Chapter 2 The Pilot

• The first rule of Hunting- never underestimate your prey. That was the first lesson Evana learned from Hunting school.
• The pitter patter of the rain drumming against the windows of the black Sedan was the laziest sound Evana heard that day, but she chose to indulge in it instead and not the deafening silence that swelled in the car.
• She chose to focus her attention on the city lights that faded in the rearview, making a pathway to the dense and looming trees lining the outskirts of the city. She could tell why the view suddenly felt colder, older and darker— Monsters.
• "You are quiet," Helena's voice pulled her almost wandering thoughts back into the monotonous car. She could see Helena peering back at her from the Passenger seat. Her tone was unreadable as always, "Are you scared? Cold feet?"
• Evana met her Foster Mother's eyes, "Not really." And as if to reassure herself, she clutched her fingers tightly around the hilt of the dagger strapped to her thigh. Not that she needed it anyway. For now.
• Helena did not look convinced at all. Her eyes still held the sharp and calculating glint they had when they peered into her own teary eyes as a child and told her, "We'll protect you enough to protect yourself."
• "Did you take your pills this morning?" Helena frowned.
• Evana squirmed uncomfortably but still answered, "Yes, Mother, I did. Trust me, I'm fine." She did not like how unconvincing she sounded.
• Beside Helena, Troy grunted in approval. Her Foster father and head medical researcher of the agency. He wasn't a man of many words. Neither parent was. She had found it stifling when she was younger; it was a contrast to the bubbly and lively air around her actual parents, but after eleven years, she had long gotten used to the silence. If anything, she appreciated it.
• Evana turned back to the window. Watching the trees blur by, her thoughts once again began to drift further into the memories of that night. The night of her unbecoming.
• Blood. Screams. The sickening sound of her mother's last breath.
• She could remember it so clearly. She had only been eight when the Vampires raided her cozy and small home near the western border. They did not want anything— they just fed. On her mother, her father, her little brother and even her baby sister who was in the cradle.
• She was the only one alive. She didn't know why they left her. She hated them for it. They should not have spared her. She still felt that pair of silver eyes watching her from the shadows like it did that day. She could have died too, but Helena and Troy had saved her that day. The Agency saved her.
• They would regret leaving her alive. The Vampires. They would wish they had drunk her blood. A sardonic smile tugged at her lips.
• "We've reached the outer perimeter" Troy's gruff voice permeated the air. he was checking the dashboard panel.
• Evana straightened. Her heartbeat quickened, and her fingers felt colder.
• The Vampire Academy hadn't been a myth after all. Beyond high-level strategy meetings at the Agency, this was real. Carefully hidden away from the visible eyes. It was miles into the enchanted forest. The Only place Young adult vampires could be trained in control, étiquette and secrecy— taught to blend perfectly among the unsuspecting humans without arousing suspicion.
• The tall and Illuminating gates of Gore Academy loomed over the car, cold and imposing. It bore an emblem she couldn't recognize. Right beyond the gates were ancient and magnificent towers that rose into the quite misty mornings.
• This was shocking to Evana. The Academy seemed as old as time itself. It could only mean that this place has been standing for more than decades. Anger mixed with uncertainty bubbled at the bottom of her chest.
• "Remember your cover," Helena said as the car came to a halt before the Academy. "Your name is Evana Graye, you've been helping your sick mother hence your late enrollment. Your file is already embedded in their system. The rest is on you."
• Evana nodded calmly. She knew all these. The Agency was smarter than anyone would believe. She had been researching for ways to infiltrate this stuck-up place, and she was their chance. She was glad they found her worthy to do so. This was her biggest mission yet.
• Troy glanced at her, his quiet eyes melting, "You take care of yourself, remember to take your pills, both the calming pill and the other one. When you encounter a problem, call first, don't act alone. You've got us."
• Evana smiled at his words. He was trying to comfort her, she knew. He spoke too much already. Unlike him.
• Helena added, "They are Monsters, don't forget that. But no matter how scary they may seem, remember that the table is reversed, you are the hunter and they are prey. Got it?"
