Hunter/Hunted

**TRIGGER WARNING-This book contains adult content, including rape, sex, torture, and violence, among other things.

PROLOGUE

(ORIGINS-IN THE PAST)

JUNE 1ST, 2050

"There is no understanding on exactly what it is that is happening right now. The CDC and other infection control agencies are not responding to any of our inquiries thus far. All we know is that this virus, or whatever it is, is extremely contagious and extremely dangerous. It so far has an extremely high mortality rate." the reporter said, sounding as stressed as he looked.

"This is very bad, very bad." Nancy said, shaking her head as she turned away from the TV. She looked up at her husband, who looked at her solemnly. "Jasmine is going to grow up in this. Do you think she will make it to adulthood? With the way this virus is going?"

"Yes, honey. We are figuring it out. You just stay in the house. The house is nice and secure, William and Marcia are on their way to stay with you just in case. My team and I are working on it. Finding out what it is and how to stop it."

"It's just, it turns people into animals, that's all. They become monsters. They resemble zombies or... or..." Her voice trailed off as she reevaluated what this virus made the humans become.

"Zombies isn't the correct word for it, but vicious wild animals."

"Okay, well, please be safe out there." He walked around the counter, wrapped his hands around her delicate face, and kissed her. He kissed her passionately, not wanting to let go. But he did and kissed her forehead.

"I love you. I'll be home soon."

"I love you too." He hurried out of the house. She slid both of her hands delicately across her stomach. She hadn't told her husband she was expecting a baby. She was showing a little bit at thirty-three weeks, but she'd just had their daughter, and so she hadn't ever lost her baby stomach. He didn't mind that she was a bit heavier or that she hadn't lost that baby belly. He loved her and all she was.

When she found out she was pregnant again, their daughter was only a month and a half old, so it was unexpected, to say the least. Then the virus broke out before she had a chance to tell him, and the world's stress levels shot through the roof, especially for government virologists such as her husband. He was the head of the team the United States government tasked with finding out what this virus was doing. He was so stressed out and tired that he didn't have the energy to even realize she was pregnant.

They were having a little boy. She wanted to name him Jason after her dead brother. He died when America went to war with Russia and China in 2028. It ended in nuclear disaster of nearly all of Russia and the surrounding countries, as well as China dropping bombs on Japan and then America nuking China. This war led to the largest number of human deaths of any war the world had ever seen. Between the deaths of war and the deaths caused by the nuclear bombs, just over two billion people died. Many others continued to die from radiation poisoning.

It was the most devasting war the world had ever known, and it would take centuries to recover. But now this virus.

William and Marcia walked into the kitchen to greet her. Marcia went straight over to Jasmine to kiss the little girl on her head while she drank from her bottle. William went right over to hug Nancy.

"How's the baby doing?" He asked her, looking down at her stomach.

"He's happy and healthy. Big."

"Have you had a chance to tell him yet? I'm honestly surprised he hasn't noticed. You're almost done with the pregnancy." Marcia asked, walking around the back of the baby's chair and toward her friend and husband.

"No. He's so preoccupied and stressed out about this virus that I feel like there is no good time. I never stopped looking pregnant after Jasmine was born. I literally don't look any different than I did. Of course, he's missing it. Anyway, this thing has killed over eight hundred million people worldwide. In like two months. They have no idea what it is."

"The government is trying to weaponize it. The people who get infected, for a short while, are like super strong and fast and heal bullet holes in seconds. It doesn't last long, but the government is going to try and figure out how to find those specific things in the virus to make a superhuman serum." William said, "I don't know for sure if Daniel knows that or not, but they will."

"Did you hear what they're calling the virus?" Marcia asked, looking excitedly at Nancy. She shook her head, and Marcia smiled widely. "It's being called the vampire virus. People are fast, strong, can heal, and they crave human blood during the duration of their infection. Also, they become super sensitive to sunlight, and they become pale. Isn't that interesting?"

"Yeah thats...that's something alright." Nancy didn't share the same excitement considering her husband was in the middle of dealing with it.

"There are actually two strains..." William corrected. "Yes, one is called the vampire virus. The other is what is being called the lycanthropy virus. Because some turn into nasty hairy beasts that are strong, fast, and can heal fast. It's out of fiction movie to be honest. A virus that makes some people into vampires and others into werewolves. It's totally nuts."

"Sounds like a bad fiction movie." Marcia added, "a very bad one."

"Except that it's not a bad fiction movie....It's real life." Nancy said, shaking her head. There was a loud banging at her front door that made the three of them jump, and then Jasmine began to cry. No one moved, and the banging came again.

"I'll check." William said. Marcia moved to pick up Jasmine and then walked back to stand beside Nancy, who had her arms wrapped around her stomach. A loud crash burst through the house, followed by a scream from William. The house suddenly had three infected people fighting each other. One looked like a werewolf, and the others looked like vampires. They all were fighting until they saw the two women and the screaming baby.

They then descended upon them. Screams escaping the house into the calm, quiet neighborhood.

Nancy lay barely alive, unable to move, reaching toward her ringing phone. It was her husband calling to check on her like he always did. But she couldn't reach it. It kept ringing and ringing. The call would end, and then it would start up again.

