Night falls on the vibrant city of mystery. The vibrance of the moonlight contrasts nicely with the crimson red spirals and yellow and brown bricks of the architecture which makes up the cities skyscrapers and cathedrals. Drawing heavily from Victorian era design, it's a city with one foot in the past and another in the future. The citizens attire matches of that of 14 century European clothing, but the city is brimming with advanced technology such as monitors and vehicles. Under the cover of the night, it's simple for a creature to sneak in unnoticed. As does the hunter, Andre Axle; on the trail of the people who kidnapped his sister. Like a ghost in the night, he effortlessly leaps through the shadows, avoiding the public eye with his stealth abilities. At the same time, he lets his thoughts run wild.
"So this is Conjura? It's a lot prettier then I expected. I never got a chance to read Serena's notes in depth, but I can see why she should want to live here. These buildings are a bit tacky though. If they were any taller, they'd block out the sun and kill all the plants. Then again I don't see a lot of plants. Where do they get their food from? Maybe they only eat meat. i see a lot of little critters, but there's not a lot of room for larger ones. Maybe they also send out their hunters to go and get food. That would explain those giant paintings on the buildings. Those must be their hunters. Though it doesn't look like they could fight. Maybe their farmers, or even crafters."
He takes a moment to land on a rooftop shrouded in darkness. He pulls out a map, the one Serena had used to plan her move.
"According to this, I'm not far from the house. In fact...it's north. Perfect."
In no time, he arrives at his destination. 252nd street, the Gail district. A large apartment building
"This is where Serena was staying at? It's huge. All this space for one person? And why are their so many open spaces on the walls? All the insects could fly in like that."
He approaches the building
"Well, at least it makes it easy for me to get i/"
He tries to jump through the open space, only to smack against it. With his claws, he can hang on to the building, so he quickly regains his balance.
"What in the world?"
He smacks the open space, with his hand knocking against a familiar material.
"Oh I see. It's made of glass. That would explain it....though it's still a bit weird to have this many."
As of now, the area surrounding the building is largely empty. So Andre breaks the window open with a quick strike. He climbs through into the kitchen area. It looks relatively normal, though still strange to the unfamiliar soul. He takes a minute to look around, appreciating the decor. The cabinets, the porcelain tiles on the wall, the table. It's eye catching.
"That smell." He detects a strong fragrance nearby.
"it smells just like her. Is she here?"
He runs out of the Kitchen into the living room, where he's shocked by the sight. Claw Marks on the walls and shards of broken pottery sprinkled around the room. And in the center, a piece of fabric from a shirt that she was no doubt wearing. On said fabric lies the stain of blood, darkened by time. He grits his teeth along with his fist, a frustration Boiling within him.
"Whoever did this is going to pay."
Noticing the fabric in the center, Andre's nose draws him closer.
"That's her all right. She got into a fight. They've must've taken her far from here, since the scent is going to the other entrance."
He approaches the window on the opposite end of the room, which is wide open. The scent of her blood is leading out this way. But there's something else.
"I Smell another creature. But I don't recognize it. Maybe it's another human.....but the trail......it's airborne. Humans shouldn't be able to fly....so what could have /
And suddenly, there's a knock on the door. It's the police. They were in the area, and summoned by the residents who heard the sound of the window breaking. They knock the door down and swarm the place. But Andre has already ducked out the window. Hanging on the fire escape, out of sight from the people below. With the fabric in his hand, he continues to follow the now open trail.
"The scent keeps curving. Like it was going up and down. The person who did this definitely can fly. It has to be a monster of some kind. But how did the monster find her? She's been here less then a week. Were they tracking her? Can they think like that? Were they doing this to get to me somehow?"
As these thoughts rush through his mind, Andre soon reaches the end of his trail. An automobile shop, a few miles from the Gail district.
"The scent is getting weaker."
He perches nearby
"Shoot! There's got to be some kind of clue. But this place is huge! Where am I supposed to start looking?"
And then, a man walks out of the Shop. A tall and bulky man with a rather dapper attire and angular face, with a name tag that reads "Dan."
"That man.....I can smell him from here.....It's the same scent that was in the house."
