“You told me that you’d be here 20 minutes ago, Aunyaunca.” Aun had called Sergeant Smith, her army recruiter, late that last night after she had gone home to schedule a meeting with him. Of course, she was late. “I had some rookies that were looking forward to some training this morning.” He crossed his buff arms over his broad chest, puffing up his already large stature. He peered down at her through hard, blue eyes. “No one ever looks forward to your training.” She laughed, trying to lighten his mood. His tough expression didn’t change. “Look,” Aun lowered her voice. “I’d kind of like to talk to you about something in private.” Smith dropped his arms and waved for Aun to follow him into his office. They entered a small tent that he was using as his temporary office while he was running the ROTC. He stepped behind a small wood desk and sat in a sturdy wood chair. He leaned forward and folding his arms on the desk. “What can I do for you?” his voice was more pleasant. Aun took a seat in the chair opposite of him. “We’ve got a big project on our hands that’s going to require more manufacturing that Hayden can do. You see-” Sergeant Smith raised his hand, signaling for her silence. “Don’t tell me anything about it in such an open area. Just tell me what you need.” “You know those bullets Hayden made, with the wooden splinters-” “You need more?” “A lot more.” “Are you just using handguns?” “They’ll be our back ups. We need something bigger and preferably at least a semi-automatic.” “You need guns too?” “Hayden only has so many of one model, and he’s tweaked each one to his own liking. Therefore he has to make specialized bullets for each one.” “You’re asking for a lot, Aunyaunca.” “This is for a lot.” The sergeant picked up a pencil and began jotting down information on a notepad. “A lot to save?” “Just one.” He stopped writing and slowly lifted his dark eyes up to look at her. “If there is only one, why do you need so much?” “We don’t know what we’re up against.” “So you want me to waste mine and my men’s time on making special bullets for something that you don’t even know you’ll need them for?” His voice grew stern, almost angry. “This is for one person. There are plenty of other cases you can go after that can serve a much better purpose.” Aun’s face turned just as cold as his. “This is a teenage girl that-” “That should’ve learned to stay inside at night like her parents told her!” “It’s not always that simple!” Aun yelled back, jumping up and slamming her hands down on the desk. Sergeant Smith didn’t say anything to her, but anger was visible in his facial expression. He remained in his chair, just staring back at Aun. “McHannah.” Aun said, frustration draining from her tone. “What?” he tilted his head in puzzlement at her. “General Joseph McHannah.” She said. “Ring a bell?” “General McHannah was my commanding officer.. What about him?” “Sandra Jo McHannah is the girl we are looking for; General McHannah’s daughter.” Aun made her way behind his desk, leaning over him so she could type on his computer. He moved to the side so she could get in better. After a couple minutes of typing, Aun brought up a page that had a Student ID card with the picture of a teenage girl with long blonde locks, fine skin, bright blue eyes, and perfect teeth. The name was Sandra’s. Sgt. Smith cocked an eyebrow. “So this means more because she’s a General’s daughter?” he asked her, his voice sounding disgusted. “The mother is so hysterical that she’ll make it more public than she should. The father is irate due to the fact that his wife called us. He thinks that it’s all bullshit. And this is a young girl with not a lot of time left.” He stared at her for a moment, studying her concerned features. He said nothing for what seemed like an eternity. He just kept his steel eyes on her face. Aun got out of the chair and stood up perfectly straight. Her face turned just as cold as his. “Whether you give us those supplies or not, we will go in one way or another. This is just a plea for your help.” Smith’s posture relaxed and the cold expression left his face. It took him a minute to find his words. “The crates have been moved to a new storage.” He leaned over his desk and began jotting down notes on a piece of scrap paper. “You’re going to have to suit up in order to get them. Take the jeep out front and load them into that. Take them to wherever it is you store them and get that jeep back immediately.” He handed the paper to her hesitantly. “Do not get caught with them at all, and if you do, my name does not slip out.” Aun took the paper and skimmed over it before folding it up and tucking it in her back pocket. Her eyes returned to his. “Thank you, Sir.”

