Saturday, October 8, 2026
Dear Diary,
The weirdest thing happened today. I was chosen.
Madison Carmichael sat back in her chair and looked at the diary open before her. How the heck was she gonna explain this, she wondered. She barely understood it herself. After chewing on her pen cap for a moment, she turned her attention back to the diary.
I guess it started this morning when I was finishing up my chores at the ranch. This guy walked up to me as I was mucking out the horse stalls…
"And Maddy, make sure you actually give the horses their carrots this time!" Maddy's mother called to her as she left the sprawling ranch house. Maddy scrunched up her round face, remembering the scolding she had gotten the other day when her mother had discovered the stash of carrots behind the stables. Of course, Maddy thought, I suppose she had a point. But there are so many more important things for a thirteen-year-old girl to do than feeding horses carrots!
After a brief detour to the barn to grab a shovel and a bag of carrots, Maddy made her way out to the stables. Oh how I hate this, let me count the ways, Maddy groaned inwardly as she went about the task of mucking the stalls. That thought brought to mind her Aunt Megan, who was famous amongst the family for the weird phrases and quotes that popped out of her mouth at every gathering. The giggle that rose in Maddy's throat burst forth in a few high pitched shrieks of laughter that sounded remarkably like her own mother's laugh.
"Ahem." The sound of someone clearing his throat snapped Maddy back to the present, bringing instant sobriety with it. Maddy narrowed her almond-shaped eyes suspiciously; this was not someone she recognized, meaning he didn't work there, and he was unaccompanied, meaning that he hadn't checked in with ranch staff, mainly Maddy's mother. The man spoke again. "Madison Marie Carmichael I presume?"
Maddy kept her features calm, glad her mother had insisted on enrolling her in karate classes. She knew she could take this guy if it came down to a fight. On closer inspection though, this guy didn't look like the fighting type. Tall and well-built, if on the skinny side, the guy wore a three-piece suit made of…tweed? Who wore tweed in southern California in October? He appeared to be in his mid to late 30's, probably close to Mom's age, Maddy thought wryly.
"Depends on who's asking," Maddy replied coolly. The man frowned.
"Pardon," he said, sounding a teensy bit upset, "I was told you had been notified." By this time, Maddy was just about ready to call for help from some of the farm hands.
"Notified about what?"
That's when he told me I was the chosen one! Of course, my first question was, Chosen for what? That's when he launched into his little spiel…
"Into each generation, a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires, to stop the spread of evil-" Maddy interrupted.
"Look, I don't know what you're talking about, but I have to finish this chore," Maddy stated. "Mom'll kill me if I don't get this done." She glanced at the man again before turning back to the stalls. The perturbed look on his face brought a small smile to Maddy's face.
So, anyway, the good news was that he decided to let me finish my chores. The bad news was that he droned on and on while I did them. But I did learn some important stuff. First off, he's from some place he called the Watcher's Council, located in London, England, one of the states of the European Nation. The Watcher's Council trains Watcher's, who in turn go out and train new Slayers. Which is what I am. The new Slayer.
"And you've been sent here to be my Watcher," Maddy stated disbelieveingly.
James Trent nodded affirmatively. Truth be told, he was somewhat nervous himself. The girl before him shoveling horse manure was not what he expected. When he was sent to southern California to find thirteen-year-old Madison Marie Carmichael, he had hoped to find a tall muscular girl, mature beyond her years. He expected at least to find a girl of average height and build. What James Trent found instead was the small Chinese girl before him. Although she was quite lovely, Madison Carmichael was scarcely five feet tall and probably weighed in at around 90 pounds. Her thick black hair was bound in a French braid that reached nearly to her waist with a few wisps framing her round face.
Great, thought James. I get the Slayer who looks about nine. Add to that the fact that she's the youngest Slayer in nearly 200 years and things aren't looking too good.
"Uh, Ms. Carmichael?" James ventured tentatively. She glanced up at him, then returned to her shoveling.
"Yeah?" she responded. James steeled himself, knowing an argument would probably come up at his next statement.
"We should begin your training as soon as possible." This caused her to lean the shovel against the wall. Maddy turned to face the watcher and took her I'm-not-yours-to-boss-around-so-don't-even-try-it stance, feet placed about 18 inches apart and hands on hips.
