It had been only a few hours after Angel had witnessed the brutal murder of her family. The sound of an engine and vibrations of a moving vehicle had finally stirred her out of the darkness of her slumber. The little girl was pressed against the corner of the truck, her red hair the only thing that managed to stick out against the wrath of the darkness. It was so dim but Angel could barely make out of her surroundings. They were in in the back storage of a truck. It was a rather large and empty rectangular space with no windows. People were huddled everywhere against the wall like rats. Angel could make out a range of heights and ages amongst them, guessing that meant there were a lot of different ages. She had glanced down feeling someone pressed against her. There was small mass hugging her body. In her fear and misery, she could only hug the child back. They were in the truck for hours on end, all huddled against each other, waiting for the unknown. It had been quiet except for random crying and sobbing. That was until a voice filled the loudspeaker.

"Humans. You are now under our control and any attempt to flee or revolt will result in your untimely deaths. "

The back latch was opened rather viciously suddenly, light irritatingly finally bursting into the truck. Angel cringed, covering her eyes before glancing down at who had been hugging her. It had been a little girl with brown hair. She glanced around at the others. Most of them looked like homeless people in lots of layers and rags. There were men with scruffy beards and woman in too many scarves. Then near Angel were a few children just like her. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary about them. Hooded figures approached the truck and pulled each one of them out of the back. They were all lined up on the concrete road. To her surprise she found herself looking up at tall buildings and bright lights. It reminded her of what she expected New York City to look like. However, there was not a soul in sight. Cars were empty and scattered across the road and the city was eerily quiet.

"We have long taken possession of this city as a stronghold. It is a small one so therefore it was easy. Most inhabitants are long dead so don't go looking. Once we take our sampling, you will be given an apartment to live in with several other humans. Our guards will come to get you and take you to give blood. Every few days this will be a necessary process and you are expected to cooperate. Leaving will be near impossible. "A very tall woman was speaking, her voice monotone and her face shrouded by her black cloak. "You see, this city is surrounded by very large, stone walls built long ago at the time of this city's capture. Our forces guard these walls and with advanced technology way beyond those of a human, we are able to completely obscure this city to outsiders. It appears as if nothing but large, abandoned factories exist here which are rumored to humans to be radioactive. No one ever comes anywhere near here. No one is coming to save you. This is your life now." The woman paced, examining their eyes as she spoke. "You must be thinking... What is this life you speak of? What are you and why me?" Amusement crept into her voice as her cloak fell back just a tad, exposing her wicked grin. "Well. Consider yourselves our livestock. Despite common error, we are the top of the food chain and we've been feeding off you for years and years without public eye. I suppose you could term us 'vampires' as you all tend to. And why you? Because you don't matter to society. They won't dwindle on your disappearance for more than a few days. With no family to mourn you, there's no fuss over finding you. We have a laboratory here where we take hundreds of those who are useless to society like you-homeless, jobless, runaways, forgotten..."She drew off as a sob interrupted her. With an amused giggle, she bent down and stroked the hair of the little girl that had been hugging Angel as she burst into tears. "Now, now... If you behave we won't hurt you little one. Just be a good girl."

On instinct, Angel grabbed the little girl and pulled her away from her, her eyes lit with anger. The woman's eyes traveled to them. Now that the woman was looking down at them, she could see bright, cat-like yellow eyes staring back at her. "There's always one troublesome isn't there? I truly hope that it won't be you, pretty child." Angel swallowed as the cold voice spoke to her, biting back all the possible remarks running through her head. This wasn't a game. "Good girl."She praised when Angel did not speak. "Remember that you are nothing now."

You are nothing now.

"Nadia, Lord Lee wants them to arrive within the next ten minutes. We must make haste. Take the children and I'll take the adults." One of them reported to her. She nodded to him and waved her arm towards an alleyway. "This way, little pigs." The children all looked at each other before finally following the hooded people down a dirty alleyway. No one dared speak. Angel couldn't begin to comprehend what was happening. The little girl was back at her side and clinging to her arm as they walked. She didn't know how to comfort her. It really looked like they were doomed to be stuck here. Was this crazy lady really telling the truth about them being vampires? Angel's heart had never beated against her rib cage this hard and fast before in her life. It was pounding in her ear like a drum. She wasn't sure she could even properly breathe. It almost paused in its beating for a moment as she realized that she would never see her family again. Tears rapidly filled her eyes and began to spill down her cheeks. She covered her mouth to silence herself as a sob shook her.

A gated, enormous mansion soon resided in the front of their vision. Angel had never seen any house so big her life. It must have had at least four floors. What a beautiful mansion was doing in a city like this was beyond her imagination. She stared up at it, admiring it's big windows and its eerie aura. "Get in line!" A voice soon broke her reverie. Hands fell on her shoulders and she was placed in the back of the line of other kids. She got on her tippy toes to crane her neck and look at the front of the line. A man had been seated in the indoor complex by the gate with a window much like a ticket window at a movie theatre. He was demanding their names and putting them in a computer. When it got to her turn, Angel could hear herself utter her own name but she wasn't very conscious of the action. This all felt so dream-like. All she could do was stare back at the bright eyes that bore into her as he recorded it.

The next few hours were a blur to Angel. She knew they had been given some sort of drugs because all the memories were so hazy. She remembered a huge room with hundreds of people laid on platforms. All of them had black chokers on their necks and tubes were being connected to them that were connected to quite an amount of machinery. The tubes lead through indentations in the floor and to somewhere else. It all looked like a laboratory scene out of a movie. She wasn't even one hundred percent sure that these memories were valid. She recalled staring up at the ceiling, laying around like the rest of them as a sharp pain filled her neck. She had never felt so light-headed and dizzy during that moment as someone tried to comfort her. "It's almost done... It'll be over soon..." A voice had said in her ear.

When Angel found herself fully aware again, she was being guided by another girl her age over a bridge. According to her, days had passed and she had been one of the children to sleep the longest. She introduced herself as Amelia. They were living in a nearby two-room apartment with six other people. One other girl was a young child but the rest adults.

____________________________

APPROXIMATELY ONE YEAR LATER




Angel could only wail as she found herself running through darkness. She screamed and wailed like never before. They echoed through the narrow, stone tunnel as she plunged herself into its darkness. It wasn't long before she found herself going head first into a pile of snow. She lifted her body from its icy embrace, shivering and looking around wildly at her surroundings. Angel had never seen so many trees. They were taller than any tree she had seen before. Knee-deep snow stretched out for what seemed like miles. She looked up at the dark, foreboding sky. The thick clouds covered each inch of the sky like a grey blanket, bearing down on the white landscape. Milky-white flakes descended gently from above, alighting on Angel's face softer than the kisses her mother used to bestow on her cheeks. For a moment, Angel allowed herself to dwell on how beautiful the atmosphere was. Then, reality sunk in as painful numbness swept over her limbs. It was very possible she'd die out here if there was no close-by civilization. She was left vulnerable to the cold air's brutal and unforgiving embrace in her thin clothes.

The constant tears that kept forming and blurring her vision were no help either. She got to her feet, sniffling. She looked over her shoulder at what was behind her. It was just a cave seemingly. "Oh God..." She whispered to herself, hugging her bare arms. They were all gone. Forever. Myna.. Amelia. She started to sob brokenheartedly again as she found some will to start moving forward. Where did she go now? With each step, it seemed to just get colder and colder. The night air was wicking her body heat away faster than it could be replaced. Her lips were completely blue and her teeth had begun to chatter, filling the silence that had once surrounded her.

After some time, she collapsed hopelessly forward onto her palms and knees. The scenery didn't change no matter how far she walked. "Help me..."She whispered desperately, clenching her tiny fingers into the wet snow. "I'm so scared. I don't know what to do."

"Help me..." A voice mimicked. Angel's head shot up, her hair falling over in her face as she tried to make out who the figure coming toward her was. "I never expected to find my dinner out here." She could hear his big boots crunch the snow as he got closer. Angel let out a squeak as he took a fistful of the fabric of her shirt, picking her up into the air. "Nothing personal."

Angel shut her eyes. It didn't matter anymore. She had nothing to live for besides maybe seeing Derek one last time. She wanted to see everyone one last time and tell them all the things she had to say to them. Maybe she'd see them now. She opened her eyes to look at her killer. There was no mercy in his dead, red eyes. His skin was paler than anything she had ever seen. He licked his lips and parted his lips. Fangs jutted out over his bottom lip as he moved her head closer to his face. Her mother's screams filled her ears all over again as she peered out from under the bed, frozen with terror. Her sister's tiny, motionless body inches away from her, her red hair spilled across the carpet. Angel recalled she could reach out and touch it. For some reason, she had done just that only for her wrist to be grabbed. A person had bent down and looked under the bed with a terrifying face and bright red eyes. However, the figure was only to be startled by a noise a moment later. He had let go of her wrist and ran out of the room.

She let her eyes shut again. There was no way of fighting this. It was over. She was finally going to see everyone again. She'd see her mom's beautiful, cheeky grin and her father's warm eyes... Xander will beckon her and Kate over for a hug like he always used to. Kate would absolutely love to meet Amelia. She just knew it.

She was free now.

She waited for the sharp pain in her neck but it never came. She was so lost in her thoughts she hadn't noticed she wasn't being held up anymore. Had it been that quick and easy?

Angel opened her eyes to find herself sitting in the snow, the killer a few feet across from her. He was sprawled out in the snow, barely breathing. With further inspection, Angel saw that he had a wound in his back. The blood darkened his shirt and had begun to dry in the freezing air. A sword stabbed into the snow in front of her, making her fearfully cry out.

A man's voice reached her ears, "Kill it."

Glancing over her shoulder, Angel saw a tall man in a black parka, his face shrouded by the hood. She didn't speak as she slowly got to her feet, grabbing the sword by it's hilt. It came out of the snow with audibly. The blade was soaked in blood. The wind was picking up and her hair billowed out behind her. She found herself trudging over to the vampire, each step a crisp crunch against the snow. For a moment, she felt a glassy, cold detachment from reality. How could anything so evil exist? Vampires truly deserved to be nothing but the subject of supernatural stories. from him. It should had been easy to hate and kill the guy but it had suddenly become more difficult than ever. Her parents' faces flashed in her mind. There was nothing Angel wouldn't have given to see them or her siblings or even her orphan family. She didn't want to end this being's life, whether it was evil or not. She had only wanted one thing. She drove the sword into the ground near him, starting to cry. A sob shook her body as tears streamed down her cheeks, trickling on to the body below her. "I don't want to kill anyone! I just want my mom and dad back! "She fell to her knees, sobs racking her tiny body. They echoed through the forest, filling the silence. "I just want them back! I don't want to be alone!" She wailed. "I'm so scared."

He sighed, watching her sob for a moment. Finally, he came over, grabbing her arm. He dragged her to her feet and took the sword out of the ground. He stabbed the vampire hard, causing him to yell out. He went motionless a moment later. "My name's Evan." He told Angel as he began to lit a match. After throwing the lit match on the dead vampire, he scooped her up and began walking away, shhing her as she cried. "Everything's going to be okay now. " Angel couldn't find it in herself to calm down as she looked over this man's mysterious shoulder. The heat from the flames caressed her cheeks as it ate away at the corpse. It had lit up their surroundings with a warm, orange glow.

The bar had seemed like any old bar upon first glance. Located in the slummiest area of Riverbury, it was a hot-spot for criminal activity. Black heeled boots clicked against the cracked side-walk as a girl in black made her way toward her destination, the moonlight reflecting off her red hair which bounced gently behind her with every step. She had passed this way before months ago and the area had been a mess of gangs and robberies. Now there was only silence that filled the brisk air. Rock music could dimly be heard the closer she got to the bar. She pushed open the door with her elbow, moving in without a hesitation. The aroma of cigar smoke hit her hard in the face immediately. She could see the smoke twisting in its artistic way through the air, forming curls in the foggy atmosphere, illuminated only by the dim bar lights. There was a green-felted pool table nearby the entrance with a couple of thuggish dudes surrounding it.

