Dawn of the Vampires

Unsheathing her sword from her back, Harley spun around just in time as another one of the evil abominations tried to launch an attack and swung her sword, slicing the vampire directly across its chest. It let out an ear piercing shriek as black blood spilled out through its open wound. Dodging another attempted attack, she swung her sword again, this time aiming for its throat. The vampire fell to its knees, giving her an advantage. Sheathing her sword, and retrieving the stake that she had dropped earlier in the fight, she slowly walked over to it.

Looking into its stone cold eyes, she brought her knee up and struck it in the face, causing it to fall flat on its back. She knelt down beside him and swiftly jammed the stake in its chest. With one final shriek, the vampire wriggled before bursting into nothing but ashes.

Adrenaline pumping through her body after the kill, she took off in the direction that she was headed in when the vampire had appeared. A long night of hunting had finally come to an end and she could now return home. The city tonight was frozen. Thousands laid up in their homes to hide away from winter's harsh bite, giving her the perfect opportunity to strike when needed. Of course, at this hour there were still some people around but most were drunks that were intoxicated to the point where hallucinations were possible. There was no need to be discreet for now.

It was almost sunrise by the time she reached home and she had to sneak inside the apartment as quietly as possible. Her father, grandfather, step-sister and step-mother were still asleep. Her father Zander, in particular, had not long returned from the hunt he'd been on in his section of the city. She could tell this by the fresh smell of strong coffee and cigars, which was his routine after he returned from every hunt, before he went to sleep.

Tiptoeing through the front door, she closed it behind her with a gentle click before continuing to her room. Once she made it successfully inside without making too much sound, she breathed a sigh of relief before collapsing onto her bed and falling asleep instantly.

***********

It was midafternoon when Harley awoke from her deep slumber, by which time the rest of her family were up and already after eating lunch. As she sat up and rubbed her eyes free of the dust that had settled in them, she could hear the sound of their voices talking. Throwing back the covers, she got up and exited her bedroom, eager to greet her family.

The first out of the four to notice her was her step-sister, Kiara. Although they had different mother's, the two of them were pretty close. Two years younger than her, Zander had made Harley promise that she would not introduce her to the life of hunting until the time was right. Though she sometimes got lonely on her hunts, she had decided that it would be best to let their father introduce Kiara when he was ready to.

"Seriously... Afternoon again. What do you do, stay up all night watching cheesy TV romances?" Kiara teased playfully.

Harley rolled her eyes with a groan and sat down at the dining table, her head propped up by the palm of her hand. By now, she was so used to the routine of sleeping in the morning and waking up in the afternoon that she couldn't change it even if she wanted to.

"Rough night?" Her father questioned, lowering his newspaper so that he could see her face.

"No, no... Just the usual." She assured him.

Before the conversation could continue, her step-mother, Lydia, placed a mug of coffee in front of her on the table. Nodding a thank you, she clasped the handle with her left hand and brought the mug to her lips, taking a sip. Feeling the burning hot liquid slide down her throat, she felt more awake after a few more sips. Placing the mug back on the coaster she brushed a loose strand of her ebony locks behind her ears and looked up to meet her father's eyes.

"Harley, go get dressed. I need to talk to you about something. We will take a walk to the park once you are ready." Zander requested.

"Sure thing Dad."

Rising from her seat, she trailed off into her room once more and threw on the first set of fresh clothes she could find; A pair of black leggings along with a black, one shoulder top, accompanied by her black leather jacket and up the leg boots. Dragging a brush through her hair before grabbing her phone from the nightstand and slipping it inside her jacket pocket, she rejoined her family in the open plan room.

"Ready?" Her father questioned.

"Yes."

Exiting through the door he had opened for her, she already knew the conversation that was going to be had between them. He wasn't really taking her to the park that much she knew already, instead they were going down to the ground floor of the apartment block and then down further still into the basement.

"Report on last night's hunt?" Zander prompted.

"Uh... Yeah. Pretty much the same old. The usual trickery. Number of kills; 19." She summarised.

"Good. That's my girl." He praised her.

"What about your early evening hunt?"

"Forty kills. All scattered around the city. The normal ones that stalk and target clubbers and drunks."

"Noted." She concluded.

"Great! Let's go join grandpa and the rest of the bunch."

"You go ahead, I'm actually gonna go for a walk."

"Oh- Okay... Everything okay?" Zander questioned, concerned.

"Yeah, everything's fine, I just kinda want a little space."

"Look, I know things have kind of been rough recently, but I promise that things will settle eventually." He reassured her.

"I know dad, and it's okay, believe me. I'll catch up with you later before my hunting shift."

"Alright, well be careful out there."

"Don't worry, I will be."

With nothing left to say, she gave her father a small hug before climbing the stairs to the basement and heading out into the hall towards the main entrance. Outside it was cold enough to snow. It was the beginning of November and frost was already beginning to glaze the grass and the trees. Folding her arms over her chest to keep warm, Harley kept walking until the apartment blocks disappeared from her line of vision. She already knew where her feet were taking her before she'd even had the chance to think about it.

It was a short walk to the old cemetery, which had been almost completely forgotten since the new one had been developed only three years ago, and as soon as she walked through the little archway that had been decorated with artificial roses, she headed straight for the third headstone on the second row of the left side. Kneeling down in front, she ignored the bitter chill that assaulted her body as her knees touched the ground. She reached out with two fingers and wiped the frost away from the inscription that was written in gold against the blackish grey stone.

R.I.P.

Marie Anne Lawrence.

1980 - 2020

Beloved wife, mother and sister.

