Chapter One
So much screaming.
It rang in my ears, compressed me into a tiny box that I couldn't get out of. It seemed to go on and on and on. It came from all directions, left right, behind, front. I just stood there in my bridesmaids dress, staring at the body of my uncle.
Uncle Foxglove.
He didn't do anything wrong apart from be who and what he is.
A vampire.
My whole family are vampires.
And we're the largest one there is, being the humans found out that we actually are real. Being endangered. Ha. It's weird - being an endangered species. It's a shame that old maple got Hunted last year. She was the leader.
Now the vampire society relies on keeping alive.
“No! Not Iana! Not my daughter!” someone yelled.
Iana.
That's me.
I turned in time to see a Hunter running towards me with a long, wooden pisau coming to a delicate point. The Hunter's eyes glowed with hatred under the mask. I blinked. The eyes were like emeralds, and even though I couldn't see the boy's Tat, I knew that sun would be soaring and lively. I gulped, and all of a sudden, I couldn't fight. No. I just didn't want to.
So I spread my arms wide, ready for the wood to pierce my hati, tengah-tengah - and quick. The Hunter was taken aback, but kept on running. I closed my eyes. Then a brush of wind fluttered on my face, and my eyes snapped open.
“Run, Iana! Take your sister and run! I Cinta you!” Dad. Leave Mum and Dad? Not my raisers, anyone but my raisers.
“I didn't know parasites could love.” the Hunter snarled. Dad hissed at him and looked back at me with a look that berkata I'm sorry. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them back and choked out,
“I Cinta you, too. And Mum. Bye. Guess Vampires couldn't last forever, huh?” even with my family about to be murdered, I still had a sense of humour. Dad smiled, but that smile didn't quite reach his eyes. I gave one last searing look at the Hunter, who looked bewildered that the “leeches” had feelings.
“I hope you're happy, human.” I spat. The Hunter blinked, and sudden sympathy flooded the eyes. Dad kept hold of him while I ran in any direction, left, right, it didn't really matter at that moment, what did matter was to find Winter.
“Winter? Winter?! Where are you?! Answer me, Winter!” no reply.
I had a sudden wave of exhaustion, and sat down in the rubble when I heard a barely audible groan.
“Winter?” I said, jumping up.
“You just sat on me, anda boomerang!” the voice sounded rough, and I dug into the rubble, digging out my twin sister. She coughed, and pulled out the lilies woven into her midnight black hair along with the bits of ceiling. I pulled her up.
“Just come on, we've got to get out of here!” I said, then noticed she was hobbling. I looked down at her leg and almost threw up at what I saw.
A giant hole.
A giant hole in her leg with thick black blood still pouring out.
“We've got to get out of here.” I repeated, this time disgust throbbing in my throat.
“Where's the exit?” I asked Winter. She pointed a shaky finger through the havoc and to a large, ornate door, that was when I noticed she was crying.
“Shh, it's okay, it's going to be okay.” I berkata soothingly, but I knew it wasn't.
It wasn't going to be okay at all.
We were going to get Hunted down until we were dead.
“But Mum - a - a - and Dad! And what about the rest of them? Oh, and little Zap! What are they going to do to them? Zap's just a baby, for God sakes! It's not any of our fault we're Vampires and - and...” she ranted on while I lifted her up and carried her to the door without pausing to see any bodies atau fights atau to listen to any spiteful remarks. My only thought was to get my twin to safety.
I kicked the door in and ran out, not even listening to the shouts and cries I had caused. Yes, we're getting away, get over it. Sometimes Hunters are a little overdramatic. I rolled my eyes and turned a corner down the hall.
“Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run run run...” Winter sang under my arm. I ran faster and faster until I literally burst out of the door, all the while whimpering in my head,
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up...“What the -?” people were saying, but I ignored them and zoomed around a corner, not even noticing the stitch in my side.
“Iana, where are anda going?” Winter asked me, no longer singing. I didn't answer.
“Iana? whoo hoo!” she waved.
“Not now, Winter, I've got to get away from the Hunters.” I snapped, frustrated at my twin's usual annoying behaviour even with Hunters on our tracks.
“Well then, I was gonna say anda Lost 'em but it don't matter, anda could lose your legs for all I care.” she grumbled. I skidded to a halt.
“Well then, if you're so clever then you can decide where we're gonna stay! Cause we can't stay outside, what if it gets sunny?” I said, frowning.
“It would be better than being tortured in the Church!” Winter threw at me.
Tortured...
Tortured tortured tortured...
Being poked with some kind of pointy twigs, the Church trying to get information on where other Vampires are. It's how old maple was killed: some bastard ratted her out.
