Half-Breed Hunter: Arrival Page 2

  “Look alive, Jake,” Paul said, clapping. “I’m not paying you to lounge around.”

  “You’re barely paying me at all,” I responded without bothering to lift my cranium.

  “I won’t pay you anything if you’d prefer.”

  “Fine, you win,” I sighed, leaving my makeshift pillow. “But, there’s nothing to do.”

  “Then find something. There’s always something.”

  “Like what?”

  He grunted. “Jake, how long have you been working here? You could check the stock, do some cleaning…”

  “Nothing's gonna have vanished in the last hour and look at this floor,” I pointed down at our feet. “I can see my face in it.”

  “Is this you on your best behavior?” he quizzed, raising a brow.

  I threw my hands up. “You got me. I’ll find something. Anything.”

  “That’s the attitude I like,” he laughed, retreating back into his office.

  This was the downside of being competent. If it was one of the clowns, he’d leave them idle so they didn’t break anything. Hell, Sally could openly slack the entire day as long as she kept a button undone and flashed her mighty cleavage. I was worked to the bone.

  In his defense, he had bailed me out. My complaint didn’t have a leg to stand on.

  I looked for any excuse to look busy and found the closest bin was half full.

  “That’ll do,” I said to myself, gathering it up and taking it out back, away from prying eyes. The chill of an Autumn night felt pretty good slapping my face after a few hours spent slaving away inside a roasting kitchen. The smell of the dumpster, and the sight of a gritty back alley, dragged the experience down a few levels. Beggars can’t be choosers.

  I lingered for as long as I felt I could get away and tried to ignore the fact I was breathing in putrid, festering, trash. Only then did I feed the fresh bag to the pit.

  Bosh. Bullseye. A job well done. Which meant having to find some other way to procrastinate through actually doing the work.

  The sound of a cat purring was music to my ears.

  I followed the sound and found the performer waltzing up towards me. It was a cute little thing with black fur and big, brown, eyes. Kinda clean for something hanging around near a dumpster. It didn’t have a collar, but it didn’t look like a stray.

  “You here to scavenge some grub?” I asked.

  It looked up and meowed back at me.

  “Is that a yes? It might surprise you, but I don’t speak cat.”

  It purred again. Thoughtless fiend didn’t even switch to English.

  “Sorry, I can’t feed you,” I said. “I’m on my last warning. Can’t waste it on this.”

  The cat waltzed over to me and tilted its head, flashing those big brown eyes. It pawed at my leg, letting out those sweet sounds.

  I’d underestimated the puppeteer. It had my heartstrings in its paws and was playing me like a fool.

  “Fine,” I winced. “Wait here.” There were always some leftovers ripe for smuggling. If I couldn’t even feed a kitten in secret, I deserved the sack.

  I went to slip back into the kitchen, but the cat tried to come with me. It pushed at my leg and tried to slink by.

  “Hey, this isn’t what we agreed on,” I said, blocking its route and shutting us both out. Without hurting it, I tried to shift it away from the door. “You ain’t gonna get anything at this rate.”

  It wouldn’t leave me alone. It danced around my legs and rubbed against me.

  I groaned and picked the needy critter up. It let me do so. Rather than squirming, it stayed still and watched me with expectant, brown eyes.

  “You’re a weird cat,” I told it. “Sorry, you’ve lost your snack privileges. Go home.” I was on the verge of setting it on its way when I noticed a figure standing at the end of the alley.

  Anybody coming down the alley would have drawn at least an enquiring glance from me, but this guy wasn’t coming my way. He was standing at the end of the alley, emphasized by the lights of the main road. Just standing.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off him. It was far from pitch black, but I couldn’t make out any of his details. ‘He’ was speculative enough. There was no way to be certain of his gender. Every feature, from facial to clothing, was unknown.

  He, or she, or it, or whatever, was strange. Something about the mystery man made my hairs stand on end.

  “Hey, you! Get outta here!” I yelled at him.

