kind of a shorter chapter... but i expect the next few chapters to be long :)

i hope you like it.. not much action, but like i said.. the next ones will be good!

ENJOY

Chapter 11:

I counted the days in my head and then on my fingers because they all seemed to blur together with training, everything to do with Cashile, and just plain old stress. I had to start over several times as I put out a finger to signify each day.

Six. This is my sixth day in the vampire sector. It scared me that I had fewer and fewer days left being a human. Turning Day is in two days. Final Training is tomorrow. Last chance training is today.

I felt confident though. My weak skills have gotten stronger and my strong skills have gotten even stronger. I reasoned that if I was chosen from all of the humans on Choosing Day, then there must be something special that the vampires want. There must be. The humans are the sector which have the most people, and vampires have the least; so, statistically speaking, my odds were never good to begin with, yet I was still chosen. Hopefully my luck transfers over.

The pounding on the metal door made me jump. Whoever was behind it twisted the latch and let themselves in. I saw Christina's orange hair contrasting with the darkness behind her. "Training time. Let's go!" she called.

I ran with a little skip in my step to catch up with her, loving the fact that for a moment I could forget about my huge problems and be girly with her and talk about boys. Luckily, Alex wasn't attached to her hip because I needed to talk about him with her. She raised an eyebrow at my strange behavior, her cat-like eyes studying me. "What are you so peppy about?"

"When were you going to tell me about you and Alex?" I nudged her shoulder.

Her eyes looked around for a lie for a moment, but she gave up and smiled. Normally she comes off as having a hard exterior, but every once and a while she would peel it back, and it was nice seeing her smile for once; it was probably because we were talking about Alex. The only other time I saw her smile was with Alex. "He and I… we've always been friends. We just grew closer during training, that's all."

"Mmm hmm." I said with a singsong voice. I have to admit I'm a little disappointed that she didn't share this information with me earlier, but I had to be nonchalant about it because (maybe) someday I will have to tell her about the kiss that Cashile and I shared and then I will say 'we just grew closer in training, that's all'. I smiled at the thought of it.

We entered the training room together and stood in a line with the rest of the trainees. Christina stood next to Alex and he smiled at her. At least some people can still be happy.

As soon as everyone showed up, Cashile began, talking in his authoritative, strict tone. The same tome he always used inside the training room. "This is your last day to clean up anything you have weaknesses in. Make sure you stand out in front of the vampire choosing council." His voice grew in seriousness, making him seem more vampire than human. "Make. Them. Remember. You." His eyes scanned the crowd as he talked and they stopped on me only for a second and then continued scanning; it's a good thing that I caught it because it was extremely subtle. A subtle reminder that I need to stick out; I need to make them remember me: a human.

It's also a good thing it was subtle because if people suspect something between us they'll assume he's favoring me, or worse, they'll find out about his humanity.

During training, sweat dripped off of my face more than it ever had before. Cashile had us doing push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and every other kind of "ups" he could possibly think of. My muscles are burning so badly I don't how I am going to be able to move tomorrow; I could hardly move today!

It was strange seeing Cashile as an authoritative figure again because he and I became so much closer last night, whether or not that turns into something…I'll just have to wait and find out.

I walked over to the drinking station in the corner and filled a paper cup with the ice-cold water, breathing hard, cheeks flushed. Ethan came walking toward me. My body stiffened and I swallowed hard. I placed the cup back in my designated area and kept my eyes down.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice slithering uncomfortably around me.

"Nothing." I spat back. I turned around to see his other half, Jade, still practicing ruthlessly. She was practicing with knives and a dummy that was looked eerily similar to my size. I also looked to make sure I knew where Cashile was, just in case any fight broke out between Ethan and I, he could come break it up. Cashile was standing across the room, observing, with his arms crossed, pacing the room, but still attentive to his surroundings, as always.

"Jade and I have been watching you and we've been thinking that we might like you on our side." He gave me a feral smile.

What? "On your side?" I questioned, genuinely taken by surprise.

"Yeah," he leaned his hands on the edge of the table facing the fighting area. "those two," he gestured to Alex and Christina. "they're weak." He seemed to growl between his teeth, like they were considered his prey.

"You don't think they'll make it?" I asked. I had faith in them; neither of them particularly stood out, but they were strong enough to be turned.

"No and they're only bringing you down. They don't even drink blood yet." His voice was full of judgment and disgust. "If you want to spend the rest of your life in that human feeding tank, that's fine with me," he leaned in closer "but if you want to be a vampire, then you should stick with us. "

"No thanks." I shrugged him off. He obviously wanted something that had to do with me. My blood? My…body? I don't know, but the way he was begging for me to join him and Jade concerned me. Did he know that humans make stronger vampires? He would find out when/if I become one, when I was stronger than him, but maybe he didn't have to find out; maybe I could mask my strength. No. I thought to myself. I have to push away these thoughts; I don't know for sure what is going to happen. I don't know if I will be chosen to be turned into a vampire.

