《Bitten (The Vampire Legends #3)》


 Page 1

    Chapter One


    Rachel lay there, in a puddle, floating on her back, looking up at the midnight sky. As she looked up, she saw the huge full moon, lighting up the clouds, which passed impossibly fast beneath it.


    She heard a distant screeching noise, growing louder and louder, and the source of the noise came into view: thousands of thousands of bats began to swarm across the sky. Soon, the moonlit sky completely blackened with them. They swarmed together from both sides of the horizon, and met in the middle. As they did, they suddenly all took a turn, and dove down, right for Rachel. It was like an ever-growing tornado, its funnel widening, as the bats screeched, heading down to earth, right for her.


    She tried to move, to get up, but as she did, she realized that her arms were stuck to the water¡ªwhich now was not water but a pool of sticky blood. She pulled her head up just a few inches, just as far as it could go, just enough to see thousands more bats plunging towards her.


    As they got closer, there appeared in front of her, a shadow, a figure. He bent down over her, and she looked up into his eyes, and saw those large, glowing, incandescent eyes, and recognized them instantly.


    Benji.


    ¡°Save me!¡± she pleaded to him, frantic.


    As the bats came down to earth, now only feet away, Benji leaned back his head. As he did, his face turned impossibly pale, stark white, and long sharp fangs protruded from his teeth. He lowered his head, and sank his teeth right into her throat.


    Rachel screamed out in pain as she felt them enter her. As she opened her mouth wider, screaming and screaming, the bats plunged down, right for her, and entered her screaming mouth.


    Rachel woke up screaming. The room was dark, cold and smelled of must. She lay there on a firm mattress, under a thick, heavy quilt, looking up at the wooden four-poster bed with carved images of crosses at the top of each post.


    She lay still, not moving a muscle. She feared something was different, and he wasn¡¯t ready to face what had happened. Her mind raced with scenes of last night, but they were foggy, she couldn¡¯t piece anything together.


    Her eyes wandered about the room, scanning the marble mantle that surrounded the fireplace, which had a small, flickering fire. She glanced at the midnight-purple wallpaper, which she strangely felt soothed her eyes. She scanned the large cathedral-like ceilings and then looked to find the door. She didn¡¯t remember coming into this room, and she wanted to find her way out. The door was at the back left of the enormous room she lay in; it was a big arched door, with iron locks and bolts on it. She prayed she wasn¡¯t trapped.


    Taking a moment to listen, Rachel sat up in bed. The mattress coils creaked, as if nobody had slept in that bed in centuries. Her body was achy as she turned from side to side, stretching her torso and neck. She peered off the bed and saw a deerskin rug at the foot, it¡¯s head still on, mouth open and eyes staring at her. She got a chill down her spine.


    She wanted to hide under the covers, but knew she wasn¡¯t safe here. She had no idea where she was or what day it was. The room was pitch black, except for the small amount of light that the fireplace gave out.


    Rachel slowly slid her body out of the heavy blankets and put her cold, bare feet on the stone floor. She had no clothes except for the oversized flannel shirt and shorts that she was wearing. Which, now that she thought about it, didn¡¯t belong to her.


    Still struggling to piece together what had happened, she began to remember. She saw flashes of Violet, Hunter, of policemen and sirens, flying vampires and fangs. She suddenly remembered Benji and vaguely remembered him flying her to this castle.


    She walked quickly to the bedroom door to go and find him. She turned the large, brass circular handle and pulled hard. The door slowly opened, creaking at the hinges.


    She slowly tiptoed out of the bedroom and down the long, dark corridor. Silence filled the air and the only noise she could hear was the sound of her own breath as she inhaled and exhaled. As she crept through the never-ending hallways, she saw small, porthole windows with black stained glass. It didn¡¯t let in much light, but it was enough light that she could see directly in front of her.


    She stopped outside of a large door, similar to the one outside her bedroom. It was closed tightly, and Rachel put her ear to it. She didn¡¯t hear anything and debated whether or not to go in. She thought that perhaps Benji was asleep inside and she desperately wanted to talk to him.


    She slowly turned the handle, and opened the door ever so slightly. As she peered in, she saw one reindeer, two fox and a handful of rabbits turned upside down, hanging from the ceiling. As she scanned their bodies, she saw their necks cut open and pools of blood under each animal. Scared and utterly disgusted by the sight and smell, Rachel quickly closed the door, standing with her back towards it, panicked and gasping for air.


    As she continued down the hall, each consecutive door that she passed was also closed shut; she didn¡¯t dare open the doors for fear of what or who might be inside. She didn¡¯t want to take any more chances.


    She neared the end of the hallway and came to a large opening that led to a wide spiral staircase. She peered down over the banister to see what was below, but couldn¡¯t tell in the darkness what lay before her. She slowly crept down the steps, one foot after the other down the never-ending staircase. Her feet felt like ice pops as they grew colder and colder from the stone floor. At the end of the staircase, she saw a large floor to ceiling mirror. She walked up to it, anticipating her reflection, but saw nothing.


    Trying to defog the mirror with warm breath and the sleeve of her flannel shirt, she ran her arm in circles over the mirror. It was dusty, and her sleeve left a big, clear circular area in the mirror. She peered into it again, but all she could see were the clothes on her body¡ªher face, limbs, body and appendages disappeared as she gazed back at herself. She couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on. She touched her face, hair and neck, which all felt normal to her. She did a quick scan of her body, looking down at her feet, legs and then rolling back her sleeves to see her arms and hands. Then, she lifted up her shirt and peered down at her stomach. It was there¡ªshe saw it. It was a hole, the size of a bullet and she suddenly remembered the guns, the sound of the policemen firing openly and then being shot. She remembered the excruciating pain, lying helpless and weak on the ground.


    Her eyes swelled up as a tear streamed down her cheek. She sank to the ground, gripping her stomach, and the wound that changed her life. She let out a scream, ¡°Benji!¡±


    Nobody answered. Silence filled the dark walls as she sat there, alone and scared, her body aching as she began having flashbacks of that night.


    Suddenly, she heard loud footsteps coming down the hall, and the grumbling of a man¡¯s voice echoed as he cleared his throat. The footsteps got louder and louder as they came closer to the staircase. Rachel sat there, in horror, waiting for her fate, as the man suddenly came into view.


    Out of the shadows, appeared a short, heavy-set bald man, dressed in a black smoking robe. He smelled of dead animals as he stood there sucking the tips of each finger.


    Rachel couldn¡¯t imagine what was going to happen to her. She sat there, on the ground looking up, waiting for him to say something.


    ¡°You, dear, have started a great war,¡± the man said.


    Rachel looked up at him, speechless.


    Clearing her throat, she mumbled, ¡°Who are you and where is Benji?¡±


    ¡°You have no idea the trouble you have caused. Never mind who I am, what matters is who you are, and the fact that you may never see Benji again.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Rachel murmured. ¡°I have to see him.¡±


    ¡°Well, the Great War has begun and he is off to fight. You never know what could happen now.¡±


    Rachel sank to the ground crying as the man stomped away out of the dark foyer. Realizing this might be the only person who could help her, Rachel yelled out, ¡°Wait! Sir, wait! Who are you? Can you help me?¡±


    He turned and smiled.


    ¡°Follow me.¡±


    Chapter Two


    Rachel quickly followed the hunched back, short man into a dark library, smelling of old books. The man stopped and the two of them stood there in silence, staring at each other. She watched as the man reached deep into the breast pocket of his smoking robe and pulled out a pack of matches. He walked slowly around the room, lighting the black candles on ever surface. She felt more scared than ever, as she sucked in the dusty, smoky air.


    The man turned back to her and motioned to a chair in the corner of the room, ¡°Sit,¡± he said.


    She slowly walked across the wide-plank wood floors that creaked beneath her every step. As she grew closer to the chair she gazed at the various spines of the books that faced her. Vampire, The Lost Century, Fangs, The Chosen Vampires. The titles glared at her and she suddenly grew numb with fear as she sat down in the stiff chair, which looked to her to be made out of animal bones.


    As she tried to settle into the chair and get somewhat comfortable she watched as the man started to walk towards her. The silence was unbearable for her and she suddenly felt the need to speak, to say anything to calm her nerves.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir, but could you tell me who you are?¡±


    She waited as he took a few steps closer and pulled up a chair facing hers.


    ¡°Yes, dear, my name is Uncle Drew and I am one of your kind. Well, I guess technically I should say, you are one of my kind now.¡±


    Rachel thought for a moment before responding. She didn¡¯t know exactly what he was talking about, but the bullet mark and the vivid dream came flashing back into her mind. She suddenly remembered Benji leaning down towards her neck as her world went dark.


    She cleared her throat. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°Please, call me Uncle Drew,¡± he insisted. He stopped and looked at her.


    ¡°Uncle Drew, I¡¯m lost here, I don¡¯t know how I got here or where I am. Can you please help me?¡±


    She sank down in her chair feeling hopeless.


    ¡°Rachel, dear. You are a vampire now. Don¡¯t you remember?¡±


    Rachel began to hang on his ever word.


    ¡°Tell me more,¡± she said in anticipation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember the Greslins? The bullet wound? You were about to die and you asked to be turned.¡± He waited a few moments and then said, ¡°Is this ringing a bell?¡±

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    Rachel¡¯s mind began to race with images of Violet, policemen, Hunter, and flying in the sky with Benji. She felt a chill travel down her spine as she rubbed her arms with her hands.


    ¡°I have some recollection, but who are the Greslins?¡± Rachel asked shyly.


    ¡°Oh, child, the Greslin Coven is our worst enemy. There have been many wars with them over the course of history, but none as bad as what I feel is about to come.¡±


    Scared, Rachel asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You have caused this war, I¡¯m afraid to say, and now, our beloved Benji is caught in the middle of this, fighting for his life to save yours and the rest of our Vladiccus Coven.¡±


    ¡°Vladiccus? I¡¯m not sure exactly who you are talking about.¡±


    Drew¡¯s voice became stern as he said, ¡°Listen up, you are now part of the Vladiccus Coven. That¡¯s what I am, that¡¯s what Benji is and the rest of us around here.


    He stopped and looked at Rachel square in the eye. ¡°You have a lot to learn, and to be honest, I just don¡¯t have the time right now.¡±


    Feeling a mix of emotions, she sat there, quiet, and then said, ¡°But, but, when is Benji coming back? I need to know.¡±


    She watched as Uncle Drew got up from his chair and began to walk towards the door.


    ¡°Please!¡± she cried. ¡°Please don¡¯t go.¡±


    He turned around and faced Rachel. ¡°Fine, but I need to make this quick.¡± He grabbed an old dusty notepad off the shelf, and a quill pen, and threw them across the room. Rachel reached out and grabbed it in mid air, surprised by her quick reflexes.


    ¡°Take notes, dear, because I will only say this once.¡±


    He paused.


    ¡°Benji is on a mission to repair the damage that you have created. It could be days until he returns. It could be weeks. You are not the same person you once were. You¡¯ve changed. You are still changing. You are now one of us. You think you can go back to normal life as it once was. You think you can go back home. But what you don¡¯t realize is that this is your home. We are now your family,¡± Uncle Drew said as he took a breath.


    ¡°Of course we are not keeping you here. If you want to go back home, if you want to pretend that you can ease back into your normal life, by all means. That is a choice for you to make. If you want to stay here with us, in safety, then you are going to need to learn how to become one of us. You are going to need to learn to harness and understand all of your new skills. Learn what it means to be a vampire.¡±


    ¡°But how do I learn all that?¡± she asked back in confusion.


    ¡°There are others here who can teach you. I don¡¯t have time for that sort of thing. I have a war to wage. In fact, I have already wasted enough time with you already.¡± He turned and began to storm out the door.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Rachel screamed. ¡°You can¡¯t just leave me like this. I need to know more. I am all alone here. Like, what do I do next? Where do I go now?¡±


    He opened the door and then stopped and turned and grinned back at her.


    ¡°Try the north tower. Matilda might have time for you.¡±


    Rachel quickly jotted that down on the piece of paper and then looked up to find Uncle Drew gone and the door swinging back and forth on its hinges.


    She folded the piece of paper and put it into her pocket as she stood from the stiff chair. Her body creaked as she arose. North Tower? She thought to herself. How do I find the North Tower?


    She took a look around the library to see if there might be a map that could direct her to the North Tower. Then, suddenly, she felt herself being pulled, like a magnet, by a strong force out of the room, back through the large foyer and across another corridor. It felt odd to her, but she didn¡¯t want to fight this force. She figured it might be her only chance at finding the North Tower.


    Her body moved through the halls as if being pulled by a current. She breezed by pictures of people hanging on the walls, which she assumed were some of her new ¡°family members.¡± Replaying Uncle Drew¡¯s conversation in her head, she had difficulty considering him family¡ªlet alone the many others she had not even met.


    At that moment, seeing all the photos and thinking about family, she longed to see her mom and dad. She missed her sister Sarah, who had recently become like a best friend to her, and even Mark, her annoying younger brother. She wished she could see them again, and part of her wished she had never snuck out. If she hadn¡¯t, she thought, this would never have happened, and she would probably be in the car with her mom, on her way to Apache High School right now.


    Her nostalgia came to a quick halt as she heard a sawing noise coming from inside one of the rooms off the long and winding hallway. Her heart stopped as she replayed scenes from horror movies in her head.


    As she approached a large metal door, she saw sparks coming out of the cracked doorway. She tried to pull her body away, but the force wouldn¡¯t let her move. She stood back so she wouldn¡¯t get hit by the flaming sparks, but couldn¡¯t get a peek inside. Gaining a new sense of calm, she inched closer and craned her neck to look inside, but she was still too far away. She inched even closer as the sparks began to fly right towards her body, and quickly jumped back, but it was too late¡ªher skin was being hit with thousands of fiery sparks.


    She watched in fear as they hit her skin and hair but was surprised to find that they didn¡¯t hurt at all. In fact, she couldn¡¯t even feel them. She continued to watch the sparks and then saw that they were turning to water as soon as they touched her. She looked down to the floor and saw that her feet were in a puddle of cold water.


    The sparks stopped and she heard other strange noises coming from inside the room. She walked closer and then stuck her head through the small opening in the doorframe. She couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. It was like Santa¡¯s workshop: there were small, dwarf-like people in yellow and black outfits working at their workbenches with hammers and chainsaws, creating toys and furniture out of bones. It was the coolest and grossest thing she¡¯d ever seen.


    All the dwarfs stopped and looked up in silence, staring at Rachel. The room went dead silent as all eyes were on her. Her body grew cold and stiff, and she wished she had never peeked her head though the door.


    A small man came charging at her and tapped her on the leg, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± he said in a high-pitched voice. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have come here.¡±


    Looking down at him, she said, ¡°I¡¯m lost. I was on my way to the North Tower, but I don¡¯t know my way.¡±


    A small woman came over and pushed the man aside with a look of disgust, ¡°Well you should¡¯ve said so, we can help!¡± The crowd of little people cheered and waved their tools in the air.


    ¡°Where did you say you were headed, Miss?¡± the woman asked.


    ¡°I was sent to find Matilda in the North Tower. Is that close to here?¡±


    ¡°Oh no, my child, that is quite a ways, but if you take this map, it will bring you right there.¡± The woman handed her a slab of bone with a map of the castle etched into it. She took out a pen and dipped it into red ink and drew the most direct way to the North Tower.


    ¡°Thank you so much!¡± Rachel said as she took the slab and headed on her way. The force that was pulling her before had died down, and she felt totally on her own.


    She followed the guided path down the hallway, which led her onto a rickety wooden bridge with brass chains on either side. She held on for balance. While she couldn¡¯t let go of the fact that she was in some ancient castle, this bridge brought back memories of the fun house from the Dutch Fair. Despite feeling the similarities of the wooden bridge, she couldn¡¯t help but forget that she was on a mission to find the North Tower. Nothing could stop her, not even her sappy memories of the past. She wouldn¡¯t, and couldn¡¯t let her mind go there.


    She clutched the bone slab tight as she crossed the long bridge, not wanting it to fall beneath her. Her body was surprisingly stable as she walked along; she even got the courage to look over, despite her fear of heights. As she peered down she saw a moat that surrounded the castle with florescent like eels swimming around. At that moment, a neon yellow eel jumped out of the water and snatched an owl that was flying low in the sky above it. She began to move even faster to get out of the line of vision of the eels. She didn¡¯t want to take any chances with those creatures.


    As the bridge came to an end she saw multiple paths; it was like a maze. Looking up in the distance she saw many cupolas and wondered which one was the North Tower.


    Looking down at the slab, she followed the red line that appeared to bear left. She flipped the slab around and around, making sure she wasn¡¯t reading it upside down.


    Feeling confident with her decision, she began to walk down the desolate path heading left. She felt the temperature swell as she walked through a long hallway of stained-glass windows. They didn¡¯t let in much light, just enough so she could see a step or two ahead of her. She put her hands out in front of her body so as not to bump into anything or anyone, but as the walkway grew darker, her vision became clearer, and she felt like a bat navigating through a cave. She put her hands down and her motions grew quicker and she no longer felt that she needed to protect herself from bumping into anything.


    She looked into the stained glass as she passed and saw two red dots staring back at her. She stopped to try and figure out where they were coming from. When she moved, they moved and when she stopped, they stopped. She stepped closer and closer to the glass to catch a glimpse of her reflection, and then, for the first time, jumped back. The shining red dots belonged to her. They were her eyes, and while she could not see anything else in her reflection, her eyes shined back at her with immense power and determination. She didn¡¯t recognize this person she¡¯d become and knew she had to find her way to the North Tower, and fast. She needed help making sense of this person, or ¡°thing,¡± she¡¯d turned into.


    She followed the directions, which led her across another long walkway, through several doors, across another large foyer with silhouettes of angels on the ceiling, up a small dumbwaiter passage and now, she found herself climbing up an endless spiral staircase. Her pace slowed as she tried to catch her breath, huffing and puffing as she trudged along. Her heart was pounding out of her chest and she couldn¡¯t take one more step. Peering over the metal railing she looked up to see how much farther she had to travel before reaching the top, but the journey looked endless. She saw no end in sight, so she sat down.

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    All of a sudden, the alarm of her purple Swatch Watch started beeping. She looked down and it was flashing an error code. She fumbled with all the buttons until she got it to silence itself. She tried to get it back to the time and date, but failed. It was as if the world didn¡¯t want her to know what day it was, and how long she¡¯d been sleeping for. It was a small piece to the large puzzle she was desperately trying to figure out.


    Feeling hopeless, she took the watch off and threw it off the edge of the banister, waiting to hear it fall and break into pieces. She waited and waited but it never hit the ground. She realized how far up she must be. She looked over the balcony and saw her watch miraculously travelling back towards her from the depths of the stairwell. Confused and frightened, she began blinking her eyes as if she were seeing things. It was coming at a fast pace and then stopped as it got to her level and hovered there, waiting for her to take it. She saw a string attached to the watch and a small white note dangling from that string. She reached out and grabbed the watch, clasping onto it as if it were a family heirloom. She pulled the string towards her as the note travelled closer. The outside read her name in small script letters. She opened the note and began to read:


    One mustn¡¯t discard outside personal property in this castle. You never know who might pick it up and you never know what clues it could give our enemy.


    The ominous note ended abruptly and wasn¡¯t signed by anyone. Taken aback by this, she folded it and stuffed it into her pocket as if it never happened. She felt as if she were being followed or watched, and that scared the crap out of her. Her adrenaline kicked in and she started bolting up the remaining steps.


    She reached the top and saw five identical doors, each thick, tall wooden doors with iron bars on them. Her head flipped around as she looked back and forth between all the doors and then back to the slab. She saw an X marked on the map over the third door and headed over to it, slowly looking behind her as she walked towards it. The tower was silent and the only sounds were those of her breath and her feet tiptoeing closer and closer to the large arched door. As she neared close enough to the door to touch it, she felt scared out of her mind. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to knock on the door and wasn¡¯t sure if she was making the right decision. She had been creped out way too much for one day and wondered if coming to the North Tower was a huge mistake.


    She took a few steps back and stood there, contemplating her next move. Her body and breath grew still and silent as she stood there, debating her decision. Feeling in her heart that she had made the wrong choice, she quickly and quietly started turning back towards the steps. As she put her foot out to walk, the force came back and propelled her body in the direction of the third door.


    Figuring it was a sign; she lifted her hand, and began knocking softly on the door. She waited.


    But nobody came. She lifted her hand to the door again, and this time knocked louder, figuring that Matilda, or whoever was inside, just didn¡¯t hear her first knock. She listened and it was as silent as before. No sign of life at all in the North Tower. Next, she lifted both of her hands up and was about to pound loudly on the door when she felt a strong and cold boney hand tapping her on her shoulder.


    Chapter Three


    Rachel wheeled and was startled to see a girl standing there, in the shadows. She screamed and then said, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The girl stared back at her, silent at first, shaking her head as if to say, how dare you ask who I am.


    ¡°You came all this way to see me and now you¡¯re asking who I am?¡± the girl muttered.


    ¡°Matilda?¡± she asked, looking at her, realizing she was the spitting image of Benji in girl form.


    ¡°Um, yeah. Isn¡¯t that why you¡¯re here knocking on my door?¡±


    Surprised by her rudeness, Rachel decided to put down her defenses and wait to see what she would say next.


    Looking down at her watch, Matilda said, ¡°You¡¯re late! The first session has already begun¡ªand you can¡¯t miss it.¡±


    Matilda reached out and grabbed Rachel¡¯s hand and dragged her down the winding staircase. In the distance Rachel could hear loud bells ringing, and then, after a moment of silence, cannons going off.


    Matilda took her by the hand and pulled her through a large foyer, which opened out onto a vast balcony with columns and marble steps going down onto a giant football-sized field of grass.


    ¡°Get in line!¡± Matilda whispered, as she pushed her out onto the field. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting here for you when the session is over.¡±


    Rachel walked over to join the line of ten or so people on the field all, facing the coach, who wore a black-and-white striped uniform. He looked like the umpire from AHS football games. The group was in the middle of stretching and she quickly joined them, doing exactly as they did. Nobody was out of line and everyone was listening intently to the coach.


    ¡°Now young vampires, we will practice Mind Vision,¡± the coach yelled out. ¡°See that pack of deer over there?¡± he pointed into the woods. ¡°We will now each coax a deer out into the field with the power of our minds.¡±


    Standing there, feeling like an idiot for not knowing what Mind Vision was, she watched as the others focused on their pray. Watching them draw the deer closer, she suddenly got a hunger pang stronger than she¡¯d ever felt before. Her mouth started to salivate and her face began to drip beads of sweat. She stared at her deer and opened her eyes wide. The deer turned sharply and stared back at her as if under a spell. It started walking out of the woods slowly and then as she focused harder and harder on coaxing the deer out, it began to pick up speed until it was galloping full force towards her.


    When it got to the edge of the field, she blinked her eyes and the deer stopped moving. She looked around at her peers and saw that they too had stopped using Mind Vision and were waiting for the next instructions from the coach.


    She couldn¡¯t bear it anymore. All she could think about was charging after that deer and sinking her teeth into its neck. She couldn¡¯t understand where this was all coming from, but it felt so natural to her, like she¡¯d been doing it her whole life.


    ¡°I would imagine you are all feeling a bit weak and hungry inside?¡± the coach said. ¡°A side effect of Mind Vision on animals is that you suddenly get an urge to feed. Now, I know most of you have never fed on anything before, so let this be your first go at it. I¡¯ll wait here, and use your instincts at the prey that awaits you,¡± he said as he pointed towards the pack of deer waiting on the edge of the field.


    All of a sudden the young vampires all started charging at their prey. Rachel¡¯s feet began to move quicker and quicker as she started towards her deer. She felt a surge of energy as her stride became wider, then began to think about what would happen once she got close enough to the deer. She suddenly didn¡¯t know how to proceed as she felt her feet slip out from beneath her as she fell face first onto the ground.


    ¡°Rachel!¡± yelled the coach. ¡°Come here, now!¡±


    She pulled herself to her feet and began walking back towards the other end of the field. She turned her head over her shoulder to see that the others were diving into their prey, tearing the deer apart limb by limb and sucking out their blood. She saw the red blood dripping down their bodies and wished she could be over there, too.


