Bad Memories

The WC is the only place you can read the first 6 chapters of A Hunters Evolution.

Chapter 2

Bad Memories

Mick leaned back on the closed door and let the memories flood in. Visions of his younger, happier, innocent Sammie girl waved at him from the Kelley’s family car.

She glowed with excitement over the surprise vacation Keith and Jolene planned in celebration of their daughter’s High School graduation.

Destination-The ruins of Mexico.

Uneasiness ate at him every time she was away from him. He knew no matter how much caution one could exercise, devastation can and will find you when it wanted you.

This devastation had a named…Rayzon.

Mick winced at the next shifting image. His Sammie girl shackled to a bloody bed and savagely beaten. He never thought it was possible to see her fiery spirit almost broken.

They didn’t make it in time to save her parents.

The stroll down memory lane kicked up the images of Keith and Jolene’s dead bodies. Their pasty-grey bled dry corpses were forever burned into his memory.

Through numbing shock, hunter training kicked in and he cataloged his mental notes of the horrific scene.

Their wrists, ankles and necks were slashed for blood draining. How they laid head-to-head spread eagle in a strange circle of blood glazed symbols or runes. And his last mental note was the cryptic mark of an unknown symbol placed on the center of their foreheads.

No more mental notes could be taken after his curious touch on their stretched mummified skin. Their fragile corpses crumbled into a fine ash instantly. All life seemed totally extracted from every single cell.

He could still feel the dead weight of Samantha’s comatose body in his arms. Memories of the musty smell of the dark maze of caves and sour old blood tickled his nose. The struggle of fear was fresh again. He needed to send Sam out to track Rayzon but feared of losing him next.

Orders were barked and Sam returned with grim news of nothing but a dead end. Traces bizarrely grew wings and fluttered away in the wind like the remains of Keith and Jolene.

With this mysterious Rayzon eluding them and the death of Samantha’s parents, all he could do was beat himself up for being a huge failure at the one thing he swore to himself to always do…protect Samantha.

The journey home was painful on its own. She wasn’t her ‘in-your-face-lets-see-how-far-I-can-push-you’ normal splendor he grew to love and he understood why. She just witnessed her parents’ bizarre deaths plus the inflicted torture endured for days at Rayzon’s hands. But something drastic changed in her. She had become quiet and withdrawn from him and Sam, never revealing what actually happened. A dark heavy vibe encompassed her. Leaving a feeling that something dangerous lurked just beyond their sight. It spooked the hell out of him and Sam.

His head pulsed in pain again as the pissed side of him bubbled up. That stupid little note flashed in his mind.

 

Mick, Sam

I’m sorry for the danger I have put you in. I have failed Mom and Dad and I don’t think I could live with myself knowing Rayzon had hurt either of you. Rayzon must be stopped and it’s my responsibility. I will not rest until the b*****d is dust.

Love you both,

 Always

 

Samantha

 

Mick snorted in defiance. So what if she was nineteen then and completed Hunter’s training…A few good kills under her belt doesn’t mean crap when taking down an unknown spook.

Muffled voices from the other side of the door coaxed him back to reality. He shook his head to shake out the bad memories and stomped stubbornly down the hall.

 

Samantha plopped down on the side of the stiff bed, making the springs pop in protest. “God where to start…I’ve been everywhere…from coast to coast.” Sam dragged a chair up in front of her. “I had to expand my knowledge to know what I am dealing with. I’ve talked to priests of many religions, Native Americans, college professors, cult leaders even a few psychics.”

She laughed nervously.

The pain of the death-grip on her legs caught her attention. Focusing on her hands, she paused to relax them and calm her nerves. “I had to go after Rayzon. I couldn’t let him live after what he had done.”

Her gaze returned to him and he felt the full weight of the heavy mysterious dark vibe. It engulfed him, leaving a claustrophobic feeling in its wake.

“I knew he wasn’t done with whatever he was trying to accomplish…No matter how much Mick didn’t like my note.” Mick’s quotation gesture fluttered. “I was not going to put you or him in anymore danger…There was no-way I could handle loosing you or Mick too…Besides, I figured Devin would keep you both in check.”

She caught the flash of pain across his face. “What is it Sam?”

He wasn’t quite sure how to break the news. Squirming uncomfortably in his chair from the question and suffocating feeling, he mistakenly broke eye contact. Her hand came down with a sharp crack on his leg to capture his attention. “Ouch! Damn Sammie…That’s probably going to welt up.”

“Oh don’t be such a wussy and spill it. What’s going on?”

