Half-Breed Hunter: Arrival Read online

  “Sorry, there’s no time for this,” she said, grabbing my arm. “We need to go.”

  Somehow I gained the strength to look past the busty, striking, hottie. The black beastman was recovering from his fall.

  “I can’t leave Paul here,” I said.

  “It’s okay. It’s only interested in you.” She squeezed my arm when I didn’t respond. “Trust me. He’s safe if you follow me.”

  “How do you know that?” I asked. “What is that thing?”

  “I’ll explain later. Right now, we need to go.”

  The door was blocked by the festering shadows. She ignored them and grabbed the table closest to the window, throwing it through the glass pane with a brilliant smash.

  “My window!” Paul screamed, several pitches higher than I knew he was capable of.

  “Come on,” the catgirl said, offering her hand to me.

  I didn’t know who she was, or what was happening, but she was more appealing than a shadow wolf. Either way, she’d given me the escape route I’d been waiting for.

  “Fuck it,” I eloquently put it, accepting her offer.

  Together, we emerged from the battered burger bar and into the outside world. The shadows watched but didn’t follow.

  “Jake. Jake! Get back here!” Paul yelled, scrambling to the wreckage.

  “Sorry, Paul! I’ll pay you back later! I promise!” I shouted back.

  There was something I had to do first which was more important than restoring my goodwill with the manager who would never hire me again. Figure out what the hell was going on.

  Chapter 3

  We made our grand escape from Pauly’s and stopped in an alley a block away. I welcomed the break. It wasn’t a distance which should have bothered me, but I was out of breath. My tension had been sky high since seeing the first shadow. Plus, I was traveling with someone who gave me a good reason to be breathless.

  It was the first time I’d ran behind a naked beauty. My eyes may have been glued to her backside, which swayed with every step she took. It was rude to stare, but impossible not to.

  She was still naked, revealing all. Her magnificent breasts, made even larger by her slender figure. They didn’t sag, but I didn’t doubt their authenticity. Science hasn’t developed the technology to create such an enticing, natural, bosom. I could have stared at her pink nipples all day.

  Then there were those alluring curves. Her flat stomach was the stuff of envy for the average woman on the street. The kind made to be shown off. Something the dedicated would spend hours in the gym trying to match.

  Venturing even lower I discovered a hairless mound. Smooth and uncovered. A perfect soft shade of pink.

  She cleared her throat.

  I snapped my focus back to her face and discovered her feminine features scrunched into a frown.

  “Hello. Nice to have your attention again,” she said.

  I rubbed the back of my neck and flashed a weary smile. “Sorry. I kinda didn’t know where to look…”

  “So you kept staring?”

  “Well… yeah. I guess I did. My bad.”

  She sighed. “Honestly. Boys.”

  “Don’t ‘boys’ me,” I protested, highlighting her body. “You’re the naked one.” It wasn’t as if I had been the only person to see her like that. She’d shown herself to Paul, a few cowardly customers, and everybody we passed on our travels.

  “I didn’t choose to dress like this,” she complained, covering her chest. Her hand-bra protected her nipples but did little to quell her titillating presence.

  She was gonna make my dick explode.

  I stripped out of my shirt and threw it to her. “Here. Wear that.”

  “I can’t,” she said, pushing it back to me. “You’ll get cold.”

  “You need it more than me,” I insisted, doing what I could to ignore the bitter breeze rolling over my skin.

  She relented and slipped in on. The red t-shirt hung low enough to serve as a mini-dress, and the unbuttoned top flashed her pale cleavage. “Thank you.”

  Somehow, seeing her perky nipples tenting the fabric, and her snowy thighs peeking out, seemed more alluring than having her naked. Stupid male libido.

  “Now, questions,” I said.

  “Yes. Which way to the cemetery?” she asked.

  “Wait, what?” I exclaimed. “I meant me asking questions.”

  “Can’t they wait until later?”

  “Call me crazy, but I kinda wanna know what’s going on. Who are you? Were you that cat? What was that thing and why did it come for me?”

