Exterminators Infected (The Exterminators Book 1) (18 page)

“Where are they?” Peter asked.
“They are in hiding. They have an organization just like us, except they are spread out more. They aren't as organized as us. We fight to prevent Unknowns from entering our world and damaging it. They spend days focusing on ways to bend the barriers and let them through. We do hunt them. It is part of this job.” The kids were muttering to each other. Carl waited, letting the kids take in all the information he had presented.

“I don't want to hunt people.” Everyone looked at Marshall. “It's not right. We aren't killers.”

“We've been killers,” Peter spoke up.

“No, we've killed creatures. Not humans.”

“Humans are creatures.” Peter protested.

“You know what I mean! We are going to hunt people like you and me. What if they have a family like us? What if one of them is family!? No. I refuse to do it.” Marshall got up from the group. He was about to walk out but Jin blocked his way.

“Sit down,” Carl said softly. Marshall had his back turned to him, staring at Jin.

“Move,” Marshall muttered. The anger was building in him, he curled his fingers.

“Marshall-” Carl began. “-take a seat. I don't expect you to hunt Summoners anytime soon. You just have to focus on the Unknowns and that's all. Now take a seat.” Carl pointed to the empty spot Marshall was once sitting in.

“Don't ever block my way again,” Marshall gritted his teeth as he spoke to Jin. He turned back around and sat down in his place. Jin moved back towards Emily.

“So, these Summoners, they let the beasts come through. Are they some type of cult or something?” Fred asked.
“They are led by one man who has the power to bend the realms. As long as he, and the Gada in our organization stand, the barriers can be traveled. They have imbedded in themselves a barrier-altering power. This power is granted down through the years of previous owners. The point is to pass it down to your follower. The one who deserves it the most will take the mantel. It's been said for years that this has happened, but doing so takes a heavy toll on your own body. So when they pass on the barrier power, chances are they won't be around much longer. The body will decay much quicker than expected, due to the huge energy lost that the body was once used to.”

“It's basically a death sentence then,” Nick countered. Carl nodded.

“What happens if they don't pass it down?” Peter wondered.
“If the body of the one who holds the barrier power passes away, there is no way to contain that power. Chances are the barriers with crash, cutting off the realm jumping. Meaning all the creatures summoned will be drawn back into their own realms. This hasn't been proven, though. The opposite could happen and it might open every single gate, letting every Unknown through, into our realm. We just never know, because they always pass on the barrier power.” Carl watched as the boys listened. He could feel their concern that they may have jumped into something way bigger than they once expected.
“I don't mean to place fear into you boys, but this information is very important. I don't want you to be clueless on exactly what you're doing out there in the world. Every mission given is very crucial.”

“Good vs. bad, it seems so cliché.” Marshall laughed at his own words.

“Shut up man. This stuff is serious,” Fred said peering down at the floor. He felt nervous, the voice in his head was speaking to him again. It was telling him that no matter what, he'll be safe in the room. The room where he could forget all these problems.
“So, our job is to hunt Unknowns but eventually take down the Summoners? I am intrigued to learn more about these Summoners. When do we hunt one? I'd like to join in the search for one.” Peter lacked the nervous and scared feelings the other boys were suffering through.

“You're a damn robot.” Marshall said shaking his head.

“No, I am eager to take down people trying to destroy our world. Sorry that you're too stupid to see that.” The boys were shocked, they had never heard Peter down play one of them.

“Hey you little son of-” Marshall began. Carl held his hand up. The boys fell into silence.

“This is a war that's been going on for far to long. The good vs. evil, the concept that one side is in the right and one in the wrong is very old. It also comes down to prospective. We believe we are doing the right thing, while they also believe they are doing the right thing. Who's really doing the right thing, you ask? No one really knows at this point. However, we have a job and we stick by it. You joined to stop them. That is your job overall, the one you are on right now.” Carl watched Peter. He could see Peter was unmoved by any of his speech. The boy was already 100 percent involved in the project to hunt the Summoners.
Marshall, however, was not convinced at all. He wasn't about to hunt any humans any time soon. Nick and Fred sat at their positions, trying to contemplate what to do. Nick felt that if push came to shove, if Summoners were as evil as Carl said, he could hunt them down. Fred, on the other hand, felt it was hard enough to kill the creatures. He did it because they attacked him. Could he do the same against other human beings? He doubted it.

“I know it's a lot to digest,” Carl continued to speak. “I know some of you never want to harm another person.” As he spoke he looked at Marshall. “I know it's hard to accept that this is part of the job. It's a scary thing to hurt another person. Trust me; it's never been easy for me no matter how long I've been doing it.”
“Then why do it?” Marshall asked.

