Chapter 2

BRAXLEY

 The cities of Brighton were perfect. There were a total of twenty-five cities across the nation and every one of them were exactly the same.  Each city was identical, in a creepy Step-ford Wives kind of way.  The world around the citizens that lived in them was white, plain and cold yet no one seemed to notice. Every house, store, or building of any kind was all made of the same white brick. The only color other than white was the almost “too green”, perfectly trimmed plants, trees, and lawns.  There was nothing wrong in these cities, no crime, no fear, and no problem.

      There is only one city that stands out from the rest and even then it is only the size. The rest of the city is exactly the same as the others. However, that city belonged the warden. It was home to Barlow Brighton who was founder and creator of the cities. The story was that  He created the cities over 30 years ago for emergency purposes, though he hoped he would never have to use them.  Ten years later he was forced to open every one of them, filling them to a sad capacity leaving only a few thousand humans left after the devastation of the uprising.

      The world outside the cities was dead now.  There was nothing beyond the limits of the city except dense woods and the burnt and destroyed remains of what were once houses and cities. There were rumors that some people lived outside the cities but it was hard to believe. Life outside was said to be hard and scary. Vampires no longer hid from the humans and only the cities could protect them.  Inside the city there was nothing to be afraid of. 

Barlow was a very good leader and his people loved him, and for that reason no one argued his rules. Everyone lived in the cities without question as to what was to happen next, everyone except Braxley.   Braxley was the commander of the army for the cities and was well known throughout all of  them for many things. For his strength and speed that seemed close to in-human and for his love of the people in the city but mostly, he was known as Braxley Brighton, the only son of Barlow Brighton and the next in line for warden of the “Perfect Brighton Cities.”  Of course the problem with this was that Braxley hated his father’s cities. It was not a well known, in fact no one knew, for Braxley knew that if word ever got back to his father that he did not want to take over the cities it would not be good.  As for now he focused on figuring out the secret of the cities and one day he hoped to lead humanity out of these cities and into nature where humans were meant to be. The perfection of his father’s cities scared him.  Braxley remembered very little of the world outside, but he knew that these cities were wrong in a way he couldn’t explain. Everything was clean and healthy.  Almost as if it were a factory. Braxley knew that nothing was perfect and something had to be very wrong with the cities for them to be this way.

Braxley glanced up at the clock while waiting for the weekly city meeting to end. The leaders in charge of each city join together on screens around a table at the meeting room in the warden’s city. Braxley hated these meetings and usually by the middle of them he was ready to stab his own eyes out. It wasn’t until Alexander, the leader of Brighton 6, spoke that he was actually interested in what was being said for the first time since he started joining his father in these meetings two years ago on his sixteenth birthday.

“Sir, I know your cities can not be penetrated by the vampires, but I fear they may have figured out a way.” Alexander’s voice was cautious, even approaching nervous.

Barlow immediately denied the possibility saying again how much science and work was put into the creation and safety of the cities and how ridiculous even the thought of the mindless monsters getting through it was. Braxley however was not so quick to dismiss it.

“Why?”  Braxley stood, drawing all the room’s attention to him. “What makes you think they got in?” Braxley had never said a word in a meeting before. He worked hard to blend in until finally they were over. The room’s whispers and murmurs came to a dead halt. All eyes and ears were on Braxley. Suddenly he realized he had to do something, and make sure it was good.

“They keep coming back, commander.” Alexander began his story of why he thought the vampires have broken through the shield of the cities. By the end of it, Braxley had to see it as possibility.  “At least five people have gone missing, maybe more.” he finished.

“Absurd!”  Barlow yelled.

Braxley turned to his father in complete disbelief. “Dad, you have to at least entertain the idea that it could happen.”

“No! My cities cannot be broken! Nothing lke this could happen in my cities!” Barlow was angry and stubborn. There was no point in arguing but Braxley couldn’t let this go. He turned back to Alexander.

“Alexander.” He began, “Keep your eyes out, and I’ll do the same around here. Contact me if anyone else goes missing.”

Barlow shoved Braxley against the wall. Although Braxley was much bigger than his father the blow was sudden and unexpected and it knocked Braxley off his feet.

