Slayers (Jake Hawkins Book 1) (6 page)

“
Was that who attacked me before?
”

“
If that was Archfiend in the alleyway, you
’
d be dead. The six of us have been trying to kill him, without success, for seventeen years. He
’
s much stronger than the rest. You were attacked by an ordinary pair of slayers.
”

“
Why is Archfiend so much stronger?
”

“
Think of slayers as a collective virus,
”
Wolfe said.
“
Archfiend
’
s the host. He
’
s the one with the strongest dose. It cured his Alzheimer
’
s. If anything, the initial infection made him more intelligent. For a reason we will never know, though, humans became his primary food source. And the ones he didn
’
t kill, the ones he took bites out of and stored for later
…
they turned.
”

“
So they
’
re slayers,
”
Jake concluded.
“
The ones Archfiend bites.
”

“
The virus is transmitted through bodily fluids; in this case, a bite. The result is not a perfect copy of Archfiend, but a mutated version. That
’
s what slayers are. Savage beasts who have lost all higher brain function, beasts that kill mindlessly. Archfiend is stronger and smarter, but slayers still pack a punch. And everyone he bites turns into one. Slayers can
’
t infect humans. They don
’
t carry the pathogen. But
–”

“
–
as long as Archfiend
’
s alive, the virus will never run out,
”
Jake finished.

“
Precisely. We kill him, and we eradicate the slayer virus. If Archfiend is out of the equation it will simply be a matter of hunting down the slayers that remain. Until then, all we can do is limit their numbers. Population control.
”

“
The scientist,
”
Jake said.
“
What happened to him?
”

“
He took off. We never saw or heard from him again. But as the five of us stood there in the jungle, we all looked at each other and knew there was no going back to our old lives. A discovery like that changes you. You
’
re probably feeling it now. An intense curiosity. You want to know everything there is to know about these creatures.
”

Wolfe had hit the nail on the head. Jake was possessed by an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He lapped up the information Wolfe was giving him, silent, wide-eyed, only interrupting to ask questions. Transfixed.

“
The man left us there in the jungle with a decision,
”
Wolfe said.
“
And collectively we made the inevitable choice. We returned to Australia and began to hunt them.
”

“
I don
’
t get it,
”
Jake said.

“
Get what?
”

“
You came all the way back to Melbourne from the Amazon. How did you know they were contained here?
”

A hint of a smile played across Wolfe
’
s lips, as if he were grateful.
“
Archfiend came to the Amazon not just for those men in the clearing, but as an attempt to expand his territory. It
’
s lucky for us that slayers are exceptionally hard to control. If they
’
re stretched out too thin, they begin to pull away from their master. Resist commands.
”

“
So Archfiend had to cut back?
”

“
As far as we know, the only way he can keep them hidden is to remain within a single geographical location. Otherwise, his forces are too hard to co-ordinate.
”

Jake felt a little relieved. His gut loosened slightly. If there were slayers dotted across the globe, it would have been an unimaginably daunting concept.

“
Six months after we returned,
”
Wolfe continued,
“
we saved a man called Link from a slayer attack and he joined our ranks.

“
And here we are now. Six of us. Thousands of them.
”

*

The room had been quiet for almost ten minutes. Jake sagged back into the couch cushions and stared up at the ceiling. He could feel his mind spinning. There was a lot to process. Wolfe stayed silent, letting him think.

One last question.

“
How did you find me?
”
he asked.

Wolfe smiled.
“
You
’
re one of the luckiest people alive. I was scouting for slayers. We had picked up activity in the area just a few days ago and I was trawling the rooftops in search for clues. I
’
ve only ever come across two slayer attacks as they happened, yours and Link
’
s.
”

Jake shook his head in bewilderment. If the timing had been wrong, he wouldn
’
t be here. There was another pause, and then, finally, he came to what mattered.

“
So what happens now?
”

Now,
”
Wolfe said,
“
you can do as you please. I
’
ll take you wherever you want to go, but you can
’
t breathe a word of what you heard here.
”

“
I have nowhere to go. No-one to tell.
”

“
You don
’
t have a home?
”

“
I did this morning. Not anymore. I
’
m not welcome back. I
’
m having trouble at school too.
”

“
That
’
s
…
unfortunate.
”

Their eyes met and Jake could see Wolfe knew that all this had happened.
But how?

As if reading his mind, Wolfe spoke up.

