Three Hunters and the Truth

All hell had broken loose at Spooky Burger.

At least that was the only way Sharla could think of to describe the scene playing out in front of her. The blackness that fell from the Girl with the Dead Eyes was steadily consuming everything around it, pooling at their feet and covering the restaurant in darkness. Her fingers had become grotesque talons, and her mouth was full of vampiric fangs.

Sharla had faced down enough creatures and been in enough outlandish and seemingly impossible situations over her years spent with Cam to be considered an experienced hunter, despite her youth. And yet this was the worst of them all. This was different than the feeling of inferiority a vampire instilled, different than the chill of a restless spirit or the panic brought forth by a werewolf. This girl embodied hopelessness, an all consuming despair. To Sharla, this girl was the end, pure and simple.

“Wesley,” Cam barked, “Get your crew out of here and leave this to me. Sharla, April, you too, I don’t want you guys anywhere near this thing.”

Wesley nodded his eyes wide with horror as ran to the back. Sharla however glared at Cam.

“I’m not leaving you alone, you should know better by now.”

Cam opened his mouth to reply before April cut him off.

“Shut up Cam, we’ll fight together, just like old times.”

Cam sighed in resignation before turning his full attention back to the girl in front of them.

“Fine. How silly of me to worry about your safety.”

Sharla gave him a lopsided grin, “Yeah well, don’t do it again.”

With that, Cam and April sprung into action and began fighting in perfect sync, as though they had been doing this forever as they engaged the girl, covering each other and splitting the girl’s focus.

They pressed the attack as best they could; trying to keep the creature off balance, but the darkness was ever growing and acting as weapon in and of itself. Inky blackness shot forth from the pool, as solid and as sharp as any blade forcing Cam and April to quickly dodge or parry. As it was, neither of them was able to get close enough to the girl to land a solid attack.

Sharla darted around the darkness as it leapt at her, her speed and agility her greatest asset as she lined up the girls head with the barrels of her twin revolvers. Squeezing the triggers, her shots rang out with a deafening crash, only for her heart to sink as the darkness reached out and swatted both bullets from the air. Refusing to let that deter her from supporting Cam in this battle, she quickly dodged the darkness’ counterattack and fired again, this time one of the bullets finding its mark in the side of the girl’s head.

The Girl with the Dead Eyes turned and roared, the roar of a true predator, and as her eyes locked with Sharla, Sharla froze. Suddenly the feelings of hopelessness and despair that radiated from the girl intensified. She knew, knew down to her very core that they would die here; swallowed by the black. Sharla knew she was nothing more than prey. Then, as quickly as those feelings attacked her they disappeared, as Cam’s fist came crashing across the monster’s face, breaking the eye contact and freeing Sharla from its spell.

The girl slashed with her talons, catching Cam as he leapt back and leaving deep cuts across his chest. He hissed in pain but otherwise continued to fight. Sharla would have been worried but in her time with him she had seen him absorb an almost inhuman amount of punishment and he always came out okay. She had no idea how he did it, and she hated it every time he got hurt, but he still insisted on going toe to toe with these monsters.

The girl continued to focus on Cam, slashing with her talons and snapping with her teeth, more animal than human, and the darkness continued to intercept the bullets Sharla fired at it. So focused was the girl on Cam and Sharla that she didn’t seem to notice that April had managed to get behind her until her tire iron had struck the side of her head, and for the first time, the Girl With the Dead Eyes fell to the ground.

“Sharla fights exactly like Lindsy did,” April said as she moved beside Cam, helping him regroup. “Any particular reason you trained her that way?”

“Focus April,” Cam said with a wince, blood dripping down his chest as the Girl With the Dead Eyes stood up, seemingly none the worse for where from their repeated attacks.

“I’ve finished playing,” The girl said, her voice hypnotizing in its purity. “Time for supper.”

Bracing for an attack, Sharla suddenly felt the darkness beneath her feet leap up to engulf her, covering her from head to toe in the inky blackness as she felt her herself being pulled beneath the surface, and only then did she realize the depths of the abyss they were standing on. The infinity that this blackness represented, and the true power of the Girl With the Dead Eyes. She could hear Cam shout her name, but it was faint, as though he was a distant echo. It was soothing here, peaceful, and she remembered she was supposed to be scared, supposed to be fighting, but she simply couldn’t remember why. She could see the girl, full of warmth, her arms protective as she embraced her.

Suddenly there was a hand, a cold hand invading the warmth and wrenching her away, back into the cold, back into the fear and back into the fight. Sharla opened her eyes to see Cam’s arms holding her close, his eyes filled with worry, and for the first time, fear.

