The Shaggy Dog

Rain water trickles down the stone buildings and pools at his feet, the night air crisp and fresh now that the storm is over. The shaggy dog takes a quick drink from the puddle and plods on, his tail wagging behind him.

He is hungry, but he is usually hungry and tonight is no exception. At least there is plenty of water to drink as he plods on, and the city smells pleasant tonight as he scrounges for supper.

Emerging from the alleys the shaggy dog spies a young boy across the street, slumped on the ground with a hat held upside down in an outstretched, quivering hand. The shaggy dog tilts his head and whines, and the boy mutters something as everyone walks by.

The shaggy dog runs across the street and sits beside the boy. I notice you, the shaggy dog says, and receives a scratch behind the ear for his efforts. He wags his tail and plods on.

Leaning against a wall of brick spray painted with vibrant colors and symbols is a man with kind eyes talking on a cell phone. The shaggy dog sniffs the man's hand and smells a family, waiting for their father to arrive home from work.

"You're a tough little thing aren't you," the man says, his call on hold for now. "You look hungry. I'm sorry, I wish I had my arm to spare."

I understand, the shaggy dog says. He wags his tail and plods on.

The aroma of fresh baking catches his nose and the shaggy dog follows its scent to a pleasant little restaurant. Through the window he spies a large woman dressed in a fancy gown. She's at a table for one and the waiter brings her a glass of red wine. She smiles and thanks him, her happiness the best smelling thing in the restaurant. It makes him smile. He wags his tail and plods on.

The shaggy dog stops at a nearby puddle, taking a drink before he continues. He sees a woman holding hands with her daughter, the little girl pulling and tugging as she tries to leap from puddle to puddle, her laughter musical in its innocence. "Mommy!" she shouts and points to the shaggy dog, "A puppy!"

The shaggy dog smiles happily, he likes kids, they pat him on the head and tug on his fur. "He's hungry," the little girl says, "Can he come home with us mommy please?"

The woman looks at the shaggy dog and says, "Well little guy? Would you like that?"

The shaggy dog looks at the woman and her little girl. No thank you, he says. My home is out here. The little girl looks sad but the woman seems to understand. He thanks them both. He wags his tail and plods on.

He returns to his home, a den of newspaper and cardboard in a dingy little alleyway. Its late now as he circles a few times and then lays down, still hungry. The shaggy dog thinks for a while as his eyes get heavy. He didn't find any food tonight, but he met a lot of nice people. Maybe he will find food tomorrow he thinks as his eyes close and he drifts off to sleep. Until tomorrow, when he will wag his tail and plod on.

Dawn

They had been driving for a few days now, stopping only every now and again. April’s eyes focused on the highway while Cam and Sharla sat in the back. Cam had been quite most of the trip, even more so than usual and Sharla couldn’t help but feel a tension in the air. Something was coming, and she suspected she was the only one who didn’t know exactly what it was. Her mind drifted back to the conversation they had when she returned to Spooky Burger.

“How is he?” She asked immediately.
 
April looked up, the pair had barely moved from where she had left them.
 
“He’s fine,” April said, “He’s healing quickly. He’s at his best here, this place protects him, it won’t let him go.”
 
“What about your wounds?” Sharla asked. “You took a few bad hits as well.”
 
April shook her head, “They’ll be fine, forget about me. What about you? What happened out there?”
 
“It’s over.” Sharla said, motioning to the sword and shotgun she still held. “I killed her.”
 
April smiled, a weight seemingly lifting from her shoulders. “You really are Cam’s successor then. He’s gonna be so proud.”
 
“What do you mean by that?” Sharla asked, her eyes narrowing. “I’m Cam’s partner, once he heals up things will be back to normal.”
 
April nodded, suddenly looking very sad. “You’re right, sorry. Listen we need to be gone by the time this place opens in the morning.”
 
“Agreed, we have an apartment not far from here, we can go there.”
 
“No!” Cam shouted, his voice causing them both to jump. Struggling to pull himself up, he said, “No, April, it’s time. You know where we need to go.”
 
