-CHAPTER SEVEN-
•Precognition•

Jennifer's POV (Point of View)

I

've only been at Gifted Academy for two days and things are already leading in the wrong direction. I didn't come to make friends; I didn't come for tests; I came to take on my next job. I hate my job with a passion, but once you start, leaving may cost you your life. I've caused more bloodshed than most serial killers. I'm a killer; it's the only life I've ever known. Read my lips...I am an Assassin.

It was night; the moon sat still while the stars danced around across the dim-lit sky. I stood in the courtyard, waiting for my contact--the man who released me from Alcatraz.

The wind stirred vigorously through the trees; leaves flew passed my face and scattered all over the ground. A clicking noise caught my attention as it crept up from behind me. A female voice spoke out.

"You must be Jennifer Fang of the deadly Vampire clan."

I turned to the sight of a girl in a black coat. She wore red sneakers, and long red hair hung down from her hood.

"Who are you and what do you want?" I gripped my dagger that sat at my side.

"I'm Jinx," she said, "I was told to come here just like you were." She removed her hood and revealed her pale skin. Her skin was so wrinkled and grey, that she looked like a human cigarette.

"Excuse my complexion, I've been asleep for a while and my last meal didn't completely satisfy me." She smiled, showing off her mouth full of fangs; they were slightly stained with blood.

"So you're from the Vampire clan too."

"Guilty as charged."

She approached me and examined me closely.

"I know I'm looking pretty bad myself, but I couldn't help but notice that you're looking a little scrawny. By the looks of your patched-up arm you must have lost a lot of blood. When was your last feeding?"

"I don't..."

"What do you mean, you don't? You don't know when, or-?"

"No, I don't feed. I found other ways to get rid of my hunger without using innocent people, unlike you."

"What's wrong with my way?" She chuckled.

"You have the ability to drain by touch, but you kill your victims brutally with your fangs. That's cruel and against the Council's wishes."

"The members of the Council made the rules for us because their afraid of us evolving; blood is what keeps us going...it gives us more strength. They only want us to stop drinking because deep down they know we're the dominant clan."

"Either way you try to look at it, it's still wrong. You could at least find a substitute."

"I've tried a lot of substitutions: mortal, blood packs, I even tried the blood of animals. They were decent but not nearly as satisfying as the blood of the Gifted."

"You're sick, you know that right?"

She had a devious smirk on her face.

"Don't even try to play Miss Innocent. Everyone in our clan knows what you did to your parents; your kind father and your sweet mother--the last Council of the Vampire Clan. They were both killed by your own two hands. Isn't that why you were in that forsaken prison?"

I paused. Suddenly hearing about my past sent chills down my spine. The past was a place I never wanted to return to. I made a tragic mistake and now my fate had been sealed.

"I hope you two are getting along." We heard a voice, but saw no one around.

"Show yourself!"

I pulled out my dagger and held it out in front of me.

"Put down your weapon. Is this how you greet the man who saved you?" A lingering shadow crawled at our feet.

I lowered my blade. "Who are you?"

The shadow rose and took the shape of a person. The darkness faded and a man appeared. His weird hairstyle and his mini-goatee caught my attention.

"So, it was you...Vice-Principal Crowley."

"In the flesh."

He took a long hard look at me; I could sense that he was staring at my injury.

"Taking things into your own hands, I see. I hope it was worth all the trouble," he said. "I see you've already met Jinx; were you followed?"

"Of course not."

"If I was they'd be dead," Jinx added.

"I guess that explains your blood stained teeth", I thought to myself.

"Good, I've already got enough going on setting up the exams."

"Is what you said the other day true, about the mixed breeds; are they really allowed to join this year?"

"Sadly, yes," he said. That's why I called you two for this job. I need you to take care of them before the day of the test."

"You want us to kill them?" I said.

"Whoa, whoa, who said anything about killing them? If I just wanted them dead, I would have called someone else."

"Well, what do you want with them?"

He stroked his goatee as he paced back and forth.

"As you may already know I am pretty much powerless. About a decade and a half ago, the prime of my life, I was stripped of my powers and banished from Veritas. All that remains of my powers is my shadow manipulation, which, fortunately, cannot be taken from the members of the Shadow Clan."

"So, let me get this straight, you want us to get their powers and then just to hand them over to you? and give them to you, right?"

"Exactly; and afterwards if you feel the need to get your hands dirty, you have my permission to make an "accident". Their attendance in the exams will only bring more trouble; they're going to ruin the academies system."

