C.O.T.V.H. (Book 3): Extermination Read Online Free PDF Page A

about to do it a second time. 
    After what was now referred to as, The Great Hunt , the Coalition had exploded with membership.  What was left of Mike Holloway’s group had quickly joined, followed by dozens of other smaller groups.  It had grown into a multi-state militia made up of over four hundred hunters.
    Ben Morris used his affinity for organization and technology, along with his contacts and access to law enforcement databases, to wage a now very one-sided war.  In just two months time, one hundred and seventy-seven grunts and twenty-two Makers, had been killed; the most in recorded history in such a short span of time.  From all appearances the vampire leadership was in complete shambles. 
    With his head leaning on the handle of his axe, Jake picked up the group picture taken on their night out to see Star Wars Episode I.   These people were more than just his friends, they were his family, and he'd let one of them die.  Dammit why didn’t I check those goddamn guns?!
    Doubts once again began running rampant through his brain.  He had little confidence he'd ever be the hunter his dad and grandpa were, that he would ever live up to their expectations.  His absolute greatest fear was letting them down and getting himself, or even worse, one of them killed.  Like I did with Donnie.
    He still wanted to hunt.  He wanted it more than anything in the world.  He wanted to charge into vampire nests at the head of a team, making them pay for the pain they had caused him and his family.  He would do it for his mom, for his dad's grief at losing the woman he loved, for the Williams, for Donnie, for Amber.  
    However, to do that he first had to prove he had what it took to be part of a team.  The best way to do that was with the test; a single hunt where he and he alone would enter a house and clear it.
    His training with the military had been the first step.  But that was easy in comparison to what he was about to do.  “If a man can’t hack it alone at least once, he doesn’t deserve to fight with a team,”   Drill Sergeant Ortega had told them all as he ground them into the mud under the heel of his boot.   “A team that operates smoothly, without hesitation, without mind numbing fear, is a team that survives to come home.”
    According to his Grandpa Cort, young Native American boys used to sneak up and slap the back of a sleeping bear to prove their manhood.  It was a  rite of passage.  A solo hunt was the same thing.  Though Jake would never say it to Cort’s face, he'd much rather slap the hairy ass of a grizzly than go toe to toe with a bloodsucking vampire.
    Knowing he could put it off no longer, Jake rose off the bed and pulled the chain to the ceiling fan, filling the room with light.  He leaned Judgment against the dresser in the corner, pulled the .45 from under his pillow and slid it back in its place in his nightstand drawer then slipped into his faded blue jeans.
    Opening the bottom drawer of the dresser, he pulled out a pair of white socks with holes in the toes and slipped them over his pale white feet then slipped his black steel- toed hunting boots over them and pulled the laces tight.
    Climbing to his feet Jake walked slowly to his bedroom door. "Here we go," he whispered, leaning his head against the door.  Taking a deep breath he slowly turned the knob and stepped out into the hallway.
    The dim glow from the kitchen was the only light on in the house.  Jake crossed the hall and ducked into the bathroom shutting the door quietly behind him.
    Walking over to the toilet, he relieved himself and then washed his hands. Next he pulled his toothbrush down from its cup in the cabinet and covered it with a generous portion of toothpaste.  Taking his time brushing his teeth, he stared at his features in the mirror.  He worked the toothbrush back and forth rigorously and wondered if he would look different after he had killed.
    Jake now stood at six feet one inches tall and