First Semester

by Jace Mitchell

  “How are you liking Earth?” Hannah asked before taking another drag of her smoke.

  The creature smirked. “That’s the name of this place, ‘Earth?’”

  Hannah nodded but said nothing.

  “Yes, I do like this place.” David moved farther into the room, looking around. “Though this type of confined space reminds me of our long sleeps. I’m not fond of it.”

  Bradley spoke for the first time. “Well, you won’t have to be here much longer if you cooperate.”

  The vampire looked at the fat man and then turned his head to Matthew. “You look like you might have an accident in your pants. Are you okay?”

  Matthew’s left leg was bouncing. He dropped his gaze from the creature. “Um, yeah.”

  How in the hell did I end up stuck with someone so weak? Hannah wondered. “Never mind that. We called you here for a reason.”

  The creature walked to the table but didn’t sit down at the chair placed there for him. “I would hope so. I don’t really like being summoned.”

  “We’re sure you don’t,” Hannah agreed. She flicked her cigarette ash onto the floor. “But that’s not really our concern. We have things we need you to do.”

  The vampire smiled and let out a harsh laugh. “You summoned me here to give me commands? I’m curious, who do you think you are?”

  Bradley placed his fat hands onto the tables, his knuckles looking like tire irons. “We’re the ones who called you over, and we’re the ones who are going to call over your master.”

  The creature’s smile dropped away.

  That’s right, Hannah thought. Now you’ll understand.

  “You’re calling him?” David asked, his whole demeanor changing. “The original Dracula? Can you even do that?”

  “Soon,” Hannah answered. She took another long drag on her cigarette, holding the creature’s gaze as she did. “We’re getting closer. Each one of you we find brings us closer to locating him.”

  David’s eyes narrowed. “How is that possible? How is any of this possible?”

  Hannah let her ash fall to the floor. “That’s not your concern right now. Your concern is doing what we ask before we locate him and bring him over.”

  “You’re talking about Dracula, yes? Just so we’re all on the same... What’s the phrase I’m looking for? On the same page?”

  Hannah nodded. “That’s the one.”

  Again, he took on a smirk. “Even if you could bring him over, why would I do your bidding? You are not Dracula. You are a human. Your kind don’t command mine.”

  Hannah knew that the other two could speak just as easily as she, but also that only Bradley was even capable of talking right now. Matthew was far too scared to do anything more than not bolt from the room. “You’ve been feeding, right?”

  The vampire nodded, still smirking.

  “How do you like all that human blood out there?” Hannah asked. “Does it taste good?”

  David said nothing, only stared.

  Hannah smiled back. She put her cigarette out on the table and withdrew another one. “I’m sure it tastes wonderful.” She lit the cigarette, pulled on it, and blew the smoke into the air. “You’d like to continue feeding, yes?”

  The vampire nodded slowly.

  “Well, we want you to keep feeding.” She looked at Bradley. “Don’t we?”

  He nodded, smiling too.

  Matthew only stared at the table, barely able to handle what was happening here.

  The powers that be have to get rid of him, Hannah thought. He’s not cut out for this, regardless of whether he can see them.

  She turned her attention back to the vampire. “If you want to keep drinking human blood, you will do as we tell you. Otherwise, we’ll send you back where you came from.” She shrugged as if it were no matter to her, even though having a sizable number of vampires on this side of the Veil before bringing Dracula over was crucial to their plans.

  David placed his hands behind his back, straightening and taking on the appearance of it not mattering. “What do you want me to do?”

  Perhaps it doesn’t, Hannah thought. It’s not like you’re going to die out there. A lot of people don’t even believe you exist, let alone can see you.

  “We’ve brought over quite a few like you,” she replied. “I’m sure you’ve sensed them?”

  The vampire nodded. “What do they have to do with me?”

  “It’s simple, really. We want you to organize them and just feed.” She smiled, putting one hand in the air with her palm up. “That simple. Nothing else.”

  David raised an eyebrow. “Organize them?”