"No thanks? You're nothing without us." He snarled, but a part of him was disappointed, I could tell.

"I said no. thank. you." I said firmly. Grudgingly, Ethan walked back to Jade and continued to work out. I let out a little triumphant smile. He had no idea the affect he had on me. I bet he thought his negative, harsh words about my failure would get under my skin and ruin my performance, but little did he know his words only motivated me to work harder. I need to prove him wrong, and everyone else that doubts me; it's the only way to keep them from teasing me ever again.

At the end of the day it seemed like everyone limped out of training, exhausted. Cashile stayed behind to clean up everything for tomorrow. I walked over to help him and he didn't even have to look up to recognize me.

"What did Ethan talk to you about?" he said, keeping his head down and voice uninterested, just in case somebody was listening or watching.

I looked at him skeptically. "You didn't overhear?" I asked, knowing that his vampire hearing was much better than mine.

"Okay, I did, but I want your opinion." He said quietly. He grabbed a rag and slung it over his shoulder as he faced me, his black hair shagging over his forehead; it only reminded me of the Cashile I knew out of training. During training, and around other people, all I see him as is my instructor, my elder, and my protector; I don't think of him as a friend, or a boyfriend for that matter.

"I think it's weird that he wants me so bad, you know. It almost seemed like he was about to beg. You don't think he knows, do you?"

"It's hard to tell. He and Jade are conniving little bastards, but I don't think either of them would believe you would ever be stronger than them." He whispered.

"Do you think I'll make it through?" I asked.

"Of course." He said sincerely walking closer to me, holding me by the hip. "You've grown tremendously, and plus every vampire on the council knows about the whole 'human scenario'."

"But what if they don't pick me because they are afraid the rest of the compound will catch on?" I asked.

Cashile's face tightened like he hadn't given any of that thought before. "If that happens, then I will keep you with me, make it so that no other vampire can touch you, just like they can't touch my mother." He traced his finger along my jaw line, his gorgeous green and brown eyes staring into mine. "It will be okay."

"and if it's not?" I asked, worrying, yet again, about my future

"I have a Plan B." he smiled.

"I think you mean Plan C." I corrected, considering the all too likely scenario where a vampire gets out of hand and kills me because of his previous plan. "What is that exactly?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Just try and get a good night's rest tonight." He leaned in and kissed me softly, pulling me closer with his hand. I had forgotten how much our lips contrasted and the coldness, once again, took me by surprise. "I have faith in you." He reassured. Little did he know that only made me more nervous; I don't want to let him down.

. . .

As I walked into the dining hall, I noticed the people around me more than I ever did before. The vampires all had their silver thermoses that they always drink from, but there were only a handful of vampires in the dining hall because of the live feeding area. The mutts laughed and talked to each other like normal teenagers. Small children mutts ran around playing tag (it's amazing how they rarely got tired). And lastly, as I was walking up to the counter to get my meal, I noticed the older mutts—the ones that never passed training. The rejects. The worthless.

Mutts, ranging from their thirties to seventies, were lined up along the serving line with aprons and hair nets, attending to everyone else's needs. Some were washing tables and some were, I assumed, in the kitchen preparing meals. There weren't that many unturned mutts because it wasn't supposed to be that difficult for them to pass training, and yet, none of them did. I couldn't help but wonder what went wrong.

One of them handed me my tray food. "Thank you." I said quietly, trying not to make eye contact. Looking at their tired, overworked eyes reminded me just how easy it was for me not to get chosen.

"You're welcome." The male spoke up for the first time, cheerier than I expected. "Good luck tomorrow." He added. At that moment I did look up at him and saw a warm smile on his face. I didn't say anything back to the mutt because I was confused by his comment. It wasn't that I didn't like it—and I did—but it was just odd that he was talking to me. I've never heard any of them say anything before; that's why I didn't notice them before.

After that, I simply turned around to sit with Alex and Christina. Jaxon wasn't there tonight, but was sitting with some of his vampire friends instead. Since my vision was in that general direction, I saw Cashile sitting at one of the round tables all by himself. Alone.

He rolled the bottom of his thermos in a circle, staring blankly at it, only drinking from it occasionally. He had said that he wanted to keep people away in order to preserve his secrets and that he preferred it that way, but I could see that he was miserable. He had no friends. He hand no family except for his mother, and he was surrounded by the one thing he hated the most: vampires. They killed his family and they turned him; he never wanted to be like this but it was his only choice.

I couldn't help but wonder: is this what it was going to be like for me? No. No, we will have each other. Even if nothing happens between us, we will still have each other because of where we came from. That's the only thing we'll have.

Review Please! Let me know what you think! :)

ps. i think i am going to starting working either this coming week or later... so the chapters may not come weekly (like i've been trying to to) but i promise i will update as soon as i feel the chapters are ready!