He locked on to her emerald-green eyes and softly uttered. “Dad is gone.”

She whispered back. “Where has he gone?”

Rocketing out of his chair, he almost knocked it over with the sudden movement. His fingers raked roughly through his hair, yanking at the roots as he started pacing. “No-No-No, Sammie…Dad’s gone.  Dead.”

Samantha felt as if she took a boot to the gut and the wind was knocked out of her. All she could manage to put into words was, “When, Where, Why, How,” as she watched Sam burn a path in front of her.

After she abandoned them, Devin reassured his distraught sons when she surfaced for help the Hunter’s Network would pin her location. Every Hunter remained vigilant.

Three grueling years passed before the break they desperately needed came. Information traveled quickly through the Hunter’s connections of a group of people found dead in some strange ritual with similarities to Mexico. Running with the hunch she had tapped the same information, they scrambled in hopes to intercept her.

Still madly pacing, Sam divulged the story of what laid waiting. Rayzon recruited vampires and a short dark haired female Demon but most of all there was suspicion he knew they were coming.

The fight slowed them down long enough to be separated and lose track of their father. By the time they caught up, Rayzon had killed Devin and vanished.

“Sammie… every bone in Dad’s body was crushed. He was alone for less than ten minutes…” Fingers plowed through his scalp again. “You weren’t there…Mick is frustrated because we can’t figure out what Rayzon is. The Hunter Journals have nothing that comes close to him…We were…and are…a mess.”

Sam’s rambling came to an end along with his pacing. Now it was up to Mick and Sam to forge on the endless fight for the Simon family.

The shock deflated her, bringing a quietness to her voice. “Oh hell Sam…I’m so sorry…No wonder Mick can’t stand the sight of me.”

The painful memory of the loss of her parents surged to the surface. God, I have caused such unbearable pain to them. “It’s entirely my fault. That should’ve been me…not Devin” 

Unable to stand seeing her upset or in pain, Sam’s trauma vanished as he moved swiftly down in front of her on one knee. Gobbling up her hands in his, he lost himself in her teary ocean of green. “It should have been no one but Rayzon...”

Latching on with her own bear hug, she struggled to keep a steady voice. “This time he’s not getting away. The b*****d’s days are numbered. I will make sure of that.” A soft windy whisper finished her promise, “for Mom and Dad’s sake and your fathers.”

Absorbing his lingering hug made her realize just how much she truly missed being around him. It flooded her with the good memories, stomping out the dark veil smothering her. They always caused some kind of trouble together, total tag-team event, but she usually caused the most aggravation for Mick.

The sharp knock at the closed door caused them to glance over at it. She dropped her arms as Sam rocked back up into the chair again with a, “Yes?”

A short and curly blond head of hair popped through the door with a cheery high-pitch, “Hey Sam.” The intruder briefly took in Samantha with an annoyed once-over then glanced back to Sam. “Where’s Mick?”

“Hi Alice, have you met Sammie yet?” Blonde curls shook side-to-side with a no. “Sammie is an old friend of Mick’s…and mine.” Lingering on Mick’s name, Samantha could see he was playing a little cat and mouse game with the naïve needy girl. He was going to make her squirm.

“Sammie this is Alice. She is part of the Summerland Center’s welcoming committee and has made our transition here quite comfortable…I’ve never felt so welcomed in my life. I bet you two will find you both have a lot in common.”

Not wanting to be a part of his torture game, the tip of Samantha’s boot speared Sam’s shin, making him chuckle.

An unwelcoming smirk accompanied a rigid and abrupt squeaking, “Hi,” from Alice. She looked impatiently back at Sam for an answer to her burning question.

“Check outside,” Sam finally said.

Alice’s smirk morphed into an ear to ear grin. “Thanks Sam.”

She started to leave with the door left conveniently wide open then stopped in her tracks to twisted back around. Sweet chirpiness dripped from her again. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, they moved pizza and movie night to tonight. Interview with a Vampire, should be fun.”

Samantha’s eyebrow twitched up at Sam, “Sweet, a vamp classic.”

 Alice ignored Samantha. “I’ll tell Mick for you.” She twirled back around and twitched her skinny little butt down the hall, curls bouncing all the way.

Visions of little Alice stalking Mick had her giggling. “Well, I see things haven’t changed much. The cute little blonde mice still follow the alluring Pied Piper.” 

Sam chimed in. “Yeah, you know how hard it is on our brooding rock star. His groupies are everywhere.”

Their roar of laughter echoed down the hall, causing a few curious heads to peek out of their rooms.