Daniel knew something was wrong. His wife always answered his phone calls. She knew he would be stressed out all day if he couldn't be sure she and their daughter were safe. After he'd called her half a dozen times, he went ahead and tried Marcia with no answer. And then William with again no answer.

"Sir, my wife isn't answering my calls. I know there is something wrong." His boss, Andy, looked at him a moment.

"Take Brendan and Norris with you. I know Nancy, if you think there is a problem. There may be a problem. Hurry. Go."

"Norris. Brendan. Let's go. You're coming with me."

They pulled up in front of his large, suburbian house to see the door open. His heart sank. Just inside the door, the three men saw the mutilated, half eaten William. Daniel jumped and ran into the kitchen where he'd last seen his wife. Blood was everywhere. It soaked everything. Marcia was ripped open and missing an arm. Off across the kitchen was what seemed to be left of his daughter Jasmine.

He rushed to Nancy, who lay right up against the counter. He sobbed when grabbing her.

"Jason." She choked out, coughing up blood.

"What?" He asked between cries. She used her eyes to trail toward her big stomach.

"Jason." He looked down and realized her stomach was ripped open, but inside was a perfectly intact womb filled with a large baby. The baby was still moving around.

"You were pregnant?" His heart sank.

"I love... you." She began to sob.

"I love you too." Her sobs lasted barely a minute before she let go and finally died.

"Get me the med bag. And towels, I need towels. Upstairs, there is an infant kit. Bring it down, too. I need something from it. Hurry. " Daniel instructed whichever man listened. Norris ran out and then hurried back in with the bag. Brendan had returned with an arm full of towels and the baby kit. Daniel pulled out clamps and scissors, as well as the nasal aspirator. "Norris, you don't have kids, right?"

"No, sir, I don't."

"Brendan?" Daniel asked, staring at his son, moving about in the womb.

"I do. Four actually."

"Alright, I need you to hold open a towel for me and begin to wrap it around this baby." Daniel grabbed a box knife from the junk drawer beside his dead wife and cut the remaining flesh around the baby. He carefully reached in and scooped the baby out, amniotic sac and all. He put it down on a towel and made sure the nasal aspirator was ready for use. He ripped open the sac and wiped the baby's face, and suctioned out his nasal passages.

Jason let out a wild wail. Daniel picked him up, handed him to Brendan, and then cut the ambilical cord and clamped it. He wrapped his arms gently but firmly around his newborn son. Who was all he had left in the world.

"I'm sorry, sir. We should go. Let the team know what happened here." Daniel shook his head and followed the men out. He held Jason, who no longer cried while he was crying.

Norris didn't speak, but him and Brendan realized that none of them ever took a second to even evaluate if the infected were in the house still. They just did what they did and left without thinking through the level of danger that could've been.

The drive back to the lab was silent. A darkness hung over them as they walked back into the building. Daniel was soaked in blood, carrying a baby all the while he was crying silent tears rolling, leaving streaks down his cheeks. Norris and Brendan looked like they were barely holding themselves together.

"Oh my God, Daniel. What happened?" Andy asked, rushing to his long-time friend.

"She's dead. They attacked her. Killed her. Killed Jasmine. Killed them. She was pregnant with my son. His name is Jason." Daniel was robotic in the way he answered, absolutely stunned at what he'd seen.

"They as in the infected?"

"That's what it looked like, sir. We need to send a team out right away to clean up and..." Norris was saying but stopped when Brendan elbowed him hard gesturing toward Daniel.

"Daniel, go to your office and relax. I'll have someone run out and get you some baby supplies. I'll also send Rebecca in to once over...Jason." Daniel said nothing he just walked to the elevator. "Bites?"

"Yes, sir. They were all bitten and clawed up." Norris answered.

"A team needs to go now."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna ask Rebecca to do some tests. If there are bites, it means it's possible that the baby can be infected. I hope not. But we need to be sure." Andy said, "Go tell a team to disbatch."

*****

A month went by since Jason's untimely birth, his genes connected and mutated with the viruses, and they found he had all of the positives to the virus, but none of the negatives. And it didn't seem to be temporary either.

He was faster, stronger, and healed within minutes. He also seemed to have extremely high pain tolerance.

As the years went by, the virus was no longer temporary and no longer spreading the way it had been. But the Earth was barely populated by humans anymore, and the rise of vampires and werewolves was very apparent.

With those creatures, the hunters were created, and Jason Raiser was the first one. He would begin his hunt purely to avenge the slaughter of his mother and sister. To get revenge for his father, who had never completely recovered from the loss.

This was the official rise of the war. The war between vampires, werewolves, and hunters. Where the world is no longer the same and every species is out for themselves. The world never truly recovered from the war and the virus, and every species it creates wants to rule. Will the blood born vampires take control over the viral vampires? Or will the blood born werewolves out live the viral lycans?

And what about the hunters? The way the virus bonded with the cells to create superhumans just as the government had originally wanted to. They're fast and strong, like vampires and werewolves. They heal from anything within minutes, but they're humans. They live hundreds of years and are immune to the virus. Both types of the virus.

The war begins today.

And the legacy that will be Jason Raiser.