A Grave Hunger Page 5

  "Hilarious," I retorted, opening the door. "What do you sleep in then, smart arse?"

  "Oh, I sleep completely naked," he responded in an alluring voice, winking at me.

  A mental picture instantly flashed through my mind, but I quickly pushed it away.

  "It's way too early for this," I said, smirking at his unashamed flirting.

  Grabbing my overnight bag, I quickly threw in some clothes and toiletries. I made a show of adding my pink PJs to the bag, which Finlay responded to by letting out a wolf-whistle.

  "Have you got the hunt kit?"

  "Yup, packed and ready to go," he replied.

  "Ok then, let's go," I answered.

  On the drive, Finlay filled me in on our mission. He had tracked down a vampire responsible for killing a number of people throughout the country. Finlay had two possible places where the vampire might be hiding. One was an old factory, and the other a dilapidated church. The plan was for us to do recon on the two buildings to check for signs of vampire activity. Once we had determined which building the vampire was in, all three of us would go back for the hunt. Finlay stated that it should be a textbook hunt. Three hunters should be more than enough to take down one vampire.

  We arrived around one o'clock and checked into our motel rooms before meeting Robert in his room. The three of us sat around the small, worn table discussing the plan of action.

  "You two check out the factory," Robert instructed, his finger stabbing at the address on the paper in front of him. "I'll do recon on the church."

  "We can meet back here in... three hours," he said, looking at his watch.

  "Sounds like a plan," I answered.

  "Right, Scotland, let's go," Finlay ordered, rising from his seat.

  "This is purely recon, Leah. Don't do anything stupid," Robert warned.

  "Ok, Robert. I promise I'll be careful," I replied, sighing. Robert would never let me forget the fiasco of my last hunt.

  "Don't worry Robert, I'll look after her," Finlay patronised, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

  "My knight in shining armour?" I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

  I definitely had a lot to prove on this hunt. Finlay obviously thought that I was some sort of damsel in distress that needed protecting, and Robert thought I was a reckless fool with a death wish. I made a promise to myself that I would prove them both wrong and be an asset on this hunt. Someone that they could rely on and trust.

  "See you soon, Robert," I called over my shoulder, as I made my way to the car.

  "Be careful," he shouted after us.

  Finlay sped far too quickly along the snow covered road. He didn't seem to be paying any attention to the road in front of him, more focused on trying to find a good song on the radio. He settled on a local rock station which was playing Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive".

  "Any details I need to know about this factory?" I asked.

  "It's an old disused paper factory that closed down about ten years back. According to police reports, it had been popular with squatters and the homeless for a while. It's within a 5 mile radius to all the crime..." He cut off his sentence to sing along to the song. "I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride. I'm wanted... dead or alive."

  I smiled. He could be such a geek sometimes.

  He pulled the car to the side of the road, in front of the entrance to the factory. The gated entrance was the only good view of the factory, as the rest of the area was surrounded by a thick growth of tall trees and bushes. Looking through the gates, the factory almost looked picturesque. A thick layer of snow was sprinkled over every surface. All familiar features had disappeared, hidden under the lumps and bumps of the snow blanket. As sun light sparkled off the snow, it glittered like diamonds. It was amazing how snow could make anything look beautiful.

  Back in Scotland, winter was my favourite season. I always looked forward to the winter. It reminded me of family Christmases, sledding and snow ball fights as a child with my sister. Now I hated this time of year, Christmas especially. For the last two years I had spent Christmas day alone in my motel, drinking myself into a stupor and feeling sorry for myself. Robert felt the same way I did about Christmas; it brought back memories of a happier time that we both would rather forget. We had come to an agreement the first Christmas together that we wouldn't celebrate. No presents, no decorations and no Christmas dinner. I did a quick calculation - three weeks until Christmas. Three weeks I had to endure nothing but soppy Christmas films on T.V., and tacky Christmas decorations hung everywhere you looked. I sighed. It was funny how you could change so much in such a short period of time.

  "Yikes, I know that look," Finlay commented. "What's wrong?" His eyes, showing concern, pierced mine.

  "Nothing, I'm just being sentimental. I'm ok." I forced a smile.

  He didn't look convinced, but realising I didn't want to talk about it, changed the subject.

  "All right, we can have a quick look around. Look out for any possible exits in case we need to get out fast," Finlay explained. "If there is a vampire in there, we need to keep our distance. We need to stay in the cover of the trees. Any closer and it will be able to see and hear us, and will catch our scent."

  He hopped out of the car and went around to open the car's boot. I followed him and watched as he rummaged through the melee of weapons before choosing a large machete. He gestured to me to do the same. I grabbed a machete and strapped in its cover, clicking it inside my jacket. Shivering from the cold, I wrapped my arms around my body as we headed to the gate.

  In a flash, Finlay climbed the gate and jumped over, landing elegantly at the other side. I followed suit, climbing over, but landing with a grunt, in a heap at the other side.

  Finlay stared at me with a look of amusement, trying his best not to laugh.

