(A Few Hours Ago)

  "With the events of the Boston Tea Party. It was only inevitable that issues between the American colonies and the British would continue to worsen" Mrs. Elizabeth said in front of her class as she went over her lesson subject. Her students paid close attention, jotting down notes for further studies, as all of them had a test in a few days.

  Almost all them. For any other student, exams would take priority over all others, but for Sam, this wasn't the case.

  She and Jessica had just dropped Averest off at the nurses office after wiping his memory clean, and her mind and soul were clashing.

  Objectively, she knew she did the right thing. Exorcist were required to wipe any witnesses' memory clean, removing the event they saw from their mind, permanently. This was their own good.

  But on the other hand, she hated herself for doing this to her best friend. If only he wasn't so damn nosy.

  *RING*

  The bell ranger, signaling the end of 3rd period. Students began packing up and heading for their 4th, but Sam took a detour to the nurses office just to check on Averest. She approached the door and knocked. When she opened the door, she saw nothing.

  The nurse wasn't at her desk, and Averest wasn't on one the beds. The room was empty.

  A surge of panic flowed through her. "No, no no no no no NO!" Sam screamed as she ran out of the nurses office and sprinted to the school office. As she ran, she noticed a crowd had formed near where the receptionist was. At the end of the crowd was the nurse.

  Her hands cupped her mouth as if she were trying not to puke. Her expression was horrified and disgusted.

  "Hey, miss!" Sam panted as the nurse turned to her. "Sam! You shouldn't be here, none of you should!" The nurse said, worried. "Just go to your fourth-"

  "Never mind that, where's Averest!?" Sam yelled, taking the nurse by surprise. "Averest went home." Said the nurse.

  Sam took a breath of relief. "Oh, thank god." She said, wiping tears from her eyes. Turning to the crowd, she began walking towards the source of interest. "What's happening here?" Sam said, making her way to the front.

  "No, Sam, stop!" The nurse yelled, but Sam paid her no mind. Finally pushing the last person aside, she saw what all the buzz was about.

  The front of the school office was a wreck. There was a crack on the wall, with a small blood stain. Papers scattered all over the floor, and Sam saw the receptionist. Her head was twisted all the way back, a full 360.

  Sam froze. "No way, those blood sucker's were here?!" She thought, frustrated with herself. In the corner of her eyes, she saw Jessica signaling her to come over.

  They both stepped out of the school, just as paramedics came in.

  "What do you we do? What do we do!?" Jessica muttered, scared out of her mind. "They killed her! Made her head turn like an owl! At this rate, we're all gonna die!' She cried, tears pouring out like a waterfall. Sam grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her.

  "Will you calm down! No one is dying, not anymore! We have to find these sucker's before they wreak more havoc." Sam said while still shaking Jessica, who pushed her away.

  "We don't even know where they are!? For all we know, they're probably in Staten Island! How are we supposed to track them!? Jessica rambled before collapsing on the ground, curling up to a ball and bauling her eyes out.

  Sam pulled out her phone. "I got that covered," She said, pulling up a picture of an old mansion in the middle of the woods. "This state's just a few minutes from the city, I reckon if those neck biters are anywhere, they'd be here."

  Jessica looked up. "How can you be so sure?" She sniffled, snot drooling out of her nose.

  Sam gagged and shook her head. "You saw what they were wearing. Those were old clothing. If I was a victorian vampire, were you I live?"

  Jessica thought for a moment, then nodded her head. "A-alright then."

  Nodding, Sam put her phone away and helped Jessica. "That's the spirit. Let's meet up a 7, then we hunt." Sam said with a dark smile.

  ___________________________________________

  Opening her closet, Sam took a good look at the contents inside. "It's be awhile since I've been in uniform~." She purred.

  Within her closet was a cassock robe embroidered with black, gold, and white, with a gold cross in the middle of the chest. She grabbed the uniform and began to change.

  About 10 minutes or so, Sam descended down the stairs of her house, her black boots thumping each step, just as she was about to exit her house. She turned and looked to right her.

