Marked

Chapter Three: Ariel's Point of Veiw

I woke up chained to a wall. I couldn't see anything, but it smelled like dirt and mold. The sound of dripping water was loud, and a few droplets fell on my head. 

"Hello?" I called, then slumped down as far as I could with the chains. 

Good job, Ariel, I thought. Call hello. Maybe your kidnapper will just call back, "Yea, I'm in the kitchen. Want a sandwich or something?" 

So, you'll understand why, when a voice that sounded like it came from a child responded, "Just a minute!" I was shocked. 

I heard footsteps and a click, and soon an unprotected light bulb above me was flickering to life. 

I saw that I was in a cave, and a small girl, about six or seven, was standing in front of me. She looked at me with massive eyes and said, "Queen says that we are supposed to treat you good. If you aren't well, your ceremony won't work." The girl picked at a strand of her long white hair. "A broken Chosen is worse than no Chosen." 

A felt a deep throbbing pain in my head as I remembered what had just happened. 

"She's marked!" 

Just as I was about to ask the girl why I was there, Tyler walked in. I lunged at him the best I could, but he just laughed. 

"Struggling won't help," he said, and gestured to the girl. "Lucy," he said to her. "Check her wrist." 

Lucy walked over to where I sat and lifted my right wrist. "No change." 

Tyler's lip twitched as he clenched his fists. "She's been here three hours! There should have been a change as soon as she was bitten." 

"What if she's not the Chosen?" Lucy asked. 

Tyler walked over and leaned into my face. He looked me straight in the eye and asked me, "What is your name?" 

"Ariel Meadows," I replied. "I thought you knew that." 

"No one likes a smart ass." Tyler stood up. "Age?" 

"Seventeen." 

"Birthday?" 

"May third." 

"I don't think she's the Chosen," Lucy said again, a bit louder than the last time. 

"You don't say!" Tyler screamed. He kicked my chains and they broke in half. He grabbed my right arm and yanked my wrist up to his eye level. 

"They're brown." Tyler dropped me to the ground with a thud. "She's just got some arm freckles." 

"What is going on?" I asked, standing up. Tyler then undid my cuffs from around my wrists and slid something over my eyes. 

"You'll find out soon enough."

----

My blindfold was removed right in front of the school. Tyler had already gone, but Jessica, Carl, and Gladys were waiting for me. 

"What happened?" Jessica asked me, and I told her everything. 

Gladys lifted up my hand to check my wrist. "They are brown." 

"If it isn't you," Carl began, "than who is it?" 

We all stood in silence for a moment, then Jessica grabbed my arm and yanked me into the school.

----

I sat on a bed in a room that looked like mine, but with half as much stuff. Jessica was pacing back and fourth in front of her desk. It was covered with concealers, blushes, and self tanners. 

"Can I please ask what on earth just happened?" I asked, standing up. 

Jessica paused for a second, then sunk down to the ground. She patted the spot in front of her, and I sat there. 

"There are a bunch of different groups of vampires," Jessica said. "We're dealing with some called The Cazut. There are only about fifty or so left of them." 

"That's a good thing. Right?" 

"For us, yes. But they need more members or else they'll disappear. All the members and decedents of this race of vampires have two red dots on their right arm." 

"Like fang marks." 

"Mmhmm. They're searching for all the 'marked' people and biting them, so they can be a part of their tribe." 

"So you're telling me that you were all ready to give me up to an ancient race of freaky vampire guys when you knew it was you they wanted all along?" 

"They were going to figure out you weren't the Chosen sooner or later." Jessica stood up, and I did too. "It happened sooner." 

"Why didn't you just go?" 

"You can go now, Ariel." 

"But..." 

"Go!" Jessica screamed, and the door flew open. "You've overstayed your welcome," she added in a whisper.