Vampire Dating Agency

VAMPIRE
DATING AGENC
Y

ROSETTE
BOLTER

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CHAPTER ONE

On the morning of the night her life
was to change forever, Haley Watkins had woken with the sun.

She’d gotten
out of bed, thrown on her running gear, and went for a jog through a nature
reserve on the other side of the block. She stopped briefly by the duck pond,
as was her routine, and skipped a few stones across the water. The last one she
threw somehow evaded the plop into the pond the others had suffered, causing
Haley to jog round to the other side to see if it had made it. It was a rather
large stone and it had a specific red tinge to it, so Haley should have been
able to recognize it.

However when
she got there the bank was empty and dry – no sign of the stone at all.

“Well, I’ll
be…”

She smiled to
herself, her eyes shifting through the grassy horizon, as though there was
someone out and about there. Someone who was watching her.

The smile
then faded as she realized that she was alone, and tomorrow morning she would
not be here, nor the next, nor the morning after that. It could very well be,
that this was the last time Haley would see the nature reserve or its pond ever
again.

“Do you have
everything? Are you sure?” her mother was asking an hour later back at the
house.

“Yes, I told
you already,” Haley said brushing her teeth. “I packed last night.”

“What about
your phone charger? Did you pack your charger?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Toothpaste?
Where are you going to get your toothpaste from?”

“I don’t
know. I’m sure I’ll manage.”

“Okay. We’re
stopping off at the grocery store.”

“Mom,” Haley
groaned. “There’s no time for that.”

“We’re
stopping and that’s the end of it.”

While Haley
had been focused on her own stress and anxiety with leaving home, she hadn’t
really given much thought as to how her Mom would be dealing with it. You’d
think by now her Mom would be glad to get rid of her since she’d been living
here since like forever … but then the uncertainty was always going to leave
room to wonder.

Would Haley
ever see her mother again?

“I made you a
sandwich,” her Mom said handing her a paper bag in the kitchen.

“Mom, what
are you –”

“Alpha
sprouts, beetroot, carrot, spinach and tomato on dark bread.”

“Oh,” Haley
said accepting the bag. “Thank you.”

Her Mom
looked nervously around the room. She walked over to the kitchen sink and
pulled up the blind.

“I just
grabbed this from the cabinet,” Haley said showing off the toothpaste. “Saves
us a trip.”

Her mother
turned around, her nails tapping on the counter.

“Are you sure
you want to do this?”

Haley blinked.
“Excuse me?”

“Go, I mean.
It’s a lot to give up.”

“Well, I knew
that before I enrolled at the academy. If I was successful, then this day would
come.”

“But we don’t
even,” her Mom murmured, “we don’t even know what’s going to happen to you –”

“I’ll be fine,
Mom. Seriously. This is what I’ve been trained for.”

“But how can
we be sure? What if they just throw you out to the frontline, like a
sacrificial lamb –”

“If I see
anything like that, I’ll just run out of there,” Haley said. “They can’t stop
me. I still have rights. I can refuse. But … I mean, I’m the new recruit. I’ll
probably spend the next six months in the kitchen making stew for them.”

Her Mom
nodded. “Let’s hope.”

CHAPTER TWO

Two hours later and they were on the
road, nearing the end of their journey. Conversation had been attempted by each
of them, but the robotic GPS voice kept on interrupting. Haley had tried
switching the voice off, but that endeavor ended shortly thereafter with her
Mom screaming “You’re gonna break it!” into her eardrums.

At five
minutes to ten, the sight of their destination came into view and her Mom
slowed down to the side of the road asking Haley, “Is that it?”

Haley looked
over at her. “Uh. Yeah.”

“Okay. So
we’re here then…”

Haley
frowned. “Are you going to drive up there? I’m supposed to be there at ten a.m.
sharp.”

“We’re just
looking at it for now.”

Haley
inhaled, her anger rising. What they were looking at wasn’t where she was going
to ultimately end up – for that they didn’t have an address. This was just an
old farmhouse out in the middle of nowhere. A pickup point for Haley to be
taken to her next location.

The place
where she and her mother would have to say goodbye.

“I’m not
backing out,” Haley said. “I’ll get out of the car and start walking if I have
to.”

Her Mom
didn’t reply. She gradually guided them back out to the road and traveled along
slowly until they reached the dirt track leading up to the barn. They turned up
it and drove for a bit. They parked out the front.

“Is anyone
behind us?” Mom asked.

Haley leaned
over to check. “No.”

They both
stared down the main road.

All was
quiet. All was still.

9:57.

“When’s your
first check in?”

“Tonight,
9pm,” Haley replied.

“And -?”

“Every Sunday
and Wednesday after that.”

“You miss one
phone call and I’m calling the cops.”

