"Then she took my shades and walked off and left me there," Sam sighed. "And I just lay there sobbing and moaning. I didn't try to move till dusk. But thinking back now? I could have found the blood by scent. I mean, it was sealed in plastic but plastic has a smell right? And like, I'm sure by now you know what a blood bag smells like. It smells like lunch, right?"

I nodded slowly as I had another sip from my mug. "So what happened after that?"

Sam continued, "I dragged myself over, got the blood, drank it, then passed out."

Me and Sam rested in that little park for a half hour or so, then we came back home to her apartment. My right shoulder was still healing, but the pain was just a dull throb at this point. She warmed up our meal and we were sitting together on the sofa.

I didn't actually feel that hungry, the snack I had earlier from the dealer really hit the spot. But Sam said I needed more to help me heal, and of course I could never turn down blood. Even if it did taste like plastic.

As we relaxed and sipped our meal I asked her how she got shot the first time, and now she was telling me about a training thing Isabelle did with her. Except it sounded more like torture than training.

After another sip of her meal she went on, "We did that all fucking week. Four days she left me shot up and sobbing on the forest floor. She shot me nineteen times in four days. Each time, it was the first bullet that stopped me. After that she just shot me a few more times just to rub it in."

"Holy fuck," I whispered.

"Yeah," she sighed, then had another gulp of blood. "The fifth day I was done. I had enough. She wasn't pretending to be human, I'm sure of it. She was just playing with me? Like missing on purpose till I got close, then she used her vamp speed and reflexes to give me a painful but non-debilitating wound. And every time I disappointed her by collapsing and crying and stuff, she got nasty about it."

Sam had another sip of blood and continued, "So the fifth day I finally understood. And I guess I was like you tonight? Instead of just collapsing and suffering I'd had enough. She hit me twice more before I got to her. Then I ripped the gun from her hand, broke her fucking arm, and shot her in the leg. I had a hole in my shoulder, another in my side, and one in my thigh. And I refused to go down. I actually had to hold back, I seriously thought about emptying the gun into her then going for her throat. But I got the blood and drank it, I didn't even leave her any. Then we limped back to the cottage together, she got more blood out of the fridge and warmed it up. She even let me have the first serving. I guess I won her respect, but it took five days of hell to do it."

After a few moments she added, "I think that was a turning point for me? After that I felt tougher, mentally. I knew I could take whatever came up. And it felt like that's when the rest of my training really took off too. Like once my attitude shifted, I started really coming into my vamp strength and speed and all that stuff."

I didn't know what to say after hearing all that. I just sighed, then drained the last of my mug.

It was nice, it was ok, but after that taste I had earlier tonight I wasn't sure I'd ever be entirely satisfied with the packaged stuff again. It always had the taste of plastic, and it seemed slightly tainted from being chilled then reheated. It just wasn't fresh.

Samantha was smiling at me again. It was that look of pride. She still hadn't got over my performance in the alley.

"Damn I wish I filmed that," she sighed as she shook her head. "You were amazing Tara. Fucking Isabelle won't believe me when I tell her. But yeah, you did well tonight. Really well."

I looked at the gun on the coffee table. Sam gave it to me once we got home, she said it was my prize, my trophy. Well, she gave it to me after she took all the bullets out. Neither of us wanted any accidents.

I didn't know anything about guns so I had no idea what kind it was. I knew it was an automatic, not a revolver. That was about the extent of my understanding. The bottom half was stainless steel, with black grippy bits. The sliding bit on top was matte black.

When she took the bullets out I examined one. It was about twelve millimetres in diameter and thirty millimetres long. A fat squat cylinder with brass at the back, some copper at the front, and a hollowed-out tip revealing the lead inside. It had '45 Auto' stamped on the back end.

"So was that a test or something?" I finally asked, as I looked back at Sam.

"I guess?" she shrugged. "I mean, I didn't set out to get you shot. I knew it was a possibility. I really wanted you to get over your fear though, right? Like I said, you were a cat scared of mice. So from that angle, I guess the test comes next time. Will you be over your fear, or will you still be worried about this stuff?"

I shook my head, "I don't really know. I think I'm still sort of in shock from the whole thing right now."

Samantha nodded, "That's fair. We'll probably have to patrol again tonight, so we'll see how you feel. I guess if you wind up being anxious again, we'll have to go out again tomorrow night and get you into some more trouble. Keep kicking the hornets nest till it stops scaring you."

I sighed, but I didn't try and protest. Instead I asked, "What would you have done, if I'd just collapsed or whatever? If I'd fallen down and cried?"

"I would have taken the guy down myself," Sam explained. "Knocked him out or whatever. Then I'd have hauled you clear and given you my flask to help get you on your feet again."

She added softly, "And we'd have done the same thing again in a few days. We'd keep doing it till you got over it. I honestly thought it would take you more than one fucking try."

She had that grin on her face again. "I still can't get over that. Now I wonder if Isabelle was lying to me when she said it took the others a week. Maybe I'm the weak-ass loser, maybe most vamps figure it out on their first or second attempt. I wonder if she told me most enforcers take a week to make me feel better about taking five days."

