1.05 A God's Game

The Season 1 Titlecard.

## Episode

The episode begins with a narration by Shane, as he tries to find ways to somehow find the demon Lamashtu, he can be seen trying various summoning spells learnt from the internet which don't work as we hear this: "I always knew it was going to be difficult to assist Lamashtu, he was a very powerful force that left a trail of destruction everywhere he went when we were enemies - but now, as a valuable ally when things get crazy, his tracks have become impossible to find ever since the Multiverse crisis, unless you happen to be a supernatural being yourself...but too a normal human every lead runs cold, leaving me searching high and low with no success. And as I continue this seemingly impossible task, the last thing I expected was to encounter someone else from my recent past. Always up for a challenge, he presented me with a hunt that, as a hunter in training as it were, I simply couldn't refuse but in this supernatural hunter lifestyle, I know all too well the dangers that lurk around every corner. A pack of demons, determined to hunt down any of Lamashtu's allies, could jump me at any moment. And yet, I press on, feeling the weight of the supernatural world resting heavily on my shoulders."

As Shane examines various lore books, he finds a spell that he has never seen before, the spell is called "The Dimensional Door" - Shane's naivety towards spells, mixed with a determination to finish his quest in finding the infamous demon, leads him to attempt the spell with little regard for the consequences however there are consequences as Shane's garage begins to shake violently as if a massive earthquake was occurring however it isn't as when it has finished, Shane notices the notorious Trickster called Loki wearing his traditional brown suit and brown hat with his case of lollipops in his hand - Shane is alarmed at the Demigod's arrival however he doesn't let it show, Loki greets Shane like everything that's happening is normal to him: "Hello again Shane" he says with an over the top untrustworthy smile on his face - "What are you doing here?" Shane asks, unaware that the summoning spell actually summoned Loki and not Lamashtu.
"I was summoned by that spell you did, you shouldn't do spells you don't know...that it's bad" Loki says in one breath with a grin on his face, "AND I'm here to help you with your quest" he says - "I doubt that..." Shane says with a dismissive shrug however Loki leans back in a nearby chair; "I helped you during the crisis, No?" The Trickster justifies however Shane notes that Loki "IS the TRICKSTER" and that, whilst he appreciated the help before, he simply doesn't trust the notorious Trickster.

Loki then tells Shane that he knows how to find Lamashtu however once again Shane doesn't trust him so much as to accept his offer, instead he asks him why he's even here - Loki explains that he came to help Shane because "it's the right thing to do" but Shane remains suspicious, this is clearly getting nowhere so Loki throws his hands in the air: "Look kid, I might be the only chance you got and finding the demon that wears that crappy suit, so an arrangement is necessary as I won't help you...until you help me" he says with a sinister smile, Shane rolls his eyes at this: "There it is, you want to make a deal, there's always a catch with you isn't there?" Shane asks in an exasperated tone of voice however Loki doesn't seem to care and simply gives him a smug look: "I am the Trickster, you're the one that's going to need to keep up" he says - Shane looks down at a nearby book for a moment before looking back up at Loki, "Alright, I'll help you..." which excites Loki: "That's the spirit my short but feisty friend! I'm going to send you somewhere far away and all you have to do is solve the case, when you have finished I'll either bring you back to your garage here or meet you out there to discuss bringing Lamashtu back" he says and with a snap of Loki's fingers, Shane finds himself on the side of a road near a cornfield with a headache - "This is why you don't trust that guy" he says begrudgingly, holding his head in the process as he rants about Loki's selfishness however he soon snaps out of it and remembers that Loki said there is a case to be solved and a hunt to be had so Shane, still wary of any traps, tricks or even Loki himself, walks down the roadside to try and find civilization wherever in the world he maybe.

