Sorry this is taking so long. :[
Hope you enjoy the next chapter.
The first thing I felt was the throbbing pain on the side of my head. I tried to touch it, but when my fingers brushed against it I recoiled. It hurt so much. At least the thundering pain let me know that I was still alive. Just to make sure I pulled my hands to my chest and could feel the beating of my heart. I smiled and sighed with relief. That knock on the head didn't kill me, though it most likely left a huge bruise on the top of my head. I was thankful that I had long wavy hair to cover it up.
I stretched out, arching my back like a cat; arms spread out and felt smooth, silky sheets underneath me. I wrapped my fingers in the fabric and buried my face in the sheets, staying relaxed. Everything was pretty much normal except for the shooting pain.
My eyes were squeezed together and I rolled on my side. The pain was beginning to ebb away and I twirled a piece of my hair with my finger. How did I get hurt anyway? Still twirling my hair I tried to remember last night. Music. I could remember that much. I was at place where there was loud music playing. With my free hand I rubbed my eye and mumbled. "Why is it taking me so long to remember things? I'm usually great at remembering things."
Frustrated I stopped playing with my hair and buried my face in the smooth sheets. I was just glad I was home and safe from the outside world. I breathed in and was surprised when I didn't smell the comforting scent of my perfume. I pushed myself up and sat down. The sheets smelled like old soap and lavender. This wasn't my bed.
Pieces of last night started to come back to me. I could remember how Oliver and I arrived at the party; Craig and how he tried to rape me; Oliver ditching me for girls; Sadie and Landon. My mouth fell slightly open and I pulled at my hair. Blood. My breathing started to quicken and I was pulled into the past. Landon had blood on his face as he hunched over Sadie and then I was hit in the head when trying to go back inside to the party.
Where was I? Opening my eyes I was greeted by darkness and my heart swelled with fear, a lump catching in my throat. The darkness wasn't my friend anymore. Now I was going to have nightmares about the dark; I was actually surprised I didn't have any nightmares last night
Relax. Just relax. There is a perfectly logical explanation for everything that had happened within the twenty four hours. Keeping those words on repeat I yawned and looked down at myself. I was wearing the clothes I had on yesterday. I pulled down my shirt and swung my feet over the side of the bed and let my feet touch the cold ground. It was concrete. Well, where were my shoes? I had socks on but the shoes I had worn earlier were gone. Whoever lives here must have them then.
I tip toed around the room and kept on bumping into things as I tried to find my way through the darkness. While stumbling through the room I stubbed my toe on something hard and had to hop on one foot. My eyes had watered but I wiped the tears away before they could spill over.
About a minute later I saw the outline of the door and I opened it, pausing inside the frame of the door. Voices were floating up to me from downstairs. I took timid steps toward the stairs that led downward, and paused, deciding to sit down on the top steps. I leaned against the bars of the stairs for support. What was this place? It smelled like wood and was dark. It was large, but it wasn't a house.
I could hear traffic and cars honking at each other so I had to be close to the streets. But LA was so big I could be anywhere within the large city.
I wasn't as scared as I knew I should be. Didn't most people freak out when they found out that there were at a strange place? I guess I wasn't like most people since I was away from my brother, I was hit in the head and brought here, and I witnessed something strange last night. But I was comforted at the same time knowing that I was alive and nothing had harmed me so far. After all that I had somehow stayed in control of my feelings. A small trickle of pride warmed my heart. I was stronger than my brother realized.
The voices grew loud and I focused on the words—or at least I tried to.
"Human…can't know…Evelyn is going to have a fit." It was a girl, and her voice echoed throughout the whole place.
A different person spoke up and the voice sounded deeper. "Stop complaining. You know we can't harm humans and I don't think Evelyn is going to mind."
"Wait—stop talking. I smell her." The girl sounded alert and I heard the sound of footsteps lightly falling on the ground.
How could she smell me? I was probably about 40 feet away from her. That seven lettered word kept popping into my head, but I kept refusing to believe it. I jumped up and rose to my feet, taking my time as I walked down the stairs. I had so many questions bubbling in my brain that I felt as if it were going to burst. Who were these people and why did they keep referring to me as human?
I reached the bottom of the stairs and was thankful that there was light down here. I could finally see things. There were pieces of furniture throw around, but my attention was drawn to the large windows at the top of the wall that were allowing warm sunlight to shine through. There were mechanical machines scattered around and I realized that I was in an old abandoned warehouse. My head tipped to the side. What were these people doing in an abandoned warehouse? Were they hiding from something? Everything was becoming more confusing by the minute and all I could do was ask questions in my head.
The sun was pouring down and I could two people standing up and looking at me. One was a guy and the other was a girl. The guy was lean, his skin looked soft, he had high cheekbones and was about four feet taller than me. As I stepped closed to them I could see that he had brown almond colored eyes and his hair was short but the front part of it stuck up. A shy smile spread across his face and he looked away from me.
The girl seemed to be around my height and she was small. She had a small heart shaped face, flawless skin, her lips were a shade of light pink, and her eye brows were neatly shaped. Her dark red brown hair was pulled back and her bangs spilled to the side, covering one of her eyes.
"Hello." The girl replied coolly and flashed a smile, showing her dazzling white teeth. The other guy stayed quiet and rubbed the back of his head with one hand. "You know your manners." She elbowed him in the side and he waved hello with his free hand.
"Hey." I lingered next to a chair and was at loss for words. How was I supposed to ask them about everything? They seemed nice, not evil. I didn't know where to start. Should I let them start talking since they were the ones who needed to explain things? Or did they expect me to stammer out a question? I sat down on the chair and crossed my legs. I wasn't going to let them try to intimidate me with their stares.
The guy looked over at his friend and I could see he was debating whether or not he should start speaking. "Um, well this is awkward." I didn't know if I should laugh to ease the silence or if to just continue staring at him. Well, at least he was honest; it actually was awkward. I watched as he leaned over to the girl. "She's a weird human."
Did he think I was deaf? I cleared my throat. "I can hear you, you know." The guy turned red in the face and turned away from me.
"Sorry." I folded my arms across my chest, wanting to laugh at him, but I held it in. I wouldn't get too comfortable with these strangers. They had information and I wanted to know it.
I leaned forward. "I want some answers."
