Prey: Believability

A/N: I am really quite thrilled to be writing out this chapter. I've had this one in my head for months and months. I changed the beginning though, because the original version wasn't very interesting.

Disclaimer: My name is not Stephenie Meyer, and I did not write Twilight.

Amanda had been incident free for a week now. No scent of a certain mysterious person on her trail, and no need to worry either. Work was slow, but it always was. She would catch the scent of a vampire, but it would never come to a confrontation- her potential prey would slink off, perhaps in search for territory not occupied. There were a couple of vampires in the general area at the moment- she couldn't really be sure though, not being familiar with the scents.

But one day, she caught something.

It was a bit different than the vampires she'd smelled before. It reeked of excitement, of the thrill that comes from cornering a victim, getting ready for the kill. Amanda was instantly transported back to her own hunting days, and made for the area without hesitation.

There he was, the vampire.

Not quite a newborn, but not very old, just the same.

In all of his dark demonic glory, he toyed with a young woman, leaning flirtatiously against the wall. Amanda wasn't really quite sure what to do for a moment, but then it came to her. It was brilliant. As she drew closer to where he stood Amanda felt the vampire stiffen. Amanda came onto the scene outraged. "What are you doing here? You said you were at work. How do you-" She paused, then focused a loathing stare on the girl. The vampire beside her had his teeth nearly bared, cursing Amanda for stealing his meal under his breath. "Who is she?" Amanda whispered frostily.
The girl, who had been worried from the time Amanda had shown up, was now livid. "You have a girlfriend?" She choked out at last. Amanda held up her left arm, allowing the space on her finger where a wedding ring might sit to sparkle vampirically. It was a truly impressive effect, despite the slight chill in the air, there were beams of sunlight that hit the finger perfectly. The girl hit the vampire with her purse and stalked off. The vampire made no attempt to follow. He was ready for a duel.

There were no bystanders, no innocent witnesses to their actions.

Amanda narrowed her eyes infinitesimally, subtly shifting her center of mass in preparation.

The vampire, noting her strangeness of behavior, had just one question before they started. "Why?" He asked, genuinely puzzled at why she would attack him and let a hot meal walk away. Amanda smiled, letting her hair draw out long and blond, her features drawing out to become elflike. "Because," she said in a high trilling voice, "there were two possible prey in the area, and I decided to eliminate the one who had no business existing."

She said this in a piercing way, but quietly. She circled around the area, her hair swinging around in a smooth circle. The other vampire mirrored her movements, teeth bared, eyes the flat black of hunger and rage. She cocked her head to the side comically.

"Has it occurred to you that there may be another way to live?" She made a quick swipe at his arm, gashing it magnificently. He snarled, barreling towards her. At the last moment, she swerved, and he was thrown off. "Another way to get by? A way that would keep safe those you love, and others?" He jumped forward, biting at her arm. To her shock and outrage, his teeth made contact with her skin, puncturing it. Small amounts of venom swelled out of the wound, and she bit back the desire to simply rage forward, clawing madly at his body. She must take the educated course of action. She was a seasoned fighter. She fell into a familiar pattern, letting instinct guide her. "No, I suppose not." She finished with her speech, and fell onto the other vampire at the first moment of weakness. She tore at his body, utilizing both her teeth and nails. In less than a minute, the body was decimated, and she had matches at the ready. By the time she had lit the first match, though, she smelled it. She was suddenly, painfully aware of a knife on the back of her neck. She turned around slowly to face David, who looked surprised if nothing else.

"What are you doing?" Amanda asked. "I've just done the world a favor, and this is the thanks I get."

David shifted slightly, not wishing to reveal that he was completely stumped at her behavior. "What?" he replied dumbly. He had been aware of a vampire fight going on. Amanda knew that the best way to react was with complete casualness of action.

"I just did your job for you. It's dead. And burning. Gosh, you should be grateful." David put the blade closer to her neck, trying not to seem too curious. "What do you mean?"

Amanda put her hand to the back of her head slowly, trying to push the blade away. It felt familiar under her fingertips, though she wasn't entirely sure why. "Calm down, David. I'm a vampire hunter. This isn't the first time we've met." David's hand was quivering. "Wh- how do you know my name?" Amanda tried to keep him reasonable. "Your ID was in your wallet, which I had to look in in order to know where to go when you passed out in the sewers. You'll notice that you didn't die then, so I would appreciate it if you'd put the shank down." David paused. He was warring with himself.