  “And I can tell you later. Escaping them is more important.” She gestured down the alley with a flick of the neck.

  Three shadows watched us. The darkness failed to hide their mysterious forms.

  More watched from the street. They were blotted around, being ignored by the thinning amount of pedestrians. And, in return, the shadows ignored them. They reserved their focus for me.

  “Dammit. Didn’t we get away?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “No. Sorry. They won’t stop coming until we get to the cemetery.”

  “The graveyard? Why?”

  “Can’t you trust me?” she huffed. “The more time we waste, the more danger you’re in.” And I’d wasted a lot of time staring at her tits.

  My curiosity begged for relief, but I surrendered. “Fine.”

  “You’ll guide me there?” she asked, brimming with enthusiasm.

  “I could get you there with my eyes closed,” I bragged.

  “Great!” She grabbed my hand. “Hurry. Let’s go.”

  “Alright,” I said. “Do your best to keep up.”

  “I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” she giggled.

  We fled the alley, with me leading. More shadows had appeared and they weren’t as cloaked as they had once been. The black will-o’-the-wisps were gaining solid forms. Beasts and monsters that no longer felt like putting on a facade.

  They watched us move. Their heads turned and glowing blue eyes latched on. That was all they did, but it was only a matter of time until they evolved and attacked. I could sense it.

  “For now, ignore them,” she said. “As long as they’re just watching, they’re not a threat.”

  “And how long will that last?” I asked.

  “Not long, which is why we need to hurry.”

  “Why? What’s waiting for us at the graveyard?”

  “You’ll see when we get there. Less talk, more focus,” she said.

  “Fine,” I relented. Self-preservation overpowered curiosity. “At least tell me your name.”

  “Oh, silly me. I’m Esther.”

  “Jake,” I replied.

  “I know that, silly. Cut the small talk and keep going. I’ll save you. I promise.”

  All I’d deciphered was one extra piece of information: a name. There was still so much I didn’t know, but I was content to wait. She didn’t seem like a bad person, or a bad cat-person. And anybody had to be better than the shadows watching me in the open.

  I shut my trap and glued my eyes to the road. The cold darkness was overpowered by the heat generated by my motoring body.

  Esther matched my pace and didn’t slow me down. Hell, I had a feeling she was being held back by me. By the time we reached the park I always cycled through, my breath was erratic while hers remained steady.

  Try to keep up. What was I thinking? This was a valuable lesson for my male ego.

  “Are you doing okay?” she asked.

  “Don’t rub it in, please,” I groaned.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” I didn’t stop moving. There was still plenty of energy in the tank, no matter my state. “I’m fine. It’s too early for a rest.”

  “Good,” she purred. “Please, hurry. I don’t like the look of the demons.”

  I no longer noticed shadows. They’d all turned into monsters. Sure, they stood like statues, but their bodies had gained clarity. They were all manner of horrifying monstrosities, with glowing blue eyes and black, tainted, figures.

  And nobody could see them but us.

  We tread my usual path at a good pace until we reached the park’s center. It was unusually noisy, something I penned as Halloween related. Drunk teens used the graveyard for their parties, so the park seemed like fair game.

  People occupied the square, but none of them were dressed for trick or treating. They wore the standard uniform for a gang of thugs, matching the rest of their style.

  They fanned across our path and brought our progress sliding to a halt.

  “What is this?” I groaned.

  “I told you I’d make you pay,” a familiar voice said.

  Of all the times for that self-centered jerkass to try something of this magnitude. This wasn’t the usual crowd of wannabees he hung with.

  “Roddy, what the fuck?” I said.

  The ogre lookalike emerged from the crowd, smirking. His nose looked rotten, some shadow of purple, and was covered in a plaster which didn’t look to be having much impact.

  “Told you I was sick of your shit,” he announced, arms spread. “Thought I’d get some friends to teach you a lesson.”

  They looked a lot tougher than his usual running mates. They were armed to the teeth with an assortment of weapons: knives, chains, knuckledusters, metal poles. All could do some serious damage.