They just looked at one another and the girl made a face. "I really wish I could tell you but it's not for me to say." She walked over to me and mustered another smile. "Tell me your name. Let's get to know each other."
Skeptical and wounded I didn't say a word. Why couldn't she tell me? Was there someone more powerful than her? "Why can't you tell me anything? I'm stuck in this warehouse with you two. I don't even know who you guys are." I pulled my hand away from the girl's reach in case she tried to comfort me. "I only tell you my name if you tell me yours."
The girl sighed and shook her head. "I'm not the leader here. The others will be back in a bit though, so you don't have to wait that long. They went to go check out the surroundings." The girl's hazel eyes glowed with amusement. "Fair trade." She stuck out her hand. "My name is Trish Ricori." I took her hand in mine and shook it, feeling her smooth skin. Trish turned to the guy and coughed. "Manners."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot." He strode over to me and nudged Trish out of the way. "Name's Niccolo. You can just call me Nico."
"Nice names." I smiled and shook his hand and was surprised that his hands felt baby smooth. Usually guys' hands were coarse and rough. "My name is Raya."
Nico tousled his hair with his hand. "Talk about names, I've never heard yours before. I like it though, the name is refreshing." He looked back and pressed his back against the wall of the warehouse. I noticed how after the silence was broken he seemed more laid back and at ease. I guess he wasn't used to meeting new people. I kept wondering how a guy with those looks could be so decent and timid. Usually a guy who knew he was good looking would make sure everybody knew and would strut around places like they owned them. I was just appreciative that Nico wasn't like that. I could barely handle my brother's ego; it would be hard to handle another conceited person. There was only so much one person could handle.
I tapped my feet on the ground and played with my fingers. What now? I had my head down and my bangs fell in my face, covering my right eye and when I looked up all I could see was darkness in one eye. "So…?" I didn't know if I was allowed to leave from this place, but I had funny feeling that they weren't going to let me go off easy. I wasn't going to leave until I got some answers either. "Who's this leader here you are talking about?" I faced Trish.
Trish had been looking over her shoulder every couple of seconds and when I spoke her head snapped in my direction. The sunlight made her red brown hair glow. It was such a pretty color on her. "The leader? His name is Quinn. I can't describe him to you so it would be best if you met him for yourself. He's nice." She assured me. I took her word for it even though I didn't really know her; she gave off that vibe the type of vibe that made you want to sit down and just spill everything out. She seemed trustworthy and I prayed that my instinct was right. If I was going to be stuck here I wanted to at least be around nice people that I could tolerate.
"How long do you think I'm going to have to stay here?"
Nico pushed himself off the wall. "Don't worry, we are going to try and make this situation go as easy as possible. We want you safe; we aren't here to hurt you." I bit my lip. If I had dollar for every time someone has ever told me those words I would be a millionaire.
I got up and started to pace on the cold floor, every step sent little shivers up my spine.
"Don't worry, Raya. Everything's going to work out." Trish stopped me with one hand and I was forced to look into her beautiful eyes. "Trust me." I did trust her for some odd reason, but I could tell that all of her intentions were good.
I pushed her hand lightly away and hugged her, resting my head on her shoulder. I needed somebody right now and since Trish was standing right in front of me I took the opportunity. "I want answers." I had taken her by surprise because for a couple of seconds she just stood still until she realized that she should hug me back. I guess she wasn't expecting that move from me. Her arms wrapped around me in a warm embrace
"I know. I can't promise you that you'll get them all though." She whispered in my ear.
Nico had come over to us and tapped me on the shoulder. I looked over at him. "Do you want your shoes?" His gaze was drawn downward to my toes. I tread the ground to keep him from just staring at them. I felt self-conscious about my toes.
I nodded—the ground actually was cold-- and Trish pulled away, grabbing me by the hand and pulling me toward the stairs. "Come, let's go get them." I let her pull my all the up the stairs.
**
"You're being nice to me for a stranger." I commented as she pulled me down halls of rooms—they weren't actually bedrooms or anything they were just lunchrooms or offices that were large and roomy. I wondered how they got a bed into the room, but I didn't ask.
Trish slowed down and then glanced over at me. "Why wouldn't I be nice? You aren't being a bitch or anything. Plus, you are so innocent and you are going to need all the help and support you can get when the time comes. Which shouldn't be too long." She mumbled the last part to herself. With a shake of her head she continued on the journey to wherever we were going.
We stopped at the last door and she pushed it open. It was dark. She let go of my hand and entered, but when I didn't go after he she popped back out, a confused look on her face. "Aren't you coming?"
I inhaled and exhaled. I didn't need to be afraid of the dark. I nodded and entered the room, groping for Trish's hand. I caught her fingers and pull her back until I had entwined my fingers in hers. I still didn't like the dark. I was glad she didn't say anything about me grabbing her hand; she just squeezed back and I was eased into relief.
"They are over here somewhere…"she whispered and I was pulled to the left. I didn't know how Trish could see in the dark; she moved through the room with ease while I bumped into things. All I could see was black and blacker. "Ah ha!" Her voice bounced off the walls. I was pulled downward suddenly while Trish grabbed for something that I couldn't see. "Got them! Hold up; let me go turn on the light. I'll be right back. Here." I felt her warm hand slip out of mine and felt something hard being thrust at my chest. I took hold of the shoes automatically, clutching them tight while I stood alone in the darkness. In less than five seconds light filled the room and I could finally see the whole room.
I found out that the things I had bumped into were chairs and they were scattered around the room. I counted 7 of them. I noticed the messy sheets on the bed and realized that this was the room that I had woken up in. "Is this your room, Trish?" I made my way over to the bed and plopped down on it, feeling the silky smoothness.
Trish was at the door where the switch was. I could hear her chuckle. "If you want to call this a room, then yeah, it is my room." She left the door and came to me, sitting gently down on the bed. "It's not much of a room. It just has a bed in it and a little table in the corner. I think this was an office." Her head turned in different directions as she examined the room.
I smiled to myself when I found my socks rolled up in my shoe. I pulled them out and put them on. "Why are you guys here in this abandoned warehouse?" I watched Trish out of the corner of my eye.
Hazel eyes bore down on me and I looked away. "I can't tell you that. Quinn will tell you."