• Evana chuckled humorlessly, albeit nervously this time. "I get it, Mother."
• "Good." Helena was looking at the Gigantic gate from the windscreen.
• As if on cue, the gates creaked open with a groan so drawn out, like the Academy itself was waking from a long slumber, and Evana knew goodbyes were ending.
• "Take care." She said before opening the car and stepping out. She slung over one shoulder her backpack and dragged out her duffel bag.
• The cold air hit her face, and the lazily falling rain pecked her cheeks. She did not turn around, not to look at Troy or Helena.
• They weren't going to hug her, nor would they say goodbye; they weren't the affectionate type...and neither was she. But right now, it would have been of little help to her thumping heart.
• A man stood waiting inside the gates. Tall, stern and dressed in a black suit. Evana noticed a crest pinned on his chest, which gleamed silver, the sigil of the Academy. And just then did the Crest on the gate made absolute sense.
• A bat with its wing curled around a dagger.
• Monsters. Evana wanted to scream it out loud. On a deeper level, she wanted to turn around and run back to her parents before they drove off. She did not want to be around this weird and scary school, but thinking of her real family, she steeled her feet on the ground and heaved a deep breath.
• "You must be Ms. Graye," the man's voice was gruff and cold.
• Evana gave a curt nod, her fingers twitching to her sides, itching to draw a blade.
• Calm it, Evana, not yet. She chided herself.
• The man gave a cold smile, his fangs flashing for her to see, "Bastien, Guardian of the Stills. Follow me."
• Evana felt a chill run down her spine. This man was better off not smiling at all. And the fangs...
• Oh lord, I pray my soul to keep. She mustered a little prayer in her heart.
• The guardian's eyes jerked behind her, looking intently at the black Sedan car which was behind her.
• Noticing his focus, she chuckled nervously, "My parents are under the weather, they won't see me off this time, I hope that is fine?"
• They couldn't even if they wanted to. Step their legs into the Academy. A den of Vampires versus unarmed humans? Not possible.
• The only way she could do that was because of the pill she was on. Not the calming pills...the other pill.
• He grunted a reply and turned to leave. He repeated, "Follow me."
• She scurried after him inside the school, not before stealing a glance at the Black Sedan as it reversed and slowly disappeared into the long woods paved with a clear. The part she came from, but was not returning to anytime soon.
• Following behind the man who had long strides, Evana could not help but take notice of the heavy air around the school. There was a dense feel of magic. It had to be. The air felt gothic and vintage. Evana had thought she'd be scared, but on the contrary, the air was calming, and she appreciated the old yet prestine buildings. If only she were not here for a mission, she would have savored deeply the feel around here.
• Focus Evana! She chided herself.
• It seemed deserted from the outskirts of the school, no students in sight, just an empty environment of tall and intimidating buildings.
• Evana was beginning to wonder if the school had already shut down unbeknownst to the Agency when the Guardian walked straight to an open area. To her shock and bewilderment, with the flick of his wrist, a huge wooden door stood tall, not hinged to any wall. Just there, planted in the air.
• Evana sucked in a deep breath, calming her nerves. Of course, these monsters would practice magic.
• The Guardian dug his hand into his pocket and fished out a bunch of keys. he stepped towards the door and opened it with one of the keys.
• He entered the door, and Evana followed behind, her breath held still.
• On entering the door, it felt like they had entered another world. The real Academy. The same tall and mystic towers as on the outskirts and behind the magical doors, but there was life here. The air was even denser. There were students moving around.
• They passed students along the way. Some stood in clusters, talking animatedly, laughing quietly. She noticed others perched on ledges or benches watching her pass. Their eyes shimmered, some were silver...like the vampires that fed on her family. Some where crimson. She had seen those eyes when she followed her foster parents on a hunt.
• Evana looked forward and at the tall back of the Guardian who was guiding her to God-knows-where. Her fingers curled more strongly on the straps of her bags.
• A sardonic smile was threatening to form on her lips. Well, at least she was in the Vampires' den now.
• Let the Hunt begin.