“Cam move!” April screamed, and just as the words had left her mouth Cam had thrown Sharla into April’s arms as the girl descended upon him. The darkness was too fast, impaling Cam upon multiple blades as the girl’s talons gripped him and her fangs sank deep into his throat as she began to drink.

“NO!” Sharla roared, pulling herself from April’s grasp and firing every bullet she had at the girl, her heart sinking as the darkness moved faster than she could see, but she could hear the sounds of her bullets being deflected.

April moved to attack but the darkness struck again, tearing several deep cuts across her chest and forcing her back. She grimaced and fought through the pain, ignoring the blood that seeped from the deep wounds as she prepared to attack again. However she stopped short when she saw the girl suddenly release Cam from her grip, her face contorted in pain.

The girl looked at Cam with wide eyes, and then began to wretch, her body heaving as it revolted against the tainted blood, trying to force it out, her hacking coughs deafening. And Cam, impaled upon the blades of darkness, blood pouring from his torn throat with a smile on his face and his shotgun in his hand, pointed it flat against the girl as she looked at him.

There was a flash of light and a monstrous crash as he pulled the trigger, and the girl howled in agony as her head was blown clean off, falling backwards into the darkness, the inky blackness swallowing her up even as her hacking coughs persisted. The darkness suddenly receded as quickly as it had spread, and within seconds was gone altogether. The Girl With the Dead Eyes had retreated.

Sharla rushed to Cam and caught him as he fell, her eyes meeting his as she held him close.

“You can’t die,” she said softly, both to him and to herself. “You can’t die, you understand, you’re gonna be fine, you can’t die...”

Cam looked at her and chuckled, the sound coming out a gargle as his throat continued to bleed. He motioned to April, and she came to kneel beside him.

“Tell her...” he said softly, before closing his eyes and drifting into sleep.

Terrified she had lost him, Sharla was suddenly filled with a sense of relief as she saw he was still breathing. She knew Cam would pull through, they just had to get him to a hospital, but Cam was tough and he would survive. He always did. She made to stand but April placed a hand on her arm.

“He’ll be fine,” April said to her, “But he needs to stay here, trust me.”

Sharla looked at her in shock. “You can’t be serious, he’ll die if we don’t get him help, we need to go right now...”

April shook her head firmly, cutting her off.

“Sharla, Cam hasn’t told you something pretty important.”

Sharla stared at the woman, but suddenly Cam’s words flashed in her mind, just now realizing what he had said. “He said ‘tell her’, what did he want you to tell me?”

April sighed heavily, “Sharla, Cam is already dead. He died a long time ago, long before I or any of the others of our team ever met him.”

Sharla just stared at her incredulously. “What? What do you mean? That’s...that can’t be....”

“Sharla,” April said again, her voice soft. “Cam is dead. He’s been dead for over ten years. But this place...” she gestured with her hand, and Sharla took a good long look at the Spooky Burger restaurant. “This place brought him back, and it keeps him from crossing over, it keeps him fighting monsters.”

Sharla was speechless. She had seen the dead walk before, even before tonight she had seen things that simply should not have existed but did. But she never thought.... She could only gaze down at Cam, who looked so peaceful in his slumber, despite his wounds.

April put her hand on the girl’s back. “Cam will be back,” she said, “He always gets up and comes back. Don’t worry; you’ll get to talk to him again as soon as he wakes up.”

Sharla simply gazed at the man in her arms, before finally breaking down, the night’s events proving too much. Holding him as tight as she could, she wept.

Three Hunters and the Nightmare

Why Cam insisted they come to this dingy restaurant she’d never know. He claimed that all Spooky Burger restaurants were safe havens for people like them, and that they were always aware of the supernatural goings on in whatever city they happened to be in, but Sharla had yet to see any evidence of that.

Despite her protests, Cam had nevertheless dragged her to one the very first day they had arrived in this city, and she remembered him being pleasantly surprised to find an old friend running the night shift. Apparently they used to work together a long time ago, with him running the day shift and Cam running the night. But when she asked for more details he had told her, in no uncertain terms, that this was not a conversation he intended to have with her for a while.

And so every time Cam came to Spooky Burger, which was often, Sharla sat in silence, ordered the most expensive items on the menu, made Cam pay for them, and then refused to eat them. She was nothing if not vindictive.

Tonight would be no different, as Sharla placed an order of Terrifying Terriyaki Chicken Wings along with many other such delights she had no intention of touching, all the while very aware of the fact that the now nightly rain had soaked her clothes to the point that they clung to her so tightly she may as well have not been wearing any. This was not lost on the boy behind the counter, whose gaze proved he loved every second of her misery.
 
She moved closer to Cam, taking solace in the fact that at the very least he was as wet and miserable as she seemed to be.

“I’m not paying for that,” he grumbled as the boy that had previously been giving her his full attention now focused on ringing in her order.
 
