by Lana Melyan
“I know you’re confused,” said Samson, stepping forward. “But you’ll be all right. You just need time.”
“Excuse me, but right now I need some air,” said Craig, and he stepped outside.
His excitement was gone. Half an hour ago he was happy to be alive, but now he doubted it was true. All he had seen and heard in that room couldn’t be real.
And what if it was happening, if it was real? Wasn’t it a better option than lying dead under a pile of ashes?
Then why did he feel like this? Craig closed his eyes and turned his face against the wind.
The door behind him opened, and Gabriella walked out to stand beside him.
“Listen, I just wanted to say that if you need help to understand things, we are here for you. We will help you through this difficult time,” she said gently.
Craig looked at the three men at the other end of the ship.
“Can they hear us now?” he asked.
“No. We can only hear Samson, and only when he wants us to. Not too far, a couple of miles or so.”
“A couple of miles?” Craig’s brows raised in disbelief.
“Yes. And he can hear us, too.”
“Why did Samson turn you? What were you dying from?” He stepped back and sat on the small stairs.
“I wasn’t dying,” said Gabriella, and sat beside him. “I became one of them at will.”
“You chose this?” Craig looked at her in bewilderment.
“Yes,” she said, and he saw a glint of happiness in her black eyes. “Samson and I, we fell in love, and I wanted to be with him forever. I was nineteen. Samson told me that I was young, that I didn’t know what I was asking for. He explained to me that I would never age. I’d never have children and a proper family. I insisted, but he said that I needed more time to think about it. He turned me when I was twenty-three.”
Craig sighed. He was twenty-three too, and he would never grow older.
“Did you ever regret it?” he asked.
“Not even a minute. Our life is full of adventures, and I have the opportunity to experience them with someone I love more than anything in this world. Of course it’s not easy to defeat the monsters. They are strong as well, and they can hurt us. But we heal fast. Not as fast as Samson and Fray, but fast.”
“Why, what is the difference?”
“They are the First Ones; they were turned by Higher Powers,” said Gabriella. She stood up. “The sun is rising. I need to change and give orders for breakfast. We were up all night, and everybody is dying of hunger.”
“Wait, just one more question.” Craig stood up, too. “Does that mean there’s no way to die at all?” As Craig asked this, he realized how much the question bothered him.
“There’s always a way, even for the immortal,” said Gabriella.
Craig found it strange, but he felt relieved.
He returned to the cabin and joined Samson in front of the window. They stood in silence for a few minutes, watching how the crests of the now-calm waves sparkled in the rising sun. Its majestic ascent announced the beginning of a new day of a new life.
“Where are we going?” Craig asked in a low voice.
“Home.”
“Where is that?” Craig’s eyes squinted, looking far into the ocean.
“In America.” Samson sighed, probably predicting the next question.
“What about my family?”
“Your mother and father will receive a letter, informing them that their son died a hero, saving people’s lives.”
Craig’s face darkened. He lowered his head and closed his eyes.
“I am sorry,” said Samson.
Craig nodded, then turned around and went down the stairs.
6
TODAY
When Craig woke up in the morning, he realized he’d fallen asleep with his clothes on. He took a quick shower, put on his jeans and a fresh shirt, and went downstairs. From the kitchen window he saw that Amanda’s car hadn’t moved, which meant Hanna was still at home. He turned on the coffee machine, grabbed his cellphone, and dialed a number.
“Samson, hi.”
“Hello, Craig. Any news?”
“Yes. They’re here. They’re watching her.”
“You’ll need help. I’ll send Ruben. Be careful, they’re not stupid. They know who you are, and they know that you’re near helpless right now.”
“Samson,” said Craig quietly, “people are going to die.”
“I know,” Samson said. “But if we succeed, we will finally be able to help them. Did you find the place?”
“I’m working on it, but there’s not much to go on. All Melinda said was that it’s an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere.”
“Let me know if you find something.”
“I will,” said Craig, and he hung up.
“Was that Samson?” Hanna appeared in the kitchen doorway.
“Yes. He’s sending Ruben.”
“That’s good.” Hanna slung her bag on a chair and sat at the table.
Craig poured the coffee into two cups and handed one to Hanna.
“I don’t get how they knew we’d be at the lake,” said Hanna, sipping her coffee. “They got there before us. How did they know?”
Craig leaned on the countertop.
“That’s my question,” he said, looking at Hanna’s puzzled face. “Did you tell anybody where the three of you were going?”
“No. We wanted it to be a surprise for Amanda, and, since she’s been with us the whole time, we didn’t speak about it at all. We only told her yesterday in the parking lot. Nobody was around.”
“And before that? When you and Kimberly were planning the surprise, where did you do it?”
“At school. Kimberly dragged me into the bathroom and said she had this idea. . . The bathroom was empty. ”
Craig heard a note of doubt in Hanna’s voice.
“Are you sure it was empty?”
“Craig, they’re vampires. They were wearing long hooded leather jackets at the lake and stood in the shade. How would they get into a school bathroom at daytime?”
“Before sunrise,” said Craig. He drank from his cup and moved to sit across from her.
