Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter (8 page)

I would have liked to know that in the last instant I
struggled. That I fought for my life. But I didn’t. I was paralyzed. I even
suspected my own heart—at least the one I was given—might kill me before the
madman did.

I felt his teeth at my neck. His hand loosened around my
face. My heart began pounding inside my ears, thumping against my chest. His tore
into my neck. He broke through my skin and pierced deep inside my flesh. It was
invading and it was revolting and stirred a nauseating arousal inside me that I
couldn’t explain. Blood rushed to my head. My pulse pounded at my neck.

Then he began to suck.

I tilted my head back and closed my eyes. I envisioned
needles extracting blood. Vials filling with thick, red gore. The clammy lips
on my neck felt like a suction slowly draining the life from me.

With a sudden jerk, I was released. The thing, whatever it
was, began to spasm beside me. It thrashed and gasped as though in agony. Its
eyes widened until they looked like they would pop out of their sockets.

I lay spent across the floor, like a bloody human rag. I
looked toward the mirror. “What did you do to me?”

“Congratulations, Aurora, you have poisoned your first
vampire. As you can see, he is in a state of paralysis. He can barely move.
Unfortunately, the effect is only temporary, a contingency we’re working on,
but eventually he will get up and want to feed again.”

I felt like throwing up when I heard the word “feed.”
Instinctively I touched my neck and pulled back bloody fingers.

“This is your gift, Aurora. Your blood. Now finish the
creature off.”

I pushed myself into sitting position and looked toward the
mirror. The ghoulish wheezing behind me didn’t let up. Several minutes passed
before the faint crackle reemerged.

“If you don’t take the creature’s life, you will have to
do this all over again. We can’t let you out of this room until the thing is
dead. A word of warning—the creature is capable of killing. He could snap your
neck or suffocate you.”

I thought I was too overcome to allow terror to return, but
the first shiver rocked through me. I’d avoided looking at the body behind me.
The sounds it made were ghastly. I almost wanted to kill it just to make the
noise stop. It was that four-letter word that anchored me to the ground.

Kill
.

How could I?

“You’re asking me to commit murder,” I said to the mirror.

“Murder would involve killing another human. This is not
human.”

I gathered my knees in my arms and laid my head on them.

“Aurora, this creature is a killer. Before we captured
it, it killed women and children without discrimination—hundreds, possibly
thousands of victims over time. Think of the lives you could save. This isn’t
murder. This is justice.”

“Please just let me out of this room.”

“You know what you need to do to get out.”

I looked up at the silver table in the center of the room.
From the ground, I couldn’t see the weapons. I got to my feet and stumbled on
the first step. The weapons were spread across the metal table like a killer’s
buffet.

The gun had been a no go. The knife gave me shivers, as did
the ax.

 I grabbed the wooden stake, tightening my fist around the
smooth handle.

The intercom was silent, but I could hear the static voice
inside my head.
“Good, Aurora. Now take that stake and drive it through the
creature’s heart.”

I turned around. The vampire twitched on the floor. Blood
trickled down his chin—my blood. I approached slowly. Now I was the hunter. I
knelt so close to the body it touched me every time it convulsed. Its fetid
breath prickled my nostrils. I raised the stake. I held my arm high, as though
preparing to swing a hammer into a nail. The stake remained suspended in air. I
was a photograph, a statue, a cartoon frozen in still life until the creature
stopped twitching and attempted to lift himself off the ground.

I raised my arm higher then slammed the stake down. It
pierced the vampire in the gut. The thing cried out and clawed at my ankle. I
lifted the stake again.

It’s like a peg
, I told myself.
It’s
like
putting a peg inside a cribbage board.

I closed my eyes at the last minute and ended up puncturing
the vampire in the throat. Blood gushed out. Bile filled my mouth. I swallowed
and screamed; raised the stake again, aimed, and pounded the weapon into his
heart.

The vampire went limp. I pulled out the stake. It slipped
from my hand and clattered to the ground. For a moment I was only aware of my
own shaky breath.

The door to the room opened and Agents Melcher and Crist
walked in. Melcher applauded. “Bravo, Agent Sky.”

I swiped several loose strands of hair off my forehead. I’d
probably just rubbed blood over my face, but I didn’t care. At the moment, I
wanted to smear it like war paint over my cheeks, leap up, and attack Agent
Melcher.

Melcher grinned. “It may not feel like it now, but you did
well, Aurora. You passed.”

I stood up slowly. My arms and shirt were covered in blood.
“What happens to people who don’t pass?”

“Some let themselves get killed by the creature.” Agent
Melcher walked over to the body. “This one nearly destroyed the last test
subject.”

“And you let him live?”

