The Hunters

Chapter 1

        "Tammi Braddock's the name! Born of British parents, raised in Northern Scotland, Hunter extrordinaire!" Tammi boomed in her thick accent to the class. It was in Springtime at Perkins High, and our final exams were not too far from starting. It was Tammi's first day, and she made quite a first impression. She wore an old dirty brown coat with dirty dark green pants that were patched all over. Her face was smeared with dirt along with her hands, and she wore dirty old boots. She didn't exactly smell like daisies, either. Probably her best features at the time were her perfect rows of teeth, her blonde hair that was partially pulled up, with some of her hair laying on her shoulders, and her chocolate eyes. I love my dark blue eyes, but I have to admit, I envy her eyes deeply.

        As she finished her introduction to my English class, I looked around at my fellow classmates. Much like my face, their mouths were hanging open in complete shock of the dirty girl. Everybody was glancing at each other.

        "Well..." my English teacher, Mr. Winters, started. "That's... nice... why don't you go sit next to... let's see..." He scanned the class for empty seats. "Ah, Rose Clearwater! That light brown haired girl in the back."

        I probably wouldn't have minded sitting next to Tammi if she didn't smell so bad. Remember, enhanced smelling senses! So for me, it was 50 times worse. As she sat down, my eyes began to water. She reeked of garlic. Very strong garlic.

        Wait, garlic?!

        In a few seconds I had put it all together. She wasn't a hunter, like someone who kills deer and squirrels for fun. She was a monster hunter. My Uncle Cecil had told me that monster hunters bathed in garlic to help oppose vampires, and usually got their hands dirty with their work in the outdoors and woods, so their faces and hands were usually smeared in dirt. These hunters were more common in areas where evil monsters reside, such as Scotland, where werewolves commonly reside, Salem, Massachusetts, where Witches reside, and Transylvania, where vampires are the most common.

        The fact that a monster hunter was now in my school was certainly not good. It most likely meant that she was aware of the Nightwalker Pack and something was seriously wrong that involved it. I couldn't think of anything we had done wrong. I mean, like I've said, the Nightwalker Pack doesn't attack humans. In fact, we're one of the more human-friendly Packs in the world. So I was confused as to why she was here.

        "Now." Mr. Winters said, picking up a stack of papers. "We will be working in partners. Seat partners, please. Tammi, that means you will be working with Rose." He began to pass the papers out to people. I silently breathed a sigh of relief. Though I had to work with the monster hunter, I had to work with a girl named Bubbles Parsley before, which wasn't fun at all. Bubbles was a girl with jet black hair and sharp green eyes, which were just about the shade of mine when I partially transformed. She was always so distant and eerie to me and everybody else. She always wore clothes of the color lavender, and whenever I was near her, my hair prickled on the back of my neck. To me, it was strange. When I was a young pup, a friendly vampire family had visited the Nightwalker Pack for fun (YES, a FRIENDLY group of vampires!). I had felt a sensation slightly similar, where my hair prickled on the back of my neck. I miss that vampire family. There was a young boy around my age that became very good friends with me. Anyhow, the point is that I felt different with Bubbles than I did with a vampire, so she wasn't a vampire. I couldn't explain it.

        I pulled my desk over to Tammi's desk. As we got our papers and thanked Mr. Winters, she turned to me, smiling. I was now better used to her garlic smell, so my eyes didn't water as much. "Hello, Rose!" she greeted me pleasantly.

        We talked for quite a while as we worked. She was actually very sweet. She told me she lived in the country with her parents in Northern Scotland and loved exploring the wilderness. She had moved her temporarily due to certain "business matters". This statement further proved my suspicions of her being a monster hunter, since usually they never left their homeland unless something horrible was happening elsewhere. I told her that I lived with my Uncle Cecil, and that my parents lived in the deep woods, so they had sent me to my Uncle so I could get to school easier. There was one more question I had to ask her.

