A Guide to Surviving Against Monsters

The car ride was silent. Luca drove carefully, of course. I kept my eyes on the outside, pushing the conversation out of my mind -- I was refusing to deal with the memories it brought up. I didn't need to. I could just push them away, since my only job in this world was to keep students alive and hunt monsters.

My personal life was useless.

Finally, Luca pulled into the parking lot for the café. It was safe enough, located almost directly in the center of town. Us hunters knew that the buildings on the edge of the barrier were at risk for monsters that broke through. My male mirror image trailed behind me as I walked toward the shop, spotting Wendy's bright orange hair inside. A bell rang as I pushed open the door, the workers greeting us with overly-excited words. It got Wendy's attention, my old friend waving at me. Her expression turned from happiness to shock as the door fell shut behind Luca, and my own turned into surprise as I spotted the boy sitting beside Wendy.

It was Miles.

The other healer.

I smirked, leading Luca to the table. He slid into the booth, sitting across from Miles, and I plopped down opposite of Wendy.

"Guess we both got some stragglers," she said sheepishly. "Hi, Luca."

He nodded.

I wonder who's less social between Luca and I. It's probably a close call.

"Miles," he muttered. The other healer smiled.

"Hey you two! Happy day of Nikolai!"

"Hi, Miles," I sighed. "Have you guys--"

"Well, well, well... Look who we found!"

My eyes widened as I recognized the voice. Luca and I twisted around, staring at the door. Theo, Mateo and Weston stood just inside, Weston grinning at us sheepishly.

"Oh, hey guys!" Wendy smiled. "Are you guys grabbing coffee too?"

Mateo and Weston wandered our way, Theo heading for the front counter. "We wanted to grab some hot chocolate together for the day of Nikolai."

Weston motioned to Mateo. "Turns out, some of our family used to work closely together. So, we figured we should swap stories or something about them."

"That's cool!" Wendy laughed. She elbowed Miles. "He and I are spending today together too, and Emmalyn and I made plans for coffee."

Mateo's eyebrows shot up, and he grinned at me. "You made plans, Emmalyn?"

I deadpanned. "I can and will throw you through the window."

He laughed, walking over to one of the tables in the center and grabbing two chairs. Weston followed suit, grabbing a third. They set them up around the end of our booth, plopping down.

"You wouldn't throw someone through the window when they're celebrating a holiday with you, right?" Mateo teased. I rolled my eyes, leaning my elbows on the table and scanning the interior. The others continued talking, mentioning their plans with their family. I noted that Luca was also silent, though he stared out the window. I took the time to watch the door. With my back to it, I had to twist a little, making my paranoia obvious.

"Emmalyn?"

I perked up, meeting Wendy's gaze. "What?"

"You can relax, you know," she said, a bit uneasily. "We're fine."

The others' attention was drawn to my face now, watching my narrowed eyes turn softer.

"Yeah, sure."

My shoulders eventually lost their tension and I settled into the seat, crossing my arms. Theo appeared with three hot chocolates, and Luca elbowed me.

"What?" I snapped.

Amusement flickered in his eyes, but that was all I got. "Drinks."

I scowled. "What do you want?"

"A fluid."

Rolling my eyes, I got to my feet. Since it was a holiday, I would just say that his drink was his present. Ignoring Wendy's reaction to our interaction -- a laugh -- I walked up to the counter, ordering my usual coffee and one with nine sugars and nine creams. Once the monstrosity was finished, I walked back to the table with both of them and handed one to Luca.

"Happy day of Nikolai, guys," I said sweetly, the amount of happy in my voice being Luca's first warning. Still, he didn't hesitate to flash me a smug smile and take a sip of the disgusting beverage that was that coffee of his.

I was the only one laughing when he choked, spitting the coffee into the air. It hit Miles in the face, the ginger staring at me with wide eyes as I lost my shit laughing.

"Emmalyn!" Miles squeaked. I nearly snorted my own drink, Theo catching my arm when I almost toppled out of the booth. My stomach hurt from laughing, an easy smile coming to my face as the giggles melted away.

They came back the second I saw Luca's face. He lifted his arm to throw the cup at me, only for my faster reflexes to kick in. I took the drink away from him before he could even curse me out.

"She's--She's laughing," Mateo pointed out, "like, genuinely!"

Wendy rolled her eyes. "She probably hasn't tricked anyone like that in years."

I snickered, putting the cup out of Luca's reach. Theo wandered off to get napkins for Miles, the hunter wiping at the warm coffee spit on his face.

"Never trust her," Luca grumbled.

I winked at him. "Never trust me with anything unless it's your lives. I can take care of those pretty well."

He rolled his eyes, shoving my arm. I scoffed, pushing him back. That led us into a petty pushing fight, which the others watched with amused looks on their faces. Weston eventually called it off, chastising us like we were kids.

