Beast Hunters- Part Three Read online

  Beast Hunters

  Part Three

  By

  Tom Harem

  Beast Hunters Book 3 © 2019 by Tom Harem. All Rights Reserved.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Part One

  If you haven’t read the first part be sure to check it out

  Part two

  Blurb (Part One);

  James' day has finally come: to slay the Reapers' beasts, climb up the ranks and conquer women and glory.

  After three years in the Hunters' Academy, he's finally ready to join his brothers in arms and prove that his father's suspicions about corruption within the organization were wrong, once and for all.

  On his very first day, he ends up being tasked to kill a beast alongside two stunning women. The beautiful, yellow-clad Fire-Controller, Maggie, and the dark, metal-whip-cracking Goth, Kendra.

  But when they confront the Reapers' creature, they make a shocking discovery; one that can jeopardize the whole world and undermine their loyalty to the Hunters. There are beasts out of the ordinary and their organization - The Hunters - might be involved.

  It's a race against the clock to beat the bloodthirsty beasts, and all the while the relationship between the three of them is getting more and more complicated. A clash of personalities is imminent as colleagues become lovers, but James can't lose focus on the fate of the world.

  With everything hanging in the balance, can James and his companions slay the beasts and stay one step ahead of both the Reapers and the Hunters?

  Preview (part one)

  He closed his teeth, gnashing, and turned his face, grabbing Kendra's whip and using it to pull us toward him and to throw us across the air. Our bodies rolled down the road, our knees peeling and our hands scraping on the asphalt. Kendra's body fell on mine, my hands on her hips and her hair in my face. The sun overshadowed her face and her green eyes took on amber contours, her warm breath brushing against my neck and one of her knees between my legs.

  "I... Ah... Get off me!" Kendra said, tripping over her own words.

  "You have to get up first!" I answered, looking to the side, seeing Maggie's fireballs losing color and shrinking in size, almost like mere clicks bursting in her hands.

  Kendra got up, straightened her clothes and grabbed her whip which was on the floor, the end covered in a brownish liquid with a smell that almost made her vomit. The policemen murmured among themselves, with their hands in the holsters, already doubting that we would be able to achieve victory. A mere level 2 monster, and we couldn't even defeat that.

  Chapter I

  I hadn't finished talking when a chalk-like sound scratching a blackboard burst into the night. It came from the beast. The three of us looked at the street center. Most of the stones on the sidewalk were out of place. The moon was shining in its corner. Only one of the buildings still had its lights on. The rest were dust or dark as pitch. Teeth were then scraped and dragged across the floor and metal tapping into the ground, tumbling, rising again, repeating, until the sound stopped. The fog disappeared and, behind it, the beast still alive, its eyes still spinning, but this time, it was not standing. The clamps had pierced the ground and now held it there, along with the feet that made it look even more like a crab.

  The secret compartment opened, and a missile appeared on the surface; white plump shell with a red tip.

  "Shit." I said, "Hide! Hurry!" I shouted as soon as the beast spun until the missile pointed at us.

  Kendra didn't even have time to pick up her whip, which was a few meters from us, outside the building before the beast mooed and cracks burst around the missile's bottom before it was fired into the air. Even though it was still functional, many of its systems were still faulty. The missile swirled mid-air until it gained traction and headed toward us. Higher than the water gushing from the fire hoses, stronger than the bright, soot-covered sky, the missile found no opposition.

  They both hid under the stairs and I sheltered them under my arms. I wasn't going to let anything happen to them even if I had to suffer to protect them. We closed our eyes. We heard the explosion tearing through our ears. The splinters popping, the glass being shattered and crumbling into the ground, floors being wiped out in a matter of seconds. And yet we were there. No pain, no boulders falling on our heads and the stairs still stable despite the tremors. The missile had deviated at the last mile and hit the building next door. It was now nothing more than ashes flying up in the air and covering the door of where we were. Maggie had her hands in her hair and Kendra had hers on her face.

  "It's okay. We're alive." I said, giving them space to get out of the corner.

  "Now what? You don't have bullets, I don't have my whip and..." Kendra started,

  "I don't have much energy left. The battery is running low." Maggie's finished.

  "Come on, don't give up. If Elisa got the message, then she'll show up. Just a little more." I said.

  I wasn't sure she'd show up anymore. Maybe what we had was a mirage. A decoy to take advantage of our information. The doubts began to grow and, as much as I didn't want to believe them, I wouldn't put my hands in the fire for Elisa anymore. After all, she had taken advantage of me to get the letter on our first day, why wouldn't she do it more than once? The sex was great and maybe that was it. Maybe she only existed in a genuine way at that moment and for the rest she wore a mask.

  My hands were shaking just like my knees. We coughed and sneezed in shifts. We were tired, powerless and far from a victory. I wanted to be able to tell them that I had a plan, a path to victory, but for the first time I was empty-handed. I could still hear the beast outside, digging up the ground with each step, hammering out the buildings and stores that were left.