The ginger leaned against the wall, pulling a small lemon out of her bag and biting into it, peel and all. There were about four playing pool. Their outfits almost seemed business-like. She could spot quite a few expensive articles. Each of them had rather pale skin, which didn't surprise her at all. She had been expecting that this place was under new management so to speak. There was a woman in tight, skimpy clothing with a long black pony-tail working the bar. There was a whole bunch of people seated around the bar and the tables nearby it. Their voices were loud and indistinguishable from each other. She hated the sound of crowds. It gave her a head-ache. Everyone just happened to be very pale here with noticeably vibrant eyes. Maybe they lacked diversity here. She knew she was so wrong for hoping for that reasoning. She craned her neck and got on her tippy toes. Finally, she had found what she had been looking for. "Bingo."She whispered under her breath.

Three people were tied to the wall behind the bar. Their heads hung limply and death seemed to be welcoming them with open arms. Their clothes were splattered with red and jars filled with liquid filled the shelves. She watched the bartender stroll up to one and secure a tube to the neck of one of the victims. With a grimace, the red-haired girl pushed off the wall and made her way toward the bar, gaining the gazes of everyone around her. She shrugged her black leather jacket off and tied it around her waist. Gloved-hands pressed against the edge of the bar as she pushed herself between a couple. "Excuse me."

She felt as if every gaze in the entire bar had fallen on her. She glanced around and smirked, taking another bite of her lemon. "I'm kinda disappointed in the lack of options you got here. I was hoping to at least see a bloody mary on the menu. Any chance you know how to make one, blood-sucker?"

Someone whistled. "You got some nerve, livestock."

Some of the men started chuckling and the women were staring at her as if she were insane.
"Do you have a death wish, kid?" She asked incredulously, craning her neck over the crowd to look by the door. "Who the fuck let this brat in here?"

"You bet I have a death wish and it's for all you lousy, murdering pieces of shit. Give me the humans and tell me where I can find Lee or else no one is getting out of here alive."

The bar broke into laughter. Some of them were even slapping their knees.

"Oh honey, the only one not getting out of here alive is you." The barista opened her mouth, her sharp teeth emerging. The others began to circle around her like vultures, chuckling.

Angel quickly moved back and reached behind her back. There were two sheaths crossed in the form of a "X" across her back. She pulled out two long swords with purple detailing on the handles. The sharp sound of swords being unsheathed filled the air and made everyone take a step back, confidence slowly dwindling.

"Oh, fuck...She's one of them."

"A hunter? Alone? What a fool."

Angel twisted her body around and drew her sword roughly in a circle as she sliced an incoming attacker across the chest, simultaneously kicking another in the face. She landed her feet up on a table in her upward motion and kept her swords at her sides. The vampire fell to the floor, twitching slightly before finally going still. "Have you forgotten what our swords are soaked in?"She asked icily. "Sure you can probably outnumber me but the risk remains." She knew they were all so much stronger than her and she'd be stupid to think they'd feel threatened by her. Still, she knew some of them had to be cowardly when it came to risking their lives. Not all of them were soldiers prepared to battle.

They looked at each other, mumbling. Some of them actually backed off while others seemed to just get more pissed off. The barista moved forward, drawing a sword as well. "It's worth if I get to feel your life slip away as I drink every last drop of your blood." Angel tilted her head. The woman was strong. There was a way that she carried herself in dress and in conduct that suggested her old age. The older the vampire, often the stronger they were.

The problem was some of the other ones behind her looked just as strong. Some of them were trying to close in behind, ready to pounce. Sometimes Angel just liked to pretend that she was dumb enough to try and fight all of them. They bought it and they in return bought her time. She charged forward and made a sudden change in direction toward the power cord. She sliced it quickly and efficiently and the power went out.

"Oh hell!" The barista ran over to turn it back on. Vampires could see much better than humans could in the light but the darkness was another story. Their sight was perhaps even worse than a human's in the darkness. They relied on their other senses more in the dark. She quickly moved from the cord and ran to the humans. She chucked one girl over her shoulder and grabbed the other two's arms. She quickly dragged them outside and sat them there. She ran back inside, shutting the door behind her as the lights came back on. She went charging at the barista, clashing both her swords against hers. "Miss me?" She hissed tauntingly in her face. "Tell me where Lee is or I'm going to-"

"Silly."The barista interrupted and shoved her with sudden strength to the ground. Another vampire stepped on her chest as her swords clashed against the wooden floor loudly. "You're just livestock. That's all you'll ever be. If you can't hold a fight with a bar full of us then you're useless trying to pick a fight with Lee. He's three times harder than all of us put together... Just accept your place in the food chain worm." She began kicking hard in the gut until Angel coughed up a bit of blood. Each kick was a powerful force that made agony ripple through her body in waves like nothing she had felt before. It felt like everything inside her was bursting open.e

The door swung open suddenly and a hooded figure came running in, swinging a giant, heavy blade hard against the barista's back. Her eyes widened and her lips parted in mid-gasp but no sound came out of her mouth. Instead, her torso slid off her body and hit the floor, her legs still weakly holding her waist up in the air. It crumpled after a couple seconds as well. It had been a clean cut through the entire body. Angel stared in horror but did not react vocally. Her head fell against the wooden floor and her eyes shut weakly. The figure scooped up Angel as if she were as light as paper and ran out before anyone could react.

"God damn it Angel."

Everything went black from there. However, it felt like it had been milliseconds later that she opened her eyes to white. Slowly, she rose her body up to rest on her elbows as she took in her surroundings. White sheets covered her lower half and white tiles covered the entire surface of the floor, not to mention the white walls and the white door and the doctor dude in the white lab coat at the desk to the left. She hated any type of health facility. They all looked the same and every time you woke up in one, it basically meant you got your ass kicked.

She slowly tilted her head to gaze to the right of her. Evan sat there, his face buried in a book and his feet kicked up on the side-table. He was still wearing his black uniform. A few medals rested on the breast of his coat. She could spot a few blood splatters.

"You waited for me to wake up."Angel stated though it was obvious.

He looked up and sat his book down. His serious blue eyes bore into hers. His brown hairline was receding a tiny bit already despite his young age. "How many times does this have to happen for you to get it?"

"Hey I usually kick their asses. I was just taking a chance with that one because this guy told me his sister was in the-"

"I don't mean picking fights with vampires. I mean hell, that's our fucking job Angel and I've told you to do that as a priority. I'm talking about the fucking team work issues you got kid. You always go at it alone every time-"

"Well you haven't exactly put me on a team. Holly and I are the only trainees right now and we're being trained separately. According to your rules, teams of two suck and we don't even talk to each other anyway. So I opted to go on my own and risk no one's ass but my own."Angel retorted, cutting him off. How could he sit there and chastise her about team work when she had no team?

"Angel if you find out something you report it to me and we send in people to deal with it. One person isn't practical."Evan began exasperatedly. He ran a hand through his hair, looking deeply upset. "You could have asked your trainer, Niko, about it at the least. Going in by yourself is the most foolish, insane idea-"

"But it usually works. Remember how I took on that vampire group on my own? They were no match-"

"Angel you almost died this time, "Evan snapped, standing up. "They had to do so much work to make sure you lived. Vampire strength is so much stronger than ours that her kicks were doing internal damage. You're resting the next day or two then off to high school you go."

"High school!"Angel repeated indignantly. She shot up out of the bed and he pushed her back down. "What the fuck would I be doing at a high school?"

"Learning how to socialize and work with others. You have gone way too long avoiding social interaction and I'm throwing you into the midst of it. And guess what? I'm not even thinking about making you an official soldier unless you learn how to work with others. I'm not losing my troops to your foolishness."

"But I've never gone before I'm years behind Evan please-"

Evan waved her off, "Your grades don't matter. As soon as we see that you can interact with others functionally we will pull you out of there."

She folded her arms, laying back down roughly. "I'm so fucking pissed at you. You can't make me-"

"It's that or you can sit in my house all day staring at the wall wishing you could finally get your vengeance."

"Fine."Angel said through gritted teeth. She kicked the blankets off herself and stormed out without another word.



Zane woke up with a start to the feeling of damp wood underneath his skin. Panting hard, he looked around the room around him, panic running through his veins for reason unknown to him. It seemed to be a stone-walled basement, with stairs leading to the next ground floor. It was furniture-less. He struggled to catch his breath as he glanced down at himself. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and some sneakers. However, he lacked a shirt. A trail of dried blood covered his skin, leading up to his neck. A couple of garbage bags lined the back of the room. He gasped and began crawling backward on his palms when he noticed the puddle of blood he had been laying in. Where the hell was he and what had happened to him? He couldn't quite remember coherently. Last he remembered, he was out to dinner with some friends.

He couldn't figure out what had happened no matter how he much he dug through his memories. It was all really blur and non-comprehensive. "Oh God..."He whispered as he struggled to get this feet. He had never felt so weak and light-headed before in his life. He immediately fell back to the floor upon getting up on his toes and laid there, head pounding. The creaking of old wood panels filled the silent air and made Zane stiffen. He slowly slid his gaze toward the staircase.

A man had stopped half-way down the stairs to stare at him. "Holy shit. You're alive."
He continued the stairs and leaned on his knees to bend over and stare at him more closely, amusement and curiosity twinkling in his eyes. "I never thought it would happen to me. How fascinating... Those eyes are something."

"Wha-?" Zane asked drowsily. He rubbed his eyes and sat up on his palms. "What are you saying? Where am I?"

"You're in my basement. You were my supper tonight but I guess I missed a drop. Very rarely does this ever result in this though..." The blonde eyed him closely, tilting his head. He finally smirked at the confused expression Zane held. "Call me Micah. I'm what you would call a vampire. You had the unfortunate luck of being my meal tonight. You died and even more unfortunately for you, you're one of us now."

"You're insane." Zane scampered to his feet, staring at him with wild eyes. This guy had to be the craziest guy he had ever met. His gaze searched back and forth across the room and he sped over to the bathroom faster than he had anticipated he would. He didn't ponder it. Hastily, he began washing the blood off his body in the sink. "How do I get out of here?"

"Well. "Micah pointed to two wooden doors on the slanted ceiling, "You can leave if you want but I'm assuming you're going to be really hungry within the next hour. I can help you if you like."

"Thanks but no thanks."He hurried over to the wooden doors and began climbing up and out.

"Don't say I didn't warn you. "Micah said lowly.

The dark night consumed Zane as he emerged from the wooden basement doors. He threw his body into a run without looking back, his sneakers loudly mashing against wet grass and dirt. The soil was saturated with with rain water, every step causing a temporary puddle. His socks quickly became moist and heavy, puddles forming under his soles. He heaved in and out loudly as he ran harder than he ever had before. He finally felt hard concrete beneath his feet and skidded to a stop, nearly trembling. He turned and looked over his shoulder at the area behind him. Rain hit his face like hard crystals as it fell fast and hard toward the ground. So much of it was falling that his visibility was clouded. It seemed as if there was a really large house with a whole lot of grass in between itself and the street.

As the cold rain hit Zane with a determination, he began to wake up a tiny bit. Memories flashed by his eyes. Today there had been a new kid at school. His name had been Micah. Micah was the blonde boy who had just confronted him with the crazy nonsense. Micah had asked for tutoring to catch up and they went to Arby's. But then what...? Had Micah kidnapped him? A sudden burning sensation in his throat interrupted his thought process. Had he ate anything at all at the restaurant? He had never felt so hungry before in his life. A cool breeze made Zane shiver as he looked back and forth down the street. He was right by his house. Zane remembered passing this mansion now. It had its own little spot in the neighborhood, privately placed far from the rest of the houses and obscured by many trees. He had wondered a lot about it. However, not once had he heard about it being for sale. His stomach rumbled and famish stronger than ever before took over him. He needed food now. He thrust himself back into a run toward his house and barged right through the front door.

Wild eyes searched back and forth rapidly the dark home, finally locking on the fridge. He ran over to it and began rummaging through packages of food, stuffing anything he can find in his mouth. After a few moments, he slid to his knees and leaned against the cabinet of the dimly lit kitchen. His stomach felt fuller but the yearning was still there and it was even stronger. His throat burned worse and worse with each second that ticked by. He got to his feet slowly and began fixing himself a cup of water when the most sweet aroma ever reached his nostrils. He dropped the cup in the sink, an animal instinct taking over him. He rushed back out of the house and into the streets, the rain hitting him harder than before. The torrential downpour sounded like rocks rapidly hitting the ground but it did nothing to stop the air from smelling so sweet.

