Chapter 19: What's in the back?

The group steps into what initially appears to be a break room, but to their surprise, it transforms into a space filled with weapons, armor, and strange sigils etched across the walls.

"So, what do y'all think?" the man asks, striking a pose with a proud grin.

Sunny scans the room, her hand brushing over one of the swords mounted on the wall. "This is definitely a hunter's den. But why hide it behind a hardware store?" she asks, tilting her head curiously.

The man snaps his fingers. "Actually, this isn't just my den—it's my house! I've spent years perfecting my sigil work for teleportation, and I—"

Jamal interrupts, crossing his arms. "Look, dude, that's great and all, but why are you showing us this?"

The man lets out a long sigh. "I'm a hunter, like you all. But I've been tracking this monster for a month now, and it keeps evading me. Every time I feel like I'm close, it's ten steps ahead, and I'm ten feet behind!"

Sunny raises an eyebrow. "It's evading you, huh?"

The man nods, pacing back and forth. "I'm certain it's humanoid in nature. I nearly caught it once, but it fled."

Sunny pauses, her gaze fixed on a nearby board covered in papers and scribbled notes. "Hold up. Have these attacks been happening during the day or at night?"

The man stops pacing, rubbing his chin. "At night, actually. Now that you mention it."

Luna tilts her head thoughtfully. "So, is the creature nocturnal, then?"

Jamal chimes in, snapping his fingers. "I remember hearing about that incident at the morgue here!"

Sunny snaps her fingers too, her eyes lighting up. "We're getting warmer."

The man's eyes widen in realization. "Wait… could it be a vampire?"

Sunny strokes her chin, deep in thought. "Hmm, maybe. It did supposedly create a thrall. If it is a vampire, though, we'll need to figure out which family it belongs to."

Jamal's expression shifts to shock. "Can we even kill a vampire?"

Sunny shrugs nonchalantly. "No clue. It depends on how strong it is and what weaknesses it has—if it even has any."

She shakes her head, grounding herself. "But we're getting ahead of ourselves. The easiest way for a hunter to die is by assuming they know what they're hunting without any proof."

The man sighs, his shoulders slumping. "Damn. And here I thought we just cracked the code."

Sunny snaps her fingers again, drawing everyone's attention. "No, this is still helpful. We know it's active at night and it's targeting humans, which means we need to focus on the least protected areas. That's where it's most likely to strike next."

Luna and Jamal both nod in agreement.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Luna says, giving a thumbs-up.

Jamal interjects, "So, are we just going to watch?"

Sunny nods. "We will, but we'll also make sure no one gets killed."

The man's smile returns. "Okay! And, uh, that paint remover? It's on the house!"

Before leaving, the group exchanges phone numbers with the man to coordinate their next move.

As the group approaches the RV, they're greeted with an unsettling sight—a message spray-painted on the ground in bold letters reading, "Go Away!"

Sunny halts mid-step. "Huh. Well, at least it's not on the RV," she mutters, glancing around. Her sharp eyes scan the area, but there's no sign of any civilians nearby. "Unfortunately for the perpetrator, I've got surveillance cameras on my baby."

Luna and Jamal let out simultaneous sighs of relief, glad Sunny isn't spiraling into one of her rages. They cautiously approach the RV, waiting to see if anyone had dared to break in. To their immense relief, the RV is untouched.

However, their relief quickly turns to anguish as they realize the spray paint still needs to be dealt with. What follows is a painstaking two-hour process of scrubbing and cleaning until the mess is finally gone.

Exhausted but determined, the group drives to a quiet neighborhood—one that looks like the kind of place where retirees might live. Sunny parks the RV by the curb, the serene surroundings a welcome change.

Finally, Sunny settles into the RV to check the surveillance footage.

Here's the revised version of the scene:

Sunny watches the surveillance footage intently, her expression darkening as the culprit comes into view—the same guy she had threatened earlier, now caught red-handed spray-painting the ground. Her anger surges.

"I'm gonna break that little shit's legs and throw his ass in a river," she growls.

Luna, who had been walking toward Sunny, immediately freezes and then pivots on her heel, leaving behind what might as well be an outline of herself in the doorway.

