in.

"Yes daddy!" I yelled back. In seconds he was in my room. My dad looked so worried in that moment of time. It was strange to see him like that. He was always the jokester. Never walked around without a casual smile thrown across his face.

"Honey, daddy has some news he needs to share with you," he said as he walked into my yellow paint coated room. Oh how I had loathed that room and it's brightness.

"Yes daddy?" I asked in the most innocent of voices I could form. I could tell that whatever he told me was big. He had never told me anything about his phone calls and I honestly was nervous to find out what made my daddy so worried.

"Sweetheart, we have to leave town for a few days," he began. I just stared at him with my big brown eyes waiting for him to explain.

"Why daddy?"I asked.

"You are going to have a new friend that will live with us. doesn't that sound like a good plan?" he had asked me with his smile that I wished I could have inherited. He had always told me I had looked like my mom, whoever she was.

I nodded my head enthusiastically. I had never had a friend before. I was home schooled because of my dad's "job". I didn't mind though. It gave me more time to spend with my dad.

"Good, now pack your things. We are leaving in thirty minutes," he told me before walking out my room.

With in twenty minutes I was all packed. I had managed to become independent at a young age. Daddy had taught me not to unpack all my things for I knew we would never stay in a place for too long. I had thought the new place would be different than all the others. It was the sixth move with in a year we had made and the first house we had actually lived in.

I pulled my suitcase out to the foyer and waited by the door for daddy to come. Five minutes later, he was lugging a suitcase of his own and a laptop which he always seemed so fascinated of.

"Are you ready?" he asked. I nodded my little head in excitement. "great! Let's go."

With that we were on our way. Never looking back.

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It had took us a while to get to wherever my so-called new friend lived. I could have only hoped that the person would like me. I wasn't exactly a social butterfly under the circumstances.

We had lived in Nevada and were in what a sign had said "Portland, Oregon". I had never heard of Portland, which isn't uncommon for five year olds. I knew about Oregon of course. My brain capacity was of a 10 year old, daddy always said I was far too advanced for his liking.

In Portland, we pulled up to a ratty looking motel. Honestly it was unfit for anything human or non to live in., and I was only looking at the outside. I could only imagine how it looked in the inside.Too bad I couldn't keep that imagination of mine running wild before daddy told me to get out the car and follow him.

The inside was no better than the out. We didn't walk up to the lady at the counter, who was unsecretively giving my dad goo goo eyes. Ew.

We took two flights of stairs before stopping at a door numbered 224. Daddy did one of the many secret knocks he had taught me. He had said it was for me to know that he was at the door. A safety precaution as he had put it.

A man of about six feet four inches stepped out of the door. He looked scary and buff. I shrunk behind my daddy.

"Steve, is she alright?" my daddy asked the scary buff man. The man nodded and stepped aside. My father entered the room and I followed close behind. Sitting on the bed was a girl about my age. She had long black hair and pretty hazel eyes. She looked scared.

"Hey sweetheart. Do you remember me? We talked on the phone?" my dad asked the little girl as he walked over to her. He bent down and continued to talk to her. "Are you feeling okay?"

She nodded and then her attention was focused on me. I stood staring at her. That girl who my dad had instantly became focused on. She stared right back at me, so I gave her a small smile. She mumbled something to my dad. He let out his signature chuckle and waved me over.

"Aden this is Annalise, my daughter. Annalise, this is Aden," he said. I stuck my hand out to shake hers like I had seen people on tv do to greet someone. She looked at my hand and back at me. Quickly I pulled my hand back.

"H-hi," I said, unsure. Did she not like me already? My five year old brain began to ask.

"Hola. Esto es mucho gusto Annalise, soy Aden," said the little girl.

What the sugar coated skittles was she saying! I didn't know the language she was speaking! Daddy had only taught me French and German. I was not fluent in any other language.

I gave her a quizzical look and turned to my dad.

"She said it's nice to meet you Annalise, my name is Aden," he translated before turning back to her. "Annalise no hablan espanol o de America Latina."

"Sorry," she replied in English nodding towards me. "I speak English too."

"Oh well hello. Want to be friends?" I asked her.

"Really? I would like that," she said before hopping off the bed and hugging me.

I could instantly tell this was a start of a beautiful friendship.