"What's so bad about the Restricted?" I asked.

"I guess you've never fought a mixed breed before. They aren't so bad in their timid state; still discovering who they are and the gifts they possess, but once they learn to wield them without error, their unlimited and untamed power will tip the scales in their favor, entirely, in any fight."

Jinx turned toward me.

"Basically what he's saying is: they're young and inexperienced...for now, but pretty soon they will grow stronger, a lot stronger. By default, this year's graduates might only be restricted students, which is unacceptable."

Crowley nodded. "If the Council saw that happen, or even the civilians, it would only spark conflict, and worse of all it could give hope to the civilians of Veritas."

"Hope?"

"The ridiculous belief that the normal Gifted race and the mixed breeds could co-exist peacefully."

"But what if one day we could?"

Crowley gasped. "Don't be so naïve. Let's just say for example, that a mixed breed graduates and is put up as a future candidate to be the next "king" or even a future Council member to their own clan; what do you think would happen? Once they become drunk on their own power Veritas, and everyone in it, will perish. Co-existing would soon turn into a hostile takeover; and that is unacceptable."

Crowley approached me and put his hand on my shoulder. The leaves flew down from the trees circling around us.

"We cannot be tricked into forgiving them after what they did all those years ago. If later they decide to retaliate against the Council and overrun Veritas, none of us may be able to deal with them. The outcome would no doubt form into another war; not just between mixed breeds and the six clans, but also the mortals."

Because of my complicated lifestyle at such a young age, I didn't learn all the things I should have. I've been locked away for so long that I have no idea what the rest of the world is like. My head was swarming with information and I was anxious to know more.

"How did the first war start?"

"Ah. How could anyone forget. A mixed breed went around showing off his powers in the mortal world and when he got the wrong type of attention, their military responded and the mixed breed was attacked. Without a slight feeling of remorse, he fought back and he was killed. His death started the war and nearly got all of our kind killed."

"That's why people don't trust mixed breeds?"

"Mostly and because they're a threat, but they weren't the only ones who caused problems. Back when Veritas didn't exist; before the Gifted had a stable home, everyone just roamed around the world wreaking havoc doing anything they wanted."

"How were things settled between everyone?"

"Principle Ronald...when we were younger we had a plan to bring everyone together and give everyone a new home. If it wasn't for us, who knows what would have happened to all of us"

"I heard there were three of you?"

He quickly cut his eyes at me like I had just stumbled onto an important topic.

"Yes, in the beginning there were three of us. Her name was Veronica Valor. She was a good friend of ours; a remarkable woman; unlike any I had ever laid my eyes on. We found her at a bar being harassed by a gang of bikers, we thought we were going to have to swoop in and save her, but she proved that she was fully capable of looking after herself. I always believed that we were destined to meet for some reason. We had it all: power, respect; and soon after the war, we had a home. In the beginning we were inseparable, but time goes by and so does friendship. Your greatest allies eventually become your greatest enemy. It breaks my heart just thinking about it, but nonetheless betrayal is inevitable."

"Why didn't the Council just fix everything?"

"The Council didn't even exist until Ronald assembled it. He chose the members based on their experience, leadership, and their type of gift. After everything settled down, a secret world was created and was ruled by the Six Councils, which was later split into six separate clans."

"Six? What about the mixed breeds?"

"They don't have a Council; they were declared unstable and giving them even more power was just out of the question. Ronald got rid of the adult mixed breeds responsible for our near extinction. Ronald is a powerful and wise man, but unfortunately, just like everyone else in the world he has a weakness-sympathy was his; and because he let his weakness get the better of him, he allowed their children to attend the academy. He referred to them as the distant cousins of the Supernatural clan-it's a ridiculous accusation if you ask me."

"So are all the leaders still the same, said Jinx. "Well...most of them?"

She looked over at me with a smirk on her face.

"Yes, the Council is pretty much the same:

 Primeos: Supernatural

 Serenity: Evolution

 Hatham: Shadow

 Jack: Warrior

 Connor: Transformation-but over time, changes were needed to be made. Ronald was the Supernatural Council until the academy was formed, then Primeos took over; and we all know the Vampire and Evolution clans had no choice."

He looked towards me and then quickly averted his eyes as if I didn't notice.

"And believe it or not I was once the council of the Shadow Clan."

"You were a Council member? No offense, but why did Ronald pick you?"

"Don't let my looks fool you, child. I am a highly skilled fighter, and leader, plus Ronald was my best friend. We ruled together for a while, until the council voted me off and sealed my powers away."

