Chapter 6 : The hunter becomes the Prey

The rendezvous point was exactly where Helios had marked it.

An abandoned metro maintenance yard buried beneath layers of snow and rusting steel, hidden between the skeletons of two collapsed skyscrapers. One by one, armored hunters emerged from the darkness.

Eight.

Then twelve.

Finally sixteen.

Every one of them wore Zelios insignia beneath heavy winter cloaks, silver weapons glinting beneath portable floodlamps.

Jonas counted them automatically. "That's it?"

"The Commander couldn't spare more," Captain Mira answered, removing her hood. "We were told this is an extraction."

Jonas gave a humorless laugh. "It stopped being an extraction the second Sera found him."

Murmurs spread through the squad.

"The Crimson One..."

"The ancient..."

"Is it really him?"

Jonas answered by placing Sera's report onto a folding table. "He survived silver."

Silence.

"He survived ultraviolet rounds."

More silence.

"He fought over thirty ferals before we even joined the fight."

Nobody spoke after that.

Captain Mira unfolded a weathered city map. "Show me."

Jonas pointed toward the ruined pharmacy. "He's still inside. Injured. Sunrise forced a temporary ceasefire."

"Ceasefire?" one hunter asked.

Jonas rubbed his temples. "It was that or die before daylight."

Captain Mira nodded once. "We surround the building."

Another hunter interrupted. "If he's as strong as the reports say, won't he simply break through?"

"He'll try," Jonas replied.

"Then how do we stop him?"

Jonas looked toward the empty space beside the map.

"Sera has a plan."

Another voice spoke.

"Where is Sera?"

Jonas frowned. "...She was right behind me."

He turned instinctively. The street behind them was empty. His heartbeat slowed. Then accelerated.

"Sera?"

No answer.

Captain Mira looked around. "Has anyone seen Lieutenant Ward?"

The squad exchanged uncertain glances. One by one, heads shook.

A knot formed in Jonas's stomach. He searched the nearby rooftops. The alleys.

The ruined vehicles. Nothing.

"She couldn't have gone far," someone muttered.

Another hunter looked pale. "What if..."

"No," Jonas snapped.

"What if the vampire—"

"I said no."

The younger hunters began whispering anyway.

"If he took her..."

"We're finished."

"She fought him longer than anyone."

"Without her—"

"We can't capture him."

"We barely survive normal vampires."

"The Commander never should've sent us—"

"Enough!"

Jonas's voice echoed through the frozen yard.

Everyone fell silent.

His jaw tightened. "You call yourselves Zelios hunters?"

No one answered.

"We've lost visual on one of our own, and you're already planning your retreat?"

Captain Mira watched quietly.

Jonas stepped forward. "Sera has survived things that would bury every one of us."

He looked around the circle. "Until I see a body, she's alive." The certainty in his voice surprised even him.

He pointed toward the surrounding streets. "Pairs."

Everyone straightened.

"Search every building."

The hunters immediately began moving.

No one fights alone."

"Signal twice if you find tracks."

"Three times if you find her."

"And if we find the vampire?" someone asked.

Jonas's grip tightened around his rifle. "Then pray Sera found him first."

******

A cold stone pressed against Sera's back. Pain came before memory. A dull ache spread through her ribs. Her shoulders burned. Something held her wrists high above her head. Leather restraints. She opened her eyes.

Darkness.

Not complete darkness.

A faint orange lantern glowed somewhere beyond the room, revealing rough concrete walls and rusted support beams. Underground. She tested the restraints.

Nothing.

Solid.

Professional.

Not improvised.

Someone had planned this.

A calm voice broke the silence. "You always wake faster than expected."

Sera turned toward it. A figure stepped from the shadows.

Black coat. Silver scars are still visible across his neck. Crimson-gold eyes reflecting the lantern light.

Husen.

"So," Sera said evenly, "kidnapping now?"

"I preferred 'relocation.'"

"You've always had poor taste."

A faint smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. "You still reach for a knife before asking questions."

She tugged once more against the restraints.

"They're not going to break."

"I noticed."

Husen stopped an arm's length away.

Close enough that she could see the healing wounds across his shoulder. Closer than either of them had stood without trying to kill the other. Moving his right hand towards her, he slowly traced her hand around her waist and above. She gritted her teeth by his touch.

"You favor your left side." His gaze moved briefly toward her ribs. "Three fractured ribs."

Silence.

"A bruised shoulder." His eyes shifted again to her shoulder, while his hand slid upward and stopped abruptly on her shoulder. She exhaled audibly, he then lifted his hand and pointed his long finger to her right hand.

"And your right wrist."

Sera's expression remained unreadable. "You've been watching."

"I've been fighting you." His voice stayed calm.

"There's a difference." She suddenly drove one knee upward.

Fast.

Husen caught her ankle before the strike landed. He then shook his head "Tch...Tch...Tch... Atleast rest a little while a talk."

"There's no rest for a hunter." Sera spoke between her gritted teeth.

"You really don't give up."

"I was aiming higher."

"I assumed." He lowered her leg without hurting her.

"You know," he said quietly, "I could have killed you in the subway."

"I know."

"I could have done it in the pharmacy."

"I know."

"I could do it now."

Sera met his eyes without flinching. "Then why haven't you?"

The question lingered between them as he stepped forward. His crimson eyes glaring into hers. None of them wanted to lower the gaze, considering it as defeat. For the first time since they met, Husen didn't answer with sarcasm.

Instead, he studied her in thoughtful silence, then finally, he spoke.

"Because every answer I find leads back to you."

Before Sera could respond, a deep, inhuman howl echoed through the tunnels.

Not a Wilds Something larger. Older.

Husen's expression changed instantly. The calm disappeared into disappointment. He looked toward the tunnel entrance.

"They are not resting." He ran his hand through his hair.

Sera frowned. "Who's 'they'?"

Another impact shook the underground chamber. Dust drifted from the ceiling.

Husen looked back at her. "You weren't the only one setting a trap."

The lantern flickered. Then every light went out.

Husen stepped closer, placing his hands beside her. He then inhaled a deep breath. "There's something wrong with your blood." He spoke calmly.

She could feel his body pressed against her as he raised his hands to untie them. Sera gulped a hard knot that was making her uncomfortable. She then finally spoke. "Stop smelling me." She does manage to make it sound like a command, yet her heart races every best.

"I can't." He replied frankly. Which made Sera look up at him, though there was not a hint of light to see.

She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. She wanted to know what was wrong with her blood. A faint memory of her childhood flashed in her mind. A doctor was talking about her blood. She was hospitalized while training to be a hunter. While she was in her thoughts, he stepped back, and her hand dropped down to her side. She rubbed her wrists to soothe them.

Before she could contemplate any thought, his hands came to the side of her waist, holding her.

"What the --"

Husen then picked her up and tugged her on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "I am not done with you." He then took a jump on the stairs.