- 7 -

  Pirates

  A hunter’s moon crested the sky, the wind calm. Perfect conditions for hunting. Like any good hunter, he hid from his prey. Through the slits in the bushes, he observed a man with long dark hair and a frilly trench coat swagger along the dark path. Judging by his trajectory, he was on his way to the city.

  As he was about to emerge from the bushes, he spotted another figure coming towards the man. This one’s clothing was ragged and worn. The hunter thought it might have been a beggar, but there was something about how this person carried themself that told him otherwise. The first man gestured with his hand towards the other. The other figure returned whatever the signal was with a smile.

  Curiosity turned to shock when the second man attacked the first. The downtrodden-looking aggressor overpowered his victim quickly. A part of the hunter wanted to assist him, but the arrival of more men in simir attire to the attacker quickly dispelled that idea. He scanned their apparel, noticing strange hats and bdes in holsters.

  The hunter was familiar with stories of this specific sect of vampire. There were tales of vampires who sailed the seas, raiding any vilge, town, city, or poor bastard they came across. But from what he had heard, they only attacked those close to the water. Their town should have been far enough away from the coast that they should have remained only stories. He stayed under the cover of darkness while two of the pirates hoisted up the corpse.

  "She'll want him," a voice picked up. "The bck is good for coating."

  The hunter questioned who ‘she’ could be and what they meant by ‘coating’. However, he didn’t have time for questions. He had to get back and warn everyone that they were coming. He raced back to the vilge, making sure to stay hidden from any pirates that may have scouted ahead.

  As he approached the town, sweat dripping from his face, he was surprised to find no signs of carnage. Were it not for the usual hum and drone coming from the small tavern on the main road, he could have closed his eyes and imagined himself back hunting in the forest. But the hum and drone was not quite the same as it normally was. It sounded much too lively and raucous, though the noises were unmistakably cheerful.

  He took a moment to gather himself and straighten up. It would do no good to burst into the tavern, looking and sounding like a madman, screaming about pirates. As he made his final approach to the entrance, he noticed small crowds enjoying their drinks outside, a sure sign that the tavern’s capacity had been exceeded. He tried to look and listen for any clues about the cause for celebration. As he tried to amble through the bodies to peer inside, he began hearing hints about why everyone had gathered.

  "The brunettes are the ones for me," a man said, waving his gss around haphazardly.

  "Any of the lot of them. I’m not picky." His friend grabbed him by the shoulder and they both ughed.

  Suddenly, the hunter realised what was happening. The pirates were already here.

  He backed away from the little progress he had made towards the door, wary that someone might have noticed his intentions. He had to realistically consider that he was being watched from the darkness. If he was, there was nothing he could do to escape their gaze.

  His shoulders and neck hurt from trying to stop himself from looking into the darkness. He kept his head firmly fixed straight ahead, anticipating that something could emerge from the darkness at any moment. The short walk to his house felt like an eternity. He thanked the spirits for every step he managed.

  Sounds of shocked excitement and theatrical screams made him turn his head back towards the tavern. All light had been extinguished, the people present lulled into the false promise of some surprise celebration.

  Commotion followed by cmour…and then proper screams. He burst into a sprint.

  Relief gripped him as his front door came into view, undisturbed from when he left to go hunting. Still, he opened the door slowly and crept inside. Everything was as it should be, everything except the vacant room that his son normally occupied. Now that he was out of sight and in retive safety, he found himself frantically scrambling. He grabbed a quiver of arrows resting on a rack in the kitchen, fashioned for taking down big game. They were practically ornamental, such was their value and ck of use. From the drawers beneath, he grabbed as many hunting bdes as he could, casting his eyes over the many options. For the first time, he had to consider which ones would be best at taking down a man.

  Now fully equipped, he made his way to the back room of the house, where he knew he would find his wife sleeping. Moonlight streamed in through the window, and he could make out her silhouette sleeping peacefully. He nudged her gently and pced a hand over her mouth to prevent her from making any noise as she woke.

  She gave him a confused look, which quickly turned to anger. In response, he raised a single shaking finger to his lip. Her eyes widened. She had no idea what was wrong, but she knew her husband.

  He removed his hand from her mouth and moved gingerly to the window. Fttening himself against the wall, he looked out from the side while motioning at his wife to hurry up and get ready. She changed from her beddress and began trying to collect some items. She had to stop when she felt her husband grab her by the wrist as he pulled her towards the front door.

  "What’s happening?" She whispered softly but forcefully.

  Her loving husband turned to her angrily before his face softened. "Pirates," was all he replied.

  A look of shock spread across her face. As fantastical as it sounded, he wouldn’t lie about such things.

  He considered which direction to head off in. Making for the city made the most sense, but they would have to bypass the tavern. As he looked in its direction, he finally noticed that the noise had changed. The noise was muffled and still constant, but the tone had changed. Sounds of shouting and subdued fighting had started to ring out into the night air. In a few moments, the same noises were starting to emanate from all around.

  "Move!" He grabbed at his wife's wrist, hurting her for the first time in his life.

