3. 2

2

Serina

D ark oil poured out of the drain plug into the pan under my motorcycle. It had been too long since I had done an oil change.

“Gimme that box wrench, honey, I can’t find my other one. I need to get started on mine,” my dad called over from underneath his 67 Chevy Impala. He had tried to get his drain plug off himself, but he seemed to be having some trouble.

I moved to crouch over by his car to hand him the wrench and then went back to finishing the oil change on my motorcycle. My father had always been into the classics. It was a hobby we had grown to share and love over the years.

It made sense. Being hunters constantly on the move, of course the thing we grew a knack for would be the vehicles that got us everywhere we went. It was nice to have a hobby other than killing that put a smile on our faces; that’s what our vehicles were to us, an outlet when we had to constantly be on the go, or an outlet to distract us when we weren’t.

The latter had been true since our last hunt. It had only been two days, but it had taken a toll on us. Both of us had been tinkering with our cars together ever since we made it to Fredericksburg yesterday.

Everyone had ways of coping, and this was just one of ours.

I loved my motorcycle. It was an all-black, classic CB Series with mounted saddle bags on either side to hold my weapons. It made well for easy getaways, and I enjoyed the freedom I felt while riding.

Chilly nights were always the best nights to go for a ride to clear my mind. I was sure I’d always enjoy it, but I couldn’t deny that I would love to have my dad’s car one day. It was stunning.

“You ever going to give her to me?” I asked, nodding to the car, and he paused his wrenching, oil leaking into the pan until it stopped. Then he poked his head out, giving me a crazy-eyed look. I couldn’t hide my chuckle.

“You can have her when I’m dead,” he said, easily sliding back under the car to put the plug back on. “And even then, I don’t know, I might crawl back from the depths of hell just to take her with me.”

I laughed then. Honestly, I wouldn’t doubt if he had gone to hell a time or two. Our hunts could lead us anywhere.

I finished up my oil change, then wiped my hands.

“Are we going on another hunt before Friday? I asked.

“No, figured we could take a few extra days this time around; it’s been a rough year,” he responded with a grunt from under his car.

My shoulders sagged slightly from relief.

It truly had been a rough year. I was sure we had done more hunts this year than ever before.

“Which means…” he continued while grabbing onto the edge of the car to roll himself out from underneath it and get to his feet, “that we’re going to celebrate you just a little longer this year, so where do you want to start with? Milkshakes at Mickey’s? Movie marathon with a ridiculous amount of takeout? Pizza? More fishing than normal? It doesn’t matter what you choose because now we’ll have the time to do all of them.”

He cleaned off his own hands, tapping a quick kiss on my head as he walked past me to grab the new containers of oil and then moved back to the front of the car to dump them into the engine.

I couldn't hide the flutter of excitement. Spending a week with my dad—my best friend—was something I looked forward to every year. I looked forward to spending time with Sam and my aunt and uncle, too.

Sure, we spent plenty of quality time together through the year, but there were always monsters, hunts, lives at stake… During this week, however, we could just be normal .

Don’t get me wrong, I love what we do to help those who can’t help themselves, the lives we save, the monsters we stop. But being normal, having just a small reprieve from the death and gore, is nice.

A few minutes later, a loud rumbling truck winded up into the long dirt driveway of our little cabin in the woods. Cousin Sam and Uncle Theo were here.

No one else knew about this place. It was our little family secret.

I beamed at the truck when it came into view. My Aunt Gail wasn’t in the truck, but my Cousin Samantha was in the passenger seat.

We were the opposite when it came to everything, even down to the way we looked. She had dirty blonde beachy waves and honey eyes, while I had dark wine-red hair and icy eyes. She was more extroverted while I had always been one to keep more to myself. She liked color with her clothes while I was pretty certain I had been wearing the same black clothes from the it was just a phase days in high school.

It was, in fact, not just a phase. You’d have to pry my tight black tank and plaid overshirt from my cold, dead hands.

Despite our differences, we’d kill for each other. She was like the sister I never had. I waved at them as he parked the truck and shut it off. Uncle Theo returned a forced smile, and I knew instantly that something was wrong.

Theo pulled his brother into a one-armed hug before grabbing me into a big bear hug. It had been a few months since we had last seen them. They had been busy taking care of some demons further up North and had come back down for my birthday week.

I was sure my dad had messaged them to let them know we were already here. We had always gone on our annual fishing trip with just the five of us every year during this week. It had been a time for us to just be a family. It had never been the same after Mom died, but then again, nothing was the same after that.

Theo put me back down on my feet, and I went straight for Sam, wrapping my arms around her tightly. She smelled like spring after the first rain of the season. She squeezed me tighter.

“Gosh! I missed you! How are you? Are you okay?” She jumped from one thought to the next as she skimmed a finger over the scratch on my cheek.

“I’m fine. Just like I told the old man, I’ve had worse,” I said, my gaze flicking to her shoes. “And so have you.”

“I will never live that down, will I?” she joked, picking up my reference to the time she shot herself in the foot while we were hunting a pack of werewolves.

