The Hunter

Chapter Ten

I don’t even bother changing out the items in my bag. I’ll just wash my clothes at the motel when we get there. But I do need to buy some more supplies before I go. My dad could’ve dropped me off at Remy’s but I suppose he’s busy prepping for the trip too. Instead I decide to call up Jaden, he has a car.

“We’ll if it isn’t Mr. Silver ranked. Did you call me to gloat?” Jaden answers.

“Naw man, I called to see if you were still in town.”

“We’ll it just so happens that I am.”

“Can I ask for a favor?”

“Shoot.”

“Can you take me over to Remy’s? We’re leaving for another hunt tonight and I need some supplies.”

“Man I can’t believe you still don’t have a car. Sure I’ll come get you. Then you can tell me what happened between you and Bella.” He hangs up the phone before I have time to protest. I get changed and wait for Jaden outside.

The weather is just about to turn cold in a few weeks, but for now the heat is still out in full force. I loiter under the shade of my apartment building while I’m waiting. Jaden pulls up in his black suv. He rolls down the window.

“How much for just one night.” He slides down his sunglasses and smiles at me. I just roll my eyes and open the door.

“Well you are the easiest person I’ve ever met.” Jaden says going along with his joke.

“Ha. Ha. very funny.” I say. Jaden laughs and he starts driving.

“Sooo. You and Bella had a good time together?”

Jaden’s as subtle as a brick to the head.

“Did she tell you that?” I ask. Jaden just smirks.

“You haven’t even spoken to her since then have you?” He asks.

“I don’t have her number. Plus I’ve been busy.” I honestly didn’t even think about it until now.

“Yeah yeah yeah, don’t worry, she’s not crying over you or anything. I just wanted to give you a hard time man.” Jaden says.

“Not cool.”

“But seriously, you’re a Silver rank now. How did that happen?” Jaden asks.

“Jax is Gold.” Jaden opens his mouth in shock.

“Seriously? Wow that’s crazy. Our group is up for a promotion after our next hunt too. Maybe the journeymen will still be feeling generous. So what’s your next hunt?” He asks.

Jaden’s group is getting promoted again? It usually takes a year before a hunter can go on enough hunts to be eligible to level up their ranking. Jaden just got his 6 months ago. And it’s not like he’s been hunting non stop since. I wonder why the guild is promoting everyone so quickly?

“Father and I are out looking for werewolves.” I answer.

“Oh sweet! I didn’t know there were any left. That’s awesome. Not many people get to hunt those.” Jaden says excitedly.

We pull up to Remy’s.

“Let’s get you set up good for your next mission.” Jaden says and hops out of the car. We walk in to Remy’s. There is one other person in the shop when we walk in.

“Look what the cat dragged in. You two getting into trouble?” Remy asks. Anyone who’s been in the hunters’ world knows Remy. He’s a heavier set guy, stocky, with broad shoulders and a thick reddish brown beard. The front part of Remy’s looks like a normal gun store. Guns, ammo, survival equipment, gun parts and accessories, you know the usual. But the hunters equipment is all in the back. Specialty weapons, magic nullifying arrows, different herbs and tinctures to help with different kinds of creatures and monsters. If you need it Remy has it.

“Hey ‘Rem-Dem’ We need to set up Jr. here to hunt some werewolves. He’s a silver rank now, can you believe that? Me and the boys are hoping to rank up soon, maybe the journeymen wil be just as generous to us as the were to Rod, and Cole.”

Jaden keeps talking. Did he call him ‘Rem-Dem’? That’s the worst nickname I’ve ever heard. I hang my head embarrassed by Jaden’s blathering. I guess Remy doesn’t mind it.

“Woah Silver rank? That’s nice, Cole. Now you get access to the ‘Silver’ weapons room.” Remy raises his eyebrows up and down.

“Oh sweet!” I say.

Remy walks me down the hall and to a back room. He opens it to a room full of new weapons. Some of them I’ve never seen before.