  They headed away from the tavern, hoping to double back in the direction of the city further down the street. As they neared the edge of town, they saw men with weapons drawn forcing down doors. They ducked down behind whatever cover they could find. Darkness alone was no good to them. Looking on in horror, they saw figures reappear from the doorways, bodies slumped over their shoulders. Some struggling, some already dead. These intruders wasted none of their time searching for trinkets and treasures; their real prizes were those who dwelled within.

  The commotion soon awakened those who still awaited their visit. Candles and torches illuminated the area, unveiling a scene of systematic sughter. The pirates were careful to sort the bodies into specific piles, a chorus of sea shanties punctuating their macabre work. Women's voices rang out louder than the men’s, perversely angelic.

  He had begun the night stalking prey. He was now acutely aware of the role reversal that had taken pce.

  A life is only ever taken out of necessity. Blood was never spilt needlessly.

  Those that were hunting him, however, had complete contempt for the life they were taking. He couldn’t make out their faces, but from the way they went about their work, he could tell that they revelled in it.

  Some of the hunters from the town held the belief that animals did not feel pain in the same way that people do. It was probably some small way of attempting to justify to themselves what they had to do.

  The creatures here that were feeding as they went about their killing, however, were very deliberate in the distress they caused, seemingly driven by some enormous anger.

  These moments he took to analyse their behaviour were fatal. He heard his wife scream out in horror as something grabbed her from the darkness.

  "Hurt her and I will kill all of you," he roared as he spun around, trying desperately to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness.

  Just darkness, only ughter surrounded him.

  "Funny," one of the voices teased. "You think you can kill us?" There was a hint of challenge in the voice.

  The hunter nocked and released an arrow in one fluid motion. It struck the pirate goading him in the head, taking much of what it struck with it.

  "Nobody touches her." He nocked another arrow in his bow and wounded a second.

  "Try that again," the voice came from behind his wife. "And see what happens to her. "Drop your weapon."

  The hunter looked between the pirate and his wife. He refused to let his wife die, but he knew what vampires were capable of. The hunter dropped his bow on the ground... then rammed into the pirate. He pushed his wife out of the way and punched their attacker. The pirate quickly overpowered the hunter, leaving him on his back.

  "You were doing so well." a woman's voice this time.

  As the pirate raised her sword, the hunter’s life fshed before his eyes. He thought of his wife and son. He couldn’t believe he’d never get to see his son again. He longed to hear his voice again and listen to his stories of the city, but that was only going to be a dream. He stared at the pirate, refusing to die as a coward.

  The sword was close to his face, but there wasn’t any pain.

  Looking down, another sword had pierced through the pirate’s torso, forcing it to slump to the ground. The hunter looked up at his saviour. His wife stood, sword in both hands, struggling to even keep it raised.

  "Didn’t know you were good with a sword."

  "Neither did I."

  He handed his wife a smaller knife that he had collected earlier. “Delicate but deadly.” he said with a wink. "We need to get out of here. They’ve overrun the vilge."

  "But—"

  "I know what you’re thinking. He’s in the city, and that’s where we’re going."

  "More of those things are there."

  "And so is the guard. Nobody will touch us once we’re there."

  They committed to making a final dash for the tree line. The carnage now worse than before.

  The bodies of the dead littered the streets while the survivors were carted away.

  "Why are they doing this?" his wife asked. "Don’t let them take me."

  "I swear it won’t come to that."

  She gave him a small smile of gratitude before the inevitable happened.

  "Watch out!"

  The hunter turned to find a vampire lunging for him. He shot it dead.

  Unfortunately, the sound of his wife's shout had attracted the attention of others.

  "Stay behind me."

  Pirates soon swarmed the hunter and his wife. He fired arrow after arrow at them while his wife parried mocking stabs from those that surrounded them. The enemies didn’t stop coming, intrigued by what was causing their crew such inconvenience.

  But his hands were growing tired and anything less than a headshot was doing nothing to slow an attacker.

  He stopped only when his fingers instinctively reached for the quiver and were left wanting. The pirates pounced on him, but he was saved by his wife once again, who jumped in the way.

  The hunter's wife rammed her small bde through one of them that was foolish enough to try and grab her. As she wrenched the dagger out of the body, she felt a bde pierce her back. The sensation sted only a second as it expertly punctured her heart.

  With her blood on his hands, the hunter helped his wife to the ground and gently removed his bde.

  Promise kept. He would not allow them to take her.

  He kissed her forehead and turned back to the ever advancing enemies as tears streamed down his face.

  A cavalcade of whinnying horses forced everyone to turn and watch as a small number of vilgers escaped. He could see by their annoyance that the pirates hadn’t expected that to happen.

  "I thought you killed the horses!" One of the pirates raged at the other. Acting as though he were no longer present.

  "I thought you did," another responded.

  "She’s going to be furious."

  “She's not my captain.”

  Even though he knew it would be the st thing he’d do, the hunter ughed.

  He mocked the idiotic pirates as his final thought turned to the son he’d never see again. Just as one of the pirate vampires sliced him in two, he prayed Matthew would be safe.