SUMMARY: Running from a tragic past Catalina hides in a small town, not happy to learn it's run by human vampire hunters. The hunters have been controlling the Night People, keeping the number down to a minimum. Things go from bad to worse for Catalina, when a soulmate connection is discovered with one of the hunters. Will he kill her, or can he accept her for who she is? If the others don't kill her first, that is...
Part 1
(Catalina)
It didn't seem to matter where I went. Everything always turned out the same for me. They hunted me because I was different from them. Not normal, I suppose they would say. Some people weren't very tolerant of differences. It was kind of pathetic, really.
Well, it was a *lot* pathetic, in my opinion anyway. Maybe here I could settle down. They'd taken my family three years go. Murdered them in their sleep.
I had gotten away and been on the run ever since. Maybe here in Haddonfield, Illinois, I could hide. Maybe there wouldn't be any...It was an unlikely thought.
Human beings spread all over the planet like bacteria. A bad rash that made the planet itch. Well, as long as the humans weren't vampire hunters, I would be okay.
I was staying in a boarding house on the edge of town. There were only two other people there, one was human, the other, possibly a Night Person. I couldn't be sure.
I might as well keep to myself before I started to get involved with people. I still wanted to finish high school. I could hide until Monday, at least.
There was a knock at my door. So much for hiding. I managed a polite smile. The girl was fairly small, with short black hair, piercing grey eyes. Her attempt at a friendly expression seemed somewhat forced.
"Hi, are you new in town?"
I nodded. "Catalina Blackwood."
"Marcie Gremmel." Her expression had changed, becoming probing, inspecting. She looked stumped for conversation.
I was still trying to figure out of she the human or the Night Person. Maybe she was trying to figure out the same thing about me.
"Will you be starting school tomorrow?" Marcie asked finally.
I nodded. "What's it like?"
Marcie shrugged minimally. "It's okay, I guess. Any brothers or sisters?"
I shook my head. "No."
"What'd your parents do?"
It was a harmless question, but it made my muscles clench. "They're dead."
Marcie's expression changed slightly. "Sorry," she muttered. "I guess I'll see you round." I nodded. Marcie turned and walked away.
I could see another door opening down the hall, and a figure sticking her head out and looking down the hall to see what was going on.
"Marcie isn't exactly a genius when it comes to polite conversation," she said.
I smiled faintly. "I kind of got the impression Marcie isn't polite, period," I snorted.
The girl laughed. "You got that right. I'm Layla Redfern."
"Catalina Blackwood."
A Redfern? At least there was *one* Night Person.
"If I were you, I'd avoid Marcie and her friends all together," Layla said, before disappearing into her room.
I frowned, closing my own door. I might end up avoiding Marcie anyway. But Layla's last words sounded like some sort of warning.
A warning of what?
* * *
Part 1
(Catalina)
It didn't seem to matter where I went. Everything always turned out the same for me. They hunted me because I was different from them. Not normal, I suppose they would say. Some people weren't very tolerant of differences. It was kind of pathetic, really.
Well, it was a *lot* pathetic, in my opinion anyway. Maybe here I could settle down. They'd taken my family three years go. Murdered them in their sleep.
I had gotten away and been on the run ever since. Maybe here in Haddonfield, Illinois, I could hide. Maybe there wouldn't be any...It was an unlikely thought.
Human beings spread all over the planet like bacteria. A bad rash that made the planet itch. Well, as long as the humans weren't vampire hunters, I would be okay.
I was staying in a boarding house on the edge of town. There were only two other people there, one was human, the other, possibly a Night Person. I couldn't be sure.
I might as well keep to myself before I started to get involved with people. I still wanted to finish high school. I could hide until Monday, at least.
There was a knock at my door. So much for hiding. I managed a polite smile. The girl was fairly small, with short black hair, piercing grey eyes. Her attempt at a friendly expression seemed somewhat forced.
"Hi, are you new in town?"
I nodded. "Catalina Blackwood."
"Marcie Gremmel." Her expression had changed, becoming probing, inspecting. She looked stumped for conversation.
I was still trying to figure out of she the human or the Night Person. Maybe she was trying to figure out the same thing about me.
"Will you be starting school tomorrow?" Marcie asked finally.
I nodded. "What's it like?"
Marcie shrugged minimally. "It's okay, I guess. Any brothers or sisters?"
I shook my head. "No."
"What'd your parents do?"
It was a harmless question, but it made my muscles clench. "They're dead."
Marcie's expression changed slightly. "Sorry," she muttered. "I guess I'll see you round." I nodded. Marcie turned and walked away.
I could see another door opening down the hall, and a figure sticking her head out and looking down the hall to see what was going on.
"Marcie isn't exactly a genius when it comes to polite conversation," she said.
I smiled faintly. "I kind of got the impression Marcie isn't polite, period," I snorted.
The girl laughed. "You got that right. I'm Layla Redfern."
"Catalina Blackwood."
A Redfern? At least there was *one* Night Person.
"If I were you, I'd avoid Marcie and her friends all together," Layla said, before disappearing into her room.
I frowned, closing my own door. I might end up avoiding Marcie anyway. But Layla's last words sounded like some sort of warning.
A warning of what?
* * *