No One Takes My Kids [Daniel]

The Righteous Side of Hell."

Somewhere along the line Daniel had given up on keeping tally of the kid he’d been hired to track down and return home. Unfortunately, it seemed to be an increasingly common occurrence these days for a child to go missing. Most were just rebellious teenagers looking to make a point while others had simply wandered away on accident. Other times the children were abductees taken either by vengeful or concerned parent or by some sick bastard. There’d even been a case in which his hunt had landed him in a firefight with a half dozen thugs looking to extort a wealthy businessman for a ransom; hell of a fight that one was.

Thankfully the offer he’d been contacted with a little over two hours ago seemed to be of a more standard fare.

One of the orphanages in Camlorn seemed to have lost track of one of the many children in their care. Hardly surprising when one considered the fact that most of them were full to bursting in the wake of the zombie attack months before. Hundreds had died despite the assistance of several capable fighters, including Daniel himself. Those deaths left many children without their parents and even now it appeared to be proving difficult to find homes for them. That same attack also left a gaping deficit in manpower available to the Camlorn police force, which was probably the reason they’d had little success finding the boy thus far.

Daniel was happy to lend his skills to the search. He’d been discussing possible leads with an elderly man when a much younger woman stepped into the office where they spoke. The old wolf fixed the woman—Surai—with an appraising stare.

“Right,” Daniel said. “Name’s Daniel; I’m with the Hunter’s Guild. Let’s start with the basics like where he likes ta go or if he’s got friends outside the orphanage.” Realizing that he may have come off as too gruff, Daniel let his face soften a notch. “Don’t worry. I’ll find ‘em if I can, and my track record with this kinda thing ain’t half bad. Just tell me what ya know.”

The Righteous Side of Hell."

Daniel did his best to keep his face neutral while his listened to Surai’s description. While he’d been given a picture of the boy in question, he lacked anything useful enough to form a profile for young Toby. Knowing what his quarry looked like was all well and good, but it wouldn’t be worth much if he could get a feel for the child’s habits. That lesson was one of the first he’d learned in his days as a Hunter and it was one that served him well in his life both within and without of the Guild. A profile slowly took shape in his head as he listened. Clearly, the child was an adventurous one with a budding appreciation for cars.

Not much to go on.

It would be best to venture a guess that the child hadn’t been to see any of his friends, so Daniel eliminated that option even before Surai had finished writing down the addresses. He thanked her for the information all the same. Then, the woman wrote down a list of car dealerships that he might be able to find the child in; this information he tucked away safely in his pocket for later viewing.

“That’ll be useful,” he assured Surai. “I’ve just got one other question. How’d Toby end up an orphan? Did his parents die in that attack that happened a while back? The one with the . . . er . . . zombies.” That would give him a very important piece of information. Many of the children that he tracked were in foster care and didn’t quite adjust to the change. Some of those children wanted to return to their families; this might’ve been a similar case.

The Righteous Side of Hell."

Daniel nodded when his hunch was confirmed. He’d looked at the casualty list a few days after the incident; the death toll had been… staggering. It came as no surprise that a good number of the children would have been orphaned.

“I was there that day,” Daniel admitted. “Saved a few people; lost a few others. Saw a lotta things that I probably won’t forget for a long time while I was at it, too.” His eyes soften further at the thought that his target might’ve witnessed the death of his parents. That wasn’t a thing he would wish on anyone, especially a child.
He noticed the way Surai pause and stood, crossing the short distance between them. He placed a hand lightly on her shoulder and followed with the most reassuring smile he could manage. There’d been ample time for him to practice the expression over the years.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Daniel said confidently. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before I give up on him.” He wasn’t one for giving up. Hopefully his hunch would be correct and the little boy would just be at home, mourning his loss. It was far better than any of the alternatives he could think of, and even then, he had no intention of failing; not like he had before, not like back in the winter. As he watched Surai writing down the address he would need, Daniel swore to himself that he would find Toby and took the slip of paper when she was finished. He thought about her offer for a moment, came up with an answer, and nodded to himself.

