On top of the Construction Site, one can see the boundary between night and day shifting across the land as the sun began to emerge from the horizon and light glistened from the clouds. A stunning sunrise delicately blended with the snow on the outskirts of the city, the snow was untainted by human hands so far due to the early morning for a large area until it was broken up by a scene of three women being restrained and held at gunpoint by a random man.
"What did you do to him!?" Kayla shouted while trying to hold back her fury out of worry for her family, this is the only reason why she didn't break free and rip him to bits.
"What…? What are you talking about!?" The guy questioned her as he moved the gun to her head, but she continued to stare with ferocity in her eyes.
"Did. You. You. Him?" She demanded as what he said next would determine his fate.
"Seriously, I don't know who you are talking about!" The man explained, sounding bewildered and agitated.
"My brother!" Kayla spat out.
"Look, lady, I don't know anything about your brother. You three were the only ones at my hideout. So, the answer is No! I do find it suspicious that you three were there." He said that as he moved the gun towards the gang Leader's head, who was aware of how dire the situation is.
"It's an apartment building; we lived there, obviously!" In response to Samantha's decision to butt in, the man aimed his gun at her.
"Hold on! What…? Why! D- Did you not see the warning signs about safety hazards that are plastered all over the place and read, 'Condemned' and 'Barely Stable'!?" The man said in stupefaction.
"You mean literal signs?" Kayla questioned tentatively.
"YESSSS!" The guy bellowed.
"Really? Are you sure?" The gang Leader added in.
"Ar-Are you serious!? This is coming from the lady who was scaling the wall and slipped! Which, by the way, Why!" The baffled man pointed out.
"I didn't slip; you pushed me off!" The gang Leader said this as the man focused the gun on her while Samantha looked to Kayla for help.
"Sam. I think the place is literally abandoned." Kayla gave her conclusion.
"Really! I thought it was just designed that way by Halloween enthusiasts!" Samantha said, and even Kayla had to nod in agreement to that, "Actually, that might explain the massive hole in the closet."
"ENOUGH!" The man abruptly exclaimed in disbelief, as out of all the women he had hunted, these three had to be the stupidest.
"Wait! Then who were we paying rent to!?" Samantha asked, and almost instantly the guy's head tilted back in surprise and even more bafflement.
"Hold- Ggghaaa!" Unfortunately, the gang Leader tackles him to the ground before he can even ask. While the two fought, it gave Samantha and Kayle time to break free and run for it.
Just as the gang Leader got the upper hand, she was thrown to the side and kicked in the stomach. He then proceeded to push her off the edge.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-" Her screams can be heard coupled with sporadic loud bangs, followed by the unsettling sound of her hitting the ground. The gang Leader lays there gasping for air as she is shocked that she survived the fall. She is also certain that she will require medical attention given the fact that she survived the fall. Suddenly her eyes widened, and she covered her face with her arms as a pole, a broken chair, and shattered glass came falling towards her. The objects smashed into the ground and on top of her.
"Do you think she made it?" Samantha asked. Sadly, they didn't get a chance to check. The two reluctantly continued their descent down, only to jump as the guy reappeared from around the corner, looking enraged.
"That is it! I had a long and tiring day; all I wanted to do was kill a few women and just go home! Is that so hard to ask for? But, no! I just happened to find the most difficult women imaginable, and I-"
BANG! BANG!
Wide-eyed in disbelief, they watch as the man who had been pointing the gun at them now falls to the ground, dead from bullets going through his forehead.
"HOLY SHIT! That dude was sexist as hell! Thank God he's dead! Oh shit! Who killed him?!" Samantha exclaimed in both feminine fury and dread while raising her hands above her head.
Kayla promptly imitates Samantha by raising her hands above her head to show that she too is unarmed. Yet neither the SWAT nor the police came rushing in. After waiting another minute, the two shuffled forward with eyes darting around in paranoia.
They made it safely onto the snow-covered ground and were so close to freedom that they could see the road that led to the freeway and the fence perimeter around the Construction Site. As they got closer to the site office building a man emerged from the door.
