The man—now beast—leapt toward the reptilian, mouth stretched open and sunk his pointed—shark like—teeth into the Aether Walker's shoulder. His overly long arms wrapped around the reptilian, embolizing it. The Reptilian hissed in pain, heaving his chest to the sky as the man pulled back ripping away a large chunk of flesh. With the man off his back the Reptilian tried to slash with his talons, but the blood loss made his attack sluggish.
Puddles of blood stained the parking lot where they battled.
Two luxury cars next to Kandice were no longer pearl white, but black-crimson in the moonlight. A chunk of flesh arced across the parking lot and knocked her over. She had to wipe blood from her eyes to see. When she looked down at the chunk of flesh on her legs, there was a nipple that a moment before, had belonged to the Reptilian.
Kandice brushed the flesh off and shuddered.
In the time it took her to stand, the battle was finished, and the man stood victorious over the Reptilian carcass—arms stretched high. The Reptilian lay bitten in half through the gut. Kandice recalled a National Geographic episode where lions ate a gazelle.
The man reached down to his chest and pulled off what looked like a piece of paper. Within a blink of the eye, his body returned to normal, but his hair remained the blue of the ocean. Kandice could see that his eyes were devoid of all color—like two pearls.
He held up his hands in front of himself to show he meant no harm as he walked toward her.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," she took a step back, not sure what he meant to do. "I think so... What are you?"
She hoped that he would have answers about the Aether Walkers, since he clearly knew his way around them in a fight.
He stopped walking towards her. "This will sound weird..." he pointed towards the dead Reptilian. "But that man was actually a giant lizard."
Kandice brushed herself off again. "Yeah, I know that. I can see them too. What I want to know is, what the fuck are you?"
She finished her last brush-off by pointing both hands at him.
"I'm a hunter," he said, "Or a monster killer, depending on your point of view. What's your name?"
"Kandice," she couldn't care less about his name. "But, how did you change? You're not human."
"My name's Lance," he tried to shake her hand, but Kandice pulled away. "It's a pleasure to meet a fellow hunter, or in this case, huntress."
Lance dropped his arm back to his side, "I'm human, like you. But I can change forms."
"How?" she asked, "I have so many questions, like how long have you been hunting the Aether Walkers?"
"Aether Walkers?"
"It's what I call them," she explained.
"Ah," he nodded, "I hate to be rude, but I have to get out of here before the cops show up."
He turned to leave, and Kandice looked past him to the crowd of people forming just inside the doors of the HEB. The smartest place for any human to be with what just unfolded. Before she could ask any more questions, Lance was back in his SUV.
How did he move so quick?
She'd only looked away for a fraction of a second.
The list of questions in her head tripled, and her only hope for answers was driving off.
Kandice sprinted to her moped and peeled off in pursuit of Lance. She swerved away from a small truck as she merged across lanes, causing her moped to fishtail as she entered the highway access ramp Trapped behind another truck, she watched as cars flew past in a blur. Lance's SUV was in the far-left lane, six car lengths ahead and pulling further away. She'd been only one car behind him.
Fucking truck!
How did he get over when there were cars everywhere?
It surprised her that the SUV ran at all, with the damage it took ramming into the reptilian. Her moped was no match for Lance's superior driving or the SUV's speed. Within three exits, he was out of sight. There was no way to know his destination, so she took the next exit—screaming into her helmet and splattering the faceplate with spittle.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Sunday, August 21st
KANDICE'S MIND RACED WITH THE POSSIBILITIES and implications from the night's events. An Aether Walker being able to tear apart a person with ease scared her, but a darker part of her mind was relieved in knowing the one that attacked her mother wasn't a singular creature. The fact that there were others out there hunting Aether Walkers left her exhilarated, as the moped carried her home. Her personal vendetta against the Aether Walkers was strengthened—now it might even be winnable.
How many Aether Walkers were killing people around Austin? Kandice shuddered at the thought.
Before tonight, she'd always written her mother's death off as an anomaly, but now. . . .
It was impossible for Kandice to turn away from the suffering of the innocent when she knew she could make a difference. Lance had to be the key toward making that difference.
There was no way to classify Lance, but it didn't matter. He was the missing link in her hunt. Regardless if he was human or Aether Walker, he was the epitome of attractive—thinking of him made her think of Aunt Jackie's disapproval, which made Lance all the more alluring. If they'd met under different circumstances, she would have. . . .
She didn't actually know what she would have done—not having much experience in the matter—but her mind raced with ideas. The wind kissed her lips, causing them to chap and ending her pleasant vision of Lance in his ripped shirt, as she turned onto the road leading to her house.
She killed the engine as she pulled into the driveway, and pushed the moped to the garage. The only light on in the house was the blue glow from her brother's window. With her teeth clenched, she pulled the garage door up—just high enough to slip in with the moped—doing her damnedest not to make a sound. Even with her adrenaline pumping and mind occupied, she had the wherewithal to avoid waking Aunt Jackie.
