Angel

“Don’t worry about me, this job should be easy.” Fang is packing a small bag as he speaks, shoving wrapped nonperishable food and what looks like vials of blood into it along with spare clothes and some assorted daggers and knives. “The leader of this pack should be pretty weak, being female, and after she is destroyed, most of the others probably won’t defend her. In fact, they’ll most likely scatter. If you’re still here when I get back, you can help me hunt them down. That will be tiresome, but it’s a good way to get experience.”

I look at him quizzically, “what do you mean, if I’m still here?” Am I more likely to die if I am left on my own?

“You don’t have to wait for me here; you are free to leave if that is what you wish. I cannot keep you here against your will.” He is serious the way he says it makes me wonder exactly how many Hunters he has made, and whether any of them have felt the special connection that I feel with him. Is there a connection? I shake the stray thought away, confused again. I am very confused today. I wasn’t confused like this yesterday… was I? No, Fang would have mentioned it yesterday if I was… was I even with Fang yesterday? My chain of thought is interrupted when I realize that Fang is talking to me.

“What?” It’s hard for me to meet his eyes; I am ashamed for having doubts like this, I feel like I should be
less emotional, that I should be brave and just head out into the world.

“I said do you feel like you are ready to leave and go out on your own?” His black eyes seem to have hidden depths like a well, with the water sparkling at the very bottom where a sliver of sunlight just manages to touch it. It makes me want to reach out and grab ahold of his shirt and drag him into the bedroom. But I don’t. I smile, and I nod. Not trusting myself to say anything more, in case I break down and sob uncontrollably.

“Then why don’t you go ahead and pack and you can just leave when I do?” He smiles, “it would save you the trouble of having to lock up the house and I could show you how a proper Hunter packs.”

He leads me upstairs and shows me how to fold and position everything so I have as much room as possible for weapons and food, which he tells me to “only eat when you’re hungry,” and he magically manages to fit an extra pair of boots in there, along with six extra daggers, a gun and some bullets (silver and non-silver), and some sharp little metal stars that he calls shuriken. He then proceeds to show me where all the pockets are in my coat and outfit and fills each one with weapons; spare rations for eating on the move; several maps, one for each major country that hires Hunters for jobs; and a list of all the outfitters that supply Hunters with everything they need. The last thing he does is open up a small drawer and then he takes out a medium sized vial filled with a red viscous liquid. The smell hits me; even with it closed I can smell the amazing scent of it. It makes my mouth water and my stomach feel as though it has been empty for years. He looks at me seriously.

“This should only be used in an emergency, when there is no other living things around that can give you enough blood to satisfy the need. It will happen every month; it is the only thing that a Hunter can depend on to happen regularly. Try your best not to get yourself in a situation where you need blood and don’t have it. Find a willing donor, or go to the blood banks even, but only if you absolutely have to, and then only take the type that they can get the most of, which is usually A or B. and never take blood from a person that looks like they may use any kind of drugs, or is wanting a certain amount of money, never suggest or accept a price, tell them the price they will get. You must take control of the situation. Also, the blood in this vial will only fill one need; you must find another way to fill the other. It will be hard when you are on your own in the wilderness. But in the cities, and even in the towns, there will be plenty of opportunities with those who are willing, and as long as you do not give them your own blood and do not take too much of theirs, they will remain human.” It is the longest I have ever heard him speak, and I wish that it wasn’t about emergency blood and the needs that I will have while we are separated. But I am curious about one thing.

“What would happen if I drank another Hunter’s blood?”

“That must never happen, it can cause a bloodlust and you would be unable to stop drinking blood. You would become like a vampire, but worse; you would drink and drink, becoming bloated with blood until you were either killed or you exploded from the pressure. There haven’t been very many cases, thank goodness. It is mostly done by curious newborns that become too attached to their creators.”

“Oh,” I shoulder my bag, dejected that we won’t be able to share such a deep connection; if we even see each other again. But we do have forever, almost. A Hunter’s life is dangerous.

We don’t say much then, just make our way down to the door and head out into the near evening dusk. Fang waves to me as I stand in front of the locked door of the small two-story house that has held my entire life as a newly created being. I may not remember what my old life was, but, until here recently this life has revolved around the person that I am watching walk away as the sun sets off to his left. He heads north and I am left to wonder what will happen to me.