Chapter One:
"The search for the nineteen civilians who went missing in California has been called off. While some are still missing, seven were found dead with two marks pierced in their necks. An investigation has been comfirmed to find out who, or what, is kidnapping these people and killing them off one by one. Make sure your doors are locked and windows are shut tight until the culprit is caught. And now, here's George with the weather. Over to you Geor-" The image on the screen disappears as Callie drops the remote back onto the sofa. She sits there for a while, just thinking. Thinking about who or what could have done this sort of thing, the significance of the two marks on their necks, and what would happen if she's kidnapped. Deciding to forget about it, she looks down at the half empty packet of Cheetos on her lap. She lets out a small gasp as she remembers her promise; to not eat any junk food until after prom. She'd promised Amelia she'd at least try and look her best, but Callie's not usually the type of person to care about what other people think of her. She's short, has shoulder length, curly blonde hair and wears glasses bigger than her head. She lives in California in a small suburban house with her Mom. Tomorrow is the 'biggest night of her life'. Yeah right. Callie's only going for her best friend Amelia, who has been dreaming of this night since she was only five years old. Now that it is only one night away, it's all she's been talking about. Callie's even staying the night so that the whole of tomorrow can be dedicated to getting ready. Still sitting on the sofa staring at the blank screen, Callie shrugs, gives out a large sigh and continues to munch on her favourite snack.
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After an hour talking to Amelia on the phone, Callie now knows exactly what she needs to bring. After packing all her things in a bag, saying goodbye to her Mom and sneaking a few mouthfuls of lasagne, Callie walks out of the front door halfway through putting her hair up. She takes a deep breath of the brisk night air and sets off down the road. She turns her head at the sound of shouting just as her next door neighbour and second best friend, Bobby, walks out, his eyes red and his nose bloody.
"Bobby? You okay?" She asks as Bobby spots her, wiping his eyes quickly. "Yeah, they're fighting again." He replies with a fake chuckle. His easily noticeable English accent always makes Callie smile.
"Here, I have a tissue." Callie offers, walking up the steps to his porch. He happily takes it and wipes his nose liberally.
"Thanks Callie." He smiles. Everybody thinks that these two friends either are going out or that they should.
"What happened?" She asks, worry strewn across her face.
"Oh, my Dad... He, uh, I stepped in to defend Mom but, lets just say he didn't like that... Where are you off to?"
"Amy's. You know how much she's been obsessing over Prom?" Bobby nods with a sigh "Well she's asked if I stay the night, to get ready for our 'big night' together..." She says this last part with an inverted comma gesture, rolling her eyes with it.
"Oh. Have fun. Mind if I walk with you?"
"Sure." They walked aside each other down the road, laughing and chatting away. Their conversation comes to a close when they arrive at the gates of Amelia's house.
"So, uh, Have you... got a date? For tomorrow?" Bobby asks, facing the floor as he says it. He lifts his head up and his light green eyes lock onto Callie's. She blushes, her cheeks flooding with red.
"No." She sticks her bottom lip out mockingly.
"Oh, uh. Would you like to... Go with me? To prom, I mean." He starts to blush as well, a huge smile creeping up on him.
"Well how could I say no to that English acce-" Mid sentence, Callie disappears. One minute she's standing in front of Bobby, answering one of the most important questions in her life, and the next she's gone. Just like that. Bobby looks around calling her name but she's nowhere to be seen. He pauses and spots her in the distance with a leather covered hand over her mouth. She tries to escape the man's grasp but he's too strong for her. Bobby races across the road to the field she's in but he barely gets halfway there before a black blur rushes past him, knocking him out.
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Bobby awakes in a dark, shadowed room. He looks beside him to find Callie asleep in a chair identical to his. He tries to moves his arms but they are tied down behind him, just like Callie.
"Callie." He whispers, hoping to wake her up but she doesn't move. "Callie!" He says again, this time a lot louder. She opens her eyes and struggles against the restraints.
"Bobby? What's going on?" She says in a panic. Before Bobby can answer, voices start to draw close to the door. It opens with a click while four men and a woman walk in, each of their eyes an orangey red colour and their evil sneers riddled with two sharp fangs.
"So who do we have here, Leila?" The man in the middle asks the woman, he's big and burly with a deep voice that sends a shiver down Callie's spine. The woman however, is small and petite with a calming voice that could fool a mastermind.
"This one's Callie Carlyle, and she's got a lot of brains." She says with a chuckle. "And that's Robert Taylor. He's English and captain of the soccer team at his school. Wow, he's got brains too. They're neighbours and... Ooh he has a thing for her. Good catch these two." She nudges the men either side of her, the men who Bobby thinks captured them, and they smile at their recognition. One of the two men gets out a pen and puts two tally marks on a wall, making a total of fourteen black marks on the wall.
"It was you?" Callie asks, using up all her confidence to say those three words.
"You're the ones who kidnapped those nineteen people and killed seven of them?" Bobby finishes, noticing Callie's confidence drop.
"Indeed we did." The burly man admits. "And I have to say, those seven were... tasty." He opens his mouth and licks his fangs, making a hissing sound as he did.
"So what do you want with... Us?" Bobby asks as Callie marvels at his courage. "Why are we here?"
"Well, you'll be pleased to know that... we're not going to kill you. In fact, we are in need of people like you." He replies. The two men who captured them walk behind their chairs and release the bounds tying them to it while the woman opens the door. "John, I believe it's your turn." She says, looking in the direction of the fourth man, one who had kept quiet the whole time. He only has a few years on Callie and Bobby. He nods, looking a little nervous. "You two had better run." With that, Callie and Bobby run out the door, John soon following at breakneck speed.