"My mom isn't gonna like this. I'm not even allowed to set foot out of the house without telling her where I'm going. How am I gonna convince her to let me go off with some guy neither of us knows so I can learn to fight mythical creatures?" James thought for a moment.
"I have an idea," he said. "But first, I need to know a couple of small things about your mom." Maddy looked at him strangely, but nodded slightly. James noticed with amusement that her stance hadn't changed. "First tell me, what year was your mom born?"
Maddy thought for a moment before responding, "1983."
"And where did she live as a teenager?"
"Southern California. She's lived in this area most of her life." James flashed Maddy a quick smile.
"Alright, let's go meet your mother."
It was the craziest thing! Although Mr. Trent told me that my identity as the Slayer needed to be kept from everyone, friends, family, and strangers alike, he came right out and told my mother that he was from the Watcher's Council. Even more amazing was that Mom knew what he was talking about!
It seems that back when she was a teenager, there was a supposedly fictional TV show about a Vampire Slayer. Mom loved that show and Mr. Trent said that although not all of the TV show was accurate, enough of it was to give Mom a pretty good idea of what I will be doing. He also told her that my work will mostly involve vampires, since there is no Hellmouth nearby and most of the creatures on that TV show don't exist. That seemed to ease Mom's mind somewhat. She still had a lot of questions though…
"Now let me see if I have this right," Maddy's mom said as the three sat in the kitchen. The adults were drinking coffee as Maddy had a glass of OJ. "Vampires are real. Watchers are real. Slayers are real. My daughter has been chosen as the next Slayer." Rachel Austinson Carmichael paused to take a breath. "Isn't she a bit young?"
"Well, uh, umm," James stammered, glancing at Maddy. She shot him an I'm-not-leaving-so-you-might-as-well-spill-it look. This Slayer's gonna be fun, he thought sarcastically. He turned his attention back to the Slayer's mother. "Yes, she is young," he admitted. "She's the youngest Slayer we've had in nearly 200 years. However, the last three Slayers have met with rather…untimely deaths." Rachel's eyes widened at that news, but before she could say anything, James hastily continued. "I'd like to start training her right away."
"Ok," Rachel relented. "Wait a sec!" Turning to Maddy, she said, "We're supposed to go to your grandparents house for their anniversary tomorrow." Maddy winced.
"They'll kill us if we don't go," she reminded her mom. Maddy glanced at James, then added, "But we could start tonight."
So then Mr. Trent and I went out back. He asked me what my hobbies were and then basically started interviewing me about my life. He wanted to know when I had been adopted, what happened to my father, everything about my life. He said every Watcher is required to keep a journal on the exploits of his or her Slayer. As it turns out, the Council had gotten a clue that a new Slayer might come out of China. They searched all over the Asian Nation state of China Major and it's surrounding states that used to make up the country China. They didn't find the girl who fit the descriptions though. Turns out it was me.
So now the whole Council is gonna know every detail about my life. That my parents adopted me at the age of nine months because my mom wanted a baby who was already in the world rather than bringing a new one in. That my father died in a plane crash at the start of World War III when I was five. That I had grown up on this ranch, but from time to time went to visit my aunt and uncle. That I love visiting my aunt because I never know where she and her family will be next and my uncle because everything in his house is computerized and my oldest cousin Amarice (Ami for short) because she goes to UCLA and I get to stay in her apartment and she lets me come to class with her and I get to pick what activities we do and where we eat. That I was so scared during the war because I was afraid one of my uncles would die like my father did. That I prefer using old style books to the more common computerized books. And that Mom thinks Aunt Megan is crazy for having six kids, even if they are spread out in age (they range from 22 down to 5).
At any rate, Mr. Trent quickly found out that I am a brown belt in Karate, so he put my through my moves. Turns out he's pretty good at Karate himself. He also challenged me to find out what my new Slayer powers can do. He says I received them when the previous Slayer died. She died back in August, meaning it took them a long time to find me. I can't remember anything special happening in August that may have been my receiving these powers, but Mr. Trent said most Slayers, especially those who had no idea they might be chosen, don't know when they are chosen. There was one strange incident I brought up to Mr. Trent. Last month I fell off my horse and broke my arm. Amazingly enough, within a week my arm had completely healed. The doctor said I must not have actually broken it, but Mr. Trent says it was an example of my "accelerated healing powers."
