Darren:

I stare into the cell. Into the yellow eyes. So similiar to those I've seen, those I have changed, those I have hunted. Images of the vampires I let run swim into my mind. My emotions are swirling. Everything I've been taught is crumbling. The separation of vampires and people, the idea we are protecting mankind from monsters. And now this, yellow eyes gazing, pale face staring. She doesn't look like a monster.

And John. His mother. How can this be? A human child of a vampire? Is that even possible?

"How is it possible?" I ask.

Mike's still smiling. Jack is looking at me, his expression unreadable. He doesn't look comfortable. He never looks comfortable. I meet his gaze and he looks at the ground.

"Well, there's a story." Says Mike. "There's a story for sure. Isn't that right Julia?" He smiles at the vampire.

She hisses in reply, her eyes flashing, fangs bared. Whether its fear or anger I can't tell. She says nothing.

I feel my own temper rising. His attitude doesn't fit, his smugness is starting to get to me. I feel the heat rising in my face.

"Tell me what the hell's going on!" I say. My voice echos through the prison we're standing in, bouncing from the walls. I hear the malicious laughter picking up again.

"You tell him boy!" The hoarse voice drifts up to me from the cell further down.

I imagine him rocking back and forth as he was when I walked up here. A few other voices join in with the laughter.

"Hush now." Mike says, holding a finger to his lips. "Don't want to get us in trouble, do you now?"

He's still smiling. I want to hit him. Knock the smile off his face. But I doubt I'd get far, he's too much of an unknown. And the desire to know the answers is stronger than my anger.

I nod at Mike. "Tell me." I say, quietly. I hear the menace in my own voice. I let the threat linger.

"This is Julia." She hisses again as he points at her.

"In case you didn't notice, she's a vamp." he says. Sarcasm drips from his every word. I should have seen it all along. His smile doesn't reach his eyes, it never has. I think he might be more of a threat than anyone. There's something beneath the surface, something dark and dangerous. I feel it now.

He's playing with me. Pushing for a reaction. I'm not going to take the bait. I nod again, letting him know he should go on.

"Well, as it goes, Julia here took young Johnny out into the woods for a stroll. Seems she found a hole in the fence somewhere. Seems she thought they'd be safe." He pauses.

" She didn't believe there's any real danger in the forest."

He looks over at the vampire again. "Ain't that right Julia?" he says.

She steps back, looking away. I can see her eyes dulling. But still she doesn't speak.

"Anyways, as it 'appens, they were lucky in some ways. As the stories have it, they got lost, them two. Lost in the forest."

"See, although she didn't believe the dangers. She was still smart enough to go in the daytime."

"Getting lost wasn't so smart though. And then the sun started disappearin'. "

"See where we're going with this?"

I think I do, but I say nothing. I keep my gaze fixed firmly on his cold eyes. I can see the coldness now, that I missed before. It's so obvious. And what's Jack got to do with it? I wonder. I trusted Jack. Does he know about this already?

Mike's enjoying this, I can tell. He's no better than John. Enjoying the cruelty. At least John has a reason. I think I understand him better now.

"Then what?" I say.

"Not guessed it yet, boy?" Mike says.

I say nothing.

"Tell the damn story." Jack says. His voice is quiet but definite. Mike looks at him briefly and then looks back at me.

"Right." he says. "So, as it goes, the night came a-creepin'. And the night brings out the monsters." He waves a hand to indicate the surrounding cells.

"Julia here, and little Johnny, your boss now, stumbled upon a group of vamps. Of course, them vamps were hungry. Nothing a little bit o' human blood wouldn't fix. So them vamps takes a bite out o' Julia here." He points at her again.

"You can see what happened to her. Then they goes for the boy. Little Johnny. Just a poor little boy then, not much feedin' in one like that."

"Anyway, as the story goes, little Johnny is screaming his lungs out, hunched over his mummys body and the vamps are coming in for another little snack. Eyes a-glowin' and all."

He pauses. I guess it's for effect. I keep my face neutral, trying not to show my emotions.

"And then boom! Darts are a-flyin' from our trusty hunters. Boom, boom, boom. All three vamps screaming on the ground. And then..."

He stops. There's a noise behind me, a new noise. I look round to see the door swinging open. Six soldiers come through. The Director's Guard. Damn. It's dark here, they probably can't see who we are, yet. The story will have to wait.

"We need to go!" I whisper, urgently. "Is there a way out up here?" I point in the opposite direction from where we came in.

Mike nods. Even now, he's still smiling. But he turns and starts to move quickly through the hall of cells. Jack follows and I catch up, jogging by his side.

"Did you know all that?" I ask him. "Did you know all this?" I say, indicating the surroundings with a wave of my arm.

He nods, but says nothing. Mike is jogging up ahead, moving quickly. I glance over my shoulder and the six guards are moving forward. I don't know if they saw us. They're walking briskly but not running. They're carrying guns, sleek and shining black against their dull suits.

