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Casted off into a dark corner, waiting for them to come get me. It shouldn’t be long now…

It’s a Thursday. The Parents never have to work on Thursdays. I might have actually cared, were they my parents. And what's a better day to have a birthday party then when everyone’s home? The mom of the household turns 39 today. June 19th, 2034.

I began losing myself in thought. Another plain day, plain birthday, plain life. We’ll probably go bowling again. The Mom loves bowling.

I do not.

Then they came. The Dad, The Mom, and Vikkie, their daughter. Everyone was ready for work, for school…for whatever.

Does any of it matter?

I stood up slowly. My room was dimly lit from the now open door to the hallway.

I had been sitting between my bed and my wall. I always sit there when I need to think, or get away from it all. At the foot of my bed is a dresser, and next to it, my door. From where I sit, I can’t see the door. The door can’t see me.

Next to my bed, opposite this wall, is my closet. On my opposite wall, across from the door, is an entertainment system. Desk, TV, an untouched PS2, about 32 games I’ve never even looked at, and a small cable box. Beside that is a smaller desk with a computer. Most people would think I’m lucky.

They don’t know me.

I looked down at my book bag. It was time. I grabbed it and walked out of my room, around the corner, and down the stairs to the front door, where The Mom was waiting. She kind of rushed me out and locked the door behind her. I didn’t wait for her. I walked down the front stairs and past the cars. School was close enough to walk to.

I heard The Mom calling after me. And footsteps. Quick, like someone running. Then I smelled the perfume. Sweet, like rose petals in a warm strawberry-bath.

I hated that smell.

I didn’t have to turn to know who it was. Vikkie fell in step with me. She tries to get close, tries to know me. I don’t care to know her.

The Parents don’t let her walk to school. They're afraid of her getting hurt. She can only walk if she’s with me. I’m 16. She’s 15. It doesn’t make much sense. I guess they just know that I’d protect her. But if it really came down to it, would I?

Three and a half blocks away from home, Vikkie decides she wants to talk. A heart-to-heart talk with her “brother.” Again. I zone out. I don’t listen. I never really do.

Instead, I look around. A house with a fence, a house without a screen, a stray dog in the street. But what about that house? Big, two story house. It had at least four bedrooms. For windows across the front on the 2nd floor, two on the 1st. Two garage doors, and the front door to the right of them. The house was a pale-yellow, with burgundy shutters, and garage doors. The front door was burgundy too. For some reason, I couldn’t pull myself away from the house.

I started to walk toward it, when a hand grabbed my arm.

“Don’t run away from me again,” Vikkie said, staring intently at me. “You do that every time we talk. You always find a reason to walk away.”

She was right. I always walk away.

I looked back at the house. Boring, ordinary, just like all of the others. I start towards school again.

We got there about 10 minutes before school started. A few kids spot us and started calling for Vikkie. She waved at then, but didn’t go over to them. I started wondering why she didn’t go to her friends. Why she’s staying with…

“Victor!”

A shout interrupts my thoughts. It was a very familiar voice.

“Hey Victor! Over here!”

I look over. Joe Young was standing there. He’s been my friend since 8th grade. He knows me far too well. I walk over to him.

He’s tall. He's taller than I am anyway. He’s about 5’8”, with short, dark brown hair and blue eyes that were too close together. He had a scar on his lip from a long past dog attack. He was dressed in his usual clothing. A short sleeve shirt that was just big enough to fit, slightly baggy blue jeans, and black tennis shoes.

“Have you decided if you’re going to take the family name or not yet? I mean, you can’t go nameless forever,” he said.

“Dunno yet,” I answered.

“Don’t know, or don’t care?”

“Does it matter?” I replied. See, The Parents aren’t MY parents. They’re Vikkie’s. They adopted me a few years back, when I left my family, and gave up my name. I’m just “Victor Antonio” now. I have no last name, and I won’t accept the last name “Spinks.”

“Do you ever think about your old family?” Joe asked. This broke me away from all other thoughts.

“No,” I said coldly.

“Whoa! Calm down man! Save that look for the Hunters. I’m not your enemy,” he said, taking a step back and hold his hands up, palms out.

“Not around Vikkie,” I replied. “Never mention “them” around her.”

“Why not,” Vikkie interrupted. “It’s not like I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“What!?!? But…how?”

“You haven’t noticed yet?” she asked with a smirk. “Your living with a family of Hunters.”

Could that be true? I couldn’t believe what I’d heard. She couldn’t be telling the truth, could she?

“Prove it!!” I yelled, louder than I’d meant to.

“Prove it? Easy,” she replied, scanning the ever-growing crowd around us. Then she turned to me and said “there are four vampires, one lycan, and two hunters in this crowd, not including us.”

I looked around the crowd. I could see the other vampires well enough. The lycan could almost blend in, but not quite. But the Hunters? Where were they? I didn’t see them… no, there they were. Standing right at the edge of the crowd. They were two tall men. One was black; the other was white. Both dressed in eerie black outfits. They stuck out like a sore thumb. They were on a job.

Hunters. Not quite a teatime conversation topic. It wasn’t very pleasant. Not many people are able to become Hunters. They train their senses to be much better than some would think was possible. They’re able to find an entire box of needles, scattered in a haystack. Literally. I’ve seen a Hunter’s training facility.

It made me sick.

Hunters are people that find pure joy in killing “Others.” Others are abnormal, not human, me. I’m a vampire by birth, but I’m not like the other vampires. I left the Council.

I turned to Vikkie.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said, looking me in the eyes.

“Do you? Then tell me why.”

“Because you’ve broken your ties with the rest of them. You’ve made the Council your enemy. And your trying so hard to be different, to change. That’s why they adopted you. That’s why we haven’t killed you.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel safe?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“The Hunters are moving, man,” Joe interjected

“No. Not safe. They’re after you,” Vikkie said, pointing in the Hunter’s direction…