They left the church thirty minutes before dawn.

  The sky to the east was brightening, and the first part of the dawn chorus was starting. They began the return journey in the same manner as they had come.

  Rigger was waiting for them.

  Samuel was slowing the pair down, but he was doing his best to keep up with his brother. Gabriel was trying to watch him and the graveyard around them. They were retracing the path they had taken to reach the church.

  Rigger knew this area well. He was ready to ambush them a little further in the second ring of the graveyard. I knew not where, but I knew my Hunter. Rigger be hidden close by, ready to strike. Time was against him.

  The sun was still not up, but it was getting close.

  The brothers were ready as they could be for trouble.

  Rigger moved quickly between two mausoleums that the brothers were passing. He was not running, aiming to be as silent as possible. His Bowie blade was drawn, held at hip height, ready for use. The target was Gabriel, as he was the apparent threat of the two.

  Gabriel turned as he came in and acted as soon as he saw them. I expected him to defend himself, but he counterattacked straight away. Gabriel's reaction time was impressive, as well as his combat instincts. He charged back at Rigger, yelling a warning to his brother, and he did so.

  Gabriel jumped slightly as he got close, trying to throw Rigger off balance. The problem was that my Hunter was also experienced in combat and knew he could survive most wounds and even come back from the dead.

  The two collided, becoming a tangled mess as Gabriel's weight pushed Rigger back. Both men fought, clawing at each other as they tried to gain the upper hand. Both of their blades were in play, and I saw blood on both of them as the fight went on.

  Samuel was trying to position himself to help his brother, but he was new to his brother's condition and the state of the fight before him, and any misstep could be fatal for either of them.

  The two combatants were still engaged in a fierce battle, and it was difficult to determine who was winning. They are still rolling on the ground as they continue to pummel each other.

  The fight shifted when Rigger grabbed the front of Gabriel's coat and viciously head-butted him. The force of the impact shattered Gabriel's nose, and blood flowed from the wound. His head snapped back, allowing Rigger to push him and roll on top. The Bowie knife was poised to strike down when Samuel moved. He was behind Rigger now and in my Hunter's blind spot. He was too focused on Gabriel and didn't realise that he had left himself open to attack.

  Samuel stepped in, ramming and slashing down with his machete. The blade carved through the back of Rigger's coat and left a deep, nasty wound across his back. My Hunter reared back, screaming in pain. Gabriel had an opportunity now to recover and punched up, catching Rigger as he leaned forward after his scream. Gabriel's fist caught him under the chin, knocking him to the side and off him.

  Samuel delivered a kick to Rigger's ribs. This further caused him to roll away and stare in pain as he rolled over his back. Gabriel quickly scrambled to his feet, and Samuel pressed the advantage they now had. As Gabriel got up, I realised that he was more wounded than I realised, as he had a nasty slash across his side under his ribs. I could see blood staining his clothing. I wondered what other injuries Rigger had sustained.

  Rigger recovered faster than a normal person. He was back on his feet and able to protect himself from the attacks Samuel was trying to unleash. Unfortunately for my Hunter, Gabriel had returned to the fight as well. The two brothers were pressuring Rigger, and I could tell he was in trouble. The wound across his back was making it hard for him to move, but I could see that he, too, had taken another injury to his torso from Gabriel during the fight. Higher up, near the left armpit, there was a slash through his coat, and from the way he was moving, I could tell it was causing him great pain.

  Like the other Hunters this night, he was making the calculations. None of my Hunters wanted to die as they suffered a penalty for it. Rigger knew this, and his eyes were quickly darting around, evaluating the terrain and escape options. Both brothers were wounded, but so was he. He could power through and try to win, but I felt the odds were against him in this fight.

  It became apparent that he felt it too. He was able to get in close and punch Samuel in the face, knocking the younger brother back, causing his older sibling to defend him. This allowed Rigger to escape, and he took it. He quickly turned and ran, disappearing into the dense structures around them.

  The two brothers slumped against a gravestone and a wall to support themselves. They were both breathing hard from the exertion of the fight. The night had been taxing for both of them; their injuries, combined with it, were taking quite a toll.

  "You okay?" Samuel asked his brother in the dawn twilight.

  "Got cut just below the ribs. I think it's bad." Gabriel gave his honest opinion.

  Samuel went over and inspected his brother's injuries and was forced to treat them. He was using up the last of their medical supplies on his brother. The cut along Gabriel's side was quite nasty and was going to leave a scar no matter what. Samuel bandaged it and padded around the wound. He even did some rough stitching with a needle and thread that he produced from a tin. Gabriel took a bottle from a satchel and took several heavy swigs.

