Exterminators Infected (The Exterminators Book 1) (17 page)

He stood there, clueless on what to say. Then it came to him. He was ready. “I nearly died once,” he said as he put his left hand in the air. “A creature put his horn right in my palm.” He pointed to the center of his hand. “It scared the crap out of me. I thought it was going to rip my arm off.” He laughed. Yet it was a hollow laugh.

“What are you...” she began but he continued.

“Another time, my friend Fred, he's like my best friend from elementary, almost died. He got bit right on the shoulder.” He pointed to his own shoulder. “I mean, I wasn't there but the stories themselves scared me.”
“Marshall, sto-” again she tried to speak but he continued.
“The other night I was almost too late. Nick was facing this thing called a Jackle. It had these terrible red eyes that glowed. It tried ripping out his stomach. I saw it slowly crawl towards him, ready to end his life. I shot it in the head. I have pretty good aim,” he laughed again, and again it was hollow. “I mean we're killing these things and nearly dying. It's like a made-up story. I mean who the hell would believe us right?” His eyes became watery. He could feel the tears building up. “I mean who the hell even cares? We do this and no one knows. We kill, and we aren't held responsible at all!”

She watched as tears flowed down his cheeks. She didn't know if she believed him or not. He seemed crazy, talking about monsters and killing, yet she couldn't help but feel the truth was spilling out of him.

“I go out every day, I train so much, and for what? To end another things' life? Is that what this is now? Is that what my life is?” He looked away. He could feel tears dripping off his cheeks. He was embarrassed she saw him like this, in a weak state. “I don't know what to do anymore. I'm scared that one day I'll go on one of these missions and not come back right. I'll lose an arm or a leg, maybe even die. Lucy, it scares the crap out of me.” She looked at him as he looked back towards her. His eyes were bloodshot red. “I don't know what I'm doing anymore. The only thing I know is I'm sorry for what I did to you. I need you right now though, please.”

He fell to his knees and grabbed her. He started crying loudly, louder than he ever had in his life. He felt all the suffering, pain, and frustration leaving his body. He held it together for the last two months, but he just couldn't keep it in any longer. He felt bad dumping it all on her, but he had no choice in the matter. She bent down and pushed his head back. She looked into his eyes. “It's okay, we'll figure it out together,” she said quietly. He placed his head on her chest, crying some more.

Chapter 18 – Summoners

Nick pushed open the gym door. It was days after he had apologized to Kelly. She forgave him for leaving her at the dance and he spent the rest of the day talking to her about issues he was facing in his life. Such as dealing with school, the move, and living with his dad. He wanted to talk about his mother eventually but for now he kept that subject at a distance. She spoke more about her time in New York and telling him how she grew up trying her best to focus on school. They both spilled out the fact they were each other’s first true lovers. They had both dated before but never loved another person so sincerely. It was something special, something only they shared together.
“Yo, yo, yo, whatup?” Marshall said while stretching on the floor. Peter and Fred looked up, giving small waves. Nick made his way towards the group, stretching out his own arms. He then heard the door open from the other end.
Jin walked through with a lady by his side. Carl was following from behind. “Yo, who's the chick?” Marshall asked.
“I don't know. All I was told is today we're doing some intense training.” Nick answered.

“I figured eventually we'd face off against other people,” Peter added. “Maybe we can learn more about these beasts and why they come through.” This sparked interest amongst the unit. Since the beginning, they've been hunting Unknows. They never questioned why, with the exception of Marshall, who was curious by nature. But the desire to understand and know more was definitely evident. .

“Hey guys!” Jin said loudly, cheerful and excited. “Ready for some real training?” He placed the bag he was carrying on the floor. “It's been awhile since I trained against other Exterminators.” He began stretching out.

“Hi, my name is Emily.” The girl waved to the boys. “I'm Jin's girlfriend, as he proudly announced,” she said sarcastically. “I'll be the other person you'll face today in this training exercise.” She also began to warm up.
“Okay, I have two questions,” Marshall spoke up.

“Of course you do. Go on.” Carl said, the other boys laughed.
“One, what type of training? Why are we facing each other? I thought we hunt monsters. Now we hunt each other? Also, my other question relates to Emily. Why don't we have a chick on our team?” This was a legitimate question only in Marshall's mind.

“Once the training is over today I'll discuss some things I chose to withdraw from conversations up until now. I'll tell you more about the Summoners.” The boys were intrigued by the title alone. “We'll discuss that once you complete the training. Now-” Carl began walking away. “-good luck. Jin and Emily do not hold back.”

“Never plan to.” Jin grabbed two rods. He created an elemental glove with one, slammed the other rod into his leg, creating the same Zoran attachment that Fred was so used to creating. Emily smiled and formed an elemental blaster. Her whole left arm became a vacuum looking blaster. The tip of it had four claw-like metal pieces closing the opening hole. The weapon's rugged, rocky-looking body was intimidating. “We strongly recommend you moving,” said Jin, grinning.