Cars in the street halted to a stop, screeching loudly as light brightly shone on him in the dark atmosphere. He had to have it.
Where is it ? Where is it? WHERE IS IT!?!?

He took a sharp right turn into an alley and another turn only to halt in his footsteps.
There was a young woman hunched over a limp, bloody body. She looked up at him with the most frightening eyes Zane had ever seen. They were completely black with bright red irises that had small lines that outstretched from the iris to the corners of the eye. He let out a shaky exhale in fear, stepping backward. "I was enticed by the scent of a corpse... "He whispered to himself. He fell to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"What are you doing?"She stood up and glared at him. "Are you trying to steal my dinner?"

"N-N-No... I just..."Zane stammered, unsure what to say. He got back to his feet and stared with wide eyes as suddenly the woman's hands were around his throat. "I'm going to teach you a lesson bub. Did you think you could hunt on my feeding grounds and get away with it?" Her fist was a blur as sudden agony rippled through his body over and over again. She was punching him hard and fast to the point he could barely comprehend the movements. She stopped and grabbed his throat with both hands tightly, squeezing his throat. This was it. He was going to die this way.

The silence around the neighborhood disturbed Katherine. Despite the rain, there were hardly any yells of screams of pain and agony as someone died. It disturbed her far more than drinking blood - which repulsed her; far more than insects, snakes, and children. She felt a shudder run down her spine. It meant the vampires weren't out hunting, but planning an attack. Whether or not it was Lee's group, Desiree, or another, she was not certain. She gritted her teeth and tried not to grind her fangs against her teeth. The atrocities she had witnessed and continued to were leaving a permanent mark. Kate had noticed she was becoming less emotional towards it. Although it was key for her to remain stoic, she also missed that side of her. She brushed a hand through her tousled pixie hair and sighed. Her hands shook - ever since that day.

Fury and fire rushed through her but she blocked out the memories by focusing on the night. She loved it. It was mysterious, calming, and terrifying all in one. The darkness soothed her and the rain eased her tension. Xander would tell her she was crazy for going out but it was the least of her worries. The silence caused her stomach to churn. It was unnatural and disturbing. It did not last however; moments later, cries reached her ears. The rain almost drowned it out but her hearing was sharper. She paused to listen. More cries and the swift sound of punches. She rushed forward, sniffing the air. A familiar scent filled her nostrils: Zane. Zane, her boyfriend and one of her best friends. She rushed forward faster now, not bothering to feign running like a human. If she had a beating heart, it would have bounced out of her chest. Her ribs would have ached and her eyes could have teared. Yet, being undead meant all those functions did not work anymore. She wasn't sure if she liked it or not, but it wasn't as if she could change it.

When she arrived at he scene, Kate stared in awe momentarily then lurched forward. She was thankful in that moment to wear pajama bottoms and not her pleated black skirt."Get off of him you sack of shit!" She grabbed the women around the head and body-slammed her onto the concrete. The tantalizing aroma of the corpse entranced her though she told herself to focus. "If you want to live to see another day, you'll get the hell out of here." Kate moved in front of Zane offensively, exposing her fangs. "I'll rip your throat out regardless of who you are. I don't give a damn. I won't let you hurt this boy."

Bewilderment struck her: what was Zane doing in this position? Was he being hunted, or worse, had he been turned? She noticed a distinct difference in him. He did not seem human by the way he smelled. The tension in his muscles, she had noticed, was inhuman.Repulsion struck her hard. Had this bitch turned him or someone else? If he had, she would kill them. Zane did not deserve to be in this position.Heartbreak clutched her but she allowed her fury to push passed it. At least, she told herself, she was a vampire and could help him - Xander, too. She kept her poise and glared at the vampire.

There was no surprise awaiting Micah as he made his way after what was supposed to be his dinner. The boy's scent was easy enough to track. He couldn't help but feel responsibility for him. After all, it was his fault he was in this predicament. He owed it to him to save his life.

Most new-born vampires are ravenous for blood and run through the streets wildly, killing whoever despite the morals they had not too long before. Their emotions and their senses are heightened to an unbelievable amount for the first few days before finally settling down. Even with the torrential downpour, Micah was able to see the street before him clearly as silhouettes ran all over the place. There was definitely more than one clan about tonight and many bodies would be left in the morning. Contrary to one might believe, there was not a scream to be heard. Vampires usually put their prey in a dazed trance before killing them.

Micah rounded a corner sharply as a female voice reached his ears.
"I'll rip your throat out regardless of who you are. I don't give a damn. I won't let you hurt this boy."

He stayed in the shadows as the scene continued to play out. There was a girl that reminded Micah of a little pixie with her short red hair. She was quite beautiful actually. It was easy to tell she was not a weak vampire but he was not so sure she could stand up to numerous vampires. She was standing in front of his previous prey: Zane Daddario. He was nineteen and went to Riverbury University. He had learned this after examining Zane's wallet on the night he had killed him. The woman she was yelling at was not a super old vampire but she was clearly stronger than the lot of them.

Instead of replying to the girl, the woman had started to cackle like a witch. Others began to emerge, climbing down the roofs of buildings and from the area behind the woman. There was more than ten and they were all quickly closing in on the couple. He watched Zane clutch the pixie girl to his body as if that would protect her. He shook his head with a sigh. How very lucky these two were that he was here or else they'd both be getting a visit from the grim reaper himself. Quite casually, he made his way in front of the two and raised his hand. "Micah Darling here. "He greeted them with a smile. His blue eyes set upon the dead body on the ground. "I thought we were all clear that your clan couldn't hunt in my territory." Micah had recognized the woman's scent now. She was a past offender, always going into areas and mass-killing, leaving bodies everywhere for the humans to ponder over. It was quite sloppy in Micah's opinion.

"Micah Darling,"She mimicked, glaring at him with bright red eyes. "What the fuck are you going do about if we do? We can hunt wherever we want."

"I can do a lot of things and you know very well you can't lay a hand on me without problems from the Queen herself."Micah said and smiled again, "I am very sorry, Henrietta, but I am going to have to ask you to leave."

The woman glared at him, baring her fangs in reply. The clan began to move in on them. A small girl, no older than 13, dropped down from the roof behind them and did a small flip over Micah in front of him. A few other young people began hopping from other roofs of buildings, 2 young women dressed in maid outfits, a few men, and a couple of young teens. "Must I ask again?"Micah asked politely. "It would be a shame to kill your entire clan."

"Attack!"She yelled in reply and her people ran at them only to be slaughtered so fast it was probably impossible for a human to make it out. The small thirteen year old was a vicious little thing, ripping limbs off in a few seconds. Micah watched, pleased with his work. They all returned to Micah's side when the floor had become a mess of red puddles and unmoving bodies. The rain had become a gentle drizzle now, leaving the air in silence. "Now, Henreitta,"Micah said gently, "Was that really necessary?" He tsked, feigning sympathy. The woman was staring with horror and fury.

"Now a lesson if I may."Micah moved forward, "Caroline, the gasoline please." One of the maids moved forward with a can and began covering the bodies in gasoline, keeping a coherent river so that only one match would be needed. He lit a match and tossed onto a body, which quickly blew up into raging flames that crawled onto the other bodies with increasing speed. "This is how you clean up a mess." He watched the bodies burn for a moment and turned to Zane and his girlfriend. He had drawn her even closer if possible and was trembling with terror.

"I am dreadfully sorry for this mess. Clearly there are a lot of vampires out of line lately."Micah explained. "I am going to have to take you two back to my home for the night. There are other clans out tonight and it is quite unsafe for a newborn such as Zane." Zane stared at him with wide, dilated eyes. He was silent then he said reluctantly, "Will there be something I can eat?"

Micah looked at him in amusement as Zane was continued, "I don't know what's wrong with me. The only thing that smelled good to me was some dead body and I couldn't-" Micah decided to cut him off right there, stating, "Zane you know very well what happened to you. It's not wrong, however. I will feed you and explain everything, please follow right this way... And everyone, thank you for your aid tonight. You were all marvelous."

"No problem, sir!" "Of course!" "Anything for you!"
Micah loved his family so much. Of course, most of them were not his blood-related family. The only ones here that he knew since young were the two maids who had perished with him that he had managed to revive into vampires. The others were rescues, which were much like Zane.

However, Micah had never saved someone he had originally intended to use as food. He began moving back towards his home, entrusting the others to make sure Zane and the girl followed along.





The girl with the dark red hair stood with a bandaged hand pressed against the cheap, full length mirror that leaned wobbly up against the wall of her bedroom. Her hair was a tangled mess that was as dark and red as blood, tickling just under her breasts. A mirror image of the girl had her hand pressed against hers too, both pairs of vivid blue eyes critically roaming from one feature of her body to the next. The blinds over the nearby window created a striped pattern of brilliant morning light against her pale, freckled face. It was the only illumination in the room. If Angel were to side-step, she'd be cast in darkness. She could thank Evan for that. He had yet to pay the electricity bill. Nonetheless, the warm glow of light was comforting this cool September morning. She ran her trembling fingers over the dark purple splashes over her abdomen, her gaze fixated on the reflection.

Sometimes, the last few years felt like a dream to Angel. She always felt like one morning she was going to wake up and see a small, pale child looking back at her with her messy red mane falling over her premature body. However, she would never see that child again. Instead, the girl looking back at her was almost done blossoming into a young woman. She had cut her hair often since then. It was reaching longer lengths again this year, reaching past her chest. Her face had matured and lost some of its innocence, her eyes reflecting the pain of her past to those who looked close enough. She ran her hands over her breasts and then over her hips as if they were something new. She really would be a full-fledged adult soon.

Angel sure did not feel like one. She had lived with very minimal adult guidance and absolutely no schooling since around 11 or 12 years old. She knew nothing outside of how to torture and kill other beings. Hell, Angel couldn't even cook a proper grilled cheese. How was she supposed to be considered an adult? She knew that with adulthood came less flexibility and less forgiveness. Being an adult meant you had to have all your shit together all the time or else you'd fall behind in the routine of life.

In reality, she still felt like the scared, lost little girl that had been found in the woods. She was not sure she had ever really moved on from that point other than becoming numb and receiving a different purpose. But Angel knew she wasn't a little girl. The obnoxious aching under the purple bruises over her abdomen was a harsh reminder her of the person she was now.

One could tell quite quickly that despite her lack of experience with much anything, she had seen things most adults don't even see. The shadow of her past would always loom over her, never letting her make her way into the light that everyone around her resided in. Smiling faces would pass her everywhere she went and she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to fall in step with other people again. Those people were loved and reminded that they were loved every day. She'd watch parents shower children with hugs and kisses when she passed the park without a care in the world. Couples would cuddle on benches, the girl often wrapped up in the boy's arms while she laid on his shoulder with a content smile, her eyes shut as she daydreamed of their wedding one day.

But they didn't know. They didn't know how evil love actually was.
The amount of pain that would wash over a person like a tidal wave, surrounding them in black, opaque water for what would feel like an eternity when suddenly the people they had loved so much were yanked away from their grasp. Forever. Knowing in that moment that as the two of you stared into each other's eyes, it would be the last time. Had that girl in the park ever wondered what it would be like if the boy suddenly just ceased existing? Her guess was probably not. It seemed to Angel that most other people didn't have everything torn away from her like she did. Sometimes the unfairness of it all got to her and she just wanted to scream and cry like a spoiled child.

Then she would remember what she had promised herself and contain the emotions. Long ago, Angel had promised herself she would never fall for the trap of love again. She never wanted to feel the heavy pain of loss that would weigh her down to her bed for days ever again. She couldn't handle more faces in her nightmares. It was already crowded.

Being alone was easier and being in the army so far had made being alone easy. Submerging oneself into constant training did not require the aid of others. However, Evan still forced her to train under a young man named Nikolaus's guidance. Angel didn't like being with him but if she just did what she was told it never ended up being a long ordeal. It was nothing personal but she knew she had to be very careful to distant herself from him especially since he was probably the most beautiful person she had ever seen. It took a lot of self-control not to fall for him.