Seeing her mother's name etched on one of these gravestones was one of the worst fears that Harley had whilst growing and now that she was older, and it was a reality, it caused great pain rather than fear. She was just eighteen years old when her mother died. Two years ago, everything had been perfect. Their lives couldn't have been better... Until one night when her parents were out on a hunt and a vampire from a particularly powerful clan had attacked her mother while her father was already in a fight of his own. That night, when Zander had come home with his clothes bloodstained and his eyes red raw, she knew straight away that something was wrong. He just couldn't save her.

A few months after that, she had learned of his secret family that he had been hiding all these years. Two years after Harley was born, her parents had hit a rough patch and during one argument, he had stormed out. It turned out that he'd gone to one of the sleazy downtown bars and hooked up with a woman he'd met. She came to him a few weeks later with the news of her pregnancy. Her father had agreed to visit and support in any way he could on the one condition that her mother never found out. It wasn't until after her death that he had come clean to Harley and moved her step-sister in after starting a real relationship with the girl's mother. After that it was as though the memory of her own mother had faded.

But she would never forget the woman who made her who she was. It was impossible, and the entire reason she began hunting like her father was to prevent another young girl from losing a parent. Revenge sounded sweet, but Harley knew that it would be stupid of her to even try to seek the vampire clan that hid her mother's killer. Preventing the deaths of others was the next best thing. Though it didn't take away her pain, it lessened it just slightly.

"Oh mum... Are things ever going to change? I need something more than hunting in my life. Don't get me wrong, I love fulfilling my duty but I can't help but want more in life. Friends... A real job... Love... But I know that is damn near impossible."

Pouring her heart out despite not knowing if her mother could hear her was the only outlet that she knew of these days. After she spoke, she closed her eyes and leaned into the silence trying to pick up on a sign that she was heard. But there were none. Disappointed with the outcome of her visit, she rose to her feet and slowly began to walk away.

She wasn't all that hungry but she knew that she should eat at least a little something before her hunting shift. Keeping her eyes glued to the ground as she walked back down the street, her pace was slower than usual as she didn't really want to head home. Without her mother there, the apartment didn't feel very homely. During her walk she passed by many different people; shady business men, homeless folk and young women with their little girls.

Seeing them ignited her own memories of her mother in her mind. All the neon lights of the city blurred into one as she teared up upon remembering the woman that had given her life; all the bedtime stories finished with a kiss goodnight on her forehead, the music recitals that she'd gone to after secretly enrolling her into classes unbeknownst to her father, and the advice that had been given as struggled to adjust after hitting her teens. Those were the times that she missed the most. It wasn't just that she was grown up now, but also that she would never have the chance to share another memory with her. She would never watch her advance as a hunter, never get to see her get married - if Harley should find true love, and would never get to meet her grandchildren - if she were to have any.

Reaching the block, she opened the door and headed up two flights of stairs to the third storey and into the apartment. Her step-mother and Kiara appeared to be absent, meaning that it was just her father and grandfather sitting around the TV, focusing on the screen like mindless zombies to the point where they hadn't noticed her come through the door. Neither of them looked in her direction until she coughed as the warm indoor air hit her after being out in the cold for so long.

Zander sighed unhappily, grabbed the remote and switched the TV off before throwing it back down on the couch. He stood up, straightened out his shirt and turned his attention to his first born daughter, a hard expression written on his face.

"What is it?" She asked, confused by his sudden and obvious anger towards her.

"My father and I were just watching the evening news." He informed her.

"Yeah, so...?" She questioned, wishing that he would just get straight to the point.

"Three were killed last night. Of course, police have ruled that the cause of death was a drug deal gone bad... But bite marks on their necks, bodies completely drained of blood and scratch marks across their arms from force." He told her.

"Vampires." She confirmed, although she knew that her father didn't need any confirmation to decide that.

"And on your shift too! You've got to do better than this Harley. I didn't train you all these years to be weak and clueless! You're supposed to track and catch them all, not miss one or two." Zander scolded her.

"Seriously? You're going to put the blame of that on me. I did my job properly last night, I slayed half a dozen vampires and covered my tracks. Before I came home last night, I made sure that none of those who were roaming the streets lived to see another night." She argued, raising her voice.

"Clearly you didn't, otherwise there would be no fatalities. You made a mistake and that cost three people their lives! Now I ought to strip you of your weapons and your duties... But because I still have hope for you, I'm not going to do that. Instead I'm going to extend your shift hours. Stay out until the sun has risen fully." He demanded, not willing to make any sort of compromise.

"Okay, dad. I'll do it." She agreed.

"Wrong answer! What do you say?" He reprimanded her.

"Sorry. Yes Sir, I'll do it." She corrected herself.

"That's better. Now go get ready, you've got a long night ahead of you." He stated.

As soon as her father sat back down on the couch, she stalked away to her bedroom and changed into her hunting gear; A fully black suit with silver chest, shoulder and knee plates, a belt around the waist that held stakes, guns and different types of daggers, and a sheath that held her own personal rhinestone studded dagger. Finishing off by pulling her ebony hair into a high ponytail, she forced herself back into the open plan lounge/kitchen, and grabbed a bacon roll which was left over from dinner, to fill her up ready for the night shift. She ate rather quickly tonight in particular as she was desperate to get away from Zander as soon as she could - even if she did have to stay out until sunrise tomorrow. Better than being stuck with Zander any longer.

Fuelled with anger that her father had ignited, Harley roamed the city just waiting for the chance to unleash her fury on one of the abominations that roamed the earth. Though the problem was that the night seemed quiet.

On a normal night, she would have made at least three kills within the first half an hour, but tonight she had been out much longer than that and still hadn't encountered any vampires. Something didn't feel right about it either, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

The cold made her shiver as she moved slowly through the city. Most nights it wouldn't be a problem since she would be moving fast and fighting, which would warm her body up quickly. Feeling confused and even a little lost as there wasn't anything that needed to be done, she changed her route and headed towards the quieter, more isolated parts of the city.

