First Semester

by Jace Mitchell

  They’d been told to spot one, identify it with a photograph, and give up the information when they returned. If possible, kill it, but that had been a secondary notion.

  Not anymore, Claire thought. I can see this thing, and I know how to kill it. That means it’s my job, or people are going to die.

  This changed things. Now Claire had to figure out a way to get this creature of the night away from the woman he wanted.

  She moved away from the bar and down onto the dance floor. People jerked and swayed, some even approaching her to try to dance. She pushed past them, her eyes on the creature posing as a man. She’d forgotten about Jack and Marissa for the moment. She would find them later.

  Claire reached the edge of the dance floor and stopped.

  The creature was staring at her and smiling. He flashed two long incisors on his top row of teeth. Your name is Claire? Is that right?

  The voice penetrated Claire’s mind, and she had no doubt about what was happening. He’d first read her mind and was now talking to her. She didn’t know if there was any way to talk back, but she’d give it a shot.

  I’d worry less about my name and more about what I’m going to do to you, she thought, hoping the creature would hear it.

  “That’s one of them.”

  It was Jack’s voice, and it was right in her ear. He’d managed to sneak up behind her.

  The creature turned around casually and took his drink from the bar.

  Claire watched him take a sip. “He’s reading my mind,” she told Jack. “Be careful what you think.”

  “No worries,” Jack commented. “I usually just think about sex and my own greatness. He’ll probably get bored with it.”

  Claire shook her head but grinned. It was good to know he wouldn’t change, regardless of what stood in front of them. The vampire leaned over to the woman next to him and kept talking, acting as if Claire didn’t even exist.

  Which sort of pissed her off more. Like she was no threat, and he needn’t worry about her.

  “Did that just happen?” Jack asked. “He knows you’re here, and he’s ignoring you? Like you’re an ex-girlfriend or something?”

  “Yeah, not for long. We’ve got to get him away from that woman, then we’ve got to kill him.” Claire didn’t take her eyes from the vampire as she spoke. “Where’s Marissa?”

  “I’m here,” she whispered from Claire’s right.

  Claire’s head whipped to her. “Goodness, between the two of you, I’m going to have a heart attack. Can you, like, let me know you’re here or something?”

  “Usually you pay pretty close attention to things,” Marissa said with a shrug. “We’ve got our first one, I see.”

  People continued to dance all around the three, none of them paying any attention. Claire was jostled every few seconds, but nothing too harsh. “Okay, listen,” she told the other two. “Jack, you go outside to the back alley. Wait for us there. I imagine we’ll be running fast, and I imagine he’ll be chasing us just as fast. You’re going to need to be ready to attack, okay?”

  “What are you about to do?” Jack turned to look at her. “We found him. We’ve identified him. Snap the picture right now. We can report back to the university what he looks like, and let the FBI or whoever find him.”

  Claire shook her head. “Nope, pretty boy. If we do that, the lady standing next to him will be dead by morning. It’s up to us to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  Jack eyed the woman for the first time. After a few moments, he let out a sigh. “Well, if I’m going to die for someone, at least she’s pretty. I’ll be outside. Just make sure you give me some warning because that stake is going into someone’s chest, and I’d rather it be the vampire’s than yours.”

  Jack said nothing else, only turned and headed to the back door.

  However he acts in class, he’s someone I want by my side, she thought. “Okay, Marissa, you ready?”

  “Hell, no, but we’re going to do it all the same,” Marissa responded.

  “That’s right.”

  The vampire still wasn’t looking at Claire. He truly thought she didn’t matter. That was about to change. “You got the holy water on you?”

  Marissa tapped the small black vial attached to her belt loop.

  “Give it here.” Claire put her hand out, palm up. Marissa detached the vial and handed it over. “Good. Now go wait outside with Jack.”

  “Me too?” Marissa asked exasperatedly. “You can’t do this alone.”