  "Careful, we're not out here yet," Samuel warned his brother.

  "I know. Hurts mighty bad." He put the cork back into the bottle as he spoke. He was gritting his teeth slightly as he strained himself.

  "We gotta get to the gate, dawn is almost here." Samuel reminded him.

  "I know. How many more to think about there?"

  "I don't know. But I don't think too many more." Samuel moved tenderly, his own injuries aching. He looked around the graveyard and toward the east, where the sun was beginning to peek above the horizon.

  He picked up a satchel and began walking, and his brother joined him. Both were injured and moving more slowly than before.

  Blackstone and Roberson were left in play. Roberson was down south and might be able to get close enough to find them. Blackstone definitely would. The largest of my hunters had positioned himself near the gates in a place that allowed him to see both pathways. If they came from any direction, he would know.

  As the sun rose and lit the sky and land, the brothers began to move a little faster. The promise of safety and reward was dangled before them now as they only needed to get to the gates. Once they pass through them, this nightmare will come to an end.

  At first, they kept a steady pace, but as they grew accustomed to the wounds and found a rhythm, they began to move faster. The Spirit was being driven back by the sun, and they passed through her hunting grounds once more without being harassed by her. By the time they reached this area, the sun was already over the walls. The Spirit was always weaker in the dawn light than in the twilight of a sunset.

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  She had spotted them, but was trapped in a patch of dark being created by a mausoleum. Her options to move were extremely limited, and she was forced to watch as they passed beyond her reach.

  Roberson was moving up from the south but was not making good time. He found them by the time they crossed beyond his hunting grounds into Blackstone's. I saw him, and I could see the frustration on his face. He was denied a chance to kill today.

  Blackstone was the last hurdle before the gates.

  By the time they reached the outer ring and were approaching the courtyard, the sum was already well above the walls. Blackstone stood next to a statue, holding his hammer, its head on the ground. His hands rested calmly on the pommel, and he was wearing his hat and heavy coat. He kept turning his head from left to right, spotting the brothers as they approached.

  He didn't go hunting for them or charge them; he just calmly stepped off the path and stood. The two brothers came around the slight bend that the tomb was blocking their view of him, and stopped when they saw the final Hunter.

  "Sweet Jesus in heaven," Gabriel said, and I wasn't sure if it was a prayer or a curse.

  "He's a big un." His brother agreed. He turned and faced his brother. Speaking now with great conviction. "No matter what. We get past him."

  Gabriel looked at his brother and spoke with just as much conviction. "We get past him."

  "No, brother. One of us gets past him no matter what." Samuel spoke again because his brother was frowning. Samuel didn't look too good; he was far greyer than he should have been from blood loss. He had been slowing noticeably since leaving the Spirits' hunting ground. His injuries were starting to take a toll that his body could no longer ignore.

  "Quit your foolish talk. We walked in together, we walk out." Gabriel's tone was firm.

  Samuel smiled weakly. "Then like old man Gibson."

  His brother was silent for a few moments, then smiled back at him. "Old man Gibson, it is."

  The two turned and began walking towards Blackstone with purpose. My Hunter, in return, gripped his hammer tightly with both hands, lifting the head from the ground where it had been resting handle up. It was a heavy industrial tool, but in his hands it seemed almost childish. Whenever they referred to "old man Gibson, it meant something to them, and that inferred a plan.

  As they approached, the two of them separated slightly, walking now on either side of the pathway. Blackstone stood in the centre of the path, but this would force him to turn his attention slightly to both brothers as they approached. It became harder to watch them both as they got closer.

  When they reached their predetermined distance, they began moving a lot faster. They darted left and right, trying to get around Blackstone. In response, he swung out with his hammer and Gabriel. The older brother was forced to duck or be introduced to the hammer's business end. Samuel then attacked, thinking he had an opening; unfortunately, Blackstone used the hammer's pommel to strike him in the face. He had hidden directly on his already heavily abused nose, knocking him back with the cry of pain.

  His brother responded, trying to defend the younger man. I was forced to duck away quickly again as the hammer attempted to connect. They now discover the terrible factor about Blackstone. He was large and bulky but very quick on his feet. His agility was that of a much smaller and lighter man.

  He also had more experience fighting multiple opponents simultaneously. He was twirling the arm around, striking out where every saw opportunity, and moving to keep both brothers on the defensive. His head snapped left and right, keeping an eye on the brothers.

  The brothers adapted by moving constantly, both of them knowing one strike by that hammer would be the end of them. I quickly saw the method behind this tactic as they moved the fight toward the gates.

