Token Huntress

by Carrington-Russell, Kia

  Teary was one of the older women I didn’t have issues with. Some of the older hunters felt resentment over my authority. I found her gift and her attitude very useful when ambushing vampires. I often had her cover the back of the group as the rest of us swooped in. However, before I became Token Huntress, Drue was in charge, and he did not use this structure. Most of the time he forced her to be a part of the attacking team.

  “Was Reece able to bottle you some more gas, Teary?” I asked.

  She had an unfamiliar accent, it was very thick, and her voice was quite masculine when she spoke. “I hav’ al ten in my packet,’” she said, gesturing to the carry-case at the front of her stomach.

  “Tested and range-approved?” I asked. We had to test the repercussions of the explosions because other hunters would be surrounding. We couldn’t allow for any of the others to be swept in by the flames.

  “Te range is about forty meters for the largest one, but that is only in case of an emergency. The others are standard, within a five meter radius,” she answered.

  I placed a hand on Pac’s shoulder as he paced past me again, attempting to slow him for one moment. He simply nodded, confirming that he was ready to depart. His skin was tanned and he had very small eyes. He had short spiked black hair that was dyed blue. He was slightly smaller than me, but his size did not reflect his strength or ability. Unfortunately for Pac, when his gift of speed was activated, the constant shakes never stopped. As our ‘run in man,’ he was fast — extremely fast. For about two years straight I challenged him almost every afternoon, but I could not keep with his speed. We often had him race through areas we were unsure of or had him quickly gather humans out of dire situations. But the speed contained in his body forced him to fidget as he tried to contain his ability. Not all of us had such issues, but some did. Because of it, he hardly spoke, and when he did, it was too fast to really understand him. Despite this, Pac had married. He had three children now. Unfortunately one of which came out as human. It was rare for such a thing to happen, usually with two hunter parents the child would be born hunter as well. But his second child was not. That child was his only son, and his green eyes were a dimmer shade of Pac’s. Within a few days of the child’s birth, they were forced to transport him to the human camp. Although they did not cry, I could only imagine their resistance toward it, but it was one of the many rules within the Guild.

  I eyed the twins as we waited for Dillian and Corso to arrive and complete the team. The last two hunters who cleaned beneath their nails were obviously ready. They were identical twins, Kora and Kasey. Both had cut their black hair short into a pixie style. It was often hard to tell the difference between them. If it wasn’t for my keen sight, I could not have told the difference. The only way I could was to identify the small scar on Kora’s chin. I still forced them to wear different colored chokers and bracelets so the team could effectively tell them apart. Kora wore blue and Kasey wore green. I had to enforce this because they liked to play immature tricks on the other hunters. They were easy to work with on the team, but outside of attacks, investigations, and raids, they were terrible. The separate colors were also necessary because of their gifts. Both girls — and I call them that because of their immature attitude, despite their age of twenty-two — had majestic coral-colored eyes. We used them as our perimeter trap. Kora had the ability to take mobility away from creatures. Kasey was able to project that ability further and increase it. Often we used their combined ability to entrap our prey.

  They were still disgruntled about me becoming their Token Huntress because of my younger age. As well as that, they were both infatuated with James, even though we had now been dating for a couple of years. Their gift was commendable and had many times protected us from gory outcomes. But their attitude was something I often had to contend with. They were replacements for two of the older hunters who were a part of Drue’s team, and then mine. They were both in their thirties and when it was announced that I was to be Token Huntress, they forced Campture to move them onto another team. There were only four teams in total. Pride and arrogance was an interesting trait amongst the hunter kind. Most of us didn’t work well together because of that defect in our personality. When we worked together, we were a tremendous team. But outside of that focus, we all grew very tired of being around one another.

  A shuffle behind me began as James made way for Corso to stride in. His red eyes were glowing as he tapped his fingers on the chainsaw which was strapped around his back. A buckle was secured on his stomach to help with the weight. My eyes narrowed on it, my rage boiling. “What is that?” I asked savagely.

  “I approved it,” Miss. Campture said as she walked in with Kelf by her side. The black bags under her eyes indicated she hadn’t had much sleep. “We need to trial these things, Esmore, if we are to enhance our Guild. I will not debate this further.”

  The air stood still as James gave me a warning look to bite my tongue. I crossed my arms, holding in my savage words. That thing is impractical, I shouted loudly in my mind, watching her wince as my amplified voice echoed in her mind.

  Dillian walked in behind Miss. Campture, stopping behind her and giving me a warning look. Behind him I noticed two young male apprentices. “What are they doing here?” I asked sharply.

  “Esmore, I warn you of your tone. You seem to have forgotten your place. This here is Tori and Fam. Although they are only sixteen years old, their skill and speed are the best of the apprentices thus far. You will be taking them on their first raid.”

  “But we are going in to see if we can find traces of the Council! I can’t take in two apprentices. What if we are confronted by a pack of them? It is another two lives I am responsible for.”

