Ch. 1
The Earth was coated in a blanket of fire. Someone stood off in the distance, but they were too dark to see clearly. I couldn’t breathe. Dirt, smoke, and ash overwhelmed the air. I decided to get closer to this person. If I could stop them… stop them from destroying everything in their path…
Long wooden stakes emerged from the rubble and reached out towards the sky. I felt rain tickle my forehead, but when I went to wipe it off, my hand was stained red. Blood.
Bodies were skewered on the stakes. Even so, my legs forced me to keep moving. I was so close to the person now. Any moment I’d be able to make out their face.
“Kaya…”
One of the dead bodies was my mother. Her eyes were filled with so much pain, and the stake went straight through her stomach. Finally my body refused to proceed. The stake next to my mom’s was my father’s, and the next one was Ricky… and Amanda… Dr. Jacobs…
“Kaya.”
I whirled around and saw Gavin. He wasn’t smirking anymore. In fact, he was crying. He looked at me with hurt and betrayal. It was too much for me to bear.
“What have you done?” he asked desperately.
A smaller wooden stake went through Gavin’s body, right where his heart was. Someone had stabbed him from behind!
“Gavin!” I screamed.
It was too late. His body dissolved into ashes and he blew away with the wind. Behind where he once stood was the figure; the one I knew was causing all of this.
“Who are you!” I demanded.
The face looked up at me, and it felt like I’d seen a ghost. This face was mine. I was staring at myself. Only this version of me had large fangs and a deadly smile.
*****
I woke up with a cold sweat on my neck. Another dream. Ricky was still asleep on the cot next to mine and so was Amanda. I could see the break of dawn seeping through our tent. It was the early morning, and I could hear the Lupercalie waking up as well.
It’d only been three days since being kidnapped by Rex and his men, but I still hadn’t seen Gavin. The first two days I was in the care of Dr. Jacobs. Enduring Vegas with Al, the psycho vampire who locked me up, left me a little wacky. Dr. Jacobs didn’t say much, especially when I asked about Gavin. I wondered if that was because Rex’s guards were always close by and the doctor didn’t want to get in trouble.
The hunters had been surprisingly kind and hospitable considering the first night they attacked us. We were all pretty shaken still, but Ricky and Amanda were finally getting comfortable. Waffle had plenty of other canine friends to trot with, so he was at ease or just indifferent. The hunters had an assortment of guard dogs in a kennel where they kept Waffle.
It was a secure place, and for the first time, I felt like we would actually be safe, all except Gavin. On the one hand, my family was safe with Rex and the Lupercalie, but that was at the expense of Gavin’s life. If only there was a way to convince the hunters to see things my way.
I changed into my new clothes the hunters provided. They didn’t have many women at the camp, so the black suit didn’t fit my body perfectly, but I had to admit, I looked badass.
All of the hunters had the same black uniform. It was heavier than it looked, but that was because it had to be the thickness to prevent sharp teeth penetrating the skin. It looked like a bulky morph suit with pads on the knees and elbows, almost like you would if skating. Everything felt safe around here, for humans.
I knew eventually I would have to comply with answering all of Rex’s questions. Dr. Jacobs told me the first night he did a check up on me that Rex was going easy because I was injured. Before I answered any questions I wanted to see the doctor for advice.
Like the universe was reading my mind, Dr. Jacobs startled me by popping his head into our tent. Without a word he handed me a small crumpled up piece of paper and left abruptly. Frazzled, I unwrapped his poorly executed note and read:
Kaya
We haven’t been able to talk much, but trust me it’s for everyone’s safety. The night I left Ghaor, your friend Gavin gave me your book on vampires written by the hunters. He believes you could be tangled up in the vampire’s plots. If this is true, I’d keep it on the down low, at least until we know the hunters can be trusted. If they ask about Drake, just say he had a fixation with you and that is all you know.
Meet me during supper in my office. We need to talk in private.
Well about time, I thought. Hopefully it was about Gavin. I wasn’t with him in Vegas and we were finally a team again, and like that he was taken away. No one will tell me if he’s even alive, or in pain, or fed…
I knew he wouldn’t have been fed. That’s why I had to find him and fast.
Ricky and Amanda finally woke up and changed into their black suits as well. Amanda wasn’t too concerned with the need to fight monsters, so she went to help out in the kitchen with some of the cooks. Ricky shared my concerns for Gavin’s safety, but I helped distract him by taking him to training. Rex offered lessons to us, once he could tell I was getting restless. Amanda refused on the spot but Ricky was excited to go with me.
Rex had to report somewhere back in Vegas that morning for damage control. I guess the “zapping”, or whatever that bright light was, at the casino along with the ten or so people injured and dying from the level two vampires didn’t go by unnoticed. Today, Rex insisted that I take Ricky to the beginner recruit sessions.
I didn’t really think Rex saw us as valuable additions, but until he decided what to do with us, we were to make ourselves less helpless. It seemed like a well enough plan. I didn’t mind letting Ricky learn some basics. In the end though, I knew it was mostly a distraction. My mind was still on Gavin.
Our class was small, possibly fifteen or so including Ricky and I. We stood out in an open area outside of the tents, far enough away in the open desert to not cause a ruckus. For miles I saw nothing but dirt and rock, maybe cacti. The sun was most unpleasant, but I laughed at the subtleness of it all. This wasn’t exactly a vampire paradise, and I’m sure the hunters enjoyed that fact.
“Everyone!” Rex conducted the beginner’s class, “This is Kaya and Ricky, and they will be joining training today.”
It was more embarrassing than playing the name-game in elementary school. I delivered a half-ass wave before returning my eyes to the dirt by my feet. The hunters training with us all nodded in unison like robots.
“We have another visitor who will be training you all today. His father is a great ally to me, so give him your full attention. Karch!”
My body froze. This couldn’t be a coincidence could it?
