by Unknown
“Your new life support. This will give us enough time to get you to the treatment center,” Blake says.
“Don’t take that!” Eileen yells.
“Mom, for once in your life, listen. Without it, I’ll turn into a vampire. I have no choice.” Aaron takes hold of my hand. “Sadie, you have to go with him.”
“No!” I snap, shaking my head.
Aaron tries to release his hand from my grip. I wrap my fingers tighter around his. I know he’s right, but I don’t want him to leave me. I don’t think I can do this on my own.
“Aaron’s right. If you want to keep your parents alive, you have to come with me.” The sinking feeling hits me once again. There are more of them...and they want me.
“When will they arrive?” I ask, as if for the first time today I can see things clearly.
“In a few hours, once Remus gets back to the others.”
“Why do they want us?”
“Because you are slayers,” Blake explains.
“But they were here before I killed a vampire!”
“You don’t have to kill a vampire to be a slayer. You’re made a slayer.”
“What do you mean, ‘made’?” Eileen asks.
Blake bites the inside of his cheek. Has he changed his mind? Is he going to eat us?
“Your children were both born at the same hospital?” Blake asks.
“Yes,” both moms respond at the same time.
“And you both tried for years and had, well, miracle babies?” Our moms nod in response hesitantly.
“Well, let's just say you had a helping hand,” Blake says.
“What do you mean, ‘helping hand’?” Eileen asks.
“That's all I know, and I've already told you too much. They’ll tell you once you get to the base.” He heads towards the front door.
“Where will we go?” I ask.
“Sector 105 Training Base. Think of it as slayer school.”
I stare at him blankly.
“You will be hunted down for the rest of your lives. This government’s job is to keep you alive,” he explains. My mouth dries up. Is this how my life will be from now on? Being chased by vampires?
“Where will my parents go?” I ask, knowing that I have no choice but to believe him.
“Sector 07. They’ll be looked after until you get back from your training,” Blake explains.
“And Aaron?”
“Sector 207.”
“You promise Aaron will join me once he’s completed his treatment?”
Blake nods as he opens the door and stands in the doorway. “We have to leave, or you’ll miss the train.”
Aaron places his hand under my chin, raising my head up to face him. Our eyes connect, the brown warmth of his eyes is still there.
“I promise I’ll be by your side in no time,” Aaron says without blinking.
“I know, but—” Before I can finish, his lips press against mine, stealing any thoughts with them. I want to stay here in this kiss. His arms wrap tightly around my body, holding me still and close.
Blake coughs behind me, breaking the silence. “It’s time to go, and the train waits for no one.”
Aaron peels his body away from mine. He’s a blur through my tear-filled eyes. I brush my palm across my eyes; they swiftly fill up with fresh tears.
I take in a deep breath as I approach Blake, I cannot bear for him to come with me to the train. I know for sure I will never be able to get on it if he does.
Mom reaches her hand out towards me. I take it and kiss it. Then I lean down and kiss my dad’s head. “I’ll be back soon…”
I hope.
Sneak peek at Slayer Trials…
Chapter One
Blake runs beside me as we head to the train. I widen my eyes, trying to stop the tears, because once they come I don’t think I can stop them.
The silences between us are sharp, like Remus’ fangs. Why my house? Why tonight? Why did they come after me? I want to ask Blake these questions, but I’m not sure I will be able to handle the answers.
I can feel his eyes on me, as if he wants to answer my questions. “Can you read my mind?” Of all the questions I ask that one.
“No.”
Blake veers off in a different direction.
“The station is this way.”
“We’re not going to the station.”
I stop running. “Where are we going? I thought I had to catch a train.”
“You do. The train doesn’t stop at the station; it will only draw attention.”
“I think your kind have already achieved that, don’t you?”
“My kind?” I’ve seen many different looks on vampires’ faces tonight, mainly murderous, but Blake, well, just looks hurt, and I don’t care.
“Yes, your kind.”
“We aren’t all like the ones hunting you down, are we?”
“I don’t know. Up until tonight the only types of vampires I knew were the ones on the TV.”
Blake smiles.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Your government did do a good job of turning us into fairy tales.” Blake pauses as he sees I’m not amused. “And if you don’t hurry up you will end up being in one of their fairy tales. One without a happy ending.”
I smugly smile back. “Your kind.”
“I’m the kind that’s trying to keep you alive.”
“Why?” I don’t know why I ask that question; I should be grateful that I’m alive.
“Because I’m your guardian, and not all vampires want to go back in time.”
“What, you can time travel?” Blake gives me a blank stare, like I’m the most stupid person he’s ever seen. “What?”
“We can’t time travel. I see I’m going to have to spell things out to you. Good luck to the instructors when you get to Sector 105. I mean I don’t want to go back to a time when humans and vampires were fighting. Let’s just say it’s better when we don’t know about each other, or at least when we put you humans to the back of our mind, locking you away with the other demons.”
“I’m not a demon. Your kind are the demons.”
“That’s the history you know. Ours is very different. And really, we don’t have time for a history lesson.”