  "Clever."

  I said to myself as I watched them continue to dance as best they could away from each strike. The problem was they were tiring faster than Blackstone was, and sooner or later, he was going to land a hidden one of them.

  Neither man was given an opening as Blackstone kept them on the defensive. He held the advantage in reach and used it to maximum effect.

  This truth was proven when Samuel took a glancing hit to the already wounded shoulder. I heard a sickly pop in a crack, and the young man collapsed in agony, screaming. The impact knocked him back onto the ground, leaving him exposed.

  Blackstone could not follow up and finish him off at his brother's shoulder, charged, hitting him in the lower torso above the waist. The force of the impact caused both of them to grunt, one in pain and the other in surprise. The impact had actually pushed Blackstone back a step or two.

  "Run, Samuel!" His brother called out. They were close to the gates now.

  Samuel managed to hear his brother through the pain and scrambled to his feet with great pain. His injured arm was hanging limply at his side, and he was forced to leave his machete on the ground. He used the now free hand to support the injured arm. He began moving as quickly as he could in a staggered run towards the gates.

  He turned his head and called out. "Come on, Gabriel!"

  The problem was that his brother was still connected to Blackstone, not by his own will. Blackstone had reached down and grabbed his head and held him in a headlock with one of his thick arms. With an almost casual swing, he brought down his hammer onto one of Gabriel's knees.

  The joint was struck from the side and bent at an unnatural angle. The sound was extremely disturbing from both the man and the joint. Samuel stopped and screamed out in shared pain as he watched his brother collapse. He was staggering backwards towards the gates, watching as his brother was now at Blackstone's feet. Gabriel wasn't going anywhere now.

  He turned as Blackstone took a step back, lifting his hammer. His face was contorted with tears and pain, but he cried out one last time. "RUN!"

  His brother, two, was crying and torn, but he ultimately heeded him.

  This was the last thing that Gabriel was ever going to say in this world. He turned and looked up at my Hunter. Blackstone stood two steps away like an executioner with his hammer held high. With finality, he swung down in a curved arc, striking Gabriel on the side temple. His skull was never meant to survive such a strike, and didn't just collapse; it exploded. Blood, bone, and brain matter were sent in every direction as the hammer passed through his head.

  [A Hunter has made a Kill.]

  Samuel let out an almost animalistic light cry, but was still moving. He turned and began to run. Blackstone soon after him. Like an unstoppable force of nature, Blackstone charged after him. Samia was now driven by pain and fear and was moving as fast as his body could tolerate, even more.

  He reached the courtyard first and went straight to the gates.

  Blackstone was barely behind him.

  Samuel stumbled at the gates and fell forward, and this inadvertently saved his life as Blackstone's hammer passed where his head had been. The young man hit the ground screaming in pain as he rolled out of New Midian.

  He turned and looked at my Hunter standing at the threshold of the gates. Blackstone had managed to stop himself before he passed beyond them. He looked down at the young man before him, his expression emotionless.

  "Today you win." He grunted in his deep baritone voice. With that, he turned and walked away. In the distance, I could hear the church bells ringing.

  With his departing form, I closed the gates on the crying and broken man outside of them.

  I didn't rush back to the church.

  Blackstone went off to deal with Gabriel's body. I positioned myself above the gates and watched his brother outside of them.

  At first, he had not moved. Grief and pain were warring with him. Eventually, he dragged himself up and staggered to his horse. He untied both his and his brother's and, after several attempts, mounted his own.

  He looked back at the gates, his face still streaked with tears, and headed down the pathway back to the road. I waited until I could no longer see him, then went to the church.

  His brother's death brought me to the halfway point of my kill total required for the next level. I am now 80 out of the 160 I needed. I knew there were several hundred bodies now buried here in New Midian who had died violent deaths to fuel my levels. Part of me still felt bad about it, but I still remembered the glimpse of those I worked for, and I shuddered.

  Angering them was something I did not want to do.

  I summoned my avatar and stood before the board, naming my victors. As expected, there was a new addition numbered the sixth on the list.

  Samuel Goodson. June 4th, 1899, A.D. He came with his brother to seek answers to his dreams. He found the power they offered, but paid the price of his brother's life.

  "Goodson," I said his and his brother's last name out loud. I knew as soon as the grave was finished, I would have another Goodson listed within this graveyard. One is a victor, and the other is a grave marker.

  I walked over and collected the brothers' offerings. I decided to keep them together and took them downstairs into the crypt. It didn't feel right to me to separate them.

  "Six months left of the year," I said to myself as I descended the stairs.