Edited Woke Culture

Chapter 11-Saving California

California hunted me down. He followed the missing persons cases to guess where we were. He didn't know how many of us to expect, though. He was probably expecting ten to twelve vampires with how often Jacob and Edward fed.

Through a series of questions, I had determined Edward and Jacob were as cutthroat as myself. While it wasn't entirely their fault Damon was killed, they made it sound as if they could've saved him, despite not directly saying it. I knew I would have to keep them on a tight leash if my coven was going to survive the test of time.

It had only been four months since I stole California's sunlight ring. His finger would have grown back, but the memories would remain. He was out for vengeance.

I thought it was cute. I finally had a mortal enemy, and he was immortal like me. There was only 3 reasons to turn someone: vengeance, love, and boredom. I supposed, I was bored when I turned California, and turning someone out of boredom never made sense— it never turned out well.

California was close. I sensed him in the area, but he didn't have any backup. There were three of us, and only one of him. We had better weapons, much better weapons. We had a better plan. California stood no chance.

Weeks went by with California sniffing us out. The entire time I knew he was close, without a doubt in the back of my mind. He still didn't have a daylight ring, and I gave Jacob and Edward one, prematurely. I didn't want to give them that freedom so soon, but I had no choice if we were going to outrun California. We couldn't afford to stay in one place throughout the entire day; we had to put as much ground between us and the one who hunted us as we could.

I knew I would regret letting Jacob and Edward have freedom, but they would have to learn faster. I never had to learn to be a vampire, but everyone had a different learning curve.

I could sense that California wanted to kill us all. He had been killing rogues along the way, but he was doing it with wooden stakes. He didn't seek out modified guns. And that's where he was stupid. Although, California had no idea where to get modified guns. I was the only one to ever supply him with them, and I never shared information freely with my lessers.

Weeks passed again, and California found us again. We would have to kill him. I was not happy that I'd have to kill only the second person I turned. My vampire creations were not lasting very long, and that would have been depressing if I felt anything, but I could only see him as a threat to my well-being.

It was time for my boys to show their worth. I set a trap for California. He walked in to me watching television with the volume turned very low. He walked in quietly as if he was stalking. He made it into the living room, to the couch I was sitting on, then I stood up.

"Hello, California," I said.

He rushed me, then my boys grabbed him by his arms, as they were standing in the corner of the living room out of sight from California's perspective as he came in.

"Ah, ah, ah," I mocked, "we need to play before someone dies."

My boys chained him to a chair, then they left. He kept struggling against the chains. He didn't realize I was one step ahead of him.

"What do you want with me?" He spat.

"I want you to feel pain," I said as I grabbed the briefcase beside the couch and put it on the table. It was full of all types of herbs that harmed vampires. "You know... I don't really know what most of these do. I guess, we'll find out."

I grabbed some of the thorny bushes— they stung my hands. But I figured they would hurt California much worse, especially if I forced him to consume them.