A Grave Hunger (4 page)

CHAPTER 7

My trepidation over Robert's reaction to me hunting was not unjustified. He was furious.

"How could you have been so stupid? If it wasn't for Finlay, you would be dead," he roared. I watched a vein pulse prominently on his forehead. It looked as though it was in danger of popping at any moment. "Do you know how close you came to getting killed? You purposely defied my orders. I said you weren't ready, and I was right. Look at the mess you're in," he bellowed, gesturing angrily to the large lump on my head and my black eye, which had turned a lovely shade of purple overnight.

"Don't be too hard on her, Robert," Finlay interrupted. "I've already tore her a new one. Anyway, I think she's learned her lesson."

This seemed to appease Robert, if only slightly. He let out a weary sigh before turning his back to me. He had obviously decided that continuing this conversation was a lost cause.

"It's good to have you back, boy. It's been far too long," Robert said, giving Finlay a hug. "Come on, let's have a drink and a catch up. You can tell me how Canada was." Ignoring me completely, he guided Finlay into the kitchen. I sighed, wondering how long the silent treatment would last.

The next day, I headed back over to Robert's for my training session with Finlay. I still felt guilty over defying Robert's orders. I wondered what mood I would find him in today. Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself for another screaming match as I pushed open the front door of Robert's house. Robert was sitting on the sofa reading when I walked in.

"Hi, Robert. Am I forgiven yet? I am really sorry. I promise I will never do anything so reckless again," I said in my sweetest voice.

He gave me a hard look and shook his head imperceptibly, before his eyes softened. "You're forgiven, just don't do it again," he replied, smiling.

I was surprised at his mellow attitude. Finlay must have a calming effect on him. His usual surly mood was replaced by an air of contentment.

"Finlay is waiting for you in the basement. I hear you are going to do some training," Robert said smirking. "Good luck. He's good and he won't let you off easy."

I made my way down to the basement, a feeling of trepidation settling in the pit of my stomach. I had a lot to prove, especially after the fiasco of the last few days. If I didn't prove to Finlay that I was ready for hunting, how could I ever begin to move on? I needed some sort of closure, and hunting was the only way I could think of getting it.

Finlay was bending over, arranging crash mats on the floor. I admired the view for a moment, the way he filled his jeans sent the hair on the back of my neck standing to attention. There was no denying that he was easy on the eyes.

"Hi, Scotland," he greeted me. I smiled, enjoying the moniker he had given me.

"You ready for this?" he challenged.

"Bring it on," I replied with mock confidence.

"Test number one," Finlay began. "To kill a vampire, would you use a wooden stake or silver bullets?"

"What kind of moron do you think I am?" I groaned, rolling my eyes. "You do neither. You decapitate it. I have been training for eighteen months, you know."

"I thought I would start off easy, ease you in gently. Obviously you don't need that, so no more Mr. Nice Guy."

Without giving me a warning, he launched towards me, throwing a punch. The strike had not taken me by surprise as he had expected, and I reacted fast. My arm jerked upwards, automatically blocking the punch. Robert never gave me any warning when he would attack when we were training. He said that vampires wouldn't do it, so neither would he. He had taught me to observe body language for signs of a possible attack, and I had been watching Finlay carefully since he had greeted me. He smiled, clearly impressed with my deflection. He reached out to grab me, and I darted away, laughing. However, my arrogance was short lived. He threw a lightning fast blow into my stomach, winding me and leaving me doubled over.

"Ow," I complained through laboured breath. I knew he was reining in his punches, but it still hurt like hell.

"Don't be a baby," he retorted, smirking as he kicked out in an attempt to knock my legs from under me. I jumped backwards, avoiding his kick before throwing a punch that sent him stumbling back a few steps. A look of determination crossed his face and his eyes narrowed in concentration. A bead of sweat trickled down my back, as I threw another punch into his stomach. I felt exhilarated as a surge of adrenaline pulsed through my body. With a lightning quick move, he pounced. He managed to grab me from behind, wrapping his strong arms around me, and securing my arms firmly in place. He squeezed me tightly, leaving me unable to move. My breaths came in short, sharp gasps as I struggled to breathe under his strong grip. I lifted up onto my tiptoes and threw my head back, hearing a crunch as it made contact with his nose. He grunted, releasing his grip enough to let me wriggle out of his vice-like grip. A thin line of blood trickled from his nose.