"Why would they do that?"

He chuckled softly. "Let's just say my ideas weren't exactly sane. I was charged, demoted, stripped of my powers, and later banished."

"But...you're still here."

"Thanks to Ronald...if he hadn't helped me out that day I wouldn't be here at all today. Now, I'm the vice-principal of Gifted Academy."

Hearing about the past gave me an understanding of what the purpose of my job was, but I couldn't allow myself to kill any more innocent people, especially a bunch of defenseless kids. I also noticed that Crowley is in desperate need of power, but why?"

"Well this isn't history class," he said. "If I'm not mistaken, you two still have a job to do."

"Okay, so how are we going to get into the restricted sector?"

"I'll handle that," said Jinx, showing off her fangs.

Crowley took my duffle bag off my shoulder. "You won't be needing this. It'll only slow you down and make it easier for you to get caught. That brings me to my next point; don't leave any evidence that someone could trace back to you. I hired professionals so I expect professional work," he said. He vanished into the shadows and left us in the courtyard.

"Shall we?"

I readied my weapons. "Let's get this over with."

We snuck back into the academy undetected and strolled down the halls.

"What are we looking for," I asked.

"The troll guards...they have the key we need to open the portal."

We hid in the shadows as a staff member passed by us, leaving Principal Ronald's office. We continued and arrived at the dorm rooms; each door had a plaque that showed who was in each room, and what clan they belonged to. We passed several rooms but only one plaque instantly caught my attention. It read: James Nightfury and William Nightfury-Supernatural Clan.

"You're wasting your time thinking about that James kid," said Jinx. "Pay attention to what's important...like our job, maybe." She pointed up ahead. "There go the trolls."

She hid her face within her hood and charged toward two trolls standing guard at the cafeteria entrance. They noticed her approaching and readied their iron clubs, but it was already too late. Jinx hid in the darkness and the trolls lost sight of her. They searched through the shadows, but found nothing. Seconds later, rubble mysteriously began to fall from the ceiling and bounced off one of the trolls' heads. They looked up slowly and saw Jinx hanging from the ceiling with her claws piercing through the rocky surface. Her fangs poked out ferociously and her eyes were completely red; those were the signs of her need to feed.

I raced toward the action and created a clone. Because of my high amount of blood loss, I was only able to make one. My double led the trolls away as I went for Jinx. She dropped down suddenly and I tackled her in mid-air, instantly pinning her down to the ground. I held her down tight but she continued to fight back.

My clone fought off the guard's single-handedly, and knocked them unconscious. Leaving no sign of an attack, it hid their bodies within the darkness.

Jinx continued to go berserk. Her hunger for blood made her even stronger. I didn't want to take the risk, or go against the Council's rules, but I didn't have a choice. I quickly rolled up my sleeve and positioned my arm in front of her.

"Hurry up and drink it before I change my mind."

Her fangs stuck out more and she sunk them into my skin. The feeling was painful and overbearing. She sucked my blood; her pale skin slowly started to tan, and I felt even weaker with each passing second. A couple of minutes of irritable pain later, she had finally come out of her berserker stage, but that didn't stop her from trying to suck me dry.

"Hey, that's enough."

I tried pushing her head away but she didn't release her fangs.

"I said that's enough!" I threw a brutal punch to her face and then put my dagger to her throat.

"Next time I'll let you die!" I pushed her away and got back on my feet. My clone threw me a key that had hung around one of the trolls' neck and I took my leave.

I soon arrived at the cafeteria. The scenery on the wall was random; it was covered in weird patterns and symbols; there was also a light show that reminded me of an eighty's disco party.

I passed through the door that led to the Hall of Valor and continued on my bath until I reached the seven gates; I caught sight of the generators sitting at each one. I rushed over to the one connected to the restricted gate and turned the key inside the key hole; a twisted cloud of smoke appeared between the two pillars and formed into a swirling, black hole.

I heard footsteps approaching.

"So you were just going to leave me?" I turned around to the sight of Jinx standing behind me with my blood smeared all over her face.

"You were going to kill them, weren't you?"

"No, but I'm sure a little taste wouldn't have been so bad," she giggled.

"He said leave no trace. Are you trying to mess this up? This isn't a game, it's a job."

"You're such a buzzkill, but I guess I'll learn to deal with it. Let's just get this over with then, shall we?" She jumped through the portal and I followed behind.

