Heaven for a Predator, page 1
For Ben, and your brutal honesty.
For Taylor Herring, and your brutal edits.
For Fieriz Design, and your brutal cover.
For glaucoma, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, for your brutal motivation.
Copyright © 2024 Ysadora Alexander
All rights reserved.
ISBN eBook: 978-1-7636874-0-0
ISBN Paperback: 978-1-7636874-1-7
First edition published 19th October 2024
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author. Seriously, just email me.
Cover design by Fieriz Design.
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter 1
Autophagia- the ultimate taboo in the world we created. The act of feeding upon oneself. See, in this world, things had nice clear delineations. You either lived or you didn't. You either fed or you starved. This world of black and white duality was often times bleak, but there wasn't much choice in the matter. This was-
Furii sighed and sat back against the wall. Writer's block hit like a bitch when you were trying to talk yourself up. She popped another blood capsule into her mouth and swallowed without breaking it. No matter how long she had been alive and infected, she never got used to the taste of blood. The caps kept her alive and helped her heal. That was it.
Frustrated, she put her notebook down and sat up, reaching for her comms pod. Tapping it once brought up the screen, already logged into the bounty hunter network. Checking her data lines revealed no new messages. This meant no new official work. She cursed under her breath before bringing up her bank accounts. Seeing the sorry state her finances were in made it clear that Furii was going to have to find a nest. Tapping the pod again snapped the screen shut, and she threw it down on the bed beside her.
Things had been tight before, but this was a new low. If she kept going like this, she wasn't even going to be able to afford ammo. This essentially meant that she was going to be out of business. She turned back to her advertisement. What was the best way to describe her area of expertise? How could she glamourise the role of a vampire bounty hunter? Come hire me or you will be ‘phage kibble. Preserve the balance a little longer or your humans are chow. Just call Furii Hellstorm for all your pest removal needs.
There was no way of making it pretty, but she was a necessity. The vampires of myth and legend had turned out to be real, and with the population boom of the last millennium, well, more food meant more predators. Vampires had killed indiscriminately, and infected equally indiscriminately. They had become a plague, spreading across the world and wiping out almost everything with a circulatory system. The planet died too- most animals were eradicated, 99% of the plant population became extinct. Desert and wastelands were ubiquitous. Suddenly vampires discovered how lonely it was at the top of the food chain. When they started to starve, they finally got wise.
That was around 30 years ago. The humans became a protected species due to vampires needing them to live. Killing them became illegal, as did infecting them. Humans were cared for well, and they happily donated blood in exchange for protection against the population that had almost made them extinct. Well, comparatively speaking.
Unfortunately, not all vampires saw fit to fall in line with the laws. Some were relics of the old days and still attempted to feed directly from the humans They were hunted down and put to death by people far higher up on the food chain than Furii. In many of the regions that were the poorest, the vampires resorted to feeding from themselves or each other, an act of autophagia. This resulted in a twisting of their sanity, and autophages became something primal, a bestial creature. They were devoid of control and had limited intellect. Autophages were craven and baseless killers who fed off humans, vampires, or any living creature they could get their misshapen hands on.
Luckily for Furii, these beasties provided good business for her particular skill set. There was a general kill-on-sight order, with a cash reward for each confirmed kill. Bounties were placed on autophages who terrorised a particular community, and it was these jobs that paid the best. When the active bounties ran out, it was up to Furii to quite literally chase up new work. Alas, that was the point Furii had arrived at now. Tomorrow she would have to go searching for a new nest to retain her title of being the best in the business on this side of the country.
Taking up her notebook again, Furii picked up where she left off. She wrote and rewrote her advertisement well into the morning, finally just lying down and crashing out.
It was well into the early evening when Furii awoke, feeling a little better. She had something of a sensical advertisement to broadcast far and wide, and it would take the very last bits from her account. Hopefully the risk would pay off, and if not, she could always find more small fry.
Speaking of small fry she thought, it was time to go terrorise some more blood-addled suckers. She popped two blood caps in to get breakfast over and done with before heading for a shower. Her shitty little villa had a bathroom she could barely turn about in, but the fact that it had running water, which even warmed up at times, was a major selling point. She carefully shaved her head, leaving her long locks down the centre in place. This month they were shades of orange and red. It matched her eyes well. The water heater faltered for a second, running cold drips over every scar and burn on her dark skin.
Vampires could heal fast, but her line of work meant that she would scar up her skin as fast as she could heal it. The hot water eventually took mercy and kicked in again. Furii sighed happily as the cold tension was relieved and her wretched skin relaxed. There were plenty of occupational issues as a bounty hunter, most of which involved actively bleeding.
After showering and drying, Furii dressed tactical- dark denim pants, a black shirt, black body armour and a black leather motorcycle jacket. The body armour had been scavenged from one of her very first kills and was part of the reason why she was known as the best in the business. All she had to do was paint over the redundant camo with black paint. There was no use wearing camo when it was night and she was hunting nocturnal creatures.