There's a corner up ahead, going left. Mike goes around. More cells stretch into the distance. Further than I can see. This place is massive. How many people are here?

The Hunting Corps was formed 100 years ago, when the vampires grew out of control. When they started attacking the city. To protect us. To protect mankind.

At least that's what I've been taught. I'm not sure what to believe anymore.

The soldiers are still a distance behind us and haven't come round the corner yet. Mike is still jogging ahead. I look straight ahead, avoiding the looks coming from the cells. I catch the glowing red and yellows of eyes in my peripheral vision, but not in every cell. Some of these must be human too.

Mike slows and turns to the left. He disappears. Into a cell? Can't be into a cell. I look at Jack, puzzled, but he says nothing. We reach the spot where he disappeared and I stop and turn to the left. There's a gap. It's a small corridor wide enough for one person. I don't think you'd see it if you weren't looking for it. The darkness deepens and I can't see Mike, he's vanished.

"Do you know where this goes?" I ask Jack. He looks at me and shakes his head. I'm not sure what to believe with him now.

I don't think we have a lot of choice. We can't go back. I've no idea where we'll end up if we keep going, so I guess we're going to have to follow Mike.

I step between the cells, into the darkness, Jack follows behind me. The darkness and the walls are pressing in on me at each side, I keep moving forward. I fix my eyes firmly ahead, although there's nothing to see. Only darkness. It presses against my eyes. Fear stirs, mixing with my anger and confusion, like a bubbling cauldron of emotion.

At least the soldiers hadn't come round yet. They can't have seen us go in here. I hope they'll go straight ahead and miss it altogether.

I can see a shape, a silhouette in the distance. Illumintaed by a ghostly light, just visible. I squint my eyes and slow down as we approah it. It's a person.

"What kept you two?" Mike's voice drifts towards us.

Jack growls behind me, but I say nothing until we come to a stop in front of Mike. There's a doorway behind him. It's closed, but there's an outline of light surrounding its frame.

"What's in there?" I ask him.

"A safe place, perhaps." Says Mike. He turns to the door and grabs the handle. The door pushes open. Unlocked again. I think. Why all the unlocked doors? That strikes me as odd.

Light floods out from the open door. I raise my hand to shield my eyes. I'm temporarily blinded.

"Damn it." Jack growls from behind.

Mike steps into the room and I follow. Jack comes through and the door swings shut.

The room is large and square with rough stone walls. The floor is solid wood, stained dark. Hanging from the ceiling is a large glass ball. Inside the glass is a bright flame, burning unaided and illuminating the whole room. Shadows flicker on the dusty walls.

A desk sits in the center. Huge, intricate, ornate. Decorated with carved faces and shapes, runes and symbols. The wood is almost black. There are two chairs in front of the desk. The top is uncluttered, almost empty. All that sits atop the desk is a single feather quill.

Behind the desk, in a high backed, black chair, sits a man. Or is he a man? There's something about him.

He's thin and wears square rimmed glasses on his face. He's dressed in black military-style uniform. Perfectly pressed, crisp and fitting. His amber eyes are strange. Bright, intelligent, alert. They're almost gold. His hair is short.

The man rises from his chair and looks at me. His glasses magnify his golden eyes.

"At last, Darren. A pleasure. Please sit down."

His voice is quiet and smooth, deep and somehow reassuring. It almost feels like he's talking straight into my mind. He points at one of the seats in front of him.

I step forward, feeling somehow compelled, towards the chair. The man looks towards Jack. "You too Jack, have a seat."

We move towards the seats and sit down. I look at Jack, he's staring at the desk, eyes fixed. I don't think he's looking at it. He's looking at something else, something inside his own head.

I hear the door swing open behind me and twist in the chair to look. Mike is standing near the door as six soldiers, the same soldiers who'd been following us, step into the room. They gather around Mike and look at him, standing straight and tense. One of them steps forward and speaks directly to him.

"The area is clear, Sir." he says.

Mike's a sir now? Who is he?

"Very good." Mike says in reply. "Patrol the corridor and wait for further orders. No one else in or out of here. Understood?"

The man salutes and the soldiers leave the room the way they came. Any confusion I'd been feeling has multiplied, swirling and bubbling through my mind. I look back at the man behind the desk.

"Who are you?" I ask.

The man looks at me. I don't know if it's the flikering flame playing tricks but his face seems to change, switching to a deep ebony, the eyes turning into empty pits of darkness. But it was fleeting, almost imperceptible. So much so I wonder if it happened at all.

As though in answer to my wonder the light catches a rectangle metal badge attached to the chest pocket of his jacket. The black letters stand out against the reflective silver.

Director.

Mike steps forward, drawing level with our chairs.

"Darren, meet the Director and Mr. Director, I give you Darren. As ordered."