The Scarlet Dagger (The Red Sector Chronicles, #1)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I clung to the fence, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dark while keeping one palm pressed flat against the cool metal, as if to ground myself to the world I was about to leave behind.

You can do this, Sloane. You have to, for your brother.

“For Orion,” I whispered.

Heavy footsteps along the other side of the fence told me I didn’t have time to linger. I ran without looking back.

My pupils had dilated enough for me to see clearly, and the pale moonlight bathed everything in a ghastly red light. I knew where I was – the neighborhood I grew up in. The same place I had once called home, where pedestrians were mercilessly killed in drive-by shootings at night and where gang members once reigned supreme. A little more than three blocks to the north was my old house, the only home my father could afford on his meager wages from the textile factory. Life here was sometimes brutal, but as long as he and Orion were in my life, it didn’t matter because I knew they would never let anything happen to me.

Now they’re both gone, one because of you.

No matter how hard I tried to suppress it, my guilt always remained buried just beneath the surface, threatening to overtake my confidence and pride at any time. Some days I was willing to let it, but I knew I had to hang on long enough to find my brother, if he was still alive. I couldn’t – wouldn’t – give up without knowing I had done everything I could to try to bring Orion back home.

Though I tried my best to watch my footing and move as stealthily as I could, there was so much debris littered along the ground that I couldn’t help but tap or stomp on something as I went. Empty aluminum cans, shards of glass, broken furniture… all dropped by people in their haste to evacuate. I chanced a glance behind me, sure I’d see the blood red uniforms of the Scarlet Guard closing in, but there was nothing but abandoned, run-down houses, many with bars on the windows, and the windshields of rusty, unused cars staring back at me.

Staring at the ruin around me, it was like reliving the Eclipse again. The worst part was nobody ever saw it coming. Sure, the government was prepared for terrorists’ attacks, natural disasters, and even nuclear war, but no one quite knew what to do when vampires descended upon our cities like ants, viciously killing and eating anything that moved.

There were signs along the way, leading up to that horrible night. Missing posters of children, adults, and animals alike started springing up, becoming more and more frequent until entire blocks were plastered with the faces of missing loved ones. Reports of red-eyed, shadowy creatures dominated the news and magazines. Everybody was convinced it was an elaborate hoax, something dreamt up by a group of teenagers somewhere who wanted to get a good scare out of people around Halloween.

I wished so badly it had been a prank. But on All Hallows’ Eve, my life became something out of a horror film. That night was still fresh on my mind, even three years later.

I rushed home from the Miller Mansion, drenched in Orion’s blood and hysterical. I threw the black Camaro into park before I’d even fully stopped, nearly tripping as I raced toward our front door. That’s when the sirens went off. Confused, I whirled around, seeing people fleeing their homes. Those with cars tossed as many possessions as they could carry into the trunk and sped off as fast as they could. Others ran in all directions, their faces panicked and afraid. A door slammed behind me and my father sprang from the front porch. He glanced at the Camaro, confused, before grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me hard.

“Where is your brother, princess? Where is Orion?” he asked, a wild, desperate look in his eyes.

I stupidly sputtered something about a monster, too choked up on my own tears to make much sense. Somewhere down the block, people began screaming, followed by snarls that made me ice cold with fear.