“Mom,” Haley
groaned. “Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

“It’s already
happening.”

Haley pressed
her fingers together. She shifted her jaw.

“Make sure
you contact your brother as well,” her Mom said. “God knows how he’s going to
do without his sister in the house to take care of him.”

“Jesus he’s
fifteen already,” Haley exclaimed. “He can take care of himself.”

“I don’t
know. When your father was his age –”

“Enough.
Please.”

“Alright,”
her Mom sighed.

A few moments
passed.

Her Mom
leaned forward. “Maybe they’re not coming.”

“It’s not ten
yet.”

“I’m just
saying, what if –”

She was cut
short, as a black car suddenly appeared on the horizon. They both watched in
silence as it approached them, slowing down gradually and then turning up the
dirt track.

“That’s
them,” Haley said pushing her door open.

She got out
and her Mom joined her. They opened the trunk together.

Haley got
loaded up first with a backpack over her shoulders, then a gym bag in her right
hand, and another carry bag in her left.

The car
creeped forward and came to halt before reaching them.

A man in a
suit and sunglasses was sitting behind the wheel.

“Who is
that?” her Mom whispered. “We don’t know him.”

One of the car’s
back doors opened and a professionally dressed woman wearing a dark green
blouse and skirt stepped out of the vehicle. She walked towards them, carrying
a manila folder at her side.

“Haley?”

“That’s me,”
Haley beamed.

“And you’re
her mother?” the woman question.

“Yeah – yes,”
her mother said nervously. “Jennifer Watkins.”

“I’m Ms.
Armistice.”

She walked to
the trunk of their car and placed her folder on it, removing one of its pages.

“Can you both
come here please?” Ms. Armistice instructed.

They walked
over.

“I’ll just
take both your signatures here. Help things move along smoothly.”

“What is
this?” Haley’s Mom asked taking the paper. “Certified Release Notification…”

“It’s just to
say that Haley is now in our care, and you understand the conditions.”

“What
conditions?”

“Excuse me,”
Haley piped up. “Not to be rude, but why does my Mom have to sign anything? I’m
eighteen.”

“You’d be
surprised at the slander that gets thrown of us. Things go wrong in the field
and then moms and dads try to get even by saying we kidnapped their children
against their own will. So now, extra precautions are required.”

“What do
mean?” her Mom stammered. “Things go wrong in the field?”

“I wouldn’t
worry about that Mrs. Watkins,” Ms. Armistice smiled. “Just put your signature
here, please. Yes … over there … thank you.”

Her Mom
looked weak in the face.

“Now you,
Haley.”

Haley dropped
her bags and moved in to quickly sign.

“Thank you.”

Ms. Armistice
collected the paper and her folded, tucking it under her arm.

She then
reached forward and picked up one of Haley’s discarded bags.

“We’ll take
it from here, Mrs. Watkins.”

“Oh. Oh …
okay…”

Haley looked
from her mother to Ms. Armistice.

“Haley? Shall
we?”

Haley quickly
nodded.

She turned to
her Mom, and gave a half smile.

“Talk soon.”

Her Mom
nodded stiffly.

Haley
followed Ms. Armistice to the back of the car and put her things inside the
trunk. She was then led round to the backseat with the door opened for her.

She waved to
her Mom, and then got inside.

Ms. Armistice
joined her.

“Buckle up.”

Haley quickly
complied, doing up her seat belt. Ms. Armistice reached down to the floor of
the car and picked up piece of dark cloth.

She handed it
to Haley. “Put this on.”

Haley
unfolded it.

It was a
blindfold.

“Um…” she
began.

“Look, we’re
you’re going is one of the most secret and classified locations in the entire
country,” Ms. Armistice explained. “If you’re not ready for this, then I
suggest you get out and run back to Mommy while you still can.”

“No,” Haley
said lifting up the blindfold.

She pulled it
over her eyes.

“I’m ready.”

CHAPTER
THREE

It was probably another hour for
Haley in the car, but it felt a thousand times longer. Throughout the entire
journey the car was completely quiet. Ms. Armistice didn’t speak to her or the
driver. No one received any audible messages or phone calls. And so Haley was
left to just sit there and live in her thoughts.

She was going
through all the preplanned and expected emotions: fear, excitement,
anticipation, eagerness. This was so much bigger than anything she’d seen or
been a part of that she could remember. Her house located in the white-washed
suburbia seemed as small and forgettable as ever. Her mother, while she partly
felt sad for her, was nothing but a grain of sand in the ocean that now awaited
her… Even after sitting still for an hour Haley felt like she’d just downed three
Monster cans she was so pumped.

When the car
finally stopped and the ignition cut out, she was itching to take off the
blindfold.

