Introduction

My name is Araya-Dawn Warren.

Have you ever had the feeling that you don't belong? Like the feeling that you were adopted or that you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or maybe Gods playing some sick, cruel joke on you? Sometimes I have that feeling. But at the time I'll think it’s just a feeling, maybe it will pass maybe it’ll only last a second. A minute. An hour. But it doesn't go away. It decides to stay. To haunt you, makes you want to run. Run far away. Maybe I should start at the beginning of the story. Tell you how meeting one person can ruin your entire life. I'll tell you my story.


Chapter one

In less the twenty-four hours, I'll be eighteen years old.
Chilly isn’t it? To think that Araya Dawn Warren, 17 year old punk ass kid is going to be 18. Ha! It should be interesting if I do say so myself, but as I like to say age is but a number. Okay so let me tell you a little bit about my life. I'm 17; I live in New York City on the Upper West Side in a small flat with my mom. My dad died when I was eleven and my mom became an alcoholic. So yeah my life’s not that crappy but it’s up there. So now that you know a little bit about my life let me tell you my story.
Friday. Ah no matter how you look at it Friday is the best day of the week. For me it’s because me and my G.B.F. (Gay Best Friend) Miles, and my boyfriend Alex go to this awesome club called The Panic Room. The Panic Room is an all ages welcome Japanese punk/Goth club. The way it goes is that every Friday Alex, Miles, and I meet at The Cattail Café and get hyped up on coffee, and then we go to The Panic Room and party until we can’t party no more, so that’s where my story begins in the ladies bathroom at the Cattail café.
We have been at the café for an hour and each of us has drunk 4 cups of coffee, but strangely I’m the only one who will pee in the restroom. Guys are weird like that, they will pee in a dirty ally behind a club but not in a relatively clean public bathroom. Oh well let them suffer. So as I was saying I was in the bathroom washing my hands when a perky blond chick comes in, gives me the once over, then goes into a stall. I ignore her and turn back to the mirror to fix my makeup and hair. I make sure my hair is still in the Japanese buns on top of my head and my makeup is still elfish. Just when I finish reapplying my eyeliner the blond comes out of the stall and to the sink on my left.
“I love your makeup!” The blond sequels excitedly
“Um thanks?”
“And your hair! Who does it and what color do they use?”
“I do it, and at the moment its electric blue.”I say throwing my crap back into my bag.
“Oh cool,” she starts to follow me out of the bathroom.”I’m Anna by the way.” She informs me sticking out her hand for me to shake.
“I’m Araya Dawn.”I say taking her hand.
“Cool name I always wanted to be name-“ She grabbed my wrist as I try to pull it away.”Where did you get that?” She asks shakily pointing at my sunburst shaped birthmark on my wrist.
“I’ve had it since birth, that’s where the tern “birth mark” comes from.” I retort rushing out of the bathroom leaving an awestruck Anna standing near the bathroom door.
I make my way over to our table and tell them its party time. We make our way to the old abandoned building The Panic Room is in and head straight to the dance floor.
“I’m going to go find someone to dance with while you two…..do whatever it is you do.” Miles scanned the dance floor found his pray and left us on the dance floor.
“Okay A, you were right I have to pee! Will you come out to the ally with me?”Alex asks batting his eyelashes at me.
“Fine even though I told you so.”I smile at him as we make our way to the back door that leads to an ally.
We make our way out to the ally and before the door even closes Alex is kissing my mouth with an extreme urgency.
“Alex what the hell are you doing!?” I ask trying to push him off me.
“Come on A, I love you and I want to prove it.” He says trying to kiss me again.
“Yeah you to but not in a dirty ally behind a friggin club.” I look into his eyes and I see something break in them.
“There! You did it again!” He says pointing at me and jumping back.
“What? What am I doing?”
“You never say I love you too. You always say “you too” or “ I know” The entire time we’ve been going out you have never told me you love me.”
“Yes I have lots of times!” I yell
“No you haven’t ever since your dad died you’ve been like a robot!”
And here comes the water works. It’s not like he’s lying , the only people I have ever said “I love you” too is my mom and dad but after my dad left me I stopped loving people. I know how odd that sounds but its true.
“How can you bring that up Alex?”I say turning to leave.
