DIE HIGH Secrets of the Vampires

Unsheathing her sword from her back, Harley spun around just in time as another one of the evil abominations tried to launch an attack and swung her sword, slicing the vampire directly across its chest. It let out an ear piercing shriek as black blood spilled out through its open wound. Dodging another attempted attack, she swung her sword again, this time aiming for its throat. The vampire fell to its knees, giving her an advantage. Sheathing her sword, and retrieving the stake that she had dropped earlier in the fight, she slowly walked over to it.

Looking into its stone cold eyes, she brought her knee up and struck it in the face, causing it to fall flat on its back. She knelt down beside him and swiftly jammed the stake in its chest. With one final shriek, the vampire wriggled before bursting into nothing but ashes. 

Adrenaline pumping through her body after the kill, she took off in the direction that she was headed in when the vampire had appeared. A long night of hunting had finally come to an end and she could now return home. The city tonight was frozen. Thousands laid up in their homes to hide away from winter's harsh bite, giving her the perfect opportunity to strike when needed. Of course, at this hour there were still some people around but most were drunks that were intoxicated to the point where hallucinations were possible. There was no need to be discreet for now.

It was almost sunrise by the time she reached home and she had to sneak inside the apartment as quietly as possible. Her father, grandfather, step-sister and step-mother were still asleep. Her father Zander, in particular, had not long returned from the hunt he'd been on in his section of the city. She could tell this by the fresh smell of strong coffee and cigars, which was his routine after he returned from every hunt, before he went to sleep.

Tiptoeing through the front door, she closed it behind her with a gentle click before continuing to her room. Once she made it successfully inside without making too much sound, she breathed a sigh of relief before collapsing onto her bed and falling asleep instantly.

***********

It was midafternoon when Harley awoke from her deep slumber, by which time the rest of her family were up and already after eating lunch. As she sat up and rubbed her eyes free of the dust that had settled in them, she could hear the sound of their voices talking. Throwing back the covers, she got up and exited her bedroom, eager to greet her family.

The first out of the four to notice her was her step-sister, Kiara. Although they had different mother's, the two of them were pretty close. Two years younger than her, Zander had made Harley promise that she would not introduce her to the life of hunting until the time was right. Though she sometimes got lonely on her hunts, she had decided that it would be best to let their father introduce Kiara when he was ready to. 

"Seriously… Afternoon again. What do you do, stay up all night watching cheesy TV romances?" Kiara teased playfully.

Harley rolled her eyes with a groan and sat down at the dining table, her head propped up by the palm of her hand. By now, she was so used to the routine of sleeping in the morning and waking up in the afternoon that she couldn't change it even if she wanted to. 

"Rough night?" Her father questioned, lowering his newspaper so that he could see her face.

"No, no… Just the usual." She assured him.

Before the conversation could continue, her step-mother, Lydia, placed a mug of coffee in front of her on the table. Nodding a thank you, she clasped the handle with her left hand and brought the mug to her lips, taking a sip. Feeling the burning hot liquid slide down her throat, she felt more awake after a few more sips. Placing the mug back on the coaster she brushed a loose strand of her ebony locks behind her ears and looked up to meet her father's eyes. 

"Harley, go get dressed. I need to talk to you about something. We will take a walk to the park once you are ready." Zander requested.

"Sure thing Dad." 

Rising from her seat, she trailed off into her room once more and threw on the first set of fresh clothes she could find; A pair of black leggings along with a black, one shoulder top, accompanied by her black leather jacket and up the leg boots. Dragging a brush through her hair before grabbing her phone from the nightstand and slipping it inside her jacket pocket, she rejoined her family in the open plan room. 

"Ready?" Her father questioned.

"Yes."

Exiting through the door he had opened for her, she already knew the conversation that was going to be had between them. He wasn't really taking her to the park that much she knew already, instead they were going down to the ground floor of the apartment block and then down further still into the basement. 

"Report on last night's hunt?" Zander prompted.

"Uh… Yeah. Pretty much the same old. The usual trickery. Number of kills; 19." She summarised.

"Good. That's my girl." He praised her.

"What about your early evening hunt?" 

"Forty kills. All scattered around the city. The normal ones that stalk and target clubbers and drunks." 

"Noted." She concluded.

"Great! Let's go join grandpa and the rest of the bunch." 

"You go ahead, I'm actually gonna go for a walk."

"Oh- Okay… Everything okay?" Zander questioned, concerned.

"Yeah, everything's fine, I just kinda want a little space."

"Look, I know things have kind of been rough recently, but I promise that things will settle eventually." He reassured her.