The Unknown World, Book one.

~The Unknown World~

By: Midnight Ash









CHAPTER ONE


Danielle stared up from behind the rest of her gang at the strange boy who stood in front of them. Behind him, around five or six other people stood. They all looked the same; icy,strange, dark, and powerful. There was no doubt in her mind that her gan had a low chance on surviving the night, but it still wouldn't stop her and her members from fighting for their life. The strange boy looked at them, a hint og humor playing on his face that she had seen so many times before on the other gang leaders faces that had once gone against them. Danielle and her gang may be a sad group of young teens, but after the other gang messed with Danielles gang, they lost the smug look, she made sure of it.
"Which one of you is leader?" the strange boy, the leader, asked. When no one spoke, his eyes scanned over everyone, looking at all of them in return.Strangly, to her, it looked like his eyes changed colors slightly as he did. Then, his eyes skimmed over her and stopped on Loric. "You must be it." he said.

Loric laughed, "Yeah right." He said, between chuckles, "From what she says, I'm not even worthy to try." Glaring at him, it took all of her mental strength to keep from smacking in the back of the head. Danielle was the only girl in the gang, and she had been made to show she was worthy to be part of it. Because of that, she had been made leader.
Danielle pushed her way through and stood in front of her gang. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice edged with ice. Now that she was standing in front of this boy, Danielle could tell that he was barely older then she was, maybe by about one or two years. "And who are you? I haven't seen you in this area."The boy smiled at her again, sending chills down her spine. Her discomfort didn't show on her face though, as it hadn't for years when confronted with other gangs.
"My names Jason." he replied, "What is yours?" His eyes scanned over her with a hungry look. danielle laughed. "Wouldn't you want to know." she said, chuckling again. He stepped towards her and instantly Danielle's gang surrounded her. She pushed them back. "I can handle a boy." she said softly when Loric and Radell started to protest, "Whats the worse he can do?"
She turned her attention back to Jason. To her surprise, the other people in his gang had also stepped uo to his side. Jason was watching her with a sudden interest. He leaned down and whispered something to the girl beside him that took a few seconds to travel to Danielles ears. It was after the girl had nodded when Danielle finally was able to understand that he had said, "The girl is mine." One of the boys stepped in front of Jason and rolled something onto the ground between their gangs. When she glanced down at it, Danielle saw that they were weapons.
"I'm going to make this fair." Jason said, looking a her once again. "You and every person in your gang may choose a weapon. After that, we will give every one of you a three minute head start." Jason and his gang took a few steps back, indicating that they weren't going to stop them from getting to the weapons. Mark took a step towards the weapons but Danielle stopped him when she saw what he was going for.
"No guns." she told him, loud enough for the rest of her gang to hear. She had a strange feeling that bullets would have no affect on Jason and his weird gang. Staring down at the weapons, Danielles breath caught in her throat when her eyes found a dagger. Reaching down, she was even more surprisedto find out how light it was, even with the blade made of steel. Lookingat it closely, Danielle found out tht in the middle of the blade was a slice of wood imbedded in it. Suddenly, she had a very weird feeling thst she had seen this dagger before. Before Danielle knew what she was doing, her hands reached down to the end of the dagger and turned the jewel at it\'s hilt to reveal anoter dagger hidden inside, only this dagger was completely wooden with silver laced around the blade. Looking up st her gang, Danielle nodded, indecating for them to pick their weapons. They walked over carefully and picked, eyes never leaving Jasons gang. Becasue of what Danielle said, no one picked guns. Silently, they walked back over to her. They too knew that they might now survive the night.
Jason, who had been watching quietly, said, "Your three minutes start now." Turning around, Danielles gang ran deep into the forest that surrounded them. Withen seconds, they were seperated, but it usually wasnt worried about. Her gang stuck together in twos so if something happened, the couple could keep eachother safe.The only person Danielle had to worry about was herself because,for soe reason, she was always alone if they got seperated. It didn't take long for him to catch up with her in the dark forest. When Danielle finally came to the clearing in the forests center, he was there waiting for her.


