Miles groaned, gazing at the abandoned building before him. "Dude please tell me we're not going in there." Connor chuckled, nodding before watching Miles sigh in annoyance. Since Caleb officially brought the pair into the fold, both Connor and Miles embraced their rolls as apprentices, improving their skills. Still, Miles was adjusting to the work. "Man," he groaned. "Why do we always have to go into the creepiest places?"
"Part of the job," Connor stated, a small smirk forming on his face as he glanced at his best friend. "You know you always say that before we start." Miles frowned, furrowing his brow at Connor. "Yeah man, someone has to point out the obvious!" Connor chuckled, clapping Miles on the shoulder. This was quickly turning into a tradition, which Connor didn't mind, in a way, it was like an athlete with a superstition. It was something Miles needed to say to make sure the mission went well. "You two ready?"
Miles and Connor turned, watching as Caleb approached. The young hunter scouted the perimeter to rule out any initial traps or ambushes in order to keep Miles and Connor safe. Connor may have experience, but this was still new to Miles. The last thing he wanted before returning to school was for one of them to get hurt. "As ready as we're going to be," Connor stated. "What are we looking at?"
"A nest of ghouls have setup residence in this old factory," Caleb stated. "Spark is inside now figuring out how many."
"Ghouls," Miles asked. "Isn't that like a zombie?" Connor rubbed his neck, a sheepish look on his face. "Sort of," he replied. "Except they can think. Think smart zombie just a bit faster and just as vicious." Miles sighed, rechecking his double barrel shotgun. He wasn't sure if he could ever get used to monster hunting. As Caleb now went over the plan, the group spotted a small green light sail out of a third story window. The light quickly flying towards them before transforming into Spark.
"Okay, scouted all three floors and the sub basement," she said. "I counted around 30 ghouls, most of them lurking in the basement. There were maybe 8 on the first floor and a single ghoul shambling around on the second." Caleb nodded, pulling up a schematic of the old factory. Buildings like this always attracted ghouls, factory's abandoned for decades that were a blight in former industrial areas. Ghouls themselves were an oddity. A degenerate humanoid that stank of death, slightly stronger than humans but possessing animalistic intelligence. Ghouls existed in every realm, seen by many as a nuisance similar to rats. Alone they were easily handled but when the pack grew, they became dangerous. That's where hunters came in. When dealing with ghouls, hunters were exterminators.
"Okay," Caleb whispered, pointing to the schematic. "Miles and I will enter through the south entrance on the first floor." Spark perked up at this statement, she always appreciated Caleb letting her work with Connor. "Spark, I want you and Connor to take the fire escape to the second floor. I gave it a good look when i checked the perimeter. It's still in good shape. Take out that lone ghoul and be quiet about it. If he gets off a scream, the others will come running." Spark and Connor nodded, the petite teenage girl taking Connors hand as they darted towards the east side of the building.
"You've been doing that a lot lately boss," Miles smirked. "Any reason you keep the lovebirds together?"
"Not for nothing Miles, you're still a rookie when it comes to this," Caleb stated. "Yeah, you got potential but I want to keep you safe until I think you're ready." Miles nodded, a glum expression on his face that Caleb noted. "Also I hate hearing Spark worry about Connor," he grinned. "We both know she's going to wind up teaming up with him eventually inside. I'd rather just get it out of the way without the headache." Miles chuckled, his mood immediately improving. Caleb wasn't wrong, Connor and Spark were practically attached at the hip. Rechecking the weapons, the pair now slowly made their way towards the rear of the building.
As Miles and Caleb crept into the factory, they paused as they studied the dimly lit factory. Bathed in moonlight, Miles noted the shambling ghouls. Standing at average human height with purplish green skin, Miles certainly thought they resembled corpses. As they turned their heads though, Miles could see them grunting, their yellowish eyes glinting in the light of the moon. Caleb now motioned for them to stay in the shadows. Ghouls were strong, but their lack of intelligence meant they could be dispatched easily. As the pair moved quietly, Caleb motioned towards two that were closest. As Miles unsheathed a machete, Caleb withdrew two knives. Quickly, Miles beheaded one as Caleb stabbed the other in the back of the head before dragging the corpses into the shadows. Not surprisingly, the other ghouls failed to notice. "Easy pickings." Miles thought confidently as the pair moved further.
Twenty minutes later, the group let out a sigh of relief. The ghoul nest proved to be relatively simple for the quartet, Caleb impressed by both Miles and Connor. "Good job you two," Caleb stated. "You guys were textbook out there." A smile spread across Miles face, the teen puffing up his chest as he turned to Connor. "Ya here that Connor? Textbook."
Connor chuckled, enjoying Miles enthusiasm as he turned to his brother. "You really think we did that well?" He asked Caleb. The older brother now nodded to his younger brother, giving the teen a tight hug. "Hell Connor, you did better than I did when I was 17. I'm proud of you." he said. Caleb's face now became serious, placing both hands on his brothers shoulders. "Dad would be proud too." he smiled. The look of joy on Connors face told Caleb everything. For Connor, this was the highest compliment he could receive. "Let's head home."
