Wednesday, October 12, 2026
Dear Diary,
Geez, four days as the Slayer and my life is already approaching shambles. As you know, Mr. Trent, my Watcher, found me on Saturday. We were able to get training in Sunday and Monday, but Monday evening Mom and I had to leave.
See, yesterday was Grandma and Grandpa Austinson's 46th wedding anniversary and we had a big family gathering (Aunt Megan called it a 'shindig.' Where does she come up with this stuff?). Uncle Rick has a girlfriend! Mom said she never thought that would happen. Anyway, back to the shambles that is my life.
Because of my training schedule, Mom told Grandma and Grandpa that we could only stay until this morning, instead of till Friday like we had originally planned. Grandma did NOT like that bit of news…
"But why?!" Grandma Austinson exclaimed. Madison Carmichael's mother sighed.
"Mom, I told you already. One of the mares is gonna foal soon and I need to be there. And Maddy needs to come with me," Rachel Austinson Carmichael added before her mother could protest.
Madison herself was just outside the doorway, putting her newly found Slayer skills of silence and stealth to good use as she eavesdropped on her mother and grandmother. Grandma was very unhappy about Rachel's news that she and Maddy were gonna have to leave 2 days early. Grandma felt she didn't get to see any of her 7 grandchildren often enough. Sighing to herself, thirteen-year-old Maddy moved away from the doorway and headed down the stairs.
According to Mom, Grandma and Grandpa had always intended to keep the house she and her brother and sister grew up in, but nature had had other ideas. Way back in 2009, there was a huge earthquake that severely damaged or destroyed parts of their hometown of Camarillo, including their own house. Luckily, Grandma's Internet store had hit the big time a few years previous and they had enough money from that and the insurance money to buy a new home two blocks from the beach in Ventura.
Maddy reached the bottom of the steps to find her two littlest cousins playing in the family room.
"Hey you guys, have you seen your brothers and sisters?" she asked them. Five-year-old twins Alexander "Lexy" and Corinth "Cory" looked up from the antique Legos they were playing with. The brothers shook their heads, then returned to their play, all without saying a word. Aunt Megan called them her "surprise babies," since she hadn't expected to have anymore children after the first four.
Maddy left the boys to their play and went out on the deck. Uncle Rick and Maddy's nineteen-year-old cousin Isaiah "Zay" were chatting about something computer related. They looked up as she stepped onto the deck.
"Hey, Squirt," Zay greeted her. He looked cool as ever, with his curly blond hair ruffled by the wind and held out of his eyes with a baseball cap turned backward, a habit he had picked up from his father. With his old blue jeans and baseball shirt, he looked as though he had dropped right out of the 1990's.
"Hi Zay," Maddy giggled. "I see you're looking retro as usual." Zay looked down at his clothes and grinned back at her. Uncle Rick held out his arms and Maddy gave him a hug.
"Hey girl, it's been ages since I've seen you," Uncle Rick told her. "What's new with you?" Maddy froze. What could she say? Gee Uncle Rick, didn't Mom tell you? I'm the Chosen One, the new Slayer. Oh yeah, that would go over well. She decided to settle for the typical teenage answer.
"Not much."
"Mmmm." Uncle Rick cocked an eyebrow at her, but Maddy avoided his gaze.
"Hey, where's everyone else?" she asked, trying to redirect the attention off of herself.
"They're all down at the beach," Zay answered absently, leaning back in his chair.
"Ok," Maddy said, turning from the two men. Zay raised his head.
"Where ya goin', Squirt?"
"Uh, to the beach?"
"What about Grandma and Grandpa's rule?"
Maddy grimaced. She had forgotten about the rule. Grandma and Grandpa had decided no one under 15 could walk to the beach on their own, even though they were only two blocks away. Zay grinned at her frown.
"Has anyone ever told you you're cute when you're frustrated?" Maddy reached out and whacked him on the arm. His grin quickly turned to a grimace of pain as he clutched his arm.