"Nice move, Scotland." He grunted, wiping the blood from his nose with the back of his hand.

Before giving him any time to recover, I kicked out, knocking his legs from under him. He grabbed me as he went down, and I landed on top of him with a grunt. We both lay there winded, panting for a few seconds, trying to breathe. I tried to take advantage of my position by pinning his arms. The problem however, was that he was stronger and far more experienced than I was. He easily managed to flip us both over, pinning me to the floor with his weight. In one swift movement he had pulled my arms above my head, his hand holding them in place at my wrists. Goosebumps erupted up my arms as his index finger, gently circled the inside of my wrists. It felt like my skin was ablaze. 

"Not bad, Scotland, not bad," he said, his face inches from mine. He stared at me, eyes sparking excitedly, the sexual tension between us electric.

Robert's voice suddenly snapped us out of our moment.

"Good training session?" he asked, smirking, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Unconcerned with Robert's presence, Finlay replied without moving from our compromising position.

"You could have warned me, Robert. She's good. I think she might have broken my nose," he joked.

I wriggled out from underneath Finlay, embarrassment touching my cheeks.

"Well, she had a good teacher. I taught her everything I know," Robert remarked smugly.

The pair seemed oblivious to my embarrassment, which soothed me.

"Does that mean I can go hunting with you next time?" I pestered.

Robert's jovial disposition disappeared and a frown crossed his brows. I prepared myself for another rant.

"What do you think? You think she's ready?" Robert asked Finlay.

"I think she can handle it," he remarked. winking at me. "Anyway, we will both be with her if she gets into any problems. The only reason that happened last time was because she went in on her own."

I wondered if I would ever live that mistake down. After a moment's pause, Robert sighed.

"Fine, you can come hunting with us, but I have some ground rules," Robert warned.

"No problem, anything you say," I said earnestly.

"I mean it, Leah. I'm the boss. You do as you are told. If we are going to do this, we do it right. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you. Either of you," he added, looking from me to Finlay.

His words touched me. I realised that the feeling was mutual. Over the last eighteen months he had become my family, I loved him for taking me away from my loneliness and giving my life a focus. Even if it was a dangerous and life-threatening one.

"I promise I won't let you down again," I said, and I meant it. The thought of disappointing Robert again made me feel awful.

He slowly nodded, satisfied by my answer.

"All right then, I'll leave you two to continue your
training
." He smirked. Nothing got by Robert.

"Thanks for that," I said, turning to Finlay. "He would never have said yes if it wasn't for you."

"No need to thank me. I meant what I said. You can handle yourself. The only reason that vampire kicked your ass the other day was because you went in alone. Even experienced hunters rarely hunt alone," he replied.

"Well thanks anyway, and thanks for the training session," I replied, heading for the exit.

"Where do you think you're going?" he retorted, grabbing me by the hand.

His touch sent my heart racing, and I silently berated myself for acting like a love struck teenager.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "Aren't we finished?"

"Afraid not. Did Robert always let you off this easy?" He laughed. "We haven't done any weapons training yet."

A sly smile passed his lips, and I wondered what else he had in store for me.

CHAPTER 8

I was awoken by a loud banging sound. Through my groggy haze, it took me a few moments to realise where I was and what was happening. Someone was banging on the front door of my motel room. The banging persisted. Opening the door, I saw Finlay standing there. Over the last few months, Finlay and I had become close friends. His charismatic personality and cheery disposition made him easy to like, and our tragic pasts gave us a common goal. We had spent countless hours together, discussing life and just hanging out together. Although it was obvious that we both found each other physically attractive, we had kept it professional, never acting on our lustful feelings for each other. We had a job to do, and it seemed to be an unspoken rule that acting on these feelings would distract us from our mission.

"Nice PJs, Scotland." Finlay smirked.

I silently berated myself for wearing my pink cosy PJs, with pictures of bunnies emblazoned across them. Not exactly sexy.

"What time is it?" I mumbled sleepily. I wasn't the most verbose person when I had just been woken up.

"6:00 a.m.," he answered cheerily, pushing past me into the room and flopping himself down on the bed.

Finlay had moved into the motel room next to me a few months ago, having decided that he needed space from Robert. I didn't blame the guy. Robert's house was a mess. Books and newspaper articles were scattered everywhere, and heaven forbid if you actually moved anything. I learned that lesson the hard way. Not to mention Robert's erratic mood swings and surly disposition. I imagined that Robert would be pretty difficult to live with.

