So this is for the monster challenge. This is an idea I've had for awhile now. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1: The Monster Hunter

"David, in the closet, and don't move no matter what you hear!"

David Mitchell watched as his dad, Michael Mitchell, pushed him into the closet with a blanket thrown over him. He heard his dad spraying something – his nose told him it was air freshener. He had no idea what was going on. He heard the door click shut.

David sat there in confusion and pulled the blanket off his head. He moved to the door and opened it a crack. He didn't hear anything going on, but he could hear his dad talking with his mother hurriedly, though he could barely hear them.

A scream tore its way through the air. David jumped, scared. That sounded like his mother. He stepped out of the closet and moved to his bedroom door. He heard more screaming and shouting.

David slowly crept out of his bedroom and to the top of the stairs. He looked over the rail and he saw his dad arguing with someone. No, not someone, something. It was tall, taller than Michael. He was covered in black hair and had wild red eyes. David knew it had to be a monster. He instantly grew scared. He could barely make out his mother, Claire, standing behind his dad. She was shaking.

"We don't want any trouble now," Michael said slowly.

"Liar, all human scum want trouble," the thing said, as it lunged at Michael and Claire. David watched as more appeared. He watched his parents scream as the creatures attacked his parents. He watched them scream and beg for mercy.

Then, one of them spotted David. David ran back to his room, but he heard it following him. David slammed his door behind him, and ran to his bed, crawling under the covers. He shook as he waited for the end, but suddenly, the door crashed open with a boom.

David awoke with a start. He sat quickly, his breathing erratic. Thirty years later and the nightmares never stopped. David's hand reached up to his right eye, where he had been attacked all those years ago. The monster had attacked David and scratched his eye out before help could arrive.

When help arrived, in the form of Jason Abernathy, David was saved. He was taken to a hospital, where Jason got him the best care possible. He even got David a new eye. He took David into his home and raised him. He told David all about monsters and how awful they were. He trained David to fight them – all sorts of monsters, from fairies and nixies, to werewolves and vampires. Jason taught him everything he knew. David vowed to never let the monsters win. Him and Jason were unstoppable.

Once the Peace Treaty was signed and hunting monsters became more dangerous, David had to be careful with his hunting. He had to go underground and lead a double life. He was an accountant by day and a hunter by night. Things worked out. David lead a practically normal life – none of his coworkers knew about his secret, and David wanted to keep it that way.

Everything changed when David met Joanna Henderson. She was everything David wasn't. She was his other half. She was his whole world. David gave up hunting for her. He gave up everything for her. He left Jason and followed Joanna across the country, and love blossomed between the two. They eventually married, settled down, and had a son. Everything had been perfect – for the first time in a long time, David had felt happy.

Then his past caught up with him. The monsters found him and they took Joanna. They tortured her and killed her. They did to David what he had done to their loved ones. David brought out his old hunting gear and slaughtered them all. He vowed to never let the monsters get the upper hand again. He was going to get rid of every last one of them, if it was the last thing he ever did. David returned to Jason with Logan. Jason welcomed him back and gave him a place to stay.

David and Jason moved to Sherwood, Minnesota, where they had to hide in plain sight because they couldn't get caught hunting. David raised Logan and tried to teach him about monster hunting. Logan resented him and the lifestyle he led. He didn't want to be a hunter; he just wanted to be normal. David formed a group of monster hunters and they traveled the country with them, always coming back to Minnesota, so that Logan had some semblance of a normal life.

David sighed as he got out of bed. He grabbed the knife he kept on his bedside table, that was next to the gun he kept there, and then tucked the knife into the sheath on his thigh. He was always on high alert – he had to be ready at a moment's notice.

David made his way to the bathroom to relieve his bladder and get ready for the day. He showered, with his knife never leaving his sight. Some may call it paranoid, like his son or a few of his fellow hunters, but David never wanted to be unprepared. He was never going to be caught off guard again.

Once David finished getting ready, he made his way down to the kitchen. Logan was already sitting at the table with his friends, James Diamond and Carlos Garcia. The two were always here with Logan. David liked that Logan had friends.

"Morning dad," Logan greeted David.

"Morning Mr. Mitchell," James and Carlos chorused.

"Morning boys," David said, sitting down. "Any plans after school today?" he asked.

"No, video games, maybe." Logan shrugged.

"Logan, you need to get out more. When I was your age-" David started.

"When you were my age, grandpa Jace had you killing monsters already," Logan said, rolling his eyes. "No thanks, I'd rather just stay home and pretend that I at least have a halfway normal family."

David didn't say a word. Logan was right, Jason had turned David into a killing machine by the time he was sixteen. David just wished that Logan shared his passion for hunting. He didn't understand why Logan hated it so much. It was monsters that took Joanna from them; Logan should be furious.

"Well this awkward silence was fun, but we really have to get to school," Logan said, getting up from the table. He looked to his friends, causing both of them to jump up as well.

"If I'm not here when you get home-" David started.

"I'll take care of myself, dad. I've been doing it for years now," Logan replied, bored.

"You're only sixteen, lose the attitude," David told his son.

"I will when you stop bringing weapons to the table," Logan said, pointing to the concealed knife on David's leg. "And we both know that is never going to happen."

"Enough," David said.

Logan zipped a finger over his mouth. He turned and left, James and Carlos quickly following after him. Neither of them said a word. David knew they never would, at least not in front of him.