"Ow! You've really been working out, Squirt, haven't you?" Oops. Maddy had forgotten about the Slayer strength. She turned on the charm.
"Zay, will you walk me to the beach?" She smiled sweetly at him. He pretended to think about it for a minute. Maddy batted her eyelashes at him.
"I suppose," he sighed dramatically.
So Zay and I went to change. Ten minutes later we headed for the beach with the twins.
Zay and Maddy reached the beach quickly with Cory and Lexy in tow. They walked towards the water, looking for Zay's parents and siblings. Zay was the first to spot them, though Maddy's Aunt Megan was difficult not to spot after she had spotted them. Aunt Megan was now jumping up and down, waving wildly from the place the family had staked out at the beach. Zay sagged visibly.
"My mother is so embarrassing," he whispered down to Maddy. At 6'1", he towered over her 5' frame. Maddy smiled sympathetically up at him.
"Mom told me that she and Aunt Megan were often embarrassed by Grandma when they were kids," she confided to him. They finally reached the sea of blankets being used by Aunt Megan's family. Megan rushed to greet them.
"Maddy, honey, how have you been? It's so good to see you," she gushed. Maddy was quickly enveloped in a tight hug, which she gladly returned. Aunt Megan was reportedly the one to have given her the nickname "Maddy." All six of Maddy's cousins also had nicknames ending in "y" sounds; Aunt Megan liked nicknames.
"Where's my cousins?" Maddy started to ask, but was interrupted as an arm snaked around her neck. Letting out a shriek, Maddy grabbed the arm and easily flung the offender over her shoulder, causing him to land hard on his back. Nine-year-old Joseph "Joey" stared up at her as he gasped for breath.
"Omigosh, Joey, I'm so sorry," Maddy gasped, kneeling beside him. Aunt Megan knelt on the other side and started instructing Joey to wiggle his fingers and toes, doing a thorough check before pronouncing that he'd only had the air knocked out of him. Although Aunt Megan hadn't worked as an Emergency Medical Technician in years, she had always made sure to keep her certification up to date.
"He's ok," Aunt Megan reassured Maddy. "But what about you? What's got you so jumpy?" Luckily Maddy was saved from answering by a new voice.
"Maddy!" Maddy whirled around.
"Ami!" Maddy rushed to embrace her oldest cousin. 22-year-old Amarice was Maddy's favorite cousin, although she didn't dare tell the others. Right behind Ami was 15-year-old Abigail "Abby."
Abby and I get along ok, most of the time. We have our spats though. Mom says it's 'cause we're the closest in age.
"Hey Maddy," Abby greeted. "Wanna play tag?"
"Sure," Maddy agreed hesitantly. Abby immediately smacked her on the arm and ran off, calling, "You're it!" over her shoulder. Maddy glared in her direction before taking off after her.
Aunt Megan watched as her kids and her niece romped in the waves, chasing and tackling each other. Something was up with Maddy, she thought, making a mental note to talk to her sister about her observations. Maddy seemed much faster and more agile today then Megan remembered her previously. Whirling, leaping, and rolling, Maddy managed to avoid just about every attack attempted by her cousins. Only Zay was able to tag her once, and she managed to knock him to the ground on more than one occasion.
We played for a while, eventually being joined by Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, and Uncle Rick. Before it got dark, we headed back to the house. Mom and Aunt Megan cooked a nice dinner around 7, and then Uncle Rick announced he had big news. He and his girlfriend are getting married! We're all very excited.
At about 9, Aunt Megan decided she wanted to go for a walk and asked me to go with her. Mom said it was ok, so I grabbed my jacket, being careful to slip a stake into my pocket. Mr. Trent said I should never be unprepared, and it's a good thing I listened…
"So, Maddy, why don't you tell me what you've been up to lately," Aunt Megan said as soon as they stepped off the front porch. Maddy hid a grimace and buried her hands in her pockets, clutching the stake tightly.
