'Tessa Dupree
I woke up and sat straight up in my bed. My pulse was racing and there was sweat on my forehead. I wiped it off disgustedly while trying not to think about the nightmare that had been haunting me since I turned 13 three months ago. I looked at my clock. 12:30 P.M. I listened for a minute. Yup, my mom was asleep. I could hear her loud snoring from two bedrooms away. i hopped out of my bed and texted my best friend, Lorelei Weylyn.
Me: Wke up! We need to talk! Seaside park in 30. kk?
Lorelei:ok
I started to get ready. I put on my purple V.S. 'Pink' sweatshirt on over my black tank-top, Black shorts, and purple zebra vans. I ran a brush through my curly black hair and slipped a purple headband on. I put on silver eyeliner and mascara. I checked myself in the mirror. The silver eyeliner brought out my blue/green/gray eyes. I was satisfied. I called Lorelei. She said that she would be at the park in 10 so I went ahead and left. I quietly closed the door behind me and relocked it. I started walking. It felt like somebody was following me. I stopped and listened.
Nothing. Complete and total silence.
I sighed and kept walking. I reached the park in seven minutes. I sat down on a swing and waited. The park entrance had a sign that said "Welcome to Palm Meadows park!" in cheery yellow lettering. I sighed. Palm Meadows. The quaint little seaside town that my parents had decided to settle in.
My parents. My mom was a good mom especially for being a single one. We had plenty of money though, my mom is a professional makeup artist. She works on a bunch of big films. My dad.. my dad left us when I was two. Never came back. He doesn't even write us.
I got so caught up in thinking about my parents, I didn't hear the unnatural rustle of the bushes. The twig snapping broke me out of my trance. I stood up, now on red alert. My best friend stepped out of the woods. There were a group of eleven or twelve thirteen and fourteen year olds with her. I settled down immediately.
One of the boys- an older boy, around 14 maybe 15- stepped towards me. He had blond hair and gray eyes. Zane Cross.. The bad boy.
If my mom was here she'd have a heart attack. "They're in town better watch your back." he whispers. Them. The Black Coats. I can't help shuddering. The Black Coats are the most feared thing in our society. They are only here to hunt down all Unseens between 13 and 18. They will then cart us off to Dark Moon Academy so we can establish our powers or something lame like that. I look around our group. Eighteen of us. Thirteen through fifteen-year-olds. We are the only ones in danger from the dark coats. I sigh. "We must be careful from now on then." I tell him. He nods.
A murmur breaks through the group. They know something serious is going on. We are the the leaders of the younger group. The other 18 teenagers are 16 through 18. Our siblings are the leaders of that group. Speak of the devil.
The older group comes crashing through the bushes. My brother, Nickolai (or Nick), and Zane's sister, Natasha, come up to us. "We will not fight them." He says it loud enough for everyone to hear gasps and whispers break out. "It is what is best for us" my brother speaks again, "But tonight we will feed, gain, strength, and practice." This is a relief to all.
We quickly make our way to Dawn, one of the only nightclubs in town. My heart beats inside my chest, hammering my ribs. The fog and strobe lights are visible outside the club. The night guard lets us in. Music pounds in my ears, people are dancing all over the place. Adrenaline rushes through my body. My senses take over. I know there are humans in here, it would seem suspicious if we didn't let them in. My hunter's instinct smile at the thought of a fresh, easy kill.
I shake my head to clear it. Lorelei and Evvie, a nature faerie, and our other best friend, come up to me. We doon't talk, no one does. We are all to overwhelmed by the need to feed. We walk up to the bar. And go right into the back room. This is where our people are. I immediately sit down at the bar to order. The back part is the more extreme and for our kind is. The Unseen.
The humans have their stories about us but they're regarded as stupid. Vampires, werewolves, any type of monster really. I sit down and start to peruse the menu. I completely skip past the page with faerie food. One second you're munching on a faerie plum, the next you're running naked through town screaming about butterflies. Just ask Nick. The video has 3,000,000 hits on YouTube.
As we all eat, Evvie slips a piece of paper in my hand. Meet me outside.
I nod and she slips through the doors. Slipping through the crowd, careful to avoid my brother's watchful eye. I managed to slip outside, unnoticed.
Lorelei and Evvie are already standing outside. From the serious expression on their faces I deducted that this is something important. "What's up?" I ask, fidgeting nervously. "It's about the Black Coats." Sam states, not beating around the bush. I groan.
"I know, I know, no one wants to talk about this. But it's important." Evvie. says, responding to my groan. "But I just want us to be safe. I made these bracelets. They're infused with faerie magic. As long as we're wearing them, we'll all know where the other two are." I nodded. We would all be safer this way.
I hear a rustle of bushes. "What's that?" Sam snaps her head back and forth. A twig breaks to our right, "RUN!" I scream we scatter in three different directions.
My heart pumps violently, and my stomach is making circles. I pump my legs harder, wishing that I was faster. I run about a mile into the woods, and know I'm being tailed. I try running faster, but my legs won't respond. Soon, I feel an arm around my waist. I'm being lifted up. I turn around, my mouth full of defensive venom. One bite would kill.
It twist around, poised to bite, when I see my capturer's face. For a minute I stop breathing. My heart stops, and my mind feels full of lead. I can only utter one word. " You?!"
