Hunter's Strike

Gabriel stood at the end of the aisle, the door opposite from him. The knob turned and the door opened. A figure dressed in white stepped out, closing the door behind her.

She was covered head to toe in white vinyl. Heavy white boots went up her calves. A tough vest protected her chest. She wore long sleeves, and gloves that left not a sliver of skin exposed. Her helmet was completely white as well, even the plastic face guard.

She held a silver pistol at her side. She lifted it up, pointing it at him.

He stared at her down the long rows of cubicles. The emergency lights flashed red above them.

Without hesitation she fired.

He dodged to the side, but she kept the pistol trained on him, firing again. This time the bullet grazed his arm.

He appeared behind her, but she was ready. A silver blade slid out of a compartment tied to her wrist. She slashed at him, cutting his shirt and the skin underneath.

He backed away and concentrated, till the darkness deepened all around them. She was uninhibited, firing at him again through the blackness. He stopped the bullet just before it could pierce his chest.

She was in front of him, quicker than a blink. She slashed with her blade again, this time catching his cheek.

He retreated, jumping high above her. She turned her head, following his exact movement.

She was definitely like Black, but swift and dextrous where Black had been strong and sturdy. She could not possibly be human, but there was something else. Something about her movements that he recognized, but could not place from where.

He hadn’t had a fight this difficult since his days battling Katrina. It was as if she knew each move he would make right as he’d decided to make it.

She had no fear that he could manipulate with his influence. The others had stunk of it. Except for Black, who only carried the scent of insanity. This woman had no scent. “Who are you, woman in white?”

She fired and he leapt into the air again. This time he leapt towards her. She managed to fire two rounds before he sent her to the ground. He sat on her chest, his knees pinning each arm down. His shirt was stained with blood, coming from a bullet hole in his chest. The second bullet he’d caught in his teeth. He turned his head and spat it out.

“Right now it’s going to take more than a silver bullet in the chest to kill me.” he laughed darkly. The flesh around the wound began healing rapidly, pushing the bullet out. He pulled the silver gun out of her hand and threw it aside.

“Now, shall we see what’s under the veil?” He hooked his claws under the side of her visor and tore it off. Deep brown eyes stared blankly back at him.

His red eyes instantly turned back to black. “Evangeline?” he whispered.

He stood up, backing away. She rose to her feet, blade shining. She lunged at him. He caught her wrist, holding it up above her head. He reached up and unclipped the helmet, then lifted it gently from her head. The entire time she struggled to pull free of his grip.

Her hair had been cut short. Her eyes continued to bore into him, but there was no feeling behind them. She was hellbent on killing him, but had no bloodlust.

He cupped her cheek with his free hand. “What did they do to you?” A single tear built up in the corner of her eye, then rolled down her face. He pulled her close, pressing his mouth against the top of her head. “You don’t have to do this. You can stop. It’s okay.”

Her arm relaxed, her struggling ceased. He released her wrist and it dropped to her side. He wrapped both arms around her. “I’m going to leave you here for a bit.” he told her. “I need to take care of something, and then I’ll come right back.” He pulled away. “Wait here.”

He walked past her, to the door. He lifted a hand and it swung open.

Harris stood facing the window. He turned and was quite surprised to see Gabriel. “How did you get past-”

Gabriel held one hand up and Harris’ voice died in his throat. “No, I’ll be asking the questions.” he told him. “You will only speak when you are willing to answer.”

Harris’ eyes widened, but he was looking over Gabriel’s shoulder. Gabriel turned.

Evangeline stood in the doorway, gun pointed at Gabriel. He held his arms out. “I’m not going to stop you, Evangeline. Kill me if you want. Kill me a hundred times, and I’ll come back each time. I’ll keep coming back until you return.”

Evangeline squeezed the trigger. A shot rent the stillness.

Gabriel stared at her, watching tears flowing silently down her cheeks. Behind him, Harris fell to the floor.

She lowered the gun, and it slipped through her fingers. “Help me.” she whispered. Her eyes closed and she fell forward.

Gabriel caught her, lifting her up gently. He carried her out of the office and made his way out of the building.

xxxXXXxxx

The hospital room was dark and quiet. Evangeline lay on the bed, the blanket covering her up to her chin. Gabriel sat in the chair next to her. He held her hand in both of his and watched her sleep.

The doctor had come and gone. The only trace of her bullet wound was a faint scar on her chest and back.

