Author's Note: A short story experiment to improve my writing skills. I needed to sharpen my martial arts fight scenes. Since Sisterhood of Light creates a vast playground for me to play, I envisioned a retired demon hunter from that sandbox.
*****
Danny panted heavily as she peeked around the corner of the school hall. The building’s emergency lights flickered in the hallways, creating a dark atmosphere that would bring the bravest men to their knees. Vampire growls echoed through the property as the demons moved in search of something to feed.
Danny wiped the sweat from her brow with the sleeve of her white silk blouse as fear gripped from the bottom of her gut, feeling an unknown number of vampires infesting the school property. Fear was an unfamiliar sensation to the young demon hunter. During her teenage years, she had battled countless vampires, demons, and other beasts of the night. And she had prevailed. The undead creatures were not the cause of the icy sensation in her stomach. The source of her dread was far more personal and intimate.
The blonde-haired woman looked around the corner and tipped toed towards the staircase to the third floor. She made sure the heels of her knee-high red boots did not click on the ceramic floor. A distant yet familiar sensation tickled her demon hunter senses. Before continuing forward, she stepped inside a janitor’s closet and hid.
The demon hunter held her breath as she saw three vampires stroll through the hall. Their heavy steps stomped the school corridor with malevolent purpose in search of human flesh to feast on. Danny felt a drop of sweat stream down the side of her temple as she scrutinized their physical appearance observing bulging red eyes and long fangs. Their faces seemed more disfigured than she remembered when she hunted these creatures seven years prior. She prayed to God and the heavens that the cleaning liquids inside the room would mask her scent.
When she was an active demon hunter, three vampires would've been a walk in the park. But now, having been passive all these years and with the reported enhanced vampire strength, Danny was not taking any chances. She needed to hurry. Even if the cleaning fluids masked her scent, it wouldn’t be long before the vampires caught the smell of the humans on the third floor.
The demon hunter grabbed a wooden mop and unscrewed it from its base, making sure the squeaky sound of metal against metal the tool made was kept to a minimum. Danny felt her hands tremble as she held the wooden staff in her hands. Other than that, there wasn’t another weapon she could use. The young woman closed her eyes and tried to sense the vampires using her instincts. She didn’t feel them.
Danny opened the door slowly and entered the hallway. She could feel the vampires tear the first floor apart. The number was unknown to her, as well as the victims they were feeding on. And she didn’t care. Her priority was to reach the third floor before the nightmarish fiends did.
The demon hunter continued walking towards the staircase when a door to the side opened, revealing a six-foot-two, red-eyed, leather-wearing vampire that growled at her. Danny didn’t hesitate as she smashed her wooden staff across the vampire’s face. The demon howled in pain as the wooden weapons napped in two and made the vampire stagger back. Danny entered the room and kicked the tall vampire on the knee, causing him to crumble down. The young woman proceeded to kick him in the face with her red boot. Blood splattered to the side while staining Danny’s footwear. As the vampire laid on the floor face down, Danny encrusted her broken mop staff directly through the vampire’s heart. The monster exploded into ash and dust.
Danny whirled around and saw three vampires at the entrance of the room. One blonde petite female vampire and two brute six-foot-five male vampires.The girl wore a torn up blood stained cheer leading outfit while the male demons dressed in varsity jackets from the local high school.
The female vampire screeched, revealing her sharp fangs as she sprang into action, jumping to the sidewall and extending her leg, trying to kick Danny’s head off. Danny ducked and kicked forward, trying to connect with the female vampire, but the demon blocked her attack, grabbing the demon hunter’s ankle. “Nice boots,” the vampire said. “I will rip them away from your corpse.”
Danny ignored the stupid comment as her adrenaline flowed through her body. Her anxiety was reaching a fever pitch knowing the vampires were reaching the third floor sooner than expected. With her heart racing, the demon hunter jumped with one foot and spun, connecting with her free leg unto the vampire’s face. Blood sprayed from the demon’s lips as Danny landed gracefully on the floor. She twirled her make shift steak and encrusted into the vampire’s chest. She then looked at the two male vampires that glared at her.
“Demon hunter!” one of the vampires hissed.