  “Nothing substantial. Just let them know that they’re to cause some mayhem, raise a ruckus, feed as much as they’d like.” Hannah pulled on the cigarette once more. The smoke slowly rose to the ceiling. “When we finally locate him, we’ll have more for you to do.”

  The vampire sighed and looked down at his feet, smiling again. “We don’t typically organize well, not unless he calls on us. But I may be able to meet your request.” He looked up. “Unless, of course, you’re bluffing about being able to send me back. Then maybe I can’t.”

  Here it is, Hannah thought. The place where we decide who is in charge. Him or us. And Matthew had better keep his damned mouth shut.

  “Is that something you want to test out?” She raised an eyebrow. “Because we can put you right back behind the Veil. It’s no trouble. You’re not the only vampire we have summoned here. There are plenty of others who can do what we want. If you don’t want the opportunity to be the one who paved the way for your master’s arrival.”

  The vampire nodded, still smiling. “Do you think you’ll control him? Dracula?”

  “None of your concern,” Hannah answered.

  The vampire looked over the three of them before letting his eyes fall back on Hannah. “He won’t be controlled. He’s not like me. Not like any of us that came over. He’s the original. We’re just lesser beings compared to him. He’s older than us. Stronger.”

  Hannah waved her hand at his talking points. Smoke wafted into the air as she did. “You let us worry about that. You just go up to the surface and do as we’ve asked. We’ll let you know when we need you again.”

  The vampire was silent for a second, his smile saying that they were fooling with things they didn’t understand. Finally, he shrugged. “Okay. I’ll go cause some mayhem for you. Anything else?”

  “That’ll do,” Hannah responded. “You can go now.”

  The vampire dipped his head slightly, then turned and walked out of the room as quietly as he’d entered.

  Matthew let out a large sigh. “Holy shit.”

  Hannah turned to him, disgust written all over her face. “You really helped us out a lot there, you know that?”

  “This is too much. We shouldn’t have gotten involved. We should have picked something else to call over.” Matthew shook his head, his left leg still bouncing.

  “Hush your mouth,” Hannah chastised. “Everything is happening exactly as we want it, and the higher-ups are happy with our progress. All we have to do is get Dracula over here, and we’re on easy street.”

  Finally, Matthew met her eyes. “We don’t even know if we can call him over. This isn’t a science, Hannah.”

  Hannah smiled and turned to the door that was now closed. “Ah, but we’re getting closer all the time, aren’t we?”

  Dean Kristin Pritcham watched the two men walking across the courtyard without a hint of joy. The sun was falling behind them, and Kristin still had more work to do when she went back inside. She lived on the university’s premises, wanting to give this her all. No husband, no kids. Her life had been her work, and so it was still.

  Only now she wasn’t teaching a class, but rather, trying to figure out how to train teenagers to save the world.

  Remington smiled courteously as he and Lance reached the small garden. “Good evening, Dean Pritcham.”

  Kristin didn’t get up from h
er seat but nodded at the two gentlemen. She raised her glass of wine and tilted it toward them. “I’d offer you some, but it’s all the way inside.”

  Remington’s smile faded slightly. “I’ve got to say, Dean, you don’t seem very happy to see us.”

  “Aren’t you hot in that suit, Agent Lance?” He hardly ever spoke, and it was almost becoming a game to get more out of him.

  “Him?” Remington looked at his partner. “He skis in that thing. Can’t get it off him.” He looked back to Kristin, all levity disappearing. “You’ve seen what’s happened the past week?”

  Kristin sighed and looked away from the two men. She didn’t bring her glass to her lips, but rather just gazed at the vast lawns stretching as far as she could see. This was where they would train the kids. Where their physical skills would reach peak performance.

  “Yes, I’ve seen,” she answered solemnly.

  Lance’s eyes didn’t follow hers to the lawn but were cold and hard. “How’s the curriculum going?”

  “We’re adapting it as you requested.” Kristin took a sip of wine. “They’re going to be experts on vampire slaying.”

