I love that you guys love this! and SURPRISE i had a second chapter ready because i just loved starting this :) Keep up with the reviews please!

this is kind of a longer chapter than i usually write, so let me know if you think it's a good length :)

ENJOY

Chapter 2:

I counted the days down, marked them off on a piece of paper, and the day was finally here. Choosing Day.

Wes and my parents were already downstairs. They must have let me sleep in for my 'special day'. I didn't even hear Wes get up, and we share the same bed.

Slowly, step-by-step, I made my way down the creaky stairs. My mother, father, and Wes were all sitting at the table eating breakfast. The sun was just barely shining through the murky window in the corner of the room.

"Good morning." I spoke up.

"Good morning, dear. Would you like some breakfast?" my mother asked, getting up from her chair.

She set down a black bowl in front of me, scooped out some oats, and poured in steaming water. "Thank you." I said quietly.

My mother had brown hair and was thin, like me. My father had dark hair that matched the scruff around his chin. He was tall, athletic, and a runner, but he had to give it up after he hurt his knee. Wes sat to my right and he barely was tall enough for the table. He sat there in silence as well, but every once and a while I would hear a sniffle come from him. They may all be scared for me, but I'm not going to let them know how nervous I am. I especially won't let Wes see it.

"So Wes," I started as I leaned my elbows on the wooden table. "Guess what I found."

"What?" he mumbled. I leaned over in my chair and searched though the black leather bag I normally carry around. I searched and searched, and then finally, I found it.

"Ah hah!" I said. "Close your eyes." He did as I commanded, and I put the gift in his hands. When he opened his eyes he actually squealed in excitement.

"Jugi!" he squeezed the blanket. "Where did you find him?"

"I have my ways." I looked up at my mom and she winked at me; she actually found it buried in a laundry basket, not me. Jugi was our family blanket. It was Shane's to begin with, and then, when I was born, it was given to me, and then finally it was given to Wes. It was a family heirloom, which we all loved as a kid, and when Wes thought he lost it, he was devastated.

"Thanks, Ally cat!" he smiled real big, and for a moment, I actually thought he forgot about Choosing Day, but that all changed when the announcement was played over the city's P.A. system.

"Attention. Will all of the eighteen-year-olds make their way to the Executive Building immediately. The Choosing Ceremony will begin in five minutes, all other spectators are advised to arrive in ten minutes. " The voice cut off.

I looked at my remaining family. We all got up from the table and hugged each other for a long time. If I was chosen to leave the human sector, I would only see my family one more time on visiting day—given that they want to come and see me.

I wouldn't even get to see them after the Ceremony because all of the family members have to wait outside. On the front of the Executive Building is a giant screen that would tell them our results, and that's all the information they got until visiting day.

I looked at Wes and he had tears in his eyes. "I love you." He cried.

I hugged him. "I love you too," I looked up. "all of you, it will be okay, really." I reassured them.

After we said our long goodbyes, I started walking to the Executive Building. It wasn't a far walk, but there was a drastic change in scenery. Where Danny and I live, the houses are small and wooden, closer to the center of our sector the buildings become larger, and are made out of cement, and then, finally, there's the Executive Building. It is a 20 story high building that had shiny glass windows and fancy sliding doors that open without touching them.

Around the building I can see the crowd of teenagers thickening, and in the sea of people I see Danny. I push and weave my way through and hug him, and we stay together until the moment we have to go into observation.

The observation time is the chance for us to show the vampire and werewolf representatives our strengths. Rumor has it that they can sense when we aren't showing them everything, and that they can tell when we are lying about something.

Finally, the teenagers are allowed into the building and we wait in the hallways. Danny and I sit next to each other on the bench that snakes down the huge hallway. Without saying anything to each other, we both knew we should spend as much time together as possible, since it may be the last time I ever see him.

My leg was bouncing up and down when I heard a silence fall over the crowd. We were all chatting before, and creating a lot of noise, so what was the silence about? I looked down the hallway and found my answer.

A single vampire representative was making his way down the hallway and into the observation room. He was wear fitted black tuxedo and a dark blue tie. He was tall, had dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and didn't seem overly muscular, but I didn't let that fool me. Vampires can never be underestimated because they are stronger that all of us, even if they don't look like it. Speaking of looks, this vampire was quite handsome, although all the vampires I've ever seen, from learning in school, are attractive. They say vampires use their looks to their advantage so they can lure in prey easier.