“Okay I’ll take it back if you tell me right now that you love me.”
“I can’t,” I say simply and turn to leave. “I’d be lying.” Then I run.
I run out of the ally and start walking down the abandon street towards the café. I can’t believe him! He knows how painful my dad’s death was to me, and then he goes and tells me that it broke me. Like I didn’t already know that! Before me and Alex went out I had the biggest crush on him. We met in fifth grade when I moved here with my mom. Alex, Miles, and me where inseparable for the first four years, but we started to drift apart when Alex started hanging out with the “prissy kids” and dating Cindy Crawford, the school whore. Miles realized he was gay but we were still best friends. Miles and I even stuck together when I started dying my hair and wearing weird clothes.
I just entered the café’s parking lot when my phone started playing Alex’s ringtone pulling me out of my daydream.
“Yes?”
“Where are you babe? I thought you would go back into the club, but when I got back in there you were gone.”
“Ha! You thought I would stick around while you call me a robot and ogle other girls.” I say while I place my order.
I turn around when I finish telling the guy at the counter what I want and look around the café. Its 11:29 so there aren’t many people in it. There’s and old guy drinking a cup of coffee while reading a book while on the other side of the café is a group of teenagers having a serious conversation near the door on the side where my car is. I look at the group of teenagers and realize that Anna, the girl I meet earlier in the bathroom, is one of them. I look at her for a couple of seconds and realize she’s pretty in that perfect and blond sort of way, not the kind of girl I would hang out with.
“Araya! Are you even listing to me?”Alex yells on the phone.
“What?”
“I asked if you wanted to go out tomorrow for breakfast so I could apologize.”Alex always apologizes at breakfast, like I’m going to be any less crabby in the morning.
“No.”I say simply and hang-up.
“Uh here you go miss.” The guy at the counter says as he hands me a cup of delouses sweetness.
“Thanks.” I say and pay the guy.
I turn around and start walking towards the door to the parking lot, hoping to avoid Anna on the way there. I mean I know she’s going to see me because she’s sitting right next to the door, but a girl can dream.
“Araya! Omigosh I thought I wouldn’t get to see you again when you stormed out of here earlier, Where have you been all night?”
“Uh….. I went to this club called The Panic Room with some friends. What about you?” I answer awkwardly. I mean come on what do you say in these types of situations?
“Oh I’ve just been hanging here with these people. Guys I want you to meet Araya Dawn, the girl I was telling you about earlier,” Anna says pulling me into the booth next to her. “Araya I’d like you to meet Mitchell, Clara, and Jace. Mitchell and Clara are my brother and sister and Jay is a family friend.”
Mitchell looks like a guy about 19 or 20, around 5” 11’ with dark brown hair, nice tan, and dark green eyes like both his sisters. Clara looked about 14 with long blondish brown hair pulled into braided pigtails and loads of freckles. Jay was sexy with a capital S! He had blond hair that reached just above his shoulders, the sexiest tan I have ever seen, and a face that would remind you of an angel.
“Nice to meet you guys.” I reply
“Wow Ann you weren’t kidding when you said this chick was punk. I mean I don’t know anyone with their lip and their nose pierced, and neon friggin blue hair! And must I even bring up the outfit?” Clara said exactly.
“Thanks.”I smile at her.
“Yeah you’re totally hot. How old are you? 16? 17?” Mitchell asked wiggling his eyebrows in a way that made me giggle.
“I’m going to be 18 tomorrow.” I reply
“Cool.” Was all he said.
I look at my watch and see that its 11:48. Shit my moms gonna be pissed if I’m not home soon. I look at my car and notice Alex leaning against it, watching me.
“Shit I have to go,” I pull out a pen and write my number on a piece of napkin and give it to Anna. “Here, in case you wanna hang out or something.” I say running out of the café.
I walk out of the café and towards my car where Alex is leaned against it like he owns the shit.
“What the hell do you want Alex? I thought I told you we were done. Or did you not get that from me running out of the ally crying?.” I say as I come to a stop five feet in front of him.
“I wanted to apologize, but you refused to go to breakfast with me so I thought I’d come and talk to you.”
“I’m not talking to you so you can go and screw yourself.” I say and pull out my keys to unlock my car.