“But Cam,” she said sweetly, dragging the words out just a touch. “I’m really hungry, and I’m cold and wet and those chicken wings are so warm and yummy, and you aren’t going to warm me up so...”
 
“Dammit Sharla, I have met zombies whose company I enjoy more. Honest to God zombies.”
 
She laughed, enjoying his irritation as always. “I said I could stay at the apartment, but you were all ‘no it’s better you come with me tonight and order a whole bunch of that crappy food that no one eats but me and make sure that my time here is as crappy as yours.’”
 
He gave her a look that would send chills down the spine of a normal person, but Sharla met his glare with ease, until Cam finally backed down with a sigh.
 
“Seriously,” he muttered, “Zombies.”
 
Before Sharla could continue the banter they enjoyed with each other, a voice from behind the counter spoke up.
 
“Cam, and Sharla, my two best customers. It’s good to see you guys.”
 
Cam turned and regarded the man with a nod. “Wesley, glad you’re still doing well.”
 
While Wesley was the only thing about the dingy restaurant Sharla could stand, she nevertheless couldn’t help but be amused by his appearance. He was the night shift supervisor, but Cam had told her that he was also a rather accomplished hunter, and yet his appearance certainly did not suggest so. He was a short, and skinny, his unkempt red hair making him look more like a boy than a full grown and renowned hunter. Still, Sharla could see how it could work for him; after all had Cam not told her of him, she never would have taken him seriously. She imagined many other things in the night had made that mistake.
 
“Hey Wesley,” she said with a smile. “We were wondering if you could help us out.”
 
“Guys,” Wesley said, holding up his hands, his voice suddenly anxious, and Sharla noticed him give a quick glance toward the front doors. “I know you need info, and I’d like to help, but it’s not a great time right now. It would be better if you guys took off. Can you come back tomorrow night?”
 
Cam frowned and Sharla gave him a look. They had come to Wesley many times before and the man had always been accommodating. Tonight something was definitely wrong.
 
“It’s nothing personal,” he said quickly, noticing the look in Cam’s eye. “It’s just that she’s gonna be back any second, she just got into town and when she stopped in I asked her if she would mind taking care of a job for me, and I know you guys have a bit of a history and...”
 
A scream cut him off. Not a real one, but the terrible synthesized scream that played every time someone entered the restaurant.
 
“Aw hell,” Wesley muttered.
 
By the time Sharla had sensed the attack coming Cam had already deflected the blow, countering with a shove that pushed the attacker back.

It had been a long time since Sharla had failed to sense an attack. She regarded the attacker and was surprised at what she saw. It had been a long time since she had been surprised as well.

The woman was dressed in a tight tube top which did little to hide her chest, and a pair of very dirty overalls, covered in what Sharla could only assume was motor oil. Her long hair was pulled back under a bandanna, and a tire iron graced her right hand; her weapon of choice it seemed.

“Glad you’re still in shape,” the woman grinned, but Sharla saw no humor there. This woman was cold as ice, it showed in her eyes, in the way she regarded Cam. “I wonder if your little girl is as good as you.”

Sharla bristled at that and readied herself for an attack, but Cam stepped in front of her, his voice equally as cold as he spoke.

“Good to see you too April. It's been a long time.”

“Yes it has,” she said. “Years at least. You've changed from the Cam I remember though. I wonder if you've toughened up any, fighting our fight all on your own.” 

“If it’s a fight you want we’ll do it outside. Spooky Burger is not the place.”

April laughed, “Still the boss huh? Guess not much has changed after all.” With that her tire iron disappeared into her overalls, and her demeanor seemed to warm. “How about we take a reign check on that whole fight thing for now?”
 
Cam didn't relax however. He regarded her with an icy stare. “Why are you here April?”
 
“The job,” she said simply. “Helping out our old friend Wesley with a problem, which I took care of. But don’t worry, I’m only passing through. I’m leaving again later tonight. In my new car by the way, to replace the one you destroyed.”

He sighed. “I’ve apologized about that a thousand times.”

“I know, don't worry I forgive you, after all that crash cost you your eye, so it sort of evened out in the end.”
 
He growled, and Sharla tentatively put her hand on his arm, hoping he would relax.
 
He did, and April raised an eyebrow.
  
“What’s this Cam? Letting your little stray get all close and snugly? That’s so unlike you.”

Sharla grit her teeth. This woman had already rubbed her the wrong way, but that did it. She shot forward, her hand drawing her gun but just as fast Cam stopped her and gave her a stern look. It was a look she had seen only once before, and he had given it to her just as she was about to rush something very powerful. She had learned her lesson that day, and today it was heeded once again.

“Did you forget, April?” Cam said, turning back to her. “All of you were strays before I found you. The only reason you and the others are still alive tonight is because of the skills I taught you.”

