Caroline Vance.
I have been summoned by King Dexter.
My heart is pounding so hard against my chest that it almost hurts, and my palms are unbelievably sweaty. My breathing is ragged and forced, making me even more uncomfortable. I close my eyes for a moment, attempting to block out the ominous atmosphere of the room around me, but it only reminds me of how much my mind is spinning.
I'm violently shaking as an intimidating man dressed in all black enters the room I have been waiting in for what feels like the past few hours, and paces slowly towards me.
"Ms. Vance?" The man's deep voice echoes throughout the small, darkly-decorated room.
I hesitantly make eye contact with him and nod, knowing that I would most likely be unable to speak right now.
"Follow me."
I gather whatever is left of myself and stand up, following closely behind the tall man as he guides me out of the room. I have never been in King Dexter's castle before. In fact, I don't know anyone who has. The floors are a dark shade of gray marble and bright, white columns align the seemingly endless hallway that the man leads me into. Several chandeliers hang from the ceiling that seems almost as high as the sky. I unwillingly gulp as I also notice the chilling black statues that seem to be in almost every space available. I can't tell exactly what they are... they look similar to gargoyles. It's definitely uninviting, to say the least.
Of all the times I have imagined what lies inside of King Dexter's amazing castle, this is never what I had expected.
I somehow manage to make it to the end of the hallway following behind the still unidentified man, and shiver as he slams the large door behind us, eliminating my view of the daunting hallway. He then leads me to another door in which I expect for him to open and reveal King Dexter, but to my surprise is just another long, dark hallway. The castle from what I have observed so far is dimly lit and something straight out of a nightmare.
At the end of this hallway, however, there is a large, red door which stretches from the floor to the ceiling. The man types a long code into a small, almost hidden touch screen monitor located to the right of the door, then swiftly turns around to face me.
"He is ready for you." The man says, only making my anxiety multiply.
I simply nod at him again, not knowing what I could possibly say in return to his grim statement.
I am startled as the red doors slowly break away from each other, providing an entrance. My heart jumps around in my chest as I approach the room in front of me. I am finally about to find out why King Dexter has summoned me out of all people.
The room is dark, and quiet. Very quiet. I look around for King Dexter, and feel my soul escape my body when I realize that he is right in front of me, sitting behind the largest desk I have ever seen.
As if the castle wasn't eerie enough, King Dexter is the cherry on top. He is an aged man, not yet elderly, but not at all young. His black hair with gray streaks is perfectly slicked on the sides, and looks immaculate. He is wearing a black suit which fits him almost too perfectly. As I step a bit closer, I notice his prominent features, including his large eyebrows and dark-brown, almost-black eyes to accompany them. He is much more intimidating in person that on our monitor at home.
"Caroline Vance," he says almost as if he is announcing it to a crowd, "have a seat."
He briefly stands up from his chair and gestures towards the space in front of his desk. I realize that he is wanting me to sit down. I feel sick to my stomach as I force myself to take a seat almost directly across from him.
My heart accelerates as I make eye contact with him.
"I am sure you are confused as to why I have asked you to come here today, hm?" He asks, his low-pitched voice only adding to his frightening persona.
I nod as I intertwine my hands in my lap.
"Do not be afraid to speak, my dear."
I take a deep breath.
"Yes, sir." My voice comes out meek and almost inaudible, as expected.
"Well, Ms. Vance, I have a lot to discuss with you today." He stands from his chair, beginning to pace slowly back and forth behind his desk.
I watch him slowly, trying to imagine what in the world he could possibly want from me.
"You are aware of the current matter concerning our territory, yes?"
He must be talking about the recent decline in humans. There's nothing else I can think of...
"Yes, sir."
"Tell me, Ms. Vance, what is happening... just so we are on the same page."
He glares at me as I force myself to speak.
"Our population is decreasing, sir." My voice comes out slightly more audible, now.
"Yes, yes... very good. You see, Ms. Vance, we have done everything that we are capable of to try and figure out what is going on... but our attempts have proven to be fruitless thus far."
I nod, trying my best to understand. What do I have to do with any of this?
King Dexter continues to pace back and forth, almost as if he is just as confused as I am.
"Ms. Vance... every individual behind this government has been investigating this, and not one of us can come up with a single reason as to why this is occurring... besides territory one, of course. But, we haven't had a clash with the vampires in so long... do you understand the gravity of this situation?" He rambles before asking the question.
"Yes, sir, I do."
"You... you don't have to keep... you can stop calling me 'sir.'" He instructs, and I involuntarily cower, becoming more and more intimidated by his overwhelming authority.
King Dexter seems to be losing his mind as he runs his hands through his hair, ruining its perfectness, and quickens his pace. I am severely uncomfortable at this point.
"Sorry." He mutters, noticing my expression. "The point is, Ms. Vance, we are almost out of options... we must find out if the vampires are behind this. If they are... it could be the beginning of another war."
My eyes widen. We haven't been at war with the vampires in years.
"And this is where you come in, Caroline Vance."
The room becomes quiet. All that can be heard is my heavy breathing and King Dexter's pacing.
"I-I... I don't understand," I stutter.
"Ms. Vance, we've added a new position to our list of jobs for our population. It requires humans with the uppermost intelligence and skills in our territory."
The room around me seems to be spinning. I feel like I am in some sort of bizarre dream.
