The night was electric. Seated at the bar of one of the most insane clubs, was....Alaister. With crystal-clear white hair that matched his radiant eyes, a quirky smirk and magnificent skin. He sipped the wine in his glass as though it were a jewel he feared to finish.
The interior was massive, more of a hall than anything else. Music reverberated off the walls with insane intensity, the lights flashing as though they were trying to induce epilepsy. And the people, God! You would think it were an ULTRAS gathering at a football stadium.
They roared to the music, and the music roared back. If you needed a place to destroy your thoughts and mental health, it was here.
The bar had a second-grade soundproof glass coating around it, but even then, the noise was unignorable. Separating it from the rest, was a guard railing, a couple of stairs and over 50 bouncers.
Back to Alaister. He was dressed in a black hoodie, black trousers, black boots and a stylish black overcoat that cut to his calves. Basically all black.
"You know there's more wine if you want. No point in drinking it like that." Said the bartender standing in front of him.
Alaister didn't respond after a long sip." There's just something about wine, you know." He looked at the girl wiping away at a glass." I'd be sinning if I drank it any faster."
She rolled her eyes." So you're off your shift today?"
He gave an arrogant scoff." Nope."
With his glass in hand, he turned to face the wave of people. Alaister didn't hate work, he just hated the word. Take an example of all these people here, they'd rather be doing this than working at a bullshit job from 9 to 5. Sure hangover sucks and all, but come on, nothing beats a glass of beer, music, dancing and a bit of making out.
Alaister raised the glass. He took a whiff of the sweet fragrance, before taking a sip of the cold drink.
The 'DJ' transitioned the music to a more bass-shaking beat.
"Wow," Alaister uttered, his hand moving to his chest.
The sound was bone-quaking, almost deafening, but that's what the people wanted. Alaister set his glass back on the counter. Just then, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out from his pocket, glancing at the screen before his smirk widened.
He picked up."Hey there, sweetheart!"
"Don't fucking associate me with those women you drink with!" Said the annoyed voice of a woman from the other line.
"Ouch!" Alaister uttered, sarcastically." After everything we've been through. I'm hurt."
She growled. He liked it.
"Where are you?"
"At a club." He answered, curtly. His eyes glided to some women in matching lingerie and jackets.
"What!" Exclaimed the girl." There are ghouls in Constan City and your clubbing!?"
"I wouldn't use the word clubbing, but it's around the ballpark." He grinned slightly, revealing sharp canines.
One of the girls met Alaister's gaze and signalled to the friend beside her. They whispered something to each other before giggling in unison.
The girl on the line sighed." Listen. I'm going to explain the severity of the situation because it clearly seems your head isn't working straight."
Alaister turned his gaze away from the girls and back to the crowd."No need."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean your Intel was wrong." He answered.
"Yeah right—"
He cut her off." Look. The trackers pinpointed that the rift was going to open up in the North East part of the city."
"But?" She asked, impatiently.
"But nothing..." His voice trailed.
There was a long pause of silence. Before...
"Are you fucking kidding me! Alaister!" She roared.
Alaister laughed."Okay, let me stop messing with you."
"One day, I swear I'll shove something down your throat and watch you bleed out if you keep testing me like this." She threatened.
"Oh calm down, you love me." He responded." Well, on a more serious note. The rift did open on the North East side, but the creatures had already been out for at least 21 hours."
There was a short silence." How can you tell?"
Alaister leaned his back on the counter."Let's just say, the dismembered humans and pools of blood were kind of hard to ignore."
"So where are they now?" She asked, her voice heavy.
"The trail led East. So my guess is, they're going to be here. At an all-you-can-eat human buffet."
"Shit, this is bad." She paused." Will you need backup?"
"Nah. Don't sweat it. Just call in the medical team just in case, but besides that, I'll be fine." Alaister said, calmly.
"Okay. I'll keep track and relay to you information on the clock." The line cut.
"Yes ma'am."
Alaister froze for a moment, his usual smirk fading away. It wasn't that he was too arrogant to admit when he needed help, especially considering that there were so many people. However, the hunter's association was just as rigged as any other government-controlled organisation. The truth of the matter was, if he called for back up, the next available team would most likely be sent after an hour. And that, we'll that wasn't a risk worth taking.
