SHADOWS

She’s Hunts

REAGAN cont—

Jason closed his eyes. “This is my fault.”

“Yes” Carson replied harshly.

Jason looked up at him. “I’ll fix it.”

“You can’t.” Carson’s answer came so quickly and loud, it almost sounded rehearsed. “You can’t fix eight years of death with another one of your stupid decision.” He walked toward the front door, grabbing his jacket from the chair beside it.

“Where are you going?” Morgan asked.

“To feed.” he answered dismissively.

“In this town?” Hailey asked.

Carson shrugged as he opened the door. “I know a place the sheriff won’t care to keep an eye on.” He paused with one hand on the doorknob. “Reagan” he turned to me “ let’s go, it will be like old times.”

Flashback 2015 (1)

“Carson, where the f**k are we going?” I asked, struggling to keep up with him as we sped through the trees.

“New cast oh…I forgot their mayor renamed the town to Ashridge.” he answered but it was obvious, he was wondering why a whole town identity was suddenly changed.

“I’ve fed before.” I try to remind him.

“On blood bags,” he corrected.

“So?” I mumbled.

He finally stopped and turned to face me. “You have no idea what it feels like to hunt.”

I folded my arms. “Just because I belong to your little sire line doesn’t mean you get to tell me how to live my life.”

Carson smirked. “No.” He stepped closer. “But it does mean I get to stop you from making rookie mistakes.” He continued walking until the trees gave way to a quiet suburban street. Porch lights glowed in the distance, music drifted from a nearby house, and the sidewalks were almost empty.

I looked around nervously. “Why are we here exactly ?” I asked still confused

“Because this town isn’t ours.” He answered “If something goes wrong, it won’t come back to Reagan.”His answer caught me off guard. Carson shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded toward a young man walking alone with headphones over his ears. “There’s your meal.”

I stared at the stranger. “I can’t.”

“You can.”

“I’ve never fed on a person.”

“And that’s exactly why we’re here.” He stepped beside me. “Listen to his heartbeat.”

I closed my eyes. At first, I heard nothing. Then Thump. Thump. Thump. The sound became louder with every beat

“Don’t listen with your ears,” He instructed. “Listen with your instincts.”

The man heartbeat echoed through my head. I could smell his scent now. My throat burned. “I can smell him,” I whispered. “I don’t think I can control it.”

Carson looked at me. “Good. You don’t need too.”

Before I could ask what he meant, he gave me a light shove. “Go.” In a flash I was standing in front of the man before I even realized I’d moved. He looked up from his phone.

“Uh….can I help” My fangs sank into his neck before he could completely the sentence, warm blood flooded my mouth. It tasted infinitely better than anything I’d ever imagined. The man struggled weakly beneath me, but I barely noticed. His heartbeat slowed with every gulp. Slower. Slower. Until my body refused to stop. I wanted every last drop.

Suddenly, I was ripped away from him, I crashed onto the pavement with a snarl, the man collapsed to the ground, barely conscious.

Carson stood between us. “That’s enough.” I tried to lunge again. He caught me by the throat. “Look at him.”

I did. The man’s skin had turned ghostly pale. His pulse was barely there. Terror washed over me. “Oh my God.” My voice shook. “I almost killed him.”

Carson released his grip. “No.” He looked me straight in the eyes. “You would have killed him.” He glanced down at the barely breathing man before looking back at me. “That’s the first lesson.” He paused.

“The hardest part of feeding is knowing when to stop.” He walked toward the man laying unconscious, he bite him into his own arm and feed him.

……..

SCENE

The old council hall had become little more than a relic. Most of the seats were empty, and the members who had bothered to even attend looked inconvenienced rather than concerned. Some checked their watches while others leaned back in their chairs, wondering why they had been called out after so many peaceful years. It had been eight years since the last supernatural attack in Nox Ville

The Council was slowly becoming a thing of the past. One of the members broke the silence. “Why exactly are we here? and why are we entertaining an emergency meeting called by the Sheriff? Since when has that become a thing?”

The Sheriff stood at the head of the table. “Because I believe this town has a new vampire problem.”

A few members exchanged amused glances. “What makes you think that?”

“A seventeen-year-old boy named Scott Gerald disappeared last night.”

“So?” A council member interrupted.

“His girlfriend was found wandering through the woods with no memory of what happened.”

Someone shrugged. “Teenagers do stupid things.”

“I heard that, and I also heard she was on vervain,” another council member added.

The room became slightly quieter. “So she couldn’t have been compelled.” one woman murmured.

“Exactly.” A council member folded his arms. “Do you have any evidence that a vampire attacked her?”

“No.” The Sheriff answered.

“Any eyewitnesses?” The woman asked.

“No.” He repeated.

“Any bite marks?” she asked again.

“We haven’t found Scott.” He admits.

“So” another member sighed. “You called all of us here because you have a feeling?”

The Sheriff didn’t flinch. “I’ve spent my entire career protecting this town. My instincts have kept people alive.”

“Nonsense! “ a voice said and most people agreed with the voice.

An elderly council member spoke. “We destroyed the school with the dangerous ones years ago.” Several members nodded. “The little ones who survived know the treaty, they’re not foolish enough to break it.”

The Sheriff’s patience finally snapped. “And why is there even a treaty?” he demanded, his voice echoed across the chamber. “They’re monsters, they’re not a neighboring collegeaus, they’re not soldiers, they’re not people we should negotiate with, they feed on us, we are food to them, they survive on human blood, every single day, they drink human —no Our blood.”

His eyes swept across the room. “So why can’t we just finish what we started and get rid of them forever?”