Shane soon discovers that Loki has sent him to Flagstaff, Arizona all the way over in the United States and thousands of miles from his home in Lincoln City, he expects a dangerous hunt as he is still expecting a catch from Loki's deal and starts walking towards the city, hoping to find some information or clues as to where to start looking in the sun drenched town, he wanders aimlessly until he comes across a sign that reads "Welcome to Flagstaff" and sees a diner further ahead with a sign outside saying "open" - he nods and walks in, anticipating a long day of hunting, and orders some food and a drink - he soon sits down and takes out his phone to text his friends to say he will be away for a while, in case they get worried, when suddenly a waitress approaches him and asks if she can help him with anything, he thinks for a moment and decides to ask her about the local area as whilst he has heard of Flagstaff before he has never been, the waitress tells him: "Flagstaff is home to the Lowell Observatory, known for the discovery Pluto all the way back in the day and it's an important hub for all kinds of stuff which is why tourists like yourselves come to town...we got Route 66 a few kilometers away from this diner, the Grand Canyon National Park is nearby and there's even a Meteor crater if you fancy something otherworldly" she says and smiles politely, Shane thanks her and goes back to eating his meal, he also reads a map he found on a table nearby to see where to go next, the waitress returns after a few minutes to ask if everything is ok as Shane seems on edge but he puts his thumb up to her in approval as he is concentrating hard on the map he is reading, he soon finishes and decides to book himself into a Motel to make a "temporary base of operations" still truly unaware of what the case Loki was referring to could be - he pays the bill and leaves, he then walks down the street and sees another motel just down the road and wonders whether to stay there or not, he decides to go for it and enters the hotel lobby, he gets a key card and heads upstairs to his room, he opens the door and looks around at the large space before sitting on the bed and resting his head against the pillow, he sighs heavily as he does so.

As night falls on Flagstaff, a young girl dressed in a purple dress runs through the streets of the city, she stops and stares in awe as she hears music coming from somewhere behind a line of trees, she turns to look at the moon in wonderment and slowly makes her way towards the noise, she walks past several buildings until she reaches a small park area full of benches and a fountain, she stands in front of one bench and looks at it curiously, she places her hand on the side of it and pushes it forward slightly, it moves forward and reveals a secret door underneath, she steps inside and closes the door behind her, she finds herself in a large underground chamber filled with strange looking objects however there doesn't seem any signs of life...she sighs and walks forwards only to be jumped by a man who grabs her arms tightly and pins them against her chest, he whispers in her ear "I've seen your kind before..." the girl tries to fight back but the man is stronger than she expected, she struggles harder and kicks at him but he simply laughs and drags her off down a corridor, he keeps whispering in her ear "You're going to give me what I want...and you won't resist..." she tries to scream but nothing comes out, he holds onto her tighter and seemingly bites into her neck causing her to cry out in pain, she begins to struggle more as the pain intensifies - the man then puts the girl on a comfortable looking bed as old fashioned light fixtures swing aimlessly above and says to her unconscious body: "You will be like me soon, we have work to do" the man leaves the bunker-esque structure under the park and begins to wander the streets silently, he picks out several people at random and bites them, he then lets them go and they fall to the ground lifelessly, he walks onwards through the night and continues biting people until dawn breaks and the sun rises and all the bitten people have seemingly disappeared...along with the man.
As morning rises, Shane looks at his motel room's bedside table to see that a bag containing various vials of blood and a machete has been left there, there is a letter and it is revealed to be from Loki, The Trickster seems cocky and arrogant in his writing and states that Shane should have a great hunting experience ahead of him, the letter ends with the words 'Good luck' written on the bottom and signed by Loki himself.