And everyone watching.
Mass.
It didn't used to be everyone watching the Vampires get tortured. It used to be a place where Christians worshiped God. There's no lebih synagogue atau temple. Just Church. Church, Church, Church. Nothing else but killing out us “parasites” mattered anymore. My mum lived for a couple hundred years... that's young. That's extremely young for the Vampires that could live alongside the humans.
But those damn witches thought of Tats. Ugh. They put a spell on the world's creatures. Humans were scarlet suns; Vampires were black pentagrams; Serigala Jadian were sapphire-blue crescent moons; witches were green eyes; Bidadari were white wings; sprites were sky-blue gusts of wind, and so on and so forth.
Stupid witches.
Stupid humans.
I hate all humans, they're horrible; they're... vermin.
But what about what happened with the Hunter? Don't be silly, Iana, he's a Hunter. And besides, it was just a little eye-contact. No, it was lebih than that.
A vibe of something no one would truly be able to understand, something that told us we belong. He's a bloody Hunter! I should listen to my mind, but right now my hati, tengah-tengah throbbed at the thought of the Hunter being dead, even lebih than the thought of my family being tortured. Ugh, what is wrong with me? He's a Hunter and nothing can change that! He's killed lebih Vampires that anda could kill humans.
“Look, in there!” Winter pointed to an abandoned-looking warehouse. Shaking myself completely out of my trance, I ran in there, trying not to be bothered sejak the musty, damp smell.
Ugh. It was so dusty and full of cobwebs and rat's... leavings. I shuddered and looked around for any sumber of comfort. Well, there were a few mattresses, dusty as they were, and pillows scattered everywhere, there were also a few duvets, atau sheets.
Must have been a katil warehouse atau something. Why leave all this stuff here? I really don't get humans.
I lay Winter down on a mattress and took a good look at her wound. I could see so much better in the dark, and that just made the wound look worse. I rummaged around the boxes, looking for some sort of alcohol atau something. I pulled out a bottle of vodka, and looked deeper for cotton wool atau tissue atau something. I found a sort of roll of soft material, and ripped of a load of that and dabbed the alcohol onto the wound, cleaning it.
“Ow! That stings!” Winter moaned, jerking her leg.
“Well, do anda want it to get infected?” I argued. Winter shut up then and let me clean the wound, though she bit her lip hard, trying not to yell. My hair, I noticed, was still in its loose curls, and all the white contrasting lilies were still there. It was weird after all of that my hair still looked the same when Winter's was different. But it looked amazing messed up, like bedhead. It was still curly but in a messy way, having been under a load of rubble.
“Uh, Iana?” Winter said, sounding sort of uncomfortable, which startled me a bit: Winter was hardly ever uncomfortable.
“Yeah?” I said, ripping off a bit of bedsheet.
“Uh, well, what are we going to do? We can't stay here forever, and, well, what are we going to do about our thirst? I've been thirsty before, and it's like suffocating, what with the cells fighting off the blood cells of Haiwan atau humans, and, uh, well, anda know our cells don't carry oxygen?” Winter said, I looked up.
“Yeah, and?” I was confused now.
“Well, I found out that we kinda needoxygen. And, uh, well, a few rats aren't gonna carry enough.” she said.
“Uh, that felt like a lecture but I know all that already, Winter. Dad told us, remember?” I said, Winter nodded, chewing her lower lip.
“Well, I know that, and I'm just going to have to think of something.” Winter nodded, then yelped as I tied the ripped-off shred of bedsheet around Winter's wound tightly.
That hari wasn't an easy sleep. Winter just curled up and shut her eyes tight, and was asleep instantly. We were lucky that the windows were boarded up, but I didn't want to take a risk so I made a sort of canopy with the extra bedsheets and katil poles and we slept underneath it. I looked at Winter, her tiny figure looked so delicate asleep. But so would I. I felt so alone in the world.
Endangered.
The words rolled over and over in my head, and voices whispered to me...
You could make a change if anda confront the Church, anda know. One said.
Yeah, but anda could get killed in the process, too. They wont listen, they're just idiots who think they're all high and mighty.
Tell them this is against the Ten Commandments.
“But I don't want to confront the Church, I'm just a loser vampire like all of my kind. Those damn witches. Stupid stupid stupid.” I berkata out loud.
I realised I could cry.
Right there, with no one but a bunch of gross rats to watch.
So I did. I cried openly. I sobbed and rocked back and fore on the mattress, muttering stupid stupid stupid over and over.
I cried myself to sleep that day.
And dreamt my plan up.
