The Beast Unknown

*Valerie's Point Of View* I sat in the dining room eating my breakfast with the morning paper opened to page three as I glanced at a familiar article. "DEATH TOLL CONTINUES TO RISE IN NEW YORK STATE. POLICE HAVE NO LEADS." I continued to read the entire article though I knew the story off by heart. People gone missing, bodies appearing hours or days later burnt beyond recognition, the lack of evidence in each, gang activity suspected.

I had seen these signs before, though admittedly note in this magnitude, and wasn't blissfully ignorant to the truth like the innocent civilians of NEW YORK State. The names of the known victims were inserted among the words, a bleak photograph accompanying each. Rip Hunter, Patrick Snart, Jefferson Razi, Michelle Mercedes and Ronald Isaac. Each of these lives had been ended by the monsters that now stalked streets of York in NEW YORK State and while it was not known to the public, there were other victims. There were always others. I sensed my mother enter the room before I heard her voice, "Good Morning Valerie." I rolled my eyes without looking at her and exclaimed, "Mom, I don't know why you insist on calling me by my full name, how many times do I have to tell you I prefer Val." Why couldn't she just have named me plain Val? Valerie sounded like a Disney character. Though I could not see her face I could hear the smile in her voice, "I don't know why, you have such a beautiful name. I'm sorry hun but you will always be my Valerie so I'm afraid you're just going to have to live with it." She came to stand behind me and touched my shoulder affectionately. I could hear her glancing over my shoulder and sigh, "It's getting worse." Her voice was grave, laced with concern. I nodded my head quickly in agreement. "I can't put it off any longer. I've waited too long as it is. I'm going to York tomorrow and putting an end to this." I said confidently, my eyes not leaving the page. Sometimes it unsettled me how cool and collected I could be when talking about things that would make a normal person would run away screaming. Run, and for good reason. While I was only twenty, I somehow felt older, much older. I had been forced to grow up quickly and had not only witnessed but partook in acts that would make a grown man cry out with fear. I was raised a hunter, a warrior, from the time I was a young girl. My father came from a long line of hunters, Vampire hunters. My family had hunted them for centuries it seemed, it was in my blood and I was trained to kill, trained to protect. By the time I was nine I could shoot a ten inch target from over 50 meters away and throw a knife with perfect ease. I was trained by my father in martial arts and could easily take down an individual twice my size. No one had beaten me in a fight, though many had tried. In addition to my acquired skills I was born with a gift and it made me an even more formidable foe. From my earliest recollection I could sense others, their 'auras' as it were. It encompassed both their minds and physical bodies, distinguishable from each other but still part of the whole. Each person was unique, no aura the same and it told me a great deal about them. How old they were, approximately, what gender and most importantly, what species. The difference between vampires and humans was so tangible it shone like a neon sign. Not only could I sense humans and vampires but other animals, plants and with enough concentration even non-biological creations, though their auras were so weak I barely took notice. As long as they were within a few hundred meters off me, no matter how fast they moved or how silently they walked, I knew where they were. Once they were close enough, and with a great deal of concentration, I could actually grab hold of their aura, manipulate it. I could make objects move and float around me. I could stop a person in dead their tracks, though only for a short period of time, thirty seconds if I was really concentrating. It was enough though. It didn't take long for me to strike. I only needed a few seconds, I was efficient, a natural gift. It was worth the migraine I would feel shortly after, just another price to pay. It was my burden this life, my duty and I continued with it without complaint though I did not enjoy it. I constantly reminded myself of the lives I was saving, the families that would never be torn apart by the loss of a Child, sibling, parent or lover. I did it for them and it was worth it. However, a small part of me demanded recognition, the part that now hunted out of revenge, out of pain. My mom broke my reverie as she sat down beside me and looked at me with unashamed love and... fear? "Valerie..," she began slowly, "I don't want you going to York, please. I'm no expert" I smirked involuntarily but she continued on, "...but this is no ordinary situation, even I can see that. It's too dangerous, let the York Police department to handle this." I couldn't help but laugh, this was a joke it just had to be. "The York police department, you have to be joking!" She gave me a cool stare that let me know this was not the least bit funny to her. "Mom, they couldn't solve this problem if the monsters themselves strode into the station in broad daylight and declared their guilt. You may as well ask me to write to Zeus for help" I loved my mother dearly and while she knew what I did she did her best not to dwell on it. She knew the essentials, nothing more nothing less. "Valerie Jackson, don't you dare make light of this situation." She all but yelled at me. I hadn't seen her so livid about a hunt in a while. "I'm not! I'm just stating that the police are totally incompetent with these kinds of situations, and that's just a fact. I'll be fine, as always, so there's no need to worry about me. This isn't my first rodeo." I