Today is Sunday, and it's officially my third day at the Bibliotheca Vampiric. I’ll admit, I’m still kind of in shock and unsure about finding out that I’m half vampire so recently, but I’d say I’ve been coping pretty well….

Yesterday, me and Justice went with some of the other trainees to a bakery nearby. I had a lot of fun, especially when Justice got all mad when Dot ordered the wrong donut for him by accident... Justice is really something special…. I’ve never met anyone who’s so funny when they get annoyed.

This morning, all of us trainees are sitting around the lounge room after breakfast. I take the time to play a game on my phone. The weekend feels kind of boring here, at the library. I mean, what am I going to do? Read something?

I am just about to beat my high score (Yes! Finally!), but John walks into the room. His hands are in his pockets and he has a casual smile on his face.

John: “Yo, everyone!”

I see Justice, on the couch across from me, raise his eyebrows in question of John’s choice of greeting….

John: “I know the weekend is a great time to catch up on sitting around and doing nothing, but we actually have something important on our agenda today.”

Roman, who sits cross legged on the floor, waves his right hand in the air. The motion causes his copper, brown hair to fall into his eyes.

Roman: “Oh, oh! John, are you finally going to tell us why you’ve been ordering us to buy a bunch of medical supplies for you….?”

John shuts down Roman’s question with a mood shattering glare.

John: “Roman! It's not good to interrupt people….! Anyway, what I was going to say is…this coming week will be busy for us. I have an important errand to do on Monday, and by Tuesday, VLAD wants us to investigate some strange, criminal activity that they’ve been tracking for some time….. So, I’ve decided that today will be a training day!”

Zora: “Woohoo! I love training exercises! John, you should let us do them more often!”

Zora jumps from her seat, springing up with her arms raised.

Justice: “….I’m confused…. Isn’t that his job?….”

No one answers Justice, but everyone looks excited at the mention of a training day. I wonder, what does training look like at a facility for vampire special agents?

John: “Alrighty then, let’s head to the roof! You all should change into your uniforms first though.”

The other trainees get up from wherever they are seated. They go in separate directions to put their uniforms on. Only me and Justice are left behind in the lounge. We still don’t have uniforms yet….

John: “Luke, Justice, don’t worry. I’ve got your uniforms ready!”

Edwin walks in and stands next to John. In his arms he holds two, black piles of clothes. With a straight smile, he hands us each our uniforms.

John: “You guys put those on. Be quick, and then we’ll all make our way up to the roof…”

Justice: “The roof? What are we supposed to do up there?”

John: “Huhu, you’ll see, Justice….”

I put on my uniform. Mine is a matching black jacket and pants with a white shirt and black tie to go with it. It isn’t exactly my style, but I can see myself getting used to it. It must make me seem cooler, after all…. I see Justice walk back into the lounge with his uniform on as well.

Instead of regular pants, Justice has black shorts on. He has his tie on a little neater than I managed to make mine.

Luke: “Haha, Justice, you look like a wimpy, little school boy!”

Justice: “Hey! Knock it off! You’re practically wearing the same thing!”

Dot, in her uniform, walks over to us.

Dot: “I’m so excited, you guys! This training session today is going to be so much fun!”

She makes her hands into little fists and shakes them. The energy appears to jump about her, like fireworks on a holiday night…

John: “Okay everyone, let’s get to the roof. I’ve got a brand new training regime in mind for today…..and there’s something special I’d like to show you all….”

After John smirks at all of us which feels somewhat nauseating to me…. We make our way out of the Bibliotheca Vampiric’s large tower and onto the roof of the library’s main building….

The roof is flat and spacious. Only the library’s tower makes a slight shadow over where we stand. John leaves us trainees alone for a moment. I think he’s just left to get something… I watch the others around me as they prepare themselves for training. Everyone except Justice, who stands next to me with his arms crossed, appears to be energetic and ready for anything.

I see Zora run on the spot over to my left. Lilla is close by, just watching with a soft smile.

Link and Roman seem to be having a playful argument. They start roughhousing when Roman whacks Link on the back of his head. Link starts chasing Roman around the roof and the pair look like a couple of wayward, headless chickens.

Luke: “Dot, do you know what John has in mind for our training session? Do you guys normally train on the roof?”

Dot: “Well…. John’s usually creative when it comes to training us….”

Dot pulls on her hair and secures her pigtails.

Dot: “But you know, I think it's a good thing! We usually train on the roof like this. It would probably be dangerous for vampires to test their abilities inside the library….”

Luke: “Oh…. Hehe yeah. You’re right.”

Dot: “Hey! I’m pretty sure John’s going to show us some new equipment that VLAD has just issued to us! It should be cool, don’t you think?”

Just now, John returns to the roof. He grabs Roman by the collar of his jacket, as he runs past him. Roman skids on his heels before coming to a halt and paying attention to John who watches him, smiling.

John: “Alright, alright…. Focus, everyone. Here’s what I wanted to show you….”

John drops two large, canvas bags onto the stone floor of the roof. Whatever’s inside them makes a ‘clunk’ sound as they fall.