    ¡°Rachel! Faster!¡± the coach yelled out.


    ¡°Coming!¡± she yelled back as she quickened her pace.


    As she approached him, she could see him looking at her disapprovingly. She hesitantly walked up to him and waited to see what he had to say.


    ¡°The reason that you fell is because you tried to run with your feet, and you tried to chase the deer with your body. You are still stuck on a physical level. What you fail to realize is that your body will always fail you. You don¡¯t catch a deer with your body, you catch it with you mind. The more that you try to will yourself to achieve something, the less you will. What you need to realize is that there is no separation between you and the deer. In the physical world there is separation, but in the spiritual world, there is none. Don¡¯t chase the deer, feel the deer. Don¡¯t try to run after it. Let your legs carry you there. See it in your mind, and it will be.¡±


    He stopped speaking and looked at her in silence, waiting for her to comprehend his lesson.


    The coach stared back, pointed towards the woods, and sternly said, ¡°Try again!¡±


    She turned her body to face the deer again, which had migrated back into the woods. She began with Mind Vision and pulled the deer back out into the open. She felt a surge run through her body which she had never felt before. She didn¡¯t stop to think about, knowing that could be the difference between her achieving her goals and remaining a novice vampire forever. She let her legs carry her quickly towards the deer.


    Her body seemed to morph into warp animal speed as she leapt across the field at a pace she never knew she could achieve. She felt her long sharp fangs begin to protrude as she leapt onto the deer. She sank her long fangs into the deer¡¯s neck and killed it.


    It fell to the ground as she kneeled beside, it draining the blood into her wide-open mouth. The taste of the blood hitting her tongue was better than anything she had tasted before and the feeling of the excess blood dripping out of her mouth was like heaven to her.


    When she finished licking the blood off the final leg bone, she turned to see all the other young vampires had already finished, and were back in line where they had started. She had become so entranced by her first feeding, she didn¡¯t stop to realize that everyone was waiting for her, watching her as she tasted her first victim.


    The coach looked over at her and yelled, ¡°Let¡¯s go Rachel, we don¡¯t have all day here.¡±


    Jumping to her feet she yelled back, ¡°Coming, sorry!¡±


    She ran back and stood in line next to another girl about her age with black curly hair, hazel brown eyes and pale skin. The girl looked over at her, looked her up and down and then smiled at her. Suddenly, Rachel felt like she might have a friend at this place. She didn¡¯t quite know who these other people were, or why they were here, but she didn¡¯t question it at that moment; she enjoyed the friendly exchange and smiled back.

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    She watched as the coach looked down at his watch and then up into the foggy dawn sky and then said, ¡°We need to be quick for this next lesson. We have .25 hours until the sun rises and we will die here on this field if you do not listen carefully.¡±


    She looked back in horror as the words came out of his mouth. Suddenly she vaguely remembered that Benji had mentioned something to her about not going out into the sun without a special lotion. She hadn¡¯t given it thought up until that moment, because, well, she didn¡¯t have to, but now this was a matter of life and death and she was working against the clock.


    ¡°I will teach you how to apply Hex Lotion,¡± the coach said, reaching into a large black duffle bag that sat at his feet. Then he pulled out a handful of white tubes of lotion and threw them at all the young vampires, each catching them at lightning speed.


    She looked down at the nondescript bottle and began to twist off the cap as she heard the coach yell in a stern voice, ¡°Don¡¯t open it until I say so. This is not a toy and you must never mess around with Hex Lotion. It can only be applied five minutes before the sun rises, not a minute sooner and not a minute later.¡±


    She quickly re-screwed the cap back on and then looked down at her purple watch in an attempt to set the timer¡ªbut it still read ¡°error code.¡± Holding the bottle down by her side, she waited for the next set of instructions from the coach. The group stood there silently as he continuously checked his watch and looked up at the rising sun.


    ¡°We have three minutes before we can open the cap. Now, listen up! You only have one shot at getting this right so heed my words and don¡¯t make a mistake.¡±


    Rachel couldn¡¯t take her eyes off the coach. She hung on his every word, her heart beating out of her chest with nervousness and excitement.


    ¡°Two minutes!¡± he yelled out. ¡°Place both of your hands on the bottle ¨C one holding the tube and one on the cap, ready to unscrew it.¡±


    She prepared herself trying to get the exact grip the coach explained.


    ¡°One minute! Everyone must be ready, this is not a drill.¡±


    Standing there in a near panic she waited, counting down the seconds until he would speak again.


    ¡°OPEN!¡± he yelled, as he and the rest of the young vampires began unscrewing their caps.


    ¡°Oh my gosh, oh my gosh,¡± Rachel was saying under her breath as she fumbled with the cap. ¡°I¡¯m gonna die, this can¡¯t be happening.¡±


    ¡°Shh!¡± the girl next to her said. ¡°Be quiet, he¡¯s telling us what to do!¡±


    She looked over and gave her an apologetic look and then tuned to the coach.


    ¡°Quickly squeeze out a dime sized amount onto your palm and rub it between both of your hands. That is ALL you will need,¡± he stressed.


    ¡°When you have done that, begin applying it to your skin. Don¡¯t miss a spot. Any spot you miss WILL singe off once the sun rises.¡±


    She watched as everyone began lathering up. It was similar to putting on suntan lotion, she thought, yet very different. She knew any spot she missed would singe off, unlike a missed spot of SPF. She rubbed frantically her arms, legs, face, ears, behind her ears, her eye lids, nose, lips, scalp, legs, knees, feet and toes, making sure not to miss a speck of skin. She then looked up and waited for the coach to give out the next instructions.


    Then, all of a sudden she felt her skin become hard, almost like a helmet. She held her arm out and watched the transformation take place. Her skin glazed over and turned a bright shade of white. She could see the lotion taking effect. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t see any part of her skin remaining as the color transformation took place in front of her eyes.


    ¡°Help!¡± yelled out one of the young vampires. ¡°My finger, it didn¡¯t harden! What do I do?¡±


    The coach just stood there, shaking his head and then looking up at the quickly rising sun. ¡°There¡¯s no time, say goodbye to your finger.¡±


    ¡°No! Wait! Stop!¡± he yelled back. ¡°Fix it!¡±


    ¡°What is done, is done,¡± the coach said back in a calm, deep voice.


    ¡°Come, please help!¡± he said, but the coach just stood in place and waited.


    Within seconds the field was overtaken by his shrieking, then a loud singing noise, followed by smoke and the sight of his finger disintegrating right before them. The group of young vampires watched as his pinky finger was singed off by the light of the sun and then as if by magic, the stump healed itself in front of their eyes.


    ¡°Let this be a lesson to all of you,¡± the coach said. ¡°One misstep and it could mean the end.¡±


    Rachel stood there, and her eyes and her mouth hung wide open. She couldn¡¯t believe what had just happened. Nobody said a word for what felt like days as they all stood there on the field, silently reflecting. Everybody kept to themselves and nobody dare look around. The mood of the group grew tense and somber.


    ¡°We will end here for the day,¡± the coach said. ¡°Be back here at 6AM tomorrow morning.¡±


    Before she could even think about what she was about to say, Rachel said, ¡°Wait!¡±


    Everyone turned and looked at her. All of a sudden she felt like she had a million eyes on her. All she could feel was panic, but she had to ask this question, she didn¡¯t want anything bad to happen to her.


    ¡°Um, how long does the lotion last?¡±


    The other young vampires looked at her in agreement, shaking their heads. It felt good to her that they also seemed curious.


    ¡°Yes, I forgot to mention, it will last all day until the sun goes down. It will NEVER last you more than one day so make sure each morning you have the tube ready to go five minutes before sunrise,¡± the coach said. ¡°You are dismissed.¡±


    Chapter Four


    ¡°Over here!¡± a voice yelled out to Rachel as she walked alone with her head down off the giant and sunlit field.


    She looked up to see Matilda, standing at the bottom of the marble steps, right where she had left her a few hours before. She raised her hand and waived, ¡°Coming!¡±


    For a moment, she had forgotten that Matilda said she¡¯d meet her after practice, but was now thankful she was there. She had so many unresolved question that she needed to ask her.


    ¡°Hey, Matilda,¡± she said, looking at her white, hard skin shining in the sunlight.


    ¡°Hi Rachel. How did your first day of training go?¡±


    ¡°Was fine, I guess,¡± she said in a quiet tone.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Matilda.


    Letting out a sigh, Rachel said, ¡°I didn¡¯t sign up for this, you know.¡±


    Matilda looked at her quizzically. ¡°You have no choice. If you want to survive you need to take this training course. How else do you plan to learn everything we do?¡±


    Rachel looked back at her, suddenly feeling the tension between them. ¡°I mean, I just want to go home. I don¡¯t want to do this anymore.¡±


    The two of them walked inside as they continued speaking, into an empty sitting room adorned with golden wallpaper.


    ¡°You asked for this. Don¡¯t you remember? You asked Benji to turn you.¡±


    ¡°Well, had I known I¡¯d end up here, with all of this, I never would have.¡±


    ¡°You would have died then,¡± Matilda said, reminding her of that night.


    Rachel stopped speaking and looked around. She saw some old family photos placed around the room in ornate golden frames. She picked one up and looked at it closely. It was a picture of Benji as a small boy, dressed in a suit and tie holding a bouquet of red roses. She could feel herself getting choked up and suddenly a tear started rolling down her cheek.


    Matilda reached out and put her hand on top of hers. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You will be fine. It just takes some getting used to.¡±


    ¡°Stop saying that!¡± Rachel said, as she took her hand away. ¡°I can¡¯t do this alone. I have nobody here. Where¡¯s Benji?¡±


    ¡°You caused a great rift between the vampire nations and now he¡¯s cleaning up your mess. Thanks to you our entire coven needs to prepare for war. Benji is out there right now, rallying all our fellow covens to come to our aid before it¡¯s too late.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°Where did he go and when will he be back?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know when he will be back. It depends how much support he is able to rally, if any. You got us into a deep mess here,¡± Matilda snarled.


    ¡°I feel terrible. I want to go and see him now,¡± Rachel said.


    Matilda laughed, ¡°You¡¯re kidding right? You¡¯d be killed in an instant if you went out there. You are just going to have to sit and wait here and be patient. Eventually, he will come back. Besides, you need time to train. You don¡¯t even know what it¡¯s like to be a vampire yet. You¡¯re a newbie. If you went out there now, like you are, in this state, I doubt you¡¯d make it very long. You¡¯re just going to have to learn to be patient. You¡¯ll live here with us and you will train and you will wait for Benji. You¡¯re lucky there¡¯s even a room available. A vampire just graduated yesterday.¡±


    ¡°My room? What are you talking about? I¡¯m not going to live here. Especially without Benji. I want to go home,¡± Rachel snapped back.


    ¡°And where is home exactly?¡± Matilda asked. ¡°Everything you once knew was gone. Don¡¯t you get it? You¡¯re not human anymore. All your old friendships, all your old relationships, are all going to be different now. This is your home now and we are your new family.¡±


    Rachel thought about that and was reeling from the implications. ¡°This place, my home? These people, my family?¡± It was all too much for her to take at once. It seemed surreal.


    Matilda suddenly stood and began to walk away. Rachel got up and followed her in a daze, unthinking. The two walked single file back through the castle and to the point after the drawbridge where the paths divided. Matilda started walking on the path that said, ¡°North Wing.¡± The hallway was dark and damp, with a musty old smell in the air. The carpeting that lined the floor looked as if it had been there thousands of years, with hideous emerald green flowers on it.

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    This part of the castle didn¡¯t resemble the elegance or lavishness that the other areas did. She couldn¡¯t figure out why Matilda was dragging her down this hallway, which resembled a dingy dormitory. They passed door after door and as she peered inside she saw twin sized beds with metal frames around them. Each room was identical to the next. A group of people passed them in the hallway¡ªthey looked to be in their thirties or forties but she couldn¡¯t really tell. All she knew was that they were older than she was. She felt alone and longed for the days at AHS and with her family. She felt her eyes begin to swell up with tears as Matilda pointed to a room at the far end of the hallway.


    ¡°This is your room. Welcome home,¡± Matilda said, smirking.


    Rachel held in her emotions and walked inside. The smell of the room was anything but fresh, and the walls were painted a deep rust color. She could hardly bare to look at it. There was one window that was covered with a black and white paisley tapestry.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to leave you now,¡± Matilda said as she turned to walk out.


    Rachel had no words to express what she was feeling inside, but managed to say, ¡°Fine, will I see you soon?¡±


    ¡°Most likely you will see me tomorrow. It all depends how quickly this war breaks into full force and if they need me elsewhere. If I don¡¯t meet you after practice, you know I have fled the castle.¡±


    ¡°Well, where will I find you if you leave?¡± Rachel asked, scared.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say, and to be honest, I don¡¯t have an answer for you. My location can change like the wind, and at any given moment, my coordinates could change if my powers are needed somewhere else. It¡¯s not definite I¡¯m leaving, but I wanted to give you a heads up. You will be fine here. Keep up with the training sessions and you will survive.¡±


    Feeling a bit overwhelmed and panicked, Rachel said, ¡°Ok. Well, I hope to see you again tomorrow. And maybe you will know more about where your brother is and when I will see him again. I pray that you will have more information.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Matilda said as she turned to walk out the door. ¡°Goodbye, Rachel.¡±


    The door creaked shut behind her and Rachel stood there, feeling alone and scared. The tears that had been swelling up suddenly came streaming down her face and she started hysterically crying. She walked over to her bed and put her face in the pillow and sobbed. She hated this place and wished she had never asked to be turned. She knew this was all a big mistake.


    Then, she bolted up and started rummaging around her room for some paper. She cobbled together some scraps she found in the bottom of the small closet and bound them together with a piece of old rusted wire she found sticking out of her bed frame. She knew writing always consoled her, so she began to write in her makeshift diary.


    Dear Diary,


    I am lost here. I am stuck in this castle, and I have no idea where I am. I have no friends, no family and now, these people are telling me they are my new family and that this is my home. I feel completely disconnected. I want to run away but was warned if I do that, I¡¯ll surely die. I can¡¯t take this anymore. Benji is not here and I¡¯m sitting in this room all alone. I have no idea what day it is or how long I¡¯ve been here. If only someone could tell me and give me some guidance, but everyone here is either too busy, or doesn¡¯t have answers.


    They say I am not human too. It¡¯s weird because part of me still feels human. I know that this training session will help me understand what it means to be a vampire, but I am doubtful I will ever fit in here. I don¡¯t want to fit in here. I want to go home. Please God, please take me back home. Please say this is all a bad dream. I will do anything. I promise. Just please make this end.


    XOXO,


    Rachel


    With that, she lay down, feeling exhausted from the day and went to sleep, hoping that when she woke up in the morning it would be in her house at 42 Pine Road.


    Chapter Five


    The doorbell rang and Rachel¡¯s dad, John, ran to see who it was. His body was on edge from all the commotion with his youngest daughter missing. He and his wife, Betsy, hadn¡¯t felt this worried or scared in a long time and now, hopefully, the person at the door would have the missing link in the case.


    RING.


    The doorbell rang again as he ran down the stairs in his bathrobe. He quickly peered out of the window and saw three police officers standing on his stoop, a sight he had unfortunately grown accustomed to since they had moved in just over a month ago. He reached for the knob and swung the door open.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± Betsy yelled down from the bedroom.


    ¡°It¡¯s the police, you should come down!¡± he exclaimed.


    As he opened the door he looked at the faces of the cops that were staring blankly back at him.


    ¡°Any news? Please say you found her,¡± he asked, looking up towards the sky as if saying a prayer.


    The cops looked at each other and then back at him, ¡°Unfortunately, sir, we don¡¯t have anything new to report to you. We don¡¯t have your daughter ¨C yet.¡±


    ¡°Please! Someone find her!¡± Betsy¡¯s voice cried through the doorway.


    ¡°Did they find her?¡± Rachel¡¯s sister, Sarah said as she came barreling towards the front door.


    ¡°No, we do not have your sister,¡± the police stated again.


    ¡°Is there any way to track her down?¡± John asked, hopeful.


    ¡°We have traced her cell phone records and know where she was right before her phone went dead. She had been sending text messages, to you I think?¡± the police officer said, looking at Sarah.


    ¡°Me?¡± Sarah said, looking down at her phone. ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten a text from her?¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe it was someone else. We are not positive, but the signal was sent in this location.¡±


    ¡°Do you know anything, darling?¡± Betsy said, looking at Sarah.


    ¡°Mom, I already told you. She was going to meet that guy, Benji. That¡¯s all I know.¡±


    John grumbled. ¡°I wish she¡¯d never laid eyes on that kid. He¡¯s caused us nothing but trouble and aggravation.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one thing we may be able to do, to bring us closer to finding your daughter,¡± the police said, looking at the family.


    ¡°What? Anything?¡± cried John.


    ¡°Please,¡± said Betsy. ¡°Anything to have our daughter back in our arms.¡±


    ¡°We can ride out to Lyndvia Castle. The place where we traced her calls from. Do you think you would want to do that?¡±


    ¡°Yes! When?¡± John asked back quickly.


    ¡°We can head over there now. There are troops over there, assessing the grounds for safety.¡±


    ¡°John, go thrown on some clothes, I¡¯ll start the car,¡± Betsy said.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you follow us? We will meet you outside as soon as you¡¯re ready, Sir,¡± the police said.


    John shut the door and ran upstairs. ¡°Get ready, you two, I¡¯ll meet you in the car in one minute.¡±


    He scurried to get his clothes on and then came running back downstairs and into the garage. He hopped in the driver seat as Betsy and Sarah sat there anxiously waiting. The mood was tense and silent. John backed the car up and almost drove right through the closed garage door before he realized he had forgot to open it.


    The two cars followed each other down the street and onto the highway. John had never been to Lyndvia Castle or ever heard of it, for that matter. He was not one to go exploring in ancient old homes or castles. He was much more content sitting on his sofa, watching sports, or having a BBQ in his backyard.


    The drive felt like it was taking forever. Turn after turn and then, down a gravel dirt road, the dust flying high into the sky as the two cars drove quickly through. Out of his windshield, he saw the police put their right blinker on, signaling that they were pulling over. He followed them, and pulled his car behind theirs on the bumpy shoulder of the street.


    Looking out the window he saw nothing but an overgrown gate and large stone wall. He wondered how they were going to get through, then saw an opening, where the police were squeezing through. Inside, was a large castle, with yellow police tape surrounding the perimeter, which read CAUTION.


    He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. He felt like he was walking into a major crime scene. All around him were police men, FBI agents, HAZMAT workers in gas masks and protective gear scrubbing what looked to him to be blood off the fa?ade of the castle as well as the castle grounds. He heard the sound of scrubbing which rang loudly in his ears. He also heard the voices of the police yelling from one end of the property to the other with various clues, artifacts and information. He couldn¡¯t make sense of what they were saying because it sounded like they were speaking some foreign language, or speaking in ¡°police codes.¡±


    ¡°Stay close,¡± John whispered, as he summoned Betsy and Sarah closer to him. ¡°This is no place to wander off. We need to stick together. Keep your eyes peeled for anything that could possibly lead us to Rachel.¡±


    ¡°Sir, this is the location at which your daughter was last traced through her cell phone,¡± the police stated again, looking back at John. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to bring you and your family here, to see all this, but you may be able to help us identify some clues. We will walk the grounds and the inside together.¡±


    All of a sudden he heard Betsy break out into tears and then start screaming, ¡°How did this happen? How could we let our little girl get into this mess?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t know,¡± John replied, trying to clam her down, but she was inconsolable.


    ¡°This is all our fault. We are terrible parents!¡± Betsy cried.


    ¡°Guys, come on, pull it together, this is not the time to freak out. We don¡¯t have much time here and we need to focus on finding clues,¡± Sarah said, trying to be the voice of reason. ¡°None of this is your fault. If anything, it¡¯s mine. I knew she was going to meet Benji that day, but I had no idea she was coming here, to this place. None of us could have stopped her.¡±


    The police continued walking and John knew this was no time to debate what had already happened. He knew he had to put his emotions aside, and get to the bottom of this.

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    ¡°Betsy, Sarah, both of you, pull it together. We can discuss these details later,¡± John said. He watched as they both stopped bickering back and forth and quieted down.


    ¡°Excuse me, but what exactly went down here?¡± John asked the police officer.


    ¡°We are in the process of figuring that out now. It is a scary scene, we know. It is unlike anything we have seen before. We can¡¯t divulge anything at this time, but hopefully we will have more concrete answers soon for you and for the community. Everyone is waiting to find out. This is one of the biggest tragedies Westchester has seen in a very long time. More of our men were lost here last night than in the last century.¡±


    ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t say that. Do you think our daughter is¡­¡±


    ¡°BETSY! Don¡¯t even utter those words. Don¡¯t you have faith?¡± John retorted. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you would even think that way.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you wouldn¡¯t think that way. I mean, just look at this place. It¡¯s a wonder the grass is still living,¡± Betsy shouted back.


    ¡°This is ridiculous,¡± John said. ¡°If you don¡¯t have faith, then why did we decide to come here in the first place? Your bad attitude isn¡¯t helping us get any closer to Rachel.¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Betsy sighed. ¡°Turn a blind eye, like you always do. That¡¯s what got us into this situation in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so now you¡¯re saying this is all MY fault? You know, you¡¯re really something,¡± John said. ¡°You always have a way of pinning everything on me. Did you ever stop to think that maybe this is YOUR fault? You¡¯re the mother here. You should have been watching her more carefully. You¡¯re the one that¡¯s home all day and you are the one that should know what she¡¯s up to at every moment.¡±


    ¡°John, I can¡¯t even believe you are saying this to me. I am the last person to be called a bad mother. Judge yourself, not me. I had nothing to do with this.¡±


    ¡°Look at this,¡± Sarah yelled out from about fifteen feet in front of her parents. ¡°Look what I found!¡±


    Then John watched as Sarah held up a necklace and started flicking grass and dirt off of it. She held it up in the air for her parents to see.


    ¡°This is hers!¡± Sarah exclaimed.


    He sped up to get a closer look at what Sarah was holding. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes: it was his daughter¡¯s necklace, with a key hanging off of it.


    ¡°Where did you find this?¡± John asked.


    ¡°It was right here, in front of the castle, laying in the lawn. It was shining up at me as I walked past it,¡± Sarah said.


    Betsy held out her hand to take the necklace from Sarah, ¡°She wore this every day,¡± she sobbed as she held it close to her heart. ¡°This is the only thing that remains of her.¡±


    ¡°Mom, don¡¯t you understand? Maybe she is still here? Maybe there are more clues?¡± Sarah said in desperation.


    ¡°Hurry, let¡¯s get inside!¡± John said.


    ¡°There is nobody in the castle,¡± the police said. ¡°The entire place has been searched, and there are no survivors inside. Unfortunately, we can¡¯t go inside at this time. I was just given word from the Sheriff not to allow anyone except authorized personnel in the building. We will have to stay outside and search the grounds.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s got to be here somewhere!¡± John said and he started screaming her name, ¡°RACHEL, RACHEL, are you here?¡±


    He waited in silence, but there was no answer. The only thing that he heard was the echo of his voice coming back at him.


    ¡°RACHEL, it¡¯s your father, please, if you can hear me, let me know you are there!¡±


    Still, no answer. He began to feel hopeless as he continued walking around the back of the castle, which backed up to a large lake. He saw teams of divers, in the water bringing up bodies and other clues from the scene. It was a sight he couldn¡¯t bear to see anymore. He had to get out of there, and he wanted to shield his wife and other daughter from these images, too.


    ¡°I think we¡¯ve seen enough here,¡± John said to the police.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t finished yet. Do you still want to see the rest of the grounds?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is appropriate. My daughter is here,¡± John said back.


    ¡°Dad, I¡¯m a grown up, I¡¯m fine. We need to keep going. This isn¡¯t a joke,¡± Sarah said, her eyes wide.


    He couldn¡¯t tell what she was thinking but he knew this was the first time he had ever been to an active crime scene before and definitely the first time he had even seen a dead body.


