Chapter 1: Cleaning the Nest
Present day
I rushed to the briefing room, knocking over some people and getting some rather angry stares in the process. But I couldn’t care less. If I didn’t get to the briefing room by 12:30p.m, I’m dead.
How did I get here? Well, I guess some explanation is needed. My name is Cole Damon, 17, and currently working as a soldier/special agent at SURMOUNT. SURMOUNT stands for Supernatural Threat Monitoring Unit, a secret organization run by a bunch of supernatural beings, with our immortal boss, Noah Logan the old wizard in charge. We monitor and assess supernatural or abnormal threats, and then we act accordingly. And by the way, almost everyone here possesses supernatural powers or is a being/creature straight from mythology, even me. I’m a half-blood, the son of the great demon Amon, a.k.a. Wrath. I guess you could say I graduated here, finishing the Camp Training program at 14 and being designated to the Shadow Division, an elite team of 12 people because of my potential as the son of a devil.
I glanced at my watch. Time is of the essence.
12:28… 12:29…
I barged into the briefing room, where my team was already waiting for me. My squad’s captain, Captain Norman Adams looked at me with his usual stern expression and said, “Just on time, Damon. Sit down, briefing’s about to start.” The captain turned around and started the briefing.
“30 minutes ago, we received a transmission from one of our men at a police department, detailing a call from a family reporting about Coaldale in Nevada, USA. They report seeing a man turning into a wolf and then running away, we think that the incident might be related to lycans, boss commissioned us to check the cottage out. Shoot first, ask questions later. Gear up.” After the last word was said, Captain Adams walked out of the briefing room, heading to the lockers.
I opened my locker, looking at my familiar matte black armor. Finding myself staring at the insignia for my division, a blue-black flame with a gray cross in the middle. I took it out and started to equip myself with my armor and my weapons. The captain looked at us after we were done, “Let’s go.” And with that, our 4-man squad headed towards the chopper.
“You ready to jump, Damon?” I glanced at the pilot, who was asking the question. “Been doing this my whole life!” I yelled back. I yanked the chopper’s door open. “Woah! Watch the merchandise man, this chopper’s new!” The pilot scolded. But I didn’t care, all I cared was the space between me and the dry sand of Nevada. I took a deep breath, and jumped.
Our squad didn’t need parachutes, I’m not going to lie. All of us can utilize some of our powers to land safely. Even our captain, who’s a normal person, can somehow use the Tech Department’s prototype teleportation device to land.
I focused my thoughts as I soared through the air. And then my whole body shifted into a tendril of shadow, plummeting towards the earth. A few seconds later, all my teammates had begun their descent and landed safely. Adams pointed towards a town with a sign “Welcome to Coaldale” and said, “Let’s see what this is all about.”
Quintin couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe that all his friends were killed by those… freaks. Werewolves and vampires and whatnot, he always thought they were stories used to scare off little children. Not now, now he had seen the very definition of a living and breathing vampire (they breathe, right?) and the werewolves were nothing like the ones he saw on TV. Red eyes, sharp teeth, and worst of all, they can turn into gigantic wolves whenever they want. Just great.
His friends and him were all adventurers, few of them were even conspiracy theorists. Weeks ago, his conspiracy theorist friend Billy suggested to take a trip to ghost town Coaldale, to check out the “government experiments” there. Being adventurers, of course they agreed, and here he is, the sole survivor of his adventurous band of friends. The death of his friends led him to believe that the werewolves and vampires were escaped government experiments, and using the techniques he remembered from all those hours of watching movies and TV, he chopped his way through half a dozen of those freaks with an axe he found, a gas mask he also found, and his hiking gear.
He’d been trying to establish connections to the outside world for days, but he was trapped in a net of creatures that can chop his head off without any second thought, so he found a cave and settled in, trying to survive.
That’s when he heard a roar. He took out the axe, and he headed out, ready to kill. He walked out of his hut, making sure no one saw him, but he couldn’t believe what he saw; The werewolf was pushing a man against a wall trying to bite him, but the man… the man had an armor on, some kind of SWAT armor, the government finally came here to take out the trash, huh? Quintin approached the werewolf quickly, jabbing the axe into the creature’s back. The creature let out a howl as it staggered backwards, trying to reach the wound on its back. He hacked again, this time bringing the creature onto the ground. He swung the axe again and again, making sure the wolf is dead. When he lifted his axe, the wolf’s head was completely decapitated and blood was everywhere. The government agent took off his helmet, showing an expression of gratitude. But there was one thing that startled Quintin. The agent had unkempt, black hair and gleaming red eyes. But he was a kid, 18 at most. What kind of sick government sends teenagers to fight their messed up experiments? He gathered his courage and asked the boy, “Who are you?”