Both monsters attacked simultaneously, firing hard punches and kicks, which Danny blocked with incredible difficulty. They are stronger then I remember, Danny thought to herself, wincing in pain. Worry and doubt crept into her mind and heart, fearing she would not reach the third floor in time. Stopping the attacks took a toll on her arms and shins as she moved to the side and cartwheeled to the left, gaining some distance from the vampires.
The first male vampire closed in on her. Danny attempted to steak the vampire with her weapon, only for the demon to knock it away with a punch to her arm. Danny recoiled, stepping back. “What are you going to do without your weapon, demon hunter?”
Danny focused her energy, screaming at the vampire as she ran towards him, catapulting herself using the wall for leverage, spinning in the air, and kicking the vampire on the face. Blood erupted from the open wound, staggering the beast. As the demon hunter landed, she thrusted her leg towards the vampire’s chest. The heel of her red boot encrusted itself into the vampire's chest piercing its heart. The beast turned to dust.
The last vampire charged Danny in a fit of rage. The demon hunter jumped and stopped him in his tracks, smashing his face with a raised knee. As the young woman landed, she fired five consecutive punches to the vampire’s sternum. She then raised her fists and smashed the vampire’s face with straight jabs finishing him off with a powerful roundhouse kick. Blood gushed from the open wound in the vampire’s mouth, staining Danny’s boots. The massive vampire collapsed with a loud thud as the demon hunter stepped on his upper back, piercing it with the heel of her boot. The demon combusted in a cloud of ash and dust. Just like riding a bike, Danny thought to herself.
The blonde-haired girl stepped out of the room with her makeshift stake in hand and threw stealth out the window. She started running towards the dim-lit stairwell, knowing full well the vampires were crawling the second floor searching for more victims. She needed to reach the third floor fast as she climbed the stairs two at a time. Her demon hunter vision gave her an edge over regular humans but not vampires. In the shroud of darkness, they would always have the advantage.
As she reached the third floor, her heart fell. She could hear children screaming from behind a wooden door at the end of the hall. A large seven-foot vampire was tearing the door away.
“Hey!” Danny yelled, calling for the vampire’s attention.The demon looked up and growled, charging at the demon hunter like a freight truck. Danny was marveled at the speed the massive monster moved in. He fired a fast haymaker that Danny barely dodged. He tried to land an uppercut, but Danny stepped out of the way just in time. She fired a kick of her own and right jab to the chest, but it felt like hitting stone.
Danny fired a right-hand punch aimed at the vampire’s face,but he stopped her little fist with his massive hand. “Punny demon hunter,” the vampire scowled as he crushed Danny’s hand. Danny grunted in pain, feeling the bones in her fist start to shatter. The vampire grabbed Danny by the throat with his free hand and lifted her off the floor. Danny’s boots dangled as she gasped for air feeling her entire being overwhelmed with fear. “I will break you,” the vampire hissed, throwing the young woman against the sidewall.
Danny’s body crashed through the plaster wall into a classroom. She slowly tried to get up only to see a giant fist crash against the side of her face. Blood spurted out of her mouth as her surroundings spun. She crashed next to a few students' desks and collapsed on the floor. She closed her eyes and tried to shake off the cobwebs as staggered to get up. They’re stronger now, Danny reminded herself as she turned around only to see the vampire crouched in front of her.
She didn’t have time to think as the vampire jumped up and connected with a massive uppercut under her chin. Danny’s eyes glassed over, unable to scream in pain as the blow shut her mouth. Her body lifted off the floor and flew back, crashing back first against the teacher's desk. The wooden frame splintered, giving in as the demon hunter’s body went through the wood and hit the class floor.
Danny felt the copper taste in her mouth, unable to contain it any longer. She spit out a clot of blood, staining her white silk blouse with the crimson liquid. Her mind tried to process the pain and her will to reach the end of the hall. She could hear the voices of children echo in the corridor, begging for help.
The demon hunter staggered to get up only to see her tormentor standing in front of the hole on the wall he had made with her body. Behind the giant vampire, four smaller demons stood with sadistic smiles on their faces. “Is that demon hunter blood?” one of them asked the leader.
