Of Hunters and Shadows

Par Four


Every society I can think of, in which sentient beings are involved, has some kind of governing body, and some kind of policing force. We Groudling's are no different, which is where the Authorities come in. An emergency service, police service, and all around bossy group of self assured people, they made sure that when something went wrong, the right things were done about it. Not the highest rank in our societies chain of command, they are still above your average Groudling like myself, and they like to make sure everyone knows this.

Still, when worse comes to worse, their the only ones to really call when your in danger like I was. I could put up with their holier then thou behavior if it meant I got home in better shape then Darryl would.

It only took them ten minutes to respond to my call, better then the real police in the area would have. They showed up in a big black SUV, dressed in all black like some kind of black ops group, looking unimpressed like they always did. There were four in total, all armed with guns similar to Borin's, and they didn't bother talking to me before they got moving. Three fanned out towards the park, the last easily pushing me aside to investigate Borin's condition. They were all of Guard stock-short stocky builds like Daryll-accept for the one with me and the van.

He was clearly a Soldier.

Groudling's come in two main groups, outside of Hunters and Guards-unless one wants to count the governing body as its own separate species, which is debatable and not the point. Standing only a hairs breath shorter then me, with a wider, firmer build and lightly tanned skin, the man looking at Borin was one of the two remaining classes and the rarest. Soldiers are the go to men, bounty hunters, and executioners, they are bred to hunt down and exterminate the enemies of our people. Their fast, strong, and most of all, not afraid of sunlight.

They make up a third of the Authorities, and are the main reason the group is so damn cocky and pushy. This guy was no different, it seemed, then the rest. After a quick check over of Borin, he silently pushed past me again and went back to the SUV, digging through the back.

I followed him, half out of annoyance at being ignored, half because I was still worried the Shadowdog would return.

“You really should hurry up. If your going to do treatment, I suggest you do it on the way away from here.” I muttered, voice low.

The Soldier gave me an arch look, almost sneering as he moved passed me again, this time with a black bag. He returned to the front of the van, leaning inside. I couldn't see what he was doing as I had remained by the SUV, but it took him a few long minutes in which my paranoia ran wild. When he stepped back for the second time, he hefted Borin out with him, easily slinging the bulkier man over his shoulder in a fireman carry. Borin twitched and groaned, but remained unconscious as the Soldier stalked back to the SUV, using one had to slide open the side door.

I watched as he lay Borin down across one row of seats, my annoyance growing and over coming the lingering fear. I was close to snapping and saying something I would probably regret when the other man finally came back out and turned to face me with a blank, cool look.

“The others will take awhile to search the area, until then, I need you to tell me what happened.” His voice was twinged with a distinctly European accent, Welsh or Scottish, at odds with his tanned skin and short cut sandy blond hair. Then again, Groudling's don't really have ethnicity, adopting accents and mannerisms as they moved around and aged. He could easily have been from the Asian clan of Groudlings, considering how much traveling Soldiers did.

“And I need to get home-we all want something in life.” I said, feeling snippy. Guy doesn't even give me his name before he starts bossing me around and expects me to listen to him? No way.

His lips twitched into a frown for a second, and he crossed his arms over his chest in what he likely thought was an imposing look. “This is a serious situation-two of our people have been attacked, and one has died. Not talking to me won't get you home any faster, and may force me to consider you as a suspect.” He nodded into the SUV at Borin and his injured body.

“Oh please, like I would attack my own Gaurds. I'd be the dead one, if that had happened.” The whole pissing match was pointless, and I decided to be the 'bigger man' and give in. “I don't really know what happened to be honest. We we're attacked by some kind of demon dog from Beyond.”

The Soldier snorted. “There's no such thing as demons, just things in the Tween and they can't cross over to our realm without provocation or summoning. So unless you lot are practicing summoning while Hunting, it was probably just a Garue.”

I glared at the other male. “I'm not stupid. I've seen Garue before, I know what they look like and what their capable of.” I said, insulted at the implied slur to my intellectual. “This thing was no Garue, it didn't have a scent, for one thing.” I tried to explain the Shadowdog, and it's attack, but I could tell from his expression that the Soldier had already made up his mind.

