Diary of a Newborn Vampire (BOOK #1)

The Vampire Hunters

Ava

Bernard bounded to the bookshelf pulling off an old, dusty volume, which he flipped through fluently like he knew exactly what he was looking for. Like he had memorized every page over the course of his existence. Like he had spent countless, sleepless nights just studying its contents. Like his life had once depended on it.

"There's a group of people--humans who study what has always been thought to be myths and fairytales in order to prepare them for when they reach a certain time in their lives."

"A time for what?" I asked uneasily.

"Killing."

He shoved the book into my hands showing a drawing of a strange, bent back creature with fangs hanging over its bottom lip and liquid dripping off of them. A vampire, of course. It was being stabbed from behind with a thick, pointed object. A stake, presumably. The person doing the job was only a human--no foreseen supernatural characteristics drawn.

"This doesn't make any sense. Val can't know about any of this," I told him. "She took me to the hospital that night. She knew something was wrong with me. She--"

Realization hit. She knew a lot, alright. She took me to the hospital not because she didn't know what was happening to me, but because she did. The doctor she asked for must have known something, too. And then it all somehow went wrong. That was why she sent me off.

I shook my head, staring at the book. "This is impossible."

"Think about it, Ava. You're a vampire. Doesn't that seem impossible enough? But yet, you know it now to be the truth. You and I--all of us here in this house--are vampires. We're creatures always believe to be fictional, but we somehow exist."

"But she didn't kill me. In fact, she saved me."

Jacqueline squeezed my shoulder in a comforting manner, but I barely felt it. All I could see was Val and her wild eyes. She knew all along about a world I always thought to be fiction. She had the perfect opportunity to kill me--her sister who was no longer her sister but now a monster--and she let me go.

"She saved you even though it went against everything she was ever taught," Jacqueline said. "She chose to save you because she loved you."

I shook my head which spun with the insane notions. "She saved me. I thought she was taking me to the hospital to rot, but she just told me to run."

"Ava," Bernard started, his tone assessing, "can you tell me what you remember about your first encounter with your sister that night? Were there any signs? Did she notice a change in your mood or appearance?"

I swallowed. "No, I mean. She knew something was wrong, but I think Liv pretty much covered the 'freaked-out' reaction. I locked myself in the bathroom before Val could see me. But she wouldn't stop...pestering. She's always been like that. Just wanting to know everything that was going on with me. Then she found her way in and I tried avoiding her, but...she knew. She knew something was up, at least. Maybe not the truth yet, but there was something. I tried locking myself in my room, but then she drugged me."

"And then you found yourself at a hospital?"

I nodded. "She was looking for this one doctor in particular, but there was another--the one she was talking to. They acted like they knew each other."

"This doctor. What was his name?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "He had to be young, though, not much older that Val. But he wasn't who she was looking for."

Bernard's eyes narrowed again and Jacqueline's strayed right back to him. I'd never been stellar at reading people, not even with these brand-spanking-new vampire enhancements. Everything, when it came to "human" emotions and gestures, remained vague.

But I knew something was up. And I knew they had no intention on telling me.

"So," Bernard focused back on me. "Your sister and the doctor knew each other?"

I shrugged. "Yeah...His name was Chris. She called him Chris. So, they were close enough to be on a first-name basis."

"You don't know him from anywhere else? Never met him before this?" Jacqueline asked me.

I shook my head. "As far as I knew, Val didn't have much of a life herself. She went to work in the morning and rarely ever went out at night. She didn't have many friends--not that I knew of. She hadn't seriously dated a guy in years. But I guess I didn't know her as well as I thought I did."

"So you've never heard his name before? Not in passing, not while she was on the phone?"

My memories from my human life were all pretty damn fuzzy, and I wasn't one to pay complete attention to Val and everything she did. The fact that she didn't seem outwardly interesting became all I knew. Obviously, I'd been missing out on a few things.

Jacqueline turned to Bernard. "You think this doctor could be the one who's been helping them?"

"Quite possibly," Bernard replied. "I know they have someone in the inside. Why not a doctor? They could keep him in the dark all they wanted especially considering the abilities some of them possess. He would be the perfect candidate."

I didn't have the slightest clue what they were babbling on about. But before I could ask any more questions, Bernard turned back to me.

"Ava," he said, his accent as thick as ever. "We promise to figure out what has been happening with your sister. In the meantime, you can stay here."

"No, I can't-"

"We insist," Jacqueline said. "I am terribly sorry of the lack of hospitality found among William and Jane, but I want you to know that we welcome you to our home with open arms. No matter how long you must stay. We don't mind."

"Yes." Bernard nodded in agreement. "We are never ones to push people away. All the others you see here, they have faced situations similar to yours in their own existences. They have all come over here to figure out their fresh start. We would love to have you stay to find yours."

"Thank you," I croaked.

Dear Diary,

I really don't know how to put my thoughts into words right now. Finding out the truth about Val was bizarre enough. Realizing that she had been keeping it from me was just heartbreaking. We'd never been super close, and maybe that was my fault.

The whole Hunter thing just makes no sense. A few days ago vampires were just a myth to me. Now I was one and the fact that there was a group of people out there who wanted my dead made my non-beating heart plummet. The fact that my own sister was one...I couldn't process it.

Angelina gave me some clothes to wear during my stay though they look straight from the nineties. I appreciate her kindness. At least, there are a few people around here who can deem themselves helpful.

I can't help but be reminded by my old life as Jane sneers at me and William avoids my eyes at all cost. In a way, they remind me of the people I left behind--Liv when she was pissed at the world and me along with it. And Luke when he overheard me calling him a freak in front of everyone. That certain heart-wrenching look in his eyes, but something deeper. And in William, it was something darker.

XB