Syd the Clumsy Vampire

“Jesus Syd, could you be any louder?” Derek used his telekinesis to pick up the trash can garbage Syd just knocked over and then turned to face the party.
“I’m so sorry Derek!” Syd whispered.
“You have got to be the clumsiest vampire I have ever seen. When is the Vamp Gene going to kick in?” Delphine pushed past her and stood next to Derek. It was no secret that she was into him but he didn’t want anything to do with her, or at least that’s how he acted. Delphine was a bitch on a normal day. It was always worse when they went on a raid.
“Look, I said I was sorry. Besides, there haven't been Humans in this territory for years. It’s not like I am going to alert them to our presence.”
“That’s the attitude that got us in trouble last time.” Mitchel spoke up. He was usually very quiet. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Derek shrugged and led the way with Delphine on his tail.
“Don’t let her get to you. She’s a bitch. You and I both know it.” Mitchel put his hand on her shoulder.
“She’s right though. When am I going to be stealthy like the rest of you. It is like the Vamp Gene never fully kicked in. If the High Council ever caught wind, I would be executed.” Syd picked up her tranquilizer gun and kept walking.
Mitchel still had his hand on her shoulder, “The High Council isn’t going to off you just because you bump into stuff a lot. They have bigger fish to fry.”
Syd knew he was right but it didn’t make her feel much better. The Vamp Gene was supposed to take care of all of the genetic anomalies that made humans inferior. In most cases, it stopped the aging process. It took care of physical and cosmetic defects. It was thought to be perfection. In Syd’s case, she was beautiful and she could use all the powers that the Vamp Gene produced. Her mind reading was a little weak but she didn’t mind that. It was hard hearing everyone’s thoughts all the time. She had a harder time than usual blocking out other peoples thoughts too. No one could really see those problems though. She could hide them from most of the vampire community. Her clumsiness was supposed to go away too. It never did. She was always a clumsy human and it followed her into her new life. Derek had taken a chance on her when no one else would. Her clumsiness made her a liability. She tried not to be such a burden but its not like you can stop being clumsy. She was sure that the reason he team was assigned to this location to hunt humans was because of her clumsiness. The powers that be would not want her and her team to mess up if there really were humans in the area. Humans were not a source of food anymore. The Vampire High Council took over the government a long time ago and they felt that in order to create the Utopia they were striving for, all humans had to receive the Vamp Gene. There was of course a resistance and a civil war that followed. The vampires, having superior genes and the ability to use more of their brain than the humans (their powers of mind reading and telekinesis for example) made it impossible for the humans to win. Derek’s team was once one of the most successful Human Hunters. The official word was that there were just not enough Humans left but there were other teams that brought in groups of humans daily. Syd was sure that she was the cause for the downfall. Derek of course would never admit to that but Delphine did daily.
Derek suddenly stopped the group and crouched down to look at something in the dirt.
“What is it?” Mitchel whispered.
“Footprints. They weren't here yesterday.”
“You mean humans?” Syd asked. Since she had joined the group, they had only brought in a few and she always got super nervous when they might actually be able to bring one in. She didn’t want to be the one that caused the mission to fail but she was sure if they failed it would be her fault.
“Well, they don’t match the tread on our boots. Besides, we are the only group assigned to this area. No one else from the Human Hunters would be here.” Derek whispered and looked around.
“There hasn’t been a recorded Human in this area in years. This is a big deal, Derek.” Delphine pointed in the direction the footprints seemed to be headed.
“I don’t like the fact that they are so obvious. Most Humans know better than to leave tracks.”
“What do we do boss?” Mitchel asked.
“Well we have two choices. We can follow the footprints but that feels like a trap to me. We could backtrack and follow them the way they are coming from as well. Before we do anything I want this evidence photographed.”
That was Syd’s job. She got her camera out of the travel bag and fitted it with the correct lens. She took several photos of the footprints and of the area that it led towards and away from. She also made sure that she got several shots of the alley they were in.
“Ok then. Syd put the camera back into her travel bag.
“So, I have a feeling about this. I cant pick up on any Human thoughts. They are either not here or they have figured out a way to keep us out of their heads. I don’t like that idea at all. What do you guys think?”
Delphine bent down to take a look at the tracks. She stuck her finger in the dust. She picked up some dirt and rubbed it between her fingers watching it fall to the ground. “The tracks are only a few hours old but that still gives them time to get out of here. I don’t feel right about this either.” She stood back up.
Truth be told. Syd was having second thoughts about the situation too. Intuition was one of the things that got stronger with the Vamp Gene. She spoke up, “Hey, even my intuition is saying this is a fishy situation. I think we need to go that way” she pointed in the way the prints were coming from.
“But is that what they would expect us to do?” Mitchel was famous for second guessing and he was almost always over thinking the situation.
“Well, that settles it, we are going that way then” Derek followed the tracks in the direction they were coming from and the rest of the Human Hunters followed.
“Do me a favor Syd,” Delphine called over her shoulder, “stay out of the way if we do find some Humans. The only thing you’re good for is tripping over yourself and getting in the way.” She shoulder checked Syd on her way by.