“Cause he has to,” Peter answered.

“He doesn't have to. None of us have to do any of this,” Fred sided with Marshall. Marshall looked at his old friend. He smiled, having a friend back him in this argument felt amazing.

“We do have to though,” Nick stood up. He looked in Carl's eyes a few moments before turning to the rest of his teammates. “Listen, we needed to know this. What if we were on the field and some random Summoner came up to us and tried killing one of you?” Nick look towards Marshall, then to Fred, last to Peter.

“Then we'd kill him,” Peter answered, no remorse in his voice.

“We'd talk to him first,” Marshall grunted. “We aren't hit-men. We just don't kill without knowing why.”

“What if the Summoner came up to you and tried to kill you?” Nick asked Marshall.

“Then I'd defend myself,” he responded.

“What if he went after your family ‘cause he saw your face. He knows who you are, knows where you live, and studies you. Then tries to kill your family. What would you do to stop him?” Nick said loudly. Carl watched as Nick took control of the group. He finally realized that Nick was the leader of this unit. They all had their voices and opinions, but none followed each other like when Nick demanded it.

“I'd kill them,” Marshall muttered. A imagine of his brother and Lucy flashed in his head as he said it.

“You'd kill them, yeah. You know why? ‘Cause they'd have no problem ripping out your mom's throat. You understand? If they are willing to press barriers, break them, let deadly creatures in, then they are willing to mass murder people with ease. This is scary and I didn't join to kill humans, but Carl didn't lie. Killing is now our job. Humans might get in the way and we have to take care of them the same way we do the Unknowns. We are Exterminators.” The boys fell silent. No one answered, yet they all understood. Their missions just got far more complicated.

Chapter 19 – Behind The Scenes

Marshall was leaning against the counter watching as Lucy looked through the guide. He felt his gut wanting to rip in half. He knew he wasn't supposed to tell anyone outside the organization about the Unknowns but he didn't know how else to keep her trust. She was about to walk away, probably forever he figured. So he did what he had to, to keep her around.

“This stuff...” she began as she turned the next page. “This is unbelievable.”

“Tell me about it.” He pushed himself off the counter and sat on the bed across from her. “It looks a lot cooler than it really is. These descriptions don't give the Unknowns the credit they deserve. These monsters are really repulsive most of the time. Always dangerous too.”

“You must be so scared out there,” she said, looking up at him.
He looked back, feeling her eyes reaching into him, trying to search the hidden feelings behind it all. He wanted to spill it all to her, but he kept those feelings in. “I am at times. I keep level-headed most of the time. I don't want to freak out on the field and put myself or anyone else in danger.”

“You're so brave.”

“Hey, it's not nice to make fun.”

“I'm not,” she said gently while placing her hand on his arm. “I'm very serious.” She moved closer to him. “The things you do are unbelievable. You're like a superhero.”

“A superhero?”

“Yeah,
my
superhero,” she giggled.

“Does this superhero get an award?” He leaned in. He was close enough to her face now that he could feel her breath, could smell the cheery flavored gum she had.

“I think you do.” She leaned the last few inches in, and they kissed. Marshall felt all the problems that were on his mind drift away. For once he felt like he was just a normal kid and not some Exterminator hunting creatures. He gladly accepted that.
Peter walked into the gym. On a Sunday afternoon the boys rested usually. It was a nice day to relax for most of them. With no school and rarely a mission ever called upon on the weekend they used this day to recuperate. Peter used the empty gym to push himself further in training. He grabbed his Rod and focused on creating an elemental glove. He was determined to push himself, to make the magic in him grow to new levels. Try new spells.
He walked in a circle, flexing his fingers. He wanted to feel the magic growing in him. The elements had to become part of him. He formed a gust of wind in his hand. He began running forward. His next step in fighting was to keep concentration on the elements while moving. He kept a steady jog while juggling the wind element in his hand. The gust was making vicious sounds as he ran onward. He held tightly to the element trying to steer right now. The movements could not interfere with the elements. They had to become one move, they had to complement each other.

Jin came out of nowhere, a sledgehammer in his right hand. It was huge, brown, and coming from the side towards Peter. He didn't have a choice, he put his palm out and let go of the gust of wind. He was holding it for so long that once it exploded the wind shattered, knocking back not only Jin, but also himself. They both landed on their rears.
“Not bad, I figured I'd surprise you with that one. You sure thought quick on your feet.” Jin got back up. Peter slowly rose with him. Jin noticed he hadn't had a surprise look on his face. Most people would have still been freaked out by the sneak attack. Yet, Peter seemed to have brushed it off completely.
“That was good. I needed something surprising. You know-” Peter shook his hand. “-it could easily happen on the field too.”