  “We can look after ourselves!” One puffed his chest out at me. He had fluorescent brown eyes and blonde hair that was cut short. The other puffed his chest out as well; he had a similar style of black hair, with very pasty white skin and white eyes. My teeth clenched grittily together as I inhaled the boys’ scent of testosterone. They hadn’t even aged enough for their gifts to become present.

  “They are good in combat,” Campture said after having read my thoughts. “And the point of this investigation is not for you to engage in battle, but for surveillance. Really, it is a superficial task which they can easily be a part of.”

  “Did you really think that the Head Huntress would waste an important task on a newbie like you?” the apprentice with blonde hair said smugly. I recognized him to be the son of one of the older hunters who had been on my team before transferring because of my age. This apprentice thought he was far greater than he actually was and I wanted to quickly deflate that ego of his.

  “Let me tell you two something, you little delinquents,” I said, pointing my finger at them angrily. “You are to stand down, and remove yourself from the high horse you are on. You will show respect to these hunters and huntresses before you,” I raised my eyebrows as they both quickly adjusted themselves. Neither could meet my eyes. “You will do everything you are forced to, and without complaint. More importantly, you will never speak back to me, your Token Huntress, ever again.”

  “Yes, Mam,” the one closest to Dillian said.

  “Esmore,” Campture growled. “You are to see me after this inspection. I have given you too many warnings about your intolerable behavior.”

  Dillian interrupted the tension before Campture or I could argue any further. I remembered much harsher words being spoken to me when I was an apprentice, but too often now when I had something to say Campture would find a way to punish me for it. She truly hated me and her eyes were always so trained on me and everything I did.

  “This here is Fam,” Dillian said, grabbing the young apprentice with the white eyes and nudging him forward. He was the one who was easily influenced by the other boy.

  “And I am Tori,” the other boy with the blonde hair spoke up, slightly pushing his chest out again.

  “You’ve given me children,” I said in annoya
nce.

  “Do you forget so quickly that this was once your situation when Drue took you out on your first raid? You will take them, no matter what you think about it. This is an order,” Campture said dismissively.

  Dillian gave me a fierce look which clearly said, ‘No more.’ It was hard to bite my words as I looked around to my team, agitation rising again as I stared at the chainsaw strapped to Corso. Having Corso on my team always caused me great displeasure, but his gift was commendable. His skin could excrete acid. He was the slowest on the team; his hunter senses never seemed to have developed as much as the others. His gift was easily used in situations of sudden torture if we needed to learn something quickly. It was also useful in preparing traps; if there was water in front of us and we needed to put some distance between us and the sabers, he could easily excrete acid into the water, burning the flesh of those who followed. I believed he was submitted to my team because of James’ preference. Although James had no huge say, he did have Campture’s interest if he needed something. He abided by the rules and regulations without fail. Who could have asked for a better hunter? I thought inwardly as I looked at him.

  Grabbing my sword, I looked over my team. Usually it was eight but now it was ten. I couldn’t help but look at the apprentices again begrudgingly. “Hurry with your weapons, we leave now. Depending on your speed, we may camp an hour away from the city before surveillance tomorrow. Everyone is to take the usual positions. Dillian, James, and I at the front. Teary, Pac, you both take the sides. Kora, Kasey, and Corso, take the back. As for you two apprentices, you are to stay at all times within this boundary. You are not to change position, and you will not argue about it. Where we are going we may come across a pack of sabers. You are to be on guard, and most of all quiet.”

  With that I was satisfied that everyone would quickly gather their equipment and follow. I smoothly walked past Campture, my eyes conveying my mistrust in her judgment of the situation. I had a lingering feeling that having these two apprentices and the chainsaw as Corso’s weapon was not going to lead to a pleasant outcome.

  T he mist that steamed from the ground was cooler during the mornings. The already dead leaves that littered our path were shrouded in a dew. Although I imagined a normal human would feel such coolness of temperature, I was comfortable in my sleeveless leather shirt.

  We were greeted outside the gates by the small transportation team. It was a small carriage with only two horses to pull it. A team of four hunters surrounded the cart. One sat at the front with the ropes to control the horses. This was the main mode of transportation now, although we could use the vehicles that were used until the 2150s. But of course they drew too much attention from vampires. Also, it seemed a waste to place our supply of gas that we found on raids in such vehicles.

  “Good morning, Esmore,” the Token Hunter of the transport team said. Golipse was always polite; he was different to the rest of his moody team. Perhaps it was because he was older. He was well-acquainted with my parents, and I think because of this he often went out of his way to speak to me. He had wiry white hair and milky white eyes. They were once white, but the haze over them now clearly indicated blindness. He had once been a part of the raids, but at the young age of twenty-four he was ambushed by the Council, and other members, including his Token Hunter, were killed. He was kidnapped and tortured for information about where we were located. Luckily for my mother’s raid team, Golipse’s gift was sensory, so he was able to feel the surroundings around him with exceptional awareness. He was also able to distort them. So when my mother’s team was close to where his kidnappers had taken him, his gift rang a siren of sorts, sending signals to her. They found the young Golipse and killed the members of the Council that had taken him. Unfortunately, his sight was already destroyed. They had dropped acid into his eyes; fortunately it hadn’t further reached into his body through his bloodstream, which would have killed him entirely.

