Slayer Trials: Urban Fantasy (Hidden Vampire Slayers Book 2)

by H. J. Lawson

  “Or they want to keep all this a secret. But if we have to do it again, we will have to pretend we don’t know what happened today. Like the devil’s breath worked,” Aaron says.

  I lean in and kiss his cheek.

  Then I place my head on his chest, listening to the rhythm of his heart.

  I don’t know if I can do this again …

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  An alarm comes from the speaker. Unwillingly I open my eyelids to see the glowing red numbers counting down to breakfast.

  I feel as though we have only had a few hours’ sleep, which were thankfully not plagued with nightmares. I think that may be due to the devil’s breath that I wasn't able to get out of my system, or the fact that my mind hasn't yet processed the events from yesterday. It does feel like the events only happened a few hours ago, and it's the same day ... There is no way of knowing.

  I throw the blankets over my head and gently kiss Aaron ... this kiss will be with me for the rest of the day.

  "That's a nice way to wake up," Aaron says as I release my lips from his.

  I smile at him under the tented sheet.

  "We have to pretend everything is normal, but you get the axe, and I will cover you. And take a knife at breakfast," Aaron says under his breath. Before I fell asleep I told myself I wouldn’t die here, and the only way out is to pass the trial. And we will pass, no matter what.

  I gently nod, then place my finger on his lips.

  "You can do this," Aaron says, then kisses my finger.

  *****

  I cannot bear to be away from Aaron but we have to follow the normal routine; he goes to get his injection.

  Just like yesterday, there is a crowd at the training hangar door ... people waiting to get in for early training ... The door is locked, like yesterday, but today there are fewer people crowded outside.

  There are a lot more kids than I thought there would be, then again the people who come to the extra training are the ones that are already the best. They are here to win—they are our competition.

  "It's locked." I hear Aaron's voice; he's up front at the door. I push through the crowd of people. Kai is here ... he made it. The kids around me look bewildered, like they don’t know what’s coming next, but have a feeling they do. Looks like the devil’s breath worked on them.

  "What?" I ask Aaron, already knowing the answer.

  "It's locked. Guess it's trial day," he says as he approaches me. His hand reaches for mine and he tangles his fingers around mine.

  We silently head to the dining room. I can hear the others following us.

  Aaron and I take our trays of food and sit at our table.

  I stare at the empty seats at our table where Roslin and Grace usually sit. All I can see now is Ryder pushing Roslin in front of the vampire, and Grace's lifeless, bloody corpse hanging from the chains.

  "What's with you two?" Ryder asks as he places his tray down on the table.

  He doesn’t have a clue what he's done, and if he did, would he care? I want to scream at him, call him the jerk that he is.

  Aaron places his hand over mine. I breathe in, hold in my anger. "Looks like it’s trial day today," Aaron says, not taking his eyes off mine. The warmth of the brown calms me.

  "What, you scared?" Ryder laughs, mocking us.

  A laugh escapes my lips before I can stop it. We are right to be scared, downright terrified—but he's a coward.

  I grit my teeth together, then look toward Kai as he takes a seat next to Aaron. He scans the room, then turns back to our table.

  "Where are Roslin and Grace?" Kai asks Aaron.

  Aaron’s eyes widen just enough for Kai to notice. Kai squints his eyes in confusion toward Aaron, then quickly looks over to me.

  "Probably chickened out once they realized they were going to fail," Ryder says heartlessly, taking the attention away from me and Aaron.

  Lakia takes her seat next to me; she has black shadows under her eyes as if she didn’t sleep last night, but she had to—the devil’s breath would have made sure of that.

  "Are you okay?" I ask Lakia. Confusion washes over her eyes.

  "Night terrors," Ryder says, then takes a bite of his toast. "She kept waking me up," he adds, showing me the contents of his mouth.

  "I kept waking myself up screaming, but I can't remember anything I was dreaming about ... it was all just blank," she says, puzzled.

  Crackles come from the speaker: announcement time.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations on passing the training phase of the trials. Today is the first day of your trial. Remember only the top surviving twenty will pass. I recommend you do everything possible to be in the top twenty. Please make your way down to the training hangar.”

  Commander Cheng says the exact same thing as yesterday; we are repeating the day. Everyone else won’t remember because of the devil’s breath. It's just a heartless recording.

  I glance around the room and try to do a head count.

  It looks as if there are thirty missing; other people are also doing the same.

  As I look at each table in more detail, I see a lot of the kids have the same death-like shadows under their eyes, which are filled with confusion. Others have tears rolling down their faces as they look at an empty seat beside them ... looks of abandonment—they think their friends left them to fight this on their own. There are some with fear on their faces, with glazed over eyes. Very different to the looks on their faces yesterday.

  Yesterday they were fearful of the unknown. Today they’re terrified of it. As if their body knows even if their mind does not. Like they are in a world of déjà vu ... which we are.

  I slip the knife into my pocket, making sure no one sees me. Time to use this Groundhog Day situation to our advantage. We have to survive another day ... Survive the day? How many days will we have to do this? I wonder if the trials will stop once we get down to twenty.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  We are back in the pitch black training hangar.