Andre gets closer while remaining in the shadows. As the man looks around him to see if anyone's nearby, using the parked cars as an extra cover as he approaches a man hole. With the coast clear, he pulls the cover open with his bear hands and climbs down into the sewers below, closing the door on his end. A new lead emerges, as Andre quickly approaches the same manhole cover. With no one around to see him, he too removes it with ease.
"It must be some kind of portal. That's where they're keeping her."
He jumps down, disregarding the manhole cover. He lands in the sewers; a complex maze of pipes and cylindrical tunnels with toilet water running through them. He immediately gags.
"Nasty....all these smells....it's like if a dozen sasquatches all vomited into one pile."
His eyes water as he struggles to maintain his balance from all the fumes.
"Focus Andre....focus! Serena is down here, no doubt about it.....I just need to locate the scent.
Throwing caution to the wind, Andre hesitantly strolls through the tunnels into the main intersection, which leads to a dozen other tunnels and shady sections.
".....No good.....too many strong scents.....I can't track her blood."
He jumps down to ground level.
"Then I'll have to use my ears. It's quiet down here, so I can maybe track the guys footsteps."
He closes his eyes and concentrates. Narrowing down his sense of hearing to focus on the sound of footsteps. Amidst the squeaking of the rats, the shimmying of the roaches, and the subtle rushes of water through the pipes, he does track what he's looking For. Loud, unusually fast footsteps to the left corridor of where he's standing.
"I got you!"
He runs through the sewers at top speed, knowing the man he's chasing couldn't have gone that far. And along the way, he dashes past many curious sights. Carvings on the walls, boxes propping up skull embedded shrines, and stains of blood on the cement. But with his speed and laser focus, he ignores these signs and continues to follow the source of the footsteps.
In time, he makes it to an interesting sight.
It's a room, with a giant wooded wall ahead. Metal bars that allow the person to see through, without needing to use the giant open hole in the wall to go through. Andre slows down and sticks to the shadows, peering through the metal bars to see what lies below. A giant room filled with chains. And suspended from them are cages. Cages that house people, drifted asleep. And observing this cages are rather abnormal looking humans, with unusually pale skin. One of them includes the target, Dan. The second one is a rather robust fellow with red hair. And the third is a tall and skinny bald man. They're surrounded by various other holes in the wall across the room, which serves as exits and entrances; 4 to be exact.
"There he is?" Andre thinks to himself. "I'm picking up a lot of different scents here. But, those two men in the black suits....they smell just like the guy I was chasing...I can't really tell from here though. I'll have to get closer."
And then, three of the cages is suddenly lowered. The bald man just pulled a lever on the other side of the room to do so, allowing the men to unlock the cages. Three people come out. Two of them are women; one blond and the other a brunette. The last one is a man. They are all dressed in dirty and rugged clothing with patches of dirt on their face and attires. Yet they look well feed and rested.
"Enough for each of us." says bald man
"About time, haven't eaten in weeks." says the round man.
"Wake them up....they taste better when the heart is pumping more." says Dan.
The target smacks the cage, forcing the people on the floor to wake up. The three of them shutter with mild panic, as their facial expressions create a sense of familiarity with their captors. But they are so petrified that the brunette and the man can't even speak. Andre observes the cages from the shadows. There's no sign of Serena, but he knows he can't just leave these people here.
"It's your turn darling." Says Dan
"Please......don't." begs the blond, on the verge of tears.
"It's nothing personal. But a dogs got to eat."
With a devilish smile, Dan bares his teeth. His jaws carry fangs, sharp enough to pierce bone. His eyes turn a fiendish red, as do the other two men, who giggle with glee at the panicked whimpers of their prey. Dan grabs the women by the neck and brings her close to his face, gesturing her not to scream; less she suffer a worse fate.
"Don't worry darling. I'll make it quick." Dan remarks
He opens his jaw, baring his fangs in their full glory, complete with a snake-like hiss. But before he can take a bite out of the women, a sudden noise echoes in their ears, immediately catching them off guard. The bald one spots the source of the noise. A piece of glass shattered on the ground. But that makes him question he threw it. His answer reveals himself, when Dan is suddenly struck in the foot by an arrow. He screams in pain as the shock causes him to let go of the women. She and the other two immediately run as far as they can. But they're cornered in a room with no doors. Just holes in the ceiling they can't otherwise get too. So they tuck in the corner and watch as round man suffers a flying kick to the abdomen, which knocks him into the wall. The bald man, though in shock, immediately springs into action against the intruder. But Andre blocks his strike, before delivering a counterblow to the ribs. Then finally a roundhouse kick to send the man flying. Dan begrudgingly pulls the arrow out of his foot, letting out a cry of pain in the process.