put my hand on top of hers as I tried to calm her down though it seemed to have the opposite effect. "I'm quite aware that this isn't the first time you've gone looking for trouble." Her eyes blazed with anger and concern. "What is that supposed to mean? Do you think I hunt for kicks? You think I see this as some sort of sick game, that I'm not taking this seriously?" I asked. I could tell where this conversation was going and I was beginning to get defensive. I shook my head slightly, trying to clear it while reigning in my emotions. She took a deep breath, "Ever since your father died..." I knew it, "You mean murdered, don't you?" I said coolly. I knew I had no right to be angry with her, it was unjustified but I couldn't help it. She knew this was a sore topic for me and that's putting it mildly. She just looked at me sadly and continued as if I had said nothing, "You have been reckless and consumed with hunting. You never used to actively track and hunt down vam... well you know what." My mother always had trouble with that word. "And frankly I'm concerned. I don't want to loose you! Sometimes I think you're trying to put yourself in dangers way because you blame yourse-" I cut her off there, I had reached my limit. "I don't want to talk about this." I stood up out of my chair and yanked my hand away. "I need to get ready if I'm leaving tomorrow." I said quickly before walking out of the room without making eye contact. Once in my room I locked the door behind me, not wanting to be disturbed, and paced around for a few seconds. I stopped abruptly and placed my hands against my dresser and began staring at myself in the mirror. I was breathing heavily and I tried to calm myself down and soon my heart resumed it's normal pace. I was pretty, not beautiful, just merely pretty. I was 5'10, tall for girl, and had a decent and muscled physique, not unfeminine just strong. I had a black Afro hair that was just within my shoulder level and layered perfectly with my face. I looked a lot like my mother except for my eyes. My eyes were dazzling shade of green, the same eyes of my father - Jackson. I stopped myself before I could go too far down that road, blaming my mother for bringing up the topic to begin with. Desperate for a distraction I turned away from my reflection and walked over to my oversized closet. Inside I found everything I needed. First I packed away my clothing, bringing with me over a week's worth knowing it could be a long trip. They were light fabrics that allowed for flexibility and movement but were extremely durable. However, clothing was not the only thing I kept in my closet and certainly not the most important. Near the back was a locked cabinet and inside contained what I needed to hunt. As I opened the doors a familiar sight hit me. There were several shelves displaying a series of knives and guns unique in themselves. These weapons had been passed down for generations in my family, though I had recently made some improvements and additions to the collection. These weapons were made from the bones of destroyed vampires. Destroyed mostly by their own kind and left to burn. Not often but occasionally a small piece remained and my ancestors had used this to their advantage. Though it took weeks, sometimes months, to sharpen and shape the immensely strong bone it was not impossible. Recent technology had made this process much easier. When finished my blades could cut through steel with enough force, or vampire skin for that matter. I picked up my favorite blade and twirled in my hand for a few seconds, freshening my familiarity with it. I grabbed a few others, not needing my entire collection, and packed them safely away taking care not to tear through their case or through any of my stuff. I placed my bag on the floor, sat at the edge of my bed and looked around my room. My room was a light yellow and decorated very simply. Yellow wasn't exactly my favorite colour but I never felt the need for extensive re-decoration. Pictures of my family were on my dresser. None of the frames contained friends like a normal girl my age. While many had tried befriending me I never felt comfortable allowing others into my life, especially when I got to high school. It was easier as a Child when I was still ignorant to the dangers my life contained and could still interact with others without care. That soon changed when reality set in. True relationships required honesty and that was something I could not give so I distanced myself from others. Though I was often lonely it was for the best. My life was too dangerous and unpredictable. My eyes rested upon a picture of I and my father. I couldn't have been more than seven and we were laughing about the large fish we had caught. I remembered that camping trip, one of the many the three of us took while I was growing up. I could feel my eyes beginning to sting and quickly adverted my gaze. My mother had opened up a carefully sealed box and I knew I needed to get out of the house. Having nothing else to do and knowing I would not be able to really relax or let my guard for a while, I decided to go for a walk and savor the sunny day. I silently made my way down stairs and slipped on my running shoes. As I left my house I could sense my mother in the living room. I felt guilty about before, I was all she had left, but I continued out the door anyway. "I'm going for a walk, I'll be back soon" I shouted and left without waiting for her reply. As I walked I couldn't help thinking that this hunting trip was different than the others. Change was coming. I couldn't explain it, I just felt it and my instincts had yet to lead me astray. As I looked up at the sun and bid a temporary farewell, for York was not known for its immensely sunny days, and hoped I was up for whatever was waiting for me in York.

