Chapter 5: The Prey

The door of the wardrobe slammed open and out of it walked an emaciated and doglike-looking creature. Its skin was gray and pale and the flesh was hairless. As Scott Anderson flicked around to run, the creature lunged at him, and with its filth-tipped claws; he grabbed Scott by the leg.

Scott screamed in a loud voice as he started kicking the creature with the other free leg. As the creature knocked him down, the creature started dragging him to the window. He hastily grabbed the bed and screamed more.

Susan kicked and pushed the door of Scott’s room. She was carrying a shotgun and without relenting, she aimed at the creature and blasted its brain out.

With a deep sigh of relief, Scott jumps to his feet with part of his body covered in black liquid from the creature. "What the fuck was that thing?"

"Have you heard about Ghouls? That shit is one of them!"

"I am afraid I have not and this is my first time of seeing such a creature."

"You need to clean yourself up. I will tell you more later."

Susan turned to leave but Scott quickly grabbed her by the hand. "How about you tell me right now, how about that, huh?"

She looked at Scott and began to speak. "Ghouls are carrion eaters that mostly inhabit places which reek of death such as cemeteries or morgues. They are quadruped with soft rotting muscles and no external covering of skin. The male of these creatures is called a 'ghul' and the female is referred to as 'ghulah.’ From the look of things, you were attacked by the female species, the 'ghulah.' They usually feast on dead humans and animals but will attack lonely travelers who cross their paths. For centuries now, vampires not of Dracula's descendants used ghouls to hunt their targets during the day especially those who can't get exposed to the sunlight. Some vampires who can be seen even when the sun is out are known as day-walkers whereas those who can't be seen in the daytime are night-walkers. The day walkers have a ring made of lapis lazuli to protect them from the scorching heat of the sun that can easily destroy them. Therefore, the night-walkers have made ghouls their servants to hunt for them during the day. These fiends use their long sharp claws to slash open their victims and disembowel them. They have four sets of elongated canines for biting into soft human or animal flesh. The female species is smaller in size and hunts in packs of five or six but the males prefer to scavenge and hunt alone."

"You said the vampires not of Dracula's descendants use the ghouls to hunt their target? Does it mean I'm already a target?"

"I will take it from there Miss Smith."

Jasmine has been standing at the entrance door of Scott's room. She heard the screams but when she arrived, Susan had taken care of business, a dead ghoul lying in Scott's room.

At this time, Scott is freaking out on hearing 'vampires, not of Dracula's descendants use ghouls to hunt their target.' The last thing he wanted to be after returning from the dead was anyone's target.

To him, it's insane but that insane stuff is about to get more bloody. Why will he be a target of any vampire? He just returned from the dead. He doesn't want to be part of anything like the creepy shapeshifter that killed him nights ago or the ghoul that just attacked him.

The best wish now is to return to his formal life but there is no way he's gonna do that being a target. He moved towards Jasmine. "I'm a target! Your kind just send a ghulah after my ass?"

"Let's get one thing straight here Deputy Anderson, I'm not the bad guy here."

"Yes, you have said that over and over again and I'm tired of hearing it!"

"Then stop making me repeat myself and secondary, the day the rogue vampires disobeyed the new law that should've governed us all, they seize to be ‘my kind.’ We the Dracula descendants will not rest until we stop them all. So will you please stop freaking out and be the cop you are and help us put this to an end. Remember, Texas is in grave danger if you choose to walk away."

"You brought me into this and I must see to the end. No one is walking away and it's time we start kicking some ass."

With a smile on her face, Jasmine glances at Scott. "Now you are talking. We should be doing some ass-kicking right now."

As a cop working under the sheriff's department in the county of Bailey, he was trained not to walk out on tough situations and the one before him is more like the investigations he had been doing for years as a cop. He wants to see how this ends and as well to keep Texas safe. He never asked of any of these but perhaps fate chose him.

Susan clears her throat as she glances at Scott and Jasmine. "Seems like we are forgetting something."

"What, if I may ask?" Jasmine inquired with curiosity.

"It's a ghulah that attacked Deputy Anderson. Remember the ghulah don't hunt alone but in packs. This means there's still about five or four of them waiting to strike again."