Jamal, meanwhile, is also heading toward Sunny but halts when Luna frantically shakes her head. Instead, the two retreat to the kitchen for coffee, letting Sunny cool off.

"Okay, so this is our first stakeout—or at least mine," Luna says, tilting her head in an attempt to spark a conversation.

"I've done a few, but for something like this? A potential vampire? Yeah, that's new for me too," Jamal replies, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

As Luna shuffles nervously in place, she glances at Jamal. "So, that snapping thing you do—is it magic or what?"

Jamal grins. "Nope! Pyrokinesis. The snapping thing? That's a spirit contract I made with myself. Every time I want to use fire, I have to snap my fingers."

Luna raises an eyebrow. "A spirit contract?"

Before Jamal can elaborate, the coffee pot dings, followed by the microwave chiming in with its own cheerful notification. Luna grabs the coffee pot, pouring cups for both of them.

"A spirit contract is a binding spell," Sunny interjects, strolling into the kitchen with her usual commanding presence. She pours herself a cup of coffee before continuing. "It's something anyone can do. However, if you make one, it ain't easy to break. Once you've made your contract, you're most likely stuck with it."

Luna slowly nods her head. "Got it. If I learn how to make one, I'll choose my words carefully. Understood."

Sunny smirks and rubs Luna's head. "Atta girl!"

After a little while, they wait for nightfall. Then there's a knock at the door—it's the man from the hardware store, Eddy, who Sunny had called earlier to let him know where they were parked.

Luna goes to let him in. "Alright, and your name was Eddy, right?"

The man nods.

"Alright, so why here, exactly?" Eddy asks, stepping inside.

Sunny smiles confidently. "Oh, simple—why wouldn't it come here? Besides, I'm going to use a good deal of mana to hide us."

Eddy gives Sunny a long blink. "Oh, I guess that would work." He looks a tad bit defeated as he walks over and sits on the couch. Luna joins him.

"What's wrong?" Luna asks, noticing his expression.

Eddy sighs, looking a bit sad. "I mean, I've been hunting this thing for over a month, maybe longer, and it seems like y'all are going to be done with it in a few days!"

Luna gives him a reassuring smile. "Well, when we fight this thing, we'll make sure you're there!"

Eddy's face brightens at this. "Yeah, I guess that would be fine!"

Sunny claps her hands to get everyone's attention. "Alright, everyone, once I conceal us, no using magic or psychic waves. Got it?"

Everyone nods, and they can feel Sunny cloaking the RV in a thick layer of mana, concealing it from anyone's senses unless they're directly looking at it.

"Alright, showtime. And no exiting the RV!" Sunny commands.

After an hour of lounging around, they hear a shrieking sound. Sunny watches her surveillance camera feed, spotting a bat-like creature perched on one of the houses. She zooms in to get a better look.

"Well, that's interesting. Looks like were-creatures can be added to the possibilities of what this thing is," Sunny remarks.

The creature shrieks again.

"Huh, is it using echolocation, perhaps?" Sunny wonders aloud. The creature suddenly looks in the direction of the RV.

"Huh, those are some good senses you've got to see through my cloak. Good for you!" Sunny mutters.

The creature takes off in an instant.

"Alright," Sunny says, standing up, "our creature is either being controlled by another force, or it's a werebat—or a vampire that belongs to a family close to Bram."

Luna tilts her head. "Uh, is that bad?"

"Probably not. If it's related to Bram, then we just need to make it stay till morning. And if it's a werebat, we just need some silver to kill it," Sunny replies confidently. She smiles. "Alright, but after getting a good look at the creature, it's most definitely killable!"

Eddy slumps into his chair with a sigh of relief. "You know, at least this thing will be dead soon."

Jamal chimes in, "So, what's the plan?"

Sunny throws up a thumbs-up. "Simple! If we fight it, we'll attack with silver and try to hold out until morning. While we're fighting, we'll use that opportunity to figure out what it really is!"

The group nods in agreement until Luna raises an important question. "Do we even have any silver?"

Sunny pauses, her confident demeanor faltering. "I... didn't think to bring any. Shit. Well, guess we're gonna have to go get some, aren't we?"

The group collectively lets out a sigh, realizing this plan might be both time-consuming and expensive.