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You Were What You Eat

by Stephanie Prochaska

Copyright 2011 Stephanie Prochaska

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

CONTENTS

1 Something in the Night

2 Rosemont High

3 Lunch

4 Life in the 1700s

5 Demons – Past and Present

6 Ye Olde Antiques Shoppe

7 When the Rain Comes

8 Rainy-Day Attack

9 Carmine's Discovery

10 In the Alley

11 The Confrontation

12 The Past Comes Back

13 Jacqueline

14 Luke

15 At the Dance

16 The Football Game

17 The Figure at the Window

18 The Panic Starts

19 Tensions Between Friends

20 The Problem of Carmine

21 Sharon's Explanation

22 Trouble at School

23 The Blame Game

24 A Confidant

25 Hunting Together

26 A Proposition

27 A Different Kind of Hunt

28 In the Park

29 The Chase

30 The Horror Show

31 Resolve

32 A Little Help from a Friend

33 Can't Even Get a Break

34 The Plan

35 Vampire-Hunting

36 Fight to The Death

37 Finishing the Deed

38 What Carmine Knows

About the Author

More Books from this Author

## Chapter 1: Something in the Night

It was nighttime – the only time she ever really felt at ease. At night, she was in control. There was no worrying about how to act or what others would think; it was just her doing what she did best.

Pale concrete paths snaked through the park, around trees and picnic tables. The main one passed right beside the bench she was sitting on. It was a cool night, and a breeze blew gently through her hair. The only light came from the windows of houses bordering the park. But even these were almost completely obscured by trees.

Anna looked up at the sky. It was velvety-black, the moon only a sliver in the darkness. She was waiting, but not for anyone in particular. Over the years, it'd been her experience that certain kinds of people liked to come to parks at night, and it was one of those people that she was hoping to find. And even though she was in the very center of the park, she was almost impossible to see.

It wouldn't be much longer now, she knew. And as she finished the thought, she heard the faint sound of footsteps coming along the path. She turned expectantly, a slight smile on her lips.

A gangly boy in his late teens was coming towards her. He had on a dark trenchcoat, billowing out slightly behind him. With his dark clothes and the lack of light, he'd be hard for most people to see. But not Anna. She had very good night vision – perfect, in fact. She grinned to herself; he'd do nicely.

When he was close enough, she shifted slightly on the bench, making herself more visible. The kid started a little, surprised.

"What are you doing out so late?" he asked casually, almost as if he knew her.

"I might ask you the same thing." she replied sweetly, tilting her head up to get a better look at him.

Despite her slight build, Anna was incredibly strong; several times stronger than any human. She could easily overpower this skinny kid. But she didn't. There would be too much of a struggle, and she just _hated_ struggles. Besides, she knew an easier way to get what she wanted.

"I just decided to take a walk." the kid said, sitting down next to her. "I mean, it's such a beautiful night. The stars are shining..."

Anna smiled into the darkness at this. There were almost no stars out tonight; while waiting here, she'd counted only six. But she let it pass.

"You just needed to get out of the house?" she asked gently – sympathetically. She'd had this conversation hundreds of times before and knew exactly where it was going.

"Yeah," he said. "My parents are driving me nuts."

"I know exactly how you feel." Anna lied.

She hadn't had parents for so long, it was difficult for her to remember what it was like at all. And she _certainly_ didn't remember if they drove her nuts. Still, she knew it was the thing to say. It worked – it always did. It never ceased to amaze her how far a little sympathy could go.

He turned to face her, opening up about what exactly was bothering him. But Anna didn't pay any attention; she was already moving onto the next part of her plan. As she stared into his eyes, gold flecks started to appear in her own.

"I mean, they never listen to me." the boy started. "Like today. I came home a little late, and when I...tried to...explain...that..." he trailed off.

He stared into her eyes, his mind becoming blank. She knew he didn't remember what he was going to say, or what they'd been talking about in the first place. And if she did this right, he wouldn't even remember _her_. As she continued to stare at him, the gold in her eyes became more and more noticeable, until her irises were consumed by it.

The boy's eyes slowly began to close, and Anna could see that he was completely in her grasp. She smiled sweetly at him, even though he was no longer looking at her. She took her time, knowing there was no rush.

She looked fondly at the boy; he seemed so nice. And human contact was so rare for her. But even as she thought about how nice he might be, her incisors became longer, thinner. She grinned at him one last time, revealing long white fangs. It turned what would have been a very nice smile into something so much more sinister.

Slowly she leaned into him, no longer looking quite so helpless. Her slender fingers slowly reached up to the boy's head. She gently eased it back, exposing his perfect neck. She turned his head away – both to get a better angle and to avoid having to face him. Then, when everything was just the way she wanted it, she opened her mouth and lunged toward his neck, biting him. Hard.

She hit her target perfectly, feeling the warm blood gushing through her mouth. It was a wonderful sensation that she could never adequately describe – in the unlikely event she ever had to. And it filled her up in a way that food no longer could.

When she'd had her fill, she pulled slowly away. As she looked down at the boy's neck, she could see two small, red puncture marks where she'd bitten him. A drop of blood trickled about an inch from one, but that was it. Already, the wounds were starting to heal. Within just a few short hours, they'd be completely gone, leaving no evidence of her nighttime excursion.

Anna stood up and turned to face the boy. Carefully, she eased him down so he was laying on the bench. She'd taken quite a bit of blood from him, but not nearly enough to kill him. Just enough to make him feel, well... _drained_. Killing this boy was the last thing she'd want. No, he'd wake up in a few hours, and she didn't want him to be too uncomfortable when he did.

She started to walk away, but turned for one last look. He was laying on the bench, looking almost peaceful. She might have thought he was asleep if she didn't know better. But, enough of that. Now that she'd done what she came for, it was time to leave before anyone else showed up. As Anna walked casually away, the only noise was the sound of a tune being quietly whistled in the dark.

***

When Anna woke up the next morning, she checked the paper. One of the first things she did wherever she went was to get a newspaper subscription. She read every paper that came out the morning after she went hunting. She liked to know what was going on where she lived. More importantly, she needed to know how concerned people were about the strange things that happened at night. Whenever she felt people were starting to pay too much attention, she knew it was time to move on.

Anna was only a little surprised to find that this one had actually made it into the paper; her last attack had also been reported. The story was on page 6, halfway down and said simply:

19-year-old James Flint was found on a park bench early this morning. When he awoke, he was confused and disoriented, with no memory of what he had been doing. Upon his arrival at the hospital, his blood-pressure was found to be low, which doctors speculate may have been the cause of Flint's confused state. This is the ninth reported case.

Anna read this with a mixture of guilt and relief. The relief came from the fact that this may have been the ninth reported case, but not the ninth attack; she had done it much more often than that. After all, she'd been in this city for three months now. Obviously, people weren't reporting this, probably since there never was much to report. How can you report what you don't remember? Not that this bothered Anna in the least; she'd like everybody to forget. It made things a lot easier for her.

Anna's guilt, on the other hand, came from remembering what she'd actually _done_ ; she'd attacked someone. She tried to put it out of her mind – he was fine, wasn't he? He was alive and, as usual, didn't even know what had happened. _He'd be perfectly alright_ , she told herself. She decided not to think about it anymore; just pretend that nothing had happened and go on like she always did.

## Chapter 2: Rosemont High

The hallway was empty, except for one girl. She walked quickly across the linoleum-tiled floor without making a sound. It was a gift; even in boots she was silent. And as she stalked silently through the halls, she had only one thought in her mind: Where is room 122A?

Her green eyes flashed in frustration, and she ran a hand through her long black hair. It was the first day of school, and she was lost. Well, not _the_ first day of school – school had been in session for almost a month. But it was Anna's first day.

Anna had decided to go to school when she first moved here. She'd signed up to be a freshman at Rosemont High School so she could get the whole four-year experience. She figured two months would be plenty of time to get everything in order, but apparently she'd been wrong. It seemed like every time she got one document in, they wanted three more. It had been a lot more trouble than she'd expected, and she hoped it'd be worth it.