“Oh really?” April growled, her eyes narrowing. “Try telling that to Lindsy. It didn’t take long for your skills to knock our group from five to four.”

If Cam was on edge before, he was well and truly mad now. That comment changed things. “Keep talking,” he said slowly, “And I’ll knock that number down to three.”

“Seems we’re gonna get that fight after all,” she said, her tire iron reappearing in her hand.

“You’ve gotta stop them,” Wesley said quietly, and Sharla only barely remembered he was there. “If those two go at it they could very well kill each other.”

Sharla moved to say something, but the synthesized scream again interrupted them. An air of malice filled them and a sudden chill shot through the restaurant. Cam and April were immediately at each other’s sides, their differences seemingly forgotten and they stood as true teammates who had battled side by side many times before.

The visitor was a girl younger than Sharla, dressed all in black, but her harmless appearance radiated evil the likes of which she had never felt before. The others felt it too, and as Sharla stood with Cam at her side, she could see the visitor wasn't simply wearing black, but rather was composed of it. The thick inky substance dripped from the girl, pooling at her feet and spreading towards them.

“What the hell is that?” April muttered, “We’ve been killing monsters a long long time but I’ve never seen something like that before.”

The girl gave a lopsided grin, “I was on a diet,” she said, her voice melodic, almost pure, and Sharla felt herself absorbed by her words, unable to put her attention anywhere else. “But I saw this place and everything inside looked so tempting, I couldn’t help myself I knew I just had to eat it all.”

A deafening crash of thunder shook them all out of their trance, the rain smashing into the windows, seemingly directly aimed at the girl.

Refocusing on the girl, April asked, “Vampire?”

Cam shook his head, “Maybe once, but not anymore.”

“That's her," Sharla said, more to herself than the others. “The Girl With the Dead Eyes. She's here.”

Cam nodded and April scowled.

“Spooky Burger is our territory,” she said. “It empowers us and weakens monsters like her. We have the advantage here. Between the three of us, we can do this.”

Sharla made a mental note to ask Cam about the advantage of Spooky Burger later, as if this place couldn’t be any more ridiculous as she steeled herself.

Slowly, the three spread out, moving to surround the girl. April had her tire iron in hand as she flanked the left, Sharla her various firearms as she moved right, and Cam had slipped his brass knuckles on his hands as he took the center, his shotgun hanging loosely from its holster beneath his coat.

The inky blackness moved ever closer, and the girl and her deranged grin held her arms out, as though she welcomed them.

As the attack began, it was Sharla who first noticed them. The eyes of the girl, they must have been beautiful once, a long time ago. Bright and colorful, full of life.

Now however they were just the opposite. Dull, empty.

Dead.

And looking into those eyes, it was Sharla who first realized the true depths of the abyss they now faced.

The Girl Who Became a Hunter

The door slammed behind her, and as it did so a little speaker above it gave what she assumed was supposed to be a scary moan. She looked around, and for a brief moment she debated saying ‘screw it’ and going back out into the rain.

She couldn’t believe how seriously this place took itself for a little fast food joint. Everything was Halloween themed, even though it was currently August. Even the food was given a ‘spooky’ twist. Somewhat skeptical she approached the gangly teenager standing alone behind the counter.
  
“Um, I’ll have a...oh gross...a ‘Hand Burger’,” she said with a grimace. “And a small ‘Black Bile?’ What the hell is that?”

“It’s just regular fountain soda,” the cashier said back to her, his eyes never meeting hers, though they flickered over her form and lingered on her chest, and she gave a groan in disgust.

“So why don’t you just call it that? Who comes in here and says ‘oh yeah that Black Bile sounds awesome right about now,’?”

“You’ll like it,” he said, trying to be as charming as someone staring at her chest could be. “It’s just a silly name.”

She shook her head and handed him the money, then took the opportunity to look around, searching for the reason she had come not just to this restaurant, but to this city in the first place.

After several months of looking, after following nothing but rumors and whispers through a dozen different cities, she had finally gotten a solid lead. When he was in a city with a Spooky Burger, he always came in around midnight for food. And sure enough, sitting in a corner booth, gazing out the window with a cup of what she assumed was Black Bile in his hand, was the man she had been searching for.

Taking her food, she steeled herself and walked towards him.

“Mind if I sit here?” She asked, motioning to the empty seat across from him, trying to be charming, trying to be polite or flirty or whatever it would take to make him say yes, to make him hear her out.

He looked up at her and she could see his description hadn’t been exaggerated. Tall and lean, one eye concealed by an eye patch, head kept bald by choice, and countless scars on his arms, hands, and, she suspected, many other places that were currently hidden by the tattered clothing he wore.

