The Hunters Daughter

~Prolouge~

"Good night, Natalie." My grandfather says softly kissing my forehead. He flicks of the bedside lamp, picks up my empty glass of milk and leaves my room with a warm smile. I curl up in bed, pulling my pink disney princess douvet around me and smile to myself.

Today was my 6th birthday. It went by exactly like last years - get up, get a pile of fresh buttermilk pancakes for breakfast (with maple syrup of course), Then grandma goes to work at the local grocerie store while I spend the day fishing with grandpa at the biue. Grandma never remembers my birthday, to be honest it would be nice if she could just acknowlege my exsitance for once. My gramps on the otherhand, is the complete oposite. He's the one who gets me up in the morning and kisses me goodnight - grandma has done that..never. This year its safe to say gramps spolit me rotten. I got a box of cookies - all for me!, a fluffy pink blanket with flowers on it and a kitten. Yes a kitten! He has coal black fur and light green eyes that glow in the dark. I havent thought of a name for him yet so Kitty will do for now.

A soft rumble of thunder interupts me from my thoughts, shortly after soft patters of rain beat against the window above my bed. Having grown up with the dull evening weather of Louisianna, storms act as my lullaby. I rest my head on my pink pillow, count the beats of the falling rain instead of jumping sheep and drift of to sleep.

A few hourse later, i'm woken by a flash of lightening and a chorus of rattling screams that leave my ears ringing. Kitty springs up alertly from his pillow under my bed, starting to cauitiously pace the room. I sit up in bed, confusion swelling in my head. Violent shouting replaces the screams followed by the loudest crash I have ever heard. Kitty jumps onto the bed and crawls onto my lap, shaking slightly. I pet his head soothingly reciving a light meow from him. I pick him up, holding his tiny body close to my chest as i scoot of the bed and approach the door. I open it as slowly and quietly as possible, then aviod creaky floor boards as best i can as i walk out into the hallway.

Kitty digs his claws into my pjama sleeve, clearly uncomforteble from the way im holding him; he wriggles out of my arms as we reach the top of the stairs. On tiptoes, I peer over the wooden railing looking down at the living room - my eyes land on a body with a small pool of blood forming around it. The body is a ghostly shade of pale, crimsen red blood glazes the shredded skin like bbq sauce on fresh pulled pork. I go to scream from the sight but terror takes the sound before it escapes my lips. Followed by kitty, I quickly make my way down stairs towards the mangled body. Upon a closer sighting I recignise the clothes on the corpse to be my grandma's canary night gown.... Tears form in my eyes and spill down my cheeks. I kneel down next to her head, despite now being coverd in her blood and cry over her lifeless form.

what kind of animal did this? i've heard stories from the neighbours son, Josh that wild animals somtimes come out of the biue into the houses...like aligators and wild dogs. Gramps always said he was trying to scare me but that alibi fits this crime. As if the death of my grandma wasent enough, there's an eerie sensation hanging in the air, making the hairs on my arms stand on end; it causes me to shiver eventhough no breeze is passing through the house.

A shattering of plates suddenly rings from the kitchen, causeing kitty to sprint back upstairs to the safty of my bed room and me to freeze on the spot. "Where is she?!?" A voice growls viciously.

"Your not taking her!" My gramps shouts back strongly but fear is present in his voice "Your not laying a finger on her!". An evil laugh echos, followed by more smashing and shouting...I could of sworn I heard hissing too. Theres no way this is an animal. The next few minuets pass as a blur.... A young woman..maybe mid 20's with shoulder length curly black hair flashes before me. Blood stains her clothes and around her mouth. She smirks darkly at me, razor sharp fangs that reach down to her chin intimidatingly showing. I nervously stand, stepping back until i hit the wall. Her smirk grows and she flashes in my face so fast i dont even have time to take a breath. After that my vision blackens and darkness consumes me.

When I come round, I hear voices whispering and muttering inside my head. The next thing I know, a bright flashlight is being shined into my eyes, I blink rappidly. "Natalie?" a male voice asks, i nod in reply. "Its okay, your gonna be okay." He reassures me. I feel a pair of strong arms loop around my lower body and pick me up of the blood soaked living room floor. Assuming by the temreture change, im carried outside the house, the crisp night air nips at my bare skin sending a shiver threw me. Red and blue lights brightly flash ahead and around me - police cars. The officer carries me to a car and places me on the back seats. He takes of his jacket gives me his dark blue flece to use as a blanket. I put it on and curl up tightly; he closes the door and leaves me for a few moments before the car door reopens to reveal Sherrif Antony (a close friend of gramps) warm face.

"Who elses was in the house with you Natalie?" he asks softly. "...G-Grandma..gramps ...and..and Kitty..and a women." I inform him slowly.

"can you desribe the woman?" he asks sotfly, i nod.

"S-she had curly black hair..was kinda young..and had fangs. i think her eyes were red too." i tell him confidently. Sherrif Antony gives me a strang look before going to close the door. "Wait!" he stops and looks back at me. "..please get my kitty..he's in my room.." I ask polietly, he nods and closes the door.

The next time the door opens, the sherrif leans over to me and passes kitty over. I take Kitty and hold him close to me, he meows lightly and purs curling up on my lap. I give a small smile of thanks to the sherrif who simply returns a smile of sympathy. He gets into the front of the car and starts the engine, he talks down a radio to other officers before we pull out of the drive way.