Ricky's eyes went wide and she became visibly concerned.
"I'm joking! Haha, you should have seen the look on your face!"
Warner led Ricky through the back alleys of the city, the moon casting long shadows that seemed to waver with every step. She carried only an old worn messenger bag, inside was a single change of clothes, toothbrush, and passport.
When they had traveled about 7 blocks from her apartment, they came across a tower belonging to a pharmaceutical company. Warner produced a plain black keycard and waived it over the sensor by the door, which beeped twice before the door clicked, and Warner held it open, motioning her to go through. Inside a guard moved as if to confront them, but sat back down once he saw Warner's face.
Straight to the elevator they went, Warner selecting the top floor. Ricky looked at him questioningly, but he only flashed her that too charming smile of his. She remembered the time they would hit up the local bars near the base, it would always begin with them tossing back a few beers, playing darts, having fun, and before long Warner would be flashing that smile at the single ladies and you just knew he would be sneaking back to the barracks in the early hours.
The soft ding of the elevator brought her back to the present. Once exiting Warner led her to a utility stairwell and up to the roof. The crisp night air felt different this high up, 60 floors was nothing to balk at. A helicopter was waiting there, 2 men waiting near by with the pilot inside readying for flight. Warner nodded to the men, and they fell in behind, not saying a word. Something seemed off about them, they were both very average looking, but for some reason she couldn't look at them for long without her eyes feeling strained. She looked at Warner and was about to ask about the men when he paused her and said, "don't worry, they are mine, they won't hurt you."
*Great*, she thought, *two more vampires, and we are just going along like this is totally normal. Well I guess it is for him.* Warner gestured for her to board the helicopter, but she hesitated for a moment, feeling the weight of the night pressing down on her. With a sigh, she got in, buckled up, and resigned herself to her new reality.
"Ok," Ricky started, "start filling me in."
Warner flashed her his smile again, "her name is Abigail, she was placed with a family in Indiana, she's 16, her Watchers were found dead shortly after she disappeared, and…"
"Watchers?" Ricky interrupted.
"Sorry, it's just being around you again, feeling like we've known each other forever and know everything about each other, I forget I have to explain some things" Warner said regretfully.
Ricky sighed "we obviously didn't know everything about each other. What are Watchers?"
Further saddened by her comment, Warner continued, "We are born what we are, I am a vampire, but I'm also alive, not *undead* like in the movies. Our mother wishes us to have lives, live as normally as we can, so when we are born we are taken and placed with a family. But because of the threat of Hunters, we need to keep the children safe, at least until they are old enough to find out the truth about who they are.
"Watchers are not like us. We are living vampires, they are the turned." Warner paused, noticing Ricky's confusion. "Living vampires, we are not too dissimilar from humans. Our aging slows shortly after reaching adulthood, we can move relatively quickly, and if injured we can consume blood to recover and heal our wounds, as you saw. Some also exhibit a range of psychic abilities… but enough about that. Point is we are alive, we don't have to drink blood to survive, and we are not evil creatures of the night like Hollywood would have you believe.
"Turned vampires are made. You might find the process disgusting so let's skip that part. These are where most of the myths come from. They are undead, sunlight and excessive heat will cause their bodies to start to decompose. They have enhanced strength and stamina, heightened vision and smell. Humans can't bare to look at them for long, it's like a sort of camouflage. They are used much the same way as worker and warrior bees in a hive. Two or three are assigned to look after Living vampire children until they reach maturity and are ready to learn about who they really are. These are the Watchers. They do not directly involve themselves in the lives of the child they protect, but instead watch from the shadows.
"My friends here are Turned." Warner motioned to the other two men. "Living Vampires usually have at least 1 Turned in their service at all times. The Turned will defend the Living in case of attack. We can't be too careful. Anyway, they obey whoever Turned them. It's not possible for them to act in a way that is against my wishes. So when I said they won't hurt you, I guarantee it. If anything these two will protect you and care for you just as fiercely as I would."
Ricky stared at the Turned Vampires in disbelief. "They don't seem to care for me, they haven even looked at me."
Warner chuckled, "yeah, they tend to lack personality, but they do their job, you'll see."
"Anyway, Abigail's watchers were found dead, and the way they were killed, someone knew what they were doing."
Ricky nodded, putting pieces together, "you suspect Hunters, and that is why you are so concerned, not just that there is no one protecting her, but that she's being actively hunted. It sounds like she also doesn't know what she is."
"No, it's not until a vampire has reached adulthood and has noticed a change that one of us approaches them to tell them the truth, after that it's up to them to choose a time to disappear, to return to the hive."
"Sir, we are approaching the airfield," the pilot called back.
"Airfield?" Ricky asked.
"If we are to fully bring you up to speed then speed is what we need." Warner's face looked smug after his awful joke.
Once the helicopter touched down, the group quickly led Ricky to a private jet for the next leg of their journey. Inside, the jet was luxurious, with plush seating and a pervasive ambiance of quiet efficiency.
Warner selected a seat and moved it into a reclining position. "Make yourself comfortable, it's a 10 hour flight, and when we get there we have a hike ahead of us." One of the Turned vampires handed Warner a glass of champagne, and offered another to Ricky.
"Thanks" she said, as the Turned moved away expressionless. Ricky took a seat and made herself comfortable before downing her champagne. She gazed out the window as the jet took flight watching the lights of the city fade below them, as they headed east across the Atlantic. Before they reached cruising altitude Ricky had already drifted to sleep.
❧
Gunfire.
Ricky immediately knew she was dreaming.
Sweat.
The Syrian heat was like a relentless furnace pressing down on her.
Screaming.
In her dream, it was a scene from years ago, a mission that had gone terribly wrong.
Explosion.
She moved, rubble all around her, but at least she wasn't pinned.
Dust.
It was so hard to see, but as it started to settle she looked for what she knew she would find, her friend lying there with jagged metal erupting from his chest, eyes lifeless.
But he wasn't there. Where was he? This nightmare was always the same, so why wasn't he there?