He studied her for a moment, before motioning with his hand towards the empty spot.

She smiled and sat, unwrapping her Hand Burger, and finding that it was, in fact, a burger shaped like a hand.

“It’s a little off-putting at first,” he said, his gaze back out the window. “But it’s good.”

She set the burger back on its tray. “Actually I’m not really hungry. I mostly came to talk to you, if you can believe that.”

“I can,” he said and turned to face her. “After all, it's been pretty impressive of you to track me this far, and I wasn’t making it easy on you either.”

Her eyes widened at that. “What...? You knew I was looking for you? How?”

“I have friends who keep me in the loop.”

“Did they say anything else?”

“No, but I did my homework on you, just to make sure you weren’t going to try and kill me.”

She almost didn’t want to know, but the question was out of her mouth before she could stop it. “What did you find out about me?”

He grinned. “You’re 22 years old, which is far too young to be looking for someone like me. I know you could have had a free ride into any college you chose based on your academic scores. I know you were head cheerleader all through high school, and that you were voted prom queen, obviously, but you never attended prom, which I found a little strange because given your looks I’m sure you had about a hundred potential dates lined up. How am I doing so far?”

“And here I thought I was being careful,” she said, thoroughly impressed, and thoroughly disturbed that he had learned so much despite her best efforts to keep concealed.

“But none of that really matters to me.” He said. “What is it you want from me so badly that you followed me so far from home?”

She scowled at this. “I don’t have a home, not anymore. And what I want is your help.”

“I’m not good for much,” he said. “I don’t think I can help you with anything.”

“Actually I hear you’re the best in this particular field.”

“And what field is that?”  

“Killing monsters,” she said bluntly.
  
He looked her over briefly then said, “And what do you know about that?”
  
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I know they’re real, that they’re out there and the prey on us. I know that because they tried to prey on me. I could have rolled over and died but I didn’t. I lived, I was smart, patient. I did my research, met some people, until finally I heard a rumor.”
  
“About me?”
  
“Yes. To put it very simply, I want you to teach me.”
  
He chuckled. “I can’t do that, I don’t take students.”
  
“Tough,” she shot back. “I’m not so far removed from my past that I’ve gotten used to not getting my way. I’m not going to be prey for some...thing...out there. Not again. Ever.”
  
For a long time the man was silent, and his eye never left hers. She could see he was mulling over something in his head, could see the gears turning. Finally, after what felt like hours, he extended a hand.
  
“Cam,” he said.
  
She grinned, “I know, Sharla.” she said, shaking his hand.
  
“I know.”

Two Hunters and A Plan

Sharla raised an eyebrow. “For real? That’s the big bad to end all big bads?”

He nodded, “That's what they say.”

“That’s a terrible name.”

“Well I didn’t make it up, that’s just what they call her.”

“Who are 'they' in this case? Cause seriously that’s a dumb name and 'they' should feel silly.”

Cam rubbed his temples, and Sharla grinned. He always did that when she bugged him.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Why does it matter?”

“Well if this girl is so scary that an Inquisitor is hunting her then she should have a cool name.”

“Like what?”

“Like Ashoka the World Eater...”

“That sounds like a scary pornstar.”

“How about Larisha the Devourer...”

“So does that.”

“Or Illyria the...”

“These are all terrible names. Also I think that last one has been used already.”

“Whatever,” she scoffed. “I’m just saying that it’s a very non-threatening name, very sixteen and emo.”

“Experience there?”

“It was a phase," she said quickly. "A brief one.”

He couldn’t help but smile as he finished his drink.

“See,” she said. “I’m already helping.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered.

“Oh yes you do,” she said leaning forward and trying to meet his gaze. “I haven't seen you smile all week, you’ve been acting all dark and weird. You know if you were stressed out you should have just told me...”

“Please not this again,” he grumbled.

“I’d have found a quicker way to help you relax.”

“I’m stealing a smoke.”

“Well hopefully not too quick,” she said, “But it would be way more fun for both us than all your brooding.”

“It’s not gonna happen Sharla, sorry to disappoint. And I wasn't brooding."

“Fine,” she said, unable to keep from grinning. “But the offer stands. I’m just glad you’re feeling better. Having you off your game is...weird...I guess.”

“I’m sorry I worried you.” He said. “But you have to understand that I'm operating on rumors and spooky stories instead of hard facts, which is not something I'm used to. Inquisitors weren't supposed to exist; yet here we are. And what's worse is that if an Inquisitor is hunting something, then that something is supposedly so horrible, so powerful, that the planet itself is literally rejecting its presence. The Girl With the Dead Eyes is supposedly just that. A creature so bad its a blight on the Earth.”

