I hunt monsters for an international anomaly research center
Part 1
I’m just going to go out and say it. Monsters are real and I’m going to tell my stories about them:
First, Vampires. Vampires like humans come in many shapes and sizes, and unlike what some have stated they are relatively different from the stereotypical Dracula vampire. One of their primary differences is they could be more pretty. They’re not Twilight or Dracula-looking vampires but rather more closely resemble Nosferatu. A fully infected vampire is bald with no eyelashes, eyebrows, or hair atop the head, along with no other bodily hair. They also have much more prominent canines and begin to lose their other teeth making their speech very hard if not impossible to understand. Their eyes start to change and turn yellow resembling closer to that of a nocturnal animal rather than human eyes, and their faces often become more animalistic looking. Some individuals have even sprouted pointed ears.
Now there is a caveat to vampires and their symptoms. A vampire does not have to have all symptoms to be considered a vampire. The only universal changes are the teeth and eye changes. The rest depends entirely on the individual. Vampires can also vary due to the cure. Now people being turned into vampires cannot be cured, but a full vampire can be cured mentally. This is due to the fact that our brains deteriorate so quickly when we are turned that we’d be brain-dead if we were turned human again.
Now I should probably address their abilities as it seems pop culture has added many that aren’t true. First off vampires are not immortal. They actually live typically shorter lives due to the toll the disease can have on the body. Second, they are naturally more robust and faster than humans. However, this is due to a lack of restraint and they will often hurt themselves in these shows of apparent supernatural strength. Third, they do have sensitive skin that burns easily however they won’t burn to death in sunlight. Fourth, they cannot turn invisible in any manner although they are very stealthy. Fifth, they cannot disobey gravity in any manner. Sixth, the drinking of blood does indeed strengthen them to a great degree for a short time. Seventh, they don’t transform not in any form or manner. I’ve encountered many vampires in my time. Most vampires tend to slowly become feral the longer they are infected. To the point, they become forest creatures that are often mistaken as wendigos. Eighth and lastly they are invulnerable to a degree. They function similarly to Achilles; they are invincible except for one spot. This spot for vampires is always the chest right where the sternum is. If you can land a clean shot there you can kill a vampire.
My most recent encounter with a vampire was that of a vampire in Idaho. We’d been getting reports of many disappearances in Idaho that sounded suspiciously like vampire activity, so I was sent in to investigate this matter.
I loaded the railgun and checked all my gear. I had everything I needed. I looked over at the pilot and gave him a thumbs up then I strapped the backpack and duffel bag on. The doors to the plane on one side opened and I stood next to the opening at the plane. I gave one last nod to the pilot and then jumped. The wind tossed me around and I rocketed down to the forest below. If you had asked me just a year ago I would’ve been terrified but now nothing scared me. I’d seen so much worse things than heights. I kept my eyes on the forest below as I fell faster and faster getting closer and closer to the ground then. Pop! Www Wish! The parachute caught my fall yanking at my body. Then slowly I lowered the 100 feet separating me from the ground. Most would call me crazy for the stunts like that I pull, and maybe I am crazy to take a monster to hunt monsters after all. Maybe I just pull those stunts because some sick part of me wants to be afraid of the things I fight. I don’t really know I’m not really into character study anyways.
I unbuckled from the chute which was now tangled 20 feet up in a tree, and fell to the ground. I would’ve landed on my feet but a line got tangled flipping me and causing me to fall straight on my helmet with a loud Crack! After recovering I unclipped the bag and backpack and got everything set.
I strapped all the extra gear to my belt and vest then plugged the tube attached to my gun into the gas canister on my back. Then I checked the small gps I had on me. The cave was half a mile away through the fields. I switched on my night vision and I started jogging for the point. It really wasn’t far at all maybe a five-minute jog and I was there. It was a large rocky hole in the middle of a field. There was a tiny rough dirt road leading up to it with a small dirt lot around it. Parked in the lot was a very old tan Ford truck. Sticking out of the hole was an old rusty ladder with a cage around it. I walked over and looked down into the cave. There was probably a 30-foot drop into the large chamber. So I squeezed into the caged ladder and started making my way down. The space was cramped and the ladder was shaky, but I reached the bottom with little incident. The walls of the cave were covered in graffiti of all colors and small circles of rocks looking like makeshift fire pits littered the cave floor. Along with the rocks were beer bottles. They were of all brands, colors, and sizes and they were scattered around it as well.
I scanned the room and saw two tunnels leading in either direction. After a momentary pause to think I went for the larger and more traveled one. The tunnel quickly opened onto another large and very tall chamber although this one did not go to the surface. This chamber was also almost pitch black even for the night vision. I reached up to my helmet and switched the light on. Instantly the second chamber was flooded with light. This chamber had a large high ledge overlooking it and like the other was covered in graffiti. I walked through the chamber and into the tunnel once again. This section of the tunnel was large and long.