Anna scanned the numbers over the doors as she scurried down the hall. She didn't want to be any later than she already was – not that it was her fault. She'd been both nervous and excited about her first day of school and decided to come a little early. She'd ended up at the front doors twenty minutes before class even started.

But when she went into the office to get her schedule, she found that there were still some papers she had to fill out – something about an emergency contact. She spent over half an hour trying to explain to a very strict and unyielding office lady that she didn't _need_ one of those. When it became clear she wouldn't be allowed to leave until she'd given them a name, she finally resorted to just making one up. By the time she was done, she was almost fifteen minutes late to English.

As she neared the end of the hallway, Anna stopped running. She was now standing outside of Room 122A. This was it – her first class. Anna smoothed down her hair and took a deep breath. Slowly, she opened the door.

It wasn't the way she expected it to be. In her mind, she'd pictured a classroom full of students sitting quietly at their desks. The teacher would be standing up at the front of the room, tall and thin and probably wearing a severe black dress. She'd be giving a lecture to students who would be diligently taking notes. Everything would be nice and orderly and calm. That's the way it'd always looked in those old movies she'd seen – wasn't that how it was supposed to be?

Instead, what she saw were students talking loudly to each other – a few even shouting across the room to carry on conversations. Half of the students were still standing, and almost no one was looking at the teacher. The teacher, for her part, was standing at the front of the room, her fat, round face smiling warmly at a piece of paper in her hand. It wasn't quite chaos, but it was close. The strangest thing was that the teacher didn't even seem to _care_ how her students were behaving. In fact, she seemed almost oblivious to the whole scene.

Anna stared at the woman in disbelief. She had on a long flowing black skirt with bright pink, blue, and purple flowers plastered all over it. And she'd paired the monstrosity with a neon-pink shirt and gaudy blue necklace. As she squinted down at the roll sheet, Anna thought she looked friendly enough, but completely clueless. So this was her English teacher, Mrs. Boyd.

"Michael Thomlin?" Mrs. Boyd asked hopefully, the smile never leaving her fat face. A skinny red-haired boy slouching in the front glumly raised his hand, and Mrs. Boyd smiled even wider. "Oh good. And last – but certainly not _least!_...Jessica Williams?"

A hand was raised in the back, but Anna couldn't see who it belonged to.

"Good. Well, I'm glad you're all here today. Shall we begin?"

Even though the class finally started to settle down, Anna still stood next to the door, fighting the urge to just turn around and leave. Clearly, she hadn't been noticed yet; it wasn't too late.

She stood there awkwardly, trying to decide how badly she really wanted to be in school after all. Mrs. Boyd looked around the room one last time, finally spotting Anna. She was clearly startled by the sight of an unexpected face at the door. In an instant, however, the smile was back.

"You must be our new student!" she said with what sounded like relief. "What was your name?"

"Anna Ellington," came the flat response.

"Oh yes. Anna. What a pretty name. And how do you spell your last name?"

As Anna spelled her name, Mrs. Boyd wrote it down on the roll sheet.

"Well, it's great to have you in our class! We've been reading The _Odyssey_. We've already read the first four chapters, so you'll have to read those and catch up as soon as you can." She stared at Anna expectantly for several seconds before a look of realization suddenly passed across her face. "Oh! I'm so sorry. You can sit in that desk there, next to Summer."

Anna followed Mrs. Boyd's chubby finger towards the back corner of the room. The desk Mrs. Boyd was pointing to was next to a delicate-looking blonde girl. Anna slowly made her way towards the empty seat. As she sat down, she heard Mrs. Boyd talking to herself.

"Sometimes I think I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached!" As she laughed merrily at her own joke, Anna grimaced inside. She had the feeling Mrs. Boyd was right.

Anna heard a light laughter and looked over in Summer's direction. She was smiling at Anna, seeing her look of concern.

"Yes, she really is this weird. But don't worry, most of the other teachers are normal – not like _this_." She smiled reassuringly as she reached down into her backpack and pulled out her book.

"And don't worry about catching up – we've been reading the same six pages for almost a week now!"

Anna just stared blankly at Summer. "How can you take a week to read six pages?" she asked incredulously. Surely, even the worst reader could do better than that!

"Well, she doesn't really remember things and apparently never writes them down. Every day, we start at the same spot – we only move on if someone gets really bored and tells her we did this already."

"But that's stupid." Anna said before she could stop herself.

"Yeah, I know. But there's a lot less homework this way."

Anna sat there a minute, a sense of bewilderment sweeping over her. _This wasn't what she'd signed up for at all_. How could it be so different from the movies she'd seen?

Anna reached into her backpack to get out her own book but stopped; something Summer said had struck her.

"What do you mean _most_ of the other teachers are normal?"

Summer looked back at Anna and laughed breezily.

"Well," she explained, "some of them joke around, or sometimes forget things, but no one's as bad as Mrs. Boyd. And none of the others repeat the same lesson three days in a row!"

Anna nodded uncertainly and went back to looking for her book. She was at least glad they were reading The Odyssey. Ever since it had been translated into English, it had been one of her favorite stories. She still read it from time to time, even though she had memorized almost the entire poem by now. She smiled to herself as she realized that this meant she wouldn't have to work too hard in English at least – especially if they kept reading the same parts over and over again.

When the bell finally rang, everyone threw their books into their backpacks. Anna was surprised at how fast everyone managed to get their things together and leave the room. Even Summer was gone before Anna had the chance to leave her desk. She tried not to be disappointed; Summer was the first person to talk to Anna at school, and she'd been hoping they'd end up being friends. She shrugged – there was always tomorrow. Anna wondered idly why everyone packed up so fast. _It must be because they were going to classes they thought were more interesting – or at least more_ normal.

She had six minute to get to her next class, but Anna got there in three. When she opened the door, she was surprised yet again. It seemed she was in for a lot of that today. This time however, it wasn't the teacher who startled her but the room itself. It was different from any classroom she'd read about in books or seen in movies.

The room was about the size of two classrooms put together, and the door she'd come through was at the back. As she looked around, she saw the room was filled with what looked like raised tables, each with four chairs. The tabletops were thick black slabs and looked like they'd been set on top of wooden cabinets. In the middle of each table was a sink with a long, curving faucet.

Anna looked up as she heard the door open at the front of the classroom. A tall, thin woman walked in wearing a black blazer and skirt. She put the briefcase she'd been carrying on the desk and started taking manila folders out. _This_ was more like the teacher Anna had been expecting. She looked down at her schedule and saw that the teacher's name was Ms. Harle. Anna approached her.

Ms. Harle looked up from her briefcase and smiled brightly at Anna.

"Hello." Ms. Harle said.

"Hello," Anna replied, already feeling much more at ease with this teacher. "I just transferred to this school, and I'm in your biology class."

"Oh, you must be Anna. Nice to meet you."

Anna smiled appreciatively. "Nice to meet you too."

As Ms. Harle started rifling through her briefcase, she explained to Anna, "I have a seating chart in here, and as soon as I find it, we can see where there's a spot for you." She shuffled through some papers until she found the one she was looking for. "Ah, here we go. Let's see...why don't you sit over there?" She pointed a pink-painted nail towards one of the cabinet-tables.

"Thank you." Anna said and walked towards a table on the right side of the room.

As she approached, she saw that the seat faced away from the teacher. _This is odd_ , she thought. _Was it supposed to face the wrong way like this? How would she take notes?_ Impressed by her own cleverness, she decided that she'd just have to turn the seat around.

Anna was still marveling at the strangeness of the room when a girl walked over and pulled out the chair next to her. The girl was tall and thin, with sky-blue eyes. She dropped her backpack on the ground with a thud and turned to Anna.

"Hi!" she said brightly. Then, her face darkened and she asked, "You haven't always sat there, have you?"