"How many people are here?" I finished putting my socks on and began to pull my Vans on.
"Four including me." She threw herself back and curled up in a ball.
I was satisfied that I had my shoes back and I looked at Trish. "Something wrong?" I watched her shake her red brown head. I pulled myself farther on the bed, closer to her. "Where are you from? Are you from LA? Did you run away from home or something because you don't look that much older than me--?"
I was cut off by Trish with a flick of her hand. Trish stayed quiet and I watched as she pondered over my words. Her eyes grew distant as if she were seeing something from a different time. Her hand came up to her mouth and she covered it. Two minutes later she removed her hand and rolled her head over to me. "They never said I couldn't say anything about where I came from." A grinned pulled at her lip. "I'm from New York. No I didn't run away…well I don't see it that way at least…" She trailed off and reached for my hand, playing with my fingers.
I lay down beside her, letting her fiddle around with my fingers. "Can you tell me?"
"Nope. Not until you've talked to Quinn. It will all make sense afterwards."
I huffed. "Where is this leader of yours anyways? He seems to be taking a long time with whatever he's doing." I closed my eyes. "I just want to go home. I want everything to be explained. I want things to be simple and easy."
Trish patted my hand. "He's coming, just be patient." I felt her squeeze my fingers and I opened my eyes. I felt so relaxed around Trish and I couldn't figure out why. I felt as if I had known her all of my life. "But if everything was simple what would be the point in life." I stayed quiet, letting her have the final say and I started to drowse off as she gently caressed my hand.
The bed moved violently and I snapped out of my lazy mood and sat up quickly. "What? What's happening?" I glanced around. Everything was the same: the table in the corner remained untouched and the chairs that scattered the room were in the same exact position the last time that I saw them--all except Trish who had slide of the bed gracefully and ran to the door.
"Quinn is here. Come on lets go downstairs."
I slide off the bed and landed on my feet, making my way over to her. "How can you tell? I can't hear a thing because of all that traffic."
"I just know." Trish yanked me out of the room and we practically flew down the stairs. It was hard for me to keep her pace, she acted as if it was just like walking; she wasn't breathing hard when we got down on the first floor, I was the one who was trying to catch my breath.
I glanced around, taking in deep breaths, trying to find the people that Trish said where here. I spotted Nico at the wall where we left him, but this time there were another pair of people standing near him. They all looked up once we stepped onto the cement.
"Quinn." Trish pushed me forward and I stumbled, staring wide eyed at the other three people. I was staring at the guy, my cheeks burning. He was gorgeous. His brown hair was short but he had bangs that covered his forehead and his hair was swept toward the right. It wasn't one of those emo hair cuts where the bangs covered up the eyes entirely; his eyes could be soon perfectly and clearly. I could already see his eyes; they were a dark, deep brown that reminded me of coffee beans. His body arms were rigid with muscle but there wasn't that much muscle—there was just enough to make it work on him. He was wearing a loose, but appealing, black t-shirt and dark fitting jeans.
My heart was skipping beats and I just stared at him, unsure what to do.
I almost melted right there when I heard his voice; it was warm, gentle, and a little deep. "So you're awake. About time. My name is Quinn Slaven. And you, you are Raya—Nico told me." I put a hand to my cheeks and willed them to stop burning. He left the other girl and Nico by themselves while he walked over to me. "Are you okay? I think I kinda hit you too hard on the head."
"You were to one who hit me in the back of the head?" I dropped out of my day dreaming mode and glared at him. "I swear you left me a huge bruise on the pack of my head. What did you hit me with, a rock?"
Quinn put out his hands as if by magic he could make me calm down. "I'm sorry about that, but it was the only way that I could get you out of there safely." He winced. "I hit you with my hand. I'll make it up to you some way or another. I promise."
I couldn't help but smirk. I actually liked the thought of him paying me back for hitting me in the head. "You better. My head hurts a lot." I looked up at him and scoffed. "You mean you tried to get me out with little injuries as possible."
He sighed. "You are never going to let go of this are you?"
"Maybe with time." I looked past him to the other girl who was just staring at me with a bemused look on her face. "And you are?" I moved past Quinn.
"Zaria Jackson." She stuck out her hand, wanting me to take it. Zaria was African-American and had smooth, dark skin. Her hair was frizzy, wild and cute. Her eyes were between amber and hazel. Height wise, Zaria wasn't too much taller than me, she was only about two inches taller. Zaria was a dark beauty.
I took her hand and shook it. "Your eyes are pretty." I commented.
Zaria giggled. "Thanks. I love your hair."
I looked down at my hair and twirled one strand around with my finger. I was at loss for words, but I managed to say thank you.
"Okay we need to get down to business." Quinn's voice rang in my ears and I glanced over at Zaria. She was looking down at the ground, avoiding eye contact and I turned to look at Nico who gave me a sad smile. Why did everyone seem so down now?
Afraid, I timidly turned my body so that I was facing Quinn. His mouth was set in a grim line and I felt my feet shuffle forward. "What do you mean?" I asked.
Quinn sighed and beckoned me with his finger. I didn't want to move because my gut was telling me that I didn't want to know what was going on. "I need you to tell me exactly what happened last night."
That was all it took for me to stop and start breathing hard. Last night…my thoughts started to drift and I tugged nervously at my hair, biting my lower lip. "Last night…?" I needed to breathe but I held my breath, not wanting to talk about last night.
"Hey, hey." I looked up and Quinn was right in front of me. "I need to know everything." He gently grabbed my elbow and led me to a room that Nico was standing beside.
"Everything?" I finally let go and started to breathe again.
I guess Quinn could see the fear in my eyes for he whispered. "I'll I want to do is help you." He looked into my eyes and I stared back into his rich brown eyes. I just wanted to get lost in them. "Zaria and Nico I need you to check outside and our surroundings again. I know you and I just looked over them, Zaria, but you never know when they can just appear out of nowhere. Notify me if you see or scent anything suspicious." His gaze flicked over to Trish and flicked his head in the direction of the door. "Come, I'll need you." Quinn pulled me inside and flicked on the lights.
There were a couple of chairs pressed up against the wall and the small room was painted an ugly light blue. A large wooden desk was throw on its side and was lying on its side on the far right of the little room. Quinn left go of me and picked up two chairs with his hand and placed the two so that they were facing each other.