Shane reads the note and scoffs as he turns onto the morning news where several people have allegedly gone missing overnight - Shane now realizes he has his case and pays attention to the news report which shows a picture of a young woman being taken away in an ambulance with a police escort, the news reporter states: "The woman was taken to an isolation unit at Flagstaff Hospital, where her symptoms and condition will be documented for at least 48 hours, doctors have said they don't know what has caused this infection and have taken pre-cautionary measures to make sure it doesn't spread, so far no other cases have been reported." Shane nods at the report and takes the bag of equipment with him as he heads to Flagstaff Hospital to see if he can discover anything about this girl and the supposed infection - Shane arrives via Uber and approaches one of the doctors: "Hello Doctor, my name is Shane - I'm here investigating the case of the young girl you brought in an hour or two ago" he says in a very confident and light hearted manner. The doctor shakes his head and replies: "No need for that sir, I assure you we are taking every precaution necessary, let us handle it, you'll find everything you need in the room next door" he gestures to a door and walks off - Shane just shrugs at the Doctor's bluntness and walks into the room next door as instructed - there are some scans, a patient file and a computer screen showing a series of medical images including pictures of a human brain and a close up of a bite mark on a person's neck - Shane examines the scan carefully and notes that the patient's blood cells seem to be changing, the patient file introduces the supposed victim of Shane's latest case: "Name: Natalie McClure, age: 23 years old, brown hair, green eyes, 5'2", 115lbs, last known residence was in San Francisco" Shane looks over the rest of the information and notices that she had recently moved to Flagstaff because of her job at a local radio station, Shane opens the door and walks down the hall to the next room believing there to be more evidence, however the room is empty and there is nothing else for Shane to investigate further, as he walks into the waiting area: he pulls out his lore book and tries to find a culprit, he finds references to various blood sucking beings however Vampires seem to be the one closest linked to the attack, rather stupidly though Shane rules them out as he believes them to be myth.

Suddenly, a scream can be heard from Miss McClure's patient room, Shane rushes back to the room to find the doctor running down the hallway holding a bloody scalpel and Natalie lying on the ground unconscious; Shane chases the doctor for answers and in an intense chase scene between the two men - Shane eventually catches the Doctor who seems alarmed and on edge, the Doctor tells Shane: "I'm sorry, but we were only trying to help" Shane then asks the doctor about what happened in the room, the doctor responds: "We were conducting blood samples, but Miss McClure sprung up and bit my hand" he shows Shane the bite mark "Her teeth changed, her whole demeaner changed so I took action...I think I killed her" The Doctor seems like he may just have a mental breakdown but Shane tries to reassure him: "Don't worry, I'm here to help" Shane holds the Doctor firmly and asks him about the situation. The Doctor continues: "I saw her eyes change, and then I knew something was wrong so I tried to restrain her, but she just ripped into my hand..." Shane is shocked at the revelation and asks how many other people might have been attacked, the doctor responds: "Just me, she didn't even try to stop" Shane realizes the danger that's unfolding around them and runs back to the room, only for Natalie to have disappeared with what appears to be awesome speed. Shane finds himself alone in the empty room with no sign of Natalie or the Doctor. He notices a strange looking key sitting on one of the tables and picks it up: "Well, this maybe useful" he puts the key in his bag however as he finishes doing so, the Doctor can be seen standing in the doorway to the room, he looks like he is going to say something but suddenly he opens his mouth and several fangs come out, "Oh well...Hello Sunshine" Shane says, now it is him on edge, the Doctor goes in for the kill out of sheer bloodlust, being freshly turned, however Shane attempts to pin him down and use a vial of the blood from his bag on the Doctor, however the Doctor dodges the attack and takes off with the bag, leaving Shane behind, as Shane chases the Doctor down the hallways of the hospital. As the two men race through the halls, Shane manages to keep up with the Doctor however the Doctor uses his newfound abilities to increase his speed, causing Shane to lose track of him.

