Diary of A Vampire Slayer, Book 2: Gabriela

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Instead of going to the dining room to see what Lydia had cooked, I went to look around. I wasn't allowed outside so I made my way upstairs. The Tracker's floors were light and open compared to our dark one. A pair of Trackers were seated as I came up to their floor. Their eyes narrowed on me as I walked up past their floor. Their eyes were on my back as I disappeared out of their view. At least they hadn't tried to push me over the rails or threatened me.

The Witcher floor was green and in earthy tones. There were various old relics and statutes on their floor. I could hear voices coming from their sitting room but otherwise didn't encounter anybody else as I made my way up. I came up to a door, it opened up easily.

At least we were allowed access to some fresh air. I took a deep breath of the crisp air. There was a lot of noise coming at me from the city. There was the sound of horns, and yelling. New York City was loud. I approached the edge of the building to see others milling around. There were a handful of people leaving the gates.

I scowled at them. At least they were allowed to leave the building and go explore the city. It was my first time in NYC, and I wouldn't even be able to go out until Shadow Night. There was a bench so I laid down so I could look up at the sky. The sun was setting in and the beautiful distinct colors of orange and pink were blending in together. It was a lovely cool night. Even though, Prank Night was set to start as soon it was dark- I was unnerved by it. I wondered if I could stay up here and enjoy the rest of the night There was no way that I was going to participate. I could already foresee what was going to happen. It would be too chaotic and could result in suspensions or something even worse. So, it was best to stay out of it. 

"Hey," I lifted my head up to Christopher Brewster. "I saw you up here and thought I'd come hang out with you." He stared expectantly down at me like if waiting for an invitation.

          "Oh, yes." I sat up so that he could sit next to me. He wasn't showing any kind of interest in me. He was just a polite guy.

           "Are you nervous about Selection Day?" he asked me with a big smile. His soft brown eyes were warm and welcoming.

           "Yes," I admitted to him. "I can't believe it's here. Were you nervous?"

          "Oh yeah," he chuckled at himself. "But it is going to be memorable. It is something that I can't get over." His eyes scanned the darkening sky. I noticed that he was no longer wearing his jacket. There was a tattoo peeking through his shirt.

          "I feel like I've been waiting my entire life for Selection Day and its finally here." I cleared my throat. The idea of Selection Day had been gnawing at me for the last few months and now that feeling was getting worse. I wasn't sure if I wanted to have it over with or it was the anticipation of that day.

          "I can only imagine the pressure that you must have. You are going to be First Slayer," he turned to look at me. A big smile appeared at his lips. He did have a nice smile.

I grimaced at him with a shrug.

          "It's that bad?" he smiled politely. "It is one of the biggest days in a Hunter's life. In a year when you are thinking back, it won't seem so bad."

           "It feels that bad." I glanced down at my hands. "It feels like I don't belong." Why was I admitting all this to him? I barely even knew him. "Like I'm an imposter."

           "I can understand that,"

My head snapped in his direction. My eyebrows furrowed downward, confused. He was a skilled fighter that didn't even use a weapon. His House was notorious for being ruthless fighters.

         "You feel like you don't know what you are doing and you have some kind of family legacy to live up to."

I nodded feeling rather happy that he understood me. His brown eyes were now kindly holding my own worried ones.

         "My brother has always been the best in everything. He was the first in his class. And it definitely, created pressure. I felt like I was not going to live up to my name and it was worse when I placed into Second Chain." He smiled with a deep sigh. "It was a blow to me."

          "Second Chain isn't horrible. You are still capable-"

          "The chances of that happening are unlikely you know that, Alex. It is better now though. It gets better everyday. And, I enjoy what I do. I like my boss."

          "You like Royal?" my nose wrinkled at him.

He laughed loudly, "Yes, it is better than having Caleb Lancer as a boss. Between you and I, my brother does not like him, at all. Royal is really cool and chill. He genuinely cares about each of us."

It took everything I had, to not roll my eyes at him. Christopher needed to have his eyes checked. Something was off about Royal.

            "You don't like Royal? It was pretty obvious this afternoon." He chortled to himself.

             "Not at all," I lifted my upper lip in dislike. "Damien likes him, though." I wanted to tell him what I really thought but it was best to keep my mouth shut. There were laws about outing a vampire especially one that was a vegan vampire. He could accuse me about outing him and possibly even have me charged. Those laws had been placed to protect the humans who had been turned by those thirsty ruthless vampires. I knew it wasn't their fault but all of my instincts and upbringing told me to not trust a vampire.

           "He's a great guy. You should get to know him. You guys might have a lot in common. Besides you'll soon be working with him."

I kept a straight face but I nodded. There was no use in talking about Royal when I couldn't really express myself. It was best that I not keep talking about him otherwise, Damien might find out.

"Maybe," I answered with a shrug. "Are you going to participate in Prank Night?"

          "Maybe," he answered with a smile. The smile touched his eyes. His lovely eyes were kind. I liked talking to him. "Are you going to join?" he was suddenly nervous. His eyes suddenly dropped downward.

           "Nope," I answered with a small a laugh. "It is best that I don't especially if the Lancers get involved." I shrugged, showing him that I didn't care if I participated or not.

            "And are you going to join Shadow Night?" He cleared his throat awkwardly not meeting my eyes.

            "Yes, I am." I searched his face but he still wasn't meeting my eyes.

            "And do you have a partner for Shadow Night?" Christopher asked rather quickly in a breathy voice. He was extremely nervous.

I did my best to keep myself and expressions as neutral as possible but I had to look away.

         "I already have a partner," I answered, furrowing my eyebrows. I knew what Uther and Evan had said but it didn't make sense. He had been polite to me since the first day I had met him. 

          Who are you going with?" his face was now neutral but the smile on his face now seemed forced. The smile was no longer touching his eyes.

I hesitated slightly not wanting to let anybody know but everybody would find out tomorrow night.

           "Evan Lancer," I answered in a voice that was not like my own. I felt not embarrassed but almost stupid for having accepted to partner up for Evan Lancer. His family did not like me and here I was walking into the wolves' den, literally. I knew what he had to be thinking and honestly, so was I but this was business. Selection Day was around the corner and having Evan on my side would help me out a lot.