Trish was at my side unexpectedly, but then left to go get a chair and she scooted it next to the chair was facing the right wall. She sat down and patted the chair next to her, telling me to come and sit.
Without hesitation I hurried and sat down. I clasped my hands together and avoided eye contact with Quinn as he sat down and focused his attention on me. "Start with the beginning."
I groped around for the right words. "Like when I first got to the party?" Quinn nodded and I felt Trish's hand pull my right hand free and twine her fingers with mine. "Um, well I went to the party with my brother because he had to take beer to these stupid people and when my brother turned the corner, away from view, I heard this low voice that kept whispering 'come'. I felt the person's breath go down my back and then they whispered that they didn't want to hurt me. My brother came back and the person was gone just like that. When I followed my brother to the door I turned and saw a pair of glowing eyes staring at me" I thought about last night and shivered inwardly. I hesitated, not sure if I wanted to go on.
Quinn kept nodding his head. "Keep going. You're doing fine."
I swallowed and did as he said. "We went in and up to the room where he was suppose to deliver the supplies. My ex-boyfriend was up there and I didn't know that was his house and he made everyone leave except he made me stay." I paused, taking in a shaky breath. I didn't even know if I wanted to tell them what almost happened.
"You don't have to say anything about that if you don't want to." Trish whispered.
I shook my head slowly. "No, it's fine. He almost raped me but I fought back and left. When I got to the bottom of the stairs my brother and I talked for a few minutes and then he left me to go talk to some girls. This guy came up to me and started to talk, saying how he wanted to get to know me. His name was Landon, but I got this funny feeling around him. It was a mix of uneasiness and disgust, but there was something about him that made me want to just run into his arms. I told him that I had to find my brother and he kissed my hand and left." I saw Quinn's jaw clench at the name Landon and I wondered why, but I knew I had to keep going with what happened last night.
"After he left Craig's current girlfriend came up to me and accused me of hooking up with him at the party. She was drunk and I tried not to get in an argument with her. Once she was tired with me she tried to go in the alley for fresh air, but I stopped her because I remembered that crazy person was in the alley and have you heard of the kidnapper?" Quinn and Trish turned pale, but they both nodded in unison. "Well I kept thinking that the person in the alley was the kidnapper and so I didn't want her to go out there alone—I didn't want her to go outside at all, but she tricked me and made a dash for the door and made it. A few seconds later I went followed after her and I heard this slurping noise. I went close to investigate and couldn't see anything, but I saw the outline of somebody leaning over a body that was splayed out on the ground." Flashes of Landon and Sadie burst in my head and I cringed. "I-I-I saw Landon and recognized him when he spoke. He got up and had blood smeared on the sides if his lip." I dug my nails into the side of the hood and squeezed Trish's hand. "He said something about me having to leave or else I would get hurt, but I couldn't leave because Sadie was there and she needed my help—she called for help and I was standing right there! I could have done something. I could have stopped Landon in some way…I could have prevented Sadie from getting hurt…" Tears spilled down my face. "I let her get hurt."
I continued. "Landon grabbed me and told me to leave because he didn't want to hurt me. I told him I wouldn't be he still made me. He said that it was too late for Sadie and that he couldn't save her, but he looked at me and smiled, telling me that he could save me. He kissed my forehead and pushed me toward the door and I went. It was then that I looked back and heard Landon yell run that I was when I was hit in the head and knocked out." Quinn ducked his head in embarrassment as soon as the words left my lips.
Trish ignored Quinn's action and glared down at her hand. "Landon. That…that jerk! He's such a maniac!" she growled.
I was surprised at her. Quinn shook his head. "Trish." He said her name in a warning tone.
Trish pressed her lips together angrily, muttering sorry.
"And that's all that happened?" Quinn faced back to me and I nodded. "Sounds like something about you stopped him...but what?" he asked himself, and then turned to Trish.
I shifted on the chair. "What do you mean?" Do you guys know Landon?" I looked back and forth between them, confused.
Quinn made a face. "It's something like that." He rose to his feet and began to pace from wall to wall, saying something under his breath.
"What's going on, Quinn? Why was Landon…sucking blood from Sadie?" I tugged my hand away from Trish's because she was squeezing so hard. That seven lettered word kept pushing at my brain, forcing it to accept the statement, but I wouldn't' allow it—I didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be true. This was the real world; this wasn't a story or a dream. Things like them couldn't be real.
Trish sucked in a breath and looked over at her friend, mouth twisting as if she wanted to say something but wasn't sure if she was going to say the right words. A deadly silence fell upon the room and they both turned to stare at me, faces grave and eyes hard.
I got up and backed up to the wall, not wanting to be in the room at the moment. I wished I was back in my room, listening to my iPod and singing along with the song, curling my hands in my soft sheets. I wanted everything to be normal how it should be. I just wanted to be at home where I was safe. I regretted not listening to my mom when she said that we were crazy for wanting to leave the house and told us that we should just stay home where we would be safe. Why didn't I just listen to her?
"Raya, you have to listen to me very carefully. What I'm about to tell you, you can't say a word about this to anyone. You are taking this secret to the grave with you. I still don't know how they are going to act when they find out about you." He was talking fast and I tried to catch every word he said. I felt sick like I wanted to throw up.
Trish hissed at him. "They can't do anything to her. She's human and we are supposed to protect them, not harm them. That's why I joined this damn thing."
He only glanced at Trish for a mere second and then his attention was back on me. There was a dramatic pause and I involuntarily had to look him in the eyes, waiting for him to speak and tell me what I didn't want to hear. "Landon is half vampire and so are Trish and I."
**
I felt like the ground had fallen out from under me and I careened forward on unsteady legs and I was caught, my face pressed into a hard body, my arms were being held up and I was pulled up straight. I was looking into a pair of concerned brown eyes.
"Hey, are you okay?" His words sounded distant and I blinked a couple of time, a blank look on my face.
I held on to Quinn and I could smell him—he had the scent of fresh air and a hint of cologne—my head beginning to clear. I glared at him through narrowed eyes. "Did I look okay?"
His grip on me loosened and the touch of his hands on my skin was electrifying and it almost made me gasp. "Not really…"His mouth pulled to the side. "I knew this wasn't a good idea telling you."
