Hunter - 1. Chapter 1

Hunter
by Ieshwar

Hunter’s blue eyes scanned the crowded cafeteria as he sipped the strong black coffee. The chase had lost its fun these days. It was really hard to find nice prey amongst the modern men. People were so easily scared by mundane things like rats, lizards or thunders. This distracted him from strong and potent fears - the kind that grip your neck, twist it mercilessly and make you see your life slipping away drop by drop.

His flair picked up a fear, a rather strong one, on his right. He turned his eyes and saw a tall woman chatting with an older-looking man. The smell of terror filled his nostrils and pervaded his mind… acrophobia. Hunter groaned as he felt his arousal disappear as sudden as it came. More than half his victims were afraid of heights or drowning; he was sick of them. It had become so common that he could still taste of their fear on his tongue. Perhaps one day when he’d be desperate, but today, he had time and wanted to give himself a treat.

He caught another waft of dread as he heard the door open. It was quite muffled but Hunter knew the scent of real fear. His flair directed his eyes, which fell on a lonely young college student taking a seat at a table. Hunter knew that this one was right. He noticed the bright green eyes as he delved in his new prey’s mind to know more. The young man had beautiful eyes; they made him remember the green-eyed cat he used to own. Of course, they couldn’t rival Hunter’s mysterious blue ones, but they were nice for a mortal’s. Kind of lively. He grinned, as he learnt about the next horror on his plate.

* * *

Daniel was having his usual cappuccino when a small boy, around eleven or twelve, came into the room and gave him a lovely bouquet of white roses.

“White roses?” he beamed. “For me? Who sent this?”

But smiling, the boy shrugged and ran away. Bemused, Daniel looked into the bouquet, and indeed, there was a piece of white paper amongst the roses. He opened it and read,

“White roses are just like white pages

Would you like to color them with friendship?

I’m free tonight. Here’s my number.”

Daniel would have ordinarily ignored this note and forgotten about it, but this time he didn’t feel like it. Especially since white roses were his favorite flowers, and these were so beautiful. So he decided to give it a try. Anyway, he didn’t have any plans for the evening.

“Hello,” a deep voice said.

“Hello,” Daniel said, “I just received a bouquet of roses…”

“Yes, I sent them,” the voice said, “do you like them? White roses are my favorite.”

“Yes, they’re nice,” Daniel smiled. “You know, I don’t do these things…”

“Please?” the voice pleaded, “just one chance?”

“Ok,” Daniel gave in, “tonight then.

“Thanks. 7.30 pm at Le Cigale.”

* * *

Daniel smiled as he looked out of the car window and saw his house approaching. He’d had a great time tonight. Hunter was such a good guy. He had a nice sense of humor, he understood Daniel’s moods, and he seemed to be very intelligent too. And his killer looks didn’t hurt at all. Daniel hadn’t had such an awesome time since he’d been with Craig. He closed his eyes as memories of Craig flooded his mind. He could feel his eyes stinging, but he knew he had to move on. Craig was dead now and nothing would bring him back.

“Thanks for this awesome night, Hunter,” he said, as the car stopped.

“The night’s not over yet!” Hunter grinned maliciously. “Won’t you invite me inside for coffee?”

“Ok, come in!” Daniel laughed.

Both guys entered his bedroom, and as Daniel closed the door, he felt a pair of arms snake around his waist. For a moment, he stiffened, but when he felt Hunter planting small kisses in the nape of his neck, he relaxed. He could smell his Eau-de-Cologne and it was rather intoxicating. As he turned, he met a pair of deep blue eyes. Hunter had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen; they held a certain mystery and secret which seemed to pull Daniel in each time he gazed into them. Those eyes left him helpless and weak, vulnerable to Hunter’s passion and voluptuous lips.

Soon, both of them had shed their clothes and made their way to the bed, keeping their lips glued together. With his eyes closed, Daniel moaned into Hunter’s mouth as he felt hands all over his body and jolts going through him.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a dark alley, an alley he knew a bit too well. He recognized that chilly air, the broken lampposts plunging the alley in darkness, the solitude… He walked stiffly as he tried to ignore the hard thumping in his chest. As he gazed ahead, he saw a lump lying on the ground.

“No!” he shrieked, and his voice reverberated, magnified. “No! No! No!”

He ran towards the mysterious lump, which indeed looked like an immobile human body as Daniel neared. What was happening to him? One moment he was with Hunter and now… Yet, he ran, dreading what he would find.

“Craig!” he yelled, as he saw the lifeless body of his boyfriend lying on the ground.

He took the body into his lap. Craig’s skin was cold and the rhythm of his heartbeat was gone. Daniel looked at the blue eyes of his ex-boyfriend, which gazed heavenwards, without the usual glint of mischief or liveliness. He could feel his heart constrict as he sobbed. All those moments spent together resurfaced in his mind - their first kiss on Daniel’s birthday, the Friday nights at the theater, their last dance, their laughter, and their tears…

“You can’t go, Craig!” he sobbed, “You promised me. You promised me that you’d always be here!”

“Daniel, save me,” he heard Hunter shout.

Daniel got up and ran towards Hunter. He knew it was the same men who had attacked Craig. As he neared, he saw three strangers beating Hunter.

“Leave him alone,” he shouted, but another two strangers grabbed him.

He tried to shake them off but he couldn’t. Helpless, he watched as they beat Hunter. His new friend was going to meet the same fate as his boyfriend. And he couldn’t do anything. This time too, he would watch as the one he loved died. He cried. He shrieked so loud that he was sure that his vocal cords would explode.

He told them to choose him instead but they didn’t do anything. All he could do was to cry. In front of his eyes, the strangers stabbed Hunter, and soon he became a bloody corpse. Blood flowed from his body, lots of blood, red blood…

“NO!” Daniel shouted as his soul itself started shaking.

* * *

Hunter watched as the body of his new prey shook violently. He pressed his fingers on Daniel’s forehead and relished the sensation as he fed upon his victim’s silent cries and shouts. His victims always cried and shouted in their nightmare but they never realized that their cries were in fact mental and made them more vulnerable. Each pain he absorbed felt like nectar on his lips. This one was delicious. He had never tasted the fear of losing someone close. It was orgasmic; what a pity that many more didn’t fear for the life of others.

Daniel’s body shook one last time before it collapsed. Hunter rose from the bed on which Daniel’s nude body lay. It was time to look for another prey…