The mission, almost.

A hunter’s strength is not measured by how many vampires he has killed. No, a hunter’s strength is measured by how much humanity he has left after a lifetime of killing. ~ From: The hunters guide to self reflection.


Almost two weeks have gone by since my last journal entry. It was not my intention to leave you, a future hunter, in the dark, without a friend. In this world of complicated times, things are not always as simple as they usually seem. We were told that our video meeting with the Pope was going to be delayed by a week. That meant I was going to have some time to get to know my fellow hunters, Jacks & Alexia. Let me tell you, they’ve teamed me up with a couple of kids. I doubt they’d recognize a fang even if it bit them in the ass. I was reluctant enough when ordered to return to duty, but now I have the pleasure of babysitting.

I spent most of the week getting back into the groove. Even though I’m retired, I still kept up my morning tradition of various exercises and stretches to keep me in shape, but it’s been a while since I’ve worked out on an actual course. I had forgotten what sore felt like, but I’d be damned if I let those two know it. I popped some arthritis medicine and I was good to go. After a week of that however, I was thinking maybe immortality wouldn’t have been so bad twenty years ago.

So last Monday it was go-time for the meeting. Alexia walked in and shot me a glare that made me think she felt I’d be better off in a retirement home. Not far behind her was Jacks. He looked like he’d be happier stuck in some lab instead of on an exciting mission. I never quite understood techie people and their obsession for electronics.

The lights dimmed and the giant wall sized monitor sprang to life. It was the Pope, and he looked worried. “I have an urgent mission for the three of you” was all he managed to say before a tremor shook the underground complex and we were left standing in the dark. Out of habit I instinctively reached into one of my myriad of pockets and pulled out a small but powerful LED/UV flashlight. I was about to flick on some light but emergency power beat me to it, leaving us bathed in a soft red glow.

My partners rushed out of the room, my guess Jacks was looking for a place to hide and Alexia was off to be a hero. Young people are so excitable. I stayed put for a few more minutes in case any aftershocks came rolling through. No sense in needlessly getting hurt. After none came it was looking more like sabotage than an earthquake.

It took our technicians three days to bring power online. The fangs had managed to blow out the power grid in key spots around our area. We could tell by their placement that they didn’t know exactly where we were, but that we were somewhere nearby. This was both comforting and disturbing at the same time. At least they still didn’t know the exact location of the complex, but I’ve never seen them this organized at the same time. Most fangs prefer solidarity over mingling with their own kind, clans being the exception. But me and my original team brought the last known clan down over 20 years ago. Perhaps this is the beginning of a regrouping effort.

We received a pre-recorded video from the Pope detailing our mission. With recent events communications have been put on lock down. Tonight I will be finding out why I was called back into service. One thing is for certain, I’ll be visiting Mexico soon. Along with the video came three plane tickets to San Ignacio. Public air travel was rare for us hunters due to the weapons cache we required, but I think I may know why the change this time. With nothing else to do the past week I caught up on the news and read about a passenger on a plane quoting biblical passages. I’m not sure how it relates to our trip but I’m sure there’s a connection. I wonder what the person saw on that plane.

~Dyson out.

Rome

~No matter how dark your deeds seem in the night, what seperates us from them is the renewal of life with each sunrise.~  From: The hunters guide to self reflection.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration if I said I kissed the ground as soon as the plane landed.  Even with all I've been though, and all the demonic SOB's i've brought down, flying has got to be the most terrifying thing I've ever experienced.

After leaving the terminal I hailed a cab and stashed my gear in the trunk.  Cab was the most incospicious way to travel.  Even though the fangs were underground during the day, their agents were not.  Some were human lackys hoping to gain immortality, others just city scum oblivious of who they were working for. 

I had the cabbie drop me off at the Piazza Navona.  I was hungry after my long flight, plus it was just a short walk to where I was supposed to meet up with everyone.  The Church has sanctuaries all over the globe.  This paticular one however is the center for all operations.  In order to maintain secrecy, I cannot name its exact location here, but as a potential future hunter, you will probably learn it soon enough.

After passing through several layers of security, some designed to keep out humans, others designed to keep out things more nefarious, I was admiited into the underground complex.  The sight that greeted me wasn't an unfamiliar one, but the tech was a lot more advanced than it was in my day.  Display after display lined the walls, each regurgitating the satellite fed data into shapes and statistics for its human observers. 

One display in paticular caught my attention.  It was a world map, zoomed in on the United States, or more precisely Joplin, Missouri.  It was night time there.  There were about a handfull of shimmering purple blobs moving around inside the dark outlines of the city.  I asked the operator what those were, even though in my gut  I already knew.  Vampires, nosterafu, the undead.  Those little purple blobs were the result of thier unique heat signatures.  Colder than a human body, but slightly warmer than the ambient temperatures in the environment.  The hunters had launched a special IR satellite capable of detecting those variances and displaying them on a map.  While I was watching, several blobs disappeared.  Once a vampire feeds,its internal temperature changes and is no longer detectable by the satellite, usually for the rest of the night.

The rest of the teams arrival had been delayed.  So since I was the first to arrive, I spent the rest of my evening catching up on the latest tech employed by the hunters.  I would have to wait until tomorrow to learn the details of our new mission. The Pope of course wasn't going to be there, but was going to deliver our assignment via a video conference after everyone was assembled. 

The fact that fangs were walking freely in my own home town really opened my eyes.  It is a lesson to myself, and for you too, future hunter.  No matter how safe we think we are, no matter how many blood suckers we eradicate, our work will never be done.

~Dyson out.

Retirement is Not Forever

~Anybody can look inside themselves and find darkness.  What's truely scary is if they find the darkness looking back.~  From: The hunters guide to self reflection.

The call came in, I knew it was only a matter of time before it would happen.  In my line of work, even those that live to retirement age never truely retire.  Of course, things are a hell of a lot better than they were back in the day.  At least now we have modern technology to help us fight our battle, a battle that I thought was all but won.  Now things don't seem to be that way.

The Pope wants me to fly to Rome and meet up with a newly assembled team of hunters.  Apparently there's some heavy shit going down, and they're brining in the best of the best, retired or not.  He didn't go into detail over the phone.  Even though most fangs are traditionalists and hate modern society and the technology that comes with it, there are some fledglings that are kept around for the sole purpose of keeping them informed. 

So tomorrow, I'll be heading down to the Fas-Stor storage place, opening the lock to unit 5, and picking up possesions I hoped I'd never have to use again.  I was glad a private jet was taking me to my destination.  With the aresonal I was packing public travel just wouldn't be possible. 

I've made a lot of mistakes in the past.  But this time, I'll be journaling my mission. 
If you are reading this, then perhaps you are the hunter of tomorrow.
And just maybe, you'll be able to learn from my mistakes.

Well, I have a busy day tomorrow, my flight leaves around noon.
With any luck, I'll be able to survive the next few months and happily resume my retirement.

~Dyson out.