  “I’m not doing it alone. I’m getting the vamp out of here alone, but Jack is going to need some help once we get outside, and I’m going to be running my ass off, so I won’t be able to just stop on a dime and pull the stake from off my leg. It’s your job to make sure this thing dies and stays dead.”

  “All right,” Marissa agreed, “But don’t get killed before we have a chance to kill it.”

  Claire nodded. “Fair enough. See you in a minute.” Marissa stepped away, leaving her alone on the dance floor. Sure, people were dancing around her, but none of them knew a nearly immortal entity from an alternate universe stood twenty feet away.

  Claire closed her fist around the vial. She silently unscrewed the cap, letting it drop to the floor, and held it up so the water didn’t fall out. Claire wasn’t Catholic. She didn’t think Jack or Marissa were either, but apparently the creatures still abided by the rules.

  Sure hope so, Claire thought.

  She walked to her right, but the vampire didn’t turn to watch. Claire exited the dance floor and went back to the small platform surrounding the bar. The door Jack and Marissa had exited through was behind her, the vampire in front. Truth be told, Claire had a vague plan but not much else.

  Of course, she hadn’t told the other two that.

  Let’s hope vampires don’t react well to pain, Claire thought. She walked across the dark room, strobe lights flashing from the ceiling and people passing her on the left and right. The vampire’s back was to her, which was what she wanted. Hold like that for just a few more seconds.

  When she was five feet away, the vampire spun. “You again?”

  “Me again,” she agreed. Her right hand flashed upward, the liquid from the vial spilling into the air.

  Claire’s aim was impeccable, and the holy water splashed across the creature’s face.

  “YOU BITCH!” he screamed. His skin sizzled and burned beneath the liquid, his hands reaching up to his face instinctively. As he swiped at the holy water, the flesh on his palms started to burn and smoke.

  The woman next to him screamed.

  Time to move, Claire thought, and as the words flowed through her mind, the vampire looked up.

  His skin was red and badly burnt, raw flesh staring back at her. His mouth was wide, and his fangs were pure white. He hissed at Claire.

  Nope, no thanks. She whirled and her feet pounded the floor. She took off, dodging drunks left and right.

  “I’M GONNA KILL YOU!” the creature bellowed.

  Claire didn’t turn around to look. She had to hope he was as pissed as he sounded and wanted vengeance.

  The door was thirty feet away, and Claire sped up. People had stopped walking now, but were instead standing and staring at her rushing past them. They were staring behind her too, hopefully at the oncoming vampire.

  Ten feet.

  Five.

  Claire burst through the door and out into the back alley. Her right foot touched down and she bolted to the left. Jack had asked for warning, but what was she supposed to do? She saw two figures out of the corner of her eye but kept running.

  The vampire wasn’t as nimble, and he slammed into the opposite brick wall, unable to pivot as quickly as her. The bricks cracked beneath the force, sending red dust into the air. The vampire growled as Claire came to a stop and turned back around. Jack and Marissa were on the other side of him, trapping the creature in the alley.

  Trapped. That’s one way to look at it, Claire thought. The other is, only one
side is escaping this alive.

  The vampire stood up and straightened his coat while eyeing Jack and Marissa.

  “You were supposed to stake the bastard!” Claire screamed.

  “I wasn’t getting in the way of the train wreck!” Jack called back. He did have the stake in his hand, although he was probably right. He would have been pulverized on the brick wall.

  The vampire’s skin was already starting to heal, his face looking less burnt by the second. “I’ll let you two live.” He glanced toward Jack and Marissa before turning his attention to Claire again. “You’re dead, though.”

  He started forward, and Claire got down on one knee. She pulled her pant leg up and unsheathed the wooden stake, then stood. Claire couldn’t see if Jack and Marissa were moving. She hoped they were getting out of here.

  The vampire reached her and slashed with a hand, his nails suddenly claws like a feline’s.

  Claire dodged to her left, barely avoiding having her neck ripped open. The other hand came just as quickly, and Claire had to duck to avoid it this time.

