Part 1: The Food Chain
"Yes, Mr. Giles. She's very promising. Her skill and strength have progressed rapidly. I've never heard of such a slayer. But I must advise you to keep a rather large bottle of aspirin on hand. I've learned that the hard way- after about a dozen headaches of frustration." Ms. Andrews chuckled into the phone as she pushed a lock of white hair from her face. "She's a handful, that's for sure, very stubborn and headstrong. But from what I've heard, you have much experience with that in a slayer."
The elderly watcher glanced through the door into her office where the young slayer sat immersed in a large dusty volume and surrounded by similar ones on all sides. "She has a real thirst for knowledge. As a matter of fact, she's quenching that thirst in my office as we speak. I've noticed that she is particularly fascinated by my books of vampire lore- the stories of the masters' lives and such. I'm curious to find if she has discovered 'him' yet. It would be quite fascinating if the bond could be felt through mere knowledge of the other's existence." She paused and when she spoke again, her voice was low and conspiratol.
"No, she is completely unaware of her destiny. We thought it best not to reveal anything until absolutely necessary. We wouldn't want to intervene in any way and inadvertently effect something. Well, she should arrive tomorrow night." Ms. Andrews changed the subject quickly, returning her voice to its normal volume. "She is so looking forward to it. Yes, goodbye."
The watcher woman hung up the phone and moved into the other room to stand beside the slayer. "Find anything interesting?"
Bri jumped at the voice, startled that she had been unaware of the woman's approach until then. "Y-yes. This is really fascinating. These people have lived for hundreds of years." The girl's voice took on a tone of awe. "They've lived through wars…famines…plagues…disco. It's amazing really."
Ms. Andrews studied the beautiful sixteen-year-old with disapproval before pulling out a seat beside her and facing her seriously. "Bri…I've noticed that you tend to refer to vampires as 'people'." She inhaled gravely. "You must understand…they are not people. They are animals- vile deadly creatures."
"I don't believe that." Bri stated simply. Then, upon seeing her watcher's look of skepticism, explained. "Vampires kill for food, for life. It's their nature. I'm not saying that makes it right, but I am saying that that doesn't make them purely evil. There are humans with souls that are much more evil than any soulless vampire. The way I see it, a soul doesn't make much difference. All people aren't all good and all vampires aren't all bad. There's no such thing as black and white. Everything's gray."
"But vampires are brutal killers."
"They kill for food- for the most part. But so do we. Do we not slaughter animals for food? It's just all part of the food chain." Bri saw Ms. Andrews beginning to object and she hurried with her next point. "And a vampire doesn't discriminate in its kill. But humans…humans wipe out thousands of our own kind because of race or religion."
Ms. Andrews sighed and shook her head, deciding that Mr. Giles would truly have his hands full with two stubborn, opinionistic slayers on his hands. She relented and smiled at the young girl before her. "How's the packing going? You're leaving tomorrow, I hope it's almost done."
"It is. I have a few more things to pack but I'm gonna do a couple of sweeps before getting back to it." The slayer rose from her seat and grabbed her large duffel bag of weapons. She pulled her shoulder length blonde hair into a tight ponytail and tied her boots securely on her feet before smiling at her watcher and hurrying out into the night.