Demon Hunter 5

Jeff spotted Ashley and Alex lugging something heavy. Whatever it was, it was wrapped head to toe in an old rope and Ashley's chain.

He jogged over silently, careful not to let the items in his backpack rattle. He jumped into a tree limb above them and watched as they struggled underneath.

"Hi Jeff," Ashley huffed as she tugged harder on the object.

Jeff dropped from the tree and wrapped her in a hug. He kissed her on the cheek and said, "Need some help with that?"

Ashley dropped her cord and returned the hug. "Absolutely. By the way, you need some work on your stealth approach." She pulled away and winked at him. "I could hear you a mile away."

"And both of you need to work on your strength." Alex dropped her end of the cord as Jeff squatted down and grabbed the form (obvious because it seemed humanoid) and hefted it up. It's middle was crooked over his shoulder, its head bouncing against his back as they walked to the front gate of Dillon and Bob's "mansion". They all joked about how much tougher Ashley, Alex, and Jeff were because they grew up on the streets.

Dillon and Bob had always lived in luxury because their parents, wealthy bounty hunters, had furnished them with everything. Their family was so wealthy, in fact, that they happily bought gear for the missions the younger team had.

As they reached the fence, Alex ran ahead and opened the old black gates.

"Would you mind telling what the hell this is?" Jeff asked Ashley quietly.

"A demon."

Jeff's eyes flashed, and Ashley was able to grab his hand before it went to grab the steel bat that was sheathed sideways across the small of his back.

"We thought it would be good to get some information from him before you beat him to a bloody pulp."

Jeff's eyes went back to their original brown color as he gained control of himself. His parents had been killed in the Underworld when they had tried to go after the Black Pearl. The Black Pearl was the source of the demons' power, and if they lost that, they wouldn't have any magic, no power, and no ability to shift between the Underworld and Earth.

"You promise?" Jeff asked, a smile playing on his lips.

"Promise what?"

Jeff smiled and said, "That I can beat him to a bloody pulp when you're done."

"Promise."

"Guys, hurry up, Dillon and Bob are waiting." Alex walked to the front door and rang the doorbell.

Jeff and Ashley quickened their pace until they were next to Alex at the front door.

The door opened.

Bob stood smiling, a black figure in the buttery yellow light that shone from behind him. His only garment of clothing was a light blue towel wrapped his waist.

Jeff started laughing, and Alex asked why.

"I thought he was joking," Jeff's laugh rattled through the night.

"About what?" Ashley asked.

"He told he'd meet at the door wearing nothing but smile!"

Jeff bent over, laid down the cocooned figure and doubled up laughing.

"Then he lied," Alex said, jumping into Bob's arms. "He's wearing a towel." She kissed him on the cheek as if they hadn't seen each other in weeks

Bob gently pushed her away. "Lemme go get some clothes on before you pull this off."

Jeff grabbed Ashley's hand, and they walked inside.

Dillon appeared sliding down the rail of the set of stairs on his behind. He jumped off at the end and landed expertly on the black tiled floor. "Good," he said, "You got the door. In a towel. Nice way to greet guests." Everyone knew that Dillon was joking, even through the stern face he held.

"So, where is the rest of the family?" Jeff asked.

"Off on one of their hunts," Bob muttered as he climbed the stairs to his room. "Be back in a minute."

"While their gone, though, we get access to their demon hunting stuff. It's all pretty cool, and they have lots of ammo for different types of guns; maybe they'll have some extra for you, Jeff."

Jeff shrugged. "Well, I only have seven bullets left, so extra ammo would be nice. But before we go hunting for ammo, I have some presents for you."

Chapter 2: Getting the gear; to the Underworld

Jeff had started making art with metal when he was ten. Now, at the age of nineteen, he had almost perfected the skill. In his garage was a whole station for welding. He had already refined Alex's machete blade to a special metal that the demons used-the metal could not be broken, and it took extreme heat for the stuff to melt.

Now, at Dillon and Bob's house, he presented his special creations to his friends.

Jeff took off his pack and overcoat and drew many weapons from both. He set them on the table in the basement where they all stood now.

Jeff had smithed weapons for each member of the team, and all of them had special care put into them. They also had the Hunter sign somewhere on them. That meant that they could kill any demon with the weapons.

"You forged all this stuff?" Ashley asked in amazement as she picked up a silver chain. It was made from demon metal, which was unbreakable. It also took extreme heat to melt the stuff down. At each end of the chain was a demon steel weight in the shape of an octagonal cylinder, and on the bottom of those was the sign of the Hunter: a cross with a loop on top.