Sharla rushed to his side, taking his weight as he leaned against her. “No we are going to the apartment so you can rest,” she growled at him. “It’s over now, the Girl is dead and we can relax.”
 
“No Sharla,” he said, meeting her eyes. “It’s not over yet. There’s one thing left, and then I will rest, I promise.”
 
Sharla stared at him for a moment, but she knew he wasn’t going to budge. She sighed and looked at April who only nodded.
 
“I’ll drive you,” she said.

It was going to be morning soon, and Cam’s wounds had since closed. He was walking on his own with little problem but he still wouldn’t be fighting for a while. Still the whole trip had Sharla on edge. April looked near tears the whole time, and Cam had seemed almost content. Every now and then she would catch him looking at her, his eyes bright with something she had never seen in them before. A thought had crept its way into her mind and she had forced it out at first, but now as the trip went on it she was having more and more difficulty ignoring it. Though it hurt her in more ways than she could count, she was forced to entertain her suspicions as to the purpose of this trip.

April took a sudden right turn onto a dirt road, eventually coming to a large patch of pavement on the outskirts of a large forest. “We’re here,” she said, turning off the engine and stepping outside. Cam took a deep breath and followed, and Sharla had to fight back tears as she too stepped out of the car.

Sharla could see the ruins of what was once a large building just off the highway, and realized they were standing in what was once a parking lot. The forest had reclaimed most of it and to Sharla it looked like just another abandoned building, but Cam and April looked at it fondly.

“Can you give us a minute Sharla?” Cam asked with a smile.

Sharla nodded, suddenly feeling very numb as she wandered towards the building, giving the two their space. She saw him hug April tightly, saw him whisper something in her ear, and saw her start to cry.

“Make sure you tell Ben and Cherry the same thing,” she heard him say and April nodded, hugging him again before stepping back. Cam nodded back and made his way over to her.

“I want to show you something,” he said, holding out his hand.

Nodding, Sharla steeled herself and took it, letting him lead her into the forest.

“There’s a town nearby,” Cam said as he walked with her. “It’s where I grew up. And that building is one of the first Spooky Burger’s ever built. It’s where I first started working, where I learned about everything that’s out there in the night, and it’s where I died.”

“Cam...” she started but he squeezed her hand and cut her off.

“Please...I want to tell you this, while I still have the courage.”

She grit her teeth, wanting to shout at him, wanting to scream that he didn’t have to do what she was now certain he was going to do, but she couldn’t. She loved him, and she had never seen him happier than he was now.

“I died fighting a werewolf. It was completely berserk and I was too young, too arrogant. I thought I could handle it. There were other factors that contributed but that’s the important part. April might still have a letter I left explaining the details. That was fifteen years ago now.

I’m a revenant. A soul with a body that’s long dead, and a powerful spirit that acts as the glue holding it all together. That spirit is the spirit of one of the first ever hunters, one of the first to fight against monsters like we do. That spirit and I worked together to continue our duty. For whatever reason, that spirit seemed to be entwined with Spooky Burger. It made me my strongest when I was there, and when I got too hurt or even took enough damage to kill a normal person, which happened a few times, the spirit would bring me back because we still had a job to do.”

Sharla took all this in as they walked deeper into the forest. Despite being too dark to see anything further than her hand in front of her face, Cam seemed to know exactly where he was going, and guided her expertly through the trees.

“Spooky Burger attracts those touched by the darkness, like you were attracted to it when you found me. It conspires to bring together people that have a grudge against those creatures that would prey on them. This one brought Ben, our cook, Cherry, our cashier, and April our delivery driver. We formed a team, and I trained them in hunting in the night. I taught them how they’d never need to be victims again. After a few years, another person came for the same reason. His name was Lyndsy.”

Cam smiled at the name. Sharla remembered hearing it before, when he and April were at each others throats before the Girl with The Dead Eyes had attacked.

“He was so young,” he said. “So naive; he was barely out of high school, working to save some money to pay for university. But somewhere along the way something had happened that brought him to us. So I taught him what I taught the others. What they shared the night with, how to see them, how to find them, and how to kill them. We all loved that kid, and for that reason I should have sent him home. But we thought we could handle it, that together we could handle anything that came at us.