Anna tried to hide her smile as she replied, "No. I've just started going here. This is my first day."

"Oh, good." the girl said, obviously glad she hadn't just failed to notice Anna for the past month. "So where'd you move from?"

"Oregon."

"How is it there?" the girl asked politely.

"It was nice, but I needed a change. There's too much rain for my liking."

Anna noticed the girl seemed a little surprised by this and she wondered why. But clearly, she'd made a mistake. She decided it was best to get off the topic as quickly as possible.

"My name's Anna. What's yours?"

The girl brushed a strand of crimson hair out of her eyes. "Carmine. Carmine Zwaanstra. My parents thought it was exotic – I hate it." she informed Anna, rolling her eyes.

Anna wasn't quite sure how to respond to this. After a minute of silence, she'd decided on " _I'm sorry,_ " but was spared having to actually say it by Ms. Harle's starting class.

"Ok. As I mentioned yesterday, we have a lot to do. I have six pages of notes that we're going to try to get through. Then, if we have time, we'll go ahead and start on the next section."

Anna stretched down to her backpack and pulled out a notebook and a pen, feeling much more at ease. The class was quiet, the teacher much more businesslike and in control – _this_ was more like it. She turned her seat around and set her notebook on her knees. She was surprised when she looked up to see so much was already written on the overhead, and she began writing as fast as she could to catch up. It wasn't until the teacher slid the words up that Anna realized that they had been written on little plastic sheets ahead of time.

## Chapter 3: Lunch

Anna was almost looking forward to geography; biology had been a lot better than English, so maybe Summer was right. Besides, she had been educated before and thought she still remembered most of the geography she'd been taught. It had been a long time ago, but so what? How much could it really have changed since then?

She'd been told she could sit anywhere, but as Anna looked around, she saw most of the chairs were already taken. Finally, she found an empty seat towards the back. She sat down and was aware almost instantly that someone was staring at her. She looked up and saw Carmine sitting in the desk one up and to the left. As soon as Anna made eye contact, Carmine grinned.

"So you're in two of my classes, then. Cool." Carmine said warmly. When she heard this, the girl behind Carmine looked up from the book she was reading.

"You're in _two_ classes with her?" the girl asked Anna, jerking her thumb in Carmine's direction. Then grinning wickedly, "Poor you!"

"Hey!" Carmine exclaimed, pretending to look hurt. The other girl just laughed. Carmine turned back to Anna.

"This is my friend Sharon." And to Sharon she said, "This is Anna – she just moved here."

"Anna, huh?" Sharon said, looking thoughtful. Then, reaching a hand toward Anna, she said, "Hey...let me see your schedule."

Anna thought for a minute. She'd really hate to lose it, and handing something over to a stranger never seemed like a good idea. As Anna sat there contemplating, Sharon waggled her fingers. "Here – hurry, before class starts."

Reluctantly Anna handed it over just as the teacher stood up from behind his desk.

"I haven't finished grading the tests from Friday, but they look good so far." he said. "So now we're going to start the section on Europe..."

Anna looked over at Sharon and saw she wasn't paying attention; she was still staring at Anna's schedule. Anna wasn't concentrating either. She kept wondering what Sharon was doing. _What if she didn't give her schedule back to her? Where would Anna go next?_ Twice now, she had been one of the last people to leave – what if she couldn't catch Sharon in time? Still, she managed to tear her eyes away from Sharon and look back at Mr. Wilson; if she'd learned one thing in her life, it was to never show anxiety. But she kept an eye on Sharon anyway.

With two minutes left, Anna heard the soft sounds of zippers zipping and books closing. When the bell rang, it seemed like everybody stood up except for Anna. She zipped her backpack up as fast as she could, not even bothering to put her books away; she'd just carry them in her arm.

Anna had seen that Sharon and Carmine hadn't left yet, so she still had a chance. She stood up quickly and turned to face them. As she looked over at the two girls, she saw the reason they were still there – they were waiting for her. Anna was glad. Now she could get her all-important schedule back, and maybe, just maybe, they wanted to talk with her too.

Sharon smiled at Anna and handed her schedule back to her.

"We have the same lunch." she said. "Wanna join us?"

Anna was surprised and more than a little relieved. Lunch was next, and since she hadn't really struck up any friendships yet, she'd figured she'd be eating alone. Even though she was starting to question the accuracy of schools in the movies, she still stuck by the portrayals she'd seen; it was the only knowledge of school she had. And one thing all the movies agreed on – you shouldn't eat lunch alone. People who ate lunch alone in movies never made any friends – and she sure didn't want to be like that! She smiled happily and said, "Alright."

"Good." Sharon nodded. "Do you guys need to go to the lockers before we head out?"

After making a quick stop at the lockers to swap their books, the three of them went down to the cafeteria. They stood outside the door for a few minutes and waited while hordes of students walked right past them.

Anna wasn't sure what they were waiting for exactly, but she didn't want to ask. She'd already made one mistake when talking to Carmine, and she didn't want to make another. She'd hate to look stupid – or worse, _weird_ in front of people she'd just met! And if she messed this up – who knew? She might end up eating lunch alone for the rest of the year! Maybe they just liked to stretch for a bit before lunch.

Nobody said anything for what seemed like forever. She was just about to break down and ask what was going on when two other girls approached them. One was an average-looking girl with mousy hair cropped to her chin. She had a book in her hands and glasses sticking out of a shirt pocket. The other had pitch-black hair tied up with deep, blood-red ribbons. She had gleaming honey-colored eyes and a small smile. As they came within earshot, Sharon shouted out over the noise of the other students, "You know, we really need to find another place to meet."

"Definitely." the black-haired girl said, nodding slightly and twirling the end of one of her ribbons.

Carmine leaned over to Anna and whispered to her that the brunette was Joanna and the other was Mina. "And Mina just moved here from Japan at the beginning of the year, so she's new too."

Anna smiled and said hello to both of them. When the greetings were over, Sharon asked, "So, who needs to buy lunch?"

As it turned out, everyone had brought their lunches with them. Anna had made a sandwich because she wasn't sure if she'd be able to buy anything at school. The other four knew the line was so long, it took almost the entire period just to get to the font. Sharon knowingly informed Anna that her older sister said the lines were only bad for the first two or three months; after that, they got better.

They found a place to eat at one of the tables inside the cafeteria. Once they were seated, Sharon flashed a knowing smile at Anna.

"So," she said. "How do you like Mrs. Boyd so far?"

Anna wondered for a second how Sharon knew she was in Mrs. Boyd's class. Then she remembered Sharon _had_ been in possession of her schedule for all of geography. But what to say about Mrs. Boyd?

"She seems...well...very happy..." It was the best she could do, not wanting to commit herself either way just yet. Sharon laughed loudly.

"That's one way to put it. Me, I think she's just downright bizarre. She doesn't remember _anything!_ And she goes off on these weird tangents that don't mean anything. How she ever got to be a teacher is beyond me."

Anna laughed in spite of herself. She noticed Mina was smirking slightly. Joanna spoke up.

"Well, I think she's nice. And she obviously enjoys teaching." Anna was surprised at how adamant Joanna was in sticking up for Mrs. Boyd. She studied Joanna for a minute, trying to figure out why she would care.

"I guess." was Sharon's reply. "But, she doesn't _know_ anything! I don't see how she keeps her job."

"Tenure." Mina said with a gleam in her eye.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing she doesn't notice what goes on around her." Carmine interjected. "If she did, she'd see that everybody thinks she's weird!"

"I feel bad for her." Joanna told the group. "I mean, how would you feel if everyone thought that way about you?"

"Don't worry." Sharon replied. "Mrs. Boyd doesn't notice. She just thinks she has about eight hundred friends that each come and visit her for an hour every day!"

"Really?" Anna asked. She had been perfectly happy just watching everyone else talk, but this last comment caught her off guard. Could any teacher – even someone as out of touch as Mrs. Boyd appeared to be – really think that way?