“Actually, mind taggin’ along? Might help if the kid sees someone he knows. Don’t want him runnin off ‘cause a guy with scars shows up.” Regardless of the answer he received, Daniel would excuse himself and set out to find the address he’d been provided with.

((OOC: Oh hush. It's great!))

The Righteous Side of Hell."

“We’ll start at the house first and hope he’s still there,” Daniel answered. “My money’s on the answer ‘no’ but there ain’t any harm in at least givin’ the place a once over. Might even be able ta pick up a trail while we’re there.” Daniel kept a brisk, purposeful pace as he walked. Time was of the essence on job like these and he’d be damned if he’d just missed the kid.

The streets were busy enough that it was almost like looking at a completely different town. There were still hints of destruction here and there, but the place seemed like it was well on its way to a full recovery. People were walking to and fro with a certain pep it there step that warmed Daniel’s heart to witness. He could almost forget about all the horrible thing’s he’d seen the day the dead decided that they weren’t resting comfortably in their graves. Having company along the way was nice too.

“So how long have ya been workin’ with those kids?” Daniel asked. “Most be tough on ya with so many ta look after.” He waited for whatever answer he received and answered with a nod. Experience with the type of work taught him that a little light conversation helped to ease his clients’ minds and he heeded that lesson religiously, especially considering that it made his work run smoothly. Besides, it helped to pass the time while he made his way to his destination. It may’ve been much faster to just hop on his motorcycle and drive there but the walk would give him time to plan the next move should this lead prove to be a dead end.

---

They arrived at the address several minutes later. Like so many others on the block, the house had obviously seen better days. Most of the ground-level windows had been shattered from the outside, scattering shards of glass across the carpet. The ruin of a heavy wooden door was laid upon the floor and left the building open to the elements. What little he could see from the outside told him that the house had been ransacked by looters at some point and he had no doubt that there would be nothing of value left inside.

Daniel wasted no time entering the home. His original suspicion that the house was the victim of looters was confirmed even before he passed beyond the threshold. He stood in the doorway for several seconds, sniffing the air for any scents that may have been present. There were a few old ones here and there, but nothing that immediately caught his attention. He made to move further in but the sound of crunching glass stopped him. Daniel looked down and shifted his foot to reveal the broken picture frame. It appeared as though someone had either knocked it over or thrown it to the ground; not surprising in and of itself, but the fact that whatever picture had been contained within was missing was interesting. Daniel couldn’t imagine that looters would’ve been interested in family photos, so he concluded that Toby had indeed been here at some point.

The question was whether that was still the case.

“Looks like he was here alright,” Daniel declared, turning to Surai. “Mind checkin’ out the first floor while I look upstairs?”

The Righteous Side of Hell."

Daniel stayed on the ground floor for a moment longer to take in the scents the shamble of a house could provide. He cursed under his breath once he discovered that any scents that might’ve been here were diluted by the breeze wafting through the shattered windows. With that avenue all but exhausted, Daniel made his way upstairs, stepping over debris and human detritus alike. He recognized further signs of vandalism upon reaching the summit: more broken glass, scattered articles of clothing, dismantled furniture. The vultures of society had clearly picked this place clean.

A swell of anger rushed through his veins like wildfire. There were always people that would use disaster as an excuse to take whatever they wished and it made Daniel sick to his core. He put aside such thoughts and refocused on the job of finding the missing boy. The first room on the right appeared to belong to Toby if the mess of toys, comic books, and the car-shaped bedframe were any indication. There was a small entertainment center poise against the wall opposite of the bed—sans any television and gaming systems that might’ve rested there. Daniel tried to trace any lingering scents but was met with the same result as before.

Damn.

He just given up on finding any clues in the room when he heard Surai calling up to him. “I’ll be right down,” he called back. “Nothin’ up here worth mentionin’ so far.” Daniel made his way back down the stairs. With any luck, Toby had just been hiding out in the basement all this time; he doubted it, but sometimes the gods saw fit to show a modicum of mercy.

At least the ones, he hadn’t dealt with thus far.