  In her living room to the right was a mural of two people. There was one picture, with flowers surrounding it. In the picture, it was a man and a woman during their wedding.

  The man was 5,12 in height, wearing a black groom suit, black hair, and one of the biggest smiles on his face. The woman was wearing a stunning wedding gown, flower patterns in the long dress, her long black curly illustrious hair hanging in the air, with a gentle smile on her face.

  Sam smiled at the picture sadly. "Bye, Mom and Dad, I'll be back before dinner." With that, she closed the door to her house. On the mural, there was a small wooden sign that read:

  Jonathan Richards and Monica Smith, Loving Parents

  ___________________________________________

  By the time Sam arrived at the mansion, Jessica was already their, clad in her exorcist uniform, carrying a long white crate while using binoculars to survey the manor. She found her hiding in the bushes near the estate entrance

  "What's the status?" Sam whispered, spooking Jessica a bit. "Eep! Don't sneak up on me!" She hissed back, causing Sam to roll her eyes in annoyance.

  "For your information, theirs about 4 of them from what I can tell." Jessica stated, observing the interior of the mansion through little opening of the window curtains. "I think there's another, but I'm not really sure."

  "Vanpire or hostage?" Sam asked as Jessica stared at her. "What part of I'm not really sure do you understand?" She remarked.

  A tick formed on Sam's forehead. "Whatever, I'm heading in." Sam said, walking out of the bushes as golden light started to appear.

  "Aurea lux Patris, benedic me Fortitudine, Formam in Telum Iustitiae, Diligentia-" Sam began chanting, the golden light bending, slowly talking the form of a spear.

  "Woah woah woah!" Jessica whispered as she rushed out of the bushes, dragging the crate with her, breaking Sam's concentration, causing the golden light to disperse. "What now?" Sam said very much, annoyed now.

  Jessica merely unclamped the straps of the white crate and flipped it open, revealing what was inside.

  It was an American M134 Six Barrel Rotary Minigun, in pristine white colors, which shined under the moonlight. The silver bullets glossed and blinged.

  Sam's eyes were practically on the verge of popping off her eye sockets. "-Wha-when-how!?" She stammered and stuttered, not fully comprehending what was just revealed.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  "It took some convincing and a few tests," Jessica muttered, slightly ashamed. "But I managed to finally convince the higher-ups at Rome to issue me my very own Minigun!" She squealed like a little girl on her birthday, picking up the Minigun was if it was a bag on feathers

  "This baby's packing 3,000 rounds of silver blessed bullets. The damn thing can shred through demons!" Jessica exclaimed, wrapping the miniguns bullet chain around one hand. "Ain't no way I'm not using this tonight."

  Jessica took a few steps forward and stood. Knowing it was too late to stop her friend, Sam just stayed back.

  Holding the minigun firmly with two hands, her index finger slowly but surely pulled the trigger.

  *BANG*

  The bullet whizzed and broke through the door, and the sounds of it piercing flesh echoed inside.

  For a second, Jessica stood there. Sam didn't really know what to do. She took a step forward, until,

  "He,hehehehehehehehe" Jessica giggled, her head shot up, a maniac gleaming in her eyes.

  "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!!" She laughed as she pulled the trigger, the six rotary barrels spinning to life as bullet after bullet tore into the house, Jessica laughing like a mad man, bullet casing failing rapidly on the floor.

  "Alright, alright, that's enough!" Sam screamed as she wrestled Jessica for the minigun, managing to pull it off her grasp as it stopped shooting. "You're gonna wake up the entire state!"

  Jessica snapped out of her madden state and shaked her head. "Whoops, sorry, hehe." She laughed awkwardly.

  Sam took a look at he inside of the mansion. The doors were barely hanging out, and there were bullet holes imbedded into the walls. Blood was splattered everywhere.

  "Yep, they're dead, were done here." Sam muffled as she tossed the minigun back to Jessica, who nearly toppled over from the weight. "Hey!" Jessica scowled as she secured the minigun back in the crate and dragged it with her.

