The Ascent of the Vampires - Book 1

took the sword and held it high. She swung it hard at Thandor's head. Thandor's head flew through the air, blood spurted everywhere. Thandor's body turned into black liquid.
    The crowd of vampires gasped in shock. Thandor had been a good vampire and soldier. But Dragos was their leader.
    "Congratulations, Tatiana," said Dragos.
    The crowd cheered and some vampires shouted Tatiana's name. After a moment, Dragos held up his hand for silence.
    "As her first mission, Tatiana will hunt the human boy and girl who cut off her arm and killed the vampire. We cannot allow them to find other humans and start a resistance . They must be killed," said Dragos, "can you do this Tatiana?"
    Tatiana looked at her cousins Daciana and Dragos. Then she looked at the room full of vampires. Then she looked at her missing arm. Her eyes filled with hate.
    "Yes I can," she said, "yes I can!"
    __________________________

    >Glossary<

    risen – past participle of ‘to rise’ which means ‘to ascend’. aufsteigen
    not everyone deserves your applause – ‘to deserve’ means ‘should receive’. verdienen
    failed – ‘to fail’ to not succeed. versagen
    chains – metal ropes used to hold prisoners. Ketten
    was in charge – ‘to be in charge’ means ‘to be the boss’. das Sagen haben
    glowed – ‘to glow’ means ‘to emit light’. glühen
    I am promoting her – I am giving her a better job or position. Ich befördere sie.
    a huge sword – a very big sword, a sword is a weapon used by knights. ein riesiges Schwert
    turned into – ‘to turn into’ means ‘to become’. sich verwandeln in, werden zu
    hunt – ‘to hunt’ means to track, or find, e.g. to hunt an animal. jagen
    start a resistance – ‘a resistance’ a group which fights against an occupying enemy. Widerstand

CHAPTER TWENTY

    Later that day.
    Amy’s house, New Jersey.

    After Amy had said goodbye to her mother, she went for a walk. She walked down her street, the same street she had lived on all her life. It was completely different now. Some of the houses had burned down , there were children's toys lying on the ground. There was no life, the vampires had done that.
    Amy thought about her life. Until yesterday, everything had been normal. She has been just like any other seventeen year old girl. She went shopping, studied and went on dates. Well, one date. And that hadn't been very good...
    Amy thought about her sister Jen. She was only fourteen and over two thousand miles away. Amy didn't know if the vampires were in Nevada, and because there was no TV, she couldn't find out .
    She hoped that Jen was OK and that her teachers were looking after her. Well, there was only one thing to do. She would go and find her sister, she had promised her mother, and that's what she would do.

    Back at the house, Anna and Jack were talking.
    "Thank you, Jack," Anna said, "you saved my life."
    "It was Amy really," said Jack, "she's a brave girl."
    "Yes, but I wanted to thank you, Jack. It's weird, we have been in the same school all our lives but we don't even know each other," said Anna.
    "The past doesn't matter," said a voice.
    Anna and Jack looked up. It was Amy. She was back from her walk.
    "Amy!" said Anna.
    Anna stood up and hugged her friend. Amy hugged Anna for a moment.
    "I've made a decision ," said Amy, "the vampires have destroyed the world. They have murdered millions of innocent people, the president and my mother. But we know they are not invincible. I have killed one and injured another. This is my plan. My little sister, Jen, is in Nevada. I am going to find her and kill any vampire that I meet. You guys can join me , but I understand if you don't want to."
    Anna and Jack looked at Amy and each other. They felt sad and empty but Amy's words had given them hope. Yes the world was broken, but they had a choice. They could fight. It was Anna's turn to speak.
    "My parents are in Los Angeles, I don't know if they are alive or dead. But I'm going to find out. I will travel with you to Nevada, and then I go to Los Angeles. If you are going to kill vampires, I will help," she said.
    The two girls hugged. Jack watched them. He didn't have any family, the vampires hadn't killed anyone he loved because he didn't love anyone. However, in that one night, he had shared so much with Amy and Anna. For the first time in his life, he had friends. Friends were worth fighting for. The two girls stopped hugging and looked at Jack.
    "I'm coming too. But Amy..." said