 Sharla sighed and lit up another cigarette. “We'll figure something out Cam," she said, for the first time feeling like she needed to be strong for him. It was a feeling she wasn't used to, but one she certainly didn't mind. "We always figure something out, and we always come out okay, this one is no different.”

He nodded and sent a quick smile her way. “To be honest I've been debating if we should even get involved at all. As far as I'm concerned the two super monsters can go kill each other and save us the trouble, but I don't like this going on so close to us while we operate completely in the dark. But tomorrow night that will change.”

“We have a plan?”

He nodded. “We’ll go meet a friend of mine; I think he can help us out. He’s on shift tomorrow night.”

“On shift...wait, does this mean we’re going to that awful restaurant with the tacky decorations and the gross food?”

He smiled. “Oh yes, I know it's your favourite. Who says I don’t know how to show a girl a good time?”

“That place is disgusting, and I hate fast food.” she said with a pout. “Can’t we meet him somewhere else?”

When he shook his head, she sighed heavily and glared at him. “I'm withdrawing my earlier offer. And I'm going back to bed.”

She made a show of standing up and stomping down the hall to her room, but she still couldn’t help but smile. The Cam she knew seemed to be back.

When he heard her door click closed he allowed himself a smile of his own. Even with two of the worst possible monsters out there in the night, she knew just what to say to make him feel like things may just work out.

Two Hunters and the Rain

The rain was coming down hard tonight. But she was determined. Clutching her umbrella the young woman walked the alleys, her pace quick, not willing to waste even a second. She was so close; she had never been this close before. Just up ahead, and she prayed that the information she had worked so hard for was true. She prayed that he would be there tonight. The hunter who could help her get her revenge. She emerged from the darkness to a street lit up by the neon sign of a popular fast food chain, a safe haven in the night. She was here. Trying to look confident, she crossed the road and opened the door to Spooky Burger.

Sharla’s eyes snapped open and instantly she was upright and alert, her hand squeezing her revolver. She surveyed her bedroom, making sure nothing was amiss.

No, just the rain pounding against her window.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes, trying to shake the dream from her thoughts. It must have been the rain that reminded her of that day.

She threw on a pair of shorts and a torn up tank top and checked the clock. Just after 3am. Wondering if Cam was back by now, she wandered into the living room where she usually found him sleeping on the old couch and felt a pang of disappointment when she saw it empty. Come to think of it, since the incident at the park a week ago, Cam had been acting differently, leaving the apartment alone and refusing her requests to join him, and not returning until well after the sun had risen. That was also when the rain started, and it hadn’t let up since.

She grabbed her pack of cigarettes from the coffee table, opened the window just a touch, and set her pistol on the table, before sitting down and lighting one.

In the year that she and Cam had been together, she had been his apt pupil, his apprentice. He had taught her so much about the world they lived in now, the world she had been living in alone for months before she found him. She had seen walking corpses, she had seen ghosts, she had even seen real live vampires, and last week she saw a pack of werewolves.

What she had never seen was Cam scared. And that bothered her.

The Inquisitor had gotten to him. He had said it was an entity whose sole purpose was hunting only the most terrible of monsters, things, he said, that even other monsters fear. Things that the heavens themselves wanted to be rid of. Cam had said he had believed them to be legends, but finding out they were real was something he seemed to be having difficulty with. More so was the knowledge that if the Inquisitor was here, it must be hunting something. And that something would put anything they had faced so far to shame.

She took a deep breath and focused on her smoke for the time being. She wanted nothing more than to help Cam; after all he had done so much for her, and had asked for nothing in return. But until he was back to acting semi normal, she really didn’t know the first thing to do.

She hated it; it made her feel powerless, just like back then.

The apartment door opening jostled her from her thoughts, and even as her hand went to her gun, she knew it was him.

Cam gave her a brief smile before shedding the majority of his drenched clothing. He pulled a beer out of the fridge and sat beside her.

“I have good news, and bad news,” he said in between drinks.

“Okay.”

“The good news is I figured out what’s going on.”

“And the bad news?”

He sighed deeply.

“The bad news...is that she’s here.”

“Who’s here?”

“The one the Inquisitor is hunting. The Girl With the Dead Eyes.”

Two Hunters and an Angel

“You sure the tip we got is good?” Sharla asked, trying to keep her eyes open, her feet propped up on the dash and coffee at her lips. They had been in the city for the past two months, and this was the biggest lead they had gotten.

“Watch the park,” Cam muttered, motioning across the street, though his eyes never left the book he was reading. “Stakeouts are part of the job. Get used to them.”

“But I’m the only one staking out. Why aren’t you watching the park?”

“Because I have you,” he replied, as though it was obvious.

“Screw you,” she muttered darkly, focusing on the park nonetheless. She fidgeted in her seat, the car suddenly feeling too small for her. She looked over at him, “What are you reading anyway?”