“Nope.” I laughed, but it faded as I glanced over to my dad and Uncle Theo who had moved further into the garage. I sauntered up; there weren’t any secrets between any of us, especially not me and my dad. “What’s going on?” I asked.

My Uncle Theo looked at me. Was that fear? I couldn’t tell because I couldn’t remember a time when I saw my uncle scared of anything. We literally walked with death every day with our occupation, and what was scarier than that?

“There seems to be a target on hunters' backs. A few have gone missing, and some have been changed…” He paused, looking down, unable to meet my father’s gaze. “We had to take down the Keenans last week.”

My father’s eyes widened. “A-all of them?” His voice cracked, but he cleared it quickly.

The Keenan family had been friends of my parents from their younger years. I had only met them a handful of times in my life, but it was horrible to think that they were gone now.

“Well, Sophie and Nick were found as changelings, but they weren’t themselves. It was like they were being controlled by compulsion or something. I tried to stop them, but they wouldn’t listen to reason. Their eyes were empty, and when they went for Sammy, I just…” He took a steadying breath. “I didn’t have a choice.”

My father’s brows furrowed. “I understand, Theo, it’s not your fault. You did what any father would do to protect their family.” There was a long pause between them, and then I realized what was scarier than death for my uncle and my own father.

Dying didn’t scare them, no, but losing their family, the ones they loved more than life itself… that was a fear they both shared.

“It would have been impossible for them to be compelled, as once changed, Vampires can’t be compelled,” my dad said, rubbing a hand down his face in disbelief. “It had to have been the bloodlust. Maybe they just couldn’t control themselves.”

“Yeah, maybe, but it seemed odd. Vampires are capable of controlling themselves, but this… it was different.” Uncle Theo hesitated.

Dad frowned. “I wonder where their son is?”

“I never found Ethan’s body, so if you see him, be prepared. He may be a Vampire, and if he’s not, he might be compelled by them to do something. Maybe that’s why we never found him.”

“Alright, I’ll keep a look out.” My dad nodded, clearing his throat and motioning for them to come in the cabin through the door in the garage.

We used that door instead of the front door, and I wondered for a moment when the last time the front door had even been opened. But my Uncle Theo paused, and so did Sam. We both looked back over our shoulders at them.

“I have a feeling there’s more bad news,” my father said as he turned on his heel to face them again. I leaned against the wall by the door to listen. “Alright, give it to me.”

“There is a large group of hunters meeting not too far from here on Friday. They think it’s for the best that we go in hiding for a bit, stay low on the radar, and try to figure out what’s going on with the sudden shift in vampires over these last few months. Not only are they changing more people, but they seem to have a taste for hunters. A lot of them believe there’s more of a target on our backs than usual.”

Dad scoffed. “Of course there’s a target on our backs, Theo. Look at who we are, what we do to not just vampires but to any monster. When they step out of line, they know we come for them. Having a target on our backs is just a part of the life we all live.”

“I know, John, but I really think we should listen to them. We came here to see if you and Serina would want to join us for the trip to meet the others.”

“Theo, you know Serina’s birthday week starts on Friday. I won’t have her spending it in some underground bunker.”

“So you’d rather risk her life, both of your lives, for what? To fiddle your thumbs in a cabin for a week with junk food and ice cream?” Uncle Theo raised his voice, and my father stood toe to toe with him.

“We risk our lives every day, Theo. If you want to go hide away in some underground bunker for an obscene amount of time, then be my guest, brother, but I will not cower beneath the monsters I’ve hunted my entire life.”

“Suit yourself,” Uncle Theo said on a growl before stalking back to the driver’s side of his truck.

“So, I take it then you won’t be here for our little vacation,” my dad said, and my uncle made sure to lace his words with venom.

“No, because I have my own family to take care of.”

I realized then that he had probably already dropped Aunt Gail off at the bunker and ventured here hoping to get my dad and I to come along. He had made his decision long before arriving here.

I saw the fury and pain flash across my father’s face. Sam ran over to me, giving me a hug.

“I’m so sorry, Serina, stay safe,” she said, grabbing my hand and placing a piece of paper in my palm. “I love you.”

With a sympathetic look, she started walking back toward her father’s truck.

“Sorry, Uncle John,” Sam said as she gave him a quick hug and made haste to the truck, barely getting to shut her door before Uncle Theo hauled ass out of the driveway, leaving a dusty smoke screen in his wake.

We stood there in silence until his taillights were gone.

But my mind was already racing. “Dad—”

“It’s alright. I understand his choice; the uprise in everything has him scared, and he has every right to be.”

“Are you scared?” I asked, and he gave me a grin that didn’t quite reach his icy eyes—my eyes.

We shared that same cold gaze.

“I haven’t been scared for a long time, sweetheart.” He pulled me into his chest for a big hug. “You’ve always been a survivor, just like your old man, and as long as we have each other I know we’ll be just fine. Now, get inside and clean up. We have a movie marathon to start.”