Necrophage

The Hidden People

The call was short and to the point. Autumn always did have a good sense of purpose. Another reason to add to the list on why Gray worked with her.

Shy footsteps treaded down the hallway so Gray took a stance next to the door and drew one of his Glocks. He was expecting Autumn to arrive soon but caution didn't hurt. Instead of knocking she slipped a piece of paper beneath the door which he didn't completely expect. Scooping it up, he read it off quickly and confirmed it had to be her. Holding the handgun close to his chest he unbolted the deadlock and pulled the door open. He motioned her inside while glancing down either side of the hallway before closing the door. It didn't matter to how she found him so quickly.

Gray kept his voice to a moderate level as he started going through details. "Strange to see you in person on the job. Last time this happened was on the ghoul job in Vancouver." A smile streaks across his face. "They had good spaghetti." Ghouls generally had the same traits as zombies except they were fast and smart. That group almost outplayed Gray using the abandoned tunnels. Clearing his throat he went to business. "I'll tell you what I know so far." Gray lowered his voice so that only she could hear. Crappy walls were a hazard but the place was affordable and defensible - mostly. "There's a sorcerer or witch doctor of ridiculous power out there. I can't leave and I doubt you can now. I tried earlier. Felt like the seizure my brother describes on occasion when I tried to. Crazy part is I saw other people leaving the area just fine. I didn't know magic could get so specific. Whoever's behind this is organizing the monsters. There's been a lot of abnormal activity so I've been playing it safe for now but I have a hunch that slaughter is on the horizon. It's not looking good Autumn. Seems to me we're staying for the party so we'd best get comfy."

Gray continued habitually peeking out the windows through slits in the curtains, making sure not to ruffle them.

The Hidden People

A Day Before Autumn Arrives.

Gray stretched in his cheap foldout chair, letting out a drawn out yawn. Again he lifted binoculars to look through the narrow opening in the motel's shoddy blinds. Autumn had sent him on ahead with a decent promise of pay as usual. Gray was almost disappointed by the fact that she wasn't hiring him to hunt something in particular. There's was little information to go on. Looking at the fact that Autumn generally didn't have a "little" information to share made this mission a little unnerving. Now is a different story.

Gray focused in on a group of what appeared to be gangsters or local thugs. They'd been moving around the neighborhood way too much in the last hour. It was obvious they were looking for something and doubly so to Gray that they were involved. They slipped through another alleyway moving at a pace that didn't match the general laziness of the modern gangsters he knew. The hunter's professional opinion: They were monsters up to no good. And they weren't the first.

Gray adjusted the shoulder holsters holding the two Glocks in place underneath his arms. There was going to be action soon but not enough to suit up for quite yet. He needed to lay low and contact Autumn before getting rash. That's what he was being paid for right? After all, he hadn't witnessed this much suspicious activity since he dealt with the haunting at the old Argonne grade school in Wisconsin. Incidentally that ended with a satisfying explosion that forced the government to officially condemn it. Good times.

Gray pulled out his cell phone, went through his speed dial and hit the call button. A secretary answered and he moved his mouth to speak before suddenly stopping. There was a small gasp of air and no more. A cold shudder ran down his spine. Silence. A person on the other end said something he couldn't hear. Gray ended the call and dropped the phone on the stained carpet.

"CRAP! What the hell was that?" He spouted, venting his sudden frustration. That felt almost like what a seizure patient would describe. This was bad. Not just bad! House cat eating dead owner because he can bad. Some kind of voodoo or magic was affecting him. Whoever had that kind of power meant really bad news. Time to leave and get backup before things got worse.

Gray grabbed his one suitcase, stuffed a few loose clothes in it and headed down the stairs. "Leaving early?" The mildly attractive receptionist asked as he slowed to a more casual pace. It was always best to not be suspicious. In this line of work it didn't just mean drawing unwanted attention from enemies but also humans who didn't need to get endangered. If this power and the local activity were connected it could mean New Camden would have to hire someone to change their population marker really soon.

"Yeah. Family emergency. Dad needs some help." He lied. It was pretty convincing too. "Sorry to leave so soon. It's a nice place." That was a lie too.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Stay safe." She said. That's exactly why I'm leaving, Gray thought. He threw the suitcase into his rented suburban with the other one and hopped in. Time to get out. He was already on the edge of New Camden so it didn't take very long to leave the borders. But that would have been too easy.

The suburban's engine sputtered and died as he rolled over a hill. After some coasting and light breaking he parked the car. He got out to examine the engine and found it to be in perfectly fine condition. It simply decided it wanted to turn off on him. Looking away from town he felt that compelling and nagging feeling coming back. An unnatural chill ran down his spine and made his legs feel weak. He simply couldn't will himself to walk away. "Trapped..." He whispered, his usual lighthearted expression collapsing.

Real Time

Gray had it easy laying low. Figuring out what was going on however was more difficult when all you did was watch through your windows. He had attempted a few times to call Autumn with very little effect. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he answered to find it was in fact her. "How? I.." He paused, a little surprised that he was actually speaking. "Where can I find you?"

Cursed

Well, this gets retired and I'll write the story myself as part of a book or series of short stories in time. I hate it when people vanish. =(
I'm just glad I was able to garner some people's interest with my idea. Means I'm on the right track.

The Hidden People

I don't really mind it. @Exie

Gray's inspired by a previous character of mine from a different timeline. But you can keep thinking that. =)

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The Yes, and part can be changed. It is just the most direct way of involving Gray in this world without putting him in direct risk of execution by the council.

The Hidden People

Done. =)

Also: Bullets don't have pushing power to knock anyone around. They just punch through stuff. If you were actually pushing someone with a gun it would knock the person firing it away too.

