The chosen one

Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer. That was the mantra taught to Lilith from the age of fourteen on after the previous slayer was killed in combat and she was called. She repeated it now in her mind as she sat in the cave, coughing up foul underground lake water. Her prom dress – the expensive dress her father had spent months saving up for – was covered in dirt and blood. The leather jacket she’d borrowed from James had done little to protect against damages when the master held her underwater. “Are you okay, Lili?” Mark asked. “Talk to me.” “We need to stop the master now,” Lilith said, getting to her feet. She looked at Alvin, who had just administered CPR. “Thanks for the save.” “Your heart stopped beating for a second there,” Alvin said, his gray e

Blood. So much blood. Lilith winced at the carnage, trying to look away. The scene changed. That snake – coiling around the school – its massive teeth bared. Then the scene changed again. Lilith was standing in a house – much bigger than her own – looking down a hallway. She could hear sobbing and ran toward the sound. A doll with blonde hair hanging from its ankle. Another scene change. A girl with bleached blonde hair was laying on a bed with a canopy with pink curtains. Blood was splattered on the white sheets. Lilith went to her, wanting to comfort her. Then the scene changed yet again. A girl in a cheerleading uniform was doing a routine. Something was wrong – her face was filled with fear and flames were forming all over her body, burning her. Another scene change – an office. A man with a wicked smirk and a goatee crunching down on a spider. Again, the scene changed. A man with dark sideburns was standing atop a tower with a girl of about twelve, holding a knife to her thro

Ally had to admit – she had been against all these outsiders knowing about slaying but having backup pedestrians doing research while she and Lilith did the legwork was useful. She did insist on dragging Hahn Adjuk to Yuna’s dorm with them. She was still certain he was their culprit.When they arrived at Yuna’s dorm though, it was clear right away that something was wrong. Her door was wide open, and they could hear Mark yelling for help from inside. Ally exchanged a look with Lilith, and they both rushed in followed by Hahn.Yuna was on her bed, coughing up blood. It was a canopy bed, with pink curtains. Hahn yelled in horror and started screaming for help, running up and down the halls, banging on doors. Other students started making their way into the hall, looking around.“This is definitely a curse situation,” Ally said, assessing Yuna’s state. She was on her bed on all fours, coughing and gagging. Her white sheets were stained with splatters of red. Her blue eyes were wide with

“Five dead,” Barton said, holding up the newspaper. It was late Saturday afternoon. Ally and Lilith were sitting in the Sunnydale High library eating pizza having just finished a training session. “All with bite marks on their neck drained of blood. If any of these people happened to drink the blood of their undead attackers-” “We know,” Lilith said. “We’ll have a brand-new thirsty vampire on our hands.” “Well, I suppose this means we’re not going to the Bronze tonight,” Ally said, trying to hide her disappointment. She’d done her makeup with extra care in the bathroom of the motel room. She’d even picked out a cute dress, which she’d packed in a backpack to change into after the training session. When was the last time Ally had even worn a dress? She didn’t know. Certainly before becoming a slayer. It was stupid. Ally had let herself enjoy the way a pretty girl looked at her, smiled at her, laughed at her horrible joke about coffee. Just for a moment, she’d forgotten that she wasn’

Rock music blasted as the 1958 Dodge Desoto FireFlite sped along the empty road at a dangerous speed. The car crashed directly into the happy go lucky looking sign reading ‘Welcome to Sunnydale’ in perky gold letters. Beneath that, was a hopeful slogan in jaunty cursive - ‘Enjoy your stay!’ The sign toppled over as the Dodge Desoto crashed into it.Zack climbed from the front seat, lighting a cigarette and looking out at the town, visible from the grassy hillside they’d crashed on. Melanie climbed from the passenger side, and Lexy got out from the back. She was annoyed with Zack for crashing the car apparently just for dramatic effect. Now they were going to have to walk to find somewhere to stay before morning.“Sunnydale,” Zack said, taking a drag of the cigarette. “Welcome to the Hellmouth, girls.”“Great place for vampires,” Melanie said, leaning against the side of the crashed car, her expression bored. Zack passed her the cigarette, and she inhaled, blowing smoke. “Terrible plac