Bounty: A Hunter’s Tale

Chapter One: Acquaintances and the Academy

The bell rang, ending the last class of the day. Soon the halls were full of students returning to their bedrooms. Most students spoke with each other, discussing their classes or their social calendars. Natalie Foxx ignored the going-ons around her and shoved through her classmates, trying to get to her room quickly.

After shutting her door, she put her books down on the desk and sat down on her bed. Then she looked around her room. She knew that the other students had posters, pictures, and other decorations on their walls, but she never put anything up; her walls were as bare as they had been when she moved in years before. It was easier to leave when you didn’t have a lot to pack up. Natalie was used to leaving. She had been forced to leave home after her father died as her mother had been unable to cope with it all. Natalie had gone to the only place she had felt at home, the Academy.

A knock on the door broke her out of her reverie. Natalie stood up, walked to the door, and opened it to see Gregg Whaley standing there. “What do you want Gregg?” she asked.

Gregg opened his mouth but closed it again without saying anything. He forced a chuckle as he swept his hands through his sandy blonde hair. “Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go into town with me. You know, since we have the weekend free?”

Natalie rolled her eyes. Gregg had been asking her to go to town for a few weeks now, with no success. “Gregg, I already told you that I have plans. Look, nothing is going to happen between us. Why don’t you go ask someone else? I’m just not interested in you.”

Gregg’s countenance changed from giddy to ticked off in just a second. “Fine! You’re not good enough for me anyway. I was just trying to do you a favor. Stop acting like you’re better than the rest of us, Foxx. You’re just as bad as your father.” Then Gregg turned and stormed off.

Natalie watched him leave before she slowly released her grip on the door, silently fuming. She hated when people mentioned her father, especially when they brought up his death. He had been killed on the job, through no fault of his own. His partner’s gun had gone off and the bullet had sunk into her father’s chest. They hadn’t made it to help in time. Even despite his great reputation, Charles Foxx’s death had changed everything. People started saying that he wasn’t good in his profession, that he was a failure because the vampires had survived that night.

She closed the door and walked to her closet, briefly glancing at her clothes before choosing what she was going to wear for her trip into town. Once dressed in jeans and her favorite Serenity t-shirt, Natalie pushed her clothes out of the way to look at the rack hidden behind the clothes, her weapons. She hid a knife in each of her boots and put two of her guns in the holster on her back before pushing her clothes back in place. At her dresser, she added a necklace to the ensemble, silver in the shape of a crescent moon.

Glancing at her watch she realized it was time to go. As she walked out of the room she slung her backpack over her left shoulder. A couple minutes later she was outside waiting for the bus into town. While waiting for the bus, Natalie looked around her school campus. It was located in the middle of a wooded area so that no one could easily see what was going on. For the students of the Academy didn’t just study the typical classroom subjects; they also studied weapons, how to use the weapons, torture, and tracking, among other things. The Academy of Bounty Hunters had graduated some of the best hunters in the world, both mundane and supernatural. When the bus arrived she got on and quickly found a seat before pulling a book out of her book-bag.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Natalie Foxx,” a sharp female voice said. Natalie looked up and saw Sasha Hayes walking up from the back of the bus. She was dressed in her usual club attire, a short skirt and a tight top that left little to the imagination. As she sat down she flipped her shiny brown curls over her shoulder.

“What do you want, Sasha?” Natalie asked, annoyed. Whenever Sasha opened her mouth, it was to utter something derogatory or to talk about how wonderful she thought she was. Natalie also knew that Sasha was being held back in the Academy again. It was obvious that she still didn’t know how to dress in a manner that could hide weapons. Loose fitting clothes allowed for the possibility of more weapons and made it more difficult for anyone to notice the concealed weaponry.

“Why are you going into town? It’s not like you have anyone to hang out with. You’re not as popular as I am.”

“You’re right, Sasha,” Natalie commented. “I’m not as popular as you are. But, unlike you, I actually know how to dress and I’m not being held back to retake classes again. I’m going to be graduating early.”

Sasha pouted. “Where did you hear that?”