He shrugged, “Some vampire book. It’s got its facts all wrong though.”

She leaned her head to glance at the pages, then punched him in the shoulder. Hard.

“Twilight?!” She yelled, the late hour only making her mood worse. “Are you goddamn kidding me? My eyes are about to fall out of my skull because I’ve been staring at nothing for so long and instead of helping me, you’ve been reading fucking Twilight for the past four hours?!”

“Yeah I’m not a fan,” he said, completely ignoring her fury, although he did give his shoulder a rub. “This is not an accurate representation of vampires at all.”

“I’m gonna kill you,” she glowered at him. “I’m gonna kill you and they’ll never find your body. Not that anyone other than me would look for you anyway but...”

He held up his hand to silence her and immediately she went quiet.

“They’re here.” He said.

“No way,” she shot back, looking around, “I’d have seen them.”

Right on cue the figures came, two men appearing in the park across from them, as if the shadows had simply spat them out, so suddenly were they there. In addition, there were three very large dogs, or what appeared to be dogs, trotting up to the men from various directions.

“How do you do that?” Sharla whispered incredulously. When he didn't answer she tried again. “So these are them?”

“Werewolves.” Cam said, his voice hushed. “They’re the ultimate killers, and one of, if not the, most dangerous creatures out at night. Even vampires give them a wide berth. They move in packs, and have territory, kinda like a gang. The tip I got said this park was in there territory, and they survey it every week or so.”

“So what do we do?” Sharla asked. She had been with Cam when he hunted the occasional ghost, or restless spirit, but the most dangerous thing she had dealt with was a vampire, and Cam had said he was a relatively young one.

This was a different level; something in her body knew that. Her heart was pounding, and it only thumped harder the longer she watched them, conversing back and forth. Even the dogs, or at least, the werewolves that looked like dogs, seemed be talking, not so much with their mouths, but in gestures and body language, and the men understood. She glanced over at Cam, cool as ever, and wondered how he did it.

“That’s a thing with them,” he said, as if reading her mind. “Looking at them, for real, brings up some deep primal fear in humans. All you want to do is run. Can’t say I blame you, but keep your head. We’re just here to watch, that’s all.”

She nodded. She had trained for this. She had studied this, all of Cam’s notes that he had made just for her. He had dealt with werewolves before, although was always loathe to do so which she found odd because he was always so gung ho to kill anything else that preyed on humans. She took deep breaths like she remembered, centered herself like her meditations had taught her, and willed her body to relax.

“What the hell...?” Cam muttered, and instantly her eyes shot to the park, where a man dressed in simple blue jeans and a leather jacket was making great strides towards the pack.

“Who’s that?” She asked him.

“I have no idea, but he’s not one of them. Now look, see how they’ve changed?”

She looked closely at the pack, at the men whose bodies seemed to be literally rippling with barely contained fury, at the dogs whose fur stood on end.

“They’re furious,” she said.

Cam shook his head. “No they aren’t...they’re terrified.”

She looked at him, her eyes wide with fear. “But you said...what could terrify them...?” She could feel the unnatural panic returning and quickly focused on repressing it.

And then, the werewolves changed, their fury and terror unleashed, given form. They grew and grew, until both man and dog alike stood on hind legs, enormous wolves easily over twelve feet tall, with claws that could rend steel, and they leapt at the man

The panic was overwhelming now, she had to run, had to get away from those things, those monsters, and it was only Cam’s firm hand that gripped her shoulder, pinning her to the seat that calmed her down, his icy touch giving her a source of strength to cling to.

“This is the worst it ever gets,” he said, “Seeing them in their true form is the ultimate in terror but this is what you’ve trained for, and the first time is always the worst. Trust your training, and trust me.”

She nodded, breathless, sweat dripping from her brow as she willed herself to try and calm down, or at the very least, to not dive through the window and run and scream and...

And then it was over. The werewolves, the greatest hunters of the night were dead; ripped limb from limb in a violent display that showered the park in blood. And with the source of the unnatural fear removed Sharla began to calm down.

And it was Cam’s turn to feel terror.

“Cam,” she said, feeling better until she looked at him, and she realized that for the first time since he had saved her and taken her under his wing, that he was scared. He was never scared.

Ever.

And yet now he was scared of the man in the park, in the blue jeans and the leather jacket. He gripped the wheel so tightly she thought he might rip it off completely, his teeth pressed together so tightly she thought they might shatter.

It wasn’t until the man put his hands in his pockets and calmly strode away, like nothing had ever happened, and it wasn’t until Cam started the car several minutes later, and it wasn’t until they made it back to the little apartment they called home that she could even bring herself to ask him if he was okay.