    ¡°No, Sarah. We are leaving now!¡± John said firmly as he turned his family around and started headed towards the car. ¡°This is not a place for us at this time. You should never have come with us in the first place. If I had known what was happening here, I wouldn¡¯t have come either.¡±


    ¡°But Dad, don¡¯t you understand. We have her necklace. Doesn¡¯t that mean anything to you?¡± Sarah said, as she took the necklace from her mother.


    ¡°Yes, it does. It means she was here, but now she isn¡¯t,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Is that all it means to you?¡± Sarah asked back, as if he were an idiot.


    ¡°Um, I mean, yes,¡± he answered, beginning to feel dumb. ¡°What else does it mean?¡±


    ¡°See this key?¡± Sarah said, pointing to the key on the necklace. ¡°This is the key to her diary. The diary she writes in every day. This necklace holds the information to everything we may be searching for. We may have all of our answers.¡±


    He looked at his daughter and smiled. He suddenly felt so lucky to have raised such a smart child. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Thank God!¡± Betsy said.


    ¡°We have to get home to find that Diary,¡± Sarah said as she put the key into her pocket.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± John said as he whisked his family back into the car, as he headed back towards the house.


    Chapter Six


    ¡°Help! Someone help me!¡± Hunter screamed as he tried to avoid the light that seeped into the small window of his jail cell.


    ¡°Quiet in there!¡± the guard yelled as he came stomping down the long stone corridor, his combat boots echoing loudly with each step.


    Hunter dodged each ray of light as it approached his body. He was all out of Hex Lotion and didn¡¯t have any protection against the sun. He had been in the Greslin prison for a few days now, managing to survive off of nothing but bread, water and a few blood capsules that they gave him.


    His cell was damp and humid and smelled to him of rotting fish. It was a circular room made of old stone and mortar. It almost felt to him like he was in the top of a castle, perhaps his cell was in a rampart, he wasn¡¯t quite sure. The night he was thrown in this jail was all a blur to him now. It all happened so quickly, and he was injured. He¡¯d been lashed pretty badly and he was bleeding all over his face, covering his eyes, so he couldn¡¯t see where he was going.


    He wasn¡¯t exactly sure where he was, but he knew it must have been in the south somewhere, because the humidity was raging for an October day. He¡¯d never seen anything like it up north at his boarding school. At times he could hear voices coming from outside of his cell window. They were the voices of southerners, with accents. He heard the word, ¡°Ya¡¯ll, Recon, Yonder,¡± words he hadn¡¯t heard in ages since he¡¯d been up north. He liked it down there, he really did. It reminded him of his time down in Mississippi, when he spent his summer¡¯s studying at the National Vampire School. He¡¯d longed for those days, but since his graduation, hadn¡¯t been back as often as he¡¯d liked.


    Another ray of light hit his circular cell, leaving him hardly any room to stand without his skin getting singed off. He sucked in his stomach, and put his back against the warm stonewall.


    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Hunter screamed as a ray of light hit his bare foot and he saw a brief singing before he pulled his foot quickly out of the light and started blowing on it. ¡°That was a close call,¡± he said under his breath as he wiggled his toes that had survived the brief and sudden bolt of light.


    ¡°You in there, if you keep up this hollerin¡¯ we¡¯re going to throw you outside,¡± the guard said sternly as he stood there with his arms folded against his large chest. ¡°You must abide by the prisoner laws!¡± He said, firmly. ¡°Law number one,¡± he yelled loudly. ¡°You may only speak when you are spoken to!¡± he said as he glared into the cell at Hunter and then slowly turned his body around and walked back down the long hallway, clomping his feet as he went.


    Part of Hunter felt scared and nervous, but another part of him felt that he would make it out alive. He felt that he knew too much information for them to kill him, so he figured he¡¯d put up a fight, and they wouldn¡¯t do anything to him. At least not yet.


    All of a sudden, he heard a loud creak as the big iron gate opened at the end of the hallway. In walked four security guards in black suits, with the Greslin crest embroidered on their left breast pockets. Hunter watched as they walked down the long hallway with their dark sunglasses on, heading straight towards him. He hoped they weren¡¯t coming for him, but this time, figured they were. There was no escaping this troupe. He looked up as the four men approached his cell. He waited for them to speak, and knew this wasn¡¯t the time to disobey law number one.


    ¡°Are you Hunter?¡± a large guard said, looking his square in the eye.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me,¡± he said, and suddenly a pang of panic hit him. He suddenly realized the power of the Greslins and what could happen if he misstepped.


    ¡°You¡¯re coming with us,¡± the guard said back as he took out a large ring of keys and started fumbling around, trying to find the right key to fit into the large padlock on the outside of his door.


    After five minutes of trying out different keys, his door opened with a bang and in marched the four men. They immediately cuffed his hands behind his back and grabbed his arms, squeezing firmly so he didn¡¯t try to run. They put a blindfold over his eyes and the guards dragged him down the long corridor and out through the big iron gate at the end, which slammed shut behind them.

 Page 7

    Hunter could feel them winding around and going up and down steps. At one point Hunter tripped, but the guards caught him before he hit the ground. As they passed other guards, they kept saying, ¡°Prisoner 11201 reporting to the head leader.¡±


    Hunter got a chill down his spine. He didn¡¯t know who he was going to see, but he knew it wouldn¡¯t be pleasant. He continued walking through what he thought must have been more iron gates as he heard them creak open and slam shut as he walked through. Then a loud buzzing sound rang through his ears and the sound of a vault door opened.


    The guard ripped off his blind fold, and there, before his eyes, sat Violet, looking meaner than ever as she hoisted herself up into a throne like chair in the front of a large room, filled with stained glass and pews. It looked to him like they were in an old ancient church, but he knew they were in the jury room of this castle.


    Hunter stood in front of her throne silently, waiting to be addressed, as Violet looked him up and down and began to take notes on a piece of paper. He couldn¡¯t imagine what she was writing, but stood there quietly.


    ¡°You did it to me for the last time!¡± Violet screeched, opening up the conversation.


    ¡°Did what?¡± Hunter asked, confused.


    ¡°You know what you did. Don¡¯t play dumb with me.¡±


    Hunter paused, and thought for a moment, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Violet, please tell me.¡±


    ¡°At school¡ªyou led me on for the last time,¡± she said.


    Hunter realized she was probably right, but didn¡¯t want to admit this to her, not here, not now.


    ¡°That¡¯s not entirely true, Violet. We had fun, we had some good laughs.¡±


    ¡°Good fun? Good laughs?¡± she repeated. ¡°Is that what you thought I was after?¡±


    Hunter knew he was doomed to be imprisoned forever. There was no way out of this.


    ¡°Listen, Violet. I didn¡¯t mean to hurt you,¡± Hunter said.


    ¡°And all this time you loved her?¡± Violet retorted, louder than before.


    ¡°Her who?¡± Hunter asked. Now he was really confused.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t go playing dumb with me, kid. You know exactly who I am talking about.¡±


    Standing there thinking, racking his brain he couldn¡¯t think of one person.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t know who you¡¯re talking about. Could you just tell me? I swear. I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°The girl from Westchester. What¡¯s her name again?¡±


    Hunter immediately thought about Rachel. He couldn¡¯t believe that she thought he loved Rachel. This must have been a major miscommunication.


    ¡°Violet, it¡¯s not me that loves her. It¡¯s my brother. My twin brother, Benji.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to pin it on someone else, Hunter. I know your ways. I know your tricks,¡± Violet sneered.


    ¡°I¡¯m not, you have to trust me on this one. I have no feelings for her. NONE. She¡¯s with my brother, not me. And besides, I think you might have misheard one of our conversations, since that is where you got this information to begin with. Maybe you got it confused?¡±


    ¡°DON¡¯T QUESTION ME!¡± Violet screamed.


    Hunter shuddered as her voice echoed loudly in the room. He stood there, feeling introverted and shy all of a sudden. He didn¡¯t want to speak. He felt scared.


    He waited for a few minutes until Violet could catch her breath and compose herself up on the throne. Looking around, he saw the guards standing there watching, looking as stern and serious as ever he¡¯d seen them.


    After she took a sip of water, she said, ¡°Hunter, I really don¡¯t think this is going to work out between us.¡±


    Hunter couldn¡¯t believe his ears. Had she gone mad? Was she delusional?


    ¡°You might be right,¡± he replied, pretending to look sad about it.


    ¡°I can¡¯t trust you, I really can¡¯t. One moment I feel like I know you and that we are close and the next, you are a total stranger from another coven. And speaking of coven¡­¡± she paused and looked at Hunter. ¡°Where is the rest of your Vladdicus kind?¡±


    This was the question that Hunter feared. He didn¡¯t want to tell her where they were all hiding. If he told them, they would surely die. Especially with no warning of the Greslin¡¯s coming, they had no shot of protecting themselves against these evil vampires.


    ¡°Um, you know, I really don¡¯t know what happened at the end of the night,¡± Hunter said quietly.


    ¡°SPEAK UP!¡± Violet shouted.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Hunter said again.


    ¡°What do you mean you¡¯re not sure? Of course you know where your coven base is?¡±


    Hunter paused and thought to himself about this situation he¡¯d gotten himself into. She was right¡ªwhat vampire doesn¡¯t know where the rest of his coven lies.


    ¡°Listen Violet, I don¡¯t know and even if I did, I couldn¡¯t tell you,¡± he said boldly.


    A loud noise crept up behind him. He turned to see who it was, and he saw the guards marching towards him with their swords out, ready to execute.


    ¡°Do the right thing, Hunter. Tell me where they are,¡± Violet said back in a creepy tone.


    ¡°I am doing the right thing. I just don¡¯t know,¡± he said, now changing his tune to playing dumb.


    ¡°GUARDS, TAKE HIM AWAY!¡± Violet beckoned to the guards.


    At that moment, the gates opened and the voice of a girl came pouring in. ¡°No, please don¡¯t hurt me. Please!¡± she shouted.


    Into view came a girl with blonde hair, dressed in an orange prison robe, being dragged into the jury room by four other large security guards. Hunter couldn¡¯t get a close look at her face, but somehow knew he recognized her voice.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Hunter said, trying to buy time, waiting to see who this mysterious, beautiful girl was.


    The guards stopped dragging him out as Violet said, ¡°HALT!¡±


    ¡°Did you suddenly remember where your coven is?¡± Violet asked.


    Hunter waited, as the girl was brought into the room and placed right next to him. They took off her blindfold and had her stand there, alone, waiting to be sentenced.


    ¡°Penelope?¡± he asked. ¡°Is that you?¡±


    The girl turned her head and looked at Hunter, then smiled and began to walk towards him.


    ¡°STOP RIGHT THERE!¡± Violet said. ¡°How do you two know each other?¡±


    Hunter tried to hide the passion he felt for her. He didn¡¯t want to reveal the two had been lovers many centuries ago when they studied abroad in London. He couldn¡¯t let her find out¡ªif she did, she¡¯d surely kill both of them, he thought to himself. But, he hadn¡¯t seen her in hundreds of years. He¡¯d though she died in one of the great wars that had passed.


    ¡°I thought you died?¡± Hunter said, looking longingly at Penelope.


    ¡°It was a close call, but I survived!¡± Penelope said, smiling. ¡°And I tried to find you, but¡­¡±


    ¡°I searched everywhere for you, Pen, I really did,¡± Hunter said.


    Violet cleared her throat.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard just about enough of this love story,¡± Violet said. ¡°Hunter, it seems like you just can¡¯t keep your hands off of anyone these days.¡±


    Hunter stood there. Not responding.


    ¡°And YOU,¡± she said, pointing to Penelope. ¡°Seems like you may know a thing or two about Hunter here?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Penelope said, cowardly. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him, as you know, in many many years.¡±


    Hunter tried to figure out what she meant by that. Then she spoke again.


    ¡°You¡¯ve kept me here since the last great war. I haven¡¯t seen or heard from Hunter. You know that,¡± Penelope said, now getting angry.


    ¡°GUARDS, execute her! She¡¯s worthless to us now,¡± Violet screeched.


    ¡°NO! WAIT!¡± Hunter retorted. ¡°Don¡¯t kill her, take me!¡±


    ¡°Tell me where Benji is?¡± Violet said, bargaining with him. ¡°If you tell me where he is, we will set her free.¡±


    Hunter looked at Penelope and her beautiful blue eyes, staring back, hoping, and praying for survival.


    ¡°Let her go!¡± Hunter yelled again, getting heated.


    Violet gave a nod and the guards came and poked her with a sword.


    ¡°OUCH!¡± she screamed as a tiny bit of her arm was pierced by the sword. Hunter saw the blood oozing out in small drips.


    ¡°NO! NO! I can¡¯t bear to watch this anymore,¡± he said.


    ¡°Then, you know what you have to do. Tell us and she will be saved.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Hunter said, taking a deep breath. ¡°I know Benji and the first thing he would do would be to rally the troupes and to get the Blue Tablet.¡±


    Moments after he said it, he regretted it. He knew he shouldn¡¯t betray his coven like this, but the sight of Penelope¡¯s execution was too much for him to stand.


    ¡°The Blue Tablet?¡± Violet asked smugly. ¡°And where might that be kept?¡±


    Violet nodded her head again and the guards came marching back up to Penelope with their swords drawn.


    ¡°It¡¯s um¡­¡± Hunter said, before they could hurt her again. ¡°It¡¯s at Grandvia Castle.¡±


    ¡°Grandvia Castle, Grandvia Castle,¡± Violet hummed. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard that name in centuries.¡±


    ¡°TAKE HER AWAY! EXECUTE HER AT DAWN!¡± Violet yelled to the guards.


    ¡°NO, VIOLET! You promised.¡±


    ¡°Look at you, Hunter. You¡¯ve betrayed your brother and your coven to save this poor girl. Now look how far that¡¯s gotten you.¡±


    ¡°AHH!!!¡± Penelope shrieked as she was dragged out of the jury room with her blindfold back on. ¡°Please don¡¯t hurt me!¡±


    ¡°Violet, you said that if I told you where Benji was, that you¡¯d free her,¡± Hunter said, trying to coax her to do the right thing.


    ¡°Did you really think I¡¯d do that Hunter?¡± she said. ¡°Would you have done that for me? Would you have risked your life, the life of your own brother and your entire coven for me? I DON¡¯T THINK SO!¡±

 Page 8

    ¡°Violet, this isn¡¯t about you,¡± Hunter said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think our love was ever that strong,¡± she said. ¡°You never loved me like you did Penelope.¡±


    ¡°Violet, set her free, you promised,¡± he said again.


    Then all of a sudden, the guards came up behind him and put his blindfold back over his eyes and started dragging him out of the room. Then, he heard her speak again.


    ¡°I LIED!¡± Violet said, followed by a loud cackle laugh.


    Chapter Seven


    Inside the large gymnasium of the castle, Rachel stood there with the group of young vampires learning how to fly. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t coming as natural to her as some of the others and she was feeling a bit depressed about it. But not as depressed as she felt about the idea of learning how to fly in the first place. She knew it was necessary to survive as a vampire, but she still wished this had never happened to her. She wanted so badly to escape all of this and return back to her former life.


    ¡°Let your wings protract naturally,¡± the coach said in a calming voice. ¡°You are one with your wings.¡±


    Rachel tried again to let them protract, but they wouldn¡¯t come out far enough to gain momentum to lift off.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying, I can¡¯t do it. I think they¡¯re stuck.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re thinking too hard, Rachel. This seems to be a common theme with you,¡± the coach answered.


    Rachel looked around to see all her fellow young vampires each achieving a lift off and soaring high into the quadruple story gymnasium, their wings glistening as the light hit them. Even her new friend Georgia was flying.


    ¡°Rachel, up here!¡± Georgia said, showing off her shiny wings. ¡°This is fun, come on up, what are you waiting for?¡±


    The coach took hold of Rachel¡¯s wings and helped her spread them out for her to see. She peeked over her shoulders to see large, bird-like wings. They too glistened in the fluorescent light from the gymnasium.


    ¡°On the count of three, we will lift off together, ready?¡± the coach asked.


    Taking a deep breath in, she steadied her mind and body, preparing for her first flight.


    ¡°Ready!¡± she replied, suddenly feeling a surge of excitement.


    ¡°One, Two¡­Three!¡± the coach said, and waited as she tried to release her wings and lift off for the first time.


    Feeling her wings opening wide for the first time, she felt the momentum she needed for a successful lift off and flight. Her body became weightless and as she got off the ground she could hear her fellow young vampires cheering her on. Then, all of a sudden, as if that never happened, her wings retracted and she fell a few feet back onto the gymnasium floor with a splat. The cheering and applause she was getting suddenly stopped and turned into shrieks of panic. ¡°Oh no! Ouch! Yikes!¡± she heard, as she hit the ground.


    ¡°I give up!¡± she said in a frustrated voice. ¡°I¡¯m done for the day.¡±


    She stomped away and sat on a bench on the edge of the gym. She couldn¡¯t help but look out of the window and onto the large grassy knoll that lay outside. She wished she could go out there, to lay in the light of the sun, to feel the warm rays on her cheeks. She looked away, trying to get the idea out of her head.


    She tried to change her focus as she watched Georgia and the rest of the crew flying around effortlessly. This made her even more upset. She couldn¡¯t understand why it didn¡¯t come as natural to her as it did everyone else.


    Maybe I¡¯m not really a vampire? She suddenly thought. Then she looked out the window and without thinking, looked for the latch to try and open it. It was a tall window, which looked more like a door than a window to her, so she knew she could escape if she wanted to. Fumbling around she felt a tap on her shoulder, ¡°Excuse me?¡± the coach asked firmly. ¡°Just what do you think you¡¯re doing?¡±


    She jumped unrepentantly, completely forgetting that she was trying to escape. ¡°Um, I just.¡±


    ¡°You just what?¡± the coach asked.


    ¡°I just wanted to go outside?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be joking? This is the peak sun of the day, if you go out there, you will surely get singed and die,¡± the coach replied.


    ¡°Well¡­I forgot,¡± Rachel said angrily. ¡°I just can¡¯t do this anymore!¡±


    ¡°Step away from the window,¡± the coach said firmly.


    Quickly moving her body away from the window, she stormed out of the gymnasium yelling, ¡°I hate this! I don¡¯t want to be a vampire!¡±


    She ran through the castle, not stopping to catch her breath and into her hideous, smelly, dormitory room, which she despised with a passion. She slammed the door and lay on her bed as the tears started trickling down her face. She couldn¡¯t believe what had just happened. Part of her really meant what she said, but the other part of her felt ashamed and embarrassed for making such a scene during training. She didn¡¯t know how she would ever show her face to the crew again.


    All of a sudden, she heard a quiet knock on her door.


    ¡°Come in,¡± she said, sniffling and wiping away hear tears.


    The door creaked open slowly as she waited to see who was on the other side. Then, in walked Georgia, with her curly black hair pulled back into a ponytail.


    ¡°What happened down there?¡± she added, concerned.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do this anymore,¡± Rachel answered as she began to sob again. ¡°I HATE this!¡±


    ¡°Sweetie, you¡¯re doing a great job. You¡¯re new to this, we all are. What do you expect?¡± Georgia said, trying to console her.


    ¡°I¡¯m not good at flying. I actually CAN¡¯T fly. I hate wearing the Hex lotion and all I want to do is live my normal life, back home with my family and friends,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°I hear ya. I know how you feel. I miss my family, too,¡± Georgia said, ¡°But I know I can¡¯t go back.¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t say that!¡± Rachel yelled. ¡°We need to go back. I need to go back. I can¡¯t stay here forever. Spend my remaining days here? Die here? I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°Who says we will be here forever?¡± Georgia asked, sounding surprised. ¡°We are here for training and to get acclimated to our new way of life.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all too much for me, I really can¡¯t even think about it right now. Do you mind if I spend some time alone?¡± Rachel asked as the tears swelled up in her eyes again.


    ¡°Sure, Hun,¡± Georgia said. ¡°I¡¯ll be down the hall if you need me.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Georgia,¡± Rachel said. ¡°And thanks for coming to check on me, that was nice of you.¡±


    ¡°Anytime!¡± she said as she turned and left the room.


    Rachel sat there and thought as she waited for the sun to go down. She knew once the sun was down, she could slip out onto the balcony of the ramparts and get a breath of fresh air. Better yet, maybe she could escape once and for all.


    The minutes went by slowly as she watched through the patch of stained glass on her bedroom. She looked around her room, gathering up her things and stuffing them into a small satchel she¡¯d found in the bottom of her closet. Luckily for her, she didn¡¯t have many possessions. She had the clothes on her back, her journal, her watch and that was really it. She stuffed the journal into the bag and put it over her shoulder.


    As her room got dark, she gathered her things and crept down the hall and into the stairwell, which led to the ramparts. She¡¯d discovered this exit the other day as she was exploring, but didn¡¯t think she¡¯d actually be using it as an escape route. She turned around to make sure nobody was watching, as she pushed open the large brass handle of the heavy door. She pushed with all her might, but it wouldn¡¯t budge. She pushed again, this time with her back, but nothing, the door was stuck.


    She knew she couldn¡¯t give up this easily, then without thinking, a magical strength came over her and she touched the door with her fingertips and it easily slid open. Effortlessly, she walked out onto the ramparts and looked out over the twilight sky. Taking a deep breath of the nighttime air, she felt suddenly rejuvenated. In the distance she could see a flock of bats circling the river just beyond the castle walls. Their screeching echoed loudly in her ears as she tried to find solace in what she was about to do.


    She tried to tune out the loud noises, but one kept getting louder and louder as it crept up behind her. Suddenly feeling scared; she turned her body to see what it was, as the large black creature came into view. Its wings were protruded as it flew in and then she watched as the wings retract as it landed right in front of her.


    ¡°Benji?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°Rachel! I¡¯ve missed you,¡± Benji said as he leaned in to kiss her.


    ¡°No!¡± she said, as she pushed his body away from hers.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Rach?¡± he asked concerned. ¡°It¡¯s really me, Benji.¡±


    Feeling abandoned and betrayed, Rachel asked the question she¡¯d been dwelling on: ¡°Where have you been?¡±


    Benji stepped back and said, ¡°Rachel, don¡¯t you understand? I was trying to protect you.¡±


    ¡°You left me here. ALONE. With all these people¡ªor should I say vampires. I had to fend for myself, it hasn¡¯t been easy,¡± Rachel said angrily.


    ¡°Rachel, love, I¡¯m back now. I had to leave to protect you,¡± Benji said, trying to soothe her.


    ¡°Where did you go?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°I had to leave right away to find it,¡± Benji said.


    ¡°Find what?¡± Rachel asked, annoyed as if she was really supposed to know what ¡°it¡± meant.


    ¡°The Blue Tablet. It¡¯s our only shot at protection against the Greslin Empire. If I didn¡¯t find that, we would probably be dead by now. It is our protection from the evil vampires,¡± Benji said, reaching into his bag as if searching for it.


    Not really caring so much about the Blue Tablet, or the Greslins, or the war in general, Rachel said, ¡°Yeah? Well I¡¯m sure you¡¯re going to leave again.¡±


    ¡°I will leave again. I have to, but not because I want to. Because if I don¡¯t our people will die. We will all be exterminated,¡± Benji said.

 Page 9

    ¡°Our people?¡± she asked snidely.


    ¡°Yes! Our people. You are one of us now, Rachel,¡± Benji said looking confused. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be happy about that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah? Well, I¡¯m not happy about this. I¡¯m not happy about anything that¡¯s happened to me since that night at Lyndvia Castle. In fact, I wish I¡¯d never met you, then none of this would have happened,¡± Rachel said, feeling her anger surge.


    ¡°What are you saying, Rachel?¡± Benji asked, sounding hurt. ¡°You asked for this. You asked to be turned.¡±


    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t mean it. I want to be turned back. I don¡¯t want to do this anymore,¡± Rachel snapped.


    ¡°Rachel, please don¡¯t forget what we have. We have something so special, you can¡¯t run away from it. And besides, you are not the same person you once were. You¡¯re a vampire now and you can never go back to your old life,¡± Benji said, trying to persuade her.


    ¡°I want to leave, I don¡¯t want to stay here anymore. I don¡¯t want to do any more of this stupid training and I don¡¯t want to stay in this sucky castle!¡± Rachel yelled.


