Hunter in town

Episode 4.

EMMA'S RESIDENCE:

  A car drove in and was packed before the front porch. From the car came Mika and she wasn't alone, Julian also got down from the right side front seat. Their friendship had obviously reached to a per,  viewing how she even drag him all the way to her house.

  In the house she was welcomed by her uncle, Daniel. An average height person, dark skinned with a goatee style of mustache beard. He as well had a wide chest and his muscles could be seen in his sleeves shirt.

  Julian and Daniel shook hands as Emma introduced them to each other and immediately headed for the kitchen, leaving the two men together in the living room.

  "So, what do I call you?" Daniel asked just as they got sited.

  "Julian Cast. . ." he took a brief break. "Casper. Call me Julian Casper."

 Daniel briefly gave him a strange look, squeezing his forehead.

  "Cast-per you say?" Daniel asked.

  "Never mind Uncle Dan," Emma interrupted coming from the kitchen. "It's a normal thing, he and his brother don't value their surname," she jokingly emphasized. 

  "Hmm," Daniel exclaimed. "So you live in Shade?"

  "Yes I do, Shade is my town."

  "Wow! The way you said it sounds personal, like you got a thick connection to it."

  "It's home," he smiled. "No matter where I am, how far, Shade is incomparable. Guess that's why it's called 'Shade', gives peace."

  "Perfectly said, you seem to get a grip of this town. You must have studied it, haven't you?"

  "Yes, know it like the back of my hand."

  "So. . ." Daniel bent forward to him with his arms supported on his knees. "Julian, do you believe of supernatural things living in Shade, or anywhere else?" He asked gazing straight at him not to miss any bit of reaction. 

  At this point, he hesitated, staring back at Daniel as well. 

  "No, I don't believe at all," he replied a few while later and took his face off.

  "Right!" Daniel instantly fell his back to the couch, relaxed.

  "Julian," Emma called coming once again from the kitchen. "Food is served, let's hit the dinning table."

  "Uh. . .m," he stared consciously at his wrist watch. "Nah, just go ahead, I'm already late for something I gotta do with my brother. I should be going."

  "Awn. . ." She expressed dejectedly. "Not even a bite?"

  "Sorry, maybe next time," he was standing.

  Daniel as well stood up and once more, the two shook hands and Julian made for the door and Emma along, to see him off.

  Few minutes later, she returned and Daniel was already sat on the dining table, feasting on Julian's supposed plate of food. 

  "Uncle that's ridiculous!" She complained fastening up to him.

  "What?" He said taking a swallow of his chew and making for the juice in a glass.

  "You're eating my visitors food," she said. 

  "Oh!" He exclaimed surprise. "I thought this was your plate."

  "That's not true Uncle."

  "Come on. . . When was the last time you made something this delicious?"

  "Really, noodles?"

  "It really taste nice, I wouldn't mind to have your own plate as well."

  "I thought you said you just had my plate?" She rushed and took her plate of food and headed up stairs for room.

  "Wait!" He demanded.

  "The answer is 'No' you're not having my food. I'm just returning from scho. . ."

  "Julian, does he always do that?"

  "What, you mean his surname?"

  He nodded.

  "He got this obsession with the life of Castle and also mistake it to his name. And his brother too."

  "Why?" She asked.

  "Might be his ancestor," he replied.

  "Duh!" She said and proceeded on.

  A few days after, at night, Julian escorted Emma back home and resisted proceeding in, insisting on saying their goodbyes right there. Suddenly, the door opened and it was Daniel. He saw as Julian was already at the brink of stepping down the porch but called him back, insisting he comes in for a while before leaving. And of course, he didn't protested but heed to it. 

  "Hey," Abel immediately got hold of Julian's hand on entry. "You're Julian, I've heard quite a few about you," he revealed excitedly.

  Julian smiled and briefly turned and stared at Emma, then back to Abel, still waggling hands together up and down.

  "I'm Abel, her elder brother," he moved his head and eye balls towards her as he said.

  "Good to meet you Abel," Julian admitted still smiling.

  "Let go of his hand you," Emma forcefully separated their bond of hands constantly waggling for quite some time.

  Suddenly, Daniel was spotted lighting a cigarette, actually a really big one and the two siblings looked flabbergasted.

  "Since when do you smoke, Uncle?" Abel asked immediately.

  "A few weeks now, you didn't notice cus I hardly smoke at home," he replied gradually moving bit by bit closer to Julian.

  Suddenly, Julian felt uncomfortable so used his arm to cover his nose and drastically moving back."

  "Stop!" Emma snatched the stick of smoke and crushed it on wall. "You're making my guest uncomfortable, can't you see?" She sounded unpleasantly.

  "Sorry," Daniel apologized. "I didn't know he is allergic to it. So sorry Julian."

  With immediate effect, Julian opened the door to leave.

  "I gotta go," he said and stepped outside.

  "Wait," she made to go after but held immediately back my Daniel.