"Oh, thank you! Thank you! A person!" Samantha praised, and she took off into a sprint to meet him. Only for Kayla to grab her and yank her away.
BANG!
The bullet misses Samantha by inches as they stumble to the ground. Kalya examines her sister and exhales a sigh of relief that she is alright.
"That's the guy from the marketplace!" Kayla pointed out.
"How did you escape!?" The man shouted as they turned to face him. The guy looked like a regular person dressed in business casual with his tie neatly in place, only if you ignored the gun's barrel pointing in their general direction.
However, his aim drops lifelessly as he sees his friend's dead body. The girls used this opportunity to nod at one another before taking off in opposite directions only for Samantha to turn around and go after Kayla sprinting into the forest just past the fence line.
As they moved deeper into the woods, they could hear a loud agonizing scream in the distance. When Kayla glanced back, she noticed the silhouette of the man chasing after them. Samantha led the chase leaping over large tree roots and small bushes while agilely darting around trees when suddenly Samantha saw a shadow of a person zoom past her. It was Kayla hauling butt and putting her vampire speed to good use.
"Wow! You're fast!" Impressed, Samantha said. The moment was ruined as a bullet blasts a nearby tree trunk to shreds. After leaping out of the way and regaining her balance she takes a peek behind her and sees the man now decked out top to bottom with guns including a helmet with a revolver attached on top.
"Nope!" Samantha practically nosedives down the hill taking Kayla out on the way down.
Fortunately, the snow piled at the bottom cushioned their landing as they wiped out. This also had the unfortunate side effect of slowing them down as they frantically dug their way out of the hole they made with their landing. "Bitch!" Kayla spluttered as she spat out snow and shoved Samantha off her "I'm landing on you next time!"
BANG!
"YOU! YOU DID THIS!" He yelled as the shot was fired at them. The bullet missed Samantha's leg and hit the ground.
They struggled to stand up and when that failed they resorted to scrambling away as the man drew two guns at them.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Six bullets rammed into the man's chest, one went through his forehead as another pierced through his throat and exited out the back of his head as he fell. He was deader than dead by the time his body hit the ground.
The sound of gunfire echoes across the area, there is a brief tense pause.
"Huh! Who do you think he was referring to?" Samantha asks, breaking the tension, "And who are you calling a Bitch?! You're the one with the Vampire powers! You can handle being squished a bit catching the squishy human!"
The man's body lets out his final breath.
"Aw! Now, we'll never know!" Samantha pouted, and Kayla's head slowly turns towards her.
Back at the Construction Site a neon blue scooter comes to a stop at the wrecked side and the gang Leader approaches. She clambers onto the seat, and her arms encircle the rider's chest.
"Let's get the Hell out of this Hell Hole!" She shouted, and they drove away.
"Screw it, I'm walking!" Samantha called out and got up from the snowy ground, much to Kayla's protest as Samantha stepped on Kayla to find her footing. It meant nothing to Samantha because one they were lost, and two she is already shivering from crawling through the snow while wearing clothes that weren't designed for winter let alone the chilly wind.
"Hey, is that my truck!?" Samantha questions through her chattering teeth. While Kayla is still trying to drag Samantha to the ground in revenge for being stepped on, she pauses and stands up to see that Samantha's truck is indeed just passed the bushes.
Samantha exclaims with joy, "Yep, there are the dents and my silly license plate!" as the truck comes fully into view.
"W-what are you doing!?" Kayla shouted as she kept low and dragged Samantha to a nearby tree for coverage.
"Relax! Whoever killed them had numerous opportunities to kill us! We'll be fine~." Samantha said as she gently pulled away from the firm grip. When she finally escapes the grip, Samantha rushes to the driver's door and reflexively opens it. To both of their surprise, the door actually opens.
"The keys are in the ignition…?" Samantha pointed out as she hopped into the driver's seat and rummaged through the dashboard, "And there is a hotel keycard!?"