"Why are you here at six in the morning?" I snapped. "I thought I told you no coming over until at least nine a.m."

Since Finlay had moved next door, these early morning wake up calls were not uncommon, but I never quite got used to them. I mean, could training really not wait a few hours?

"You're really not a morning person, are you?" he teased. He must have seen the unimpressed look on my face because he answered my question. "We caught the trail of a vampire. It's a five hour drive so we are leaving in half an hour. Are you still up for a vampire hunt?" he enquired.

His words snapped me out of my sleepy daze.

"Yes, definitely," I responded enthusiastically.

"We finally caught a trail," Finlay replied. It had been pretty quiet on the vampire front for the last few months.

Finlay had worked tirelessly getting me ready for this moment, with hours of physical training and research sessions. It looked like the time was finally here when I could put it to good use.

"All right then. We're taking two cars. Robert is taking his own and will meet us there. You go get ready. I'll just make myself at home," he said, switching on the T.V.

I made a mad dash for the bathroom, where I quickly showered, brushed my teeth and got dressed. This was it, the moment I had been waiting for, obsessing about for almost two years. I felt a nervous twinge in my stomach, remembering my last hunt. I shook off the feeling. This time it would be different. I wouldn't underestimate the creature, and there would be three of us instead of one.

"Make sure that you pack those pink PJs. You looked very sexy in them," Finlay shouted through the bathroom door.

"Hilarious," I retorted, opening the door. "What do you sleep in then, smart arse?"

"Oh, I sleep completely naked," he responded in an alluring voice, winking at me.

A mental picture instantly flashed through my mind, but I quickly pushed it away.

"It's way too early for this," I said, smirking at his unashamed flirting.

Grabbing my overnight bag, I quickly threw in some clothes and toiletries. I made a show of adding my pink PJs to the bag, which Finlay responded to by letting out a wolf-whistle.

"Have you got the hunt kit?"

"Yup, packed and ready to go," he replied.

"Ok then, let's go," I answered.

On the drive, Finlay filled me in on our mission. He had tracked down a vampire responsible for killing a number of people throughout the country. Finlay had two possible places where the vampire might be hiding. One was an old factory, and the other a dilapidated church. The plan was for us to do recon on the two buildings to check for signs of vampire activity. Once we had determined which building the vampire was in, all three of us would go back for the hunt. Finlay stated that it should be a textbook hunt. Three hunters should be more than enough to take down one vampire.

We arrived around one o'clock and checked into our motel rooms before meeting Robert in his room. The three of us sat around the small, worn table discussing the plan of action.

"You two check out the factory," Robert instructed, his finger stabbing at the address on the paper in front of him. "I'll do recon on the church."

"We can meet back here in... three hours," he said, looking at his watch.

"Sounds like a plan," I answered.

"Right, Scotland, let's go," Finlay ordered, rising from his seat.

"This is purely recon, Leah. Don't do anything stupid," Robert warned.

"Ok, Robert. I promise I'll be careful," I replied, sighing. Robert would never let me forget the fiasco of my last hunt.

"Don't worry Robert, I'll look after her," Finlay patronised, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

"My knight in shining armour?" I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

I definitely had a lot to prove on this hunt. Finlay obviously thought that I was some sort of damsel in distress that needed protecting, and Robert thought I was a reckless fool with a death wish. I made a promise to myself that I would prove them both wrong and be an asset on this hunt. Someone that they could rely on and trust.

"See you soon, Robert," I called over my shoulder, as I made my way to the car.

"Be careful," he shouted after us.

Finlay sped far too quickly along the snow covered road. He didn't seem to be paying any attention to the road in front of him, more focused on trying to find a good song on the radio. He settled on a local rock station which was playing Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive".

"Any details I need to know about this factory?" I asked.

"It's an old disused paper factory that closed down about ten years back. According to police reports, it had been popular with squatters and the homeless for a while. It's within a 5 mile radius to all the crime..." He cut off his sentence to sing along to the song. "
I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride. I'm wanted... dead or alive.
"

I smiled. He could be such a geek sometimes.