When it got dark, Mr. Trent took me to the cemetery. Only one word can describe what happened there: WOAH. When we got to the cemetery, it was locked up, so we had to hop the fence…
"How are we supposed to get in?" Maddy wondered. At James' insistence, Maddy had changed from her riding gear into black jeans, a black T-shirt, and black sneakers. Not one to be held back from her own style, Maddy had topped the outfit with an old black ski hat with a cartoon girl and the words "Sailor Moon" across the front. Tied around her waist was a dark blue sweatshirt with the word "Disneyland" emblazoned across the front on sparkly pink letters, a gift from her aunt after a recent trip to the popular theme park. James chuckled at her inquiry.
"I'll have to scramble over the wall as best I can," he told her. "But you can just jump."
"Jump?" Maddy stared at him in disbelief. "That fence must be at least six feet tall!" But James was no longer listening. He had grabbed the top of the fence and was struggling to get over the top. At least he had changed, Maddy thought. James was also now dressed all in black and carried a black bag filled with wooden stakes, crosses, and vials of holy water.
"Well, here goes nothing," Maddy muttered to herself. She stepped back and leaped into the air, executing a somersault as she went over that would have earned any gymnast a gold medal. She landed a little harder than she expected, hitting the ground and sprawling on her back. As she lay on the ground, James entered her field of vision.
"Good jump," he complimented her, "but we'll have to work on those landings." He extended a hand to her and helped her off the ground.
"Now what?" Maddy asked. James held a finger to his lips before answering.
"This way," he whispered, leading Maddy to the other side of the cemetery. As they walked, he explained what was happening. "A man was buried here today. The newspaper report said there were two small holes on the side of his neck and his blood had been drained. The police think he bled to death after accidentally stabbing himself in the neck with a barbecue fork."
"But you're thinking vampire," Maddy finished for him. "And," she continued, "you think the vampire may have turned him." James gave a nod of approval towards his new pupil.
"Here." James stopped in front of a fresh grave. He made quite a show of circling the grave, trying to determine if the new vampire had left the grave yet.
Well, Mr. Trent decided that the vampire hadn't risen yet, so he decided we should wait. And wait. And wait. Aunt Megan tells me I have about as much patience as my mother did when she was my age. In other words, I don't have much. It was a good thing I brought that sweatshirt. Mr. Trent and I must have sat in that darn cemetery for a good two hours before something happened. And happen it did…
"I hear something!" Maddy said suddenly. Maddy and James had been sitting in the cemetery for nearly two and a half hours and Maddy had lost all patience nearly two hours before. Before James could respond to Maddy's outburst, the newly born vampire clawed his way out of the grave.
Maddy scrambled to her feet as the vampire, disoriented, spun wildly, trying to get his bearings. Holding the stake James had given her in her fist, Maddy lunged at the vampire. To James' surprise, Maddy's small size became an asset. She ducked and whirled under the vampire's attempts to grab her, ultimately popping up under his waving arms to stake him through the heart. She watched, open mouthed, as the vampire crumbled into dust. The whole thing was over two minutes after the vampire had been born.
"Woah." Maddy was practically speechless, but quickly found her voice. "Did ya see that, Mr. Trent? He turned to dust!" James smiled at the excitement in the Slayer's voice. She would be an interesting girl to work with, that's for sure.
So you see diary, this has definitely been a most interesting day. Mom says Aunt Megan would just die if she knew that I am the Chosen One. It's too bad I'm not supposed to tell anyone. Mom said we'll have to cut our vacation to Grandma and Grandpa's a little short so I can get back to my training here. She's taking this very seriously. She says she wants me to live as long as possible and that the best way to do that is for me to train as much as I can.
I don't dare tell anyone how nervous this all makes me. Mr. Trent says it's his job to keep me alive as long as possible, but he won't tell me about how long other Slayers lived. Slayers don't have a very long life span, I guess. Well, diary, I must go. Mr. Trent says I need to get to bed early so we can have an early start in the morning. I think I forgot to mention to him that Mom and I always go to church on Sunday mornings, but I'm sure we can squeeze some practice time in before school. More later!