Time to Die
Roxana
My name is Roxana Van Mort and I kill vampires. This is what my twin sister Isabella and I were born to do. Everyone in our family is in the vampire slaying business. Some of us make weapons, protective gear and the special concoction used to dissolve vampire remains, others track and locate large vampire groups but most of us are out on the front line doing the killing, then disposing of the bodies.
It all started so long ago. My great great uncle was a scientist who was experimenting on iron deficiency in the blood. The tests were the first of its kind and he carried them out on himself. He began to feel weak and had an intense hunger for human blood, and thus the first vampire was created. His first victim was his wife, she had refused to become like him, so he drank her blood instead. He began taking more and more victims and creating more vampires. When my aunt's brothers found out what my uncle had done to their beloved sister, they set about killing my uncle's minions in the hope of one day finding and killing what we now know as Dracula. And that is how Van Mort legacy began, we became vampire slayers. As the years progressed more families that had had members fall prey to vampire attacks, have joined us in our quest to rid the earth of the evil spawn.
Growing up, Isabella and I never really experienced a proper childhood. We didn't go to school per se, but we did have lessons with the other slayer kids. PE was learning all the ways in which to kill or injure a vampire, Science was learning every inch of a vampire's anatomy and History was learning about the first Vampire Slayers and Dracula and his minions. By the age of 10, Isabella and I had killed over 300 vampires; we were a force to be reckoned with. Our parents told us we the best slayers the world had ever seen, the other slayers our age liked and respected us and we made friends without any trouble. As word of our success spread in the slayer world, it did the same in the vampiric one. All the vampires knew who we were and hated us. Our parents told us to be careful when fighting and that if a vampire ever found out our identity they would not kill us on the spot, but they would capture us and give us the longest and torturous death imaginable. Ever since then, Isabella and I have worked as a team whilst slaying and only called each other by our nicknames, on the field I am Ana and she is Bella; after all in slayer tradition all children are given Romanian names and because of this there are tonnes of Anas and Bellas. Isabella and I are 16 now and have killed too many vampires to count, I'm sure they would love to return the favour.
Isabella
We had planned this stake out many months ago, surprisingly, vampires work well as a team and organise mass killings on a regular basis, after the killings they like to throw extravagant parties for their brethren in order to celebrate their newfound blood. This particular party is extra special because it marks the anniversary of the day Dracula took his first victim. Dracula himself would not be at the party, but instead he would mark this event by taking a victim which reminded him of my great aunt, a memorial victim.
We young slayers like to use parties like these as a way to see who the best is. Everybody already knows that Roxana and I are the best and unofficial competitions are held to see who gets ranked next highest. Although Roxana and I are excluded from the competitions, we still love to try and kill more vampires than anyone else. At the moment that is all I can think of; I can picture my stake piercing the hearts of countless vampires. Right now we are stationed outside this year's location for the party. It is in an old, Gothic style building which is meant to resemble Dracula's castle. Roxana and I have been assigned to the main hall where most of the vampires will be. We are awaiting the signal to tell us to attack.
A single owl cooed and we all charged forward. Before I knew it, Roxana and I were in the main hall. She had her arms around a vampire's neck and I had my stake in hand. One quick movement and I could feel its blood, thick and slimy and all over my stake. We were already onto the next, then the next, then the next. Roxana and I were fast and efficient killing machines. Our movements were like liquid, too fast for even the vampires to detect. Her movements mirrored my own and we alternated between who staked and who headlocked the vampires. Stake, headlock, stake, headlock, stake, headlock. Their bodies littered the ground and their blood covered our stakes and hands. We quickly advanced to the next room to help out our fellow slayers. After that was the next room, then the next. Soon there was little remaining floor space that was not covered in bodies. We did a quick check of the house and its perimeter before exiting. I was the last in line for the exit and somewhere between the main hall and the front door I was intercepted. The most fearsome vampire I had ever seen stood only a few steps away, he looked to be in his mid-thirties. I reached for my stake but before I could reach it I felt my consciousness slipping away. He was the best vampire I had ever seen, it is not possible to move that fast. My thoughts were scrambled. I tried to speak, but he hushed me. I didn't know what he had done but I knew I wouldn't be awake much longer. I heard Roxana's voice, "Bella, Bella!" was her distant cry and the last thing I heard before I drifted into a deep sleep.