  "Are you ok?" he asked, helping me to my feet. A large grin spreading across his face.

  "Yeah," I mumbled, chastising myself for making a great start to the hunt.

  Up closer, the factory lost its picturesque quality. The entrance to the building was littered with empty beer bottles and broken glass, and the walls were covered in graffiti. We kept back to the fence boundary as we made our way around the building, looking for any possible signs of vampire activity.

  It was the smell that first alerted our attention. The pungent odour of putrefaction was unmistakable. Something was definitely dead. I prayed that it was an animal. Finlay and I exchanged a look. Obviously he had smelled it too. The putrid odour hung heavy in the air. With each step the foul stench grew stronger, building in intensity until it became overpowering and turned my stomach. I covered my nose with my scarf to protect myself from the smell and breathed through my mouth. It did little to settle my stomach. The fetid stench felt as though it was smothering me, and I could taste it as it coated my tongue. Looking around, we quickly saw where the smell was coming from. Lying on the ground, partially covered with snow, was a body of what appeared to be a young woman. The body was bloated and deformed. The flesh had begun to rot and had distorted the features of the face. The skin had lost some of its grip on the skull and had drooped unevenly on one side. The macabre image reminded me of a plastic Halloween mask I had as a child. Flies buzzed and whirled around the body, darting excitedly in circles, like moths around a flame.

  "Good God!" I exclaimed. "She looks like she's only a teenager." A sense of sadness swept over me as I regarded the navy school blazer she was still wearing.

  Finlay bent down to examine the body. I joined him, batting flies from my face.

  "She's had her throat ripped out," I murmured, pointing to the wound on her neck, stating the obvious. "I guess we have the correct place."

  Finlay didn't reply, a deep frown crossing his brows. I saw him scan the area beside the body before taking his phone out of his pocket and snapping a few photos of the body and surrounding area. Disturbed by our sudden presence, an onslaught of bugs cascaded from the corpse and scuttled away in various directions. My stomach chur
ned once more and I fought to keep down the contents of my lunch.

  "What is it?"

  "I don't know, something isn't right," he replied tentatively. "Let's get out of here."

  We quickly hurried back to the car, Finlay careful to destroy our snowy footprints on the way, stating that the police on our backs was the last thing we needed.

  Finlay was unusually quiet on the drive back, but refused to discuss his concerns any further. When we arrived back at the motel, he disappeared into his room, locking the door behind him. Obviously wanting to be alone, I left him to his thoughts and returned to my room. The smell of death clung to me, and I was desperate to shower and change clothes. The shower did little to ease my tension and a multitude of thoughts swirled in my mind. Who was the poor girl we had found? Did she have a family who were desperately searching for her? What had made Finlay so jumpy? It wasn't like him to act like this, and it worried me. I quickly got changed into clean clothes and rushed over to Robert's room to check if he was back.

  Robert opened the door on the first knock.

  "What did you find?" Robert asked. "I found squat."

  "Well, we found a girl's dead body. A pretty good sign that we found the place we were looking for," I replied.

  Robert frowned, having the same reaction as Finlay. I was obviously missing something. For the next twenty minutes Robert drilled me on everything we had found today. Where was the body found? How was it positioned? Any tracks found near the scene? He seemed to be as concerned as Finlay had been. His eyebrows sinking further south with every question I answered. I was relieved when the barrage of questions came to a halt, when Finlay barged into the room. Hopefully now I would learn what the hell was going on.

  "Something doesn't feel right Robert. We found a body outside the factory. No attempt had been made to conceal it. It was as if someone wanted us to find it," Finlay explained. "You ever came across a vamp that has been that careless? They would never dump a body outside their lair." He ran his fingers through his hair, an action he only did when he was stressed.

  "You think it's a decoy?" Robert enquired.

  "What you find at your location?" Finlay asked.

  "Squat, no sign of activity at all."

  "It must be a decoy to throw us off their track."

  "Yeah, it definitely sounds a bit suspicious to me," Robert agreed.

  "We should go to the church for the hunt then," Finlay stated. "It's the only other place in town that a vamp would hide out."

  "Yeah, ok. Take tonight to prepare and we'll go in tomorrow morning," he replied, looking at me.

  As I made my way back to my room, a knotted feeling began to grow in the pit of my stomach. I worried that this textbook hunt may not be as straightforward as Finlay had initially thought it would be.

  CHAPTER 9

  By 9 a.m. we had the car packed and were on our way. I was dressed in my usual hunting attire: black jeans, a black top under a quarter length leather jacket, and heavy black knee high leather boots. Two sheaved and finely tuned daggers that resembled machetes only a bit smaller and easier to handle hung from a double breasted shoulder strap. Two .50 calibre semi-automatics were holstered at my lower back, and a blade was lodged in each of my boots. I was ready for anything that today might bring. I stared out the window. The clouds hung dark and ominous in the sky, ready for a serious downpour. They filled the skyline in a menacing display, swirling and churning in the wind, obliterating any light from the sun. Everything looked grey and miserable. The dull and bleak day matched my mood. I fought back a yawn; I hadn’t slept well the night before. The knot in the pit of my stomach had stayed with me throughout the night. I wondered if it was some sort of omen.

