Hunters

Andy Pham

The alarm clock sounded as the morning sun shone through the window.  A hand appears from under the sheets reaching for the alarm clock.  After successfully putting the alarm clock on snooze, a head emerged from under the sheet. A mess of black hair was attached to the head; it was in all directions considering the young lad had just woken up. This was young Allen, a somewhat normal high school student still going through the pains of life. Every day, he’d wake up and get ready for school like any other kid his age. He’d bring his books and supplies in the bag he’d always leave on his desk’s chair. Though there was one peculiar object he brought to school, a metal baseball bat. Now you would think that’s normal for someone who’s on the baseball team, but you see Allen is not. He is member of the schools very interesting animators clubs. As an artist, you wouldn’t think he’d need a bat; but that’s why he’s only somewhat normal.

            “I’m heading out for school now.”

            “Okay, be sure to say ‘hi’ to your friends and Elle for me.”

            “I’ll be sure to do that…”

Allen fastened his shoelaces before heading out the door.  He carried with him, a piece of toast, his messenger bag, and his bat.  No one suspected anything, since he was still just a student.  When he reached the second light from his house, he could see his friends waiting for him. Let’s introduce this very interesting group of people.  First, let’s introduce his best friend Daniel. Daniel is the co-captain of the tennis team and a very old friend of Allen’s.  Daniel is always finding himself in awkward situations. Most of it is due to him constantly hitting on girls. His other friend is Nikolai, is a rather quiet fellow.  He is a proud Russian. He has a small accent but his English is spot on. He is member of the school’s wrestling team.  Aside from being a fairly normal he has a small tenacity of finding trouble with delinquents. Lastly we’ll introduce his girlfriend Elle. She, like Allen, is only somewhat normal. She has a small fascination with supernatural things, but not in the way you’d quite expect. It’s the same type of fascination that a scientist would have for a certain field of science. She finds supernatural creatures to be very interesting, and does her best to get involved in with the supernatural in the world. That’s correct, supernatural beings do indeed exist, and Elle, along with Allen and sometimes Daniel and Nikolai, have quite a history with them.

“Ah, I see you brought your bat with you to school again.” Daniel remarked.

“I always bring my bat with me.”

“Didn’t you say that thing is made of steel?”

“It is, your point being?”

“That is actually quite scary…” Nikolai joined the small conversation.

“It’s sturdier that way.”

“I suppose… you hardly ever do use it though…”

“It’s for emergency use only.”

“Assuming of course, beating the living daylights out of a nonhuman creature is an emergency.” Elle was also jumping in.

“Well a baseball bat is easy to swing, and it works very well against undead things and werewolves.”

“Does it really?”

“Well it works fine for me, and I think that’s a good enough reason to keep it around.”

“Good enough I suppose, let’s head to school before we’re late.”

            The group headed on to school to continue the rest of their day. The day would go on as normal, no interruptions what so ever. Everyone went to class, Elle and Allen had lunch with each other, and everyone split to their clubs. While walking around, Allen could hear some gossip going around the school. A student was found dead a couple of days ago; her death was a strange one. She died from blood loss, though her body showed no signs of any cuts. The thing that killed her was two teeth marks on the side of her neck that struck a major artery. It sounded something like something out of a vampire story. There was no suspect at the moment, and according to the girl’s parents she had disappeared at random. The police believe it to have been a kidnapping tied in with occult activity. This case was not the first.  Allen kept the story in mind, to discuss it with Elle.

Later after school the group met up again, to go relax at their favorite café. As they walked Allen brought up the story to see if anyone knew what was going on. “Oh that story, yeah I’ve been hearing it around school too. Some of the girls are reacting in an awfully strange way… I think they’re letting that one book get to their heads.” It was no surprise Daniel had heard the story. With the way he acted around school, he would have eventually heard the story from one of the girls. “I too have heard this story. The girl was a good friend of one of my teammates. I did my best to comfort him.” Nikolai had also heard the story. It seemed that it was the main topic of the gossip in school. “I guess we all heard it then. “ Elle had heard too. “Where did you hear it from?” Allen asked. “I heard it from a friend. A lot of the girls were talking about it.” They entered the café and took the seats that they regularly sat in. “Kids! It’s nice to see you all again.” A man in vest walked up to them, looking happy as ever. “Hey, Mr. Churchill.” They group greeted him in unison. “So what will you have today children?”