First she checked out any back alley she passed, then all the children's play parks and dog fields; still nothing. The only place left for her to check out was both cemeteries; the old and new one. Continuing down the street after exiting the last park, she reached the new graveyard first. Opening the gate and stepping foot inside, she looked around carefully. Unlike the older one, being there didn't hit her with any kind of emotion for all the fallen people. She had always been a kind and compassionate person, but something about this place made her feel nothing.

After ensuring that the new cemetery was in the clear, she made her way to the old one where she had been visiting her mother only hours before. Fighting the urge to go back and kneel at the headstone once more, she continued her inspection. As she reached the church, a shiver ran up her spine. During the daytime it looked ordinary, yet at nightfall it held a completely different feeling; as though there was something almost sinister about it. Trying to ignore her growing uneasiness, she slowed down as she headed off to the side of the church.

As she reached the mid-way point, Harley froze in place. She couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't alone in the cemetery which confused her greatly as she saw no signs of another presence. Kicking herself mentally for feeling so afraid, she tried to talk herself out of the stupidity. Of course no one is truly alone in a cemetery Harley, she scolded herself.

"Pretty foolish to be alone in a cemetery at this hour of night, wouldn't you agree?"

Harley's eyes widened as she frantically looked around the entire area, her eyes darting from one corner to the next. Despite conducting a thorough search, she was unable to locate where the voice, male as far as she could tell, had come from.

"Up here, love."

Despite her fear, Harley gathered all the courage inside of her and forced her gaze to lift from the ground, up to the rooftop of the church. Finally, she was able to pinpoint the voice as she could just barely make out a faint figure, perched on the cross that decorated the middle of the church roof. Though she could not see clearly due to the darkness, she noticed that they had crouched down; most likely to stay hidden.

"Hello." She called, her heartbeat having rapidly increased since they'd first spoken.

"My bad, how rude of me! There's no way that you can hear me properly from all the way up here." He quipped.

Before she could process what was happening, the odd stranger stood up straight and leapt off of the rooftop; a hundred meter drop at least, and landed agile like a cat, right in front of her. Trying her best to be subtle, she moved her hand slowly towards the sheath of her sword. She knew that there was no way a pure human would survive a jump from that height. She was face to face with a vampire.

Only now did she get a good look at him; he was taller than her, at least six foot in height. His figure was slim but there was no denying that he had at least some muscle to him. Though it was his face that caught her attention. His complexion was paler than the full moon that shone down on them from the starry night sky, which caused his ocean blue eyes to stand out, and his dirty blonde hair was a ruffled mess. If she didn't know any better, she probably would have fallen for his charms.

"Ah, ah! No need for any weapons, I'm not here to harm you. I just wanna talk." He informed her, noticing her hand slipping to unsheath her sword.

"I don't talk to vampires. I slaughter them." She retorted.

"Oh well, go ahead." He told her, causing her to frown and freeze as she raised her weapon, clearly confused. "I mean if you really don't want to hear the really important news that I came here to tell you." He added.

His last sentence caught her attention and although still untrusting of this monster, she lowered her weapon ever so slightly. Locking her eyes on his, her stare only hardened as she waited for him to explain. When it became clear that he wasn't going to, she forced herself to speak up first.

"News? What news?" She asked, although her tone was more demanding than questioning.

"I'm not gonna tell you until you put that weapon back where it came from." He stated firmly.

"Don't try to manipulate me!" She warned, furrowing her eyebrows and gripping her weapon tightly to send him a warning.

Readying herself for a fight, she raised her weapon once again and shifted her stance to be prepared for when he revealed his true intentions. She didn't tear her eyes away for a split second, focusing on his every move.

"Easy there... You don't want to do that." He told her, a sly smile written upon his face.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't." She demanded.

"Because if you do... A lot of people are going to die." He warned her.

"Is that a threat?" She questioned, intimidated by the expression that accompanied his words.

Rolling his eyes, he folded his arms and looked to the side before refocusing his attention back on Harley. He'd never come across a girl so stubborn and mistrusting before, usually he had them all in the palm of his hands with only a look. But she was different, so it seemed.

"No, it is not a threat. I am not going to hurt you, why would I want to ruin such a pretty face?" He retorted.

"Because you're a monster! Cold blooded killer!" She snapped.

"Ouch!" He said, stabbing his chest with his hand and pulling a goofy expression, exaggerating the sting of her words.

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath, shuffling her feet slightly as she waited for the situation to escalate so that she could stake him and move on. Usually when she came across vampires, she never hesitated to kill them, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to do the deed without him giving her a good reason to.

Come on Harley, just kill him! You've done this a thousand times before, so why are you hesitating now? Her conscience screamed at her.

"I..." Never in her life had she found herself to be so weakened by anything, let alone a vampire's charm.

Giving in, she slipped her sword back in its sheath and sighed, absolutely frustrated with herself. Tonight was supposed to be her chance to prove her father right and yet here she was, hesitating about killing a vampire.

"Alright, I will hear you out... But if this is a waste of my time or a distraction then believe me when I say that I will kill you before you even have the chance to move." She agreed, though her tone was no less hostile.

"Okay, I get it! Boy, you really are feisty." He commented, earning a glare from her.

Walking over to the nearest bench, she sat down and waited until he followed and sat on the bench too. Feeling a little too close, she shuffled over a bit and turned her head to face him.

"Now talk." She ordered him.

"I'm sure that you've noticed how quiet tonight has been, at least when it comes to vampires, right?" He questioned.