Natalie smirked as she looked at Sasha. “I have ears everywhere. There isn’t much that happens at the Academy that I don’t know about. Now why don’t you run back to your friends before everyone finds out that you failed some of your classes again?” Sasha turned and walked back to the rear of the bus, and Natalie returned to her book.

Ten minutes later the bus stopped in town and Natalie picked up her bag and got off. Then she turned and headed for the local café, Jack’s. Walking to the counter she ordered a large black coffee and after receiving it, she sat down at a table. As usual Jack’s café was filled with people; everyone loved the atmosphere and the service. Natalie checked her watch and realized she still had half an hour before it was time to go so she pulled out a textbook and started studying. She did well with her schooling and was about to graduate two years earlier than the others who were supposed to be in her year.

After a few minutes of reading from her textbook, Natalie sat back in her chair. She preferred hands-on learning instead of trying to learn by reading a book. Perhaps that was why she had advanced so quickly at the Academy, because only a few of the tests were written. The Academy wasn’t teaching its students to work in a library or work anywhere safe; most of its lessons were physical, practical, meant to keep its students alive.

The main thing that made the Academy different from other schools was that when the students graduated, they went right out into the work force, experts in their field. The Academy had two educational tracks, the mundane track and the supernatural track. Natalie was well-learned in both tracks but specialized in the supernatural.

“Hey Natalie, need a refill?” Catherine, one of Jake’s waitresses asked.

Natalie looked up and smiled. “Sure, thanks.”

Catherine went back and grabbed the pot filled with freshly brewed coffee and returned to fill Natalie’s cup. “So, are you waitin’ for someone or just doin’ your schoolwork?” Catherine asked after filling the coffee cup. When Natalie tried to pay for the refill, Catherine shook her head. “It’s on the house.”

“Thanks. Yeah, I’m waiting on Lex. He should be here in a few more minutes.”

“Oh, him,” Catherine commented with a small knowing grin. “He comes in here almost every day, askin’ about you. Of course, none of us can tell him much as you’re only here on the weekends. Even then, I only know that you come in here to drink a large black coffee and work on your schoolwork.”

“Well, my schooling takes a lot of my time. I go to a private school fifteen minutes outside of town. It’s only on the weekends that I have free time to come here and relax. I wish I had more time but I need to graduate this year so I can’t spend too much time relaxing.”

“Now why would you need to graduate so quickly?”

“I just need to get out of here, move on with my life,” Natalie answered.

“It seems to me that you’re trying to run from somethin’.” Catherine let out a deep breath. “It’s probably none of my business anyway. Well, I should probably be gettin’ back to work” With that she turned and walked away, and Natalie returned to her textbook.

A moment later she realized it was absurd to worry about her schoolwork when she should be enjoying her free time. She closed her textbook and placed it back inside her backpack. When she looked up she saw Lex Jenkins standing right in front of her. “Hey,” she said, smiling. “You’re early.”

“Well, the Biology club finished early today. Are you really going to complain? It means we have more time together.”

Natalie stood up. “I’m not complaining. Let’s go.” She grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder before picking up her coffee and walking out the door. After leaving Jack’s café, they walked down the street heading towards the park, their usual hang-out. The park had a playground, several trails that wound through the woods, and at the center of the park was a huge lake, Natalie’s favorite part. Reaching the rickety old playground, Natalie dropped her backpack and ran over to the monkey bars swinging herself up until she sat on top of them, as she had been doing for her whole life. Then she turned and saw Lex coming to follow her; she shook her head. “Don’t even try it. This can’t hold both of us.”

“Well then, what do you expect me to do?” Lex asked, his smile bringing a twinkle to his hazel eyes.

Natalie shrugged. “You could always just sit down and enjoy the view.”

He sat down on the ground and looked up at her. “Not that I’m complaining because the view down here is amazing, but do you think we could just sit together and talk?”

She looked down at him, wishing she could open up to him and tell him everything but sometimes knowledge was dangerous and she didn’t wish to put Lex in danger. Maybe that was why she always sat away from him, trying to keep her distance. Her lifestyle didn’t really allow for close relationships, with anyone. Then again, maybe being solitary helped as she would be able to easily travel anywhere and wouldn’t have to worry about cover stories to friends and family. “Sure,” she replied, swinging down to the ground and sitting a couple feet away from him.