“Why didn’t you kill him then and there?” Kharmen had been nagging on Aun ever since they had got back to the office building. Aun unlocked the door to their office and pushed her way inside, ignoring all of her brother’s comments. She pulled her guns out of their hilts and tossed them on her desk before plopping down in her chair. “You had plenty of time to do it!” Kharmen continued his rant, slamming his hands down on Aun‘s desk. “How long does it take to pull the goddamned trigger?” “Jesus Christ, Kharmen,” Brice interrupted him. “Let it go. It’s late. Everyone is tired. Just let it go.” “No, I’m not going to let it go.” he protested. “I’ll let it go when she’s explains why she did what she did. Or better yet, what she didn’t do.” He turned his head back to Aun. “So?” Aun rubbed her temples briefly before glaring at Kharmen. “Because we can still get to the girl.” Kharmen suspiciously raised an eyebrow. Aun huffed at him. “It takes more than a couple nights to sire someone. It’ll take him a week at least. As of now, he’d only be draining her. We have at least four more days to get to her.” “And how do you suppose we’re going to find him in four days??” “Marty and Hayden.” ~*~ Aun stood outside a small warehouse, pounding on the metal door. She was in a back alley. It was late at night and the only light she had was from the late night light pollution from the city. Again, she pounded on the door, waiting from someone to answer. A groggy looking man answered the door. His shaggy, curly, dirty-blonde hair fell in his face, covering his eyes. “Do you realize that it’s 3 o’clock in the morning?” “I suppose that I would care if I didn’t already know that you weren’t even sleeping.” Aun smiled.“Where’s Hayden?” “In the back somewhere working on something.” “You two sure keep good track of each other.” Aun laughed. “Do you think that you can do me a favor?” “How long will it take?” “I need you to look up someone, or rather something, for me.” “Oh.” He nodded his head at her and opened the door so she could get inside. “That kind of thing.” Aun stepped in past him, waiting for him to close the door before she continued. “His name is Luthien-” Marty cut her off, throwing up his hands. “You mean that you came out here at 3 o’clock in the morning to ask a question about information that is so easily attainable?” Aun tilted her head. Marty sighed heavily. “Luthien is one of the most notorious, egocentric bastards ever.” He started over towards an area full of computers and other high tech equipment, waving for Aun to follow. He sat down in his rolling office chair and pulled himself up in front of his monitor. Quickly, he began typing out information in what appeared to be a government program. Aun got no more than a couple seconds of reading in on each page since Marty was flipping through them so quickly. Finally the screen stopped moving and a page of text popped up. Aun gave her eyes a second to focus on the screen before she began reading. She jumped when the printer started, producing the information on the screen to paper in record time. Marty snatched the papers off of the desktop and handed them to Aun over his shoulder. “I’m sure that Warren could have easily done that.” His voice sounded a little annoyed and so did his expression as he turned around in his chair to face her. Aun ignored him and skimmed over the document, reading off bits and pieces of it under her breath. “Is this all the information you’ve got on him?” She kept her eyes skimming over the papers, flipping through the five pages. Marty snatched the papers from her hand and lazily flipped through them. “These are all the records I have of him, which should be more than enough.” “Did you say that Hayden is in the back?” He nodded, rubbing his temples. “Thanks.” Aun muttered before grabbing the papers back and jogged to a thick metal door. She shoved it open and stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. The room was very metallic. The walls and shelves were made of stainless steel and the floor was white linoleum that was covered in black skid marks from shoes. Tools of all sorts littered the shelves and tabletops along with various gun and weapon parts. On the walls were more stainless steel racks full of gun, swords, and other weapons that Hayden had either constructed or collected throughout his life. Aun heard a loud ‘bang’ in the back and immediately made her way towards the location of the gunshot. She then heard a louder ‘clang’ and watched as an assault rifle skidded across the floor and bumped into her boots. “Goddamn it!” a deep voice bellowed. A man about 5’10” with black hair, mustache and goatee stepped around from a row of shelves, rubbing and rolling his right shoulder. He noticed Aun standing there, but made no note of it and simply snatched the gun off the ground, tossing it carelessly onto the counter before turning his attention to Aun. “Having fun?” Aun asked innocently. The man, Hayden, growled under his breath. “I finally get an M16A2, and it refuses to work with any of my equipment.” He stopped rubbing his shoulder and put his hands on his hips, staring blankly at the gun. “They’re army guns. I think that they build them that way for a reason. And you’ve already got an overload of military guns. Why are you so worried about a standard gun?” “Number one,” he scooped up the gun again, examining it at all angles. “It’s my hobby. Second, it may be standard, but after I’m done tweaking it, it’ll be awesome. And third, I don’t have very many semiautomatics.” He began walking towards the opposite side of the room, placing the gun in a metal case, shutting and locking it securely. He then opened transparent doors to a lower cabinet and slid it inside among other almost identical cases. “Why are you out here anyway?” he asked after shutting and locking the cabinet doors. “Had to get some info from Marty.” She held the papers out to him. Hayden took the papers and skimmed over him. “You do know how easy it is to-” “I know!” she interrupted him. “Marty already scolded me for it. I just thought I’d stop in and see how you were before I left. But now that I checked in with you, I have to leave because it’s about 4 o’clock in the morning and I have to be somewhere early.”

