The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

Meanwhile Charlie had made it down from the mountain and was on the edge of the village, she did not want to get too close because they would smell her, that was one of the reasons they were so good at hunting, they could smell their prey before they got anywhere near the, she walked around the edge of the village until she come too two vampires that she could listen to and try to figure out what was going on, why had they come to the villages, she wanted to know the answers to so many question

“I am hungry” said one vampire

“you are always hungry Monk” said the other

“but Duke why can’t we just eat them” Monk asked pointing to his left were all the villagers were being held

“because we can’t” Duke said

“says who” Monk asked

“he does” replied Duke

“he who?” asked Monk

“will you stop being such an imbecile the king of course” Duke snapped

“why does that mean we can’t eat just one of them?” Monk asked

Charlie found it so hard not to burst out laughing, she could see that the one called Monk was winding Duke up something rotten, he was whining like a little baby, well he was sort of he had not been a vampire very long and a young vampire could never control their hunger it took sometime before they could do that, it took time for their bodies to get used to the fact that they needed blood to survive

“because he needs them all” Duke snapped

“but why?” Monk asked

“oh, please that is enough the king needs all the remaining humans so that he can feed the vampires for eternity” Duke replied

“will they let us?” Monk asked

“they have no choice, they have no one that is strong enough to face us” he replied

“what about hunters?” Monk asked

“no” said Duke “now will you shut your mouth before I shut it for you” he added

Monk seemed to think about it for a moment and then asked “why are there none?”

“because the king killed them all, now will you please shut up with your constant chattering, we leave here in three days” he said waking into the nearest house so that he didn’t have to listen to Monk anymore

Charlie had heard enough from these foul creatures, he definitely was not the Dean like he claimed to be, for she knew that he was dead for you cannot be a vampire without a head, she walked back to her cottage contemplating what had happened to the world since she had been gone from it, why were there no hunters? Why hadn’t they done what they were born to do, as the sun began to rise, she walked back into her cottage and found Jack on the sofa with her diary in his hand, this was going to be awkward thought Charlie

“what is going on?” Jack asked waving the diary at her

“it is mine and normally a diary is secret, not for others to be reading” Charlie replied

“how can it be yours? He asked

“it just is” Charlie replied “I let you in my house and you rifle through my stuff and read my diary” she snapped at him

“it has a date of 440 years ago” Jack said “and I didn’t rifle through your stuff it was on the table” he added pointing to the table next to him

“do you think that I do not know what date is written on that diary, I wrote it when I was 21 and lived everything that is written on all the pages” Charlie snapped back, she knew that the answer she had just given would cause him to panic, besides who wouldn’t when you have just been told the person in front of you is that old

“but you cannot be” Jack said

“I am 461 years old” Charlie said and saw by the look in his eyes that he had just made a discovery, Jack jumped up and grabbed the nearest thing which just happened to be a sword and pointed it her “oh will you stop being such a child and get over yourself” she snapped

“only they live forever” he said still pointing the sword at her

“that they do but do not fear me I will not try to hurt you, I am not the same as those creatures” she replied trying to reassure him that he was safe being there but it didn’t seem to be working “if you are that scared of me you can leave, I can’t be bothered with this rubbish you came onto my land and into my home” she added pointing at the door but Jack didn’t leave just sat down and waited for her to talk

“one of them is still one of them” he said

“enough if I wanted to hurt you, I would have done by now and that sword won’t help you, you cannot kill me before I would get you, I will try to explain in a way that you will understand” she said

“I am not putting it down” he said “I can understand just fine” he added

“fine keep it as I said it will not do you any good” Charlie said, Jack just sat there waiting for her to tell him her story but he was still holding the sword between them

“I was born here in Claxonville in 2211, I was born into a hunters family, it was 2232 when I wrote that diary, i was a young hunter at the time, it wasn’t something that I wanted to do and believe me it was not fun either but I was born to do it, it was my job at the time, we had already captured most of the vampires and had placed them in the prisons but there was one called the dean who was not in a prison, he hated me as I killed many of his kind, which of course made him angry, he hatched a plan to get me out of his way” she said and paused to take a breath, Jack was still staring at her

“you see the dean believed that I was the only one to be able to put him in a prison, his plan was to capture the man I loved, I had told the man I loved that he was not strong enough to face the dean but he didn’t listen and went and got himself caught, I had to go and get him , I couldn’t let the dean hurt him but by the time I got there I was already too late, the dean had already turned him to his side, you see he knew it would break me to see him that way, I could have managed to keep away from him and escape but the dean gave him a weapon so I had no choice but to end his life, as I knelt down beside him as he died the dean took his chance and sunk his teeth into my neck, when he was finished and stood up I took his head, so there is no way this king is who he says he is” Charlie said and turned away from Jack so he could not see the tears running down her face

