Walkers Book 1- Changing

Chapter 18: Fire and ice (Part 2)

Finally! Here it is; part two of chapter 18: Fire and ice. Enjoy!

Picture: Michelle Trachtenberg as Hayden Brooks

Song: I See Fire by Ed Sheeran

Hayden  

Maybe she should have stayed at the hospital; so far, she was way better off there than at school. Aria seemed to hate her, Maria had suddenly disappeared and Hayden couldn’t find Tanner anywhere. Was he avoiding her? Did he remember what happened yesterday? Of course he remembered! But the question was; would he ignore it? Day Walkers were rather good at ignoring problems that they didn’t want to confront.

Hayden was thinking about Tanner, when she accidently walked straight into someone. She was about to make the vampire apologize when she recognized who it was. “Oh. Hi, Dylan.” She said trying to sound casual, doing her best to keep her anger and frustration towards her sister hidden. Dylan didn’t deserve to suffer for something he had no part in whatsoever.

“Hayden? Hayden!” He responded, surprised. He looked at her curiously. “Wow, you recovered fast! You look great.” He was slightly blushing, but Hayden ignored it. She already had complicated feelings for another Day Walker.

“Yeah, I guess I did.” She replied smiling and quickly changing the subject. “Have you by any chance seen Tanner? I’ve been looking for him everywhere and I can’t find him.”

“Yeah, I just saw him leave with Maria. I think they were in a hurry because they were running.” He replied, looking passed her into the woods. “I think she brought him hunting; rumour has it that Maria went this morning and did a great job.” He paused, then looked at Hayden and smiled. “Maybe I’ll go later and try too.”

It was rather unexpected that he would try such a thing; but it strangely made her feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. She felt proud. “I’ll go with you” She replied putting a hand on his arm. “Maybe it’s time Day Walkers finally starting hunting.”

“Great” He smiled. “I’ll meet you in the woods for lunch then? We’d be skipping third period though, but—”

“Sure, it’s fine.” She responded as she slowly started walking away. “I’ll meet you there.”

Hayden decided that she wouldn’t go bother Tanner while he hunted; she knew better. So, instead she decided to go see the remaining members of her circle in the boy Night Walker dorm. Hopefully they’d be happy to see her, unlike her sister.

As she walked to the dorm, she couldn’t help but notice how much it had snowed outside during her absence. Last year around this time, Hayden and Cole were tracking Humanas and eating them. And now? Now she was actually going hunting with a Day Walker; oh how times had changed. It was rather funny seeing all of the day vampires outside dressed up as if they were going to climb the Everest; the night vampire were simply outside in their normal clothes; some were even wearing shorts to tease the Day Walkers.

She entered the dorm, doing her best to avoid all the curious glances in her direction. How fast had her secret spread? She’ll surely find out soon. She quickly located Evander and Ezra drinking cold coffee in the dorm lounge; as soon as they saw her, they left their coffee on the table and immediately got up to come greet her. To her relief, they were both smiling. When they were close enough, Ezra was the first to react. He pulled Hayden forward and gave her a big bear hug, almost crushing Hayden’s bones. When he was done, Evander simply put a lazy arm around her shoulder and gave her a brief tight squeeze.

“It’s really great to see you Hay” Ezra said. She knew that he didn’t mean it in a flirtatious kind of way; Hayden doubted that he’d ever get over Liora. “We’ve all been worried sick.”