"Well, probably not." Sharon conceded. "But she really _doesn't_ notice the strange looks she gets most of the time. Maybe she just thinks that's how everyone naturally looks."

"Oh..." Anna said, unsure if this made her feel better about Mrs. Boyd or not. Anna heard a quiet laugh, and looked up to see Mina grinning at her, but not saying anything. Joanna, however, did say something.

"Well, I'm glad she doesn't notice. I'd feel even _worse_ if she did."

"Maybe." Sharon said, but she nodded in agreement. "But either way, you have to admit, she sure makes class interesting."

Anna found herself smiling; she had to agree there.

The rest of the day passed quickly for Anna. She was a little disappointed to learn that none of her new friends were in any more of her classes, but at least her teachers were much better than Mrs. Boyd had been. Anna was surprised – and relieved – to realize that she was actually looking forward to coming back the next day.

## Chapter 4: Life in the 1700s

Anna had been born in in 1706 and had become a vampire before she was even twenty. She still hated to think about those first few months. Once she'd been turned, she'd had no idea what to do; there had been no one there to guide her. What could she do? She couldn't very well _ask_ anyone for advice; they'd either run her out of town or kill her. So, she'd been forced to figure things out for herself as she went along.

It was rough going, but she'd managed to learn a few basic facts. First, she'd discovered she was a lot stronger than she used to be. It was hard to tell exactly how much stronger she was, especially since she'd never really _tested_ her strength before becoming a vampire. But she estimated she was at least four or five times stronger than she used to be. One thing was for sure – she could now easily overpower the average man, despite the fact that she almost never did. She just didn't _like_ to use force. It made her feel like some kind of bully – or _monster_ , even. Besides, it was so unladylike. And growing up in the early 1700s had taught Anna nothing if not to be ladylike.

She discovered she'd gained other abilities as well. Her sight had improved dramatically, for instance. Instead of being a little nearsighted, her vision was now perfect – more than perfect, actually. She could see in full darkness as well as the average human could see during the day. And during the day – well, she could read the hands on a pocket watch from over fifty yards away.

She was more agile and much quieter, too. She could move at almost three times her original speed and be absolutely silent while doing it. Not that all her new abilities were that great. Her amazing new sense of smell, for example. How was _that_ useful? As far as she could tell, the only thing it ever did was let her know that her neighbor about six houses down burned dinner at least once a week.

Which brought her to the drawbacks. Some of them had jumped out at her right away – her reaction to sunlight being a perfect example. Oh, she could still walk around during the daytime, sure. She just burned quicker than she'd ever thought possible. If she stayed outside for more than an hour or two, any part of her skin that the sun touched would turn horrifyingly red. She'd managed to get around this by simply wearing lots of long clothes until the invention of sunscreen – a real life-saver for a vampire. Even still, she tried to avoid direct sunlight as much as possible – sunscreen could only do so much, after all.

The power of garlic had been another surprise for Anna. She'd always been fond of garlic, and since it was used to help cure certain diseases when she was young, she'd always had plenty on hand. But after she'd become a vampire, just touching the stuff burned her. She'd eaten it only once, and even though it had been just a tiny amount, she'd been violently ill. Needless to say, she didn't make _that_ mistake again.

Avoiding these pitfalls wasn't nearly as painful as finding out about them had been. It seemed to Anna that in one fell swoop, all that she had truly loved had been taken away from her.

The circumstances surrounding her becoming a vampire had been most cruel, and Anna reacted accordingly. She hadn't wanted this in the slightest, and she'd refused to believe something so horrible could happen. _Why her? What had she done to deserve this?_

She kept going over it time and time again. She'd been a good, if naïve, girl – she hadn't done anything wrong. So, wallowing in depression, she'd done what she was sure anyone else in her situation would have; she hid herself in her room and steadfastly refused to come out.

And that was how it stayed for many years. Anna would only come out of her room when she absolutely needed to. Most of her time was spent in solitude, reading. Her parents would leave dinner by her bedroom door, and Anna would place the empty tray in the hall before morning. Her parents always assumed Anna had eaten what they'd left for her, but since becoming a vampire, she'd almost completely lost her appetite. She did eat what was brought to her on occasion, but more often than not she'd simply throw it out the window for the animals. While Anna _could_ eat food, she no longer needed it and certainly no longer enjoyed it.

There was only one reason Anna ever really needed to leave her self-imposed exile. And in these cases, she'd wait until dark and then sneak out the window, across the roof, and down a tree on the back side of the house. It was an extreme measure, sure, but these were extreme circumstances.

She would go out every five days or six days, when she could stand it no more; the thirst would drive her out. There, in the shadows, she'd wait for some unlucky passerby who might come along.

Anna had always felt bad for what amounted to basically mauling innocent victims. But she'd done it in order to survive. Even still, once the cravings had subsided, Anna would return to her room, overcome with feelings of guilt. She'd flee from the scene as hurriedly as if she herself had been the one attacked. These feelings of guilt would last for days. Until, that is, the cravings returned, driving her out into the cold, lonely night once again. This cycle continued on for many years, and it was only during a particularly cold winter in 1748 that her routine suffered a brief hiccup. Her mother had died some years ago, but this winter, it was her father's turn.

After the death of Anna's father, she'd been forced out of her room to take care of the necessary arrangements. She emerged not looking a day older than she had when she'd first locked herself away over twenty years ago.

After the funeral, she'd slowly started talking to her neighbors, getting back into the community. It was the first time she'd talked to anyone other than her parents since her self-imposed exile had started. She learned that most of her friends had married. Her very best friend, Jacqueline, had moved away with someone almost twelve years ago, though she hadn't the courage to ask who the groom had been. But even with most of her former friends gone, there were still a few people in town that Anna knew. And she started talking to them again, reconnecting to her town, trying finally to put her life back together.

But Anna's refusal to leave her room for over two decades had been an unusual turn of events, and most of the town remembered it. More importantly, they remembered _her_. She'd been one of the most beautiful girls in town – the kind that people don't often forget. So when she emerged looking exactly as she had all those years earlier, people noticed. And in that superstitious time, rumors spread quickly.

She'd only been coming into town for two weeks when it happened. A mob of what looked like fifty or more men was storming towards her house, their lanterns piercing through the night and making them clearly visible. She heard the angry shouts of _"Demon"_ and _"Monster"_ as they came up the path. Her heart pounded in her ears. She knew what they were going to do – it was time to go.

Her strength and agility saved her life. Anna quickly grabbed anything of value that she could carry – including all the money left in the house – climbed through her window, and disappeared into the woods.

She found a small cottage a few towns over, and she quietly took up residence there. And by the time some young kids finally got up the nerve to go into the abandoned house at the end of the road, there wasn't a thing left in it save a few spider webs.

After being chased out of her own town, Anna decided it was best not to make friends anymore; the less people knew about her, the less likely they were to come after her. And so, her cycle of isolation continued as it had been, with one exception. Now, she moved every five years, whether she wanted to or not. It was safest this way.

And this is how Anna continued to live for years. Over two hundred years, in fact. Even now, she couldn't say exactly what it was that broke the cycle. She did know it was around the time that television was invented; maybe that was what did it. All she knew for sure was that she'd been one of the first three people to buy one from that particular store – a feat which was quite amazing for her since Anna was the last person to try something new.

The television set had been a lifeline for Anna almost as much as it had been an escape. She'd watched it as often as she could. Eventually, she started watching it almost twenty hours a day. She relied on it; not only did it distract her from her lonely, solitary life, but because it was also her only connection to the outside world. Still remembering how she'd been chased out of her home in colonial Massachusetts, she hadn't been anxious to establish new contacts. This is where television saved her. It had allowed her to stay reasonably connected to the world outside without having to actually _go_ outside. She had been able to get news and current events as well as stay at least superficially aware of the changing culture. She learned about the major changes in society, at least, even if she had missed out on some of the more subtle details.

