Chapter 2

Aiden was woken up by a loud banging sound. He jumped to his feet, heart palpitating furiously. How did they find me? He thought as he tried to calm his heart. Turning his head to the side he used his hyper acute senses to try and figure out what was going on beyond the tiny room he was currently in.

“Yo! Yooo!” Jackson yelled as he burst into Aiden’s room.

“What is it?” Aiden whispered, although from the fear on Jackson’s face, he assumed the worst.

“There’s a flying cockroach in my room!” Jackson shouted as he ran over to Aiden.

Aiden bit his lip in anger. When Jackson neared he shoved the man, sending him flying backwards. “Jackson I told you to leave me alone, didn’t I? Then you burst in here with this shit!”

Jackson looked up at Aiden from where he lie on the floor. “Did you hear what I said? A flying cockroach! This shit was fast man!”

Aiden sighed as he walked past the young man lying on the floor. He was fed up with his antics. He walked out of the room.

For the past two months Aiden had been living in an abandoned hotel. Although it was an abandoned hotel, he wasn’t alone. There were about a few dozen other homeless people who lived here.

He turned down the corridor and glanced into a room. Inside were two men and a women having sex on the bed, while several other people watched. Even though there was a door they could close for a little privacy, they chose to leave the door wide open.

As Aiden walked past, the men glanced at him and grinned, revealing rotted and broken teeth. Aiden shook his head and kept walking. The next room was full of people who were all lying down as if they were lifeless. One man had passed out in a puddle of urine, syringe still sticking out of his arm.

In Aiden’s chest, there was a ball of anger that was incensed with every scene he saw. Anger and resentment. He was living in squalor, and he had no choice but to live like this. It’s all his fault. He thought, as the ball of anger began to stir.

He reached up for the door leading to the outside world, but found his hands were shaking with anger. Gripping his shaking hand with the other he exhaled deeply, releasing all the built up tension. When he was calm, he tried for the door again.

The abandoned hotel was located in the seedier part of town, the part that was still up when night fell. As Aiden walked out of the abandoned hotel, he pulled up his hood, hiding his white locks of hair. Down the block there were a few thugs who kept staring at Aiden with hostile looks. Aiden paid them no mind.

“Where you from white boy?!” One of them shouted, standing before Aiden and blocking his way.

Aiden calmed the anger he knew was bubbling. He looked at the young man who continued barking at him, like a Chihuahua would bark at larger dogs. Aiden’s stomach gurgled audibly. He stared at the young man, who turned into a chicken dinner right before his eyes.

“What’re you looking at faggot?!” The young man shouted as he took a step back. He saw something in Aiden’s eyes. Something that wasn’t human.

Aiden wanted nothing more than to rip into the human. He could just imagine what the first bite would taste like. Juicy, tender meat that would feel so good sliding down his parched throat. For once his hunger would be filled. He wouldn’t have to go scavenge out of dumpsters like a rat, he could eat this man and be sated for days.

The young man paled as he saw Aiden’s eyes shift into blue-ish ones. Without hesitating he ran away at full speed. He wasn’t ignorant, he’d heard of werewolves and vampires, and knew what a danger they were to humanity.

As the man ran away, Aiden wrestled with his hunger. It was like a wild bull that would not submit to his will. He needed food. Regular food would satiate his hunger, but it’s been a long time since he had a meal big enough to satisfy him.

He had two choices to make. He could scavenge food from dumpsters, like he did every night. Though a light meal wouldn’t satisfy his hunger, and he might slip up eventually, ripping into a human. Something he promised he’d never do.

Or he could break into a store and eat his fill. If he did this he’d have to re-locate. The Guardians hunted vampires and werewolves relentlessly. He’d be discovered quickly if he tried to remain. Especially now that they had new glasses that could easily identify humans and monsters.

As Aiden saw a Whole Foods, he decided to choose the latter option. He was sick of eating out of dumpsters, and the people in the hotel were starting to grate on his nerves.

…

“Jason, meet the crew: Lionel, Adeline, and Rosemary” Nigel pointed to each of the Guardians as he said their names. Then he turned to the Guardians themselves. “This is Jason, he’s a new Guardian. He’ll be riding along with our squad.”

“Call me Rose.” Rosemary said as she nodded to him.

“Addy.” Adeline nodded as well.

Jason turned to Lionel next, but the man barely acknowledged his presence as he continued to polish his katana. He turned to Lionel who just rolled his eyes. “Lionel’s a beast when it comes to fighting monsters. But, as you can see, his social skills leave much to be desired.”

Addy and Rose giggled. Jason smiled. Lionel moved, and suddenly the katana he was polishing was angled upward, the blade’s end gently pressing on Jason’s throat.