But we couldn’t. Lyndsey died. He died because I was arrogant, because I over estimated our abilities. I never forgave myself for that. His death tore us apart, and we all went our separate ways after that. We crossed paths every now and again and April and the others would team up if there was something they couldn’t handle alone, but I never joined them. I never joined anyone. I swore I would work alone from now on, so no one else would get hurt.”

They stopped walking suddenly, and Cam took her hands, catching her eyes with his.

“When you first found me, sitting alone in a Spooky Burger in some dark city, I was terrified. You were exactly like him. You were just as young, just as determined, and I was just as sure I would get you killed too. To this day I still have no idea what made me take you on as an apprentice. But I’m glad I did.”

“Cam...” she said, but he cut her off again.

“You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me Sharla,” he said. “You are the hunter I should have been, you took the best I had to teach and made it better. I have never been more proud of anyone. You killed the Girl with The Dead Eyes, the single worst thing to walk the night when I couldn’t come anywhere close. And most of all, you were the girl who taught me what it meant to love again.”

Sharla gasped, unable to believe what she had just heard. “You...” she started, waiting for him to cut her off again but this time he let her speak. “You love me?”

He smiled and nodded. “I thought you'd want to know.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? You know how I feel about you...”

“Because it would have made what has to happen now that much harder.”

Tears slipped from her eyes as she asked, despite knowing the answer, “What comes now?”

Cam motioned behind him and Sharla finally noticed where they were, and why they had stopped.
They were standing on a grave; another laying nearby, each marked by a simple wooden cross.

“That one is Lyndsy’s,” he said, pointing to the nearby cross. “And the one we are standing on is mine.”

Sharla stepped back, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. “You can’t... you can’t expect me too...”

“It has to be you,” he said. “You’re the only one who can. You’ve succeeded me in every way. I don’t need to be here anymore. My time is long overdue. Please, Sharla, there’s one last creature of the night you need to kill.”

“I can’t,” she whispered. “I still need you...”

“No you don’t.” He said, his eyes threatening to give way to the same tears that fell from hers. “That sword you carry proves it.”

The Inquisitor’s blade. She had forgotten about it until now, slung at her side.

“That sword will be enough. It will keep me from coming back. Please Sharla, this is how it has to end.”

He was right, she knew that. He had been dead for a long time, and he had earned his rest. She had watched him fight so many horrible things; go through so much pain, because he had to. Now she could set him free. Then why was this so hard? Why couldn’t she stop crying when Cam seemed so happy?

She took a long look into his eyes. She had never seen him cry before. She doubted anyone had. But he was happy, smiling at her as she stepped into his arms.

She let him hold her there for a long time as she cried into his chest. He stroked her hair, and whispered that it would be okay, that she was strong enough now, that she would never have to be afraid again.

“I love you,” he said softly, and she looked up at him.

“I love you too,” she whispered back as she captured his lips in hers, taking the kiss she had wanted for so long.

And then she thrust the Inquisitor’s sword through his heart.

He stumbled backwards out of her embrace and fell to his knees, staring up at her with such love in his eyes that it made her weep as the white fire began to consume his body.

He didn’t flinch or show pain, he simply closed his eyes as the fire spread, until finally Cam was gone, the smoke and embers blowing in the wind.     

Sharla picked up the sword and stared at the grave until the sun began to rise, until she had cried her tears for the man that had given her so much.

“I’ll come back and see you I promise. Goodbye...Cam.”

Drying her tears, she headed back to where April was waiting, the dawn making it easy to retrace her steps.

Emerging from the forest, she saw April waiting, her expression mirroring Sharla’s own.

“You made him happier than I ever saw him.” April said softly. “I’m glad he’s resting now.”

“Thanks for doing this April,” Sharla said. “Helping us in the fight, bringing us here, all of it.”

April smiled. “Forget it,” she replied quickly.  “I need to tell Ben and Cherry what happened, and I think they really need to meet you. Want to come with me?”

Sharla thought for a moment as she took one last look at the forest where Cam now slept, and at the life she had lived alongside him. She loved him, but she would be okay. Finally she turned back to April with a smile.