Editted All of the neighbors watched from their windows as two large, unfamiliar trucks pulled into one of the newly paved driveways. The neighborhood was nice with nearly identical white chalets with bright shutters and freshly cut green grass. Children’s toys littered the driveways and SUV’s inhabited the garages. The house that the quartet had pulled into was no different from the rest. It was nice, a fairly good size, and incredibly well maintained. A navy blue suburban was on one side of the garage and a silver BMW was on the other. A concrete walkway led them to the front door. Aun pushed the doorbell. After a few seconds of waiting, a weary looking, small, blonde woman answered the door. Dark rings circled her eyes and her hair was tangled and messy. She didn’t say hello, but simply eyed them with her teary bloodshot eyes. “Are you-?” Aun nodded. “May we come in?” The woman nodded and stepped to the side, allowing them entrance to her home. “I’m sorry I haven’t cleaned in a while, so it’s a little messy.” Her small voice was shaky. “It’s just that so much has been going on and I haven’t found the time to.” The four eyed the rooms as they were lead to the dining room. It didn’t seem dirty at all. Well, it was cleaned compared to their office. “Here,” the woman waved her hand at the kitchen table. “have a seat. I sent the kids to play upstairs and my husband should be home from work shortly.” They all took seats at the table and Kharmatica started the questioning. “How many kids do you have, ma’am?” “Three.” She answered. “Well, two now.” She grabbed her purse off of the counter and started rummaging through it until she found her purse. She pulled out a wallet-sized picture and handed it to him. “This was my little Sandra her junior year.” Her eyes filled with tears again as she reluctantly released the picture. “Well,” Warren took hold of the conversation. “I’m Warren. This is Aun, Brice, and Kharmen.” She pointed to them as she introduced them. The mother took a seat at the table. “I’m Patricia.” she said politely. “You really have no idea how glad I am that you are all here.” Her voice became shaky again. “Sandy was my oldest. You have no idea how hard it is to lose her. I mean, she was still my little girl.” She began to cry again. “Patricia,” Warren reached over and placed a hand on the crying woman’s shoulder. “We promise you that we’ll take care of this.” “Do you mean that you can bring her back to me as my little girl?” Her watery, blue eyes locked on Warren. When Warren said nothing, she looked to everyone else. But when no one else said anything, she began to cry harder, burying her face in her arm and laying it on the table. They all heard the front door shut and the voice of a middle-aged man. “I’m home!” he called out while walking into the dining room. “Honey? Whose trucks are-” His face dropped when he saw the four strangers in his house. “How many times have I told them that we don’t need grief counselors?” his voice turned harsh. “Sir, we’re not grief counselors.” Brice explained to him in a somber voice. “You’re wife called us a yesterday and-” Her husband cut him off. “Oh. You’re who she was talking about. What do you think that the four of you are going to do about them? What makes you punks so special?” “We’re trained for these kind of cases, Sir.” Brice argued. “What? They train you to commit suicide? Sounds pretty stupid to me. This isn’t something that any of you will be able to fix. Just let it go.” “That’s not our job.” Aun kept her back to him. “We have been doing this for years and have no intention of giving up now just because you don’t think that it’s possible. Do you not care that they took your daughter from you?” The father’s face turned red. “Don’t you EVER say something like that!” he yelled. “You don’t have any idea what it’s like to lose a daughter to such a horrible thing!” Aun got out of her chair and walked over to him. “I meant no disrespect to your daughter.” She turned her head to the side so she could see him out of the corner of her eye. “But can you see what this is doing to your wife? Can you even begin to fathom how every other family feels that has lost a loved one to them? It sickens me that you don’t want to do anything about this.” “It sickens me that you’re charging people to save them.” “We do what we have to in order to get by ourselves.” The man glared at his wife before turning and charging down the stairs. “I’m so sorry about him.” the mother whimpered. “He doesn’t deal with these kind of things well.” “We’re used to it.” Brice tried to comfort her. Aun turned her head to the woman. “Everything will be taken care of tonight.” The two trucks drove about fifteen minutes to a narrow, weedy dirt road. The drove about five yards down it before pulling over and killing the engines. The all got out of the vehicles; girls in one truck, guys in the other. The four walked behind the girls’ truck and crawled into the bed, flipping open the large toolbox in the back. Each one pulled out their select weapons they had brought