THE VAMPYRE HUNTER

Chapter Five

I WORE A BLACK DRESS WITH THE GOLD NECKLACE my mom gave me when I turned fourteen. Royce and I were seated in the chapel along with other hunters like my mom; people I didn't even know existed. They were all dressed in knights armor which was black with a little bit of gold here and there. I tried to picture my mom dressed like that and I liked how it looked, it made my mom look like a badass; I wish I had seen her in it though.

Her coffin was a closed one and it was painted in black and gold, the color of the hunters. The mark of the hunters -two crossed swords with a skull- was drawn on it. The two swords represented the hunters while the skull represented the vampyres; symbolizing the undead.

I was given an option to either bury my mom in a closed coffin or bury her the way the Vikings buried their dead, I decided to choose the former because the idea of setting my mom's body on fire irked me. I knew she was going to end up decaying but I still wanted to bury her whole, I needed a place for her so I could visit her when I needed someone to talk to. I still wanted to be close to my mom even in death.

The ceremony didn't last long. Burying one of their own wasn't something the hunters enjoyed doing especially when the person was killed by a Vampyre so after everyone had said a thing or two about my mom, the Priest rounded it up and we all left for the cemetery located behind the chapel to lay my mom to rest. I was surprised to find many headstones there some dating back many years ago. Calculating the differences between their date of birth and date of death made me realize that they were just a few years older than me and it made me almost break down in tears but I needed to pull myself together....for my mom.

I watched as my mom's coffin was slowly lowered to the ground; I waited for the tears to come but they didn't. I took a shovel and sprinkled some dirt on it and the rest all took turns doing so.

"Are you okay?", Royce asked, a hand wrapped around my shoulder.

"I am, I miss her though. It all still feels like a dream"

"We all do".

On my way back to the dorm, Dave intercepted me.

"Are you feeling okay Maisie? You look pale".

"I'm always pale", I said and giggled.

"Well then paler than usual". Dave said and put his arms around my shoulder walking with me to the dorm.

"I'm okay", I sighed and continued. "I just miss her a lot you know, she was the only family I had now I've got no one. I never even knew my dad, whether he's alive or dead or... whatever".

"That's not true, you're not alone. You've got us now, we're your new family and we'll always be by your side, always".

"Thank you Dave, that means a lot".

"Anytime cutie". I blushed at his words.

"So what exactly are you guys? I mean you're all here at the academy but... why?".

"Some of us are humans...."

"Some?", I interrupted.

"Yes, some. The rest are either Dhampyres or descendants of Dhampyres with one or two abilities and few are descended from witches".

"Wait, witches?!!", I exclaimed with a pause at the stairs.

"Yup", Dave said popping the p. "It's a long history actually".

"By Dhampyres do you mean Vampyre hybrids?", I asked in shock.

Dave nodded. "Being descendants of vampyres doesn't necessarily mean you have to be like them, you can decide the path you want to take and most Dhampyres prefer to hunt vampyres to protect the unaware humans"

"Oh! So what are you descended from?", I asked.

"Humans", Dave said with a laugh. "I'm human, my blood isn't tainted by anything. And you, what are you descended from?"

"I'm human, my blood isn't tainted either", I said with pride, puffing out my chest.

Dave chuckled. "You're awfully pale for a human, even paler than the ones descended from Dhampyres. If I didn't know you I'll probably mistake you for a Vampyre".

"Well, it's a good thing you know me". I said and we both laughed at that. "Are the ones with tainted blood stronger than us?"

"Yup. The Dhampyres have super human strengths, heightened senses, partial immortality, inhuman recovery and fast reflexes. The vampyres are being careful now though so we have just few Dhampyres these days. Most of them are just descendants. We call them half bloods and pure bloods. The half bloods have the same abilities as the pures just not as strong. The witches half bloods have sorcery and psychic powers. They can control various elements like fire, water, air and Earth. They can't control all at once though"

"Wow!, They all sound too good to be true".

"I know right?", Dave said and chuckled.