We entered the restricted sector; it was dark, quiet, and a little spooky. The hall split in two directions, Jinx went one way and I went the other. I made my way down the hallway until I found a dim-lit room in the distance. I cracked the door a bit and peeked inside; it was a little bigger than the usual academy dorm rooms, but I could see why. There were a total of nine beds scattered around the room, each bed filled with a student, except for one. I'm assuming it belongs to that rogue mixed breed I saw at lunch earlier.

I walked inside to get a closer look; most of the students were sleeping with stuffed animals and I could see a nightlight plugged into the wall. A majority of the Restriction students were only kids. Are they really as dangerous as Crowley made them out to be?

I could sense that Jinx was approaching the room; the smell of her blood gave me a headache, and the clicking of her shoes only made it worse.

"Nice little setup they got here. They have their own dorms, classes, and a private cafeteria all in their sector. I'm actually kind of jealous." Jinx mocked.

"Keep your voice down."

"Fine. I guess I'll be the start," she said. She circled around the room and stopped at the bed of a blonde-haired boy.

"This one looks interesting. Maybe he has something worth taking."

She sliced the palm of her hand with her dagger; her blood began to move until it formed into a glowing red ball. She brushed his hair out of the way, then pushed the ball through the middle of his forehead. He stirred in his sleep and flipped over onto his side. She took out her Vampire dagger and waved it over the boy-she was starting the transfer ritual.

"What are you waiting for? Get to work."

I paced back and forth looking at all the students; none were adults, few were teens, and most were mere children. I passed one of the beds and a stuffed animal fell at my feet. It belonged to a little girl. She was wrapped in a rainbow-colored blanket and her brown hair covered her entire face.

"She's perfect," said Jinx. "Now hurry up so we can go."

I slowly crept closer to her, trying my best to stay as quiet as possible. I conjured the glowing red ball in my hand, then made an opening in her hair to expose her forehead. She reacted to my touch and rolled onto her stomach; her face was now buried in her pillow and her hand hung off the side of the bed.

Jinx was getting impatient. "Today, please."

I signaled for her to be quiet. The little girl's forehead was no longer exposed so I needed another access point. I noticed the little girl's hand; it wasn't the best spot but it would have to do. I reached for the little girl's hand and I firmly grasped it; a weird feeling rushed through my body and then my mind suddenly went blank. My vision suddenly gave out and all I could see was darkness. I felt like I was lost in space with no way back.

My vision soon returned but the scenery around me was different. I was now standing in a well-furnished house-one I had never seen before. I took a look out of one of the windows. It was raining and by the looks of it, a storm was on its way.

"Where am I?" I said to myself.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a newspaper off the table; the headline was labeled: Sweet Water News. I was no longer in Veritas, I was now in the world of the mortals. I continued reading and the year caught me by surprise-April 15, 2008. I couldn't believe it, but I didn't just change places, I had also gone forward in time-eleven years to be exact.''

I rose quickly and head-butted a balloon. There seemed to be a lot of them hovering in each room of the house. Hiding behind the horde of balloons was a banner hanging on the wall in front of me that said, "Happy Birthday, Jake!"

"Who's Jake?"

A little boy suddenly ran passed me. I tried to get his attention but he didn't pay me any mind.

"Hey, kid. Where am I?"

Still no response. He just continued running around the house. It was like he was unaware of my existence.

"You can't catch me, Mom," said the little boy.

"Mom? Good...maybe she can tell me where I am."

A woman walked up from behind me. I turned to look at her and it was like I was looking in a mirror. She had all my features: my hair, my smile, my body; everything. She wasn't a clone; she was me...the future me.

"I guess someone doesn't want any cake," she said. She walked my way and passed right through me. The feeling made me sick to my stomach.

They couldn't touch, hear, or see me; they were completely unaware that I was standing in the room with them. The timer on the stove rang and a little girl came skipping into the kitchen.

"Happy birthday, Jake," she said. She gave him a hug and they took a seat in the living room. My future-self grabbed the cake out the oven and followed behind.

The little girl handed her four colorful candles, as she sat on the couch.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

I couldn't believe it, but I was actually looking into my future. I actually seemed happy; I had my own home, and a family. My life seemed peaceful and relaxing-the opposite of what I was expecting.

The rain outside pounded against the ground and the thunder was so strong that I could feel the house shake. Electricity sparked outside the windows and a beeping noise started behind the front door. My future-self must have caught on to the noise too because she quickly grabbed the kids and stepped far away from the door. Lightning crashed down in the front yard outside and the door exploded off the hinges.

