Silent Angel Crashes Through the Sky

The messy writing had directed me to a small street on the edge of the city. It was situated near a park, a hospital, and the highway. It was surprisingly silent. There were a couple of people walking the streets with me, but there was an eerie quiet. There was no wind and the moon was hidden behind the big black rain clouds, not budging.

I counted the houses, looking for the right number. When I finally found the right one, I felt a little skeptical. It was a white house- small and clean. I glanced around trying to spot anyone who might know the neighborhood a little better. Maybe he gave me the wrong number.

I sighed with a shrug, and wandered up the steps to the door. I raised my hand to knock when suddenly the door was pulled open. I stepped back in surprise.

"Oh!" A man stepped into the night, surprised as well. He radiated cold and I knew instantly what he was. I clenched my teeth, glaring. I took out a stake and he put his hands up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! No, you don't understand!" I scoffed, stepping towards him quickly. He tried to shut the door on me but I leaned against it. "Hey, Shads, give me a hand. Don't just sit there!" He grunted and I heard muffled laughing. "Little girl, go away. I won't hurt you. Seriously. Shadows, you asshole!" My ears perked up.

"Shadows?" I stopped leaning as hard. "Shadows?" I called a little louder. The vampire stopped leaning as well and opened the door slightly. Shadows appeared with raised eyebrows.

"Hey, it's you! How'd you find me?" I scrunched my eyebrows together.

"Who the fuck is he?" I asked pointing to the vampire. He smiled, showing off dimples.

"Don't worry. That's just Jimmy." My blood ran cold at the sound of that name. Shadows opened the door all the way to reveal Jimmy with crossed arms. I eyed him with sad eyes and clenched teeth.

"I'm certainly not going to invite her in." Shadows grinned at Jimmy who was sulking.

"Jimmy, this is Clark. Come on in." Jimmy rolled his eyes.

"Well, I was just leaving. Please don't mind me." I scoffed again.

"Wait a minute. This vampire... is he like your fucking friend or something?" Shadows gave me a small smile.

"Let me explain. Go ahead, Jimmy, don't worry. We'll split for tonight." Jimmy didn't need to be told twice. He left quickly, ignoring my glares. "So to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" He shot a smirk in my direction as he went towards what looked like the kitchen. I slowly followed him. "You want a beer?" I rolled my eyes.

"No thanks. What we saw that night-"

"What did we see?" He took a beer out of the fridge. I noticed it was littered with Stargazers. I clenched my teeth tighter. He cracked his beer open and took a couple swigs, leaning with his back on the counter to face me.

"I think the vampires are teaming up." I raised his eyebrows.

"To what? Fight? All of them working together? Ha! They wouldn't get anywhere working together. All the groups hate each other." I shook my head lightly.

"I think they're going to put everything aside. I think they're going to start a war." Shadows laughed, disbelief obvious in his voice.

"I think you're jumping to conclusions. What if you're wrong?"

"What if I'm right?" We locked eyes. "We have to be ready. For anything. Everything. Because what if I'm right and we're not ready?" He frowned.

"So what are we going to do?"

"Me and a couple of other hunters I know are recruiting tonight. You're the only other hunter I knew. I figured you might know a couple yourself. We need to gather our own army. We have to all be on the same page." I paused. "Just in case." He took another swig of his beer.

"There's five of us in this house. We might know a couple other groups, but I can't guarantee their cooperation. They're not big on trust or teamwork for that matter." I sighed feeling relieved, and even feeling lighter after talking to him.

"Anything will help. Thank you, Shadows." I took a piece of scrap paper from the table and a pen and started to write down our address. "We're going to meet tomorrow night. It would probably be better to meet during the day but... it seems like we've got some allies who will have a bit of trouble with that time. So, come as soon as the sun sets. Hopefully we'll be done with briefing quickly and we can get in some quality hunting time." I smiled, handing him the piece of paper. He smiled back.

"By the way, how'd you find me?" I put a finger to my chin, trying to remember his name.

"Johnny sent me?" I shrugged. "I don't really remember his name too well." Shadows laughed.

"Blond hair? Nose ring?" I nodded. "Yep, that's Johnny. He's one of us." I rolled my eyes.

"So, there's Jimmy the vampire, Johnny the human, and you. Matt?" He nodded with a smile still gracing his face. "That's three. Who are the other two?"

"Zacky and Brian. Oh, and, just a heads up. Brian's a vampire, too." I frowned deeply.

"Two vampires? Why?" He shrugged.

"They're my friends. And, they're the best hunters I know."

"But... they're vampires." He shrugged again.

"They are first and foremost my friends. I've known them since we were kids. They weren't always vampires. You have to give them the benefit of the doubt. You should never assume, especially, it seems, with vampires. They're not always as cut and dry as you think. There's a gray area sometimes." I didn't say anything. "You're brothers a vampire, too, right?" I nodded. "But, not a Dandy?" Nod. "Is he a hunter?" I looked away from him. Nod. "You should give him the benefit of the doubt, too, Clark. Maybe he's one of the good ones." I licked my lips.

"I should go." Shadows put his empty beer bottle on the counter.

"Hey, do you have anything else to do tonight? I seem to have lost my partner for tonight, so we could hunt together, if you want." He gave me a grin and I sighed, holding back a smile.

"You might slow me down." He laughed.

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that, won't we?" I smirked.

"Fine, but I'm driving."