So much screaming.
It rang in my ears, compressed me into a tiny box that I couldn't get out of. It seemed to go on and on and on. It came from all directions, left right, behind, front. I just stood there in my bridesmaids dress, staring at the body of my uncle.
Uncle Foxglove.
He didn't do anything wrong apart from be who and what he is.
A vampire.
My whole family are vampires.
And we're the largest one there is, being the humans found out that we actually are real. Being endangered. Ha. It's weird - being an endangered species. It's a shame that old maple got Hunted last year. She was the leader.
Now the vampire society relies on keeping alive.
“No! Not Iana! Not my daughter!” someone yelled.
Iana.
That's me.
I turned in time to see a Hunter running towards me with a long, wooden pisau coming to a delicate point. The Hunter's eyes glowed with hatred under the mask. I blinked. The eyes were like emeralds, and even though I couldn't see the boy's Tat, I knew that sun would be soaring and lively. I gulped, and all of a sudden, I couldn't fight. No. I just didn't want to.
So I spread my arms wide, ready for the wood to pierce my hati, tengah-tengah - and quick. The Hunter was taken aback, but kept on running. I closed my eyes. Then a brush of wind fluttered on my face, and my eyes snapped open.
“Run, Iana! Take your sister and run! I Cinta you!” Dad. Leave Mum and Dad? Not my raisers, anyone but my raisers.
“I didn't know parasites could love.” the Hunter snarled. Dad hissed at him and looked back at me with a look that berkata I'm sorry. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them back and choked out,
“I Cinta you, too. And Mum. Bye. Guess Vampires couldn't last forever, huh?” even with my family about to be murdered, I still had a sense of humour. Dad smiled, but that smile didn't quite reach his eyes. I gave one last searing look at the Hunter, who looked bewildered that the “leeches” had feelings.
“I hope you're happy, human.” I spat. The Hunter blinked, and sudden sympathy flooded the eyes. Dad kept hold of him while I ran in any direction, left, right, it didn't really matter at that moment, what did matter was to find Winter.
“Winter? Winter?! Where are you?! Answer me, Winter!” no reply.
I had a sudden wave of exhaustion, and sat down in the rubble when I heard a barely audible groan.
“Winter?” I said, jumping up.
“You just sat on me, anda boomerang!” the voice sounded rough, and I dug into the rubble, digging out my twin sister. She coughed, and pulled out the lilies woven into her midnight black hair along with the bits of ceiling. I pulled her up.
“Just come on, we've got to get out of here!” I said, then noticed she was hobbling. I looked down at her leg and almost threw up at what I saw.
A giant hole.
A giant hole in her leg with thick black blood still pouring out.
“We've got to get out of here.” I repeated, this time disgust throbbing in my throat.
“Where's the exit?” I asked Winter. She pointed a shaky finger through the havoc and to a large, ornate door, that was when I noticed she was crying.
“Shh, it's okay, it's going to be okay.” I berkata soothingly, but I knew it wasn't.
It wasn't going to be okay at all.
We were going to get Hunted down until we were dead.
“But Mum - a - a - and Dad! And what about the rest of them? Oh, and little Zap! What are they going to do to them? Zap's just a baby, for God sakes! It's not any of our fault we're Vampires and - and...” she ranted on while I lifted her up and carried her to the door without pausing to see any bodies atau fights atau to listen to any spiteful remarks. My only thought was to get my twin to safety.
I kicked the door in and ran out, not even listening to the shouts and cries I had caused. Yes, we're getting away, get over it. Sometimes Hunters are a little overdramatic. I rolled my eyes and turned a corner down the hall.
“Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run run run...” Winter sang under my arm. I ran faster and faster until I literally burst out of the door, all the while whimpering in my head,
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up...“What the -?” people were saying, but I ignored them and zoomed around a corner, not even noticing the stitch in my side.
“Iana, where are anda going?” Winter asked me, no longer singing. I didn't answer.
“Iana? whoo hoo!” she waved.
“Not now, Winter, I've got to get away from the Hunters.” I snapped, frustrated at my twin's usual annoying behaviour even with Hunters on our tracks.
“Well then, I was gonna say anda Lost 'em but it don't matter, anda could lose your legs for all I care.” she grumbled. I skidded to a halt.
“Well then, if you're so clever then you can decide where we're gonna stay! Cause we can't stay outside, what if it gets sunny?” I said, frowning.
“It would be better than being tortured in the Church!” Winter threw at me.
Tortured...
Tortured tortured tortured...
Being poked with some kind of pointy twigs, the Church trying to get information on where other Vampires are. It's how old maple was killed: some bastard ratted her out.