  "You think there might be more supernaturals?" Jessica questions as she caught up to Sam's pace.

  She scoffed at the simple question. "There's filth all over the world, Jessica. We just cleaned up a small part of it." Samd muttered darkly, her hands bawled into a fist.

  They continued to walk further away from the manor until they felt something. Something that emitted an uncontrolled 'aura'. An aura of pure malice. Full of rage, power, and evil, it nearly swallowed both of them whole. Then they heard it

  "ROOOOAAAAAHHHH!"

  A roar that shook the very woods they were in. Birds flew into skies, leaves flowing in the air. Sam and Jessica whipped around and looked at the manor, the source of the roar, and aura. Without a single word, Sam and Jessica ran back towards the mansion, Jessica leaving the mingun behind, as Sam materialized a golden spear from the golden light.

  Busting down the last of the ruined door, they quickly scanned the room. All that was left were the ashes of the vampires and bloody footprints. Footprints tag led to a hole in the mansion, and that trecked further into the woods.

  Sam immediately went to go follow the prints before being pulled back by Jessica. "What are you doing!?" She growled.

  "You didn't feel that overwhelming malice!? Whatever that was, it was powerful. You can't fight it!" She begged as Sam just shrugged her off.

  "So what? We just let it go, let it cause destruction?! Sam yelled, and she began marching forward before Jessica blocked her way.

  "We need backup. We're the only exorcists stationed in Buffalo, and whatever that was is leagues higher than both of us!" She reasoned. Sam scowled, but whether she liked it or not, Jessica was right.

  Jessica turned around and stared at the hole in the wall, a haunted look spread across her face. "Somethings telling me, from the bottom of my soul..."

  "That this is the beginning of a new era."

  ___________________________________________

  Averest didn't know how long he had walked, but it mattred not to him. He just wanted to go home. He stumbled out of the forest, and from the distance, he saw the lights of Buffalo shining just a few miles out.

  His body felt strange, his wounds were healed, and it was if he was reborn. All five senses felt like they were elevated to highs Averest couldn't comprehend was possible. He could smell everything. The mineral in the dirt, the birds in the sky, the people in the city, he all smelled it. His ears picked up even the most slightest of sound. And eyes, if it was if he was bird. Seeing all he once could not.

  Averest squatted down and jumped. Shooting up high into the sky, the wind pushing against his. He was covering distances that an Olympian long jumper could only dream of. Then he plummeted and crashed. Sliding across the earthy floor, his claws dung into the dirt, slowly but surely stopping his momentum.

  He was at the sides of the interstate that led into Buffalo, and without a word, continued to walk.

  Then, slowly but surely, his walked turned into a jog, a jog that turned into a sprint, a spirit that turned into a run. Averest faster, faster than what was considered 'human'. What was ahead of him turned into blurs of shape and color. He kept running, picking up the pace. To the naked eye, he was nothing was than a streak, a blur of pure speed. Averest ran and ran until,

  *WHOOSH*

  He came to a halt, the winds crashing against his body as it pushed cars, trash bins, and even trees. Averest turned, and there was his house. He simply walked towards the door and knocked. After a few seconds, it opened to really his mother's eyes, her eyes widening with shock and relief.

  "A-Averest!? Where the hell have you been? What happened to you!?" Alexa screamed, grabbing him by the shoulders, taking in her sons appearance. There was a tear on his shirt and dried blood all over his upper body. His shoes were melted and burned, and smoke hissing from the soles.

  Alexa's eyes widen in horror. "Is-is that blood?" She quietly asked, fearing the answer. Averest said nothing before collapsing onto her, bringing them both to the ground. "Averest?! Averest! Honey, call the cops! It's Averest, he's - " Were the last thing he heard before once again, passing out.

  ___________________________________________

  (8:00 AM)

  "-doesn't seem to be anything wrong with your son here, ma'am." A voice said. Averest slowly started to come to. His head felt on fire. He opened his eyes, and a ray of morning shine through a window to his left.

  He scanned his surroundings, seeing an IV bag to the right of the bed he was on.

