How Long Is Forever

Chapter 3: Ground Rules

Entering the gates, I followed the guy who led me to the principal’s office. Sitting at his desk, he greeted me as I sat down in the chair that was in front of his desk.

“Our expected guess, I presume?”

I slightly nodded, answering, “Yes I am. My therapist sent me.”

Why the f**k was I at a school? What did a school have to do with the disappearance of my mother? Did the bastard that took her used to attend this school or something? None of this was adding up.

“If you were sent here, then it was for a reason that you would have never guessed.” Opening his desk drawer, the principal pulled out a file of paperwork. “What is your name?”

“Dawn,” I told him. “Dawn Baker.”

Searching through the small stack of paper, he pulled out a packet, separating it from the rest of the pile.

“Here you are,” he spoke, reading over the documents for a moment before continuing the conversation. “So, it seems that your mother went missing three months ago. She was taken right out of your home?”

“Yes sir,” I took the emotion out my tone, hiding the touchiness of the subject.

The man paused for a moment, closing the document of paper as he laid his elbow on the table and faced me with his hand slightly cuffing his chin.

“It's possible that what got your mother was none other than...a vampire.”

A wave of confusion shifted over me, turning into disbelief and a feeling of wasted time. “Is this some sort of joke?” I questioned him. “Is this a prank or something? What kind of sick therapist do I have?”

The expression on the principal’s face never changed, serious, as if he was a trained android or something. Feeling creeped out now, I stood up from my chair as I prepared to leave the office. Reaching the door, the man spoke, stopping me in my place.

“That dagger on your hip is called a hunter’s weapon. It is a vampire killing weapon that was crafted by hunters and further blessed by witches.”

Facing the principal again, I approached his desk for a second time. This time, not sitting down.

“First you tell me vampires kidn*pped my mother, now you're telling me witches exist. What's wrong with you?” I confront him.

Looking up at me as he never left his seat with his hands now folded on the desk, he continued talking.

“People often fear the truth. Just because it is unknown to you, does not mean it doesn't exist.”

“Show me a vampire,” I dared him, calling his bluff as he sat there still, no longer saying anything.

Seconds passed before I turned around for the door again, not knowing the student that opened the gate was directly behind me. Confused, I was certain that the student was just standing beside the office door. I hadn't heard him approach behind me at all. Maybe he was an extra light walker, or I just needed to ease up on the depression medications the clinic had given me.

“Excuse me,” I told him as I attempted to walk around him.

Grabbing my arm, I stood in place as I immediately gave him an intimidating look that signaled him to release me. He didn't get the hint. Instead, he smiled at me. A smile that gave me chills over my old chills. The same chills that I carried the night my mother was taken.

The student showed me his teeth. They were flawless and unusual. Two of his teeth at the top row looked more like...fangs!! I could feel my eyes growing at an uncontrollable rate, like a deer upon headlights.

“Do you believe me now?” I heard the principal's voice.

The vampire let me go, but I still didn't take my eyes off him as my body faced the man behind the desk.

“Th...th...those are real?” I stammered, shaken up by the thought of being bit. My eyes now on the principal. “That's a real vampire?”

“Yes. As I said before, vampires exist.”

“Are you a vampire too?”

“No. Like you, I am a human. This academy was built to bring together humans and vampires.”

My lips had frozen in the chilling factor that had a hold of my body. I could only listen to the supernatural knowledge the principal gave me, as I sank back in the seat. The principal stood up to further talk to me, walking back and forth in one section.

“Vampires have always lived among us. They've been involved in all sorts of mysterious and unsolved cases. However, hunters have lived among us too. Humans that take down the supernatural, like vampires for instance. They've even battled rouged witches. Even werewolves have been slain by hunters, back when they used to exist.”

“Serves those mutts right,” The student behind me added.

“The hunters felt that too much blood was being shed and realized that most vampires only wanted to survive. To eat, just like humans had to in order to live. So, a society of hunters built this school. Protected by witch magic, only humans who were invited, and supernatural creatures, could discover this place. If someone was to pass into the woods that surrounded this school, they would wonder forever and never find this place.”

“So why invite humans to live on a campus with-,”

Looking back at the vamp behind me for a split second, I finished my sentence. “killers.”

“Because these vampires and humans are the future of our society. A proven fact that vampires are not our enemy, but advanced versions of humans who only want to live. They are not killers, only survivors. Like the Lycans, they do not want to suffer the fate of extinction.”

“So why am I here?” I further questioned. “How is this place going to help me find the vampire that captured my mother?”

“We brought you here for our own purposes. Most vampires that attack humans, don't leave survivors. Vampires want to remain hidden, so leaving you alive is not common. There must be a reason you were left behind. That one vampire could have taken you both out in less than a minute.”

“So what's your purpose? None of this is making sense. You say vampires don't leave survivors, but I’m clearly here. Alive and kicking! But my mother is somewhere out there, being some bloodsucker's snack!”

“Offensive much?” The vampire student budded in.

Ignoring him, the principal continued to talk to me. “We can try and help you find your mother, but it’s important that every victim of a vampire encounter remain at this school. It’s for your own good.”

“And how long do I have to attend this place?”

“This will be your permanent home.”

Shaking my head, I replied, “No thanks.”

Standing for one last time, I walked back to the office door. Hearing the principal's voice as I got closer to leaving his office, he said, “We have your documents, so we can find you again. We will terminate you, in order to keep the supernatural society a secret. It’s hunter rules. You will be killed within twenty-four hours of your evacuation from the school's premises.”