My future-self conjured a clone and covered the kids as the door flew over their heads and smashed into a window behind them.

"What's going on?" I yelled, forgetting that they couldn't hear me.

A man entered the house; he wore a dark trench coat and a fedora. It took a while for my eyes to adjust through the thick smoke, but as my vision returned I caught a glimpse of the man's face. The sight of him shocked me and I was lost for words. I started walking closer to the action, when suddenly, something sharp sunk into my leg.

"Ouch!" I yelled aloud.

The pain spread throughout my leg and the scenery began to go away; everything vanished and I was back in the restricted sector. Jinx was standing behind me, pulling my arm, yelling; telling me to run.

The students all woke up and the girl I was holding was looking at me eye-to-eye. She said nothing as we quickly ran out of the room.

"Why did you yell?" Jinx said.

I was confused. I had no idea what was going on.

I busted into a full sprint. "What happened?"

"You yelled, "Ouch", out of nowhere and woke everybody up."

A siren went off and the hallway lit up with lights. The black hole that formed the portal began to fade.

"We have to hurry or we'll be stuck in this sector," she said.

We picked up the pace and we dived through the portal at the last second; falling to the floor in the Hall of Valor.

"Crowley isn't going to like this," she said. "We have to go, now. The whole school is about to come this way."

The lights shot on and we took off down the hallway; we were stopped by the sound of multiple footsteps approaching.

"Damn, they're already here. Any bright ideas?"

I checked around the room and looked up towards the ceiling. "Follow me."

I stretched out my nails and changed them into claws. We climbed our way up to the ceiling; we kept climbing until we hung high above the ground. The footsteps grew louder as the crowd stormed further into the Hall of Valor. Principle Ronald led the group and Crowley followed behind; he didn't look happy at all. Everyone came in yelling, confused at what was going on.

"Settle down," said Ronald. "Everything is under control."

The more the crowd grew, the more paranoid I got. I looked down within the crowd and noticed James right underneath me, talking to his brother.

"Jennifer," Jinx whispered.

"What?"

"We can't stay here long."

I didn't notice right away, but we were both losing our grip on the wall, and my wound was starting to leak. A drop of my blood sunk down towards the floor and landed in James' palm. William noticed and they both shot a glance at us.

"You know what we have to do if they tell, right?"

James spoke with no words; I could read his lips.

"What are you doing," he mouthed.

I couldn't talk so I mouthed the word, "Help".

James nodded; he tried to get William to help, but he shook his head and turned away. James shrugged his shoulders at me and scoped out the crowd to make sure no one was watching. He ducked down within the crowd and summoned shadows from his hands; they blocked the light and blurred my vision. My eyes adjusted and I could see him wiping my blood on the floor.

"What's he doing?" Jinx said.

Before I could say anything I lost my grip and started to fall towards the crowd.

Jinx gasped. "Jennifer!"

As I was falling I noticed a small glowing circle down below, then I heard James' voice, "Summon!"

I felt my body being pulled away by an invisible force, then my feet were suddenly touching the ground. I lost my balance and tripped; luckily James was there to catch me.

"I got you." He removed the shadows and the lights shined down on everyone.

"Everybody, don't panic it's probably just the weather," said a staff member.

We checked for Jinx, but she was nowhere to be found.

"What's going on?" James asked.

I felt weak. Jinx sucked my blood and drained me pretty bad during her blood rage incident. Now, my leg was bleeding and I was losing even more blood.

"We can't talk right now." I looked towards the front of the crowd; Crowley was looking right at me, his face showed that he wasn't happy about the situation.

My vision started to fail me and I began to lose all the feeling in my legs. I fell straight to the floor; everyone backed away and gave me space.

"Is she ok," someone yelled.

Principal Ronald and Crowley noticed and rushed over towards us.

"James, what happened?" Ronald said.

"I don't know she just fell." He pressed his hand against my forehead. "She's ice cold, sir."

Ronald took a moment to examine me. He looked down at my arm without saying a word.

"Alright. We need to get her to the infirmary, quickly."

"I'll take her." Crowley insisted.

"No, I need you here. James, do you mind taking her?"

"Not at all, sir." He picked me up and held me in-between both of his arms.

"Don't worry. I got you; just hang on a little longer."

As we made our way down the hall I began drifting off; my vision grew dimmer and dimmer, I got even more light-headed, and I lost dangerous amounts of blood. I was scared that if I fell asleep I wouldn't wake up again, but the loss of blood pushed my body into submission, until I finally passed out.