    She was beginning to feel bad about how she was treating Benji. She had really missed him this whole time and she couldn¡¯t understand why she was being so rude and mean to him. She was letting out all her pent up anger and aggression out on him, and she knew he didn¡¯t deserve it. She wanted to be happy that he was finally here with her, she wanted to respark the passion between them, but for some reason her body wasn¡¯t letting her. Instead she was set into this rage that she couldn¡¯t get out of.


    ¡°Listen Rachel. I understand this is a hard transition for you, but I promise you, you will grow to love it here. These people will become your family, you have to give them a chance,¡± Benji said.


    ¡°I won¡¯t! These people are not my family. My family is back in Westchester. Remember them? Those are the people I love, not these VAMPIRES!¡± Rachel yelled. ¡°Please turn me back, I can¡¯t do this anymore.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t turn you back. It isn¡¯t possible. If I hadn¡¯t turned you in the first place you would have died from the bullet wound. Don¡¯t you remember? Your life was ending and I brought you back,¡± Benji pleaded.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have died. You¡¯re being dramatic,¡± Rachel said knowing very well that she could have died that night.


    ¡°Listen, you need to calm down. I love you, Rachel, and I need you. I need you more now than ever,¡± Benji said.


    Rachel looked at him and waited. She didn¡¯t know what to say to that. She loved him, too, but wasn¡¯t ready to say it again.


    ¡°I need you for a mission. We need to go at this together, it¡¯s our only shot,¡± Benji said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go anywhere. I just want to go home,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°You can¡¯t go home, Rachel. You are not the same person,¡± Benji replied.


    ¡°Yes, I am. I will be fine. As long as I am not here at this castle, things will be fine,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you are saying this,¡± Benji said. ¡°This castle is providing you a great protection. Without it and the people inside, you would be dead!¡±


    ¡°I just want to go home. Please let me go,¡± Rachel begged. ¡°I need to see my family again. I can only imagine they¡¯re worried sick.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. You CANT go back home. This is your new home,¡± Benji repeated. ¡°You are not the same person, you¡¯ve changed. And besides, it¡¯s way too dangerous out there for you anyway.¡±


    ¡°Stop saying that!¡± Rachel yelled.


    ¡°I promise, when this is all over things will calm down. They will go back to normal and it will be just us again. The way it was before all of this happened. We can be together, with no worries or fears. Our lives will be perfect together,¡± Benji begged.


    ¡°NO! I don¡¯t want any part of it,¡± Rachel retorted.


    ¡°Please, Rachel. Come with me, I need you,¡± Benji said as he held his hand out for her to grab.


    Rachel looked down at his outstretched hand and quickly weighed her options. She knew if she left, she¡¯d be leaving the one man she truly loved, but if she stayed, she¡¯d be saying goodbye to her family forever.


    ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯m sorry,¡± Rachel said.


    With that, she picked up her satchel off the rampart, turned her body and without thinking, jumped off the peaked roof into the nighttime sky. Her wings opened smoothly as she sailed off towards home without looking back.


    Chapter Eight


    In what felt like minutes, Rachel was circling above her town of Bedford, New York looking down, trying to zero in on her house. She could not believe it: she was really flying. At first it had been rocky, and she was afraid she would fall again. But then her wings stabilized, and since then, she had been OK.


    It was the first time she¡¯d approached her house from above, which was a weird feeling for her. But then, she spotted it. It looked even tinier from the sky but she knew inside, she would find the people she loved the most.


    Before she got too close, she knew she had to find a safe place to land. She couldn¡¯t land in the front yard, just in case anyone was looking, it would be way too obvious. How could she explain the flying thing? Instead, she decided to land in the woods down the street from her house.


    As she approached her landing ground, she saw a raccoon, in the brush, rummaging around. Her eyes opened wide as she felt a surge of hunger strike her. It was almost uncontrollable as she swooped down like an owl. Using Mind Control to hold the raccoon in its place, she snatched it up with her large fangs and sucked out its blood. Feeling completely like a vampire, and less human, she wiped the blood off her face and looked into a stream at her reflection to make sure she didn¡¯t have any residue on her face that would raise questions when she went inside her house. She cupped her hand and took a sip of water and then stood up and began to walk out of the brush.


    It had gotten pretty chilly and she felt a chill run down her spine. The leaves crunched beneath her feet as she took one step after another through the front lawn of her house. Her front door was within reach. She looked at it as she took a deep breath, not stopping to think about how she should be feeling, and opened it.


    ¡°Hello?¡± she said, as she stepped into her house, waiting to see if her family was home.


    ¡°HELLO!¡± she said again, louder.


    She heard footsteps coming out of the kitchen, and then her mother came into view.


    ¡°Rachel? Sweetie, is that you?¡± her mom cried.


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m back. I¡¯m home!¡± Rachel said in excitement.


    ¡°Darling, we¡¯ve been worried sick. We missed you so much!¡± her mom said, and she ran over to give her a hug and hold her in her arms.


    Rachel needed this. She felt secure again. She longed for this feeling of love and comfort.


    ¡°John! Come here, she¡¯s safe, she¡¯s back!¡± her mom yelled into the other room for her dad.


    In seconds her dad came running out and without a word, gave her a huge hug and held her tightly. The three stood there hugging for a few minutes before they let go.


    ¡°My baby¡¯s back!¡± her dad said joyfully. ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m fine. Everything¡¯s ok now,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°Come into the kitchen, let me give you something to eat and get you cleaned up. You look a little ragged,¡± her mom said, looking her up and down and then reaching out to run her ringers through her ratty looking hair.


    ¡°We are just so happy that you¡¯re OK,¡± her mom said. ¡°Aren¡¯t we Honey?¡±


    ¡°Yes, thank God she¡¯s back,¡± her dad replied, holding his hands in prayer position and looking up into the sky.


    Rachel had never seen her dad that spiritual before, but figured he¡¯d turned to God during this hard time.


    She could see in her parent¡¯s faces that they were happy and relieved to see her back home. She could also tell they¡¯d been through a lot and that they looked run down and exhausted.


    ¡°Are you guys ok?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to worry you like this.¡±


    ¡°Worry us?¡± her dad replied. ¡°We were sick over this. We thought you¡¯d died.¡±


    The three of them walked into the kitchen and sat down at the kitchen table. Her mom handed her a granola bar and a glass of water and then said, ¡°Where were you anyway?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡± Rachel said back. ¡°The thing is that I¡¯m here now and that I¡¯m safe.¡±


    ¡°You know the police have been looking for you for days now. It¡¯s on all the news channels and in the papers. Our family is famous,¡± her dad said, beginning to sound upset.


    ¡°I know, I¡¯m sorry. It was stupid of me. I will never do it again,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°That¡¯s what happens when you sneak out,¡± her dad said. ¡°And besides, what happened at Lyndvia Castle anyway? Were you there?¡±


    Trying to recap that night, she felt guilty and ashamed. How could she tell them what really happened? She knew they would never believe her and if they did, they¡¯d probably have her committed for insanity, or severe psychotherapy.


    ¡°I did go there,¡± she said, trying to downplay it. ¡°Luckily I got out of there before it got bad,¡± Rachel said, trying to be as vague as possible.


    She looked back at her parents who were both staring at her with suspicion.


    ¡°Who were you with anyway?¡± her mom asked.


    ¡°That Benji character?¡± her dad asked, knowing full well the answer.


    ¡°I did go to see Benji, but he saved my life. He protected me,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°He protected you so well, that he got you into this mess in the first place,¡± her dad snapped back.


    ¡°You have to trust me,¡± Rachel said. ¡°He¡¯s the reason why I¡¯m sitting here right now, alive.¡±


    ¡°What happened there anyway?¡± her mom asked.


    ¡°Yeah? What happened? It looked like a real death trap,¡± her dad said, firmly.

 Page 10

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to explain it. I wish I could, but I know you wouldn¡¯t believe me,¡± Rachel said. ¡°I want to tell you, I really do, but it¡¯s complicated.¡±


    ¡°Are you on drugs?¡± her dad snapped. ¡°It looked like a drug bust if you ask me.¡±


    ¡°NO! I¡¯m not on drugs. I can¡¯t believe you would even ask me that,¡± Rachel snapped back. ¡°And besides, if I told you the truth you wouldn¡¯t believe me anyway.¡±


    ¡°Honey,¡± her mom said, ¡°If you ARE on drugs, you can tell us, we will find you help.¡±


    ¡°UGH! I¡¯m not on drugs. Stop asking me that. I¡¯ve never done drugs in my life,¡± Rachel kept saying.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you realize what a stir this whole thing is,¡± her dad said getting more and more upset as the minutes passed. ¡°You think this is all fun and games, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No! I don¡¯t! Stop accusing me of that!¡± Rachel said back firmly.


    ¡°The police have been out for days looking for you,¡± her mom said.


    ¡°The whole town is out searching for you. And then you prance back in as if nothing had happened. Typical,¡± her dad said.


    ¡°You guys are totally ridiculous. I thought you¡¯d be happy to see me?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°We are happy, Sweetie. It¡¯s just hard because you¡¯ve put us through so much trouble, that it¡¯s hard to just flip a switch,¡± her mom said, trying to remain calm.


    ¡°You¡¯ve humiliated our family,¡± her dad added. ¡°We are constantly in the news, and it¡¯s really taken a toll on us.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve done nothing!¡± Rachel said. ¡°I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I¡¯ve learned from my mistakes. C¡¯mon, you guys have to believe me. I didn¡¯t mean for all of this to happen.¡±


    ¡°How can we trust you again, Rachel?¡± her dad snapped. ¡°You¡¯ve been acting like a completely different girl than the one we knew in Pennsylvania.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like you¡¯re a different person up here,¡± her mom added.


    ¡°Listen, you guys haven¡¯t been great either,¡± Rachel remarked. ¡°You always think the worst of me and you ALWAYS think I¡¯m lying. I can¡¯t tell you anything anymore without you looking at me skeptically and asking five thousand questions. It¡¯s not fair!¡±


    ¡°Rachel, sweetheart,¡± her mom said trying to calm her down, ¡°forget we said that, we didn¡¯t mean it.¡±


    ¡°No! You did mean it and so did I. It¡¯s like you guys always think the worst of me. Even when I am telling the truth, you guys don¡¯t believe me, so what¡¯s the point? Why do I even bother talking to you?¡± Rachel said as she stood up to leave the table.


    ¡°Sit back down, young lady,¡± her dad¡¯s voice barreled.


    ¡°Fine, but I don¡¯t see what the point is, you¡¯re just going to think I¡¯m lying to you,¡± Rachel snapped.


    Changing the subject, here dad asked, ¡°Who is this Benji guy anyway? We¡¯ve been hearing a lot about him lately.¡±


    ¡°A guy from my school,¡± Rachel said defensively. ¡°That¡¯s where I met him.¡±


    ¡°Are you like an item or something?¡± her dad asked back.


    ¡°An item? What is this 1950?¡± Rachel snarkily replied.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mock me!¡± her dad yelled. ¡°I need an answer, are you two dating?¡±


    ¡°Well, I did have a crush on him, but I think it¡¯s over now,¡± she answered firmly.


    ¡°What happened?¡± her mom asked. Not knowing how to answer these questions she tried to evade them as much as she could.


    ¡°It¡¯s just over between us. We want different things and besides, I don¡¯t think I fit in well in his life, ya know?¡± Rachel added.


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± her dad said.


    ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± Rachel said again loudly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it. There¡¯s nothing to say!¡±


    ¡°Where does Benji live anyway? He¡¯s not listed and the cops have been searching high and low for this guy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s confusing, I don¡¯t really know,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°Just tell us,¡± her mom said.


    ¡°See, Betsy, this is what she does, she lies to us all the time,¡± her dad said.


    ¡°I¡¯m NOT LYING!¡± Rachel said getting more and more frustrated by this conversation. ¡°Why are we even talking if you think everything I¡¯m saying is a lie?¡±


    ¡°Listen, Rachel, you can¡¯t come waltzing back in here and expect things to go on as they normally do. We need answers and we need them now,¡± her dad yelled.


    ¡°Who are his parents?¡± her mom asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who his parents are? I¡¯ve never met them,¡± Rachel responded truthfully.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to be able to live under our roof if you keep this up. We don¡¯t even know you anymore, Rachel.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean I can¡¯t live under YOUR roof?¡± Rachel asked back.


    ¡°Living here is a privilege!¡± her dad said, ¡°And right now, you don¡¯t deserve it.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not exactly sure what you want me to do. I can make something up if you¡¯d feel better about that? I am telling you the truth. I don¡¯t know where he is and I certainly don¡¯t know his parents,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°Where did our daughter go?¡± her dad asked, turning to her mom.


    ¡°Stop attacking me! I can¡¯t take this anymore!¡± Rachel yelled as she got up from the table and headed upstairs to her bedroom.


    As she got upstairs, she decided that she would go say hello to her sister, who she¡¯d missed so much since she¡¯d been gone. She was worried that her sister might have turned on her, too, but she had to at least say hello, find out for herself.


    ¡°GET BACK HERE!¡± her dad screamed.


    She knocked on the door.


    ¡°Come in!¡± Sarah said. ¡°It¡¯s open.¡±


    Rachel peeked her head through the door and saw her sister sitting on her bed listening to the new Madonna CD.


    ¡°Rachel!¡± Sarah yelled as she got up to greet her. ¡°AH! Where have you been?¡±


    ¡°OMG! It was insane. It¡¯s a long, crazy story! You sure you want to hear?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m just so happy to see you!¡± Sarah said. ¡°It really doesn¡¯t matter to me what happened. I think I have an idea anyway. We did go to Lyndvia to find you, it was a crazy scene!¡±


    ¡°I know, tell me about it!¡± Rachel said. ¡°It was the craziest, most insane time of my life. I really thought I was going to die.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we didn¡¯t think you were ever coming home. But thankfully, you came back. I secretly knew you¡¯d return,¡± Sarah said, confidently as she hugged Rachel tightly.


    ¡°I missed you!¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°I missed you more!¡± Sarah said. ¡°Mom and Dad have gone completely mad since this whole thing happened. It¡¯s like they¡¯re becoming mini FBI agents or something.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, tell me about it. They were grilling me downstairs. I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t hear them,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°They¡¯ve been grilling everyone. Mark and I have gotten our fair share of questioning,¡± Sarah said.


    ¡°It¡¯s so annoying though because they always think I¡¯m lying to them. I just don¡¯t get it,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°Yeah, welcome home!¡± Sarah said laughing.


    ¡°Oh and by the way, when we went to Lyndvia, I found the key to your diary. Dad was holding onto it, but I took it from him when he wasn¡¯t looking and I hid your diary. I figured you probably wouldn¡¯t want them to read it,¡± Sarah said, reaching into her desk drawer and pulling out the necklace with the key attached.


    Rachel took it from her and said, ¡°Thank you so much! You¡¯re a lifesaver. I can¡¯t believe you thought to do that. You¡¯re my hero!¡±


    ¡°It was nothing,¡± Sarah said, as she handed over the diary as well. ¡°I know you would¡¯ve had my back, too!¡±


    ¡°A hundred percent,¡± Rachel said.


    The two slunk back onto Sarah¡¯s bed as the music played loudly around the room.


    ¡°So where were you anyway?¡± Sarah asked.


    ¡°I was with Benji,¡± Rachel answered. ¡°He saved my life, you know.¡±


    ¡°From what?¡± Sarah asked. ¡°It looked like a blood bath to me.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it got pretty hairy, but lucky we made it out before it got really bad,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°Thank God,¡± Sarah said. ¡°I¡¯m just so happy you¡¯re back. You don¡¯t need to go into detail now about the whole thing. You can tell me when you¡¯re ready. I¡¯m sure you have a lot on your mind right now.¡±


    Rachel couldn¡¯t believe her ears, her sister was the absolute best! She couldn¡¯t believe she was being so respectful of her. Their relationship had really done a complete one eighty since they¡¯d moved and she couldn¡¯t be happier.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m actually gonna take a shower, and get ready for bed.¡±


    ¡°Cool!¡± Sarah said. ¡°Oh and by the way, I have your cell, too. Found that in the grass at the castle. Figured I wouldn¡¯t even tell Mom and Dad about it.¡±


    Rachel took her cell and flipped it open to hit the power button. It was dead, but she was so grateful to have it back in her hands. She¡¯d felt so disconnected without it recently and now she felt she could really get back in the swing of things and catch up with her friends. She wanted to let them all know she was coming back to school in the morning.


    Rachel went through their adjoining bathroom and flipped on the shower. She then walked into her room to plug her phone in while she was in the shower.


    The hot water felt so good as it hit her face and body. The smell of her soap and shampoo was refreshing after the sulphery junk she had to use at the castle. She felt like she was cleansing her soul from all the impurities of her ¡°vampire¡± past. After all, she felt human, despite having just fed a few hours ago. She felt like herself and that¡¯s all that really mattered.

 Page 11

    As she got into her PJ¡¯s she flipped open her phone to text her friends. She sent a group text to Jen, Liv, Kate, Emily and Taryn.


    Hey Guys! I¡¯m back. I¡¯ll be at school tomorrow. Can¡¯t wait to see you all and catch up! XOXO


    She couldn¡¯t wait to get to school, to see her friends and to catch up on what she¡¯d missed since she¡¯d been gone. She was feeling a little hesitant and anxious to see how this episode had blown up, but knew she¡¯d be able to handle it. After all, she did have some new powers.


    Chapter Nine


    Rachel woke up to her phone buzzing like crazy. She opened it to find a flurry of texts from her friends, all excited to see her, but curious as to what happened and why she disappeared for a few days. Suddenly, she began to feel nervous about going back to school. Maybe this wasn¡¯t such a good idea after all, she thought to herself. Maybe Benji was right? Maybe she should have stayed with him. Then, she began to miss him terribly. She wished she had been a little nicer to him on the ramparts where they last spoke, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She had to forge on; she had to go to school.


    As she got out of bed, she saw the sun was beaming through her drawn blinds. Part of her wanted to open her blinds and look out the window, but the other part of her knew she could get singed if she did. She fumbled around the satchel for Hex Lotion and found a few tubes of it in the front pocket. She quickly applied it and waited for it to harden to her skin. She hoped it wasn¡¯t too late to apply it, but she hadn¡¯t been out in the sun yet, so figured it would be fine.


    Then, she opened her closet door. She felt refreshed to see all her clothes again, waiting for her just as she¡¯d left them. She thought about what outfit would be best to wear on her first day back at school after she had been missing and turned into a vampire. Nothing jumped out at her.


    Then, she saw her Mavi dark skinny jeans and a flannel button down shirt. She figured this would be a subtle choice, which wouldn¡¯t call any additional attention to her. That¡¯s what she wanted to avoid.


    As she finished perfecting her outfit, she quickly put her makeup on and ran downstairs for breakfast. Her stomach was grumbling, and she hoped a bowl of cereal would suffice, knowing that what she really needed to do was feed. This was beginning to get trickier and trickier.


    She didn¡¯t want to be late for school, so she quickly scarfed down her bowl of Lucky Charms and ran out into the back seat of the car. She didn¡¯t want to jump in the front and take it from Sarah, who was still getting ready. As she got in, she saw her brother, Mark, sitting there on the opposite side, with his headphones on, totally oblivious to the world.


    ¡°Rachel?¡± Mark said, sounding surprised.


    ¡°Mark! Hi!¡± Rachel replied.


    ¡°Wait? When? How?¡± Mark said, stuttering.


    Rachel laughed, ¡°I¡¯m back. I¡¯m ok now!¡± She assumed that¡¯s what he was trying to ask her.


    ¡°But, when?¡± Mark asked, still surprised.


    ¡°I came back last night and went right to bed. I don¡¯t think you were home,¡± Rachel said.


    Mark leaned over and gave her a big hug. This was the first time she ever hugged her brother, or at least the first she can remember. She realized her absence must have really affected the family if Mark was happy to see her back.


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re back, Rach,¡± Mark said. ¡°I was really worried about you.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Rachel asked surprised.


    ¡°Yeah, I couldn¡¯t sleep. It¡¯s been really hard for me. For all of us, actually,¡± Mark said.


    ¡°I know it has,¡± Rachel responded. ¡°It¡¯s been hard for me, too. I am just so happy to be back home.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t do that again,¡± Mark said. ¡°It was scary.¡±


    Rachel never realized how much Mark loved and cared about her. She never thought of him as having feelings or being sensitive, or even realizing that she existed in the world. But this experience proved to her that she really did matter and that Mark did love and care about her. Suddenly she felt better about coming back home and leaving the castle.


    As her mom and sister stepped into the car, she sat quietly in the back seat thinking about what was about to happen to her. She was worried sick in anticipation of arriving to school. She hoped she would be received well and that people wouldn¡¯t pay too much attention to her. She couldn¡¯t help but wonder why this was a recurring theme in her life. Why was she always the center of attention at AHS?


    ¡°Do you kids have any plans after school today?¡± her mom asked.


    ¡°I have practice,¡± Mark said. ¡°I¡¯ll be done at five.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going out with some friends after school,¡± Sarah said.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± her mom asked.


    ¡°Not sure yet, the mall?¡± Sarah replied.


    ¡°How are you getting home?¡± her mom asked.


    ¡°Amanda will bring me home,¡± she said.


    ¡°And you Rachel?¡± her mom asked in a skeptical voice.


    ¡°Um, I don¡¯t really have any plans after school today,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°Well, then, I¡¯ll pick you up at 3:30 outside of school. If you don¡¯t disappear again.¡± Her mom said in a snarky tone.


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Rachel asked defensively.


    Sarah turned around and mouthed don¡¯t worry.


    ¡°You know darn well what that means, young lady. You better watch out,¡± her mom said.


    She slunk down in her seat and rolled her eyes at her mom, although she didn¡¯t see. She kept quiet for the remainder of the ride to school and looked out the window in anticipation of her first day back.


    As the car pulled down the long driveway into AHS her heart began racing. She saw her friends¡¯ cars pulling into the lot as well as other students who she didn¡¯t know so well. She suddenly felt overwhelmed by the amount of people and wanted to run and hide. She didn¡¯t want to get out of the car as it pulled up to the front door, but she figured getting out would be better than staying in with her mother. It was a lose-lose situation, and she had better odds of a good day if she got out.


    She got out of the car and walked slowly to the front door, her sister and brother already inside and out of sight. She could feel the stares of the other kids burning a hole through her, and she could hear their whispers. As she got towards the front door she saw a large poster that read MISSING, with a picture of her and her name. She couldn¡¯t believe her disappearance had caused such a stir.


    She immediately tore the poster down, folded it up and threw it into the trashcan right inside the front door. She didn¡¯t want to make it too obvious, but she wanted it gone. She didn¡¯t want any more reminders of what had happened.


    As she entered the building, which still smelled of stale cafeteria food, the bright fluorescent lights hit her face. Her eyes squinted and her skin began to feel hot. She couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on, but she suddenly began to feel different than she had before walking through the hallways. Then, a hunger pang hit her out of left field and she could feel her mouth watering as she longed for an animal to feed on.


    She stood at her locker and suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder, and jumped.


    ¡°Hi Rachel! OMG! I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re back. I missed you so much,¡± Emily said, giving her a big hug.


    ¡°Oh hey!¡± Rachel said, snapping out of her trance. ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ¡°Are you ok? You look a little out of it?¡± Emily asked.


    Rachel pushed her hair back out of her face and looked in the mirror of her locker. ¡°Oh yeah, I¡¯m fine,¡± she said. ¡°I was just in a daze, I guess!¡±


    ¡°Clearly!¡± Emily said. ¡°So, what happened? Everyone¡¯s been talking about this?¡±


    Trying to avoid the questions, Rachel said, ¡°Oh, yeah, it really wasn¡¯t that big a deal! People get so worked up in this town!¡±


    ¡°Um?¡± Emily said, ¡°It was actually a huge news story. People died, you know? We thought you did, too.¡±


    ¡°Me? Die? C¡¯mon!¡± Rachel said with a laugh. ¡°Don¡¯t be so dramatic!¡±


    Emily stared at Rachel as though she was a bit crazy and then said, ¡°Well, OK, guess you¡¯re ok! But can you tell me what happened at the castle? Rumors are flying around school about it.¡±


    ¡°Luckily, I left before it got ugly there, so I don¡¯t really know what happened,¡± Rachel said, avoiding the question.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Emily asked. ¡°Well, then where did you go the past few days?¡±


    Rachel knew this question was bound to come up sooner or later, so she figured she better come up with a story quickly.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s really a long story and we should really get to class,¡± Rachel said, unable to think of what to say.