A number of tests had been done. One of her kidneys had failed, and the other was on its way. She was hooked up to a dialysis machine, but she wasn’t expected to make it to morning.

The door burst open, Chris stood in the doorway breathing heavily. “Evie!” he croaked. His eyes went to the bed, tears welling up in his eyes.

Gabriel stood up, not sure what to say. “I went there to retrieve her corpse, but I found her still alive.”

Chris walked up to him and embraced him roughly. “Thank you.” he sobbed. “Thank you for bringing her back.”

Gabriel pushed him away gently. “She’s holding on for now, but she needs a kidney transplant. There’s not much time.”

“Take mine then.”

The two men looked to the open doorway. Vivian stood in the doorway. “If my daughter needs a kidney, then she can have mine.”

“No, Mom… you can’t…” Chris shook his head sadly. “You don’t have a spare to give her.”

“Then she can have the one I’ve got left.” Vivian walked over to the bed and put a hand on Evangeline’s head. “I’m not going to just let her die.”

xxxXXXxxx

Arthur Statton knew he was in the right emergency room when he saw Vivian Garcia threatening a doctor with a scalpel. “I don’t care!” she screamed. “I will cut my kidney out myself if I have to! I AM NOT GOING TO LET MY DAUGHTER DIE!”

Security was bearing down on her from both directions. Arthur decided to step in before she hurt someone. He approached her from behind and disarmed her quickly.

She spun around and recognized him immediately. “Arthur? What the hell are you doing here?!” He opened his mouth to speak, but she stopped him. “Nevermind.” She grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him. “I found a donor!”

“Vivian, leave the doctors alone.” Gabriel said from the door. “They can’t help right now.”

Vivian turned to him. “What are you saying?” She dragged Arthur into the room.

“Close the door.” Gabriel told her once they were in the room. He held Chris’ pocket flashlight in his hand. “The doctors out there won’t be able to perform the surgery.” He lifted the blanket, exposing Angie’s leg. He turned on the flashlight and pointed the beam at her bare skin. Her flesh turned red and started sizzling. He cut off the light and put the blanket back.

Vivian’s eyes were wide with horror. “What’s happening to her?”

Gabriel’s expression was grim. “She’s turning.”

Chris stood next to him. “Is this your doing?” he asked quietly, but his voice was full of menace.

Gabriel shook his head. “The ones that took her did this, but I’m not sure how. Usually someone is fully turned in just a few hours. This is much slower. Her body is fighting it, and it’s killing her.”

“Turning? Turning into what?” Vivian was confused and scared, and if someone didn’t start making sense then she was going to cut someone.

“He means that she’s turning into a vampire.” Arthur told her calmly.

“Has everyone gone INSANE?” Vivian demanded.

“No, Mom, it’s true.” Chris told her wearily. “Vampires are real. Gabriel’s a vampire. Evie’s dad is a hunter.”

Vivian regarded Gabriel suspiciously. “Prove it.” she told him, her jaw set.

Gabriel sighed and closed his eyes. “I’ll try.” He reached down inside of himself, to where his influence stemmed. He pushed it down. It was difficult, every instinct bent towards self preservation, designed to hide every vampiric quality. He calmed himself, letting it go.

He stood before Vivian and his pale skin turned light gray, his skin pulled back over his cheekbones. His claws were revealed, thick and black. He opened his eyes and they were the color of blood, the pupils were black slits.

Vivian put both hands to his face. At her touch his influence snapped back, his appearance returning to normal. He blinked in surprise. “You’re not scared? Or angry?”

Her eyes were filled with pity. “Whenever you look at my daughter lying on that bed, I can see how you’re dying inside as well. Why would anything else matter to me?” She dropped her hands. “What can we do to save her?”

“I’ve called a doctor who can perform the operation in the dark.” He looked at Arthur. “If we have a donor.”

Arthur nodded. “Evangeline can have anything she needs from me.”

xxxXXXxxx

Doctor Gregori Smythe held Angie’s wrist in his hand, listening to her heartbeat. Ciel stood across from him, inspecting her eyes. So far she had not regained consciousness. “I don’t think it’s reached her brain yet.” he mused.

“That would be very fortunate.” Dr. Smythe said. “Her heart seems unaffected as well.”

“The dialysis is probably helping.” Anais said, studying the readings on the machine. “It’s filtering her blood, taking out the vampiric influence.”