“We’ll take what we usually have.”

“Right the usual it is. Do you kids want any snacks to go with that?”

“No we’re fine.”

Churchchill walked away to start preparing the drinks. “Alright, so we all know this it is no doubt a vampire and this isn’t the first of these weird attacks. It’s just the first time a student has been attacked. So I propose we do something about this before the attacks progress.” Allen was always the first to suggest that the group would deal with attacks such as this. “Well Vampire’s are very typical supernatural creatures. I’m quite surprised we haven’t dealt with one before.” Elle was giving her usual analysis of the creature that needed to be dealt with.  “So we all know that vampires cannot go into direct sunlight, they hate garlic, and driving a stake through their heart will kill them. Those are the basics.”

“Sounds simple enough, find the vampire, smash his head and drive a stake into his heart. “ Daniel summarized the plan that was going through everyone else’s mind.

“I don’t think it’s going to be that simple, but it is the right idea.” Nikolai has always very blunt, and serious.  “None the less, we all know what we basically need to do. So let’s see if we could lure the vampire out tonight.” Churchill had returned to the table with a tray full of drinks. “So what’s this I hear about vampires? Don’t tell me you kids are into them as well?” Churchill questioned them as he handed them the drinks. “No it it’s not that, don’t worry. There seems to be strange attacks around the city these days, and we’re sure it’s a vampire.” Elle was being blunt about explaining the situation but the rest of the group seemed fine with it. “Is that so? Then I’m assuming you kids are going to deal with it.”

“That’s right, it’s just one so we’ll be fine.”

“Well kids if I’m correct don’t vampires normally collect in groups.”

“That’s true but it seems that the vampire we’re dealing with is hunting by itself.” Allen had come to that conclusion by consider only one body was found at the crime scene instead of multiple bodies. “In that case, I’m sure you kids will be fine. Just be careful, killing one of them could get you in a war with the rest of them.”

“That will be fine, it will allow us to deal with all of them quickly that way.” Nikolai was always optimistic about things. Churchill let out a loud laugh as he walked away from the group. “Alright so let’s see if we could trap him in the site. He won’t be able to get away if we deal with him there. ” The site was a rundown construction site that the group had learned to call a second home. It was their spot to hang out and their base of operation whenever they needed to deal with something supernatural. It also, strangely, served as a graveyard for anything they killed there. “We’ll see if we can trap him in the locker room and handle him there. “

“Will we all be fighting him?”

“Well it’ll be our fight against a vampire so yeah it might be best to have everyone there.”

“And the stake?”

“Elle you can take care of that right?”

“Of course, I’ll ask my grandma to have everything set for us.”

“Good, then we’re all set.  Let’s meet at the site tonight, and see if we can get lucky.”

The group finished up their drinks and disbanded to go home. Allen was walking Elle home as they regularly do. “I heard vampires are hard to kill…” Allen mentioned as they walked. “I’ve heard many things that would make it seem that way. For one, I hear they heal quickly and have superhuman strength and speed.”

“Is that so…  Well it’s a good thing I hear their not all that bright either. It’ll make it easier to kill one.”

A thought had entered Allen’s mind as he reviewed his knowledge on vampires “Hm… now that I think about it, if one of us is bitten do we turn into a vampire as well?”

“That’s how the story goes…”

“So what if one of us gets bitten?”

“I promise to kill you quickly.” Allen eyed Elle for her rather cold sounding comment. “Thanks Elle….”

“I love you.”

“I can tell…”

The two had reached their destination after a rather interesting conversation. “Alright see you tonight.” Allen headed straight home after Elle had reached hers.  At home Allen continued life as normal. Doing his homework, practicing his art, watching television, he wasn’t that much different from any other kid. Night fall had finally come. Allen waited patiently for his parents to go to bed before attempting to leave the house. He left the house use his window and the fire escape ladder. With bat in hand Allen made his way to the site. Upon arrival he could see that Nikolai and Daniel were already there. Nikolai was sharpening his Kukri knife, and Daniel was twirling his crowbar. “Where’s Elle?”