along with them. They all strapped small, silenced handguns and newly sharpened daggers in their holders placed around their waists and under their loose camouflage pants and tight black tops. “Alright,” Aun began with the plans. “We’ll go the last mile on foot so not to attract attention to ourselves. When we get there, we’ll observe the grounds from a safe distance and find a way in from there. It’s a Monday night, so they’re probably spending the night recuperating from the weekend. We get in, get the job done, and then get out; plain and simple.” They all nodded and snuck into the hay field they had parked next to and crept through it as far as it went, then made their way through a small, yet thick forest until they saw dim lights coming from a small, old manor. They crept as close to the edge of the woods as they could to get a better view of the area. No one was outside, so they crept around back of the house and peered in through the windows. There were about fifteen vampires stationed inside the den that Aun could see. Brice signaled that about five more where in the kitchen and Kharmen signaled out eight more in the foyer. Warren crept around the entire house and counted the amount of room on the first and second floor, totaling to thirteen rooms, six of them being bedrooms. So they knew that there was more than the twenty-eight that they could see. Each of them did another search of the house from outside. Aun crept around the corner to the back porch, peeking around to check for anymore of them. She slid around, her back pressed against the wall, gun held tight in her hands and pulled back against her chest. Just as she slid around, she saw the back door fly open and a vampire step out with a cigarette in his mouth and a lit match in his hand at the end of it. He took a long drag on it, then let the gray smoke flow out of his mouth into the dark air. The light from the lamp on the wall showed off where he was, and where Aun was. The vampire spun towards Aun at the sound of a snapping twig that had broken under her boot. He pulled the cancer stick out from between his lips and smiled at her, eying the handgun she was now pointing at him. He laughed. “Do ya really think that a little thing like tha’ is gunna hurt me, sweetheart?” He chuckled in a thick Scottish accent, pointing a finger at her gun. Aun said nothing, but kept her gun pointing at his chest. “Fine.” He put the cigarette back in his mouth and stretched out his arms, giving her a clearer shot of his chest. “Shot me then. It‘ll give me all the more reason to bite into that hot little neck of yours.” Aun fired the silenced weapon, sending a bullet right into the vampire’s cold, dead heart. The smirk fell from his face and the cigarette dropped from between his lips, bouncing off his shoe. His eyes locked on Aun. “The gun didn’t hurt you,” Aun said blandly, gun still pointing at the vampire. “but the bullet did. Any second now a tiny mechanism in the bullet that is triggered by a your blood will cause wooden splinters to pop out of the sides of the bullet into your heart and you’ll be dead.” As soon as she finished talking, his limp body dropped to the porch, creating a loud ‘thud.’ Aun slipped around the corner just before another vampire came rushing around the back to find his friend’s corpse lying on the porch. He ran back inside to warn the others that something was here. Aun snuck around to find the rest of her group. “Most of the house will be heading outside in a matter of minutes.” She said as quickly and quietly as possible. “We need to find someplace to hide until they clear out so we can get in and take out whoever stays inside. “There’s a small shed that is on the other side of the building.” Brice explained. “We can go in there.” “We need somewhere to go where they can’t corner us if they did find us.” Kharmen shunned his idea. “He’s right.” Warren agreed. “But if we hide somewhere that’s open, then the outside lights will give us away.” “Everyone split up again,” Aun butted in. “Take out any lights on the outside of the house that you can. Keep back from the light as far as you can and shoot. As soon as you take that light out, move fast to the next one until they’re all gone. Then get under the back porch. We’ll all meet up there in no more than five minutes.” The all split up again and crept around the house. They were careful to avoid the doors so not to be spotted. For the lights that were next to steps, they had to use trickery. Kharmen approached the front of the house, peeking around the corner to see vampires flowing out of the house one by one. He pressed his back against the siding of the house and pulled a compact mirror from his pocket, holding it back so he had a clear view of the lights. He then poked his gun around the corner of the house, aiming the laser on the end of it at the bulbs. He fired once, breaking the bulb none to quietly. The three vampires that were just outside the door began searching wildly for where the gunshot had come from, but Kharmen had pulled everything back