  He’s fast, her mind thought coldly. She took the stake and thrust it up, hoping to impale the creature...

  But he wasn’t there.

  “Behind you!” Marissa screamed.

  Claire didn’t have time to turn around. She felt hands on her back, and nails ripping into her flesh, and then it shoved. Claire flew into the air, her arms flailing at her sides.

  Jack dropped his stake and rushed forward, catching her just before she hit the ground face-first. “Gotcha.”

  They both stood quickly and whirled. The monster was coming forward again, his face healed now and his fangs bared.

  Jack retrieved his stake, and the three students spread out. They didn’t look at each other but moved as a team, as if they’d been training for this their whole lives and hadn’t just met weeks ago.

  Claire stood in the middle, her stake in her right hand, her body loose. Jack went to her left and Marissa to her right. Marissa reached into her collar and pulled a crucifix out, then ripped from her neck and brandished it.

  “Silly girl,” the vampire said with a grin, his gait not slowing. “It’s not the cross, but the faith behind it.”

  Marissa didn’t drop either the cross or the stake.

  Jack moved forward when the vampire was ten feet from them. Claire followed his lead, hoping that two would be enough to kill him. Jack sliced forward with the stake, and the vampire’s hand lashed out.

  “AH!” Jack screamed as his stake clattered to the ground.

  Claire didn’t wait to see the injury but darted forward. She slashed with the stake, pointing it directly at the thing’s heart. It’s left hand moved to swat her—

  WHOOSH!

  The sound filled Claire’s ears, and wind rushed by her cheeks.

  The creature’s hand remained frozen in the air, its nails ready to gash her forearm open. His mouth had turned into an awful circle, as if he wanted to scream but couldn’t. His eyes were wide, and the smooth confidence once written all over his face had vanished.

  “What the fuck!” Jack shouted, still holding his right arm with his left hand.

  A stake protruded from the vampire’s chest, and it was wedged in deep. His hand dropped to his side, and he wobbled for a second, an unbelieving look on his face.

  He didn’t think this was possible, Claire thought. He didn’t think he could die.

  The creature fell backward, hitting the ground much more softly than he had hit the brick wall.

  Claire whirled in the direction the stake had come from. “What the hell was that?” she whispered, immediately thinking there was more danger lurking. The alley was dark beyond the club’s exit light, and when Claire peered into it, she couldn’t see anything.

  “IS IT DOWN?!” The voice echoed through the narrow alley.

  “Yes, it’s down!” Jack shouted back, moving forward and passing Claire. She had never heard him so angry before, and there was blood dripping from his arm. “Who the hell are you?!”

  Claire heard footfalls, and two men walked out of the shadows.

  Agents Remington and Lance.

  “You two were there the whole time?” she asked as she stepped up shoulder to shoulder with Jack. Marissa followed right behind her, and the three of them filled the alley.

  “My arm is bleeding!” Jack shouted, spittle flying from his mouth.

  “We’ll get you patched up,” Remington said. He was holding a crossbow in his right hand.

  “You gave us wooden stakes, and you’ve got that freakin’ thing?” Claire asked. Jack’s anger was spreading to her now. They’d all almost died.

  “Well, you couldn’t very well carry it inside with you, could you?” Remington lifted it with both hands, turning it around. “Security might have seen it.” He let it fall back to his side as he smiled. “Okay, kid. We need to get the wound looked at. You folks did really well tonight. Spectacular, even. Come on, let’s get him fixed up and you all something to eat, and I’ll tell you how we did it.”

  Claire looked at Marissa. She was holding the cross in her left hand and the stake in her right. She shrugged. “This is what we came for, right?”

  Claire turned to Jack. He was glaring at the two agents but wearing his grin again. “If this scars and it keeps me from getting women, someone is going to pay.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I’m glad you called again, honey.”

  Claire was in one of the mansion’s sitting rooms, a landline handset pressed to her ear. “Yeah, I’m sorry it’s taken me a bit longer this time. We’ve just been so busy. How’s Mom?”