    The bell rang and Emily and Rachel walked down the hall together towards their first period class. She couldn¡¯t believe all the cold stares she was getting, like she was the walking dead. She had no idea what these kids heard, but apparently, they all were staring at her as if she were a ghost.


    ¡°That¡¯s the girl that was missing.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god, there she is!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s her!¡±


    She could hear all the whispers as she walked down the hall. As she passed, people suddenly got quiet and still. She was getting more and more self-conscious. Did she look different? Could they tell she had changed? Did they know she was a vampire? She put her hands to her face to make sure everything felt right, and it did, so she continued walking to Mr. Allen¡¯s classroom.


    As she entered the classroom, she saw her teacher, Mr. Allen sitting at his desk in the front of the room, looking puzzled and surprised to see her. She hoped he wouldn¡¯t say anything as she closed her eyes and tried to pretend she wasn¡¯t there.


    ¡°Ms. Wood it¡¯s nice to see you back safely,¡± Mr. Allen said loudly in front of the class.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Rachel said, as she walked to her desk and sat down, slinking low in her chair.


    ¡°We heard you got yourself into a pretty serious situation. Is that right?¡± Mr. Allen asked.

 Page 12

    Rachel¡¯s face turned bright red as he questioned her. This was the last thing she needed. All her classmates were staring at her in awe.


    ¡°Well, I guess so, but I¡¯m fine now,¡± Rachel said, trying to end this very public conversation.


    ¡°Do you want to share your story with the class?¡± Mr. Allen asked.


    Turning even redder, she said, ¡°I¡¯m all right for now. Maybe another time.¡±


    ¡°Ok, I can respect that. You¡¯re probably still in shock after everything you went through,¡± Mr. Allen said.


    Suddenly, her world became cloudy, and all she could think about was feeding. Her body felt like it was quivering all over, and her lips started to get tense. She could feel her eyes start to bulge and open wide, looking for anything in her path. She gazed out the window and spotted a deer walking past, grazing in the back lawn of the school, and knew she had to get outside, and fast.


    ¡°Rachel, are you OK?¡± Mr. Allen asked, looking at her.


    She knew she had to pull herself together and get her mind off feeding, if only for this moment.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine, just not feeling well,¡± Rachel replied, as she stood up and ran quickly out of the classroom.


    The class stared at her in shock, as if they couldn¡¯t believe what they were saying.


    She couldn¡¯t wait one more minute to find that deer and feed on its blood. Visions of blood going down her throat flashed through her head as she ran ravenously down the hall to find her prey.


    ¡°Where are you going, young lady?¡± the hall monitor asked in a stern voice.


    ¡°I have to go outside,¡± Rachel snapped, not thinking.


    ¡°Get back to class!¡± the hall monitor retorted, and reached her arm out to grab Rachel as she went running past her.


    As her outstretched arm reached for Rachel, a surge of rage came over her and she grabbed her arm and swung her over her shoulder and down the hall about twenty feet. The shrieks of the hall monitor¡¯s voice filled the air, but Rachel used mind control to silence her and have her stand back up as if nothing had happened. Then, the hall monitor turned around, and walked down the hallway in the opposite direction, paying no attention to Rachel whatsoever.


    She flung open the back doors of the school, which opened into a woodsy area surrounded by big tall trees. She knew this would be a good place to find something to feed on. She ran quickly through the brush, picking up tree stumps, looking in small rabbit holes and up into the trees for anything she could get her fangs on. Then she spotted the deer, deep in the woods, far enough from school, that nobody would see her. She felt safe. She knew she would be able to have a peaceful feed now.


    She focused on the deer with all her might, and used Mind Control. It stopped in its tracks and looked her straight in the eye. She knew this was it. She had mastered it. Now all she had to do was make her way over to the deer without scaring it away, and then its fate was sealed. It would be her next meal.


    She crept over to the deer, which was still entranced, staring at her, and then, with twenty or so feet to go, she leapt into the air, her fangs descending from her gums, her hands outstretched and her fingers wide, as she prepared to capture her kill. The deer continued to stare at her, and within moments, she sunk her fangs into its neck. Then, with her supernatural strength, she lifted the deer up off the ground and drained its blood into her mouth. As she did this, her body felt more relaxed. She was much less tense, and felt her eyes go back into her head as she became normal again¡ªwell, normal enough to fit into her school.


    She put the deer back down and stared at it, watching the fleas jump off its lifeless body. Suddenly she felt a little grossed out, and she couldn¡¯t believe what had just happened. She sat down on the ground next to the deer and began to cry. Part of her felt bad for killing an animal but what upset her the most was the fact that she didn¡¯t recognize herself anymore. She hated who she¡¯d become, and knew there was no turning back. She knew this was the new Rachel and she just had to get used to it ¨C it was just a hard pill for her to swallow.


    As she wiped the tears from her cheeks, she stood up and looked at her watch. She¡¯d been gone from class for about twenty minutes, and knew she would be in big trouble for this. She quickly walked back out of the woods, checking to make sure nobody was watching, then she heard a man¡¯s voice coming from the back door of the school.


    ¡°Excuse me? What are you doing outside?¡± the man said.


    She looked up to see the security guard standing in the doorway, looking dead at her. She didn¡¯t know what to say, and waited for a moment as she walked closer to the building.


    ¡°Oh, I um, just needed some air,¡± Rachel said, smiling. ¡°I wasn¡¯t feeling well.¡±


    ¡°Are you ok?¡± the security guard asked, looking stunned, as if she got hurt.


    ¡°I¡¯m feeling better now, thanks,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°No, I mean, your face, it¡¯s bleeding,¡± the security guard said, ushering her into the building.


    She touched her face and looked at her hands, which had blood on them. She couldn¡¯t help but think what a misstep this was, what an amateur move she¡¯d just made to leave blood dripping down her face.


    ¡°Oh my!¡± Rachel said, trying to sound surprised. ¡°I just brushed by a branch, it may have scratched my face?¡±


    ¡°You better get to the school nurse right now and get that cleaned up, Ms. Woods,¡± the security guard demanded.


    ¡°OK, I¡¯ll go now,¡± Rachel said, as he took her arm and walked her to the nurse. They walked in silence, until finally she opened the door to the nurse¡¯s office.


    ¡°What do we have here?¡± the school nurse asked, looking at Rachel¡¯s face.


    ¡°A scratch?¡± Rachel said, uncertainly.


    ¡°Well let¡¯s get that cleaned up, shall we,¡± the nurse said in a soothing tone.


    The school nurse reached into her drawer and got out the alcohol and gauze pads to wipe down her face. She put on rubber gloves and then began applying the alcohol to the gauze. As she put the gauze up to Rachel¡¯s face she said, ¡°There¡¯s no scratch here? No evidence of anything that would cause all this blood.¡±


    Rachel didn¡¯t know what to say. She didn¡¯t know how to get out of this mess. ¡°Well, I um don¡¯t know?¡± she said, looking at the nurse.


    ¡°This is the strangest thing I¡¯ve seen in all my years,¡± the nurse said, taking off her gloves.


    ¡°Guess I healed pretty quickly!¡± Rachel said, trying to turn it into a joke.


    ¡°Well, you should go back to class,¡± the nurse said as she handed her a nurse¡¯s note to get back into class.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± Rachel said, as she turned and walked out of the office.


    Realizing what a close call that was, she walked quickly back to Mr. Allen¡¯s classroom, passing the hall monitor on the way. She was surprised that her Mind Control worked so well on her, because she didn¡¯t even look twice as she passed by.


    ¡°You feeling better?¡± Mr. Allen asked as she entered the classroom.


    The class stared at her as if she was a freak.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Rachel said, feeling much more like herself as she walked in and handed Mr. Allen her nurse¡¯s pass, which thankfully she had because it had been over a half an hour since she¡¯d left.


    ¡°You all right?¡± a guy¡¯s voice asked quietly from behind her.


    She turned to see Rob, sitting in the seat behind her, looking visibly worried about her.


    ¡°Oh yeah, I¡¯m fine, thanks,¡± Rachel said, smiling.


    She couldn¡¯t believe he even noticed she¡¯d left the classroom and even if he did, that he would care to ask how she¡¯s feeling.


    ¡°What happened? You flew out of here so quick, I got worried,¡± Rob asked, whispering so that the teacher wouldn¡¯t hear.


    ¡°Just felt sick, that¡¯s all. It passed,¡± Rachel replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re feeling better,¡± Rob said. ¡°So do you want to hang sometime?¡± he asked.


    She thought for a moment, remembering their last interactions and time spent together. She couldn¡¯t help but remember the feelings she had for him at the movies and how it abruptly ended when Benji showed up.


    She remembered her love for Benji. She didn¡¯t want to betray him or cheat on him, but part of her felt OK with spending time with Rob. It wasn¡¯t like they were dating or anything ¨C it would be an innocent hang out.


    ¡°Um¡­I guess,¡± Rachel replied. ¡°This weekend works, I think.¡±


    ¡°Perfect, I¡¯ll be in touch,¡± Rob said as the bell rang and everyone got up out of their seats.


    ¡°Rach! I¡¯ll see you at lunch, right?¡± Emily asked, as they parted ways down the hall.


    ¡°Yup! I¡¯ll be there,¡± Rachel said, secretly dreading the cafeteria. She didn¡¯t even want to let her mind go there yet. The morning passed quicker than she would have liked it and as she looked at her watch, she knew lunch was right around the corner. Thinking about it made her feel queasy, then the thought of throwing up made her even more nervous, because the only thing swishing around in her stomach was blood. She couldn¡¯t image the scene that would cause.


    As she walked towards the cafeteria, she didn¡¯t know how she would face everyone in such a big, bright space. She didn¡¯t want to do it, but knew if she didn¡¯t, it would cause more of a stir.


    ¡°There she is!¡± Taryn¡¯s voice came barreling down the hall.


    ¡°Ahhh!!!¡± yelled Liv and ran to give Rachel a hug.


    ¡°OMG! You¡¯re really back!¡± Jen said, waiting her turn for a hug.


    ¡°I¡¯m back! In the flesh!¡± Rachel said, as she pointed to herself and smiled. ¡°Glad to see you guys, too! I¡¯ve missed you.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s grab our table!¡± Emily said as she started walking into the cafeteria.


    With all her friends around her, she felt at ease. She didn¡¯t feel as overwhelmed as she thought she would entering the cafeteria for the first time in days since she¡¯d gone missing. She was happy to have such a caring and loyal group of friends at AHS and she felt lucky that they all happened to meet up with her before she had to walk in alone.

 Page 13

    As she sat there, at the lunch table, she wasn¡¯t feeling hungry for her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. After all, she didn¡¯t need to eat human food anymore. She watched as everyone took out their food and began to eat.


    ¡°So Rach, you have to tell us, what the hell happened?¡± Taryn asked.


    ¡°Yeah!¡± the others said, waiting for her to talk.


    ¡°Ya know, I really don¡¯t want to talk about it,¡± Rachel said back, trying to conceal her privacy around the matter.


    ¡°What do you mean? You can tell us!¡± Emily said.


    ¡°Yeah, we won¡¯t tell anyone. We promise,¡± Jen said.


    ¡°I know, you guys are the best, but it really was scary and I¡¯m not in a good place to talk about it right now. Plus what really matters is that I¡¯m back and still breathing, right?¡± Rachel asked, trying to make light of the situation.


    ¡°Um, you¡¯re seriously not going to tell us?¡± Taryn asked, getting annoyed. ¡°We¡¯ve been worried sick about you, and now that you¡¯re back, you¡¯re pleading the fifth?¡±


    ¡°Seriously, you guys can¡¯t be mad at me, it was really terrible what happened and it¡¯s so raw that I need time to heal myself before I start talking about it. I can¡¯t just snap my fingers and go back to normal,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°Guys, let¡¯s respect her, she will tell us, eventually,¡± Emily said, sticking up for Rachel.


    Rachel shook her head and said, ¡°Yeah, I promise, I¡¯ll tell you guys, just not here.¡± She looked around the cafeteria at all the staring faces. It was like everyone was listening to her, the hustle and bustle sounds she was used to in the cafeteria were very quiet today and she could tell that everyone was curious about what had happened. It was like everyone was eavesdropping on her conversation with her friends. She didn¡¯t feel safe at school¡ªshe felt like she had to completely censor herself, especially now. If anyone found out what really happened, well, she didn¡¯t know what they¡¯d do.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s this I hear about the Halloween ball?¡± Rachel asked, changing the subject.


    ¡°OMG! The Halloween Ball is the coolest event at AHS. Like everyone who¡¯s anyone goes to this!¡± Liv said, excitedly.


    ¡°It¡¯s tonight!¡± Jen said, ¡°Do you have your costume yet?¡±


    ¡°Well, seeing as I just found out about this, no!¡± Rachel answered.


    ¡°We have to get you one then!¡± Taryn said. ¡°I¡¯m going to be a rock princess! I already got my costume and tried it on. I think I have everything set to go. Plus, you know who asked me to be his date! So I¡¯m pumped.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°The guy in your math class you like?¡±


    ¡°Yup! Sure did!¡± Taryn said, smiling.


    ¡°Well lucky you!¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°Do you have a date? I assume not since you didn¡¯t even know about the ball,¡± Emily asked.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t. I guess I could always go alone right?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°Um, you could,¡± Emily answered, sounding uncertain.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s going to be sick! It¡¯s tonight at the bowling alley in town. It¡¯s going to be so fun. You have to come!¡± Jen said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there! I¡¯ll be there!¡± Rachel said, getting excited. She finally was happy to have something to look forward to.


    ¡°Rach, you haven¡¯t touched your lunch? Aren¡¯t you hungry?¡± Emily asked, sounding concerned.


    ¡°Not really, still full from breakfast,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°Ok, well, you should really eat something, don¡¯t want you to start feeling sick again,¡± Emily said.


    ¡°Thanks for looking out,¡± Rachel said with a smile.


    ¡°So you guys cool to come to my place for a sleepover later?¡± Taryn asked. ¡°My mom said it was OK, we could all sleep in the basement.¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± the chorus of girls chimed in. ¡°Can¡¯t wait!¡±


    ¡°Rach, can you come?¡± Taryn asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask my parents. They¡¯re not exactly thrilled with me at the moment,¡± Rachel responded. ¡°But I¡¯ll try my best!¡±


    As she sat there, the bright lights were beginning to hurt her eyes and skin. She could feel her body getting warmer and warmer as she sat there. It felt almost as if she were about to have a panic attack, but worse. She couldn¡¯t help but squint her eyes to keep the bright lights out.


    ¡°Rach, you ok?¡± Liv asked.


    ¡°Yeah? You don¡¯t look so good,¡± Jen said, worried.


    ¡°I, um, I¡¯m fine,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°You¡¯re skin, it¡¯s getting red and your eyes, are you sure you feel ok?¡± Emily said.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine!¡± she said, getting worried they were starting to assume things.


    ¡°You¡¯re acting kinda strange,¡± Emily said.


    She didn¡¯t know how to respond to this, she was acting strange and she knew she shouldn¡¯t have left the castle. But now she was here and she would have to make the best of it.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m ok, just a little hot, that¡¯s all,¡± Rachel answered.


    ¡°Okay...¡± Emily said, still sounding curious.


    As the bell rang, she said goodbye to her friends and began walking towards her fifth period class. She couldn¡¯t believe she¡¯d made it through another interrogation session about her disappearance. She also couldn¡¯t believe this was the AHS Halloween Ball this weekend. She couldn¡¯t stop thinking about finding the perfect costume and the perfect date. She didn¡¯t know who it would be but she was hoping that someone special would ask her.


    Just as she was almost to her class, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned around to see Arielle, standing there looking mean and cold.


    ¡°Heard you talking in the cafeteria,¡± Arielle said.


    ¡°Um, hello to you, too,¡± Rachel replied.


    ¡°Listen, I thought you were gone once and for all,¡± Arielle said, eerily.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m back!¡± Rachel said, trying not to sound scared.


    ¡°You better watch your step. If you even come between me and Rob, that will be the last thing you ever do. I don¡¯t even want to catch you looking in his direction,¡± Arielle sneered.


    Rachel was scared. She didn¡¯t know what to do. She¡¯d already kind of made plans with him for the weekend. She started to tremble, and then said, ¡°Calm down, I haven¡¯t done anything to get in your way. Relax.¡±


    ¡°Well, if I see it, or hear about it, you¡¯ll have to answer to me,¡± Arielle said and then quickly turned around and walked the opposite direction.


    Chapter Ten


    Hunter could hear the footsteps getting louder as Violet and four soldiers stomped down the hall to his jail cell. The jingle of the keys on the large key rang through his ears as they looked for the key to his cell. As they opened it, Violet walked in and then turned to the soldiers and said, ¡°You are released now.¡±


    ¡°Violet? What a surprise, what are you doing here?¡± Hunter asked.


    Violet walked around his small cell, looking at his belongings. She picked up a family picture and then put it back down and smiled.


    ¡°I¡¯ve come to give you one more chance,¡± Violet said, as she turned and looked at Hunter.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Hunter asked. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you one more chance to live,¡± Violet said, sternly.


    ¡°What? Anything?¡± Hunter said, sounding eager to hear her plot.


    ¡°Well, now that I¡¯ve put Penelope away in the tower, you and I can be together,¡± Violet said in a sultry voice.


    ¡°What are you talking about, Violet?¡± Hunter asked.


    ¡°It can finally be me and you, in love forever,¡± Violet whispered as she got close to hunter, putting her boney finger up to his lips. ¡°You know you want me.¡±


    Moving away from her and giving her a look of disgust, Hunter said, ¡°Stop! I don¡¯t love you and I never will.¡±


    ¡°Hunter, I can tell that you want to be with me, just let your guard down and get in touch with your inner feelings,¡± Violet pleaded.


    Violet walked towards Hunter again, this time reaching out and touching his cold hand.


    ¡°Violet, I don¡¯t want to be with you, stop this right now!¡± Hunter said firmly.


    ¡°This is your last chance,¡± Violet said, as she stepped back and a stone cold look came across her face. ¡°If you don¡¯t fall for me, you will die.¡±


    ¡°So be it,¡± Hunter said, firmly. ¡°I¡¯d rather die than be with an evil witch like you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Violet shrieked, ¡°Guards, come get him!¡±


    Within in seconds the three guards who had accompanied Violet to his cell were now clomping back down the hall with their loud steel toed boots and rifles in their hands. He knew he couldn¡¯t let Violet convince him to fall in love with her.


    ¡°Execute him!¡± Violet ordered as they approached.


    He stood there and awaited his fate, and the three men ushered Violet to stand behind them as they ordered Hunter to get in place.


    ¡°Stand over there!¡± one guard yelled.


    ¡°Put your back against the wall and put your hands above your head!¡± the other guard ordered.


    ¡°Do I get any last words?¡± Hunter asked, trying to prolong his sentence.


    ¡°No!¡± Yelled Violet. ¡°There¡¯s nothing more for you to say!¡±


    ¡°Stand still!¡± the guard yelled out.


    ¡°On the count of three!¡± the other guard said, as they all loaded silver bullets into their chambers.


    ¡°One¡­Two¡­¡± the guard said slowly, prolonging this ordeal.


    Then, a voice came screaming down the hallway. It was one of Violet¡¯s evil subjects, running down the hallway in a black robe.


    ¡°Violet, Violet! I have news for you!¡± she said, out of breath.


    The guards put their guns down and everyone turned to listen to the news.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Violet asked.

 Page 14

    Hunter couldn¡¯t believe it, one second to go. He was dripping with sweat and shaking from fear.


    ¡°Violet! You have to hurry, we know where Rachel is,¡± the evil subject said.


    ¡°What do you mean? You found her?¡± Violet asked.


    ¡°Yes! We got word that she came up on the radar. She went back home apparently and she¡¯s alone,¡± the evil subject continued. ¡°She¡¯s back in Westchester and back at her high school. Quick, we have to go now! You got off this time, but I¡¯ll be back for you soon,¡± Violet said as she glared at Hunter.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Violet ordered to the guards and she slammed his cell door shut and ordered the guards away.


    He watched as they left and then put his arms down and slunk down to the floor. His body cold and lifeless as he lay on the floor praying for his life. He sat there in awe of what had just happened and the miracle that intervened and saved his life.


    Then as is by pure fate, he looked at the lock to his jail cell and noticed that they¡¯d forgotten to lock it back up before running off so quickly. He sat there in shock, staring at it, making sure his mind wasn¡¯t playing tricks on him. He stood up and walked slowly to the lock, making sure no guards were around watching. Hearing nothing and seeing nobody, he knew this was the time to make his escape. It was now or never.


    He tiptoed quietly over to the gate and slowly lifted the open lock and put it down on his bed making absolutely no sounds at all. He then reached his hand outside of his cell to open the large brass handle. As he lifted it, it made a loud creak. He pulled his hands back in and stood there, quietly, waiting to see if anyone heard him.


    Nothing.


    He lifted the handle and pushed the cell door open, slowly and steadily. He peaked his head out to confirm that nobody was around and then he slipped his body out, closing the door behind him.


    He walked down the hallway towards a big metal door that sat ominously at the far end of the walkway. As he approached it, his heart was racing faster than he¡¯d ever felt before. He didn¡¯t know what would happen from this point on. He didn¡¯t know if there were guards, or Violet or any evil subjects on the other side that may get in his way of freedom. Although he knew he had a long way to go before he would consider himself ¡°free¡± from this place.


    He stood at the large door with his ear pressed against the cold metal, listening to see if he could hear anything. He heard some voices and footsteps that got quieter as the minutes passed. Then, for a while, he heard nothing. He figured the coast was clear so he pulled open the handle and creaked the door open, just enough to see if anyone noticed. He then poked his hand out to see if that caused any commotion, but it didn¡¯t. He opened the large door and started down a narrow corridor towards the outside world, when visions of Penelope locked up alone, possibly being tortured, filled his head. He couldn¡¯t leave without her; he had to rescue her, too.


    He continued down the hallway, trying to remember the path they¡¯d taken when he was blindfolded the other day. He listened for clues, or anything that might bring him to Penelope. This castle was huge and strangely enough reminded him of the castle he grew up in. Knowing what he knew about castles and prisoners, he knew there were few places that one might stash a prisoner. He knew she would either be in the tower or in the dungeon. He couldn¡¯t exactly remember if Violet had mentioned anything to the guards about her whereabouts in front of him, but figured, if he were as evil as Violet he would have put her in the dungeon. The dungeon is the most frightening and creepy place of any castle; he knew Violet would choose this form of punishment for what she¡¯d done to her.


    He wound his way down the stone spiral steps, which led down into what he figured might be the entrance to the dungeon. Luckily he didn¡¯t pass any guards on the way, but he knew the dungeon could be higher security and he didn¡¯t want to take any chances.


    As he got down into the cloakroom, he saw extra clothes, jackets, and uniforms hanging on hooks. He thought fast and started taking off his prison clothes and changed into one of the guard uniforms that hung in front of him. He figured it might be his only chance at escaping this crazy place.


    Once in the uniform, he felt much more comfortable to walk around the castle. He didn¡¯t look so assuming and he figured if he passed someone, they probably wouldn¡¯t think twice about him. Just as he was thinking that, two guards walked by holding tightly to a prisoner, kicking them in the shins as they walked him blindfolded down the hallway.


    ¡°Good day,¡± the soldier said.


    ¡°Good day,¡± Hunter replied, looking down at the ground.


    As they passed each other, Hunter couldn¡¯t help but thank God that he had put on that uniform just in time. If he hadn¡¯t, he was sure they would have grabbed him and started kicking him, just like the other prisoner. He felt bad for the guy, but knew he couldn¡¯t intervene. He had to continue on to find Penelope, his one true love.


    He felt almost if fate had led him here, to this castle, to be imprisoned by Violet so he could see Penelope again. It had been over a century since he¡¯d seen her, yet he had never forgotten her. He had not met anyone since that remotely came close to the love they shared for each other. He knew it was a once in a lifetime type of love and had basically lost interest in other women since the two had been torn apart. He wanted to marry her and be with her forever, and now he thought he may finally have the chance to finish what he started and complete his dream of being with her forever.


