TBW series book 1: Boundless

Each step I took made a soft thump on the corridor. I wasn’t walking too fast on the quiet street. Last time I checked, it was 8:30 p.m., so why did it feel so quiet, like I was the only one on the street? I usually passed the next street, but today I felt the short street was better. I didn’t want to see more people I knew on the way. I walked quietly, glancing at the old wooden houses. A small chill ran up my spine, but I brushed it off. My hands, in mittens, were still tucked into the pockets of my brown coat and sweet yellow UGGs. Speaking of UGGs—I got laughed at in school today for my fashion choice. Like, okay, fashion police. I said that in my head as I replayed the incident. “Where did you get this from? Walmart granny’s section?” I heard Billy say. He was actually a bully—very close to his name if you ask me. He deserved to be bullied. Just a tall, pale, fat boy with red hair and extremely mean. I thought I could ignore it, but the others joined in. Even the VPG laughed. (Very Popular Girls.) They were some of the meanest girls in school—two blonde bitches and a brunette: Tracy, Cindy, and Melissa. I saw Melissa stroll forward from their group. “Can’t believe you’d wear that to school. Have you no shame?” she said. I ignored them all—until... “All right, class, let’s begin. Business is a form of—” I saw Mrs. Blue, our business lecturer, stop and look at me with surprise in her eyes. Her straight lips tugged at the corners. She tried not to laugh, but I felt like she did. Then the whole class erupted with laughter and comments. “Silence, everyone,” she tried to stop it. But then someone muttered, “Did your granny give you her UGGs?” Right there, Mrs. Blue laughed too—before grabbing her notes and walking out of the class. Though they all mocked me, I didn’t see anything wrong with dressing like this. I liked it. I just got these socks from a local shop. They were pretty and on discount. Now, because of all that, I had to keep my head down the whole day. I didn’t leave until every living soul had left school before I did. While deep in thought, I was snapped back to reality when I heard a twig snap nearby. Then, a noise. I looked around and kept walking. It sounded like one of those horror psychopath movies I usually watched. But unlike in the movies, I quickened my steps. When I looked back, I heard footsteps from afar. I saw a man at the other end of the street, standing still under the dim streetlight. He wore a suit. He just stood there. I was barely walking now—my legs hovered above the ground, moving fast. My heart pounded. What was he going to do? I contemplated shouting, but as I turned my head forward—I bumped into a hard, cold person. It was the man. “How did you do that? I... I thought I saw you...” I looked back. The man wasn’t there anymore. Then suddenly—like the speed of light—I was lifted off my feet. A thud. My back hit a tree a bit far away. His big, pale, cold hands were against my throat. With just a bit more strength, he could break my tiny neck, so I didn’t move. Then he opened his mouth—and I saw fangs. I was surprised. And scared. “Oh my God... A werewolf?! So it’s true,” I said, shivering. He let go, and I dropped to my feet. “How dare you, human, refer to a thousand-year-old powerful vampire as a mere wolf?” he snapped, his face pale with anger. “So you’re not a werewolf... but you kinda look like one,” I said. “So much disrespect. Mind your tone, Homo sapiens,” he warned, his voice deep and firm. “My mistake,” I apologized. “Then... I suppose you’re here to drink my blood?” “I was supposed to,” he said, “but you’re ill-mannered and rude.” “Don’t judge me. You don’t even know me yet and you’re judging me based on a six-minute interaction,” I said. “Oh, don’t provoke me. I will kill you,” he said. “And I’ll drink your blood.” I could see the anger in him. “Okay, before we get this over with—how long have you been around?” I asked curiously. “Young lady, I plan on killing you,” he said, amused—but still firm. “I know, but wouldn’t you at least tell me? Since you’re going to kill me, I need to know these things before I die, right?” I pleaded. “So,” I asked again, “how long?” “Long enough. Before you existed,” he said. “Maybe since the 1400s... or 1300s,” he added, tilting his head like he was trying to remember. “Wow. Fascinating,” I said, genuinely excited. “So like... you saw the world war?” “Yep. And so many more,” he said. Thirty minutes ago, he wanted to kill me. But now we’re just here—he’s talking, I’m listening. Fine, he might be a vampire, but he’s not that bad. He can’t help it. But I had a feeling maybe I could help him. Still in my thoughts, I suddenly heard him ask, “Perhaps you’d want to tell me why you’re wearing those ugly UGGs?” Oh, come on. I thought you were nice. You’re part of the people mocking me too? I fumed with anger before finally speaking. “Same reason you’re wearing that ugly suit,” I said. I expected him to get angry, but he didn’t. He just looked on. “I’ve been around for a long time. Humans like testing patience—naturally,” he said. “Annoying little things.” He just called my kind annoying. What the hell? I stood up from the tree where he almost killed me, walked in big steps toward him, and stood right in front of him. I pointed at him. “Hey. Don’t talk about us like that,” I warned. But I saw his expression change. He stood up swiftly and breathed in. His eyes dilated. He just stood there, like he was trying to hold something back. Then, with a muffled voice, he said, “Walk.” He groaned. “Don’t look back. And don’t run.” I would have argued, but I felt real fear. So I grabbed my bag and walked—trying hard not to run. After a few steps, I looked back. But he wasn’t there anymore. I felt sad. Like I did something wrong. So I walked home. Sadly, I couldn’t even sleep. I kept thinking about him. The next day, I woke up early. I saw on the news: > “Christopher Reefs, a student in the Art Department, went missing last night. Last seen returning from a small bar around Midow Avenue.” My heart pounded. Who else if not him? I shivered. But that didn’t stop me from going back to that place. I went every night in hopes of seeing him again. But I never did. Until—