“
When you were unconscious, I did some research. Made some calls. Pretended to be people I
’
m not in order to get information I needed. I had to find out a bit more about you.
”

“
So you know about my situation?
”

“
I know you
’
re expelled. Your vice principal was a lovely woman who had a lot to say about you
–
none of it pleasant. You
’
re facing charges from the victim
’
s parents. He has a broken nose and three cracked ribs and almost choked to death on his own blood.
”

“
I didn
’
t mean
…”

“
I also know that hospital records state your dad checked himself in this morning with a concussion sustained from a heavy object. I
’
m guessing that is why you
’
re not welcome back home.
”

“
I
…”
Jake repeated.

Inwardly, he unwound. For hours he had been fretting over whether his dad was okay. It was relieving to hear the man was alive. Jake was a little anxious that Wolfe knew of what he had done. Was he being judged?

“
What the hell happened today, Jake?
”
Wolfe said.

“
I don
’
t know. Everything
’
s turned upside down and I can
’
t tell if I
’
m dreaming or not.
”

Wolfe hesitated.

“
Maybe I can offer you a way out,
”
he said.

“
A way out?
”

“
You can join us.
”

Jake froze. Then he burst out laughing.

“
You can
’
t be serious?
”
he scoffed.
“
You want a sixteen-year-old to come and hunt slayers with you?
”

“
We need another man. Our business doesn
’
t exactly have the largest line of candidates. You have no home to return to. You have a family pressing charges against you that could even go so far as attempted murder. I
’
m not trying to coerce you here. I
’
m just giving you the facts.
”

“
So what are you saying?
”
Jake couldn
’
t believe it.

“
I
’
m saying that we can provide you with a way out of all this mess. If you want, you can live here. There
’
s more than enough room. But you
’
ll have to hunt.
”

As the shock of the sudden proposition wore off, Jake
’
s temple began to throb. Hot fingers grasped each side of his brain and started to apply slow, excruciating pressure. The concept of joining Wolfe began to sound a little more reasonable. But it was still ludicrous. Jake sank into the couch, feeling all too sorry for himself, contemplating just how much his life had changed in the course of a single day.

“
I
’
m not going to tell you it
’
s the safest job in the world,
”
Wolfe said.
“
Because it
’
s not. But we will protect you at all costs. You
’
ll be trained, and we
’
ll only send you out into the real world when you feel ready.

“
The choice is yours.
”

He couldn
’
t.

Just the thought of having another encounter with a slayer made Jake clammy. It was impossible to voluntarily make that decision. There was still a remnant of hope left. He could make things right with his dad, with Adrian, with the school, and then it would all be okay.

“
No,
”
he said.
“
I barely even know you, and I
’
d rather spend some time in jail than put my life on the line. I can
’
t do it. Take me back home.
”

Wolfe shrugged, as if he had been expecting the response all along.
“
Fair enough. Come with me. I
’
ll drive you back.
”

Jake hesitated. He was anticipating an argument, an attempt to coerce him into joining, but Wolfe didn
’
t seem bothered in the slightest.

“
Do you know where I live?
”

“
Of course.
”

“
How do you know all this?
”

“
Your ID gave me a starting point. Computers did the rest.
”

“
That
’
s not legal.
”

Wolfe smiled.
“
Good luck pressing charges.
”

Jake hesitated. There was a fleeting moment in which he wondered just who Wolfe was, if the man had any family, if he lived alone. There was a great deal of mystery still unsolved.

Wolfe led him past the couch to the other end of the room. There was a set of double doors, firmly closed.

Wolfe pulled a thick blindfold out of his pocket and tossed it to Jake.

“
Almost forgot,
”
he said.
“
Put this on.
”

“
I
’
m not wearing a blindfold.
”

“
Yes you are.
”

“
No,
”
Jake said, raising his voice.
“
I
’
m not.
”

He could feel the anger rising once again. Deep breaths did little to help him calm down. There was too much going on.

“
Look, Jake, I
’
m not comfortable with you knowing where I live,
”
Wolfe said.
“
Now put it on. If you want to go back to your old life, then you can
’
t know anything more about me.
”

“
You told me a lot.
”

“
And at the same time I barely told you anything. What would you say if you tried to explain this to someone? That a mysterious man saved you from getting eaten by a monster, then took you back to his house and gave you their entire history?
”

“
That
is
what happened.
”

Wolfe winked.
“
But who
’
s going to believe that?
”

Jake sighed and wrapped the black material over his eyes.