"Yeah, obviously. It's kind of hard to miss when hunting them is your job." She answered truthfully.

He couldn't help but pick up on her solemn tone as she answered his question. In all his years he had never been curious about the lives of the humans he'd interacted with, but Harley... She intrigued him. There was something about her that, even though they'd been talking for only minutes, pulled him to her and made him want to give her the chance she would need to prepare and save her people.

"Well... There is a reason for that." He informed her.

Now fully invested in whatever he was trying to tell her, she shifted so that her whole body was facing him and kept her eyes on him. What he had said was interesting, but the next few seconds were crucial. She would know instantly if what he told her was a lie.

"I'm listening..." She prompted him.

"I run with a whole clan of vampires, and when I say clan... I mean bigger than you would have expected. Anyway, these vampires usually run riot every night, as you already know. Not tonight though, and that's because their leader; Demitri, is planning an uprising. You can probably guess that there is going to be a lot of bloodshed." He explained.

Intrigued after hearing what he had to say, Harley couldn't find the right words to voice her thoughts. Even after receiving this rather interesting piece of news, she was still unable to shake her suspicions of him. Gathering her thoughts, she stood up and spun around; almost too fast to keep her balance, and swiftly began to walk away. Unable to stop herself, she looked back over her shoulder at the bench where they were just sitting and stopped in her tracks when the place where he'd been sitting was now vacant.

"Where are you going?" He questioned.

Facing forward again only to find his face mere inches away from her own, she backed up a little as she began to feel slightly intimidated.

"None of your business." She retorted.

"You know you really should listen to me..." He advised her.

"I'd have to be stupid." She snarled.

Turning in the opposite direction, she almost fell backwards when she was face to face with him once again. Becoming angered by his persistence, she clenched her hands into fists.

"No, the only stupid thing is to ignore me." He corrected her.

At the end of her tether, Harley lost all control she'd previously had over her anger and sent her fist flying through the air and smashing it into his annoying; but also charming face, causing him to stagger back almost drunkenly.

Stunned by her actions, he did the only thing that he knew how to do; laughed his head off. Now confused by his reaction, she clenched her fist again, ready to hit him a second time. Though as he caught sight of her white knuckled fist, he killed his laughter and straightened himself out.

"Woah, woah, easy there, no need for fists of fury! At least... Anymore." He cried, throwing his hands up in surrender.

"If what you are saying is true then give me an exact date and time that this uprising is going to happen and then bring me proof of it. Tomorrow night. Right here in the cemetery." She demanded, folding her arms across her chest.

"What now?" He asked, making sure he'd heard right.

"You heard me. Date. Time. Proof. Tomorrow night." She simplified.

"Our leader, Demitri, informed us that the uprising will happen a week from today... The night that a blood moon will rise, granting us extreme power." He informed her.

Just as she was beginning to be satisfied that the news he'd given her was in fact the truth, another thought crossed her mind. One that she couldn't end the night, not knowing the answer to.

"Hold up a second!... Why would you, a vampire who is part of Demitri's clan, warn me, a hunter that comes from a long line of them, about your leader's evil plans?" She questioned suspiciously.

The vampire thought for a second, as if he was unsure on whether or not he should give her a truthful answer, and then licked his lips, giving her a brief sighting of his fangs.

"I've been alive for five hundred years because of that leader... But that doesn't mean that I agree with everything he plans. You see, when I hunt I only take what I need but I don't kill innocent people. I'm not like him." He explained.

"And how did you find me in a city this big?" She asked, the thought only just crossing her mind as he gave his answer.

"You're unique, Harley... Something of a legend in our world." He stated.

"No... It's not true." She denied.

"How would you know?" He questioned.

Harley stayed silent, unwilling to answer such a question. She thought that it was quite clear now that he was just trying to get into her head; weaken her and then serve her up to his almighty leader.

"Did you really think that you'd be able to fool me with that? Well think again, this is clearly a waste of time so if you don't mind I'll be on my way now." She snapped, brushing past him and stalking off down the path.

"If you leave now, you'll regret it!" He called after her.

"No, I won't. Goodbye." She yelled, without bothering to look back at him.

Exiting the cemetery, she was glad to be rid of his presence. Despite her distaste for him, she couldn't bring herself to ignore his warnings. It was something that had to be taken in consideration, no matter if she trusted the source or not. Crossing the street, she headed back towards the park that she had inspected earlier on and began making her way from there.

With little to no lighting in the area, she slowed down as an uneasy feeling swept over her. Then out of nowhere a group of six vampires appeared, blocking her way forward.

"Well, well... What do we have here?" One of them questioned rhetorically.

"Looks like a snack!" Another one whooped.

"I wouldn't dare if I were you." She warned, reaching for her sword.

A loud roar of laughter erupted from the gang of monsters and Harley's breathing quickened as she shifted her feet and raised her weapon. Distracted by the three in front who were closing in on her, she didn't notice the other three had slipped away and as she backed back, she crashed into one that was standing behind her. As she tightened her grip on her sword and swung it, the vampire caught her wrist midair and jerked harshly causing her to lose her hold, sending the weapon flying through the air and landing upright in the grass with the sharp point lodged beneath the surface.

Now without her best weapon and with her hands restrained by the vampire that she'd backed into, she used his grip as an anchor and lifted her legs, striking him in the face with her feet. He staggered back and loosened his grip, which allowed her to break free.

Knowing that she didn't stand a chance at repossessing her sword, she pulled one of the smaller daggers out of her belt and launched it at the vampire, who had now regained his focus and was heading for her. The dagger struck him in the heart and a loud shriek escaped him as he burst into flames, ending up as nothing more than a pile of ash within seconds.