“Traumatic experiences can mess with ones perceptions, and I've seen some Garue rebels that look off compared to the rest of them. Everyone knows Garue attacks go up every year or two after a war, and it's only a matter of time before another starts.” He told me, tone condescending.

It was my turn to snort incredulously, though there was some truth in his words. Garue, shape shifters that had inspired as many legends as Groudlings throughout history, were more commonly called were creatures. They had been a thorn in our sides as long as Groudling's have existed, sparking strings of constant wars and genocides from both parties. We had won the last one, 35 years or so before my birth, but there were still occasional rebel attacks. It was the main reason Hunters had Guards to begin with.

I had seen wolf and bear Garue before, though, the most common breeds. Shadowdog hadn't been one of them. I also doubted he was a rat or shark Garue, even if I had never seen any of those. No, he was something else, but there would be no arguing with Mr. Smarter Than You, Soldier. So I simply turned away from him and waited for the other Authorities to return.

It was almost 20 minutes after they arrived, when the three remaining Authorities came back towards us, and we all piled into the SUV. Me in the far back with one of the still silent Guard types, while the other drove and Soldier boy got shotgun. We were starting down the street when I realized we were leaving the van behind.

“Hey,” I started, trying to get someone's attention, but before I could voice a question, there was a sound like thunder shaking the windows of the car. I spun towards the back window in shock.

Darryl's imperfect white van was consumed in flame, causing me to hiss and look away fast as the light burned my eyes. Rubbing the sting out of them and digging a pair of sunglasses out of my coat, I dimly noted the non-pulsed attitude of the others. Then it hit me-the black bag Soldierboy had left in the van must have been some kind of bomb. Probably meant to help remove evidence. A proper clean up crew would be by later, to get rid of Darryl's body and clean up the remains of the van, probably even pick up the drugged bum if they thought about it. Authorities handled the actual danger and crime aspects of emergencies, not the clean up. They'd already made sure the scene was secure, and someone would be assigned to to the hunting of the supposed Garue (most likely the Soldier or another of his creed), but damned if they do non-violent work.

Still, the bastards could have warned me about the bomb. I'd be seeing spots for the rest of the night, and my ears were ringing.

Blinking my eyes, I shot a glare at the passenger seat where Soldierboy was looking back over his shoulder at me, a small smirk on his lips. I gave him the one fingered salute and he simply smirked wider, turning back to face the road. Beside me, the Guard laughed softly, but didn't comment. Over all, I felt tired, annoyed, and my urge to go home increased. I'd let the Authorities do what they want, chase down fake Garue and wild Shadowdogs. All I wanted to do was get something to drink and sleep for a few days. It wasn't like, with my Guards out of commission, I'd be working for a few days. A week, at least.

The ride was silent from then on, and I sat with my eyes closed, leaning against the window and ignoring everyone else as easily as they ignored me. We stopped first at a tall, unassuming office building, pulling into the back and parking by the service access doors. I'd been to the place a handful of times since I moved to Vancouver a decade ago, though I don't know what the building publicly proclaimed to be. All I knew it as was Head Quarters, the place where all Groudling's in B.C, as well as most of the limit Alberta population, reported to.

The Soldier and the Guard closest to me were in motion the moment the SUV stopped, the Guard opening the side door and helping to shuffle Borin out of the vehicle. I didn't bother moving, it was more or less clear this was a drop off and nothing more. Borin would need more then a few stitches and blood to help his healing, and Head Quarters had a floor dedicated to that type of thing. It wasn't like we can go to Outpatients after all.

Sure enough, once the doors were closed and the Soldier and his partner were in the building, we were off again. The remaining Authority didn't talk to me as he drove, didn't ask for my address. It was possible that whoever had answered my call had already passed on any pertinent information on me, or that we weren't heading to my house at all. It was possible I was in trouble and being taken somewhere for causing such a fuss.

Luckily or not, after another short while driving, the SUV stopped once more, this time in the familiar presence of my driveway.

“Thank the devil.” I muttered, shifting stiffly out of the stupid fucking car and not bothering with a thank you or goodbye to the driver. I slammed the door shut spitefully hard and waited for him to drive off down the street before heading inside, more then happy to be rid of a bad night.