Goldie flipped her hair over her shoulder and sighed. She hated the winter. She hated winter more when she had to stand outside and sell newspapers, actually.
"Gold? Ya frozen through yet?" one of Goldie's best friends, Silver was looking at her oddly.
"Just a little." Goldie managed a smile and started walking towards the Lodging House. "Well, I sold out a few seconds ago. I'm headin back into the warmth of the Lodgin House...that is, if Kloppy fixed the stupid furnace."
"I'm with you." Silver shrugged her shoulders against the cold and fell into step with Goldie.
"Hey! Wait up you two!" Hazel, who had her back turned while she was selling her last paper, ran to catch up behind them. Goldie sighed and waited for Hazel to catch up.
"It's cold." Goldie whined as they walked along. A few steps from the Lodging House, Goldie made a face. "Oh, damnit! I swore to Medda that I'd go to the Hall today to get something from her. Tell Jack I'll be back in a few." she turned around, and started running towards Irving Hall.
As she neared 5th Ave, she ran right into someone.
"Amanda Henderson?" he was wearing a long coat, a broad hat and glasses, but the hat kept his face in the shadows.
Goldie stumbled back. "Huh? How'd you know my name? It wasn't me."
"I'm sorry to startle you. I'm not a policeman. My name is Johann Albert. I really must talk to you." he reached out to take Goldie's arm. She back away again.
"Ya not a copper? Why do ya got to talk to me?" she demanded, stepping back into a fighting stance.
"I really must." the man bit his lip, "How can I explain this to you? You're The Chosen One."
"Chosen for what?" Goldie made a face at him.
"Chosen to be the Slayer. You slay demons and vampires." the man managed to grab Goldie's arm and pulled her into a doorway. Once inside, he closed the door, and Goldie looked around. It was beautiful.
"You really must understand-"
"No, mister, I really must go." Goldie opened the door. Mr. Albert grabbed her hand.
"Then meet me at the local graveyard tonight? Just after dark?" she could see his eyes now. They were clear, and grey, and, at the moment, pleading.
"Fine. I'll be there." Goldie pulled her hand away, and ran out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Um, Jack?" Goldie tried to get Jack's attention. He was having an animated conversation with David about something or other. He finally glanced at her.
"Huh?"
"I'm gonna take a walk. I'll see ya back at the Lodgin House, ok?"
"A walk? In this cold?" Jack turned around to look her full in the face. He knew she hated the cold.
Goldie pasted a smile on her face. "Yeah, just a walk. I won't be out long." she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
"Don't get hurt or anything." Jack shook his head, and turned back to his conversation.
"Glad to see you care." Goldie muttered as she pulled on her coat and walked outside.
If it had been cold during the day, it was even colder now, Goldie decided, as she stood by the gate of the graveyard, waiting for Mr. Albert.
"You'll need this." the voice came from behind, and instinctively, Goldie swung around and punched at it's source.
"Very good." Mr. Albert grunted. He was slightly doubled over.
"Sorry." She took the thing from his hand, "What's this?"
"A stake. You kill vampires with it." And with that, they made their way into the cemetery in silence, finally settling by a new grave, sitting in the grass.
They had been sitting around for a few minutes, and Goldie was about to stand up and call Mr. Albert crazy when there came the sound of dirt being thrown. Out of the ground jumped a human figure with a snarling face. He jumped at Goldie, who screamed, and jabbed at it with the stake, trying to use it like a sword. It went right through the thing's heart, and the thing burst into dust.
"Oh my good God. That was a vampire, wasn't it?" she asked, still shaky.
"Yes. And you were born to kill them. Come with me now?" he gestured towards the gate.
"Sure." she started walking with him. They walked up to the house Goldie remembered from the afternoon.
"You live here?" she asked him.
"Yes. The council-The Watchers Council, that is, pays for it." Mr. Albert hung his coat and hat on an ornate coat rack and walked into the sitting room. Goldie blushed, realizing how ragged her coat was as she hung it up next to his and walked in behind him.
"Do sit down. Would you like a cup of tea? Some food, maybe?" he sat down in an armchair by the fire.
Goldie's face flared again. She was starving, but not about to admit it.
"No thanks." she sat down in a chair across from him.
"Manny?" he called, and a chubby old woman appeared in the doorway, "Get something for Miss. Henderson here to eat, would you?"
"I said I wasn't hungry." Goldie told him.
"Yes, but I know you are. You children simply do not get enough to eat." Mr. Albert sat back and studied Goldie's face.
"Ok, so I kill vampires?" Goldie tried to break the silence.
"Yes. Hmm, perhaps I should give you the basics on vampires? They're dead. They hate sunlight. Holy water and wood alone can harm them, from anything else, they heal themselves right away. They drink human blood, they only go out at night, and that's about it. The other demons are more interesting."
"Sounds like fun." Goldie frowned.
"Yes, well it's not. It's not fun at all, I'm told. In any case, you must begin to train at once."
"Woah. Train? For what?" Goldie cut in. Manny came in with some steaming food on a plate, and without second thought, Goldie dug in.
"Train to kill vampires. You have to know how to fight. You have to know all sorts of things you don't. If you please, come straight here when you wake up tomorrow. What time would that be?" Mr. Albert stood up.
"At about 5." Goldie sighed, hearing the grandfather clock in the hall ring 12. She'd have a hard time getting up in the morning by the time she got back to the Lodging House.
"Very well. 5 it is then. And you shall begin your training."
Jack stared out the window of the bunk room, worried. It was really late and Goldie hadn't come home.
As if summoned by his thoughts, her face appeared on the other side of the window. When she saw Jack standing there, she leaped back a bit, nearly sending herself flying off the fire escape. She caught the rail, and with a shake of her head, pulled open the window.