KNOCKOUT

[SHILOH SUMMERLAND]

WARRICK, RHODE ISLAND

The local bar was completely flooded with various types of sounds which was so loud that; if you stood outside in the gravel parking lot that you could almost hear it clearly. But the high noise level made sense as so many locals were streaming in and out of the establishment as the night wore on. Many of them helping to increase the noise level by constantly talking loudly, laughing, and every often yelling drunkenly. All of them looking for a way to blow off some steam from a long day's worth of work.

The inside of the bar wasn't any better as wherever you turned there seemed to be a person taking up some space. With so many people packed into one space it was impossible to expect any piece and quiet. Which was why Shiloh specifically picked the bar as her temporary work space. She had begun to feel a little bored with sitting in her quiet motel room pouring over the various newspaper and article clippings she had picked up around town. So she opted for the more lively bar scene as she felt like she needed to be around people even for a little while.

The music playing through the bar's stereo system wasn't so bad. For the past half hour she had been there it seemed they were more into catering towards the electric dance music audience in the bar. It wasn't so bad and ever so often a song even made her tap her worn sneakers in time with the beat of the song while she worked. She even maganed to get a little lucky and snagged a small table all to herself. It didn't have a horrible wobble or anything which was an added bonus. So now she had enough room for her, the papers she needed to look over and the cold bottle of beer she had been nursing. So far no one had seemed to notice her except for the waitresses who were walking around and checking on patrons.

Which was a welcomed relief to her as sometimes when she sat by herself in a bar a few guys would come over and attempt to hit on her, mostly because they're interested in the size of her chest. Usually after having the nerve to try and talk her up that they would notice her eyepatch. By then they seem to rethink about talking to her and most of the time after that they left her alone. By now it didn't bother her that men were still freaked out by the eyepatch it was more annoying now as she was usually in the middle of doing research when they come over and sit at her table. Thankfully the music was to loud so that even if someone had tried to her she could use the loud music to tune them out and focus.

She only wished that people would stop bumping into the back of her chair every so often.

[GWEN MORGAN]

The music was loud and obnoxious. Normally Gwen would not be bothered by loud music but she was under a lot of pent up stress. She felt as though she was the one being hunted this time. She was fairly certain a couple of the vampires from the coven she had been tracking recently were watching her. Gwen couldn’t be for certain but that eerie feeling that she was being watched didn’t go away-not even after she had discreetly entered the local town bar.

The wave of music hit her right off and Gwen had to forcibly calm her nerves and close her eyes for a minute before slipping through the congested crowds and heading for the counter. She didn’t want to order anything-but it was the best vantage point in the whole building to keep an eye out for vampires or even to find any possible hunters to help her.

Gwen managed to find a seat and kept herself from sighing in relief, since she wasn’t out of the woods just yet and ordered vodka. She was ordering it for appearances sake, not so much to drink it. She brought it to her lips, feigning a taste and then set it down as she let her eyes rake over the people crowding around her. A girl she guessed was her own age, or at least her human age, with an eye-patch sat a seat down from her. She had an experienced look to her. Poised and ready to strike if need be but calm and relaxed even so. Could this girl be a hunter?

Gwen was about to get out of her seat and talk to the girl when a cold hand went on her shoulder. She held back the almost involuntary shiver and didn’t even look back. “I’d appreciate it if you took your hand off me,” She spoke calmly but was loud enough that people surrounding her could hear it in case the vampire couldn’t take a hint. This coven was secretive so there wasn’t any possibility that it would attack the humans here in just a public place. But that wasn’t her only problem. There were probably more of them somewhere else in the bar- watching her.

[SHILOH SUMMERLAND]

In the midst of reading a new newspaper article she had found just that day Shiloh had reached over and grabbed her bottle of beer. Slowly bringing it towards her as she never took her eyes off the page until finally she touched the cool glass to her lips. But just as the bottle touched her mouth something bumped roughly into the back of her chair. Which shaken her pretty hard so that she spilled some of her beer onto herself. She stared down onto the wet spot on her shirt and felt herself grit her teeth as she felt her anger rising. Looking up siftly she caught sight of the back of whoever it was that had crashed into her chair.