“Woah, you have to let me look around.” Jaden peeks his head in. Remy sighs.

“Fine, but only looking Jaden. I have cameras everywhere.”

“Not to worry. I’ll accept my scraps like the rest of them.” Jaden says, causing Remy to smirk as he walks away.

“Man look at all this stuff. Could you imagine what the Platinum hunters get? I mean this is insane.” The guild works hard on their weapons and fitting them for each ranked member.

“Alright, you are going to need silver bullets, silver chains, some wolfsbane..” Jaden says.

“You sure know a lot about wolves.” I say.

“Oh yeah, I think they are just fascinating. Like how only men are wolves, but every now and then you’ll get a she wolf. Did you know that if there is a female wolf she becomes their pack leader?” He says as he grabs a box of bullets and hands them to me.

“No I didn’t know about the leader thing. But I heard how the female wolves are triggered.”

“Yeah they have to like get hurt to the point of death, but somehow not die. No wonder they’re so rare.”

“Oh I though it was just anything traumatic could trigger their shift?”

“Well, yeah almost dying is pretty traumatic I would say.” Jaden says. I chuckle to myself.

“Anything else I should know?” I ask him.

“Hmmm.” Jaden says as he walks over towards a wall of silver knives.

“Werewolves hunt in packs, as you probably know. The minimum pack size would be three. So if you do manage to find a wolf, there’s bound to be at least two more nearby. Silver is our best defense against them.. But the hardest thing about fighting werewolves is that they can pass as human. I assume you know about wolfsbane?”

“Yeah I’ve heard of it.”

“Put it in their drink, if they’re a wolf they’ll spit it out. Then you’ll know. There’s no hiding after that.” He hands me a box and inside is a flower.

“Thanks man.” I grab a duffel bag and start loading it up with all of my new trinkets.

“And I think you’ve figured out by now how to kill them?” Jaden asks

“Uhh, Silver bullet to the heart?” I answer.

“Yep that’ll do it! Or a knife, or removing the head from their body. But they’re pretty sturdy and dangerous up close. A range weapon is the best choice.” Jaden says.

“Got it.” I say.

We gather up everything and I check out with Remy. We load up the car and head back to my place.

“So you’re leaving tonight?” He asks.

“Yeah, you know my dad. Always a go getter.”

“Yeah, your old man is a pusher. Just make sure you get some rest. You don’t want to be hunting werewolves when you’re tired.”

“Don’t worry, we’re going in under cover so we won’t be rushing.”

“Good.” Jaden’s phone starts to ring and he answers it.

“Bella, what a surprise. You won’t guess who I have sitting next to me right now.” He looks over at me and grins.

“Dude stop!” I mouth to him.

“No, lover boy.” He says, still smiling and teasing me. I burry my face in my hands.

“No no, he’s leaving tonight. You’re just going to have to wait to get your hands on him again.”

Kill me now. This is so embarrassing.

“I’ll see you tonight.” He hangs up the phone.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?” I shout.

“Calm down. She knows I’m joking. And besides, she is the one who told me, she sounded so embarrassed.” Jaden laughs. That’s right, she told him. She was talking about me.

“Why did she tell you?” I ask.

“I guess since we’re friends and I’m her team leader she just wanted to let me know. But little does she know, she’s going to get a hard time for it.” Jaden smiles as he pulls up to my place.

“Man be careful. Wolves can be dangerous. A lot of hunters have lost their lives to them. That’s why the guild worked so hard to wipe them out.” Jaden gets serious.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be careful.” I get out and grab my bag. Jaden drives off and I let my father know I’m ready to leave. He picks me up 30 minutes later and we make our way toward Warm Spring. It’s a small mountain town, which is perfect for wolves. It’s only a few hours before we reach our destination.

“I rented us a house for a month so we can blend in.” My father says. I’m grateful we aren’t in a motel again, but an entire month? That seems excessive.

“Part of our cover. We have a shop too.” He adds. This is an elaborate cover. More permanent than any cover we’ve used before. I wonder what he’s up to?