Kayla kept her head down low, and with her curiosity piqued made her way around the truck and quickly gets inside.
"Do you think it's possible that they took him there?" Samantha asks as she was about to start the truck when she sees something protruding from the glove compartment. A map with handwritten directions to the hotel from their exact location.
With a twist of the key in the ignition, the engine roared to life with a powerful rumble.
"Aww! They even refueled the tank for us. So, sweet!" Samantha says this as Kayla looks at her in disbelief.
"Samantha! They tried to Kill Us!" Kayla exclaims.
"I know that- Right! Not the time." Samantha hastily said and stopped herself mid-sentence after hearing a peculiar noise coming from Kayla that she knows is her about to explode in agitation.
"What do we do!?" Placing her hands on her forehead, Kayla asks, "Do we investigate the hotel? Maybe that sicko lied, and he is actually at the construction site, probably freezing? W-"
"He could be at the movies, eating the candy that he promised to save for me! Or maybe they didn't notice him at the allegedly 'abandoned' apartment. Look! We simply don't know!" Samantha threw in.
"I-I d-don't kn-ow what to do." Kayla stuttered as tears started to pour from her eyes and her tough exterior started to unravel. Grabbing her sister's hands, Samantha gives a tense but reassuring smile to Kayla.
"Maybe we should call the cops?" Samantha's eyes briefly widen in response to what Kayla says.
"I-I just don't know anymore… What should we do?" Kayla asked, and Samantha sighs dejectedly as her head tilts down and her eyes look at the map.
"I'm sorry, sir. You are not permitted to enter this establishment." The Host clarifies this to the Businessman in hopes that things won't escalate.
"Look, I know that I've said and done 'things' here. However, it was a misunderstanding. Besides, I've made a reservation." The Businessman explains, and the Host shakes his head as he looks at the tablet.
"Sorry, but not only have you been banned from the restaurant, you also have a bunch of restraining orders from half of the people here?!" The Host stated this in a shocked and perplexed manner, as so many questions and concerns have been raised.
"Listen here, you insignificant worm! Look at me! I have an important meeting that will change the world! Something that is beyond the comprehension of your tiny, insignificant mind. So, get out of my way!" The Businessman angrily shouted and this caused the Host to signal for security to come in.
Meanwhile, a bunch of Law Enforcement vehicles from SWAT, the FBI, the CIA, and the Police began to arrive at the Hotel.
When the elevator doors opened with a ding, Kayla and Samantha exited. The empty hallways that greeted them made them feel like they are in a horror film. They followed the directions with trepidation and eventually arrived at the door. Nodding in agreement and bracing themselves for a potential fight, Samantha places the key on the scanner, and the door unlocks with a green light.
"Wooow!" Samantha took the words right out of Kayla's mouth upon entering the dimly lit room. It is so dark that, to the average person, it would be difficult to see through if it weren't for the light streaming in from the windows. Kayla notices that the room is not only vacant, but also enormous and may be under renovation.
"Jasper!" Samantha startles at Kayla's sudden shout, widening her eyes in shock and giving Kayla a 'Seriously' and 'Shocked' expression. Kayla responded by giving her the look, 'Hypocrite'.
Suddenly, the air vent cover falls from the ceiling in front of them as Jasper descends and lands safely on his feet after catching himself on the vent's edge.
"Bro!" They both shout in disbelief, as they were not only taken aback by the fact he had emerged from a vent of all places but also by the fact that he has a sniper rifle. He flipped the weapon over to his back by swinging the leather strap across his shoulder.
"Why do you have a gun!?" Kayla exclaimed with so many conflicting emotions, mostly in relief that he is alright.
"I will tell you, but only if we keep moving." Jasper states as he passes them.
"What!?" Kayla yells as she quickly follows behind, while Samantha staggered a little and looked around the room one more time in bewilderment.
Instead of going to the elevators, he headed towards the stairs.
