Temptations

The Apprentice

"Alright, Miss Grace. I'm all done with the blood sample. Your checkup is officially complete."

I look up at Doctor McCalister's retreating form while rubbing my arm. He places a sticker with a barcode and my name on the tube of blood he just drew. I hate these checkups, but he has to monitor my progress as a vampire and that means analyzing my blood.

"So, how's everything?"

"Oh, you have been progressing quite well! Anthony has informed me of your increased strength, quicker reflexes, and such. He is very pleased with you. I think he enjoys training you." he explains as he moves around his office subconsciously grabbing files, scribbling in them, and replacing them.

"Um, thanks." Ever since my emotions got the best of me, I've pushed harder to get better results. I don't have a goal so I just keep going. Something tells me that I will know what my limit is when I reach it but that doesn't seem to be anytime soon. "It's nothing."

Doctor McCalister stops what he's doing and turns to face me. "Nothing? Child, you have surpassed more than you think. You've progressed exponentially in such a small frame of time- it is extraordinary."

"It's only been two months, isn't that normal for a vampire?"

"At your rate, not for this clan." he looks at me with a certain glint in his eyes.

Am I missing something?

"Doctor, you're telling me everything, right? I mean, you wouldn't keep anything away from me... right?"

"I tell you what I can."

"Right. Um, I better go. Sam's waiting for me."

"Well go on, you do not want to make her impatient."

"Alright... Bye." I say as I slide off the bed and rush out the door.

He tells me what he can? Does that mean he's just telling me what he finds? Or is there something else? Maybe I know something that I haven't realized yet- like that freaky intuition Cassandra was talking about. Ugh, I don't know. Lately, I've had these weird feelings but I haven't actually figured anything out. And last time I said Samantha could control people but then it kind of just turned into mind reading. Maybe my intuition is wrong. Maybe it's not intuition at all.

"Who said I stopped at mind reading?" Sam asks as I step into her room.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking."

"Well, you think loud," she says while writing in her notebook. She suddenly stops and speaks again. "But I can also communicate in thought, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then I guess you were on to something, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Oh, stop being so gloomy. Here, look at what I found on that "Tee" guy." She hands me a file with a thin stack of paper inside. The label reads "The Apprentice". How on earth did Sam get this? I know she's close to Jeremy and can get into places unnoticed but fetching information on one guy? I'm not even sure he exists.

"Why are you digging for information on this guy, anyways?"

"He's dangerous to this clan, and most importantly, to you."

"How could you be so sure?" I ask, slightly uneasy.

"Because I heard him talking to Boss around the time you were picked up. Apparently he sometimes helps with recruitment and learned a lot of things from Boss himself. He said he had a place just east of here. I want to find out exactly where and see how dangerous he really is."