Something was seriously wrong in York. I had only been here just over a week and already I had killed two vampires, both newborns and both very young, late teens maybe. I was lucky to kill two a year, I was lucky to kill one, let alone two in one week but this was not what unsettled me. There were more. At least another dozen and from what I could tell all new to the immortal life. Who on earth was creating them and why? And worst of all whoever did merely set them loose. Crazy, bold or maybe just sloppy. Either way chaos was everywhere, even if most people couldn't see.

I walked down the deserted allies of York trying to sense others. It was here that I knew many would choose to feed, on the alone and socially shunned of society. However, they had been moving so quickly and chaotically throughout the city that it was hard to keep up. I did my best to conceal my weapons whenever I came across another homeless man sleeping or talking to another. I had to remain inconspicuous and a brandishing a knife everywhere wouldn't help. Still, it never left my hand. I had been out here for nearly six hours and it was almost one in the morning. It was an unseasonably cold night and I could see the faint fog of my breath in the air. I was about ready to call it quits for the night when I finally sensed a vampire near by, another newborn female. Without hesitation I began running towards her direction, my eyes taking in every insignificant detail around me. Run down posters for some band called OVI, three homeless people sleeping in a door way, trashcan turned over, empty pizza box near the ally entrance. Nothing was escaped my sight. It wasn't long before I ran into a parking lot behind one of the abandoned buildings. She was close but she was being cautious, an uncommon trait for a newborn but not unheard of. I was almost certain at least one of them had seen me kill the last one and if they were in this together word must of spread. I knew I would have to be more cautious myself from this point forward and in the back of my mind I began making plans. Though my eyes could not see her I knew she was circling around me like a shark but not coming any closer. This wasn't going anywhere and I couldn't catch her, I needed her to come to me. I went on the offensive, "Come on. You can't be scared of a weak human like me. I know you must be thirsty." Silence echoed throughout the lot, the smallest of creatures hiding from a known predator. "What are you, afraid?" I taunted. It had worked before in the past, bruising a vampire's ego was easy. Just play upon the idea that they are weaker than a human and they come running. However this one didn't. She paused for a moment but began to back away, every second increasing her pace. If I didn't do something quick I was going to loose her. I held out the tip of my knife and pricked my finger. The smallest drop of blood emerged from the wound, but it was enough. She emerged from the shadows, a feral growl emitting from her chest as she bared her teeth, the faint moonlight reflecting off her pale skin. She couldn't have been more than fifteen or sixteen. She had dirty blond hair that was wavy and tied behind her in a messy pony tail. Her clothes were dirty and stained with dirt and blood. She was tiny, maybe 5'1 and her eyes were glowing an ominous red. Yes, she was definitely new and therefore the blood lust was stronger for her. I counted on that. She lunged at me, eyes maddened in her thirst for my blood. She moved quickly, coming at me from the side, but not quick enough. Newborns had little to no skill, relying purely on instinct making them predictable. I knew her move before she did and I was prepared. I was as efficient as ever, thrusting by blade into her neck and decapitating her now immobile body. She fell to the ground with the smallest thud, her head rolling a few feet away. I concentrated for a moment, making sure no one was nearby before I proceeded with the clean up. When I was sure I was alone I carried the twitChrisng body to a trash-can, her skin not bothering me as it had in the past, and placed her inside. I pulled out my matches, struck one and lit her on fire, the fire spreading quickly. The smell was vile and I covered my hand to reduce its potency. As the flames and thick smoke rose higher I could not help but feel guilty for what I had done to the young girl. She was human not so long ago and was changed, most likely against her will, into this deplorable monster. She had a family and friends and they would never know what happened to her. I continued to stare into the flames, making sure all evidence was destroyed. As I prepared to leave my head instinctively snapped east ward as I felt another close by but this was different than the others. She was no new born that was for sure for she had to be about 215 years old, give or take. I knew she was watching but almost as quickly as she came, she was gone. This was going to be a problem. She had to be the one creating the newborns, there was no one else. I couldn't keep killing new born after new born for God knows how many weeks. Their numbers were growing by the day and I had to admit to myself I couldn't keep up. Nor could I take them all on at once if they decided to attack together. I was good but not that good. I had to cut the head off the snake, stop this at its source. That woman was causing this and only her death could end it. Once she was out of the way I would slowly cleanse the city but there was no point until then. As walked back to my motel pondering how to trap her I couldn't help but wonder why again. Why create so many new born vampires? It was almost as if she was building an army. But if that was the case, who was it for? A Chrisll ran down my spine and my grip tightened around my blade. - A Week Later - This past week had been one of the most frustrating of my life. Since Yvonne, I had found out who that young girl was through the missing persons reports and photos, I