“Wait, what do you mean you’re my guardian?”
“I was assigned to get you to the train.”
As if on cue, a thunderous noise breaks off my next onslaught of questions.
“The train is coming. You need to get on it if you want your parents and Aaron to be safe.”
“What will happen to Aaron?” I ask quickly as I see the train approaching on the horizon.
“I will take him to Sector 207, where he will be treated.”
“What type of treatment?”
“We don’t have time for this,” Blake says, reaching for my arm, I swiftly move it from his grasp.
“Injections to stop him from turning into a vampire.”
“Will it hurt?”
Blake grits his teeth. “Yes.”
“A lot?”
“Yes.”
I look back in the direction from which we came, my home, which I can no longer see—it’s blocked by other houses.
“It will hurt more if he turns into a vampire,” Blake adds as he sees me wavering. Not that I would like Aaron to turn into a vampire, more that I want to be there beside him, holding his hand.
“Did it hurt you when you turned into a vampire?”
“I was born a vampire,” Blake says firmly, “and if you don’t leave now you will be a vampire’s dinner.”
A woman with bloody scratches across her face runs in my direction; her hair looks matted and unkempt, as if she was asleep in a car and then involved in a horrific crash. She is with a large man and a young girl around my age.
“Train’s coming, Blake,” the man says to Blake.
“I know. I always end up with the stubborn ones,” Blake says, looking at me as the man sprints by.
“You’re in good compa
ny then, aren’t you?” He grins, flashing his fangs; he’s another guardian.
“I’m not stubborn.”
I hear hysterical cries from behind me and my hand grips my stake as I spin toward the cries. A group of teenage girls with blood-covered clothes approach us; they dodge around us as the run towards the train.
Blake and I look at one another.
Before Blake can give me any orders I sprint towards the train. If I’m going to live in this world I will need some training.
The train comes to a halt; people line the edges of the tracks, a mixture of guardians, kids and parents. People glance nervously over their shoulders as if they are waiting for a vampire to jump out at them. I can’t help but do the same, and my hands tighten around my stake.
“This way, Sadie,” Blake says. As he pushes through the crowd of people, he takes hold of my hand and leads me towards the train, just like my dad would when we were in the city and the platform was as crammed as a stadium full of fans. Blake’s not my dad, he’s a vampire. I wiggle my hand out of his grip. The crowd swarms around Blake, but he still stands out, just like the other guardian vampires. They tower over us humans, bigger and stronger than us. How are we going to win against them? And why are these vampires helping us?
Parents hold on to their kids, not wanting to be separated, others push their kids away from them, knowing this is the only way to save their lives. Why can’t we all go to Sector 207 and be kept save?
“Sadie Meyer,” I hear Blake say over the constant noise of the crowd to a guard who looks like he’s stepped straight out of special ops, dressed from head to toe in black, with a gun strapped on one side of his waist and a stake on the other.
I weave through the people milling around me as I try to move. I want to join them in their tears. I’m glad I told my parents and Aaron to stay at home; the decision to get on the train is hard enough without them there.
“Get on the train,” Blake orders.
“Where is it going?” I ask as a boy pushes past me; his head is down but I get a glimpse of a tear rolling down his face.
“To Sector 105.” Blake doesn’t even look at me, but turns towards the direction from which we came: the vampires are still after us.
“Where is Sector 105?”
“I don’t know. None of us do, and it’s best that way.”
Well that’s true. “How do you know I will be safe there?” I gulp.
“Is she getting on the train?” the guard asks. Clearly a man who loves his job.
Blake looks sternly at the guard before answering my question. “They will make sure you are.”
That’s not very reassuring.
“Blake, promise to keep my parents safe and bring Aaron back to me as a human.”
Blake nods.
“Say it!”
“I promise.”
Chapter Two
I stare blankly out of the train window, as dazed parents huddle together, unable to comprehend what just happened.
My hot breath steams up the window; I wipe the fog away with my hand.
Soon everyone in my town will be awake. Everyone who is still alive, that is. I wonder how many people the vampires killed. Is this happening all over the world? Or just my town? It seems stupid to think it’s just our town; this must be happening in other towns. The thought gives me little comfort, knowing that others are going through this.
Why couldn't Blake have gotten there sooner and protected Aaron from the bite? If he had, Aaron would be sitting with me on this seat, its deep burgundy fabric fraying and dirty, cream sponge cushion coming out as if even the seat doesn’t want to be on the train.
Touching the seat next to mine, where Aaron would have sat, brings goosebumps to my flesh. I'm alone. All I want is his warm body next to mine, just as we were a few hours ago when we lay with one another in bed, me drifting off to sleep to the sound of his heart. Will I hear that rhythm again?
I can hear Blake over the crowd repetitively saying his name and my name, making sure that the man checks it off on his handheld computer. I can’t help but think that Blake is getting paid to bring me to the train. More like a bounty hunter than a guardian.
The train jolts, followed by a screech as we move forward, leaving my loved ones behind. Teardrops land on the train table in front of me.