"Oh, nothing much," Maddy lied. They walked a bit more in silence before Aunt Megan prodded again.
"You've stepped up your karate training, haven't you," Aunt Megan tried again. "I noticed you were really moving when you guys were playing at the beach."
"Uh, yeah," Maddy answered evasively, squirming. A loud clank sounded from an alley between some houses. "What was that?" Maddy whirled toward the sound, then crept down the alley, Aunt Megan trailing behind worriedly.
"This isn't safe," Megan argued nervously, following Maddy down the alley. "Why are we investigating? Shouldn't we-" They stopped short at the sight of a man bending over the still form of a woman.
"Hey," Maddy called to him. "Whatcha doin'?" The man jerked upward, the glow of a nearby streetlight giving light to the vampire features evident on his face. Maddy heard Aunt Megan's gasp of alarm and disbelief, but didn't acknowledge it.
"Slayer," the vampire hissed before attempting to attack Maddy. Maddy ducked under his grab, then spun and stabbed him through the back with the stake. When he didn't immediately turn to dust, Maddy realized she had missed the heart. She made a face before attacking, slipping under his wildly grabbing arms and jamming the stake into his chest, this time spearing his dead heart. The vampire turned to dust, silence now enveloping the alley. Suddenly remembering her aunt, Maddy turned to find Aunt Megan leaning against a wall, wide-eyed and pale.
Of course, at this point I felt like kicking myself. Here I was, supposed to keep this Slayer thing a secret, and now I had just gone and slayed in front of my aunt. Mr. Trent is gonna kill me.
"Aunt Megan! Are you okay?" Maddy asked, rushing to support her aunt. She held out her hand, which Aunt Megan clutched tightly as the two left the alley. They walked silently back towards Grandma and Grandpa's house until Aunt Megan recovered her voice.
"What was that?" she asked, fear still evident in her voice.
"Ummm, uhhh….a mugger?" Maddy tried. Aunt Megan shook her head.
"No way! Muggers don't bite, and they most certainly do not turn to dust when a girl shoves a sharp piece of wood through their chest." Maddy was silent. After all, her aunt did have a point. Aunt Megan continued her little tirade.
"And what was that he called you? Slayer? How ridiculous! I mean, what on earth is a Slayer? Slayer of what? If I didn't know better, I'd think this was a scene right out of Buffy the Vampire-" Aunt Megan stopped right in her tracks, stunned as a light bulb went on over her head.
Well, not a literal one, but I'd have to say that would be somewhat less shocking than this whole Slayer gig. Aunt Megan nearly lost it when she figured it out. She sat down, right in the middle of the sidewalk!
Anyway, I had to tell her the whole story, mostly 'cause she refused to get up until I told her everything. I guess I could have carried her, with my Slayer strength and all, but…
Aunt Megan was now getting the gleeful glint in her eye that meant trouble to those around her, as Maddy had learned after years of experience. Maddy sighed wondering what her aunt found so wonderful about Maddy's news. She opened her mouth to ask, but was immediately interrupted by her aunt's gleeful shrieks.
I couldn't believe it. She started jumping up and down, shrieking, "I knew it! I was right! I knew all along!" It took me forever to calm her down.
Mom and I stayed until late last night (Tuesday) and then we managed to leave. I'm sorry I only got to see my cousins for a short time, but Mom told me that we get to host Thanksgiving this year! The last time that happened, we had relatives for two weeks solid.
When we left, Aunt Megan hugged me and whispered that she won't tell anyone. I hope not. Mr. Trent's gonna be mad enough as it is. I told Mom about it on the way home. Mom's worried. She says Aunt Megan isn't very good at keeping secrets. Now I'm worried too. What if she says something about it to someone, and they know what she's talking about, and they actually believe her? I'll have to make sure to keep a close watch on her.
I have to go train with Mr. Trent now. Actually, I was supposed to be there ten minutes ago. He sure won't be happy! Not that Mr. Trent ever seems to be real happy anyway, but that's another story. Bye now!