Chapter 4
Serena lightly sipped her coffee at the busy Starbucks in New York while ironically reading "Dracula" by Bram Stocker. Her mind immediately went back to the old classic vampire movies that came on in black and white and laughed. Vampires were nothing like that at all. Vampires, from what she learned in her two years of training dressed like humans between the ages of 18-30 in order to attract younger prey with stronger blood, which made a fulfilling meal versus someone who was older.
They also didn't sleep in coffins either for they didn't need sleep at all and if they did it was only for pleasure and definitely not a necessity. Her thoughts wondered to the event they had to go through tonight. Slaying. Her job as a food scientist paid well but was she willing to give the job up if it called for it, if she did how would she survive? She was brought out of her thoughts by her phone ringing, she looked at the caller ID and saw that it was her cousin Mina.
"Hello?"
"Hey! I hope you didn't forget about our lunch date."
"Me? Forget about lunch at Mellow Mushroom, you have got to be kidding me."
"Yep! And we all know how you love to eat."
"Hey! But I never gain a pound though, you have to give me credit!"
"Yeah, who can with all this running around we have been doing for the past couple of years."
They had been training for the past two years non-stop to kill something that they were told as children didn't exist. It was their purpose from then on after their twenty-first birthday to kill vampires and for Serena it was personal. It had been two years and Serena still thought that they weren't ready, but Mina was estatic about "kicking vampire ass".
"I know right, but I'll be there Mina, right before you can say two pigs in a blanket."
"A'ight you better be."
"Bye."
"Bye."
Serena stood up from the table while throwing her empty cup away and when she got outside she placed her newly black rinsed hair underneath her custom made helmet which was black and silver and had her name engraved on the side of it. She revved up her motorcycle and joined the traffic of the busy streets of New York.
An Hour Later…
Serena pulled up at Mellow Mushroom, parked her motorcycle and took off her helmet as she entered the restaurant. She immediately looked for her blond cousin in the crowd of the restaurant and found her talking, more like flirting with the waiter that was at the table. She made her way over to the table and sat down in the chair right across from Mina.
"Well about time and what happened to your hair?"
"Well excuse me, I didn't ask for New York's traffic to be this horrible. No one did."
"Then next time don't lie and say you'll be here faster than two pigs in a blanket."
"I didn't mean to lie and shut up and order I'm hungry."
"You could have fooled me, you were an hour late." Mina mumbled under her breath
"I heard that."
"So sue me."
"Ahem" The waiter cleared his throat after watching the two cousins argue back and forth.
"Oh I'm sorry! I forgot that you were standing there, you know how little cousins can be."
"I'm not that young, only a month younger than you."
"Anyways….since I already know what I want because I have been sitting here for an hour…I would like the Greek Salad minus the cucumbers, extra feta cheese with Ranch dressing. I would also like to have water with little ice please." Mina told the cute waiter with the shaggy brown hair that fell into his eyes.
Serena ignoring Mina's comment also gave the waiter her order, "I would like a small House Special with a Pepsi."
"Ok, your order will be right out ladies." The waiter turned on his heel and went directly back to the kitchen to place the two orders.
"Well anyways, are you going to answer my question?"
"What question?"
"What did you do to your hair?"
"Oh, I put a black rinse in it why?"
"I was just wondering. You know mom is not going to like it right."
"Mina I know, as much as I love Aunt Evelyn I have to become my own person some day."
"I understand that but I was just saying."
Just then the waiter brought their drinks out and told them that their food would be out momentarily.
"Oh my gosh he is soooo cute!" Mina squealed the minute he walked away from the table.
"I could tell you thought that by the way you were flirting with him."
"Did I look obvious?"
"No Mina, you didn't look too obvious by batting your eyelashes and playing with your hair."
"Ha Ha very funny Sere. But he was cute though, I think I'm going to get his number."
"Don't you have a boyfriend, by the name of let's see…SETH!"
"SHHHHH!!! Not anymore, we broke up last night."
"You two will be back together again. You guys always break up."
"I guess." Mina said shrugging it off, "But for right now I think I'm going to get his number."
"Who knows he might even ask for yours, it look like he was flirting right back."
"Really?"
"Mina would I lie about some thing like this?"
"Maybe."
"Oh shut up."
The waiter comes back with their food and places it on the table in front of them.
"Enjoy your lunch ladies."
"Thank you...Brian was it."
"Yes it was."
"Can I get your number?"
