Gabriel
The wounds from our fight against the wolves had barely healed when Isaac announced the next training.
I should have known he wouldn't let us rest for long.
"You've learned to fight with whatever you can find," his voice echoed through the abandoned warehouse.
"But now, you're going to learn how hunters fight."
He dropped a crate in front of us.
We glanced inside – and saw weapons we had never used before.
Raphael
"These aren't swords."
I picked up one of the daggers, turning it in my hand.
Isaac nodded. "Hunters don't fight like knights. They fight to kill."
Michael pulled out a small throwing knife, weighing it in his palm. "And how exactly is this different from what we've been doing?"
Isaac stepped forward, grabbed one of the daggers – and with a single throw, sent it flying through the air.
The blade struck a wooden pillar without a sound.
"It's not about how you fight," his voice was calm but firm.
"It's about how fast you end a fight."
Michael
I understood immediately.
Vampires weren't just enemies.
They were predators. Faster. Stronger. Deadlier.
If we fought for too long, we would lose.
"You will learn how to strike from the shadows," Isaac continued. "How to watch before you attack."
His eyes moved over us.
"And you will learn what it means to be invisible."
Gabriel
This training was different from before.
Isaac didn't just make us fight.
He made us hunt.
He sent us into the forest – alone. No weapons, only our hands.
"Your goal?" he said, holding up a torch. "Find me."
He gave us exactly one hour.
Then he disappeared.
Raphael
I moved quietly through the undergrowth, trying to control my breathing.
Isaac had said we needed to learn to be invisible.
But that didn't just mean not being seen.
It meant not being heard, not being smelled, not being sensed at all.
I stopped. Listened.
Then I heard it.
A sound. Soft. Controlled.
I knew it wasn't Gabriel – he was too impatient.
And Michael wouldn't have been this close.
Then something moved behind me.
I turned—
And the ground vanished beneath my feet.
Michael
I heard the dull thud from a distance.
A curse. Then silence.
Raphael had stepped into a trap.
I smirked slightly as I kept moving.
Isaac was clever. He had set traps.
The only question was—how many?
Gabriel
I knew Isaac was watching us.
He wanted to see which of us would find him first.
But that wasn't my goal.
I didn't want to be the first to find him.
I wanted to be the first to catch him.
I crouched beneath low-hanging branches, letting my fingers brush against the damp earth, scenting the air.
He was here. Somewhere.
I just had to track him.
Isaac Crowe
I stood on a fallen tree trunk, listening to the night.
Raphael had learned his first lesson: never step where your enemy expects you to.
Michael moved quietly, but he wasn't good enough to be completely silent yet.
Gabriel…
He was different.
He wasn't just searching.
He was lurking.
A faint smile crossed my lips.
Maybe… maybe they were becoming hunters after all.
Raphael
I pushed myself up, spitting out dirt.
Damn it.
The trap had caught me. That was my mistake.
I shook my head, ignored the pain, and refocused.
If I couldn't find Isaac…
Then I had to wait until he found me.
Michael
I heard something.
A movement, further ahead—too quiet to be Raphael.
I slowed my steps, letting my body disappear into the shadows.
My heart was pounding, but I forced myself to breathe steadily.
If I found him first, I would win.
What I didn't know was that Gabriel had the same idea.
Gabriel
I heard the wind.
I heard the distant snap of a branch.
And then I knew.
I pressed myself against a tree, letting the darkness swallow me.
He was there.
I could feel his presence.
One.
Two.
Three steps.
I lunged forward—grabbing his shoulder.
Isaac Crowe
I felt the touch.
Not firm. Not an attack.
But enough.
I turned slowly and met Gabriel's eyes.
He was breathing hard, but he held my gaze.
I nodded.
"Not bad."
Then I called into the night:
"Test is over."