Upstate New York
No one ever considers just how many, "ghost towns" there are. Once thriving towns abandoned for one reason or another. Humans no longer resided in these forgotten towns, but that didn't mean nothing resided there.
A jeep and two trucks now came to a stop outside an abandoned neighborhood, the occupants slowly exiting the vehicles. Taking a deep breath, Caleb Moreland now adjusted his stetson as the rest of his team exited.
"What do you think Connor?"
Connor scanned the area, using a thermal scanner to view the interior of several buildings.
"About what we expected," he stated. "Large ghoul nests throughout the entire neighborhood." Caleb sighed, ghouls were always troublesome.
The creatures were cannibalistic humanoids, highly aggressive with animalistic intelligence. Not particularly difficult for a seasoned hunter, but caution would need to be taken.
As Connor now limped his way towards the rear of the trucks, the rest of Caleb's team now exited.
"So how you want to handle this boss?" Miles Desoto asked, rubbing his five o clock shadow. Caleb looked between the burly Hispanic man and the youngest members of his team.
"Charlotte, I want you to sweep the right side of the street," he stated. "Stick close to Miles and report to Connor what you see."
Charlotte smirked, stifling a retort. For the 20 year old woman, this was routine for her older brother. Caleb always worried about her and Chase, despite Charlotte proving that she was cautious. When it came to demon hunting, she understood that you needed to remain professional. It didn't matter how experience you were, one false move could be your end.
"No problem Caleb." she replied, double checking her rifle and ammunition. Watching Caleb, she could see her brother turn to Chase, knowing that part of what he said to her was meant for her twin.
"Chase," Caleb sighed. "I want you..."
"Don't worry I got this." Chase grinned, interrupting his eldest brother. Charlotte and Connor simply rolled their eyes as they gazed at the youngest Moreland man. Chase was massive, standing six inches taller than Caleb with an impressive amount of muscle on his physique. The contrast between the twins was something that always struck Caleb. Charlotte was relatively tall, standing around 5'8" with the golden blonde hair of their mother as well as inheriting Nina's sharpshooter skills with a rifle. Chase on the other hand could be reckless, her twin focusing on hand to hand combat when hunting. It drove Caleb nuts, in spite of his kid brother being a formidable fighter. All Caleb wanted was for his brother to be careful.
"Yeah that's what I'm afraid of," Caleb sighed. "Last time we hunted ghouls you almost got jumped by that pack." Chase scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"I didn't miss it I was baiting it in," he replied. "You know, you've been awful grouchy since your 38th birthday. Maybe you and Gloria should take a vacation?"
"Just be careful Chase." Caleb groaned. Chase waved off his brother, confidently walking towards an abandoned two story home. Caleb grunted in annoyance, turning to his partner and sister in-law Spark. "You know I think he gets that arrogance from you."
"Oh don't start that bullshit again." Spark said, noting the impish smirk on Caleb's face. The fairy turned human brushing her green hair behind her ear. "In case you haven't noticed I've mellowed out over the last few years. I blame those Moreland genes for your brother." Caleb nodded, now turning to his most reliable team member, Aaron Harris.
"Guess you're on Chase duty."
Aaron nodded, this was usual for the young kintaro. The pair were close friends, pairing together during these hunting missions. Those missions usually meant Aaron and Chase were in the thick of it, battling overwhelming odds before winning. While Aaron enjoyed his work, he was a bit tired, having asked Caleb if he could take it easy on this mission. Chase it seemed had other ideas.
Aaron now transformed. The Asian man's body becoming more muscular, red fur covering his body, as two tails grew from his backside. The man's face now stretched, his ears shifting to the top of his head becoming vulpine in appearance. The kintaro man now resembled a well built anthro fox as he withdrew his heavy revolvers.
"I'll keep an eye on Chase don't worry."
Quickly catching up to Chase, Aaron smirked as his long time friend now tore the backdoor off its rusted hinges.
"Couldn't let me rest could ya?" he grinned. "Also, nice job at stealth." Chase chuckled, casting his best friend an impish grin.
"Oh c'mon Aaron," he grinned. "We both know you would have been bored to tears working ops with Connor." Aaron shrugged, Chase had a point, still he did want to learn different aspects of the job.
"Besides," Chase grinned as he slipped on his brass knuckles. "Why focus on stealth when we're trying to get this over with?"
Slowly the pair entered the abandoned home. Despite Chase's desire for action, he still understood the danger of the job. Advancing through the darkened backroom, the pair peaked into the dirty kitchen, a wide smile firming on Chases face as they noticed a pair of ghouls. "Showtime." Chase whispered as he stepped forward.
"Hey! Assholes!"
That was all it took, the pair of ghouls turning towards Chase before letting out an ear piercing screech. The sound was unnerving yet Chase and Aaron had grown accustomed to it. The creatures were sentries, alerting any ghouls inside the house before rushing the young hunters. As Aaron covered Chase, the younger Moreland charged.