As the group approached Caleb's jeep, the conversation was lighthearted. Miles and Connor excited about the job as Spark joined in on the conversation. For Caleb, he felt for the first time since his father's death that life was good. Bringing Connor and the others in was proving to be the smartest decision of his life. Idly he now wondered what the future held when Charlotte, Chase, and Aaron came of age. The Moreland Clan would go down on history as perhaps the greatest hunting family of all time.
Caleb's dreams though were about to be shattered. Only steps from the jeep, none noticed the shadowy figure emerge from the shadows. It was only the small rustling of the bushes that drew Caleb's attention.
Time now slowed for Caleb, his eyes wide in shock as a familiar and massive vampire stepped forward. Hannibal, the elite vampire of the Tepes family sneered, raising a massive Warhammer, which now struck Connor.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!" Caleb screamed.
One moment he was gazing into the smiling face of his kid brother. The next moment, Connor's body sailed through the air, crashing into the chain link fence surrounding the factory. Caleb felt the blood drain from his face as he listened to the sickening crunch of bones. He couldn't be sure, but he thought Connor was dead.
Caleb was stunned, unable to answer. Why would the Tepes family attack? The sound of Miles and Spark shook him from his stupor, Miles unloading his shotgun at the massive vampire as Spark screamed in agony, sailing to Connor's side. "Brat." Hannibal growled. With a single swipe, Hannibal slashed Miles across the chest, shattering the shotgun and leaving a deep gash across Miles's chest. Miles sailed backwards, crashing to the ground and spitting up blood. This now left Caleb to face the elite vampire alone.
With a primal scream, Caleb unloaded his pistols. Unfortunately, the group was ill prepared to face an elite vampire, having left their silver bullets at home. Bullet holes tore through the vampire, but they were little more than a nuisance, Hannibal quickly regenerating. As the vampire leapt to attack, Caleb dodged, delivering a few well placed strikes before rolling out of the way. "Hannibal," Caleb growled. "What are you doing here?"
"Fulfilling my masters wishes," Hannibal sneered. "Did you truly believe Lord Wyatt wouldn't wish your deaths?" Caleb snarled, once more firing at Hannibal with little result. Hannibal chuckled, brushing off the bullet wounds before gripping his Warhammer tighter. Caleb needed to end this quickly, afterwards he would deal with Wyatt.
Using his quickness, Caleb dodged out of the way, delivering several strikes to Hannibal's shoulder and knee. Despite being an elite vampire, Hannibal was vulnerable to nerve strikes. Caleb just needed to disable said limbs long enough to finish him off. After dodging once more, he noticed his hard work paying dividends. Hannibal's arm hung limply at his side, having gone numb as he limped on a dead leg. Caleb had effectively slowed Hannibal down, now he just needed to finish the fearsome foe.
"Caleb!"
Caleb glanced up as Miles slid the machete to him. Despite the teens injuries, he had the presence of mind to realize Caleb needed help. With machete in hand, Caleb scowled at Hannibal, he finally had a weapon that could end the fight. Blocking a strike, Caleb felt himself pushed back, Hannibal was strong but Caleb was faster and more skilled. Waiting for his opportunity, Caleb began to wear down the elite vampire, slashing him along the legs, trying to sever a hamstring or achilles. Another attack now gave Caleb that opportunity, the young hunter cutting Hannibal's hamstring and achilles tendon before stabbing the massive vampire through the chest.
Hannibal choked, falling to the ground as Caleb leapt on his chest, pressing the blade to the vampires throat. "Why?!!!" he screamed. Hannibal chuckled, his lips streaked with blood. "Because Wyatt knows that you and your brother are a danger to him and his family," he spat. "As long as you live, the Tepes family will never be safe. Why do you think he sent me?"
Caleb grit his teeth, his rage boiling over. Hannibal was an elite vampire and personal council to Wyatt. Experience told him that the vampire would not attack without orders from Wyatt himself. Even after Connor and Lancelot working together, Wyatt considered his family a threat. With a primal yell, Caleb now beheaded the vampire, watching the head roll a short distance away. Obviously he would need to bring the head to Wyatt to show him how futile the vampires efforts were.
"Caleb," Spark yelled, her face damp with tears. "Connor's alive! We got to get him to a hospital, NOW!" Hearing his brother lived, Caleb quickly grabbed Hannibal's severed head before sprinting to Connor, the sight of his kid brother's broken body shattering his soul. Carefully scooping up Connor's body, Caleb quickly made his way to the jeep and placing Connor in the back with Spark sitting by his side with Miles sitting next to Caleb before flooring it. "Connor, baby? You need to stay awake. Okay? Do you hear me? You need to stay awake for me before we get to the hospital. I can't go through this again." Spark said through her tears, trying to keep Connor awake as he looked like he was drifting in and out of sleep with Spark holding his hand tightly. Connor came first and after he was safe, he would take his vengeance out on the Tepes family, Wyatt was going to answer him one way or another.