She saw an averaged sized man wearing a thick dark jacket, leather was her guess as she glared at him from behind. Feeling her anger still burning she tried to decide what route of action to take, though most of her being was telling her to follow after him and give him a good punch in the nads for being a total ass and making her spill perfectly good beer on herself. Though a smaller more reasonable part of her brain was telling her to just let it go, but with her temper problems that would be easier said than done.

She decided to watch him from her table and as she watched him head towards the bar she felt herself clenching her hand into a hard fist and then unclench it. She kept up the little action hoping that it would help disipate her anger. A moment later the man had put his hand on a girl sitting over at the bar. Shiloh couldn't exactly hear what was being said but from the body language it seemed that the small girl didn't like that one bit. Without realizing it Shiloh was out of her chair in a flash and making her way over to the man. As she walked it seemed people got out of her way quickly as soon as they saw the look on her face. Which was fine by her as she didn't want to waste energy having to move people out of her way as she was on a mission now.

"Hey asswipe she said she didn't want you touching her." she said loudly as she stopped a few feet away from the man. She crossed her arms across her chest to try and keep her hands busy for the moment.

[GWEN MORGAN]

"I really don't think this has anything to do with you," The vampire hissed, showing the brunette his teeth in warning when he was sure no one else was paying attention to their little spat. The grip he had on Gwen's shoulder tightened, until she let out an involuntary gasp. "Go off and play somewhere else, girl." He hissed, losing his patience very quickly.

"Do you really want to cause a scene here?" Gwen raised her voice, just loud enough for the vampire and the new girl to hear without startling any of the other people around them, "I wouldn't think you would want to bring attention to yourself. It's not the best situation for you or your brethren to be in."

"If you don't leave now," The vampire continued, not even concerned with Gwen at the moment, "I'll make you regret it, I swear." His voice was low and full of warning as he narrowed his eyes at her.

[SHILOH SUMMERLAND]

"You made it my business whether you like it or not dickface." she retorted back at him not backing down an inch. Normally a girl like her would not even think about going against a guy as tough looking as he was, but then again Shiloh was a far cry from a normal girl. Plus she had been in enough fist fights to know how to hold her own against bigger opponents. When she heard him tell her to go play somewhere else she felt herself bristle at his comment.

"How about you take your hand off her and go play somewhere else before I take that hand and shove it somewhere unpleasant." she warned him as she was now barely being able to keep herself standing still in her spot and not jumping at him right that second. As much fun as it would be to try and bash his head against some wood. she didn't want to cause any damage to the bar as she didn't have the funds to support any repairs for the damages she would cause.

[GWEN MORGAN]

"Leave her alone," Gwen spoke coldly, wrenching the vampire's hand off her shoulder, ignoring his yelp of pain as she broke some of his fingers in the process. It wasn't normal and now the girl that was trying to aid her would know that but Gwen was unconcerned with that at the moment. If she wasn't a hunter, then at least Gwen was in the process of saving her life at the moment. If she was a hunter...then Gwen was revealing herself as not human which was fine by her. The less details she had to explain whenever she managed to talk to her-the better. "Do you think you can take a hunter and an angel both?" She whispered coldly before shoving him away from her.

The vampire growled, cursing under his breath before glaring at Gwen and pushing roughly past the brunette and fleeing out to tell more of his coven about Gwen's meddling in their affairs.

Gwen took a deep breath, trying to center herself and regain her calm composure before heading over to the girl who had tried valiantly to help her, "My name is Gwen," She spoke softly, just loud enough for the girl and the girl alone to hear her. "May I speak with you outside? I believe... you are...someone who can help me...I wish to clarify if you are what I think you are." A hunter, that is, but Gwen didn't specifically say it, not knowing if it was just a hunch or if the girl really was one.

[SHILOH SUMMERLAND]

Shiloh had tensed her body and bent her legs just slightly just in case the man decided to come at her. Hell she wanted him to be the one to make the first move so she could let out her pent up frustration by pummeling him into the ground. But before the man had a chance to move the girl he had been holding on to had spoken again. Shiloh felt her anger drop away and her eyebrows shoot up as she heard the girl mention the word 'hunter' in her sentence.

