Heather

That evening we were watching the news on Serena’s TV. It’d become a nightly habit. Every time we huddled around and waited to see how close the vampires were, but this time there was no mention of the "killers."

"Maybe the Cazadores finally found them?" Serena said as she muted the sound.

"We would’ve heard," Leslie said. "Yesterday they were only fifty miles away from here."

"But they won’t come here, right?" I said.

"I hope not, but they must be close." Leslie sighed. "If the Cazadores are having this much trouble the school will have to relocate again."

"Again?"

"It moved in the fifties," Serena said when Leslie didn’t answer. "It was in the Northeast, but the town got too big. It’s never had to move because of vamps finding us. You’d almost think they had help."

I chewed on my lip as I thought. Maybe from the rogue Mr. Langdon had mentioned when I overheard him talking? But what if Mr. Hoel had something to do with this?

My imagination was taking my dislike for the Hoel’s and turning it into some crazy plot against St. Francis’s. I clearly needed more sleep. "I’m going to bed."

Leslie ignored me and Serena said good night. They whispered theories as I got ready for bed, but I tried not to listen too much. Just because I had great hearing didn’t mean I should use it all the time. People still needed privacy.

I was on the verge of sleep when St. Francis’s version of a siren—a modulating low-pitched hum—cut thorough campus.

Howls echoed through the night. Answering ones came from the dorm.

What the hell was going on?

The smell of rotten eggs filled my room.

"Oh my God." I heard Serena say from her room. "They’re here!"

Everything was still for a moment, before doors in the dorms slammed open. Girls were shouting in their rooms.

I ran to my window. At least thirty people were running though the courtyard.

No. Not running. Gliding.

"Vampires." I whispered to myself as I pressed my nose against the glass.

The cold bit into my skin but I couldn’t look away. Both werewolves and vampires moved silently, but this kind of silence turned my stomach. It wasn’t natural.

How were they moving like that?

I gasped as one of the dark figures stepped into the light. It swirled around, and then stopped. It was searching for something in the windows. Serena yelled something, but I couldn’t make it out.

Its gaze pierced me—red eyes called to me.

Everything slowed. I could hear my heart beat and count the time between each thump-thump.

A voice in my head ordered me to open the window, and I did.

All I could see was red. It filled my vision as it got closer, larger.

Cold wrapped around me and I floated to the ground.

"Heather!" Serena shouted from far away.

The sound stirred something in me, but it was quickly shoved aside.

Red eyes stared out from the darkness of his hood.

Cold fingers dug into my arms. He sniffed me.

"Witch blood," it hissed. The vampire shoved my head to the side and something hot dropped on my neck. It burned like acid.

"Heather Jones!" Serena yelled as another drop fell onto my skin.

Suddenly I was too aware of the pain. Of the stench. Of the cold hands grasping me.

I snapped out of the trance and screamed.

The howls answered my scream, but they were too far away.

I was alone in the courtyard. Vampires surrounded me, hovering in the air. Their long black coats swirled around their feet. Their faces were half-decayed.

His teeth grazed my neck as I struggled to break free.

"Awake now? I love the taste of scared witch."

I choked on his putrid breath.

The vampire threw me and was on me—pinning my arms and legs—before I could even register hitting the ground. I screamed again as I twisted, trying to break his hold, but couldn’t get free. The fighting I’d been learning all week didn’t help me one bit. Even with my new strength, I was helpless.

A tear rolled down my face as I started to flip out.

I wasn’t proud of it, but I used the only weapon I had. "Brent!" I yelled louder than I ever had before, hoping my voice would somehow reach him. I knew I’d die right then if he didn’t come. If he was too far away.

A pained howl echoed through the courtyard.

The vampire’s teeth scraped my neck, not yet breaking the skin, like he was teasing me. I whimpered.

Brent was going to be too late. My skin was ice cold with fear.

If I got out of this okay, I was going to start paying attention in martial arts class.

And then I heard him. "Heather!" He grabbed the vampire and tossed him into the nearest tree. Bark splintered down, and the vampire slid to the ground.

Three more vampires jumped onto Brent.

I tried to get up to help, but another vampire jumped on me.

I punched him, but it didn’t faze him. He pressing me into the ground, and I shoved my fingers in his eye sockets. Black ooze streamed from the holes where its eyes used to be, and it screamed, rearing back.

A gray wolf leapt—grasping the vampire’s neck in his jaws, and slammed it into the ground beside me.

Holy shit.

I rolled away from them as chaos broke out around me. It was a flurry of movement as wolves and vampires moved almost faster than I could track. I tried to spot a way to get through them and back to the dorm, but every time I tried to get up, a vampire would step toward me.

There were too many of them, and I was attracting them when I moved. I crouched down on the ground, trying to make myself the smallest target possible.

Brent was fighting his way back to me in his human form. He wore only a pair of gray sweatpants.

Only one vampire stood between us. Brent charged at it, but an auburn wolf jumped in between them, taking the vampire to the ground.

This was my chance. I got up and ran as fast as I could, meeting Brent halfway. A warm arm wrapped around my waist and lifted me from the ground as he ran back toward the building. He threw open the door to the girl’s dorm. "Stay inside. No matter what." He gave me a tight smile. "I’ll be back." He stepped back into the courtyard. "Seniors, outside now. The rest of you, stay in the dorms."

The sound of cloth ripping filled the night as people raced out of the buildings, shifting mid-sprint.

Now I felt like a total wuss. The rest of my class was outside fighting, and here I was hiding. This was all kinds of lame.

"What is it with you and windows?" Serena met me at the stairs. "Are you okay?"

"I don’t know." I didn’t have time to wonder why she wasn’t out there with the rest of the seniors. I raced up the stairs, taking two at a time. I had to get back to my window so I could see what was going on outside. The thought that Brent or one of the others could get hurt—possibly because of me—made me sick.

One of the vampires separated from the group and circled around, trying to surprise-attack Brent.

"Behind you!" I yelled, leaning out my window.

Brent shifted instantly into a white and gray wolf. He lunged and tore into its neck. Black sludge spewed from the vampire. Its head rolled off and it crumpled to the ground. Serena cheered from behind me.

A blond colored wolf jumped into the fight.

"That’s Xander," Serena said.

A large brown wolf ran into the courtyard, followed by two more–a black and a white wolf. My hands shook as I watched them fight.

The vampires moved with quick, slashing movements.

A yelp rang in my ears. One of the vampires had torn Xander’ leg. His blond fur stained with red.

The brown wolf ripped into a vampire, ripping off its leg.

"That’s Mr. Langdon," Serena said.

I had no idea how she could tell them apart, but I took her word for it.

Before it could rise, wolf-Langdon slashed a paw at the vampire’s neck, severing the head.

My throat was dry as I watched the gore.

The other vampires fled, taking off through the woods. The wolves howled and all but two followed them into the tree line.

Mr. Miller, the chemistry teacher, ran out from the medical building with a bag in his hand. "I’ll finish. Go!" he said.

Mr. Langdon and Brent disappeared after the escaping vampires.

Mr. Miller opened the bag and took out a bottle. Then he punched through the chest of a vampire, and ripped out a ball of black goo. He dumped the bottle on the vamp and lit a match.

I turned away from the window as my dinner started to come back up. "That’s disgusting."

Shaking, I sat down hard on the ground.

"Totally," Serena said.

My breaths started to come easier after a few minutes. But then the worry for Brent seeped in. I hugged my knees into my chest.

Holy shit, that was close.

I owed Brent my life.