He would often make an appearance in her dreams sometimes, giving her a commercial break to the nonstop horror that plagued her dreams. It was always the same, the two of them cuddling just the way she had seen the couples at the park. It didn't help that was he was so nice to her and when he fought, it was like watching a Greek God or something. It was hard not to admire the guy.

Nevertheless, Angel had been pretty good with distancing herself up to this point. She had very minimal human contact besides those training sessions and the few nights Evan actually lived in his own house. But now, she was going to an actual school. She swore she was gonna just walk up to Evan one day and give him a good kick in the shin for making her do this. She hadn't been to a school in years and now she was supposed to just show up and blend in? It was impossible. She had wandered from the mirror without much attention to what she was doing to her closet, where she searched endlessly for something to wear. If she wore something too nice, people might want to be her friend but then something too ugly would draw some sort of bully's attention and she'd end up in a fight then get in trouble with Evan for it.

Finally, she settled on a black tank top and some plain jean shorts. The shirt was a bit tight and she wasn't sure if spaghetti straps were against the dress code, but she wasn't so sure she cared. Whoever said anything could go screw themselves. She shoved her feet in some sneakers, making her way out of her room into the dark bathroom. After freshening up and putting a bit of red lipstick on, she made her way out the door with a piece of toast in her mouth and light backpack slung over one shoulder.

It was a short walk up until the school and judging from the lack of people hanging around outside, she was probably late. With a tight grip on her backpack, she stared at the high school before her. "I can't believe I'm doing this."She said under her breath. It took her a few moments to build up enough motivation to make herself move forward but she did. She made her way up the stairs and opened the heavy wood door only to be shoved backward with enough force to make her fall down the stairs onto her back on the concrete. Renewed pain jolted up her back but she knew it hadn't been a hard enough push to really cause any extreme damage. With a groan, she settled her body up on her scraped, stinging palms and glared upward at the face of her attacker. It was the last person she ever expected to see again.

The girl with the pretty bow in the back of her hair sat in the back in a black dress with a peter-pan collar. Her thick hair fell down her back and around her shoulders, seeming to outweigh her tiny frame. Her hands were neatly folded on the table. Hazel eyes framed by heavy lashes were fixated forward, irises darting back and forth every so often. Finally they locked on the girl with the braid over her shoulder. "That's one... Now where's the other?"She muttered under her breath. She knew the girl's name was Holly and already knew her quite well. Holly was already enrolled in school and was sure she'd get a hold of the whole building-team-work-skills-thing. The only thing standing in her way was the bullying. The other one... That was another story.

The loud chatter all suddenly stopped and Violet immediately knew why without glancing over. Angel had finally arrived and was looming in the doorway, looking back and forth over the crowd. She seemed confused to why everyone had stopped talking. It wasn't hard for anyone looking at her to imagine why. She stuck out like a sore thumb with her rare shade of red hair and eyes so blue they seemed to glow.
People would have noticed someone like that before so it was obvious she was new here.

An annoyed look crossed Angel's face and she hastily moved over to an empty table. She rushed to take out her phone and bury her face in it. Violet honestly had no idea how to get someone like her to socialize with people. They all had continued glancing at her, mumbling inquiries to each other but no one dared approach after the face she had just made at everyone.

"What am I going to do with her?"Violet groaned and rubbed her temples.




Angel quickly scrambled to her feet upon seeing her attacker. She had been hoping at least this school thing would be a break from her crazy vampire-infested life. First day of school and a vampire she hadn't seen in around four to five years was trying to start trouble. The shock of seeing her again was mind-numbing. She couldn't even figure out what to say or how to react.

The woman was tall and thin with shoulder-length black hair. She resembled one of those models seen on runways shows in places in France. She could be described as striking more often than beautiful. There was something cold and hard about her face. She had called herself Nadia and did a lot of Lee's dirty work for him. She and Amelia had joked about her being Lee's bitch at the time. She couldn't help but wonder if Lee had told her to come here today. Maybe her attacks were starting to get around to him finally.

Nadia had looked her up and down critically, before finally meeting her eyes with a malicious grin. "It's almost as if it was just yesterday you were just a scared little girl with an attitude problem. " Nadia tilted her head, smiling wider when Angel scowled at her. "Funny how people don't change, huh?" Her voice was as full of venom as when she had just met the woman. She moved down the steps after she had finished speaking, brushing past Angel roughly.

"Sleep with both eyes open." Nadia had whispered quickly in her ear.

Angel turned around to snap back at her but she was no where to be seen. "Oh fuck you."She muttered anyway. She glared in the direction for a moment longer before making a second trip up the stairs and into the school. Some teacher immediately told her that all the students were meeting in the cafeteria for an assembly that would take place in fifteen minutes and she went off in that direction.




"You're dead, Zane Daddario, you do realize that?"

Micah's voice rang out through the foyer as Zane paused in the entrance. The blonde boy turned to glance at Zane, possibly to read his expression. Zane wasn't sure what he must have looked like at the moment. He couldn't process the sentence correctly. He glanced at Kate before following him into a gigantic dining room. The glass table was the longest table he had ever seen with enough chairs to seat at least 20 people.

The blonde sat at the front of table and gestured to a pair of seats nearby him. "Please, sit. Let's discuss over dinner. I hope you both like spaghetti."

Zane reluctantly took a seat, looking around the room in wonder at all the paintings. "Do you live here by yourself?" It didn't make sense for a guy to live in a house this big just on his own.

Micah shook his head in reply, "No. I house several other young vampires. Those without a clan often don't last long so they come to me for protection... You must know of the existence of vampires, yes? Your girlfriend here is one after all."

When Zane didn't reply, Micah continued, "You will stop aging within the next two years or so and forever live young. You must feed on blood every few days. If not, you'll slowly lose your mind so to speak. Pay no mind to the little folk talks about garlic and not going in the day light. Your body will function normally and you can digest normal food just like humans as long as you keep a healthy amount of blood in your diet-"

"How did I end up this way? How could I digest anything if I'm dead-"Zane began to speak. The more Micah spoke, the more Zane started to feel his anger rise.

"You're not dead, dead, I suppose. You are alive and sitting here. However, I did kill you."
Micah told him nonchalantly as a suited man came in with two covered trays. He set one in front of Kate and another in front of Zane. He uncovered them to show two plates of spaghetti with what looked like marinara sauce. However, Zane knew by the smell that something else was in there. Unbeknownst to him, his eyes reddened. His throat began to burn at the scent.

"I would apologize but I'm not exactly sorry. It works the same way as humans have to murder cows and pigs for food. I need blood to survive. It's nothing personal. "Micah explained, "Do enjoy the meal. It's a bit easier to drink blood when it looks like something more familiar so I thought this would be easier for you."

Zane swallowed hard and spoke out softly. "... Kate... Kate doesn't kill anyone."

"Kate doesn't have a lot of people to protect. Living off animal blood makes for a weaker vampire. Human blood keeps us at our strongest."

"This is human blood... from someone you KILLED?"Zane asked. He scooted his chair back in disgust. "I can't drink from some innocent person-"

"Suicide."Micah interrupted, "Found him fresh. He didn't have any family left. I try to minimize my killings but I do have a lot of persons to feed so it doesn't always work that way. "

Zane turned to stare at Kate with wide eyes.

"I know it's early so I won't bother you too much but I wanted to introduce myself. I'm Fiona, and it's nice to meet you."

Angel gritted her teeth as a female voice reached her ear. She really didn't want to get close to anyone here. Before she had even looked at the girl, she ended up locking eyes with a girl wearing something close to what she remembered Wednesday Addams wearing. She remembered the girl vividly: Violet Porter. It was hard not to remember her. She tended to stick out in crowds as rather unusual. To begin with, she looked small enough to walk next to middle schoolers. Her entire body was so petite and tiny that Angel couldn't figure out how her tiny head could fit so much hair. It was almost as long and thick as her body. Nonetheless, she was well known for being rather quiet to all but her previous mentors. Violet had been part of the trainees ever since Angel could remember. This was supposely Violet's first official year as a vampire hunter though she had been hacking into vampire databases for years now for the government.

She realized now Violet was watching her. She made a small hand motion as if to say, "Go on. Answer her."

Angel almost sighed aloud. Of course the hunters were not going to just let her go to the school and then lie about all the friends she made. They were watching her. There was no where to hide. She had to try to socialize if she wanted to be taken seriously as a hunter. She had no other purpose in her life. Besides, Angel could just break any friendship made quite easily after everything was said and done.

Angel finally put on a smile and turned to look at the girl who spoke. It had been a full twenty seconds from the point the girl had last spoke. "Hey Fiona what's up-"She began to greet her only to interrupt herself with her own gasp. "Jesus Christ!"
The girl was the spitting image of that lunatic vampire. She looked away rapidly, eyes slightly watering as a mountain of terrible memories flooded through her mind like a river flowing through a broken dam. She had been struggling to shove these memories to the back of her mind. She took a deep breath.

It's just a coincidence, Angel. This girl probably thinks you're rude. She thought to herself before turning back to the girl. "Sorry I err.. I saw a spider on the table. Bad phobia."

Some woman came over and started speaking to her before she could answer Angel and started scolding her about hats. Angel had no idea how wearing a hat had to do with anything but she hadn't paid too much attention to what the woman was saying. She had found herself staring at Fiona's face in astonishment. There was no way this chick wasn't related to Lee. She had to be his daughter or something. She knew vampires could have children but she had secretly had always suspected Lee was satan himself and the vampires were all his demons. Her gut instinct was not to trust this girl. After being threatened this morning, it was definitely a bad idea. What were the odds that the one girl who happens to talk to her looked exactly like him?

The devil's spawn, Fiona, ended up voicing her opinion in reply. "Surely you must have realized that nobody actually cares about the rules, much less a hat."

"Take it off or I'm sending you to the principal's office." The woman was clearly on a stupid power trip. She was probably pissed her husband was cheating on her with a younger woman or something. There was no way this old hag really gave that much a shit about a hat. However, it was possible Fiona had been giving her trouble for a while and the woman was fed up. If Fiona was related to Lee, Angel would not be surprised at all. Fiona ended up taking off her hat and calling the woman by her name in the next exchange between the two. Clearly she had been giving the woman issues for a while if she knew her first name.

"Mrs. Bitch more like it," Fiona had muttered under her breath but Angel had heard it loud and clear. She finally turned and regarded Angel with a smirk an apology. Angel nodded distractedly, squinting to try to get a glimpse at the girl's teeth. She really didn't seem like a vampire at all. What the hell was the deal with her?

"Angel?"

Angel looked down to find the speaker to be a rather short brunette. She had a very pretty face and wore a floral long dress. At first, she didn't recognize the girl and wondered how she knew her name but it slowly registered. Memories of a little girl who would come play with her and Derek resurfaced in her mind. "Charlotte."She said aloud as she recalled her name.

Oh no.

If Charlotte still lived here then that meant Derek was here still. Angel wasn't sure how ready she was to see him again.

"I can't believe it's really you, Angel!"Charlotte hugged her tightly around the waist, making Angel stare down in shock. "We thought we weren't ever going to see you again no one ever knew what happened to you!" Angel couldn't believe the scene this girl was making. People were all staring and the sudden cool wetness on her shirt made her realize that she was actually tearing up.

"Yeah it's me."Angel laughed a bit nervously, patting her back. She wasn't used to hugs. As she looked up and came in contact with Violet's gaze. Charlotte could be her ticket out of here maybe. Hesitating, she hugged Charlotte back. "It's really nice to see you again, Charlotte."She told her with a smile.




Zane looked at Kate gratefully as he began drinking the pigs blood. He had stayed silent as Kate basically started insulting Micah.

"I'm not trying to be a jerk to him. I'm just trying to be real with him and to help him."Micah said calmly. Zane flinched as Kate suddenly stood up and continued her rampage.

"I distance myself from the idea because I am no longer human. I am a vampire."Micah simply replied. "A lion doesn't think of a gazelle's family now does he? Death is a part of life and life is cruel. Now please stop banging on my table like a mad woman."

Zane was thankful for the next things she said. He just wanted to get out of here.
"I thank you for saving us, but I'm not thrilled with you at all and it's taking everything not to rip your goddamn throat out. How much longer do we have to stay in your mansion? Cause I'd like to leave and I'm sure he would too. Or, - the earliest, - if we can't leave, and if not, let us have some privacy in another room without one of you hundred vampire buddies nearby."

