Blood Hunters

A. It was a terrible disease that spread mercilessly throughout Ahtirgahn and her neighbors, destroying families, homes, cities, countries… A was easily recognized on the body; tell tale patches of a black substance not much different from Jell-O that slowly replaced the skin, eyes that became dull and haunted, the hard cough that always proceeded the whole ordeal. And just as easily A could be contracted. The virus adapted to and thrived in every environment known to us, and not even extreme neat freaks were able to sanitize enough to keep it at bay. People around me were dropping dead on the streets, and every day I expected to be next.

Everyone began wearing masks. Some of the more well-to-do people even bought special ones that both filtered the air and had them inhaling an expensive, synthesized antibiotic that was supposed to cleans your body of anything harmful. These people died even faster than those who were poor.

I felt pity for them.

I was only six or seven when the A Virus came to my home. I did my best to take care of my mother and bigger brother, but only three days after the cough my mother died in a restless sleep, and my brother disappeared entirely. I call the people who do that Shadows. You see, there were creatures being born by the virus that no one could explain. Monsters in the dark that were composed entirely of the black goop, and could form their bodies in strange, grotesque ways. I call them Shadows because they only resemble the things they once were, and can never come back to the world where they belong.

Alive and insane. Or dead and possessed.

When A took my brother from his bed I prayed for it to take me too.

I guess Kreis had other plans for me.

Part One

The Hunter

"So this is where it started…"

Leon stood atop one of the only sky scrapers that hadn't been hit by the bomb raids, perched on the edge as he overlooked the all but demolished city. His dark eyes scanned the streets, catching only glimpses of life here and there between the rubble, and you could tell by the expression he held that he was disgusted with the location. Clean kept, graying brown hair refused to stay tame in the biting wind that threatened to tear his black overcoat from his shoulders, and gently held in his left hand an elegant rosary dangled precariously on his fingers. The man's thumb was slowly sliding over the one black sapphire in the primarily ruby arrangement, his mind obviously on something else.

He wished he could have avoided coming to this place. Everyone here was either dying from A, or going to die from it soon enough. The population over a nine or ten year period had gone from well over two hundred thousand to maybe six or seven hundred at best. It was the outbreak site of the Autrumaeromorte virus, and the cause of all the death in the world. But, unfortunately, it was one of the only places that weren't being scoured by more than three Immune hunters, and he was coming dangerously close to his promised return date.

With a sigh he turned away from the ground far below him, looking at the rosary now clutched in his gloved hand as he stepped off the ledge. It wasn't hard for him to think back on the day it all began. What was he then? Twenty six, twenty seven? He didn't keep track of the years like he used to. All he knew now was the panic, the chaos, the discord. Desperate pleas of the dying public still rang in his ears at night, asking him for either death by the weapons he carried, or scraps of food for their starving brethren so they could live one more day.

It was disgusting and pitiable all at the same time.

Leon tucked the rosary into his pants pocket carefully, making sure all but the silver cross was safely inside the cloth. As he strode across the flat, barren cement of the roof he raised his hand and coughed into it once.

And then once more.

Suddenly he fell to his knees, his left hand supporting his weight as his right clutched his chest, a fit of hacking coughs overtaking his body. Pain was smeared across his features as he heaved over himself again and again until soon enough black liquid tinged with blood began splattering all over his glove and the roof. A few more coughs and he finally lifted his head, raising a shaky hand to his lips and wiping away what was left. With an unnatural limpness he reached under his coat, pulling out a small, long needled shot before driving it into his stomach with a slight wince. The reddish brown substance inside the injector was pushed into his blood stream. A moment later the plastic was discarded, and he descended the abandoned building's stairs on weak legs.

After a restless night he emerged by busting open the boarded up front doors. It left an annoying film of dust on his overcoat, and as he began to make his way over the rubble in the streets he brushed it from his shoulders. From his breast pocket he produced a pair of dark sunglasses, placing them on his face before running a finger across the left side. Almost instantly the lenses went from black to an iridescent orange, and just as quickly the world around him changed. Instead of seeing buildings he saw blocks of translucent blue, and instead of the occasional human body it was the occasional blob of red and black. He looked around for a moment, turned on a silent corner, and headed deeper into the city as he adjusted the glasses slightly to fit his needs. In the upper left of his vision the image of a male body appeared, vital signs blinking dimly beside it. In the upper right a distance calculator clocked items he glanced at in moments.

