Wild Hunt: Prologue
I'm trying to fit it all inside
I'm trying to open my mouth wide
I'm trying not to choke and
Swallow it all, swallow it all, swallow it all, swallow it all
--The Collector by Nine Inch Nails
Agents Jim-Bean and Hammer met at 8 p.m. in a conference room at City Hall in New York City.
"What's this about?" asked Jim-Bean, looking around.
"Not sure," said Hammer. "Special murder case. One of our friendlies, Dr. Conrad, called in CIFA after finding some evidence of the preternatural. So here we are."
They took seats around a large table in the conference room.
"Hello Agent Hammer," said a familiar voice.
Hammer looked over in surprise. "Magnus? What are you doing here?"
It was Magnus, the vampire hunter who had his own show on late night television.
"I think that will all become clear in a moment," said Magnus in his rich baritone.
After a few minutes, Captain Matheson, Sergeant McGarnagle, Dr. Conrad, Dr. Gourdie, and District Attorney Chester Boulder walked in. They called the conference to order and briefly introduced themselves.
Hammer nodded at the DA. "That's Boulder. More of a politician than a lawman. He is up for re-election in a few months."
"How do you know that?" asked Jim-Bean.
"My grandmother raised me in the Bronx," said Hammer.
The district attorney was a tall thin man in his forties, gray-haired and clean-shaven. He was dressed in a dapper suit.
"Welcome," said Boulder. "You have been called here to form the core of a task force to apprehend a killer or killers. You might wonder why we needed to call upon all of you for this. To the point, we believe these are serial murders; these murders are out of the ordinary, as you will see. We want minimal press coverage of this investigation. We feel that if certain details of the killings are released, it may cause a panic. The autopsy reports are currently sealed--we are labeling the deaths 'Undetermined cause, still under investigation.'"
The folders contained profiles of the two victims and autopsy reports for the two victims, and a map of SoHo showing the location of the two bodies.
Matheson continued. "Wendy Hughes, age twenty seven, and Lori Atkinson, age twenty two, were brutally murdered over the last two days. You can look through the profiles of the victims later. The same bizarre features found at the autopsies connect the murders. The victims seem to have been shredded by a wild animal, and drained of all their blood!"
"The motive for the killings was not robbery not vengeance, and not rape," added Dr. Conrad. Conrad was in his early fifties, with a Freudian beard and gold-rimmed spectacles. He was dressed in a mock-turtleneck sweater with a dark sport jacket and pants.
Matheson cleared his throat, studying the assembled members' faces. "There's more to this weirdness. We have witnesses to the killings. I'm going to play the taped statements of both. We felt that the first witness was an unreliable drunk, until we heard the witness to the second murder. Their testimonies seem to support each other."
He motioned for his aide, Sgt. McGarnagle, to set up the tapes.
“The first witness is Horace Cobb. He was picked up for questioning when the police searched the area of the first killing. He was found drinking, babbling about monsters. He saw a pretty woman attacked near the area he was sprawled. She matched the description of Wendy Hughes." Matheson signaled McGarnagle to start the tape.
"I was lyin' in a nice cozy blanket in the park. I was propped up behind some statue or other, to block the wind. It was a cool night, y'know. I was drinking my hooch whens I sees this pretty young girlie walking down the street near the park. I was drinkin' a bit too much, so I couldn't even whistle at her. Thens I smell this horrible stench, like that outta a slaughterhouse- it reeked of death, I tells ya! I began puking.”
“Whens looking through the tears running out my eyes I sees all this mist forming, and I notice this man in a dark long trench coat and broad-brimmed hat. His back was turned to me. He, like, seemed to come out of nowhere! He grabbed the girl and picked her up like she was a rag doll. He turned around and seemed to wrap around her-it was crazy…it's like he kept changin' shape or somethin'. Then I sees a bit of his…I mean its face-yeah…you gonna say it's me drink insides me—well, go to hell—I tells ya what I seen!—teeth, big fangs, fangs, fangs! I heard it snarl in a voice that belonged to Satan himself--' I thirst!'"
