That Girl Named Lila

*Valerie’s Point Of View*

I sat in the dining room eating my breakfast with the morning paper opened to page three as I glanced at a familiar article.

“DEATH TOLL CONTINUES TO RISE IN NEW YORK STATE. POLICE HAVE NO LEADS.”

I continued to read the entire article though I knew the story off by heart. People gone missing, bodies appearing hours or days later burnt beyond recognition, the lack of evidence in each, gang activity suspected. I had seen these signs before, though admittedly note in this magnitude, and wasn’t blissfully ignorant to the truth like the innocent civilians of NEW YORK State. The names of the known victims were inserted among the words, a bleak photograph accompanying each.

Rip Hunter, Patrick Snart, Jefferson Razi, Michelle Mercedes and Ronald Isaac. Each of these lives had been ended by the monsters that now stalked streets of York in NEW YORK State and while it was not known to the public, there were other victims. There were always others.

I sensed my mother enter the room before I heard her voice, “Good Morning Valerie.”

I rolled my eyes without looking at her and exclaimed, “Mom, I don’t know why you insist on calling me by my full name, how many times do I have to tell you I prefer Val.” Why couldn’t she just have named me plain Val?

Valerie sounded like a Disney character.

Though I could not see her face I could hear the smile in her voice, “I don’t know why, you have such a beautiful name. I’m sorry hun but you will always be my Valerie so I’m afraid you’re just going to have to live with it.” She came to stand behind me and touched my shoulder affectionately. I could hear her glancing over my shoulder and sigh, “It’s getting worse.” Her voice was grave, laced with concern.

I nodded my head quickly in agreement. “I can’t put it off any longer. I’ve waited too long as it is. I’m going to York tomorrow and putting an end to this.” I said confidently, my eyes not leaving the page.

Sometimes it unsettled me how cool and collected I could be when talking about things that would make a normal person would run away screaming. Run, and for good reason.

While I was only twenty, I somehow felt older, much older. I had been forced to grow up quickly and had not only witnessed but partook in acts that would make a grown man cry out with fear.

I was raised a hunter, a warrior, from the time I was a young girl. My father came from a long line of hunters, Vampire hunters. My family had hunted them for centuries it seemed, it was in my blood and I was trained to kill, trained to protect. By the time I was nine I could shoot a ten inch target from over 50 meters away and throw a knife with perfect ease. I was trained by my father in martial arts and could easily take down an individual twice my size. No one had beaten me in a fight, though many had tried.

In addition to my acquired skills I was born with a gift and it made me an even more formidable foe. From my earliest recollection I could sense others, their ‘auras’ as it were. It encompassed both their minds and physical bodies, distinguishable from each other but still part of the whole. Each person was unique, no aura the same and it told me a great deal about them. How old they were, approximately, what gender and most importantly, what species. The difference between vampires and humans was so tangible it shone like a neon sign.

Not only could I sense humans and vampires but other animals, plants and with enough concentration even non-biological creations, though their auras were so weak I barely took notice.

As long as they were within a few hundred meters off me, no matter how fast they moved or how silently they walked, I knew where they were. Once they were close enough, and with a great deal of concentration, I could actually grab hold of their aura, manipulate it. I could make objects move and float around me. I could stop a person in dead their tracks, though only for a short period of time, thirty seconds if I was really concentrating. It was enough though. It didn’t take long for me to strike. I only needed a few seconds, I was efficient, a natural gift. It was worth the migraine I would feel shortly after, just another price to pay. It was my burden this life, my duty and I continued with it without complaint though I did not enjoy it.

I constantly reminded myself of the lives I was saving, the families that would never be torn apart by the loss of a Child, sibling, parent or lover. I did it for them and it was worth it. However, a small part of me demanded recognition, the part that now hunted out of revenge, out of pain.

My mom broke my reverie as she sat down beside me and looked at me with unashamed love and… fear? “Valerie..,” she began slowly, “I don’t want you going to York, please. I’m no expert” I smirked involuntarily but she continued on, “...but this is no ordinary situation, even I can see that. It’s too dangerous, let the York Police department to handle this.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, this was a joke it just had to be. “The York police department, you have to be joking!” She gave me a cool stare that let me know this was not the least bit funny to her. “Mom, they couldn’t solve this problem if the monsters themselves strode into the station in broad daylight and declared their guilt. You may as well ask me to write to Zeus for help” I loved my mother dearly and while she knew what I did she did her best not to dwell on it. She knew the essentials, nothing more nothing less.