  “That’s good. Experts are good. They’ll be able to teach next year’s class, then?” he asked sarcastically.

  Kristin turned her head. “I’m doing what you told me.”

  “This week, we had seven people turn up with bite marks on their necks.” Lance stuck his hands in his pocket and leaned forward slightly. “We need them ready for the field.”

  Kristin shook her head in exasperation. “I’ve spoken to their professors. The students aren’t ready. Not mentally, not physically. We’re a few months into the semester, for goodness sake.”

  “We gave you peak specimens,” Remington reached for Kristin’s glass. “Give me a sip.”

  Kristin raised her eyebrows and smiled quizzically. “They let you drink while on duty?”

  Remington made a “gimme” gesture. “They just put a new memo out. Anyone who has to deal with you is mandated to drink.”

  Kristin shrugged and handed him the glass.

  Remington took her glass and drained the wine without bothering to sniff it. He glanced at Lance. “Sorry, there’s not enough.”

  Lance’s eyes fell on Kristin. “I’m beginning to think there’s not enough in the world.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Kristin thrust her hand at Remington. “Give me the glass back.”

  He handed it to her. “We need these kids in the field. These creatures—either they’re converting humans, or more are coming over. We have to start killing them before there’s an epidemic.”

  Kristin’s ire rose. “You’re going to get these kids killed. They simply aren’t ready. When I took over, you said I would have a year to get them up to snuff.”

  Remington shook his head regretfully. “We’re not the ones setting the pace, and you know it. The people calling these creatures over are dictating that, and they’re speeding it up. Each day you have them in a classroom is a day more innocent people are dying.”

  Kristin wanted to snap at these two men, but when it came down to brass tacks, she knew they were all on the same side. She stood up and let the empty glass drop to her side. “Why can’t you fight for the time being? I know the FBI has trained agents who can try to stop what’s coming across.”

  “You also know why we can’t,” Lance whispered.

  “We can’t see them,” Remington reminded her. “That’s why we’re recruiting teenagers. You know that. Anyone over twenty-three is unlikely to see anything that crosses the Veil. At least until it’s too late, and one of those bastards has their teeth sunk in their neck. Can you guess how many adequately trained agents there are? You’re rare when it comes to adults who can see these things. That’s why they have to be in the field and not us. I wish it wasn’t the case.”

  Kristin breathed in deeply and then sighed. “I know you’re right.” She turned to look at the mansion. “I just don’t want to get them hurt.”

  “Do you have any standouts yet?” Remington said as he moved behind her, his shadow casting out over hers.

  “The professors are telling me each stands out in a different way.” Kristin’s eyes narrowed as she thought about each of the students. She’d only met them at orientation, but she was keeping close tabs on their progress. “Probably Claire Hinterland. She’s a leader, even if she doesn’t know it yet. Byron has seen a lot of leaders in his time, and he says she’s going to be something special—if we give her the time to grow into it.”

  Remington ignored the last part. “How quickly can we get her hunting vampires?”

  “Well, if you two have some wooden stakes in your car, we could get them handed out to everyone now and send them into the wild once the sun goes down?” Kristin put a hand to her chest. “Heaven forbid we waste another precious moment ensuring the children have the training to survive.”

  Lance cracked a rare smile. “Actually, we just finished whittling some wood before we got here.”

  Kristen sighed before speaking again. “Give me the rest of the night. I’ll think of something. I’ll need to get the laboratory focused on this. I wish you had given me more warning. I’ll get back to you in the morning.”

  Professor Byron’s face was calm as he stared down into the amber drink he held in his hand. “Kristin, you’ve got to be kidding me.” He swirled the ice gently inside, causing it to clink softly in the quiet office.

  Kristin had her own glass; this one contained more wine than the last one. “I wish I was kidding, Patrick.” She sat behind her desk, staring out the window to her left. “The agents just left an hour ago. I’ve been sitting here wracking my brain trying to figure out what to do.”

