The Hunters and the Hunted

The young man’s gray hood and work cap flew off, as he struggled to push the mysterious woman away, but her strength was far greater than his.

She tightened her grip on him, like she was trying to restrain her prey. Her sharp nails biting into the raincoat’s fabric, as her body pressed against his made it more difficult for Rohit to break free.

“Let me go!” he yelled, still trying to squirm from her death grip, but to no avail. His back was now soaking wet as was his long, black hair after the tie came off in the assault. There was a chilly sensation running through his spine from the rainwater that stunned the young man even more. After his fruitless attempts to break free from her grasp, he felt something warm drop onto his face.

It was water, but it wasn’t the cool rain.

Rohit looked up into the blonde girl’s eyes, and noticed they were tearing up, as more sincere droplets fell onto his face.

She muttered something under her breath that he could barely hear amongst the rainfall, but when he focused on her pale lips, he was able to make out the words she was saying: “…me… Please help me.”

The man stared back into her eyes again, which read sincerity and desperation, so he swallowed hard, and opted for negotiation, since he clearly couldn’t win in a physical struggle.

“They’re coming for me,” Ingrid bluntly stated. “Please, just hide me or—or something!”

“What do you mean?” Rohit asked sternly. “Who’s coming for you? What’s going on?” He tried prying for more answers, but heard something break further down the alley, and noticed the young woman’s hands were trembling.

“Just… please….!” she whispered her desperate plea, gazing into his eyes. “Cover for me!”

The young man returned her gaze and felt an urge to help her. He perceived that she was something extraordinary, especially with the strength she possessed, despite the bullet wounds in her arms and legs. Rohit didn’t know what he was getting himself into, but quickly put his skepticism aside to help this person out. It was like several thoughts were running through his head in the instant he decided, that he was able to begin following through with his plan naturally.

As two figures emerged in the dim light, they shouted after Rohit, while his back was turned to them like he was walking away, and ordered him to stop where he was.

He turned around. “Whoa, what’s going on?” he gasped suddenly, noticing the ominous figures approaching him. “Wh-What do you want?” he nervously asked with his hands out to the side.

The dark-cloaked figures approached him and told him to put his hands down.

“We need some help,” the taller one stated. “Can you help us?”

The young man shook his head, still appearing startled with the people before him. “I—I don’t have any money…” he instinctively informed.

“Relax, we’re not here for money,” the shorter one reassured, taking notice of the young man’s employee cap. “We’re just looking for information.”

“Okay… like what?” Rohit responded, feeling genuinely calmer, as people sometimes seek information about different things from convenience store employees.

It was like they were an automatic directory with a plethora of information, just because they’ve seen all kinds of people from all walks of life pass through. However, such a stereotype wasn’t always true depending on the person.

Rohit, on the other hand, had been working at the store for a few years, and saw plenty of things in his time, especially at night, so he was playing his role exactly as Ingrid hoped he would, since he wasn’t cracking under pressure.

“You wouldn’t happen to have seen a young woman with blonde hair and fair skin would you?” the taller one asked.

The young man shrugged. “A lot of people come through this way at night, sir,” he casually responded, “even in the rain. You’d be surprised.”

The two sighed, and the shorter one pulled out a phone and showed him a picture of a beautiful woman—the same one he’d just encountered. “Have you seen her?” he bluntly asked.

The young man looked at the screen for a bit, and then off to the side like he was thinking over his options, before replying he hadn’t. “I’ll keep an eye out for you, but I doubt anyone else is gonna come through at this time,” Rohit added.

The shorter one sighed. “Guess that settles it, Marv,” he addressed the taller one. “This guy hasn’t seen anything.”

“Now hold on, Harry,” Marv replied, before turning to Rohit. “You. Are you sure she hasn’t stopped by here at all? It’s important that we find her.”

The young man shrugged. “I’ve been working here all night, man,” he defended. “I’m quite sure she hasn’t stopped by, or I would’ve remember a beautiful face like that.”

There was a pause, like Harry wasn’t convinced, so Rohit suggested they contact the police. “There’s a few who stop by here every night, so I could personally call them up to help you if you want.” He was testing their moxie to see if they’d bite, but felt secure with whatever choice they chose anyway.

They appeared to be focused on carrying their search out themselves, but whoever they were certainly didn’t spell good news if they continued to linger around here.

The tall man laughed and turned to Harry, saying, “No, no, no. This isn’t someone we should involve the police in... I’m sure we’ll find her on our own.” He then turned back to the young man, apologizing for wasting his time, before dismissing themselves.

The two walked past Rohit and into the open streets, where they continued looking around in the heavy rain.

The young man exhaled with relief, before walking to the dumpster and tapped it with his fingernails. “They’re gone,” he informed.

Ingrid slowly peeked her head out from under the lid, and scanned the area, before tumbling out clumsily, but it was due to her wounds.

“Hey!” Rohit called to her, lowering himself to help stabilize her posture. “I’ll call the police so they can send an ambulance—”

“No!” she protested, before lowering her voice. “I mean… Thank you, but this really isn’t something we should involve the authorities in…”

The man scratched his face, as he analyzed the girl’s dark attire and wounds after she stood up. “So like… you’re definitely not just any cosplayer, or trying to imitate any particular character…” he deduced, stroking his beard. “You don’t come off as a Goth or Emo kid either. Maybe you just like dressing in renaissance clothes…?” His eyes then trailed off from her dark blouse to the bullet wounds in her body, as he pursed his lips. “Are you one of those people with the condition of not being able to feel pain?” he asked nonchalantly. “You look like you’ve lost a lot of blood…”

Ingrid was panting slowly, while holding onto the edge of the dumpster, before collapsing to her knees. She was weaker this time the longer the bullets stayed inside her, and the young man was able to catch her, before she totally collapsed into the puddles again.

“Man…” he sighed and postured her up to her feet, as he placed one of her arms around his shoulder.

She weakly whispered audible enough, “Whatever you do… please don’t take me to the hospital…” Ingrid slowly panted. “I just need some time to recover… And if you have any—” She paused abruptly, as she swallowed. “… any blood, please give it to me,” she concluded.

“Blood…?” Rohit inquired, widening his eyes, but then looked at Ingrid’s mouth, which had four pointed teeth instead of normal length canines. “Are you… No way, you can’t be a—”

“Yes…” she weakly said, before drifting off again. “I’m a vampire…”

Ingrid’s body then went limp in the man’s arms and he shook his head, conflicted at what to do.