I flinched, realizing what he was again once he brought it up. Half vampire. Shyly I turned my chin up to him, my body filling up with pleasure as I gazed into his gorgeous face. How could he be a half vampire? My legs felt shaky again and my knees almost buckled.
Quinn tightened his arms around me and another wave of delight coursed through my body. "At least you didn't faint." He joked, hoping that I would give some reaction but I didn't. "Say something." I felt him shake my body gently. "Anything."
"Don't drink my blood." I felt relaxed in his arms and I just wanted to let myself go.
"Yup, you're okay." He chuckled. "Actually, we don't drink blood. It's just a desire we have, but we aren't allowed to give into temptation." He had leaned down and whispered into my ear. I smiled as he pulled his head back and he grinned when he saw my smile. "Glad you're feeling better."
I let go of Quinn reluctantly and went over to Trish, taking a seat beside her, finally calming down from the news. I leaned against her and felt her hand stroke my hair. "You'll be fine."
"So are Nico and Zaria half vampires too?" I rubbed my forehead, closing my eyes and telling myself that everything was going to work out. It was still for my mind to take in the fact that vampires were actually real.
"No, they're werewolves."
I stopped rubbing my forehead. "What?" My vision started to black again and I gripped Trish's arm, steadying myself. What was going on? First it was vampires and now it was werewolves? My head clouded up again and the start of a headache began to grow in my head and the bruise on my skull seemed to throb violently. I couldn't breathe.
"Raya?" Trish shook me with her hand.
I could only catch glimpses of her since black dots appeared and disappeared on vision. I think I hit the pavement too hard. "Yeah?"
"Is all this too much a one time?" Quinn inquired.
I had an exasperated look on my face. "What do you think?"
"Should we continue this later?"
"No!" The word left my mouth swiftly. "I can suck it up." I pushed back my bangs and smiled softly. "My head is just acting up and all this information isn't helping my brain recover."
"Tell me if you head starts hurting again and I will stop talking. I think I have some aspirin in my bag; I'll give it to you after the talk is done." Quinn took a seat on the chair again.
I went back to the subject of werewolves. "I thought vampires and werewolves were supposed to hate each other?"
Quinn leaned back in the chair and folded his arms across his chest, relaxing in the chair. "Let me tell you a story of how this all became to be." My heart skipped inside my rib cage. He was so handsome.
I leaned forward. "A story? How original."
"Stories are how everything begins, Raya." A grin spread from ear to ear on his face that just melted my heart, and then I shut up and listened.
**
Quinn's tale [quinn's POV]
Quinn began with his story. "It was 1850 and I was 16. My father and mother emigrated from Romania to New York in 1798. I didn't acquire a Romanian accent because I hardly stayed with my parents. At a young age I was sent out to work because I had to work to help my dad support my family. I had a little sister back then, her name was Bianca and my mother had another one on the way.
I had a special job when I turned sixteen; it was to deliver notes and packages to secret groups of men throughout the city. The men paid me good money to keep their little existence a secret. I of course wasn't allowed in on their meetings, but I didn't mind, all I was interested in was the money they paid me. My parents needed to put food on the table, but as it turned out, I was the one supporting them. I felt proud that at my age I was able to brag that I was the one taking care of my family single handedly.
But one day—one gray and cloudy day—I had this feeling in my stomach that something funny was going to happen. The sun wasn't out and the world seemed unusually quiet. I walked to the place where I always waited for one man to peep his head out of the door and hand over a package, but that day was different. They actually let me in and sit down as they talked. They told me that they talked it over and decided that it was time that I joined in on their secret meetings. Apparently they were watching me carefully and sending other people to spy on me to see if I was doing my job—it was a test of loyalty and I passed.
I didn't know what to expect from them so I just followed the guy inside and wasn't surprised when everything was dimly lit. There were crates everywhere, but there were at least a dozen men sitting on them leaning towards each other, talking in low hushed voices. When I came in they all stared and I was beckoned by this big gruff man. He had a long beard and a scratchy voice.
'"So, you, eh?"' he said. The guy looked over my shoulder at the man who had brought me in. '"Michael, does this one seem capable of taking on this burden?"'
Michael spoke softly. '"I do, sir. He's kept loyal to us for how long now? Five months now? Is that how long you were employed with us, boy?"'
I didn't know what to do but nod. '"Yes, sir."
I heard the scruffy guy grunt with approval. '"Sounds good enough to me if this idea pleases all of you."' The rest of the men murmured their agreement. '"Now, tell me, boy, what's your name?"'
'"Quinn."' I had no idea why they wanted me in their secret group. I didn't even know what they discussed or why they wanted to remain so secretive. I just stood in the middle of the room with every man's eyes burning into my back.
"Good name. My name is Nicholas Parks. Just call me Nicholas. Quinn, have you heard of the murders that are going on in the city?"
I nodded. How could somebody not know of the murders that were taking place in the city? Every week there were about four bodies found dead and pale. The authorities couldn't do anything because they didn't have our technology that we have today so all the city could do was try to keep safe; some people even moved away to the west.
Nicholas's face was grim. "Well, do you think you have an idea who is committing them?"
I shrugged. I didn't know what to tell them. There were over a million people in the city and he expected me to single out someone?
Nicholas leaned forward and I could feel his hot breath on my face. "Well, we," he motioned to the men all around him, "we know who's behind all of these murders."
I remember the feeling of dread that I felt when he told me. "Who?" I had asked.
Nicholas stood up and looked down on me. "Once I tell you, Quinn, there is no going back; you are going to have to keep our secret. You will die with this secret. You cannot tell your family or they will get hurt—not by us, but by them."
I was intrigued and pulled in at the same time. "I'll take it to my grave, I promise." I stood up tall. I was a man and I would choose my own path—I wanted to take this path. If I didn't tell anybody, especially not my family, then they would be alright, so why did I have to worry? I knew I wasn't going to tell so there was nothing to fear.
"Vampires." His voice was rough.
I looked at him like he was crazy. "Vampires? What? They aren't real! Tell me how you've come to believe this?" Were they crazy? Did they actually believe that vampires were real?
