Chereads / Clandestines / Chapter 9 - Hunter Hunted

Chapter 9 - Hunter Hunted

Violetwall Town

C-Dome

The Cellar

The cellar was more bright than ever and quiet, after Clancy left, he was the only living soul residing in the house. He grew bored and decided to take a walk into the bunker cellar to visit his daughter, perhaps to keep her lively but she was still asleep.

His feet clanging on the staircase was what padded the cellar for a moment but as he got close and stopped on the cold cemented floor, he shivered to the sudden cold. It was the like the cellar was conducting coolness. His hand rummaged through some tables shuffling through different types of blades and guns, his eyes looked through the troops of bullets lying unconditionally on the table but before his brain could find a job for himself since his daughter was asleep, he heard something scattering.

At first, he thought it was from above but after an insignificant and undetermined inspection, he saw a lady dressed in white patient clothings standing and holding blood satchels in her hands. Lloyd was amazed, happy to see his daughter back on her feet. He couldn't utter enough but ran towards her and gave her a tight hug.

"You're retrieved!" He muttered after ending the hug, he looked into her eyes and sighed ghostly "It worked, i can't believe it worked." He repeated continuously.

Catherine was an average tall woman with long blonde hair that fell over her shoulder and down her spine, she has green eyes and smooth facial features that could tame the mind. She was holding two sachets of blood bags in her hands and as Lloyd noticed these, he frowned.

"What are you doing?" He interrogated.

Catherine smiled exposing white set of teeth "I'm starving, thought you were too busy with your other son. So i had to sort myself out." She explained emphasizing the word 'son' as she walked towards her bed and sat.

Lloyd walked towards her, he was right. His equation was absolutely right, Clancy's blood did helped in saving his daughter and also did the impossible. He just created a pseudo-vampire, an artificial vampire. He smiled and scoffed simultaneously thoughtfully, his plan just birth numerous ideas. What a genius he was.

"Are you okay Catherine?" He asked truthfully as he mount to seat beside her, his eyes inspected all aspects of her being but couldn't find any flaws. She was unnatural.

Catherine dropped a sachet and cut the other trying to pour it into a glass cup "I'm fine, in fact, I've never been these wonderful in my entire life." She responded.

Lloyd smiled "Wow, I'm a genius." He muttered unintelligibly "I'm a genius." He repeated.

Catherine scoffed after pouring the blood into the cup then tossed the empty sachet aside "You're a genius." She reasoned.

Lloyd was a lot thoughtful but Catherine wasn't paying attention to her, he felt so reasonable and out of much curiosity, he spoke.

"We could get rid of infections, viruses and diseases."

On hearing these, Catherine looked at him. She knew everything about the hidden world, she knows what exists and what doesn't. Although, she got all her intuitions from her father but she knows basically what more could be described in the hidden world. She knows how she came to be, she knows basically everything concerning Clancy and other creatures but as told by Lloyd, she must keep her mouth shut. Lloyd was about to break that code of keeping the mouths shut.

"What did you mean?" She asked out of curiosity.

Lloyd looked at her smiling, he turned towards her with his legs meditated on the bed "Think about it Catherine, we could end it all " he said again but Catherine was more lost than ever. She just looked at him awed and confused.

"What can we change? I don't understand your preamble." She spoke with the cup just in inch to her mouth and after finishing her sentences, she took a sip from the cup.

Lloyd scoffed exuberantly "Besides, we could be freaking rich." He thought again.

Catherine was more confused than ever but she just ignored him, perhaps her dad was already running mad. Besides with the experience in the hidden world, one could be described insane compared to the known world.

He shrugged her on the shoulder "I'm not insane and you've to listen to me." He said coincidentally and Catherine looked at him "Come to think of it, with your unique blood, we could get rid of humane medical discords and weaknesses." He idealized but it caught Catherine negatively.

She scoffed and scoffed until it turned into a laugher "No offence, but are you crazy?" She asked almost screaming.

Lloyd nodded negatively "What did you mean?" He asked but wasn't requesting for an answer "C'mon, with your blood i could create medicines to cure diseases, germs, viruses and so on. Humans could be something more, we could be great amongst all creatures in the hidden world not just sustenances at the end of the food chain." He explained "just think about it, you can walk in the day, you're heightened in senses and abilities, what else could happen?"

"Death!" Catherine replied almost immediately "Did you know how insane my hunger was?" She asked "it was mortifying, I could devour anything that very moment before attempting these!" She answered signifying the sachets of blood.

Lloyd was thoughtful again, he knew Catherine was right but how hard could it be? Clancy knows how to control his thirst for blood and Catherine sure tried not devouring him, how hard would it be for the world not been able to control their thirst?

"There could be war, global destruction and humanity extinction. You can't do these and I'm never going to think like you just did." She lashed out.

Lloyd heaved and rubbed his face vividly "Wow, you just crashed my plans of building us want we had lost." He reported.

Catherine sipped again but never dropped the cup, she froze it an inch to her lips "She's dead dad, nothing in the world can change that!" She assured and concluded her sip from the cup.