A sarcastic laugh can then be heard as Shane looks over to see one of the other Doctor's laughing at him from the corner of a nearby hallway, "You've got a lot of catching up to do" Shane approaches the Doctor and tells him abruptly: "You have no idea what he is so stop laughing...please" the Doctor tells Shane that he has no clue what he's talking about and continues to mock him, "How can you possibly know anything about what he is? You're just a rookie" Shane yells at the Doctor, telling him that he knows all too much however the Doctor just nods as his facial features morph into Loki's - "Well...well...well..." Loki begins, still in the laughing Doctor's outfit, he continues: "Good thing I gave you that bag of stuff..." he gives a shocked wolf whistle "You must really be enjoying yourself" he says as he walks away with a smile - "You never mentioned Vampires" Shane says to the notorious Trickster, who simply shrugs and laughs, saying: "Didn't think I needed to" - Shane keeps his cool at this point despite seething underneath knowing he has been played by the Trickster: "This is funny for you? People are dying and some are becoming monsters all because you want a kick?" Shane asks, clearly playing it cool as he seethes underneath, Loki however ignores the comment and bluntly rebutles: "Don't worry about me. I don't care...as for this whole bloodsucker shebang, I didn't arrange all this myself...but that explanation is for another time...and by the way, yes this is fun" Loki continues, he seems to speak in a singular breath: "And as for the meaning of what I just said? That's for me to know and you to find out...Go get 'em Mr. New Hunter on the Block" The Trickster says with a cocky smile as he clicks his fingers, disappearing in a puff of green smoke for "effect" as Shane just shakes his head and leaves looking to catch up to the turned Doctor however he doesn't succeed and returns to his motel room to plan his moves more carefully.

Once night time falls again, the strange man that seems to be behind everything, once again emerges from his underground hideout beneath the park and greets a turned Natalie and the turned Doctor, he welcomes them into his "family" and introduces himself formerly as "The Father": "I am pleased to make your acquaintance" he says, giving them both a warm handshake. He explains how they were brought here against their will by him but assures them that they are safe in his hands and he will take care of them until they are ready to fend for themselves as the full transformation into vampires can vary depending on each individual. The Father then invites them to join him at his dinner table where he makes a special meal just for them: "You're going to love it!" he says excitedly as he leads the pair into his underground lair, he shows them around and even introduces the girl in the purple dress who was the first person to be kidnapped by The Father, The Father states in a very professional way: "This is my daughter, but not by blood, she'll be your new sister in this dynasty." He then brings out two glasses of wine, one containing human blood and one containing dog blood. The Father instructs Natalie and the Doctor to choose one or the other and drink it down. Natalie refuses to do so because she knows it will cause her harm and the Father tells her that she must choose in order to cross over or be accepted into the new family, the turned Doctor doesn't refuse though and almost instinctly reaches for the glass of dog blood. The Father explains to him that drinking the dog blood is a necessary step to becoming a vampire as "We need to accumulate to any kind of blood these days, the world is our buffet...within reason of course" The Father says like he's teaching a bunch of kids how to count, he then tells the Doctor to go ahead and drink the entire thing without hesitation, the Doctor does as he is told and downs the whole cup of blood before falling unconscious and turning blue suggesting a strange side effect, The Father looks down confused and asks the Doctor what happened, the doctor wakes as pale as a ghost with a mindless bloodlust and begins scratching the walls of the strange underground compound looking for something. Natalie tries to stop the Doctor from causing trouble and starts to run towards him, however The Father stops her and tells her that he needs to be left alone for now and to find his own way as he has just been "reborn" in The Father's eyes as he welcomes the Doctor to the family as he forces Natalie to drink the human blood: "You must follow in his footsteps, you must become stronger" The Father says with a smile as the same thing happens to Natalie as her transformation fully completes.

Elsewhere at the motel, Shane can be seen looking in lore books for anything to do with Vampires, the books are scattered along the floor and a nearby table, he learns that the tools (a machete and the vials of blood) in the bag he was given, that's now presumably missing after the turned Doctor ran away with it, are actually commonly used by hunters in cases involving Vampires, the vials of blood turn out to be filled with a substance called Dead Man's Blood which, according to lore, is poisonous to vampires and is the blood from that of a corpse and as for the Machete, this is used by hunters to decapitate Vampires as this is the only way to kill a Vampire permanently however, as Shane prepares to leave, he realizes he has to find the missing bag hoping the turned Doctor may have dropped it in a panic and not taken it to wherever he was going, Shane heads out to look for the Doctor but his main objective is to find the bag he was given at the start of the case.