Anna probably would have carried on forever as a TV-watching vampire, only venturing away from her own home to hunt, if it hadn't been for an interesting phenomenon: vampires on TV. This was a turning point for Anna. It was the first time she realized that all vampires weren't necessarily evil – that _she_ wasn't necessarily evil.

Realizing that she might not be intrinsically bad did wonders for Anna. It started to boost her self-image and her confidence. She started slowly going out places, even during the daytime. Coffee shops and movie theaters were her two favorite places to go. She'd seen her first movie at this time, and still had fond memories of that theater. Going out even that limited bit helped her realize how much better her life could be – better than she'd ever thought possible.

Soon, Anna was going out almost every single day. She still wasn't talking much to people, but at least she was out in public. This had been fine with Anna, and she had no desire to do any more – she never had been a particularly ambitious person. But even this newfound excitement wasn't enough after she saw that commercial.

Anna had been at home in her apartment late one night when an advertisement came on for some after-school program. She watched in fascination as students ran across the screen, laughing and playing in groups. She didn't even remember what program was being advertised; that wasn't important. _After school._ That was the important part. These kids were in school, and they were having fun. That was all Anna saw.

It had been so long since Anna had had fun – _real_ fun. Sure, she'd enjoyed herself over the years, but she hadn't felt the joy of sharing her experiences in a long time. Thinking back on it, Anna realized with a shock that it had been over two hundred years since she'd had fun _with someone else_. She yearned to have that again; she'd forgotten for so long what that was like.

But you can't have fun in after-school programs if you don't go to school, can you? So, as she watched the ad go by, her eyes shining with excitement, Anna made a decision: she was going to school.

## Chapter 5: Demons, Past and Present

Anna was much less nervous on her second day of school than she had been on her first. After all, she'd managed to find all her classes, and even made a few friends. All in all, it had been a very productive day, she felt.

She got to English a little early – she always did hate being late. Just like on her first day, most of the students were talking loudly to each other. Unlike yesterday, however, the teacher was missing, and Anna wondered where she could be. She decided to ask the only person she knew in class – the blonde-haired girl named Summer.

"Mrs. Boyd?" Summer asked. "Oh, she's never on time. The earliest she ever gets here is five minutes past. But don't worry – it just makes class that much shorter!"

Anna smiled halfheartedly at this, mulling it over. _How could a teacher be late to her own class?_ A wad of paper flew over Anna's head – clearly, she was the only one bothered by this lack of teacher.

"So how was your first day here, anyway?" Summer asked Anna.

"It was fine – I met a lot of nice people." she replied.

"That's great." Summer said, smiling warmly. Then, with a knowing glance, she added, "And how were the rest of your teachers?"

This time Anna's smile was genuine. "They were much better."

"See? I told you. Don't worry – it's really just like any other school. But if you have any questions, you know where to find me."

Anna thanked Summer, glad to know she had at least one person she could rely on. She was trying to decide whether or not to ask about after-school programs when the door swung open and in bounced Mrs. Boyd, wearing a neon-green shirt and an electric-blue skirt.

"Good morning, class!" Mrs. Boyd called out in her sing-songy voice. She walked happily up to her desk and cheerfully set her large black bag on the chair. Then turning to the class, she asked, "How is everybody doing today?"

At the sight of Mrs. Boyd standing up at the front of the classroom, Anna reached down into her backpack to get her notebook out. Even though none of the other students seemed to take note of Mrs. Boyd, Anna just didn't feel right not being prepared for class, no matter the teacher.

Still seemingly unaware of her class's lack of interest in her, Mrs. Boyd continued talking. "Well, I told you last Thursday we could watch parts of the movie _The Odyssey_ , and today I finally remembered to bring it in! This way, you can actually _see_ what's happening in the story. So, if you'll give me a minute, I'll go ahead and put the DVD in."

Mrs. Boyd turned towards a television set that was mounted in the far corner and shoved the DVD into the player below it. After several minutes of randomly pushing buttons on the remote, all she'd managed to do was turn the screen blue. The class, which had finally started to quiet down, was talking loudly once again, ignoring the teacher's futile attempts to get the movie to play.

After almost five minutes of this, the tall red-headed boy sitting in the front stood up. Anna recognized him as Michael Tomlin from Mrs. Boyd's role-taking the day before. He walked over to Mrs. Boyd and after talking to her for a moment, took the remote from her. Anna watched as he pushed two or three buttons. The screen flicked from a deep blue to a picture of trees swaying gently in the breeze.

"Why, thank you, Michael!" Mrs. Boyd said appreciatively as the boy walked calmly back to his seat. Realizing the movie was finally working, the class quieted down – though Anna could still hear whispers all around her.

So Anna spent the next hour watching a movie in class. She had to admit, it was kind of nice. She didn't have to pay too much attention, and even better, she didn't have to worry about Mrs. Boyd. Class passed quickly, and before Anna knew it, it was time to go to biology.

Anna was early to biology again, but Carmine followed soon after.

"Hi!" Carmine said as she sat down next to Anna. She was holding a thick black book, a scarlet ribbon hanging between the pages.

"Hello." Anna replied. Then pointing at the book, "What's that?"

"Oh, this?" Carmine asked, trying unsuccessfully to sound casual. "It's a book on demons from around the world. It has all kinds of cool things in it – like vampires, and werewolves, and banshees. It even has _faeries_. You know, they're not nearly as nice as people think." Then, thrusting the book towards Anna, she insisted, "Here, take a look!"

But Anna didn't _want_ to look at the book. _Why would she want to look at a book that listed her as a demon?_ But when she saw the look of excitement on Carmine's face, Anna just didn't have the heart to say no. She didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings, and it was obviously important to her.

Carefully, Anna took the book from Carmine and started leafing through it. It seemed interesting enough, and Anna even caught herself reading up on the evils of various types of undead. She flipped through a few more pages before the book fell open to the spot marked with the red ribbon. Realizing that this must be the page Carmine was reading, Anna stopped – it was in the vampire section of the book. Anna started reading in earnest, wondering what her friend's book might say about her:

_While the modern vampire is sometimes seen as a suave and charismatic creature, this is by no means the case. These stories of cool, in-control vampires are a modern invention. The real vampires of old are, in fact, bloodthirsty corpses that gorge not only on blood but on human flesh as well. They are mindless, almost zombie-like creatures, and as such are arguably some of the worst demons discussed in this book. A vampire is definitely_ not _something you would ever want to meet in real life._

There are numerous ways to get rid of a vampire, should you discover you do, in fact, know one...

The book continued on from there, but Anna had lost all desire to read any further. Quietly, she handed it back to Carmine, trying to rearrange her look of horror into a more thoughtful expression.

Carmine, who had been busy rooting through her backpack for a pen, hadn't seen the initial look on Anna's face. She took the book from Anna and set it on the table between them. Anna couldn't help but stare at it. In old-fashioned gold lettering, the words _Demons: Past and Present_ were scrawled across the cover.

Carmine caught Anna still staring at the book and explained, "I got this from the school library. It's pretty good so far, but I've read better – I've read most of the books on supernatural things that our library has." Then laughing, she added, "I'm practically an expert."

Anna wasn't sure what to think. _Why was Carmine showing her this? Could it be that she suspected Anna herself was a demon?_ Quickly she brushed the thought from her mind; if Carmine really thought that, she wouldn't have shown her the book. She'd be much more likely to keep the information to herself. Anna was starting to relax when suddenly a rather chilling thought popped into her head.

"Is everyone else this interested in these kinds of things?" She held her breath, waiting for the answer.

"Oh..." Carmine said, her face falling slightly. "Well...not really. I mean, everyone else listens to me, but they don't really care – especially Sharon. She's always telling me that nobody over ten cares about this stuff. But I still think it's really interesting. My favorite is vampires, though."

"Really?" Anna found herself asking. She'd been caught off guard, and it just sort of came out. Her look of astonishment must have been misinterpreted as interest by Carmine, whose face brightened considerably.