"You've made it very cleared you're not thrilled with me. However, I wouldn't suggest leaving tonight. It's raining and every vampire that ever existed is outside tonight. Even the hunters aren't trying their luck. I would suggest you stay in until the morning. There's a guest room up stairs to the right. Make yourself at home."Micah explained.

Zane quickly got up and took Kate's hand, practically dragging her out of the seat. He moved upstairs to the guest room and shut the door behind them. He locked it and ran a hand nervously through his hair. "Kate what am I going to do? What do I tell my family? Can I even live with them safely anymore?" He paced back and forth across the room anxiously as he spoke before finally plopping himself on the bed.

Kate
Yesterday Night - September 9th, 12:45 am

Kate came over to Zane and hugged him tight. "We'll get through this, I promise." She rubbed his back gently and bit her lip. Could he go back to his family? Not now. Not until he had control. To tell him this broke her heart. "Not at the moment, no. You can't go back until you learn to control your thirst which takes a long time." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Her brother. Oh God. "We were supposed to meet Xander after. I'm going to text him." She quickly texted Xander and set hr location on so he could find them.

---

Fiona
September 9th - 8:20am

The reaction from the red head caused her cheeks to burn with humiliation. Was she that hideous? Her eyes brimmed with tears. She felt horrible and wanted to vomit. She said nothing and excused herself without bothering to greet Charlotte. It wasn't as if anyone noticed, anyway. She wasn't well liked here. Fiona ducked her head and made a beeline for the bathroom. On her way, she bumped into someone who grunted at her. She looked up to find it was Derek. Their eyes met; but then his gaze swept over her to presumably Charlotte and the new girl. His eyes lit up and he rushed over. Fiona heard people laughing behind her and ignored it.

"God, is she still into him?" Someone laughed, probably a friend of his. "Doesn't she have an older boyfriend?"
"Probably another loser just like her," Another kid laughed derisively. "Or she pays him. Probably that! I don't get why anyone would even want to be around her ugly ass."
"Her only friend is Charlotte but she probably just feels sorry for her."

More kids joined in but she didn't hear it. Fiona entered the bathroom and sat in an empty stall to cry. School was hell. She wanted to purposely fail everything so she could just drop out and stay at home. Then on the other hand, she wanted ot make her parents proud. Her tears kept coming and she buried her head in her hands.

---

Derek

Derek's gaze on Angel was locked in. He could barely remember bumping onto Fiona, or why he felt nauseous with guilt. Charlotte was there to greet her and obviously recognized her too. Thank God Fiona had left. He ran over to her but halted when a moderator came up to her. "Excuse me," The woman tapped Angel's shoulder. "But are you familiar with the dress code?" He watched out of the corner of his eyes as Holly turned to watch too and sighed.

"Spaghetti-straps are not allowed and neither are open armed clothing. You need to wear a jacket or something over it so it's covered. Unnatural hair colors are not allowed either. Please see the dress code policy and find yourself a jacket and a new hair color."

"Oh my God!" Derek bellowed at at the top of his lungs. "I can't stand seeing her shoulder! It hurts too much! My eyes are burning! Please take me to the clinic now!" He began to stumble as if he would faint. One of his friends, Kenneth, caught him and began to fan him.

"Derek my man! Wake up!" His other friend, Nina, began to do CPR as he fell to the floor (with Kenneth's help). Derek lay limp as if he had truly fainted. "I think we lost him. Rest in peace, Derek." Kenneth did a sign of the cross to bless him and wiped his eyes as if he had tears.

The moderator looked at him wit ha scowl and sighed. He fought back laughter although others had cracked up. He opened his eyes and stood up with a smirk.

"Detention. All of you, this week." She left with a glower. Derek snickered and came over to Angel and wrapped his jacket around her. "Here you go, my lady." He grinned at Charlotte. "Hey there." He ruffled her hair gently and watched Jesse beckon her over from the doorway to go to class with him.

Derek's friends muffled their laughter and looked at Derek. He swallowed and looked at Angel intently. "Is that you, Angel?" He inquired and quivered with excitement almost visibly.

The rain was beating down on the world so hard tonight Xander had felt like it was trying to wash him away. It was like thousands of bullets were being shot down from the heavens. It completely almost completely obscured his vision. He could still see the dark, overcast sky above him and the wet road in front of him. Thunder boomed, reverberating through the night. There were only a few souls who had dared to venture out in this storm tonight. Those who did usually did not make it back home. Vampires tended to emerge due to the lack of people during a bad storm like this. They picked on whatever poor idiot had decided to come outside. Xander hadn't normally felt much pity for them. His own life had been hell and he had gone out of his way to keep his sister safe as well as his own life. People who were careless with their lives deserved what was coming to them.

Xander had few memories of the uncomfortable feeling of cold rain hitting his skin but the only discomfort that rain brought him now were the wet clothes. The quality of darkness shifted in the sky but the rain kept pouring. He moved under the roof of a store to collect his thoughts. He had been growing weak lately and had been hoping to get a bit of human blood in him. He mostly lived off animals for Kate's sake since she wished it but he would sometimes go off and drink blood from humans regardless. He felt stronger on human blood and he was willing to knock down others to keep his own living family member safe. Nonetheless, he usually didn't kill the person he took from and could control himself.

Pulling down the black hood from his head, his bright blue eyes pierced through the night, watching as silhouettes rapidly ran under the ray of the streetlight in the distance. They were gone in the next blink but he had known what he saw. Vampires were everywhere. This was more dangerous than it was worth at this point. He was best off finding Kate.

As if on cue, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and read it quickly with a groan. Where the fuck was she? The GPS was putting her in some random field. With a shake of his head, he threw himself back into the rain. He had been on edge all night. It hadn't rained this hard since the night they had lost their family. The screams of his parents haunted him often still but he usually was able to just push it away. Then there was Angel. He couldn't push her face out of his mind no matter how hard he tried.

She had only been a child, the youngest of the three of them. She had a young, freckled face and wavy ginger hair. She had only tall enough for the top of her head to reach his chest. Kate was the spitting image of her. The two had very similar faces and the same blue eyes. However, Kate's hair was short and a very deep red now. Yet, he still saw Angel in her face and a pang of guilt hit him from time to time. He had sworn to always protect the two of them. There had been many times his father had said, "You're the oldest Xander. You have to watch out for them. We won't always be here to guide them like you can."

The image of Angel's little body thrown over the shoulder of one of those men, lifeless, her mess of hair hiding the last expression on her face she'd ever have. It had hurt like hell to lose their parents. To hear their finals screams fall silent that rainy night was his worst nightmare. However, for him and Kate to see those monsters take their little sister away like that had been horrid. He'd never forget it.

Xander clenched his jaw, his expression shrouded by his hood as he threw his body into a hard sprint through the rain. He would never leave Kate alone for too long ever. He had to get to her. It wasn't long until he had reached a large mansion. It was hard to make out the details in the foggy surroundings but it was clear it was a mansion. What the fuck was she doing here? Her scent was hard to pick up on in the damp air of the storm but he managed to get a small whiff of it. He followed it to the second story window and was breaking in before he could really think much about it.

After ripping the windows open and climbing on to the sill, he hopped on to the floor with a wet squeak from his sneakers. Shaking off his hood, water dripped on to the floor from his wet hair. It was sticking uncomfortably to his neck at this point. The first thing he noticed was the pair of red, teary eyes upon Zane's face as he stared back at him. He had known before looking at him that there had been no humans in this room. Staring at him for only a moment, Xander glanced over at Kate.
She looked unharmed and healthy for the most part. She seemed maybe a bit frazzled and angry but physically fine. Though that was a relief, he was more than a little unhappy that her boyfriend was suddenly a vampire. Had she really turned him without consulting him about it?

"You've got to be kidding me."




Charlotte had started babbling immediately. Angel could remember now she was always quite the talkative thing. "You look so beautiful Angel and wow, your hair! Reminds me of the little mermaid. I really like it. I can help catch up with work what school did you transfer-" Angel could also remember how to tune her out and nod. She usually would just give the poor kind soul her attention but she had been distracted by Fiona's sudden leaving. "Hey wait-"She had tried to stop her but she was out the door before she could say much more. Maybe gasping in horror and exclaiming, "Jesus christ!" wasn't the nicest way to greet people. Lee's daughter or not, she decided on finding her and apologizing.

"Charlotte, any idea where Fiona was going?"Angel interrupted her finally. Charlotte halted her string of compliments and questions to glance over her shoulder. "I think she was upset."

Before Charlotte could reply, Angel had turned around on reaction to a tap on her shoulder. She raised her brow slightly when she found the old hag from before standing there.

"But are you familiar with the dress code?"

Angel blinked, doing a bit of a double take at the question. She looked down at her clothes in confusion. It wasn't like her breasts were spilling out of her shirt or anything.

"Spaghetti-straps are not allowed and neither are open armed clothing. You need to wear a jacket or something over it so it's covered. Unnatural hair colors are not allowed either. Please see the dress code policy and find yourself a jacket and a new hair color."

Angel felt anger stir inside her. Was she really going to pick on her for such trivial things and waste her time? There were so many more important things in the world and since when did schools have the right to tell people how to dress and what hair color to dye their hair? Angel really had no time or patience to deal with such stupid and meaningless rules. "How about you cheap fucks install some air conditioning here and then we can talk about the whole jacket thing again? As for the hair color-" She halted her little tirade before it could get worse and took a deep breath. She was only here to show the hunters she was capable of working with others. There was no reason to get caught up in the school's bullshit. She needed to stay focused on the goal.

Besides, a random bellow had interrupted her and the woman had stopped paying attention halfway during her rant. "Oh my God!" Angel followed the woman's gaze to find a guy with slightly longer brown hair and a charming face. Her heart lurched in her chest. She recognized that face anywhere. It really hadn't taken him and Charlotte to find her. It was like fate had pulled them back together like they were tied together by a very long string that had been slowly rewounding them closer and closer together. They were the only people in her life that hadn't died and she honestly was starting to believe that just anyone she kept in her presence was doomed. It had been so easy to push everyone away but for Derek, it was going to take all her self control to push him away. She couldn't just deny her best friend like he was nothing.

"I can't stand seeing her shoulder! It hurts too much! My eyes are burning! Please take me to the clinic now!" He had fallen after his statement and his friend was fanning him. A smile tugged at her lips.

"Derek my man! Wake up!" Two people were now pretending to do CPR. Derek wasn't too bad an actor. If she had just walked into the scene, she would had really thought he had fainted. "I think we lost him. Rest in peace, Derek." The kid did the sign of the cross and Angel burst into giggles. Was this what having friends was like? She was happy Derek was surrounded by a whole back up crew of friends. She hoped he had been happy all these years.

"Detention. All of you, this week." The woman had said once she stood up. Once she had left, Derek came towards her to her surprise. For some reason, she hadn't expected him to acknowledge her. Even as she stood in the same room as them, she had still felt like she was watching through a television screen. He put his jacket around her shoulders, the sudden warmth caressing her pale, freckled skin. "Here you go, my lady." She glanced down at it, dimly hearing him greet Charlotte. She would never say such a thing aloud since it would have been a weird thing to say but he really did smell the way she remembered. He always had such a comforting, nice smell. She glanced up to see Charlotte giggling and darting over to Jesse to join him.

"Is that you, Angel?"

The intent stare made her take a step back. He was really analyzing her, huh? Her slightly watering blue eyes looked him up and down. His body was trembling. With excitement? Anxiety? She wasn't sure.

She could turn back now. She could tell him he had the wrong girl and walk away. It would save him a lot of pain and maybe even his life. With a slightly shaking hand, she brushed hair from her face and prepared to state what she had planned to say but different words slipped from her mouth.

"Yeah... It's me."

Kate - September 9th - 12:50 am

Kate whirled around to face Xander. Her expression lit up and she ran over to him. She wrapped her arms around him tight and then let go. "No, this asshole Micah killed and then turned him on accident." She huffed and moved away to come back to Zane's side. "And he saved us from being slaughtered by all these crazy vampires outside but now he won't let us leave. " She rolled her eyes and bounced her leg. "I'm so pissed that I could rip his throat out." She sniffled and sat Zane down beside her on the bed and held him tight. "Come sit with us, Xan,"

---

Derek - September 9th 8:30am

"Yeah, it's me."