I looked at the man who just saved my life. Tired, brown eyes staring at me through a gas mask, messy brown hair and a bloody axe, a definition of a serial killer everybody. He took off his gas mask and looked at me. Aside from messy hair and tired eyes, he also has a wild look on his face, a look that only appeared on people who had started to believe the unbelievable. He asked me the question I knew he’d ask, “Who are you?” I stared at him a little longer before speaking, “Cole Damon, Government Agent.” The man seemed satisfied with my answer as he spoke with uncertainty, “Quitin. Quintin Randall. Nice to meet you, Cole.” He held out his hand. I hastily shook it, and asked him, “What are you doing here? Coaldale’s a ghost town. No one’s been here since 1933.” The man, Quintin, rolled his eyes and replied, “I… I came here with some of my friends, they’re a bunch of conspiracy theorists. Thought that Coaldale might have some kind of secret government thing going on. Apparently that’s true.” I could see that he was talking about the lycans infesting the area. “So… what’s with the gas mask?” He glanced at his mask, “Oh this? I thought those vampire things could emit toxic gas when they disappear, better safe than sorry.” So now we have vampires and lycans. Great. “I…need a minute, I need to talk to my boss.” I walked away and put on the helmet, turning on the intercom system in the helmet. “Boss? I got a civilian here. Armed, but he’s cool. He saved my life and he’s been camping out here for a week, he says. Says he encountered lycans and vamps. What do we do?” Captain Adams replied, “Take him to rendezvous, I’ll see if I can get a larger chopper on our way back.” He cut the line, leaving my helmet in silence. I turned to Quintin and said, “My boss wants you to follow me, get you to some place safe, capiche?” Quintin stared at me as he put on his mask. “Let’s go then.” He said, rather sheepishly.
15 minutes later we reached the rendezvous point, where my team was already waiting for me. Captain Adams looked at Quintin before saying, “That’s the civilian you found?” I rolled my eyes, “Yes, He took out a werewolf and saved me.” I faintly heard my teammates smirk as the captain continued, “Levy, stay with the civilian here at rendezvous. The others and I will take out the boss of this town.” Levy the sorcerer nodded. He’s 60 years old, but the slowed aging that comes with his powers made him look like he’s in his 20s. Levy looked at Quintin and said in his best emotionless voice, “Stay here, and you’ll be fine.” Quintin nodded as he watched the three of us wander into the town.
We found ourselves in front of an arranged circle of huts after half an hour of bloodshed. Every living creature has an aura, vampires and werewolves are not an exception. As a perk of being the son of a deity with enormous power, I can usually sense aura within 20 meters and identify the owner of the aura, I can also shoot hellfire from my hands as a bonus. This time there were about half a dozen werewolves, some vampires and a strong vampire, probably the boss. I reported my findings to Captain Adams, who told us to leave the boss alive if possible. I glanced at the opening, guarded by some vampires. Adams gave me a signal and we rushed towards the entrance. The vampire immediately spotted me and tried to aim at me, but I burned him to dust with my small fireballs. We advanced further into the hastily made complex of huts, battling wolves and vamps. I charged at a vampire, only to slip on some blood of a werewolf, I had to admit that I was not the best at reflexes and agility. I fell, and the vampire chuckled as he approached, knife in hand. But then, a black flash appeared and the vampire stopped. He looked down on his chest, realizing that his heart was dug out. He fell, his body turning into dust. Standing there was my colleague and friend, 130 years-old vampire Solomon Briggs. He was of course, famous for digging his victim’s heart out, especially the unlawful rogues running wild in this city. He smirked and said, “Watch your step, Damon. I won’t be there next time.” I pulled myself up, assuring him, “There won’t be a next time, Solomon.”
A man walked out of a tent, dressed in a tan jacket and a black shirt. He took off his shades and looked at us with his pale blue eyes, his aura flashing a bloody red. “Welcome,” he said, “So gentleman, what is the matter? Surely we can…negotiate.” He briefly glanced at the dead bodies of his men and sighed, “Now look at what you’ve done, they were my best men, officers. You could’ve asked for my presence instead of slaughtering all my men, there was no need for this bloodshed.” Adams took a step forward and announced, “Sir, I am Captain Norman Adams of SURMOUNT. I am suspecting that you and your men are involved in unlawful activities. I would have to kindly ask you to step away from the tent and put your hands where I can see them.” The vampire also took another step forward, mimicking the captain’s voice, “I am Yuri, the owner of this…town. And it is none of your business that my men and I are involved in any sort of activity.” I could feel the captain’s confusion, but he asked, “Yuri, eh? Can I have the last name and the registration number?” Yuri the vampire stood there for a moment, silent. The captain shrugged and said, “No registration number? So you’re a rogue, an unregistered.” Yuri snorted and replied, “Registration? My men and I are not the dogs of the government, captain. Not like you. We were born to be more superior than humans, and we have no need to protect them and live by their rules, officer. We do what we please.” Captain Adams took out his pistol and aimed it at Yuri, “Sir, if you do not surrender, we will be forced to use lethal forces to take you down. I will ask you one more time: Step away from the tent and put your hands where I can see them.”