"Oh, yeah. I mean, they're so–" but before Carmine could finish, she was interrupted.

"Miss Zwaanstra!"

Anna and Carmine both jumped about a foot out of their chairs. Ms. Harle was standing at the front of the room, notes already on the overhead projector, waiting to start class. Anna had been so engrossed in her conversation with Carmine that she hadn't even heard Ms. Harle come in. Exchanging guilty looks with each other, the two girls turned their chairs around to face the front of the room.

"Sorry, Ms. Harle." Carmine mumbled sheepishly.

All throughout class, Carmine kept sneaking glances at Anna. But every time she was about to say something, Ms. Harle would turn around to face the class, and Carmine's head would drop smoothly back to her notebook.

Anna was surprised to realize she was much more interested in what Carmine had to say than whatever Ms. Harle was talking about. She wished Ms. Harle would stop turning around to answer questions.

Unfortunately, cell functions appeared to be a rather complex topic, and Ms. Harle turned around every two or three minutes for the entire period. Anna would have to wait until the end of biology to continue the conversation with Carmine.

Finally, the bell rang. Anna grabbed her backpack off the floor and threw her book and notepad inside. Like everyone else, Carmine had already gotten all of her things together and was now waiting patiently for Anna. Anna wondered if she'd have to start putting her books away before class ended too, but it just didn't seem right; it was disrespectful. Besides, she was here to learn; if she allowed herself to pack before the teacher was even finished talking, how much information would she miss out on? She would just have to be quicker. She hurriedly zipped up her backpack and turned towards Carmine.

As the two girls walked towards geography, Anna searched for something to say. She wanted to finish the conversation they'd been having before biology started, but she couldn't figure out how to bring the topic back up. She wanted to know what Carmine thought of vampires. They were so...what? So fascinating? Unusual? Or were they creepy? Even scary? This last one held Anna back. She knew most people thought along the creepy-scary lines, and she didn't want to hear either of those words come out of Carmine's mouth. Hearing that Carmine really _didn't_ like vampires would undoubtedly strain their budding friendship. She decided it was best not to ask after all.

Carmine, on the other hand, had no problem figuring out what to say.

"It sucks that Ms. Harle kept turning around during class." she told Anna with annoyance. Anna nodded vaguely and Carmine continued. "I mean, how am I supposed to talk when she keeps staring right at me?"

"I don't think you're supposed to." Anna pointed out helpfully. Carmine stopped a minute and looked over at Anna.

"Well, I know _that_." she responded, her tone surprising Anna. "But I wanted to. I mean, who cares about cells anyway?"

Despite her firm intention to enjoy school, Anna had to admit she didn't care about that particular topic either.

"Of course you don't!" Carmine laughed. "Cause it's not interesting. Not like vampires, anyway."

Anna was surprised at the ease with which Carmine had transitioned back to talking about vampires. And here Anna had been worried she wouldn't be able to bring the topic back up!

"So why are you interested in vampires?" she asked.

Carmine glanced briefly at Anna. Apparently seeing the genuine interest in Anna's face, she replied simply, "Why not? I mean, vampires are much more interesting than average, everyday humans."

"Really?" Anna had never made that comparison herself.

"Well, sure." Carmine replied, taking on the air of an expert. "They're immortal, they're practically invincible, and they can fly! Who wouldn't think that's more interesting?"

"They can't fly." Anna said automatically.

"Sure they can – well...they turn into bats to fly. But it's still flying."

Anna laughed in spite of herself. She'd never heard of anyone believing that vampires could actually turn into bats before, and the image of turning herself into one and flying around town was too silly for her to contemplate. Seeing the surprise – or was it hurt? – in Carmine's face made Anna stop laughing. But she couldn't wipe the smile completely from her face.

"They don't turn into bats." she informed Carmine.

"Sure they do." Carmine insisted, growing slightly defensive as they took their seats. Just like on her first day, Anna saw that Sharon had made it before them. As Anna looked over at her, Sharon sat up straighter.

"Is she talking about some mythical creatures again?" Sharon cut in, a slight edge in her voice.

"I was telling Anna that vampires could fly." Carmine told her matter-of-factly, as if this were a perfectly normal conversation for anyone to have. "But she doesn't believe me."

Sharon rolled her eyes, a trace of annoyance on her face.

"Of course they can't fly." she told Carmine flatly. "Things that don't exist can't fly."

"That's what _you_ think." Carmine said softly, but the conversation was effectively over; it seemed that the topic of vampires was not up for discussion as far as Sharon was concerned. Anna, for her part, had to admit she was sorry it ended.

## Chapter 6: Ye Olde Antiques Shoppe

Saturday morning, Anna woke up nice and early; she never did sleep much. She roamed lazily around her apartment in her pajamas for a little while before deciding to fix herself a nice, hot cup of tea with lots of sugar in it – just the way she liked it. As she poured in the last spoonful, she took a sip and sighed contentedly. Perfect. She continued to drink her tea as she padded over to her front door. She had one of those mail slots, just like in those old black and white movies she loved to watch. It still made her smile to look at that. Her very own door slot – it made her feel like she was in one of those romantic films herself.

As she bent down and picked the mail up off of the plush, dark green carpet, Anna was reminded yet again of the two main disadvantages to having a slot in your door for the mail. First, she had to bend down and pick it up off of the floor. Second, since it all fell onto the carpet instead of being placed carefully into a nice, neat little box, it had a tendency to scatter all over the place. No matter. She quickly brushed these thoughts aside, as she did every day. She liked the romance of her mail slot and didn't want to think about what a pain it could be.

She took the small pile with her back to the kitchen, leafing through it as she went. Bills, bills, bills. All bills – rent, electric, storage... Annoying, but Anna wasn't actually disappointed; it's what she'd been expecting, really. All she ever got were bills. She had only made friends recently, and she hadn't told any of them her address. The only people who actually knew where she lived were the people who sent her bills.

Anna knew it had been nearing the end of the month, but she had been pushing the thought out of her mind. Now, she had the bills in her hand and no money in her bank account. At least, not much. Certainly not enough to cover what she owed. She sighed. Looks like she'd have to do what she always did – find something to sell. But it was such a hassle!

Anna ambled around her apartment, mug still firmly in hand, taking stock of what she owned. The apartment was a small, one-bedroom unit complete with living room and kitchen. The living room was the biggest part of the house, and the front door actually opened directly into it.

On the left was a short hallway, which dead-ended at a small linen closet. On each wall of this tiny hall was a door. The door on the left led to a small, almost hotel-sized bathroom. The other door led to Anna's bedroom.

Anna walked into the bedroom, surveying the furniture she saw. Her bed was a beautiful Colonial-style four-poster made of wood so dark it was almost black, complete with a canopy. The two posts at the head of the bed framed a blue and green landscape painting, and all four posts had been carved into spirals. Both the headboard and the footboard were supported by small, beautifully ornate spindles. Anna smiled. She loved that bed; she'd had it since she was a child and selling it wasn't an option. So she turned towards the two dressers sitting side-by-side on the wall opposite the closet.

The one on the left was made of a light wood and had been purchased by Anna in 1892. The other one had been purchased, oddly enough, almost exactly one hundred years later – 1989, Anna believed. The new dresser was the one Anna used to keep all of the clothes she still wore. The other one used its top four drawers to keep clothes that were at least eighty years old; the bottom drawer was where Anna kept all the papers and receipts for each piece of furniture she owned.

These three pieces of furniture, along with a small nightstand, made up all of the furniture in this room. Anna shook her head slightly to herself. Every piece in here was functional – she wouldn't be able to sell any of these without causing herself some major inconveniences. She decided to look at the living room and dining room instead.

