The Chase

Important Note: This story is a sequel to my previous story, 'The Hunt'. I strongly recommend you read that one first, or else this story will not make sense.

Venari stood up as the subway screeched to a stop. She looked from her phone and blinked in surprise. 

Where is everyone? The sub was jam-packed when I got on. Maybe they all got off? Funny I didn't notice before. 

She grabbed her black backpack and swung it over her shoulder while taking her blue hair out of its ponytail. Was it just her or had it suddenly got colder? Venari stepped off the subway and was shocked to not see a single person. 

What? What in the world is going on? This is some strange shi-

An inhuman roar echoed throughout the station. Venari felt the rumbles shake her bones as pieces of dust and stone fell from above. The sound mimicked an earthquake, shaking the ground and throwing Venari to her feet. The roar sounded like a howling monster, no, a raging demon straight from the deepest pits of Tartarus. It would have made even Zeus and the Olympians tremble. 

Venari clutched her ears, grimacing as she waited for the sound to fade away. But it didn't. It just kept going on and on, echoing all over, continuing for what seemed like eons. Finally, it stopped. It was silent. Extremely quiet. Such a harsh contrast from the earsplitting noise from before. 

What was that?! That- that-! 

A thing crept out from the shadows of the subway tracks. It was terribly tall and slender, somewhat similar to Slenderman. The thing seemed to be covered in black, gooey, slime, which dripped from its mouth. As the slime touched the ground, it sizzled and bubbled, melting the concrete. It had no eyes, or a nose and mouth for what Venari could tell. Its head was shaped like a decapitated mannequin's head, except the head had been stabbed a couple of times and the black slime was pouring out from there as well. There were eight viscid tentacles, four coming out from each side of its ribs, dripping with its dark acid. They were reaching, reaching for her-

A gust of wind pushed Venari flat to the ground, the lethal tentacle swiping just above her head. A drop of slime fell on her sweater, and with a hiss, burnt an apple-sized hole, singing her skin as well. 

The wind pushed Venari up, and seemed to urge her towards the exit of the station. She recovered from the shock, and ran up the stairs, the horrible monster howling and launching itself after her. 

Okay, okay, what the FRICK is happening right now? No, don't think, just run, run, run.

Venari shot out of the subway station, sprinting down the empty street before turning onto a busy road. 

Okay, people. That's good, right? There's people here. If they see this thing and I call for help, surely someone will-

But, no one seemed to see the devastating monster chasing her. People calmly walked on, completely oblivious to the dripping danger charging towards them. The monster pushed right through the crowds, passing right through people's bodies, not disturbing them the slightest. 

Venari was beyond terrified. 

What is this thing? Why is it coming after me? Why, what, how, when, where?!

She dashed down the sidewalk, gasping for breath as a cramp started to form. Her backpack seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, but she couldn't stop. She can't stop. So she kept running, one foot in front of the other, sneakers thumping against the pavement.

"Hey! Girl with the blue hair, over here!" Venari spun her head towards the source of the voice, cerulean hair swishing behind her. 

There was a boy in an alleyway, waving his hand towards her. 

Who is he? Never mind, he seems to be able to see the creature chasing me. It's better than nothing!

Venari suddenly stopped, and made a sharp turn, doubling back. The acidic demon couldn't adjust to the sharp turn, and its gaping mouth and swarming tentacles missed Venari. The heavy stink of death filled her nostrils, making her gag. It was now mad, growling loudly and running after her faster than before. Venari clenched to fists together, and ran with all her might towards the boy who was holding open a door at the end of the alleyway.

The mysterious gust of wind that had saved her before pushed against, trying to get her to turn around.

Is it trying to tell the boy is not safe? Well, at this point anything is better than the monster right now!

The boy was staring at the monster, an unreadable expression on his face. Fear? Anger? Familiarity? Venari didn't know. All she knew was the bang of the door as she dove inside, the boy slamming the heavy door shut just as the thing reached her. A black slimy tentacle got caught between the door, the metal fizzing as the tentacle struggled and thrashed. The demon let out a screech, then tore its caught limb clean off, leaving it with only seven tentacles. The boy grimaced as the detached piece of rotting flesh flopped around on the ground, splashing around acid. Finally, it stopped, limp. 

"Hey, are you ok?" the boy asked, reaching for her hand.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she responded, about to take his hand. However, the wind that seemed to be following her, knocked her hand away. Venari awkwardly smiled, and got up by herself. 

What is this strange wind thing?

"What was that thing?" she asked the boy. 

"Oh, those are a type of ancient monsters called 'venatores', which means 'hunters' in Latin. We also call them 'venandi', which just means 'hunter'." the boy replied.

"We? Who's we? What's your name? Why was that thing chasing me? I have so many questions." Venari muttered. 

The boy laughed. 