            “I assume she is still collecting things from her grandmother.” Nikolai answered. “In any case I’m fine with waiting. I don’t think that vampire is going out of town anytime soon.” Daniel sounded rather lazy with his answer.  They waited for several minutes for Elle to arrive. To pass the time Allen felt it best to start another conversation.  “I see you brought your knife this time, Nikolai.”

“Of course… Lead pipe did not do its job well.” He held up his knife in the light for Allen and Daniel to see. “This is much more dependable weapon.”

            “You look more like you’re going to butcher the poor guy.” Daniel commented after he stopped spinning the crowbar.

            “It will be best if I do. According to old stories, hacking the vampire into pieces guarantee’s death. When getting killed, vampires are just as fragile as humans.” The two quivered at Nikolai’s dark statement. “So… Nikolai… Where did you get the knife?”

“From my father…”

            “Somehow… I feel worried that your father gave that to you.” As they were wrapping up the conversation Elle had finally arrived with her bag of supplies. “There you are. What took you so long? “Elle clapped her hands together and bowed to apologize. “Sorry, I was getting a lot of things from Grandma.” Out of her bag she pulled out multiple tools: several stakes, a few bottles of holy water, a rack of garlic, and gold cross. “If I remember correctly you were the one who asked for this right, Allen?” She asked handing him a bottle of holy water. “Yeah, thanks. Now I can hurt the vampire even more.” Daniel has astonished with the amount of things Elle brought with her though it was no surprise she was able to get everything. “Hey Elle, where’s your weapon?” Daniel would always point out things like this. “Oh I left it here. Let me go get it.” Elle took a quick minute to retrieve the weapon she left behind at the site. She returned with her ominous looking metal oar. “Okay all set.” She gave a cute smile to offset how scare her weapon seemed in her hands.

“Now then, we can decide who to use for bait.”

            “Wait we’re baiting some one?”

            “Of course how else are we going to lure him into the locker room?”

            “Right… good point.”

            “Well Nikolai had just mentioned to me that most of the victims were females, so it’s safe to assume the vampire is male considering how they hunt.” They all stared at Elle obviously thinking she’d be the best candidate. “Elle…”

            “Hm…?”

            “Will you be okay with being the bait?”

            “I’ll sure I’ll be fine.”

            “Alright then, we’ll need you to somehow draw out the vampire and lead him to the locker room. After that we lock him up and give him the usual beat down. Simple enough?” They all nodded in response. “Daniel you’re scout this time. Make sure Elle don’t get hurt.”

            “Don’t worry Allen; I’ll make sure that nothing harms Elle.”

            “Good, and don’t die yourself.” He said putting his hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “Thanks for the vote of confidence…”

            “Nikolia and I will stay here to attack the vampire when he comes. So if there aren’t any questions let’s get stated.” The group disbanded each going about to do their respective parts. Allen and Nikolai walked to the locker room to wait for the other two to draw him in. Elle walked ahead to a spot she figured the vampire might be. Daniel kept himself at a same distance and tailed Elle. Elle walked around the area close to the crime scene of the student’s murder. Though the chances were low, she was sure that the vampire was around here. As she figured it was not too far from a hang out spot that was talked about in school.  The place seemed like a small party house. Loud music sound like muddled noise from outside, and the smell of drugs was faint.  Elle was scared of walking in, knowing that anyone who was in there was bound to be far from sober.  She stood outside trying to peek through the door. She was a little short; as a result she had to stand on her toes to look through the small tall window.

            “Um… excuse me miss, but do you wish to go inside?”  A stranger was addressing her from behind. She turned around to see a pale skinned boy. He had the kind of looks that would make most girls go crazy for him. “Oh, well… you see… Um… I was just actually about to leave.” Elle spoke with a nervous voice. She could feel something was odd about him. His strange yellow eyes seemed to shine in the dark. “It’s dangerous to be out here by yourself at this time you know. A young girl like you shouldn’t be herself” The stranger showed a smile, obviously trying to get at Elle. She won’t give in, that is until she noticed something odd about his smile. He had fangs that were extremely irregular for a human.  With basic deduction she figured the vampire she was looking for was right in front of her. “Well in that case would you like to walk me back to my place?” She decided to try and play along with the vampire’s game, and trick him into going to the site.  The vampire smirked thinking he had found another easy target. “I’d be glad to.”