She stood there in complete and uttter disbelief that this comeplete stranger somehow knew that she was possibly a hunter. She had always made it a point to blend in as best she could into a crowd of people so that no one could never know that she was anything but ordinary. Still stunned she simply just watched as the man shoved passed her and gathered up his buddies who had been hiding in the crowd of people and left. She was surprised to see the actual number of people he had brought with him.

Once the man was out of sight she heard the girl speak again and turned her head back to face her. She learned that her name was Gwen and that she had wished to speak with her outside.

"Uhm...sure." she told her still feeling a bit stunned from what had just happened. "Let me just grab my things." she told the girl and turned away to walk back to her table and quickly grab the few things she had brought with her into the bar and headed for the door. Once she was outside the chiller air seemed like a welcome relief to her as it blew across her skin and showed her how hot it actually was inside the bar than she had noticed.

[GWEN MORGAN]

Gwen followed Shiloh outside, glad the two of them had a moment alone to speak. She found a place relatively quiet that the two of them could converse alone without anyone interrupting them.

"I'm sorry you had to see that scene in there but I'm glad I have a moment to talk to you," Gwen started, leaning against the side of one of the buildings they were sandwiched between. "As I said before, my name is Gwen. I...am in need of peticular help. You look to me to be..." She took a deep breath. If this girl wasn't a hunter, she could make some excuse about being drunk or something along those lines. "I need the help of a hunter, and I'm hoping that I judged you correctly by the way you hold yourself that you are one." Gwen almost held her breath, waiting for the girl to respond, not really sure what sort of answer to expect from her.

[SHILOH SUMMERLAND]

Shiloh's hunter instinct was buzzing around in the back of her head as she listened to the young woman speaking to her. She seemed rather guarded and reluctant to speak just like she was, and yet somehow she had also known that she was a hunter. Which did not exactly sit well with Shiloh as she was taught to never trust anyone so easily especially the ones who seemed to know a lot about you and what you do. Right at that moment she was fighting the urge to try and make a clean getaway from the woman. Although it was against her better judgment and most of what she had been taught she decided to stay and hear what the woman had to say to her.

"Maybe I am one of these hunters and maybe I'm not." she told the woman crossing her arms across her chest again and speaking as cryptic as she could. "But what exactly is this job that you need help with?" she asked as she liked to have any information upfront before she even thought about agreeing to whatever sort of job it was this woman was asking for.

[GWEN MORGAN]

Gwen had to hold her breath for a minute before finally speaking again. It was rather humiliating to admit she needed the help in the first place but she had no one else to turn to. This girl was the first hunter she had run into in a long while and it didn't seem like any others were in the area.

"I screwed up," She sighed. "I didn't know what I was up against, I didn't do enough background information to realize how dangerous my latest hunt was going to be. I ended up stepping on some toes...and now I have a whole coven on my heels." Gwen had to keep herself still, her nerves a bit shot from all the running and exading she had been forced to do for the past week. If this girl was as experienced as Gwen thought- she'd pick up on the lingo right away. A whole group of vampires was on its way to eliminate her. "I need help. I can't take them on my own. I need another hunter to watch my back." She crossed her arms, a bit defensively. She knew it seemed like a long-shot. "I know you don't trust me, but honestly I don't have any choice but to ask for your help. I haven't seen any other hunters around lately and I'd rather not make the same mistake of underestimating them a second time..." She watched the brunette carefully, wondering herself if she should trust her.

[SHILOH SUMMERLAND]

Shiloh waited impatiently for an explanation from Gwen, and thankfully she managed to keep still and quiet. At times she could be the least patient person in the world, but her line of work had helped her with that. Or at least it was helping her to have just a tiny shred of patients with people. Her face had taken on a solemn expression that was usually easily mistaken for being moody, but in actuality she was doing her best to keep her focus as she listened. As soon as Gwen had mentioned about a coven she felt her eyebrows rise in complete surprise. She had only a very few run in with vampires before, and from what she could remember they were a bunch of pain in the asses.