“Sure,” she said. “Let’s go.”

Nightmare's End

Though the rain was coming down strong enough to actually cause pain, Sharla’s attention was instead focused on the small shotgun she now held in her hands. She wasn’t aware that she had taken Cam’s weapon when she left Spooky Burger, but now that she had it she felt a little better about her chances. She wasn’t sure why exactly; after all she was on the trail of the worst monster to ever walk the earth, but having something of Cam’s with her seemed to help.

Cam... there was a whole other issue. What was he? A monster just like the ones they had hunted together? No, she refused to believe that. Cam was a lot of things, not the least of which was apparently being dead for the last however many years, but he was no monster. All Sharla knew for sure was that he was the best thing that ever happened to her, he was the source of her strength, and the reason she had left to pursue her target alone.

Well not exactly alone.

It had only been a few hours since she had left Cam in April’s arms to recover his strength and left Spooky Burger, but in that time she had gotten in touch with Wesley and asked him to have his contacts dig up what they could on any funny business with the local supernatural population. He got back to her within the hour, informing her that the word was out to stay the hell away from an old cemetery on the outskirts of town. A man was seen searching through the area and a pack of werewolves which claimed the graveyard as territory had turned up dead only a few hours ago.

If the Girl With the Dead Eyes had killed those werewolves, then Sharla knew there was only one person who would be hunting around that cemetery. The Inquisitor, the man she had seen in the park several nights ago, and a hunter without equal. His presence there and the timeline of the werewolves’ deaths all pointed to one thing.

The Girl With the Dead Eyes was hiding in the cemetery. The same cemetery Sharla now stood before, thick with the same inky blackness the Girl had oozed back in Spooky Burger. Sharla shuddered at the memory, recalling how the blackness had nearly devoured her, the feelings of hopelessness and despair still fresh but forced them to the back of her mind. She couldn’t afford to let her fear take her. She was the hunter here, and the Girl was prey.

A little clichéd, she thought, trying to focus on the scene in front of her, but I guess if she needed to lay low to heal up it makes sense. Either way it doesn't matter, wherever the Girl would have gone, I would have found her, and I will make sure it ends tonight. For Cam’s sake, and for mine.

Gripping Cam’s gun tightly in one hand and one of her own in the other, Sharla strode into the darkness, her eyes searching for her target, but finding only worn tombstones and crypts reclaimed by nature. It was obvious no one had tended to this place in a very long time. Yet that was the least of Sharla’s concerns. The further she walked, the more she could feel that this place was wrong. The Girl With the Dead Eyes had tainted this place, turned it into something far from natural.

Coming to a small clearing amidst the graves, she stopped and tried to look past the darkness, to listen past the deafening pounding of the rain, her senses on full alert, and trying to ignore the hammering of her heart. And then she leapt to the side, tucking into a brisk roll that saw her on her feet and firing her weapon within the blink of an eye.

The bullets slammed into the Inquisitor, and he stumbled in surprise for a split second before regaining his composure, seemingly unhurt by her attack.

“No human has ever sensed me coming when I was on the hunt,” he said, “Let alone been able to strike me. Who are you?”

Sharla kept her gun trained on the man, dressed in a ball cap and denim jacket, his jeans tucked into high cowboy boots. She couldn’t help but wonder why the monster that other monster’s feared would dress like a trucker. But despite his appearance however, Sharla was certain he wasn’t human, or anything close to it. Being near him was making her dizzy, and an inkling of doubt began to creep into her heart as she realized the rain wasn’t touching him. The droplets of water seemed to land everywhere but on him, and it took her a few moments to realize that the storm was on his side. It was one of his weapons. Now she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was right smack in the middle of a battle between two very powerful, very different monsters.

“Girl,” he spoke again, his eyes narrowing. “If you stay here you will die, that’s a promise. I will give you one chance to run as fast as you can. You have no place here.”

This time Sharla replied, filling her voice with as much courage as she could muster.

“First of all, my name is Sharla, and second, I do have a place here,” she said, “And it’s standing above the Girl with the Dead Eye’s corpse. And yours too, if necessary.”