  “Seriously, Roddy. Can’t you see I’m busy?” I groaned, rubbing my brow.

  “Jake, who are these men?” Esther asked.

  “Some thugs hired to beat me up.”

  “Really?” she sighed. “We don’t have time for this.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “Hey, stop acting so cocky!” Roddy shouted. “Can’t you see you’re in trouble?!”
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  His armed thugs closed in. They had the intimidation factor down. On a normal day, my goosebumps would have flared as I searched for an equalizer. However, a certain wolf monster had changed the game. Its allies, serving as the peanut gallery, reinforced it.

  “What are we going to do?” Esther asked. “We can’t waste time here.”

  “You’re preaching to the choir, but I doubt they’ll let us run.” I stepped forward and put up my guard. “I have to fight.”

  “Not alone,” she said, stepping with me.

  “This is my fight,” I told her. “Allow me.”

  “Not happening. I’m here to protect you. From demons, or thugs.” There was no give in her stance. As far as she was concerned, this discussion was over.

  “You never told us there’d be a girl,” one of the thugs said.

  “Never seen her before,” Roddy responded. He snickered, licking his lips. “Try not to hurt her too bad. Jake owes me a piece of ass.”

  The thug stepped forward, smacking a pipe into his open palm. He was as huge as Roddy but didn’t carry himself like an untrained ape. “You heard him. If you don’t wanna get smacked around, come quietly, little la—”

  Esther smash kicked his jaw and dropped him, hard.

  There was a long silence after the thud of body on ground. We were a good ten meters away and she’d covered that distance in the blink of an eye. I’d been getting into fights for years and had never seen somebody move so swift.

  Surrounded by towering men, Esther stood her ground. “If you don’t wanna get hurt, step aside.”

  Of course, no ‘manly’ man is gonna run from a fight with a lone girl. The men swarmed her, composure ruined. They attacked with a variety of metal weapons that could cause lasting damage on contact.

  At least, they tried to.

  She weaved through the barrage of steel and dropped another thug with a hard swipe.

  My jaw dropped. I’d never seen anybody fight like her, man or woman. Her speed was insane and she packed surprising power in her slender limbs.

  And I was going to insist she stepped aside for her own safety. What an idiot.

  The men tried their best to hit her, but she was like a ninja riding the wind. Unarmed, and basically undressed, she skipped around their best and used any opening she could to strike.

  “Somebody get that damn bitch!” a frustrated thug yelled.

  “What about me?” I asked, cracking his jaw with a knockout punch. I’d watched enough. This was still my fight and she wasn’t cleaning them up alone.

  My involvement was the last thing the overpowered thugs needed. The tipped scales creaked under our authority.

  “I didn’t sign up for this,” one of the thugs said, flailing his chain to keep us away.

  Esther ducked and dived in front of him, trying to find a way through. His defense was solid. It wasn’t that they were bad fighters. They were outclassed.

  “Hey, asshole,” I yelled at the guy.

  He panicked and swung his chain at me.

  I dodged to the side and grabbed the end as he tried to tug it back. “Bad choice,” I said, grinning.

  The thug turned, just in time, to see an incoming catgirl knock his block off.

  “Nice shot,” I said, taking the chain for myself.

  “Thanks,” she replied, turning to the remaining gangstas. “Who’s next?”

  They backed off, under the force of her piercing gaze. A bunch of self-styled tough guys were put in their place by a catgirl.

  “Fuck this,” one of them said, taking off.

  “Hey, where are you going?!” Roddy barked.

  “I didn’t sign up for this shit. Deal with these psychos yourself.”

  His fellow thugs agreed with his sentiment and bolted, clearing the area. The only obstacle remaining was Roddy.

  All his confidence drained away. His eyes went wide and his bear-sized body trembled. He put up his hands and stepped back. “No hard feelings, Jake?”

  I grinned and stepped towards him, wrapping the chain around my fist. “Hmm, I’m not sure. I’m thinking somebody needs a lesson.”