"What are you?" Andre shouts
"I could ask you the same thing!" Says Dan as he lunges at Andre. He strikes with a jab, which Andre deflects. He then counters with his own jab to the gut, rendering Dan stunned. Andre grabs the man by the shirt and pulls him up.
"First, you're going to set all these people free. Then you're going to tell me where my sister is."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"My Sister! Her name is Serena! You took her from her home."
"I took a lot of dames kid. You're going to have to be more specific."
Andre tightens his grip on Dans shirt.
"Then you'll show me where to find them all."
"You're new around here aren't ya? Have a little sympathy for a fellow monster huh....we all just gotta eat."
"I'm not like you."
"You could've fooled me....unless those wings are just for show."
Andre narrows his eyes.
"In any case....You're wasting your time.....I don't keep track of all the nests across town, your sisters probably been eaten by now."
A fiery, animalistic rage boils within the hunter.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
"But hey, If you want to find her so bad......We can send you to her."
Andre's ears pick up the sound of movement behind him. he turns around, but it's too late. The round guy he knocked over rose up, and he's holding a device which is beeping red.
"What is that?"
"A call for backup." The target says with a devilish grin.
The once quiet room is now filled with the rapid sounds of sprinting and crawling, consuming the senses from all angles. Before Andre can make another move, he realizes that he's surrounded. From each entrance, 10 men in total begin pouring in from the holes. Some of them crawl on the ceiling, while others drop down to confront their attacker. They range in appearance, but they all share one thing in common; pale and lifeless skin with crimson red eyes.
And then, a scream. Followed by two other shouts of resistance.
Andre turns around to see the three humans, caught in the grasp of these men. They all struggle to break free, but the attackers hold them in Place and cupping their mouths so they can't scream. One of them even bares the neck of the women Andre saved, along with his teeth.
"Let him go. Or the girl dies."
Dan snickers, Andre begins to sweat and grunt in frustration. With no other choice, he lets go of his grip. Dan brushes himself off, still reeling from the leg wound. Now stuck with a limp, he presses himself against the wall while the other men surround Andre. Their leader, a tall man of red hair steps forward.
"Now what do we have here? Some kind of Gargoyle? Did you get lost on your way to your clan little one?"
"My name is Andre, and I'm here for my sister and the people you've taken."
"Sister huh? Anyone recall taking in a girl with wings?"
They all shrug and chuckle.
"My sister is human. She doesn't look like me."
"Oh I get it. A territory bond. We vampires are territorial ourselves."
"Vampires?"
"That's right. I can tell you're not from around here, so let me clue you in. Around these parts, we value three things. Our food, our image and our community. We're civil like that, and we don't take kindly to someone coming around here unannounced and threatening our workers. It makes business miserable for everyone. I'm sure you can understand Mr. family Man."
While the man monologues, Andre remains distracted by his thoughts.
"Those smells. They're all similar....but....I'm selling something else.....something...different then the others."
"But, since you're new here. I'll be generous and teach you a valuable lesson.....Take his wings first." The man orders
The vampires begin to close in on Andre, who stands ready to defend himself. Partially confused about the nature of his attackers, and partly worried about the safety of his sister and the people asleep in their cages.
"Wait!" A voice shuts out from the crowd. It's a women, with short, bushy hair and a Spanish accent.
"Let me have the first bite. It's been too long."
Some smile in agreement, others snicker in annoyance, and the rest are indifferent, as is the leader.
"Be my guest. Just save some for the rest of us."
The woman steps forward into the improvised arena that the vamps have created. Andre turns to face her, standing in between the vampire and her leader. She gives a wicked smile as she assumes a battle stance.
"That smell. It's coming from her.....almost like/"
"Hurry up and strike!" The leader shouts
"With pleasure."