Exhilarated by the first kill of the night, she turned to the remaining five and whipped out another dagger hidden in her belt, making a charge for them. Just as she reached them, the tallest out of the lot managed to redirect the weapon and rather than piercing his heart, it made barely a scratch upon his face. Angered by her miss, Harley made a second attempt. Though she did not account for the rest of them and was taken by surprise when one of the other four snaked his arms around her and yanked her backwards, pulling her hair to the side and exposing the bare skin of her neck.

"Kill her! Kill her! We'll be the most famous vampires in the world if you kill her!" The ring leader yelled.

Fighting against his strong grip was getting her nowhere and without easy access to her weapons there wasn't much she could do. Screwing her face up in disgust as the vampire's fangs neared her throat, she thrashed around and elbowed him in the side. This move did little to give her an advantage and instead only angered him. Two more of the Vampires rushed at her and helped him to hold her in place as the leader watched in amusement, waiting patiently for his comrade to make the kill.

Squinting her eyes shut and preparing for the pain that would burn through her body, she let herself fall limp in their grip. She could feel him getting closer and closer until his fangs pricked at her skin, preparing to sink deeper.

"Hold up!" A familiar voice called from across the park.

All five vampires turned their attention from Harley to whom the voice had come from. Though they were amused, their hold over her did not break.

"Mason! How kind of you to join us." The leader beamed.

"Yes, yes Aiden, now how about you budge over since she is my kill." He retorted with a malicious grin that made Harley feel sick.

The group paused for a moment and looked amongst one another as if making an agreed decision that they did not speak of aloud. Once they'd finished, they turned back to the vampire from the cemetery, who's name she now knew was Mason, and grinned.

"Go on brotha!" The vampire that held her tight cheered, moving aside as Mason took his place.

"Please... Don't..." Harley begged, feeling helpless as she pleaded with him.

As the group began to egg him on, Harley felt herself getting restless as she felt Mason's eyes burning into her neck. He lowered his head and just as she thought he was about to rip her throat out, he released her and shoved her to the side, winking at her, then making a charge for the leader of the group. The two vampires tumbled to the ground, locked in battle and Harley ran quickly to retrieve her sword.

Spinning around, she impaled one of the vampires with her sword that was attempting to sneak up behind her. Meanwhile, Mason had managed to gain the upper hand and tore the head off of his opponent. With four remaining, the pair were now back to back and moving in a circle in sync as they prepared for the enemies to attack.

Leaping through the air, Mason tackled one of the vampires that had been opposite him. Both baring their fangs at one another as they rained punches down. Behind them, Harley took on another one. Challenging it with her sword as it managed to block and dodge most of her hits. Using the lessons that her father had given her for many years, she used her weapon to dodge the vampire's attempted attacks and once he had gotten frustrated enough, giving her the advantage, she kicked him in the face as he made one final charge. With the vampire now on his knees, she placed the tip of her sword underneath his chin; taking pleasure in his nervous swallow, and then driving the sword through his heart.

Harley withdrew her blood splattered sword just as the third vampire burst into flames. Immediately, her attention was turned to the final vampire that was heading towards her. She began to back away as it stared at her, finding herself unable to control her body as his eyes made contact with hers.

Having just decapitated the vampire that he'd been fighting, Mason turned and saw his fellow clan member using his mind control to lock Harley in place. Without a second thought, he fled across the few feet at superhuman speed and threw the last vampire to the floor, using one of the daggers that he'd picked up from the ground to impale him in the heart before he had the chance to retaliate.

With all five vampires dead, he wiped the dagger clean of blood and offered it back to Harley. Looking him up and down and breathing a sigh of relief, she took the dagger back and placed it back in her belt; also returning her sword to its sheath.

"So... Now do you trust me?" He asked with a smirk.

Still coming down from the fight, Harley nodded her head as she was too breathless to speak. If he had wanted to kill her, there was no doubt that she would be dead already. Unless he was playing mind games with her. In complete disbelief, all she could do was stand completely still and stare at the monster that had just saved her life. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as found him even more dazzling the longer she stared. Though what caught her attention the most was his eyes.

The jewel blue twinkled against the night sky, holding a warmth that she had never seen before in a vampire's eyes.

"I- I don't know. Can I?" She retorted.

"That's not for me to decide." He informed her.

Rolling her eyes, she was slowly beginning to regain herself and focus a little more on the conversation they were having and not his charming looks. Clearing her throat, she looked him up and down once more.

"Well, how can I trust someone who I've not only just met, but who also hasn't formally introduced themselves?" She challenged him.

"Touché." He said, with a nod of his head. "Oh, and it's Mason, by the way. Mason James." He finally introduced himself.

Harley couldn't help but smile. There was something about him that was less threatening compared to other blood suckers that she had encountered, and now she could finally put a name to the handsome face she'd been blatantly staring at.

"Pretty human name to me, I'm Harley but it seems that you already knew that." She responded.

"Why? What kind of name would you associate with a vampire?" He questioned.

"Hmm... I don't know. Dracula, Vladimir, Lorenzo, something along those lines." She listed all the names that popped into her head.

Mason burst out laughing at the ridiculous choices that she had thrown at him. He had to admit to himself that she wasn't exactly the kind of hunter he'd thought her to be. She seemed to be rather different to her father and those that came before her. If he wasn't dead, he could have sworn that he felt his heart skip a beat as he listened to her goofy list.

"Looks like someone has been watching too many movies." He teased her.

"Ha, ha. Really though, thank you for uh... saving my ass back there." She said, her tone becoming more serious and less comedic now.

Did she really just thank him? That was something that he didn't expect. Despite all the joking around, she was still a hunter and he was still a vampire. Two polar opposites, destined to be enemies. Yet here she was, not even trying to slice his head off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something about her that made him curious.