So unnerved was she by his fear that when he spoke she almost leapt out of her skin.

“Are you alright?” he asked, sitting on the couch and motioning for her to sit with him. She did gratefully, falling into the couch with a thud.

“I’m okay,” she said, smiling that he had asked her first. He always did. “Cam what happened? What did we see? You told me only the absolute oldest of vampires could take down a werewolf, and even then probably not a whole pack of them, so was that a vampire?”

He shook his head. “No, it wasn’t.”

“Cam you were scared.” She said her voice soft. She wasn’t used to this. Cam was always the strong one. Always.

“Yeah I was,” he said with a sigh. “I was scared because I know exactly what that guy was. Remember when I said werewolves are the ultimate killers?”

“Yeah...”

“Well the only reason I said that was because I thought they were, because I didn’t think these things exist.”

“Cam what was he?” She asked, gripping his arm.

“An old wives tale, a scary story us hunters tell each other.” His eyes had a faraway look to them as he continued. “I didn’t want to believe it because I thought the world was messed up enough already, and because if he’s real, it means that she’s real...”

“Cam.” She said sternly, and he turned to look at her, his eyes focused on her. “What was the man we saw tonight?”

He looked at her for a long while, and she could all but see the gears turning in his head, his thoughts flying as he came to terms with what he was about to tell her.

Finally, he simply said,

“An Inquisitor.”

Two Hunters and a Rock Star

Cam scoffed and changed the radio station, only to change it to a station playing the exact same song.

He clenched his fists around the steering wheel, trying to focus on the road instead of the same Sebastian Jericho song he had now heard a total of five times since he left.

“I hate that guy,” he muttered, barely audible over the loud roar of the engine, yet loud enough that the woman in the passenger seat gave him a look.
   

“In his defense,” she said, “You’re not exactly his target demographic.”
    

“Yeah well I’m pretty sure he’s mine,” Cam shot back, his voice a little more agitated than he would have liked. The long drive seemed to be getting to him, and the fact that it was nearing three in the morning wasn’t helping.
    

The woman groaned, “Oh please, you cannot seriously believe that Sebastian Jericho, of all people, is something other than human.”
    

“Why not? Sharla I’m a hunter, I kill supernatural things for something that could possibly be considered a living. And in that business, you trust your instincts, or you get killed. And my instincts tell me that guy is not on the human level.”
    

Sharla rolled her eyes, “Yeah right, you’ve never even seen the guy; how the hell could you possibly know that?”
   

“Who says I haven’t seen him? I went to one of his concerts to check him out.”
    

Cam could feel her eyes staring a hole through him, like she was studying him, until finally she burst out laughing.
    

“What?” He asked, fighting the embarrassment he was beginning to feel. “It was a legitimate recon-op.”
    

She stopped laughing and looked at him again. “Oh god, you’re serious aren’t you.” And then she burst out laughing again, harder this time, by his estimate.
    

“I fail to see what’s so funny...” he grumbled, the embarrassment in full force now, though he didn't mind. She was the only one who could make him feel like that anyway.
    

Sharla bit back her laughter, wiping tears from her eyes before speaking. “Oh nothing’s funny, except I’m picturing you, a six foot monster with no hair, an eye patch, and scars all over you, standing in a crowd that consists of nothing but pre teen girls and boys who stole their sister’s leather pants and eye liner. I mean how the hell did nobody think you were some sort of pervert and call the cops?”
    

Cam was silent for a while. “Security kicked me out,” he finally said.
   

“Security...” she said, and then burst out laughing again.
    

“Wow, almost made it through a whole sentence without laughing at me,” he said, a grin spreading across his features, albeit one he could not help. He would never admit it, but he liked hearing her laugh, even if it was at him.
    

Finally, she seemed to calm down, although an occasional chuckle escaped her lips every now and again, and it wasn’t until they could see the city lights on the horizon that the mood changed.
    

“So that’s it huh?” She asked. “The place where we’re setting up shop?”
    

Cam nodded. “From what I’ve heard, there’s more than enough creepy crawlies here to keep us going for a long time.”
    

“Been a while since we actually stayed in one place long enough to actually start an agency,” she said. “You haven’t gotten rusty have you?”
    

He met her grin with one of his own, “Please; besides while I’m out there killing baddies, you’ll finally have something to do. Answering phones, talking to clients, taking down notes. I bet you’re excited.”
    

“If you think all I’m gonna be doing is playing secretary you’ve got another thing coming," she scoffed at him. "You trained me way too well to not be right there beside you.”
    

He laughed and focused on the road again. Things were finally looking up for them.
    

“I’m still convinced Sebastian Jericho isn’t human...” he muttered, knowing full well Sharla would start laughing at him again.
    

She didn’t disappoint.