"It's a pity we humans have no powers like the half’s and pures".

"Yeah it is but.... I did hear something cool". Dave said with a grin.

"What?"

"Well, I heard that the best human Vampyre hunters get turned into werewolves after graduation to give them a upper hand when fighting vampyres".

I laughed and he scowled. "You actually believe that?", I asked still laughing.

"Of course I do, we humans need an advantage. Vampyres are fast and strong, how are we expected to defeat them while we're still....well humans?"

"You're right but werewolves common", I said with a scoff.

Dave sighed and shook his head. "You'll be surprised. You should know by now that anything is possible in a world like ours".

"If the werewolf tale is true how come we haven't seen any on campus or haven't heard any howl?". I asked and Dave shrugged making me laugh again.

I woke up early the next day and got dressed in work out pants and a black shirt. I already knew my way around the school so I didn't need to wait for Royce to take me to the gym.

When I got to the gym, I saw Jake working out and he actually looked hot. He was dressed like me but were I wore a black shirt, he wore a black tank top; and boy did he have arms to show off, his skin didn't sag. He might have looked lean in the armor he wore but right now he was a little bulky and when he flexed his arms, his muscles bulged.

"Good morning Maisie, I'll be your instructor today. Royce had things to attend to if you don't mind".

"I don't", I said and blushed. Then I scolded myself internally for blushing and checking out my instructor.

Jake made me unroll the mats and showed me some warm-up exercises. From the exercises alone I knew I was going to be hurting by the end of the day.

After spending two hours doing warm up exercises, we moved to the training room. I hadn't entered it the previous day so I didn't know what I was going to meet. I looked around and saw training mats to probably ease falls, dummies with skin that looked and probably felt real and first aid kits in every corner. The furthest wall was covered in swords of different types and shapes-they were all made of silver-, knives and guns containing silver bullets.

"Have this", Jake said and handed me a weird looking drink.

"What's this?", I asked.

"A protein shake"

"Eww", I said and wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"You'll need it", Jake said with a shrug.

"So what are we doing today?", I asked, taking a sip of the protein shake. It tasted horrible.

"The basics. I'll be teaching you how to take a fall".

"Alright". I placed the protein shake aside and went to stand on one of the mats, Jake doing the same.

"The key is to never let them get you on the ground, but it will happen even to the best of us. When it does happen you need to be able to get back up". Jake said, his brown eyes focusing on me.

"Even without a warning you have a second before you fall. You have more than enough time to position your body correctly. All you have to do is roll your hips and keep your chin down". Jake added with a demonstration.

"Do you understand?", He asked and I nodded. "Good. Put up your arms-here like this". He positioned my arms so they blocked my chest. "Keep them strong". I nodded and did as I was told.

Then he hit my arms with the broad side of his. He didn't hit me hard but I still fell and it was the wrong way. I rolled over wincing.

"Sorry about that". Jake said helping me up.

"It's okay, let's go again". I said and he nodded with a smile. Damn! He has such a cute smile.

I placed my arms the way he showed me and braced myself. Down I went over and over again. I spent the next couple of hours down on my back and not in the good way.

Finally, after so many fails, I succeeded in taking a fall.

"You're a fast learner", Jake said with approval. " Keep this up and you'll be meeting up with your mates in no time". I blushed and thanked him. Yeah I sucked at taking compliments.

We broke off for lunch. I ate burgers and fries along with the protein shake, yuck!. After fifteen minutes of break we went back to the training room. This time around we started on another one; getting knocked down and jumping to my feet quickly. I failed miserably at that.

By the end of the day, the entire muscles of my back ached and my thighs felt like they were about to fall apart.

"Rest well and we'll meet again tomorrow". I don't know why but the idea of seeing Jake again made my tummy flutter. I think I'm falling for my instructor, sheesh!

We separated after that. Me going to dorm to pass out on my bed, him going to do whatever it is he did.

It was my first day of training and I already felt like giving up. I couldn't though, if my mom could do it so could I.