"I couldn't bear lookin' at it—it was evil! Maybe it was the drink, but I passed out. I don't remember anything until you guys rousted me and dragged me down here."
The tape ended.
"The next tape you are about to hear is from Ms. Kate Rowlins," said Dr. Conrad, "the person walking home with the second victim. She was Lori Atkinson's roommate. She saw the killing take place before her eyes. However, the event traumatized her severely. The following dialogue is an interview of Kate Rowlins with a police officer at the station. Due to her agitation, the police doctor on call gave Ms. Rowlins two milligrams of lorazepam before the interview This allowed her to regain lucidity for a few moments."
McGarnagle started the second tape.
"Aaaaa...No, no, no, no, no-please!" screamed Rowlins on the tape. "Monster! Monstrous! Howling—howling!"
"What did he look like?" asked the detective.
"What? Who was it...what did he look like..." A long bout of crying followed. "It wasn't human! Wolf-like...wolf-like...yet it was a man—I think. It was different things—different shapes—as it moved...its trench coat flapped about, like huge wings—it seemed to be in different places at the same time..."
"Can you describe the man's face?"
"No...please don't make me describe its face—please." Rowlins started crying again.
"Tell us what happened," said the detective.
"It took her—we were just walking—walking home from the gym-lousy basketball game...Lori was eating ice cream, I was carrying the basketball. We went by our favorite shops...then...then..."
"Then what?" prompted the detective.
"Then the blazing eyes!—or did it have eyes?"
"Go on."
"I remember the horrible smell-the mist-then suddenly Lori was gone-I turned around…and…and…"
"Yes?"
"Fangs! Fangs! Aaaaaaaaah! No, no, no, no—had to run...had to run—it howled like it was laughing. It would have had me next—I left her—I ran. No, no, no, no, no." Rowlins' crying jag was followed by silence. The tape finished.
"Despite another administration of lorazepam twenty minutes later," said Dr. Conrad, "the woman could not be brought back into a state of lucidity. She has been transferred to the psychiatry ward at Bellevue for treatment. Currently she is in a dissociative catatonic state."
Boulder stood up. "Both witnesses, of course, are questionable in their ability to give an accurate history but we are probably dealing with a maniac...or maniacs-into ritualistic killings, or who think they are Count Dracula!"
Dr. Conrad nodded. "I believe our killer does indeed have vampiristic tendencies, and agree the supernatural has nothing to do with it. I suspect most of you agree with me. Listen closely..." Conrad droned on in a monotone voice about clinical vampirism and the psychological state of its subjects.
"We are probably dealing with a sadistic, psychotic psychopath who is high on drugs," said Matheson. "We want him caught fast, before he kills again. I recall a few months back that a group of kids who were into blood drinking in South Carolina were also into Goth culture. They killed their parents, too. We need someone to check out that angle. McGarnagle can show you some of the Manhattan nightspots those punks hang out in, if you don't know your way around." Matheson nodded at Hammer and Jim-Bean. "Maybe you can also check into any patterns of the killings with those new-fangled computers you Feds got. I hope some of you will help out with the forensics as well. Any questions?"
There were none.
"Good. Let's get going people: If anyone can shed light on the occult thinking of the killer or killers-if they are part of some Satanic cult, vampire cult, or whatnot, I want answers, fast."
As the others got up to leave, Magnus pulled Hammer aside.
“You know what this is, of course."
"I do?" asked Hammer.
Magnus looked around conspiratorially. "There’s another one. I caution against suggesting our 'unimaginative' colleagues in law enforcement. We'll have to prove it to them first, or they will dismiss us as madmen. Meet me at the restaurant where we met last time."
With that he left.
Jim-Bean and Hammer exchanged glances.
"Who's that?" asked Jim-Bean suspiciously.
"Nobody," whispered Hammer. "A friend of Archive's. He thinks we're vampire hunters."
"What?" asked Jim-Bean. "Why would he think that?"
"Long story. I'll tell you on the way over to Itchi-Leng restaurant."