Back in the hideout, both Natalie and the Doctor have seemingly recovered from bloodlust by drinking some more animal blood - the Doctor then tells The Father that there is a hunter in town as he managed to take a bag from said hunter, he speaks with no emotion as he tells The Father that the bag held a machete inside, The Father looks at him but doesn't seem concerned at the possible threat of a hunter, he does however tell the Doctor that they should go check on this hunter to see if they are a threat or not and if they are then he specifically tells the Doctor to find the bag then kill the hunter with his own machete, the Doctor (with blood stains now on his white outfit) proceeds to leave without question as he now serves his new vampire family, the Doctor soon locates the dropped hunters bag near an alleyway, it's once again night time however using his superior sight now he has fully turned, the Doctor surveys the scene before attempting to pick up the bag.

However, just as the Doctor reaches the bag, Shane emerges from the darkness of the alley and tackles the Doctor to the floor and a struggle for the bag ensues however reality sinks in for Shane that the person he is fighting is a real vampire and it allows the Doctor to get the upper hand on him, Shane tries to fight back but is overpowered, the Doctor then takes the bag from Shane and once again tries to flee however Shane grabs his leg causing the Doctor to trip over and fall to the ground, the Doctor struggles to regain control of himself as the fall causes him to second guess his new found vampirism while Shane takes advantage of his position by taking the bag from him and proceeding to pour a vial of Dead Man's Blood into the doctor's mouth causing the vampire to have a strange allergic reaction that makes him violently cough as the liquid burns his throat however he doesn't use the machete on the Doctor as he can't bring himself to take a life of someone that was once human like him, Shane then leaves the Doctor however the vampire attempts to blindside Shane out of sheer instinct and desperation causing Shane to swing the machete at the Doctor in self defense, the blade decapitates the vampire killing him instantly as Shane looks horrified at what he just did, the rookie hunter looks down at his bloody hands however Loki (dressed as a janitor this time) materializes once again and informs Shane that he had to do it and to also "Get over it as there is alot more freaks like that just roaming the world aimlessly" before vanishing once again as Shane almost snaps and attempts to punch The Trickster but Loki vanishes before Shane can strike him, Shane then proceeds to go about cleaning up the mess.

The smell of vampire blood fills the air as The Father, stood outside his compound with Natalie and the girl in the purple dress, smells the night time air and a rage fills his usually cold, calm and calculated face: "The hunter got him" he growls quietly to himself as he begins to pace around in deep thought, his eyes begin to glow red and his hair starts to stand on end as he suddenly notices Shane in the distance, he nods slowly and sends the girl in the purple dress to "introduce herself" to the hunter with The Father saying: "I will make his acquaintance later" before disappearing into the shadows - the girl in the purple dress retracts her fangs, making them invisible, and she walks over to the distant Shane, when she reaches Shane, she pretends to fall onto him like something out of a romantic movie, all the while licking her lips seductively... Shane is shocked as he stares down at her in disbelief, until she places a finger gently against his lips to stop him speaking - She whispers in his ear seductively: "This isn't how I wanted to meet you..." Shane seems confused at this: "Have we met?" he asks her however she shakes her head in denial saying: "No... but your scent is familiar..." causing Shane to jest: "As another hunter once said...I usually draw the line at necrophilia" hinting that he knows that she is a vampire, but she doesn't seem bothered about this: "You know my name?" she asks however Shane shakes his head and throws his hands up: "Introduce yourself...you may as well" Shane says sarcastically as she looks at him in annoyance saying: "Fine...my name is Lola...and you're..." Shane interrupts her by telling her: "My name is Shane." He then asks her: "How did you find me?" however Lola rebuttles: "Your scent of course...I'm always drawn to it." She then asks him: "Why do you wear so much perfume?" Shane replies in jest: "I don't...that will be the Lynx Africa I got for Christmas, it's the kind of gift you get from people who are scraping the bottom of the barrel...or it's the Dead Man's Blood I was given" Lola chuckles at this: "I'm guessing you've never had any real girlfriends? It's obvious you haven't been with anyone for a long time...maybe ever?" Shane laughs at this: "What's it to you? you're gonna try and kill me in a minute" Lola smiles at this before replying: "I'd rather let you go than kill you...but you should know...this isn't over..." With that she leaps at him, but Shane manages to dodge out of the way, but as soon as Lola tries to strike him again he grabs her around the waist and tosses her backwards onto the rock hard pavement as The Father and Natalie watch Lola and Shane fight from a distance.