CHAPTER TWO


"Your a fast one." he said softly, walking towards her. Danielle turned slightly so she could keep him in her sight. He oticed and grinned, causeing her to shudder on the inside.
"What, you thought that since I am a girl that I won't be able to move as fast as a boy does?"she asked. Suddenly, when Danielle looked at Jason, she got a feeling of fear so strong, a tremor passed through her body that she couldn't hide. Jasons smile got wider. "Scared?"He asked, taking a step closer to her, "I thought a leader as powerful as yours shouldn't be scared."
"Who said I was scared?" Danielle asked, putting an icy tone to her voice so it wouldn't shake, "I'm just cold. I have better places to be other then here talking to you." she glanced back at te forest. That was a mistake, because in doing so, she tok her attention off of Jason. "Really?" he asked, his voice coming from right beside her ear. Turning bck to him, she gasped and took a step back.
Jason reached for her arm but Danielle jerked away and went for the dagger she had picked for her weapon. Unconsciously, she pulled back the jewel and dumped the silver dagger in her other hand. "Dont touch me." Danielle whispered, not trusting her voice at a higher level for fear it might break, "I'm not afraid to stab you."
Jason just smiled and seemed to disappear. Feeling his hands around her wrists, Danielle gasped, almost losing her grasp on the daggers. "Can't stap me if you can't reach me." Jason whispered, his hot breath tinging her neck. He leaned down and kissed the collor of her shirt, then pulled back and laughed softly. "You smell so good. I wonder how you taste." Danielle tensed as his words sank in. She had never believd in what her mind was telling her, but now, after all that had happened, she was rethinking her beliefs. Danielle laughed, realizing how impossible it should be.
"Whats wrong?" Danielle asked throught her teeth, "Too scared to kill me?" Jason twisted her wrosts again, making her drop the daggers. Letting go of her wrists, Jason picked up the daggers, put tem back together, and slid it into his pocket. Finally contempt that she held no threat over him, he looked at hr again. His eyes stared into hers, as if they were looking straight into her soul.
"I dont kill someone without knowing the name of my victim." Jason said, "You never told me your name."
Danielle smiled, "And I'm never going to." she said, "Very little people know my name. You will not be one of them." Jasons eyes flashed black. "What shall I call you then?" he asked calmly.
"Whatever you want." she said, "I'm rarely called by m name anyways. Just my nicknames, which is another thing your not going to find out." Jason looked at her, a smile creeping onto his face. Using his abnormal speed, he was by her side in moments, one arm wrapped around hers and the other tipping her head up until her throat was exposed. "Wanna bet?" he asked. He leaned down and bit her. Well, that\'s what it felt like until Danielle realized the pain was all in her head, and his lips never even touched her neck. He let go of her, causing her to tumble forward. Danielle spn around to face him and almost lost her balance. He caught her before she could fall.
"Why do you need to know my name," Danielle asked, confused, "If your just going to kill me?"
"that\'s for me to know." Jason said, then let go, leaving something in her hands. This time, she found her balance and looked at the object. It was the dagger. "It loses the fun of it if I dont know the name of who I kill." He turned suddenly and ran back towards the forest. He stopped when he got the the edge of the clearing.
"Your gang in in those forest about a mile to the right, by the old mill. They shouldnt be hurt much. They also shouldnt remember anything." He smiled, "Goodbye."Then he turned and ran into the foret. Before he disappeared completely from her view though, she heard his voice in her head say eight words. ~I will see you soon Danielle, very soon.~