Everyone is silent. We stare at John, expecting something more to happen.

John: “Well, come on…. Come see the awesome stuff I brought you!”

I hesitate for a moment, but I decide to take a step forward, so does everyone else….

We divide ourselves and surround the canvas bags. Each of us reach inside and take out the objects kept in them.

Zora lifts up an odd looking device. It's like a mini, handheld cannon launcher. These things look like the weapons from one of my video games! What does John want us to use these for?

Zora: “Ooh! Sick! Are these cannon launchers?! John, please tell me these are cannon launchers!”

She holds the device in both of her hands, as if she were about to fire it.

Key: “Zora, I don’t think these devices are cannon launchers…. They are far too light, for one, and VLAD would never issue actual weapons for trainee agents to test for the first time….”

Key’s tone is straightforward. He’s such a smart guy. He knew right away that these things aren’t cannon launchers, and it's probably a good thing that they aren’t….

John: “They are not cannon launchers, but I can assure you that they will prove very useful in our practice! Allow me to demonstrate!”

John picks up one of the devices. He holds it close to his face and takes aim.

There is a ‘pop’ noise as he squeezes the trigger. A big wire net flies out of a metal cylinder part on the launcher and spreads itself in the air.

The wire net falls like a blanket over Justice. Justice stumbles over and lies on the floor. He thrashes his arms and kicks his legs, but he is trapped underneath the mass of black wire.

Justice: “Hey! What was that for! Are you a crazy man?!”

John: “Hahah, I’m not crazy! I just have a perfect aim!”

Still laughing, John walks over and helps Justice out of the net.

Justice sits on the floor with a grievous pout on his face, looking like a little kid about to have a temper tantrum.

Dot: “Ooh! They’re net launchers! That’s brilliant!”

Justice: “Hey now! Don't start acting all impressed!”

John: “These beauties will help those of you who aren’t vampires! If there’s ever a perpetrator that you’re after, just use one of these and the perp will be toast!”

Fern: “Net launchers…. It's a great idea. It is true that we, as vampires, can use our abilities most of the time to catch the bad guys; but for humans, these will work just fine!”

Fern spreads her arms in front of her. Green vines twist their way down, out from her fingers. They tangle themselves into a big plant-web. Fern throws the vines forward and they scatter through the air.

The vines slap across Vanda’s face as they fall onto her shoulders and around her ankles.

Fern: “See, my plants work just great! You can use the net launcher, Vanda!”

Fern tosses a net launcher in Vanda’s direction.

Vanda: “Oh, wait! Fern, don’t—”

Vanda flinches backwards and does not move to catch the launcher, as she is entangled in Fern’s vines. Both Vanda and the launcher tumble to the floor.

Vanda: “Ouch…. I was going to say ‘don’t throw it’, Fern…..”

John: “Now, here’s what’s going to happen. Vampire trainees, you’ll practice with your abilities, and human trainees, you will test out the net launchers.”

Luke: “Uhh…and who will we be trying to catch?”

John: “You will catch me!…. That is, if you can! Hahaha!”

Zora: “Awwe yeah! Let’s do this!”

Justice walks over and stands beside me. He straightens his jacket and sighs.

I lift up one of the net launchers, eyeing its size in both of my hands.

Luke: “Here Justice, take one.”

Justice: “I don’t want one of those silly things! They’re dangerous! They’re like something out of a children’s cartoon, you know, the dumb ones with falling anvils!”

I shove the launcher into his hands.

Luke: “Just take it.”

Wisps of black float around John as he transforms into a crow, rising into the air as he does so. He hops across the floor, his talons scraping across the stone beneath him.

John: “Alrighty, you guys will give me a couple moments head start, won’t you?”

John flies up and lands on the roof’s ledge.

Fern: “Are there any limits to how we can use our abilities?”

John: “Hmmm?... No! You kids are smart, just don’t kill anyone!”

John gains momentum with a few flaps of his raven wings, then he darts off into the air, flying at a high speed. I watch as John’s black form disappears into the city.

Zora: “Heck yeah! Come on, you slowpokes! Let’s catch that crazy bird!”

Zora runs up to the roof’s ledge, pointing her fingers out as she swings her arms. She hoists herself over the ledge with her left arm and kicks her legs over.

Zora: “Wooohooo!”

I hear a loud thud from below the roof.

Me and Justice go to the ledge and look down to the street under us. We see a large, crater-shaped dent broken into the sidewalk. A short distance away, Zora sprints down the street already in pursuit of John. Her hyperactive yelling gets quieter, as she runs farther away.

Dot: “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go….catch that bird!”

From behind the group, Key steps forward. He walks up to the ledge and lifts himself, so he is standing on the narrow barrier. He looks back and nods at Dot.

A small spot under Key’s right shoe turns dark, liquidy black. The spot begins to grow in size and becomes a mass of shiny goo under Key’s feet. The black substance seems to move on its own, morphing into different shapes, as it makes its way down the side of the building.

Key stands in place. The black mass has solidified and now goes down the entire height of the library’s main building. The series of dark, glass-like pillars are configured into a kind of staircase, and Key keeps his foot on the tip of it.