Nicholas grew angry. "It's true, boy. Haven't you got all the information right? Those people were found drained of their blood and had two little marks on the side of their necks. I saw those bodies with my own eyes. Besides some of my men stayed out at night and stood their posts in certain areas, keeping watch for those pale creeps." He glowered. "My men saw them too and tried to stop them, but those creatures are just so fast, it's impossible to catch them or even harm them from a distance." His hands curled into fists.
I didn't know what to say? Was I supposed to just believe him like that? "What if I needed proof?"
"What proof do you need? You have my word, isn't that enough?"
"Seeing is believing." I simply said, standing my ground. "If I'm going to be a part of this…group…then I need hard proof evidence."
Nicholas just met my gaze steadily. "The boy wants to go out and keep a post. Should we let him, men?" He turned his large head left and right, giving his men the stink-eye.
"The boy—Quinn—he's too young to keep a post by himself, let alone be out there at night, Nicholas." One man spoke up since all of the others just put down their heads. The man was old and had gray hair with a long beard. He could have been my grandfather.
"But the boy wants some hard proof and he won't take my word for it. Besides we can't dispose of him, I think he'd be a great asset to our group." He smiled and I shivered at the word 'dispose'. He said it so casually.
"Then when can I take a post?"
Nicholas stopped to think. "Tonight." Ripples of murmuring broke throughout the men and some shook their heads in disproval.
The same old man burst out. "Nicholas, are you mad? Sending the boy out there would be suicide!"
"He'll be fine." Nicholas retorted. "I'll show him what to do and how to defend himself."
"I will be fine; I'm not a child anymore." I looked at the old man. "Wait, wait, I want to know how this little group came to be." I looked back and sat myself down on a crate and waited for Nicholas to talk.
He sighed and reluctantly sat back down on the crate. "Our fathers and great grandfathers knew about these…things that walked on this earth. They hunted by night and slept by day. They wanted it to stop it and created their own secret group that only the authorities knew about since they were in it. Their people didn't even know what was going on around them—they were too ignorant and just worried about how much money they made and who was going to marry who. Stupid things. They didn't see the real picture."
"Anyway, our fathers and forefathers dedicated their lives to protecting the human race by going off and killing the vampire race. We also found out that there were werewolves, but they were on our side and helped hunt down the vampires."
Nicholas took a breath. "And since we are descendants of them we took up the duty to become part of the higher class to maintain a balance of justice and punishment. Our little group is the only ones who know of the vampires and werewolves existence and we are going to keep it that way. But we thought it would be refreshing if we brought someone new in who wasn't of our descendants' blood lines. Lucky you, you are being let in on our mission to save the human race from those demons that crave human blood. Welcome aboard."
I shook my head. "Now there are werewolves?" I exhaled.
"They're our allies. Watch, you are going to meet one tonight. They help us. Though they stay young and never grow old like vampires." Nicholas patted his own leg.
Lucky me. "You said that they might hurt my family."
"You have to hide your face and make sure you kill the damn things. Make sure that they successfully go to hell and then they won't be able to hurt you or your family." Nicholas grinned evilly and pushed himself of the cart. "Come, I have a lot to teach you in less than five hours. You better be ready for this."
"I am." I got up after him.
"Then let's go."
**
I was given all the basic steps in how to kill a vampire; let the wolf do his job first and then grab a stake and stab them in the heart. It sounded simple to me but Nicholas told me otherwise. He said the vampires were cunning and tricky, never to be trusted and you were never supposed to turn your back on them. I was told to keep my eyes wide open and listen very carefully to my surroundings.
Nicholas demonstrated some moves that I could use in case I got in a vampire's grip. I knew from stories that vampires were strong and the strength on an ordinary man would be nothing compared to them, but some of the moves could help delay being bitten or killed until a werewolf came to your aid.
I learned that garlic didn't work; neither did crosses or holy water. The only way you could kill a vampire was by plunging a stake through its heart or by exposing it to sunlight. Sometimes they kept vampires prisoners and tortured them to make them spill information about where other vampires were hiding. I cringed. I didn't want to be the one torturing them.
Some of the men left, not wanting to be there when I came back. I heard the old man mutter something about me being dead before the sun rose. I scowled. Why was I underestimated?
Nicholas gave me a stake just in case a vampire attacked. It was heavy and silver; I had to hold it with two hands. Then, he ushered me out of the little place and we walked down the streets of New York to the place where I was supposed to meet my werewolf ally.
Throughout the whole walk neither I nor Nicholas spoke a word. I was nervous and I could tell that the big gruff man was feeling the same way.
We got to a small abandoned building—Nicholas just said to knock on the door, then left—and I was hesitant to step in the dark room, but a voice from inside told me not to be afraid and to just come in. I did as the person said and went in only to be greeted by a lantern that was shoved into my face.
"Oops, I'm sorry for that." The lantern was pulled away and I saw the person's face. It was a large man with rough stubble and short sandy blonde hair. He was young and I knew I wasn't going to have any problems with getting to know him. "So, you are the new person. Welcome to the wonderful world of secrecy." He smiled sheepishly.
I felt for the stake that I had strapped to my side and felt at ease with my whereabouts. "Hello…um?"
"Fredrick." The guy answered and stepped out of the way to let us enter into the dark room.
"Why is it so dark?" I tried to look around.
"Because if we had all the lights on then the vampires would know something is up. This place is abandoned and if lanterns are lit everywhere then that looks a little suspicious, eh?" He patted my arm, chuckling. "You'll learn."
I shifted and walked around, trying not to bump into anything and grinned when Fredrick came to my side and lit up the ground in front of me. "Thanks."
"Welcome." He led the way to another room.
"So, it's going to be just you and me searching and keeping watch for vampires? How do you know how one looks like?" I sat on one of the chairs that were set up next to a large window.
"They don't have extremely pale faces, but they are fairly light. Their eyes glow in the darkness, which about gives them away. They usually keep to the shadows and keep their distance behind humans, stalking them. You'll know when you see one." Fredrick blew out the light I the lantern and everything went completely dark. He faced the window and gazed out.
"If a vampire does decide to attack, how should I react? And do you catch many vampires in this spot?" I placed the stake in my lap, gripping it tightly.
Fredrick looked over at me. "I'm here every night and so far every night a vampire has walked past here. So, more than likely there is going to be one passing by tonight. They are more attracted to the poor side of the city. First you let me do my job and you don't get in the way. Even if I'm losing in the fight you run—run, you go it? You will not try to come to my rescue or you'll just get yourself killed and that's not alright. My job is to protect humans, not let them get themselves get killed." He leveled his stare so that it made me shift and look away. "Get it?"