CHAPTER THREE



Danielle ran into the direction Jason had pointed out, deperate to find her gang. A couple of seconds later, she umbled into a small clearing where the old mill had been before the owner had passed away and left it to rot. Gasping for breath and control of her emotions, she searched the clearing fora aign of life. By the old mill, Danielle caught sight of Radell and raced towards him.He was lying on the ground, facing the opposite direction of her line of view, but she could see the rise and fall of his chest. Walking closer to him, Danielle saw no wounds that could kill him and looked for the other five members of her gang. Loric, Mark, Derek, and Jeremy were inside of the mill, unconscious but otherwise alright. Everyone but Ash was here and okay.
She searched the clearing again and again, looking for any signs of him. Suddenly, the sound of breathing from behind her made her jump. She turned around, expecting to see Jason or someone else from his gang, but except she saw Ash, wearing a dazed look but smiling at her all the same.
“Ash, you *bleep*hole!” She yelled out, taking him by the shoulders and shaking him, “Why did you do that? Why didn’t you answer me when I called your name?”
He shrugged off her hands, “Because I didn’t want to.” That earned him a glare. “Look, I know your leader and all, but I don’t always need to answer to my sister, especially when that sister is younger than me.”
“The reason I was calling for you was to make sure you were still alive, not to boss you around.” she hissed, “Next time you want to question my authority, always remember that I am leader, strongest in this gang, and that you do answer to me when I call for you. I might be your younger sister, but in this gang, you have nothing over me.” Danielle glared at him once more, then turned around and looked at her stirring gang members.
“If this is what they all think about my leadership, I am going to have to clear that up. If you can’t trust your own leader, who can you trust? They all know I won this position fair and square, and for my own brother to question my authority, that’s just sad.” Danielle thought.
After everyone was on their feet, Danielle turned to address all of them. “I need everyone to meet me at my place, as usual. I have a feeling that it’s not the last time we see Jason and his gang. I have things to tell you, but I cannot tell you them here. It’s too dangerous. All I can say is that we have to meet and get our thoughts and concerns out soon so we will be ready when we meet again.” she said. “I expect you all there tomorrow at dusk. Don’t disappoint me.”
They all nodded. They knew not to argue with her when she was like this. “What were they?” Radell asked. Murmurs of agreement rang in the air and Danielle stared at everyone, silencing it.
“All I can say right now is that they are what should be a myth.” Danielle said. “They’re vampires.” No-one argued or disagreed. Everyone had witnessed what Jason’s gang had done, even though he said they shouldn’t remember. It had happened to everyone. Sadly, they all had to face the fact that the unknown held some very different creatures.
“Now no more talking, it not safe. How can we know that Jason isn’t sitting out there in the trees, listening to what we are saying right now?” That earned a few nervous glances around. Danielle sighed then glanced at her watch, remembering that it was there. It was three in the morning. “We’d better get going. I will see you later.”
They headed out of the forest as a group but once they hit the road, Derek, Ash, and Jeremy headed home and Mark, Radell, Loric, and Danielle headed for her house. There, they all crashed on her couch and fell asleep, despite the how the night went.


