Chapter 2

The sunlight hit me like a drumstick hits the tightly stretched skin of its drum; sharp and loud, unexpected and dazzling. It was shining directly above the large field whose edge we were now standing on with bated breath. The light threw my scars and purple bruises sharply into relief; I could barely look at them without getting a little nauseous.

 

Surrounding the circular field were tall fences, at least thirty feet high each. Beyond them lay an endless forest, and a few wispy clouds beyond them at which my unaccostumed eyes now squinted.

 

In the middle of the field were two men, both wearing purple and gold striped shirts, and simple black jeans, as gold and purple were the official colors for Devadas. The official bird was the Tufted Titmouse, and it was founded in 1853, about one hundred and fifty years ago. I knew all of this from the lessons my doctors had given me, and the information stuck with me, despite how little I cared.

 

I breathed in the fresh, forest air greedily as we walked towards the men, and I noticed a group of black birds fly out of one of the tall trees in the distance and towards the sun. I'd never expected the outside world to have such limitless possibilities. Once you were in the sky, you could keep going and never stop, if it pleased you. And who knew what lay beyond this forest, waiting for me to discover it?

 

We walked to the men standing on the other side of the field. It was not until we were close enough for them to greet us did I notice how extremely bulky they were, muscles bursting out of their tight sleeves and thick, meaty heads. They were going to try to hurt me, like my doctors.

 

"Good afternoon, soldiers." Landry greeted the two men, with a small bow of his head. They bowed low, and their silent glances shifted between him and me. "We have someone new for you to train. This is Ayuri Natsukawa."

 

Landry gestured toward me with a pale, lazy hand and the soldiers' eyes looked at me again, confused but interested. Was I to be trained to fight for Devadas by these monsters? I was incredibly out of my league.

 

One of the men, the shorter one, disappeared for a while and came back with a set of clothes for me to change into. It was a pair of black jean shorts and a plain purple tank top, in which I felt much freer than in my pink dress. While he was gone, I walked around the perimeter of the field with the taller soldier. My doctors, Keeper and Landry were standing at the edge of the field again, watching silently but attentively.

 

"What kind of training will we be doing?" I asked as soon as we were out of earshot. This man was tall and thin but muscular, his biceps bulging out of the short sleeves of his purple and gold shirt.

 

"Target practice, stealth, weaponry and evasionary tactics. That sort of thing." I noticed he had a British accent, and he kept staring at me. With what? Interest, or disbelief?

 

"You're not the usual soldier in training," he chuckled with a crooked smile. I smiled at him, but with a closed mouth. The doctors didn't take care of my teeth very much, and I wasn't given toothpaste and floss of my own. I wasn't really given much of anything.

 

"Well, I have to help protect Devadas. In repayment to Landry, who allowed the doctors to help me," I said this with a sigh, my wavy brown hair brushing my shoulders. My hair was the prettiest part of my apperance. My eyes were deep set and oriental, and I had high arching eyebrows. A tiny nose and plump pink lips made up the rest of my face. My skin wasn't pale, but it wasn't tan either. Short and very skinny, my look was completed with startling blue eyes that made all of my doctors and my Keeper stare at me. My new, tall and bulky trainer was staring too.

 

"Is that so? What part of the city are you from?" He seemed doubtful of my desire to protect the city. Did he think I wouldn't be strong enough? I had to prove him wrong. I had to become an adequate soldier, or I'd be stuck here forever.

 

"No part. I'm from the...hospital," I hesitated, not sure how he would react to the word "hospital." Would he see me as a freak, and quit talking to me? Perhaps give up in helping me to become a soldier? But he didn't. Understanding flashed through his eyes, but it was brief. Then he composed himself again before speaking.

 

"Oh...Well, that explains it. Landry never escorts new trainees to practice. You must be someone that--can help." I had the feeling that wasn't what he meant to say. He ran his thick, sausage-like fingers through his chesnut hair to cover up the awkwardness.

"What's your name?" I asked, looking for a change of subject.

 

"Thomas Cain. And you are Miss Ayuri Natsukawa," he seemed proud of himself for remembering.

 

Miss? Who does this guy think he's talking to? "Uh -- yes, that's me."

 

We regrouped with the shorter man, who introduced himself as Alexei Berendt.

