Darren:

I hold Mike's gaze. I want nothing more than to look away, to turn and run. I can almost feel his anger pulsing out from his eyes. But I force myself to look, to keep looking and steel myself, ready to try and block his strike.

I'm no match for him in a fight, that much I already know, but it won't stop me trying to defend myself. I see John lying on the ground, eyes closed, face bloody. But he's breathing. He's a mess but he's breathing.

I pull my hand from his arm and let it hang limply by my side. The silence is tense, the atmosphere thick, my heart is beating madly, I can hear it throbbing like a drum, pulse pounding in my ears. I feel the sweat drip from my forehead and imagine I hear it hit the ground.

And then it breaks. Just like that. I see the change in his eyes first, the fire goes out. Mike's body visibly relaxes and his smile returns. It still doesn't reach his cold eyes. I can see now that the anger is masked. It's always there, cloaked behind sarcasm and humour.

"Well, captain." He says. "I can't disobey a direct order now, can I?" I can tell he's not looking for an answer and I'm taken aback by the sudden shift. As though a chord was released I feel the others shifting behind me, it's almost like the volume's been turned up and they're breathing again.

"I think we're done with the training." Mike says to the instructor, who nods his head in agreement. Another sign just how important Mike is. He is clearly in charge in this room.

Mike moves away from me, towards the others by the door. I run over to John's side and kneel down, putting a finger on his pulse.

I'm no medic but we do get basic first aid in our training. His pulse seems normal and he's still breathing. That's a good start.

"John, can you hear me?" I ask. There's no reply.

I push open his eyes and watch his pupils dilate. But there's no other reaction. "John? Can you hear me?" I ask, lightly slapping his face, being careful not to make it worse. I feel my panick rising. Whatever I may have wished for John earlier, it wasn't this.

"He's out for the damn count." Says Jack, coming up by my side. "And it's damn well deserved."

"We need to get him to the infirmary." I say. The infirmary is small. It has only about six beds. It's over by the City side exit, not too far from where we are. "We'll need to carry him there. Jack, I need you to help me."

I don't trust the others in my team. Not after what I just saw with Mike. I look round and see them scattered around the room, looking mostly unconcerned. Only Billy, the driver, is looking at us, a worried crease on his forehead.

Chuck is on his feet and comes towards me. The others of John's soldiers are behind him, looking reluctant and unsure, hovering by the door. They look like they want to be out of here as soon as they can. I can't say I blame them. But I don't know if they're concerned for their companion lying unconscious on the floor or not.

"We'll take him." Chuck says. There's no warmth in his deep voice. I fix my eyes on his.

"I never wanted this." I say.

He says nothing, crouching down and gently lifting John's body, his muscles straining with the tension. He straightens up. The tail of his dragon tatoo seems to move with life and he turns and walks to the door. Man, he must be strong. I'm glad I won't be fighting him any time soon.

"Let's go." He says to the others at the door and they all leave without a backwards glance.

I look over at Mike, he's still smiling. He's talking to Frank, gesturing with his hands. They both laugh. It's a cruel sound, bereft of any real joy. I feel fury building up within, ready to explode. What the hell is wrong with these people?

Jack obviously senses it. He puts a hand on my arm. "Careful Darren." He says. "Remember why we're here."

Of course. We're here because we have to bring in the girl. The vampire I let escape. I've got no choice. If I don't bring her in, I'll hang for treason. And this is the people I've been given to work with. I feel for Jack, his sister trapped in a cell. It makes me think of home. Of my mother and father and sisters.

I think of the day I came here, the day I graduated from training school. They looked so proud. My mother's eyes so filled with happiness, her auburn hair blowing gracefully in the afternoon breeze. My father's pride was clear, his smile complete. They had no idea what I was getting into, no idea the world I was about to enter. How could they know? No one knows. Not until they set foot in here. And when you're in, you're in and there's no leaving.

"Write to us whenever you can." My mother had said as I stepped onto the small, grey bus. Only me this year. Not many people join the Hunting Corps. There's a limited number of positions and rigorous testing processes. We're trained individually, or with younger and older students. But there's never more than a handful a year graduating to the corps. Many don't finish their training.

"Captain." Mike says, pulling me back to the present. "What's the plan, boss?" He says.

The plan, of course. We have to get this done. I haven't thought of a plan. We head out, we find her, we bring her in. But how are we going to find her? The forest stretches for hundreds of miles. To find one specific vampire in there will be almost impossible.

"What do you suggest?" I say to him. "I don't know how we'll find the girl."

Mike taps his watch. It's slightly larger than mine, and everyone else's for that matter. I assume it's to do with his position as the head of the director's guard. A beam of light projects out from it and he points it at the rough stone wall. A bright image appears. It's a map. Somehow, despite the darkness of the stone, the image is crisp and clear.

I move towards it. I've never seen a map as large. It shows the whole island, surrounded by ocean. The City, the HQ building and the huge expanse of forest.

"Look there." Mike says, pointing to a specific section of the trees. It's darker there, as though it's been clothed in shadows. "Information suggests that our target's in there."

I wonder where the information comes from, how they could know where she is. As far as I know we never set out for specific targets. I've decided there's a lot I don't understand, and I don't think Mike's the one to give me answers.

The area he's pointing at is deep into the trees, and slightly north. Not too far from the sea. I've never been in as far as that before. "How long will it take us to get there?" I ask.

"We'll have to make camp." He says. The thought fills me with dread. Camping in the forest, the home of the vampires, the land of the wolves and the gods only knows what else. I swallow hard and nod my head.