Lola lands on top of the stone road surface and lies still as Shane approaches her, he tells her: "You know, some see Vampires as common monsters but knowing you were once a human, I don't want to kill you...I want to help you" Lola looks up at him with suspicion asking him: "How do I know you're not going to just kill me?" Shane explains to her: "The fact you're not trying to tear my throat out right now, proves that you aren't one of those kinds of Vampires" Lola smirks at this before asking: "So you think I'm one of the good guys?" Shane nods his head and says: "No, not at all, I just think there's a vamp around here that wants to start a family - after all, whilst one Vampire is enough to be a problem for any town...they don't keep themselves to themselves, their need for a family would lead to dozens, spreading vampire blood around until it's satisfied..." Lola nods at this: "You are right, that will be my father...well, my new father" she says with a grin before turning to face the nearby trees and taking a deep breath...before exhaling and opening her mouth wide...and letting out a huge unnatural scream that shakes the very ground beneath them!

The Father then emerges alongside Natalie at the side of Lola - "Ah..." The Father begins to speak in a very professional way: "You're the hunter that's been messing with my new family...whilst I admire the dedication to hunting, you seem to have made a mistake" The Father turns to Lola and says: "Well done my daughter...you've found the Hunter" Lola laughs at this saying: "You told me too do so!" The Father turns back to Shane and continues: "Your kind seems to be very eager to destroy what we are making here, why is that? I thought hunters were supposed to protect the innocent, not slaughter them?" - Shane tilts his head questioningly: "You set up shop in this town and took away people's lives by biting into them, you know that right? So who are you to talk to me of moral codes?" The Father snarls at this and shouts angrily: "We are doing God's work! We are feeding our families...we are doing something useful instead of killing each other like animals!" Shane scoffs at this saying: "I don't think God would approve...just saying" - The Father takes hold of Shane's arm and drags him forward towards Natalie and Lola...shouting: "That's enough! If you keep interfering, I'll personally make sure you end up dead! Do you understand me?!" - Shane smiles at him saying: "I think I do...but respectfully I do have a question for you" - The Father stops dragging Shane along and looks at him suspiciously before answering: "Ask away!" - Shane asks: "Who were you before you became...this?" The Father's eyes go dark and his whole body becomes rigid, before he replies: "Before I became the Father, I was a normal man from another country...I travelled to Arizona in search of a new home, and when I got there I met an attractive young woman, she seemed interested in me...so I gave myself to her, and she turned me into what I am saying that my destiny was always meant to be" He continues: "However, she disappeared shortly after because her own group was getting restless so I decided to act on this destiny and create a family...no one wanted too of course so in the end...I TOOK THEM MYSELF AND NOW LOOK" he points out Natalie and Lola: "I have a family again..." Shane metaphorically pokes the vampire by asking: "So taking people from their lives and turning them into feral bloodsuckers against their will is your idea of a family...to me, that just sounds like a vampire whose lost his marbles...and I'm not even too clued up on Vamps myself" as he shrugs sarcastically. The Father roars and snaps at Shane: "Enough! You dare to insult us?! You have already finished one of us today but now we outnumber you and I will PERSONALLY make sure that NO HUNTER EVER KILLS OFF WHAT I CREATED" - Shane nods understandingly: "Look, I get it, you want to be accepted in this world but you do know that THE WAY YOU ARE DOING SO IS WRONG" - The Father says: "You don't get it. You don't understand. This isn't about right or wrong...it's about survival. We're doing what we need to survive." - Shane shakes his head: "No, no you aren't surviving, your just being selfish...you want to continue this way, fine...but remember that the hunters won't stand for it" - The Father glares at him angrily and becomes sarcastic: "And who will stop you then? Huh? Who would dare challenge such a powerful hunter as yourself? You're nothing special...just some kid with delusions of grandeur" Shane once again nods: "Maybe...maybe not, you see I haven't really figured this out yet but this is a case and I must solve it" - The Father sneers at Shane and says: "What can you possibly do against vampires anyway?" - Shane looks up and smiles at him: "I'll show you..."- The Father seems sends Natalie and Lola, whose fangs are now visible, after Shane - who proceeds to leg it.