I nodded. "Yes, I do."
"Good. By the way I didn't catch your name."
"It's Quinn." I answered. "Hey, Fredrick, can I ask you something?"
"'Sure."
"Why do you help those people?"
Fredrick leaned back and thought about it for just a second, and then replied. "Because those vampires just want blood and they'll do anything to have it. The human race can do without them since the vampires will just bring them down and kill them all until their thirst is satisfied. They'll stop at nothing." He shrugged. "Everyone would be fine without them. I do this job because I want to protect people from them. If no one protected them, then who would?"
I pondered over what he said. "So what do you see the werewolf race as? Don't some of them kill for enjoyment?"
He stiffened and chose his words carefully. "Some do, but there are some of us that aren't like that. We try to put a stop to the rogue werewolves as well, but some say that it's wrong to kill their blood brothers. I say that if they hurt or intend to harm humans then they need to be destroyed. That's just me."
"Were you born a werewolf?" I asked.
I could see him shake his head out of the corner of my eye. "No, I was turned when I was about 22. But that was over a hundred years ago. I stumbled upon this group when I had finished killing a vampire and they came up to me—I was surprised that they weren't afraid. They wanted me to help them put an end to the vampire race and asked if I could find more werewolves to recruit. I was quick to agree."
"How many werewolves did you manage to recruit?"
He grinned. "About sixty. That's a pretty big number to me."
I couldn't help but grin back. "Do I get to meet them—hey, look over there." I pointed. There was a man walking down the sidewalk and smoking, but about thirty feet away from him there was a figure pressing against the shadows and walking after the guy. The stalker had a big coat on and he tucked his chin in, hiding his face.
Fredrick slapped my hand down. "Shh. Get back; press yourself against the window and keep peeking."
I did as he said and pressed myself next to the window and glanced out. There was no one around except for the two out on the street. The man smoking was unaware of the person following behind him and just kept going forward.
Fredrick tensed and I looked at him. "He's going to attack. You stay behind me and remember what I told you: if anything goes wrong you run as fast as you can. Scream and yell if you have to make people look out their windows." Fredrick stood up and raced out of the abandoned building with me chasing after him. I wasn't as fast as him and as I go outside I saw a trail of shredded clothes leading out into the streets. I swallowed. Could this really be happening to me? Was I really here right now, preparing to try and finish off a vampire? I stopped and started running again when I heard a loud crash.
When I got into the middle of the street I saw Fredrick grappling with the vampire, his fur glistened in the moonlight, and I could see his long claws ripping into the flesh of the vampire. He was massive and pushing the undead creature into the alley across to avoid any straying eyes that might be peering out of their window at the sound of an object crashing.
I stepped forward, unsure of what to do. I saw a body lying on the sidewalk and realized that it was the man who was being stalked. Was he alive? I cast a wary glance at the alley and hurried to the man. I checked his pulse and felt cold when I saw his neck had been ripped, blood still pouring out. I wanted to puke, but I was in a trance and all I could do was look down at the dead man.
Another loud crash came from the dark alley and I looked up at all the windows that surrounded the street. Would someone look out and find me staring at a dead man with a stake in my hand? I glanced down nervously and hid it behind my back, slowing taking steps back across the street. There was nothing I could do for the dead man. I just had to wait until Fredrick got done slaughtering the vampire. I still didn't know what my opinion was about vampires.
Suddenly two hands clamped down on my shoulders and I was flung backwards, my back hitting against the gravel road, my head banging on the ground with a loud thump. I was dazed and couldn't even lift my head up off the ground to see who was assaulting me. I closed my eyes and with terror realized that the stake had flown out of my hand when I was thrown back.
There was a voice that spoke soft words that I couldn't hear and I felt something dripping down on my face, I opened one eye and was shocked when I found that it was the dead man who had been lying on the ground about a minute ago. I groaned. I was so stupid. I didn't even kill him when I was supposed to. He had been bitten and I should have known that he would have become one of the undead.
I felt his breath on the side of my neck and I tried to fight back but the vampire was way stronger than me and I just let my body go limp. That old man was right. I was going to die before the sun even came up. I just took this stupid invitation without even thinking. I should have just left when I had the chance. I wasn't going to see my mother, my father, or my little sister ever again.
I shut my eyes and braced for pain as I felt his fangs touch my skin. I heard a loud growl, but it wasn't from the vampire, it was from Fredrick. I felt relief flood my body.
The vampire's head turned quickly and his fangs grazed my skin, making a tiny cut and I gasped. Fredrick pulled the vampire off of me and finished it off in less than 10 seconds. That gave me the impression that he knew what he was doing really well.
I touched the spot where the vampire's fangs had grazed. I couldn't become one of them. Their fangs barely made contact with my skin. I pulled myself upward and looked around for Fredrick.
"You okay?" I jumped, but then relaxed. I couldn't see anything so I just closed my eyes.
"Somewhat." I winced.
"It got you didn't it." It was said as more of a fact than a question.
I gripped the side of my neck and squeezed, willing the little cut to go away. It didn't hurt or anything; it just felt like how a cut was supposed to feel like. It was a little sting. I didn't want to answer him.
Cool fingers pried away my hand from my neck and brushed over the scratch. "It didn't bite you, but its fangs still broke skin. You aren't having any symptoms?"
I shook my head. "Nothing yet." I muttered bitterly.
"Don't say that. I should have killed that wretched thing before I went off after the other one." He cursed himself. "I let two humans down today."
"I-it's not your fault. I should have checked him properly." I had argued.
"But you were new; you weren't expected to actually kill anything. You were just here on a tutorial." The fingers left my skin and I relaxed.
I opened my mouth and then closed it. Why could I say? It wasn't his fault that I had gotten partially bit by a vampire, but I knew he was going to just keep blaming himself for my stupid mistake.
"Will you kill me?" I feared his answer, but I knew I had to ask the question.
Fredrick sounded astonished. "What? You were barely bitten? And I just...I can't…that wouldn't be right." I heard him pause. "We have to tell the others but I won't allow them to kill you." I felt Fredrick's arms pull me up to my feet, but I kept my eyes closed. I didn't want to see anything. He dragged back the abandoned structure.