“You DO NOT take lead of my people. I am not dead yet, son. You will take no precautions against this impossible story!”

Braxley shook his father off of him and straightened himself up.

“What if they did?” he growled out.” What if you are sentencing us all to death by not letting us prepare?”

Barlow’s face was stern and empty of emotion. “That will not happen.” his voice was cold.

“You cannot possibly know that.” Braxley turned and walked away from his father toward the door. He turned back as he reached his hand to the door knob. Every eye in the room was on him. “Whatever happens now, is on you.” then he turned again and walked out the door, shutting it firmly behind him.

A little bit of book

CHAPTER 1

NIA

      Nia ran across the yard, ignoring the chaos that began around her and stretched her mind to her house. Every room was empty, except one. They were in her brother's room. The brain activity in that room hit her like a wall and as she reached the front porch she fell to her knees.  The scene took her over and she was left watching it unfold, unable to react or pull herself from the nightmare.

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A man Nia did not recognize stood over her mother. Nia fought to keep her attention on her mother but it was pulled back to the man as he spoke.

“Where is she?” He asked through clenched teeth. “He promised me she would be here!”

“What makes you think I would tell you anything?!” Her mother yelled back. Nia had never heard her mother yell until that moment.

      He was much angrier now. Nia pulled at the walls of his mind. It was heavily guarded, but she continued to try.  “This will not end well for you…” he started but stopped as he turned to the boy who woke up suddenly.

      “What's going on, Mom? What-Who is he?” the boy asked as he sat up his dark hair ruffled with sleep.

      “This does not concern you.” He put his hand up toward the boy and whispered something under his breath. Seconds later the boy slammed against the wall and fell to the floor unconscious.

      “Leave him alone!” her mother yelled.

      Nia cringed in pain at the sound her younger brother's bones made as he hit the wall, but at that moment the man's mental shield was distracted, he dropped his guard but  for only a few seconds. It was long enough. Nia pushed through the mental wall and was flooded with the inner workings of this man. She saw in those few seconds’ mostly dark anger, but a few emotions lingered behind it, hatred, revenge, and desire. She fought to pull herself from his mind, she didn't want to see anymore, but pulling herself from him pulled her own mind out of room.

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      She found herself back on the porch. She jumped up and ran to the door only to find it, and every first floor window, locked. She ran around the house to where her brother's window was.   She searched for anyway to climb up the wall but there was nothing. She wanted to scream out in frustration. She slid down the wall into the grass, she placed her head in her hands completely helpless, but even then she had to see what was happening, she hated being left in the dark. She closed[ACSL1]  her eyes and focused on the room again.

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It came back to her quickly. Her mother was scared but stubborn, she stood tall and tense glaring the man in the eyes. Nia could feel her mother’s will power growing with the man’s anger. No matter what this man threatened, she would not budge. “You will not get my daughter.” She said defiantly. “I spent a lot of my time keeping you from her. I won’t just hand her over.” 

“DO YOU SEE THIS??” He pointed out the window “This is my doing!” The night was cool and dark, but the streets were unusually full of people, people that were running from the monsters that once lurked only in the shadows but now they moved through the streets killing everything they touched.

“I am not afraid of you.” she said stubbornly standing her ground.

“Then you have made your choice.”

“Wait! will you let him live?”

“You have my word.”

Nia's mother said nothing back to him; she only walked over to the unconscious thirteen year old, leaving the man staring angrily at her back. She placed a gentle hand on the boy’s cheek, and then leaned down to kiss him lightly on the forehead.

      “My dear boy,” she whispered, “I love you so very much, and I hope you forgive me someday. I pray you live long and become exactly what you were born to be.”  Then she stood again, stepping away from him and closed her eyes.

