Survival of the Fittest

Prologue

So you know all those stories about vampires? The ones with the heroines who fall under a male vamps’ charms and the two fall in love, living happily ever after because it turns out the vampire doesn’t kill humans? Yeah, we all know some stories like that, whether it’s The Vampire Diaries, Twilight or even Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And those stories are nice, comforting to some and entertaining to others, even to me. I’m not ashamed to say I’ve enjoyed a couple of those shows and books in my time.

But what I’m here to tell you is that this is not how it works. Not even close. These stories are just that – stories.

There’s not an ounce of truth in them.

In reality, vampires are quite different. There’s no possibility of them ever being in a situation like the Cullens, the Salvatores or Angel because, put simply, the only thing a vampire feels is hunger. Pure, unadulterated hunger for a human’s life source – their blood. No love, nor sympathy, nor anything resembling either – or anything else for that matter.  Hunger, and hunger alone, is what drives a vampire.

And this thing about them being extra beautiful or ‘hot’ or whatever? A total lie. And believe me, that’s a bummer for people like me who have to see a lot of them. To be honest, a lot of them probably could have been somewhat pretty, it all depends on their appearance before they were turned. But after a few years living in the shadows on the streets and in the woods, they tend to get dirty and whatever beauty they might have had tends to get covered up.

To catch their prey, however, they have no need of looks like it suggests in fantasy tales. Instead, their voice is what calls to your blood, drawing you into their vicinity and trapping you. In that situation, you’re not getting out of there alive. Well, unless you’re like me.

Let me tell you about me.

My name is Clematis Richards, I am seventeen years old and I am a vampire hunter.

And I am very much not in love with any vampires.