She entered her room without her brother noticing. There was no way to explain away the blood on her, and she hated lying to him. He'd become her only friend, after their mother's death.
Most days the white walls put her teeth on edge—representing how much control Aunt Jackie had over their lives—but tonight it was calming to not have any distractions. The basic spackle design could pass for fields of snow. Frolicking on a snow-covered mountain was on Kandice's bucket list—having grown up in Austin, she'd never experienced snow that didn't melt upon impact.
Kandice opened her laptop to google monster hunters, anything to help her identify the man she'd met. Wasn't the saying "you can find anything online"?
She tried refined searches with the name Lance attached to different words that could describe an Aether Walker, but no matter the configurations each came back a dead end. There was just no information on people who hunted them. Only works of fiction, and that didn't seem like much help. At this rate, she would never find the answers she needed. The back of her eyes itched.
The desk clock showed it was late. Well past her usual bedtime.
The lack of available research drove Kandice nuts. She exhausted her resources researching and still didn't know where Aether Walkers came from. Even the library turned up nothing. The closest lead was a few image boards that discussed paranormal activity, but those were a hot mess. The only option was to track down Lance. Surely, he had a routine like herself. If she was lucky, he'd have the answers she sought. He had seemed in complete control of the situation, no fear—pure determination. If not for him, she wouldn't have been able to protect those people from an Aether Walker that could kill with such ease.
Kandice glanced at her clock again—4:00 AM. She had lost track of time.
The dread of the coming Monday washed over her with an anxious chill. It was still a day away but facing the admissions office wasn't anything to look forward to. Hence the month-long procrastination dance that had taken place this summer. She had to finish her freshman enrollment and set a course schedule. Her aunt made it very clear, "I'm not raising any hoodlums, college is
your only option if you want to live in this house!" Aunt Jackie needed to control her, no matter the amount of rent paid, or her age. The constant pressure to live her life according to how her aunt saw fit was wearing on her.
There was a small solace in the knowledge that this wasn't her forever home. Kandice would have moved out right after high school graduation, but leaving Blake alone with their aunt weighed on her conscience. She hoped they would move out together one day, but her brother wasn't prepared to get a full-time job or go to college. His stay in the hospital had been harder on him than anyone expected. He refused to talk about his time there, and she didn't know how to help, other than be nearby. Kandice wouldn't be the one responsible for allowing her brother not to attend college. Their mother would never forgive her.
College might be what Blake needed to push through his reclusive state. He should have been starting his freshman year with her, but their aunt had sided with him on needing to take a semester off to readjust. Two weeks ago the three of them had their final heated debate on the matter with Blake mostly staying silent. Kandice hated to see how Jackie coddled him—she loved him, but he needed a little tough love.
With her blood boiling, Kandice took two sleeping pills and got into bed.
She fell asleep contemplating how to locate Lance. The only option she saw was to rely on blind luck and find where the deadly Aether Walkers hung out—her normal hunting grounds wouldn't work. Lance was levels above her. Aether Walkers were everywhere, the deadliest had to have an area to feed just like their weaker kin. Why she hadn't deduced this sooner, she didn't know. Perhaps she didn't want to know.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Monday, August 22nd
KANDICE PARKED HER MOPED in front of the Admissions Office. She had put off coming as long as possible, but it was already after lunch and the last day to finalize her schedule.
Campus was beautiful. The architect clearly took great care when laying out the buildings. They preserved the natural habitat while making room for a sprawling campus. There wasn't a spot outside without a tree and pansies of all colors underneath. The high school she attended had been a concrete landscape, the builders had plowed a hill of trees over to make for easy construction and low maintenance, but this was something else entirely. It made Kandice recall pictures of hand carved marble buildings in Italy, something she'd uncovered during her long hours of research.
As she walked through the front doors a cafeteria was to her left, and the smell of enticing food filled the air.
College food might be a step up from the garbage served to high school students, Kandice thought. What passed for pizza in that school was laughable, it was more like cardboard covered in ketchup.
Kandice turned right at the first hallway, and the line of students wrapped out of the office towards her. Exhausted by the sight, she dragged her feet to the back, next to a lonely office plant. The plant was more relatable than her fellow students. Forced to be somewhere and appear happy. The line progression was so slow, a person could get lost in a daydream only to come back and be just one person closer to the door. A girl about eleven people in front of Kandice complained—loud enough to draw eye rolls—into a cell phone about having been in line for over an hour.
With nothing to do but wait, Kandice pulled out her phone and read more Reddit posts about paranormal activities. Searching for information on Aether Walkers was like mining for gold. There was no direct information about them, although there were several diverting topics that sucked up time.
Sunday was semi relaxing to prepare for the current nightmare, her only activity was reading and trying to not think about Lance. She startled her aunt the one time she left her room to get something to eat and drink. The best evidence the internet offered for a similar spotting was the rumor of the slender man, but it screamed fake after a quick Wikipedia search on the legend.
