The 30 minute drive from my house to the Manor usually speeds by, but today it seemed to last forever. It gave me plenty of time to think about the events of this afternoon and as I neared the front gates I realised I was a mess again. Looking ahead I slowed down to give the gates a chance to open before I drove through. They squeaked and protested, but opened easily enough. As I drove up the old dirt driveway, the Manor came into view.
With so many vampires living the same lifestyle we chose to live together. Our, or my, covenant lives at what we call the Manor.
Although we like to blend in we also value our privacy. It can be very important, so to anyone else the Manor would look like any other fancy estate. It could easily belong to an upper-class, rich family. This is how we want it to look.
It’s set in the forest just outside Oklahoma and is surrounded by other similar houses. Non vampire owned houses. There is enough room between these houses that no one knows what’s going on within the walls. The grounds are spacious and covered with tall shrubs and trees that only add to more privacy.
The big, metal gates that surround the property are more about security than privacy. We still need to be careful. With the house set so far back and looking just like every other residence, it doesn’t stand out. It isn’t a target for hunters.
The house itself is very plain looking. It is a creamy three story building with balconies sporting from some bedrooms. It’s a very large house in and of itself but it also has two basement levels, built underground. This is not visible from outside. It would scream “conspiracy” and that was the last thing we wished to do.
One level is entirely a gym, built with high tech training equipment. Even vampires need to keep toned and we take our training very seriously. Most of our time is spent on this level, therefore it is the largest. There is also a small kitchen on this level, where our meals are prepared.
The very bottom level is a storage level. Its sole purpose is to store and maintain large amounts of blood for our consumption.
Other than on that one level, there are bedrooms scattered throughout the house. I even have one on the second floor. This place is a sanctuary. A home away from home. It is a place where we can come to feel safe and to know that we are not alone.
And that’s how I felt, pulling my car around to the long garage, where our vehicles are kept.
Safe
The feeling flooded through me. Even though I remembered what had just taken place, being here did wonders for my frazzled nerves.
It is important that we have a speedy access to transport, should there be an emergency, so the garage is located just off the main house, connected by a long hall.
As usual, I left my bag in my car.

The inside of the house is not as simple. It is spacious and looks classy. Yet it still has, if I do say so myself, a very homey feel. The furniture is not all antique, but it has a 19th century, almost gothic look to it. However, it is fairly bright with crimson red and yellow wallpaper in many shades.
Even though the majority of the vampires are living vampires, not all are. Some have lived for centuries, but have turned their backs on their old lives. They wish to lead a peaceful existence without all the necessary violence and death. They live a different kind of life than they once did. They are immortal and to the most extent soulless. However, they have shown compassion and have a real desire to be good, so we give them a chance.
Some of our leaders are like this and having lived many years, everything they owned has been passed down and has a place within the Manor’s history. There is a real sense of past and this is shown by the many portraits of vampires, both past and present, that adorn the walls.
It is a very light and open place and there are no secrets. We are, or as we like to say, family. Walking down the halls I wasn’t exactly sure who it was I was looking for. I passed a few people, who were either too engrossed by what they were doing or didn’t care enough to notice me. When I said we were family I meant it. However there are some individuals who thought they were better than the rest of us. They only lived here for one reason: survival.
Pausing just inside the doors of the gym, I scanned the room quickly before I saw who I was unconsciously searching for.
Claudia.
Claudia Black is a living vampire like me. And we’re close. She is only a year older than me, and excluding Erin she is my best friend. She was there for me during me entire transformation and has helped me adjust to my new life. I trust her completely and she is the one person who I knew always has my back.
Standing across the room, with her back to me, Claudia was in a deep conversation with two male Death Walkers. Their names were Ben and James, I think. Even as I approached it was clear that some serious flirting was going on, on all accounts. This struck me as odd. But not too odd.
It wasn’t that people disliked Claudia, she just had a real knack for rubbing people up the wrong way. And it wasn’t that she believed that she was better than anyone (and trust me, she didn’t). She simply is a to the point person and is often seen as rude. I couldn’t understand people though. It was a characteristic that I valued in her. I liked that if I was doing something nasty or unlike myself, she would call me on it. She keeps me grounded.
When Claudia is around men though, she is a complete flirt and this caused her a lot of problems with other females. Many people believe that she is a slut. I don’t agree exactly, but I know that she “dates” a lot of different men, both vampire and human.
I think it comes down to jealousy. I’m attractive, I know that, but Claudia has a way about her that is very sultry and sexy. She has pale skin and blonde (not bottle blonde) hair that sits just below her shoulders and like me, has a slim figure.
As I got closer I noticed that she wore a deep, navy blue dress that hugged her tightly. Cut just below the knees, it emphasised her curves. It was no doubt a party dress, but nevertheless it reminded me I needed to change.
Gravity has a different effect on a vampire than it does a regular person or even an animal. We’re not bound by it in the same way. We move more freely through the air and it was what made us faster, more flexible. The clothing we wear also helps. If we are wearing tight fitting, body hugging clothing, we’re not weighed down as much. It makes movement easier. You’d be amazed how much easier it is to kick box and fist fight in a good pair of heeled, knee high boots. Strange, but true. And it always pays to be prepared. So I decided that after I talked to Claudia I would go and dig through my wardrobe.