“I’ll check the school basement. If they were spending the night—or daytime—at school, it’s the best place to hide,” said Hanna.
“And I’ll check the most suspicious places around Amanda’s house. We need to find them. We have to know how many there are, who they’re talking to. They’ll try to blend in, make some connections with people around you, to make them their eyes and ears in the daytime. Did Amanda tell you anything about her dream?”
“No.” Hanna shook her head.
“I need to know more about the house.”
“Okay. I’ll try to pry out some details.”
She stood up.
“Hanna, be careful. I know there’s not much you can do right now, since you can’t fight them. But, if something happens—make a scene, attract people’s attention.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be able to protect her. I still remember some tricks, and I always have this.” She took out of her bag a custom-made gun. It had five barrels with wooden spikes inside them.
On her way to Amanda’s, Hanna tried to find a non-suspicious way to ask her about her dream. Maybe she could pretend she’d had a nightmare herself.
She smiled when she saw Amanda standing on the sidewalk, an apple in her hand.
“How did you sleep? Were your dreams healthy?” asked Hanna as Amanda slid into the car.
“Oh, yes. Nothing like yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” said Hanna, pretending to be surprised.
“Didn’t I tell you? I had this horrible nightmare,” and Amanda told her about her dream in every detail.
As soon as they arrived at school, Hanna began looking for an opportunity to sneak away and check the basement. The right time came during the lunch break, when they went to the school cafeteria. Kimberly was talking to Nicole Price, who shared a
few classes with the three of them, while Amanda was cornered by Alec on her way to the vending machine. He started going on about his photography website. As much as Hanna disliked Alec, right now she appreciated him keeping Amanda busy.
Hanna passed the lockers and turned into the empty corridor. Assured that nobody was watching her, she opened the basement door. As she stepped in, she pulled out her gun. Moving slowly, she tried to listen for voices, but the muffled humming of pipes running along the ceiling distracted her.
Carefully shifting her feet, she reached the next half open door. Hanna held her breath and looked into the gap. The basement was filled up with school inventory. Not far from the doorway was a tall stack of chairs. She slipped in behind it and peeked around. Convinced that there was nobody inside, she lowered her gun and took a deep breath.
She decided to check the place for clues. A table with three chairs caught her attention. As she came around the desk loaded with books, she stumbled on something and flew forward. Before her chin could hit the corner of the big wooden box in front of her, she stopped herself with her hands. Straightening up, Hanna glanced back.
She had stumbled over the legs of the janitor, Mr. Sullivan, lying in front of the desk. Hanna’s eyes stopped on the bloodstains on the collar of his shirt.
“Oh, no,” she whispered, and crashed next to him. “Mr. Sullivan.” She shook him by the shoulder. “Mr. Sullivan,” she called again. When she leaned closer and turned his head, she saw two small holes on his neck. Then she looked at his hands and found a pair of holes on each of his wrists.
In her three hundred and thirty years, Hanna had witnessed a lot of pain, starting with her childhood. But she had almost forgotten how it felt to find a dead body, to be too late to save a life.
In 1693, when Hanna was eight years old, a troll attacked the small Norwegian village in which she lived with her mother, father, and two older brothers. There were only seven houses in the forest clearing, and most of the residents were women and children. The elder ones fought back, trying to protect their children, to give them time to run away.
But Hanna’s brothers didn’t want to run. They stayed to help their parents fight. Hanna, hiding behind the trees, half buried in the snow, watched as the giant monster killed her family one by one. When everybody was dead, the troll, crushing roofs and windows, headed to the woods.
When he was far enough away, Hanna came out from her hiding place. She stood in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by the bodies. She found her mother and sat beside her, holding her hand and crying silently.
She didn’t know how long she had been sitting before three men on horses galloped into the village. The strangers stopped their horses and jumped off. Blood was everywhere. It looked like flame on the white snow, sparkling under the rays of the rising sun. Their faces darkened as they looked around, and they spoke angrily in a language Hanna didn’t understand.
It was Craig who saw her first. He said something to Samson, who walked to her, got down on one knee, and took her ice-cold hands in his. Hanna saw sorrow in his eyes. Still holding her hands, he rose, and she stood up, too. He spoke, but she didn’t understand. Then he pointed, first toward the houses, then toward her, and said “hus.” She looked at her house and what remained of the roof, and the two of them went inside.
Samson took a blanket from the bed, covered her small, frozen body, and spoke to her. Hanna asked him to repeat those words to her a couple of years later, when she had learned English. What he’d said was they’d come from a distant country and it had been a long journey. He was very sorry they arrived too late to save her family.
They had to leave to kill the troll. But before they left, Samson gestured for her to stay in the house and wait for them, that they would come back for her.
They did, and they took her with them.
They arrived at a wharf and climbed on the deck of a big ship, where a beautiful woman with black hair and a fine gown waited for them. When she bent down to Hanna, she smiled a bright and welcoming smile. Little Hanna couldn’t understand why her eyes were full of tears.