  He didn’t respond; didn’t react. But, I knew he was watching me. I could feel it.

  The pit of my stomach curled itself into knots. I was a fighter, but I didn’t step forward. Something about him stopped me before I got started.

  I retreated away and flicked my gaze to the side. My eyes shot open and my body froze. Two more figures blocked the other end of the alley. No different from the first. Unmoving and impossible to describe.

  Running wasn’t my style, but I made a rare exception. I fled into the kitchen and slammed the door behind me.

  My breath escaped. I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding it. My mind had been dominated by whoever they were.

  “What the hell was that?” I mumbled to myself.

  “Meow.”

  I looked down and found a bundle of black fur in my arms. That stupid cat. I’d been so distracted I’d brought it with me.

  It purred again and pawed at my chest. Absolutely adorable, but this wasn’t the time or the place. Paul wouldn’t tolerate this.

  “Jake, where are you?!” Paul called from the other end of the joint.

  “You’ve gotta be shitting me,” I groaned. Of all the times.

  My little fuzzy job wrecker didn’t give a damn. It kept on purring while nuzzling up to me. How could it give me that cutesy look when it was endangering my well-being? Didn’t it know my job was in serious jeopardy?

  I went to throw it outside but paused as my hand hovered over the handle. They were outside.

  Cowardice won and I opted for Plan B. I opened the closest cabinet and put the cat inside.

  “Wait there. And don’t make a sound,” I whispered, pointing at the cat.

  It looked at me with those same gooey brown eyes and tilted its head.

  “You better not blow this for me. I swear—”

  “Jake!”

  I slammed the cabinet shut and spun around, blocking the door with my body.

  Paul was standing there, looking at me with that same stern expression he used whenever I was acting like a gobshite.

  “Hey, Paul. What’s shaking?” I asked, playing it cool like a cucumber.

  He folded his arms and grunted. “What are you doing this time?”

  “Me? Nothing. I just finished taking out some trash. I’m looking for a fresh bin bag.”

  Paul’s beady eyes narrowed in on me. I could tell what he was doing. He was waiting for me to crumble. Anticipating a show of weakness.

  I flashed my best innocent smile. It was a pretty good one, if I do say so myself. I’d always considered myself to be handsome enough. Not model good looking, but more than decent. Maybe my hair was a bit scruffy, but lots of girls are into that style. And I’d always gotten plenty of compliments for how blue my eyes were. Like a tropical sea, apparently.

  Basically, could he really doubt an attractive sod, like me, who was showing his winning smile?

  His stiff expression relented. Paul exhaled. “They’re in the storeroom.”

  “That’s right,” I said, slapping my head. “How did I forget that?”

  “Stop slacking and get back to work,” Paul ordered.

  He waited for me to run along. Well, as long as he thought I was slacking he wouldn’t suspect anything worse.

  I skipped off to the storeroom and collected what I needed. I’d wait for Paul to get distracted and figure out what to do with the kitten. Before that, work. That meant back to the front of the restaurant.

  As I left the kitchen, I froze. My heart sunk, even though my breathing raced.

  “What the fuck,” I mumbled.

  The figures from the alley were outside the store. And not just one, or two, or three. More. A mass. Dozens stood idle, attention directed towards Pauly’s.

  There was nothing blocking my view of them. The street lights should have made them crystal clear. Spoilers, they didn’t. I still failed to pick out their features. Clarity had made them more mysterious. Their outlines seemed to waver as I looked. They danced and blended into the scenery, the light of the world melting into the darkness of whatever was watching me.

  It was as if shadows had gained form.

  My back hit the wall. I’d shifted away without noticing. My hands were trembling. I’d been in my many fights, but this was my first time shivering like this.

  A little voice inside me barked.

  Run.

  It was my gut, a reliable ally who had never let me down. Never before had I felt it order me around with such certainty.

  Get away. Now.

  I obeyed. I dashed to the back door. It opened fine, but offered me no escape. A wall of black had formed to block me. I’d forgotten something crucial. They were there as well.