had not managed to kill any other vampires. I had focused my efforts of finding the one woman, ignoring the others for the time being and being even more cautious so as not to fall into an ambush myself. She was tricky this one, I'll give her that. She never came close enough for me to sense her for long. Ten seconds if I was lucky. She was suspicious and I had not found a way of trapping her yet. I had nearly searched the entire city, but it was clear she kept moving, never in the same spot twice. I couldn't find any patterns to the disappearances or killings, just pure chaos. So far my usual methods had failed me and I became deeply annoyed. There were more killings and disappearances everyday and people in the city were beginning to panic and for good reason. Things were getting out of hand and I felt utterly useless. When I wasn't actively hunting I was researChrisng, hoping I could find something, anything that could help explain this. I sat alone in my motel room scrolling through countless newspaper articles from dozens of nearby towns and cities on my laptop. I was looking for answers but I hadn't come across so much as a whisper yet, though it would help greatly if I knew what questions to ask. There were so many unknowns. I stood up and kicked an empty water bottle that had fallen on the floor. "Ugh! There has to be something out there that would explain what she is doing!" I yelled at no one in particular. I slammed my fist down on the table and quickly shook it as pain shot up my arm. I knew I was missing something, I just didn't know what. It was going to drive me mad. I quickly sat down and reeled in my emotions. I needed to think and stomping around like a five year old wasn't going to help. I closed my eyes for a moment and focused on my breathing. When I calmed myself down both physically and mentally I went back to work. I continued to pore through articles for what seemed like an eternity when something caught my eye. "CAMPERS GONE MISSING." The article was from a local newspaper - InfoEast - in Detroit not too far from here. I soon found others and began reading feverishly. Campers suddenly disappearing, blood at the scene, no other evidence left behind. The shear amount of attacks and missing people was unprecedented for that area. The stories continued saying that foul play was not suspected and that some form of animal uncommon in those parts was most likely responsible. I read part of an interview, "We have had reports of possible bear or wolf sightings near those areas in which people have disappeared. We ask the public to remain calm, avoid going into the woods and if they see anything to call the police station immediately. Under no circumstances should these animals be approached." stated Police Chrisef Carter yesterday. I closed my laptop and began pacing. I knew the signs well. Those were no animal attacks I was sure of it. There were vampires in Detroit at one point or another. While it was unlikely they lingered I needed to check it out. Somehow I knew there was a connection. There was little evidence but my instincts told me there was something there. Quickly making a no decision I began to pack my things, eager to get to Detroit. This was going to end one way or another. As I walked towards the reception area to check out I got the feeling that I would find the answers to my questions and perhaps others I had never thought to ask. The real question is...was I prepared for the answers?

It didn't take me long to get to Detroit. It was a small town, in population at least, and it was clear that this was a tight knit community. Despite that the town covered a large area, mostly forest and joined with some smaller mountains. This was going to make things more difficult. I didn't like it here, it was too...green, everything hidden from you in the shadows and it constantly rained. This was a place I knew I could never live. One of the first things I did when I arrive was search the areas where campers had gone missing only a few months ago. Unfortunately this turned up nothing.

Though I didn't expect much, if anything, to be there after all this time but I was always a stickler for details, nothing left out or left to chance. However, I was certain there was still something here in Detroit and I was determined to find it. I was beginning to think that Detroit held many secrets that its humble citizens were not aware of. On several occasions I was sure I felt the presence of vampires but it came and went so quickly, and from such a distance, I couldn't be hundred percent sure, yet. I threw myself into research once more, digging up more articles about those attacks and talking to the locals. One of the first places I looked into was a store called MacJohn's who sold most of the hiking and camping gears in town. It seemed like a good place to start and I lucked out. As I walked in I noticed two teens managing the store. The first was a girl and she was behind the cash register. Her name tag read 'Krystal'. She had long dark brown hair and chocolate coloured eyes. She was pale, though not surprising with the lack of sun, and had a tiny figure. Even just looking at her I could tell she was a bit shy judging by the way she slightly hunched her shoulders. This was a girl who didn't like attention. However there was something else about her. Her aura was strange, diminished almost. It was almost as if a part of her was not there. I couldn't put my finger on it but decided it didn't matter at the moment. The second was a boy, and he was moving through the shelves and stocking items. He had blonde hair and his face still contained a boyish roundness to it. He was about my height and looked to be about eighteen. He smiled as I came in and approached me. "Hello and welcome to MacJohn's. My name is Joe, is there anything I can help you with today?" He enquired pleasantly. It was a well rehearsed speech and I resisted the urge to laugh at how eager he looked. I