When we got there it was only Nicholas who stayed and waited for our return. Fredrick explained what happened to me and Nicholas couldn't even look me in the eyes. He told Fredrick to put me in the torture chamber until they could figure out something. They didn't want to take any chances with me and so Fredrick unwillingly put me in the room where it was all dark; there were no windows. I stayed in that room for what seemed like a month, but in actuality I had been there about a week.
The next morning I heard the outraged cries of the men. They were arguing amongst themselves. They quieted down when Nicholas spoke and told them that everything would be okay.
Each day I heard the men when they came in each morning and stayed until about late in the afternoon. It was after that they had come to a conclusion: I was to be killed. It was a shock to me in a way, but somehow I knew that they were going to come to that conclusion.
Every night Fred—I had come up with the nick name—would come and visit me and we would share news; I would tell him of my progress and how I didn't have a thirst for blood. Fredrick argued with them and told them that they couldn't do that because I wasn't feeling any desire to drink blood. I wasn't behaving like my "blood brothers" as he put it. Nicholas still didn't trust him and said that I couldn't be trusted; I might turn on them in any moment. So it would be the very next day that I would be executed and be placed in the sun's path; I was to burn to death. Nice.
The next day they had two werewolves escort me out of the chamber and into the room where the meetings were held. All of the men where there in their fine suits just staring at me. The old man who had told me I would be dead before the sun rose was wrong; I would be dead when the sun rose.
Nicholas told me that he was sorry it had to end this way but that it was for the good of mankind that I be put to death. I didn't say anything—I didn't want to say anything. After that the wolves escorted me to the door I sucked in a breath and exhaled. I wasn't going to fear death; I would take it head on. Taking a couple of seconds for myself I thought of my parents and my sister and how I let them down by just trying to be a part of something bigger than the whole world. I wish I could tell them how much I loved them and how much I would miss them, but I couldn't and so I told the wolves that I was ready to meet the sun.
One opened the door and then both of them pushed on my back and I went forward. I expected blistering, searing, mind bottling pain, but all I felt was the air rush past me as I hit the ground. I landed on my face, surprised that my body didn't burn up in flames. I sat upright and opened my eyelids to be greeted by warm sunshine. I looked at my hands and felt my face, checking to see if everything was real and this was really happening. I laughed and smiled. I was alive—I was still alive. So did that mean I wasn't a vampire?
The door opened behind me and I turned, smiling at them as they stood there with their mouths opened. Fred came around the corner, huffing, and his face red as if he had been running nonstop for quite some time. He was glad and knew that I wouldn't be burned up by the sun, then hauled me to my feet and pushed me in the building.
Fredrick explained to the men who were staring at us like we were ghosts that I wasn't really a true vampire—I was just half. He said that he had grabbed many vampires and tortured them to tell him what happened when a vampire's fangs only cut a human's skin. They told him that those people weren't real vampires and that they had no urge to drink blood, but at some points they desired it. The half vampires—or dhampirs as they would call them—could stay out in the sunlight, only age until they became eighteen and then stayed that age forever. And they were a perfect match for vampires because they had super strength.
Nicholas scowled and demanded why Fred was so keen on keeping me alive and Fred replied, "He's my friend." Nicholas folded his arms across his chest and huddled into a group with his men, a couple of them occasionally glanced over at me and Fred, but Fred just glared at them.
Nicholas agreed that he could make an exception to keep me with alive because if I contained super strength like the vampires said then I could kill them easily. In other words I would be another weapon for the authorities to have and control.
I agreed to their rules and was owned by them. I was forever grateful and in debt to Fred.
I moved away to the west with them because they didn't want me to have any contact with my family. For years I trained with the werewolves and proved that I indeed was a dhampir. I was sent out to do missions and come back a victor of the battle. I never lost. They sent us out into wars to help the United States win—it was sort of like more training practice for us.
Over the years I managed to persuade vampire, and the occasional dhampirs I had run in to, to join on my side and protect the human race from the evil. The werewolves and vampires worked together as a team for over 50 years and we became great friends. The government took control and we had stations all over the world so that anywhere there were people then they would be protected.
I became the leader of my race and Fred became the leader of his race. We taught new moves, recruited new vampires and werewolves, and had a pretty successful organization.
Then in 1975 we met Evelyn Dyer, an advanced scientist who was a part of the Government, who brought us the dead body of a vampire. She told us that the vampire's name was Lisa and that she had volunteered to be under the knife. Evelyn explained that Lisa had found her because she found out that Evelyn was skilled with removing DNA. Lisa wanted to be a regular human again and she asked that either Evelyn would have to kill her or try and help her. Evelyn didn't know how much she could do for the vampire, but she tried to the best of her ability. Unfortunately things didn't go out as planned and Lisa ended up dying.
But Evelyn knew that she would give the body to the Government so that they could experiment on it. Evelyn worked on the body and finally found a way to inject her vampire DNA into others so that they could become immortal, but they wouldn't be full vampire, they would become dhampirs.
The Government decided that they wanted Evelyn to inject some of her serum into herself so that she could become immortal since she was such a gifted scientist. And if she became immortal than her knowledge and intelligence would be passed down to many generations.
The serum worked perfectly and Evelyn became half vampire.
The Government also figured that they would take the young cancer patients and asked them to volunteer their lives to something good. They told them that they would be rewarded with a long life, but they must not ever make contact with their family or the outside world. Some agreed and some refused.
Though as long as the Government got their wish of creating a super army it didn't really matter who they recruited—just so long as those people were ready to dedicate their lives to saving the humans.
Though some of the dhampirs and vampires lusted for blood and that was one of the rules they weren't allowed to break: you weren't supposed to want blood no matter how bad the reason. It was all about resisting temptation. They didn't want to work for the Government anymore; they wanted to live the vampire life where there were no rules.
So some of them escaped from the organization—my station—and ran off here. The werewolves, Zaria and Nico, tracked them down to the city of LA were there are over hundreds of people to prey on. They didn't hesitate to start the killings, but so far for all we know they could be still alive. The only downside of that is that they are probably being used as snacks to calm those vampires' thirsts.
That's why we need to find them before they can try something else. We need to end this."