Amelie's Daughter

Chosen

Based around the Morganville Vampires series by Rachael Caine, my best friend Chloe Collihole and myself and my own imagination! (©Laura Macleod) I'm really sorry that its a long story but I just love Amelie so much in the book series. There are 19 chapters so just hold tight please! There will also be a sequel to this book.

Chapter 1

I wake with a start. The rain pounds against the thin windows, I smile to myself. Today was the day of the choosing ceremony when the "vampires" would come from the North and select some students from the college to take with them back to Texas. I'm very excited at the prospect of being chosen, little do I know that the people coming to select the students were real vampires. Even so, I wish I could just get out of the confined town of Summerdale in California and the boredom that Summerdale brought to its inhabitants.

There's a loud knock on the door, "Hey, Becks you up yet?" It's Chloe my best friend.

"Um, yeah I'm up. Come in!" Chloe is dressed in her usual goth-style clothes which consists of long lace up converse boots that go up to her knees, a red tartan skirt, a skin-tight black T-shirt, black fishnet tights and of course her old leather jacket that once belonged to her mother. She flounces in and sprawls onto the bed, with me still concealed within the duvet. "Hey!", I protested, " Can I at least get up first?" Reluctantly, Chloe moves to give me enough room to get out of the bed. I walk over to my drawers to find something decent to wear and manage to find a smart black pleated skirt, white blouse, a pair of small heels and a black blazer. I head for the shower and go to get ready for the big day. When I emerge from the bathroom Chloe is still sprawled across my bed, now asleep, I decide to leave her until I'm ready and then I'll try to get her up. I pull my blonde hair back into a neat bun and pull on my shoes. To accessorize I put on my gold ring that I got for my 16th birthday, my silver necklace and silver bracelet.

I wake Chloe up and with much groaning she's on her feet and we head down to the breakfast hall. As we walk down the corridors it seems eerily silent with only our footsteps making a sound against the cold flagstone floor. We reach the hall with time to spare, we had been told to get there by 7.30am and we had managed to get there at 7.10am, and line up in turn for breakfast. When it's my turn I choose cheese on toast and in turn Chloe chooses Rice Pops. We head for our normal seats when a tall, heavily built man steps into our path and points to my necklace purring, "That is a lovely necklace, what is it made out of?"

Stuttering I reply, "Um...silver". He just stares at me for what feels like an age but he eventually says, " Well could you please remove all items of silver that you are wearing? It clearly states in the instructions that no silver is permitted in the choosing ceremony." I wonder why this is but I dare not ask so I just nod and place my food on a near by table so that I can remove my silver jewellery, Chloe also removes a bracelet. He thanks us and walks off to tell someone else the same, no doubt.

Chapter 2

After breakfast we wait for 40 minutes in the auditorium where the ceremony will take place and eventually two men dressed in long black cloaks with black gloves strode into the auditorium, as it turns out one is named Oliver and the other Brandon. Oliver looks middle-aged with silvery grey hair which is pulled back into a ponytail and underneath his cloak he is wearing a bright T-shirt with palm trees printed on it where as Brandon has short hair, is clothed completely in black and has a menacing look to his eyes. They both take their places at the centre of the stage and start to explain the rules of the ceremony; they will call everyone who is 16 up to the stage and will ask the person to cut the palm of their hand, the two at the front will then take turns in tasting the person's blood and I'm not entirely sure how this works but they select 10 students to take with them out of 150 students in the year.

They begin to call the names alphabetically which means that I'm near the middle, being named Rebecca Miller, and Chloe is also close to me, as Chloe Morrison. Tom Andrews was the first on the list. He is a tall, fair-haired boy with a personality and looks to die for, but very sadly he is currently taken. Anyway, he stides up to the stage very aware that all eyes in the hall are on him and Oliver asks for his hand. Then Oliver takes the knife and quickly cuts across the meaty part of Tom's thumb, blood drizzles out and I look up to see Oliver's eyes are red and he drinks straight from Tom's hand! Everyone in the hall gasps and people's jaws drop open in sheer shock. Oliver tells everyone, "Silence!" even though no one is talking. Then Oliver bites his own wrist and thrusts it into Tom's mouth, forcing him to drink his blood and he snaps his neck quickly leaving his body to drop with a clunk to the stage floor.

Chapter 3

Everyone gapes at Oliver, open-mouthed. Tom Andrews is the first of 10 to be chosen, we just never knew how it worked. Another man came in, Michael Glass is his name, he is tall, blonde and gorgeous. He gracefully glides across the stage and picks up Tom's body, he then walks back out again without saying a word. Oliver, after a moment's silence, began to call the names out again but within the next 100 people between the letters A and L that are called out only two are selected. These two are both girls named Jennifer Hensley and Isabella Fairson; both very pretty brunettes and coincidentally are best friends. I know that my name will come soon, I'm kind of excited but frightened due to what I have witnessed.

"Rebecca Miller", Oliver calls my name. Will I be selected or will I be left unharmed to get on with my biology studies? I walk as calmly as I can manage up to the stage, I trip up the stairs and find my arm in a vice like grip of a young woman named Gretchen. She has grey eyes which seem to burn holes in your skull, a ghostly pale face, silvery blonde hair and a menacing smile. She leads me over to Oliver, as if I'm going to fall again, and let's me go in front of him. I look behind me and find Gretchen smiling at me, its quite creepy actually, I shiver and turn back to face Oliver, holding out my hand.

Oliver takes the knife and slowly drags it across my hand, almost savouring my pain in the process. He then puts his mouth against my bleeding hand and bites into it! I gasp in surprise and as quickly as it had begun, it ends. " I choose you", he says and without any further comment he shoves his bleeding wrist in my mouth and forces me to drink. It doesn't taste like ordinary blood, its hard to explain but it tastes sweet and addictive. He tears his hand away and snaps my neck, everything goes black...