June 15, 2104
SECTOR FIFTEEN
WITH THE EARPHONES in place, I jogged down the street to my home at the center of Sector 15—one of the many human sectors around the world. Sweat glistened my body as I pushed my legs to move faster, wanting to arrive home before sunset; the streets were not safe for anyone at night.
Two small children played in the front yard of a white house with a red ball. The girl with two ponytails tossed it over the boy's head, sending it bouncing into the street. My eyes widened as I tried to pick up pace to prevent a disaster from happening.
But I wasn't going to get there in time.
With a cry, I pushed my legs faster toward the boy who had crossed the street without looking, unaware of the upcoming sleek black automobile. The screech of tires reached my ears as I wrapped my arms around the boy and managed to jump out of the way before the front of the car impacted us, probably sending both of us to the hospital in critical condition.
Too stunned to move, I held the boy in my arms, wondering how I had managed to get to him in time. I jerked away when someone grabbed my arm. The vampire guard grabbed the child from my arms and led him back to the front yard after stooping down to retrieve the ball. The elegant armor they wore almost made them look like a prince from the many books I read to my baby sister, but I knew better than to believe the facade; beneath that handsome exterior hid a terrifying creature.
After pulling the headphones back, I faced the guard who approached me with curiosity in his eyes. When I turned my head, I froze. There was a group of men at the corner of the street, engrossed in what appeared to be a secret conversation; they were all whispering things to each other, eyes locked on the guard as if making sure he didn't pry into their conversation.
Hopefully, this wasn't another attempt at planning a riot against the guards. Last time they had tried, three people had lost their lives, including one guard; however, the guard, of course, returned back to life after being shot in the head, but the humans...they weren't so lucky.
Why couldn't they just make the best of this?
It had been almost one hundred years since the supernatural creatures took over. Even though sometimes it did feel as if I was a rat locked in a cage, I always tried to see the bright side. They could have annihilated everyone, but instead, we were shown mercy.
All the families in the sector had a home, a job and their kids were given the opportunity to attend the small academy located at the front gates beside the registration office. It was like a small town barricaded by large concrete walls.
"Are you okay?"
I nodded, lifting my hand to put the earphones over my ears again, but a warm hand caught my wrist. As I met his deep chocolate eyes, my heart palpitated wildly in my chest.
"How did you managed to get the boy in time?"
"I train...I'm pretty fast." And I was.
Last year, a competition had been held. The winner received $2,500. I won with a record that I was certain no one would ever beat. The money might not seem like much to some, but to me, it had helped pay for the bills slowly accumulating in my household.
Life wasn't easy in Sector 15—it probably wasn't in any sector—but I was thankful that my family had good health, food on the table and a roof over their heads. If no one provoked the guards, life in the sector didn't seem horrible.
Well, at least to me.
Many other people would probably beg to differ.
I held back a sigh of relief when he released my wrist. "Would you like me to take you home?"
"No, thank you," I said as I turned to begin my jog again, noting the sunlight that lit up the sector slowly fade as the sun disappeared from my view. Trying to remain calm, I picked up my pace, my old worn sneakers pounding against the concrete of the sidewalk. After turning into street number six, I smiled; ten more houses down and I would be home free.
However, when my gaze fell upon the tall figure in front of me, blocking my way, my heart began to hammer against my rib-cage. I glared at him, but the trembling of my body probably gave away my brave charade.
His lips curved into a smile that confirmed he could see right through my mask. Looking over my shoulder, I tried my best to maintain composure. Something difficult to accomplish when two men stood behind me, arms crossed across their chest.
Clearly, they were there to intimidate me and were succeeding.
"Kendra, I have been really patient with you." Sammy grabbed the hem of his shirt, raising it enough for me to catch a glimpse of the silver handgun in his pocket.
Inhaling deeply, I tried my best to not seem fazed by it. "I have told you multiple times that I am not interested and never will be...I didn't think you were a beggar, Sammy."
He scoffed. "You know I always get what I want." When he stepped forward, it took all I had to not step back. "Even women."
He was right.
Most women would fall at his feet, but I would never do such a thing. Even in the Sectors, there were still those who held more power, those who were looked upon as leaders. Sammy was the leader of Sector-15; he took over once his father died at the age of sixty-five. His father had been a wise and kindhearted man, but Sammy clearly hadn't inherited any of the good traits.
When he inched closer, I resisted the urge to spit in his face. A finger ran along the curve of my neck, his eyes locked with mine. "We were friends once."
Yes, we were, but after he gained power, it all went to his head. At first, it pained me to see him change so much, but after a couple of months, I accepted that my friend had become a ruthless ruler. "We were, but not anymore."