Should he?

Why should he trust her?

Why shouldn't he, really?

She hadn't killed him, at least not yet.

He lowered the knife. Amanda looked down at it, and gasped. "Where did you get that?" She said squeakily. "You don't know anyone named Tom Mapple, do you?" David looked confused, and raised the knife again. Amanda quickly snatched it out of his hands. "It looks just the same, I swear." She murmured softly. David looked pale. He knew that she had all the advantage now- she had the strength, opportunity, and motivation to kill, and yet... She did nothing. She was examining the knife with a strange intensity. "Who are you?" He finally asked. The vampire looked up, almost startled. "Oh- how rude. I'm Amanda Post. And-"

David was limp, having fainted clean away. She slapped at his face, and the coldness startled him to standing. "Did you say- Amanda?" He said weakly. Amanda nodded impatiently. "Yes. How did you get a hold of that knife?" David was uncomfortable proceeding without backup. "The knife?" he said slowly, stalling for time to reach his cell phone. Amanda's eyes saw the path of his hand. "I'm hoping you're not calling for your cronies to snipe me or something, because that would just be plain rude." David was shaking his head vigorously. "No. No. You're not Amanda. You look-" Amanda realized that she still had the blond hair and altered face from before.

"Oh. Sorry about that." She allowed herself to go back to normal. She hadn't anticipated his reaction. His face completely flushed of all color, and he looked as if he had seen a ghost. Amanda realized that he might not be completely used to crazy vampire superpowers, and held up her hands in a gesture of surrender. The knife clattered to the pavement, and David picked it up quickly.

"Yes, I change appearance. Let's get over this as quickly as possible." She couldn't ignore the gnawing hunger in her body, the wild yearning to bite someone. "I am Amanda Post, a vampire vampire hunter. You are David, and I really want to know about the origin of that knife. Now. I know you have a billion questions to ask, but I'm getting really hungry and ought to go to the sewer or something like that. You have a million questions, I'm sure, and so do I. But the wanting to rip your throat out? I really ought to take care of that. So! I'll meet you at your apartment in an hour, and we can chat. Sound good? Bye!"

And then she was gone. David stood dumbly in the street, alone. He pulled out his cell.

After dialing the numbers, his call was answered at the first ring.

"Hello? David?"

"It's me."

"Status."

"It's a bit complicated..."

"What? Are you bitten? Did it get away again? What is it?"

"She's out... hunting."

There was no answer. David knew what this meant. It meant, "You had better have some d good explanation."

He answered in a rush. "Well, it was weird, because when I had my knife against her neck she knew my name and all of this other stuff- but she also said that her name was Amanda Post."

There were muffled sounds of scuffling and muttered conversation in the background.

"Are you quite sure about... well, which Amanda Post?"

"She kept asking me about the knife. She also says that she's a vampire hunter."

"Why did you let it go?"

David started to answer, but cut off the words before they escaped.

I trust her?

No. No one would like that answer. Vampires were an unpredictable thing- they could manipulate time and space in a thousand different ways, all the while using pure charm to pull you closer and closer.

David held the phone dumbly in his hand.

He didn't have an answer.

"I- I don't quite know. She caught me off guard- she didn't look at all like Amanda, and then..."

"Are you saying that she-"

"She changed her appearance."

There was a long pause.

"David, what level would you say this vampire was?"

"A seven."

"Seven?"

"Or eight."

David looked at his watch. All of the long, awkward pauses in their conversation added up, and they were running out of time. "She said she's going to meet me back at my apartment in an hour. That was ten minutes ago. Bring everybody."

The man on the phone sipped his coffee wearily. "It's meeting you."

David nodded once, irritated and embarrassed by the whole situation.

"Yes, so I've got to get home and clean things up a bit. It's messy right now, and if I'm going to entertain vampires there, I had better not look like a slob. See you there."

He hung up. Looking up at the sky, vainly attempting to glean answers from it's misty vastness, David sighed, melting into the shadows as he traced back his route home.

Why was it, he thought as the soles of his shoes slapped the pavement, that somehow, for some reason, I find myself believing her?

A/N: By far one of my favorite chapters. But really, tell me what you think!