Ivy 9

CHAPTER ONE: IVY

"It's been three hundred years since the dead woke. It has been three hundred years since we found out about them. Vampires, horrid beings, they who drink the life force of humans are roaming the earth like a playground." The instructor's forehead tightens with every word like a verbal Botox. Her shoes clap against the concrete floor in a steady rhythm as she paces in front of my line of freshman. I glance around briefly to see that the same expression of hatred is mirrored on everyone's face. A shiver of annoyance rolls in my belly. None of these kids have ever actually seen a vampire. However it seems that the feeling of intense loathing has been passed down through generations.

My attention is forced back to the detestable woman as she continues her rant of abhorrence. She explains to us why the hatred of vampires is important for our survival. Somewhere around the history of the Great War my knees start to ache from standing for so long. When she finally nodded to a burly man to her side and stepped back for him to speak I give a silent sigh of relief.

With one huge hand and the bark of an order this new man motions for us to split into groups of three. We oblige swiftly and silently. I don't have to think about my partners however as Erza and Loke find me within seconds of the instruction being given. Erza and Loke are my only friends in this immense government run academy. I had known them since childhood and by pure luck we had ended up in the same class together, something I was hugely grateful for.

Erza's eyes meet mine and she grins, obviously unable to contain her excitement, then loops her arm in mine. Long ago I had learned not to be jealous of Erza's beauty, of the deep red of her hair or the graceful lines of her body. However I couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy as I compared my boyish figure and uncontrollable raven curls to her. This feeling dissipated as I spot Loke behind her. He is as lanky as ever, all arms and legs, towering a good head over me this difference almost unnoticeable as he slouches against the sturdy brick wall. He flashes me with a smile and I can't help but beam back. To me Loke is the human equivalent of Prozac, simply if he was smiling I was.

As a group now we return our attention to the teacher, who I could see wore a name tag stating that he is sergeant Parag. The name raises a flag of familiarity in my brain and I finally realize who he is. They say that he was a great warrior. Who, in his life time has killed over twenty fragments before he was demoted due to injury. He observes us with a scowl and I almost gasp out loud at the first sight of his scar. It took me a second to notice it as he was turned away but as he moves his head to catch the light I can see the ghastly white tissue.

It was like someone had torn a strip of skin away from his forehead and down to the underside of his chin. One of his eyes is distant and clouded over, he is half blind, while the other is piercing into the gaze of us students.

"Attention!" when he speaks he shouts and we all jump in unison, straitening our backs, even loke perked up. Sgt. Parag clad in a camo uniform and black combat boots starts to pace in front of us with his hand crossed behind his back, " one thing all of you should know is that these... things, they do not have souls. They are not human! Do not treat them as such!" I nod along with the other students but the uneasy feeling in my stomach doesn't fade. Seemingly satisfied with our response he continues. "When I give an order you respond with 'yes sir!' got it?"

"Yes sir!" I shout with everyone else but as I look over at loke I can see that he is very unimpressed. One eyebrow is raised quizzically and a slight smirk is splayed across his lips when I catch his I he mouths.

'Robots'

I grin and whip my head back around glad to see that the sergeant didn't see me. My relief I short lived however as he barks his next order.

"Ten laps around the track!"

We all groan but take off like we had dogs barking at our heels.

I walk home from training covered in sweat and grime. My legs burn but adrenaline buzzed in my veins allowing me the energy necessary to move forward. Overhead the sky is beginning to burn with warm reds of sunset and the familiar smell of evening is starting to creep into the wind. Around me people are rushing to get home, like they should, but I relished in the setting sun. I knew that I should probably hurry home as fast as I could, the vampires couldn't enter the houses built with white oak, unfortunately this was the only nonlethal defense we had against them.