Chapter One – A bad Monday morning.
On the edge of existence, mythical creatures lurk in the shadows, hiding away from the growing human civilisation. Human beings are under the impression that these creatures only exist in books and in their darkest nightmares, but in all honesty; they are naïve and corrupted. It could be said that this is a good thing as the human race are destructive and, in general, can't handle the truth, but truly, who decides what is best for over six billion people?
No one.
For one race, however, every being is controlled by a select few. There are rules you must follow, steps to be taken and laws to abide by until you reach the grave. You break these rules and you're signing your own death warrant. Scared? You should be.
These Vampires are not to be messed with.
Throughout history, Vampires walked the earth, hiding amongst humans who knew nothing of their frightening existence. They had been there since the dawn of time, multiplying and growing stronger as the centuries past. Never once had they announced their survival, until one day, when the world as the humans knew it came to a sudden halt.
The weather in Los Angeles had been its usual warm and stuffy self, although an unsettling wind had picked up through the streets, making the exceeded heat seem remotely bearable. Strangely, white puffy clouds created a thick blanket over the city, protecting and shielding it from the penetrating sunlight. I remember waking up that morning to my alarm clock, blasting that irritating 'beep beep' noise that made you cringe as though spiders ran up your spine. The piercing sound echoed through my ears, making me groan loudly into my soft pillow. My eyes opened with great difficulty, my eyelids fighting against the sticky gunk that gathered around my eyes and like always, the first thing my eyes set on was my black alarm clock, displaying seven o'clock. I blinked a couple of times, my eyelashes battering against my skin feverishly, before I let my head fall back down against the soft cushioned pillow; I was terrible at mornings.
"Eden! Wake up! Wake up! Its time for school!"
Connor, my baby brother, opened my bedroom door then, his small round face flushed and blotchy from his sleepy slumber.
"Go away Connor..." I mumbled, my voice muffled from the pillow I held closely to my face. School was not something to look forward to.
"Eden! Come on!" he screeched again, his sweet angelic voice bombarding my fragile ears. I opened my eyelids again, my green eyes watching Connor as he walked towards my bed. His blue pyjamas were crumpled and stained in who knows what, his ruffled blonde hair lying in a messy heap across his head and his blue eyes also covered with crispy gunk. He neared my bed and started to gently slap my face, sweetly giggling in the process. Somehow, even though I felt like the walking dead, a bubbly laugh managed to escape my mouth; Connor always made morning manageable.
"Alright... alright." I smiled, sitting up straight.
As I sat up, my blonde locks covered my eyes like a golden veil. I glanced in the mirror across the room and laughed again; not only did I feel like the walking dead, I could probably pass for it too. I chucked the covers off my body and threw my legs over the mattress, softly landing on the golden wooden floor. Beneath my feet, the flooring was freezing, making me frown gently.
"Aren't you cold?" I asked Connor, watching him carefully attempt to climb up on my bed. He was only four and even though he was tall for his age, he still found climbing a huge difficult task.
"Nope." He replied simply, something I frequently rolled my eyes at; Connor was so simple.
I stood up, walking towards my wardrobe and retrieving my satin dressing gown, draping it across my shoulders. Of course, since the fabric was fairly thin and kept in heat like an open window, it didn't make much of a difference. Still, at least it covered up my shamefully mismatching pyjamas. Gently, I lifted Connor from his standing position and balanced him on my hip, walking out the door towards his room.
Every morning now, it was my responsibility to get Connor dressed and ready for Kindergarten, but not because it was my chore or anything, I was the only one who was capable now.
Ever since my younger sister vanished a couple of months back, my parents had become depressed and unhappy. It wasn't like I could blame them; Jenna was the apple of their eye and it had broken their hearts when the police had confirmed she was probably dead. It wasn't like I wasn't upset, I was, but something about the way she just disappeared just didn't add up. I had this gut feeling that she was alright, that she was safe; we were always really close and if she was dead, I would know.
Ever since Jenna's disappearance, Mom had begun obsessive drinking and Dad had converted religion to Hibernation; all he did was sit on the sofa, staring blankly at the wall or he was out at the pub, also drinking. It never used to be like this; we used to be a happy family, we used to go on holiday regularly, we used to laugh and fight at family dinner; we were your average dysfunctional family. Everything was wrong now; everything was ruined.
After getting Connor dressed, which is more difficult as it looks because he does nothing but sit in the corner and refuse to put his trainers on, and myself dressed, I made lunch for the both of us and packed both bags. Mine was its usual heavy self; I was sixteen now, which meant a lot of homework, which meant of textbooks and worksheets, which led to this enormous bag. Connor's blue 'Thomas the Tank Engine' backpack only held his lunch, a couple of toy cars and a spare pair of trousers. Connor's knees frequently found themselves making contact with the ground, grass and dirt.
The walk to Connor's kindergarten was fairly long, but somehow it felt good to get out into the city in the morning. Something about the afternoon buzz made me smile, and when I was happy, school was just that little bit easier. Riverside Kindergarten was smack bang in the middle of the busy city, making it extremely difficult to weave yourself in and out of the maze that was Los Angeles, but somehow, we managed to make it there bang on time every morning.
I knew the route off by heart because I had made the journey so many times, but something about today made me feel unsettled and anxious; something was wrong. The atmosphere felt different, the air felt different; everything was wrong! Even though my gut was telling me to turn back and head back home, I continued on the journey, shutting out the horrible feeling by listening to Connors constant babble, even though most of it didn't make sense.
The city was colourful and buzzing with noise and cars, but still, the familiarities didn't make me feel any more comfortable. Without realising I was, I held Connor's hand much tighter than necessary.
It was when we were only across the street from the nursery school that everything turned into a nightmare.
At first, all that could be heard was the screeching of wheels against the tarmac, and then there was screaming, and then there were car alarms sounding through the air. I twisted on my heels, my heart beating and battering against my ribcage. Behind us, cars were being thrown into the air like they were pieces of paper and passers by were being pushed aside like rag dolls. Even though I was terrified, my curiosity glued me to the spot and prevented me from running, which was what everyone else on the sidewalk was doing; fleeing.
"Eden! What's happening?" Connor asked, his voice broken and muffled. I glanced down and noticed the toddler's face was streaked with salty tears. The sight of my baby brother crying knocked out any curiosity that was in me and allowed me to realise what was happening; something bad was going on. I glanced back up, and now that all the cars in the street were lying in tatters across the side of the wide street, the cause for the violent outbreak was finally visible; there was a fleet of people coming towards us.