A few years ago it would have reminded him of a game he once played, but everyone knew this wasn't a game. Everyone knew he was there for one thing and one thing only, and that soon enough someone innocent would get hurt for the better of the public.

Still, when he got into the populated part of the city the red and black blobs would move away to the other side of the street, whispering to each other in hoarse voices.

"He has a sword," someone mumbled to their girlfriend.

"Maybe he's here to help with the infestation?" She said hopefully.

"Are you kidding? No one cares about us. We're here until we die, either by the hands of those monsters or by the virus."

"Do you always have to be so blunt…?"

Their voices finally faded into the distance and Leon stopped on a corner. He was near the center of activity now; a brown, decaying city park that had been converted into several gardens. Maybe twenty or so men and women were working on the half wilted produce, plus some kids, and everyone's readings were coming in at least half black. He reached up and pushed the glasses up his nose, sniffing slightly.

Suddenly he pulled his pistol from its holster on his thigh, spinning around and placing it to the head of a small, almost completely red blob save for some strange yellow, vein like lines that ran through it. A few splotches of black accented the limbs and part of the head. He heard a small squeak of a scream, and after a moment he tore his glasses from his face and looked down into the big, tearing eyes of a five year old boy.

His expression softened.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't… I didn't mean to make you angry…" The boy sniffled as he stared at the gun. Big, fat tears began to roll down his almost too thin cheeks. Leon stared for a moment before looking over his shoulder at the eerily un-concerned workers, pulling the barrel from the boy's head and putting it back in its place. The boy sniffled loudly and wiped his snotty nose on his dirty sleeve. "I-I'm sorry, mister, I just w-wanted to… to…" Suddenly the boy burst into tears, crying loudly before teetering back and falling on his backside. Leon blinked awkwardly, not sure of what he should do. After seeing that no one was going to come to the little boy's aid he tucked his glasses into his pocket and knelt in front of him.

"Hey, come on. Don't cry. You're a man." The boy stopped crying for a moment, looking up at him with big green eyes. Leon smiled timidly. "There, see? All better. Now, lets find your mommy."

"… M-m.. M-mommy…!" The boy burst into an even louder screaming fit of tears, and Leon stood up in surprise. He tried to hush the boy by patting his head, but of course that did nothing. Finally he reached down and picked the boy up, holding him out in front of him as if he was dirty.

"Come on now, be quiet, please? Do you want some food? I have some food," He offered, but the boy just continued to cry. "Come on…!"

"I want Bunny!"

"Who the hell is Bunny?!"

"Hey!" A female voice roared over the crying, and Leon looked over his shoulder only to find a young woman glaring daggers at him. "Put the kid down!"

"Bunny…!" The boy cried again and began flailing in Leon's arms. Quickly he put the child down, and just as quickly he ran to the girl. She leaned down and picked him up, supporting him against her hip in a motherly fashion.

"Shhh. Shhh, Kitty. Everything's okay, I'm right here. You shouldn't run off like that, sweetie." She bounced him slightly, nuzzling his wet cheek. A few moments went by and he finally quieted down, sticking his thumb in his mouth and sucking on it contentedly. She smiled and kissed his nose. "Maybe we should put a bell on you like a real cat, huh? Then I could find you easier."

Leon blinked, in shock as he tried to absorb what just happened. Unfortunately he didn't have enough time, because the daggers came back in the woman's eyes.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Uh…"

"Don't 'uh' me," She snarled, taking a few steps toward him. Her bright blue eyes looked like two pools of violent water. "Who the hell are you and what the fuck do you think you were doing?"

"I was just… trying to help…?"

"Well you weren't helping. So keep your bloody paws off of him, or I'll kick your ass." She looked him up and down threateningly for a second, glimpsing his sword and gun, before letting out a small growl and pushing past him to head back the way he'd come. Leon watched her for a few moments before shaking his head and straightening his hair slightly. Again he reached into his pocket and replaced his sunglasses on his nose.

It was then he saw that the young woman was entirely red.

He reached up and rested a finger on his right lens, tapping it twice. Again the color of the shades changed, only this time they turned a blue that was impossible to see through. With a sigh he watched the person the boy had called "bunny" turn a corner, and then he followed at a safe distance.

At least she wasn't a child, like the boy.