Chapter 5

Samantha could sense her father awakening from his great slumber, and stirring for the first time in years. While peace was being restored someone had to try to face and hold him as long as possible.

It was for this reason that Samantha made her way to a place she had not seen since she had last been with her father.

Finding the ground cracked; no doubt to prepare for his reentering the world she went inside. Leaping from rock to rock she made her way down, landing in a crouch on the cavern floor.

"Hello my daughter." Anthony's voice came from somewhere in the shadows surrounding her.

"Hello father." Samantha replied.

"You came alone to face me. How foolish of you." Anthony said.

"You will face the others in time." Samantha answered.

Laughing deeply Anthony said, "So you have come here to buy them more time. Aren't you heroic?"

Samantha had no warning when a vicious backhand sent her flying. Sailing through the air she crashed against the rocky surface behind her. Samantha was showered in debris as she fell to the floor. Spitting up blood she rose to her feet wiping her mouth with her arm.

Charging forward Samantha was still dizzy as she attacked clawing at him. Anthony's palm smashed into her nose stunning her, and snapping her head back.

As her vision blurred Anthony grabbed her outstretched hand and slammed her into a boulder right next to her.

Slipping limply to the ground she sucked a breath into her bruised body.

"Very foolish." Anthony said his eyes glowing red as he smiled at her only inches from her face.

"Just get it over with, and stop toying with me." Samantha said leaning back against the boulder as he held her arm outstretched to her right.

"As you wish my darling daughter." Anthony replied.

In one quick movement his hand burst into her chest grasping her heart, and pulling it out. Holding it in front of her he crushed it.

"It is only a matter of time before you die, and the others will feel it. I want them to know what is going to happen to them." Anthony said making his way to the surface.

Samantha lay there dying and alone as her body tried to keep her alive. Tears ran down her face as she suffered through agonizing pain.

Sealing every wound her body did its best to survive as long as possible, but it was simply holding back the inevitable.

They all felt the mortal blow and hurried to where Samantha was. They found her laying there on the rocky earth unable to move and having trouble breathing as she died slowly.

"You ... must ... stop ... him ... only ... you ... four ... can." Samantha said before she took her last breath.

Tatanya cried into Peter's chest ashamed that they had not been there to help her.

"It's my fault. It's all my fault." Tatanya said barely holding it together.

"There will be time enough for grief sister. Now is the time for revenge and this time it won't threaten the peace." Nathan said.

Tatanya nodded taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"I agree." Peter said.

"Can you track him Peter?" Nathan asked.

"Shouldn't be a problem especially with the trail of blood he is likely to leave behind him." Peter said.

"Good then we may be able to catch up to him before he gets too far ahead of us. We have to hurry. Who knows how many people he can kill before we can stop him." Nathan said.

"Who put you in charge? Shouldn't we get some help?" Julian said.

"This is the way things have always been." Peter said, "Ever since we were children Nathan has always taken the lead. No one outside of the family knows that."

"Admittedly he is the strongest of us, even our father thought so. Our father told our sister Samantha that much." Tatanya said.

"If anyone has the best chance at beating our father it's him." Peter added.

"We will still need to work together. If he was strong enough to kill Samantha so quickly things may be worse than we thought. It's better not to take any chances." Nathan said.

Peter and Tatanya both nodded in agreement.

"This is some family I was born into." Julian said shaking his head as they headed out the door.

"At least we don't have to get costumes at Halloween." Peter said making a joke.

All havoc was breaking loose among the various groups. Werewolves fought with vampires and even the Huntsmen joined the fray. On one city street a thick body of that covered a portion of its length moved quickly through it.

All those caught within it dropped to the ground dead within seconds of touching it their life force draining away. What it left behind was still forms and silence.

Sniffing the air from time to time Peter tracked Anthony to a tall building. On their way they saw dozens of bodies in various stages and forms of death at Anthony's hands.

Some were ripped apart or drained while others had been cut open. One poor old homeless man with a full white flowing beard that ended at his chest had his throat ripped out.

Even now they could see the look of terror on his face. In his last moments he had tried to hide from the monster that had killed his companions behind a dumpster, but the monster had found him anyway.

Looking into its eyes he had shivered and begged pleading for his life but Anthony had not granted it. Even as the old man lay there bleeding he had walked away living him to die cold and alone.

A great rage filled Julian.

"I'm going to kill him! He murdered all of these people, but most don't even have fang marks. He didn't even feed off of them!" Julian said looking around and seeing their faces.

Some were women and children who had tried to flee before Anthony cut them down.

"He has become the monster he was always afraid he would turn into." Peter said surveying the scene with the others.

"Then it is good we are hunting him down together. If you need any more reason to do so then remember this. Imagine cities, towns and even villages that look like this.

He will bathe the whole world in blood, and will not stop until he has killed every living thing, before he starts on the rest of us. Driven by a hunger he will never satisfy it will be all he cares about.

While I may have never have liked our father I have to admit this isn't him. Our real father died in that cave. What did this is merely what was left behind." Nathan said.

It was no longer simply about old hatreds and revenge. This was survival. If they didn't kill him now when he was weakest then he would only grow stronger from the blood of his kills.

Eventually he would be nearly invincible, and none of them would stand a chance. Nathan and the others could only hope that Anthony had not yet reached that point already or they were all doomed.

Making their way up the stairs of what looked like an office building for some company they saw only flickering and more bodies. No one was left alive as they moved quickly to the roof.

By the time they burst through the door with Nathan leading Peter had already shifted into his wolf man form, and Julian already had his shotgun out. While the gun might not kill Anthony it would certainly help get his attention and perhaps provide a much needed distraction if used correctly. Julian knew he was the weakest of the bunch and had no illusions of what would happen to him if he fought Anthony hand to hand.

Anthony was nowhere in sight but Peter could smell he was close. While most of them followed Julian broke off from them and sneaking off to the right using the natural cover to hide himself.

As he rounded a corner his eyes searched the darkness never hearing Anthony's approach. Clawed fingernails sliced into his back tearing into his flesh.

Before Julian could even scream in pain a second blow smashed into his jaw breaking it and sending him crashing into unconsciousness. Reaching down Anthony grasped the shotgun pulling it from Julian's limp fingers.

"Too easy." Anthony said with a smug smile.

While he was distracted Peter leapt, sinking his teeth into Anthony's left shoulder. Roaring in pain and rage Anthony grabbed him by the neck and tossed him over the edge. Freefalling Peter grasped for anything to save him.

Turning around in midair he dug his claws into the side of the building he quickly ground to a halt. His paws and limps ached from taking a lot of strain as he sucked in pain filled breaths.

Angry and filled with purpose he dug in and began climbing back up to the roof.

Tatanya and Nathan were fighting for their lives as Anthony took everything they threw at him. With a vicious backhand Anthony sent Tatanya as she tried to claw his face and was sent flying.

Crashing through the wooden door leading to the roof her unconscious form rolled hard into the wall beyond.

Chuckling as he looked at Nathan Anthony said, "It seems we are finally alone my son. Now you have a chance to show me what you really can do."

On the moonlit roof Nathan hoped to use the shadows to hide his tendrils as he attacked. Anthony had caught them by surprise before, going on the attack.