Julia is a completely normal college student, who just so happens to be part of a group known as The Supernatural Ambassadors. The Ambassadors' job is simple: make sure that every "turned" supernatural creature is safely adapted to their new life. S...
A notebook sat on a table next to the window of Café Soleil. Sunlight filtered in unevenly across the page Julia was reading as she sipped on her coffee. After a few moments, she looked up to face the boy sitting across from her. His fingers tapped the table anxiously as soon as her eyes met his.
"So, is this all we have so far?" she asked. Her eyebrows knit together in contemplation, trying to put the pieces together.
"Yeah, pretty much. That's all I could gather at least," he responded with an exasperated sigh, "The signs are clearly here. We just don't know who it could be. If we don't act soon, I'm worried someone might get hurt."
"Why haven't the guys at Branches of Books taken this one on, Sam?" she asked.
"Well, they're actually the ones who told me about it," Sam shrugged, "Right now this isn't the only vampire running around. There's another about thirty minutes north of here so Scott and Archer are on its case. Amelia has to stay at the bookstore for anyone else who might need to stop by."
She couldn't help but stifle a laugh, "I still don't understand how those three manage all of this between just them, and somehow I still expected them to be the ones on this case. Of course they'd take the one out of town. I do feel bad for Amelia, though. That's gotta get lonely sometimes."
"She's doing what she can, Julia. If both of the others are chasing whoever this is down, it probably means that vampire is pretty strong and dangerous. They needed the one who was most capable of keeping everything afloat at the Myths of Study room to maintain their cover. Somebody needs to be here for the supernatural, and with all of her knowledge and teaching skills it makes the most sense to leave her in Summerfield," Sam took another drink from his cup, pausing for a moment, "Amelia is pretty damn strong though, it's a shame she always gets stuck here whenever something like this happens, even if it is rare. But I guess that's good news for us that she's here if we need her."
Looking across the street through the window, Julia saw students walking by Branches of Books, which most people assumed to be a regular bookstore. Technically, it was, and it did have some human employees. Amelia took over management around ten years ago after she and the others had to move from their last city to quiet people's suspicions regarding their lack of aging. The Myths of Study room was behind an unassuming door on the bottom floor. Some students would use it as a regular study room (usually those studying in religion, philosophy, or history classes). When it was needed, though, it became a place where the trio would help fledglings adjust to their new life. In truth, they saved a lot of lives in more ways than one.
Redirecting her train of thought to the original task at hand, Julia hummed in agreement, "I can try looking tonight with you if Sarah's busy. She told me the other day that she's been freaking out over her biology exam tomorrow."
Sam clapped his hands together as though he were beginning a prayer, "Thanks, Julia. I really didn't want to go alone. I mean, I know I can handle myself, but these types of missions still make me anxious." He looked at her with a smile on his freckled face underneath ginger hair. His hot chocolate was almost gone; Sam really wasn't one for coffee.
"Of course, you know you shouldn't be afraid to ask me for help. I've known for years what I signed up for. It's just as much my job as it is yours."
A moment of quiet filled the space between the two. Julia glanced back at the notes, reviewing what had been uncovered about the mysterious person thus far. She took notice of something as she read through it again, her eyes looking back up as she broke the silence.
"Hey, maybe it's obvious but can you elaborate what you guys meant by 'scent downtown, out of sight'? When did you catch their scent?"
Sam looked out the window for a moment, thinking, "Sarah caught on to it first, I think. I wasn't far behind her though. We've been scouting during the day and night since we first caught their trail downtown on Monday evening. We didn't catch their scent again until last night, so we're thinking that our best bet would be to find them downtown. It makes sense, really. There's no mistaking it: whoever this is, they're definitely a vampire, and a hungry one at that. My guess is that their intended target would be most easily found at a place overflowing with people who have their guard down."
"You're thinking of Calypso, aren't you?" Julia had been aware of the nightclub her entire life with Summerfield being her hometown along with her college one. Ever since first semester began two years ago, however, the place had become something of an icon among the students of Abrams University.
"Definitely. Even if that's not where they end up, we'll know they're somewhere nearby. A hungry rogue vampire like this can't hide much longer. Lucky for us, we're just a few days away from the full moon –"
"Ugh, please don't remind me," Julia groaned, "I am more than aware. This morning you were exhausted and really not in the mood to work with my group in statistics. I could tell that their scents made you nauseous," She wrinkled her nose before drinking the rest of her coffee while Sam could only laugh.
"Listen, I am fully acquainted with the struggle. I'm a werewolf and we all get this way this time of the month," Julia rolled her eyes as he continued, "But one advantage we do have is our increased senses. If I need to, I can transform more quickly, and we'll be stronger than normal. To be completely honest, this assignment couldn't have come at a better time for us."
The two talked more about their plan of action for the night just hours away. Julia had been a Supernatural Ambassador for seven years now, though, and she knew how this goes: meeting place and time, plan, backup plan, taking action while drawing as little attention as possible from the humans around them. In theory, it sounds easy enough, but in practice it can become far more complicated. Especially, in this case, when humans were likely to be all over the place. Finally, though, Julia had to leave for her last class of the day.
"Alright, so just to make sure: we're meeting outside here tonight at 8:00?" When Sam nodded in agreement, they said their goodbyes. Julia walked to the restroom to briefly touch up her makeup. The dark circles under her eyes had been a pain the past few days.
She looked in the mirror to an all-too-familiar reflection: a young Latina woman with her skin overall looking pretty with minimal breakouts, but those eye bags were so determined to show themselves. Taking out her concealer, she did what she could before she moved on to her dark hair. It always seemed to tangle easily, but she combed it out and all seemed fine. She didn't pay attention to her clothes as she left because at this point in her college career, Julia really didn't have the energy to care anymore about what her classmates in European History thought about her. In truth, she knew they literally never thought about her at all just like she never thought of them. Not a hateful thing, but just a mutual understanding that they are all tired and just want to get their degrees.
Walking back to campus only took her ten minutes and soon she found her seat. This was one of only two professors that actually took attendance, so her job was to answer "Here" when he called out the name "Julia Rivera". She took notes, tired as she was, and retired to her apartment to take a nap before the night settled in. Tonight was no different from the millions of other times she's had to catch a supernatural creature.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.