“I like the way you think. You think of all the possibilities. You remind me of someone.” Jin smiled. He gripped tightly on the sledgehammer.

“Okay, let's go!” Peter sounded excited. The excitement was more surprising than the actual attack. Jin never recalled Peter being so excited.

Peter moved towards Jin instead of waiting back. He formed the fireball in his hand, readying his attack. Jin stepped back a foot, hammer swinging back. Jin flung the sledgehammer in front of him. Peter dodged the hammer in the last second by stopping, it nearly hit his stomach. Jin was already self-recovering, while he put his energy to swing the other way. Peter, however, struck first. Squashing the fire in his hand the entire elemental glove went ablaze. He threw his fist forward and hit Jin on the chest. The flames ignited on impact and Jin could feel the blazing flames burn his chest.

Jin dropped back a few steps and patted his chest. The flames weren't big enough to catch the entire shirt on fire but the burn marks were already implanted on his chest. Jin could feel the burning pain around the place of impact.

“Not bad,” Jin praised Peter, smiling.

Peter hadn't realized the smile that was plastered over his own face. He could feel something. Excitement? Happiness? Joy? He wasn't really sure. He was sure though that he felt alive. Ready to keep going. “Thanks,” he answered happily.

“All right, let's keep going. Show me what else you got,” Jin said, tightening his grip on the hammer. Peter put his hand up to his chest before creating the next element and charging at his opponent.
Nick was running up and down the bars at the park. He was working out, giving his body a warm-up run. He ducked down behind one bar, back up, back down another bar, back up. He repeated the cycle over and over again, feeling his speed grow. To create speed, to enhance movement, to grow stamina, he pushed his body. He had to put everything he had into training; otherwise he'd be putting himself in danger in the fights against the Unknowns. He was injured almost every time he fought. He wanted to change that.
Fred was doing push-ups against the bench next to him while trying to balance his weight with one hand at times against it. It was getting close to December and he felt himself growing in ways he never could have imagined. The weight was so far down he felt like a new man. He was almost as fast as the boys on the field now, even without his Zoran. He trained just as hard as they did, yet still made sure to push himself further when he could. He wasn't sure why, they wouldn't judge him at all. Yet he felt he had an obligation to better himself.
Nick stopped after the last bar on set and looked towards his friend. “I fought a Rockus the other day by myself. I got a few scrapes but I was able to take it down with the spear. It's pretty hard to trick it though, that thing is just a beast. I had to wait till it was on me, dodge, let it roll over, and then strike it in the belly. I probably should have just created a damn rocket launcher,” Nick said, laughing.

Fred stopped the push-ups and rested on the bench. “Funny you say that. I tried to create one. I shot a missile in the air the other night just to see. Dude, I think my body almost went into a coma. It takes so much energy to fire one. I will not be creating one again. Though the explosion looked sick,” Fred added. Both boys laughed to that.

“Do you think-” Nick began, Fred looked up at him. “-we are doing the job we were meant to do?”

“Whatcha mean?”

“I mean sometimes I feel like this job isn't meant for us. Like we shouldn't have been chosen at all.”

“I don't think we ever choose the jobs we are given. They just happen to fall in our laps,” Fred replied. Nick looked at him, giving a nod in agreement, but he felt differently about it.

“I just feel this job is draining. Like, why can't we just be normal high school kids? Instead we're thrown into this world of Unknowns and Summoners. I mean, what the heck is all this?”

Fred took a second to ingest it all. He agreed. He wanted to live a normal life at times, too. Just sit back and enjoy the small things in life. He'd finally felt so great about his body he was getting ready to ask a girl out. His grades were horrible when usually they were average. He wanted to be at least average for college. He wanted to get a job, make some money, but there was no point in that. He had no free time. He too felt like it would be nice to live a normal kid's life.

“I agree. Still, we can't just walk away now,” Fred spoke up after a while.

“I know. It's just I feel like I'm always lying to my pops and girl. It's like all I want to do is tell them I'm trying to save the world. Instead, I go home beat up and they have no clue. I get yelled at by both for disappearing, showing up later, not spending enough time with either one. It's like this creates more problems than anything.”