“Still, there is not much time.” Dr. Smythe said. “We will have to fully clear her blood before putting in the new kidney or else it will just be attacked like the others.”

“I’ll make sure we have everything we need.” Anais left the room.

“Ciel, this will be your first operation on a living human.” Dr. Smythe told him. “You will merely assist me, but are you comfortable with your duty?”

Ciel nodded. “I want to learn, doctor. I want to become as skilled as you. Maybe one day more so.” he smiled.

“As long as you do not turn out like my brother, Franz. His research is twisted and unnatural. I smell his handiwork here.”

“Because of how slowly she’s turning?”

“Yes. The blood I tested also did not contain vampiric blood, more like a distilled version of it. Maybe even synthetic.” Dr. Smythe’s eyes narrowed. “I do not like this road Franz is choosing to walk down.”

“We can do this, right? We can save her?”

“I do not foresee any problems, but one must always be cautious. Remember Ciel, in order to get what you want in life, you must be willing to accept it. Even if it turns out differently than you thought it would.”

Ciel’s visible blue eye was determined. “I will do my best, for Gabriel.”

“You and Anais have become quite taken with that vampire.” Dr. Smythe commented.

“Well, we saved him. We cared for him.” Ciel smiled. “We think of him as a little brother.”

“You won’t become so invested in your patients when you have a thousand surgeries under you.”

Ciel’s smile was unwavering. “That might be true.”

xxxXXXxxx

Gabriel, Vivian, and Chris sat outside Angie’s room. They were silent as they waited. Vivian studied Gabriel’s profile. She reached over and put a hand on his. “Does she know how much you love her?” she asked.

“If you’re asking if I’ve said anything like that to her, then no.”

“What about when she’s well? Will you tell her then?”

“No.”

“And why not?” she asked, keeping her voice gentle. “She’s a bit thick sometimes, and I say that out of love. She won’t know unless you tell her.”

Gabriel turned his eyes to the floor. “How can you treat me so kindly, when the only reason she’s in there is because of me? I’ve dragged her into trouble, and she’s in the hospital again, because of me.”

“My daughter might be as dense as a brick, but she’s not stupid.” Vivian sniffed. “She’s far too stubborn to let anyone drag her into trouble. She creates more than enough for herself.” She squeezed his hand. “And from where I’m sitting she wouldn’t be here without you.”

“You really don’t mind that I’m a vampire?”

“Hon, if Satan himself had brought my daughter back from the dead, then I would kiss him on the mouth.”

“You are a pillar of strength, Vivian.” he told her feelingly.

“Well someone around here has to be.” She glanced at Chris, who had fallen asleep in his chair. “So, what is it that you do?” she asked Gabriel. “I’m assuming you have some sort of job.”

“Actually, I don’t. I’ve had jobs in the past, but nothing I decided to stay with.”

She frowned disapprovingly. “Then what’s your retirement plan? Do you have a savings account?”

Gabriel closed his eyes. “You don’t care that I’m a bloodthirsty monster, but you want to know what I have in my bank account?”

“Well, I can’t have my little girl saddled with some layabout that can’t provide for her, now can I?”

Gabriel dropped his head in his hand. “This conversation is making me uncomfortable and I don’t know how to exit it gracefully.” he admitted.

The door opened and Chris jerked awake. They all looked up as Anais stepped out. She knelt down in front of Vivian. “The operation was a success.” she said softly. “They’re closing her up now. She’ll most likely wake once the anesthetic has worn off.”

“Bless you, child.” Vivian said, tears in her eyes.

Anais smiled at her. "We were happy to help. It was an excellent learning experience as well. In the past we've only ever operated on cadavers."

"What?" Vivian gave her a strange look.

Anais rose. "I'll go and bring back some sustenance. You three must be famished."

"I'll take 'not blood'." Chris called after her.

Dr. Smythe exited the room, followed by Ciel. "You can all wait inside now."

They rose and filed into the room. Dr. Smythe put a hand on Vivian's shoulder. "One thing before I go." he said to her softly. "There was some cancerous growth on your husband's liver. It was extremely malignant and in a hard to reach spot. I've removed it for him while I was retrieving his kidney. When he wakes, could you just tell him? I must get back to my clinic."

Vivian stared at him in confusion. "You mean Arthur? Sure, I'll tell him."

"Thank you. If you have any questions, please feel free to call." He handed her a business card.