The City of Fire and Shadows

Chapter 1

 "Audrey, it's time to go," my dad called from the living room of the cabin.

"Yes, I'm coming!" I shouted as loudly as possible in response. I was getting dressed and properly equipped, tying the laces on my boots, and sliding my hunting knife into its sheath located just outside my boot. "It's perfectly camouflaged. No one would even know it was there." I commented to myself. I checked my watch. It was 6 am - the crack of dawn on a mid-September day. September 17th to be exact. We were going to go on a supply run today with some other survivors. I wanted to make sure that I was ready for anything before we headed out since doing these runs were always nerve wracking for me.

You see, five years ago when I was eleven years old, a strange solar eclipse blanketed the skies - the beginning of the Eternal Night. Soon afterwards, vampires, creatures we thought of as myth or from fiction emerged from the shadows and began their campaign of conquest. Led by their king, Vlad Drakon, they expanded their numbers through conversion, and tempted many powerful generals and politicians with eternal life to join their side. Within months, they controlled most of the planet and reduced humanity to remnant states and small pockets of resistance.

In those early days, I fled with my dad to Algonquin Park. Prior to the Eternal Night, we would go there every summer for extended camping trips, so the woods were familiar to us, and few vampires travelled that far north. When we got here, we took over an abandoned ranger station near Longer Lake and turned it into our home for the past five years. And just like that, we were reduced to a quiet existence, living on a simple diet from fishing, hunting, and farming. There were even pockets of other survivors in the park where we formed a kind of loose-knit community, helping each other out and trading necessary supplies among us. I was well-known throughout the park, serving as a sort of messenger and delivery person using my dirt-bike to traverse the terrain. But sometimes that wasn't enough. So we would band together to go on expeditions to small towns outside the park.

The only problem was the presence of vampire scouts patrolling the highways and towns north of Toronto. They knew that there were human survivors hidden away, but were unable to locate them. Their best bet was to catch unwary humans scavenging for supplies. But so far in all the expeditions I've been on, we've been careful to avoid these scouts, and in the one encounter with vampires, my dad was able to handle them. Took on two of them by himself - cutting them down effortlessly with his sword.

"I hope our streak of success continues today," I thought to myself as I slung the burlap backpack over my shoulders and headed out the door of the cabin. Just outside, my dad was standing and conversing with a group of three other survivors. I recognized them all immediately.

"Good to see you again, Samuel Beaumont," said Carlos. Carlos was an older man, maybe in his forties, but looked much older than that. His face looked very world weary - like someone who had a lot experience toughing things out. He was clad in full hunting gear, and was standing next to his two adult sons, Oscar and Pierce - also clad in full hunting gear. Parked nearby was Carlos' 4-door Jeep Wrangler. It was quite a contrast when parked next to our two-door Dodge Charger.

"Great to see such enthusiasm to go hunting for batteries, seeds, and medicine," my dad jokingly said as he rubbed his beard stoically - like he thought out this witty comment before delivering it. He was wearing that black and red canvas jacket he always wore. The one with the bear emblem on the left side of the chest area of the jacket, where your heart is.

"Better overdressed than underdressed like you, Samuel," said Carlos. His comments seemed to elicit small chuckles from his two sons.

"But seriously, I think Sam knows what he's doing. Afterall, he is a paladin." Oscar said in response. Paladin. That word. I hear them mention it, but I don't really know what it truly means. Apparently before the Eternal Night began, my dad was a member of them or was trained by them. Something like that. Either way, he was really good at using his sword to kill vampires, and the survivors in the park admired him for it. He even trained me well on how to use it.