  “Please, Jake. You wouldn’t.”

  “Are you so sure?” I laughed.

  Esther tugged my arm. “Jake. Come on. We don’t have time for this.”

  “Aw, and I wanted to scare him a little more.” I glared at Roddy. “Try anything like this again and you won’t get off so easily.”

  “Yes, yes. I’m so sorry,” he said, dropping to his knees and lowering his head.

  What a pathetic sight. I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

  “Come on. Let’s get outta here,” I said to Esther.

  “Jake,” she replied.

  “Yeah, I know. We should—”

  “Jake, move!” She screamed, pushing my back.

  I threw myself that way. The ground, where I’d been standing, exploded from something big and bad slamming down. It was another huge, black, beast with glowing blue eyes and a bad attitude. This one wasn’t a wolf. It looked more like a giant ape.

  Its ugly mug turned my way. I was still the flavor of the month. It launched its huge body over, clubbing its boulder fists into the floor.

  I rolled away before the ground shattered. If it could do that to concrete it wasn’t worth thinking about what it could do to me.

  “What the fuck is happening?!” Roddy screamed, like a bitch. To him, the ground was randomly exploding.

  “Dammit, Roddy. Get outta here,” I said, jumping away from another hammer smash.

  Roddy ran for his motorcycle, but his clumsy mount brought it down with a thud. Another explosion sent him scurrying off on foot, ditching his machine.

  “Jake, we need to go,” Esther warned me.

  “I know, I know,” I growled. It wasn’t giving me much breathing room. I whipped it using my chain, but it didn’t make a mark on the big ape. “No way. Even weapons won’t work?”

  “We can’t beat them with anything here. The graveyard is our only chance.” She waved me over. “Come on!”

  “Give me a minute.” I was eager to flee, but I didn’t want it chasing us. For a big bastard, it was fast. I had to dispose of it, somehow.

  It followed me, swinging its tree trunk arms. I was the matador to its bull. Where I went, it followed.

  I backed up as the oncoming monsters closed in. When they would become as active as their ape comrade, I didn’t know. Time was of the essence. I got myself to the closest tree.

  The beast launched in and smashed into the trunk, toppling the entire thing down on top.

  I used the chance and ran back to Esther. She was no longer on foot. Roddy’s motorbike now belonged to her.

  “Get on!” she ordered.

  Our ape foe was already free and was coming our way, shaking the ground beneath its pounding body. I threw myself behind Esther and grabbed her waist.

  “Move it!”

  She nodded and throttled the engine. With an almighty squeal, the tires kicked into life and shot us forward, away from the ape. We roared through the park, weaving around the lurking monsters, and skidded out onto the open road. A moseying car blocked our route.

  “Hang on,” Esther said. She threw her weight to the side and shifted the bike. It turned on a dime, right before impact. Without missing a beat, she sped us off down the road.

  “Holy shit!” I yelled. “How did you learn to do that?”

  “I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve,” she bragged, effortlessly cutting through the traffic. The roads were far from busy, but there were still enough to keep her zigzagging. “I need you to guide me. Can you do it?”

  “You can count on me,” I said, squeezing her slender middle.

  I already had a date with the cemetery that night. With the wind running through my hair, and a badass biker catgirl in my arms, I was about to make the mother of all arrivals.

  Chapter 4

  Esther's hectic, heart attack inducing, driving decimated our travel time. How she avoided a traffic accident I’ll never know.

  “There it is,” I yelled, fighting the roaring wind for supremacy. The illuminated graveyard was in view.

  It was the same every Halloween. A location which should have been shown respect was lit up like a Christmas tree.

  “That’s it. I remember,” Esther said.

  “You’ve been here before?”

  “This is where I arrived. It’s our ticket home.”

  For the first time since taking off, we dipped to a speed slower than breakneck. Our destination was right there, but so were our enemies. Perched on the fence, surrounding the gates, and just about everywhere in the area, were all manner of monsters. The artificial glow of a Halloween party illuminated their black bodies. There had to be dozens of them.