Keep Your Enemys Close: A Vampire Slayer Novel

Chapter 4- My New Home

I'm not sure how long I sat there, crying all alone. All I knew is that the tears were long overdue. I wasn't just crying because I was lost and confused. I was crying because of the way my classmates treated me, because my life was falling apart around me, and because I knew my parents wouldn't be proud of me like this. They didn't raise me this way.

Eventually, my tears dried up and my breathing slowed. I pulled my face out of my hands, and stood up cautiously. I didn't know what was going to happen to me, but I knew I had to be strong. No more crying, and no more feeling sorry for myself.

I made my way over to the door that Aiden disappeared through, the shuffling from my boots echoing around the large room. Glancing down, I noticed that the front of my blazer and skirt were caked with dried mud, and there were large scratches and bruises covering my bare legs. One good thing about staying here would be that I finally get to burn this horrible uniform, I thought, as a small smile formed on my lips.

My smile quickly faded though, as I reached the door and placed my hand on the cold, brass doorknob. I took a deep breath and slowly turned it, pushing open the door to reveal a tiny room, no bigger than a broom closet. In it, sitting against an elevator door, was Aiden. He looked up to meet my gaze as I stood frozen in the doorway, unsure of what to say.

"I'm kind of stuck here," I said quietly after a minute,"Aren't I?"

He nodded, not taking his eyes off mine. His expression was unreadable, and his eyes were dark.

"Well," I continued,"Do I at least get a change of clothing? I usually try to dress a little nicer when making a first impression."

For a minute, he just stared at me. I thought my weak attempt at humor had bounced right off, but slowly, the corners of his mouth turned up into a small smile. I walked all the way into the room, my own lips mimicking his, and held out my hand to help him up.

"You know," he said, as I pulled him up so we were face to face,"I find the whole damsel in distress look kind of hot."

"Oh, shut up," I laughed as I shoved past him and punched the elevator button. The doors opened instantly, and I walked inside, leaning against the railing as Aiden pressed the level 1 button.

"So," he said,"There's kind of a lot of information to go over, so tell me if I need to slow down. And feel free to ask any questions."

"Okay," I nodded as the elevator lurched upwards.

"Well," he continued,"Everyone is split up into different divisions, depending on their age. The first division in the elite division, consisting of the thirty to thirty-five year olds. Then there's the second division, which is ages twenty-four to twenty-nine. Then the third division is twenty to twenty-three. The fourth division is where you and I are, along with all the other sixteen to nineteen year olds. "

"What if your over thirty-five?" I asked,"or younger than sixteen?"

"Once you turn thirty-six, you get assigned a desk job, either here at Vulcan, or at any other headquarter location," He explained,"From there, you can work your way up to being a Controller, if you want. And if your under sixteen, than you go to class to learn the basics, but there are few kids who grow up here at Vulcan. Most are adopted in soon after they turn sixteen, like you were."

"Okay," I said, as the elevator slowed to a stop and the doors slid open," but what's a controller?"

"Oh, right," he said, as we started walking down a hallway, similar to the one the hospital wing was on,"The controllers are like the big guys. The ones who make all the major decisions. Like the president, only as of right now, we have three here at Vulcan."