The boys departed, charging four different directions, trying to use the advantage of having more bodies on their team. Jin dashed towards Fred, knowing what weapon he'd go for. Fred was half-way towards his leg with his Rod before Jin was upon him. Before he could reach his leg Jin grabbed him by the shirt and swung him over as if he was a sack of potatoes. Fred came flying down on his back with a loud crunch, and he was out.

Emily's elemental blaster had opened up. The claws on the tip drew back and a blue light began to form inside the vacuum hole. Peter reacted to this by creating his elemental gloves. They formed in a moment, and he was already creating a fire-like energy ball. Nick also was now darting towards Emily from behind. He formed a pole-arm in seconds, not creating a spear, afraid of hurting anyone with the tip. As he was only few feet away from his target, Emily turned and raised the gun just to the side of him. A quick blue lighting ball flew out of her blaster, slamming into the floor of the gym. It shattered into a big force wave, knocking Nick back a few yards, slamming his legs and arms down in a horrible crash before finally rolling him over.

Peter took the moment of fighting as an opportunity. He threw the ball like a baseball. It was heading straight for her.
“Let's see you counter that,”
he thought as it was only mere feet away. With the Zoran weapon, Jin was already behind her. He grabbed the ball of fire, squashed it, and it absorbed into the glove. “Thanks,” Jin said, then formed his own ball and threw it. It landed only feet away from Peter. Peter knew what was coming next, he covered his face. An explosion went off and Peter flew to the side, smashing down harshly.

“Thanks, dear,” Emily said smiling.

“You got it, babe,” he responded.

Marshall came from the side. Both turned just in time. Marshall threw his fist forward, ready to make contact with Jin. Jin put his hand up and a blue bubble-type force field magically appeared. Marshall's fist made an indent on the invisible looking wall, but it couldn't reach close enough to Jin's face. Jin smiled and then clapped his hand. The pressure of the bubble wall blew, and Marshall was swung backwards.

All four boys laid on the floor, feeling defeated. All their training seemed to have gone to waste against the two experienced Exterminators. Jin gave his lover a quick kiss, both stating how good of a job they did. The boys moaned and groaned, trying to regain their footing.

“Better than expected. Two areas of attack, they both almost landed. It's too bad Jin is so well trained. Another Exterminator would have been in trouble.”
Carl slowly walked around the back end of the gym, studying the fight. He was looking for opportunities to improve his unit. Soon he'd be taking them one on one, training them to keep up their advantages in fights. Their teamwork was better than most in such a short time, but not nearly perfect. Not yet. “Okay boys, get up. You can't be beaten so quickly.”

Nick was the first up. He wiped his face, feeling his side - hot from the attack of the blaster. Its force of impact did more damage than he expected. Once the ball of energy hit the floor, it ignited, and blew him backwards. The attack of the blue lighting ball still had some effect on him. He could feel his left arm tingle, his shirt ripped a bit on the bottom left side. “Guys, we need to try that again.”

“Again?” Jin asked, surprised.

“Again. Everyone!” Nick roared. The boys rose as if they were on call. They all grabbed their weapons, Fred finally able to create his Zoran boots. “Formation B.” Under the code, the boys moved.

“Babe, be careful,” Jin said smiling. The challenge was always welcomed.

Emily used her free hand and created a metallic hand very similar to Marshall's. “If he's hard hitting, so am I. We got this,” She smiled back at him.
Marshall went close to Peter. “Do it,” he said. Nick and Fred covered the boys.
“You coming or just gonna stand there?” Fred egged them on.

“Does he think we're kids?” Emily asked. Jin already launched himself forward. “Thanks for proving my point, hun,” she said, raising her blaster hand towards the boys.
“Fred, go!” Nick shouted. Fred dashed to the side, out of the way from the oncoming Marshall. Jin was trying to decide if he should chase Marshall or go ahead with his previous attack plan. He figured Emily could handle Fred so he went with attacking the boys head on.

“It’s set,” Peter whispered to Nick. Nick nodded and launched forward.
Fred stopped to the side and flung himself forward. He was heading right for Emily at high speed. She aimed at him, ready to fire when he got closer. He darted left to right, trying to throw off her aim.
Nick pounced, swinging his pole-arm forward. Jin easily dodged to the side, grabbed the pole-arm, pulled Nick forward, and elbowed him. Nick felt a horrible, piercing pain in his stomach, right before falling over. Jin let go of Nick's weapon and charged forward. Marshall twirled around, fist flying towards Jin. Jin put up another bubble to block Marshall’s fist. His fist once again began to go through the bubble.
“You guys need to try something new,” Jin said as he held up his elemental glove hand. The bubble was keeping up no matter how hard Marshall pushed.
“See, that's the thing about you older folks...” Marshall opened his palm; a ball of fire was now attached to the bubble. “-you always think you’re so damn smart.” Marshall hopped back. Jin didn't have time to react, the ball blew up. The fire destroyed the bubble completely, leaving Jin wide open. Marshall was already on his way towards him swinging. He threw his fist out front. Jin put his hands up in defense. There was a hard “crack” and Jin could feel his right arm blaring with pain. He gritted his teeth as he was pushed backwards. He almost tumbled over but managed to stand his ground. He separated his arms before he saw a blue ball drop near his feet. It rolled right below him. He threw up another bubble but it was too late. The blue explosion ripped his bubble into nothing, while it knocked him backwards.