If there were others besides her and Lance who could see the Aether Walkers, they weren't discussing it online. Lance represented the evidence that proved Aether Walkers existed, and that she wasn't crazy. Despite saving countless numbers of people, no one corroborated what Aether Walkers looked like. The victims always saw a regular person.
A group of four students left the line, and everyone moved forward. An hour had gone by and the line felt longer than ever.
Maybe students were letting friends in somewhere at the front?
Her aunt sent a text.
Jackie: Have you signed up for your classes yet?
Kandice: Not yet. I'm still in line to talk to them.
Jackie: How long have you been there?
Kandice: A little over an hour.
Jackie: I told you not to wait until the last minute.
Kandice didn't respond. The last thing she wanted was to get into a fight with her aunt about not taking school seriously.
Kandice sent a text to her brother.
Kandice: Hey. Are you up?
Blake: Just woke up.
Kandice: What are you doing today?
Blake: Daily quests and then a raid tonight. You?
Kandice: Still in line to sign up for my classes. Want to get a bite to eat with me after I'm done?
Blake: Maybe. Text me when you're done and I'll see where I'm at.
Kandice: Okay.
The line continued to amble forward.
Someone shoot me, and end this misery.
As the seconds ticked by, she landed a research breakthrough in a forum buried deep on the Google listings that mentioned monsters attacking people.
[13:18.11.04.2013] Anonymous1:
I found this forum after searching for some time. The sticky post mentions that this is a place for those who have seen monsters. I'm pretty sure that's what I saw.
It was about a month ago now, 11th of October at 23:45. I can still see the red scales when I close my eyes. He, It, IDK what to call it, came out of the alley and attacked a woman two meters ahead of me. There was fucking blood everywhere. It slashed through her as if she wasn't even there. That's not even the craziest part.
There were two other people who saw this. One of them called 999, and of course the pigs were there in no time. The thing got away back down the alley, but they took us all in for questioning. This is where things get weird. I explained what I saw, but I left out the part about it being a giant fucking red lizard. I know how it sounds.
So they take my statement, and leave me in the room alone for like two hours. When they come back, they had a TV with them. They showed me the footage from the security camera on the street. This is the fucking weird part. Instead of the red lizard thing I saw, the footage shows a man dressed in a black hoodie. Instead of his claws slashing into the woman, it is showing his hands pulling away flesh. They asked me, over and over, if I saw any weapons, and if I saw how he cut the woman. I held strong, and didn't say a thing about the giant lizard, but they didn't seem to believe me. However, after about an hour of them asking, and us watching the footage over and over, they let me go. They've called since to follow up and see if I remembered anything else.
Should I tell them about the giant lizard? Has anyone else ever been a criminal witness to something like this? I've read a few posts about others seeing things, but nothing exactly like what I saw. Please, someone tell me I'm not going crazy!
[17:14.11.04.2013] Anonymous2:
You can take a deep breath. You're not going crazy. There are hundreds of people worldwide who can see these monsters. We've all got our own name for them, and some of us see different versions. I've seen something very similar to yours. The main difference was the scale color was blue and green.
The leading theory I've seen is those of us who see them are able to see a spectrum of reality that the rest of the planet can't. You did the right thing by not telling the cops. Whatever you do, DO NOT TELL THE COPS! They will place you in a hospital "For your own safety" and it will be months, if not years, before you get out. Many people have horror stories about being locked up and diagnosed w
ith many mental disorders because they told someone what they saw. That's the whole reason we use the Anonymous tag with a number based on your order of posting. You know who you're talking to within the thread, but can't create a traceable identity. Keeps everyone safe.
Keep playing dumb about how the attack took place. As far as you know, a human can tear someone apart with their bare hands. If they press and show you it's impossible, then say there must have had a weapon. I know you're terrified, I can remember the first time I saw that much blood. There is a part of the government well aware of what's happening, so the last thing you want is to get on some list of being able to see them. The feds could pick you up, and I figure that would be far worse than the shrinks!
I was sixteen the first time I saw one, they weren't even attacking anyone. I have seen several types. Some seem to be normal. They work jobs that suck, drive cars, and own houses. Others are dangerous. I avoid them all without drawing attention to the fact I can see them. I suggest learning a little self-defense and keeping a knife on you at all times. I've been able to fight one off and kill it. I wasn't caught to my surprise because to anyone else it would look like I killed a human. But these fuckers are not human, and they are everywhere. I've tried to calculate the odds, and I think there is about one of them for every two to three hundred of us. However, maybe only half of them display aggressive behavior. I live in a big city, but I also move a lot.
I hate to break it to you, but life as you knew it is over. You must move! They are smart, and will pick up on the fact you can see them.
[9:18.12.04.2013] Anonymous1:
You said you were sixteen? How old are you now? I'm nineteen, and this is the first time I've seen one. I don't want to say exactly where I live, but I'm in a rather large city too.
Bloodlines Trilogy Page 3