Nia’s heart pounded. She reached for her mother’s mind. . She had an idea of what her mother’s plan was but she prayed it wasn't true. It worked, she tapped into her mother's mind, but she didn't like what she found. Her mother was surrendering to this man. Nia tried to figure out a way to stop her mother, but suddenly the connection pulled her in deeper. Nia had never been this connected to anyone. She didn't know what to do when suddenly she felt everything her mother felt. Nia couldn’t move or fight her way from this connection. This made it that much worse when the man struck her, knocking both her mother and Nia to their knees. He pulled her mother back up by the arm and lay her head back exposing her bare neck. Nia felt the man’s sharp teeth pierce through her mother’s skin. She began to scream she knew this was it and there was nothing Nia could do as she lay paralyzed on the ground outside her house. All she could do was scream so she did, for her mother, for her city, for her life. He was going to kill her mother and she was forced to let him. It was the first time Nia had ever been truly afraid, she screamed louder as she felt her mother’s life drain away and for a moment Nia thought he might be killing her too, until her mother’s final ounce of life was taken and the pain was gone.

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Nia gasped as she snapped back into her own mind, she sat physically unharmed in the cold grass and looked around at her once peaceful neighborhood. She fought back tears as the night came crashing down on her. Only moments ago there were hundreds of people running and screaming from the monsters that chased them through the streets, but now the streets were deserted and everyone  around her was dead. Bodies were thrown around the streets, every one of them completely drained of blood. Almost every house was destroyed most on fire others torn apart.

Why would she do that, Nia thought. How could she just give herself up?  She pulled herself up from the ground and looked up at her own home. It was the only one on the block that stood just as it would on any other night. She threw her mind into the house one last time, maybe by chance her brother was still alive in there, she never saw the man kill him but still she found nothing and held back more tears that fought their way to the surface.  She walked toward the trees behind her house she knew that she still had to get out of there, but she was so stunned she found it hard to move. She couldn't believe what just happened. Her mother and her brother, gone in a matter of minutes. She walked with such a daze that she didn't feel him behind her.

“Nia.” He said.

She knew she shouldn’t but she turned when he called her name, but didn’t even have time to react before she felt one of his huge hands press into her back, the other holding her head and exposing her neck. He lowered his lips to her neck, just lightly touching her skin as if he was savoring the moment. His hands were cold against her fiery hot skin. He began to press his mouth harder onto her neck. She felt his porcelain fangs lingering over the thick vein that ran down her throat.

Everything her mother gave her life up for was slipping through her fingers. His fangs pressed into her skin. This wasn’t how he had killed her mother. He killed her out of anger or spite, but this seemed almost sensual. He slowly slid his teeth into her skin. She wanted to fight him. She wanted to kill the man that killed her mother and her brother, the man who was killing her, but she let him sink his sharp, porcelain teeth into her skin. Mostly because she knew she was completely powerless against him.

She felt her blood being forced through her veins like liquid fire. Everything in her told her to fight this pain and run. Half her family was dead and her father was too preoccupied with his precious work to even realize what was going on around him.  He probably wouldn’t notice they were gone.  Nia wanted to fight for her what her mother gave up and what her brother never had a chance to fight for. More then anything she wanted to, but if you struggle, it hurts.

He tightened his grip on her and she cried out as he forced his teeth in farther. She stopped fighting the tears and let them pour down her face until finally out of both fear and lack of blood she began to lose consciousness. Then her heart beat slowed. As she drifted into the darkness she counted each beat as they became slower, then even slower until they weren’t there at all.

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I never felt the need to blog before today, but I do find the word blog to be entertaining SO in light of that fact I am now a logger...and by logger I meant blogger. After I decided to blog (with the help of my sister) It was now a matter of deciding what is was I wanted to blog about. I could become famous off of a "How to" blog, or perhaps an advise blog. But lets face it, I don't know how to do much and my advise would probably lead the masses to suicide. Instead I decided to leave it to my thoughts, now how productive or useful this will be to anyone I do not know, but that sure does not matter. So as I watch Ghanon flail around our living room and rant about everything including his "just add water" potato (that word looks stupid) soup. I realize how grateful I am for how my life is panning out so far. Not saying that living here and working there is the only thing I ever want to do. For we all know that that is not true, but as for now I don't think I have been happier. I got a grand compliment from a customer at work and may I quote "best burger I have had in years." Now I do not care who you are that would make you feel on top on the world too. On a completely irrelevant note Ghanon's "just add water" potato soup is actually really great. I shall leave this blog now to embark on some for myself!