The Vampire Prince goes to High School (Book 1)

Another World - part 2

"Rin."

At the sound of my name, I jumped. Carlos approached, his brow furrowed.

"What's up?" he asked.

I swallowed thickly, unable to get the words out. He couldn't be the one behind the sign on the pizza box, right? I mean, we knew each other. Why would he threaten me? That symbol could have been in place way before Carlos and his friends had taken over or whatever they had done to the place.

"C-Carlos," I stammered out. "Can we talk?" Then I added, "Outside?"

I didn't wait for him to answer. Instead, I turned on my heel and walked to the door. The person who had opened the door for us – he was a large guy and could easily break me in two if he wanted to – stepped between me and the door. Carlos jogged up beside me.

"It's cool Mat," he told the guy. "We're just going to talk."

Mat stared at Carlos for a long time. Ata closer 100kimat was stoic. He had a strong and prominent jaw line. There was little lighting in the building, so it was hard to see what he really looked like. Most likely than not, he was a college student.

For a moment, I didn't think Mat would step aside but to my surprise, he did. Without glancing at him, I walked out the door. Carlos was right behind me. I walked towards the car and stopped.

"Are you part of the vampire hate group?" I asked. Crossing my arms, I turned around to face him.

Carlos looked surprised then all the expression from his face vanished. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "What's going on? I introduce you to my friends but then you freak out."

"That symbol," I forced out. My heart hammered in my chest but I had to know. "Did you guys draw it or something? Are you part – like a cell – of a bigger organization or something?"

Carlos jaw dropped and shook his head in disbelief. "Wh-what?" he asked.

I took a step forward. "Is Mark part of this too?"

"Rin -" Carlos began.

"Carlos," I interjected. "This people threatened me." I stepped forward again. "They said 'all traitors must die.' You better tell me the truth, right now. Did you have something to do with this? Tell me!"

Carlos clenched his jaw. He shoved his hands into his pockets. His gaze was fixed on the ground. "I told them not to do it," he said quietly. "That you didn't want anything like this. That that parasite was blackmailing you but the bosses said that you had to be warned in case, you know, you were on their side. It's why I brought you here. So, they can see that you aren't so bad. That you aren't on the parasites' side."

Even as Carlos explained, my mind couldn't wrap itself around his words. Breathing was difficult and pressure build behind my eyes. I felt like I had been punched. I wish I had been punched. Anything other than what I was hearing right now. Anything.

"Rin," he pleaded. "All you have to tell them is that you aren't on their side."

I opened my mouth and closed it a few times. The words wouldn't come out. Finally, I asked, "Is this what you were going to tell me at school?"

Carlos averted his eyes. I was surprised at how calm I felt. Calm wasn't the correct word. Not really. In truth, there was a chasm inside my chest. The anger, betrayal, anything I would have felt was just gone. I was numb with disbelief.

"Don't you want it to stop?" Carlos asked. His gaze was fixed on me. "Don't you want them to go away? These people –" He gestured to the building behind him. "- they can help. If we can start a large enough movement, the ones at the top would have to listen to us. We'll make the vampires go away and it will be better for everyone. Don't you see?" His eyes pleaded with me.

"Better?" I asked, shaking my head. "Spreading hate and anger is not the solution."

I understood where he was coming from. I understood why this hate group had chosen Carlos as one of their members. When the world was against you, who you were going to turn to? I'm sure Carlos's family had just accepted any help they could get in the face of their some getting imprisoned.

"Rin." Carlos walked towards me. "Can't you see that they are the only ones that can help? They have people, resources, everything to make the vampires go away. I mean, they left and we took over. No asked them to return. This world is ours not theirs."

"So, basically, it's 'you're with us or against us', huh?"

The pressure behind my eyes were back. I didn't side with any species. If we could live together without fearing and hating each other, I called that a success.

Unable to meet his eyes, I stared at the gravel underneath my feet. Small blades of grass pocked in between the small rocks.

"Take me home," I told him without looking up.

"I – I can't drive," Carlos stammered out.

"Then find someone who can."

The gravel shifted under his feet as he walked towards me. "Rin, please," he said. "Please. Just listen to them okay? Then I promise we'll take you home."

My head snapped up. "What if I don't want to?" I asked. "Are you going to force me to stay here so I don't reveal your hideout?"

Carlos opened his mouth then closed it many times. He gestured to the building but words wouldn't come out. "N-no," he finally said. "I mean –"

"Yeah," I scoffed. "That's what I thought. "Blinking away the pressure in my eyes, I stared up at the sky. "You know, for a second, I thought you were my friend."

The door to the hideout opened and Pat walked out. Mat was behind her and so was Marco. They stared at Carlos then at me.

"You guys alright?" Pat called out. "Why don't you guys come inside to talk?"

"Please," Carlos mouthed to me.

I shook my head. This . . . this was . . . I didn't even know – at least the Vampire Prince had never kidnapped me and threatened to kill me. Sure, he had tried but he had always been upfront about his goals. This hate group on the other hand, I didn't doubt Pat and the others would harm me if it meant keeping their base a secret.

Without a word to Carlos, I walked past him towards the building. I doubt I could get a call out or a text message without drawing suspicion. Who was I going to call? Sonia? She wouldn't believe me let alone pick up a call from me. The Prince? I didn't have his number. Even if I did, he would be the last person I would call. My parents? I couldn't bring them into this.

For now, I would listen to what they had to say.