Replacement

by Wojciech Cram

  scent.

  If the Night World was truly still on our tail, I had to assume that this would be one of their methods of tracking us. If I stood any chance of making it out of this mall undetected,

  I'd need to take precautions.

  I sauntered over to the stand, leaving the group of girls behind me. Picking the first bottle on the shelf up, I smothered the scent over my wrists and neck, making my own eyes

  water at the amount I was putting on. Not knowing whether it'd be enough, I picked up another spray and covered myself from head to toe, hoping the store manager wouldn't come

  over and tell me off. I was pretty sure that that would class as making a scene.

  Once I was done, I followed the group of girls out of the store, fighting the urge to cough and splutter at the overwhelming scents that I was now covered in.

  One member of my group let out a high pitched squeal as we walked past a large poster advertising some boy band that I'd never heard of, but were apparently a pretty big deal

  judging from the girls' reaction. The squeals seemed to multiply by the second, attracting the glares of other customers. This crazy fangirling was something I really didn't need

  right now.

  I discreetly disengaged myself from the group, as the girl directly beside me screamed, "YAS GAGA YAAAAAAAS!" causing one of my ears to go slightly deaf. "Damn you," I muttered to the girls as I left them behind, hoping that I hadn't been spotted as a result of the racket they were making.

  Deciding to play it safe and disappear from sight for a moment, I ducked into a cheap looking accessories store, attempting unsuccessfully to not look shifty in doing so. I found it

  was extremely hard to purposefully try to not look suspicious. I knew it wasn't true, but I felt as if everyone was looking at me from the corner of their eyes, whispering about me

  as soon as my back was turned. Was this what it felt like to be the unpopular kid in high school? I was glad I'd never had to deal with this kind of paranoia before; it was enough to

  swallow someone whole.

  My feet carried me over to a small metal bargain bin, which judging from its contense could have passed for a normal bin. No person in their right mind would ever even consider

  purchasing any of the crap in it, which probably explained why the prices were ridiculously low. So naturally, I dipped my hand in a pulled out a god awful vomit yellow head scarf,

  that was lined with what I presumed were supposed to be purple sunflowers, but could have also been octopuses. I also located a neon pink scrunchy for good measure, my thought

  process being that if I was going down the disguise route, I might as well do it well. It was just a pity that I couldn't find a fake moustache.

  Digging out the small amount of change that Rashel had kept in her coat pocket, I paid the lady at the counter, who I could tell from her expression thought I was insane for actually

  buying anything from her store. With a smile, I exited the store, but not before scanning the area outside for any suspicious activity.

  As far as I could tell, their wasn't a Night person waiting to pounce on me as soon as I set a foot outside, but with my limited contact with the Night World, I couldn't be sure of my

  judgement. I didn't really have a clue about how I would go about identifying a vampire, witch or shape shifter from a normal human being. It was shameful to say, but in truth, I

  couldn't even recognise another species from my own. I was just praying that the vampire's silent grace would give him away, as for the others, I had no clue.

  I quickly assembled my headgear, tying up my dark locks with the scrunchy, before covering the whole lot with the scarf. Disguised scent: check. Disguised appearance: check.

  Catching a look at my reflection in a store window, I couldn't help but feel embarrassed about my new look. Maybe someone as naturally beautiful as Jade, or as confident as

  Kestrel could have pulled it off without looking like a complete idiot, but I possessed neither of those things. The only thing my new look had going for me was the fact that I

  assumed my trackers were looking to identify me using my hair.

  I wound my way through the mall for a little while, trying to stop where I could to look for tails, but all the time I was painfully aware of the clock ticking as to when Rashel would

  be at the movie theatre.

  In fact, I was so caught up in my worry for not being there in time that I almost missed the lone individual standing in the corner, their dark eyes scanning the crowd hungrily. It

  took every piece of selfcontrol I had within me not to freeze in fear or run the other way.

  There was nothing about the man that would attract the attention of a normal human, apart from maybe the fact that he was unnaturally good looking, but something about him

  screamed out to me as not being human. Maybe it was the way his eyes glistened silver under the fluorescent lights, following everything all at once, stalking their prey. Whatever

  it was made me want to run as fast as I could away from him, uncaring of the attention it drew.

  In reality, I knew that that was not an option. Instead I kept a steady pace as I continued through the mall, forcing myself to look ahead, not directly at the man. It went against my

  every instinct to let the guy out of my sight, but staring directly at him would almost certainly attract his attention.

  As my path drew nearer to the man, my heart picked up a notch, drumming against my ribs. For a second, my breath caught in my throat, as I was sure he could here the pump in my chest working over time, there was no way he couldn't have noticed. But even as his unnerving gaze passed over me like a burning poker, I kept my eyes down, barely even

  acknowledging my surroundings.

  I let out a small sigh of relief as my eyes spotted a point where I could branch off without being noticed. I followed the small path into Target, where I visibly relaxed, unaware of

  how wound up my muscles had been whilst in the close proximity of the Night person. It had been barely a minute, and yet I felt utterly exhausted after that short encounter.