He leaned closer, and I jerked away. Strong hands seized hold of my shoulders, keeping me in place. I tried to wiggle free out of their hold, but it was futile. They shook me without mercy and a yelp escaped my lips.
Sammy shook his head. "Kendra, you seem to not understand." He stepped forward and dipped his head toward me, but before our lips could touch, I turned my head. After a small pause, he pressed his warm lips against my cheek then stepped back.
"If I scream, the guards will come." It didn't matter if Sammy was the leader—their governor—the guards would punish him for what he was doing, or so I hoped.
A dark chuckle escaped Sammy's lips as he shook his head. "You will not do such thing. If you do, my men will kill your parents."
My heart shattered into a million pieces. "Sammy, please don't. They have nothing to do with this." I wanted to scream, but could I really risk the lives of my parents?
Sammy dug into his pocket, taking out a cellphone. My eyes widened with horror when he tapped the screen to reveal what appeared to be a live feed of my home. My parents walked around the front yard, watering the flowers while my baby sister ran in circles around them.
I struggled against the ones holding me captive and managed to elbow one in the ribs; however, a blow to my back dropped me to my knees. A shot resonated through the sector, making me flinch.
When I glanced over my shoulder, the guard who presumably had hit me, lay lifeless on the ground, a shot in his head. Wide-eyed, I stared at the boy I remembered as kind, sweet and shy. The one who blushed whenever I kissed his cheek.
That boy was not the one who stood in front of me, no remorse of taking a life in his eyes.
Had he killed one of his men because he had dared lay a hand on me?
"Sammy, please." At first, I thought that perhaps this was nothing but a pretense. He would never hurt the two people who saw him as a son, but now, as I sneaked another glance at the dead body behind me, I wasn't so certain.
I couldn't take any chances.
Not when the lives of the ones I loved were at stake.
I stepped close to him. "They love you like a son."
Sammy smiled; a menacing smile that made me step back. "I don't want to. Really, I don't. But you leave me no other choice, my dear." He tapped on the screen of the phone again and one of the members of his group appeared. "Kill—"
"No. Please. I will do anything...just don't hurt them."
With a smile of satisfaction, Samy returned his attention to the phone in his hands. "Return to the house and keep an eye wide open." He tapped the phone again and it shut off, the screen vanishing from sight into the device.
As he inched closer, my chest clenched with pain. "Good girl."
"What happened here?"
At the deep voice coming from behind me, Sammy pulled back and I turned to find three guards staring in our direction, suspicion evident in their eyes, one of them the one who had almost ran over the child if it wasn't for me.
Had he followed me?
Had he witnessed what had happened and done nothing until now?
The corners of his lips curved upward, flaunting a set of incisors. "Sammuel, mind explaining why one of your men lays dead on the ground."
"I had to kill him," Sammy said, calm and controlled. "I caught him trying to take advantage of my soon to be wife."
The guard grabbed the wrist of the other man that had been holding me against my will. By looking at the barcode imprinted in the man's wrist, the vampire guard knew exactly who he was. I had no idea what was in those barcodes that made them shine whenever a supernatural being looked at them.
The guard's eyes flashed blood-red, then turned back to a rich brown. "Michael, breaking house arrest has bad consequences."
"I wasn't doing anything bad." Michael's voice trembled as he spoke.
The vampire turned to face me after shoving Michael back. When I realized he glanced at the barcode on my wrist, I clasped a hand over it.
He smiled. "Kendra, is what Sammuel says true?"
I knew why he had asked that. In order for anyone in the sectors to be punished, there had to be a concrete reason.
There were many different ways someone could be punished. If they found out that Sammy was trying to force me into his bed, he would be executed for it. It seemed the Vampire and Werewolf Kings abhorred such behavior.
I should have told the truth, but the dread of something happening to my family was greater than the fear I had for the supernatural creatures. "Y—Yes."
The Vampire stepped closer, grabbing hold of my wrist. The barcode in my wrist glowed a soft green as he stared at it. I tried my best to not sigh with relief. If it had shone bright crimson, then the vampire guard would have known what Sammy had said was a lie.
But the man had truly tried to harm me; that was the reason why Sammy had shot him in the head.
So technically, I wasn't lying.
"If I was you, I would leave her alone," the guard said, scowling at Sammy, appearing to still doubt our words.
When I glanced at Sammy, I was stunned to find him not fazed by the guard's threat. I remembered when he was a child, how terrified he was at just the sight of them, yet there he stood, chin held high as if not petrified as I was.
It had to be a charade.
Everyone in the sectors feared the supernatural beings. Sometimes, I felt as if the walls didn't keep the humans in, but kept them out—kept out the dangerous creatures that could end our existence with a single lift of a finger.