Prey Chapter One: Prologue
A/N: Yes! I've been looking forward to this! I'm excited! It's a new story! I bet everyone can guess what's going to happen. It seems too obvious to me. But if you don't know, or have it wrong... Don't start jumping to conclusions.
Disclaimer: Sue me not, for I own not a vampire to my name.
Amanda Post was a vampire hunter. A great one. She'd been able to kill every vamp she'd come across, with the exception of seven. That would be the Cullen family, a coven of vampires with a more modern lifestyle. Instead of human blood, their diet consisted of animals, and Edward had a human girlfriend, except girlfriend wasn't exactly the right word. Soulmate seemed to fit a bit better, but even that was trite when you saw the depth of their connection.
Amanda was currently brooding in her car as it sped to New York. There, she would end her life as Anna Gregorson, high school senior, to Anna Gregorson, college student. She got her GED right before she left. She planned on taking correspondence and internet courses. She'd gotten a job at Barnes and Noble, after setting up a conference call interview. She'd put on her best "Service with a smile" attitude. It had been dazzling. The boss had stars in his eyes.
After finally reaching the Big Apple, Amanda searched around for her apartment building. Ah. There it was. It was one of the tall ones. She paid a porter fifty bucks to drag all of her stuff upstairs, and she got into her private elevator and sped up to the top floor. Why the bells and whistles and the big tip? She had bought a penthouse suite. Amanda figured that a whole "Night Watch" might take a while- why not live in style? Besides, it had added security and if the sharpening of knives worried people in the night, she would simply be called eccentric. Rich people weren't crazy. The first thing Amanda did was plaster several Andy Warhol prints onto the walls. There was a banana, a red cat, some large purple knives, Chairman Mao, and four Campbell's soup cans. Then she unpacked everything.
She had a frozen Totino's pizza.
She drank some limeade.
She turned on the TV, searching for worthwhile shows.
She turned off the TV. Nothing good was on. She really had to install cable or something.
Amanda was bored out of her mind.
The little voice in the back of her head had a suggestion. "Why not hunt some vampires? It's already dark. They'll be prowling!"
Amanda considered. That sounded fairly reasonable. That was, of course, what she did. "Ok, that sounds like a great idea. I'll grab the knives!"
Anna put on a semi-formfitting pink top that proclaimed "I heart NY" with a scoop neck and white tank top. She ate a banana, because she'd heard that if you eat bananas, mosquitoes are more likely to bite you. She wondered if that same logic applied to vampires, and decided it was worth a shot. Anna was now in character. She was new to the big city, easy to lure into a dark alley and eat. She curled her hair a bit, but left out the hairspray. A more natural scent would appeal to any lurking evil, she guessed. So she set out, looking around with the mildly-confused-but-trying-to-hide-it-otherwise-who-knows-what-could-happen look. She quickly made it to the dingier parts of town, where her pink made her an obvious standout. She was alone, and completely unprotected apart from the two werewolf knives and small can of gasoline and matches hidden in her purse. After thirty minutes of circling the same block, a tall dark handsome stranger came out of nowhere to lend her a hand.
Time for the sign check.
Pale- check. The dim streetlight made him glow like the moon.
Strong- check. He pulled her aside from the loop.
Unbearably attractive- check. This one had dirty blond hair in a short cut. "May I be of assistance? You look lost." His voice was low and quiet.
Red eyes- check. They were glowing, though he turned his face mostly aside. Newborn?
Scent- he had that same sweet smell radiated by all of their kind.
She clung to him as if stupid. "I- I don't remember how to get to my hotel. Can you get me to the Red Lion?" The vampire was pleased. His meal had come straight to him. How long had it been since he had last fed? The hunger was getting stronger.
This is where things fell apart. Amanda had drawn her knives, and had snaked an arm around his back to stab. However, at that moment, the vampire drew her into a dark corner of the nearest alley. One of the knives clattered to the ground. Amanda hadn't expected this. The vampire's attention flashed to the streets. He realized that there was something going on that he had no idea about. Amanda, having only human reflexes, realized that one knife wasn't going to do her nearly as much good. The fight was on. Amanda had to be extra ferocious, jabbing and stabbing at every opportunity. But she had blindspots now, places she couldn't protect.
The vampire, just before she slashed off his head, bit Amanda's neck. They both fell to the ground. Amanda used her last bit of strength before the fire set in to pull out the gasoline and light a match. The body of the vampire was in flames. And in a figurative way, so was Amanda's.
She pulled a pothole lid off of the street, and passed out with the effort of trying to climb in, splashing into the water below.
A bubble of blood bloomed out of her mouth as her frail frame lay slumped against the walls of the tunnel, partly covered in sludge. At this point, Amanda didn't care. "Just die already." was her last thought before slipping into the fire, surrendering her consciousness.
A/N: Bet you weren't expecting that. You thought she would fall madly in love with Mr. Blond Vampire Guy- you were wrong. He's dead, and Amanda... Ooh, how I love cliffhangers.