Hell and the Hunger - The Players
Joe is the vampire. There are none like him on earth. Changing, morphing, and adopting the habits of the humans he hunts, the nightmare has been stalking this globe for tens of thousands of years. Sadly, he only remembers the last couple of thousand, the years where he forgot his love for humans. An old memory – the oldest Joe has – is what erased that love. One man, with one failed promise, crushed his soul and destroyed any love he felt in his heart. When a new promise comes to remind him, everything he thinks he knows is turned upside down. He must crawl out of the deep pit of melancholy that he has sunk into and regain his former glory. The only thing in the Universe that matters to him depends on it.
Father Michael O'Connor is an old Catholic Priest with a secret. Father Michael is more than he seems. When Joe is battered and left for dead, the old priest comes to his aid. He places what remains of Joe on an alter in the basement of an abandoned cathedral - St. Michael's - and fetches fresh victims to feed the unconscious vampire.
|
Evelyn is more than she knows, more than a loner that hides out in an old bookstore that her mother left her. That store – The Witches Tool Chest – is her whole world and her only connection to the woman that she never really knew. She died when Evelyn was three years old, leaving behind the store and a series of journals that comprise Evelyn’s knowledge of her. The daughter of a witch, Evelyn knows that she has some kind of power. She can feel it. The spells in mother’s books never work for her though. Intuition tells her that mother passed some kind of ability to her, something in her genes. Without anyone to guide her though, what can she do with it? Visions come to her, like intense daydreams. Sometimes the events she sees in these visions come to pass almost immediately, other times it takes hours and still other times it will be days or weeks. Strange warmth flows throughout her body when they come, like relaxing in a hot tub. That sensation is followed by dizziness and then the vision. Whenever that happens, she knows that she is seeing the future. It never fails. She has no control of it though. When they come, they come. She can’t make it happen. Perhaps it is something about that openness that leads her to Joe or leads Joe to her. She can’t be sure. Whatever it is, it feels right. Chasing that feeling will change her simple life forever.
|
Steve Huft is a homicide detective, Braston P.D.’s finest. A handful of high-profile cases shortly after moving to homicide elevated him to almost celebrity status. This new case though, this new case is different. Twenty five bodies have been found in less than a year with all of the blood drained from them. The only signs of trauma are two small puncture wounds in their throats. Obviously some sick son-of-bitch is trying to play vampire. The guy’s good though. Huft’s got nothing on him. The only evidence he has is some chemical agent – an anti-coagulant – that all of the wounds are covered in. It doesn’t match anything forensics has ever seen, so it really isn’t evidence at all, not until he can match it something. That’s it, no DNA, no witnesses, just this mystery chemical that doesn’t really exist like some kind of magic gel. With two short months to an early retirement, Huft is running out of time. He can’t let this freak that The Braston Times is calling “The Braston Vampire” get away. It would be the one black mark on an otherwise stellar career. If he doesn’t catch his killer, that’s all they will remember. It’s time to take some chances.
|