After months of travel, their ship moored at an empty shore. As they stepped onto it, Samson touched the air and said a few words. Right before Hanna’s blinking eyes, an arch appeared. With her mouth open, she looked up at Samson, who beamed back at her, took her hand, and walked through it.
What she saw before her was beyond her childish imagination. Between two hills stood a castle with a tower. Green bushes and colorful flowers surrounded it. A fountain and statues decorated the large front yard. When they reached the entrance, she saw a carved symbol on each side of the massive brown front door—a circle with a star in it.
Hanna thought that she was in a fairy tale, which became even more vivid when she stepped inside. Fascinated, she took in the sight of the marble floors and high ceilings, large, foreign plants in pots and statues, the furniture with carved legs and golden handles, the silver candelabra and a heavy iron chandelier.
The black-haired woman with the beautiful name—Gabriella—whom Hanna liked very much—walked her through the second floor. It had dark wooden walls and carpets. Gabriella opened one of several doors in the corridor and showed Hanna her room.
The castle became her home. She was surrounded by love and care.
Everybody brought her presents, and very soon, her room filled up with toys and books. Gabriella became like a mother to her. She brushed her hair, dressed Hanna like a doll, read her books, and taught her English. Samson taught her to ride a horse, and they often went riding together. To the rest of the family, she was their sweet little sister.
Hanna liked to spend her evenings in the library. She found it to be the most magical place in the castle. The large room had a wide fireplace with sculptures of eagles on each side, a long, massive table, and a big globe mounted on a round, wooden stand. It had only one tall, arched window. The rest of the walls were topped with shelves full of books. She could spend hours curled up in a big soft armchair, reading.
She loved to hear the stories when the whole family gathered around the fireplace after a hunt. Hanna always begged Samson to give her the powers. She wanted to become one of them, to be part of the mission. She never forgot that one of those monsters had killed her family, and she didn’t want such a thing happen to anybody else.
The years passed, Hanna grew up, and on her eighteenth birthday, Samson made her wish come true.
Hanna was a Hunter, and she never forgot it. But it had been a long time since she’d killed her last vampire, since she had seen somebody killed by one. The past three years in Green Hill, she’d lived like an ordinary girl who went to High School and had girlfriends, and she’d gotten used to that life.
But now the vampires were here. They’d come after her best friend, and this body on the floor was her wake-up call.
Hanna staggered to the bathroom, washed the blood from her palm, and returned to the cafeteria. It was almost empty, but Amanda and Kimberly were still there. They had already eaten and sat at the empty table, waiting for her. Without taking any food, Hanna approached them, dropped her bag on the table, and sat on a vacant chair.
“Where have you been? Is everything all right?” asked Amanda with a grin on her face. “You look like you just met my not-boyfriend Alec.”
“Let’s go,” said Hanna sternly and stood up.
The girls didn’t move.
“You didn’t eat anything,” said Kimberly, “Aren’t you hungry?”
“No.”
“Hanna, what happened?” Amanda asked, seriously this time.
Hanna sat down again.
“Nothing happened. I just don’t feel very well.” She pressed her hand to her stomach.
“Then maybe you should go home and lie down.”
“Actually, you know what, maybe I’ll skip biology. I’ll eat something, and then I’ll go to the library. Meet me there after classes. Just tell Ms. Finch that I have a bad stomach ache and I’m in the bathro
om. Okay?”
“Okay,” said Amanda.
After they left, Hanna waited until the bell rang before grabbing her bag and running toward the parking lot.
On their way out of the cafeteria, Kimberly, looking at Amanda sideways, whispered, “I bet she was exploring again.”
When they arrived at the classroom, Mrs. Finch wasn’t there yet. Amanda and Kimberly decided to wait for her beside the door, not wanting to tell her about Hanna’s stomach problems in front of the whole class. When Ms. Finch came over and they told her that Hanna was in the bathroom, she forced a smile.
“Are you sure about that?” she asked. “Because I just saw her starting her car.”
“But she said . . .” Kimberly blushed with anger.
“Guess the school’s bathroom wasn’t good enough for her,” said Ms. Finch.
On the way to their seats, Kimberly threw a look at Amanda, which translated as “I told you so!”
Only when Hanna had started the engine did she see Ms. Finch crossing the parking lot a few steps away from her car. Positive that she had been spotted, she hesitated. It meant that Amanda and Kimberly would soon learn of her lie. But she was too overwhelmed, and she needed to see Craig and tell him everything. To sit two hours in biology and pretend that nothing had happened would be torture. She took off.
Hanna could live with the fact that her friends thought she was a freak, and the way things were going would only reinforce that opinion. What she couldn’t afford was losing their trust. She couldn’t tell them the truth, and that left her with one option: to come up with a new plausible lie.
Hanna parked the car and released a sigh of relief when she saw Craig’s Jeep in the garage. She walked through the front door and spotted Craig, already hurrying toward her.
“Hanna, what’s wrong? You drove like crazy.”
“Did I? Sorry, I was in a rush. I need to tell you something.”
“Where did you leave Amanda?”
“Don’t worry, she’s in class. I’ll be back before it ends.”