  Without further notice, I made my way down to the bottom floor of Target, knowing it would have its own exit for which I was thankful. I didn't think I could cope with going back

  out into the main complex and risk seeing another of my trackers.

  I got a few funny looks off other customers and staff as I walked through the shop, no doubt due to my adventurous fashion accessory, and my cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

  The only thing that allowed me to keep my head up was the fact that I knew I'd never see any of these people again. Still, the sooner I got out of here the better.

  Before I exited back out into the chilly night air, I hovered near a display of scarves, not because I was looking to upgrade my own headscarf, but because it gave me the

  opportunity to scout the immediate outside area. My stomach fluttered slightly as my human eyesight failed against the dense blackness of the night. It was times like these where

  vampire eyesight would really come in handy. The only consolation I gave myself was that if there was a night person out there waiting for me, I'd be as good as dead anyway. The

  thought didn't really encourage me that much.

  I took a breath and took the first step away from the safety of the mall, away from the safety of numbers, away from human civilisation, and into what I assumed was a staff car

  park. It was too dark to be able to tell properly, but I could clearly make out the dark silhouettes of cars, stationary against the almost black backdrop of the sky. It didn't escape me that they would provide an excellent hiding place for anyone who was waiting to ambush me.

  I shoved my hands deep into the pockets of my borrowed coat, partly to be keep the biting air off of my fingers, and partly so that I could grip the blade that acted as a safety

  blanket. Its cool surface spurred me to continue through the parking lot and on toward
s the movie theatre where Rashel would be waiting. How long had it been since we'd entered

  the mall? Surely it hadn't been half an hour, despite it having felt like a lifetime. My pace picked up as my fear of being left behind flooded my senses, all the while, the phone

  number Rashel had given me was burning a hole in my pocket.

  My brisk pace saw me out of the lot, and into a loading bay of the next building within a matter of seconds. I tried to keep out of any patches of light, whilst still keeping my

  distance from anything that could hide a person behind it, my mind fully focussed on just getting to the movie theatre, on getting back to the mansion, back to Ash.

  My heart jumped slightly at just thinking his name. Every fibre of my being longed to feel his arms wrapped around me once more, to be captured entirely in his embrace, but my

  brain counteracted all of those desires by continuously reminding me that he'd sent me away. He'd ignored my wishes and went against everything I'd told him, I wouldn't forget

  that, I couldn't, and I'd give him hell for it. But right now, I couldn't summon the anger to do that; I simply wanted to get home.

  Ahead of me, something disturbed the solid expanse of darkness, a shadow forming where there shouldn't be one. Without knowing it, my feet had slowed to a stop and fallen into a

  fighting stance that I'd picked up from the sisters. I took the dagger out of my pocket, holding it in a white knuckled grip in front of me.

  If the vampire or shape shifter or witch were going to take me down, I'd put up one hell of a fight before they did so.

  Hesitantly I took another step, my speed considerably slower than it had been just moments before. My rapid breath fogged in the air before me, swirling gracefully before my

  eyes. My eyes scanned my surroundings, looking for a place where I could veer off and escape, looking for a more substantial weapon, looking for any more attackers. I saw none.

  Unless I turned around and headed back to the mall, I had no other route to go at the moment. I'd either have to turn by back on my assailant and run back to the safety of

  civilisation, saying goodbye to any chance I had of meeting Rashel in the time frame I'd been given, or I could carry on.

  It would be dangerous; I'd be walking right up to something that wanted to kill me with nothing more than a dagger that I didn't even know how to use. But right now, it was my

  only shot at surviving tonight. The only thing I had going in my favour was that whatever I'd seen might not know that I knew they were there. I'd have the element of surprise for

  all the good that would do me.

  My steps grew more confident now that I had waded through my thoughts and come out with some sort of goal. Forcing my shoulders back, I took a steadying breath, preparing myself for what was to come.

  As I drew closer to the point where I'd seen the shadow move, I felt increasingly more like I was walking into my own grave. I had no idea how I was supposed to survive this

  encounter with the nonexistent fighting skills I possessed. Tucking an escaped lock of hair behind my ear, I tried to channel Rashel.

  I felt eerily calm when I finally reached the spot where my attacker was waiting. There was something tranquilising about knowing there were only to possible outcomes: I'd either

  die, or I wouldn't. There was no in between.

  I peaked carefully around the car that had acted as a barricade for whoever was hiding, knowing that now there was no going back. Except what I saw wasn't a hungry vampire

  ready to pounce, or a shape shifter ready to transform, or even a witch ready and waiting with a fireball to throw. All I saw was an empty pavement.

  The calm stayed with me, even as my head tried to puzzle out what was before me. There was no doubt in my mind that I'd seen movement. If there was one thing I'd learned

  during this night of chaos, it was to trust my gut, and I knew I'd seen something.

  Shaking off the confusion, I turned back around. I took a deep breath, feeling the cold night air rush into my lungs like a crashing sea, and scanned the surrounding area once more.

