Decisions, Decisions...

Two story beginnings. Your choice.

1.

The girl in the black hooded cloak sprinted down the narrow, low, metal-walled hallway, followed by two very big, very hungry, very vicious dogs.

‘Snow!’ she yelled, gasping for breath, ‘Close the door!’ her words echoed around the tight space. ‘Now!’

‘I’m trying!’ Snow’s voice snapped out of the hooded girls headset, followed by an exasperated sigh. ‘It keeps shutting me out.’

‘What about the override sequence?’ the girl suggested,  rounding a corner.

‘Don’t you think I’ve tried that?’

‘How many times?’ she replied, nearly stumbling, the dogs right on her heels.

‘Uh, once…’ Snow said meekly. The hooded girl ran onwards, silent save her heavy footfalls and breathing. Cold, blind anger was numbing her thoughts. The closer of the two canines snapped at her feet and she yelped, surging forwards.

‘If I were you, I would try it again- And I would be very, very careful to get it right.’ She rounded another corner, her red sneakers threatening to lose their grip on the smooth concrete floor. She was coming up to an open door.

‘Quickly.’ As she added this final word, her shoes finally lost all traction and she fell and rolled through the door. She relaxed as the doo swung shut with a hiss. She pulled her hood off, revealing her shoulder length, straight, brown hair. She stood and grimaced at the pair of dull thuds that were made by the dogs hitting the door and looked around the room, scouting out the teenage girl sitting at a laptop in a headset that matched her own. This girl, Snow, turned in her chair and looked at her partner, fearful. Snow was truly gorgeous, her long black curled hair complimented her pale skin, and her normal smile could melt the hearts of even the strictest adults.

‘Red…’ she trailed off.

‘Snow. Don’t start. Just, please, double check from now on. Okay?’

‘Sure. Yes. Of course.’

‘Okay, how do we get out?’

'Taken care of. Give me a sec.' Snow began packing her laptop away. 'Did you get it?' she asked. The girl named Red grinned and opened her fist. A golden pocket watch lay in her palm. She spread her fingers out and allowed the watch to fall. It jerked to a halt in midair as the chain it hung from went taught. Snow nodded and slung her laptop bag over her shoulder. She then walked to the window at the end of the room, opened it and climbed through. Red followed and blinked in surprise when her feet landed in a puddle. She was standing in the dark, in the rain.

'This day,' she muttered, pulling her hood back up again, 'Bites.'

2.

Lance and Ayden Thatcher were born, human, twin brothers. Dark eyes, brown hair, fair skin. They grew up together, with they're parents, and the four of them were the final surviving humans of that world. Everyone else, the friends and family of the Thatchers, were gone. Not completely, but they had been changed. Lost to either side of that world's war.

When the war started, there had been three sides. The humans, the lycanthropes and the vampires. But, over time, the numbers of humans converted to either opposed side of the great battle turned the tables and very slowly the human's numbers dwindled. The vampires and the lycanthropes, or lycans, number grew, and the ferocity of battle increased, and soon it was all the humans could do to stay alive. And now, the four remaining humans were deep in their slumber, hiding from the supernatural and deadly beings that owned their once prosperous land waited and hunted for each other. The Thatcher family had ran from the war when it reached their village, and they were content to hide and believe that they were alone as a species.

As the boys grew, their physical appearances, and their personalities grew and changed. Ayden grew tall and broad-shouldered, always the one to get firewood and do heavy lifting. His hair lightened and his face was freckled. Lance was of an average height, shorter than his twin, but not so much that Ayden would be able to tower over him. His hair was black and limp, always a clump of it drooping across his face. He spent his time designing and setting traps, to catch rabbits and deer for food.

On the eve of these twins 18th birthday, Ayden was chopping firewood and Lance was recording the features of a mushroom he'd found when two creatures tumbled out of the woods and into the little clearing in which the Thatcher's house was built. There was a roar and one of them stood. He was a Lycan, and stood at least seven feet tall. He had enormous claws, which were very sharp. You could tell they were, because when he accidentally hit a tree trunk, the claw marks were so deep they reached more than halfway through the trunk. He looked around and saw Ayden and Lance, who were staring at Lycan and the vampires he had been fighting. The Lycan bounded over, picked up Ayden and leapt into a tree. Lance screamed as his brother vanished into the foliage. He whirled to face the vampire, who had also vanished. He spun, looking for her frantically. She was waiting on the roof of the house, smiling as he twirled in fear. She jumped down, landing silently behind him and paused, breathing in the scent of his terror. And then she reached out and gripped his shoulder and the side of his head, and tilted his neck to the side. As he gasped in pain, she sunk her fangs into his neck.

Okay, you're decision! Choose wisely!