The Inquisitor stared at her a moment, his mouth slightly agape then threw back his head and laughed.

“Not only are you the first person to ever dodge an attack of mine, you are the first to strike me, the first to threaten me, and the first to be so foolish as to hunt the Nightmare. I can see myself liking you.”

“The Nightmare?” Sharla asked. “What do you mean?”

“Who you call the Girl with the Dead Eyes, we call the Final Nightmare. It is what she became when she drank the source of her power.”

“And what was that?”

The Inquisitor frowned in disgust. “The blood of one of us.”

Sharla’s eyes widened as she tried to process this. “That’s...the blood of an Inqusitor is what made her?”

He shook his head, “No, it is what made her so powerful, but before that she was a vampire, a vampire of exceptional origin but a vampire nonetheless. Fate conspired to bring about her transformation into the Final Nightmare, and since then I have hunted her. Tonight that hunt is at an end. She is wounded, somehow her power is fading. Now more than ever she is vulnerable.”

“Cam’s blood,” she said. “The Girl drank it and it was like poison to her.”

The Inquisitor raised an eyebrow at her. “The Revenant? The Hunter Spirit’s vessel? Yes his blood would be anathema to a creature like her. So you must be his protégé then?”

“Um...Cam trained me yeah,” she said, “But what’s this about a Revenant? Or Hunter Spirit?”

“Ask him yourself girl, if he even knows the power which anchors him here. We are content to leave him be, so long as he does not forget his place.”

“His place,” she spat suddenly annoyed with the Inquisitor’s attitude, “Is killing monsters that prey on people. It’s my place too and that’s why I’m here, or did you forget already? And what about your place? What role do you play here? When the Girl is dead, will that be the last we ever hear of Inquisitors?”

He seemed thoughtful for a moment, before answering, “Until the next Nightmare comes along I suppose. But I wouldn’t worry about that just yet,” he said, his eyes drifting upwards, and Sharla followed his gaze before letting out a gasp.

The moon, the stars, the entire sky had been blocked out by the darkness.

“This Nightmare is already here,” he said, as a bolt of lightning seared through the darkness, deafening in its intensity as it slammed into the ground and illuminated the Girl with the Dead Eyes.

“Inquisitors and their storms,” she sang, as she revealed herself, her arms held loosely at her sides as she swayed back and forth. “Do you think you can wash me away? The last Inquisitor I met tried that, and I killed him and drank his blood. Before that I devoured my sire, and then I devoured the aspect of fate that created me. I wrote my own destiny. I am absolute. I am the end. I am everything, and I am nothing.”

She paused, her gaze running up and down Sharla, then said, “Oh and one other thing...after devouring your poisonous boyfriend, I am seriously pissed off!”

And then the darkness came alive and attacked, just as it had done in Spooky Burger. Sharla fired her weapon as the Girl flew towards her with claws and fangs bared. The bullets struck true and the Girl faltered just enough for Sharla to leap out of the way. More darkness flew at her, intent on impaling her as it did Cam, but this time the Inquisitor’s lightning intercepted the attacks, initiating a titanic battle of the most primal forces. Amidst the clash of light and dark, Sharla and the Inqusitor found themselves side by side as the Girl attacked again, a raging demon intent on Sharla’s life but met the Inquisitor instead as he too attacked, the two colliding in mid air.

The Inquisitor proved every bit as ferocious a fighter as the Girl, and for a moment Sharla was paralyzed by the sight before her. Watching the clash of claws and teeth, the lightning crashing into the darkness as both tried to strike their targets, she was certain she didn’t belong here.

Shaking those thoughts from her mind, she focused instead on something else she was certain of. While the Girl was able to match the Inquisitor blow for blow, she was nowhere near the level she had been at Spooky Burger. At Spooky Burger there had been an overwhelming sense of hopelessness, of loss.

What did the Girl say earlier? That she was an Absolute? She thought. Yeah, that’s what was at Spooky Burger, but that’s not what’s here now. Cam’s blood is still running through you bitch, and it’s making you weak.