"I doubt it," I said quietly. "You were only a year dead at that point right? Basically just nineteen, still a kid. I've had three years as a vampire. And I had all your teaching, all your training. It's not a fair comparison."

Samantha leaned in and gave me a hug as she smiled, "See, now you're trying to make me feel better about it too. Give you another twenty years and you'll be the one challenging Cyn for the top job, I'll just be your sidekick or something."

I rolled my eyes, but I actually found myself suppressing a smile. My shoulder still throbbed, I was still maybe in a bit of shock, but all her enthusiasm was starting to rub off. I got shot. Then I got back up and fucking nailed the guy who did it.

And while it hurt, it wasn't the end of the world. Even in the moment, right when it happened, I was able to deal with it. Ok it took me a few seconds and maybe it could have gone either way. But like Samantha kept saying, I didn't just fall down and suffer. I took charge and did what I had to do, and I came out on top.

"Ok," I said as I couldn't hold the grin back any longer. "I guess I was a little bit hardcore."

"A little bit?" Samantha laughed. "Cutie when you spat out some of his teeth then went back in for more I nearly creamed my panties. That was totally fucking hardcore hot!"

My face went red at that comment. A moment later she blushed too as she realized what she just said. We both felt awkward for a few minutes after that. And it didn't take long before my mood started to drop again.

That guy tonight was just a human after all. Like Sam kept telling me, I was a predator, he was prey. I was supposed to beat him, it wasn't any more remarkable than a cat beating a mouse. And the stuff I was really supposed to be doing, the stuff Sam was training me for, had nothing to do with beating up humans.

I was supposed to enforce the Covenant. I was supposed to be able to take on other vamps. I needed to be tough enough to face down one of our own kind, and from that perspective it felt pretty pathetic that after three years my single big achievement was beating up one solitary human.

That thought sort of stuck in my head for a while, and I finally sighed. "Me beating up some lonely drug dealer really isn't really a big win though, right? I mean I'm still a long way from being able to actually handle the job I'm supposed to be learning? Like I couldn't take on another vamp."

Samantha shrugged, "You're not expected to, not yet. And this wasn't about kicking some human's ass, it was about getting over your fears. The fact that you took a bullet, got up, and beat an armed man unconscious is huge. This was a big success for you Tara, take the victory and enjoy it."

I sighed, then nodded slowly "Ok Sam. I'll try."

She gave me a warm smile, "Good."

I couldn't help myself though, I had more questions. I couldn't just relax and enjoy the victory.

"How long were you a trainee, before you had to start working on your own?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment then replied, "It was four or five years before me and Isabelle would patrol sort of separately but close? Like a block apart? It was near enough she'd hear me if I shouted for her, but we were out of sight from each other and she was like a minute away. So if I ran into serious trouble I was on my own for a little while."

After a few more seconds of thought she added, "It was about six or seven years before I was completely on my own, before I was able to stand my ground against another vamp. Even then I wasn't necessarily expected to win. I didn't really start kicking ass for a few more years or so after that."

"Huh," I said. That actually made me feel better. For whatever reason I thought maybe three or four years was all the training she had. Knowing it was twice that meant I wasn't so far behind after all.

Sam obviously knew what I was thinking as she said "Yeah. Nobody expects you to take on other vamps for years. Right now it's about learning how to do it, learning confidence and skills and stuff. The strength and experience will come in time."

"The other thing is," she added, "You're probably thinking of other vamps like me, Jess, Marcus, or Reuben? We're all enforcers. You're comparing yourself at three years to the tough elite fighters. Most vamps aren't like us. Think about Cheryl and her crew? You're already tougher than most of them."

"Thanks Samantha," I smiled.

She smiled back, "Any time Tara."

My lips slowly curled into a smirk and I gave her a look. My cheeks went pink again as I asked, "Almost creamed your panties huh?"

Her face went red but she smiled, "Hey! It was pretty fucking amazing, ok? Like of all the things I expected to see you do tonight, that wasn't even in the top hundred. But it was awesome."

My blush grew brighter as I countered, "Of all the things I'd have guessed might get you off, me spitting out some guy's teeth after sucking down a mouthful of blood wasn't in the top hundred either, you know?"

She stared at me with wide eyes, then we both just started giggling.

It was probably the weirdest conversation we'd had in a long time, and possibly the most flirty. Which just made it even stranger, considering what we were actually talking about.

Samantha finally got up and picked up our empty mugs, then went into the kitchen to wash them and put them away.

While she was doing that, I picked up my trophy to have a closer look at it. It was unloaded so I wasn't worried about it going off. I fiddled around with the sliding bit, pulled the hammer back, then pulled the trigger and the hammer snapped down with a loud clack sound.

I was still messing around with it when Sam returned to the sofa. I glanced at her and asked "Do you know much about these things?"

She shook her head, "Not really. I know it's a knockoff of a Colt forty-five? It's a forty-five calibre semi-automatic, the clip thing holds seven shots. They've been around a long time, maybe a hundred years? That one's new obviously, but I mean it's an old design? They were used in the second world war. Maybe the first one too? That's about all I know."

It was still a lot more than I knew, so I just nodded as I put it back down on the coffee table. "Cool. Thanks Sam."

"Any time Tara," she replied with a smile.

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