"Uh, yeah... It's no big deal or anything." He stammered, brushing off her gratitude. Though he felt awful having just lied to her. The truth was that it was indeed a big deal. He knew there would be big trouble when he returned to Demitri before sunrise. It was among the top three rules of the clan that a member must not kill another. In fact, it was punishable by both expulsion from the clan and death. But neither was as frightening to him as the plans they had made for the city, and aside from that, he felt as though it was his duty to ensure that Harley was not part of the carnage.

"Maybe not to you, but to me it really puts things in perspective." She told him.

Mason felt a warmth in himself that he hadn't experienced since he was human. It was a feeling that he had forgotten about for a long time, but now that it had come back he didn't want to let go of it. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time for him to talk more as sunrise was in less than half an hour.

"I better be going now, but you should be careful out here. The day walkers are worse than the night walkers, you know." He warned her.

She opened her mouth to speak, but before she had the chance to form any words, he was gone in a gust of wind. As the sun began to rise from behind the hills, casting a million shadows over the park, Harley did not move. Part of her was questioning whether she had just dreamt the whole night, but deep down she knew that it was real. There was no waking up from this. Knowing that her father would blow a fuse if she wasn't back by breakfast, she slowly took her first few steps on the route home. She walked almost drunkenly as her mind zoned out on the present and in on the events of the night. Despite the haze, there was one choice she had already made from the moment Mason had saved her life; her father would never know about this.

____________________________________

Silently sneaking back into the den that Demitri had turned into a hideout for the clan, Mason half hoped that his leader wasn't there right now. But he knew that it was false hope, their leader was there ninety percent of the time and the only time that he wasn't was if he was out creating a blood bath with his closest vampires.

He had a choice. Stay silent about the attack in the hopes that Demitri would never find out; knowing that if he did, the punishment for withholding the information would be worse than death, or come clean and accept whatever fate his leader chose for him. Hanging his head, he continued through the tunnel until he reached the entrance to what Demitri had claimed as his office; really just a separate and smaller cave. Swallowing hard, he cleared his throat to announce his presence.

His leader looked up at him and smiled in a way that would have been unsettling if Mason hadn't been used to it. Though that smile wouldn't last long once he heard what he had to say.

"And so the wanderer returns..." Demitri greeted.

"Yeah, I guess he does." Mason said glumly.

"Come on, let's hear it. What is the scoop of the night?" Demitri prompted.

"Trust me, nothing you'll be proud of." He answered.

"Ha what, did you kill a hot girl? Save an orphan? Come on, brotha! Spill the beans." He pushed.

Mason sighed, knowing this was the right thing to do and that there was no turning back now. "Not exactly, look Dee, I have to tell you something." He began.

His grim tone caught Demitri's attention and the playful attitude disappeared immediately, only making Mason more nervous. He set his eyes upon the floor to avoid the cold stare that was being aimed at him.

"What did you do?" Demitri quizzed.

"Something happened tonight and I had no choice but to take down five of your vampires. I wouldn't have done it unless it was absolutely necessary though, I swear!" He admitted.

The cold stare turned into a fiery rage in a matter of seconds and in the blink of an eye, Demitri was holding Mason three feet in the air by his throat. He didn't struggle to get free, knowing full well that it would do no good. Not only was Demitri older than him, but also stronger.

"You dared to slaughter vampires from your own clan. From my clan! Recite to me the biggest rule we have!" He demanded.

"Never kill another vampire from the clan." Mason choked out.

"That's right! And yet you not only killed one, but five. Five! A crime this bad ought to bring you punishment far worse than expulsion, worse than a painful death even!" He growled.

Demitri dropped Mason back on his feet, though he quickly lost balance and fell to his knees. He knew better than to beg for his life, as that would only anger his leader further.

"But you don't understand, I didn't have a choice!" He defended himself.

"What kind of situation would leave you with no choice?" Demitri questioned, raising his voice.

"Th- They were breaking other rules." He fibbed, hoping that it would be believable.

"Oh really? So tell me then, Mason, what rule were they breaking?" He pushed.

"I- Well... They were... making plans to overthrow you." He stammered.

"Ha! Busted! Don't make me laugh, no one in this clan is stupid enough, or strong enough, to even dare to try that!" He scoffed. "Which means that you have something to hide... come on, don't be a fool. After everything that I have done for you... you would have been dead if it weren't for me!" Demitri roared.

"I know... and I'm sorry Dee, I really am..." Mason began, but was quickly interrupted.

"Quit apologising and tell me the truth! I wish that I could say your cooperation would minimize your punishment, but it won't." He snapped.

"Doesn't matter, I can take whatever punishment you hand to me." He stated, remaining calm. "The real reason why I killed them is because they were attacking a girl." He admitted.

Demitri stopped his pacing and shot Mason a look. His expression was a mix of annoyance, disappointment and rage. It was at this point that he knew he would be demonised by the entire clan, if they decided not to execute him.

"A girl?" Demitri repeated, sounding like he'd just put a sour sweet on just tongue. "Was she a vampire?" He quizzed.

"Erm... no." Mason answered honestly.

A low rumbling growl filled his ears and it quickly became obvious that Demitri had not liked the answer to his question. He backed away a little, expecting to be attacked.

"Let me get this straight, you slaughtered five of your own kind from this clan just to save a pathetic human girl?" He sneered.

"Ah- listen, this girl... she isn't just any normal human, you see she is also a hunter." He informed him.

Demitri's eyes widened and once again, he flew across the room gripping Mason, this time by his shirt, and snarling in his face.