The two start to walk off towards the direction of the site. Daniel kept at a safe distance. He wasn’t sure about what was happening but he took a guess that Elle had found the vampire. “Yep, looks like how I thought they’d look… With the way the girls were describing vampires I’m not all surprised that he’s one.” Daniel quietly mumbled to himself. Elle continued to lead the vampire on the path to the site. She seemed nervous about walking with the vampire. She wasn’t sure if the vampire would seize the chance and just attack her where no one would see. “Where exactly are we going?” The vampire asked. He was catching on that they were close to any neighborhoods. “Just a spot I thought I’d take you.” The vampire smiled thinking he’d get lucky. He held himself back from pouncing hoping to be able to enjoy whatever Elle had in store for him.

When they reached the site, the vampire noticed Daniel’s presence. “You know that guy has been following us for a while.” Elle was stunned from the sudden turn of events. “W-where, I don’t see anyone.” Daniel did his best to stay hidden from the vampire. “I know he’s there… I saw him a few times earlier.” Elle grabbed his hand trying to drag him to the site’s main building. “D-don’t be ridiculous. Come on let head in.” The vampire yanked his arm back. He knew something was wrong; the plan had backfired last minute.  “What’s going on here?” Daniel ran up to the vampire as fast as he could while he was questioning Elle. He used the flat end of his crowbar to stab the vampire in the back.  The crowbar pierced through the center of the vampire’s back making it hard for him to pull it out.

“Come on let’s go!” Daniel ran towards the locker room. Elle followed after him as the vampire was still trying to pull the crowbar out of his back. The vampire eventually pulled out the crowbar, and chased after them. He seemed to have run faster and quickly caught up to them. “Allen, he’s right behind us!” Allen heard Daniel’s screaming and signaled for Nikolai to get ready to close the door. Just as Daniel and Elle passed the door the vampire had gotten dangerously close to them.  Allen saw the vampire’s head appear through the entrance. He swung his bat and hit the vampire head on. The vampire flipped from the force of the impact landing in the middle of the locker room. Nikolai closed the large sliding door, and locked it.

The vampire had the burn mark on his face in the shape of Allen’s bat. “How did that happen?” Daniel was confused about the mark. Elle pointed Allen’s bat; it had water dripping from it. “It’s the holy water.” Elle stated. The vampire stood up and angrily stared at Allen. He charge at Allen and pinned him to the wall. Allen held the vampire back from biting him by using his elbow. Nikolai grabbed the vampire by the waist and threw him back with suplex slam. He pulled out his knife, swinging it at the vampire. His knife strike missed as the vampire rolled away. The vampire stood up only to be struck in the back of the head by Elle’s oar. He charged at Elle, but was stopped when Elle jabbed her oar into his stomach.  In a quick moment Allen jumped in the air and gave a powerful swing at the vampire. His bat was still drenched in holy water, guaranteeing a hard hit to the vampire. He landed the powerful strike knocking the vampire down to the ground. The vampire seemed to be in too much pain to move. “Do it now Elle!” Elle grabbed the stake from her bag and ran to the vampire, stabbing it through his chest to his heart. The vampire twitched and started to curl up like a dying spider. His body became lifeless after a few seconds. The group stared at the body worried that he might get back up. Nikolai walked up to the corpse and decapitated it. “Now he is certainly dead.”

Daniel and Nikolai dragged the body out the locker room to bury with the rest of the groups victims. Elle hugged Allen happy at their success. “So, what do we do now?”

“Well, we’ll see if the other vampires respond to this.”

“And then?”

“Recruit and go to with the vampires, on top of every other being we’re fighting already.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Let’s just hope the rest of them are easier to kill…” After finishing the last of their business, the group disbanded to return to their homes. Each was hoping to get enough sleep to last the day for school. Mr. Churchill was sitting down on a comfortable lawn chair on the top of a nearby build in the site. A man in a lab coat stood next to him, smoking a cigarette. “What do you suppose happens now?” Churchill asked as he watched the kids depart. The gentleman in the lab coat exhaled some smoke before speaking. “What else? Another war...”