"We, refers to you, me, and other people who can see venatores. We call ourselves 'conquisitor', which means 'seekers' in Latin. In singular form, 'quaesitor', which is 'seeker'. My name is Koal. On why that thing's chasing you... it's a long story. So, long story short, every three years, a venandi is released to hunt down one of us conquisitor. As I said, it's a long story. We don't have that much time."

A bang on the metal door and unearthly howl outside proved Koal right. 

"What's your name?" the boy asked hurriedly.

"Venari," she replied, still quite confused and unsure of everything. 

"Venari, come quickly, follow me," Koal gestured towards the back of the room they were in. 

"Where are we going?"

"I'll tell you on the way. There's something else you should know. The venandi won't stop until it kills you. You could run until you're dead, and even then, it'll feast on your decayed body. In other words, it will keep on chasing you forever and ever (underline). So, the only way to escape its wrath, is to kill it."

-20 minutes later-

Venari huffed and puffed for breath. She and Koal had ran across almost the entire city, to its outskirts. 

"Hurry! We're almost there!" he whispered, holding a hand out, helping her climb up the steep grassy hill they were on. 

A cold wind blew through them, and Venari shivered. But she still smiled, trustingly grabbing Koal's warm hand. 

He smiled back and pulled her into a dark shed. 

"The venatores have been hunting us for centuries, which started when one of our ancestors supposedly killed the venatores' Great King. 3 years ago, a venandi was hunting down a quaesitor. That quaesitor had an interesting mind, and instead of trying to kill it, he led the venandi to the hideout where hundreds of conquisitor lived. Dozens among dozens died that day. It was a terrible massacre, blood running down the streets like rivers afterwards." Koal stated, head bending down.

"Oh. I'm so sorry to hear that, Koal..." Venari quietly said, putting her hand on Koal's shoulder.

He shook his head, blinking away tears. 

"It's fine." 

Venari and Koal leaned closer to each other. 

They had only recently met, but Venari felt a special connection with Koal. Afterall, he did save her life a couple of times. She would trust her life in Koal's hands at the drop of a penny. Perhaps she should rethink her decisions...

Their foreheads touched. Both breathed deeply, and Koal pushed her against a wall. Venari inhaled, Koal exhaled. Koal placed his hands behind her back. Both were in sync, both were made for each other, both were- click.

Venari, stunned, opened her eyes. Koal stepped away, but without her. She tried moving her arms, but couldn't. They were trapped in metal shackles, chained to the wall. Venari heard a creak, and turned her head to see Koal stepping out of the shed. 

"Why?" she cried out.

Koal turned back, and although he was smirking, she could see sadness pooling in his eyes. 

"To save myself. That venandi was never chasing you in the first place. It was chasing me. It knew you would lead it to me."

Venari shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around everything.

What...what just happened?

"One more thing. That quaesitor that led the venandi to kill hundreds? It was me."

With that, he dashed out of the shed, leaving Venari alone with her thoughts and a howling monster approaching her. 

Yurei's POV

She tried. She really tried. She tried to protect Venari, to prevent her from having contact with Koal. But what could she do? She was only a ghost after all. Couldn't do anything more than create gusts of wind with her movements. Why oh why didn't Venari see the signs?

Yurei was a girl that had died in the bloody war Koal had started. Every 3 years, a venandi is sent out to kill one quaesitor. 3 years ago, the one destined to kill, or be killed, was Koal. However, he was a coward, and didn't have the guts to kill the venandi that was hunting him. But he didn't want to die either. Instead, he led the venandi to the city of conquisitor, where it called a whole pack of venatores, and nearly wiped out the entire conquisitor population. Koal had thought that if he could get the venatores to kill other conquisitor, it would leave him alone. 

Yurei was extremely mad and disappointed in her fellow conquisitor's actions. She knew that the venatores would come back this year to hunt him again. She also knew he would try to get other innocent person to take his fate again. And this time, even when she was given another chance to stop him, she couldn't. Yurei was so mad at herself. Oh, poor, foolish Venari. 

Funny thing, Yurei couldn't remember what color hair Venari had. However, she couldn't care less. Why? Because all her feelings had disappeared. And thoughts? Almost non-existent. Could her spirit finally be fading away?

Author's Note: As I said before, this won't make sense if you don't read 'The Hunt' first. And in case of confusion, I want to clear up some of the terms I used. Venatores is the plural form of those monsters, like a pack. A venandi is just a singular monster. Same with conquisitor and quaesitor. Conquisitor is the plural form of people like Koal, Venari, and Yurei, like a group of conquisitor, and quaesitor is just one person. Like Koal said, venatores mean hunters, venandi means hunter, conquisitor means seekers and quaesitor means seeker. I know this is a bit rushed and confusing, so I will be more than willing to answer any of your questions. Thanks for reading!

p.s. I just realized that the song "Monsters" by Ruelle actually fits these stories pretty well. Kind of. Listen yourself and tell me what you think! :)