Stopping next to Claudia, the two guys nodded their greetings. I nodded back. Let’s just say, that some vampires don’t have a whole lot to say. With words, that is. Their body language made it clear that they both didn’t appreciate the interruption.
“Hey Rox. There’s a party down town and we’ve been invited. Wanna check it out?” Claudia’s smooth, silky, almost feline tone danced through the air at the same time her eyes swept the guys in front of her. Tall, muscled, they were her type to a tee.
She turned towards me. “I’m sure we could get up to all kinds of fun if.....” she trailed off.
As I mentioned before, we were close. And she knew me well. Only one look at my face and any thoughts of partying were forgotten.
“What’s wrong?” She didn’t acknowledge Ben and James as she grabbed my wrist and pulled me off to the side.
I sighed and recounted what happened. Not excluding a single detail, even the smallest one.
It was like someone had flipped a switch. That was the way it was for all of us. One minute we could be involved in something so completely, but add even the tiniest amount of danger and battle mode kicked in.
“I just ran. They didn’t try to follow me, but I still knew I had to let you know what happened.”
Claudia was nodding, her mouth hard. “If they waited until after school was finished, then it was very well planned. They had to make sure that there was no one else there.”
That’s what I had thought.
“And you said there were 4 of them?”
“At least.”
“This doesn’t make sense. We haven’t had any problems with hunters lately and it’s extreme to send 4 hunters after anybody, let alone you.”
“Gee, thanks.” I said sarcastically.
“Oh, sorry. You don’t exactly scream danger. Now if they were chasing you to get your number, that, I would believe.”
I snorted. “No its okay, you're right. I’m as confused as you are.”
“Still, we can’t let it slide. Quintenn doesn’t get home until tomorrow. Most of the Death Walkers joined him to offer back up, so were here alone.”
Claudia and I were both members of the Death Walkers. We were warriors specifically trained to hunt, capture and vanquish members of our own kind that posed us a threat in any way, shape or form. In our effort to survive and exist unnoticed, it caused problems if we had to lie low, due to a hunter tracking down a vampire in our area. Some of us also felt it was our duty, in some way, to defend humans.
Claudia was pacing, deep in thought.
I slumped in a chair. I felt drained, physically and emotionally. It wasn’t often that someone was trying to kill me. Okay. That was a lie. I was constantly defending myself against something or someone. What choice did I have? I couldn’t stand around and wait for them to kill me.
Today though. Today was different. I’m hardly ever surprised and I’ve usually got plenty of back up. There are so many vampires in out covenant. We are probably the largest in existence. Vampires content with killing to survive find it difficult to form bonds based on anything more than convenience. Their reasons are shallower, with most being together for strength or power. Problems arise as they fight with each other for control. Most live solo or in groups of two or three.
Anyway, most of our battles are cut and dry. We know who we are fighting and the reasons behind it. I couldn’t help feeling that something was terribly wrong, down in the pit of my stomach. Deadly wrong and that we had to act. Now!
We had no facts and I’m not in the habit of attacking an unknown enemy, so I chose to let my feeling slide. We needed to wait and find out more.
“We’ll wait and try to find out more information.” Claudia walked over and knelt in front to my chair.
Aha, like I thought.
I looked Claudia in the eyes. Green, by the way. She has green eyes. She feels the same way I do. She likes to be prepared. Claudia has stood by my side since the first day we met. And looking at her now, so sure, determined. Even slightly angry. I knew that everything she, I and the rest of the covenant faced, we would do it together. As long as we stood together, as a whole, we would be strong.
So I smiled and told her okay.



The only problem is, I was wrong.........