Chills were sent down my spine.

About five minutes later, the werewolves walked down the hallway, not one, but a pack. They weren't as dressed up as the vampire; they were in jeans and plain t-shirts. The group leader, probably the alpha, was huge—well, all of them were—but he was extra huge. His hair was blonde and it shagged just around his eyes. I studied them all quickly as they passed by, and my heart sank.

In the middle of the pack, there was a tall male with brown hair, the same color as mine, and brown eyes; he hadn't aged since the last time I saw him.

"Shane." I breathed out. Shane looked at me for a second, but then quickly looked away. I felt Danny grab my wrist and I looked at him, he was shaking his head, telling me no. Werewolves believed in family and pack mentality, but they didn't believe in remembering your human family. Once you were in the pack, that's all you thought about. "That was Shane." I spoke to no one in particular.

"I know." Danny said.

"Why is he here?" I asked.

"I don't know, it must be his pack's turn to choose who they want." He whispered now. "I'm not a werewolf yet, I don't know all of their secrets, just what we learned in school."

His voice was cut off by an announcement. "Attention. The observations will begin at this time; stay seated until one of the representatives comes for you. Thank you."

I took in a breath. This is it. I thought.

One by one the people left to be individually tested. After the testing was done, they were sent to another room, so this hallway was getting pretty empty.

Danny and I still sat next to each other when we heard the clicking of steps echo our way. I squeezed his hand.

"Daniel Ortho." The familiar voice asked. We both looked up at the same time. It was Shane. He smiled at me and I couldn't help but stand up and hug him.

"Hey Ally." He smoothed the back of my hair.

"What are you doing here? Do you do the choosing?" I asked.

"No, I'm just a guard. You can never be too careful when there are vampires running around in the same building."

"Vampire." I corrected. "There's only one."

"We know, but it's just a precaution."

"It's amazing that a second war doesn't breakout during the Choosing Ceremonies. I mean, it's the only time all three sectors are together." Danny spoke up.

"It's all very organized, and I hate to admit it, but the vamp they brought in this year has been pretty level headed so far." Shane said, almost punishing himself for saying such a thing about the vampires.

"That's good." I said.

Then, Shane shifted, almost like he was listening to someone. "Come on. Time to go." He ushered Danny by the waist, led him into the observation area and shut the metal doors behind him.

I sat alone. There were kids still spotted along the hallway, but none of them were close to me.

The large doors opened again and Shane came out again. "Your turn Ally cat." He said. I stood up and followed him through the doors.

The room we walked into was huge. The ceiling was high and there were no windows at ground level. Cement lined the walls instead of paint, and the floor was cement as well.

Weights and ropes and obstacle courses and other things that I have never seen were scattered along the observation floor. Shane told me to stand on the X that was taped on the floor; he kept walking forward and sat down with the other werewolves.

In a dugout-like area, there were about ten werewolves on one side of a cement wall, and one vampire on the other. He sat there with his leg crossed over his knee, bored.

"Name?" The lead werewolf shocked me by speaking up.

"Allison Cooper." I tried to say it with out any sign of nervousness, but my words came out a little crackly. I heard one of the werewolf girls snicker in the back.

The leader smiled at her. "Go on."

Go on what? I looked around the room at all of the training objects. What do you want me to do? Juggle flaming knives? Is that what you want? Entertainment from a pathetic human, while you sit back and watch?

The black-haired vampire walked up to me and interrupted my inner monologue. The jacket he was wearing earlier was hanging over his chair, and he was left with his black vest. He didn't say anything; he just studied me. Is this what always happens? He walked around me like a shark circling its prey. This is it. I don't even get to show them anything; I'm just going to be his dinner. I thought. He grabbed my wrist and looked at my arm. I was instantly given goose bumps by his cool touch. He pushed up my sleeve and exposed all of the needle marks on my arm from all of the times I gave blood. He studied it for a second, let my arm go, and continued with his circling.

Finally, stopping in front of me, he grabbed my shoulders. "Relax." He whispered and then gave a gentle smile. "Breathe."

I followed his commands and let out the breath I had been holding in. I shook out my limbs.