Lloyd was dethroned mentally, it wasn't what he was actually expecting from his daughter but she proved to be less empathic. He couldn't decide if it was part of the results of her treatment but Clancy wasn't unemotional, he was in fact the emotional creature he has ever discovered in the hidden world.

"Wow!" He muttered silently and rose on his feet breathing heavily under his breath "I can't believe you just said that, I'm...I'm so pleased." He added.

Catherine nodded her head negatively "You shouldn't be, you know what's going to happen if you release or replicate experiments like me into the world, there could be bloodbath." She explained.

Lloyd tried to utter a word but he heard a noise above that caught their attentions. Catherine sensed what it was but couldn't describe what she deduced, it wasn't human nor any relative neighbours. It was something else.

Lloyd noticed her facial changes and asked "What's wrong?"

She sniffed "You don't have to go up there." She said.

Lloyd walked towards the stairs "I have to know who's up there." He replied but before he could take a step, Catherine's right hand clenched onto his left hand and held him back aggressively.

"Don't!" She warned which made Lloyd more curious.

He couldn't believe their house could be attacked during the day. No one cares about the C-Dome, like they all said, it looks like a tormented house. Not glamorous nor is it impressive, it's medieval and ancient. It could be a random thief thinking the house to be abandoned and in search of left properties or a thief in search of money.

"What's happening?" He asked Catherine and she shushed him silently listening to the activities above. What they could vividly hear were the disbandment of kitchen utensils, wood cracklings and other domestic upheavals.

They couldn't tell what it was but Lloyd knew if it was Clancy, he wouldn't be scattering the house roughly. Besides, journey by car to the end of the Violetwall town could take four hours but on foot, they could be taking approximately two or an hour according to their inhuman speeds but they just left.

"Keep quiet." Catherine warned as Lloyd struggled to utter a word perhaps to attract the unknown intruder.

After the last scattering, there was silence, total peace that left sound amazed. They looked at each other not knowing what to do then Lloyd decided to check above what it was and what the intruder did. Catherine could still sense the presence above and she held him back, Lloyd wasn't amazed by her skepticism and he shrugged her hand off his arm.

"Let me check it out, just hide behind the stairs. I'm going to be fine." He said walking upward.

Catherine just looked with concern as he walked upward, she took a sloth turn behind the stairs hiding off the shade of light like a ghost.

Lloyd took his last step and stopped before the entrance door, he was indeed scared but he doesn't want that to be noticed on his face, so he just shrugged it off lackadaisically. He placed his hand on the door handle and attempted to turn it open but BAM! A loud upheaval struck the door and crashed it over Lloyd sending him rolling back down from the stairs like a ball.

The force was so unnatural and Lloyd knew that as he was sent skimming back before finally crashing on his back, he even at a point couldn't move for minutes as his spine had shifted off joint to the impact.

Catherine in her hiding spot tried to walk out to her father's aid but Lloyd hurled her back with a signature of his left hand. He was bruised facially, he couldn't move nor raise his head. He couldn't feel his legs nor could he feel his back. He only grunted in pain and agony like a baby.

Not too long, she heard clanging through the stairs. It was the arrival of footsteps coming down the stairs and at the last staircase, it stopped and turned towards Lloyd. Catherine couldn't see the face of the intruder but she could noticed his manlier clothings.

He was dressed in a long black jacket that stopped at her ankles, he had a black hat and around his right wrist, she could see a triangle tattoo.

"I thought i heard two heart beats!" He said in a British accent as he looked around curiously.

Catherine sank deep into the shadows circumventing the intruder's gaze from spotting her.

After examining the area, he looked back at panting Lloyd. He felt no sorry for him but his face imitated emotional gesture. He walked to his left and crouched beside him.

"It shouldn't have been these way human, you could have walked out of here alive. I could have walked out without hurting you." He sympathized.

Lloyd coughed and struggled under his breath trying to utter some words but nothing came, he never stopped trying but the more he tried, the more crimson blood blushed out of his mouth and nostrils.

"Find Clancy!" Were his last words before giving up the ghost.

The stranger was awed by his last word and angered, he came for the dhampir and with the human dead, he won't be able to find the dhampir. He repeated the man's word under his lips but before he could digest what it meant, BAM! A wood crashed against his head and staggered him rolling on the ground like a cockroach.

Done, Catherine wept and tried to stop just to help dead Lloyd but couldn't. She had to find Clancy and enlighten him on what just happened.

The stranger groaned on his feet, the last sound that echoed into his ears after the attack of a plank of wood on his head were the dismissing sounds of footsteps. He couldn't believe his instincts failed him. He rushed upward and finally into the rough sitting room but to his dismay, his unknown intruder was long gone like a gust of wind. The only thing he could pick of her was her fear, he could perceive it even with his eyes closed.

With that acknowledged, bat-like wings extracted from his back dispersing dirts into the air. With two and more flaps, he was in the air and like a wyvern, he was gone shrouded by the gaze of the sun.