close to him. He watched as the vampires took off in separate directions, only one coming his way. Just as the vampire passed him, he shot a bullet into their back and watched as their body fell to the ground. Again, he repeated the process of knocking out the last light and quietly made his way around the back to the porch. The lights above it had already been shot out, so he ducked down under the porch to find everyone else already under there. “Are all the lights out?” Aun whispered to everyone else. “I got the two out front.” Kharmen answered. “Brice got the fog lights on the east side of the house and I got them on the west.” Warren chimed in. “I didn’t see anymore.” “We’ll give it a couple minutes before we make our way inside.” They waited about five minutes before they stopped hearing footsteps on the porch and shouting voices inside. All of the sounds and voices they now heard came from the woods. As they crept out, they noticed that all of the lights inside had been shut off. They still knew that there were vampires inside, however. Vampires can’t see well in the dark, but they can see better than humans. No one was out in the open, so they proceeded to the back door, creaking it open as silently as possible. The group communicated through various army hand gestures. Aun signaled for Warren and Kharmen to cover this floor and that her and Brice would head up the stairs. Each one nodded as they received their instruction and broke off into their pairings. As Brice and Aun reached the top of the stairs, Aun signaled for Brice to scope the left side of the upstairs and that she would cover the rest. Again, Brice nodded and headed in the opposite direction of his companion. Aun pinned her back to the wall, cautiously pushing a thick, rotting door open with his hand. She waited a second while it noisily creaked open, holding her gun close to her chest, index finger locked on the trigger. Quickly, she slid around the corner into the room, gun pointing away from her body as she quickly scanned the room. Finding nothing, she pulled the gun back against her. “I don’t know why you’re being so quite,” a deep, British voice sounded through the room, giving no hint to his location. “We all know that you’re here.” Aun scanned the room again with her gun held out. “Plus, anyone can tell that you’re here when you’re breathing so hard.” A moment of silence. “It won’t do any good to hold your breath now. You’ve given yourself away. Now tell me,” Aun could feel him moving about, but couldn’t pin out where he was. “what have you come to ask of old Luthien?” Aun dropped her handgun to her side, slowly sliding her free hand over the other identical gun still in its hilt. She clasped the handle tightly in her palm, but left the barrel in its holder. “The mother sent you, didn’t she?” the voice laughed behind her. Aun quickly spun around, both guns pointing at a dark figure leaning against the wall. She tried her hardest to focus her eyes on him, but could only faintly make out his silhouette. “If you kill me, then there is no way you’ll find out where the girl is.” He stood up straight, revealing his amazing height. “So you might as well lower your guns.” Aun kept her guns pointing at him. “Or I can shoot out your knee caps and force you into telling me where she is.” She lowered the barrels of her guns, guessing at where his knees would be. “And if I refuse?” “You won’t. I’ll be sure of it.” “And what kind of torture do you plan to put me through that will get me to reveal such information? I’ve already sustained more than you could ever do to me.” He stepped closer to her, the faint light from the hall revealing his pale face, jet-black hair, and black eyes. He smiled, showing off his blood stained teeth. Aun raised her guns back up, the barrels now pressing against his chest. “Shoot me then.” He smirked. “I know that you’re not so stupid as to try to kill me with a silver bullet. I saw what those little bullets of yours are capable of; but why don’t you give me a demonstration?” He pressed harder against the barrels. Aun fired one gun, sending a bullet through the left side of his chest. She didn’t flinch or move at all. She kept her deep green eyes locked on his face. The vampire jerked slightly, taking a couple steps back. He touched the bullet hole with his fingertips, drenching them with crimson blood. He brought his soiled fingertips to his mouth, licking the fine liquid off. He licked his lips. “I haven’t tasted my own blood in a long time.” He licked again at his fingers before turning his gaze back at Aun. “You’ve got a lot more in you than any other slayer that’s came after me. You’re the only one who’s actually drew my blood.” His gaze traveled down to the hole in his chest. “But I don’t think that a little scratch like that will do you any good.” “Where’s the girl?” Aun asked sternly, ignoring everything else he had said. “What do you think the mother will do with her? Train her to be a good girl again, but never let her outside? You’re better off just forgetting about the girl