Roxana
I kept screaming out her name as I searched the rooms of the building. Isabella was nowhere to be found. I was dreading what I would find if I searched the bodies that littered the floor. Isabella is too good to be killed, she can handle herself, so where is she? I began the gruelling task of searching the bodies, then disposing of them. I called back two of my closest slayer friends who were also twins, Nicholas and Benjamin. Together we searched the bodies. With each new body, my heart raced that little bit faster. As we rolled the bodies over I was filled with anticipation, but not the good kind. Each new face held an empty promise. After a while we decided to split up, in order to move through this horrid task faster. By the time we finished the house was free of bodies, none had belonged to Isabella. I did not know whether to feel relieved or concerned. I got a call from my parents, they had already heard, I was not looking forward to seeing the look on their faces. Nicholas, Benjamin and I left the house and entered the car waiting for us outside. My mind buzzed but my body was numb with shock.
On the ride home no one spoke, we were all deeply engrossed in our own private thoughts. I had a feeling from deep within that Isabella was alive, I just knew it. If she were dead I would know, I would feel hollow inside, like part of me was lost forever. I don't feel like that now, I just feel alone. I can't remember the last time Isabella wasn't by my side. None of this makes sense, I saw her heading for the door, she was only a few steps behind me, something must have happened on the way. People don't just disappear, slayers don't just disappear, and Isabella does not, under any circumstances just disappear. This is all such a foreign concept to me, I'm so confused. I do, however, know one thing; I must and will find her. I went to bed with that hollow buzzing still inside of me. I will find her, I chanted to myself, I must.
I woke up not feeling much better, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I quickly dressed and ate and was out of the house. I went straight to Nicholas and Benjamin's house. Their father is one of our lead trackers. If any of the vampires managed to escape he would know where they would be heading. Uncle Felix is not a blood relative, buts in Slayer tradition all elders are referred to as 'uncle' or 'aunt'. Uncle Felix is the best tracker we've had in years. He, with his inventions and technological knowledge has changed the way we slay. He is head of the tracking department and invented the system of tracking that we use today. The boys had already informed him of yesterday's events, so I asked him to tell me everything he knew about the party. He told us how many vampires were there when we arrived. The number matched the number of bodies that we checked and disposed of. This made no sense to any of us and we were going to keep searching for answers.
Isabella
I regained consciousness only to find myself in a living nightmare. I knew everything that had happened to me, I don't know how I knew, but I did. Dracula, who also happens to be my great uncle, cut me on my wrist and inserted his saliva into the incision. In our slayer lessons we were taught that vampire saliva contains unknown substances, I guess it contains some sort of anesthesia that made me lose consciousness. While I was out of it Dracula flew me, yes actually flew me to his castle. He then chained me to his bed and began stoking my cheeks and playing with my hair. He said that I was so much like his Anica. Anica! That was the name of my great great aunt, Dracula's first victim. Oh no, I'm this year's commemorative victim! He is going to kill me, just like he did to my aunt. He'll drain my blood so slowly it will be like a dream.
He entered the room. "Ah, you have awoken", he said, I refused to talk to him, "You remind me so much of her; in looks and personality". I needed to find away to escape. I would not fall prey to Dracula, not after all my parents' warnings, and Roxana, if I died she wouldn't be able to cope and would blame herself. I needed to contact her somehow. Sometimes when I think about things long and hard enough she can hear my thoughts. The only thing is I don't know where I am. How could she find me? My tracker! All slayers wear special shoes which have GPS tracking devices in their soles. I cleared my mind and thought only of the tracking device in my shoes. Just as I had felt her mind connect with mine he plunged his fangs into my jugular and began taking long hungry sips. I hope she had heard me; I began to lose my grip on the world.
Roxana
I heard Isabella's voice whisper in my mind, it was so quiet I thought I had imagined it, tracking device, it said and just as quickly as it came, it was gone. Tracking device? What on earth could that mean? And then it hit me, the tracking device in Isabella's shoes, of course! Why hadn't we thought of this before? I just hope it's not too late. I told Uncle Felix of my discovery and half an hour later we had located to be in an old castle on the coast. All the vampire slayers available were called, for we knew that this was Dracula's castle, we had found it at last, we were going to need reinforcements.
The slayers were piled into large black SUVs and we were on the road shortly after. It was a long and silent drive. Everyone was filled with steely resolve and tense apprehension. My thoughts were on Isabella, were we too late? We arrived at the castle and it was everything I imagined it would be. It was menacingly uninviting and had doom and death written all over it. It was a fortress, but we were slayers, we could handle it.
Again, we awaited the signal and then we charged. The lower levels of the castle were desolate and empty and showed no signs of life, but vampires are undead so it didn't bother me too much. We advanced and still noting, I knew where she was, I could sense her. I called Nicholas and Benjamin and together we found the room in which she was being held captive. She was unconscious and they carried her out to one of the SUVs. I stayed in the room, waiting for Dracula.
He came running into the room checking to see if Isabella had been rescued, but instead, to his surprise, it was me he found. "Hello uncle, time to die", I said as I plunged my stake through his heart and felt his cold, thick, black blood run down my arms, drenching my clothes.