Better Off Dead: Chapter 1

Chapter One

“Tanzee!” Lina yelled, “Get out here now! I swear,” she added to the two men beside her, “She can be so spacey sometimes. I just don’t get it. Ah, here she comes now.”
Tanzee breezed lightly out the cabin doorway, her long, light brown hair flowing around her. She smiled dreamily as she walked slowly and gracefully down the path. Lina looked at the two men watching Tanzee. The one closest to Lina removed his glasses, cleaned them, rubbed his eyes, then put his glasses back on and started trying to fix his thinning brown hair. The other one adjusted his dark sunglasses and continued staring in her direction.
“Hello,” Tanzee said in a light, musical voice as she drew closer to them. They stared at her a moment longer, unable to speak as they took in her thin body, long, wavy hair, and her eyes, a deep, blue-purple color that looked mystical. She turned back and forth a little bit, so that the skirt of her light blue sundress flowed around her.
The man with the glasses opened and closed his mouth a few times, and Tanzee giggled. He flushed red, and his companion, a younger, handsome man, cleared his throat.
“Miss Zekiela?” he asked, and Lina watched Tanzee nod. “Would you care to come with us, ma’am?” He asked, reaching inside his suit jacket. Lina saw the flash of a gun, and glanced at the nervous bespectacled man, who was also reaching inside his coat.
“Not really. Why?” Tanzee pouted, “Am I in trouble?”
“You may be,” the younger man said. “We believe you may be in danger.”
“From whom?” Tanzee asked, playing with the skirt of her sundress and looking at the man with large, innocent eyes.
“We’re not at liberty to say,” he said after a moment, his eyes shifting to his partner.
“Then I think I’ll stay here,” she replied lightly, then started humming a song.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, and nodded at the man with the specs.
“Why?” Tanzee asked, tilting her head.
The two men pulled their guns out. Specs pointed his at Lina, the younger one aimed toward Tanzee.
Lina reacted immediately, crouching down just a little, then jumping up and kicking Specs in the stomach. As he bent over, she kicked the gun out of his hand. Then as he looked up at her, she kneed him in the face. He fell down, unconscious, gushing blood from his nose. Lina straightened her black tank top and yoga pants.
“Stop!” The remaining man’s voice echoed loudly. Lina turned slowly. He had Tanzee’s arm gripped tightly in one hand, and held the gun to her head with the other.
Cara rolled Specs onto his back and placed her foot on his neck. Her etnes sneaker applied pressure, and a gurgling sound emerged from his mouth.
“What are you doing? Stop!” Tanzee’s captor yelled.
“You kill her, and I kill him.”
“You kill him, and I kill you.”
“One shot fired and you’re dead.”
“It would seem,” he said, “that we are at an impasse.”
“Apparently.”
“And yet, you don’t look overly worried. You actually look amused. Why is that?”
“Because,” she said, smiling. “I know something you don’t.”
“And what’s that?”
At that moment, Tanzee’s head slammed back, her elbow went up, and her hands wrapped around the arm holding the gun. In a swift motion,she jerked him around and had his arm pinned behind his back. She yanked his arm up, and his hand released the gun as he hissed in pain.
“That,” Lina said. “Good, isn’t she?”
“Impossible,” he gasped. “Who are you? “What are you?”
“My name is Tanya Zekiela. I’m a Vampyre. An upper-class noble Vampyre who trained with the Guardians. I’m the first Noble to get this training, but I assure you, I will not be the last.” The light, dreamy tone was gone now, though her voice was still beautiful. Her fair skin was slightly flushed, and her eyes seemed to have darkened some, and no longer carried the innocent look. Before,, she’d looked pretty and innocent; Now, Tanzee was lethally beautiful. “I’m telling you this because I want you to warn whoever hired you.” She let him go, shoving him forward as she did so. “Now start running. Or I will kill you.”
“What about him?” he asked, nodding toward his partner.
“Him?” Lina asked. “Oh, he’s dead.” And with that, she slammed her foot into his neck.
“Then I can’t go back. They’ll kill me if I do.”
“Lina,” Tanzee whispered, “If we keep him, we can use him to get information.”
Lina nodded, and they each strode forward and grabbed an arm. They led him forward, practically dragging him toward the cabin. His dark hair fell over his crimson eyes as his sunglasses fell off. He winced as Tanzee applied pressure to his already-sore arm.
Once inside, Lina pulled the black coat off and started pulling weapons out: knives, guns, a stake. Tanzee reached into his pants pockets and pulled out an assortment of things, including a wallet, a pocket knife, a flashlight, and a silver pen. Then, she checked his ankles and felt up his legs, checking for concealed weapons while Lina checked him for bugs.
“I’m not bugged,” he clarified as they searched. “They didn’t find it necessary to keep tabs on us. They were confident we’d get the job done without problems.”
“Well, they were wrong. What happens when you don’t show up? Will they come here looking for you?” Lina demanded.
“Probably,” he shrugged, half smiling.
“How many?” Tanzee demanded.
“Too many for you to take down.”
“How would they know where to find us?”
“The same way I did, ms. Zekiela. Someone will tell them.”
“Who?” Tanzee asked, voice quivering.
“Someone who wants you dead. Someone who knew how to find you.”
“That’s it. Lock him in the far bedroom,” Lina directed a man in a black suit and sun glasses. “The one with the silver bars on the window.” Then, as he was dragged away, she turned to Tanzee. “He was trying to scare you, sweety. Don’t listen to him.”
“But Lina,” Tanzee whispered, “What if he’s right?”