“Come on Dawnie, just let me make it up to you. We could go out to breakfast then we could go and walk in the park it will be fun.” He says as he starts to close the gap between us and take my hand.
“No! Alex I don’t want to be with you anymore! I’m tired of you apologizing!” I take my hand out of his grip and take a few steps back.
“Fine whatever, be that way. Cindy was never as whiney as you anyway.”He walks back to his car and leaves the parking lot.
I stand there for a few seconds replaying the words Alex said in my head. “Cindy was never as whiney as you anyway” does that mean he was cheating on me or does that just mean he’s a major douche and was just trying to say that he was going to go back out with Cindy Crawford
Ugh whatever I am over Alex, I can find someone better like Mitchell, and He showed some interest in me when we were in the café I wonder if he was just being polite?
I ponder over this as I make my way back to my apartment.
I pull into my flats parking lot at 12:19. My mom is gonna be uber pissed when I go up there, unless she’s passed out on the couch again. I make my way up to the apartment I share with my mom and unlock the door. I slowly open the door and turn on the light. My mom wasn’t in the living room or the kitchen so I went into the hallway and put my ear against her bedroom door. There was her loud snoring coming from the other side of the door so that’s one less thing I have to worry about.
I opened the door to my bedroom and threw my purse and keys on my desk. I walked over to my vanity and sat down to take off my makeup and brush my hair. I pull out my cell phone and see that there is a text from Anna and a text from Miles.
The text from Anna says:
“Hey its Anna you looked upset in the parking lot. Just wanted to make sure you were OK. And if you are okay then I wanted to know if you wanted to come over tomorrow for a sleepover?
I text back letting her know I’m okay and that I would come over tomorrow, and then I read the one from Miles.
“What the fuck A. where did you go?!? I am freaking out wondering if you’re dead in a ditch somewhere! Text me and let me know!!!”
Awe hell! I forgot to call Miles and tell him I wasn’t dead. Oh well ill call him tomorrow and tell him what happened right now I’ll just send him a text that says I’m okay and not dead.
By time I finish taking a shower and get in my P.Js it’s almost 1:20 so I quickly get into bed and try to get some sleep.

Chapter two
I wake up at eleven o’clock to get ready for work. I work as a cashier at Hollister and to get to the mall takes a good twenty minutes cause I take the bus. Traffic is horrible in New York no matter which part you live in.
After a quick shower I go into my bedroom and go to my closet. I pull out a pair of blue skinny jeans, a t-shirt that says “God save the queen” in black letters over a blue and red British flag, and my black Doc Martins. I leave my hair down and put a hair clip on the side opposite my bangs. I quickly apply my makeup in the elfish way that I wear it, grab my mini book bag that I put all my purses contents in, grabbed my keys and jacket and headed out the door.
I get to Hollister at eleven-fifty one and clock in. The moment I get behind the counter I have my cell phone out calling Miles.
“God Damn, Araya Dawn Elspeth Warren where on God’s green earth have you been I was worried sick I thought you were dead!”
“Miles chill I’m fine! I’m at work so I can’t talk long. I just wanted to call so you wouldn’t think I was dead.”
“Whatever you are forgiven know tell me what happened between you and Alex I saw him last night dancing with Cindy Crapford and I went over there to protect your honor and what not but he said that you guys broke up.”
“Yeah he called me a robot and stuff so I went back to the coffee shop drank some coffee and met some weird kids.”
“You don’t sound to upset about it.”
“Yeah I know I’m doing that thing I was told I do when I am upset when I just shove it down.” I say absently playing with a bracelet I found on the counter.
“Come on A. you should be screaming and punching people in the face.”
“No really Miles I’m fine. Really. So how was your night.”
That got him going into a detailed recap of his night and the boy he met. I was only vaguely listing adding in “Mhms” and Ohhs” when they were needed.
About five minutes later my first costumer came in and I told Miles I had to go.
And that’s how my day went on. Costumer after costumer for four and a half hours. It was 4:45 when I got a text from Anna saying that she was sending Jay to come pick me up for our sleepover.
“I’m probably gonna regret asking this but how do you know where I work?”
“Easy I’ve seen you working there before.”
“And why is he coming to get me and not you?”