It almost felt like we were. It felt like I was relaxed, almost happy to be spending some time with the team.

Then, the moment was ruined.

All seven of us snapped to attention as a woman ran into the shop. Her arm was destroyed, hanging onto her shoulder by mere threads of skin. Blood poured from claws marks, bites and the tear itself. I heard someone gag, the regular people unable to deal with the gore. My insincts kicked in and I shoved the three hunters in chairs out of the way, giving Wendy and Miles the space to slide out of the booth. The two healers ran for the woman, taking over for the employees who looked like they were about to vomit.

"You have to help them!" She was screaming, even as Wendy got her lie down. "They're going to die!"

As the healers did their thing, I approached with a blank expression. Dread swirled in my gut.

"Who? What are you talking about?" I demanded, watching her wide, frantic eyes pass from the ceiling to my own. Most people are at home for the holiday, I thought, eyeing her mangled arm.

"The kids," she murmured. "The high school is throwing a celebration tonight and they were preparing. It got attacked. Those things weren't even close to human."

Bile rose in my throat, my hands curling into fists. I went for the door, only for Weston to grab my arm.

"Emmalyn, don't rush out on your own. We're already down two people," he told me, referring to the two healers who were working on saving the woman's life.

They would be pretty busy with just one person.

It would take them too long to save only one life.

But if I rushed to that school, I could safe plenty more.

I smacked Weston's hand away. "I'm going. I'll be enough on my own, if you think five of us won't do."

"None of us are even armed!" He shouted. I had worn his patience thin. Not only was I proposing the idea of rushing into an ambush we had little to no information on, but I was also refusing to cooperate very much.

I'm a freelancer, I reminded myself, they'll have to deal with that.

"You aren't armed," I snarled, taking another step toward the door, "but you know damn well that I am."

"Emmalyn, stop!"

Everyone froze, even the civilians, as Wendy lurched forward and grabbed my arm. Miles had taken over, solely focused on the bleeding woman as one of my only friends shook me silly.

"What the hell, We--"

My words fell short as her hand struck my face.

The others gaped, my eye twitching.

However, I buried the flames. I refused to light myself up and hurt her.

"We're a team," Wendy snapped, "so you need to stop throwing yourself into the volcano all the time, Emmy! If you get yourself killed, we're going to fail this mission!"

My eyes met hers.

"You aren't indestructible!"

But aren't I?

"You aren't some mindless killer that only bounces from hunt to hunt!"

But I kind of am.

"God damn it, Emmalyn, this is a holiday, the least you could do is not die on us!"

My chest felt tight as I shook her off as well, gently brushing my fingers over the handprint on my cheek. I had wasted too much time on this.

"I'm going."

Wendy's hands balled into fists, and I swore she was going to hit me again, but she relaxed as Luca stepped to my side. He didn't even look at the others, his eyes glued to the woman on the ground.

"I have extra weapons in my trunk," he muttered. "I'll give you guys ten minutes to patch her up, then I'm taking anyone ready and leaving. Teenagers need our help, and we all know that we can't stop Emmalyn from going if she puts her mind to it."

"You little--"

Wendy bit back her own words. She was clearly frustrated, stressed, and probably angry with the turn of events. With a huff, she gave in and knelt with Miles. The two of them worked well together, trying to save someone's life while on a time limit.

"Alright," Luca sighed, "anyone whose going better come with me and get some weapons."

"I have my bow in my car," Weston said as the remaining five waltzed out. I glared at him over my shoulder. "Sorry, Emmalyn."

I scoffed, walking faster. My eye was twitching, my nerves alive with adrenaline as Luca popped the trunk and motioned for us to go nuts. I appreciated his variety of weapons, reaching for a chokuto that was a bit longer than my own but familiar enough. His name was carved in the base of the hilt. I grabbed a matching scabbard and slipped it onto my belt.

"Good?"

I looked up. Theo was leaning over, reaching for a sword with a thinner blade than my own.

"It'll have to do," I replied softly.

"I don't think she wanted to hurt you."

My breath caught, and I glanced up. "What do you mean?"

"Wendy," he said, pursing his lips. "I don't think she wanted to hurt you. She's just worried."

I'd be worried too.

Swallowing my own shred of doubt, I forced my expression to go blank. A flicker of shock passed through Theo's eyes, but he didn't question my quick change in mood.

"If anyone was going to worry, it shouldn't be about me," I said icily. "We should go see if they're ready."

"Emmalyn," he blurted, gently grabbing my wrist.

I turned to glare at him, ready to yell, but instead fell short.

Theo handed me a short knife, not even looking me in the eye. "Just in case."

And with that, he brushed right past me, leaving me staring at the knife in my hand.