He started walking back to his chair, but he still talked to me. "How about we start with the weights. Show Michael how strong you are." By the sly tone of his voice I could tell he wasn't talking in third person, and by the ugly sneer on the werewolf's face I could tell that the 'Michael' he was referring to was the lead werewolf, and the vampire wasn't complementing him.

"Okay." I said.

The weights were labeled by 10's. 10 pounds, 20 pounds, 30 pounds, and so on. I decided to start at 30. I grabbed the metal bar and hoped for the best. It wasn't that heavy, but it was still a small struggle for me to lift. I moved on to 40, then 50, and then 60. I couldn't lift the 70-pound bar at all; no matter what I tried it wouldn't budge. "That's all I can do." I said.

"Very well, what else can you do?" The werewolf asked, bored. I knew I didn't impress anybody. Basically, if you didn't have strength, you weren't going to be a werewolf, and if the werewolves didn't want me, the vampire wouldn't either.

"I don't know?" I shook my head slightly. "What do you want me to show you?" I asked with a little attitude attached. I don't know why, but the vampire smiled in amusement at what I said. For a moment it seemed like he was the only one observing me, but it didn't make me feel any better; it made me feel like a meal.

The vampire seemed to be looking around the room and then to me, look at an object an then to me. My eyebrows came together in confusion as I waited for a response.

"I would like you to run on the treadmill." The vampire organized the papers in front of him.

"I'm sorry, the what?" I asked, surprised by his question.

"The treadmill." He pointed to an object to the left of me that had two handles on either side with a rotating mat under it. He wants me to run. How did he know I could run? I could feel my heart skip a beat.

"Okay." I replied softly. The machine had several dials on it and I didn't know which one to push, I've never seen a machine like this.

I was about to ask, when the vampire spoke up. "Start at seven, and we'll see what happens from there."

I pushed the button and the mat started moving under me. At first it was a quick walk, then a jog. I stayed at this pace for a while, without feeling winded. I looked over to the werewolf leader and he looked pleased, while the vampire showed little emotion at all. Maybe the werewolves like stamina…they do run an awful lot.

"See the dial on your right," The werewolf called out, leaning forward in his chair. "Turn it to the right until you can't keep up anymore."

I followed his orders and turned the knob. The speed picked up, I ran faster. I twisted the dial until I couldn't twist it anymore; it was still easy for me to keep up with it, so I just kept running at that speed. I maxed it out.

The lead werewolf, Michael, had a grin on his face and so did the other wolves, including Shane. He wrote something down and spoke up. "Thank you very much, you may leave now."

The vampire still sat in his chair, eyeing me. I wish I knew what he was thinking about me.

I was breathing hard when I left the room and Danny came running up to me. "So? How do you think you did?" he asked.

"I think I impressed the werewolves." I smiled. Originally, I didn't want to be turned, but if it felt good to be wanted. If I were turned into a werewolf I would be with Danny and Shane. It wouldn't be as bad as I originally thought.

"Really? That's great!" Danny wrapped his strong arms around me again.

"Yeah." I said.

He and I waited in the crammed room with everyone else. We were all ordered to say here until they ordered us back in. Minutes ticked by, and more people walked in to wait. In total, there were about a hundred of us: human and mutts combined.

Finally, after an hour of waiting, the doors opened and we were all herded back into the observation room. Boys in one line; girls in another. In the middle were Michael and the vampire. They both had papers in their hands.

"On this paper I have a list. If your name is not called, wait and see if you are called for vampire. If your name is not called at all, you are human." Michael shouted out the orders. Seems easy enough.

He started rattling off the werewolf mutt boys first. No surprise, they were all chosen to become werewolves. Then he read the human boys that were chosen; Danny's name was on the list. I smiled at him.

Michael read off the girl mutts, and then started with the humans. He read through the entire list; my name was never called. I'm going to stay human. Both relief and despair showered over me: I'm not going to change, but I'm never going to see Danny or Shane again, but I will be with my family.

In the meantime the vampire started reading off his list. I was barely listening. Vampires never choose humans because we're never good enough; he was just reading all of the vampire mutt's names. I watched his thumb as it moved down the paper, indicating he was almost done with his list.

I just wanted him to finish. I just wanted to go home.

"And finally… Allison Cooper." The vampire said.

Instantly, I felt all eyes fall on me.

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