Lost and Found

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

Chapter 1

Lost and Found

“You know…the hallway of this building will be nothing but a gauntlet of death for these people.” 

On the surface Sam seemed serene stretched across his bed. Laced fingers anchored his head for the heated blind stare battle with the uninteresting white ceiling. Deeper though, a mini tornado of badgering thoughts swirled in his mind, stabbing here and there like wreckage riding the wild winds.

Sighing heavily, he let the ceiling win. “There’s only two ways for them to get out.” His troubled gaze landed on his older brother Mick standing next to him.

He echoed the same serenity lie. Arms folded across his chest as he squinted at the bright sunlight streaming in and mindlessly watched the activity out the only small window in their cramped residential room. “Yea, I know...it sucks…but our main mission is Rayzon. We’ll try to help as many people as possible without losing focus of our goal.”

Sam’s annoyance stabbed at Mick as his legs flipped around to sit-up on the side of the bed. “I know what our goal is. It’s been the same damn thing for the last five years along with finding S-”

The name died on his lips. He just couldn’t bring himself to say the name. Her name. It hurt too much to think about her but she filled every crevice of his mind. Closing his eyes, he fought the burning stab of heartbreaking pain.

Mick’s fingers found Sam’s shoulder and squeezed in a meager attempt to show his support. He tried to comfort the both of them with encouraging words. “We will find her Sam.”

Their little support group meeting came to an abrupt end as the important missing element in their lives emerged silently in the shadow of their open doorway. Her soft rap on the door jam and familiar voice captured their attention. “Now here’s a good looking pair of brothers.”

Five years later, Samantha Kelley swiftly slipped back into their lives just as suddenly as she had left.

She watched the brothers with timid concern as she inched into the gleaming sunlight. The warm golden rays danced and radiated softly around her, creating an angelic illusion. But it didn’t warm the thick silence hanging in the air. Her instant appearance froze the awe-struck brothers with shock and disbelief.

Not wanting to spook the brothers with their ‘deer-caught-in-the-headlights’ stance, she slowly let the broad frayed strap of her oversized green duffle bag slide off her shoulder, down her arm, landing with a heavy thunk at the side of the door where she continued to cautiously hover.

The simple sound snapped Mick out of his trance and threw him into an awkward body spasm that only a startled cat could mimic. He bumped back into the wooden nightstand wedged in-between their twin beds and caused the lamp to rock recklessly. Hotly swearing under his breath, his nimble hands automatically caught and up righted the lumbered light before his odd cosmic dominos fell any further.

Sam took more time to de-thaw. His scrutinizing eyes rapidly absorbed every inch, skimming over her white baby t-shirt and faded hip-hugger jeans forming nicely against her toned athletic frame. This was no cruel illusion. She looked healthy and on-top of her game. Yes, she was real. His daydreams didn’t have that haunting darkness that still lingered around her since the caves.

Heart racing with his steps, he bolted off the bed. The two chairs barely fitting in their room screeched with the floor as Sam hastily shoved them to the side. His six foot, six inch towering height quickly latched on and mugged her with a levitating bear hug while roaring, “Sammie,” in delight.

Dropping her back to earth, he burrowed his face into her long dark chestnut-brown silky waves and eagerly inhaled her scent. All the edginess he carried for the last five years finally calmed to her natural fragrance.

“Jesus Sam, how much taller are you going to get,” she managed to squeak in the midst of his continuing death grip.

He finally released the bear hug and chuckled while hovering over her, paranoid she might dart for the door. “I’m not getting taller, you’re just shrinking.”

She stretched and messed up the fringe of his shaggy dirty-blond hair that always hid his inquisitive deep-blue eyes. His enthusiastic welcome gave her courage to look over to an obviously distraught Mick.

Their eyes locked and the stare down began. She had missed the mysterious swirl of his dark chocolate-browns, but not his ever famous squinty look burning into her brain at that moment.

She had many things in common with the brothers. Being the next generation of Hunters in their families was just one. The Hunter’s bloodlines were ancient, composed of a close network of people and families deemed the quiet protectors of the human world. A world plagued with the chaos of the unnatural to the supernatural.

The constant threat of being found by Demons, phantoms or the undead normally kept Hunter families from living in close proximity but not the Kelley’s and Simon’s. Their families were always closer than typical Hunter families.

Sam and Samantha, born just weeks apart, lived in the same city and across the street from each other, making them a rarity with the Hunter community. This unique closeness created havoc on the brothers when she abruptly left them, generating a constant drive to find her.

Now the hard drive screeched to a halt and the search was over. Mick’s mind spiraled. He didn’t know how to handle his tsunami of crashing emotions. The extreme joy of her in front of him and the excruciating constant worry of her wellbeing made his head pulse in pain.

After his mother’s death, a youthful Mick staked a claim as protector over his two Sam’s. They were his double trouble responsibility. No one was allowed to pick on his Sam’s but him and that was never an easy task.

Samantha would get under his skin with her strange tactics while Sam pushed his annoyance buttons. They always tested his limits, almost daring him to bellow their names in the air, ready to crack their heads together.

He loved watching them scramble to outfox him and was secretly proud as a blustering parent when they could achieve it. Right now though he was the one scrambling between which action to take, wringing her neck or hugging her to death.

She saw the itch of his verbal beating demanding out and planted her hands firmly on her hips in preparation. In one bold statement the awkward Mexican standoff shattered. “So, are you going to hug me or kick my a*s?”

Sam quickly shut the door right as Mick’s emotional control exploded. “Do you have any idea what we’ve been through? Sammie girl, where have you been?”

All fingers ran through his thick, dark brown, spiky hair he inherited from his mother. One demanding hand extended out in shear frustration at her. “We’ve searched everywhere! You could’ve called!”

Both hands flew wildly in the air. “Hell sent us a note that you were ok!” Quote signs fluttered in the air stabbing hard on the fact she left a small note before her stinging abandonment into the night so many years ago.

His arms dropped in exhaustion. ‘How does she always seem to damage my calm’, he thought through grinding teeth while trying to control his rant. “You have some serious explaining to do.”

The rant came to a halt as a tear slid down her pale cheek, catching him by surprise.

If asked and wrestled to the ground, he would admit the tendency to being a bit up-tight, overbearing and maybe a little over protective at times with them but he never made her cry.

He knew she was physically and mentally as tough as the best Hunters. Her defiant streak, that drove him mad at times, seemed to make her stronger yet. Hell, he would place high odds she could probably kick both their butts at the same time…blindfolded, if pushed hard enough. But that was one opinion he would never verbally admit. He saw no sense in feeding her bloated and out of control ego.

The yelling continued but contained in his head. No-No-No, No crying allowed! Damn it Sammie that’s not playing fair!

Swiftly moving, Mick’s stone hard six foot frame wrapped around and hugged with a force that could possibly snap her in two. He found her ear and simply stated. “Don’t ever do that again to us Sammie girl,” and stormed out of the room.

While they watched the door close behind their storming Mick, Sam playfully chimed, “and Elvis has left the building.” He tipped his head sideways to look over at her and out it came, the crooked little grin. It was one feature the physically polar opposite brothers were blessed with from their father and girls melted over.

It instantly lightened her heart. She couldn’t help the little giggle that escaped while quickly wiping her cheek dry. He always had a way of easing her tension.

The grin held firm as he snatched up her hand and brushed a kiss on top. “I’m glad to see you,” nodding towards the door, “and so is Mick if you couldn’t tell through that mangled attempt of expressing feelings.” They chuckled as he tugged her over to the bed. “But really Sammie, where have you been?”