  No, it couldn't be like that. There had to be a way. If I wanted to become one of the best Hunters of my generation, even ever, I couldn't just give up when everything felt impossible. I walked to the door and peered outside. I used the fog as a cover so I wouldn't get caught. The beast was on the opposite side. It slammed its head against a building, strolling along, until they collapsed at its feet. It had its back to us. Maybe it thought it had already defeated us or didn't care.

  The metal on the end of Kendra's whip shone through the brownish haze. I walked, slowly step by step, the sole of my shoe brushing only on the surface of the ground all the way to it. I picked it up and went back to what was left of the hotel. The yellow tile had flown a few meters forward and the entrance that used to be just a door was now a hole about the size of us 3.

  "I managed to get this back," I said and handed the whip to Kendra.

  "Good, but what are we going to do with it?" She said, fatigued, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude, but I'm frustrated. I couldn't do anything."

  "We gave it our best shot. We already knew that a level 6 was too much for us. This must have happened to Ashen and Elisa too. It just means that we have to train more." I said as I stroked her hands.

  Maggie used what little energy she had left to generate a tiny flare that warmed and dried us up while we were there. I looked up and at the end of the stairs there was a pool terrace, with a bar, and several plants scattered around the place. Everything was covered under a glass roof that now reflected the moon's white light and dispersed it over
the stairs. I rubbed my hands close to the flame and allowed the ember to warm my face. We had reddened noses, cold cheeks, and still wet eyebrows. It didn't take words for the three of us to know what had to be done. They followed me outside and we stood there, waiting for the beast to turn to us. In the moonlight, we were just three defenseless shadows about to face a beast that could crush us with just a pair of clamps, feet, head, really any part of its body.

  "I just want you to know that I don't regret anything. Leaving headquarters with you was my best decision." Maggie said and closed both hands, "Till the very end."

  "It's mutual. To the very end, so be it." Kendra added.

  "To the very end," I said.

  Kendra yanked her arm back and threw her whip like a slingshot, the stone being the metallic part of it. It hit the sidewalk and made one of the stones roll over the others. The beast had turned to us and, unlike the previous times, hadn't tarried. Like a wild animal at risk, he raced to us, his head bumping into his shoulders as he did so.

  "Look!" Maggie said and pointed over the beast.

  The shaded outline of a slender body with a semi-automatic descending, until it landed on the beast. They ran from its neck to its rear, firing, opening it in half, and finally jumping to the ground and not even turning back, standing there. The beast fell a few meters behind them and close enough to us to see its eyes losing power and the cameras shutting down. The bullets had pierced the iron body and had left a trail across the ground. Bullets with a higher acix concentration than mine. They had destroyed not only the entire inner structure of the beast but also the cameras that were spying on us. It was over in a few seconds. Whoever it was didn't want to waste much time there. He was still facing back, with his gun to his chest, and his hair pierced. Spiked. Shit, it couldn't be. Not him. What the hell, why would he be here?

  Through the shadows of destruction, a male voice and yet slightly acute breezed, "You can have the experience points. It's not like I need it, is it?" and he laughed before us, who were wounded and still trying to figure out where he had come from, "I haven't fought such a weak monster in a long time. But, hell, I knew I shouldn't owe Ashen any favors. Oh, you guys are okay, aren't you? Hurry up. Let's go."

  "Who are you?" Maggie asked him.

  I kept quiet. I knew who he was, but I didn't want to give him that pleasure. I had seen him dozens of times in advertisements, on the day I went to register at headquarters and now he was there in front of me. One of the top10 Hunters of today, Foxel, at least that was the name he was treated by, the red-haired boy. At night it seemed more orange than I was accustomed to but still the color didn't go unnoticed.

  "Don't you know who I am? What the hell did I come here for?" He said as he walked up to her and held her hand, "You can call me Fox. You must have heard of me."

  "No, never. I don't care much for names." Maggie answered him and tried to walk away but he still had her by the hand.

  "That's enough. Let her go. We appreciate the help, but you can leave. We'll take care of the rest."

  "The rest? I don't think you would have taken care of anything if it wasn't for me. I'm just getting to know the girl." He said, all the while, the yellow teeth shining through the fog.

  "We've already seen how good you are. Nobody here cares about that." I answered him. I grabbed his arm and pushed him back, "Don't touch her."

  I had never liked him before and now even less so. It was not only arrogance that annoyed me. It was thinking that he could do whatever he wanted and that others had to mold themselves to his will. But that wasn't all. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. He had saved us. I felt frustrated and his face was as good as a beast to unload my rage.

  "But who do you think you are? Just because you're Ashen's protégé don't think I'll spare you." Foxel told me, raising his chest and shoving me too.

  His chest stood by my navel, but his hair reached mine. No matter how good his weapons were, one-on-one was not a competition for me. I shoveled him down and he fell to the ground, drenching his sweatpants and his red hoodie. The gun slid to the ground and slipped a few meters forward. He gnashed his teeth and closed his fist, treading quietly towards the gun, whispering something between his closed lips. He took off the safety guard from the gun and pointed it at my head. He had two fingers on the trigger and his beaky green eyes sharply pointing at me.