The chase with Shane being chased by the two vampires, who giggle creepily, takes place on a dark night. Both the vampires are fast, and Shane needs to run to avoid being caught, eventually they lose sight of Shane and growl in frustration before turning around to face each other, the noise of a car engine can be heard and both vampires look over towards the source however can't find anything and turn back to face each other again, this proves to be a distraction as Natalie is decapitated from behind by a machete wielding Shane, this enrages Lola however she composes herself: "Oooh...that was hot" she says which confuses Shane visibly. "You should have seen your face...the guilt...the fear...your expression...you were so scared" - Shane ignores her and prepares to fight her with his own machete - Lola snarls at him: "So, you think you're ready for me huh? Well let's see how well you can handle me!" - Shane stares at her for a moment before charging forward - Lola laughs menacingly as Shane runs at her and a fight ensues between the two, Lola easily dodges Shane's swings and retaliates with a kick to the chest followed by a punch to the face that knocks Shane down onto the ground, she then straddles Shane and attempts to bite him but Shane knees her in the stomach whilst she is on top of him knocking her off balance - Shane quickly leaps away and grabs hold of Lola's arm however she kicks Shane in the groin whilst he's doubled over, he screams in pain as he falls to the floor - "That was a...low blow" Shane says in pain whilst Lola grins at him mockingly - She then jumps on Shane and tries to bite his neck however Shane uses his body weight to fall backwards pancaking Lola between himself and the ground, Lola cries out in surprise and pain and manages to roll free, she then charges at Shane again - "Oh no you don't!" Shane says as he pushes himself up into a kneeling position and stabs his machete through the side of Lola's torso however she is merely inconvenienced by this, which shocks Shane to his core, Lola removes the machete from her torso easily and throws it on the ground where it hits the concrete and shatters. "Well that hurt like hell, you bastard" Lola says mockingly as she lunges at Shane, her feral nature starting to take over, Shane manages to block Lola's first swing and parries her second attempt, he then strikes back at Lola with a series of blows that seem to annoy her greatly, Shane produces a hunting knife from his pocket and throws it at Lola, it goes straight through her shoulder however she doesn't even flinch as she continues to attack Shane until finally, Lola gets frustrated however she is stopped in her tracks by a fit of coughing which causes her to stagger slightly, Shane looks at her and nods: "You know...this Dead Man's Blood comes in handy" - he walks away to confront The Father as Lola starts to have a severe reaction to the blood inside of her, her eyes start to turn red, and she begins to growl uncontrollably - "No...no...please...stop! Stop hurting me..." - Lola says to no one in particular as the pain felt by Shane for doing this can be seen in his eyes.

Shane soon arrives at the park where The Father has his compound, machete in hand, Shane awaits his arrival in the shadows of a tree as Shane waits for him to make his presence known, the sound of heavy footfalls can be heard as The Father makes his way towards Shane, the two stand face to face yet again and the height difference is staggering with The Father being considerably taller than Shane, the Father reaches up to grab Shane by the throat before delivering a quick punch to the side of his head, sending him flying across the park to land heavily against a tree trunk, Shane struggles to regain his composure as The Father stands above him waiting patiently for him to recover, Shane manages to sit upright and rubs his temple with a sigh.