Derek beamed at Angel and ran over to hug her tight. He wrapped his arms around her torso tightly. "God, I missed you so much. Where have you been? I looked everywhere for you." He let go and moved away to give her space. It felt as if he were walking on the clouds. He had to grip a chair to keep himself steady since he was dizzy with elation. He quickly took his schedule out to compare it to her's with a delighted smile. "Do you mind if I see your schedule? I can help you find all your classes and everything. Oh my god, this is great. I'm so happy you're back, Angel."

He glanced up as the bell rang and cursed under his breath. He shook his head to forget it and leaned against the pillar behind him to look at her. His friends bid him goodbye and went off to class to give them privacy. "Screw that. My priority is you, now." He of course cared for Charlotte, but he trusted Jesse with her. He knew Jesse would protect her. He was so happy his little sister had him as her boyfriend and best friend. The two of them were so cute. He always worried of course but he trusted Jesse.

"That's one crazy bitch."

There was a group of ten hunters inside the silent bar. A good handful remained outside to guard. The other vampires had made haste with leaving as soon as they saw their leader in pieces on the floor. Having been standing at the perfect spot, Will had decided to have a little barbecue and turned on his flame thrower on their backs as they were retreating. "Let's go! Faster! Hut hut!"He didn't have to turn around to know Evan was rolling his eyes.

"She's very lucky to be alive."Violet's voice came from his side. He glanced down and put his arm around the tiny girl with her hair in a thick, low ponytail. He and Phoenix had been training her for four years now and he would probably do anything for her at this point. Though, Will was a bit jealous that she had surpassed them both in some senses. Sometimes he kinda felt like they acted as her parents so he usually ended up being more proud than jealous.

"She's very lucky to have someone like you who can track their location better than the FBI."Will told her with a grin and glanced back down at Angel. She was definitely out for the count, her red hair splattered all over the wood paneled floor. This nonsense didn't make sense to him. Going into a bar overrun by vampires? Last week she had fought an entire gang in an alleyway. This girl had a suicide wish. There was no way she thought she could have really took them all on by herself. On the other hand, she had somehow subdued the entire gang last week to everyone's shock. Nikolaus was known to be insanely skilled but he had no idea he could train someone, especially with a personality like Angel, to be able to handle that many vampires on their own.

"She's my crazy bitch."Evan sighed finally and scooped her up gently in his arms bridal style and glanced at them, "She's badly injured so I'm going to quickly get her to our clinic. Get rid of the body would ya?" He walked out with her rapidly. Evan was always quick to make sure she was okay despite how exasperated he got with her. Will had to hand it to him. He had taken Angel in when she was still a young kid and been taking care of her ever since. He wondered if she was ever even thankful. Most conversations he had with Angel turned as sour as all the lemons she ate. She was always sarcastic and downright rude. To top it off, rumor had it that she had hooked up with half of the guys in their regiment in the last two years. He honestly felt sorry that Nikolaus had to deal with her being that him and Nikolaus had been best friends for years now. God help the man if he tried to bring Angel into their squad.

Holly on the other hand should have been named Angel. She was so polite and kind. On top of that, she listened to everything Phoenix and him said and cooperated constantly. She reminded him so much of his little sister. Violet and Holly were his best friends and he kept fighting every day for their sake along with Phoenix's sake. Phoenix was a different story. He had fallen so head over heels for the woman that he had picked out her engagement ring a long time ago. He had just been waiting for the right time and place. Will was entirely sure he wanted his forever with her. However, he wasn't going to move forward with his life until his little sister Emily was safe and sound again. He had promised protecting her would be his priority and he was doing a shitty job. He owed her this.


"Guess who's subbing for Mr. Hall?"
He came up behind Violet, leaning on her tiny head as he made his inquiry. No answer was given as expected. He craned his neck slightly to look over it at what she was doing. The overachiever was taking notes. She had been tasked with observing Angel and Holly in action. He skimmed over it fast, letting his gaze move down it. She was pretty harsh on them, especially since her and Holly were good friends.

"Hey don't ignore me, nerd."He patted her head annoyingly enough until she stopped writing and looked up at him with narrowed eyes."You should just let Holly pass with flying colors."

Angel
Reluctant to talk to others.
Unfriendly glares.
Now speaking with others.
Upset a student named Fiona Grey
Friendly with Charlotte Goodwin.
Very friendly with Derek Goodwin.
Good interactions
Very possible that the Goodwins are past friends of Angel and Derek a possible love interest.
These interactions with Goodwins will not count toward final decision.

Holly
Very introverted.
Sits alone.
Makes no move to conversate with others.
Frequent bullying target
Though cooperative with hunters, definitely could work on team work skills and learning to be more comfortable with herself.
Self confidence and self esteem could be questionable.

"I can't. If she's not confident enough with herself, it could risk her life later on."Violet replied quietly. "I'm not going to do that. "

Will sighed, relinquishing. She was right, as always. If these bullies were making Holly feel like she was less than valuable, she might second guess herself on the field. Plus, she needed to be learn to be vocal and confident.

"Well. Angel and Holly will both be in my class and I'll do my best to push them a bit. For sure, we're helping Holly feel better. Not just for this but because she's our Holly. Those punkass bullies are going to get their asses kicked if they even utter a word to her in my presence." He beat his fist against his chest confidently. "The little shits have seen their last days."

"You beat up a minor, you go to jail." Violet's low voice reached his ears and he glanced at her.

"Little buzzkill."He grumbled, sitting down next to her with annoyance.




Xander hugged Kate back tightly. He was so grateful to see her safe. She was all he had.

"No, this asshole Micah killed and then turned him on accident." She had moved back to Zane's side now. He moved with them, sitting next to her. "And he saved us from being slaughtered by all these crazy vampires outside but now he won't let us leave. " She was nervous here. He could tell she was anxious as she bounced her leg. However, he was right not to let them leave. It was insane outside. He had never seen so many vampires out in one night. "I'm so pissed that I could rip his throat out."

"Zane i'm sorry man."Xander patted his back and then he looked back at Kate. "Well at least you guys can be together now and it's not as awkward. We might have to stay here especially with a newbie at least until daylight. It's crazy outside and I don't know if we can restrain him or protect him. We can stay here for now until the sun comes up or the rain stops. I promise I'll protect you both."




Angel hadn't been hugged in so long. She had almost forgotten what it was like to the point she was caught off guard when it happened. She slowly hugged him back, enjoying his warmth. She had forgotten how nice it felt. This was the most selfish thing she had done. What was wrong with her?

"God, I missed you so much. Where have you been? I looked everywhere for you." She had barely heard him talking. She had been so wrapped up in his hug and how much she missed him that she stumbled in confusion when he had let go.

"Yeah... You too. "Angel managed to reply with. She quickly pulled her arms down to her sides, clearing her throat. Where had she been? Oh what a question with a funny answer. Let's just put that one to the side. Easy enough since he moved on from it to his schedule pretty quickly.

"Do you mind if I see your schedule? I can help you find all your classes and everything. Oh my god, this is great. I'm so happy you're back, Angel."

Was this dangerous? Or wasn't she just doing what they asked? She'd probably have to cut him off after this little social experiment anyway. For some reason, that hurt her heart more than she had expected. "I'm really happy too."She said genuinely.This was the happiest she had been in a while. After setting down her backpack and digging through it for her schedule, she handed it to him. "Mr. Hall next."

"Screw that. My priority is you, now."
Those were very dangerous words.
Angel swallowed hard as she followed him to the next class, very unsure about what she was doing here.

wip

Derek

As Derek led Angel to class, he couldn't contain his excitement. His best friend was back. He was so pumped. He couldn't wait to show her around, hangout with her, be her friend... He glanced sideways at her and smiled. "I'm so happy you're back. We should catch up after school. Are you free?" He went red after babbling and ducked his head bashfully. "Sorry, I don't mean to overwhelm you. I'm just glad to see you again. If you don't want to catch up then we can just hangout or I can show you around town..." He went red in the face and managed to stare at her one briefly then move into class. "Ah, home sweet home - for the next 50 minutes." He snickered and led her to the back. "I figured you'd like less attention, and that's in the back."

Holly

As the bell rang to leave, Holly grunted as she stood up. She was quickly shoved down by a group of cackling witches. She hit the chair and glared at them. Heat shot to her face and she clenched her fists. They knew how much muscle she had, and that if she wanted to, she could kick their asses. She scowled at them instead and they ran off, laughing. She shrugged her arms and pulled her backpack over her shoulder. Holly ducked her head. This was so insanely ridiculous. It wasn't as if she were a bomb. Holly sighed heavily. At least she had the hunters. Her heart swelled with warmth as she thought of them. Will, Phoenix, Violet, and Niko; they were everything to her. She saw Phoenix and Will as parents, though he fit the brother category as well.

Holly maneuvered through the throng of people when she heard a faint scream. She froze and looked up. As she gazed around, Holly found that nobody else was reacting to it. It happened again. Holly doubled backwards to find the source of it. Her heart was to leap out of her chest. The scream was filled with terror and fear. The agony in it made her eyes tear up. There was definitely a vampire around; but they never came to the school at this time... Holly began to pus her way through the crowd as the voice begged for help. People bashed into her and shoved her around but Holly persevered. She forced her way through and ran towards the side doors leading to the track, baseball diamond, and bleachers. The scream was closer now. Holly narrowed her gaze and began to sprint. There was cruel, menacing laughter following the screams. It was a vampire but why?

Noise form the school overwhelmed her and she covered her ears. She paused as voices from everywhere strung themselves together. Laughter, screams, giggles, flirtatious comments; Holly began to tremble. Why was everything so loud? The menacing laughter grew louder. She turned and looked around, wide-eyed. She turned and ran towards the bleachers and reached into her backpack for a stake. There was a shadow and then another one looming over it. She ran at them and saw curly blonde hair splayed around the victim. Holly ran over and felt rage rush inside of her. The cold sweat drenched her and froze her temporarily. That was Madison Moore, a sweet and innocent girl in her grade. She was always so nice to everyone, including her. Holly tossed her backpack aside for speed and felt an inhumane control fill her like a dam breaking.

Holly ducked easily into the bleachers and ripped the vampire off of her. The man roared out in fury, face full of blood, and whirled to face her. "Hey you piece of shit; fuck of and leave her alone." Holly pulled her fist back and punched him in the face. Disoriented, the man fell backward. She didn't hesitate and continued her assault, throwing punches, kicks, and then eventually throwing him into the back of the bleachers. Madison was barely conscious, but she was watching with terror, shock and pain. "You sick bastard!" Holly yelled and cried out as she was kicked in the stomach. He roared out at her and knocked her down. She quickly kept her hand on her stake and aimed it up at him as he loomed over her.

"Pathetic little hunter," He sneered at her and spat in her face. Holly groaned and wiped her face off fast, "you won't win. None of you idiot humans will. All of you are going to die or serve us. We'll be back." He disappeared with lightning speed and left her with Madison. She turned to her and watched her pass out. Tears filled her eyes now and she dropped beside her. She pulled her hoodie out and began trying to bandage her neck temporarily. She sobbed and whispered, "Stay with me, Maddie, please!" She took her phone out after with bloody hands and called Violet. "Get to the bleachers. Now." She hung up, set her phone away, and then held Madison. She sobbed and buried her head. This couldn't be happening to poor Madison.

"I'm so happy you're back. We should catch up after school. Are you free?"

For a moment, his voice had seemed distant.. She felt so separate from reality sometimes she had to pinch herself in the middle of the day to know it wasn't a dream. Angel had glanced at him sideways as he went on speaking, his head bowed. "Sorry, I don't mean to overwhelm you. I'm just glad to see you again. If you don't want to catch up then we can just hangout or I can show you around town..." She continued to follow him, biting down on her lip as she struggled to come up with a reply. She had to train with Nikolaus right after. By the time Angel had thought up a good excuse, she had found herself standing at the front of class room, staring at a bunch of unenthusiastic kids. She watched as they all picked their chins out of their palms and stared at her. They were staring at her with a unique expression that could be best described as confused yet interested. Before she could react on her own, Derek was leading her again. "Ah, home sweet home - for the next 50 minutes." Fifty minutes? Was he kidding? "I figured you'd like less attention, and that's in the back."