He turned his gaze. Leaning against the counter from the floor: was a tall, sheathed, black silver blade. A katana to be exact. The pommel was a striking red, and the handle was woven with strong black strings that formed diamond patterns. The guard was made of a gleaming black diamond, its structure broken and melted to form a strange symbol.
Alaister got up from his seat and picked up the weapon, turning to make his leave.
"Excuse me!"
He stopped and turned. The girls in lingerie quickly approached.
"You seem to be leaving." Said the blonde. Her cheeks flushed red
"I just finished my drink, so I'm done for the night," Alaister responded.
The brunette noticed his weapon." Are you a hunter or something?"
"I am, actually."
"Cool!" They said in unison. Their lips grinning from ear to ear.
"Let us buy you a drink. It'll be our treat." The brunette added.
Alaister let out a small chuckle." Sorry girls but—"
Suddenly, his ears picked up a sound at the entrance of the club. He turned his head. Eyes narrowing, his lips turning to a sharper smirk.
When one received the marking of a hunter, their overall senses were heightened; sight, smell, taste, touch and perception of the supernatural. But Alaister, let's just say his were a step further. Capable of distinguishing sounds, filtering the ones he wanted to hear and those he didn't, were just one of the many perks he had.
He walked out of the soundproofed space and into the chaos, completely forgetting about the girls.
"Ah! Hey!"
"What a weirdo, huh?"
He walked up the stairs, past the guard railing and into the crowd of people.
'This is crazy.' He thought.
It felt like he was at the heart of a stampede, except with a lot of beer bottles, yelling and possibly vomit. He could feel his feet vibrate with each jump that the people made. As he squeezed through them, he could feel his body getting hotter, his forehead shining with a line of sweat.
"Excuse me. Pardon me."
Alaister got to the centre of it all. And stopped. Why? Ghouls were primal hunters, and the most common characteristic about them, was their tendency to hunt in packs. This favoured their surround and capture tactics, so it was only likely they wouldn't attack from one side, but from all directions.
Persevering through the pushing and shoving, he plugged in his earpiece.
"Nilli, I need you to shut down the two doors on my 3 and 9 o'clock!" He instructed." Switch the power to reserves and let the alarms go off!"
"On it." Replied the girl from earlier.
The plan was simple, the inner part of the club had four doors. The three serve as the entrances, and the fourth serves as the emergency exit which was near bar. Alaister focused on the sounds the ghouls were making, it was clear they were cutting off escape.
But they were a number short and too stupid to think past their need to feed, and so, the only clear point was the emergency exit.
Instantly, it went pitch black.
The people began to vent their frustrations a second later.
"What the fuck!?"
"Turn the generators on or something!"
"Is this some kind of joke!"
"Come on! This shit ain't funny!"
The lights came back on, but this time, in a darker shade of red. The power had turned to reserves. There was an ominous feeling beginning to fill the air, a chill that began to grow within Alaister as they closed in.
Abruptly, the two locked doors were struck with great force, causing a bang to resound in the room.
People gasped, screams of shock filling the air.
Alaister clenched his jaw as he listened in on the ghouls. The four that had slammed on to the different doors began to circle back to the other entrance, their nails scratching on the walls as they rushed off.
It bought him some time. Now he had to deal with the one that was quickly making its way to the door, North of his position, before the others arrived.
The alarms blurred sharply. Some people began to hold each other, and others were already breaking into screams. Alaister couldn't blame them, but things were only going to get worse if they saw what was about to storm through the doors.
The speakers crackled to life." Ladies and gentlemen, please follow the attendant's instructions and exit through the back door. We encourage you all to stay calm."
"Wait, what's going on?"
"Shit. Do you think it's a rift that's opened? Or worse, a monster attack?"
"Monster attack? Here. No way."
"The people should be evacuating now," Nilli spoke.
"Not fast enough!" Alaister shot back."I won't be able to do my job without someone getting hurt."
Something gnawed at Alaister's instincts, an unsettling feeling that he couldn't shake off.
"This isn't your first time on the job." She said, coldly." Save the bigger fraction, the others can die."
Before Alaister could sigh. The double doors tore from their hinges, sending the debris in different directions.
With a sickening scream, the first ghoul finally appeared.