  "Let's stick to this," Kendra told him, keeping calm, unlike Maggie who already had a fireball in her hand.

  "So now you're scared? I can see your eyebrow shaking." Foxel said, tapping the barrel of the gun on my chin.

  "It's arched, you idiot. We both know you're not going to shoot. Hunters can't attack Hunters." I answered him, and stepped forward, the pipe rubbing even more against my chin until I felt the circular shape pressing against my skin.

  "Do you think anyone will care about a rank C? A Hunter that no one knows if it's not for his last name?" Foxel said.

  I knew he was trying to provoke me. Stirring me up to get a reaction from me, a reason to justify shooting at me. But I wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. He raised his right foot to take a step forward but couldn't lift his right. He was stuck to the ground, ice chips wrapped around his entire shoe.

  "What is this shit?" He asked, forcing his way out, but his foot didn't move, "Which one of you is doing this? You better stop," he added.

  He knelt, leaving the gun at his feet, and started punching the ice until it cracked. His hands were reddish, swollen and there was blood on the surface, trailing along the veins. He had lost control. He didn't even remember us anymore, he just had to get out of there, he had to be free and to show us that we couldn't lock him up.

  "Nobody...Nobody can stop me," he repeated, with each punch, the ice splashing his angry face, his eyes one step away from popping out and his hair dripping.

  The rain hadn't stopped yet. It was still just us in the downtown area and the fireman and police sound had stopped. The moon stood out even more from above and the disgusting and heavy odor dissipated. None of us moved to help him. A thin bright red river slid over the light blue and transparent ice.

  "That's enough, Fox." A familiar voice said in the quiet of the night, "You shouldn't have messed with them." Ashen warned.

  "Get it off me! Remove this from me!" He kept repeating, as he stood up and tried once again to pull his foot up, "What do you think you're doing?!"

  "They're under my wing. Especially the guy. He's mine." Elisa's silhouette rose among the remains of a building, received by a few hisses from Kendra and Maggie until she re-started, "He's ours. Sorry, girls, it's the habit. He protects us and we protect him. That's how it works. Not that you know it, Fox, you've never had a group for long."

  "I have my reasons. Now set me free, quickly. The sooner you do it the sooner I get the hell out of here."

  Elisa snapped her fingers and the ice melted. Her glove didn't have as much potential as Maggie’s, but her control was superior. She walked up to us and stood beside me, not without first kissing my cheek, and looking down, where Foxel was still rubbing his shoe to remove a stain on the right side.

  "You ruined my shoes, Lisa!" He shouted and before speaking again a line of ice covered his fine lips.

  "You know how much I hate being called Lisa. It's not even a diminutive. My name is Elisa. Don't test me. I'm not a Hunter anymore, I don't need to hold back." She said and snapped her fingers again.

  "Damn it! Tell Ashen never to ask me for help again. And you better train them for what's coming."

  He picked up his gun again and walked until he disappeared into the haze, with it next to his hip, wet strands of hair covering his forehead as big as the rest of his face.

  "What did he mean by what's coming?" I asked Elisa.

  "First, sorry I'm late. I was working on some stuff." She started, keeping her hands in the pockets of her black leather jacket, "He also knows what the Reapers are up to. You didn't really think you were the only secret group, did you? Ashen i
s one of the greats but he's not above everyone else. There's someone pulling the strings and organizing all the groups. I have no idea who he is. What matters here is that Friday everything happens. I won't be able to help you, but I'm sure you can handle it on your own. You'll have support on the outside."

  "About that... I want you to come with us. We are a team, Elisa. I know how important the other mission is for you but either we go together, or no one goes."

  "Do either of you mind explaining it to us?" Kendra interrupted us.

  "I suppose this time is as good as any. Where's Ashen's car?"

  "Well... There was a little problem... It was destroyed. I hope Ashen isn't too attached to it. Did you bring yours?" I said, feeling my body slowly freezing and losing mobility.

  "Let's go to mine. So that we can warm up and talk about everything. You have to be patient with me. I am not used to this. I've been working alone for years and, James, I can't promise you that I'll show up on Friday."

  I didn't answer her anymore. The rain poured down heavier. The raindrops were now stiff and each one reached my scalp. Me, Maggie and Kendra ran to the monster. We took the experience points, picked up some coins and called the pickup.

  "Congratulations! You have defeated a level 6 monster. 150 experience points have been given to each, as well as 300 hunter points. Do you want to continue as a team?"

  I took my Hunter APP out of my pocket and checked my stats.

  James Crusher

  Rank: C

  Experience points: 750/2000 to the next Rank

  Money: 1250 hunter points

  Weapon: Golden Double-pipe Gun

  Chapter II

  We followed Elisa through one of the wide streets that led us to a beautiful villa area, with mowed lawn gardens at each entrance. Her car was in the middle of a two-lane street, blocking the passage, standing out from meters away due to its bright red color. The road was illuminated by four lamps, one in each corner, one of which blinked with a dim light.