Jason froze with fear as the blade pressed upon his Adam’s apple. He didn’t even dare to swallow, lest he end up cutting himself with the man’s blade. The others froze as well, all eyes turned to Lionel who stood there un-moving.

After what felt like hours, Lionel removed the blade with a scoff, then went back to wiping down the katana. The on-lookers took a collective breath as things settled. Jason looked at them with a questioning look, but all he received in return was a shake of the head.

Rose grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the group. Once they were out of hearing distance she began to speak. “Like Nigel said. Lionel’s a monster when it comes to slaying monsters but he’s kind of a head case.”

“This is crazy, the man is un-hinged, raising his sword on a fellow Guardian. Why is he even allowed around others?” Jason complained.

“He wasn’t always like this. He used to be a regular Guardian just like us, but one day, his whole team was wiped out by Greywolf. Ever since he’s been training like crazy and taking any new lab experiments offered by the researchers in order to become stronger.”

“And it’s paid off. Lionel’s killed more monsters alone, then the top ten squads combined. He’s our leader, and we’d follow him anywhere.” She gave Jason a pointed stare before walking off, leaving Jason alone as she went back to the group.

Jason stood apart from the group, feeling alienated by the aura coming off of Lionel. The man wasn’t even looking at him, yet Jason felt like if he came close he’d be eaten. It was only after a call came in that he went back to the group. When he approached them, they were all huddled around Nigel who just got off the radio.

“Law enforcement received a call about a man breaking into a Whole Foods. They say the man broke through their re-enforced fiberglass windows. Sound like our kind of thing.” He gave Lionel a knowing look.

“What’re we waiting for then?” Lionel spoke for the first time. His voice was barely above a whisper, yet when he spoke, the whole team listened.

“Jason, you have your sword? Good. You ride in the back with me.” Nigel said as the rest of the team hopped into the black SUV. “Everyone, change your Communication Collars to line two, it’s been cleared for our use.”

Jason fiddled with the collar around his neck as Nigel turned to him. “Now they should’ve taught you this back in basics, but do you know why we use swords rather than using guns?” Nigel quizzed Jason as Rose took the driver’s seat and began to drive out of the compound.

“Monsters are highly resistant to bullets?” Jason learned a lot during basic training so he couldn’t answer with complete confidence.

“It’s not that they’re highly resistant, it’s just that they’re fast. You aim at them and pull the trigger, but they’re already behind you. That’s the kind of speed we’re dealing with here, gun’s won’t help you up close and personal. Swords on the other hand, especially the ones issued to Guardians, are highly effective against monsters. It places us on equal footing with those beasts.”

Nigel continued to fill Jason in. Thirty minutes later they were in front of a Whole Foods market. The glass windows on the store front was smashed in. “Stay back and observe.” Nigel warned as the team exited the car.

Jason observed the team get into an orderly formation with Lionel in front. They formed a diamond, with Lionel placed at the tip. The look on their faces was one of extreme confidence, like they’ve done this a hundred times before.

They moved towards the broken window barely making any noise. Jason followed from a distance. All the lights in the store were turned off and there was no alarm. This was done on purpose. Ever since the war on monsters, store owners were encouraged to equip silent alarms. This gave those on the run a false sense of security.

Jason felt nervous entering the store. It was his first brush against actual monsters, his speed and strength wouldn’t mean much here. He could actually die. That thought made him trail further behind the group that was heading further inside the market.

There was a distinct noise coming from the back. It was quiet, yet it was audible. The sound of someone eating. The noise was coming from the meat section. The team made a bee-line towards that direction with Lionel in the front grinning like a madman.

Nigel reached up to his neck and placed his finger on the collar. “Sounds like a werewolf. Let’s hope it’s not a hybrid.” Nigel’s voice sounded in their heads.

“Poor sap won’t even know what hit him.” Lionel replied as he tightened the grip on his katana.

As if responding to Lionel’s thought, the sound of chewing stopped. The team paused in their tracks. Jason, who was trailing further behind, was slower to stop.

“Is it just me, or are your response times getting faster.” A raspy voice spoke.

Jason and the others turned their heads and saw what appeared to be a homeless youth staring back at them. The youth had a mane of white hair that was wild and un-kempt. He wore a sweater that was tattered, and jeans that were ripped up and stained with dirt and grease. He looked to be in his early twenties.

Jason’s heart was beating furiously. The monster had caught them off-guard. He looked around, expecting a dozen other monsters to be surrounding them. But when none came he exhaled in relief. He was sure their team of five could handle one monster.

“Greywolf!” Nigel snarled as the others became more guarded.