Part 5

(Catalina)

By lunch I hadn't met anyone of much interest. Everyone seemed nice enough, as I had noticed when I first arrived, but as the morning progressed, I also noticed people were avoiding me.

I was getting the impression that this had something to do with Marcie. As I left the classroom I noticed Marcie's mysterious boyfriend was staring at me again.

It seemed that every time I turned around he was *there*. It was rather annoying. Made worse by the fact he was supposed to be with Marcie. She was going to have my guts by the end of the day.

I made my way through the crowded cafeteria, looking for somewhere to sit. I was careful to avoid the table were Marcie was sitting with her friends.

She was still glaring at me. I didn't see what the big deal was. I decided to Layla's advice and just ignore her.

"I told you Marcie wasn't the politest person in the world."

I nearly jumped at Layla's sudden voice so close. I was going to have to remember to shield my mind. "Don't do that," I snapped.

Layla just smiled. "Let's go meet some *real* people."

I knew from that she meant Night People. We didn't think of humans as people. To use they were merely food and vermin. I can think of lots of other words to describe them too, but considering I was generally a nice person I wasn't going to say anything.

I was surprised when Layla led me to a secluded table in a back corner where only two other people sat. "This is *it*?" I asked, trying to hide my surprise and failing.

A blonde girl nodded. "It's those damn hunters."

I watched them all glare in the direction of Marcie and her friends. They were *vampire* hunters? Was that why Marcie was so...so...like she was?

"There used to be about seven of us," the blonde said.

"Yeah, but *they* took care of that," the second girl, a redhead sneered, her eyes glittering with hatred.

I couldn't believe it. Typical of my life. I'd come to a place ruled by vampire hunters. I'd pissed off Marcie as well. Just great.

"Myself, Grace and Eliza are the only ones who have survived them," Layla said sourly.

I wondered if Marcie's boyfriend's "warning" was actually genuine. If it was, then why would he care about warning me of the dangers? And *why* couldn't he stop staring at me?

* * *

By the time school had ended I was starting to get hungry. That was
the only problem I could see with being in a human environment like high school all day.

I was surrounded by humans, full of rich, warm blood...

How was I supposed to hunt in a town run by vampire hunters? It just wasn't fair. Why should I let them run my life? I had spent years running from hunters like them, trying to hide because they had killed everyone I cared about.

Maybe I should have tried a Night World enclave or something where no humans were allowed...

But I was here now, and here was where I was going to stay. I wasn't going anywhere else and I wasn't going to let any one push me around.

When I was back at the boarding house I did my homework like I was supposed to while waiting impatiently for the Night to fall. I would hunt like a proper vampire under the cover of darkness.

I would find a nice human boy and seduce him. Give into the nature I had been denying for so long.

I took my time getting ready for going out. Did I want to appear bold, dashing and out there? Or did I want to go for the subtle and sexy look? I decided on subtle and sexy. I didn't want to be dead before the end of the week.

I found a skin-tight black top, extremely low cut showing a daring amount of cleavage. I also wore equally tight black leather pants that looked as if they should have been poured on. High heeled snake-skin boots completed the outfit. I added some red lipstick and a little eyeshadow. I ran a brush through my blonde curls, smiling as they settled on my shoulders.

I studied my reflection in the bathroom mirror. Not bad. Not bad at all. Glancing out the window I watched the sun sinking low in the west. Night was falling, and falling fast.

Grabbing my house key, I left the house to go and hunt. I took my time walking around, trying to see what the town was like and getting an idea where would be a good place to feed, and where I could dispose of the body.

I spotted a bar and noticed in the window a spray painted black iris. Night People ran the place. I headed inside. It looked cozy, and some what dark. I could see heads turn as I headed to the bar.

I vaguely recognised the girl behind the bar as Grace from school. She clearly remembered me as well. ~Hunting?~ Grace's voice said inside my mind.

~Any suggestions?~ I returned.

Grace just smirked. ~Any of the guys at the bar would be a target.~

I looked around. There were two guys there at opposite ends of the bar. Both were reasonably cute and nicely human. I took a seat in the centre. It wasn't long before one of them joined me, introducing himself as Steve.

Half an hour later we were ready to leave. ~You're quick~ Grace said with raised eyebrows.

I just smiled. ~I'm hungry~

Steve was giving us a strange look, but let it go and led me to his car, a nice red convertible. He drove me to what I guessed must be the local makeout spot, a small cliff over looking the town.

I made sure the top of the convertible was down before I made my move. I leant in close to his neck, as if to kiss him. Only inside my fangs extended and I bit into him.

I heard him gasp then his grip tightened. As I began to feed his grip relaxed and he sighed with pleasure. Sweetest death. It didn't have to be painful for the human. We were both benefiting from this.

(Me more than him, maybe, but still...)

The blood filled me with a wonderful sensation of power and new life. When I felt his beating heart stop I pulled back. Steve slumped forward against the steering wheel. I checked for a pulse. He didn't have done. Good.

I got out of the car, wondering what to do with the body.

"That's not a nice thing to do."

The voice caught me off guard. I turned around in alarm to find myself facing a figure smiling unpleasantly.

* * *