As far as weaponry went, she had a modified crossbow used to shoot handmade stakes. This folded down and strapped at her hip, ready to be drawn and unfolded at a moment's notice. Several larger stakes were tucked into various places around her body, and her trusty pair of sickle blades sat on the other hip. When it came to ‘phages, you could stake them or decapitate them, nothing more. Even amputated limbs eventually grew back, given enough blood and time. Not even vampires could manage that one.
A stake to the heart was widely known to be the best method of killing a vampire, but part of Furii's secret to success was something not known to the wider community. This was something passed down by the Hellstorm clan, from mentor to student. A stake anywhere other than the heart would not kill or even really maim a vampire, but if that stake was made from sacred wood, well, that was a different matter. When a vampire's blood came into contact with palo santo wood, a vicious reaction occurred. If they got so much as a splinter in a finger, it caused an uncontrollable burning sensation. It was much like using a stun gun on a human. The palo santo had the handy effect of incapacitating them until the hunter could come and finish the job. Of course, Furii was also a vampire, so she had to be very careful when creating her arsenal. She had felt its sting once before and had learnt the lesson well. Now she wore full gloves and even a face mask. You only pepper spray yourself once with palo santo.
To complete her gig, she strapped on her last line of defence, a wickedly large Colt .45. While shooting a vampire didn't kill them, punching a large chunk of blessed iron through their face certainly slowed them down. Sitting snugly in her thigh holster, the firearm was perfectly placed for drawing in a sticky situation. It shone like a new penny, polished to perfection.
Downing a few extra blood capsules gave Furii the much-needed energy kick for taking out a nest of autophages. Finally she retrieved the old metal tin with her precious tags in it. These tags were uniquely coded zip ties that had to be attached to each autophage she killed. Each tag was looped through the Achilles tendon and was a way to ensure that each ‘phage that was paid out for was actually a new kill. In the early days a few unscrupulous individuals kept passing off the same phage as another kill. Some even grave-robbed the ‘phages that had already been paid out. It was also a good way of keeping an eye on the activity of each bounty hunter. The sheriff's department dosed out the tags to all its bounty hunters. However, when it came to the actual hunting of autophages, the hunters were given total freedom as representatives of the law.
Placing the tin in her duffle bag meant that Furii was ready to start.
It was time to hunt.
Chapter 2
Furii's vehicle was fully reinforced and h
ad all the latest essential modifications for the nighttime hunter. Not that she needed much of it, but it was better than just having a measly set of headlights. It even had a night vision and infra-red camera on it, for when she didn't want to use said headlights. Being stealthy and all that. Autophages might be clouded grey-eyed creatures, but they could certainly see headlights in a desert wasteland.
It resembled more of a truck than a car, being an awkward and bulky hunk of metal. The appeal lay in the fact that it was heavily reinforced, and had enough space in the back to store at least 40 autophage bodies, and it was refrigerated. The modern-day tumbril, removing the bodies of those the executioner had slain.
She was heading west; a bounty hunter rumour had it that were a few nests on the edge of the wastes there. Close enough to pick at the fringes of what passed for civilisation in this era, but far enough out that they remained the ghoul beyond the ridge. The further you got from the centre of the fortress city the vampires had built, the poorer people were and the more likely they would fall to autophagia. Even those within the walls turned regularly, and many bounty hunters made their wage hunting in the slums. Poverty made monsters of us all.
She bore west for a good half hour before she spotted some collapsed ruins off to the south. This was exactly what she had been hoping for. Autophages liked to hide out in the basements of abandoned buildings. They were incapable of creating their own shelter. Much like a feral animal, they sought refuge from the sunlight and other predators in derelict ruins. They still had the wherewithal to remain in packs, so they weren't totally devoid of intellect.
The vehicle slowed to a halt around two hundred metres from the first of the ruins in an effort to preserve the element of surprise. Furii grabbed her duffle bag and crossbow before locking up her death-mobile. Slinking up to the closest building, Furii kept it low and silent. An awkward shuffling and slurping noise confirmed that her hunch was correct. There would be death tonight.
Before entering the dark recesses of the skeletal building, she carefully touched each element she would need at hand- confirming that each stake was in place, her sickles ready to go at a moment's notice, her crossbow strung and modified bolt loaded. She was as ready as possible.
Stepping into the shadows cast by the moon, Furii appeared to melt from sight. As silently and coldly as the grave, Furii picked her way through the rubble.
A piece of wall jutted out at an odd angle, and the old floorboards beneath it showed signs of great wear. Many feet had shuffled through here and disappeared into the gloom beneath the fallen wall. This must be the opening to their bolt hole, probably the basement of the fallen building. The shuffling from below was still without urgency, so Furii knew they were yet to detect her. While her eyes were sharp in the lowest of lights, she knew that as much as she would be able to see them, they would be able to see her. This had to be done fast.