    ¡°Help, someone!¡± a voice came from the cellar.


    Right then, he knew, it was Penelope, calling out for him, for anyone to help her.


    ¡°Please!¡± her voice rang out.


    He quickly followed the echoes of her voice, which led him down another set of winding stairs into a dark, damp, dungeon. He didn¡¯t know what to expect as he crept through the candlelit hallways in the dungeon. Her voice called out again, followed by silence. He waited to see if anyone else was around, but heard nothing. He knew she was alone.


    As he approached a large wooden barn door, he opened it, and then, on the other side, he saw her, looking frail and scared, standing in her cell alone.


    ¡°Penelope?¡± Hunter said. ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Penelope asked, staring at him in his guard uniform. ¡°How do you know my name?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Pen. It¡¯s Hunter!¡± he said, smiling and taking off his hat.


    ¡°AH!¡± Penelope let out a scream.


    ¡°Shhh. We have to get out of here!¡± Hunter said.


    ¡°How will you get me out of this cell?¡± Penelope asked.


    ¡°Where do they keep the keys? Have you noticed?¡± Hunter asked.


    ¡°Yeah, they are over on the wall, on that big ring,¡± Penelope said, pointing.


    Hunter walked over to the wall and picked up the large ring of keys and started fumbling through them, testing them out on her lock. It wasn¡¯t budging. There must have been fifty keys on that key ring, all-similar looking, with rust on the ends.


    ¡°Hurry!¡± Penelope said. ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m trying!¡± Hunter said, ¡°I can¡¯t find it!¡±


    ¡°I love you!¡± Penelope said, putting her hand out of the cell and onto his face.


    Hunter looked up as his heart skipped a beat. He couldn¡¯t help but smile and say, ¡°I love you, too. I always have.¡±


    ¡°How did you find me? How did you escape?¡± Penelope asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡± Hunter said as he continued trying the keys.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Violet see you?¡± Penelope asked.


    ¡°No, she left to go find Rachel. One of her evil subjects got word that she¡¯d been turned and was back home in Westchester,¡± Hunter said, trying to fill her in.


    ¡°What do you mean she went after Rachel? Why would she want her? Is it because she thinks you love her?¡±


    ¡°HA!¡± Hunter laughed. ¡°No, that¡¯s not why!¡±


    ¡°Then why?¡± Penelope asked again.


    ¡°She wants to find Rachel and my brother and kill them both!¡± Hunter exclaimed. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time. We have to go warn them.¡±


    ¡°But why? I don¡¯t understand. Why would she want to kill an innocent girl?¡± Penelope asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s an old prophecy that one day a vampire will turn a human girl without the consent of the council. That human girl and the one who turned her will lead to the downfall of the evil vampire coven. The only way to prevent the prophecy from coming true is to kill them both,¡± Hunter explained.


    ¡°No! I can¡¯t believe it. Do you think she¡¯s the one?¡± Penelope asked.


    ¡°Yes! She¡¯s got incredible powers. We have to go quickly. Violet is smart, she knows that Benji will go looking for Rachel and she will have them both trapped and killed.¡±


    ¡°I got it!¡± Hunter said, opening the lock on the outside of her cell.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Penelope said, flinging the door open and throwing herself onto Hunter.


    ¡°There¡¯s no time for this, not now!¡± Hunter said. ¡°We can catch up later. Quick, put this on.¡± He threw her a guard uniform and hat and had her quickly change into it. It was a little big, but it was better than nothing. This way, they wouldn¡¯t draw so much attention to themselves.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you thought of this! It¡¯s genius!¡± Penelope said, as she finished buttoning her white collared shirt.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Hunter said as he pulled her out of her cell and closed the door.


    ¡°I know the way!¡± Penelope said. ¡°I¡¯ve been here quite a while and they¡¯ve let me outside a few times. I can get us there!¡±


    The two ran through the corridors of the castle, winding their way up and down staircases and over drawbridges. Then, without a hitch, they got to the front doors of the castle. They stood there; looking at each other, realizing this was their last obstacle before they were free.


    In the distance, Hunter could see two guards sitting at the doors, signing people in and out. They walked up to the guards as if they were one of them and said, ¡°We¡¯re on break now, off to get some dinner!¡±

 Page 15

    ¡°Right-O!¡± one guard said back.


    ¡°See you in one hour,¡± the other guard said, as he stamped their hands.


    The mechanical chain began to rotate loudly as the door cranked open. As it opened downwards, they walked out, over a moat, into the crisp evening air. Inhaling, Hunter knew he had succeeded. He knew they were free and they could be together again¡ªbut first they had to go warn Rachel of what was coming her way.


    Chapter Eleven


    As Violet approached Rachel¡¯s small suburban house, she was seething with rage. She hated domestic family life and everything it stood for. This house was pathetic to her. Everything it represented was pathetic. She summoned the six evil subjects that accompanied her to march in line behind her as she stomped down the stone walkway. She marched up to the door, ready to tear it off its hinges.


    She burned with rage as she thought of everything Rachel had done to her. Because of Rachel she had lost Hunter, the love of her life. Rachel had ruined all her plans and put the whole Greslin Coven in danger. This little brat had wasted enough of her time already, and now she was ready to tear her to pieces, and make her suffer. As she stood there, staring at the hideous red door with the brass lion knocker, she couldn¡¯t help but let out a laugh. She knew this would be an epic encounter for Rachel¡¯s sorry parents. She knew this visit would rile them up a bit, and that made her feel warm and happy inside. There was nothing more she loved than to frighten others and make them scared of her.


    She reached out her boney finger and hit the doorbell with her black painted fingernail. If there was anything she hated more than this pathetic little girl, it was her pathetic human parents that made her think of her own parents¡ªshe was ready to tear them apart already.


    They opened the door and glowered down at her condescendingly.


    Violet stood there, glaring back at them as they stared the seven of them up and down. They wore all black outfits with the Greslin crest on the breast pockets of their silk button down shirts. Rachel¡¯s parents stood there in their boring Dockers and plaid shirts. They couldn¡¯t have looked more pathetic, Violet thought to herself. She knew this would be easy.


    ¡°Can we help you?¡± Rachel¡¯s dad asked with a puzzled look on his face.


    ¡°You most certainly can!¡± Violet said, as she pushed past John and Betsy and forced her way into their house. ¡°C¡¯mon!¡± she demanded her subjects.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Rachel¡¯s mom, Betsy said. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Does that really matter?¡± Violet said with a cackle.


    Violet walked around the downstairs, taking everything in, the smells, the family pictures, and the furniture, all of it. She ran her finger over the dusty coffee table and then put her finger up to her mouth and blew the dust off in Betsy¡¯s face as she stood there in awe watching.


    ¡°Now, young lady, what do you think you¡¯re doing? This is our house!¡± John said, trying to figure out what was going on.


    ¡°I¡¯m just getting the lay of the land Pops!¡± Violet answered.


    ¡°Lay of the land?¡± John questioned.


    ¡°Yup! That¡¯s what I said, you going deaf?¡± Violet snarked.


    She watched as John turned bright red in the face and she could tell he was starting to get angry. She loved every minute of it and wanted to keep it going for as long as she could. She knew she had these two, and could torment the crap out of them.


    ¡°Would you look at this, the fam!¡± Violet said as she looked at a painted portrait of Rachel¡¯s family on the beach. ¡°What a lovely painting this is! Although, Pops, with all due respect, you¡¯re not smiling here,¡± Violet said pointing to his face. ¡°Let me see what I can do!¡± Violet said as she reached into her black messenger bag and pulled out a black marker. She pulled open the cap and then began to draw a smile on the painting. When she finished she looked at her work, which she knew was downright ugly and said, ¡°There, much better!¡±


    ¡°No, our painting!¡± cried Betsy. ¡°You¡¯re a monster!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to ask you and your, um, friends to leave now,¡± John said in a stern voice.


    Violet stared at him, smelling the fear that oozed off his body. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to ask you and your, um, friends to leave now!¡± she mocked him. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Not so fast, we¡¯ve only just arrived here. We couldn¡¯t leave yet,¡± Violet said as she stared back at the family photo.


    ¡°What a lovely fam you¡¯ve got here! Two good-looking parents, and three beautiful children. It must be nice to have such an attractive looking family!¡± Violet said rhetorically.


    ¡°Can we help you with something?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Well, now that you mention it, you can. Why don¡¯t you sit down a moment so we can chat,¡± Violet asked.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think that will be necessary,¡± John said, looking at Betsy as they both shook their heads in agreement.


    ¡°SIT DOWN!¡± Violet repeated herself, this time much louder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell us what to do in our own home!¡± John retorted angrily.


    ¡°You will sit down this minute!¡± Violet laughed and summoned two of her subjects to transport them across the room and sit them on the couch opposite Violet. As she watched this pathetic pair float through the air, towards the chairs, she let out a big laugh.


    ¡°Help!¡± Betsy said, as her body lifted off the ground uncontrollably.


    ¡°Betsy, I don¡¯t like this!¡± John said simultaneously.


    ¡°Oh stop worrying,¡± Violet said, ¡°We¡¯re not going to hurt you. We just have a few things we need to talk to you about.¡±


    Violet sat there, looking at the pair, who looked as if they had just been sentenced to the electric chair. Their mouths hung open, their eyes wide with panic and fear. She reveled in this as she sat back in the soft brown leather chair and put her feet up on the white painted coffee table. She then dug her pointy heels into the fresh white paint and watched as it chipped off the table in big white flakes. She could tell Betsy wanted to scream, but didn¡¯t say a word. She knew from this moment on, she had them wrapped around her bony little finger.


    ¡°So, I bet you¡¯re wondering why we¡¯ve asked you here today?¡± Violet asked, as she glared at the two and waited for them to respond.


    She waited a minute and then raised one eyebrow in anticipation.


    ¡°Cat¡¯s got your tongues, I see!¡± Violet sneered.


    ¡°Well, then, I will just speak and you can listen. Feel free to chime in if the mood strikes you,¡± Violet said.


    ¡°We¡¯re here because of your lovely daughter Rachel,¡± she began. ¡°We know she¡¯s back and we must find her. Can you tell us where she is?¡±


    Betsy and John looked at each other. ¡°Um, she¡¯s not, um, home right now,¡± Betsy, stammered.


    ¡°And where might that little gem be?¡± Violet asked.


    ¡°Uh, Uh, she¡¯s at school still,¡± Betsy, said, checking the time on her watch.


    ¡°School, eh?¡± Violet questioned. ¡°When does she get back?¡±


    Betsy looked back down at her watch and said, ¡°Well, I¡¯m not too sure actually. I don¡¯t know what she had planned after school today.¡±


    ¡°Some mother you are! You don¡¯t even know where your own kid is,¡± Violet patronized.


    ¡°You watch it!¡± John said, sticking up for his wife.


    Violet looked at one of her subjects and shook her head. The subject went over to John and touched his throat, completely disengaging his voice box from making any sounds. He tried to open his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. He grasped his throat and rubbed his neck, but nothing could fix it.


    ¡°That¡¯s better!¡± Violet said. ¡°You know, it upsets me when I get yelled at. I was never into authority figures,¡± she said, staring at John.


    ¡°Well then maybe you can answer me this. Why did she align herself with the Vladiccus Coven?¡±


    ¡°The Vlad what?¡± Betsy asked.


    ¡°The VLADICCUS COVEN,¡± Violet spoke slowly and clearly.


    ¡°What on earth is that?¡± Betsy asked back, cowardly.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Violet grunted. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to walk you through this right now and I would appreciate it if you stopped pretending not to know what I am talking about.¡±


    ¡°But, I don¡¯t, I promise you, I don¡¯t know who that is,¡± Betsy said in a frightened tone.


    ¡°Listen, if you¡¯re going to play dumb with us, we¡¯re going to have to find some way to get it out of you,¡± Violet said.


    ¡°What¡¯s the coven¡¯s plan for war then? Why don¡¯t you riddle me that?¡± Violet laughed.


    ¡°War?¡± Betsy cried. ¡°I don¡¯t know, please, I swear.¡±


    John tried to open his mouth again to talk, but nothing came out.


    ¡°Sorry, Sir, can¡¯t hear you, why don¡¯t you speak up!¡± Violet asked as she commanded her subject to undo the spell she¡¯d put on him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about!¡± John said, his voice suddenly booming with volume.


    ¡°That¡¯s better! We can hear you now. I hope that will teach you to watch your tone with me Pops,¡± Violet insisted.


    Violet watched as Betsy took out her cell phone to make a call. She didn¡¯t know whom she was dialing, but didn¡¯t want to wait and find out. She looked at the phone, held out her bony hand and wiggled her fingers toward her as the phone flew out of Betsy¡¯s hand and into hers. She looked at the number on the screen¡ª911¡ªand then broke the phone in half with one hand and laid it down on the coffee table.


    ¡°That¡¯s rude!¡± Violet said. ¡°We were in the middle of a conversation!¡±


    ¡°But, my phone!¡± Betsy said.


    ¡°Now, where were we?¡± Violet asked. ¡°Oh right, back to your wonderful daughter Rachel.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have any information for you. She just got back last night. We have barely spoken to her about her disappearance. I¡¯m sorry, we truly don¡¯t have any answers for you,¡± John said, cowardly.

 Page 16

    Violet lifted her feet off the white coffee table and stood up, quickly, knocking over the cup of coffee that was sitting on the table next to her feet.


    ¡°I think our work is done here then,¡± Violet said, as she flipped her dark black hair and turned to exit the house. ¡°If I think of anything else, I¡¯ll be back,¡± Violet said.


    ¡°Thanks for the chat,¡± she said as she patted both Betsy and John on their heads before she walked out of the house with her six subjects following in line behind her.


    As she walked out of the driveway she ripped the hood ornament off the busted up station wagon and put it in her breast pocket. She thought it would be a great souvenir of her tormenting trip to Rachel¡¯s house. Now, the next souvenir she was after was Rachel¡¯s head. She knew she¡¯d get it sooner or later.


    Chapter Twelve


    As Rachel got home that afternoon, she was relieved to have gotten through her first day back. In her mind, she had thought it would have been a much harder day with way more interrogation, but as it turned out, she was able to avoid many of the questions her friends and peers asked of her. She was also happily surprised that she was back in time for the big Halloween Ball and that Rob had been so nice to her. She couldn¡¯t believe how things were shaping up for her since she¡¯d been back, but she didn¡¯t want to overthink it or jinx it. As she walked into her house, she let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Hi Mom, I¡¯m home!¡± she yelled into the kitchen and waited for a response.


    ¡°Mom? You home?¡± she yelled again, looking around the house.


    She then walked into the living room and saw both of her parents, sitting down on the couch with their jaws hung open as if they had just seen a ghost.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong guys? Are you ok?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°You have a lot of explaining to do young lady,¡± her dad said sternly.


    ¡°What did I do now?¡± Rachel asked, annoyed.


    Rachel looked around at the room, which looked like it had been torn to shreds. She picked up the broken cell phone and looked at it in her hand.


    ¡°What happened in here?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°It¡¯s a mess!¡±


    ¡°Oh, you think so, do you?¡± her mom asked.


    ¡°Uh, yeah,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°We just had visit from a friend of yours,¡± her dad said.


    ¡°A friend of mine?¡± Rachel asked, trying to think of who it could¡¯ve been. ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Funny you should ask. It was a charming girl, she wore all black and had six others with her, also in all black with a bloody deer embroidered on their shirts. Is this ringing a bell?¡±


    Rachel¡¯s eyes opened wide as she sat down in the chair across from them, stepping on the paint chips that were crunching underneath her shoes as she sat.


    ¡°You¡¯re joking?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°What was her name?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we got her name, but she had pail skin and dark black hair, she was pretty evil looking,¡± her dad said.


    ¡°Violet?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°Please tell me it wasn¡¯t Violet?¡±


    ¡°It might have been,¡± her mom said angrily. ¡°These drugged out friends of yours totally ripped up our house.¡±


    ¡°Drugged out friends of MINE?¡± Rachel yelled. ¡°They are NOT my friends!¡±


    ¡°Listen Rachel, this is totally unacceptable. We can¡¯t have these misfits barging into our house using spells on us and destroying the place. This is completely dangerous and we can¡¯t let them risk our lives like this,¡± her dad said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°You have to leave!¡± her mom said.


    ¡°Yes! You need to leave now. You¡¯re a liability for the family and putting us all in harm¡¯s way,¡± her dad agreed.


    ¡°What do you mean leave?¡± Rachel asked firmly.


    ¡°We mean, leave, as in get out!¡± her dad yelled.


    ¡°Get out? But this is my house!¡± Rachel yelled back.


    ¡°This WAS your house,¡± her mom retorted. ¡°It¡¯s not safe for us if you stay here anymore. We don¡¯t trust you or the people you¡¯ve been associating yourself with. You¡¯ll be a bad influence on your siblings if you stay.¡±


    ¡°But, where do you want me to go? I¡¯ll be homeless.¡±


    ¡°She mentioned something about a Vladiccus friend of yours. Why don¡¯t you go stay with them?¡±


    ¡°Vladiccus? How do you know about that?¡± Rachel asked confused.


    ¡°We find out everything, eventually,¡± her mom said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t go back there, I wont!¡± Rachel said. ¡°I want to stay here, with you and Sarah and Mark. Please, I promise, I won¡¯t do anything wrong, I swear!¡± she begged.


    ¡°This is not open for discussion,¡± her dad said. ¡°We have made up our minds.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Rachel yelled.


    ¡°Yes! Go upstairs and pack your things. You must leave now,¡± her dad yelled.


    ¡°We don¡¯t want any more of these friends of yours stopping by the house, you hear?¡± her mom said angrily. ¡°These are not the types of people we want around us or our other children. You have paved your way, and there¡¯s nothing we can do about it now. You have to go out on your own now. We can no longer be your parents, it¡¯s just too hard on us,¡± her dad said.


    ¡°But, but, what do you mean you can no longer be my parents? You can¡¯t just say that. You¡¯re crazy!¡± Rachel said, almost in tears. ¡°Are you giving me up for adoption? Putting me in a foster home? I don¡¯t get it! I¡¯m not even 18 yet! This is illegal.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t discuss this one more minute. Go get your things and be gone. We can¡¯t bear to look at you for one more second,¡± her dad said as he pointed towards the direction of the stairs. ¡°Go!¡±


    Rachel stormed out of the living room and ran upstairs crying and slammed the door shut behind her. She had no idea what was going on, but knew she couldn¡¯t make sense of it now. Something bad must have happened and now she knew she was in major trouble. Not only did she have to leave home, but also she knew they were after her and it would only be a matter of time before they found her.


    She quickly packed a duffle bag of all her favorite and most important things, left a short note for her sister to call her and then stormed out of the house, not knowing where she¡¯d end up that night.


    Chapter Thirteen


    As Violet and her evil subjects flew overhead, she peered down at all the buildings, trying to figure out which one was Rachel¡¯s school. She¡¯d never been to this town, yet it eerily reminder her of the town she¡¯d grown up in many years ago. She hated her town, and couldn¡¯t think of anything worse than returning to her town after all these years¡ªyet she found herself in a shockingly identical suburban town. She couldn¡¯t believe how anyone would ever want to live in the suburbs and she absolutely couldn¡¯t understand why any kid would want to grow up in one. She couldn¡¯t help but snap back to her days in high school: the teachers were controlling, the principal was the biggest authoritative jerk she¡¯d ever met, the hall monitors were on some crazy power trip that she couldn¡¯t understand, although chalked it up to the fact that they were probably losers in high school and they were getting back at people now. She also remembered the kids and how she hated every single one of them, especially the jocks. She hated jock types and prissy little girls and had a sinking feeling this suburb was going to be no different.


    She loathed this suburb and all her thoughts were blocking out the cheers and screams of the kids on the school sports team she could hear from miles away. She cleared her mind and opened her ears to listen to the hustle and bustle of the end of the day at AHS high school.


    ¡°C¡¯mon! This way!¡± Violet shouted to her subjects, who didn¡¯t hear what she did because they didn¡¯t have supersonic hearing.


    The seven of them flew quickly over the center of town and on towards the high school, hoping to find Rachel still there.


    ¡°Here we are!¡± Violet said.


    ¡°Where? Where is it?¡± asked one of the subjects.


    ¡°There you idiot! Don¡¯t you see that hideous pile of bricks?¡± Violet retorted.


    ¡°Yes, I apologize. I do see it, Violet. Thank you for pointing it out to me so wisely,¡± the subject responded in shame.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Violet said, not wanting to listen to her cower anymore.


    The seven vampires dropped out of the sky like large black raindrops onto the flat roof of the two-story school building. Violet knew their thud probably startled the poor little humans inside, but she could care less¡ªin fact, she was happy about that. She hoped that the people inside were shaking in their boots.


    She jumped down off the roof in front of the main entrance to the school and pranced in, with her subjects quietly following, not giving it a second of thought. As she opened the door a strong breeze picked and the fallen leaves blew in behind her, crunching loudly under their feet as they walked in.


    ¡°May I help you?¡± the secretary called out.


    Violet had already passed the front office without stopping to check in with the secretary, who acted like the security guard of the school.


    ¡°EXCUSE ME!¡± the secretary called louder. ¡°COME BACK HERE!¡±


    Violet turned her head and decided she¡¯d go back and play with this woman a little bit.


    ¡°Oh me?¡± Violet said, pretending not to realize what had happened.


    ¡°Yes! You forgot to sign in!¡± the secretary added.


    Violet walked over with her pack of subjects right behind her, as if connected by magnets. Violet saw a small silver bell on the top of the counter in front of the secretary and went over and started tapping it loudly with her finger. The sounds grew louder and louder as she stood there ringing it in the secretary¡¯s face.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± the secretary said, trying not to get angry.


    Violet stopped ringing the bell, and stood there waiting for her to say something. She glared at her as though she could see the inside of her brain, which she could tell the secretary didn¡¯t like much. So she continued to do it.

 Page 17

    ¡°Who are you and how can we help you today?¡± the secretary asked, doing her job professionally.


    ¡°We are here from the prep school down the street,¡± Violet heard herself lie, ¡°and we are looking for the intramural chess team.¡±


    ¡°Intramural chess team?¡± the secretary asked, looking down at her papers.


    ¡°Yup! I think a girl named Rachel Wood is running it, might you know where I could find her?¡± Violet asked in a calm and unrecognizable tone.


    ¡°Rachel Wood, the new girl, yes, let me look up her schedule, I should have it right here,¡± the secretary said, looking through her filing cabinet and pulling out a manila folder with Rachel¡¯s name on it.


    ¡°Here it is!¡± the secretary said, scrolling her fingers down the page.


    Violet looked on her desk at the cup of steaming coffee that sat there filled to the brim and knew she had to do something fast in order to get her hands on Rachel¡¯s schedule. She glared at the coffee cup, making it spin on its ends and then spill all over the secretary who ran out of the office screaming and shouting in pain as the coffee burned through her skin.


    Violet reached through the window, snatched the schedule and began marching down the hallway in search of Rachel.


    The smell and sights of this high school made Violet livid. She wanted revenge on her past and knew she had to get it, here and now. She walked into Mr. Allen¡¯s classroom to find him sitting at his desk, grading papers.


    ¡°Why hello there!¡± Violet murmured.


    ¡°Excuse me, can I help you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you can help me! You can tell me why my high school history teacher was such a prick to me growing up,¡± Violet said, watching Mr. Allen¡¯s eyes widen in horror.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m going to have to ask you to leave,¡± Mr. Allen said, not wanting to participate in this conversation.


    ¡°What? Cat got your tongue?¡± Violet asked. ¡°You history teachers are all the same, you think you can hide in the past, but really you can¡¯t,¡± Violet said angrily as she looked down at the papers on his desk and started touching them with her fingers.


    ¡°You know, I never understood why you are all suck jerks. Could it be because you think you have power over us? Is it because you think you¡¯re smarter than us? Tell me,¡± she asked looking down at Rachel¡¯s schedule to find his name. ¡°Mr. Allen, tell me!¡±


    As she questioned him, she lifted him up out of his chair with her hands and held him above her as he hung there, shaking his legs in fear.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what do you want to know? I¡¯ll tell you anything!¡± Mr. Allen said cowardly.