  The light flicks on, and I jump, even though I knew they would.

  I scan the room: the two doors are still there, like yesterday. One leads to the weapons room, and the other a trap.

  Vampires start entering the hangar, ten vampires in total, double the amount from yesterday. There is a side door, which someone will be taken through to the torture room, and left as live meat for the vampires.

  The axe is on the wall; the glass box has been replaced—that is my target.

  The light flicks off as quickly as it came on.

  I block out the heavy breathing, the cries of fear from the other kids beside me. I focus on the sound and the rotting smell of the vampires. I know where they are without seeing them.

  The light continuously flickers on and off. These vampires are faster … they are already halfway across the hangar. I squeeze Aaron’s hand. It's time.

  Silently I dart toward the axe … the smell intensifies. I try to move faster without making a sound. The smell eases just a little; I know it means I’m passing them.

  Terrified screams come from behind me.

  The light flicks on. I made it … the axe is in my sight, and Aaron has made it past the vampires. Others weren’t so lucky; I can see chaos has broken out as the vampires are working their way through the kids that didn’t run.

  I take the handle of the knife, and with all my strength I slam it into the glass until it breaks … my heart races as the sound of the glass landing on the ground draws attention to me. I fumble as I grab the axe, looking over my shoulder to the vampires.

  A vampire turns around and locks eyes on me as blood drips down his face. “Sadie,” Aaron screams at me.

  His call snaps me back into action … no more split seconds waiting … it could cost me my life.

  I sprint for the door just as the vampire heads in my direction.

  “Lakia, run toward the door. This door,” I yell out to Lakia. I look through the chaos … I cannot see her.


  “Where is Lakia?” I say frantically to Aaron.

  He rubbernecks around the chaos and shakes his head as he holds open the door.

  “We have to go,” Aaron says as he takes hold of my arm.

  “But …” I start, then stop myself. My heart breaks … I can’t go back for her. An angry, bloodthirsty vampire is heading straight toward me with his fangs at the ready.

  I run into the white hallway; the door slams behind Aaron. I don’t look back, only forward, holding in all of my emotions.

  Others are running in front of us, approaching the viewing room. I wonder how many others are in the waiting room. I will find out soon enough, I think as I enter the viewing room.

  The setup is the same as yesterday: table with stakes, television on the wall, glass viewing window, which is currently showing nothing.

  I take a stake, and then wait for what feels like a lifetime for the final people to come in. Ryder is one of them.

  He left her again. Even with two chances he left her … I wonder who he pushed in front of the vampires this time.

  Aaron’s eyes cannot connect with him. Their friendship was lost yesterday in the training hangar when he realized how spineless his best friend is.

  The television flicks on like yesterday, showing our room, then the glass changes to a window, showing the waiting room where kids are standing, unaware of what is going to happen next.

  Then the next screen comes on with the vampires waiting behind the doors, and just like yesterday people start banging on the window.

  With all my strength I pull the television off the wall. Again it breaks and part of the wall comes off. Easier than yesterday—on the wall I can see where they plastered it and added fresh paint.

  As I’m doing that, Aaron has already wedged the table against the door, stopping any stray vampires from following us.

  I push the television up against the table. We have created a small barricade.

  As I look through the glass I realize that Lakia isn’t in the waiting room. That means one of two things: she’s either in the torture room or she’s already dead in the training hangar.

  “Where’s Lakia?” I yell frantically at Ryder.

  He quickly turns to me, then back to the window. He doesn’t know where she is either.

  “Aaron, we have to go to the next room,” I tell him.

  “I know,” he replies.

  We have to leave the others in the waiting room. I just hope that their friends will help them.

  Not looking back, we run down the white hallway that has the chemical smell of cleaning products … freshly cleaned to remove the bloodstains from the first trial. Maybe that’s why the hallways are so white, to make it easier to find the blood when they are cleaning it up.

  I can sense Ryder is running behind us, and there is the sound of other boots slamming down on the floor. How many of them left their friends?

  I can hear Lakia before I see her. Her bloodcurdling screams for help travel down the hallway.

  Lakia is hanging from the ceiling with chains wrapped around her wrists. Her face is stained by tear tracks—they took her from the training hangar. There is another kid in the corner of the room like yesterday; it's a boy. His wrists are chained to the pole, but unlike yesterday the boy isn’t screaming for help. He’s silent, with his head slumped down toward the ground, unconscious.

  “Help me,” Lakia cries out. Her long black hair whips around as she moves, her face is glowing red from all of the blood racing to her head.

  “Sadie, get on my shoulders,” Aaron says as he bends down. I jump on his shoulders like I used to when I was a kid and my dad would take me for a piggy back ride.

  Aaron stands upright just as Ryder enters the room.

  “Lakia,” he cries as he enters the room. He runs over to her, dropping to his knees. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I can hear him mumble under the sound of others running into the torture room. They stop for a moment and carry on running, as if this is not their problem or their concern.

  I try to break the chain, but even with all my force all it does is make a little scratch mark on the chain as it moves away from the axe.

  “It’s no good,” I say, defeated.

