Afterlife || irwin

[ 26 ] 1990

[ 26 ] 1990

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"Look, son. We've had to change the room arrangements several times because that girl doesn't get along with anyone--boys or girls. That was the only room left in the facility, and your uncle Fer and I thought you might be able to handle her since you're so quiet and serious all the time."

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With his aunt on the verge of death, she had confessed a secret to her nephew Arthur Vega. That they were direct descendants of the original hunters which had been created in Mexico to counter the shifters which had been created in Canada centuries prior. Arthur was at first confused by the information. He had no idea what a shifter was, and now he was being told he was a hunter of them. He had always known he had special abilities, like he could manipulate the emotions of others to his own favor, and he could move objects with his mind among other things. But it was a new development for him when his aunt produced a red velvet box from underneath her bed and offered it to him.

Upon opening it, he found that there were two shiny silver handguns. As he paid closer attention to them, looking from his aunt to the guns in the box first, he noticed that they had names engraved on the side of them. One of them had his own name engraved--Arthur. While the other, looking slightly older than the one with his name, read--Robert. Arthur felt himself suck in a breath in surprise. His father had been a hunter, and that was his gun.

His aunt explained to him tiredly, leaning back into the pillows on her bed. Her chest rose up and down slowly with each breath. It was evident that even breathing was a struggle for her. Arthur wanted to tell her to save her strengths. He could easily ask for the details with his other aunt, or with one of his two uncles. But she needed all the rest she could get in order to get better. "There weren't many shifters in this part of the world when he was alive, so my brother hardly got to use his gun or his powers. And he was the youngest of us anyway, so our older brothers didn't involve him much in the occult family business. They didn't want to interrupt his dreams of becoming a police officer." Gesturing towards the two guns in the box, she continued. "It's called a Diamond Rose. I'm sure Bobby would have wanted you to have his. But I got one made with your name as well. Its used to hunt and kill shifters, and it always works."

"Why are you saying this to me now?" Arthur wondered, not quite completely able to wrap his head around all of this. He had never been a part of that life and now it was suddenly being thrust upon him.

His aunt formed a weak smile on her lips as she replied. "Your uncles are just about ready to retire from that life, and I thought you were the one best suited to carry on the family legacy in honor of Bobby. They agreed with me. You're strong, m'ijo. You can do this. What we do has always been done best by the younger generations. You lot are faster than us old people." 

When her older brothers Fernando and Ernesto informed her that they were on their way to retire from their days of hunting, they also informed her that their own children did not want to inherit the family business. They had absolutely no interest in it, all of them deciding to be normal humans as well. Elenore Vega never married, and never had kids, thus she had no descendants of her own to take over the family business. While Elaine Vega, though she had kids, could not pass on the family legacy to them as the hunter gene was passed on through the male. That was when they suggested that Arthur take over, despite being only eighteen. Their younger sister agreed that he was perfect for the job.

Arthur knelt by his aunt's bedside and pulled her hand into both of his after setting the velvet box down by the foot of her bed. Bringing her hand to his lips and giving it a kiss, he said to her, words full of determination and fervor. "If that is what you wish for me, madrecita hermosa, then I'll gladly do it." Lovely mother, he had called her in Spanish. She raised him, she was his mother when he had no parents. He would do anything for her.