Key: “Go…. I’ll stay behind everyone….”

Some of us carry the large, metal net launchers, some of us are empty handed but full of determination, nonetheless. We all make our way down the side of the library by climbing down Key’s staircase.

Once we are down on the street, Key reverts his configuration back into liquid form. The black oil oozes away, almost like it's morphing back into Key’s body. He pivots on his feet as he slides down the disappearing black mass, being careful not to fall.

Now that all of us are on ground level, we start jogging into the street, focusing on the direction John flew off in.

I can imagine what onlookers must be thinking right now. All they will see is an odd group of teenagers wearing tacky spy outfits, sprinting down the streets of Bluddington. Not to mention, some of us are carrying massive (and possibly dangerous) net launchers. We must make quite the spectacle….

We turn a corner to the left and I spot John perched on a lamppost up ahead.

Luke: “Hey look! There’s John! And Zora?!”

I stare as Zora makes a grand stance next to the lamppost. She holds some sort of large, plastic object above her head.

Wait a second… She’s holding an entire waste disposal container with her own two hands, just above her head like it weighs no more than a pillow! This must be one of the perks that comes with having the ability to alter the objects she touches. Her ability isn’t just good for breaking things….

Zora: “Aha! I got you now, you sneaky birdbrain! Haaah!”

Zora throws the waste container over her head, straight up into the air and towards John!

The waste container bumps off the top of the lamppost, falls and bounces on the ground as if it were a giant lump of rubber. John’s reactions are made with cunning speed. He carries himself into the air before the waste container can collide with him.

John: “Garbage?! Yuck! You’re gonna have to do better than that, if you want to catch me! Cawhahaha!”

He begins to fly away, fast!

Luke: “Huh?…. Uh, I got him!”

I make claw shapes with my hands and manage to force out a decent sized ball of fire.

I feel quite proud of my effort however, the fireball hurls straight ahead of me and nowhere near John. What was I thinking?!

Justice: “Luke! What were you thinking?!”

The fireball gets smaller as it soars further away, and a car honks its horn, as the flames fly past it.

Luke: “Uhh!…. I’m doing my best, okay….”

Justice: “Ahh! Never mind the fact that you almost set that car ablaze. Your hair! It's burning!”

Luke: “Huh?”

I raise my eyebrows and feel at the top of my head.

Luke: “Aaah!”

I swat at the burning tufts on my head. I can already smell the smoke coming from it…. I look around me and realize that the others have left me and Justice behind.

Luke: “Come on! Let’s go!”

I wave for Justice to follow me. We take a shortcut and run through an alleyway. I try my best not to trip over cardboard boxes, or the other trash that litters the place… It turns out that Bluddington city is not the ideal place for chasing mischievous vampires…

We make it out on the other side of the street. Across the street from us I see the rest of the trainees, and there’s John too! They all stand gathered around the outdoor patio area of a café. John hops around atop one of the white and red coloured umbrellas above a vacant table.

Me and Justice run over to everyone else.

Dot: “Crap! How do we catch him now?”

Luke: “Oh…. What do you mean? I can just burn the umbrella. I promise my aim will be better this time…..”

I raise my arms out again but Dot stops me.

Dot: “No. None of you can use your abilities right now….”

Key: “She's right. We can’t use our abilities here. There are too many people around.”

Fern: “Yeah…. I usually like attention, but, using our abilities around all these people would expose us in the wrong way…..”

Ginger: “Uh…. Yeah, also, someone might get seriously injured!”

I understand now. The café’s patio is filled with people, sitting at the tables and enjoying their meals and beverages. It probably wouldn’t be a smart decision to suddenly set one of the tables on fire…..

John: “Cawahahah! I knew it! You guys just aren’t clever enough to catch me…. Well, I guess that’s what training is for…..”

Justice: “Not so fast!”

I open my mouth in surprise and we all turn to look at Justice who stands behind me. He is standing with his feet spread apart, as he grasps his hands around the metal body of the net launcher.

Justice: “I have a net launcher and I’m not afraid to use it!”

I notice a slight waver in Justice’s voice however, the intense streaks of colour within his widened eyes tell me that he means to do as he says… Justice grunts as he pulls the trigger on the net launcher. The net shoots out and the force of it makes Justice stumble backwards a bit.

John flies up towards us…. Justice’s net did not capture him….

I move my eyes left and right, as I look through the net that is wrapped around my body. The other trainees, especially Justice, stare at me in shock.

Luke: “Hehe…. And I thought my aim was bad…..”

John flies in circles overhead.

John: “Alrighty then, I think our training session, here, is finished. Let’s head back to the library now, shall we?”

Justice: “….But…. But, the net was—”

I manage to remove the net from my body, but then I hear a loud ‘splat’ noise. I look over to Justice.

Some sort of sticky, goo-like substance drips down the hair on top of his head….

John: “Oh dear, Justice…. I guess we better get back to the library soon, so I can teach you how to use that net launcher properly. Now, don’t you agree?... Huhuhu!”