Emily was ready to fire. She could feel her hand heating up. It was the price of using the blaster, it felt like your arm was on fire. Especially when you shot the blast. Fred kept dodging left to right, far faster than any human could do normally. She took a chance and aimed to the right. Fred was close enough now to leap, but he made the wrong choice. The elemental attack hit the floor right near him. Before he could dodge it, he was hit bad, slamming into the ground near Emily.
Nick, Jin, and Fred were all on the ground. Emily looked up at the last two standing. “Hope you have another move,” she started, aiming the blaster at both boys. “Because your time seems to be up.”
She shot the blast. Marshall started running to the side. Then changed direction and went flying towards the blast. He was going to meet the blue electrical blast head on. Emily screamed “Idiot, move!” and Carl tensed up. The blast head on would do serious damage. He couldn't risk his boys getting critically wounded.
Marshall matched the blast head on before anyone could react. He had his metal hand slamming into the blast, then within a second the ball of electricity blew up. Marshall could feel his entire arm going numb, but more so was his face catching sparks. It felt like a million pinches to his face. He yelled as he fell backwards. As he fell over, two balls of fire flew past him. Emily couldn't react in time and took both hits. One to the stomach, the next to the shoulder. Both blew up on impact, setting her clothes on fire. Carl was already on her within seconds, using elemental gloves to summon wind. The flames blew out in moments. She laid there, pain in both spots where she was hit.
Peter stood panting; he could feel almost all the energy in his body was gone. He grinned. “I say we deserve an explanation now.” He laughed, as did the other three boys on the floor. Even Jin laughed with Emily.

“No denying that. You guys did way better than anticipated. When you get fixed up, we'll finally talk.” Carl watched his boys slowly get back up. He saw the determination in their eyes, the fight that burned so bright. He felt they were growing into one of the strongest units he'd ever witness. He was proud, as a Bora, to watch over such talented fighters.
Fred sat down last. He could still feel the numbness in his body. The last blast that struck him felt bad enough to shake around his brain. “So, first thing we all want to know is what these Summoners are. Are they like Exterminators?” he asked as he rubbed his shoulders.
“Actually my first question is, when are we getting an Emily on our team?” The other boys rolled their eyes at Marshall. Carl chuckled. “I'm serious. I'm tired of fighting guys all the time here. Not to mention, she kind of kicked our butts pretty bad.”
“Aw, thank you Marshall!” she said smiling.
“Sorry lady, I got a girl now.” Marshall put up his hand.
“Good, cause if you didn't I was about to pound your face in,” Jin added.
“Ah, the love. How joyful you are.” Marshall gave Jin the thumbs up. Jin shook his head and looked away.
“Sir,” Peter spoke up. Carl looked at his student. He found Peter one of the most interesting in the group. Simply because he seemed out of place in his age group, or so it seemed, to Carl after watching him from a distance. Carl wanted to make him feel comfortable around his unit.

“Yes, Peter?” Carl asked.
“I was wondering if you could tell us about those Summoners.” Everybody now had their eye on Carl. Carl gave a quick glance at Jin and Emily. They both nodded.
Carl turned to his students. “As you know, we prevent these creatures, which we refer to as “Unknowns”, from crossing into our world. However, they don't just make their way in through the realms barriers. They are summoned.”
“So you're saying someone is bringing them over. This isn't just an act of a wild beast,” Fred spoke up.

“Yes, these monsters are pulled into our world,” Carl continued. “These people who break through the barriers and bring them in are called Summoners. They summon Unknowns from different realms and bring them here. They seem to believe they can create a world that consists of both us and the Unknowns. As you know, though, these beasts are almost always vicious. They are animals based on deadly instinct to attack. The realms are meant to keep species separated from their different worlds. The Summoners look to break that.”

The unit sat together, discussing the new information. Carl let them take in the information. He watched as questions arose and they tried to answer each other. Like school children, they kept throwing words back and forth.
“So, we do have enemies besides these monsters.”
“’Summoners is a cool nickname for them.”
“We have to figure out how to fight these guys.”
“I think the most important question now is, do we hunt humans as well?” The discussion stopped once Peter brought up the hunting of others. The boys looked at him then back at Carl, awaiting an answer.
“Yes,” Carl responded shortly. It was a chilling response. The kids sat there, unsure of what to say. Up until now they hunted Unknowns and that was okay. Killing them was killing animal-like creatures, not humans. Now they had to hunt human beings like themselves. People with family and friends, just like them. They weren't sure they could do it.