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She glances up, raindrops drizzling down her face Bernard curses under his breath I shieldthat everything’s safe, when I hear a soft thud

Everyone tenses Breaths falter All except mine

I’ My knife snaps out, preparing for battle Another thump Another crash

"Kayla," Maci whispers "They’re coainst the mud as I creep over to a splinter of space between two rocks At first I’m only blinded by splatters of rain, until I blink Then I see theh theas they remain on the other side of the rock But an eye appears on the other side and all hopes of being okay wash aith the sand The eye trickles blood as it burns a lifeless gaze ath the air tellsAnd fast

I grab Maci and tuck her in a cubby in the bottom rock "Stay here And, whatever happens, don’t make a sound"

She nods and I turn to Bernard "I need your help"

His eyes are wide as he hugs himself and stares blankly at the rain

"Bernard" I snap ers in front of his face, but no reaction I shake him by the shoulders, but it's like he’s slipped into a coap in the rocks and quietly slip head first inside I take a deep breath "You’ve done this before," I whisper to ain"

With lide myself into their world I land in thea beat I’ve actually startled them and for a moment, they look lost, like they’re not quite sure what to do with someone who offers themselves up so easily

But the blood in their eyes washes the look away and they all swar filled with s be the weapon and they rise to the challenge, chasing after me Vampires are fast The very first time I went out on a raid, I arned about this, but I didn’t realize how fast until the first time I was chased But I also realized just how inhuh theto let up Every now and then I glance behindry beasts they are, they seek blood And I’ve got a body full of it

Their fangs snap out as we move deeper into the sand hills I launch myself over a rock, but fall back when I spot a mob of va toI try s tre to eat etting bit I think of how the two left uess my luck has finally worn off

They pile towardfor an escape, but their bodies scatter the land even farther than I can see

I have no choice There’s nowhere to go and I refuse to become infected and turn into one of them I raise my knife for my chest and shut my eyes "Goodbye," I whisper in the wind

But my voice is overlapped by a, "No!"

And then the sound echoes with a hundred more The sound of a sta away, into the night I standtheht be the one and only person the vampires don’t want to touch

But why?

After they all clear, I step down from the rock Rain still pours from the sky and violently nicks at my eyes and cheeks I shield my hand in front of my face as I climb up the hill and slide down into the trench Mud soaks my jeans and leaks into e And maybe that’s why I don’t hear it until it’s too late

The rush of water as it rips through the trench, knocking my feet out fro as I fight to stay afloat The water’s cold andas I try to paddle round and I push ain Water bursts against s as the water steals my body But someone catches my arm

"Give me your hand," Bernard says and I latch onto hiround

"Where did you coh up water "And where’s Maci?"

Bernard sinks in the sand, running his hands through his soaked hair "Maci’s still in her hiding spot She said so if I didn’t co pretty creepy too"

I roll over, pushing lad she is, because I’m pretty sure I’d be dead by now"

We start up the hill, sliding in theout like that?" Bernard finally asks, not being rude like he was earlier, just curious

"I was thinking it was better me than you two," I say simply "Besides, I’m the experienced one"

"Yeah, but it didn’t do any good The vaestures around at the eer"

I nod, not bothering to tell him what really happened And I’m not sure I’ll ever tell anyone Who knohat people would do if they found out I was the one and only person who can ith the vampires and remain untouched

Because people fear those who are different And fear can s

Chapter 12

We ht without any more vampire incidents, like every one of them has vanished into thin air, never to return But I’ I knoithout a doubt that I’ll see a varey with , I can finally breathe My clothes are caked in a thick layer of dirt that I work to chip off with my knife

"You need a shower," Bernard re some dirt off his sleeve

I pull a chunk of ht on it"