“Not yet,”
Ms. Armistice said, already ahead of her. “You’ll have to walk a little before
it comes off. I’ll help you.”

They exited
the car, the concrete below and echoes in the soundscape suggesting they were
in an undercover car park.

Ms. Armistice
took her hand and led her through. They stepped into what Haley judged to be an
elevator, went either up or down, and then walked through a series of
corridors. They passed people along the way, but no one said anything to them.
Haley could hear conversation coming from the walls around her, but nothing
upfront and direct. She also heard a number of strange sounds including what
appeared to be a washing machine rattle, followed by an electronic buzzing.
They eventually reached a door which Ms. Armistice opened, leading out to a
small carpeted room.

“You can take
it off now.”

Haley removed
the blindfold. They were in Ms. Armistice’s office.

“Take a
seat.”

Haley sat
down while Ms. Armistice stepped in behind her desk. She opened a laptop on the
table and started playing round with it. Haley looked over her shoulder at the
closed door.

“My things,”
she exclaimed. “They’re still in the car.”

“We’ll take
care of them for you,” Ms. Armistice said without looking up.

“But…” Haley
began. “But …
when
do I get them back?”

“When you
need them.”

“What if I
needed them now?”

Ms. Armistice
looked up. “You’re not on any medications are you?”

“No –”

“So what do
you need then?”

“Well,
nothing.”

“Glad that’s
sorted then.”

Haley
breathed uneasily. “My Mom’s gonna freak if I don’t call her every Wednesday
and Sunday at 9pm. I have to call her tonight as well. Just so you know.”

“You can drop
the Momma’s Girl act now.”

“What?”

Ms. Armistice
smiled and turned back to her computer. “It’s true we get a few kittens in here
sometimes, that manage to slip through the cracks. But not you.”

“Not me?”

“I’ve seen
your test scores. Aced everything. They put you in Project Z during the second
year and you made it through that as well. Your examiners labeled you a
‘bite-sized killing machine.’”

“Oh,” Haley
gasped. “That’s really just an exaggeration. I haven’t even fought anything for
real –”

“Of course
you haven’t. But the simulations can provide some accurate insights. All I’m
saying is you’re a woman now, not a girl. So act like it.”

“Okay…” Haley
murmured. “Are you saying that calling my Mom is going to be a problem?”

“I’m not
saying it will be a problem,” Ms. Armistice said, “but it absolutely should not
be a priority. Your priority is the work you’ll be doing for us.”

“Um…” Haley
chuckled. “Okay.”

Ms. Armistice
leaned over the desk. “This is funny to you?”

“No, I’m
sorry –”

“This isn’t a
game, princess. You want to play cops and robbers? Go join the FBI. What you’ve
been trained for, and what you’ll be up against is a day in, day out threat to
your life. You know how many recruits make it through the first year?”

“They said …
like, forty, fifty percent,” Haley recalled.

“Not even
close. Try five percent. We only get fifty new kids in here a year, fifty kids
who show up looking like they’re up to this. Most of the blokes think this will
make them hard, that they’ll get a steroid prescription and a license to carry
an assault rifle that they can impress their friends with. You know what
happens to them?”

“No. What?”

“They wind up
getting their arms ripped out and theirs eyes gouged, cause they picked the
wrong person to fight. Not
every
time, but it does happen. Now, we get a
much less percentage of female recruits, though they do often test better than
the boys do. You know what their misconception is?”

Haley shook
her head.

“They think
being a paranormal detective means they’re going to be sleeping around with
bear and wolf shifters, and one of them is just going to whisk them away off
into a happily ever after. Well guess what. You know what happens to them?”

“What?”

“They wind up
getting drug addicted, pack raped and turned into a slave. Even worse is when
they send them back to us all fucked up and brainwashed, looking to steal our
secrets and take down our task force.”

Haley
cringed.

“Not to …
scare you off,” Ms. Armistice chuckled. “But seriously it does happen. Best
case scenario you wind up with a broken heart and stood up at the altar. So,
rule one, don’t develop feelings for whom you’re investigating.”

“I … um…”
Haley smiled lightly. “I won’t.”

“Good.”

Ms. Armistice
punched in a few keys into the computer, and then stood from the desk.

“We’re all
set up now,” she announced. “Good to proceed forward.”

“Oh.”

“I feel like
some coffee now though, so I’m just going to step out for a minute. Can I get
you something?”

“I’ll … I
mean … I’ll have a coffee.”

“Good girl.”

Ms. Armistice
went for the door.

Haley stood.

“Wait here
please,” Ms. Armistice said and exited.

Haley sat
back down. She exhaled.

She wasn’t
exactly sure what was coming next, but whatever it was, Haley had doubts she’d
wind up working in the kitchen.