She openly grimaced at the thought of having to take a coven on by herself. There was no way in hell she would ever attempt to do such a thing like that, it was crazy. Which was exactly why the previous times she had hunted then that she had back up even if she did have a bit of an aversion towards other hunters. Especially since most of them turned out to be complete assholes to work with.

Shiloh thought over the proposition. She really did not know this Gwen person, but then again she had said that had made a mistake and needed help. It took a pretty big person to admit that they had messed up and then also ask for help. Part of her wanted to say no to the job, but she felt her conscience starting to eat at her. If she were in the same position as Gwen she would want some to have her back as well. Shiloh took a deep breath and exhaled the breath as she made her decision.

"Alright, I'll help." she said in a low voice hoping that she would not regret her decision to agree to the job.

[GWEN MORGAN]

"Thank you," Gwen immediately felt herself relax, the tension in her shoulders leaving. This hunter might not trust her but if she had back-up then she wouldn't be attacked by the coven unawares. She had almost gotten caught twice, the chances of that happening were low now. Her wrists still ached from being bound the last time and Gwen really didn't take pleasure in repeating previous mistakes.

"What may I call you?" She smiled warmly, this was someone who was saving her hide after all, "I don't care if its a fake name or whatever. Just something so I don't have to say 'hey you'! all the time," Gwen tried for a joke, hoping the humor would ease the tension between them. It was always hard to trust a new hunter- especially considering the gig was usually so dangerous and hardened a lot of people up right off the bat. Hunters weren't known for their people skills, just the ability to get the job done.

[SHILOH SUMMERLAND]

"Sure." Shiloh replied as the woman thanked her for deciding to cooperate with her for the job. The woman seemed to be on the level so far, but even still Shiloh was a little cautious. Sadly for her she had learned that sometimes you cannot take people at face value as they tended to lie a lot, especially when they wanted you to do something for them. Sometimes the people she had run into that were like that were her fellow hunters. Thankfully the few times she had teamed up with another hunter she had managed to get the case moving along so that they could pop whatever the hell was terrorizing people and get the hell out of there.

Shiloh's face lit up slightly from the thought of being yelled at as a 'hey you'. As most of the time that was what she was called since not many people seemed bothered to learn her name or the fake names she gave out to cover her ass while on a job. It was kind of nice to have someone be so considerate towards her.

"Shiloh, you can call me Shiloh." she told the woman making sure to keep out her last name just in case as well.

[GWEN MORGAN]

"Shiloh," Gwen repeated with a small smile. "It's a pleasure. I'm glad to see another girl hunter for once. Most of the time I run into rough older guys who won't even think twice about helping anyone else," She pulled out a folder with the information she had collected from the coven out of her knapsack and handed it over to Shiloh.

"The coven was supposed to only have two or three members, a really small one but it's grown a lot in the past few weeks. My guess is that the recent disappearances all over town have something to do with that. They're turning more people than usual- its as if they had gotten too sloppy about hiding. Either that or they are too cocky and think that they wont be hunted down by people like us," Gwen crossed her arms, biting her lower lip. "I got ambushed by a whole bunch of them yesterday and since then they've been following me around and keeping an eye on me. They made it clear I either head out of town or die." She smiled, "That's where you come in. If the two of us attack them, we'll stand a chance."

[SHILOH SUMMERLAND]

Shiloh could not suppress a snort as she heard of the type of hunters that this Gwen had to deal with in the past. She felt a bit of sympathy towards the young woman as she had been in the very same shoes a few times in the course of her hunting career. It was never an easy time dealing with those types of people. She reached out her hand and took the manila folder that was handed to her and carefully opened it so she could flip through whatever papers were inside it. Peeking inside the folder she saw that it was a variety of newspaper scraps, printer paper and photographs.

She listened to Gwen's explanation of the case's details patiently and waited until she had finished talking to finally put her two cents in.

"You are right this is some very sloppy work especially for vampires," she commented as she looked at some of the crime scene photos inside the folder "but the real question is why do they need to replenish their numbers so fast?" she asked out loud as it seemed odd rather odd to her. Normally vampires would turn a victim every so often to slowly add to their numbers. Whatever was going on she did not like the sound of it.

"So what sort of plan do you have exactly?"