  Kiss By The Rain

Adrienne Chung

It was around three in the afternoon, the sunniest day today in Florence, Italy, when the two lovers first met each other. They met near the fountain when they both bumped into each other. Their names are Amanda and Demetri. Amanda was taking a walk around the city and Demetri was running and playing around with one of his friends when they bumped into each other. “Oh! I’m so sorry; I wasn’t looking at where I was going.” She exclaimed. “Oh no, It’s my fault, I was running so it’s my fault.” He explained. He was already in love with Amanda since he was fourteen. When Demetri first saw her, he knew that she has to be the one, his true one and only one soul mate. But what he doesn’t know is that she was already in love with him as well. “In order to apologize to you, may I take you out for a date with me for dinner this evening?” Demetri was so nervous and scared that she would reject his offer to apologize to her. “Of course, I would love to go with you for dinner.” When he heard, he was so excited that he couldn’t believe his eyes, she just agree to go out with him on a date.

The day had passes and it was morning, of course both of them can’t sleep since they are so exhilarated about going onto a date with each other for dinner. In Florence, almost everyone knows each other very much and where they live. And it was around noon when Demetri went out of his house to pick her up for a date. “Mom, Dad, I’m going out and I’ll probably be home a little late is that okay with you guys?” He shouted getting ready to get out the house. “That’s okay, is it a date? If it is who is the lucky girl?” His mother said. “Yes in the matter of fact, it is a date and the lucky girl is Amanda. She is so beautiful and nice.” He said. By the time, he said that his mother realized that he must have been talking about Amanda, the daughter of the so-called ex-best friends, the person they hated. But she didn’t want to tell him that to hurt his feeling, but she will eventually tell him someday. Meanwhile at Amanda’s home, “Mother, Father, I’m going out for a date if it okay that I come home a little later then my usual curfew.” Amanda told her parents. “Okay, but first who is it that you are going with, sweetie?” Her mother said. “It is Demetri, I met him near the fountain of our city yesterday, and he was so sweet and kind.” Her mother can’t believe what she was just hearing, her daughter is dating well going out for dinner with the son of the people she hate. But just for today she’ll let her go but the next time, she probably wouldn’t let her go.

It was four in the afternoon when they both went to meet each other near the fountain where they first met. “How was your day today, Miss Amanda?” Demetri asked kindly. “I am doing fine actually, how are you doing then?” Amanda replied nicely. “Oh, I’m doing good, really excited about being able to go out for a dinner with you.” They both went to the restaurant called “La Amore”. It was about thirty minutes when they finish dinner. They went to top of the roof of this place, a secret place where Demetri always goes to see the star, write story and relax. “Wow Demetri, this is like the most beautiful and calming place I had ever been to.” Amanda was shocked to know that in their hometown, they have something so beautiful and so calm and quiet. “I know, this is like my secret place, every times I feel like I don’t want to be where I am, I always goes up here to relax and write.” “Write? You write story? I didn’t know that.” Of course, she was shock to know that he writes. “Well, I do write stories sometimes it is like a hobbies of mine.” “Well at least you have a talent of writing.” It was around ten in the evening when they both when separate ways. Well, they walked home but Demetri could have droves his car to pick her up. But he didn’t feel like it. By the time, they got home. “Sweetheart, your father and I had something to tell you.” Both parents have something to say. “Your father and I don’t want you to meet with each other with the person you are seeing ever again.” “WHAT! WHY?” They both shouted. “Well, you see, your father and I and her/his parents never liked each other at all, we were friends once until they both start going out with each other whom we like.” “Just because of that you are enemy, and you don’t want your child to happy!” Both of them ran out of the house to meet near the fountain. Of course they both told each other what happen, “Amanda, I had always love you, will you be my girlfriend and run away with me when the time come.” He proposes. “Demetri…. Yes I will be your girlfriend and run away with you.” So far, they didn’t know that their friend, Alec happens to be taking a walk and overheard what they said. “Congratulation, Amanda, Demetri.” Both of them turns to see who it was that said that. “Alec?” They both said. “Yes it is me, I will help you guy see each other when you can but only at night or by passing notes.” “Thank you so much, Alec.” “You’re welcome but I must be going, it is getting late.” He left, and just then Amanda and Demetri had vow to run away in order to be with each other. And they both will secretly meet with each other. “Demetri, do you ever wonder if this is true?” “What is?” He asked. “Finding the one and only one that is meant for you, your other half, the one who holds your heart, your soul mate?” She said sadly. “Perhaps it is true.” They both promise to run away together someday if and when their parents still won’t allow them to see each other just because of their hatred to each other.