  "Stay, let me talk to him, I made the mess," Daniel further said.

  Opening the door also he met Julian's absence. He looked randomly around but there was no single sign or trace of him anywhere.

  At the brink of the forest, mostly woods than a full thick forest, was a single storey building house well built with woods, and a stream spotted behind. Supposedly Julian and William's residence. And there Julian fell groaning and coughing blood before making it entirely to the door steps. William with his heighten hearing was there within a blink of an eye, in speed.

  "What's wrong with you Julian?" He asked vigorously.

  Yet, the coughing overwhelmed that he did more of it than talk.

  "I-I've be. . . Been poisoned by Emma's Uncle," he said trying to rise up to his feet. 

  "How?"

  "Cigarette, a cigarette mixed with wolfsbayne and vervain."

  "He wasn't sure which specie you were," from the sound of it, anger lurked around, as his eyes manifested it, glowing bloody red.

  "They're all gonna pay," He pronounced with his eyes flushed with immense rage.

  "Hey, stand down William," Julian reached his hand but was too late, for he grip nothing but air. 

  A few minutes later, there was William, standing restlessly at the front porch of the house, as he knew he needed a formal invitation to proceed further in. With a clenched fist, he raised to smack the door open but he unfortunately couldn't make it as a strong force hit him off his feet away. Immediately, the door itself opened and it was Emma, she looked around but saw nothing at the door or anywhere close, but vehemently, she could swear she heard something, a sharp sound of grunt or breaking of the wind. Still finding nothing useful, she went back in and closed the door behind her. 

  On the other hand, just as Julian had swept William forcefully away, they were falling, rolling and stumbling over each other down the slope ground, till William got a brief balance and threw Julian off him to a tree.

  "Are you insane!" William yelled.

  "You are in insane, William!" Julian even more in a deep monstrous voice, fangs, eyes glowed shallow yellow and face partially a wolf with hair running from above his ears down and meeting underneath his chin, but a gap separating them.

  With deft, William forcefully pushed and pressed him against the nearby tree.

  "I'm protecting you, us?" He said.

  "No brother, I am," His wolf like face drastically changed to normal. "You were walking into danger."

  "Oh yeah, since when have you been afraid of hunters?" He asked releasing and stepping back from him.

  "It's not just him you should be worried of," Julian as well stepped his back away from the tree. 

  "Who else then?"

  "Emma, she's like mother," he replied softy.

  "What?" He grimaced.

 "She's a white witch."

 William was speechless so Julian continued,  "If she really know what she is, then you wouldn't have stood a chance."

  "She would've known what you and I is, but I don't think she does," William presumed. 

  "Yeah, and that only mean she hasn't discovered it," Julian explained. "Two rules, she need to know and believe, else she's just an ordinary human."

  "Well, that's to our advantage then," William said expressing an evil smile.

  Such smile of William was peculiar and only meant for one thing, 'blood shed'. And Julian not being a new thing to him, he rushed, this time made an earlier move at his brother. Before William could even move a limb, he felt the piercing of claws from his back, further paving way through, and Julian's hand was already out through his chest. 

  "W-what, what ar. . ." he struggled in pain.  

  "Sorry brother, can't let you hurt her," he said and the next sound heard was a sharp crack, as he snapped Williams neck. 

  He took William back home and locked him in an underground bunker, infested with vervain to weaken and keep him contained.

  The following day, on the road that passed in-between and divided two forest apart, was Daniel, driving through. Still on,  he suddenly spotted Julian block his way so he stopped and stepped down from the vehicle.

  "What do you think you're doing blocking the road? Your town, your road too?" 

  Julian moved away from the front approaching Daniel by the car. And Daniel again reached for his chest pocket and brought out a stick of cigarette but Julian in his super speed gushed and snatched it before it could be lit.

  "That won't save you," Julian said. "Now, how did you find out?"

  "I'm a hunter, finding creatures like you is what I do," he said looking rather calm than scared. "And you were very specific when you introduced yourself as Castle to my niece and almost to me."

  "That's nothing."

  "Yeah I know, to history it's nothing, but it is to ours, the hunters," he moved around. "We knew what happened to the two sons of Castle, and years earlier there was news of their return back to Shade, just took me this long to find you."

  "If I'd want you dead, you'd be dead by now," he challenged.

  "Just fucking stay off my niece and roads, boy," he said and made to open the car door.

  The force and strength which Julian had pushed and stuck him against the car had made him groan.

  "This is my town," his eyes glowed and forehead squeezed. "I do whatever I wanna do. And I'm not your boy,  I'm two hundred plus."

  "You're the werewolf, huh? And your brother the vampire," Daniel said.

  Julian released him and heading for the forest, a gunshot was fired and he deftly turned and grip the bullet coming at him, and Daniel's gun was smoking. He howbeit, clenched the bullet in his fist while it burnt him as it was silver and hot. 

  "You stay off my way," Julian said and proceeded forward...