The Inquisitor raised his hand to the sky and lightning answered his call, this time striking his outstretched hand and taking shape, becoming a brilliant sword that the Inquisitor used to deflect a blow from the Girl before countering, the slash leaving an arc of white fire in the air.

The Girl leapt back, only suffering a glancing blow that was already healing as she and the Inquisitor clashed again, his sword lighting the darkness as the two battled. Unfortunately even with his blade, The Girl was proving stronger, and her attacks were keeping the Inquisitor on the defensive.

Seeing an opening, Sharla fired her weapon for all it was worth, pausing only briefly when she heard the gun click empty to reload, and in a flash she was firing again, all the while moving towards the Girl and giving the Inquisitor time to recover. She knew her bullets wouldn’t do any real damage, but Cam’s gun was different. The gun had seriously injured the Girl back in Spooky Burger, and from the moment she first took it she knew it was more than just a gun, but a bane of monsters, and the longer she held it, the more certain she was that it was her best chance of winning this fight. Trying to get close enough so Cam’s shotgun could do some real damage, Sharla continued firing, forcing the Girl to stumble back. Finally close enough, Sharla drew Cam’s shotgun and fired. The gun seemed to glow in her hand as the bullets tore a hole through the Girl’s chest and knocked her to the ground.

The Inquisitor took that moment to charge, thrusting his sword toward the prone Girl with murder in his eyes. Sharla knew he smelled the kill, just as she did.

And then she saw the Girl grin.

“Wait!” she screamed, but the Inquisitor was already committed to his attack.

Before Sharla could blink the Girl had struck, playing possum and luring the Inquisitor to her as leapt to her feet, deflecting his attack as her fist slammed through the Inquisitor’s chest and out his back, his heart clutched in her hand.

Sharla could only watch in horror as the Inquisitor eyes widened, his sword dropping to the ground beneath him as he went limp around the Girl’s arm.

The Girl’s grin became a wide smile as she opened her mouth, her fangs seeking the neck of her prey, but the Inquisitor jerked up, and with fire in his eyes, he raised his hand to the sky.

“You won’t have another of us!” he snarled, “Not ever again!”

The lightning crashed into them both and the Girl howled with pain as she and the Inquisitor burned. When the lightning receded the Inquisitor was gone, reduced to ash by his own attack, leaving the Girl badly burnt, but alive. Her eyes focused on Sharla now, her rage overflowing but her strength fading.

Her wounds aren’t healing anymore, Sharla thought as the Girl staggered towards her. And the moonlight is breaching the darkness; her control over it is slipping. She can’t keep this up. Between Cam’s blood and the Inquisitor, she can barely stand.

“His blood would have washed away the poison inside me,” she muttered, still staggering towards Sharla. “And then I would have had my way with you, for everything you have done to me. After that I would have gone back to that restaurant and slaughtered your boyfriend and that other bimbo, and anyone else even remotely connected to any of you.”

The Girl stumbled towards her, “This shouldn’t be happening to me. Me! I am absolute! A Demon among Demons, I am above angles, an all consuming entity! But most of all I am immortal, and I will not be killed by a little girl like you!”

The Girl shot forward, her speed belying the severity of her wounds as her claws reached for Sharla, but Sharla was faster. Ducking the attack Sharla pushed forward into a roll, gripping the Inquisitor’s blade in her hand as she passed over it and stood, whirling around as the Girl raced at her again. Time seemed to slow and for a moment, Sharla saw with startling clarity. With a strength born of a conviction she never knew she possessed, Sharla plunged the sword deep into the Girl’s heart.

The blade burned brightly with white fire as it found its mark and the Girl’s eyes widened in shock as the flames began to engulf her. 

“You were a little girl once too,” Sharla said, her voice soft as she aimed Cam’s shotgun. “I hope that little girl finds some peace.”

The blast scattered the Girl’s head into pieces as she fell backwards to the ground; the white fire continuing to burn unfettered by the rain until at last, the fire had consumed all of the Girl With the Dead Eyes.

Only when the fire had consumed the entirety of the Girl did it burn out and only when Sharla was certain there was nothing left did she allow herself to look away and towards the sky. The Girl’s darkness was gone, and the moon and stars had never shined so bright.