"Why are we taking the stairs?" Samantha asked while casting an incredulous glare towards Jasper's back when there is a perfectly working elevator but here they were taking the stairs.
"The government agents are on their way." Jasper responded as he opened the stairway door.
"What!?" They both yelled in surprise and shock as they followed closely behind.
"Alright! What is going on!?" Kayla exclaimed.
"And why is it so dark?" Samantha questioned as the stairwell is not well lit, but looking on the bright side she lets out a sigh of relief that they aren't going up.
"I turned down the lights in this section. After all, you are sensitive to light." Jasper said, leading the two to stop halfway down the next flight of stairs.
"Wait! You knew!?" They spoke with shock.
"Yeah." He replies nonchalantly.
"Then why didn't you say anything!" Kayla shouted.
"Because you did not ask. Keep moving." He said, and they grudgingly continued.
"B-But, how did you!?" Kayla questioned herself as she tried to piece together all the possible slip-ups.
"Know. That is simple; I am a monster hunter, and not the kind that hunts supernatural creatures, but actual monsters like those two guys at the construction site." Jasper explains, and Kayla's eyes widen.
"Say, what!?" The shout from Kayla echoed throughout the stairwell.
"Who did you think was firing at them and got Samantha's truck to where you two just conveniently found it." Jasper said, and Samantha clapped her hands in realization.
"Hah! I knew it! Well, sort of… It was more like my fourth speculation… Anyways, I thought I recognized your handwriting!" Samantha said with delight before chuckling nervously.
"Wait! When did you become a monster hunter?" Kayla asked.
"I just knew. Kind of like an instinct, I had already known who I was meant to be; that is also how I knew that you are a 'vampire'." Jasper explains which causes Kayla to slow down.
Jasper hearing her slow down called out, "Keep moving."
"This actually explains a lot. Does that mean you know how Kayla became a vampire?" Samantha questioned with hope, Kayla perking up in hope as well.
"Yes." Jasper answers.
"See, I told you!" With excitement in her voice, Samantha cheered that she was right.
"Sooo…?" Samantha said as they had been plagued by this question for a long time.
"That is not something I can tell. It is up for her to discover, or you." In essence, Jasper's explanation was a non-answer that made Samantha pout, while Kayla stayed quiet as clues and connections started forming in her mind.
"You're serious about the government agents, aren't you?" Kayla muttered in dread as she came to the realization.
Jasper answered, "Yes."
"Then why did you bring us here? Do they know about Kayla?" Samantha questioned.
"Relax, I brought you two here because I had another task to do, and I could not leave either of you unsupervised. So, I decided to kill two birds with one stone." Jasper clarified, and Samantha began to wonder what the two tasks were.
"If they aren't after Kayla, then why are we running?" Samantha asked.
"If we get caught, they will find out that our parents are not here." Jasper says causing both Kayla and Samantha to stop dead in their tracks.
"… So, you know…?" The words were practically forced from Kayla's mouth, leaving a bad aftertaste.
"Of course. Right now, that issue is irrelevant. Alright, this is where you two must stay close. Okay." Jasper instructed as he approached the exit door.
Samantha gathered herself quickly and smiled reassuringly at Kayla to encourage her to keep going. They nodded to each other as the stairwell is flooded with bright light from the door that Jasper opened.
They are greeted by a bustling crowd that was distracted due to watching a commotion going on.
The two closely trailed behind Jasper as he made his way into the crowd. About halfway to the entrance, a man's yelling and demands to unhand him can be heard. The man being hauled out of the restaurant by the police turns out to be the Businessman.
Kayla's eyes strayed to the man who is yelling about his impending greatness, and their eyes locked.
"You!" He said it with disdain.
They lost eye contact, and he is pulled out of view.
Kayla bewildered by the man's reaction, exclaimed, "Who was that?!"
"Never mind him, we are leaving." Jasper said, and she quickly followed the group.
They reached the front doors and left the hotel lobby.