  “Keep trying,” Ryder roars.

  “Do you want to see if you can do any better? If you hadn’t left her we wouldn’t be here now,” I yell waving my axe at him.

  An object in the corner begins to move, catching my attention. We’re too late … panic washes over my body.

  I calm down for a moment. —it’s just the chained-up kid moving. It hits me like a speeding train … it’s Kai.

  “Kai,” I yell.

  Aaron wobbles a little bit under me from my outburst, turning me around in the process.

  That’s when I see it: there is a metal carabiner connecting the chains. If I can unlock that the chains will come free. The axe is a decoy. I drop the axe to the ground. Please work …

  “Help me,” Kai mutters, confused.

  “Lift Lakia up,” I tell Ryder. I have to help Lakia first.

  He wraps his arms around Lakia’s waist and lifts her up.

  Kai stretches his leg out in front of him, trying to get the axe.

  My clammy hands tremble as I push the metal carabiner link inward, opening it. Then I push it through one of the chain links, freeing the connection.

  Lakia’s legs are released … we did it.

  Ryder leans sideways and lowers Lakia’s body to the ground.

  Aaron lowers his body down and I jump down off his shoulders. The putrid smell of rotting flesh drifts into my lungs … the vampires are here.

  “They’re coming,” I shout as I grab the axe. Aaron throws me my stake.

  “No,” Kai panics.

  Ryder lifts Lakia to her feet and approaches the exit door.

  “Wait,” I say.

  They look at Kai for a split second, then turn back toward the door. “You are spineless—help us,” I snap.

  “Pass me that,” Aaron says as he grabs the axe from me and strikes against the chain.

  “Stop,” I say as I look down at the chain. Damn … there is no quick way around this puzzle.

  “You can’t get through the metal chain,” I say.

  Aaron strikes at the metal pole attached to the wall, but it does nothing.

  I can smell them; they are getting closer. The door will open any minute for the vampires to enter the room.

  “Cut his hand off,” I say. “It's the only option; they will be here any second.”

  The color drains from Kai’s face, and Aaron’s.

  “Cut it,” Kai pleads.

  “Do it,” I plead, and look away.

  Aaron takes in a deep breath. “Argh,” he screams out in pain. I spin toward Aaron, not expecting his reaction.

  A vampire is on Aaron’s back: the door into the room has been opened.

  Aaron reaches up and pulls the vampire over his shoulders and down onto the floor.

  The intense smell of death fills the room; I close my eyes for split second.

  Without even turning around, my slayer instincts take over. I know that there are two vampires behind me.

  I spin around so fast I can hear the whistle from the wind, unaware that I was going to move through it.

  The first vampire doesn't have a chance to blink as I drive the stake through his heart.

  The other attempts to dive at me, but I knew which way he was going to move before he did. My stake is already through his heart. He looks at me, bewildered at his life being taken from him in front of his eyes. Clearly he didn't think he was going to die today.

  "Sadie, Sadie, help me," Kai calls out.

  Before I even look at him I know what has happened to him. I can tell by the tone of his voice it is too late for him. I want to scream out in anger at this stupid trial, but I cannot let my emotions take over now.

  Kai’s neck is raw and bloody as he tries frantically to fight off a female vampire that’s trying to
devour him.

  I grip her long, matted hair and drag her back, away from Kai. She snarls at me. "Get off me, get off me." She reaches for me, her fingernails covered in dirt as though she's been digging away at something.

  I punch the vampire. The bottom of her jaw swings sideways and blood and saliva fly out of her mouth as she turns. She spits at me, smiling smugly.

  "Not so quick now, are you?" she jokes.

  "I'm going to have fun wiping that smile off your face," I snap back at her.

  I launch forward again, my fist slamming into her jaw. She arches forward and spits teeth out onto the ground, leaving behind a bloody trail.

  This time she’s not smiling; her toothless mouth gapes open.

  I plunge my stake into the gaping mouth, shutting her up once and for all. I drag it out of her mouth.

  She stands gaping at me with a hole so large I can see through to the wall, which is covered in shreds of her flesh. I force the stake into her heart. I lift my leg up into her gut and pull my stake out of her body. Her body crashes up against the wall from the force, and makes a squeaking sound as she slides slowly down the wall. Her body slumps down next to Kai.

  He’s out of time: are we? I look at the clock ticking down—we only have thirty seconds left.

  Aaron’s also staring at the clock. The room is empty of living vampires: we killed them all. Soon they will explode as the souls pour from them.

  We both turn to Kai. "Kill me, kill me now. I don't want to turn into one of them.” He shakes his head. “Please, I don't want to turn into one of them," he begs.

  "I can't do it," I admit to Kai. I know it's the right thing for him, I just can't. I can't kill him. A lump appears in my throat as my eyes glaze over.

  "Please, Aaron, please," he begs.

  The thunderous sound of people running down the hallway drifts into the torture room. “They’re coming," a kid cries out.

  The clock ticks down: five seconds left. Will the doors lock, leaving us with them forever? The thought fills me with dread.

  "Sadie, we have to go. We have to go now," Aaron says in panic.