“did he not remember how he felt for you?” Jack asked “if he loved you would he still not have felt the same even as one of them,” he added

“no, they have no feelings, just the thirst for blood” Charlie replied

“so why are you here?” Jack asked

“after he had bitten me, I did not want to stay around humans, I did not want to be like them I did not have to fight any more, I left and came here away from the world” She replied

“so, you are one of them?”, he asked

“in a way but I am not the same” she replied

“how?” Jack asked

“I do not know but unlike them I do not fear sunlight and I do not have the thirst for blood but other than that I am exactly the same” she replied

“but how?” Jack asked

“that I do not know, something was different that night” she replied

“so, do you have the” Jack said gesturing to his face, he did not want to cause any offence by saying it out loud

“yes, when I want” she replied

“so, let me see if I have this right you were, sorry are a hunter, why did you not stay to fight?” he said

“because it was no longer my job, that night had taken everything from me, everything I cared about was ripped away from me and most of the vampires were in prison, those that where left the other hunters could and should have dealt with” Charlie replied

“but you are still a hunter even if you are one of them it is still your job” Jack said

“my job, are you joking, I had done my bloody job and the others could have done the rest” Charlie snapped

“but now there are none, will you not help me save my village?” Jack asked

“it is not my fight, I have done my part and I gave my life for this world, doing my job took everything I loved from me” Charlie replied

“not your fight, they will soon take over this world and you live in it” Jack said

“I do not live in this world, I exist in it, I am a monster and the world out there does not need any more creatures like me, they already have enough” Charlie snapped at him, how dare he come into her house and tell her what to do, this boy had no idea what she had already sacrificed for humans, there was nothing more she had left to give, It was not her fault the vampires were free, it was their own fault.

“fine, if you will not help me, I will take what I can carry and save them myself” Jack said picking up all the weapons he could

“you will die if you face them alone” Charlie said thinking about it, maybe it was their fault but could she really let those things take over the world, whilst she sat here, true she had nothing more to give except her life, maybe she was still needed, maybe there was still a purpose to her existence

“what do you care? It’s not my fight” he said trying to imitate her

“it is not my fight but I cannot sit here and hide, whilst those foul creatures destroy everything that is good about it, I have nothing to give but my life and I will if it means that humanity can live, then I will try and take them all with me” Charlie said, she didn’t mean like it sounded, for many years now she wanted death and this would give here that wish, if she would die fighting these foul creatures then it would at least be the end of her curse of immortality

“why do you keep saying humans and humanity when you are human” Jack asked

“but I am not human, I am one of them, I am a monster, a human does not live forever, my time came and went by a long time ago” Charlie replied

“well are we going then?” Jack asked looking at her and ignoring what she had just said

“we cannot go, you are not ready to face them yet, there are things that I need to teach you” Charlie replied hoping that they had enough time

“we don’t have time” Jack shouted

“do not shout at me” Charlie said

“we need to go” he shouted at her

“I heard them last night, we have three days before they leave” Charlie replied calmly

“if they don’t kill anyone” Jack whispered so she could not hear him

“they will not kill anyone, he needs them all alive” she said and noticed that Jack was giving her a really strange look “I am a vampire my hearing is better than yours” she added

“so, you are going to train me?” Jack asked

“I will try to teach you as much as I can in three days” Charlie replied

“what are you going to teach me?” Jack asked

“most of all I am going to teach you to fight” Charlie replied

“what do you mean mostly?” Jack asked

“there are many potions that can help when it comes to vampires” Charlie replied

“like what?” Jack asked

“I will show you that if we have time but the most important thing to teach you is how to fight them” Charlie replied

“why?” Jack asked

“because if you cannot fight one of them, then you will be dead before we even enter your village” Charlie replied

“when do we start?” Jack asked

“now” said Charlie“ read one of these I need to go and change” she added throwing a random book at him, she didn’t need to change but telling Jack her story had brought back a lot of emotions that she thought she had long got over, having been this way for 440 years and being alone up in the cabin all she had was time to think about that night over and over again and not once had she forgotten about him, she had also never forgotten what she had given to rid the world of the dean, she entered her room and sat at her desk, she played the night that it all changed for her over in her head, she still remembered it like it was yesterday