The Father smiles as he sees Shane regain his composure, "I've been looking forward to seeing how far you can go" - he states as Shane slowly stands up once more, The Father continues to punch and taunt the hunter: "I'm gonna enjoy watching you die, I really am...but I'll have to do something about the other hunters that will no doubt come here too...I might turn them into my minions if they prove to be worthy" - The Father then reveals his fangs, they are much larger than Shane had expected - "But first, I will give you a demonstration of just how far I can go with humans, and how little you can withstand" - he then goes to bite Shane but Shane is able to lodge his hunting knife between the vampires fangs before grabbing the machete and slashing The Father's neck repeatedly, The Father falls backwards onto the ground with a loud thud, Shane looks at The Father who suddenly springs to life and grabs Shane's throat - realizing he hasn't finished the job, Shane brings the machete down on The Father's neck, severing it completely as The Father lets out a high pitched scream, his body convulses violently for several moments before finally stilling.

After several minutes of silence, Shane sits by a tree as the bag with the machete and the vials of Dead Man's Blood disappears as the case has been resolved, Loki can be seen standing above the body of The Father, he kicks it with his foot before nodding, he clicks his fingers and the two are back in Shane's garage in the suburbs of Lincoln City: "Wow...just wow" Loki says with a strange laugh as Shane turns to look at Loki - Loki grins wickedly as he takes off his hat and throws it aside before sitting in one of Shane's chairs, "You're pretty good but that compassion man...I mean COME ON!" - He exclaims in laughter - "No wonder one is still out there, Lola I think her name is...she has your scent now so if she turns up on your doorstep somehow...well, we both know what will happen" Loki says with a chuckle before turning serious again - "Still, you were pretty brave for a human...and you didn't break as easily as the others did...I suppose that's why you're the best candidate for the job..." Shane looks confused at this: "Wait...this wasn't just a random kick for you? there WAS a point to ALL THIS?" he says referring to the case he had to put himself through all that trouble for - Loki nods with a smile: "Yeah, well...it's not often I get to play a game like this, let alone many times with different people over time...so I thought I'd try to mix things up a bit and give you something to REALLY sink your teeth into...no pun intended...but it almost got you killed, I really didn't fancy watching another wannabe hunter fail and yes, in case you were wondering, others have had this same thing that happened today happen to them...I like to get to know the new talent on the block however most of them don't last very long...especially the last guy I visited, total idiot he REALLY didn't take it seriously enough, got himself killed real quick...heh" - Shane just looks perplexed at the Trickster's ramble and Loki laughs: "Well, it's getting late and I need to get some rest, I hope you enjoyed the show, any questions?" - Shane asks: "What about your end of our deal?" - Loki looks annoyed at this and shakes his head: "Oh yeah, right...I forgot all about THAT part...my bad" - Loki pauses and then starts chuckling again: "Lamashtu's whereabouts coming right up..." he comically fishes around his pockets for seemingly no reason before pulling out a small card with some co-ordinates on it: "...I'll see you next time!" Loki says with a wave of his hand and vanishes - "I hate that guy...with a passion" Shane says as he looks at the co-ordinates and then places the card in his pocket for later.

Elsewhere, the spirit guide Fiona can be seen looking down on Loki, who has materialized underneath Lincoln Cathedral and seems to be looking around with a sly grin, Fiona's voice echoes to him: "What's a Norse Demigod like you doing here?" - Loki looks up at her from beneath his hat and replies: "Looking for a good time" - Fiona's voice has a sense of authority to it as she orders the Trickster to not interfere with Shane's life to which Loki puts his hands up in a surrender: "Sorry Ma'am I was just giving him the old hunter test, we made a deal and he passed" he says trying to weasel his way out of confrontation with the Spirit Guide - Fiona's reply is stern and unimpressed: "You should know better than anyone about deals, they always come with strings attached." - Loki looks around with a sly grin: "Yeah but that's what makes 'em so fun!" - Fiona scoffs as Loki disappears into thin air once again.

## Characters

* Shane
* Loki
* Natalie McClure
* The Father
* Lola
* Fiona