The Hidden People

Name: Gray Conover
Age: 31
Gender: Male
Species: Human

Physical Description:
Gray stands at 5'11. He is broad-shouldered and lanky, his advantage against his enemies is obviously not brute strength yet he has exercised thoroughly to try to make up some of the difference if he ever has to get that close. He has a long face and a pointed chin and hazel eyes, characteristics that seems to run in his family. His hair color is dark brown and he has mutton chops and doesn't bother to manage his hair so it stands pretty unkempt. He keeps it just short enough in the front that it won't become a problem in combat.

Talents:
Creative Combatant - Gray is a very experienced killer and it comes mainly from his ability to think on his feet and react quickly. Even without weapons on his person he can figure out ways to kill something by using his environment and playing dirty. He certainly doesn't hold back on the playing dirty part which might irk off those noble vampires or whatever the hell else thinks they have some kind of fair fighting spirit in combat. It's always life or death and Gray doesn't plan on being the one dying.

Broad Monster Knowledge - Gray knows how to kill all the common creeps. Werewolves, vampires, zombies(Those are the easy ones), etc. It comes from a personal history of doing just that. If he can't kill it he'll get away and study for some way to do so. After all, his hefty pay check rides on this important task.

Extensive Arms Experience - Gray is both a military veteran and an arms enthusiast. As such he has both experience and extensive practice with firearms. Having talent and practice make him a very accurate shot with long weapons in particular.

History:
Killing monsters runs in the family and family is what really matters. Gray grew up with values, often unapparent to others, that keep him from going too far in the field. He grew up with several brothers and a sister and for the earliest part of his life had no idea what his family really did. They sheltered him from it until he was ready to know the truth. That truth didn't come until it was nearly too late.

Gray joined the military. He was in the army on tour in the middle east when he encountered his first taste of the supernatural world. They seemed like normal middle-eastern villagers. Lured into their village on their patrol, Gray's team didn't pose a very good chance. They had the resilience and constitution of ghouls. Meaning they wouldn't go down without a good headshot or leg shot. Most of his team was felled by their inhuman stamina with mere farm tools. Their adversary was quick and dangerous but he had and the remainder of his squad had the resolve to survive. It wasn't until later that he understood what they were. They weren't undead. They were the "blessed warriors" of a demonic duke known as Abigor that had been piggybacking on wars and feeding off of them since iron was used as a weapon. It made sense why he'd be making his rounds in the most war torn nation in the world.

On his return to the States Gray reunited with his family. Upon hearing his experience they began to explain to him the finer parts of their history. The Conover's have been killing monsters for nearly two-hundred years. Gray had a legacy he was willing to uphold.

Unfortunately that legacy was difficult to acquire with the councils of creatures banded together throughout the world. With the councils keeping everything in check his family didn't indulge in hunting so much anymore. The councils were a necessary evil but they were still monsters and Gray couldn't personally trust them to keep things steady. He needed a group that would let him bypass getting a hit on his head by an organization that vastly overpowered him. It took a while and he took up jobs killing rogue beasts in the process which the council overlooked because of the nature of the cases. He wasn't that good at first. Not many people are. The evil monsters that let themselves be tracked by an amateur are generally the easiest to kill. Gray had mistakes and near-death experiences but his resolve and ingenuity always had the tendency to save him.

When you're feeling hand over hand through the dark you always find something.

Psychological Profile: Gray seems to be morally ambiguous to people who don't know him. To those who do, they see the bold line he won't cross. If a creature isn't a killer and has no potential to be he won't take its life. He sees many jobs he's taken as necessary evil to protect humanity. Overall he views himself as a protector, but damn if he doesn't like a good paycheck.
Gray loves humor in all its forms. He'd be pretty depressing if he couldn't take a good joke every now and then. Even if it's completely misplaced and awkward.

Possessions:
Gray has two large suitcases that are normally too heavy for normal airport admittance. One stores his set of armor. The armor is customizable on the job with many spots for Kevlar inserts, a bite guard, a helmet and a few other minor items to help him adapt to circumstances. Teeth, claws or (preferably not) bullets. He's got something to give him some edge.

Aside from a few spots in the first suitcase for some Glocks and ammunition (Affordability, you lose guns a lot when you're hunting.) he has saved room in his other suitcase for a few sets of street clothes(primarily gray t-shirts, blue jeans and a black jacket) and a compartment for his modified AA12 with silver slugs in three drum magazines. Either crammed in this case or in a car he keeps an Ares 16 with a variety of attachments for use as a long-to-mid range rifle and a grenade launcher(For that beasty who just doesn't want to go down).

Gray wears a small titanium chain around his neck that has several items dangling from it. A small pot-like skull about the size of a thumb that has dried herbs in it, consisting primarily of wolf's bane to ward off a werewolf's ability to smell him. A small alienish shell filled with holes is also affixed to it. This shell happens to be the only item he has that is magic and he only uses it as a last chance item. Thankfully he's only ever used it once before. He isn't quite sure if it has lasting consequences but man does it become handy in a bind. By saying a set of keywords the artifact teleports him an indeterminate distance away to a random location(or whatever location it wants him at, he really has no idea if it has its own agenda. Eerie). The last item dangling from his chain is a simple Celtic cross because it's cool.

A useful item that is never far from his reach is his trusty silver kukri knife.

Yes, and:
Arachne, a master of information has a real talent for finding what she needs and hiding what should stay hidden. Well, Arachne found Gray Conover. A relatively easy, if a little volatile, person to manipulate and point at targets. Contracting Gray for missions with a high paycheck is really quite easy to do.

The Hidden People

I can post my sheet when work is done.

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Well. My character was actually going to be a normal human. That's exactly what I was going for.

Added Question - Is the federal government at all involved with monsters?

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If there's still room I would like to call a spot. Is there? Turn me away if there's too many. I won't be offended.