 

"We're gonna start with some target practice," Thomas told me. He went with Alexei to line up some targets. They were ten long sticks with a black circle perched on top of them. They were about twenty feet away from me, where I stood in the middle of the field, nervously twisting my hands together.

 

Alexei, unsmiling, handed me a soft, purple bag filled with little stones, each one gray and with a very sharp edge. He told me, in a thick Russian accent, to aim for the targets and just hit as many as I could.

 

I took a gulp of air and dropped the bag to the grass, where it landed with a soft flop, one sharp stone in my hand already. It was then that I saw him for the first time.

 

With a smooth and sinuous body like a snake, a dark figure was hurling himself from tree branch to tree branch, trying to stay out of sight. But I could tell he was staring right at me. As though he sensed my gaze also, he suddenly stopped on the high branch of a tall, leafy elm tree and successfully hid from view all but his eyes and the top of his head behind the tree's trunk.

 

"Throw the stone at this target," said the impatient voice of Alexei Berendt, accenting the r's and n's in all of his words. He and Thomas were standing slightly to the right of the black circles on sticks.

 

I chanced a quick glance at this ninja, and then threw the stone as hard as I could with a quick flick of my wrist. It hit the first target dead center and stuck its point in the black circle with a sharp, metallic bang.

 

"Excellent, Ayuri!" Landry was standing and clapping, along with my doctors and Keeper. But I didn't care if they were impressed, they should have expected to be. Thomas seemed ecstatic, and Alexei merely said "Next target", with an indifferent face. I whipped my head around breathlessly to see my ninja's reaction to my success, but I couldn't find him. I scrunched up my milky forehead, searching for him.

 

"Next target!" Alexei called out again. I snapped my head back to the target and imagined it was his wide, ruddy face.

 

Bang! The stone ricocheted off the target. It had hit on its side rather than its point. I let out a harsh breath of frustration as there were no cheers this time.

 

The next target was simple, and I got my hubris back. I looked up to wipe the hair out of my eyes and recieved a slight shock that sent my heart fluttering. The ninja man had reappeared, and he was clinging like a bug to the fence, his fingers and shoeless, dirty toes looped through the fence's empty spaces.

 

I got the next six targets, and Landry was exuding happiness. My ninja disappeared into the trees, where I could no longer see him.

 

"Excellent!" Thomas exclaimed. Alexei was removing the targets. I remained where I was as Landry and my Keeper walked towards me.

 

"Ayuri, you have pretty good aim!" Landry said, flashing a set of sharp, yellow teeth. "We will pick up your training tomorrow, and in the meantime you can go to the cafeteria for something to drink and then head up to your room."

 

"What?" I asked sharply.

 

"Well, Ayuri, you have to stay in the hospital until we are sure that you are stabilized enough to enter Devadas. Soon, you will be allowed to live at the palace and will have access to certain parts of the city."

 

I stared at him unblinking and speechless. Landry continued to smile as though nothing were wrong, and I felt the fear seeping into my skin. I had to continue living here.

 

I owed Landry my life and he would take it away from me if I was disloyal. The doctors had told me this, but I took it for granted. I thought it meant only if I was very horrible in my duties as a soldier. But I'd always been under the impression that I would be free to go where I wanted, once I'd been transformed.

 

To learn that I still have to live in a klaustrophobic room was all-consuming. I couldn't think as I walked back to the hospital. I could barely taste the blood soothing my throat as I stood next to the open refrigerator in the cafeteria, my hands and lips shaking around the little blue plastic cup I was holding.

 

As I entered my room once more, the blank slate of my mind vanished and was replaced by fury and, predominately, fear. I was angry that I had let myself be fooled by their false smiles and lies. I was so angry that little tears welled up around my eyes and I rubbed them away so furiously my eyes turned red and raw.

 

I was scared. How could I get out of here if they never let me leave, if they burned me and beat me every time I tried? I would be here my entire life. I couldn't even think of a way in which to kill myself. I tucked my knees into my chest and sobbed, until I slipped off to sleep.

 

 

Reviews

[snopadelic]

This is kewl ypur vampires don't have an aversion to sunlight which is again original. I'm senseing a mystery starting to build here. I like the way you have inverted the whole vampire theme with the vamp crying and being scared. I would defenetly like to know more about how vampires interact with human, if they do interact with human? and more about the king vampire. I like the thread of mystry thats rnning through something to sink your teeth into.. sorry bad pun.