Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO 

Evan backed away, but he didn’t go far. Somehow he bumped into some else behind him, and for he moment he thought there was a second man, but he found himself staring into the same eyes he had been staring into a few seconds ago. 

How that was possible, he didn’t know. And he didn’t care at that moment. He had other things to be worried about. He opened his mouth to say something, but the man’s powerful hand grabbed his neck,  cutting off air from entering his lungs. 

Shocked by the man’s strength, Evan’s phone slipped from his hand, but before it did, he caught a glimpse of the man’s face. 

He had a venomous sneer on his face…. And his teeth…. Evan couldn’t see clearly, but….Were those fangs? His eyes…. This wasn’t the time to think. 

Evan tried to fight back, pushing desperately with his hands and legs but his efforts proved pointless. He felt himself suddenly pushed and held against a pole. Then he felt something sink painfully into his neck, like two sharp needles, digging into his carotid artery. Evan tried to scream, but the man had a death grip on his throat. 

He could feel his strength leaving his body. Blood oozed from his neck and from the strangers mouth and dripped all over his shirt, mixed with the rain and fell to the floor. A minute later, he wasn’t fighting anymore and the stranger let go of him. 

Evan Desmond’s lifeless body slid slowly and soundlessly to the ground. 

“Did you guys hear?” Vivian said to Isabella and Emily as she rushed to join them at the bar. 

Isabella rolled her eyes before she turned to face Vivian. The three of them were students at Maddox University, Greenville, and they all worked evening shifts at the bar and grill that had just opened up three days a week. It was almost eight o’clock, and Isabella knew that soon the place would be filled with customers, as evenings and nights were the busiest part of the day. She didn’t have time for Vivian’s chatting, and that was something Vivian was really good at doing.

“I’m guessing you are going to tell us anyway, so just tell us so we can go back to work already. What did you hear Vivian?” she asked, looking like she was already bored with the topic and Emily giggled. 

“A guy died last night, idiot” Vivian replied. “His name was Evan David… Desmond… Or something I guess. Anyways he was a student too. They said some girls found him on their way to school this morning and called the cops. Scary, isn’t it?” 

Isabelle picked up a glass from the counter and began to wipe it with a towel. “Yes, I heard about that too. Really tragic. I heard they said it was some kind of animal attack…. We all really need to be careful, because if there’s some weird animal out there attacking people, I definitely don’t want to be a victim” 

“It’s such a shame though” Emily cut in. “I passed by his hostel off camp this evening on my way here, and there were pictures, candles and flowers…. There were so many of them that the thought just made me so sad…. All those people, unhappy. Looks like a lot of people are going to miss him.” 

Vivian sighed.”Oh please” she said, gesturing with her hands, “College kids are just too dramatic. I saw the hostel and the crowd. There’s no way that he knew that many people.” 

Isabella shook her head and glared at Vivian, a look of disbelief on her face. “Wow, Vivian, can you please not talk like that. Someone just died. Jeez, anyone who heard you would think that you were in some kind of competition with him or something.”

Vivian simply rolled her eyes, giving the impression that she was done with the topic. “Okay, Mrs perfect” she said. “I’m going back to work”  She turned and walked quickly to the couple who had just finished eating and were requesting for their cheque.

Emily and Isabella stared at each other in disbelief. 

“Don’t listen to her,” Emily said. “You know how Vivian is. She can be very annoying sometimes and she might talk carelessly, but you know she’s really good inside and can’t really hurt anyone. That’s all that matters” 

Isabella nodded in agreement.”I know” she replied and picked up another glass. “Still, sometimes, I just want to punch her in the face” 

Emily chuckled. 

The vampires arrived at the meeting venue one after the other. 

They passed up the quaint old stone staircase to the long banqueting hall with its paneled oak ceiling, which in these modern days had been transformed into a bright, pleasant drawing-room, from the windows of which was presented a marvelous view of the hills beyond.

Samson Perry looked around the huge paneled hall in which he sat and frowned. He did not want to be here, and he couldn’t wait for this stupid meeting to be over. But he couldn’t leave just yet. Some one…. Some idiot among them, had been hunting humans, feeding and leaving a trail of bodies behind them…. And now a meeting had been called. 

That kind of attitude didn’t bode well for other vampires. Especially if someone got caught in their carelessness and blew their cover. And doing something like this, was exactly the kind of thing that could out them all to humans. The humans already had their theories about the incident. The news called it an animal attack, but it was just a matter of time before someone started to dig deeper. A matter of time before someone would want to know what kind of animal just drained a person of blood, and Samson was in no mood for that kind of drama.

If things kept going this way, it would be a matter of time before some hunter came around town to sniff around. Samson didn’t want that. Honestly, all he wanted right now was to live his cursed, immortal life in peace. And another fight with hunters wasn’t going to get him that. He was done with that kind of life. He had people he cared about now. People he didn’t want to lose and that made him vulnerable. 

Samson Perry wasn’t a perfect man. Hell, he was a One Hundred and Fourty three year old vampire, and in those years, he had done some things he wasn’t so proud of. But that wasn’t the point. Right now, someone was going to blow their cover simply because he couldn’t feed without murdering innocent people.