Creeping under the fallen wall, Furii dropped down into the basement. From the gloom ravenous shrieks burst forth, and silver gleams of luminous eyes revealed the autophages hidden within its recesses. Counting the pairs, Furii deduced that there must be at least four phages present, all now whipped up into a snarling rage. The autophages were as removed to Furii as rabid mutts were to the most dignified show-worthy purebred beast. Their skeletal bodies had a freakish strength to them. The pallid skin seemed to be stretched over their sinewy form, to the point of translucence. This husk had the texture of parchment, covered in pocks and festering boils. Every one of their teeth was pointed, indicative of their lack of finesse in feeding. These were creatures made to rend flesh and exsanguinate a body through sheer brutality.
In the crepuscular light, Furii could see them flexing their rakish claws. For long seconds they were all still, each assessing the other for intention and weakness. It was Furii who broke the stand-off, unleashing chaos. She ducked low, shooting the nearest autophage with her crossbow, the force of which knocked it back into the gloom. The second threw itself at her, snapping its vile teeth like a bear trap. She rolled with it, using the momentum of the autophage to flip it over herself. Furii staked it in the ribs as it flew over and hit the wall behind her like a rag doll.
The third and fourth autophages were either more astute or more timid, as both stood back rather than launching in for a desperate frontal attack. Furii attempted to load another stake into her crossbow, but it was knocked from her grasp as she was viciously grappled to the ground. By some mercy, she managed to hold onto the stake she had intended to shoot. These were much thinner and shorter than the usual ones, making them cumbersome to use by hand. As the jaw of the third autophage closed around her leather-bound arm, Furii desperately rammed the modified stake into the body of the feral beast. Missing the heart meant that it did not die immediately. Instead it recoiled in agony from the sacred wood contacting its accursed blood. Furii left it incapacitated as she drew her sickles, their wooden handles a comforting and familiar weight in her hand. The final 'phage was warily watching, shifting its weight from foot to foot. She glanced around the room, reassuring herself that there were no other nasty creatures waiting to slink out of the darkness to attack her anew.
The last critter standing began to duck and weave, preparing to attack and assessing the best way to do so. It snarled animalistically, all its previous personality distilled into pure aggression. Furii decided to swing first, hoping to surprise her opponent while it was still trying to plan its attack. She managed to catch the creature in the neck with the point of her blade. It gave out a yelp of pain that degraded to a savage growl.
Now the beast lost all control, and threw itself upon her. With its teeth snapping within millimetres from her face, Furii held it off with her right arm. With her free hand, she hooked the sickle around the autophage's neck and hacked the head clean off with a single sweep. As its steaming blood rained down upon her face, Furii resisted the urge to vomit.
To dislodge the decapitated autophage, Furii rolled to one side, flinging the body off into the gloom. She lay there for a moment, panting with exertion and the adrenaline rush of hunting. Now was not the time to get complacent, however, as the autophage she had staked earlier was still kicking. A quick glance around revealed that it was attempting to crawl off into the darkness. Furii walked up to it, placing the blades of her sickles on each side of its neck. She quickly decapitated it with both blades and let the body slump back onto the floor. Furii did not waste time when it came to death, a lesson she had learnt the hard way in her early years. Back when the idea of killing anything made her stomach queasy, Furii hesitated too long to strike and had almost lost her arm. When her mentor killed the beast, it had gnawed through a good chunk of the bone already. That scar was one of the few that stayed permanent.
Scanning the room, Furii searched for any more autophages hidden away. Nothing immediately sprang out to her, so she opted to walk the boundaries of the basement just to be sure the nest was emptied properly. Missing one would put a dent in her payout to the tune of one hundred bits.
As she was passing a large vent, a silver gleam caught her eye. Cursing silently, Furii drew her gun before gripping the bars of the vent and tearing them off the wall. In seconds she had the gun at point blank range, square in the centre of the forehead of an autophage. It was a young girl, she appeared to only be around twenty years of age, with tiny wisps of blonde hair and huge doe eyes. Her teeth were pointed, and she was not snarling but... smiling. Furii paused a moment, caught off guard. Her finger twitched on the trigger; the urge to kill, to complete her lawful task was challenging her hesitation. Autophages were to be exterminated on sight, no grey areas. It was the reason why they were becoming rarer, and why the role of bounty hunter was becoming a dying art.
The autophage just stood there, completely still and oddly serene. Her long and clawed fingers trembled slightly as she looked down the barrel of the weapon pointing directly at her.
'Please, no.'
Those two words shattered Furii's resolve. Autophages were not meant to talk.
Autophages did not talk.
Autophages did not reason.
'What are you?' she asked suspiciously.