Many days had passed by and they both tried so hard not to see each other with parents watching over like a hawk. Alec, their friend, who had been helping them by passing notes or letters that they wrote to each other back and forth. But one day, they both have had enough with their parents’ hatred for each other that they decided that if they won’t stop, they’ll leave or run away from home. But their parents don’t cares about them at all if they run away. They just don’t want them seeing each other ever again, even if it means to cause their child to hate them. Amanda and Demetri both decided to meet near the fountain of the town that night. Secretly, Demetri drove quietly to Amanda’s house to pick her up. They drove quietly to the fountain of the town.

They both step out of the car and into the street; you can even hear it hit softly on the ground, like the patter of little feet, the rain. It’s such a magical time, like sunset on the ocean. They were caught in its spell, and move in slow motion. Demetri move in close, with his hands on Amanda’s waist, he takes it slow, no rush, no haste to makes her comfortable against the cold of the evening sky. The rain slowly falls and the full moon shines down at them with its beautiful light. She slides her arms around his neck, and says “I love you, Demetri.” The rain picks up and it soaks their hair. But their eyes are focused on each other that they have no cares about getting wet. Demetri whispered in her ear, “I love you, my dear. You will always be smiling; you have no use for tears because I will always love you forever, which are my vow to you. You are my heavenly dove of the sky, may it always be true.” She smiles at me, with joy and bliss. His lips meet with hers and in the rain, they kiss. The rain itself, dances all around them as he kisses his sweetheart, without a sound. The rain glides through the air and he holds her tight to his chest, whispering sweet nothing. It’s like the angels are crying, such a beautiful sight. When her lip met with his lip and it is ecstasy. A kiss in the rain sets their emotions free. She pulls his lip and it takes a toll. Their whole body tingles, like they’ve lost control.

As the rain falls down, he just can’t believe that he needed her to move, to think, to breathe. Demetri take a step back and he looks in her eyes. Her beautiful bright blue eyes looking deep into his eyes like it can see through his soul. She tells him that she loves him and his heart would just skips a beat, hearing her feeling for him. If you believe that perfection simply isn’t real. He kisses his love in the rain, and with his promise that make her light- headed. Many things in this world can wash away the pain. But none of them compare, to the kiss in the rain, kiss by the rain.

  The Curse of The Little Devil

Tammy Tran

It was at San Jose, California.  In the year of 2010, that day was the happiest day of my life, until one day the evil little devil was known to this world. Everyone thought it was a myth it came. What they don’t know is that the little devil was curse. The curse is that whoever talks about and be friends with the devil will suffer in pain with a bad luck forever.

I did not believe any of that. Most people said that it was story, a rumor or it is true. One day she stood right in front my house and asked for a place to stay. My parents could not refuse, but to let her in. I got really mad because I had to move to a smaller room and she got a very big room. She comes to school with me every day, she steals my lunch, she annoys me while I am doing my homework, and she pulls my hair every day.

My friends said she could be the devil, I was so shocked that my heart was beating so fast I could barely breathe. After school I raced home leaving that devil at school. On the trail I slipped so many times that blood was rushing down my legs. When I came home I ran into my room and think. I sat on my comfortable chair and I start to search if there is a way to get rid of her. I when on Google and searched for hours but it was hopeless my three friends, Mindy, Sabrina, but every calls her SKP for short and Angelique.

It was 10 p.m., but still no answer when it was time for my friends to go home I thank them for all their help. Then after the hard work, I put on my pajamas and when to sleep. After 12:00 I had weird dream that showed me away to get rid of that girl. I was so happy that I couldn’t sleep.

The next day I told my friends the way to get rid of the curse and the devil. My friends were so happy that they said that we should have a party after the curse of the devil is gone. So at night we prayed to the gods and goddesses from 9 p.m. to midnight, because the thing that devils are scared the most are gods and goddesses. In the next early morning, my parents screamed so much because the devil turned into smelly, stinky sand under the hot powers of gods and goddesses. I was extremely happy that I called my best friends and other people had the curse to come over and party. That was my happiest and best day in my life.