  "Ah, I'm in a hospital, great." He thought, forcing himself up, groaning, his body sore in places he wished weren't sore.

  The door of his room opened as a doctor, his mom, dad, and sister walked in. "When you brought him in, he looked terrible but really miss he's -" the doctor said to his mother before noticing that Averest was awake. "- Awake! That's good." The doctor said. Averest's finally looked at Averest, his mom dashed towards her son.

  "Oh honey, thank goodness you're okay!" Said shrieked in absolute joy, enveloping Averest in a bone crushing hug. "There was so much blood on! I thought, I thought!" Alexa sniffled before tightening her hug.

  "M-mom, can't breathe!" Averest said furiously, smacking her back, before finally Alexa let her son go.

  The doctor walked over to both of them. "You gave your family quite the scare, young man." The doctor said as Camry flick Averest in the forehead. "Now, you drenched in blood, but who had no wounds, care to explain?"

  A wave of memories hit Averest like a truck. The vampires, the Crimson eyes, the blood, and the voice.

  Averest didn't say anything word for a few moments. "Some kids threw water ballons filled with fake blood while I was taking a hike."

  The doctor raised his eyebrow in suspicion. "Please buy it, please buy it, please!" Averest begged in his mind.

  "Well, alright then. Since you seem to be pretty fine, you've been discharged." The doctor said, bowing his head to Alexa and Markus before stepping out of the room.

  After an hour later, Averest chowing down an entire plate of food. His family watched in silence.

  Camry talked first, sounding slightly disgusted. "Dude, chill the fuck out, you're getting bits of food everywhere."

  Averest slide the last couple eggs in his mouth before replying. "Sorry, just really -" He grabbed a cup of orange juice and chugged it. "- been hungry." He patted his belly and burped.

  Weirdly enough, Averest didn't feel full. He wasn't a bigback, but an entire plate full of food would have him covered for at least two days.

  Grabbing his plate and setting it on the dishwater, Camry sized up Averest and noticed something, odd. "Are you sure you're okay?"

  Averest, who was wiping sauce stains from his face, looked at her. "Yeah, why?" Camry just pointed a finger. "You look pale. Are you sure you didn't catch anything from the blood?'

  Averest hand his hand. Site enough, he was white. Well, he was always white, but not this white. His skin was pale, plaer than before.

  Just like those vampires.

  Averests eyes widened. "I'm need to use the bathroom." He said, standing abruptly, knocking his chair down and running up the stairs to the bathroom. His sister and parents looked around each other.

  Grabbing the door and shutting it, Averest stared at his own reflection. Wait, reflection? Averest did a double take. He waved his hands. The mirror reflected that. He still had his reflection, which was good. His sister has right. He was ghostly white, whiter than the clouds in the sky.

  Averest rubbed his hands on his cheeks and pulled back the sides of his hair. His ears, normally rounder than normal, were now sharp and pointy. He pinched his ears slightly.

  And now, for the moment of truth, Averest opened his mouth. All 30 of his teeth looked the same, except for two, his canines. They were pointy, longer, and sharper.

  Averest clamped his mouth, dear God. He was a vampire. But how!?

  Then Averest remembered the voice. It told him to drink the vampires blood.

  "That's how you become a vampire!?" Averest muttered to himself. He had always thought a vampire bite would be the case, but low and behold, he was wrong.

  Averest looked at the small window on the right bathroom small, a ray of sunlight shining through. He gulped. If he was a vampire, then...

  Slowly, he stuck out his right hand, inching closer and closer, before jabbing it into the sunlight.

  Averest shut eyes. Any second, his hand would burst into flames. Turning into nothing but ash. Any second now.

  Nothing. Averest slowly opened his eyes and looked at his hand. It was completely fine.

  He stuck out, stuck in back in. In out. In, out. In, okay, you get it. His hand wasn't burning, nor was it on fire.

  Averest started jumping up and down like a child. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes, ye -" His left knee smacked the bottom of the sink, sending it hurled into the ceiling, embedding it. Averest stared in shock before a stream of water sprayed him in the face. "Pshk!?" Averest coughed up, trying to cover his face from the water.