And then, finally, the rain stopped.

Sharla fell to the ground, staring up at the night sky. And then she laughed, letting all the terror and all the hopelessness and despair leave her. Not just the feelings brought on by the Girl With the Dead Eyes, but brought on by that first vampire that had tried to turn her in her kitchen all those years ago on prom night, by all the other monsters she had seen since joining Cam.

She had just killed the worst monster the world had ever known. As Sharla laughed she realized she would never have to be afraid again.

Finally, she felt herself able to stand back up, and with the Inquisitor’s sword in one hand and Cam’s gun in the other, she turned and headed back to Spooky Burger, and back to Cam, her Nightmare finally over.

In Love's Name

Sharla ran through her kitchen as fast as she could, the monster at her heels.

Looking down at Cam, bloody and torn as she held him in her arms, she couldn’t help but feel ridiculous.

The monster had masqueraded as him for so long, she couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it until now.

Because the truth of it was...

She grabbed a knife off the counter and turned to face her attacker.

This was not the first time she had fallen in love with someone already dead.

The monster with his face struck. She fell to the floor, the knife slipping from her grip. He gripped her wrists, pinning her to the floor as he positioned himself over top of her.

It was hard not to take that sort of thing personally.

His teeth sunk into her neck and he began to drink, her blood flowing down his throat and he seemed to relax into her. 

Cam had told her that vampires could fortify their charm with supernatural power, to make you feel whatever they wanted, but she knew that hadn’t been the case.

All the time they spent together, she had never thought to question why she only saw him in the evening, or why this sophisticated college boy had paid all this attention to her and no one else.

She had genuinely loved him, she was sure. But Cam gave her a reason to forgive herself for that. To forgive herself from being taken in by something that was far from human. She had always been thankful for that.

She felt tired, sluggish, but she wouldn’t give up. He sat up, using his nails to open a thin cut on his wrist. She reached out, her fingers desperately searching for the knife.

And here she had gone and done it again.

Pressing his wrist to her mouth, he said, “Drink, and we will be together forever.” Her eyes widened in horror, and now she realized why he never wanted anything in return for the affections he lavished on her. He was waiting for tonight. Waiting for her to be ready in his eyes.

The silly thing was that Cam had, in his own way, warned her away from this a hundred times. But she had fallen in love with him anyway. And when she began to flirt with him a little more than usual, he had told her a romance between them was impossible.

Her hand found the knife as she struggled to keep the blood from passing through her lips.

She had thought he was worried about letting their relationship become personal, a valid concern in their line of work, but she was sure he felt something too. She was sure that sooner or later, they would be together.

He closed his eyes as the blood began to seep its way into her mouth, and then she struck, driving the knife deep into the side of his skull.

But Cam was already dead, and now she wasn’t sure if he had ever felt anything at all.

He howled in pain, slumping against her and with her last bit of strength she managed to shove him off. Slowly she pulled herself to her feet, her legs threatening to give out at any moment. She felt lightheaded, and only now realized how much blood he had taken.

But that didn’t matter now. Gently, she let her arms release their grip on him and stood up. “Take care of him until he wakes up,” she said to April, who only nodded. The fire in Sharla’s eyes left no room for questions, and April had her own wounds to attend to.

She limped out of the house, both her blood and his staining her prom dress a deep crimson.

She strode out of Spooky Burger and into the pouring rain, now coming down stronger than ever. It too, could sense what she could.

She would find out what happened. She would find out what that monster had been.

There was a very powerful, but very injured monster out there, and she would do what Cam had taught her to do. Now was her only chance and she would not let it pass her by.

And when she had learned what it was she would ensure that she would never be a victim again. She would make sure no one would ever be a victim again.

Because Cam was still everything to her. He had taught her how to walk the night unafraid, trained her to fight the monsters that would otherwise prey on people like her. But most of all because even knowing the truth about him, she still loved him.

She didn’t know it yet, but she would become a Hunter.

She had never been more certain of anything in her life. She would kill the Girl With the Dead Eyes.