"We have been observing you from the beginning, Ms. Vance, as we do all of our humans... but you in particular. Every assignment that we have required the educational institution to give to you since you were a child... you have scored perfectly on. Not only on the common curriculum, Ms. Vance... but on everything. Even your fitness trials, in which the majority of the children in our territory fail miserably. I have wanted to meet you for a long time, Ms Vance. Are you aware of your superiority over the other humans?"
I am speechless. I have always known that I was smart... but this? This is an entirely different story.
"Ms. Vance... you are the smartest human this territory has ever had."
This is a lot to take in. As if I didn't already feel sick before, now I feel as if I could drop dead at any moment.
"This territory needs you. You are our only hope, Ms. Vance."
I shake my head, trying to decipher for sure whether or not this is a dream.
"What... what is the job?" I ask him.
"You are aware of the duties of the Searchers, yes?"
The Searchers of the territory embark on long and perilous journeys to territory three, which we call "The Beyond," to see if they can find anything... or anyone. They are highly respected throughout the territory, considering the fact that they could be risking their lives every time they leave. Nobody has any idea what lies in The Beyond... we probably will never know. It is the greatest mystery of our time.
"Yes." I finally respond.
"It is somewhat similar... but arguably more dangerous."
I wait for him to elaborate, trying not to seem too terrified.
"We need you to... sneak, you could say... into territory one and into their king's castle, and see if you can find anything suspicious concerning our loss of humans."
I am shaking again, similar to how I was earlier.
"But... what about the Great Divide?"
The Great Divide is the large, impenetrable wall that separates our territory from the Vampire's. The only contact our territories have is our King's communicating, and even that is only ever for emergencies and is simply through a monitor and never in person.
In conclusion, what King Dexter is suggesting is crazy. Absolutely insane. No human has ever come in contact with a Vampire... besides when we have been at war with them.
"We've already got that figured out, Ms. Vance... you see, since we have come up with this solution, we have been working on an underground connection to territory one. A tunnel, if you will... that leads directly to the outskirts of their territory. After traveling through the underground tunnel, you would then have to act as a Vampire and sneak into their castle."
He sounds like a lunatic. He can't be serious.
"Act as a Vampire... I don't understand."
"All Vampires wear special rings around their index, middle, and ring fingers that have been passed down in their families for several years... They are essential for determining whether or not someone is a vampire. However, considering that we do not come in contact with them nowadays, as long as you have the three rings on your fingers, there will be no worries."
He finally brings his relentless pacing to an end and opens a drawer behind his desk. He then pulls out three large, shiny rings and places them on top of the desk. They are the most beautiful pieces of jewelry I have ever seen in my life.
"How do you know these will work?"
King Dexter laughs condescendingly, and I feel foolish for even asking. Our government never makes any mistakes, especially for something this serious.
"We have taken every possible precaution to ensure that these rings will deceive any vampire... even their king."
I sigh, trying my best to take in all of this information. I have a feeling my life is about to turn completely upside down.
"So, I am supposed to wear these rings, travel through a tunnel in which you have built under the Great Divide, sneak into territory one, then into the Vampire's castle, and try to see if I can find out any information regarding the decline of humans?" It sounds even crazier saying it aloud.
"Yes, Ms. Vance. It is that simple."
I shake my head.
"You are now a Hunter, Ms. Vance. The only one we've got. Our territory is depending on you... I hope you realize this."
A Hunter... I never would have guessed that my assigned job as a human would be not only be one that was added just for me... but this wild. I cannot wrap my mind around what I have been asked to do.
This is the last thing I expected when I was told this morning by my parents that I had been summoned.
"What if I can't do it?" I can't help but ask.
"You're the only one who can, Ms. Vance. I am ordering you to do it for a reason. You have got to trust me. We are going to see each other a lot more from now on."
How can this be my reality? Just this morning, I was a recently graduated eighteen-year-old who was awaiting her job assignment on her house monitor, which was supposed to come any day now, and King Dexter was just our ruler who I saw every morning on our monitor. I don't think I can even begin to understand this, at all.
"What happens now?"
"Well, Ms. Vance, you'll be happy to hear that from now on you will be staying right here at the castle, in your own room. You'll be leaving for your job as a Hunter every morning, and returning every night. As soon as we have a bit more information, your work load will lessen, of course."
I gasp.
"Do I have a say in any of this?"
"Ms. Vance, we need to figure out what's going on as soon as possible, and you're our only hope. The sooner we begin, the better. I plan for you to begin tomorrow morning."
"W-what!? What about my parents? My friends? My belongings?"
"We have it all figured out, Ms. Vance. Your parents and friends will be able to visit you once a week, and all of your belongings have already been moved into your new room during this conversation."
Since I recently graduated from our educational institution, moving out of my parent's home and beginning my personal, assigned job as a human was going to come soon, anyways... but, this? This is unreal.
"I don't know, King Dexter..."
"We need you, yes... but I am still the ruler of this territory, and you must do exactly as I say. Do not forget that, Ms. Vance."
He is right. I feel foolish for even attempting to argue against his logic.
"I apologize for my disrespect."
"Very well, then. I'll show you to your room."
It takes everything I have to stand up from this chair and follow the man who just so happens to be the human king, and who has easily just changed my life completely.