  It was funny how everything now seemed like a threat. Everything was now a hiding place, a possible weapon, something in disguise; it was no wonder the Daybreakers led a life of

  paranoia.

  I wasn't stupid enough to think that whatever had been stalking me had done a runner or found a new target, so the deceivingly still atmosphere was unnerving. I just wanted to get

  this over and done with, whatever the outcome may be.

  "I know you're out there!" I yelled into the night, surprising even myself at how brazen I'd been. It was another sign of how much I'd changed in the past six months, and I kind of

  liked this new me. "Why don't you come out and face me already?" I was tempted to add something about being too chicken to face me, but I didn't want to push my luck. Just

  because I'd half way accepted that this probably wouldn't end well for me, didn't mean that I wanted my untimely death to be painful.

  A low, dark chuckle sounded from somewhere behind me, sending chills down my spine. I whipped around only to find the empty space I'd seen before.

  "Humans are always the cutest. Like clay, they're so malleable, so easily bent out of shape, and yet they still believe they can build up walls." The voice sounded again, but this

  time coming from off to my side. "How poetic," I mumbled, knowing whoever it was would hear me, despite the words being whipped up by the wind.

  "Well, I try my best to provide entertainment for my victims. Consider it payment for the sweet blood that now runs through your veins, but will soon warm my lips, leaving behind

  nothing more than an empty vessel." I wasn't sure whether this guy was seriously into some form of sick and twisted poetry, or whether he was just messing with me, but either

  way, I felt my body stiffen at his words. On the plus side though, at least I now knew what I was up against. A vampire.

  "Then why don't you just get it over with then?" I asked, sounding more confident than I felt. "Because," this time the voice was directly behind me, "What would be the fun in that?"

  I could feel the vamp's hot breath against the back of my neck he was so close.

  My fingers automatically tightened around the dagger in my hand as his presence enveloped me, trapping me in every way. "Why cut this short, when I can watch you squirm for a

  little longer?" The vampire circled me, his eyes a swimming silvery colour that I'd seen in Ash's eyes whilst sizing up a kill. I also saw that this was the same vampire I'd seen in

  the mall earlier on, he must have recognised me after all and circled ahead to corner me.

  As if reading my thoughts, the vamp struck out a hand at lightening speed, roughly snatching off my ridiculous headscarf. Pain erupted across my scalp and I presumed he'd managed to snatch out a good handful of hair too. At this rate, I'd be bald at the end of the night, between vampire brutality and the making of stink bombs. Jade would go nuts.

  "What makes you so sure you can kill me?" I asked, fighting off the waver in my voice. Another dark chuckle burst out from his mouth, too loud in this isolated setting. "You make me laugh, human." This guy clearly hadn't met Rashel if he thought my species' limitations would weaken us.

  "Yeah, well that didn't stop us from taking out your little friend back at the 7eleven," I said, hoping to spur some sort of emotion within him. It worked. A flash of anger passed

  through his eyes, tearing down his cheerful mask. I had to supress a small smile as he drew nearer to me, almost within touching distance.

  "You got lucky, human. Something that won't happen again," he spat, throwing the headscarf to the floor. I barely noticed as it was blown away by the wind. Instead, I was too

  focused on the raging vampire before me, who was now baring his elongated fangs in my direction. It seemed that I'd struck a bigger nerve than I'd anticipated.

  "You call it luck, but face it, she j
ust wasn't strong enough to defend herself against even us." I didn't mention the fact that it had actually been Rashel who'd done the killing whilst

  I'd sat in the car, absolutely cacking myself. He stalked closer to me, and I had to fight the urge to take a step back. "And now," I whispered, my voice barely more than a breath.

  "Her body is nothing more than a shrivelled heap, abandoned in a small town out in the middle of nowhere. I bet you didn't even stop to bury her."

  In a flash the vampire was there, his hand like a vice around my throat, constricting my airways. I gasped in shock, even though I'd been expecting it. "Avenging her is more

  important," he snarled, but was cut off as blood spurted out of his own neck.

  You see, I hadn't been lying when I said I'd accepted my death, because I had. I knew that it was extremely unlikely that I'd survive this night, and I'd taken it in stride. But I also

  hadn't been lying when I'd said I wouldn't go down without a fight. So in the moments before what would be my inevitable death, I'd replayed everything Ash, Rashel, the sisters,

  and circle Daybreak had taught me, and decided that I had to make use of what I had.

  I liked to think that I wasn't a cruel and malicious person by nature, even when talking to a murderous vampire that would undoubtedly try to kill, but taunting him had been a

  necessary part of the plan. Because, unfortunately at this moment in time, the greatest weapon I had was a small dagger that I had no idea how to fight with, but what I did know,

  was that the vamp had to be close enough for me to use it. And he'd fallen right into my ill devised plan.

  Blood ran down the dagger in my hand, glittering in the dim light provided by a nearby streetlamp. To a fellow human, the blow would have been fatal, as evident by the viscous

  dark red liquid that still poured like a fountain down the vampire's neck. But to the supernatural creature, it was merely a hindrance. Luckily, a hindrance was all I needed.