  My body froze. They were mere inches away. Distance had been removed from the equation and I still couldn’t nail them down. They were like nothing I’d seen before. Something that had no business existing. A shadow brought to life. An ominous black blur which didn’t comply with the rules of the world.

  I slammed the door shut and blocked it with my body. Sweat trickled down me and my heart rate kicked into high gear.

  Once again, my gut hadn’t steered me wrong. I had to go.

  There was only one other exit. I darted back to the front of the burger shop and almost slammed right into Paul. My feet skidded to a
stop an inch from impact.

  He unbraced and gave me a stony look. “Jake. What are you doing?” he snapped.

  “Paul, we need to get outta here,” I implored. “They’re coming.”

  “Who’s coming?”

  I shifted him by the shoulder and pointed to the shadows outside. “Those.” They’d swooped even closer, forming a cluster directly outside; no longer content with admiring us from a distance.

  “Jake, what are you talking about?” he asked.

  “Those… things.” I didn’t know how else to describe them. They were so damn obvious it seemed crazy that he didn’t understand.

  Paul went through the motions of adjusting his glasses, but his answer didn’t shift. “Jake, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but it has to stop. Now.”

  I was speechless. There wasn’t any way to miss them. They were unsteady black forms surrounding the front of the restaurant. But, then I realized. It wasn’t just Paul. There were a few customers still lingering and they hadn’t noticed anything. Life continued on outside and people passed by, but none of them stopped to look. A man waltzed straight into the mob and out the other side without breaking his stride.

  My mouth slackened. Every goosebump I had was standing on end. They were too real to be an illusion.

  “How can you not see them?!” I proclaimed. “They’re… right there. They’re impossible to miss!”

  “Jake, I’m disappointed,” Paul said, crossing his arms. “I gave you a final chance and this is how you repay me. I never thought you would do drugs at work.”

  “The fuck you talking about?” I snapped.

  “Your weird behavior. These… delusions. It all makes sense.” Paul shook his head. “I expected better from you.”

  “For fuck sake, Paul. I’m not on drugs. They’re…” I glanced back at them and forgot what I was saying.

  One of the shadows had invaded the store.

  Its black coat of fog drained away and revealed solid mass. An actual shape after all this time. It stood on two legs, but it wasn’t human. It was a beast with ink-colored fur.

  “Don’t lie to me, Jake,” Paul continued. He wouldn’t have if he could see what I did. “I’ve seen all about drugs on the news. I know the signs. And did you bring a cat in here?!”

  Something tugged on my pants. I glanced down and there it was. The black cat had the fabric in its teeth and was yanking.

  That was the least of my concerns.

  The beast remained dormant until the mist cleared. Once it was gone, its eyes opened. They were an unnatural shade of aqua blue and were aimed at us. Its mouth followed, revealing a complete set of flesh-eating fangs. Out came a fitting growl.

  My entire body trembled. I’d faced many foes, but none had filled me with such primal fear. I clenched my hands shut, digging my fingernails into my palms. The pain allowed me to collect myself. There wasn’t room to feel afraid. Our escape routes were gone and an opponent was on our turf. Paul couldn’t see it and wouldn’t be much help even if he could. He was defenseless.

  Circumstances had chosen my course of action.

  I hurdled the counter and threw my fists up. “I don’t know what you are, but you’re going down,” I assured the monster, for my own benefit more than anyone else's.

  “Jake, what are you doing?!” Paul cried.

  If only he could see the truth.

  My opponent growled. He was around my height, so a bit taller than six foot, but had a mouth full of flesh-eaters and claws made for slicing.

  All I had were my fists, but they’d been reliable partners until this point. Yet, I was hesitant to use them. My legs trembled and my breaths arrived in raspy bursts.

  “Come on, Jake. You can do this,” I whispered to myself. “It’s only a shadow wolf monster. Piece of cake.”

  It had a menacing aura, but it didn’t strike. Didn’t even raise a guard. There were weak spots aplenty.