Unlike Anna's bedroom, the small living room was crammed with furniture. She had a couple of antique wingback chairs on either side of a couch she'd bought in the mid-1970s. A coffee table sat in front of the couch, and on the other side of the room was a rather large chest with a television set on top of it. Crammed into the corner was a small table with two tea chairs. The room really was too crowded, and she made a note of this. Something in this room, at least, would have to go – probably the table and chairs. The chairs had thin, spindly legs that weren't really good for sitting on, anyway.

On the right side of the living room was an archway leading into the kitchen and dining room area. Really, it was just a small kitchen with a counter running along two sides of the room, and just enough space at the near end for Anna to set up a table. It wasn't really a dining room, but Anna liked to think of it as one. And since there was no one to argue with her, she did.

She had wandered slowly around the apartment, refreshing herself on what she had. Her furniture was a strange mix of the relatively new and the very old sitting side-by-side. Her closet was the same way; it was packed with clothing that ranged from things she had bought two weeks ago to things she had gotten almost two centuries ago.

Almost two hundred years ago, the money Anna had taken from her house as she fled her hometown that night had started to run out. She hadn't had much, but she had been very careful with what she did have, knowing that it would have to last her for a long, long time. She had managed to stretch it out for almost seventy-five years this way. But, her family had not been all that wealthy, and she hadn't gotten the lavish amount that an immortal would need to live on.

Fortunately for Anna, just as her funds were starting to run out, she'd hit upon a simple, yet brilliant idea: she would sell antiques. It was really a natural career choice for someone like her, once she'd thought about it. All she would have to do was buy furniture – or anything else she saw fit – keep it, and then sell it years later as she needed.

It turned out that this plan was a little more complicated than she'd originally anticipated. The most difficult part was picking out things, not by how popular they were at the time, but by how popular they were _going to be_ in the future. Fortunately, Anna discovered she had a knack for this kind of thing, and she was almost never wrong. She'd also learned to keep any receipts and certificates of authenticity she may have had, just in case.

As Anna toured her own apartment, her kitchen table was the thing that really caught her eye. It was a deep, dark mahogany table with ornate designs carved beautifully on both the legs and the edges of the tabletop itself. Amazingly, the whole table seemed to be made out of a single piece of wood. Anna had never seen anything like it before, and she knew when she first laid eyes on it all those years ago that she just _had_ to have it. She bought it in 1815, and it was the second-oldest piece of furniture in her apartment, after her bed. It had been an impulse buy that she'd only barely been able to afford, but she knew that one day it would make her a lot of money. And today, it seemed, was that day.

Anna finally set her mug down on the counter before walking back into her bedroom. She walked over to the antique dresser, and pulled open the bottom drawer. She leafed through stacks of papers for a few minutes, until she found what she was looking for: the manila folder with all of her documentation on the kitchen table, and the one containing the information on the table and chairs set. She laid the folders on the bed, and then started to look through the top drawers of the dresser.

The top drawers were where Anna kept all of her old clothes. Most of them were women's clothes dating back almost one hundred and fifty years, but there were also men's and children's clothing there that she'd purchased from time to time. Carefully, she took out an armful of dresses along with two or three men's shirts. She folded them gently into a large cardboard box, filling it to the top. After placing the folders she'd taken out on top of the clothes, Anna then carried the box back to the kitchen and set everything on the corner of the counter.

In a drawer in the kitchen was a Polaroid camera that Anna had bought about twenty years ago. She took several pictures of the table, highlighting the engraving done on it. Then, she walked back into the living room to take photographs of the chairs and table. Once the pictures developed, she tucked each into their respective folders and set the folders back in the box.

One of the reasons Anna had picked this particular apartment was because it was only a few blocks away from a very reputable antiques shop. And since she'd never bothered to learn how to drive, it was important for her to be able to walk there. Anna checked her watch – 7:45. Perfect. By the time she got dressed and walked down there, the shop should be open. So, after a quick change of clothes, Anna grabbed the box and headed out the door.

***

Anna had decided to dress professionally for her trip to the antiques shop, and had put on a pair of black pants and a white V-necked blouse. She'd pulled her hair back in a neat bun, trying to look as old as she possibly could. She wanted whoever she talked to take her seriously, and she'd long ago discovered that people just didn't listen to her if she looked too young.

Before Anna had even moved to this town, she had looked up the local antique dealers. The fact that there was a big, well-established shop at the center of town had been a real draw for her. It was this shop that Anna was headed off to.

She glanced up at the sign as she crossed the parking lot towards the two-story building. _"Ye Olde Antiques Shoppe"_. Anna smirked slightly as she read the name, thinking that, in all honesty, it was pretty stupid. Who wrote things like that? Even still, they were some of the best people around for miles, and she knew that they'd know exactly how valuable the things she was bringing to them really were.

Anna struggled with the door for a few minutes, trying to get it open while still holding her big, awkward cardboard box. The box was too big to hold with just one arm, making it difficult to pull the door open. Fortunately, a short, leathery old lady with frazzled orange hair was just leaving, and held the door open for Anna.

"Thanks." Anna mumbled to her as she made her way inside.

The inside of the store looked like a warehouse. The whole first floor was only one room, about sixty feet long and just as deep, and furniture was stacked everywhere. After glancing around, it became apparent to Anna that the room was organized not by type of furniture – beds with beds and desks with desks – but by the era that each piece was made in. The area she was currently standing in looked like it was designated for paraphernalia from the 1930s and '40s. Everything on this floor looked like it was from some time in this century. Along the back wall, Anna could see a staircase leading upstairs to where she presumed the older furniture lay.

Looking around, she spotted the cash register in the center of this over-crowded room. Slowly, she made her way over, careful not to run into a table corner jutting out or knock a precariously-perched lamp to the floor.

The counter was four-sided, and in the middle sat a rather plump old lady reading a book. Her blue-white hair was pulled on top of her head in a kind of beehive. When she saw Anna approach, she stood up and smiled, pulling red-framed glasses out of her pocket and slipping them on her nose. "Good afternoon," the woman said pleasantly. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing fine." Anna replied, hoisting the box up onto the counter. "How are you?"

The woman brightened visibly as she said, "I'm well, thank you."

Anna felt sorry for the old woman; she got the distinct feeling that most people didn't care enough to ask how she was doing.

After exchanging their greetings, Anna took her pictures out of the box. "I've been going through some things at my grandmother's house," she lied, "and I think I'm going to have to get rid of a few pieces." With this, she started carefully pulling the clothes out of the cardboard box. The woman walked out from behind her desk, and started helping Anna lay the dresses out flat on the counter. The old lady was clearly awestruck, though she tried her best to hide it. After several moments of silence, she finally said, "I've never seen clothes this old in such great condition."

Anna smiled at hearing this. So many times, people at antique shops tried to pretend that she'd brought in things that are almost worthless, though Anna knew perfectly well they weren't. This time, however, she knew that the woman's shock would make it much easier to get the kind of price she deserved; there wouldn't be nearly as much arguing as there usually was. After all, Anna knew exactly what she could get for the things she sold, and wouldn't take less. She had been doing this for a very long time, after all. And since she'd intended to sell these clothes since the day she'd bought them, she'd taken excellent care of them – and it showed.

"Thank you." Anna said to the lady. "I'm hoping to sell these today. I also have a few pieces of furniture in my apartment that I'd like to get rid of as well." As she said this, Anna handed the old woman the folders, complete with Polaroids she'd taken just an hour or so before. If possible, the old woman's eyes got even wider as she flipped through the photos. Anna found herself becoming excited at how easy this was going to be. "Since I don't have a way to get those here myself, I was hoping I could arrange for someone to come get them." The places Anna'd gone to in the past usually had someone with a truck who could transport big pieces of furniture in situations like this. _Ye Olde Antique Shoppe_ proved no exception.

"I think that can be arranged." the old woman told her. Then, tearing her eyes away from the photographs, she said, "I can pay you now for the clothes, and you'll receive the money for the furniture when we come to pick it up. That way we can properly inspect it to determine a fair price."

Anna nodded and the woman walked back behind the counter towards the register.