"Ok. So we'll camp in daylight for safety then." I say. "We'll travel by night."

"Very good captain." Says Mike. "We'll get prepped and ready. We'll leave tonight."

------------

17:00

"You ready for this?" Jack says. We're walking along the hall, side by side, towards the equipment store.

"Have to be." I say, simply. I don't know if I've ever felt as not ready for anything. I'm torn. On the one hand I don't even know if I want to bring her in. Something about her eyes, the look she gave as I let her go. I don't know if I'm going to be able to do it. But I have to, of course. It's not even just my death if I don't. Jack's sister's on the line too. And who knows what they'll do to Jack.

And then there's Mike and my other "soldiers." They're cruel. At least Mike is. The others didn't stop him. Then again, maybe they couldn't? Who knows what their stories are.

"Damn right we have to be." Jack says. "And we'll stick together. I don't like this one bit."

I nod. At least there's Jack. That gives me some comfort. I push the other thoughts from my mind as we arrive at the door to the equipment room. I've thought about it and thought about it, there is no other choice. At least not that I can see.

Jack puts an arm on my shoulder and stops me from entering. I turn to look at his face. His eyes are a mixture of desparation and determination. "Remember what's at stake in all this!" He says.

I nod. I know only too well. "We'll bring her in." I say, not sure whether I'm reassuring him or me.

I push the door open and we enter the room. It's a long rectangular shape. Shelves and uniform hooks line the walls and another free standing shelf spans the center of the room. It has the look of a locker room, cold, grey steel in colour. Stacks of supplies – guns, armour, ammo and more are spread throughout. Anything we could possibly need for venturing into a hunt.

Mike's standing ahead, with the others. They're over by the door leading out the back. The one we passed by on the way to meet the Director.

"Hi Captain." Mike says. "We're ready for our orders."

Damn him. The sooner this hunt is over, the quicker I can get away from him. I hold my tongue, we just need to get through this. Then I can work out what the future holds.

"Let's get kitted up." I say, holding my voice steady. If he's going to put on a show of being a subordinate, then I'll put on a show of being in charge.

"You'll know the camping supplies that we need, I assume?" I ask.

"Yes, captain. Billy can handle all that." Mike says.

"Ok, Billy. You're up." I say to him. He nods at me and moves off into the centre of the room to find supplies.

"Let's get armour on, guns loaded and ready to go." I say to the others. I move down and grab a bite-proof suit in the right size. I kick my boots off and pull the suit on. It comes up to my neck, just below my throat. The others are doing the same. I grab a helmet from the center shelf and attach it to the suit. It rests behind my head.

I move to the gun rack and grab a gun, checking the mechanism and loading the darts. Each gun holds ten darts. I grab an ammo bag and bring it to the door, putting it next the travel supplies that Billy's been getting ready. I've never seen a gun run out on a hunt. It's usually simple, but we're going deeper than I've ever been and my gut is warning me.

Billy comes over. "All needed supplies are ready, sir." He says, pointing to the small stack of bags and boxes.

"Very good." I say. "Get suited up."

He nods and moves away quickly I don't detect any insincerity in Billy, maybe I'll get a chance to talk to him on the way, find out more about him. The rest of the guys are ready. Jack steps to my side, a grim look on his face.

"Right, all set?" I ask. There are general murmers and nods of agreement from everyone. Good, we're ready.

"Let's go out. Everyone grab a bag or box." I say. The door swings outwards and we step out into the dusk. The night shadows are creeping over the complex, over the trees, casting a gloomy blanket over everything.

"Billy, you bring the car." I say. He walks away, towards the vehicle storage unit.

"He'll bring out a six seater." Mike says. "We should all move by car tonight. When we're closer to our destination we'll have to walk, while we hunt."

I nod. Makes sense. We've got quite a distance to travel.

I look around, there are director's guards around and nearby, but they're not paying us any attention. Nothing unusual about a hunting party leaving. Plus their boss is part of it.

The roar of an engine fills the air and the garage door opens, slowly rising out of sight. The black vehicle inches out and moves slowly towards us. The wheels are large, studded, made for rough terrain. There's a spare tire attached to the front and back. Metal grills protect the headlights. There are UV lights and speakers attached around the vehicle too, so we can simulate the sun and disguise our sounds.

We load the equipment into the back. "Is it all there?" I ask Billy.

He looks it all over and nods his head again. "Yes, sir. All we need for camping and several days of food provisions and water." He says.

"Good, then let's go." I say.

Billy moves to the driver's seat and gets in. "You ride up front Captain." Says Mike. There's two passenger seats up front and three in the back. I climb into the front seat, Jack follows taking the window seat.

"Let's go Billy." I say once everyone's in the car. He eases forward towards the gate. The gate slowly eases open as we approach. The darkness is deepening now as pull out. Billy pauses and pulls up a navigation screen on the dashboard, a map opens. It's the same map we saw inside earlier today.

Mike flashes his watch at it and coordinates appear on the screen. A route map flashes up in green, showing which way we need to travel.

The car eases forward into the trees and something catches my eye out of the side window.

"Stop!" I say. Billy slams on the brakes.

"What the damn hell is going on?" Jack says, annoyed by the sudden stop.

"Look at that." I say, pointing towards a point at the fence, in the distance.

There's a two or three dark shapes at the fence, a moment ago there were four. "That's wolves." Jack says. "What the hells are they doing here?" he asks.

As he says it they disappear, beneath the fence and out of view.

"And where the hell did they go?" I ask.

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