She strolls along the dimly lit city streets. I watch her from the shadows as she checks behind herself, obviously wary from the distressing atmosphere. She approaches a dark alleyway and pauses; She isn't thinking of cutting through it is she?
The fog is thick tonight, the air heavy, and I can feel it: Something unnatural lurks in the shadows this evening.
After a moment of deep, troubled, thought, she darts into the alleyway taking long, quick, strides. I suppose she is eager to clear the ominous confines of the enclosed space. She spots the streetlights at the end of the tunnel of shade, and I can hear her sigh in relief as she draws near it.
But she, and I as well, are not alone.
A silhouette steps in front of her, and blocks her path. She stops with a such a start that she just barely manages to stifle a yelp. Trembling, she turns to come back the way she came. But she finds two more figures block that path as well.
She cries out a soft whimper as the shadows advance on her. Their whispers of cold laughter escape their grinning fangs. These are no ordinary men that have stalked their quarry into this lonesome alleyway, but creatures of the night: They are vampires. Lustful for blood, and god knows what else, they prey on this poor young woman. Perhaps she should not have tried to cut through the alley on this dark night. For the sake of a couple of minutes she may have lost her life.
"Hello there babydoll," they taunt and tease her as they jest. They show their fangs as clearly as their lethal intent.
But, lucky for her, the vampires are not the only creatures stalking the night. I drop myself from my vantage point, upon the roof, and land softly in the alley below. I barely make so much as a sound, but vampires have supernatural hearing. They instantly turn to me upon my intrusion.
I draw my blade, and the sound of the metal sliding out of its scabbard echoes against the sudden and deafening silence. My intent is every bit as lethal as theirs, but they laugh at me nonetheless; to them, I am but a small girl with an outdated weapon, and they are vampires! They are immortals: Fast, strong, and invincible.
"So you wanna fight little girl?" they belittle me as though I am child; I only grin.
Another sniffs at me and laughs, "mmm she smells really delicious."
I say nothing in return; I respond only with my blade. I have the element of surprise; I have the superior speed. Time slows to a near halt as I leap forward and run my blade through the first vampire. He does not even have the the time to flinch before he explodes into dust.
They realize, quickly, that they shouldn't be taking me too lightly afterall. They bare their fangs, hiss at me wildly, and crouch into a feral fighting stance. So they choose to fight me? Foolish: They are far too used to being the hunters, and do not know how to act when the table is turned.
The poor, certainly traumatized, girl takes this opportunity to flee, and I smile to myself. I would regret it if she were caught in the crossfire.
The first of my attackers comes at me from behind; He hopes to catch me off guard. But, almost as though I have eyes in the back of my head, I can sense his assault. I turn about, gracefully, and run my sword through him.
Two more move at me instantly, relentlessly. But I am too fast for even two of them: Cut, cut. They are reduced to ash.
No more attack: Finally understanding their predicament, They look at each other; fear etched deeply in their eyes. They feel a fear I am sure they have not felt since their death. They do no hesitate: They turn and they run.
But I am not going to let them go that easily! I am a hunter, and they are my prey.
I chase them down, one by one, and finish them off quickly. Their inhuman screams of agony and their pleading for their non-lives are lost on me: They are monsters! Would they have shown that girl any mercy?
I try to count back in my mind: Did I get them all? I didn't count them! Oh no! I didn't let any of them get away did I? They must not know that there is something out there that hunts them. As, I am sure, they do not wish humans know they are hunted. Let's see: I got about half a dozen. That must have been all of them. Oh, how I hate it when they run!
I am re-affirmed, now, in my confidence that my work is done, but I chastise myself for my carelessness. It is time to move on. I have a small camp outside the city limits; It is next to a small lake where I built myself a fire pit for later and rolled out a sleeping bag. I stretch my worked muscles as I reminisce on that lake. When I was there today it was so calm, serene, the sun beat down on it gently, and the birds sang beautifully. I cannot wait to return there and take the swim I missed out on earlier.
I leap into a headlong sprint for my hide-away, which is at least a few kilometres away. I know what your thinking: Why run that far? Don't I have some kind of transportation? But I can tell you, I don't need anything so mundane: I can run much faster than any human can, and even faster than any vampire! Time seems to slow as I move, my surroundings blur past me, and in mere minutes I am able to cover a couple dozen kilometres.
I know, it's not natural: The way I defeated those vampires, and the way I can run like this. What am I? Well the truth is, even I don't know...
I grew up an orphan on the streets. I stole to survive because I could easily outmanoeuvre those who try and stop me. I lived like this for so long, until one day the Father found me. He took me into the church, and cared for me as if I were his own.
I know what you're thinking: A church? How boring! But this is no ordinary church: It is a church of those who fight the unnatural. Each member of the church was trained to fight creatures of the night: Vampires, werewolves, demons... But I'm different. The members of the church are humans, relying on their wits to survive. But I am something else: Human in every way, except much more powerful.
Nevertheless, my name is Samantha, and I am a hunter.
When I finally reach my campsite I set to making a fire. I don't have the night-vision of a vampire, so the fire provides much needed light and comfort to my makeshift home. Still, I am eager for that swim, and so I begin to strip off my clothes. I rest my sword near the fire, and slide out of my top. Then I unhook my sport's bra, pull down my pants, and wriggle out of my panties. With each article of clothing I shed I toss it into a crumpled pile in the grass.
I dip my foot into the water to test it: It is mildly chilly, but it looks so tempting, so clear, so placid, and reflects the moonlight brilliantly. The forest around me is alive with the peaceful sounds of crickets, hooting owls, and other wildlife. Its the perfect environment of serenity.