and killing me…or at least trying to.” Aun fired her gun again, this time landing a bullet in his diaphragm. The vampire slightly jerked, clasping the wound with both hands. His eyes shifted to Aun again. “You’re not doing yourself any good right now.” He stood up straight again, letting the blood fall from his fingers to the floor. “But I suppose I have given you plenty of time.” He charged at Aun, clasping her wrists tightly, causing her to drop both pistols to the floor. Aun, jumped back, driving her boots into his chest, pushing off of him. He kept a firm grip on her arms, holding her in place. Feet still against the vampire’s chest, Aun pushed harder, but he still held her arms. Running short of options, Aun shifted all of her weight back. The vampire came toppling down over her. As soon as her back came in contact with the floor, she kicked at the vampire, flipping him over onto his back above her. Aun then rolled back and flipped over, straddling his chest and pinning his wrists to the floor in one small hand. She drew a small blade from a sheath strapped to her lower back and placed the blade to his throat, drawing a thin line of blood. “Why is the girl so important to you?” Luthien managed to choke out. “She’s just one girl. There are plenty others that you could be saving.” Aun’s gaze hardened on him and her blade pressed harder on his neck. “Well, thank-you for saving our castle, Mario,” his words were strangled. “But our princess is in another castle.” He pulled his arms out of her grasp, threw her off of him into the wall, and fled to the window. He glanced back at her long enough to watch her struggle to get off of the floor before jumping out of the second story window.

The sun shone bright through Aunyaunca’s window around noon. Lazily, she tossed the blankets to the foot of her bed and threw her legs over the edge of her bed, rubbing her tired eyes. She got up too close to the curtains to her bay window and yawned, stretching her arms as far as they would go. It was just another meaningless morning to waste on doing nothing. Nothing ever really happened until night. As her routine went, Aun slumped down the stairs into her kitchen to start her morning coffee and closed all of the curtains while she waited for the coffee to finish brewing. She hated how her maids opened them everyday, knowing that they were just going to be shut again. The maids always nagged on her for her backwards-sleeping hours and for decorating her walls with foreign swords. She had been raised with swords and guns. The coffee maker released its annoying beeps, like it had every time it was finished. Aun stumbled back to the kitchen and poured herself a large cup of the steaming brew. She wandered into her living room, plopping onto a large Victorian couch. Finally showered and dressed, Aun grabbed her jacket and fled out the door after saying bye to her dog. She tossed her coat onto the seat next to her in her decked out Silverado and forced the keys into the ignition. Before pulling out of her driveway, she turned on her stereo, putting in her favorite rock CD and peeled out of the driveway. Aun parked her car outside of a large business building. As she walked towards the large double doors, people in nicely pressed suits and briefcases headed out to their cars with bland looks on their faces. Others in almost identical suits were entering the building with leather suitcases and cups of Starbucks coffee in their hands. Then Aun studied her own attire. She was dressed in a pair of faded jeans that were tearing at the bottom because they were too long and she walked on them so much, her old converse shoes popping out from under them. On her top she wore a black wife beater with her pentagram necklace that she went nowhere without. The pentagrams she had tattooed on each shoulder were fully visible, along with the numerous scars she had on her arms. She had gotten most of them fighting and wore them proudly as battle scars. The only thing that was the same between her and the entering people was the coffee in her hand. All heads turned in curiosity as she entered the building. This isn’t what someone entering this building was expected to wear. This was an office building that prided themselves on the success of each corporation located inside. But there was always a downfall to every corporation. Where Aun was headed was just that. Everyone that worked inside dressed just like everyone else on the street. No one really knew what went on inside that floor that she and the couple other people went to. No one spoke of it out loud, really. But they did look for a reason to get them out of it. Of course, they didn’t have any real reason to get rid of them, except for the fact that they made everyone else look bad. Aun made her way inside the packed elevator, squeezing in with random people that were all heading off to their various offices. No one said anything when they entered. They simply pushed the button for their desired floor and hugged their briefcases to themselves during the entire