Daniel pulled his flashlight from his coat pocket and turned the beam to its highest intensity. “Stay behind me, just in case. We ain’t gonna know what’s down there ‘til we check it out, and I don’t want anythin’ happenin’ ta ya.” With that, he led the way down into the darkness.

There was an immediate change in the air upon dismounting the last step. Unlike the rest of the house, there was nowhere for the wind to seep in and scatter any scents, and there was one that overrode the dusty smell. Daniel’s hand came to a gentle rest on Black Hammer’s handle as he illuminated the room one section at a time. His search didn’t last long as a man with long black hair sprang at him from the darkness with hands curled into fists. Daniel sidestepped the man and used his own momentum against him, slamming his head into the adjacent wall. The old wolf absentmindedly tossed his flashlight to Surai with the request that she hold the beam on the assailant’s face.
The now captive squatter thrashed viciously when Daniel pulled him seized a fistful of his hair, though his struggling cease once the Hunter drew his revolver and pressed it threateningly to his forehead. “Alright, scumbag, I’m gonna ask ya a few questions and you’re gonna answer them so I don’t have ta pain the wall with your brains.”

“You don’t got the guts!” Daniel narrowed his eyes dangerously and cocked back the hammer with a resounding click!; the guy changed his tune quickly enough after that.

“Alright, alright! Just don’t kill me man!”

“Depends on what ya tell me,” Daniel hissed. “Now, there might’ve been a kid here recently. Blue-eyed boy; ‘round six; brown hair.
Remember someone like that?”

“Yeah, there was a kid here alright. Said somethin’ about this bein’ his old place. Told him it was mine now and to get lost.”

Bingo.

“How long ago was that?” No answer, but Daniel kneeing the slimy bastard between the legs quickly fixed that problem.

“Arrrgh, about… two hours ago,” squatter heaved between pained gasps. “Ran off with somekinda picture or something.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know, man! I ain’t the kid’s keeper!”

Daniel glared bullet holes through his captive’s skull. Something about the desperation in the guy’s voice signified to him that he’d been told the truth. There was just one question that was clawing at the back of his skull, begging to be asked.

“One last thing. Did you do anything to the kid?”

Silence…

“Thought so.” Daniel reared back and struck the man full force in the skull. He cried out in pain once before falling to the floor in a heap—alive, but very much unconscious. The old wolf glared down at the man, briefly considering blowing his brains out. After several moments of thought, he decided that he wasn’t worth the time of the bullet and holstered his gun. He had better things to do.

“Let’s go,” Daniel said. “We’ll let the police deal with him while we check on my other hunch.” He led the way out of the house after that, making his way towards the graveyard. If Toby was anything like Daniel had been at that age, he was likely missing his parents and visiting them at their graves. He hoped that for the sake of everyone involved that he was still relatively alright. He might have to reconsider his show of mercy otherwise.

The Righteous Side of Hell."

Daniel kept a hurried pace as he and Surai made their way to the graveyard. He had no earthly idea of how badly the bastard squatter had hurt his quarry and his concern was palpable. They arrived in record time to begin their search. It wouldn’t take long for his companion to spot the boy hunched over a grave. She ran for him while Daniel continued at a brisk pace to allow them their reunion. Even at this distance, he could see the hints of a bruise forming on the side of Toby’s face and his ire rose at the sight of it. The sight brought back too many painful memories from his youth; despite that the old wolf breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t failed to save a child this time.

He stooped beside the pair and knelt, placing a comforting hand on each of their shoulder’s. “It’s alright now, kiddo,” Daniel said. “We’ve got you.” Hints of a smile touched his features before he turned his sights on the tombstone set into the earth. He read the bold script etched into the stones.

Hear lies Adrian and Marcus Rayne.

July 19, 2561 - October 12, 2593

May 27, 2563 – October 12, 2593

May their next lives bring them greater fortune than their last.

Daniel bowed his head and offered a silent prayer for the deceased couple and all the others that died that day. Returning his attention to the situation at hand, Daniel said, “I know what it feels like losin’ your parents, kiddo. Ain’t no sense in holdin’ it back; you’ll just end up hurtin’ more that way.” He spoke from experience and it showed in the sad smile he gave the pair.

“Just let it out.”