Vampire Hunter Anonymous: Flight

Chapter One

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The reflection of my face is split momentarily as I close the mirror to my medicine cabinet. A young man with short dark hair-- almost black, blue eyes and a pallid skin tone stares back at me. I catch a glimpse of my left arm and the intricately woven tattoos remind me that my body tells a story. Perhaps not to the naked eye, but to me, the ink under my skin boasts a static tapestry reminding me where I come from... And what I’ve done...

But I do my best to push sentiment aside as I catch cold water from the faucet with cupped hands and splash it over my face. Memories and nostalgia weren’t going to do much to ebb my concerns for what the day held. The crime I had committed would seem petty to any normal citizen, merciful even, but to The Order it was nothing short of treason; and today I had to stand in front of the panel, guilty of the charges they brought against me.

I had no idea what was in store. Would my reputation and standing help soften my sentence? Or would I be condemned?

1.

A short woman with a crew cut opens the door to the deserted waiting room. Her well tonned forearms and defined jaw line make her look more like an SS officer than a probation officer. She has a handgun and badge attached to her waist. “Adrian Marks?” she asks, looking at her clipboard. I stand up slowly not meeting her gaze.

She props the door to the waiting room open and I follow her through a metal detector then down a series of narrow hallways with little offices adjoined on either side. The ceilings are so low I almost have to hunch—but it makes sense considering we’re technically underground, below the basement of the old courthouse.

The normal probation offices aren’t in the courthouse, but the ones for The Order are. When the building had originally been built, this underground level had been put in as bunker, or fallout shelter for the local politicians, and more than likely- their rich friends. Now it served as the probation offices for The Internal Order Enforcement- or IOE for short. Basically, the IOE are the police force for Vampire Hunters.

The Order runs a tight ship, and it takes a lot of doing by a lot of hands to keep our work a secret.

As we continue down the hallway I notice the outdated posters lining the walls. Ridiculous warnings about "being bitten", "cleaning up the kill scene" and "being aware when stalking your prey” are laughable with the outdated cartoon illustrations and step-by-step instructions.

Finally we arrive at her office. Papers are littering the desk and floor, the trash can is overflowing and resembles a volcano- except its spewing food wrappers and magazines instead of lava. I glance around, surprised at the assortment of action figures and vampire nostalgia. This is not what I had expected from the strict, all business demeanor she possessed.

“Have a seat” she says. I’m already sitting down with my right leg propped against my left thigh. She grabs a stack of papers and a tape dispenser off her seat, throws them on the floor and plops down on the cheap black chair. There’s an ancient looking computer on her desk and she begins to clack the keyboard, not saying a word to me. I continue looking around the room. There’s a picture of a young girl that closely resembles her, standing between a middle aged couple; her parents no doubt. They’re all smiles as they stand in front of a giant weeping willow tree near a pond or lake. I notice a tiny blot of blue on the other side of the lake and identify it as a canoe, or kayak.

My concentration is pulled from the picture as the keyboard stops clacking and she addresses me. “Ok Adrian, my name’s Stacey, and as I’m sure you’re already aware-- I’ll be your probation officer for the next…” She pauses, and pops the end of her pen up and down against the desk while rifling through the papers that are filled with information about me: Name, Age, Sex, Date Of Birth- all the boring stuff Government can’t seem to get enough of.