  "Leah, you sure you know what you have to do?" Robert asked.

  "Yes, Robert. You and Finlay are to take the lead, and I'll hang back until I know it's safe," I replied wearily. Robert had been over this at least three times already.

  Robert nodded, continuing where I left off. "There should only be one vampire inside. The number of deaths in the area suggests only one bloodsucker is in town. Three against one, it should be an easy hunt."

  Finlay was still eerily quiet. His years of experience had given him a confident, self-assured attitude when hunting. This was lacking today, and it made me nervous.

  We pulled up outside the church. I studied the surroundings. It would definitely be a good place to hide out. The church was on the outskirts of the town and set back from the road. If you didn't know that it was here, you could miss it hidden behind a dense growth of trees and shrubbery.

  We made our way over to the rusted iron fence that surrounded the perimeter and peered through into the darkness. An overgrown graveyard seemed to peer back at me. Dense shrubbery and vines crept over the gravestones like fingers threatening to drag them underground into the darkness below. On the far side of the property stood an old church, its steeple standing proud against the black backdrop. My gaze was drawn to a large wooden crucifix that hung over the entrance to the church. Carved into the wood were the words, "On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18.” I scoffed at the irony, knowing what monster dwelled inside.

  Robert nodded to us, a silent gesture meant to determine if we were ready. Nodding back, we made our way down the path towards the church. The wind had begun to pick up, sending branches swaying vigorously in the breeze. Dark clouds loomed ominously overhead. The downpour wouldn't be far off. I followed the overgrown path to the entrance of the old church. I wondered when the place had closed. It was probably due to falling congregation numbers, no doubt. The snow had made our journey difficult, and I struggled to keep my footing, tripping and sliding several times.

  It was strangely quiet. Apart from the wind whistling through the trees, the only sound that could be heard was our heavy boots crunching through the frozen snow. There were no birds chirping, no children's laughter, no sounds of traffic. I tensed when we reached the door, senses stretched tight, assessing the place for signs of life... or death.

  Robert suddenly stopped and pointed to the ground in front of him. A single set of footsteps were clearly visible in the snowy path. We were in the right place. We reached the clearing to the church, and Robert split off to the rear, while Finlay and I made our way to the front entrance, surrounding the vampire inside. My heart was racing, and despite the cold, a thin bead of sweat ran down my back. My nerves were making me jittery. I tried to calm myself, aware that the vampire inside could hear the rapid beating of my heart. Finlay protectively pushed me behind him as we reached the door to the church. My mind flashed back to my last hunt, making my heart beat faster still. Finlay nodded, signalling he was ready. I reached into my jacket and unsheathed the machete, gripping it tightly.

  A loud crash sounded as Finlay kicked the front door open, the noise echoing through the large room. Stepping inside, I noticed that a thin band of light streamed in through a crack in the boarded windows, which did little to illuminate the dim room. My eyes adjusted to the dark surroundings, and I saw that the room was empty. I strained, listening intently. There was wind, rain drops, and the frantic pounding of my heart, but no other sounds. Where was Robert? He should be inside by now. I stayed close to Finlay as he pushed open the door to the next room. The room was immersed in darkness. An icy fear sent shivers up my spine as I sensed that we weren't alone. A light suddenly flickered on from the torch in Finlay's hand, illuminating the room. We were in a large vestibule. Cold marble statues of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ on the crucifix stood sombre and stoic at the entrance of the room. Their hollow eyes seemed to follow me as we moved further into the room. Dark wooden panels ran the length of the walls, and two sets of long wooden pews divided a wide aisle, stretching down to the pulpit. My gaze was drawn to a dark, shadowy corner of the room at the far end.

  I let out an involuntary gasp, as my eyes focused on the horrifying scene.

  Chapter 10

  Th
e thin beam of light sent sharp shadows ricocheting across the room, giving the occupant a ghoulish glow. A small, lean figure was sitting on a chair at the far end of the room beside the pulpit. Long, dark hair hung limply around a pale, drawn face, which had slumped forward toward her chest. She had a petite frame, and her short legs dangled over the edge of the chair, failing to reach the floor. Her slender arms drooped over the chair’s armrest, tied tightly with a heavy rope. Small, angry looking bite marks covered her arms and neck. They were in various stages of healing, and I wondered how long she had been subjected to this torture. A white hot rage burned in my chest. What kind of animal would do this to an innocent child? A cold fist of emotion squeezed in my stomach as I recalled the last class I had taught when I was teacher. A class of happy, smiling children, filled with curiosity, imagination and unconditional love. Their innocence had still been intact, untainted by the experience of the sinister aspects of the world. This child's innocence had been stolen from her. What had she suffered in her final moments? What unspeakable horrors did she experience before she died? A low moaning noise snapped me from my dark thoughts.