“Yeah, but if we didn't do this look at what could happen. That truck driver who was attacked is alive ‘cause of us. He was a single parent and now his kid won't be alone in this world. She has a father that's still alive, and that's ‘cause of us. That's ‘cause of you.” Fred pointed to Nick.
Nick hadn't thought of it that much. He went on missions because he was told to. Not even thinking of the aftermath of it all. He knew he was fighting to save people, yet never thought about the situations he was put in. When Unknowns make it to the other realm, they can still damage or hurt humans. Even worse, no one can see them to prevent them from hurting anyone. No one except the Exterminators that is.
“It's true. Yet, when we're in danger, who's there to save us?” Nick said, Fred was surprised. Not so much at the question but the fact he'd never thought about it. They stayed silent for a while each lost in thought.
“We save each other.”
“Huh?”
“We save each other,” Fred started speaking. “We are a team because we save each other. That's who protects us, each other. The whole point of being a team is to have each other’s backs. We've been hanging out so much we feel we're just one person. Save us? Who needs to save us when we HAVE us? We are each other’s backup. We just get so focused on being a group we forget that.”
Nick surveyed the sky. He forgot he was part of the team sometimes. They fought and trained so much they felt like one complete force. Combined together as a whole new person. They each had one another for backup though. They had Jin, Carl, Ram, Emily and more Exterminators on their team. They just needed to be reminded.
“You're right. I hadn't thought of it that way.”

“We can do anything together. So let's get back to training so we don't have to worry about needing back up.” Fred got off the bench and got into a sit up position. “Another thirty minutes then I'm heading home.” He began his sit up routine.
Nick grabbed the monkey bars and began pull ups. He wanted to better himself, become the most important aspect in the unit so they could count on him. He wasn’t about to back down now. He pushed himself past the ten pull up mark before dropping down and going into squats.
Marshall laid in bed, Lucy was beside him with her head on his shoulder. “I want to just be here forever. Not have to go to school. Fight these monsters. Do anything crazy. I just want to lay here with you forever.” He kept his eyes closed as he spoke to her. She nodded her head lightly agreeing.

“Things aren't going to change. You have to do what you have to do to get through life. It's what my mom always said.”

“Yeah, but why can't we take the easy route sometimes. Why can't I just stay here with you and forget all my problems? I guess that's silly. Nothing in life is that easy.”

She rolled over and kissed his closed lips. He opened his eyes to look at her. She was so beautiful he thought. The way she looked at him with her small eyes, the way she smiled at him, the way she held on to him. “Things can be easier with some help. I'm here to help,” she said smiling.

He kissed her back. Held it for as long as possible. He wanted to feel close to her, to not feel like all the obligations in his life were real. That this was some type of dream and his real life was with her. “Dreams,” he muttered.
She looked at him. “Dreams?”

“Dreams.” He simply answered.

“You're a weirdo,” she said smiling, then relaxed back in his arms.
“You're dating the weirdo.”
Silence crept into the room. Marshall felt a weird sense of tension on his chest. “Are we dating now?” she asked.

“I thought we were.”

“I thought we were too...I think.” She was unsure. It caught him off guard.

“Do you not want to date?”

“It just feels weird when you say it. Like its official.”

“Well, it's been almost a month. It feels kind of like it should be official.”

“Yeah, I guess it does.”

“Listen, if you don't want to date just tell me.” Now he was getting annoyed. He could feel the anger building in him.

“I do!” She shot up, shouting. She seemed indifferent, not sure how to continue. He felt confused in the situation. Not sure how to respond. Feelings were getting mixed up in such a short time.

“Listen, I like you. I mean, I really like you. You have to tell me though if you don't feel the same. I don't need to be led down the road that leads nowhere.” He showed a side she hadn't known before. He was serious about relationships. The joker turning into the more mature adult-type when it came to this.

“I do like you. I want to date you. I want to be with you.” She rested her hands on his bare chest. “You've been there for me when no one else cared to be with me. I know it's only been a few weeks but I don't want you to go anywhere. I just get scared when it comes to relationships. I haven't had any strong connections with friends let alone a boyfriend.” She crawled over to him, sitting on top of him. “I do want to date you, yes. For sure!” she said laughing. She was nervous yet excited.
She laid her head on his shoulder. He let out a breath of relief. He began to form feelings for her quickly. If she left now it might have crushed him. He didn't know if she was just passing through or growing to love him. Either way, he wasn't going to let her go this soon. He placed his arms around her and held her tightly. He wanted to hold her forever.
Carl returned back to his home. It was a single room apartment where he slept and ate. The rest of his time was spent in the Station or traveling around. He threw his keys to his car on the kitchen table. After grabbing a drink from the fridge he went over to his bed. He sat on it and looked at the empty display on the TV.
“So tired. Just rest.”
He thought to himself but he never listened. His body was getting more tired the older he got. He wasn't able to do the things he did ten years ago with such ease.
He grabbed the TV remote and turned it on. The sound of the sports announcer filled the room, yet he wasn't listening to a word. The sound was just better than the silence. Better than letting the silence eat at him, bring up memories he hid so well in his busy life.