  Rapid bangs on the wall caused Averest to yelp, slip on water, and fall to the floor. "Dude, the hell are you doing in there!?" Camry's voice said.

  "N-nothing! I'm just taking a shit!" Averest said, struggling to get up, desperately trying to push the water back, before slipping again.

  ___________________________________________

  (Later)

  Averest was walking in the streets of Buffalo, wincing everything. His hearing and tripled in what he could hear. Now he can hear the phone 15 blocks away as if he were right next to them. His sight had improved significantly. He could she's birds resting on this highest of buildings. His sense of smell got better, but now, it could smell the aftermath of someone's Sunday dinner 10 miles away.

  It was a particular sunny day, thankful Averest could still survive in the sunlight. But that begs the question, how? He still had his reflection. He could walk in daylight, so what was going on?

  His ears twitched. Averest's head snapped in a direction. A couple yards ahead, it sounded like a fight. Not wasting any time, Averest took off. He was running way faster than usual and made sure not to run into anything.

  A couple of seconds later, he turned a corner and looked into an alleyway. A 20 feet away from him, three guys were kicking on one older looking fellow, jeering and laughing.

  "Come one old man, do something bitch!" One of them mocked while kicking the old man in the mouth, knocking some teeth out. Just as he was about to kick again, Averest shoved him aside, sending him crashing into a trash can. The force of the shove made the trash skid a few feet away. The other two delinquents looked in shock, then turned to Averest, who too was shocked.

  "I didn't shove him that hard." Averesr awkwardly laughed. Automatically, he weaved to the left from one of the two delinquents. Like a roar of rage, both of them throwing punches and kicks. All of them Averest avoided, his reaction time faster it ever was

  Frustrated, one of them twisted his body and sent a right sidekick straight to Averest head. Without even moving his eyes, his left hand grabbed it mid swing, and squeezed.

  *CRACK*

  The bones broke from the pressure. Bits and pieces stabbed out of the skin, and muscle, leaking blood on Averest's hand. The delinquent screamed in agony as Averesr let go of his leg, causing him to fall to the ground. Tears poured out of his eyes as he crawled away from Averest, desperately trying to get away from him. His friend, horrified, ran over to him, grabbed his arm, and dragged him out of the alleyway.

  "Yo, it's cool man, it's cool." The delinquent nervously said as he disappeared out of the alleyway. The older man looked at Averest, who was transfixed with the blood on his hand. The smell, it was intoxicated. His breath became ragged, like a dog who hadn't eaten in days finally found a piece of fresh meat.

  The old man scurried away, leaving Averest and the last delinquent, who was waking up. Averest slowly turned to the last delinquent, his fangs bared.

  The delinquent coughed up some blood, and internal bleeding was evident. He turned and saw Averest a few feet away from him. He blinked and saw Averest's wrap around his throat.

  The delinquent coughed and choked as Averest raised him to his feet, his body far too damaged.

  "W-what am doing!?" Averest internally thought as his body moved on its own, his face getting closer to the mans neck, his fangs protruding out of his mouth.

  "My bodies moving on its own! At this rate, I'll kill him!" Averest tighten his choke, causing to delinquent to sputter, slowly blacking out. "Stop!" Averest breathed brushed against the mans neck, and he opened his mouth, his fangs shining like swords, ready to pierce flesh.

  "No, no no no no no NO!!" Averest brought down his mouth, his fangs closing in, but stopped himself, near inches from stabbing into the delinquent screamed neck.

  Averest dropped the man, who coughed and breathed in air. He slowly backed away in disgust before running away. Nearby pedestrian felt a streak and wind brush past them, so fast they're eyes couldn't register movement, but Averesr paid them no mind. He ran and ran until he was in a park underneath a large tree, its shadow casting a shade from the sunlight.

  Averest dropped to his knees, shaking. He looked at his hands in utter horror and fear.

  "What, what the hell is happening to me!?"