A woman in her late 50's grudgingly sat in the passenger seat boredly staring out the window while her daughter drove them to her appointment. Suddenly, her eyes shot wide open in a bug-eyed look as she saw a kid driving a truck with two older teens chilling inside. The girl in the back peers out the window, and they lock eyes. The girl gives an excited grin and a wave. The woman waves back, but it is a hesitant, slow wave. She made a gesture to hold the teen's attention, and then proceeded to fog the window.
'PELH EM!'
She lets out a groan, and grumbles to herself about having to fix her spelling and refogging the window.
'HLEP ME!'
"HELP ME!'
Feeling a bit lightheaded, she finally got the words spelt correctly, and she looks at the teen with puppy dog eyes, only to get a surprise of her own.
The girl is hanging half her body out the window and giving her the 'L' for 'Loser' as she started laughing maniacally.
"BWAHAHAHA!" The sound of her diabolic laughter continued as the truck took a turn.
The woman's eyes stared longingly at the truck.
"Sigh. I wish I had done that." She mumbled out.
"Mom! Did you hear what I said!" Her daughter shouted.
"Yes, you're talking about the bake sales." She responded and mumbled something, maybe a repressed curse at her fate.
Meanwhile
"Thanks for the heads up, bro!" Kayla expressed.
"But that still doesn't explain why you are wearing the costume?" Samantha questioned because she can wrap her head around him having orchestrated everything from the apartment to them going to the hotel, yet the costume part eludes her.
"This is not for Halloween, I just like the jacket." Jasper stated, and Samantha blinked in surprise.
"Huh." Samantha uttered as she continues to write in her notebook.
Samantha wrote the latest entry, and finally set her notebook down as she took a break. It finally dawned on her about how weird it is being in the passenger seat for once in her own car of all places, but at the same time it did give her the chance to work on her theories.
"Is that the bowl of candy from the apartment?" Kayla blurted out and the moment she picked up the bowl to check, Samantha's head shot up so fast that a loud CRACK sounded from her neck and she launched herself towards the bowl. If it wasn't for the seatbelt holding her back Kayla would have been crushed again.
"MINE!" Samantha yanked the bowl out of Kayla's hands and started stuffing her mouth full of candy.
"Samantha! They have wrappers!" Kayla shouted with concern and yet Samantha was not phased and rolled her eyes mumbling what sounded like 'Yes, mom'.
"I unwrapped them." Jasper said and Kayla lets out a long sigh of relief.
"C-afnt. Booguelif ouu did mhmm thif fmir mi!" Samantha said causing her best friend to shake her head.
"Remember what I told you, don't talk with your mouth full, that is how you choked! Like last time." Kayla said and got an even more incoherent response that she's just going to take as an acknowledgement.
Samantha finished scarfing the contents in the bowl down and said, "Sorry, what I meant to say is that I can't believe you did this for me, so sweet. You know what, I'm going to add a point to the not a robot section! Also, I can't believe we just walked out of the hotel filled with law enforcements and no one batted an eye at your weapon."
"Where did you get that anyway?" Samantha finally brought up. They were surprised to see all their stuff already packed neatly along with a bunch of weapons and a mysterious cooler with a biohazard label that was behind all their stuff in the trunk of the truck.
"Ehh… Some can be easily obtained, but I make my own." Jasper said, and Samantha nodded in respect while Kayla choose to ignore that horrifying realization.
"Since we are on the topic of weapons, survival training is now being added to the schedule after that disappointing show at the construction site and the apartment complex." Jasper stated, and immediately Samantha began to cheer.
"Really?!" Kayla asked with a big grin on her face.
"Yes. Especially after what happened last night." Jasper reiterated.
"Yesssss!" Samantha and Kayla cheered in joy, while Jasper waited for them to calm down.
"Good. First rule of survival: do not go to the suspicious noise. Especially, when that noise is at night." As Jasper explained, Samantha quickly got out an emergency notebook from under the seat and wrote down his words.
"Do not go to the suspicious noise." Samantha said as she finished writing.