  I battled through paralysis and made the first move. A knock-out punch, to the head. “Take this!”

  My fist connected, right on the mark. Fur and flesh sunk around my hand, but there was no give. It didn’t react. No scream, no fall, no stagger; not even a blink.

  I retreated, adrenaline pulsing through my veins. “What the hell?”

  In the corner of my eye, a flash of movement. I upped my guard and protected my head from a clubbing smack. However, I couldn’t do anything to fend off the brute force. It hit me clean off the ground and shot me through the air.

  I soared across the area and smashed into a table, which toppled with me.

  Hitting the plastic didn’t do wonders for my back, but it was kinder than my forearm. I bit down to stop my voice from revealing my agony. Felt like I’d used my arm to block a hammer.

  That… thing had hit me. After I failed to make an impression, it rearranged the damn fixtures.

  “Jake, stop destroying my store!” Paul cried from the back.

  “It’s not like I’m trying to!” I groaned, staggering back to my feet. My forearm throbbed, but there was no break. Or a guarantee of the same happening again. But, I couldn’t run. I returned to my fighting stance.

  “Stop it, you’re hallucinating,” Paul said, rushing around the counter to contain me.

  “Don’t come out here, you idiot!” I yelled. Between us was a monster, one he was unable to see.

  He didn’t believe me, but that no reason for him to die.

  I rushed and tackled him to the ground, mere inches before he hit the beast. We slammed into the floor and bowled into another arrangement, scattering the chairs like bowling pins.

  “Jake, get off me,” Paul groaned, squirming under me like a fish out of water.

  “You’ve gotta get outta here,” I said, pushing him away. “It’s dangerous.”

  “You’re the only dangerous one here, you lunatic!”

  He wouldn’t have said that if he could see what I could. The demon was towering above us, eyeing us as his prey.

  I pushed Paul behind me, under the table, and faced the beast. It didn’t matter if Paul had plans to put me in a straitjacket and a padded cell. I was going to defend him.

  “Leave him alone,” I barked at the two-legged mutt. “Your fight’s with me.”

  It gave me another uncomfortable peek at its dreaded fangs and snarled. Challenge accepted.

  Before it could strike, something black lunged across the room and latched onto the monster’s face. The shadow staggered back, swinging at the air.

  It took me a few stunned moments to piece it together.

  “What is that stupid cat doing?” I said. “It’s gonna get itself killed.”

  It was playing bucking bronco with a wolfman’s face. It had latched on over its eyes and had robbed the monster of its vision.

  The beast stumbled around and crashed into the table I’d toppled, following in my footsteps. My feline friend evacuated right there and then. It flipped back through the air and landed on two feet.

  Two human feet.

  A cat had entered the air, but a woman had landed. One devoid of any clothing, freely revealing every inch of her porcelain colored skin.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, glancing back at me with her big brown eyes. Her long locks of silky black hair fluttered as she flicked her head, exposing her angelic features and plump, pink, lips.

  I was tongue-tied. I couldn’t stop looking at the women who had appeared out of thin air. She had an incredible figure; a nuanced athletic beauty. Her slender toning didn’t overwrite her natural curves. Long, stunning, legs slipped up towards a perky, round, ass, without a blemish. Following her wide hips, up past her tapered waist, revealed a teasing peek at a pair of large, beautiful, breasts. Her stance kept them obscured, but I could tell they were big and heavy for somebody of her build.

  Despite all that beauty, it was her unique assets which stood out the most. A pair of cat ears stood tall and proud on her head. At the small of her back, a matching tail hung down and swept through the air.

  A shadow monster I could believe, but this was too far. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. She was still there. Swimsuit figure, smooth white skin, and the makings of a catgirl.

  “Who the hell are you?!” Paul shouted, pointing from below the table. “Where did you come from?!”

  “You can see her too?” I asked, looking at him.

  “How could I miss a naked woman who appeared from nowhere?” he explained.

  “Well, you couldn’t see the other things.”

  “What other things?!”