He pulled the car to the side of the road, in front of the entrance to the factory. The gated entrance was the only good view of the factory, as the rest of the area was surrounded by a thick growth of tall trees and bushes. Looking through the gates, the factory almost looked picturesque.  A thick layer of snow was sprinkled over every surface. All familiar features had disappeared, hidden under the lumps and bumps of the snow blanket. As sun light sparkled off the snow, it glittered like diamonds. It was amazing how snow could make anything look beautiful.

Back in Scotland, winter was my favourite season. I always looked forward to the winter. It reminded me of family Christmases, sledding and snow ball fights as a child with my sister. Now I hated this time of year, Christmas especially. For the last two years I had spent Christmas day alone in my motel, drinking myself into a stupor and feeling sorry for myself. Robert felt the same way I did about Christmas; it brought back memories of a happier time that we both would rather forget. We had come to an agreement the first Christmas together that we wouldn't celebrate. No presents, no decorations and no Christmas dinner. I did a quick calculation - three weeks until Christmas. Three weeks I had to endure nothing but soppy Christmas films on T.V., and tacky Christmas decorations hung everywhere you looked. I sighed. It was funny how you could change so much in such a short period of time.

"Yikes, I know that look," Finlay commented. "What's wrong?" His eyes, showing concern, pierced mine.

"Nothing, I'm just being sentimental. I'm ok." I forced a smile.

He didn't look convinced, but realising I didn't want to talk about it, changed the subject.

"All right, we can have a quick look around. Look out for any possible exits in case we need to get out fast," Finlay explained. "If there is a vampire in there, we need to keep our distance. We need to stay in the cover of the trees. Any closer and it will be able to see and hear us, and will catch our scent."

He hopped out of the car and went around to open the car's boot.  I followed him and watched as he rummaged through the melee of weapons before choosing a large machete. He gestured to me to do the same. I grabbed a machete and strapped in its cover, clicking it inside my jacket. Shivering from the cold, I wrapped my arms around my body as we headed to the gate.

In a flash, Finlay climbed the gate and jumped over, landing elegantly at the other side. I followed suit, climbing over, but landing with a grunt, in a heap at the other side.              

Finlay stared at me with a look of amusement, trying his best not to laugh.             

"Are you ok?" he asked, helping me to my feet. A large grin spreading across his face.

"Yeah," I mumbled, chastising myself for making a great start to the hunt.

Up closer, the factory lost its picturesque quality. The entrance to the building was littered with empty beer bottles and broken glass, and the walls were covered in graffiti. We kept back to the fence boundary as we made our way around the building, looking for any possible signs of vampire activity.

It was the smell that first alerted our attention. The pungent odour of putrefaction was unmistakable. Something was definitely dead. I prayed that it was an animal. Finlay and I exchanged a look. Obviously he had smelled it too. The putrid odour hung heavy in the air. With each step the foul stench grew stronger, building in intensity until it became overpowering and turned my stomach. I covered my nose with my scarf to protect myself from the smell and breathed through my mouth. It did little to settle my stomach. The fetid stench felt as though it was smothering me, and I could taste it as it coated my tongue. Looking around, we quickly saw where the smell was coming from. Lying on the ground, partially covered with snow, was a body of what appeared to be a young woman.  The body was bloated and
deformed
.
The flesh had begun to rot and had
distorted
the features of the face. The skin had lost some of its grip on the skull and had drooped unevenly on one side. The macabre image reminded me of a plastic Halloween mask I had as a child. Flies buzzed and whirled around the body, darting excitedly in circles, like moths around a flame.

"Good God!" I exclaimed. "She looks like she's only a teenager." A sense of sadness swept over me as I regarded the navy school blazer she was still wearing.

Finlay bent down to examine the body. I joined him, batting flies from my face.

"She's had her throat ripped out," I murmured, pointing to the wound on her neck, stating the obvious. "I guess we have the correct place."

Finlay didn't reply, a deep frown crossing his brows. I saw him scan the area beside the body before taking his phone out of his pocket and snapping a few photos of the body and surrounding area. Disturbed by our sudden presence, an onslaught of bugs cascaded from the corpse and scuttled away in various directions. My stomach churned once more and I fought to keep down the contents of my lunch.

"What is it?"

"I don't know, something isn't right," he replied tentatively. "Let's get out of here."

We quickly hurried back to the car, Finlay careful to destroy our snowy footprints on the way, stating that the police on our backs was the last thing we needed.