"You saved the life of a hunter!" He roared. "By slaughtering members of this clan, I might add! Mason James, you didn't just break one rule, but several! This should mean a painful death, but that would be more of a blessing for you. I see the way you mope around. For you, my first prodigy, I will make it far worse than death. I hereby sentence you to a month of extreme torture! Every morning when you return here, you shall be taken to our prison and from there you will begin to receive your beatings." Demitri announced. "I saved your life! Gave you the gift of eternity, endless amounts of power and yet you go against me. Kill vampires that I had sent on a mission to assassinate the girl to eliminate the bigger threat to our kind! You should be ashamed of yourself!" He scolded.

Mason felt his heart drop at the decision, though he already knew that punishment was inevitable. Hanging his head, more out of respect than in shame, he bowed and exited Demitri's quarters. Clearly all the vampires lounging around the base had overheard the conversation as from every direction he looked, there were glares and cold stares. Feeling more like an outsider than he ever had before, he took off down one of the tunnels that led to his home; if you could even call it that. Mostly it was just the place he stayed when he wasn't called on for a hunt or heist. He was beginning to feel as though he did not belong among others of his kind, it was a nagging thought that hadn't left him since he had been informed of the plans for the uprising.

Being a vampire was lonely. It wasn't the path that he would have chosen for himself had he not been dying when Demitri had turned him. Now, humans saw him as a monster and even those like him seemed to believe that he was not like them. Maybe he wasn't, at least not mentally. Physically, he was exactly the same. What had bothered him the most in the base was not the looks he got from the rest of the clan, but the one he got from his best friend. He had no regrets at all about saving Harley from those vampires, aside from his being drawn to her, they weren't the nicest out of everyone and deserved what they'd gotten.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pendant with a silver cross charm that he had found in the park during the fight. He smiled at the thought that it gave him a reason to see Harley again, and hoped that he would be able to unravel some of the mystery behind her.

____________________________________

Tossing and turning, Harley threw back the covers with a frustrated sigh. Having returned home not so long ago, she had attempted to catch up on sleep but failed miserably as her mind kept wandering back to Mason and how he had saved her life. Growing up she had been taught by her father not to trust any of them. All of them were the same, bloodthirsty, savage monsters. But if that were true then why didn't he kill her when he had the chance?

Feeling confused, she dragged herself out of bed, slipped on some flat shoes and headed into the open plan kitchen. It seemed that her step-mother had already left to drive Kiara to school and her father had gone out for whatever reason, leaving her alone in the apartment with only her grandfather sitting in front of the television, not speaking a word. She sat patiently waiting for her father to return so that she could pass on the news of the uprising, without mentioning Mason. Fortunately, it wasn't a long wait as Zander swung the front door open and stepped inside the apartment, throwing a burlap sack on the floor.

"Harley?" He questioned.

"Dad!" She exclaimed.

"You're up early." He pointed out.

"Couldn't sleep." She informed him.

"Right." He shrugged.

"Uh- There's something we need to talk about." She stated.

Zander stopped what he was doing and turned to face her as soon as her words reached his ears. His expression was grim and Harley knew that he expected it to be news on her progress.

"Well go on, do proceed." He prompted.

"I learned something tonight." She began, hesitating as she thought over what she had learned. "I have reason to believe that the vampires are planning an uprising. Last night, there wasn't a single one roaming the streets which isn't normal for the city." She explained.

"Don't be ridiculous, Harley! Where on earth would you get an idea like that?" Zander scoffed.

"I'm not being ridiculous, this information came from a trustworthy source." She defended.

"Oh really? And what was that source?" He questioned.

"Uh..." Harley stammered. She refused to mention even a word about Mason, knowing that her father would hunt and kill him before nightfall. She searched her mind to come up with a cover story. "Me- I mean, I ran into Melody, you know the one who helps us out from time to time. This information came from her." She made up.

Lying felt awful. Especially when it was to her own father. She wasn't even sure why she was protecting Mason, except for the fact that he'd saved her life. But he was still a vampire, and as a hunter she should have killed him on the spot. It was strange, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Was she getting weaker? Shaking off the thought, she focused on her father's reaction.

"Her I can trust. Thank you for telling me, now be a good girl and go take over my shift, I would have stayed out longer but your sister needs me today." He instructed her.

"But dad... I only just got home. I need a break." She complained.

"Are you going to disobey me?" He questioned.

"No." She sighed in defeat.

Trailing off to her bedroom, muttering inaudible words under her breath, she proceeded to throw on some decent clothes, placing a dagger in her boot, a katana in the sheath strapped to her back and a silver gun in the holster hidden in her belt. She couldn't help but feel a little resentment towards the man. It always seemed that he favoured her half-sister over her, and when she called him out on it he always accused her of being jealous. Kiara got to live a normal life; go to school, make friends, have fun family days while she was forbidden from schooling, making friends and always had to take over her father's shift if there was a family fun day.

Making her way out, she didn't speak a word to Zander as she walked out of the apartment. Feeling void, she didn't bother to do her usual patrol and instead headed straight for the cemetery. Although she had visited only the night before, she felt the strong need to be there again. Upon arrival, she quickly located the headstone and knelt down in front of it. Closing her eyes, the picture of her mother's face crept through the darkness and Harley felt a pain she had buried for the past two years. She wished more than anything to hear her voice one last time, but she knew it was never going to happen. With no one around it was easier to let herself grieve and so she didn't bother to wipe away the few tears that fell.

She wished for many things. Friendship. Love. A path that she chose for herself. But there wasn't a place for any of those things in her messy life, and especially since her mother had passed away. It was always Marie, her mother, that had tried to give her a better life but Zander stood in the way.

