The Beta’s Dhampir

The dusty Toyota quietly cruised to a stop before the sign: "Welcome to WoodBurd."

Its three passengers alighted, dusting their ripped jeans and stretching their arms, obviously taking time to regain their bones. The truck had been cramped for the three of them and their luggage while the driver...

What an uncaring jerk he had been, squeezing them all together for as much as three hundred dollars on a four-hour trip with a lack of air conditioner. But no use now.

We are here, and we ought to have the best camping trip of our lives, Ada Walter thought, smiling.

She nudged her friends, and they turned from their contemplation of the lush woods back to the car and started grabbing their things out of the vehicle; the bulky camping gear was a struggle, but they did it without complaining, knowing better than to expect or even ask for help from the driver.

The driver looked at the three girls who had just alighted from his truck. Stroking his rough, brownish beard, he muttered eagerly, "Y'all be careful out here, ya hear? This place gives me chills."

Ada and Ginger thanked the driver for the ride while Lucian spoke proudly about how he would protect the two women in case of danger. When the driver grinned a little and looked around, undoubtedly, he took off down the dirt road that paved the entry into WoodBurd.

But maybe he was right. This place was creepy. The sign she had seen earlier looked rusted and covered in something she hoped wasn't blood. The crickets cried in song as the giant crows above them circled around.

"Don't worry about him, guys. Hunters camp out here all the time. As long as we stay in the clearing, we'll be fine," Lucian said. Ada turned and saw her two friends standing Akimbo, watching her with the barest hint of mischief on their faces. Lucian stood a bit taller than all of them, but what Ginger didn't make up for in height, she had in beauty. She, Ada, was the one who got straight A's and was voted Class President every year. But now it was time for college, and her parents had been calm but insistent when they had whispered to her over breakfast two weeks ago,

"We love you, Ada. We are proud of you and all you have achieved right from the start, but you must understand that you can't go to college...yet. There's this school we've been hoping to send you to, but it's more like a private institution for...Um...special people like you..."

She hadn't waited to hear the rest. She wanted to go to regular college like her friends! She wanted to be close to everyone she loved! She didn't want to be protected! She had begged and coaxed and cussed until her dad yelled at her.

Usually, her parents backed down at this point, content to allow her at least try, but no, they were not backing down this time; in the face of that realization, she had slipped into screaming that they were trying to ruin her life and that her parents were controlling. Juvenile action, really, but she had been frustrated about them ruining her best-laid plans for her life. The severity of the situation had not hit her until her father had shouted her down.

That was strange. Her dad never yelled. Ever. But he had, and she had no choice but to cower in fear.

It had rained heavily that day, causing a flood that wiped out the next block and killed three people. She had been shaken by everything, so her dad had mellowed and allowed her to go on a camping trip with her two best friends, leaving for their various colleges in a week. So here they were. In WoodBurds. Alone.

"This will be fun, won't it?" Ginger asked the ever-skeptic one. She was clutching her makeup kit and their sleeping bags, but on closer look, she was white-knuckled with apprehension.

"Sure. No parents, no nosy neighbors, no others except us, and best of all, some FREEDOM before we are locked in rooms!" Ada rolled her eyes at her own sarcasm.

Lucian let out a tiny whoop of delight that echoed in the forest's silence. When the sound came back, it sounded distorted and more profound, like someone else was laughing. Only Ada seemed to notice, so she shrugged it off and shouldered a camping bag, leading the way to their spot.

The moment they crossed the threshold of the forest gates, A crow perched itself on a stump near them. Its eyes glowed a bloody red. Only Ada seemed to notice, so it was best ignored...

"You know what's better than hot chocolate-" he spoke proudly, raising his mug. "And marshmallows?" He paused, eyeing the girls across from him as they sat around the already made fire pit.

"What's that?" Ginger asked shortly after.

"Spooky tales! The horror of the night!" Lucian replied eagerly. "I know one that is true about these woods." Ada and Ginger glanced at each other and back at him. Lucian always took pride in gossiping around town and finding out information involving strange events. That's precisely why he's studying to be a reporter.