didn't escape my notice that he looked me over quickly but I ignored it. "Yes there is actually. My name is NK," I never gave out my real name, just in case, "...and I'm an intern at the Department of Fish and Wildlife in Washington DC. I was wondering if you knew any information about the bear or wolf sightings that occurred several weeks ago. I'm doing independent research on large predators migrating into human areas." I said this with total confidence, taking care to make eye contact. He bought it, naturally. I was always good at lying and was necessary when you're in my line of work. He stared at me for a moment, dumbfounded, but eventually regained himself. "Yeah, uhm, sure I've heard a few things from campers who came in." We started talking and he began going through the several stories that he heard while working here and some from some from his fellow students at the local high school. Many of the sightings, it appeared, were near a local reservation called DiAgon. I decided that needed to be my next stop. However, throughout the entire conversation I caught the girl in my peripheral vision looking at us strangely. Though she remained silent I could tell she knew something about what was going on, something secret. Her eyes gave away her every emotion and at the moment she seemed a little worried and definitely concerned. Though she seemed trustworthy, the kind of person who kept the secrets she was entrusted with and I doubted I would be able to get much from her. Either way, if all else failed I knew where to find her. If she had information I needed I would get it, no doubt in my mind. I would never actually harm her, not that she knew that, but I knew I few tricks. "Thank you so much Joe, I really appreciate it. Have a nice day... the both of you." I smiled at the two of them and went towards the door. I looked back one more time hoping to gain another glimpse into the girl's eyes, knowing I would find some truth there but she wasn't looking at me. She merely walked around the cash register and seemed trip on her own feet, knocking over several boxes. Her face glowed bright red in embarrassment as Joe rushed over to help her. I suppressed a laugh and continued towards my car. -Next Day- As I drove down the long stretch of road I began to see the first homes of the DiAgon reservation. It was only fifteen minute outside of Detroit and was home to the Amazon people. I had spent much of my night learning all I could about their land and people so I was prepared. As I continued driving I soon saw a small parking area that was obviously used by tourists and parked my car. I could hear the beach in the distance and smell the sea salt in the air from my open window. It occurred to me that this would be a very pretty place if it weren't for the seemingly never ending cloud cover. I sighed and stepped out of my car. I wasn't sure where to begin so I just walked around, camera in hand, hoping to look like another tourist but keeping my senses open to anything strange. The day passed smoothly but I had yet to find anything that would help. I had questioned some people on the disappearances and the animal sightings but most just gave me the same answers. They hadn't see anything or that nothing has happened in weeks. A few seemed to know perhaps a bit more than they were divulging but decided to revisit them later if need be. After a few hours I was starting to feel like this may have been a dead end. However I wasn't going to give up that easily. I continued to walk around when I noticed some guys staring intently at me a few hundred yards away. There were only three of them but they all wore the same expression and they were all very large and muscular. What surprised me the most, however, was not their size but was the lack of clothing they were wearing. I was currently in a long sleeved shirt and light winter jacket and I still was a cold if the wind blew my way. Yet none of these boys had a shirt on and only basic sweats. How were they not shivering or falling over from hypothermia for that matter? What also bothered me was how their eyes kept shifting to me, watching my every move. It was unsettling, I wasn't used to being the one watched. I slowly made my way towards them, pretending to snap pictures of the scenery as I went. They all seemed to gather around the one man and I got the feeling he was the leader of this little gang. He was definitely the oldest of them, probably around my age but the others, despite their size, had a youthful look about them. They suddenly became engaged in deep conversation but I could still see them stealing glances at me. Looks like I was not the only one conducting surveillance today. They were maybe 50 meters away now and I could finally sense their auras and when I did I stopped dead in my tracks. "What the hell?" I mumbled. I had never felt anything like this! They looked human and their auras were human, mostly. There was something animalistic about them, canine almost. It took every bit of my concentration and control to not look at them in shock and to not show any visible emotions. What was with this entire situation? Everywhere I turned something new and unknown was popping up creating a million different and seemingly unrelated questions and absolutely no answers. I had grown up in a supernatural world all my life yet even I was surprised and frankly a little nervous. I hadn't felt like this in a long time and this frustrated me. I decided to walk away for now, give myself time to think and to plan my next move. This was a delicate situation and I needed to take things slowly and try to foresee as many outcomes as possible. As I walked past what seemed to be a local gift shop I heard two guys talking. I was going to ignore them when I noticed that they had the same type of auras as the other three. I looked around quickly to make sure no one was watching before I slowly crept along the side to listen, being careful not to make a sound.