    ¡°I want to know a lot of things but first you can start by telling me about Rachel Wood. I see she¡¯s a student of yours,¡± Violet said, looking down at her schedule.


    ¡°Yes, Ms. Wood is in my homeroom. She is a bright girl, but doesn¡¯t apply herself. She¡¯s been going through a lot with her recent move and I think it¡¯s really taken a toll on her,¡± Mr. Allen said.


    ¡°Where is she?¡± Violet asked, looking him deep in his eyes as if to hypnotize him.


    ¡°Um, I don¡¯t know,¡± Mr. Allen, said. ¡°It¡¯s after school so I really don¡¯t know where my students are at this hour.¡±


    ¡°WHERE IS SHE!¡± Violet yelled, as if it would change his answer.


    ¡°Well, I did hear her talking to her friend Rob after class about getting together with him, but I honestly don¡¯t know what they planned,¡± Mr. Allen said, racking his brain.


    Violet let go of Mr. Allen and he came flying down to the ground and hit the floor with a thud.


    ¡°Where¡¯s this Rob character then?¡± Violet asked, holding her hand out as if to do it all again.


    ¡°He¡¯s on the football team, try there!¡± Mr. Allen said, his voice quivering.


    Violet brushed her arm across his desk, throwing all of his papers soaring into the air and hitting the floor in a mess. She walked out with her crew behind her.


    Violet stormed down the hall, knocking over everything and everyone in her way, tripping innocent kids as they walked past and laughing as they fell to the ground face first. She walked by the secretary¡¯s office again on her way to the football field to find Rob and purposely rang the bell loudly in her face and then walked away. She was officially terrorizing the entire school, and everyone left inside.


    As she got out to the field she could see the football team and the girls cheerleading team all huddled together chatting. She listened for a moment before she walked over so she could get a clear-cut vision of who Rob was. She heard a girl¡¯s voice calling his name and yelling at him.


    ¡°How could you do this to me, Rob? I don¡¯t understand how every time you see her you fall for her even harder. What is it with this Rachel girl you like so much? What does she have that I don¡¯t?¡± Arielle asked.


    Violet knew she had found her key to Rachel and thought it might be fun to play with these two for a minute.


    ¡°Hello there Rob!¡± Violet said, as she stood there on the field.


    ¡°Um, Hi. Who are you?¡± Rob asked.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t pretend you don¡¯t know me!¡± Violet said, stroking her hair in a flirtatious way, seeing the anger swell up in Arielle¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Uhh, I don¡¯t know you!¡± Rob replied.


    ¡°Oh stop pretending last night didn¡¯t mean anything to you!¡± Violet said. ¡°Is this the girl you¡¯re worried will find out about us?¡± Violet asked, pointing to Arielle.


    She watched his face go blank and then back to a sheer look of confusion.


    ¡°Or are you worried about Rachel? Now I remember, you¡¯re worried about Rachel. You told me you loved her,¡± Violet said, stirring the pot even more.


    ¡°Who are you, you freak?¡± Arielle asked, pissed off.


    ¡°Who are you, you freak?¡± Violet mocked her.


    She could tell Arielle was getting so angry and watched as Arielle put up her hand to slap her. Violet¡¯s strength kicked in and she intercepted her hand with lightning speed and grabbed her by her arm and flung her over her shoulder, watching her land on her back.


    The field grew silent as the fight grew more intense.


    ¡°What¡¯s your problem, chick?¡± Rob asked. ¡°I don¡¯t even know you so can you tell me what this is all about?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about your little love interest. I¡¯m after her and I think you can help me find her,¡± Violet said.


    ¡°Love interest?¡± Rob questioned.


    ¡°Yes, Rachel,¡± Violet whispered in his ear.


    ¡°I¡¯m not helping you with anything, why don¡¯t you mind your own business,¡± Rob said.


    Violet watched as Arielle got up off the ground and sneakily marched over behind Violet¡¯s back, raised both her hands up to slam her over the head. Violet quickly turned around and intercepted her blow with a laugh, then launched her into the air, through one of the end posts and watched as she fell into a swamp on the other side.


    ¡°You¡¯re nuts!¡± Rob said. ¡°How did you do that?¡±


    ¡°I have many mysterious powers,¡± Violet whispered again.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Rob asked again.


    ¡°It¡¯s irrelevant, my friend,¡± Violet answered. ¡°It¡¯s Rachel I¡¯m after and you need to bring me to her or else, you¡¯re next.¡±


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t do anything to me,¡± Rob said.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to test me,¡± Violet said.


    ¡°Oh yeah? Prove it then, what will you do to me if I don¡¯t bring you to Rachel?¡± Rob asked. His football friends came up beside him, surrounding him, all staring back at Violet threateningly.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t want to know,¡± Violet said, warning him.


    ¡°Yes, I do want to know tough gal. Bring it on. Try it!¡± Rob said, acting tough in front of his teammates.


    With that, Violet go so riled up that she lifted Rob up off his feet, swung her robe around him and flew into the air. Rob¡¯s cries and shrieks nearly made her go deaf, and she couldn¡¯t believe how scared he got so quickly.


    ¡°Let me go! Put me down!¡± Rob cried.


    ¡°You asked for this,¡± Violet said.


    ¡°You¡¯re a freak!¡± Rob said. ¡°Stop this!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t antagonize me now,¡± Violet said. ¡°It¡¯s not in your best interest.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well no matter what you do, I¡¯m not bringing you to Rachel, so you can forget about that,¡± Rob said.


    Violet flew far away until they were in a desolate area, just the two of them. She landed on the roof of a tall building and stared at him, almost putting him into a trance. She could tell that his body was becoming weak and subdued, and she knew she could take him now. She knew if she got him on her side, they could unite their powers and end this war together. She knew he would be a huge asset to the Greslin Coven and with that, she leaned in slowly, her fangs protruding as the saliva dripped down out of her mouth onto Rob¡¯s neck. She could see the fear in his eyes, but he was speechless. There was no turning back now.


    Her beat red eyes stared into his and then, within moments, she sunk her teeth deep into Rob¡¯s neck as his body quaked and convulsed.


    She knew their team had just been solidified.


    Chapter Fourteen


    Rachel trudged up to Emily¡¯s house with her heavy bags in tow, hoping that she wasn¡¯t too early for their getting ready party. She rang the doorbell and waited for Emily to answer.


    She couldn¡¯t believe what had just happened to her but knew deep down her parents were right. She was a threat to the family, and she didn¡¯t want them to suffer for what she¡¯d done.


    ¡°Hey girl, just in time!¡± Emily said when she opened the door. ¡°I¡¯m just going through all our old Halloween costumes, trying to figure out what to wear!¡±


    ¡°OMG! I totally forgot. I didn¡¯t get a costume to wear,¡± Rachel said. ¡°Guess, I could go as myself? That¡¯s kinda scary!¡± she said with a laugh.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t be silly,¡± Emily, said. ¡°You can borrow. We have so many costumes!¡±

 Page 18

    ¡°Cool!¡± Rachel said. ¡°When are the others coming?¡±


    ¡°They should be here any minute. I just ordered pizza. Hope you¡¯re hungry!¡± Emily said.


    Thinking of pizza and eating actually made her realize she would be ready to feed shortly. She tried to push those feelings out of her head, though, since she knew it wouldn¡¯t be the best time to sneak out and kill an animal. The girls would definitely know she was up to something if she left to do that.


    ¡°Rach?¡± Emily said. ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah! Sorry, Pizza¡¯s great!¡± Rachel said, snapping out of her daze.


    ¡°Look at this! This is super cute. Do you want to be a 70s roller chick?¡± Emily asked, holding up a tie died bell-bottom suit.


    ¡°Um...maybe. What else you got?¡± Rachel asked, not wanting to commit to that far-out look.


    ¡°Come look for yourself, we have a lot. Clown, Witch, Mr. Potato Head, Santa Claus, Vampire¡­it¡¯s your call!¡± Emily said holding each up.


    ¡°Vampire?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°Yeah! Vampire. Fangs and all!¡± Emily said, holding it high so Rachel could see it.


    Suddenly, Rachel felt devious. She was a vampire and yet she was talking about dressing like a vampire for Halloween. Something felt off about this, but she was drawn to the costume.


    ¡°Yeah, vampire it is!¡± Rachel said, snatching the costume out of her hands.


    RING.


    The doorbell rang and in walked the rest of the girls with their costumes, makeup, curling irons and wigs in their arms. It looked like they had just robbed a costume store, they had so much stuff spilling out of their arms.


    ¡°Hey ladies!¡± Emily said. ¡°Let¡¯s go up to my room and get ready! This is going to be the best night ever!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± the girls cheered as they walked upstairs to her bedroom.


    ¡°Hey Rach, how long have you been here? I thought you were going to catch a ride with us?¡± Taryn asked.


    ¡°Oh yeah, sorry, drama at home. I¡¯ve been here about a half hour I guess,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°Drama? What happened?¡± Taryn asked, as the other girls got silent.


    ¡°Oh, my parents were acting up again,¡± Rachel, said.


    ¡°Again?¡± Liv asked. ¡°What did you do this time?¡±


    ¡°They say I¡¯m a bad influence on my siblings. They kicked me out,¡± Rachel said, still startled from the news.


    ¡°Kicked you out?¡± Taryn asked.


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Jen asked.


    ¡°Like actually kicked you out of your house?¡± Emily asked. ¡°I had no idea. Why didn¡¯t you say something sooner?¡±


    Rachel looked around at the girls¡¯ faces all staring back at her. She hated this feeling. She was not this girl. She had never had trouble with her parents before moving to Bedford, and now it¡¯s been nothing but trouble. She didn¡¯t know what to do; yet she had to accept this. It was her new life and there was nothing she could do about it now.


    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t want to burden you with my troubles. I¡¯ll figure it all out, don¡¯t worry,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± Emily said. ¡°What do you mean, don¡¯t worry!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really not a big deal. I¡¯ll find my way. I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Rachel said, doubting herself as the words came out of her mouth.


    ¡°You can stay with me,¡± Emily said. ¡°I just have to ask my parents. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll say yes.¡±


    ¡°You can stay with me, too!¡± Taryn said.


    ¡°Me, too!¡± Liv said.


    ¡°Us too,¡± the other girls chimed in.


    Rachel smiled. It felt nice to have such a good group of friends surrounding her, especially in these tough times. She knew she could get through anything with them by her side. As she thought about staying with them, she knew it wouldn¡¯t be safe for them, either. She couldn¡¯t take them up on their offers. She had to find shelter elsewhere, for their sake. She didn¡¯t want Violet or any of her coven members to come after them. After all, they were just innocent girls¡ªthey had no idea they¡¯d be harboring a vampire.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t,¡± Rachel said. ¡°I¡¯ll stay elsewhere.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? You can¡¯t live on the streets,¡± Emily said in horror.


    ¡°I promise, I¡¯ll find a safe place,¡± Rachel said, as she rummaged through her bag trying to find her make up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s drop this!¡± Rachel said. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on getting ready. It will make me feel better about this whole situation.¡±


    Not wanting to argue with her, the girls started taking out their costumes and makeup and started getting ready.


    ¡°OK, but if you ever need anything, please ask. I promise, everything will be ok,¡± Emily said quietly to Rachel.


    ¡°Thanks, Em. You¡¯re a great friend,¡± Rachel said back, smiling.


    ¡°Pizza¡¯s here girls!¡± Emily¡¯s mother yelled.


    ¡°YES!!¡± the girls said.


    ¡°Coming,¡± Emily said. ¡°I¡¯ll be down in a sec.¡±


    Emily went downstairs to get the pizza for everyone and within minutes she was back upstairs with soda, plates, cups and a large pie of pepperoni pizza.


    ¡°This smells amazing!¡± Kate said, diving into the box.


    ¡°I love pepperoni!¡± Rachel said, trying to fit in, and pretend she was interested in this human food.


    ¡°Eat up! We don¡¯t have much time before the ball!¡± Emily reminded them looking at the clock.


    Rachel walked over and turned on the radio to Z-100 and cranked it up. She knew music would change the mood of the room and get everyone pumped for their big night.


    ¡°Hey Rach, who you going with again?¡± Liv asked.


    ¡°Oh, right. Well, I don¡¯t exactly have a date, but Rob texted me saying that he would meet me there and to save him a dance,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°Ohhh..Rob!¡± Emily and Taryn said.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, really! We¡¯re just friends¡­I think,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°Arielle is going to kill you!¡± Taryn said. ¡°She was so pissed last time you went out with him.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know. She already warned me not to look in his direction!¡± Rachel laughed.


    ¡°What are you going to do? He obviously likes you better,¡± Jen said, laughing. ¡°Arielle¡¯s got nothing on you!¡±


    Rachel couldn¡¯t believe that she¡¯d been asked to dance by the star of the football team and that the cheerleading captain was her worst enemy. In Pennsylvania she would have never of dreamed of such a thing. In fact, she was certain the football team and the girls on the cheerleading team didn¡¯t know she existed. And, looking back, she kind of liked it. She liked being anonymous. Now, she was anything but anonymous. In fact she was probably the most infamous new girl at AHS.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen between us,¡± Rachel said. ¡°Probably nothing!¡±


    ¡°You never know!¡± the girls snickered.


    ¡°So, what are you being?¡± Rachel asked the girls, changing the subject away from her.


    ¡°I¡¯m a sexy nurse,¡± Taryn said.


    ¡°I¡¯m a slutty cop,¡± Jen said, holding up her almost non-existent costume.


    ¡°I¡¯m a witch!¡± Liv said, as she put her fake witch teeth in and her long pointy nose.


    ¡°I¡¯m a vampire!¡± Rachel said, feeling a sudden pang of truth in her words.


    ¡°Ohhh¡­love it!¡± the girls said back. ¡°Freaky!¡±


    As the girls put their finishing touches on their costumes they all danced around the Rihanna music that blared over the radio and started singing. Feeling completely pumped up and ready for a fun night, Rachel took a shot of vodka with the girls. She figured she didn¡¯t have any parents to go home to, and she might as well. She knew no matter how strong her morals were, if she had been getting in so much trouble for being good she might as well be bad, at least for one night.


    With that, the girls all filed out of the house and into Taryn''s car. The back seat was jammed full, but Rachel sat there, feeling tipsy, happily singing to the music on the radio. She couldn¡¯t wait to get to the bowling alley and to see what this Halloween Ball was all about.


    Chapter Fifteen


    As the girls hopped out of Taryn¡¯s car, Rachel could feel the alcohol leaving her body. She no longer felt tipsy anymore, and she was glad about that. She knew she¡¯d made a mistake to take the shot in the first place, but with all the pressure from her friends, she found it hard to resist. She made an internal promise to herself that she wouldn¡¯t take another shot, smoke or have a drink because of peer pressure. She knew she could rise above this and go back to being more strong willed.


    Feeling clear-headed, she walked into the Halloween Ball. The bowling alley was decked out in orange and black balloons. As they entered they walked through a canopy of woven balloons; there must have been thousands of balloons on the ceiling. She turned to her right to see the buffet station and the large fruit punch tower that was cascading into a large bowl at the bottom. She had never seen an event this beautiful in her entire life. Now she knew why the girls said this was the event of the year and that she couldn¡¯t skip out on it.


    The girls changed into their bowling shoes for a round of bowling before the DJ started. Within minutes of the game starting, Rachel felt a tap on her shoulder. She quickly turned around to see Arielle and a few of her friends looking pissed off, standing behind her. Rachel stood there; not knowing what this was all about. She remembered the warning Arielle had given her, but she didn¡¯t talk to Rob or see him, so she didn¡¯t know why they¡¯d all be so pissed at her.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you!¡± Arielle said, looking at Rachel meanly.


    ¡°What?¡± Rachel asked, confused.


    ¡°Don¡¯t play dumb with me. You know what you did,¡± Arielle grunted.


    Rachel waited, with a blank look on her face, not knowing what to say next.


    ¡°Don¡¯t pretend you didn¡¯t hear about what happened today at practice, when your ugly little friend showed up,¡± Arielle said. ¡°I nearly got killed.¡±

 Page 19

    ¡°What are you talking about, Arielle. Get a grip, would you?¡± Rachel said, trying to defend herself.


    ¡°Actually, Rachel, this isn¡¯t about me. It¡¯s about Rob,¡± Arielle said, angrily.


    Rachel stepped back as Arielle got closer to her face. She felt like she was about to be attacked. She had no idea what Arielle was talking about, but was curious about what happened to Rob. Her heart felt heavy thinking about it. She hoped nothing bad happened to him.


    ¡°What do you mean Rob?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s gone crazy!¡± Arielle said. ¡°What did you do to him?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± Rachel yelled back. ¡°Stop accusing me of things I didn¡¯t do. I can¡¯t take it anymore.¡±


    ¡°Stop lying and tell me what you did to him. He¡¯s not the same person. I don¡¯t know how to explain it. It¡¯s like he¡¯s gone mad,¡± Arielle said, looking around the room, trying to spot Rob to point him out.


    ¡°Gone mad?¡± Rachel questioned.


    ¡°Ugh! Would you stop repeating everything I say. You are such a freak, Rachel,¡± Arielle said. ¡°Ever since you came things have gone so down hill. It¡¯s like you caused this whole mess. Not to mention you tore us apart. We probably would have gotten married had it not been for you, you little freak.¡±


    ¡°Stop calling me a freak!¡± Rachel yelled. ¡°You¡¯re completely delusional. He never liked you to begin with. None of this was my fault.¡±


    Rachel watched as Arielle¡¯s face turned bright red and she could tell she was fuming with rage.


    ¡°You asked for it!¡± Arielle said as she quickly turned around and ran off towards the buffet station and picked up a large glass bottle of punch and then, without warning, chucked it across the room, directly towards Rachel.


    The bottle flew through the air, one end over the other so quickly, that Rachel knew she was about to get smacked in the face. Then, without much trouble, she stared at the bottle as it came directly between her eyes; she halted the bottle just milliseconds before it was about to smash into her. The bottle stopped dead in its tracks and hung in mid air for a few seconds and then fell to the ground, spinning at Rachel¡¯s feet.


    Her friends looked at her in awe, as if she had some supernatural powers. Arielle couldn¡¯t believe her eyes and ran over to her, with her cohort behind her, screaming, ¡°Freak! Freak!¡±


    Rachel felt increasingly uncomfortable as all eyes started focusing on her. She quickly ran off, down the halls of the bowling alley, to find Rob. She had to see what Arielle was talking about and she wanted to make sure he was ok.


    At first, she couldn¡¯t find him, then she heard screams and wails coming from inside a dark room, and she went in, and turned on the lights.


    ¡°Turn those off!¡± Rob yelled in pain. ¡°My eyes!¡±


    ¡°Oh sorry!¡± Rachel said, not realizing what was going on. ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    ¡°My head, my head,¡± Rob said, clutching his skull. ¡°It¡¯s throbbing.¡±


    ¡°What happened? Tell me, I¡¯ll help you!¡± Rachel said in as worried tone.


    ¡°Ouch. My veins. It¡¯s like they¡¯re on fire. HELP!¡± Rob cried out.


    Rachel was worried; she didn¡¯t know what he was saying or what he was going through. She didn¡¯t know how she could help him but so desperately wanted to. She looked around the dim lit room and saw a first aid kit hanging from the wall. She opened it up and grabbed out an ice pack and twisted it until it became cold. She walked over to Rob and put it on his arm where he was clutching himself in pain. As she applied the ice, she could see steam coming off his skin as the ice quickly melted into warm water.


    ¡°Oh my gosh, Rob, you¡¯re on fire,¡± Rachel said. ¡°Do you want me to call the ambulance?¡±


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t call anyone,¡± Rob said. ¡°Please, just help me!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m starving!¡± Rob said, grasping his stomach.


    ¡°Let me go get you some food!¡± Rachel said, trying to help.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want food. I¡¯m hungry for something else. I just don¡¯t know what it is,¡± Rob said, licking his lips.


    ¡°Stop, Rob! Please you have to tell me what¡¯s going on. You¡¯re acting crazy!¡± Rachel said in a panic.


    ¡°Make it stop! What¡¯s happening to me?¡± Rob asked.


    ¡°What happened today?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°Arielle said something happened?¡±


    ¡°A girl with black hair came. Violet,¡± Rob said.


    ¡°OH NO! TELL ME YOU¡¯RE KIDDING?¡± Rachel begged.


    ¡°No, she came and flew me away and the last thing I remember was, well, I don¡¯t remember. It¡¯s all a blur,¡± Rob said, still clutching his stomach.


    ¡°Oh no! This is all my fault,¡± Rachel said. ¡°You¡¯re a..¡±


    ¡°A what?¡± Rob said.


    ¡°I have to figure out a way to reverse this, before it takes effect. There must be a way,¡± Rachel said as she popped up and ran out of the room, trying to come up with a solution.


    As she ran down the hall she was bombarded by Violet and her evil subjects, standing in a row, as if they¡¯d been waiting for her this whole time.


    Violet smiled at Rachel and said, ¡°You like my handy work?¡±


    ¡°No! What did you do to him?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°Oh, nothing major, but I figured it would be best to have him on our side. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± Violet said with a snicker.


    ¡°Stop it, Violet! He didn¡¯t deserve this,¡± Rachel yelled.


    ¡°He most certainly did,¡± Violet yelled back. ¡°In fact, I¡¯m surprised I didn¡¯t come up with this sooner.¡±


    ¡°Why would you turn him?¡± Rachel yelled. ¡°He¡¯s innocent. He had nothing to do with this. You have to turn him back. NOW!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not possible!¡± Violet laughed as she looked back at her subjects who were also laughing.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t funny!¡± Rachel screamed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why you care so much. Isn¡¯t it Benji who you love?¡± Violet asked.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Benji? What did you do to him?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know where Benji is but maybe you could shed some light on that for us,¡± Violet murmured.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where he is, and even if I did, you¡¯d be the last person I¡¯d ever tell!¡± Rachel retorted. ¡°You¡¯re evil!¡±


    ¡°Might I remind you, Rachel that this is all your fault? Everything that has happened is all because of you,¡± Violet said.


    Rachel didn¡¯t know what to do or say anymore. She knew she was in big trouble if she stayed in the hallway with Violet, and she needed to escape. She looked around the hallway, but only saw one way out, and that was behind Violet and her people. She didn¡¯t know how she would ever get by them.


    ¡°What you looking for?¡± Violet asked.


    Rachel didn¡¯t answer and looked behind her, hoping that she¡¯d missed an exit sign.


    ¡°What? Cat got your tongue?¡± Violet laughed.


    Rachel ran down toward the end of the hall but before she got there, Violet had transported herself to the other end of the hall before her and appeared standing there in front of her and the other exit door.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way out¡­¡± Violet said, shaking her head.


    Rachel looked around and saw that she had been encircled by all of Violet¡¯s people. She was stuck. She was helpless.


    ¡°Please, let me go!¡± Rachel said, begging for them to release her.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be one of us now,¡± Violet said as she started walking towards her slowly.


    ¡°Stop! Stop!¡± Rachel begged, trying to summon her powers, but they weren¡¯t working. She couldn¡¯t figure out why she couldn¡¯t use Mind Control, or anything else she¡¯d learned back at her training. It¡¯s like it had all gotten lost or disconnected or something.


    ¡°You¡¯re powers won¡¯t work on us!¡± Violet said, staring at her, coming even closer.


    Rachel could feel a trance coming over her body, as if being put under a spell.


    ¡°You belong with us,¡± Violet continued saying. ¡°You are one of us.¡±


    Then, a loud scream came from the end of the hall.


    ¡°RACHEL!¡± Emily cried out. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Rachel shook her head and snapped out of it.


    ¡°Emily! Help me!¡± Rachel yelled. ¡°I¡¯m trapped!¡±


    ¡°HELP!!!!!!¡± Emily shrieked at the top of her lungs, hoping to get others behind her.


    As soon as she yelled help, Violet had transported herself over to her and taped her mouth shut. Emily tried to tear it off, but it was sealed shut. There was no getting that tape off her face, no matter how hard she pulled. Violet then threw Emily to the ground with a touch of her finger and moved her to the corner with the slight motion of her arm. Emily sat there, stunned and panicked with her eyes wide open.


