If I was told yesterday that my entire life rested upon my latest track meet, well, I wouldn't have believed it. However, here I was, standing in an alleyway being told something I'd previously thought was impossible. Maybe thought, I should go back to the beginning, when it was still an average day and I was still just little old Delaney Kadlin, college student struggling to get by on her own.
The dreaded Monday had quickly blown around to me, meaning that I actually had to get up and go to classes. I didn't have too many that day, however, they were all morning classes which made it seem so much worse.
I rolled out of bed, quite literally, and landed with a soft thump against the carpet. Letting out a loud groan, I pulled myself up into a sitting position, blinking to refocus my vision. Looking around, I noticed once again how messy my dorm was. Sure, I lived with two other college students and they weren't exactly the cleanest of people around, but the dorm looked especially messy that morning. It had gotten to the point where it was bothering me way too much, though that could have been the organizational skills speaking. So, I stood up, brushed off my t-shirt, and promptly began to clean the small space that was our dorm. I picked up dirty laundry and threw them on top of the sleeping owners(or in my case, on my bed),and picked up all of the trash littered everywhere. You could tell three girls were staying here by the insane amount of coffee mugs strewn around the place, sitting in the most random of places. I laughed a little at the sight of a coffee mug sitting in the bathtub, figuring that must have been Lily.
"If you keep obsessing, you're gonna be late, Laney," a feminine voice laughed behind me. I jumped in shock and turned to see one of my best friends and roommate, Adriana, standing right in the doorway of the bathroom. Her basketball shorts were twisted from her sleep and her sweatshirt sleeves were pulled up to her elbows. Adriana's long, dirty blond hair was pulled into a ponytail that was messed up from sleep, flyaways everywhere.
"I know but I can't help it, Addy, this place is a mess! Besides, maybe if I clean before class, the hangover will go away before I have to listen to Professor Smith drone on and on about psychology," I responded jokingly, shaking my head and slipping by her to head into the kitchen.
"Go get ready, you damn weirdo with your obsessive cleaning," Adriana called as I finally went to the bedroom, realizing then that I wouldn't have time to shower unless I wanted to be late for class. I slipped on a pair of skinny blue jeans, a sweatshirt bearing our college's name and mascot, and my pair of lucky Converse, which I've had since my Junior year of high school.
"Hey, I've gotta counteract all the booze we've been intaking lately," I said back, rolling my eyes as I went to take some aspirin, the headache actually kicking in now that I'm not focusing on anything. "I mean seriously, I think I've had a hangover every day this week."
"Well at least we aren't exaggerating here," Adriana murmured as I tossed her the aspirin bottle. "Are we gonna wake up Lily?"
"Nah, she doesn't have classes today. Let her sleep off all the vodka she drank."
"Don't you have a track meet today?" Adriana asked as we walked out of the college of teaching. We both had chosen lazy day outfits, because while it wasn't cold out, the breeze would hit you just right to chill you to the bone every once in awhile, and our hangovers hadn't exactly gone away.
"Yeah, I do. Right about now actually. Shit!" I yelled, beginning calm and then screaming the last bit. I gripped my bag tightly as I took off in a sprint near the track, knowing I couldn't be late. I had already been late to a meet twice before, so I knew I wouldn't be competing in this one if I was late again.
Thankfully, I got there in time. I got changed into my short shorts and cami, pulling my dark chestnut hair back into a ponytail. I bounced on my feet before warm-ups, ready to get started. Ever since I can remember, I've had this natural knack for running. I'm quicker than most kids, and I'm great at the pole vault because of my agility. I've broken records and got a full-ride scholarship for track & field.
I was called up for the 100m dash soon enough. I lined-up, staring right at the finish line. It was only 100 meters, I could do this. I've done it a million times before. I just have to run faster than five people, who are all vying to outrun me. No problem, right? I took a deep breath, and then the noise sounded, signalling the beginning.
I was off, sprinting as fast as I could. I watched as the finish line approached, and soon enough I was stepping over it. I was hardly even sweating. I looked up at the scoreboard to see that I had obviously won the race, and by quite the measure, too. I also noticed another thing. I beat the record for quickest 100m dash. I grinned as I could hear all of my teammates cheering, and I ran over with an excited grin on my face. "I did it! Whose record was that, anyway?"
Alex, one of my good friends and a fellow pole vaulter, simply laughed and shook his head. He seemed almost hysterical about my serious question. "Laney, that was your record. You just beat yourself there, Hun."