"Yeah." Angel heard herself answer him and slouched back in the chair, getting comfortable. This class would ultimately be a bore and it was clearly a great time to take a nap. She had never thought she'd find herself in a classroom with Derek. Never in a million years. Her life had been consumed by vampires for so long that this just felt awkward. All she had to do was sit here and learn. That was the responsibility of a student. You listen, learn, go home, do your homework, sleep, then repeat.

Angel was so tired though. She had spent the last few days in a hospital bed and her anxiety kept her up for every moment of it. A power nap was needed. She was sure they wouldn't be mad for not socializing in class. They weren't supposed to do that anyway. She yawned and went to shut her eyes when an all-too-familiar voice entered the air.

"Hey guys! Your teach' is out today so I'm going to be substituting! Can I get a hell yeah?"

A young man with the short, tousled black hair with pretty blue eyes was standing at the front room with a smile and his arms up in the air. He dressed well and had a charming face. Some girls immediately smiled goofily at the sight of the attractive man while the guys just seemed annoyed. Unfortunately no one gave him a hell yeah and he sighed in defeat, dropping his arms to his sides. "Tough crowd."

Will turned away and began to noisily write his name with a piece of chalk against the board. He slowly but surely wrote, "Mr. Woods." Angel knew very well that this was a lie. He was quite well known for his accomplishments in the hunting field. William Beckinson was his true name. The guy had 65 single-handed vampire kills and was one of the most impressive young hunters out there. Angel kinda thought he was a bit of a conceited jerk who only had patience for his equally impressive girlfriend Phoenix Wellington. Every time she had talked to Will, it didn't usually end up well. Angel liked to keep herself slightly distant from people and he seemed to take offense to her unfriendly attitude. If he was here to watch her, she wasn't getting any good reviews from him.

"Call me Mr. Woods. "He instructed them, "But if you wanna call me Mr. Hottie or Captain Woods, I won't object." He seated himself at the desk as he continued to speak, "Well before I begin attendance, let's say hello to our new student today! Come on up here and introduce yourself, Angel." Will had announced suddenly with a smile. She could tell that he was being careful not to look straight at her. His smile gave it away nevertheless. He was absolutely loving having the chance to annoy the shit out of her.

"Can I not?"Angel retorted in reply, making heads turn. The incessant sound of whispering came from all corners of the room. Angel couldn't really make out what they were saying since it just sounded like one collective, unintelligible mass of voices. She could guess it was nothing good and suddenly felt too afraid to glance at Derek. She had gotten so annoyed at Will's presence she had forgotten she was in a setting where she wasn't supposed to know him. To everyone else, she probably seemed like a bitch. At least maybe Derek wouldn't try too hard to be her friend possibly, as much as she wanted him to be her friend deep down.

"Actually, you can."Will told her with just the slightest, most annoying hint of sass. He gave her another over the top smile, "Come on up here, sunshine. You'll love it!" He really was going to have fun with this. His eyes were stabbing into hers like knives now that she had singled herself out. She wished she had just shut her mouth when he called out to her.

"Oh I just can't wait."Angel said sarcastically as she kicked her seat back carelessly with a loud squeak against the tile floor. She stood up and made her way to the front.

"Face the class and tell them a bit about yourself."Will said, folding his hands and resting his chin on them. The annoying fucker was still smiling. His intention had clearly been to embarrass her. Well, she was going to have to prove him wrong. Angel faced the class, her hair falling behind her shoulders as she swiftly turned her body. "Uh hey. "

Crap. Brilliant start, Angel, you smooth talker. She thought to herself. What did teenagers like nowadays? "I'm Angel. I'm a fan of food, the internet, and Netflix. " She glanced around the room when she noticed everyone was awkwardly silent. However, they were nodding in approval at least. "School is dumb. "She finished off and quickly moved toward her desk.

"Amen to that!"Someone yelled and the whole room began applauding in approval. Angel bowed with a smirk toward Will before she sat in her seat.

Will didn't seem pleased but he shrugged it off nonetheless. "This generation is so weird." He whispered to himself. Angel wondered why no one else heard his mumbling and then realized she was all the way in the back of the room. How did she even hear him?

She didn't spend much time thinking about it since her thoughts were cut off by Will calling out names to take attendance. However, when he got to one name, no one answered. "Holly Blackthorn?" He glanced around the room. Angel watched him grip the desk as he called her name again. Uneasiness seemed to be creeping into his voice as it cracked while asking a third time.

"She must be absent!"Someone called.
"Nah I saw that lesbo this morning." Another replied.

Will was doing a crappy job of hiding his worry for this person. Even the other students would notice he was visibly upset. She wondered if he knew her or something. He hesitantly moved on to the next name and kept going down the list. Before he could finish it, a rambunctous alarm started to blare through the halls. It sounded like a war raid siren, assaulting the ears of all the students viciously. Angel had jolted to her feet in alarm with a sharp, fearful inhale that would had been super embarrassing if anyone had been paying attention to her. It took Angel a moment to catch on that it was a fire alarm and she relaxed a bit.

"Alright let's go, people! Single-file!"Will yelled over the irritating noise, "Whatever you do, please stay together and by my side! I will lead you outside."

Angel remembered fire alarms in elementary school. None of the teachers had ever really been super serious about a fire drill. Will seemed dead serious and maybe a little anxious. A bad feeling filled her gut and she quickly took Derek's hand on her way out. There definitely could be vampires here. She had ran into one on the steps this morning after all. No matter what, Angel was going to make sure no one hurt Derek. She wasn't going to lose him again. People were lining up and moving out the door. Everyone seemed to be shrugging off Will's strange statements as overreacting due to being a substitute teacher and no one was really taking it seriously. She swallowed, feeling stupid for not having a weapon on her. Had she led the vampires in here? Would they really attack in the middle of day in a high school?




"Get to the bleachers. Now."

The urgency in Holly's voice had truly unnerved Violet. She had been hoping they could keep the vampire drama separate from the school but history tended to repeat itself. It was happening again. A face flashed in her mind and she shut her eyes with grief. Why was she thinking of him now? She brushed it out of her mind and hastily made her way to the gym. She pushed the doors open to the gym and hurried over toward the bleachers. She stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the unmoving blonde on the ground with a hoodie wrapped around her neck. A small blood stain was forming as blood dripped out of the girl's wound. This truly was a repeat of history. Violet didn't even look at Holly as she retreated into the hall and over to the red handle on the wall. She pulled it downward as red lights began to flash rhythmically through the hallway, the alarm blaring loudly. It was standard procedure to clear the school if there was a vampire attack, especially if the vampire could still be inside it and no one knew how many there were exactly.

Violet bolted back into the gym as students began to pile out of classrooms and knelt next to Holly. The poor girl was so freaked out. She was sure she had never seen someone dying like this before, especially someone she knew. "I'm going to call one of our ambulances okay? It's going to be okay." She comfortingly rubbed Holly's arm. The hunters secretly had some of their own working in a nearby hospital. If any of their soldiers ever needed help or there was a victim of a vampire attack, they were brought there in order to minimize the press around the incident and so the victim had the help of doctors familiar with vampire attacks.

Derek September 6th - 8:45 a.m.

As class began and a substitute teacher came in, Derek sighed in relief. He hated listening to the teachers on their first day drawling about homework. He was a star student - honor society, even, but he hated it. HE sighed as he watched the teacher introduce himself and rolled his eyes. What an arrogant bastard. The girls seemed to be swooning. God, this was annoying. He sat back and looked at Angel briefly. She looked so gorgeous and had grown up so much. The small twelve year old was so much older looking. She didn't even look their age; she looked to be in her 20's. He decided to mention it another time. Today was going to be overwhelming.

He snapped to attention when Mr.Woods called her out. He watched in shock as Angel snapped back a sarcastic retort. He blinked, taken aback. She had always been so nice and polite. He shrugged it off; people hated introducing themselves. The teacher's response to her's was equally sassy. He stared at them with confusion, glancing back and forth. Did they know one another? It certainly seemed like it. But how? He was so much older than her. Derek couldn't help but fidget uncomfortably. Was she involved in something wrong? The vibe he was getting was nothing but animosity. Her reaction was nothing but carelessness and dismay. She was so different.. He had no idea how she was anymore. OF course years had passed and people changed, but this was a complete switch of her character.

Angel introduced herself, then retraced her steps. He was thankful she had, because now people were nodding in agreement. Her sighed in relief then laughed at her next comment. He highfived her when she returned to her seat. He went to speak to her, but Mr.Woods began taking attendance. After discovering Holly's absence, it sent him into a genuine display of dismay. He frowned. Who the hell was this dude? He was so freaking weird. The comments regarding Holly's character were drowned out. He was too uncomfortable wit t he situation. Unfortunately, nobody else seemed to care. He shook his head then jumped when the fire alarm went off. He swore as he banged his knee and stood up with his classmates. MR.Woods must have been terrified of fire-alarms, because his attitude was sheer panic.

Derek stared in surprise when Angel took his hand then remembered she had been out for years. He smiled and held her hand back and squeezed it. "It's okay, I'm here." He reassured her and smiled. "I've got you, Angel."

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Holly September 6th - 8:45 a.m.

Violet tried to comfort her, but it wasn't working. The fire drill outside had people staring at them as well. By now, the ambulance had been called and the police had been notified as well. She was numb as she stared down at Madison. Holly against Violet and rested her head on her shoulder as tears streamed down her face. She watched as EMT's came over and loaded Madison's body onto a stretcher. One of the cops knelt in front of her and began asking questions, but she couldn't understand. Her mind was reeling. She felt hem grab at her and pick her up gently onto her feet.

The questions resumed once again. Holly quietly explained what she had heard: Madison's scream then saw her being stabbed in the neck. She had edited it so they didn't know it had been a vampire. The bite had been from the killer, she had said. She shakily was pulled aside away from the crowd. Holly called for Violet quietly to stay by her side and sat on the bleachers.

She heard whispers but their insults were the least of her worries. Holly buried her head in her hands. When the principal told her that her parents were on the way, Holly's dread intensified. She looked at him and tried to beg him not to, but it was fruitless. She looked at Violet and then up as a familiar voice joined the crowd. "Darling, I have it from here." A tall caramel brunette with her hair pulled into a bun was staring down at them with a gentle smile. She was in a detective's uniform. "She will be coming to the police station for further questioning. You can ell her parents they will see her later. Thank you, Principal Greene." He huffed and beckoned the other administrators and cops away with him. "Young lady, what is your name?" Phoenix smiled down at her gently, masking her concern and grief.

"H-Holly." She stammered out, trying to act as if she didn't know Phoenix. Thank God. It was as if a weight had been lifted from her chest. She was shaking so bad she saw Phoenix bite her lip worriedly. Holly looked down at her hands so she didn't look Nix in the eyes. "Blackthorn," Nix scribbled down her replies on a pad of paper as she nodded along.

"All right Ms. Blackthron, can you describe the student who was attacked?" Her vocie was sweeter than sugar and warm and gentle. It reminded her of hot chocolate on a winter day.

Holly stared at her briefly and nodded. "Her name is Madison Moore, and she's a sophomore. She's very sweet and doesn't get into trouble. She does her homework on time and was President of Key Club last year."

"Drugs? Alcohol of any kind?"

"No."

Phoenix nodded and glanced around quickly. When no one was around, she looked at Violet. "Good job, Vi, on the alarm. I'm proud of you. You're so amazing, sweetie." She then nodded to Holly. "You'll come in the car with me. I'll get you out of today's classes, okay? We'll go to the hunter's base." Phoenix gently waved to Violet inconspicuously and left with Holly.

Derek had squeezed her hand and told her with a smile that he was there and even stated, "I've got you, Angel."

Angel had returned the squeeze. She guessed he thought she was spooked by the fire drill. He was still the sweet boy she had spent every day with. She almost felt guilty for being such a different person. The two had trusted each other so much just a few years ago. They had done everything together and told each other anything and everything. She could almost imagine herself as the pre-teen girl with the wavy ginger hair and polka-dot dress sitting on the curb of the street with him. The excitement she had every day to go run around outside with him.