In one swift moment, the women whips out a gun from her trench coat and fires it. But she doesn't shoot Andre, she shoots the leader. The bullet pierces clean through his heart. Causing him to groan in pain. From the wound, a fire sparks in his chest, which quickly consumes the rest of his body. The life drains from his eyes as he disintegrates into a pile of ash, leaving the other vampires rife with fear and anger. In retaliation, the other vampires let out a battle cry, only to be hit with another surprise.
"Talk about a hostile work environment." Says another Vampire, who suddenly pulls out his own gun. This one is a blond man with short hair and a short beard. He shoots the three creatures that are holding the hostages in one consecutive motion. Three good shots to the head, turning them to dust in an instant.
"They're using enchanted steel!" Shouts one of the vampires.
"Kill them both."
Though confused, Andre snaps into focus as the battle commences. The male Vampire immediately makes a beeline for the humans on the floor. As the Vampires rush to try and grab them, He opens fire, striking each of them down instantly. The surrounded women then pulls out a small container. With the push of a button, a flash of light blinds the vampires. In a circle, she opens fire and strikes them all down before leaping into the air to avoid the other horde. Andre, with no time to make use of his crossbow, uses his brute force to fight off the three creatures who lunge at him with ease. But his focus remains elsewhere. Darting across the hectic room, he notices his target. Dan is unable to reach any of the exits thanks to injury on his leg. So he heads to the corner of the room and removes a crate, revealing a secret exit on the floor.
"You won't escape me."
Standing before Andre is another group of Vampires who lunge at him. This time, he sprints forth. They attempt to stop his path with their claws, but he evades while staying in motion. Sliding under the lunging creatures in order to reach the end of the room. The only thing standing before him now is a big brute of a vampire, determined to not let anyone escape. He pounds the ground with extreme force, enough to cause a minor shock. Thankfully, Andre dodges. He makes a another leap towards the open exit, but his foot is grabbed by the giant brute. He begins to swing him around, forcing Andre to kick him in the face in order to escape. He falls on the ground, and immediately rolls over to dodge another slam. Staggering to his feet just in time for the brute to charge after him. This time, Andre charges forth, and at the last second, he slides under the gap between the mans feet. He then turns and kicks both of his Gastro muscles with extreme force, causing the man to kneel down in pain. Andre springs to his feet once more, And he rushes to the exit, just in time for the man and the women to finish off the remaining vampires. With one final shot to the head of the brute, delivered by the women, the fight is over.
Andre once again finds himself in a giant intersection. But the smell of the sewer is weaker down here. It'll be harder for him to hide.
"This way."
Andre sprints down the east tunnel at full speed.
"His leg is still pierced. He couldn't have gotten far. In fact....I hear something....a humming."
He arrives at another open area. It's a chamber within the sewers. On the opposite side of the stream of water is an entrance. And in the water is a boat, that Dan has activated, with the gate leading to an exit via water travel now open. The room is also full of crates containing weapons. But in his injured state, Dan is only able to carry a few of them.
"Stop!"
"Oh crap!"
Andre leaps down onto the boat behind Dan. He pulls out a cylindrical gun containing bombs, but Andre knocks it out of his hand and into the water. Then, he once again grabs hold of him.
"Now I'll ask you again. Where is Serena!"
"I don't know who you're talking about!"
"257 2nd street! Apartment 6!"
"o-oh....look kid, I didn't know that was your sister!"
"Then why did you take her?"
"She was an easy target, ok! New resident, no friends or family nearby....no one would ask question if she just disappeared! We gotta keep our operation under wraps!"
"Where did you take her?"
"I brought her here with the others. But there wasn't enough room. So one of my guys brought her to another chamber."
"What's his name?" The fury in his voice grows stronger with each question.
"Victor. He works in solitary construction! I swear that's all I know!"
"Hands in the air! Both of you!"
A familiar voice rings in his ear as Andre turns to his left. It's the woman from before, with a gun aimed at them.
"I'm not your enemy!" Andre shouts.
"Well you sure don't look like a saint."
"I'm only after this degenerate."
"What a coincidence, so are we. Now step down from the boat and stand down."
"Listen to me. I'm /
"You're not like any vampire I've ever seen. And you don't look like a Gryphon. But I bet even a bullet of this caliber will do you in. Don't make me test it."
"I'd do what she says if I were you. She's not always in such a generous mood." The man from before says as he emerges from the shadows of the entrance.