Agent Crist stepped in. “It is not up to us to kill it.”

Melcher circled the body. “Some subjects try to take off after
completing orientation, but we always catch them.”

I caught his eye. “What do you do with people who try to
run?”

“We don’t kill them if that’s what you’re wondering. We make
them useful in other foreign divisions—desk work.” Melcher’s grin widened. He
had perfect white teeth. They were obnoxious.

“Then there are the ones who go crazy,” Crist said.

Melcher clasped his hands together. “But! Let’s talk about
the ones who become agents, our team of vampire hunters. We didn’t just bring
you back to life, Aurora. We made you superhuman. Other agents dream of having
your gift.”

“What? To become a vampire’s chew toy?”

Melcher chuckled. “You serve a far greater purpose than
that.”

“Yeah? And what purpose is that?”

“Haven’t you been listening to a word I’ve said? Your
purpose is to rid the world of evil.” Melcher clapped his hands. “But that will
come in time. For now, go home. Go to school. We want all our young agents to
obtain a high school diploma and we encourage college, as well. You don’t have
to give up your life, Aurora. Far from it. In fact, we want to give you a
chance to get back to normal.”

How normal was he talking?

“Can I still go to Notre Dame?”

“Unfortunately not,” Melcher said. “You’re needed in Alaska.
This state’s become the latest hot spot for the reanimated dead. They appear to
be gravitating to the dark.”

“And cold,” Agent Crist added.

All thoughts of vampires were momentarily forgotten as a
horrifying thought occurred to me. “You mean I can’t leave Alaska?”

“You get time off for vacation, naturally, but no, you can’t
move out of state.”

They should never have revived me. They should have just let
me die in peace. At least I might’ve had a shot at heaven, or even peaceful
oblivion, opposed to a lifetime confined to this frozen hell.

“Does my mom know what you’ve recruited me for?”

“She’s been briefed, but I warn you, she’s under contract
not to speak of it.”

“Even to me?”

“You are the one who needs to hold your tongue, Aurora. Your
work here is top secret.”

“As is the existence of vampires,” Crist said.

“We’ve dropped a bomb over you,” Melcher said. “But I think
you can handle it.”

“A bomb?” I repeated and looked at the bloody corpse on the
floor.

A terrifying thought occurred to me. “Will I get rabies
now?”

Melcher shook his head. “You already have rabies. That’s one
of the viruses we injected you with and why you must take the antidote every
year.”

Crist shot me a snide look. “Unless you want to end up like
him.”

I cupped my palm over my bleeding neck and watched the body
to see if it would turn to dust. It didn’t.

“Don’t worry about any more of those for a while,” Melcher
said. “We want you to train first. We can assign you a personal trainer on base
or you can continue taking classes near home. The choice is yours.”

“Can I take a shower now?”

“Of course, come with me.” Agent Melcher turned his head to
talk as he led me toward the open door. “I know this is a tough time to be
taking on extracurricular activities, but at least it’s your last semester of
high school.”

I focused on the exit. Melcher and Crist moved at a snail’s
pace, as though they were out for a winter stroll. They stopped in front of the
door.

“Good work, Agent Sky,” Melcher said with a smile.

Crist looked me over. “Try to make it less messy next time.”

The agents exited first. I stepped out after them. The clinical
white room led into more blinding whiteness. I got the feeling I wasn’t
escaping at all.

I was washed up and waiting in the lobby when my mother
arrived.

“I came just as soon as I got your call,” she said to Agent
Melcher. “How did orientation go?”

“It went well, Mrs. Sky. You should be very proud of your
daughter. I can see you’ve taught her to excel in all areas of life.”

Mom’s voice rose. “Oh. Thank you.”

“I know it’s not the future you envisioned for your
daughter, but Aurora has a chance to make a difference in the world.”

I tuned them out and stared at the clean sneakers on my
feet. The old pair had been disposed of, as had my bloody clothes. The
facility’s showers were as white and clinical as the test room. Both locations
made the blood more vivid. In the shower, it mixed with water and turned into a
river of red that swirled around the tile by my feet before emptying down the
drain.

I touched the bandage Crist had affixed to my neck. “Can we
go now?”

My mother smiled. “I don’t know.” She turned to Agent
Melcher. “Are we free to go?”

Melcher swept his arm open. “Of course. Aurora completed orientation
with flying colors. Next we’ll assign her a mentor—someone who has been through
the same process and can show her the ropes. Thank you for making the trip
down, Mrs. Sky. Aurora, we’ll be in contact.”

I nodded, but couldn’t meet Melcher’s eye. I didn’t ever
want to look at Melcher again except to give him the finger, and even then I
didn’t want to look into those smug, conniving eyes.

 7