David watched his son leave. He loved Logan with all his heart, but he just couldn't connect with his son, which was troubling to him. He wished Logan wouldn't hide behind his wise cracks or smart alec remarks. He just wanted a normal father-son relationship, but then again, David wasn't a normal dad.

-Son of a Monster Hunter-

"That's right, David, remember your training."

It was kind of hard to concentrate when you had a six-foot tall man breathing down your neck, but David managed. He wanted to impress Jason with everything he had learned. He may only be sixteen, but David was more than ready to join Jason in the field. He had been working towards this non-stop for a year now. He was ready.

David took a deep breath and tried to focus on the targets. He threw his blade at each one, hitting it dead-center each time. He never missed. Once all the targets were eliminated, David looked to Jason.

"Not bad," Jason said, nodding his head. "We'll make a hunter out of you eventually."

"No," David said, shaking his head, "not make, I am."

"Your time will come, David. You're not ready yet," Jason said, shaking his head at the teenager.

"That's bullshit. I am more than ready," David said, snatching his blade from the target it had been lodged in. "I've been training for years. I am ready for this. I can do this with my eyes closed."

"Not yet you're not," Jason said firmly.

"Why not? I've passed every little test you've thrown at me. I can hold my own against all of your other hunters, and they are twice my age. I have more stamina than them. I am way more accurate than most of them as well," David said quickly.

"Yes, but you can't control your anger – you lash out, and it could cost you your life," Jason said coldly.

"You're just bitter old man," David said.

"No, I am so proud of you, David. You've come a long way in just the six years I've known you. I just don't want you running out there angry and getting hurt. Believe it or not, you're like a son to me, David," Jason said truthfully.

David stood there, shocked. He had never heard Jason talk like this. He was always treating David like he was nothing more than a soldier he was training. Sure, Jason always seemed to go easier on him than others. Than again, not every hunter David trained lived with him, ate his food, or sat with Jason and actually talked about his day.

"You're the closest thing I have to a father now," David said slowly. "I just want to make you proud and show you what I can do."

"Okay, you can do a field test then," Jason sighed.

"I won't let you down," David promised. This was everything he had been working for. He wasn't going to mess this up. He was going to prove to Jason that he was ready for this.

"Just promise me you'll come back in one piece," Jason said, showing David one of his rare moments of emotion.

David nodded his head.

David watched as Cade Stetson – one of his fellow hunters – tried to show his boy, Jett, how to fight. Jett was always eager to learn and took anything Cade said to heart. Jett was always trying to prove himself. He wanted nothing more than to impress Cade. In all honesty, David was a bit envious of their relationship. That was what he had wanted with Logan. He wanted his son to be eager to learn, not hesitant.

"Dad, I'm gonna be really late if I don't get going," Jett said after a while of looking at his phone.

"Alright, that's all for this morning. Get going and remember what I said – always think ahead, anticipate," Cade told his son.

"I know, dad," Jett said, rolling his eyes. Jett seemed to think he was ready for field work, but he wasn't anywhere near ready. Who was David to dash the kid's dreams, though? After all, he had been in Jett's shoes before.

"Listen to your father, Jett. Who knows, maybe there will be a spot for you on the team soon," David called out to the boy.

"There better be," Jett called back as he ran from the room.

Cade looked over to David, arched a brow at the man, and then walked over to him. "You think he's ready?"

"Almost, there's just a few things he needs to work on," David replied.

"I know. He's arrogant and needs to learn to be a bit more humble. This isn't a very rewarding job, if you know what I mean," Cade said.

"No, we can't go boasting about what we do. He needs to get that attitude in check, and then, maybe he can become one of us," David said. Cade nodded his head.

"Hey boss!"

David looked up to the balcony looking over the training area. He saw Eli Diamond leaning over the railing. He looked excited.

"What is it, Diamond?" David acknowledged him.

"You're not gonna believe this...Garcia hit the jackpot," Eli said. He took off without saying another word.

David rolled his eyes, before heading up to the tech room, with Cade right behind him. They entered the tech room, and found Eli standing behind Javier Garcia Sr., who was clicking away at his computer.

"What is so amazing that I had to rush up here for?" David asked.

"We found them," Eli said, turning to look at David. "Their hideout, it's been right under our noses this entire time," he said.

"What do you mean?" Cade asked slowly.

"What Eli means, is it's not any one place. One monster can say it's in Nevada, while another can say it's in New York, and both of them are correct," Javier said.

"What are you talking about?" David asked, confused.

"Here, look at this," Javier said, clicking on his computer. He brought an image up to the big screen across the room, and then stood up and walked over to it. It was a map with markers on it. "All these places are where we were told the monsters' hideout is. They all lead to the same location."

"Which is…?" Cade asked.

"Another dimension," David answered. It all made so much sense now.

"Exactly," Javier said, pointing at David with a smile. "There are portals in all these places. They could be anything from a wall to a flower vase. Once triggered, they lead right into the monster world," Javier said with a proud smile.

"Okay, we've found the entrance to their dimension. Let's open the portal and send them all back to where they belong," David said.

"It's not that simple, I'm afraid only a monster can open the portal," Javier said.

"Well, now we're in a bind," Cade said.

"Maybe," David said slowly.

"What's on your mind, boss?" Eli asked.

David just stood there. He had an idea – it would set them back a little bit, but it was doable. They just needed to find a monster to get them through the portal.

So so there you go. We will ee more of the boys in the next chapter. This is just a introduction. As always more to come.

Always

OUTOFMYMIND