    ¡°Leave her alone!¡± Rachel yelled. ¡°Take me, but please don¡¯t hurt her.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. We will take you,¡± Violet said. ¡°I was just having some fun.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really sick, you know that?¡± Rachel yelled back.


    ¡°You better watch it,¡± Violet said, as she lifted Rachel up off the ground with her hands grasping her throat. ¡°I¡¯ve got you now!¡±


    ¡°Put me down,¡± Rachel yelled helplessly as she kicked her feet.


    Rachel looked over at Emily who was still in the corner, being watched over by one of Violet¡¯s people. She looked scared and she wished she could help her. She wished she could tell her what was going on but she couldn¡¯t. Emily looked at her with fear in her eyes as if she knew she was about to die.


    All of a sudden, a surge came over Rachel and she broke free from the chokehold Violet had her in, and dropped to the ground with a thud.


    ¡°Take that!¡± Rachel said, as she started running down the hall towards her friend.


    ¡°You¡¯re making a big mistake!¡± Violet shouted as she ran down the hall after her.

 Page 20

    ¡°The only mistake here is you!¡± Rachel yelled, looking behind her as she ran with lighting speed.


    She couldn¡¯t understand why this hallway was so long. It hadn¡¯t looked that long to her before, but now with each step she took, it seemed to get longer and longer and Emily kept getting further and further away.


    ¡°Keep running!¡± Violet laughed. ¡°It will get you somewhere!¡±


    She heard the sarcasm in her voice and knew that Violet was behind this. She was running quickly to nowhere and decided to stop. She knew she was outnumbered.


    The second her feet stopped running; Violet launched at her and pinned her down to the ground.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you wish you¡¯d never met me?¡± Violet said sternly. ¡°Don¡¯t answer. It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    Violet strapped her legs and arms to the ground with big metal bolts so she wouldn¡¯t try and run again. Then she took out her fingernail and drug it down her arms, scratching her so badly she began to bleed. Violet bent down and smelled her blood and then sat up with a smile on her face as if to prolong the pain.


    ¡°Just what I¡¯ve always wanted!¡± Violet said as she touched the blood with her pointer and put it to her mouth for a small taste.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be a real asset to our coven,¡± Violet said.


    Then, a voice boomed down the hall, running at lightning speed towards her.


    ¡°VIOLET STOP!¡± Hunter yelled.


    ¡°Hunter?¡± Violet said, turning around and standing up. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± she asked, as she fixed her hair.


    ¡°Do not lay another finger on her. Do you hear me?¡± Hunter yelled with Penelope following not far behind him.


    ¡°How did you escape?¡± Violet grunted. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be locked up.¡±


    Hunter ran past Violet, knocking her to the ground with one elbow jab, and over to Rachel, to unlock her from the ground. Penelope blocked Violet¡¯s evil subjects from approaching with her shield power, which radiated a burning red light that kept them at bay. If they came close, it would melt and kill them instantly.


    ¡°HURRY RACHEL! You have to get out of her! Quickly. Go!¡± Hunter said as he unbolted the final leg cuff.


    ¡°Where? Where should I go?¡± Rachel asked quickly.


    ¡°You have to go to Benji. You have to save him before it¡¯s too late,¡± Hunter yelled.


    Rachel jumped to her feet and flew down the hall, using her summoned strength and adrenaline.


    ¡°But what about Emily? I have to save her,¡± Rachel said, turning back around towards her friend.


    ¡°NO! I will do it. You must leave. NOW!¡± Hunter yelled. ¡°HURRY!¡±


    ¡°But what about you? You can¡¯t stay here along with them? You¡¯re outnumbered,¡± Rachel yelled back over her shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll take care of this. You go on to Benji. Keep him safe,¡± Hunter yelled.


    ¡°But¡ª¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°No buts,¡± Hunter said. ¡°Go! Save yourself!¡±


    With that, Rachel took off, out of the Halloween Ball, and flew up in to the air, her sights set on finding Benji and saving the Vladdicus Coven.


    Chapter Sixteen


    As Rachel arrived back to the ramparts she had left just days before, she felt a total shift in the air. It had grown much colder and the wind had picked up quite a bit. She could feel a nip in the air as if it were about to snow, but she knew it was rare for it to snow in late October. She wondered if this chill she felt was the temperature, or the fact that she knew something bad was about to happen.


    She stood there, remembering her last conversation with Benji, wishing that she¡¯d never left him. That she¡¯d never even left the castle. She felt a sense of calm come over her as she stood there, a sense that this was her home, and that this is where she belonged. She then got upset with herself for leaving and ran inside to find Benji, and to make it right again.


    She flung open the door to the staircase and ran down two flights until she got to her dormitory floor. She ran down the smelly hallway, which now didn¡¯t seem to bother her as much as it had before, and into her small room. It was quiet, with only the few things she had left behind, still in their places as if nobody realized she¡¯d been gone. She sat down on her bed and caught her breath. She knew she didn¡¯t have much time, so she popped up and ran down the hallway towards Georgia¡¯s room.


    The door was shut and she stood there, knocking loudly. Nobody answered. Then, moments later, Georgia came to the door, her hair wet from the shower and wrapped in a towel.


    ¡°Rachel! You¡¯re back!¡± Georgia said, as she came in close to hug her.


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m back! For good now, I promise,¡± Rachel said, smiling and out of breath.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why are you out of breath?¡± Georgia asked.


    ¡°Long story. I just got back. I need to find Benji. Have you seen him?¡± Rachel asked hopefully.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him in days actually. I know he came back but then I think he left again. I¡¯m not sure though. Sorry,¡± Georgia said, trying to be helpful.


    ¡°Oh no! Where did he go?¡± asked Rachel.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s been pretty crazy around here lately. Everyone¡¯s talking about the war,¡± Georgia answered.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t say that. Please don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s gone to war!¡± Rachel cried, looking around, hoping to spot Benji.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid, it¡¯s possible. But you should check with the others, I don¡¯t know anything else,¡± Georgia said.


    ¡°Well, thanks anyway. It¡¯s good to see you! I¡¯ll be back later. I have to go find him now,¡± Rachel said, as she ran off down the hallway and towards the family quarters of the castle. She knew if anyone would know where Benji was, it would be his Uncle Drew.


    Each step felt like a lifetime as she weaved her way down the ancient hallways and spiral staircases towards the family quarters. She was surprised how well she remembered her way around, since she¡¯d only been there a few days. The lanterns on the wall flickered as the cool breezes came through the cracked stained glass windows. An eerie feeling came over her. A feeling that she didn¡¯t want to believe. She knew something was happening to Benji, she could feel it in her bones. She knew she had to save him. She loved him.


    Tears started to fill her eyes and blur her vision as she traveled through the long corridors of the castle. She could feel that she was too late, and she hated herself for it. She knew Benji would never allow anything bad to happen to her, yet when the tables were turned, she let him leave for war and enter into danger alone and scared. If anything had happened to him, she would never be able to forgive herself. She could hardly control herself as she burst into tears.


    She could hardly see where she was walking because she was so upset. Then, as if by miracle, she arrived in the larger foyer where she had met Uncle Drew just days before. She knew he would be around here somewhere. She ran through the foyer and toward his library, where she figured he might be.


    As she arrived, the door was open just a crack and she could him sitting there, quietly in the dark room. He was sitting with his back towards her, and didn¡¯t see her peeking in. She cleared her throat and hoped that he would turn and see her. She didn¡¯t want to interrupt him from his studies, but knew she had no choice. She cleared her throat again, this time louder, and Uncle Drew turned quickly in his chair.


    ¡°Yes, who¡¯s there?¡± Uncle Drew asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Rachel,¡± she said, as she creaked open the door.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so sooner, come in Dear,¡± Uncle Drew remarked.


    ¡°Uncle Drew, you have to help me,¡± Rachel said, wiping off her tears. ¡°I need to see Benji, please.¡±


    ¡°Why are you crying, darling?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I just want to see him. Please tell me he¡¯s here,¡± Rachel begged.


    He looked at Rachel and shook his head from left to right. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s already gone.¡±


    ¡°Gone! What do you mean gone?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me, he¡¯s¡­¡± Rachel paused.


    Rachel heard a noise and turned around quickly. She was surprised to see Matilda standing there, with her arms folded in front of her. She wasn¡¯t smiling and didn¡¯t seem happy to see her. A pang of guilt flooded her as she stood there in between Uncle Drew and Matilda, not knowing what would happen next.


    ¡°So you¡¯re back I see?¡± Matilda said.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m back. I regret leaving so much. I know I shouldn¡¯t have,¡± Rachel said in sorrow.


    ¡°Please tell me your brother is OK, please!¡± Rachel begged, looking at Matilda.


    ¡°I wish I knew,¡± Matilda said. ¡°It¡¯s brutal out there.¡±


    ¡°Oh no! I never should have left,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°You broke his heart,¡± Matilda said. ¡°He was devastated last I saw him. He wasn¡¯t acting himself.¡±


    ¡°I have to save him!¡± Rachel said. ¡°I love him!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too late,¡± Matilda, warned. ¡°It¡¯s not safe for you out there. We warned you not to leave. Now, you don¡¯t have the training to survive in battle. You will die if you go out there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. I need to go!¡± Rachel said naively.


    ¡°Benji needed you, Rachel and you left him. All you cared about was yourself. How can we ever trust you again?¡± Matilda asked.


    Rachel looked back at Uncle Drew who was looking at her with upset eyes. She never meant to upset the family, especially since they were her family now. She truly felt that this is where she belonged and these were her real family. She hadn¡¯t realized it until that moment, but now that she had, she couldn¡¯t resist the feeling.


    ¡°Please, Matilda and Uncle Drew. I said I was sorry. I realize you guys are my family now. I have accepted that,¡± Rachel said. ¡°I learned a lot over the past few days. I have no regrets now. Please accept me back.¡±


    Matilda looked at Uncle Drew who was nodding his head in acceptance. ¡°Fine, we accept you back, but it still doesn¡¯t change the fact that Benji is gone and you may never see him again,¡± Matilda said.

 Page 21

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°The war has now entered into full battle stages. The troops have all been mobilized and they are about to fight,¡± Matilda said.


    ¡°Fight?¡± Rachel asked with a worried look on her face.


    ¡°Yes, the battle is about to begin,¡± Matilda stated. ¡°Benji is our only hope of winning this battle. He is the only one brave enough or strong enough to go out in search of the Magic Tablet.¡±


    ¡°Magic Tablet?¡± Rachel questioned.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the only way we will ever win the war,¡± Matilda said.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t understand, can¡¯t you explain it to me?¡± Rachel begged.


    Uncle Drew cleared his throat and chimed in, ¡°The Magic Tablet dates back to the very first vampire. It is a tablet that allows any coven to achieve greatness and overcome any weakness. It also has the ability to turn vampires back into humans if they so desire. It is mystical, and I myself have never seen it, but have heard many great tales about it. It¡¯s hard to find and very dangerous to get to, which is why we have doubts that Benji will ever return.¡±


    ¡°But why? That¡¯s not fair. Why did he go alone?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°Well, there is nobody else that was strong enough to go with him. He wanted to go alone. He wanted to save the coven and right before he left he told me that most importantly he wanted to save you. He didn¡¯t want you to be in danger anymore, and he didn¡¯t want you to be upset that you¡¯d been turned. He wanted to give you the option of being turned back. He couldn¡¯t live with the remorse he felt in turning a human against her will,¡± Uncle Drew said.


    Rachel looked at Uncle Drew and then back at Matilda. She didn¡¯t know what to say. She felt awful. She had no idea this was happening, and if she had, she would have stopped him from going, or at the very least she would have gone with him.


    ¡°He loves you so much,¡± Matilda said, ¡°And this is how you repay him? By leaving him? He would have never done that to you. EVER!¡±


    ¡°I have to go find him. Where is the tablet?¡± Rachel asked quickly.


    ¡°It¡¯s unknown. Some people say it¡¯s located at the top of a mountain on the coast of Maine but others deny that. Nobody has come in contact with the tablet in hundreds of years, so we can¡¯t say for sure,¡± Uncle Drew said in a soft raspy voice.


    Uncle Drew turned around and walked over to his desk and picked up a scroll and handed it to Rachel. As she untied the light blue ribbon that held the scroll together, she thought at first Uncle Drew was handing her a map.


    But as the page unfolded she could see Benji¡¯s handwriting appear. It was a note, written to her in beautiful calligraphy. She began to read:


    My Dearest Rachel,


    A part of me feels you will come back to me so I write this in the hopes that you will. If you are holding this now, that means you have returned and that you love me as much as I love you. I know it was hard for you being turned into a vampire, and I can¡¯t blame you for your human faults, but if you decide to join me, you will know that there is more to the vampire life than you think. Yes, centuries stretch forever, but so can our love.


    I can¡¯t wait for you here anymore, my love. My destiny calls elsewhere. I don¡¯t know if I shall ever be able to return, but if I don¡¯t you should know that you hold my heart in your hands for eternity.


    Yours Eternally,


    Benji


    Rachel burst into tears as she finished reading the letter and rolled it back up. She clutched the letter close to her hear as the tears streamed down her face. Then, she looked up at Uncle Drew and Matilda and said, ¡°I have to go, now! I have to find Benji. I¡¯m going to the mountain. Is that where he was headed?¡±


    ¡°I believe it was,¡± Uncle Drew said. ¡°More precisely, the Cliffs of Thor.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t go, though, you are not prepared to go to war,¡± Matilda said firmly.


    ¡°I have to, you don¡¯t understand. I have to go find him,¡± Rachel pleaded, wiping away her tears.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t if I were you, but I can¡¯t stop you,¡± Matilda said with a worried voice.


    ¡°Rachel, you are a very brave girl,¡± Uncle Drew said as he walked over and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. ¡°You have proven yourself to me today, and I can see you have a strong will about you. It will serve you well in battle.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Rachel said. ¡°That means a lot.¡±


    ¡°You have my permission to leave the castle. You may go find Benji. I wish you luck,¡± Uncle Drew said.


    Matilda looked at Uncle Drew with questioning eyes and said, ¡°I wish you luck, too! I still don¡¯t think it¡¯s safe for you to go alone, but if you feel you must go, I bid you farewell.¡±


    ¡°You will go with her,¡± Uncle Drew demanded. ¡°You are family now. You must go and protect her.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Matilda asked. ¡°You want me to go risk my life?¡±


    ¡°You have been contained within these walls for centuries, it will do you good to get some fresh air and fight for your people if necessary. You will be fine. Now, Go!¡± Uncle Drew said as he hugged her.


    As she walked outside and was about to take flight, she felt nervous about this mission, but knew for the sake of her love, she had to go. She wanted to go, but she knew it could be very dangerous and even worse, she may never find Benji.


    The two girls looked at each other and within seconds they were flying high above, into the darkening sky.


    Chapter Seventeen


    The flight felt terribly long and exhausting for Rachel. It felt like it was taking hours to get to Maine, and she wished she could fly faster. She hoped that once she got to the Cliffs of Thor, she would find Benji. She longed to see him and to hold him again. The thought of never seeing him again ate her up inside.


    ¡°You want to stop for a rest?¡± Matilda asked, looking over at Rachel.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. I can¡¯t stop now. I have to get there,¡± Rachel said, feeling exhausted.


    ¡°You look weak. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to stop for a minute?¡± Matilda asked again.


    ¡°It¡¯s not an option. I have to get to him. He¡¯s in danger. I feel it in my bones,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°Ok,¡± Matilda said. ¡°We are almost there, about another fifty miles and we will be up the coast. You can do it!¡±


    A surge of adrenaline ran through Rachel¡¯s body. Her wings spread further as she gained a speed that she¡¯d never had before. She could see the small houses and trees below flying by as she breezed through the air with Matilda. The cool wind hit her face and the crisp smell of autumn filled her lungs with every breath.


    She could begin to smell the salty ocean air as they approached Maine. She knew they were close now and that it would only be a matter of minutes until they reached the cliffs. A great sense of accomplishment filled Rachel, yet she knew her work had not yet begun. Flying here would be the easiest part, she thought to herself. Now, all she could think about was finding Benji and saving him.


    As she reached the Cliffs of Thor, she looked down with worry. The cliffs were huge and covered with tall green grass and jagged, protruding rocks. She could see yellow wild flowers growing among the grass, and a pack of wolves roaming around. The cliffs were expansive.


    ¡°Look!¡± Matilda shouted and pointed towards the top of the cliffs. ¡°There he is!¡±


    ¡°Where? I can¡¯t see him?¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°Down there, do you see that stone castle? He¡¯s standing right next to it. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s him,¡± Matilda said.


    Rachel looked down at the stone ruin and looked for Benji. She spotted him standing there, still, facing the door of the castle.


    ¡°Benji!¡± Rachel yelled from above. ¡°Benji! I¡¯m coming!¡±


    He didn¡¯t look up. She figured he didn¡¯t hear her.


    ¡°Why is he standing at that ruin?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°He must have found the tablet,¡± Matilda said. ¡°He must know it¡¯s inside somewhere.¡±


    Rachel smiled and looked up at Matilda.


    Then she spotted them in the distance. Hundreds of vampires flying towards Benji. They looked like a black mob and she could see Violet in the front. They were going at warp speed right towards Benji.


    ¡°They¡¯re all going to kill Benji!¡± Rachel said, pointing towards the mob. ¡°We¡¯re not going to make it in time!¡±


    Matilda looked over at the mob and quickly said, ¡°I have an idea. I¡¯ll cut them off and distract them from Benji. You fly to him and warn him. It¡¯s your job to save him now.¡±


    ¡°But, you¡¯ll get killed. It¡¯s too dangerous for you,¡± Rachel said fearfully.


    ¡°If I don¡¯t intercept them, Benji will surely get killed and we will risk losing the tablet,¡± Matilda said.


    ¡°But you could get hurt!¡± Rachel said with a worried tone.


    ¡°You have to go, now! I can¡¯t stop them; I can only distract them for a few minutes. You go and warn Benji. Save him, hurry!¡± Matilda cried as she flew off towards the mob of blackness.


    Rachel swooped down quickly in the opposite direction towards Benji, flying quickly to his aid. She could see him standing there, oblivious to what was happening above. Part of her was surprised that he didn¡¯t sense danger in the air, but she figured he was focused on the tablet and retrieving it for his coven.


    Over her shoulder she could see Matilda creating a diversion between Benji and the black mob. They spotted her, and now made a sharp turn to go after her. She had done it; she¡¯d distracted them from Benji. Now she only had a few minutes before they¡¯d turn back and go after him.


    She swooped down and landed next to Benji. He jumped, startled, and looked over at her.


    ¡°Rachel? What are you doing here?¡± Benji said, smiling.


    ¡°I came to save you,¡± Rachel said. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time. They¡¯re coming after you.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Benji said.


    Rachel pointed towards the sky and said, ¡°Look!¡±


    Benji¡¯s eyes opened wide as he saw the mob of vampires flying around above him.

 Page 22

    ¡°Why did you come here? It¡¯s too dangerous for you,¡± Benji said.


    ¡°I had to see you. I need you,¡± Rachel said.


    He reached out and embraced her in a long hug. She slowly pulled back.


    ¡°I missed you,¡± Benji said, looking into her eyes and stroking her face.


    ¡°I missed you, too!¡± Rachel said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I left. I shouldn¡¯t have.¡±


    ¡°You had to. I understand,¡± Benji said, smiling down at her. ¡°You had to realize for yourself.¡±


    ¡°But I did, and I¡¯m back now. I want to be with you. I will never leave you again,¡± Rachel said.


    The two looked at each other and kissed, passionately for a minute and then Benji said, ¡°Quick, follow me!¡±


    He pushed open the door to the castle and they walked in. Rachel felt scared in there as she looked around at the crumbling ruin. She knew with any step it could come crumbling down on top of them. She walked carefully behind Benji as he crept over to the far wall of the castle and stood there, knocking on the stones.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Rachel asked in a whisper.


    ¡°Shh!¡± Benji said. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±


    Benji knocked again on a different part of the wall and the noise was different. It was hollow. He opened the wall and reached deep inside. Within seconds, he pulled out the glowing blue tablet and held it in his hands. He blew on it and dust flew everywhere, making Rachel cough.


    ¡°This is it!¡± Benji said, holding it close to his body. ¡°I found it!¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°How does it work?¡±


    Benji looked over at her and said, ¡°The Ancient Tablet is the center of the Vampire Legends. For thousands of years, vampires have been searching for it with no avail. The tablet has the power to heal or destroy. It is the most powerful relic on earth,¡± Benji said, holding the tablet in his hands.


    ¡°If the evil vampires get this, there is no limit to the destruction they could do,¡± Benji said.


    ¡°But how can you stop them? We¡¯re outnumbered,¡± Rachel said.


    ¡°We can¡¯t risk them getting it. We have to destroy it!¡± Benji said.


    ¡°Destroy it?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Legend has it that the one who destroys it will be destroyed himself,¡± Benji said. ¡°I have no choice but to destroy it at this point, even though it will kill me to do so. We have to say goodbye to each other.¡±


    Rachel looked at Benji and let out a wail, ¡°No! You can¡¯t do that! I can¡¯t bear to let that happen.¡±


    She ran over to Benji and flung her arms around him, holding him tight, ¡°You can¡¯t do it. I won¡¯t let you! There has to be another way!? Something!?¡±


    Benji lowered his head.


    ¡°There is one other way,¡± he said, reluctantly.


    Clearly he didn¡¯t want to say what it was.


    ¡°Tell me!¡± Rachel pleaded.


    ¡°If you and I destroy it together, I will live. You would save me,¡± Benji said, looking up into Rachel¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll help you! What do I do?¡± Rachel asked without hesitation.


    Benji took a deep breath.


    ¡°But it¡¯s not that simple,¡± he said. ¡°This tablet is also the only force on earth that can change a vampire back to human. If I destroy it by myself, before I do, I can change you back.¡±


    He hesitated.


    ¡°But if we destroy it together, it will be gone. You can never be human again.¡±


    He looked at her.


    ¡°You could save me,¡± he said softly. ¡°But you would doom yourself to immortality. To life as our kind. Forever.¡±


    Rachel¡¯s mind spun with the implications. Here was her chance to become human again. She could hardly believe it. Now, she didn¡¯t know what she wanted.


    ¡°It is for you to choose,¡± he said.


    Rachel looked at him, looked into his eyes, and remembered all their times together. She remembered that night, at the Ferris wheel, when he saved her; remembered all their dates; remembered his love for her. And she fell in love with those eyes once again, just as much as she had from the first moment she met him. She could not imagine life without him. She would rather be alive forever and be with him, then go back to being a human and lose him.


    ¡°I choose you,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m ready to be with you forever.¡±


    His eyes lit up, as she leaned in and kissed him.


    ¡°Ok,¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The two quickly ran out of the castle and across the cliff toward the edge. As she got there, she looked down and could see the sharp jagged edge of the cliffs below them and the tsunami sized waves crashing against the shore below. Her heart was racing as she looked over at the huge distance between her and the ocean below.


    ¡°The only way to destroy the tablet is to jump,¡± Benji said, looking down at the edge below.


    ¡°Jump?¡± Rachel asked, feeling increasingly frightened. Her body was trembling with fear as she thought about leaping off the cliff. She knew she could potentially die doing this, and she wondered if it was worth it. The waves below looked deadly as they crashed against the side of the cliff. The noise of the waves scared her immensely as she looked down. Each crash was like a stab to her body. She grew numb.


    Benji held out his hand for Rachel to grab and says, ¡°Do you trust me?¡±


    Rachel looked into his eyes in silence. Without answering his question, she took his hand with confidence and the two walked towards the edge of the cliff. They stood there, looking out onto the blood red sky for a minute, and then turned and looked at each other.


    ¡°I love you,¡± Benji said.


    ¡°I love you, too,¡± Rachel whispered back gently.


    At the same time the two stepped forward and jumped, holding the glowing blue tablet together in their hands.


    As Rachel plummeted, the wind racing through her, the ground coming towards her impossibly fast, she held Benji¡¯s hand tight, and in that moment realized that, no matter what happened, they would always be together.