She didn't feel it now. She looked at him now and she still felt that same love deep down but the excitement was replaced with worry and anxiety. There was the inevitable moment coming where she would have to push him out of her life again. Angel squeezed his hand tighter at the thought. She didn't want to lose him again.

She had been so invested in her thoughts that she had drifted away from the situation around them. They were lined up outside, the sun beating down on them aggressively as the alarm faintly rang out in the silent air.
Everyone was quiet except for a few coughs, happy to just be out of class. Will was pacing and texting so fast that Angel could imagine the amount of typos in his messages were probably horrendous.

The sudden sound of police sirens and an ambulance rang in the distance. Angel glanced up and watched from their spot as an ambulance finally pulled into the parking lot. Cop cars arrived. She watched a big black van go around the back of the school instead of entering the parking lot, heading towards the parking lot near the gym. Angel knew they were hunters. She had seen those vans every day. There really were vampires, it hadn't been her paranoia. Angel let go of Derek's hand on impulse and started running over the grass back toward the building.

"Fuck!"Will yelled, "God damn it Angel I swear-"Angel couldn't hear the rest of what he said as she opened the door to the school and shut it behind her. God forbid Derek followed her. She looked back and forth in the hallway, her heart racing. She had rushed in here without a second thought and knew she was going to be in big trouble. However, if there were vampires in here, people could need immediate help and someone needed to get there fast. Especially if that female vampire from earlier was there. She began moving through the halls, cautiously, ready to attack if necessary. It was going to be hard with no weapon but she was sure she could improvise with something.

Sudden rapid footsteps made the hairs on her neck stand up. It sounded like at least six individuals. She was not ready to handle this. She looked around, panicking, nearly letting out a cry when a loud bang resonated through the hallway. It sounded like someone was kicking a door down. She relaxed a little as she recognized one of the voices. They were hunters. They were probably looking in the rooms for the vampires. Still, no point getting busted. Angel darted into the girls bathroom and gripped the bathroom sink to steady her shaking hands. The sound of slow footsteps toward the bathroom made her stiffen up and move into one of the stalls.

"Boy do I love a school on lock down." came a strange man's voice, "There's always a kid who rather stay in the bathroom rather than walk outside... Wow do I got myself a sweet pig or what?" Crazed laughter started to follow as he ripped open the stall next to Angel. She had tensed, assuming the vampire was talking to her. "Well, well, well, aren't you a sight? You're the spitting image of 'em!" Who the hell was he talking to? It sounded like he had grabbed whoever it was upon opening it.

Fiona jumped at the sound of the fire drill. She covered her eyes as the lights danced across the bathroom. She didn't bother to leave the stall either. It wasn't as if it mattered. They stood outside and wasted time while their classmates gossiped and made rude inappropriate comments. She sat down on the toilet seat and sniffled. What ahd she done to make that girl yell out? Her chest felt tight and she gripped the sides of pants tightly. Her mother told her that she had to be careful with her anxiety, or she'd end up in the hospital again. Fiona gritted her teeth and tried to block out the lights and her inner thoughts. They couldn't afford to take her to the hospital again. She took several deep breaths and wiped her eyes again.(edited)
The sound of echoing thuds made her jump. What the hell? She went to stand up to investigate but there were footsteps. Not risking being caught and grilled, Fiona pulled her feet up onto the toilet. What answered her however was a male's voice, not female's. Her eyes widened. Fiona's mind raced. She hadn't even noticed that Angel had entered; because before her was a man peering into her stall. His words chilled her to the bone. Spitting image of who? Did he know her biological father? She didn't have any time to process it, because he had ripped her door open. Fiona cried out as he finished his speech and then grabbed her roughly. What the hell was wrong with him and how did he get into the school? "Let go of me you freak!" Fiona cried, but he had a immensely strong grip. What had her mother taught her? So much... Fiona knew more about self defense than some of the black belt instructors she knew. She thought quickly and jabbed other hand's fingers into his eyes and then spun her leg around to kick him in the head. "Get your hands off me!" If that didn't work, she then grabbed his throat and began to pressure point it hard with her free hand.

The vampire laughed at her feeble attempt at struggling and squeezed her arms as he picked her up in the air. "Freak?"He repeated with indignation, "You little bitch..." He opened his mouth as fangs unsheathed. Before he could finish unsheathing them, his sight was black and immense pain filled him. He yanked her hand away easily as she attempted a kick which made him stumble but it hadn't done enough. She was quick to try to pressure point his neck. This girl was well-trained. Not one human besides a few hunters he had killed knew how to correctly pressure point. In a fight with a human, she'd certainly win but vampires tended to play dirty. He furiously slammed gripped her wrist, yanking her hand off his neck as he yelled out in pain. He pinned them to the wall with crazy strength as he bared his fangs to go to bite her neck. "Stop!"(edited)
He looked over his shoulder to see the speaker but Angel was in front of him swiftly during his slight head movement. She delivered a powerful kick to his stomach that made him drop Fiona and stumble backwards into the bathroom door stall noisily. With a hiss, he got back on his feet and stared at her with genuine shock. "So it's true..." Angel wasn't sure what he was referring to. He seemed like he recognized her. She'd interrogate him after Fiona was safe. She tossed her jacket over he shoulder with a wink. "Sorry hun. Whatever you heard about me, you heard right." "You shouldn't have that kind of strength." He said gruffly as he rubbed his stomach, "You can't be human." "Maybe you're just weak. This feeble little human girl here was doing a pretty good job of kicking your ass. " Angel said, glancing toward Fiona with a smirk. She moved toward him menacingly, "You're so lucky I don't have my weapons right now. What the fuck are you vermin doing in a school in the middle of the day time?""(edited)
The vampire started to chuckle, hanging his head, "Now, little Angel.... Surely you can put two and two together." He looked up suddenly with a crazed grin, his eyes red. Angel swallowed. He wasn't some weakling. He had been going easy on them. "We're here for you and the other girl." He knew her name. She had been such an idiot to think that the woman had been there just out of randomness this morning. They had followed her here. This was all her fault. She felt her enthusiasm slowly die and an overwhelming sense of guilt and defeat filled her. Was the other girl Fiona? No. He had seemed intent on killing her. It had to be someone else.(edited)
He launched himself at her quickly. Angel didn't move to attack back as he tackled her down to the floor. Her head hit the cool tile floor hard enough for her to see stars. She groaned as he pinned her wrists down. She had to let him get the upper hand to ensure Fiona wouldn't get caught in any battle crossfire. "Fiona run! He's not after you. Get out of the school. I'll be fine!"

Violet

Violet never left Holly's side during the whole ordeal, stroking her head until Phoenix finally showed up. She let go of her and stood off to the side, listening without turning to the conversation between the two as Evan approached her. She smiled at Phoenix gratefully for her compliment and watched the two depart. Her smiled faded once they were gone. Vampires had not been in the school since she had been in high school. Day time attacks were rare and especially at such a public place. She had never met a vampire who wanted the existence of vampires known to the public. It would benefit no one. So why a public attack? It had to be important.

"You have questions. "Evan observed. He had moved to her side while most of the hunters, donned in police uniforms, either left or went to search the halls of the school.

"But do you have the answers?"Violet had asked quietly, not quite glancing over at him. Vampires would only do something so rash for a really good reason. Madison hadn't been their target. They were looking for someone. The only person who could possibly come to mind could be Angel. She was the only escapee from the base L that they had on record. Her constant attacks were no help either. However, they had Angel for years. She had put herself straight into danger and wandered out in public with no regard to the danger she put herself in just by setting a foot outside. To come for her randomly at a school would make no sense.(edited)
"No but I suppose that's where you come in. " Evan put a hand on her shoulder, "We know nothing. The others are working on finding the vampire or vampires who are in the school. They will continue to work on finding those associated with Lee, torture them for information, whatever we have to do... But it's you who has capabilities that none of the other soldiers don't. I hate to order this from you but starting immediately, you will work on hacking in and finding any data possible and until you find something, you will be permitted no break."
Violet's breath caught in her throat. She had been trying to get into their database for years. She had been recruited into it immediately after high school as an military network analyst, handling the more complicated computer operations. She was confused why they had insisted on not waiting for her to start university level studies of computer science, but many had told her she was already beyond that level. Still, she had been trying to take some online classes lately to no avail. They were working her constantly to the point she could not remember the last night she slept. Deep down she wasn't so sure if this was the lifestyle she had wanted. Revenge had been in her heart at the time Landon had passed and it had been so easy for them to coerce her into this. She just had wanted to ruin Lee so bad after taking him from her but now, she knew that Landon would rather her spend her time doing what she loved and pursuing a happy life. If there hadn't been a silent threat towards Jesse, she would consider quitting.
They knew her brother was a vampire and conversation about him was always tense. They did not trust him nor did they trust any vampire. She got a sense of security knowing that they wanted her to stay so bad that they would not even consider hurting Jesse but if she did try to quit, she knew that would be the first person to be indirectly threatened over her head. She'd never let him know that. For all he knew, this was all voluntary and he had been trying to get involved in the hunter operations actively to fight at her side, which she had been secretly making sure that wasn't going to happen on her watch. She would protect her little brother to the bitter end.(edited)
"It's no problem. I won't rest until I find out why this happened." Violet heard herself speak but felt distant from the words.
Jesse was in this school and possibly endangered if this school was going to remain the vampires' target. Finding out what she could was the only thing she could really do. Her fighting skills were nothing compared to Will, Phoenix, Nikolaus and the other top performers. This was all she was good for.
"I appreciate it, Violet." Evan said. Violet wondered what facial expression he was making. Was he truly that sympathetic? She did not want to know enough to actually look at him and find out. "I am very sorry. " He continued in a low voice, squeezing her shoulder, his shadow looming over her on the gymnasium floor. She said nothing as the pressure was taken off her shoulder and the shadow disappeared. She turned to glance behind her once the gym doors to the outside courtyard noisily shut, blue and red lights flashing in the small windows of the doors.
Violet moved over to the bleachers, letting herself body fall into sitting position against the bench none too gently. Her thick hair fell forward as she leaned her elbows on her knees, clouding the expression on her face from anyone who entered the room. More than anything she just wanted to be in Landon's arms right now. She had never felt so alone. "I need you. Please..."She whispered under her breath, a tear drop falling on to the shiny wood floor with a quiet drip. He wouldn't come, of course. He was long gone yet he still seemed to be first person she yearned for in times of distress. There was no one else who had cared for her like he did and she was positive there was no one else who ever would.

Charlotte

Charlotte had nearly jumped out of her chair at the sound of the blaring alarm. She had been nodding off, her chin in her hand. She looked around in confusion as people started lining out of the classroom. She quickly moved into line. A fire drill already? She thought. It was unlike them to have drills the first day of school. She twirled a lock of her hair nervously. Maybe it was a chem lab fire. She waited until the teacher had left to move backwards to the front of the classroom Jesse had been in to wait for him. She'd take any opportunity she could to get to talk to him more.

Will

"Let's go people! Move it!" Will yelled as he ushered the line over to another class. "Watch over my class."he said lowly to the teacher, who stared at him in confusion but nodded. He glanced toward the way Angel left and gritted his teeth. As if on cue, his cellphone started ringing. With a sigh he answered it, "Yo."
"Where's Angel?"Evan's sharp tone was all too familiar. "Do you have her out of the school?"
"Uh. So about that."Will began but Evan kept going before he could even explain.
"I'm sending the rest of the hunters in with the other patrols to find her except for Phoenix. She's with Holly, who is safely out of the school. One girl was critically hurt. She probably won't make it. Find Angel and get her out. " Will didn't even get the chance to reply. He hung up immediately after.
"Fucking jackass."Will muttered and began to jog toward the school. Was he really sending all the hunters they brought in after Angel? What was so special about her?
Whenever she got hurt, they invested so much time and effort into making sure she got all the best medical attention
It was so weird. Maybe Evan had a kid at one point and was reliving the experience through Angel..

He texted Phoenix as he went back in through doors. "They're making me go back in to find Angel. She ran in. I'll be out soon." He moved over to a certain locker and yanked it open, pulling out an assault rifle.