"Hey mom, you may have noticed that these visits are getting more regular than before... I don't know, I can't exactly say these things to dad. He would freak out on me, no doubt about that. This is the only place I can really be myself, and recently I've been needing that a lot more than I ever used to. God, I miss you so much it hurts. I just need a little time away from all the hunting, it's suffocating me and I feel like I can't breathe... Well, I'll be honest, it's not exactly the lifestyle that's causing this crushing weight. I'm tired of lying to myself, I can't lie anymore, hunting isn't the problem... It's dad. Lately he's been putting so much pressure on me to do better and I can't take it. I've tried to talk to him but he doesn't listen to what I need. All he cares about is Kiara and Lydia, and that only makes me resent them too. Before they moved in he always did his best for me after you- no, I can't say that word. It's too grim. These days, I'm lucky if I even get a thank you from him." Harley stopped ranting, took a deep breath and exhaled sharply to prevent herself from falling apart. Finding the right words, she continued.

"These past two years without you have been the worst of my life. I still need you, mom. With you not here, everything is crumbling around me. Yet I'm the only one who seems to remember you. Dad doesn't even talk about you anymore. As soon as Lydia moved in, it's like you were never there in the first place. I don't even know if you can hear me right now, to be honest I don't know what to believe anymore, but I need to do this. You're the only one who I don't have to hide from. The truth is that I need a life outside of hunting. I long for many things that I know are impossible to have; a best friend, someone who I can share anything with and who would never stop caring just because new people enter their lives, and I need love because whenever I try to picture my future, it comes up blank. I want a love that I can lose myself in, that's going to last a lifetime so that I don't end up as the crazy old lady with a hundred cats." She managed a laugh at how ridiculous her last sentence sounded, especially saying it aloud. "I'm so lonely, mom. I just need someone to talk to, who understands me in the way that dad no longer does." She finished.

With a sigh she got up and headed towards the exit, stopping in her tracks as a whisper of her name filled her ears. Glancing around, she could see no one in the vicinity and frowned in confusion. It was not the day for unexplainable events. Moving forward, she stopped for a second time as she heard the whisper again.

"Over here. In the shadows by the church." The whisper informed her.

Hesitantly, she took out her gun and hid it behind her back as she walked up. Getting ready to shoot, she quickly lowered it as she found the source of the whispers.

"Mason! What are you doing here? It's broad daylight!" She exclaimed.

"I know, but the church has underground tunnels and as long as I stay I'm the shadows, I'll be fine." He informed her.

"Right. And you're here because..." She prompted.

"Because you dropped something last night, in the park. It must have happened during the fight and you didn't notice." He explained.

Stepping into the shadows, she waited expectantly for him to reveal what it was that she was supposed to have dropped. He held up a hand and as she took a closer look, she noticed that he was holding a silver cross pendant; something that her mother had gifted her to celebrate her thirteenth birthday. Before she could stop it, her hand flew to cover her mouth as she processed the thought of having almost lost it.

"Oh my- Thank you!" She said ecstatically as he handed it to her.

"No problem... So what exactly is the deal with it anyway? It's not like it offers any protection from us vampires or anything." He questioned curiously.

"It was a gift from my mom." She told him.

"Pretty neat gift... What is she travelling for work or something like that?" He asked.

"Something like that." She answered, not wanting to get into the subject. Turning her head to the side so that he couldn't see, she wiped at her eyes before turning back to face him. "Really though, thank you." She repeated.

"The pleasure is all mine." He smiled, the white of his fangs flashing for a brief second.

"You could have died returning this right now, why didn't you just wait until night?" She questioned, a thought that niggled at the back of her mind.

His smile turned back into a straight line, creating a neutral expression. He didn't quite understand why she was questioning a nice gesture, which only added more questions that he wanted to ask her. The truth was that he didn't even know why he'd risked it. Deciding against answering her question with another, he managed another smile.

"I don't know, it seemed like it was important to you, and I didn't want you to panic thinking you'd lost it for an entire day." He explained.

Harley fell silent. She was a tough girl and always had been, but his reasons behind not waiting cut right through that exterior causing her to feel a hint of softness towards him; something that she hadn't felt in a long time and never at all when it came to vampires. She never had any sympathy or had shown any mercy to them. Though no matter how she was feeling, she would never let him see it.

"Careful now, going soft on a hunter is a pretty dumb move, don't you think?" She retorted, not willing to show her sensitive side.

"Meh, it's worth the risk." He said with a smirk.

"I mean, you realize that I have a gun, a dagger and a katana hidden on me, right?" She questioned.

"Yeah, but I know you're not going to hurt me." He insisted.

"And how do you know that?" She asked.

"Because you would have done it already. A hunter doesn't hesitate." He answered.

"Okay, you got me there... But I don't hesitate." She gave in.

"Hmm... Then why am I still roaming the earth?" He quizzed.

"I..." She began, but trailed off.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't come up with a truthful answer to his question. She didn't even know why she hadn't killed him. As a hunter it was her number one instinct, like when a lion saw a zebra and attacked without hesitating. So, why did she hesitate?

"Why? Because you saved my life." She answered, even though she couldn't say that it was the truth.

"But before that... When we were here in the cemetery, why didn't you?" He pushed.

"I don't- I don't know." She stammered.

The effects that he was having on her were truly confusing her. He was a vampire. She should have killed him on the spot. Yet here she was, not only in his presence, but making no move to take him down either. Opening her mouth to speak, she found that all words had escaped her and the only thing she could do was stare at him. Was he using his mind control on her? No vampire had been able to do that before to any hunter in her family. They were immune to it for unknown reasons. Was she susceptible to his vampire parlour tricks? But if he was really using his powers, why wouldn't he use them to kill her?