“It is,” the large vampire said. “You may spill it, but don’t drink from her. She’s mine. You will feed on the children later.”
The comment made Danny’s face go pale as the four vampires attacked her. They were weaker than the tall one, but the damage Danny’s body took made her sluggish. The first minion attacked with a high punch, which Danny blocked, while the second one went with a kick to her midsection. Danny kicked the leg away, and without lowering her leg, she kicked the second vampire in the face bringing him down.
The third vampire fired a spin kick aiming at Danny’s face.The demon hunter arched back, avoiding the strike, but she winced in pain, feeling the injury on her back. She straightened back up and fired a kick of her own to the third vampire connecting with its throat. The vampire collapsed as Danny spun like a ballet dancer bringing her still upright to the fourth vampire and connecting with an ax kick on the top of his skull.
Danny noticed that all four vampires had her surrounded, but she had them on their knees. She pivoted to her right leg and spun again like a top extending her left leg and kicking all four on the face with one spin kick.The four vampires fell face down while their blood stained Danny’s boots.
Danny tried to think about her next move when she heard clapping from the large vampire in the entrance. “You have a great kicking game,” the monster said. “Let’s see how you fight without the use of your weapons.”
Before the demon hunter could react, two vampires on each side grabbed Danny’s ankles pinning her to the floor while the other two stood up and grabbed each of her arms, extending them to the side. The young woman winced, feeling the demons would pop the arms from her sockets.
“Let us see how you feel when you get kicked in the face,”the large vampire said.
Danny did not have time to react. One of the vampires that held her arms fired a kick to her unprotected face. The young woman saw stars as the second fired a kick of his own. Blood erupted from Danny’s mouth as her head snapped back. The two vampires then kicked Danny simultaneously, with one blow connecting with her stomach while the second struck on her chest.
Danny’s heart raced as she grunted in pain, and the beating continued. I need to get out of this, the demon hunter thought to herself as she heard the children screaming from down the hall.
The massive vampire approached the beaten demon hunter and fired a right hook unto Danny’s unprotected side. The woman grunted in pain as she felt a few ribs crack with the violent blow. She struggled to free herself, but the vampires had a firm grip on her. The leader cracked his fist and delivered a final haymaker unto Danny’s face. Pain exploded on her cheek as her head violently moved to one side then hung limp. Blood dripped from her battered mouth staining her white blouse.
“Demon hunters are no match for us now,” the vampire said a she approached to pierce her neck with his fangs.
Danny opened her eyes and used all her strength to break her leg free from one of the vampires on the floor. She fired a knee, striking the large vampire below the belt. The vampire howled in pain, staggering back as Danny stomped with her heel the vampire that was on the floor, piercing him through the eye. The vampire screeched in agony in response to the punishment.
Danny screamed, pulling her arms together with all her strength crashing both vampires together, causing them to release their grip. She grabbed both their heads and smashed their skulls together, cracking them. She then pushed them against the large vampire, making them all topple down.
The demon hunter then looked down at the vampire that still held one of her legs, drawing fear out of the monster who released her voluntarily. The young woman jumped forward towards the broken desk and rolled, grabbing a piece of sharp wood. She then jumped up and staked both vampires that held her legs, turning them to dust.
The two minions that collided with their leader got up and tried to attack the demon hunter, but with weapon in hand, she received their attacks piercing their chest and killing them in the process.
“I underestimated you,” the large vampire said, getting up to his knees. “I am going to enjoy feeding on your feisty spirit.”
“Feed on this,” Danny said, attempting to stake the vampire in the chest. The vampire instinctively grabbed the piece of wood. Danny broke it in his hand and stabbed the vampire on the right eye with the makeshift weapon. The vampire screamed in agony, grabbing one of Danny’s legs and bringing her down on her back.
Danny gasped as the wind was knocked out of her, but her adrenaline pushed her through. With her free leg, she fired a kick to the vampire's face sticking her heel in the demon’s left eye. The vampire howled in pain, grabbing his face and removing the wood from his eyes.
Danny stood up and winced, feeling her broken ribs on the side. She got out of the room, leaving the blind vampire behind and heading towards the class where the children were locked in.