"This applies to anywhere even more in places that feel, and/or looks suspicious or creepy." Jasper further explained.
Somewhere west of Mexico. Airbnb House.
"So, Jasper is a monster hunter with uncanny insight, and you're some kind of vampire. Are you sure this isn't genetics?" Samantha asked.
"Honestly, I-I don't know. (Sigh), There's just so many unanswered questions." Kayla said as she muttered the last part.
"Hey, life sucks sometimes, and hopefully we'll get some answers soon but just know that you have us." With a warm smile, Samantha finished her sentence.
"Thanks. Also, I do know one answer." Kayla remarks as she casts a quick side glance at Samantha.
"Oh, yeah? What?" Samantha asked.
"That dude is Hot!" Kayla says and they burst out into giggles as they watch a teenager sweeping the floors of his family's home while his younger siblings are bouncing on the couch and running around making a mess.
"Maybe you should take off that shirt." Jasper says to the guy with a subtle undertone of flirting.
"Gaahhh! No! No! No! No!" Kayla screams out as she bolted towards the two.
Samantha bursts into laughter, though her laughter dies down as her phone alerts her of a text message. Pulling out her phone, she takes a quick glance down.
'We need to talk'.
Bonus Scene
"I don't think we should be doing this." Kayla voiced her concerns.
"Relax! Jasper said that we could use his weapons!" Samantha's response didn't exactly fill Kayla with confidence or allay any of her concerns.
"Yeah, for training and emergencies! I'm pretty sure taking them out unsupervised isn't what he meant!" Kayla exclaimed. Samantha only gave an adorable pout, that Kayla always gave into. "Fineeee." Kayla caved in.
"Yes! Works every time!" Samantha shouted in victory.
"But you have to promise not to go on a riot. Or start one!" Samantha groaned as Kayla gave her an ultimatum.
"Alright." Samantha begrudgingly agreed. Opening the truck's trunk they rummaged around and extracted Jasper's arsenal of weaponry.
"Woooowww!" Samantha declared with enthusiasm and she excitedly extracted a machine gun from the growing pile.
"Hold it!" Kayla called out and snatched the huge machine gun from Samantha's hand before she could take off with it.
"Awwww! Come on, I already agreed that I wouldn't go wild… Kayla!?" Samantha's moan changed into an exclamation as she looked to her left and saw that Kayla had vanished and the machine gun was mysteriously missing as well. Suddenly, familiar maniacal laughter could be heard in the distance along with the sounds of numerous gunshots.
"Unbelievable! Here she is going on about me being too wild- AND is that what I think it is?!" Samantha said as she pulled out a flamethrower and squealed. A huge grin stretched across her face, like a young child in a candy store who had just realized they could eat as much candy as they wanted for free and without any adult supervision.
Samantha's NOTEs:
Why was a biker gang chasing us and was one of them riding a Neon Blue Scooter. Also, is the Biker Lady still alive that would raise a lot of questions if she did! Impressive and a blessing as she is my favorite role model, and I hope to be just like her when I'm older.
What does Jasper know (note to self; he knows the answer to Kayla's mystery.)
Discovered a new ability of Kayla's, Super Speed. Further research is being conducted if she can access it again or it was just adrenaline. Investigation into the possibility of other dormant abilities is still on going.
Who was that guy being dragged out of the Hotel, and why were all those law enforcements showing up at the hotel!? Was it for that weirdo or was it a mix combination of the guy and possibly whatever Jasper tasks were (and when he referred to them being tasks does he mean chores cause he calls chores tasks as well) and apparently the guy recognized Kayla or whatever the heck that was! And what is in the cooler!
OMG! Jasper is teaching us survival training! I'm going to be a freaking NINJA!
Is there really two moons?
Why are there so many Road Workers doing construction in the desert, there is literally nothing for miles and it isn't even on the road. (Note to self; investigate for a possible conspiracy.)
There is still a chance that the theory of Jasper (being/is/likes to be/wanting to be) a werewolf (or robot) still holds.