Dan complies, putting his hands up and dropping to his knees. Now the gun is pointed at Andre, who locks eyes with the women while maintaining his confidence. He remembers his previous experiences as a hunter. The feeling of being cornered by a wild beast, with survival becoming a privilege in the span of an seemingly endless encounter. He learned one valuable lesson from those battles; always have an escape plan.
"Close your mouth and your eyes." He whispers to the Vampire.
"What?"
"Do it."
"Last chance kid."
He puts his hands up. But he doesn't kneel. In a split second, he tosses three small pellets near the women. They detonate and create a smoke screen that fills the room near instantly. She attempts to fire in retaliation, but she's unfocused and misses as Andre ducks in the smoke. The man pulls out his gun and covers his mouth, preparing for a return fire from above. But Andre's eyes and senses have been conditioned; they maintain their efficiency in scenarios that human senses could not. He pulls out his crossbow, and makes a shot from within the smoke. One aimed at the man, striking the gun out of his hand with pinpoint accuracy, without even scratching his fingers. The second arrow is aimed at the women who shoots blindly into the smoke while coughing. The result is the same. And luckily, the vampire complied, leaving his senses mostly unharmed. He is then grabbed by the collar bone and pulled out from the ground by Andre.
"Start this machine and get us out of here!"
"Y-yes sir."
The Vampire frantically revs the engine and slams the button on the emergency speedboat. And with the exit wide open, the two of them take off.
As the women struggles to get her bearings, the man comes to her and offers her a mask. She grabs it and quickly shoves it onto her face, filtrating the air from the smoke bomb.
"Come on, we're losing them!"
He pulls out a glowing green orb from out of his pocket and tosses it into the water. The orb explodes, creating a second speed boat. The two of them jump onto the boat and punch it to take off. And with that, a chase ensues.
The tunnel of the sewers seems to expand infinitely, as Andre braces himself for a fight. With the two vampires in pursuit, he readies his cross bow for retaliation. Though he doesn't want to hurt either of them, seeing as how they're clearly not affiliated with Dan and his men, he couldn't afford to stop when he's this close. The two vampires pull out spare guns, and prepare to fire. Andre dodges the round of bullets while Dan steers the boat to avoid the bullets making dangerous contact, while also fearing for his life. Andre readies his crossbow and fires two more arrows. This time, the two vamps dodge them. But the gap in bullets give the duo enough time to make it out of the sewers and into the Conjura city bay. A giant open docking area with various cranes and machinery hanging around. That's when Dan sees an opportunity. A giant crane that they are rapidly approaching. He then realizes he has one other gun at his disposal. So amidst the chaos of the fight, as the two agents prepare another round of bullets, Dan quickly pulls out another explosive gun. He then Fires the gun at the foundation of the crane. It explodes, unleashing a ripple through the water that causes the boats to start shaking violently.
Andre turns to see the explosion, completely losing track of Dan. He then turns around and fires again, this time aiming at the two vampires. The explosion ripples through the water, causing the two of them to loss their balance and fall off. As the crane begins to tumble, threatening to block the path of escape, Dan hits the booster to force the boat to go at his top speed. Andre turns around; confused, shocked and struggling to maintain his balance. And in that confusion, Dan summons up the rest of his strength to knock him off the boat and into the water.
"Nothing personal kid!"
At top speed, the boat clears the falling crane, leaving the vampire to safety. As Andre rises to the top of the water, he notices the carnage unfold.
The explosion set fire some nearby oil drums, resulting in multiple large explosions, making it impossible to climb onto the wooden docks. The crane lands on a warehouse, crashing through the roof and destroying everything inside. The resulting crash allows it to remain suspended on the surface of the water, blocking the exit.
Andre swims to his left and manages to land on the opposite docking bay, which the fire has yet to reach. But as he brushes himself off, he notices a striking sight. The women emerges from the water. taking deep breaths as she struggles to get her barring's. Unfortunately, she is forced to immediately head back down. And upon further inspection, Andre sees why. The man is now unconscious, with a bleeding head injury from the explosion. The tumbled boat has knocked him deep underwater. The women swims quickly, desperate to save him. But due to her own injuries from the point blank blast, she is unable to reach him. She struggles to hold her breath as she desperately pushes on. Her face swells as her oxygen depletes. Her body screams in pain from the exertion of force against the ocean floor. Her eyes burn from the salt water pouring in. It's hopeless, for the both of them.