  The older we got the more we learnt of our ability. Golipse was not only able to sense his surroundings, including if vampires approached them, but he could also disturb the environment. That meant that if he felt a vampire approaching, he could summon the atoms surrounding us so that we seemed invisible. This was a necessary ability to protect large cargos of supplies or human transportation. Although old and blind, he was still a fierce fighter from his many years in the raid team. Now looking into his white glazed eyes, I questioned how he must have felt when taken off the raid team. It was unusual to happen, once you were selected for your position you would usually stay in such a place until your death. But Golipse, well, perhaps they took pity on him and pushed him into the transport team. Ten years after that, Golipse was now Token Hunter in that department.

  “And a good morning to the fine Dillian as well,” his smile stretched wider. Dillian was not too far from the carriage, folding back the thick material to reveal the young girl I had found yesterday. She shook vigorously even under her thick clothing. Her eyes lit up when she saw Dillian.

  “You will be safe,” he said, reassuring her with sad eyes. It was something about him I had to try to hide from most. I couldn’t understand Dillian’s anguish over the human kind. Empathy was not something another hunter would fail to notice. Often I had to shield Dillian from the others, so they would not stare at him in mortification as he soothed the humans. Mercy and kindness were not common traits amongst our kind. Although I didn’t understand, I would not attempt to stop him either.

  “Be quick today, Golipse. I feel that the air may be far chiller this morning. Perhaps we are in the presence of rain, something which we cannot afford to be trapped in,” I said, looking into the sky. Although through the trees I could see a light glimmer of light, it was almost non-existent, and if it stayed that way for the next hour or so it would probably rain. If we were caught in the rain, this trip could go wrong quickly. The rain only heightened and thickened the fog, leaving some of the hunters almost blind. The rain within these parts was quick to flood.

  “You do not have to inform me, young one. I can feel the moisture in the air against my skin,” he said with a crisp smile. I felt foolish after I had said it, of course he could. That, after all, was his gift. I was informing the wrong person entirely. I wished him a safe journey as he transported the human to the camp. The large doors creaked shut behind us. Golipse and his members began at a quickened pace toward the south-east trail we had created for the transportation of the humans. At the horses’ full pace, they would arrive there hopefully within two days. Although they had to walk at night and in darkness, it was unavoidable. We could not have the human camp and our Guild so close together in case vampires found either one.

  “Let’s move,” I said, taking the lead place. Although the apprentices seemed clumsy, they fell into position quickly. Once out of sight of the Guild, I breathed in heavily, slightly tightening the straps on the small bag I carried. We all had a bag which had a few supplies inside for the nights that we would have to stay out in the open. Inhaling deeply once more and soothing my raging nerves, I looked at James and nodded to him. It was now time to quicken our pace.

  It was something the Guild had taught us at a young age. There was running at our natural speed, which was still faster than any human, and then there was our heightened speed, which took an extreme amount of concentration. You had to train your mind on every movement within your body, moving your muscles forcibly and in sync to propel you forward. This was draining, but something we had to do to cover more ground without horses.

  The trees around us became a blur, the cool air tingling against our skin as we jolted heavily through the thick fog. We had to concentrate on our every step so as to avoid the gaping cracks in the ground. As I suspected, the fog thickened as we ran, which led me to believe that it was soon to rain.

  There was something odd about running together. It was as if everyone’s senses were heightened and because of that our thoughts became attuned. We could quickly halt at the same time if one of us requ
ested it. One scattered mind could easily disturb the rest. It made me question whether vampires did the same. Much to my surprise, my initial judgment of the apprentices as weaklings was incorrect. They in no way affected our progress.

  Slowly, small spots of rain began to pour. A few hours had gone by and black clouds lingered over us. The fog had thickened and I was struggling, even with my keen sense of sight, to watch where I led my team, who were heavily dependent on mine and Dillian’s skill. We were almost entirely pillowed in white. It had been raining for some time now and we had run straight into the middle of the storm. Small streaks of blinding light flashed across the hazy colors of the sky. A loud bang rattled the ground, sending a quivering sensation up our legs as the lightning struck close.

  I felt one of my member’s losing their awareness, startled by the flash of lightning. I quickly spun on my heels, collecting the young apprentice, Fam, in my arms as he tripped over a slippery mud pile. Instantly everyone halted as I did. My strained eyes looked down at the startled apprentice as his white eyes scurried over where he imagined my face to be. Although I was holding him, he could not see me through the fog. It was only mine and Dillian’s eyes that could see in front of us, and now that everyone had reached their limits, we had to stop.

  The rain dripped off my lips onto the muddy ground beneath me. I searched through the slight outline of trees. We could run no further in this rain. I looked around me at the others who did a similar sweep of our surroundings, realizing they could not see past their hands. I could not lead them so blindly. Although I believed in my ability to lead them safely, I could not be so selfish as to force them to run without their sight. “Dillian!” I shouted over the rain, releasing the young Fam. Dillian knew what I wanted from him and he projected his far keener sight into the distance. He was locating cover for us somewhere nearby.