Aaron winced as he watched Chase work. The hulking young man's skills were certainly impressive as he countered the ghouls attacks before delivering a series of brutal strikes. Aaron often joked that Chase would make a killing in the UFC yet both knew demon hunting was in their blood. Chase quickly delivered a three hit combo, finishing the attack with vicious right hook. The sound of the ghouls neck snapping making Aaron wince. As Chase now engaged the second, Aaron gazed at the narrow entryway.
Like clockwork, the other ghouls now lunged out of the darkness. Aaron and Chase knew ghouls tactics. The creatures were animalistic, relying on pack strategies with no real tactics. Before entering the house, Chase and Aaron knew of the chokepoint in the kitchen, the ghouls would only be able to enter one at a time. Aaron now raised his dual pistols, delivering a well placed shot right in the ghouls forehead.
Bodies of ghouls began to stack, forming an artificial wall of corpses. As Chase now snapped the neck of the second ghoul, he turned to Aaron. "Hey you gonna hog all the fun or you going to let me get involved?"
Aaron grinned, lifting his pistol as Chase pulled out a small sledgehammer. As the ghouls scrambled over their dead brethren, Chase was there to meet them delivering a crushing blow to the creatures skulls. In less than five minutes, Aaron and Chase eliminated close to two dozen ghouls.
"Think that's all of them?" Aaron asked as he reloaded his revolvers. Chase shrugged, they probably had, but a sweep of the house was still necessary. Caleb may think Chase was reckless, but he was diligent in his work. The job wasn't finished until you double checked the area. It may not be fun, but both Chase and Aaron understood that not everything was fun and games. Hunting was a serious business, a business the pair hoped to one day lead.
Twenty minutes later Chase and Aaron emerged, Caleb noticing his brother coated in ghoul blood. "Let me guess," he sighed, furrowing his brow at his little brother. "Hands on approach." Chase shrugged, a smirk plastered on his face.
"C'mon Caleb you know how I get my work in."
"Did you clear the house?"
"Aaron cleared the first floor I checked the second." Chase stated, Caleb raising an eyebrow as he pointed towards the second story window. Chase gawked, noticing the ghoul now staring out the window. Before Chase could stammer an answer, Charlotte called out, a single shot ringing out as the ghouls head exploded like a ripe melon. "Bullseye." she smirked.
Caleb sighed, a frown forming on his face as he glared at Chase.
"What have I told you about double and triple checking an area?" Caleb grumbled, a stern look on his face.
"I did." Chase protested. Caleb simply pointed to the house.
"Not well enough," he grumbled. "How many times do I have to tell you Chase? It doesn't matter how good you are if you're sloppy. That's how people get hurt."
As Chase looked to argue, Charlotte stepped forward, placing a hand on her twins shoulder. "C'mon Caleb you know ghouls have a habit of hiding in crawl spaces," she said. "I'm sure Chase did what he was supposed to do."
"And Chase knows that," Caleb countered, turning to look at his little brother. "You're good little brother but you still got a lot to learn. Stay by the truck while Miles, Spark, and I do one last walk through." Chase grunted in frustration, stomping towards the vans with Aaron and Charlotte on his heels. Already the two could hear Chase cursing under his breath.
"Chase?" Charlotte asked softly, seeing the frustration on her twin's face.
"Ugh he pisses me off," he grunted. "I wipe out a nest of ghouls and he still bitches. He's not my father, he's supposed to be my brother."
"He is," Charlotte said softly. "You know how Caleb is though. Ever since he started taking us out, he's talked about being safe."
"Yeah that worked when we were 12 Charlotte," Chase exclaimed. "But we're grown now. I'm not some kid that needs his hand held while ghoul hunting."
"Look Chase," Aaron said slowly. "I know it's frustrating okay, but...Caleb, he just wants to make sure we don't make mistakes. The job is kinda dangerous."
"I know that," Chase grumbled. "But it's easy for you man. Caleb treats you like his favorite son." Aaron shoulders slumped, he didn't like the fact that Chase thought Caleb treated him better, a fact Charlotte now reminded her brother of as she jammed her finger into his chest.
"Hey, enough of that." she spat, jabbing her finger into Chases chest. "You know damn well Aaron busts his ass, probably more than you do Chase! Don't you blame him because Caleb yelled at you for being sloppy!"
Chase sighed, a sheepish look on his glanced at Aaron. "Sorry man," he said softly. "I know you bust your butt. I just have a bad habit of putting my foot in my mouth."
"It's cool," Aaron said, a small smile spreading across his face. "After all these years, I'm used to your dumb ass." Charlotte chuckled noting the sour expression on her twin's face before the trio burst into laughter. They still had a lot to learn from Caleb, but they appreciated the fact they would do it together.