Brian grabbed a napkin out of his waiter apron and wrote down his number and gave it to Mina.
"Please don't let my boss find out about this, I could get fired. We are not supposed to be flirting with the customers, much less giving out our numbers."
"No worries here."
With a smile Brian walked away and began to see about his customers at his other tables while the girls began to eat their food.
"So what do you think about…you know." Mina began.
"Tonight?"
"Well yeah."
"I have no Idea, I've been thinking about it though. What more can we expect. We have been training for the past two years for this, I just hope we are ready for it. We both know it will be hard if it's anything like our training that we've endured for the past two years.
"And our lives will be in danger too! I'm so excited! I can't wait, but I can. I'm nervous but I'm not. You know what I mean?"
"I know exactly what you mean, which is weird." Serena replied laughing with Mina joining in.
"Before I forget, mom said she wanted to see you today."
"Well since I have nothing else to do we can leave and go straight over there after we are done eating."
The girls continued to eat their meal with Mina leaving her number in return on a $5 tip on the table. From there it was on to Evelyn's house.
At Evelyn's House…
Mina knocked on the door to her mom's house and waited until she opened it, but no answer. She then began to ring the doorbell.
Ding…Dong…Ding…Dong…Ding…Dong…Ding…Dong…Ding…Dong…Di-
The door opened in mid ding.
"Hey dad!" Mina happily chirped hugging her dad.
"Hey honey! We are not deaf you know."
"I know but no one was answering when I knocked on the door."
"We were in the back talking about tonight."
"Oh…"
"Come in, come in"
Serena and Mina both walked into the house
"Hey Serena how have you been?"
"I've been fine Uncle Jeff."
"Now come over here and give me a hug. It seems like I haven't seen you in ages."
Serena went over to her uncle and gave him a hug.
"I've been busy with my job lately but I took off today though, to prepare myself for tonight."
"Good thing you did, you are going to need all the rest you can get for the first time you go hunting, after that you get used to it and it's a breeze." Said a voice coming from the door near the kitchen.
"Hey Aunt Evelyn."
"Serena, have you ate, are you hungry? And what did you do to your hair? It's...dark." The older woman said with a frown, while walking over to her and engulfing her into a hug.
"Mom how come you didn't ask me did I eat?"
"Because you told me that you were going to stop and eat some where before you came over here."
"Oh yeah that's right."
"No auntie, I'm not hungry I ate with Mina at Mellow Mushroom. It's just a rinse Aunt Evelyn"
"Oh ok. Jeff and I wanted to talk with you two before you set out for tonight."
Evelyn ushered her daughter and her niece once again into the "forbidden" living room where Evelyn had first told the girls of their destiny, and asked them to have a seat. The two girls had a seat on the couch while Evelyn and Jeff took their place in two of the living room chairs.
"How are you girls feeling about tonight."
"Mom at the very least, we are nervous."
"Good, being nervous is a good sign."
"How is that a good sign Uncle Jeff."
"It makes you fight for your life harder, more of an adrenaline rush. If you didn't feel any nervousness I would say you weren't human." Jeff finished that statement with a smack to the back of his head given by his wife, Evelyn.
"Well mom, he's right in a weird way. If we didn't feel any nervousness it wouldn't be normal."
"I know, but he didn't have to add the part where you fight for your life harder. I mean you girls are already nervous about tonight anyways." She looked at the faces of Mina and Serena before continuing. "You girls need to stick together tonight, ya'll need to have each other in sight at all times just incase something goes wrong. You'll be given your weapons before you leave…"
Evelyn's eyes started tearing up. Mina and Serena rushed over to the older woman and hugged her.
"It's ok Mom, nothing is going to happen to us."
"Yeah Aunt Evelyn, I'll make sure of it. I will not rest until every last one of the vampires on this Earth is nothing but a dark fairy tale. They killed my parents and for that they will pay." Serena clutched her fist with anger in her blue eyes.
"Serena, you need to save that anger for slaying tonight. You need all the rest you can get." Uncle Jeff replied from the living room chair next to his wife.
"He's right, You girls need to get some rest, I will wake you up at eight so you can take your shower, there is no time to waste. We need all the nightfall we can get."
"Awww do we have to?"
"Yes, Mina, you girls have to. No go upstairs and rest while I talk to your Mom."
The girls made their way upstairs into the rooms they usually sleep in while they are there and laid in the bed thinking about what was to come.