ranked #49 in hiding
I was suddenly just so angry that I was living in fear of this kind of attack. Why? Because we were different. Because we weren't human, and we didn't live in the darkness, and so we were attacked from both sides, always having...
It's been six months since my revelation and my new passion began. I was even able to convince Baen that I was in enough control to attend the local university without having a complete meltdown. I've even made a couple of friends.
This new adventure in my life reminds me of my past, of how I was once an art student at a local community college with lots of friends and a warm family. I shook my head to clear my thoughts as I brought the scene of the couple across the quad into focus before I captured their love in time.
Suddenly, I heard my name being yelled over the very loud music that was playing through my earbuds. I silently thanked my vampire hearing, as I prepared myself for the girl sprinting towards me. I braced my body before she slammed herself into me and rolled just right so that I was able to take the majority of the hit. I then let out a sigh so that it looked as if she had indeed knocked the wind out of me. I heard her giggle as she asked,
"How is it that you never seem to hear me coming?" I rolled my eyes and sat up as I pulled the ear buds from my ears. Even without vampire hearing I knew that she could hear the pounding music. She then wrinkled that pretty little nose of hers in disgust. "Your taste in music sucks." I opened my mouth in mock horror because we have had this debate before, and by now it was pretty much just a script that we followed every time we saw one another.
"Those words are blasphemy. It's like insulting coffee." She rolled her brown eyes this time,
"That stuff is foul too." I took a breath in,
"Ash, remind me again why we are friends?" She just smiled at me,
"I'm adorable and you can't help but love me." Just as our script was coming to an end I saw her eyes darting. She was looking for someone and her thoughts were begging me to tell her if I knew where Josh was, but she was far too proud to actually ask me. I sighed as I pulled myself off the ground,
"He's not here today. He asked me to bring a copy of my notes to his place later, but I'm not sure I can. You wouldn't be able to take them, would you?" Ash leaped off the ground and grinned madly as she nodded her head. I just smiled at her enthusiasm and pulled the notes from my bag. She all but ripped them out of my hand as she began to run towards the parking lot. I chuckled to myself as I waved to her back. I really hoped that the two of them would work out, but seeing as Josh had no feelings for her or anyone for that matter, it sort of seemed like a lost cause. But maybe once he was done being sick he could focus on things like love, and I really hoped that he would give Ash a chance when that time came.
I was then startled out of my matchmaking by the sound of my cell phone, and by the sound of the ringtone, I knew just who it was.
"Kai, what are you doing calling me while I'm at school?" I heard him breathe out through his nose so that he wouldn't laugh as he said,
"What are you doing answering while you are at school?" I smiled brightly as I looked up at the sun,
"My math class was canceled today." Kai chuckled,
"Try not to sound too broken-hearted." I let out a sigh of relief as I held the phone to my ear with my shoulder so that I could take the lens off my camera and place it and the camera in my bag.
"I wish I could, but numbers, you know how I feel about numbers." I heard him chuckle,
"Well since you're already playing hooky, wanna come out and play with me?" I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked down at it in confusion before I brought it back to my ear,
"Who are you and what have you done to Kai?" I heard that exasperated sigh of his,
"It's me, I'm bored. Who would have thought that after babysitting you for 12 years I would grow a bit attached and such? So do you want to hang out or not?" My eyes widened at his confession as I all but yelled into the phone "Yes!"
As I tried to rush towards the parking lot and zip my bag I accidentally bumped into someone, but because of my excitement, I just said a quick apology as I continued on my way.
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Ethan
Her? This is the girl that the order thinks could be a vampire or connected to them? I took a deep breath as I watched her taking pictures around campus with the sun shining down on her and a smile on her face. I watched her as she rolled around on the grass with her friend, I even dared get closer as she answered the phone. In my opinion, this girl wasn't a vampire; she was just a normal girl. I pinched the bridge of my nose as I thought about how this whole mission was a giant waste of time.
So what if this girl found the sight of the vampire city that had been eradicated twelve years ago? She was just an artist that probably heard about the terrorist bombing there and thought that it would be a moving place to take pictures. And, in truth, her pictures were very moving. Unfortunately for her the wrong people saw them, and that was why I was now her shadow.
I sighed again and just as I reached for my phone to call off this ridiculous mission and declare it a complete waste of time and resources, she bumped into me. It felt like my arm was on fire from where she brushed against me, but not in a bad way. I'd only felt this kind of heat from one other person, but could it really be her? Could this possibly be the same girl that was such a powerful telepath that she was able to break down my walls and desperately scream for help inside my head? I let myself smile as my eyes continued to follow her, now things were starting to get exciting. I had regretted just leaving her there that day, but that feeling, that tingling heat, it was new and foreign, and I didn't understand it or her. Then just as I sucked up my pride and let my curiosity get the better of me, her eyes rolled back in her head as she fell into another man's arms.
I reached into my pocket without taking my eyes off her. I then hit the only number saved in my burner phone and said,
"She's on the move. Trace her cell phone and text me her location." I pressed the end button before I got a response, which was to be expected. The order didn't have time to teach us manners in between staking 101 and advanced decapitation. I then calmly walked to my black and silver Ducati, my prized possession that I had to save for three years to buy because apparently saving the world didn't pay very well unless you were a superhero. I pulled the helmet over my head as I straddled the seat. Just as I turned the key my cell phone chirped. I reached into my pocket and saw that the girl that was my new prey was at the coffee shop down the street. I smiled to myself as I shoved my phone back in my pocket and kick started my bike. My day just got a lot more interesting.
