This chapter represents the start of a new series, one that puts a different, more Sci-Fi spin on the age-old vampire myth. Bye the way, the term 'vampire' is actually an Earth construct, therefore people from another world who may share those traits don't think of themselves that way.
So, yes, there are aliens, good ones and bad ones, and yes, the good ones are here to stand against those who would suppress the more fragile human race, but they don't appear yet, have faith, they'll show up soon, Maura, the lead character, just has to deal with a few adjustments to her world view. While there is no actual sex in this chapter, there is a lot of action to keep you occupied. *Grin*
This chapter could be rated PG-13 for action, but I still like to caution my readers. I hope you enjoy it, leave a comment once you've read it. Feedback is the lifeblood of any writer...dreamweaver594.
Terrus
Maura dashed out of the store laden with some of the provisions she and her father would need to lay low for the next couple of weeks. Supplies were slim and she had to take the chance of getting caught.
Right after she arrived in the store the clerk began to get suspicious. There was a poster of her next to one of her father's plastered on a board near the front door. She paused a moment to study the likeness through her fake glasses. Her hair had grown a lot since that drawing was made. Her amber curls fell nearly to her waist, framing a pretty face with a button nose and arched eyebrows. She was listed as having a pale complexion in the description and standing nearly two meters high, which was tall for a female. It also warned the reader that she was armed and dangerous. She snorted at that. They had no idea.
She glanced around the store. It was mostly empty at this time of the day. She knew there were spies everywhere. Disguises were helpful, up to a point. The one she wore was good, but ultimately a careful observer could peel back even the most professional mask.
Standing at the register Maura was beginning to perspire, which is never a good thing when you wear a mask. Sweat was beginning to drip off Maura's chin. It was equinox, the hottest day of the year. She grabbed the sack the merchant filled with her provisions and bolted for the door. Outside, the larger of the two suns glared down making everything shimmer with the heat of mid-day. She dropped the sacks into the saddlebags on her motorbike when her communicator chirped.
"I told you never to call," she sputtered vehemently.
"You're father's in trouble." The familiar raspy voice grated against her ears.
"What?"
"They'll be there soon...move!"
"Who told you to call me?"
"Artemus." Artemus was an old man she had met only once, he was her father's childhood friend.
"Where are they now? Are they close?"
She heard a click in the earpiece. Everything went silent.
Maura tossed the communicator into a trashcan by the road. She knew that it probably had a trace on it. She gunned the bike and raced down the dusty gravel road. Small rocks flew in all directions as the wheels spun against the loose gravel.
Damn it, why can't this piece of crap go any faster? "Dad," she murmured to herself, "be safe, be safe, be safe. Oh God Dad, be safe." The bike raced out of the dumpy little village leaving only a thin trail of dust behind.
About a kilometer from the warehouse Maura stopped and pulled the bike into a makeshift lean-to just off the road. The night air was chilly and she could see her breath. To be safe, she would travel the remaining distance to the warehouse where they had been hiding on foot.
As she crept closer to the warehouse she could see light coming from the lone window on the roadside of the building. She looked around and couldn't see any other vehicles. She knew they must be close but maybe she made it in time. Then she heard a 'snap' and darkness began to descend.
"Nice of you to drop by Miss Telie-Duranoc," said the voice of a man behind her, "Time to join your father." Maura's mind went blank and everything went black.
As Maura slowly began to regain consciousness she found herself being pulled across the warehouse floor towards her father's desk. For whatever reason, the drug in the dart that was supposed to knock her out only made her drowsy. She held her silence; she had to know what they were doing to her father.
"Put her over there," said a strangely familiar voice. It was male but Maura couldn't quite place it with a face.