  Byron was a Scotch man, and luckily for him, Kristin had both types of alcohol in her office. “We haven’t been in school a semester yet.” He looked up at Kristin as the ice slowed its swirl in his glass. “You’re really going to send them out there vampire-hunting tomorrow night?”

  “Maybe not tomorrow night, but the night after?” Kristin raised her eyebrows. “The agents made good points. It’s hard to argue.”

  Byron frowned. “The FBI agents?”

  Kristin nodded. The sun was almost below the horizon outside, the view from the window quickly turning dark.

  “What points are those?” Patrick raised the glass to his lips and took a sip. “We can get more kids their age, so giving them to vampires as food isn’t the worst thing in the world?”

  Kristin wasn’t able to help the laugh that escaped. “Ever the cynic, Patrick.”

  “Yes, that happens when you serve in a war.” Byron walked over to the desk and placed his glass on it. “You’re serious, though? You want to put them in the field this early?”

  Kristin shrugged, then shook her head. “I don’t want to, but the agents are right. These threats are real, and we have to try to combat them. That’s our whole purpose for creating this university. We’ve got people showing up dead with marks on their necks, and we’re the ones who are supposed to stop them. We can’t very well say no to that.”

  Patrick’s hand remained on the glass, the skin beneath his nails turning white from how hard he held it. “Even if the kids aren’t ready? Because they aren’t, Kristin. You know that.”

  “That’s what I want to talk to you about.” She turned from the window and looked at Patrick. “We don’t have to risk everyone. I’ve been thinking about it, and I think sending the best we have is the way to do it. We’ve got four Units. Let’s send the unit with the highest chance of making it through.”

  Patrick relaxed his hand and forced himself to take a sip of his drink. The top shelf liquid hardly burnt as it flowed down his throat. He stared into the glass as he spoke. “So, we send the best and brightest off to die?”

  “Do you think the worst and dumbest will have a better shot?” Kristin snapped back. “What unit do you think is the best?”

  Patrick was quiet for a moment. He began to swirl the liqui
d again as he thought. “Claire Hinterland’s,” he responded eventually.

  “Why? You’ve told me about her before.”

  Patrick looked up and found Kristin’s eyes. “What do you know about the three inside the group?”

  “It’s Hinterland, Hallor, and Teams, right?”

  Patrick nodded. “Yes, that’s the three. Have you looked at their profiles?”

  Kristin shook her head. “If I can be honest, Patrick, I’m doing my best to stay above water. Recruiting the professors, assessing the quality of the curriculum, all of it. I’ve trusted the FBI profilers to get us the right students to build strong Units from.”

  Patrick raised one hand with his palm out. “No need to defend yourself, Kristin. I’m going through it right alongside you. I know how hectic it is. Hell, I had to change an entire curriculum over the course of two nights.” He put his hands down. “Hinterland’s unit. I looked at their portfolios, the writeups the FBI sent over with each student. In a class of remarkable students, those three stand out.”

  “How?” Kristin leaned back in her chair.

  “Teams is an asshole.” He looked down at his drink and grinned. “No other way to put that. However, the FBI did a deep dive on him, on all of them. He’s extremely smart, and his physical skills are above satisfactory, but what really sets him apart from the rest is his loyalty.”

  Kristin raised an eyebrow quizzically. “I know Teams. I think he commented on my heels the first time I met him. He’s loyal?”

  “That’s what the psychological profiling says. He was sentenced to juvenile lockup for six months because he refused to give up a classmate.”

  “You’re telling me the FBI brought in someone with a criminal record?” Kristin asked.

  A small smile crossed Patrick’s lips. “Not exactly.” He met Kristin’s eyes. “It was expunged on his enrolment here, but there are other examples in the file. Those two girls he’s with might not like him much right now, but if the excreta hits the fan, I imagine he’d die for them.”

  Kristin’s eyes were narrow, and she grew quiet for a second. Still leaning back in her chair, she finally asked, “What about Hallor?”