I push my hands through my hair, matted with blood, sweat and dirt. Rough scabs are already forming over the wounds from the evening’s attacks. I pull my hands back through the knotted mess and look down at them. They look worn, no longer smooth, and are covered in little cuts from the stakes.
I rest my elbows on the train table and place my stake in the center, the one Blake gave me when we were at my house. It’s not like the ones which I used from the old wardrobe—this one was made for killing vampires.
I press my nose into my shoulder and sniff deeply. I can just about smell the faint musky cologne Aaron wears ... his sweat. I fold my arms over the table and rest my head on top of them.
I stretch out my toes and wiggle them in the bed. Last night was nothing like I thought it would be. I felt as if Aaron and I shared a heartbeat.
I reach my toe sideways to connect with his. My foot jerks back in surprise as my toe touches his … his toes feel like they have been replaced with ice cubes. The blankets must be off his feet. I will warm him up … a devilish smile appears on my face.
I gently inch my foot closer to his under the bedsheet. I wrap my feet around his freezing feet and loop the blankets around his feet and mine. My naked thighs press against his. His legs are cold as well. Carefully I drape my arm over his bare chest. He's freezing, even with the blanket. How is he still asleep when he's this cold? My teeth chatter ...
His chest moves up and down, and his heart beats frantically.
My body starts to shake; it feels like his frozen body is riddling mine with frost bite.
I peel my body away from his, but before I can move my arm all the way off, his fingers wrap around my arm, holding me in place, taking me by surprise.
“I thought you were asleep,” I say, a little embarrassed for recoiling from his body.
“I was,” he says.
“You’re freezing,” I say as I rest my head on his chest and look up at him. His eyes are closed; he looks like he's still sleeping. I gaze up at him and study the dark morning stubble starting to show on his firm jawline.
I lean forward, my lips hovering above his. A cold shiver runs over me, as if I'm being frozen from the inside as his breath enters my body.
I need the warmth of his lips.
They are ice cold like the rest of him. My eyes connect with his. The warmth of his brown eyes have gone, replaced with endless darkness swallowing every breath of life in its path.
I hurtle backwards off the bed.
He does not move, he does not react. All he does is stare at me greedily. I grab a sheet off the bed and shield my body from his uncomfortably empty eyes.
“You weren't that shy last night.” The words pour easily from his mouth, yet the voice is different ... darker in some way. If I didn't see them coming from his mouth I wouldn't think they came from him.
“I'm leaving.”
“Not so fast. I'm hungry.” His lips curl back as he opens his mouth, revealing white fangs.
My body trembles with fear as his arms reach out for me, as he springs off the bed, diving for me ...
He slams me against the motel wall and my cheekbone crashes into the hard surface.
Aaron takes hold of my shoulders and repeatedly smashes my head against the wall, trying to knock me unconscious ... Sadie, wake up ... wake up ... it's a dream.
It's a dream, I think to myself as I stare at Aaron, whose face is twisted with anger. This is not my Aaron, not the one I love.
My body goes limp. Come back to me, Aaron, I plead in my head as the twisted image of Aaron fades into the darkness.
Chapter Three
I lift my sweat-sticky head up from my folded arms. My dr
eam is going to haunt me every time I close my eyes.
Not the Aaron I remember, the one I just left … but the Aaron I’m scared he will become, a vampire or a shadow of his normal self. Which Aaron will I get back, if any?
I push my hair out of my eyes. I wish I had a hair tie, a shower and some clean clothes—my only hope is to wash this nightmare away from my body … but I know little will change.
Aaron will always be in my dreams, just as he was before this terrible night.
I stare out of the train window, I know we have left my town. Yet we haven’t gone far, I still know the landscape outside. We are only a couple of towns over. I guess we are only about fifteen minutes from my home by train, even though I feel miles away, maybe more like a lifetime away.
The sound of metal grinding against metal catches my attention; instinctively I grab my stake.
It’s coming from the door to my suite as it slowly opens; my heart races.
I look around the train suite to see where I can go if someone is here to attack me. The only things in the suite are the table, a seat across from mine, and the gray-speckled wall around me. There is also a light gray door with a silver handle which I didn’t notice before; my guess is that it’s a bathroom. That is it.
There is no time to hide. I get to my feet, ready to attack.
A small, delicate hand with red nail polish appears around the silver metal of the door. There is no doubt in my mind that she will have brutish vampires with her … at least this time I know what I will be facing.
A flash of black hair appears in the doorway, and then the girl’s face … it’s Lakia.
She is wearing our school sweater, shorts, and sneakers—with scratches over her legs, her hair as wild as the look on her face, and tear tracks breaking up the dirt on her cheeks, leading up to swollen red eyes, as if she’s been sobbing since she left us.
My heart sinks, and my knees buckle, bringing me down to the seat … to Aaron’s seat.
I breathe in deeply as I compose myself. Lakia’s expression is clear. Judging from the smile on her face that doesn’t travel to her eyes, she is pleased to see me and guilty that she left me.