Monsters and Hunters

Baroka froze, breathing heavily, and scared half to death. He had never seen a vampire out of a book before. I was sure he had read a lot of the details and stories from books, being that he was from the Lugard family. 

The Lugard family, a family of monster hunters, ironically founded by a vampire. Our ancestor, the great William Lugard was a monster hunter at the beginning of his life and it was that profession that brought him to these shores all the way from England. He chased two monsters halfway across the planet after these monsters violently murdered his wife. He landed on these shores, a land that attracts all sorts of creatures and he decided to stay.

"It is not a very wise decision to anger my brother, Baroka. He would have yanked out your heart with such ease, you see." I patted Baroka on the back, trying to calm him as Jidey continued to pace to and fro and curse into the night sky.

"He was going to kill me," Baroka finally managed to talk.

Didn't your father teach you anything, boy! You do not anger someone or something that could tear you in half without having a battle plan, Tobi screamed at him angrily.

"Not you too, older brother. Not you too,"  I quickly calmed him down to avert a catastrophe I wasn't ready to deal with.

"Clearly, the boy needs an education!"

"Can we all go into the fucking house now, or do you guys want to continue contesting penis size?" Sheyi murmured as she pushed the doors open and walked in.

"Why was she able to get in, I thought you needed to be invited," Baroka asked surprisingly.

"Because this is our fucking house, boy. We need no fucking invitation!" Tobi replied.

The house felt strange and familiar at the same time, it has been rebuilt and redecorated so many times, but it still felt like the place we grew up in. It felt like home. The moment we walked into the house every one of my siblings wandered to different corners of the house, Baroka tried leading us to this father's quarters but they had things they just wanted to see again, even I did. This made me realize that the place made them feel exactly as it made me feel inside. I wandered off into a large room that had been sealed off since we left town. The whole house looked different but not this room. Even the bloodstains were never cleaned off. I stood there just staring for what must have been a long while, I blocked out every sound and light, and smell, letting in the darkness. This was something I had learned to do after a long time of living in a noisy, smelly city. I was unaware of another person entering the room.

"Are the stories about this room, true?" Baroka's voice interrupted me suddenly and as I turned towards him, he shrieked and fell to the ground.

"And what stories are those," I asked.

"Your eye! They are black, and they're bleeding," he whispered in a shaky voice. His eyes were wild and full of terror.

"Yes, Baroka. I cry for my lovely mother. She died in this very room, you see. There on the floor is her blood... Yes the stories are true," I offered to help him off the ground and he only accepted because he had no other choice. I could hear his heart beating as if they were about to explode, and the blood moving so fast in his veins.

"You have nothing to fear from me, Baroka. I do not feed on people, and your blood is so full of vervain, I would be doing myself a disservice if I drink from you." This calmed him down a bit as his heart rate started to slow down.

"Now, let us go and see your father, shall we?"

"Yes, he does not like waiting, not even for you," he joked.

"Yes, Badmus. I remember him to be restless and impatient as a younger man."

"He's worse now," Baroka replied.

"I remember your mother too, Baroka. She was very beautiful. I was there at the beginning of their relationship. It was sad when I heard she had passed away."

"She was the one that made him happy, after she died he just locked himself away here, doing God knows what."

"Oh, he was only doing his duty," I replied him.

"And what duty would that be? He totally ignored me, he only called for me when his health started to fail and he needed help. Imagine that!"

"Your father is the guardian of this manor and all its secrets, Baroka. I do not make excuses for him neglecting you, but that would weigh down any man."

"But it's just a big, ugly, old house! Yes, you guys are blood-sucking weirdos but you don't even live here anymore," he exclaimed.

"You still have a lot to learn, my young kin. You don't know anything, and I wonder why your father would choose not to educate you since you are his only son and replacement."

"What are you talking about?"

"You are the next guardian of the manor, Baroka. That is probably why your father called you here. What we need to find out, on the other hand, is why he brought us here. And I fear it would not be a good thing."

We walked in on my siblings in one of the rooms as they were staring at one of the many large paintings in the room. The painting, I remembered too. I remember as we all posed for the artist, all of us. Father had brought him over to do the work as we celebrated Sheyi's birth.

"The little baby is Sheyi, she was really cute," I commented.

"And you were so ugly," Sheyi replied sharply, making everyone in the room laugh except for Jidey who just continued to stare at the painting piercingly. 

"Let us go and hear what Badmus has to say," I finally declared and we all followed Baroka as he led us through the manor's many doors and corridors. Every one of those doors and corridors brought back memories, memories buried down in the deepest parts of my past and mind.

We finally stopped at a door and when Baroka pushed it open. There he was, laid out on a bed, attached to machines of all sorts. His heartbeat was so weak, I knew right away that he did not have a lot of time left. Time had finally caught up with him. As I stared at him on the bed, all wrinkled and old, I remember the first time I saw him. He was just 15 years old and had just been orphaned. He was the last human descendant of  William Lugard.

"Oh, hello, dear cousins," he whispered as he slowly turned his gaze at us. 

"Hello, old friend," I replied him as I held his frail hands in mine. 

"How long has it been since I last saw you, Lanrey? You have not aged a day since then."

"Vampirism has its advantages, I guess. Although they all come at greater costs," I replied.

"Yet, I would give anything to get my health and heartiness back. Getting old sucks as you can see, cousin. But would my Rosa be here with me even if I somehow get my youth back? No. So, I understand what you mean. Immortality can be a curse."

"It is indeed a curse too weighty for a good soul like yours, my dear Badmus."

The others just stood there staring at us as we discussed. They were just amazed by the way we connected. Unknown to my siblings, I had maintained close contact with Badmus as he traveled the country, hunting monsters and I even sometimes accompanied him in his quest.

"Hello, cousin. You have brought us all here for a reason, it would be wise to state that reason now, for your heartbeat slows down by the minute as we speak." You do not have much time left, Tobi interrupted our discussion.

"Yes, Tobi. I have little time left and I know it. You are as blunt as ever, I see," Basmus replied him.

"You know I never liked you, Badmus, but you are family and you are a good man."

"I guess we can't really choose our family, eh? You are not a good man, though. I will not tell you that lie to make you feel good," Badmus replied him and smile.

"I know, you little shit. I know," Tobi laughed loudly and everyone in the room joined him except Jidey.

"You need to stop him! You all need to stop him!" Badmus suddenly shouted.

"Stop whom, Badmus," I asked him.

"He escaped from his prison, cousin. I tried my best but I was not strong enough. Harold Lugard. He's been free for a year now and he has recently started creating a pack. You are the only ones capable of stopping him. You are the only hope for the salvation of this town." The machines started to beep and Badmus started to lose consciousness. 

"Dad!" Baroka screamed as he held his father's hand, and stared into his face helplessly.

Then a doctor rushed in from one of the doors that led into the room. He tried reviving him but it was a waste of effort. I could hear Badmus's heartbeat for the very last time. It was a beat I was well familiar with. 

"Did I hear him say Harold Lugard?" Tobi asked staring at me seriously.

"That is a problem, brother," I replied him as I walked out of the room and the others followed me. I searched for a moment and later found the hidden door, the door that led to the Lugard family archives. I opened my hand and opened the door with a key that Badmus had earlier squeezed into my hand. Then I ran straight to the cage that Harold Lugard was supposed to be in.

"It is empty, brother," I declared to Tobi.

"Who is this Harold person supposed to be?" Sheyi asked confusingly.

"He was William Lugard's brother, one of the monsters he crossed the ocean to hunt down here. He is the first Warewolf." I replied.