  “She’s better. She eventually got out of bed, of course. I haven’t really pressed her on it. She’s going to be fine, although she’s not ready to talk to you just yet. She’s still holding a grudge.”

  Claire nodded on her side of the call. She knew what her mom was like, but her dad was right—Mom would come around.

  “How are things with you?” her father asked. “How are classes? We’re seeing more and more about this invasion on the news. If I'm honest, I thought the whole thing was a hoax until those people came and recruited you. Now, when I go to work, and everyone tells me how fake all this is, I just smile and nod. I ain’t told them you’re at the college that’s going to fight back against this stuff.”

  Her dad finally paused, and Claire smiled. He was rambling like always, although he didn’t realize it. “Things are good. Classes are good.”

  “You learning a lot?”

  The image of the vampire slashing Jack’s wrist popped into her mind. She saw herself rush forward, and a wooden stake plunge into the vampire’s chest.

  “Yeah, Dad. I’m learning a lot.”

  What else do I tell him? That I fought a vampire last night and one of my classmates is going to have a scar from it? Mom would have a freakin’ heart attack.

  Claire knew she had to stay quiet about the things happening here for her parents’ sake if no one else’s.

  “All right, Dad. I have to get to class, but I just wanted to call and check in. Tell Mom I love her, okay?” Claire’s eyes grew moist, surprising her. She missed her parents.

  “I sure will, honey. Do you know when you’ll be able to come visit us?”

  Claire shook her head. “No, not yet. They’re still working out the schedule, but I’ll let you know as soon as they tell me something.” That wasn’t exactly the truth; Claire didn’t know if they’d worked out the schedule or not, only that no one was talking about them visiting home at the moment.

  “Okay. Let us know as soon as you hear. We miss you.”

  “Miss you too, Dad. Talk soon. Bye.”

  Claire hung up and sat staring at the floor for a moment. She didn’t have class, but something perhaps even more important. She had to go see the dean. All three of them did. She hadn’t met the woman yet and honestly didn’t know much about her. She didn’t know what this meeting was about but certainly didn’t need
to go in there with her eyes wet from missing her parents.

  Jack would give her hell.

  She could hear him saying it now. “I nearly got my arm chopped off and didn’t shed a tear, but you’re crying over missing Mommy and Daddy?”

  Claire smiled a bit. Jack was such an asshole, but he’d performed heroically last night. None of them had been much of a match for that creature, but even Marissa had stood her ground and tried to force it back.

  She didn’t know how powerful the three of them could be, especially based on how the FBI needed to save them last night, but she did know that they would stick together. Being afraid hadn’t stopped them from battling seemingly insurmountable odds.

  “Hey, you coming or what?” It was Jack calling from behind Claire’s chair.

  Claire blinked twice to make sure her eyes were clear, then stood up and turned around.

  Jack’s right arm was bandaged. Claire had seen the wounds when they got back last night.

  The mansion had an infirmary built into it, with on-call doctors. They’d all been waiting, having gotten the word that a student was hurt.

  Truthfully, Claire was impressed with the operation. They were taking this extremely seriously. Jack was going to have scars, but maybe they’d give his pretty boy look some character.

  Claire crossed the room to meet Jack. “Have you been in yet?”

  “Me?” He laughed. “Heck no. I forget what I said to the dean at orientation, but I thought she was going to rip my eyes right out of my head like a hawk or something.”

  “A hawk?” Claire raised her eyebrows as they started down the hall.

  Jack nodded. “Yeah. They eat the eyes of birds so that they can’t see. I don’t know, Claire—it doesn’t matter. Point is, I’m not going in there alone. Marissa is waiting outside, too.”

  Claire glanced down at his arm. “How’s it feeling?”

  “Hurts.” Jack lifted it into the air. “They’re giving me some meds, but not enough to get me high. Just keeps the pain right under the threshold of me wanting to kill people.”

  “Based on last night, you don’t seem to be very dangerous,” Claire quipped.