Unmasked | Book 1 in "Dark Descendants" (Editing)

Chapter 1

~Rose~

My eyes landed on the last rays of sunlight poking through the window. I briefly wondered if it was dark enough to go outside and find something actually entertaining to do.

I put my book down and rose from the couch, slowly walking towards the window. The curtains were slightly parted, allowing me a view of the pink and orange tinted sky and surrounding objects as the sun set.

It was truly breath-taking, despite the fact of me liking storms better.

I slowly raised my hand to the light, then quickly withdrew as I hissed in pain. Nope, not dark enough.

Vampire's don't burst into flames when exposed to sunlight, as you may think. However, because we have very sensitive skin and sight, we get severe burns and blisters and get temporarily blinded from the brightness of the sun. Vampires are more vulnerable at daytime, which is why our kind is called, 'the creatures of the dark' by some who start to believe the legends.

At days like these, I have to stay at home in the shadows and wait for the sun to set, sometimes by taking naps. Most of the time it's pretty gloomy during the day, but not to the extent that I can ditch the sunglasses.

I go to school too, which was easy for me since I was permanently eighteen years old; for entertainment, not education. It was not like I needed it. It also gives me a chance to sink my teeth momentarily into a few easy-to-trick guys to quench my thirst. A few of my vampire friends happened to be there too.

I sighed and, with one last look at the window, walked into the kitchen. My aunt Penny—my father's little sister, who was also a vampire—was sitting at the table as she waited for her allegedly human boyfriend, Mark, to come and pick her up again.

I didn't like him very much, I just got a bad feeling about him. Sometimes I caught him looking at Penny with a cross between a suspicious and a curious look. It made me feel uneasy.

However, despite my protests, Penny still dated him. She was pretty blind when it came to love. My mind drifted to that man. Was he real? Or just a dream?

Well he sure as hell felt real. Everything there did, and I remembered it all as I relived the moment. The shouts I heard, the half-constructed building I saw, the stench of death I smelt. I even remember climbing out of that window he left open after freeing a couple of dudes, and then running back home and climbing through yet another window to the second floor before  the sun went up.

I found myself fondly smiling. Immediately, I dropped it. There was no chance in hell I was ever going to see him again, even if he was real. But I couldn't help but wonder if that encounter meant anything. Dreaming of a hell-zone before waking up inside it. What was wrong with me?

Absently, I walked towards the kitchen table and pulled out a chair in front of Penny. It had to be real, but then where did he go?

Her blue eyes darted up to mine. "Hey," she greeted.

I wordlessly nodded in response, leaning forward on the table. "When is Mark going to come?"

"As soon as the sun's down," she replied, typing away at her phone.

I huffed and stared at the door. What if Mark is onto us?

I straightened a few minutes later as I heard a car being parked just outside our house.

"Sounds like he's early," I commented, looking up at her with a silent communicative expression.

She immediately understood. The sun was still up; if she went outside, she would get burned severely. And he'd find out she's not normal.