CHAPTER FOUR


Danielle woke up screaming and put her head on her knees, trying to calm her racing heart. She almost screamed again when someone touched her shoulder but the scream caught in her throat when she looked up and saw it was Radell.
“Are you okay?” He asked, sitting beside her. Danielle didn’t answer for a minute, just sat there, breathing in air and trying to clear her head of the pictures from the dream. Finally, she shook her head. Radell was the only one who knew when she was lying, so there was no point.
You’re fine now.” He said, wrapping her in his arms, “No one is going to get you here. You’re safe here.” She knew that it wasn’t true, but there, in his arms, she did feel safe, at least for the moment.
“No I’m not.” Danielle said, finally pulling away. “He’s coming back. He told me that.”
“Well you don’t have to worry about that right now.” He said, “Even if he is, I doubt it’s right now.”
“Radell…” Danielle said, “Do you question me as leader?”
He looked at her like she was crazy. “Of course not!” he said, “Why would you think that?! You are the best leader any gang could ever have.”
“It’s just something Ash said.” She told him.
“Don’t listen to Ash.” Radell said, “You know he is just jealous that you are leader and he isn’t. It’s kinda hard for him to get used to you being in charge and him not. Give him some time, he will get used to it.”
“I know.” Danielle said, getting up. “I’m going to go outside, get some fresh air to clear my head. Don’t worry, I’ll be in soon.” And with that, she walked out the back door and stood on the porch.
The cold air hit her and Danielle shivered, but it did clear her head. The feeling of confusion she had felt when Jason didn’t kill her returned though. He had gone on and on about how he wouldn’t kill someone without knowing their name but when he had left, he had used her name in the warning she had been given.
“Why me?” she asked, staring at the dark sky, “Out of everyone here, in this world, why is it me?” The response came as a surprise.
“Because we have met before, in other lives. This isn’t our first time we have ran into each other this way either.”Jason replied, stepping into Danielle’s line of view. Once she heard him, she had started to back towards the door, but his words had made her curious and she stopped.
“What do you mean, ‘We have met before’?” she asked, “And what other lives?” Jason took another step forward, with caused Danielle to step back.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” He said. Danielle scoffed. “Right and I should believe you...Why?” She continued to back towards the door until the knob touched her hand and she turned it. What Jason said next though, caused her to stop.
“Your dreams.” He said, “I can explain your dreams.”
“There is no way possible that you can explain my dreams.” Danielle said, staring at Jason. “Even I can’t.”
“But I can.” He said, “Because they aren’t dreams, they’re memories.” Danielle shook her head, refusing to accept what Jason said.
“Even if there was such a thing as past lives, you shouldn’t be able to remember them.” She said, “So I shouldn’t be dreaming about them. I don’t know why I’m listening to what you say anyways.” Turning, Danielle got her foot through the door before she felt Jason’s hand grab hers and pull her back onto the porch.
“Please,” he said, “Will you just listen to me?”
“Why should I?” she snapped, “You tried to kill me!”
Jason looked around franticly. “Come on.” He said, pulling Danielle into the direction of the small woods. He left no room for disagreements.
With Jason pulling her along, Danielle had to walk faster than her normal pace to keep up. Once they entered the forest, Jason didn’t stop, but kept walking deeper into it. It was only when there was no city lights in sight that Jason let go of her wrist.
“Ok,” Danielle said, rubbing her wrist, “I’m here, now what?”
“Out of every time we have touched, has it ever been skin to skin?” Jason asked.
“No.” she said after thinking, “You were holding my jacket when you took the dagger away from me and just then when you were pulling me here. Whenever you have touched my hand, it was my glove you made contact with, not my skin. Why?”
“Have you ever heard of the term soulmates?” he asked, staring at her.
Danielle started to say no, but a faint memory stopped her. A girl, who looked just liked her, was staring up at someone who was standing in the shadows, out of her view. She could hear his voice though, explaining to the girl that they were meant together, that they were soulmates. Then, the memory was gone. Confused, Danielle just shrugged, unable to give a straight answer.
“Soulmates are people who were meant to be together even before they were born.” He said, “Some people say that when soulmates finally meet, if they ever do, they know each other instantly. But sometimes, soulmates have met in a different life, and one had died. Sometimes that one soulmate comes back. They say that when soulmates finally touch skin to skin, they get this type of electric shock, and some type of invisible force pulls the together. When they are together, that same force joins their souls until they are one, or close to it.”
“You sound like you know a lot about that subject.” Danielle said, “Where’s your soulmate?”
Jason’s answer was barely audible, “She’s right in front of me.” he whispered.
Danielle gasped softly, caught off guard. “No way possible.” She hissed, “Prove it.”
“Take off your glove.” he said, “Then give me your hand.”
Obeying, she took off her glove and held out her hand, “I don’t know how this is going to help you prove anything…”
Instead of answering, Jason just took her hand in his. Once their skin touched, Danielle felt as if she was falling. Instead of hitting the ground though, she felt Jason’s strong arms go around her, keeping her steady. Then, without knowing what was happening, she was in his mind.