Slayer

Chapter 4

Tyler looks at my hungrily, long fangs elongated. He licks his lips, and I pull out my gun. "Silver bullets," he laughs. "You think some dumb bullets can stop me?" He gestures around him, "This whole world is ours now. The only reason you're alive... Is your blood.'

I laugh. "Sure, I'm scared of some forty year-old parasite." I shove a bullet into the gun. "Besides, silver or not, a bullet'll slow you down."

"You don't scare me," he hisses.

"You sure about that?" I ask, pointing the gun at his head.

His eyes widen. "Y-yes," he stutters, and I laugh.

"Who's fearless now?" I say, finger poised over the trigger.

"If you kill me, the rest of them will come after you. They'll notice my absence. I won't be forgotten," he says, voice a low moan.

"Well, bring it on, mosquito," I say, squeezing the trigger.

There is a loud bang, and then nothing.

I wake up in a cold sweat. My dream was so vivd, I could've sworn I had actually killed Tyler. I wish. Then I'd be out of here.

I touch my nightstand blindly, making sure whatever Paige had given me was still there. I followed her word and hadn't looked at the mystery item. I wrapped it in a cloth to avoid temptation, but right now I feel like I need to see whatever it is.

I close my eyes and count to ten. Now is not the time. Paige told me to open it when the time was right, and Paige does not mess around with things like this. Whatever's in that cloth, is very important.

The alarm clock next to me beeps, and I turn it off quickly. I do Brooke's usual morning routine, and head off for school. "Bye Mom and Dad," I say, winking. Paige smiles and waves goodbye.

Once I'm at school, I go to my locker, and the person there surprises me.

Cecilia Taylors, the school's biggest idiot.

Cecilia is one of those stereotyped popular girls. She's a cheerleader, a boytoy, and, most importantly, a jerk to everyone below her.

In all my years of high school (and trust me, there's been many) I've never met someone as revolting as Cecilia. She catches my eye and waves. "Hey..."

"Brooke."

"Brooke! How are you?" she asks, looking down at her nails.

"I'm fine. Just going to my locker." I try to push past her to my locker, but she stops me.

"Sorry, Beth--"

"Brooke."

"Whatever. Brooke. It's just..." she pauses for a moment. "Have you seen," she says the next part in a whisper, "Tyler around, maybe?"

"Tyler?" I ask. What does Cecilia want with that parasite?

"Yeah, Amy said she saw you with him, and, well... Can you keep a secret?" she looks into my eyes, looking sincere, as if she actually cared about what I have to say.

"Sure," I say, just as sincerely, hanging on to every word.

"Well, Amy has a little crush on him," she whispers, "and she said... Well, 'If anyone tries to take him from me, I'll ruin them.'"

My mouth opens, and I groan inwardly. Great. Now, if I do my job, prissy-pants will 'ruin me'.

"Close your mouth. You'll catch flies," she says, and I snap my mouth closed.

"Tyler? Why... him?" I ask, unable to keep the disgust out of my voice.

"You have to admit he's hot," she says, opening a locker near mine that I assume is hers.

"Tyler? Hot?" I say. I'll believe he's hot when I believe that I'm actually Brooke Evans.

"Have you seen the man?"

A little too often, I think, but bite my tongue. She doesn't have to know about Tyler and I.

"Anyways," she says, pulling something out of the locker, "just stay away from him, kay? Otherwise... We might get mad." she gives me a faux grin and lets me pass.

The bell rings, signalling for us to go to class. Cecilia walks away, smiling, and I open my locker hurriedly. I fumble for my stuff for first period. The bell rings again, a warning to get to class right now.

I run to my homeroom class and throw the door open. My heart races from sprinting down the hall. I sit in my chair, not bothering to look around at my classmates.

The teacher starts talking, but I don't listen. My whole mind is thinking of Tyler. I need to kill him now. There's no time for stealth or caution, only time to shoot him in his bloodsucking face.

The day whirs by, and the whole time I can practically feel Tyler breathing on my neck. Come lunch time, he sits next to me again. I fight the urge to choke him.

"Hey, Brooke," Tyler says, sitting close to me. I move over awkwardly. Could he be any more clingy?

"Hi."

"Somethin' bothering you, seeetheart?" Disgusting. Does this old man think he can just do this I teenage girls? It's sick.

'You,' I want to say, but bite my tongue. I can kill him tonight. I'll follow him around until nighttime, then shoot him in the security of darkness.

"Hmph," he says, noticing my lack of reply. I still say nothing.

Cecilia walks past, and gives me an annoyed look. 'No,' she mouths threateningly, and I nod.

I stand and pick up my lunch. With Cecilia still shooting deadly glares, and Tyler probably thinking I'm insane, I sit right in the center of a random lunch table.

When I look up at see who I'm sitting next to, I nearly walk away as soon as I had left Tyler.