ride. Aun smiled and sipped on her plain, black coffee. The elevator door finally opened at the 18th floor. A wave of disgust wafted out of the compact area as soon as the double doors slid open and Aun’s foot planted on the wood floor. Everyone did their best to hide the fact that they were searching the floor with their beaming eyes. However, the only thing that they could actually see is a narrow hallway that turned the corner after only a couple feet. Aun turned the corner and pushed through a thick, wooden door that was merely a short distance from the turn. Behind the door was a relaxed area with a few desks with high tech computers perched on top with trinkets decorating them, an old plaid couch that had been there for many years, a couple filing cabinets, and two more doors that lead to a bathroom and a small backroom. “It’s good to see that you did wake up sometime today, Aun.” Warren, one of Aun’s good friends and coworkers greeted her from behind her computer. “Morning.” Aun smiled while setting her coffee down on her desk and leaning over to turn the computer on. “It’s the afternoon.” Kharmatica, Aun’s older brother entered the room from a door on the opposite side of the room. “You’re such a lazy ass.” “I didn’t see you out last night.” Aun barked at him. “Well,” he shrugged off her comment. “I suppose I can’t nag on you about being here at 1 o’clock. Brice got here and went to sleep in the backroom and is still in there snoring like an ox.” Aun immediately ran for the door that Kharmatica came out of. She quietly eased the door open and entered the small backroom, shutting the door behind her just as quietly as she had opened it. The only things that were inside were some filing cabinets and another raggy couch that had been there for as long as they had been. On that couch was Brice, a 6-foot tall man with shaggy, dirty blonde hair and deep brown eyes…when they were open. Now he was sleeping on the couch, snoring softly. Aun crouched down next to his ear, her lips mere millimeters from it. “The squirrels are there again, Brice.” Brice squirmed a little on the couch. “They’re big, mutated squirrels,” she continued in a soft, motherly voice. “With razor sharp teeth and claws. Each one is equipped with a paper clip and a large bag of rubber bands.” Brice wiggled a little more, face cringing. “Squirrels…” he muttered. “Watch out, Brice. One is about to jump you from behind!” Her voice grew more excited, but not louder. Brice rolled to his side, face pressed into the back of the couch. “BAM!” Aun yelled, slamming her fists down on the side of the couch. Brice jumped out of his sleep, flipping over on his stomach. His frantic eyes shot around the room before they picked out Aun, who was giggling to herself. His chocolate eyes narrowed at her. “Bitch.” “Get your ass up.” She grunted, rising from the floor. “It’s one o’clock and you’re still sleeping on this flea infested couch. Don’t you have a bed to sleep in at home?” “It’s not as comfy as the couch.” Brice smothered his face in the couch cushion briefly, then turned back to face her. “Even if it is flea bitten.” Aun scoffed. “Just get up and get out here.” Brice pulled himself up off the couch and followed Aun out into the main room, shielding his eyes when the sun shone brightly on him through the large windows. Kharmatica craned his neck so he could see Aun out of the corner of his eye before locking them back on the papers he held in his hands. “Did you get your assignment done last night?” “It was an easy one.” Aun made herself comfortable behind her desk. “I don’t see that the big problem was.” “Do you remember how it was the first time that you had to fight?” Kharmatica lifted his eyes from his business again. “Quit your bickering.” Warren butted in. “We got a call last night of some disturbance over in Eastern Sacramento. They said that there has been a small manor that’s packed full of them every night for sometime now. People have been lost to it, the whole story that we hear all too often.” “I really hate it when people wait for so many people to be lost before calling it in.” Brice grumbled from the other faded plaid couch he was now laying on. “Do you have directions to where it is?” Aun asked. “She gave up quite the elaborate directions and repeated it all about three times.” Kharmatica butted in. “She’d lost her daughter about two weeks ago, and just now decided to call in. Her husband protested against it.” “Does she know the conditions of the call and the payment?” “I drilled everything into her head.” Warren explained, pulling out a stack of papers from her top drawer on her desk. “We’re supposed to go out to her home this afternoon and clear the manor tonight. It’ll take us about an hour and a half to get out there, so we’ve got a little bit of time to suit up before we have to be out of here.” Brice grumbled on the couch. “Can I stay here? I mean, you guys can cover something like this, right?” “Being hung over is no excuse to not go.” Kharmatica barked at him. “Now get your ass up and get ready.”