Yuri’s bloody aura flashed for another moment before he disappeared. He reappeared behind Adams, trying to subdue him. But I was faster. I drew out my pistol and shot him in the arm. He howled and turned to me, his pale eyes burning with rage. He dashed towards me, trying to attack me, but I dodged at the last minute and shot him with a fireball. The fireball burned right through the tan jacket and shirt, directly burning his back. He screamed as he tried to put the fire out. The fire burnt a nasty mark on his back, but he was strong enough to resist the full effect of the fireball. He took out a Desert Eagle, aiming at my face as I ducked. The gun let out a sharp “Bang!” as the bullet soared right above my head. Yuri frowned as he dashed towards me again, this time with a knife. I drew my pistol aiming at him as he came at me. I shot twice, and it struck his jaw. He halted to examine his injury. He wiped the blood off his jaw as he extracted the bullet from his chin. The wound healed almost instantly. I was stunned by the speed of his ability to regenerate his flesh. This time I drew my dagger. This dagger however, is not just any dagger. My dad gave it to me on my 14th birthday to celebrate my successful graduation from the boot camp. Forged by the best blacksmiths in Hell and made from the finest steel they could find in Purgatory, it was a weapon that could kill any creature under 150 and injure anyone older than 150, he guaranteed. I gripped the intricate handle tightly and the tip of the blade started glow a bright orange, a reaction that happens when I transfer the hellfire to the dagger, concentrating the power to a single point.
He charged at me, with his steel blade pointed at me. I readied my dagger. He slashed at me as I countered with a vertical swipe, his steel blade broke instantly as it made contact with my hellfire-imbued blade. Yuri was shocked as I dug the blade into his arm. He staggered back and shrieked. Solomon quickly advanced, putting handcuffs around his wrists, and the altered handcuffs suppressed the vampire blood in Yuri, stripping him of his powers. He gasped for breath as Solomon pressed him against the wall, asking, “So let’s start with the simple questions. Who’s your boss?” Yuri stared at Solomon as he gritted his teeth, “Jack… Jack O’ Lantern, as they called him.” The captain sighed and said, “Dead Man’s Army, huh?” Yuri arched an eyebrow and said, “I thought the dog tags made iwwst clear.” Adams looked at his collar. Sure enough, dog tags with “Yuri, Vampire” and “Dead Man’s Army” carved on the surface of the tags. The Dead Man’s Army is an infamous group of unregistered rogues that worked as mercenaries. As the name implied, they were an army, led by the infamous warlock Jack “O’ Lantern” and his second-in commands, Alistair and Dan.
Solomon let go of Yuri, who is now kneeling on the ground. Yuri spat in disgust as casted a glance of hatred towards Adams and me, “You’re nothing but the dogs of the Regency, and when they have no use for you, they will send a pack of their hunters against you. Mark my words, officers. You will find this advice very useful.” And with that, He fainted, falling face-first onto the sand. Solomon shrugged, “Well, do we bring him back, or what?” Adams shrugged, and nodded, “Let’s get him back to the base.” He then instructed Solomon to haul him back to the rendezvous point while he called the base to send a containment vehicle and a team of “Janitors” to clean up Coaldale’s dead bodies.
15 minutes later I was sitting in a slightly larger airplane. To my right was Levy, who was silently reading , to my left was a nervous Quintin, glancing at everyone constantly. That’s when my phone rang.
I took it out from my pocket inside the armor and picked up the phone.
“Hello? Who is this?”
“Cole, it’s me, Lucy.” Lucy Grimm is my childhood friend, she is also the daughter of the great Lucifer.
“Ah. It’s been some time since we last met, what do you want?” We last met 7 years ago, right before I left for SURMOUNT.
“We need to talk. You need to come down here. Where are you?”
“I’m on a plane, on my way back to base. But the closest portal to Base is in-“ Lucy cut me off before I could even finish my sentence.
“The closest portal to your base is in your room, Cole. Your dad put it there on your 14th birthday, meet me at the exit as soon as you land, understand?”
“Fine.” I sighed.
And then she cut the line.
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