I walked along its sandy floors as the tunnel opened into a third chamber to the right of the chamber was a high ledge that looked like people had crawled up on it. I climbed it to see if anything was up there but just more graffiti. I looked around the rest of the chamber and saw another similar but much large ledge. It looked empty as well so I just kept going. The tunnel leading out was low but wide so I had to crouch down in order to go through. The tunnel took a tight turn to the right as the ceiling slowly and gradually got higher. The floor of this section was covered in lots of large sharp rocks and not flat and sandy like the rest. Slowly I made my way through this section until the tunnel was tall and normal again. I walked down it for a while only for it to get low and tight again. I squeed through an especially tall section into the smallest chamber so far. This chamber had a slight turn in it and once I made the turn I saw the first sign of the missing people.
Fresh cans sitting on rocks, a backpack leaning against the wall, an expensive camera is next to the backpack, and a few jackets and water bottles are set on the rocks. I started scanning the room to see where’d they gone. I saw two holes leading to the same place. They were about 2 ½ feet tall and 3 feet wide. That’s when I caught on to the sound just beyond the holes. It was faint but it sounded like a sucking-smacking type noise. I knew that sound I’d heard it a hundred times before. It was the sound of a vampire feasting.
I grabbed a tool from my belt that looked like a bulky glow stick and cracked it open. Blinding amounts of light erupted from it, so much so that my helmet immediately tinted. I threw the glowing stick into one of the holes and instantly screeches of pain and terror came from the room. Good, I thought. It must’ve hurt the thing. After a couple of seconds, it came crawling out of the other hole. The one I hadn’t thrown the stick through.
The creature was absolutely disgusting and horrifying to look at. This vampire looked like a crossbreed between a naked mole rat, a bat, and a person. Its eyes were yellow with slits for pupils. Its face was wrinkly and closely resembled that of a vampire bat. Its mouth bore four large fangs with additional smaller fangs. Its ears were pointed and much larger. The top of its head was bald and smooth just time the rest of the body. I saw its face was covered in blood as it looked up at me. The rest of its body was fairly normal besides some noticeably large claws on its five fingers.
It screeched with anger again when it looked up into my light and started scampering away the way I’d come. I grabbed another light stick and threw it where the vampire was going. It yelled in pain and terror and turned around back into my light. I could tell it was trying to make a decision, so I took the chance and shot at it. I hit it in the throat the large stake for a bullet bounced off and clambered on the ground. The vampire smiled and then rushed toward me. I almost took another shot but it was too fast.
It slammed into my legs toppling me to the ground. I heard the sound of ripping fabric and then quickly I threw myself atop the vampire trying to wrestle it to the ground. I tried but it was stronger than me and eventually threw me off. It backed away studying me then in a blink it dove for my throat its teeth sinking through my armor and barely piercing my flesh. I pulled my knife, shoved it off, and then made a stab at its chest. It pierced the skin but the thing scampered away so fast it didn’t kill it.
The light stick was starting to go dim and before I threw another the vampire started darting down the tunnel. I chased after it but it was faster than me. I knew that. My only hope was that this thing didn’t know how to climb up a ladder. I crawled through the tight sections and sprinted through the tunnel. Suddenly I entered one of the chambers. This was the one with the ledge on either side. I scanned my light on and around both ledges but it wasn’t there.
Just as I was about to walk into the second chamber I remembered something. It had a large ledge just above where I was about to walk in. I picked up a large rock and threw it into the chamber. I heard the vampire shuffle and almost jump off the ledge, but it seemed it realized before it was to jump. It hissed in frustration but stayed up there. I stood there trying to figure out what to do. Finally, I just walked into the cave backward so I’d be facing it when it jumped for me. Just as I thought it did, and I shot. The stake bullet pierced the vampire directly in the center of the chest, and it was slammed into the rocky face.
The stake bullet had pierced it in such a way the vampire was now pinned to the stone wall by it. Despite this tremendous injury, it yelled in pain and finally spokes its first words
“Mors tua tarda erit.” It sputtered out in a barely understandable voice.
It was Latin and it roughly translated to “your death will be slow.” Right after it said that it pushed itself off the stake breaking even more of its chest. Vampires didn’t die quickly or slowly this one would die soon I knew that but he’d put up a fight until he did.
He lunged at me slashing through my armor and tearing my arm open. He dove for my throat sinking his teeth in again. For a quick moment, I felt its fangs begin to suck the blood from my body before I grabbed my knife and started stabbing it in the stomach. Since I’d hit the mark it was now just as vulnerable as any human. It pulled away and I raised the gun and made two quick shots at its face.
The vampire collapsed backward dead. I hauled myself out of the cave and told my team over my phone the job was done. In just 5 minutes they had the whole investigation team out there. Turns out that thing had managed to drag 22 people past the small hole it had been in. All the corpses were identified and a quick cover story was made.
I had to take the antidote, but I was fine. This isn’t even the worst time I had with a vampire. This one was a walk in the park compared to some of the others I’ve had to deal with. But anyways I’m running out of time so I suppose I’ll tell you all more about that next time, and please tell me what kinda cryptids you’re wondering about because I guarantee I’ve probably fought it. Anyway over and out.