1229

Prologue

"Mom! Hurry, please!" I cried as we sped down the deserted back road, tears streaming down my face. I screamed as the images played over and over again in my head, refusing to stop.

"I'm driving as fast as this car will go Eliza, we're almost there it'll be okay." My mother says, trying to soothe me as I shook uncontrollably in the back seat. I hugged myself as the faces, those horrible faces watched me through the eyes of my mind.

I heard my mother curse, and then a crunch as our car smashed into another. She climbed out of the car and quickly limped over to my door and lifted me out. When I looked up at her I noticed that she had a long cut going across half of her forehead, and another one down her jawline. She carried me to an old looking house across the street and rang the doorbell quickly a few times. After a few seconds an old man opened the door and looked at us in confusion.

"Please, you have to drive us to the Science Institution. Please." My mother begged the man, who looked more shocked than confused now that he takes in my mothers appearance.

"But ma'am," He started, "don't you need to go to a hosp-"

"No. She needs to go to the Institution. Please." My mother interupts, panicked. The old man furrows his brow in confusion and backs away slightly.

"Okay, just wait a second." He says after a minute, and walks back into his house. After another minute he walks out with a ball cap on and a set of keys in his right hand. My mom follows him as he unlocks his red prius and turns on the car. My mom cradles me as she sits in the passenger seat.

"Now, how urgent is this emergency?" The old man asks peering over at my mother while he pulls out of his driveway and starts down the road.

"Just hurry, please." My mother snaps and he pushes the gas pedal down quickly in response. The old man continues to speed, worry clear in his eyes. He speeds up further as I let out a bloodcurdling scream. The faces came back into my mind and so did the horrific events that came with it.

We finally arrived after five minutes of pure terror. For me at least. I could see what they couldn't, and that frightened my mother more than she would be willing to admit. She quickly thanked the old man and carried me into the tall sleek building. I glanced at the wall in the lobby where the words Oldwyn Science Institution were sticking out of the wall in gleaming grey metal.

The only elevator was inconveniently located on the far side of the building, and as we raced down the halls I noticed that there was nobody at the front desk or in any of the halls or rooms. This didn't relieve me as much as it filled me with anxiety. 

"Hey! Miss! You can't be in the halls!" A man yelled from behind us as we approached the elevator. My mother glanced at him and then walked into the elevator and pressed the button that would take us to the fourteenth floor.

"Miss, this is a serious matter! You aren't suppo-" The man continued to yell while the elevator door closed, cutting him off. My mother sighed in relief as we started going up, but by the time we got to the fourteenth floor I was frantically sobbing. As we exited we heard voices coming down from the hall.

"And are you sure that this won't fail?" That voice belonged to President Nathaniel, and I instantly knew what was happening.

"No. No no no..." I murmered into my mothers shoulder. 

"Yes, Mr. President. This was made by the best scientists from all over the world." A voice answered, deep and mature sounding. My mother walked into the room but nobody noticed us. In the room there were six scientists wearing oversized lab coats and goggles, with the president standing in the middle. They weren't facing us, and were looking at a machine in the middle of the room.

It was the only thing in the room, a rectangular metal box not much bigger than a door. It had wires sticking out of the back and even a welcome mat in front of the opening. My mother put me down and the small sound my black sneakers made on the floor grabbed their attention.

"What are you doing here? Didn't you hear that the president evacuated this building?" 

"No I didn't, but you have to hear me out." My mother started, "This is not a good idea, it could potentially end many peoples lives." A scientist scoffed, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose and then quickly pushed back up.

"And what makes you think this?" He asked, challenge clear in his voice.

"My daughter can feel, well see things, terrible things. And every single time whatever she sees happens. But this time it was a lot worse than usual. She wouldn't stop. She insisted that I bring her here to try and stop it." My mother explained, while the scientists faces softened in understanding. 

"Forget it, she's just a child. How old is she? Twelve?" The president said, trying to sound official and sensible but his tone was cold. I sat up and angrily walked towards him.

"Actually I am thirteen. But that shouldn't matter if you're really worried about saving the lives of your people! Should it?" I spat at him. He looked shocked for a moment, but then walked over to the machine and pushed a red button I hadn't noticed was on the inside.

He stood there for a second and with a bright flash he was gone. The scientists stood open mouthed at the machine. They were congratulating each other when a low growl came from the machine, and many other different pitched growls joined it. I screamed again, and a large pain struck my entire body while I could finally make out the events about to happen.

"No!" I screamed as the scientists looked around the room, panicked. There was another flash, and the scientists pressed an emergency button and ran out of the room. My mother realised what was happening and ran over to try and carry me out too. We got to the now closed door, and my mom tried to turn the knob a few times and swore.

There was a terrible screech and the flash was gone. A few creatures emerged from the machine, looking more human than anything. But when one of them opened its mouth there were two large fangs, as sharp as needles. They noticed my mother and she pushed me behind her back. They ran towards her and I ran and huddled myself into the far corner behind the door.

As I peered around the door and watched as dozens of the creatures streamed out of the machine and surrounded my mother. I heard her scream followed by growls and hisses. They then continued on to bust down the solid metal door and run down the halls. They all ran right past me but all I could think about was my mother and how she hadn't run away. 

"She's around here somewhere, Michael." I heard a raspy voice whisper nearby. I noticed that there were only two creatures left in the room. I could see one of them, but the other one was hidden. The one I saw was tall and slim, with pitch black hair and dark red eyes. Vampires.

I huddled myself behind the door again, and held my breath. Tears began to fall down my cheeks as I heard footsteps coming closer and closer to where I was hiding.

"Dad," I heard a younger voice say, "I found her, I think." I looked up as they looked down at me, and finally saw the other creature. He was slightly tall, with the same black hair that his father had. Yet his had blonde strewn throughout it. He looked slightly older than me, maybe two or three years. His eyes weren't red either, they were a light shade of green.

"Yes, this is the one. She will help me rule over all other beings, after the other humans are turned. She will be my most precious weapon."

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hey so this is the prologue of 1229

what'd you think?

my ig is @lukesloveletters if you want to talk to me :)