Interlude The vampire fell to the ground hard, wincing and grabbing the back of his head. A look of horror flooded his face and he scurried to his feet, running off deeper into the woods and dodging as many low branches as he could. He frequently turned his head back to see if she was still following him. But every time he looked, she seemed closer than the last. He turned his head again to find that whoever was following him was gone. Feeling a little relieved over the thought that maybe he had lost her; he stopped, panting from exhaustion. He bent forward and rested his hands on his knees, inhaling deeply. He clasped his right upper arm. When he pulled his hand away, crimson blood stained it. He then ran the back of his hand across his lip, spreading even more of the crimson liquid over it. The vampire could feel a sharp throbbing around his eye where she had punched him. He shot upright when he heard the snap of a branch. He turned about frantically, searching through the darkness to find whatever it was. Finding nothing, but still paranoid, he began to pick up his pace again, trying to escape the predator. He took up a full run after hearing more snaps and cracks. Finally completely out of energy, he stopped. He was panting harder, his eyes still flickering around through the thick woods. He could smell his own blood. It took over the rest of his senses. He needed food, and he needed it now, but how could he let his guard down to drink now? His only chance was to fight whatever it was. He straightened up and dusted off his torn black t-shirt. “Come out, come out wherever you are!” he called into the darkness wearily. “I know you’re there! Show yourself!” A soft, feminine chuckle came from deep in the woods, somewhere above him in the trees. “Who was that?” he asked softer, paranoia returning to him quickly. He heard a thud behind him and spun around, face to face with a woman, her features hidden by darkness. He stumbled back as her fist collided with his jaw. He grasped his stomach, doubling over, when a thick boot crashed into him. He spit his own blood out onto the brush, trying to swallow part of it down. Another kick came to his face and he fell to the ground, coughing again, more blood flowing from his mouth and lip. The woman stepped over him and took hold of the collar of his shirt, lifting his torso up off of the dirt. She drew a dagger from a holder on her back and twirled it in her hand, grinning evilly at the vampire. The light from the moon provided just enough light for the drowsy, exhausted vamp to make out the shining blade. He quickly shoved her off of him and fled from the ground and away from her. She slowly got up and dusted her clothes off. “All around the mulberry bush…“ she chimed, smirking as she took off at him again. “The monkey chased the weasel.” The vampire finally came to the end of the forest, and to a drop off. It was about a four-foot drop to the next level. He jumped down, his large, booted feet crashing into the earth. He took off again towards the cemetery. The predator reached the ledge and was quick to jump down, crouching as she hit the ground. She rose up and took off again, running far faster than the vampire. Easily she caught up to him and leapt at him, knocking him down on the soggy dirt and moss. She quickly drew her dagger back out and rolled him onto his back, straddling his chest. He caught her wrist as she drove the dagger towards him. It was millimeters from his chest. They both pushed against the dagger from opposite directions. Finally her pushed her hand and the dagger back and shoved her off of him again. He got to his feet and turned to see if the woman would bother getting up and coming after him. The woman got up, grabbing her dagger on the way. She eyed up the vampire who quickly turned and ran. She threw the dagger at him, the blade sticking in between his shoulder blades. He stopped abruptly, face going blank. His corpse collided with the ground with a soft ‘thud.’ Hurriedly, she strode up to his body, fingers flickering over the blade before she yanked it out of his body. The woman pulled a white cloth from her pocket and wiped down the blade before stuffing the dagger back in its sheath and tucking the blood stained rag into the vampire’s back pocket. R&R Please!!!