“Nan!” Danny called out. “Kai!”
“Mom!” Danny heard her son call out behind the door. She listened to the door unlock and saw her six-year-old boy with her five-year-old sister behind him. Danny almost cried, kneeling and hugging them as she kissed them both on the forehead.
The young woman looked up and saw several kids locked inside with Principal Ramirez and her best friend, Beth. “We have to get out,” Danny ordered. “We’ll take the fire escape.”
“Are you okay?” Principal Ramirez asked, noticing Danny’s battered state.
“I’ll be fine,” Danny said, standing up. “You have to get the kids out of here. More bad guys will be here any minute now.”
Danny guided the kids out into the hall, seeing the large vampire crawl out. “I can smell you!” the monster screamed.
“Hurry!” Danny urged the kids and the two adults as they ran towards the end of the hall. The emergency door light was still on when Danny opened the door and seeing the fire escape that led to the first floor. She turned towards Principal Ramirez. “You have to guide the kids to safety.”
Principal Ramirez nodded as he made his way down, leading several kids with him.
“I am not leaving you, mom!” Nan called on to Danny.
Danny knelt, seeing out of the corner of her eye the vampire had stood up. “You have to take care of your sister Nan,” she said. “Take her home with Beth. When I get home, we’ll roast some smors.”
Nan nodded and grabbed his sister's hand while Danny looked at Beth. “Take them home,” she said to her friend. “I’ll be there later.”
“I thought you retired from this,” Beth said.
“So did I,” Danny replied, hearing the large vampire scream and start running towards them. “Go!”
Danny closed the door and faced the charging vampire head-on. The beast tackled Danny right on the waist for her boots' soles to grip hard the ceramic floor. The demon hunter held the creature in its place,stopping it full force, wincing as the pressure on her cracked ribs increased. She screamed, using all her strength to lift the seven-foot vampire to the side, throwing him through the plaster wall.
Danny took a deep breath feeling fatigued through all the effort as she stepped inside the new room, grabbing a piece of wood from the broken wall. She strolled towards the massive bulk of a vampire when she saw a fist shoot out. The monster’s fist connected with Danny’s unprotected belly,making the demon hunter gasp for air. She coughed twice before gurgling blood from her mouth as she dropped her stake.
“I told you I could smell you,” the blind vampire said as he stood up,towering over Danny and grabbing her shoulder. He delivered a brutal uppercut connecting with the woman’s chin, spurting blood upward to the ceiling. Danny staggered back against the room window, not knowing where she was. “Every vampire gets to have a demon hunter notch under their belt. You’re mine, I guess.”
The monster tackled the demon hunter pushing her and himself out the window. Danny felt glass shatter across her back as the air moved her blonde hair forward. The young woman felt weightless for what seemed an eternity. She first heard a loud metal clang followed by exploding glass all around her. Then, excruciating pain rang through her every being. She screamed in agony for the first time since she could remember feeling as if every bone in her body was shattered.
The vampire got off from demon hunter and climbed from the top of the car they had both landed on inspecting the damage. The young woman had landed on top of a gray and black 1967 mustang caving in the vehicle's roof and destroying all the windows. The vampire walked towards Danny and grabbed a wad of her curly blonde hair, hearing only but a whimper of her lips as he dragged her battered body from the collapsed vehicle and throwing her against the cold asphalt. Blood stained not only Danny’s mouth but her blonde hair and her blouse. “Such a waste of blood,” the vampire said, approaching her victim ready to feed.
He crouched down only to feel a piercing in his chest. The vampire gasped and looked down at Danny, who had a mischievous smile on her face. He looked down, further seeing she had stuck a stake through his heart. “My blood's too good for you, bitch.,” Danny said as the vampire exploded into ash and dirt.
Danny winched and groaned, trying to get up, her body protesting at the movements she made. She could feel the dark energy shift away from the school. Whatever the vampires wanted, they either found it or moved to another target.
The young woman grimaced a bit, looking at the school and the turning around seeing the destroyed mustang. Her heart broke instantly, giving her more pain that her body had endured. “Bastards wrecked my car!” She exclaimed.