“Cause me and Clara are setting up for our fun filled night. Now stop asking questions”
I didn’t text back to that instead I went to the back room to get my book bag. When I walked back into the store Jay is standing near the door waiting for me. He looked like a model just standing there in his black t-shirt and jeans. You could see that he was muscular just by looking at him, he looked like one of the models at Ambracombie.
“You look like a stalker just standing there.” I inform him as I fall into step next to him.
“That coming from the girl who started at me for three minutes before walking over.” He says with a cocky grin on his face.
“Whatever.”
We walk in awkward silence until we reach the parking lot. Now this is gonna be one of the parts of the story when you’re like “Man this girl is bulshitting me” but no this really happened.
I was just about to ask Jay a random question when out of nowhere this chubacabra looking thing jumps out from behind a car and tries to eat my face off. Before I even have time to conjure up a girly scream the thing is flying backwards, and a terrible pain is shooting through my arm. My adrenaline kicks in and the pain is dulled to an annoying sting. I quickly look up in time to see Jace throw some type of magical ice crystal thing at it and POOF! The thing is dead. I watch in horror as the thing turns to dust right before my eyes,
“Holy shit on a cracker what was that thing!?” I ask about three seconds from running through the parking lot screaming.
“That was a Calzie demon.”Jay answers as nonchalantly as if I asked him what time it was.
“Yeah a Calzie demon. What the hell is that!!!!”
The adrenalin is slowly subsiding and the pain in my arm is coming back with a vengeance.
“Ill let Hodge tell you all about it but right now we have to get you back to the institute so they can take care of that demon scratch.”
“I’m fine.” I tell him as I turn away from Jay.
He grabs my arm and turns me to look at him.”Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“Home! After what I just saw you do to that thing I’m not going anywhere with you!”I say trying to pull my arm out of his grasp but he holds firm.
“No, you have to come back to the institute and have them take care of the demon scratch!”
“NO!!”
“Araya Dawn I swear to God I will drag your ass to my car if I have to.”
“So you’ll kidnap me?”I stop struggling to long enough to give him an appalled look.
“If it comes to it.”
“Well I’m not going with you so you’ll have to take me kicking and screaming”
Was all I got in before he grabbed me around the waist and hauled me over his shoulder.
“What the hell Jay?!!?!?!”I screech fighting for my life!
“Lisisn Araya, I really don’t want to do this but you’ll die if we don’t get back to the institute and your kind of important so that would suck.”
“What do you mean I’m important?” I ask curious.
“Well you saw what I did right? How I killed the Calzie demon?”I answer with a grunt of agreement suddenly to tired to fight anymore.
“Okay I guess I have to give you the full history for you to understand.”He tells me stopping in front of a car.
He places me way more gently then I thought him capable of into the car and puts the seat belt around me.
“Okay centuries ago a terrible shadow escaped to the world of the past to destroy Gods children, ever waiting for the signs of terrain war to rise up and mankind. The shadow created animal men to hunt down and destroy mankind. Werewolves as we know them today still have souls and constantly reject the shadows plan. They have created their own society where they live and hunt the way they want to the shadow then created soulless demons to carry out its plan of destruction upon the world. Vampires as they are called in these dismal times are always looking to feed on unsuspecting humans and to destroy the feral cowards who have failed their beloved dark lord God will not stand by and watch his children fall to darkness so he empowered his Archangels to bless humans at birth with the speed, agility and strength as the angels themselves, so they could cleanse the earth of the shadow and its followers we have been deemed shadow hunters by the many who know of the ongoing struggle with heavens light and the darkness of hell. There are few who fill our ranks and time is not kind to our fight we struggle to find the unknowing blessed before the minions of the shadow take them from this world even though many battles have been fought the war is far from over and the hunters grow few as the years go on. Too many disciples of the hells entity have begun to cover the worlds in hells black embrace but prophecies of a full blessed human that could this fight to an end have kept the shadow hunters going.”
“Wow Jay that was a great history lesson on a bunch of mumbo jumbo I don’t understand but that doesn’t asnswer the question of how im important.”
“Oh my god you are so stubit. Go to sleep or something im just gonna let Hodge explaine everything.”
“Gee whiz I think this is the bestest birthday ever!”I say sarcastically as I lean my head against the car door.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 15.07.2011

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