Andre hesitates. The fire is raging and he has a chance to escape. These two attempted to kill him Afterall, it'd be in his best interest to just leave them to their fate. That way, he can potentially catch up to Dan before he escapes. Get more information on Victor, which'll bring him closer to saving his Sister.
But an unbearable swelling in his stomach halts his choice. A swelling not from sickness or pain, but from guilt. Though these people seem like enemies, they saved the lives of those innocents. They're not cruel or wicked, they just don't know him. It'd be dangerous to help them, but it would be cruel to let them die.
With his mind made up, Andre throws caution to the wind and pulls out his final piece of equipment. A rope with an anchor on the end. He ties it to himself and dives underwater. He starts by grabbing the women, who is on the verge of unconscious due to a lack of oxygen and exhaustion. He body flows upward, still close to the surface. Andre grabs her and pulls her up to the shore. A task that proves rather difficult due to his large wings, but with the aid of the rope, he accomplishes this task.
He places the women on the ground, as she slowly reawakens. Just in time to watch the man she was trying to kill dive back into the water. Andre goes after the man, now caught on coral on the ocean floor. He pushed himself firmly against the gravity of the water in order to propel his body to the bottom. With his claws still active, he strikes the coral apart and places the man on his back. But that was only step one. Now he needs to make it to the surface. His wings, along with the unconscious man acted as two anchors to hold him down.
His heart pounds faster then before as the salt unleashes a burning sensation on his open eyes. The water begins to fill his nostrils, almost tempting him to start panting. But he knows that doing so would mean certain death. And although he’s already exhausted from freeing himself, and punching the window open, he needs to push forward in order to make it to the surface.
Relying purely on instinct, he attempts to propel himself upwards. Not with his arms, but with his wings. He's never used them before as he's never been taught. But his arms are exhausted, and these things are too heavy to push against despite their short size. But if he can use their weight to his advantage, he may be able to reach the surface. He’s running out of time and out of breath. He has no window to reconsider. No other options. It’s either swim, or die. Concentrating to the best of his abilities, going against the panicked sensation running through his body. Andre attempts to activate the nerves in his wings. To try and control them, tell them to push upward. But seconds go by without anything happening.
Only slight twitches make themselves known, as Andre begins to sink further down, back towards the floor due to his weight and lack of coordination. His final breath is now fading, as the water fills up his nose, making him dizzy. The constant beating of his heart makes it difficult to focus, as the lack of oxygen causes a sharp pain throughout his muscles. His eyes have turned red from all the salt pouring into them. And yet, when he looks up, he can still see the light of the moon. Only it’s getting further and further away.
Time is almost up, and he has to face the truth. He's not going to make it. But at least one of them can survive. Perhaps the man who threatened him can carry on his burden and rescue the others taken by those creatures, including his beloved sister. So with the last of his strength, Andre opens the rope and ties it around the unconscious man. He then pulls and shake the rope, sending ripples above that reach the women, who's watching with baited breath. Recognizing the signal, she puts all of her strength into pulling the man to the surface. By some miracle, she succeeds. Checking his pulse, the man is still alive. Though it'll take time for him to recover. But her eyes dart over to the seas, as nothing else comes up.
This is it. It’s over. He’s not going to be able to make it out of the water. His dream, his hopes; they will drown with him, lost to the cold, uncaring abyss of the sea. As the light begins to fade from his eyes, all Andre can do is hope that somehow, his mission will be fulfilled. That one of his fellow hunters will arrive and rescue Serena. But for now, he apologizes to his sister and his family, and accepts his fate.
But when it seemed that his time was up, another miracle happened. A bright yellow light emerged, which illuminated the cold sea. It resembled some kind of dolphin, approaching the fading hunter. It grabbed onto his shirt with a bite and proceed to dart up to the surface of the water. Bringing Andre to safety, he is now completely unconscious, leaving him unable to see what caused this creature to appear.
It was the women, who's hands are now surrounded by a glowing light. She is conducting Astral creation, a powerful form of magic. With her two associates unconscious, and the fire seconds from spreading. She unleashes another veil of light. And what happens next is yet to be seen by any prying eyes.

