When Blake first heard the news of the crazed Altered attacking the people in Slough, his first instinct was to go out to help. After all, despite being shunned by the public, the reason Altered Hunters operated was to save people from a situation just like this one.
However, part of Blake knew that he didn’t go out just to help the people. Part of him relished this situation, as it would justify him to do what he wanted to do ever since killing Billy. Right now, he was excited to be fighting Altered, however there was one thing that he noticed when appearing.
‘These Altered are so small… and the clothes they are wearing look so shabby. Are they… homeless kids? Did someone turn kids into Altered?’ Blake wondered.
It was impossible that someone would use the conventional way to turn so many kids. After all, those that were turned into Altered were meant to be humans in peak condition, usually people between sixteen and twenty-five years old to ensure the best effects.
Then again, that only applied for those who needed to get sponsored. With enough money, one could be as old as one wanted…
As Blake started to walk forward, the attention of some of the crazed Altered that had been stabbing holes through doors and windows just seconds ago, shifted towards him. Two in particular looked his way.
They screeched and growled, it was a strange sound as the noise they made was in between a growl and a scream, but that didn't matter, Blake had to make sure he had the resolve to kill these Altered.
Looking on the ground, he looked at the corpses. Not only were there those who looked like gang members, but there were also civilians among them as well. Regular people who seemed to have simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time.
‘They seem to attack humans on sight. They seem no different from the beasts the books described. If these Altered are allowed to live, they will continue to cause more chaos.’ Blake reasoned.
Both of the creatures leapt towards him at the same time, and seeing this, he moved his father’s swords in a half arc motion, a clash was heard as the sword bashed against the hard pencil claws of both the Altered. The swords weren’t light by any means, and with the armour Blake wore he could feel a boost in strength whenever he used it to attack.
Suddenly, there was a third one that came towards Blake, and as it thrust its hands forward, Blake rolled on the ground, narrowly avoiding the attack. When he lifted his head, though, he saw a fourth one and quickly raised his sword to hit the claw of that away as well. Getting up on the ground, he continued to swing his swords at the claws towards him.
Clashing and dodging the attacks from all over. Those watching felt like they were witnessing a scene out of an action movie being recorded. The people hiding inside the cars, were amazed at the skill the young Altered Hunter was displaying, rooting for him as he might be their only chance to get out of this alive.
The public knew how strong the Altered monsters were, when latched on no matter how much strength they used to throw them off it was impossible for them. How sharp their claws were and how fast their reflex were as well. Still, this lone person was able to block and avoid and match up to their strength.
However, they noticed that the beasts were starting to overwhelm him. The lone figure had quickly turned from a hero to someone who was barely surviving. Blake was able to block the attacks, yet he lacked the opportunity to deal any of the creatures a devastating blow.
‘This is why Altered Hunters are meant to go in pairs!’ Blake thought. ‘Since they were smaller than regular Altered, I thought I might fare better, but this is proving difficult. The moment I find the opening to attack one of them, the others come in at the right time.’
The young Altered Hunter felt his stamina disappearing. If he didn’t do something soon, there would be serious trouble. Finally, his movements were a little too slow as one of the creatures got behind him and stabbed multiple times one after another towards Blake's back.
Those seeing this thought it was the end of the brave warrior that had come for their help, but just like with the sword, several clashes were heard. Turning around, spinning and using his full strength, Blake managed to slice right at the neck of the creature, cutting its head off and killing it.
Looking at his armour, he could see there were a few scratches on it, but it was able to withstand most of the attack.
‘Looks like that answers my question of whether they can get through this armour or not. I guess they're not as scary as a Werewolf. Although I didn't want to test if they could pierce through my armour or not.’ Blake thought, now a little more confident.
More help had arrived, as two figures landed right into the centre of the street. The duo flapped their large, powerful wings, which knocked some creatures away. Then with the ones closest, the female that had arrived latched her hand, digging her claw into the creature in front of them. One had grabbed the shoulder of the creature so deep its blood was seen soaking down its shoulder.
The next second, it was thrown strongly against the floor.
“It looks like we hit the jackpot.” Sadie said with a smile. “Who would have thought that we would be getting all of these Altered and an Altered Hunter right here in front of us.
Everyone recognised the new arrivals as White Rose agents.
“Frank, take care of these little ones, I’ll go after this one!” Sadie ordered, as she dashed forward and went to strike with her claw hand. Blake lifted his sword to counter the claw, but unlike when fighting the other creatures he was being pushed back, losing out in strength.
The next attack, he rolled to the side, instead of meeting it head on.
“What is White Rose doing?!” Some of those watching shouted. “Why are they attacking him when he was trying to kill the beasts?!”
“I heard them call him an Altered Hunter.”
“Who cares about that? They were the ones that were too slow to respond! If it weren’t for him, we might have been dead.”
Those watching started to complain and physically boo the White Rose agents. Frank also wasn't having an easy time, facing off against nine crazed Altered, who proved to be quite resilient.
“Ah, Sadie, maybe we should have a truce or something for a second.” Frank suggested.
However, the look on Sadie's face was a clear no. She never cared about public opinion. They had PR teams for that sort of nonsense. Just as she was ready to charge forward again, though, the pain on the back of her foot started to throb. The next second something had wrapped around her arm, and she was pulled back.
Whatever had wrapped around her arm, quickly unwrapped and a loud bang was heard. The weapon had cut the White Rose agent's forearm. Looking at who it was, Sadie saw a woman dressed in black and gold, holding a whip in her hand.
“I really never liked your police in the first place.” Olivia stated.