The Most Important Rule

Rule #8: In order to be a good vampire hunter, you must be able to easily recognize a vampire when you see one.

There are a few ways you can do this.

One: They have ridiculously pale skin. Unless they are African-American or they had naturally dark skin when they were humans, vampires will always have creamy white skin. This is due to the lack of sunshine.

Two: They have fangs. Enough said.

Three: They have unnatural colored eyes. Only immortal beings have eyes that are impossible for a human to have (for example, red or violet), and they appear so bright they seem luminescent.

The man standing in front of me had all of the above.

I instantly went into defense mode. My muscles tensed, preparing to fight the vampire.

The vampire had an instinctive response to my reaction. It immediately bared its fangs and crouched down, ready to pounce. If I was a normal person, who hadn't been training to be a hunter for the last two years, I probably would have been dead already.

I glanced out of the corner of my eye, and noticed the steak-knife holder sitting on the counter. Before the vampire could make a move towards me, I darted to the counter and grabbed a knife. But the fact that I now had a weapon didn't scare the vampire. It lunged at me with an incredible amount of strength, and I was tackled to the floor. I struggled to pierce its heart - the only place where a vampire could be killed - while at the same time I was trying to keep its teeth away from my neck.

Despite the myths, vampires weren't that strong. Sure, they had supernatural powers and all that, but their physical strength only surpasses that of a human by a tiny bit. This vampire was strong, no doubt, and I was having trouble fighting it hand-to-hand; but it wasn't impossible. I still had a chance of winning.

"Chase!" I heard a shout - it was Thez.

"Stay away!" I shouted amongst my fight. I jabbed the knife at the vampire again, but it quickly rolled out of the way, and the knife sunk into the wood floor.

"No, Chase, stop - "

I forcefully yanked the knife out of the floor. The vampire lunged at me again, but I dodged it.

"What do you mean, stop?!" I hollered, still trying to kill the vampire.

The vampire hit me in the chest, and I was forcefully thrown into one of the cabinets. Plates and cups tumbled out from their shelves, shattering on the floor in a thousand pieces.

"Stop fighting him!" Thez shouted over all the racket and crashes.

"It's a vampire!" I shouted back, not even taking my eyes off of the creature as we continued our brawl.

"No, he's not!" Thez yelled back. "He's - He's your new partner!"

I froze in my tracks. Did I...hear that right? I looked at Thez, my eyes wide. The vampire had stopped trying to kill me, as well. Apparently it was as surprised as I was. We were both frozen on the spot; his teeth were grazing my neck, and I was holding the knife to his heart.

Thez gave me an apologetic look.

The vampire was the first to speak. "This is her?" it asked. Its voice was low and cool, and I could feel its fangs brush against my skin as he spoke.

"Please tell me this isn't her," it said again. It removed its bite-grip from my neck and stood up straight. I, however, refused to lower my weapon. I was giving Thez the most cynical death glare I could muster.

"Sorry, Chase," Thez said.

So this is the thing he knew I would get upset about. Well, he was wrong. I wasn't upset. I was furious.

"It's my what?!" I growled angrily. "You can't be telling me that my new partner - who just tried to kill me - "

"You attacked me first," snarled the vampire.

I ignored him. " - isn't even human?!"

Thez gulped. "Let me explain," he said, warily eyeing the steak knife I still held. "I - er - D.a.r.c. decided that it would be best if you had a partner when you went out hunting. You know, for extra help. Especially since last night, you got bitten the fourth time this month..."

"So?" I spat. "I'm immune to vampire bites. It doesn't matter."

Thez sighed. "But it does, Chase. It's too dangerous for you to be working alone. And last night, you passed out because of the pain - and who knows if next time you won't be able to call for backup, and another vampire happens to come across your unconscious body..."

"Well then, when I wake up I'll kick its ass," I retorted. "But let me tell you this: I. Work. Alone."

"This is D.a.r.c.'s orders. Sorry kid, but there's nothing you can do to change it."

"This thing is a vampire!" I shouted in frustration, pointing at the creature with the knife. "It's evil! They all are!"

Thez grimaced. "That's another thing I need to tell you..." he said.

I glared at him. "What, he's not a vampire, then? Let me guess: he's a fairy. Tell me, Thez, when was the last time fairies had fangs?"

Thez shook his head. "No, he is a vampire..." he said slowly. "But he's…different than the others."

I scoffed. "Prove it."

Thez rubbed his temples; I must have been giving him a headache. Well, good. He deserved to be in pain right now.

"A few months ago, another D.a.r.c. Agent captured a vampire," Thez started to explain. "This vampire. The D.a.r.c. agency decided to run a few tests on him, perform a few experiments..."

I glanced at the vampire. Its expression was cold and distant; it seemingly didn't mind us talking about it when it was standing right here.

"...and they found a way to make him... less evil," Thez continued.

I raised an eyebrow. "Only less? As in, it's not even a ‘good’ vampire?"

"Well," Thez said hesitantly, "we tried our best."

"Well isn't that just dandy," I said sarcastically. "I'm sure I'll be safe when I'm working with a vampire that wants to eat me. Wouldn't that be more of a threat, if I have to work with him?"

"Are you saying you can't fight off a single vampire?" Thez questioned.

"Of course I can!" I immediately answered.

Oops. That was a trick question.

Thez smiled. "Well then, problem solved," he said, rubbing his hands together.

Thez had won the argument. Making a disgusted face at the thing standing to my right, I folded my arms and looked at Thez menacingly. I could tell he was ready to get right down to business.

"First off, you two should probably have a proper introduction," he said. Despite his cheery mood, the vampire and I both remained stone-faced and angry.

"Chaysie, this is Rustan. Rustan, Chaysie. She prefers to be called Chase, though."

The vampire and I just glared at each other. Neither of us made a move to shank hands or even nod; if anything, I may have shifted the knife closer to his heart. But everything else remained quiet and still.

"...Okay, then," Thez said slowly, realizing that the 'introductions' didn’t go as well as he hoped. "I'll just tell you about your new living arrangements. You're both going to be flown to New York, since there have been an increasing number of vampire attacks recently. It's up to you two to handle the pest problem."

The vampire - Rustan - uttered a low growl at Thez.

"Er - Sorry," Thez quickly said. "No hard feelings or anything. Well anyway, just get rid of them."

"I could do that myself, you know," I said. The vampire and I were still staring at each other. If looks could kill, Rustan would already be back in hell.

"We've already been over this. No point in arguing now. Your flights will be taking off tomorrow morning before sunrise - you can’t travel in daylight because of Rustan - so Chase, I would suggest packing."

I seized the opportunity to leave.

"Be sure that my stuff is safely stored in cargo," I retorted, turning away from Rustan. "Will that disgusting thing be put in there, too?"

"If you're referring to Rustan, the answer is no," Thez said calmly.

"Why not? It's not like it deserves to be in a decent seat."

Rustan spoke up. "I'm a he, not an it. "

"I beg to differ."

The terms "he" and "she" refer to people. People with feelings. People with souls. Vampires do not have feelings and they certainly do not have souls. They aren’t even alive. Therefore, they are referred to as "its."

"I'm going back up to my room," I stated, and left to walk up the stairs.

As I left the room, another rule popped into my mind:

Rule #9: Do not trust a vampire.

I wasn't planning on breaking that rule any time soon.