Oh, well now this is awkward. I had definitely noticed that as I got older, I ran quicker and quicker, and I got stronger, too. I'd never thought anything of it, but you hardly hear of people just beating their own number one record like that. At least in sprinting.
"Hey, Delaney Kadlin, right? Do you mind if I have a word with you?" a calm voice asked from behind me. I jumped and turned around to see a man in a suit and tie, standing there with a reserved yet focused look on his face. He seemed to notice my hesitation, because he soon added, "It will only be for a moment. I won't let you miss your next event."
That definitely calmed my nerves some, though I was still rather worried. Maybe this was just a scout, looking for me to compete professionally? This seemed like a good explanation, however the aura this man was giving off definitely did not give me the thought of him being a talent scout. There was no way he could be. Still, I turned away from the track and walked off with the man, staying a little ways behind him. We ended up just off campus, in an alley. I suppose this should have had me worried, but I wasn't quite thinking about that as much as I was thinking about getting back to the track so I could compete in the pole vaulting event.
Suddenly, I was pushed up against a brick wall, the man pressing my shoulders back with his large hands. Fear coursed through my veins as I watched silently. I normally would scream for help, like anyone else would, but the look in his eyes had stopped me cold, out of fear. He looked like he remembered me, like he used to know me, but I had never seen this man before in my life.
"Delaney, it's so good to see you again. You're so old, you've grown up into a fine young lady," the man told me, looking over me once or twice before returning his gaze to my blue eyes.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about, I don't know you," I stammered, a lump forming in my throat right as I began to speak.
I winced as the man brought his hand up to brush against my cheek. "Well surely you must remember me. Your parents had to have spoken about me. After all, we'd made a...ah, deal about me. And you."
I shook my head, tears now flowing freely from my eyes. He wiped them away, probably in an effort to calm me down, but it only caused me to panic even more. "I don't know you! Get away from me! Help! Help me, please!" I finally screamed, in hysterics by that point.
I felt a slap land across my left cheek, and I could see the anger forming in his eyes. That wasn't the most terrifying part. He'd opened his mouth to reveal a mouth full of sharp teeth, almost like...no, no that was ridiculous. "Don't call for help! Stand up! Your parents are some of the strongest of our kind! Now honor them by not being such a sniveling coward!" the man yelled, though instantly began to calm down. The teeth retracted to reveal perfectly normal, human teeth. What was going on?!
"My parents are dead, you bastard. Have been for eighteen years," I spat, shaking my head and trying to force away the tears. The man seemed shocked, and so I took that moment to knee him. Instantly the man's eyes widened, but his grip still remained. How had he not been affected by it?!
I thought it was the end. I shut my eyes tight and waited for the final blow, figuring whoever this man was would get tired of me. However, the final blow never came. Instead, a new voice rang out.
"Hey, why don't you leave the girl alone, you son of a bitch!"
When I opened my eyes, I saw two new men standing in the alleyway. One was significantly taller than the other, with longer hair and brown eyes. The other was still quite tall, with brown hair and obviously green eyes. They were also carrying blades. What had I just stumbled into?
The man holding me just smirked, threw me down onto the pavement, and ran off. Ii hit the ground hard, feeling the pavement scraping up my hands and forearms. I tried to catch my breath, wiping the last of the tears from my face roughly and effectively smearing a bit of dirt on my cheeks.
"Are you alright?" the taller man asked, holding a hand out. I took it with a thankful nod, standing up and brushing off my shorts.
"As okay as I can be, I guess," I replied in a shaky voice. This whole occurrence still confused me, and my heart rate wouldn't slow down for anything. "He said he knew me, that he'd made a deal involving me. D-do you know what's going on?" I asked.
The two men in front of me shared a look, and then the green-eyed one took my arm and started walking out of the alley with me in tow. Instantly fear ran through me again, and I tried to yank my arm away from him. "Stop! Just tell me what the hell is going on!"
Again they shared a look, obviously trying to have a silent conversation. Then, finally, the green-eyed one sighed. "Look, once one of those suckers got your scent, they have it for life. You need to stay with us until we get their nest."
"Nest?!" I exclaimed, sounding just as freaked out as before. "Okay, you're not doing a good job at reassuring me. Just tell me what's happening."
After a long bout of silence, the tall one finally sighed and spoke up. "I'm Sam, and this is my brother, Dean. You're probably being hunted by a monster."