        "So, Tammi, what are you other interests, other than exploring the wilderness?" I asked. "Well..." she started. "I'm fascinated with... the supernatural. You know, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, and the Unclassafiables." I took a deep breath in. She had just named to me the four main types of monsters in the world, which completely confirmed my suspicions of her. "Same h-here!" I exclaimed, trying to hide my nervousness. "D-do you believe that all monsters are b-bad?" "Of course not!" She exclaimed. She had said this so loud that Mr. Winters shushed the class. The usual talking in the classroom died down a little. I felt very relieved. Though I was considered to humans a "monster", I was innocent, meaning she wouldn't harm me whatsoever. 

        As the noise died down, Tammi began to grin very wide. She beckoned me closer to her, and she whispered in my ear: 
        "You're a werewolf, aren't you, Rose Clearwater?"

        I was taken aback. Not knowing what to say in reply, I stuttered. "H-how did you know?" She giggled. "Clue #1: Your eyes watered more than the average person from the garlic when I sat down next to you, showing me you have an enhanced sense of smell. Clue #2: You were nervous when you asked me if I thought all monsters were evil, as you figured out I'm a monster hunter by my garlic smell and my place of birth. Clue #3: Did you know that when you got nervous your eyes flickered quickly from blue to sharp green?" "CRAP!" I exclaimed, angry that my lack of control had exposed me. Tammi giggled again. "Don't worry, there are no reports of wolf attacks in your area, and the werewolves in the area have a very good reputation from what I've seen, so I can surmise you are innocent." I was impressed by her observations. "That's quite an amazing ability you have!" I complemented her. She thanked me. "We monster hunters have to learn it to detect when a monster is near. For example, that girl over there." She pointed to Bubbles Parsley. "Bubbles Parsley? What about her?" I asked. "Ah, that name proves it fully for me. Along with her name, she has unnatural jet black hair and sharp green eyes. I caught her muttering incantations at a piece of chalk that wrote 'Mr. Winters is a butt" on the board without anybody to hold the chalk." She paused. "Has she ever stated a previous residence?" I thought about it. "She moved here in 5th grade, which for you would be your fifth year in Primary School. The day she moved in, she said she was from Salem, Massachussets..." Suddenly, I realized what she was saying. I leaned over to Tammi's ear. "She's a witch?!" I asked her. Tammi smiled and nodded. "I always felt a prickling sensation around her, like I knew she was different from a human. I just didn't know why I felt it..." I muttered. "But enough about that. I'm curious to know why you're here."

        Tammi looked around to make sure nobody was listening, and whispered in my ear: 
There is business I have with the Alpha of the Nightwalker Pack. Do you happen to know him?" she asked. "Know him? He's my Uncle! Not the Uncle I'm living with. Before I decided to see what human life was like, I lived within the Nightwalker Pack. If there's anything important you need to see him about, I'd be glad to take you to him. Unless, of course, you would want to harm him." Tammi shook her head. I could tell by her scent she deeply meant the truth. Animals, including werewolves, can sense the individual feelings of a person by scent. "Tonight is a full moon, so I'm going there anyways for the usual hunting." "Thank you." She told me. Her face looked grim. "This is a very serious matter. It's an exact message from King Canis XIII himself. You know.... the King of all werewolves in the oldest surviving Pack..."

        Suddenly, we heard an angry Mr. Winters yell. "Who wrote this on my board?!" He had finally noticed the message Bubbles had written. Everyone in the class except for a few people including Bubbles, Tammi, and I, laughed at the message.

        I didn't notice the peculiar thing that happened with his eyes when he yelled.

        As class was dismissed and Bubbles was sent to the Office (as Tammi had exposed her deed to Mr. Winters), Tammi and I decided to meet at my Uncle's house. "406 Passage Lane." I told her. "We usually leave for the Nightwalker Pack at seven. Try to be there at 6:45. I'll see you there."