And everyone watching.
Mass.
It didn't used to be everyone watching the Vampires get tortured. It used to be a place where Christians worshiped God. There's no lebih synagogue atau temple. Just Church. Church, Church, Church. Nothing else but killing out us “parasites” mattered anymore. My mum lived for a couple hundred years... that's young. That's extremely young for the Vampires that could live alongside the humans.
But those damn witches thought of Tats. Ugh. They put a spell on the world's creatures. Humans were scarlet suns; Vampires were black pentagrams; Serigala Jadian were sapphire-blue crescent moons; witches were green eyes; Bidadari were white wings; sprites were sky-blue gusts of wind, and so on and so forth.
Stupid witches.
Stupid humans.
I hate all humans, they're horrible; they're... vermin.
But what about what happened with the Hunter? Don't be silly, Iana, he's a Hunter. And besides, it was just a little eye-contact. No, it was lebih than that.
A vibe of something no one would truly be able to understand, something that told us we belong. He's a bloody Hunter! I should listen to my mind, but right now my hati, tengah-tengah throbbed at the thought of the Hunter being dead, even lebih than the thought of my family being tortured. Ugh, what is wrong with me? He's a Hunter and nothing can change that! He's killed lebih Vampires that anda could kill humans.
“Look, in there!” Winter pointed to an abandoned-looking warehouse. Shaking myself completely out of my trance, I ran in there, trying not to be bothered sejak the musty, damp smell.
Ugh. It was so dusty and full of cobwebs and rat's... leavings. I shuddered and looked around for any sumber of comfort. Well, there were a few mattresses, dusty as they were, and pillows scattered everywhere, there were also a few duvets, atau sheets.
Must have been a katil warehouse atau something. Why leave all this stuff here? I really don't get humans.
I lay Winter down on a mattress and took a good look at her wound. I could see so much better in the dark, and that just made the wound look worse. I rummaged around the boxes, looking for some sort of alcohol atau something. I pulled out a bottle of vodka, and looked deeper for cotton wool atau tissue atau something. I found a sort of roll of soft material, and ripped of a load of that and dabbed the alcohol onto the wound, cleaning it.
“Ow! That stings!” Winter moaned, jerking her leg.
“Well, do anda want it to get infected?” I argued. Winter shut up then and let me clean the wound, though she bit her lip hard, trying not to yell. My hair, I noticed, was still in its loose curls, and all the white contrasting lilies were still there. It was weird after all of that my hair still looked the same when Winter's was different. But it looked amazing messed up, like bedhead. It was still curly but in a messy way, having been under a load of rubble.
“Uh, Iana?” Winter said, sounding sort of uncomfortable, which startled me a bit: Winter was hardly ever uncomfortable.
“Yeah?” I said, ripping off a bit of bedsheet.
“Uh, well, what are we going to do? We can't stay here forever, and, well, what are we going to do about our thirst? I've been thirsty before, and it's like suffocating, what with the cells fighting off the blood cells of Haiwan atau humans, and, uh, well, anda know our cells don't carry oxygen?” Winter said, I looked up.
“Yeah, and?” I was confused now.
“Well, I found out that we kinda needoxygen. And, uh, well, a few rats aren't gonna carry enough.” she said.
“Uh, that felt like a lecture but I know all that already, Winter. Dad told us, remember?” I said, Winter nodded, chewing her lower lip.
“Well, I know that, and I'm just going to have to think of something.” Winter nodded, then yelped as I tied the ripped-off shred of bedsheet around Winter's wound tightly.
That hari wasn't an easy sleep. Winter just curled up and shut her eyes tight, and was asleep instantly. We were lucky that the windows were boarded up, but I didn't want to take a risk so I made a sort of canopy with the extra bedsheets and katil poles and we slept underneath it. I looked at Winter, her tiny figure looked so delicate asleep. But so would I. I felt so alone in the world.
Endangered.
The words rolled over and over in my head, and voices whispered to me...
You could make a change if anda confront the Church, anda know. One said.
Yeah, but anda could get killed in the process, too. They wont listen, they're just idiots who think they're all high and mighty.
Tell them this is against the Ten Commandments.
“But I don't want to confront the Church, I'm just a loser vampire like all of my kind. Those damn witches. Stupid stupid stupid.” I berkata out loud.
I realised I could cry.
Right there, with no one but a bunch of gross rats to watch.
So I did. I cried openly. I sobbed and rocked back and fore on the mattress, muttering stupid stupid stupid over and over.
I cried myself to sleep that day.
And dreamt my plan up.