Anna walked out of the store with a glint in her eye and a pocket full of cash. _And_ she'd been given a pretty high estimate for her furniture, which would be picked up on Tuesday afternoon. Anna couldn't help but be happy; she'd gotten more than even _she'd_ been prepared for – which was saying a lot. With the money she already had in her hand from the clothes, and the money she'd receive from her furniture, she'd have enough to last her several more years – almost a decade if she was reasonably careful. Oh, yes. She'd definitely found her calling.

## Chapter 7: When the Rain Comes

Anna awoke to the sound of something scratching loudly at her window. The room was almost completely dark, with only a pale grey light seeping through a crack in the curtains. Startled by the noise, Anna reluctantly crawled out from under her fluffy down comforter and made her way to the window. She pulled back the curtain and peered out onto a very grey world.

The wind was howling. The branches of the spindly tree outside her bedroom were banging violently on the windowpane, and Anna realized this was the sound that had woken her up so early in the morning.

Looking out the window, Anna couldn't believe what she saw. She'd read about the approaching storm in the paper, sure, but she hadn't expected _this_. The wind whipped through the trees, pushing them several feet towards the ground. Rain came down in torrents, and Anna now knew the meaning of the phrase _pouring buckets_. She swore she'd never seen so much rain in her life! Small rivers were rushing down the gutters. Anna fought down a feeling of nausea as she realized that she'd have to walk to school in what might as well have been a hurricane.

She looked over to where her alarm sat on her nightstand. 4:53. Anna shrugged; sleep was more of a luxury for a vampire anyway. She only really needed an hour or two – if she slept at all. It's just that she _preferred_ to get four or five. She walked across the room and turned on the light, resigned to the fact that she was up for the day, and it didn't look promising. Anna walked over to her closet and dejectedly started searching for something to wear.

It was a grey kind of day. When she'd looked out of her window, all Anna had seen was grey. The sky was an ominous steel grey, the trees were charcoal-colored, the road was slate – even the houses seemed to be more grey than usual. Anna decided to match all of this with a long button-down shirt – grey of course. She pulled this on, put on some blue jeans, and went to the living room where she stared out the window in the hopes that it would stop raining soon.

Anna spent almost forty minutes waiting for the rain to stop. Unfortunately for her, it didn't. She couldn't say for sure, but she thought it had gotten worse. She looked at the grandfather clock resting in her hall. She had a little more than half an hour to get to school, and even though it usually only took her about fifteen minutes, she decided she couldn't wait any longer for it to clear up.

Anna went to her front closet and took out a long black jacket that came down past her knees. She dug around in the bottom of the closet and managed to find a pair of white winter gloves and a pair of big, ugly yellow boots that came up to meet her jacket. She jammed the boots on over her sneakers and zipped them up over her jeans. After wrapping a scarf around her face and pulling her hood down as far as it would go, Anna was ready to brave the weather outside.

As Anna walked slowly down the street, terrified that the rain might touch her skin, she couldn't help but smile ironically to herself; she could remember a time, long ago, when she actually _liked_ the rain. Now, it was one of the few things that could stop her dead in her tracks.

Anna trekked slowly down the sidewalk towards school. But when she got to the end of the block, she stopped cold. Water was rushing down the gutter in front of her at an incredibly quick pace. Anna eyed the water suspiciously, trying to determine if she would be able to jump safely across it without getting wet.

When she was younger, Anna had heard many legends about vampires. But since she wasn't one at the time, she'd never paid much attention. One myth she _did_ remember, however, was that vampires couldn't cross running water. This was only partially true, she's discovered. Anna could, in fact, cross over running water, and she could even survive if she touched it. It was not, however, a pleasant experience. It wasn't _painful_ exactly – more like a tightening in her chest that made it all but impossible to breathe. At least, that was how it felt when she was attempting to cross small streams of flowing water like the one in front of her. When it came to _actual_ rivers – well, she didn't want to think about that.

Touching it, on the other hand, _was_ painful. If it hit her skin, she felt a sharp, intense pain, like being pricked with a needle. Anna remembered how upset she'd been when she realized that rain actually counted as running water. Not long after she'd become a vampire, Anna had been caught in an unexpected summer rainstorm. The bonnet she'd been wearing hadn't been nearly enough to protect her face, and the thin lace gloves had soaked through in a matter of seconds. Each raindrop stung as it hit her bare skin, and by the time she got home, her face and hands positively ached, and the pain had lasted for the rest of the day. Not only had the pain been all but unbearable, but every place the water had hit turned bright red and stayed that way for _hours_. This experience had been enough for Anna. She quickly learned her lesson, and after that was very careful not to touch running water under any circumstances. She now only took baths, and the invention of hand-sanitizer had been one of the best things that had ever happened as far as she was concerned.

Today was different, however. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Anna had somewhere she needed to be: she had to get to school. She thought about not going – just writing herself a note – but she knew it'd never work. Eventually someone might get suspicious. So here she was, braving the storm, trying to get to school.

What was normally a quick, fifteen minute walk from Anna's apartment to school took almost twice as long today. She walked slowly and carefully, trying not to splash any water as she walked down the street. But it was the gutters that were the real problem for her. Every time she came to one, she stopped, steeling her nerves against the tightness in her chest that she knew would come. She'd jump as high and as far over these streams of rushing water as she could. But even with all that jumping, the choking tightness passed over her. By the time she got to school, Anna was exhausted, both mentally and physically. That kind of stress could really take a lot out of a person!

Anna breathed a big sigh of relief as she passed through the school doors. Now that she was out of the rain, she was safe. The rain could no longer hit her, and any water she had left on her jacket was no longer running – she could finally rest easy. She pushed back the sleeve of her raincoat and checked her watch. It was 7:58 – she only had _two minutes_ to get to class. Even still, she decided to make a quick stop at her locker; there was no point in taking her wet raincoat to class.

She folded her jacket up and stuffed it in the bottom of her locker. Then, leaning against the one next to hers, Anna managed to pull off her bumblebee-yellow boots, which she set on top of her jacket with the souls facing up. And without further ado, she headed towards Room 122A.

Anna walked towards the classroom already six minutes late. She'd been a minute or two late before, but since her first day she'd never been _this_ late. She hurried down the hall, her shoes squeaking almost imperceptibly on the wet linoleum as she went. She didn't really care enough to make them stop; all she was worried about right now was getting to class before she was any later.

Anna could hear a lot of loud chattering as she approached the door. _A good sign,_ she thought to herself. Still, she opened the door as quietly as she could, wishing she could be invisible. Despite her best efforts, however, the door creaked open loudly. In fact, opening it slowly seemed to have made it worse! She hadn't even opened it all the way when she realized that the room had gone silent.

She walked into the room and experienced a slight panic as she saw that all eyes were trained on her. But just as suddenly, everyone turned away, resuming their conversations. She realized with a surge of relief that they were all waiting to see if she was Mrs. Boyd, who, miraculously enough, still hadn't shown up yet.

Anna threaded her way through the desks and sat down, exchanging quick hellos with Summer.

"I thought you weren't going to make it for a minute there." Summer said, smiling.

"It's because of all that rain outside," Anna replied in disgust.

"I know." Summer told her, sounding way too amused.

Anna turned sharply towards her. _What exactly did Summer know?_ Seeing the look on Anna's face, Summer quickly continued. "I mean, it's really pouring."

"It is! It's horrible!" Try as she might, Anna was unable to hide her disdain.

Summer just laughed knowingly, and Anna couldn't help wondering why.

## Chapter 8: Rainy-Day Attack

It was nighttime and Anna was back in the park. She'd been here several times in the past few weeks, and it'd become one of her favorite places to hunt. She sat on her favorite bench, in the center of the lot. The scenario'd become quite routine, and Anna liked that; it helped put her at ease. She leaned back, listening to the crickets. And waited.

The moon was almost completely full tonight – more full than most times she'd choose to go out. It was beautiful, but at the same time she wished it wasn't there. A full moon meant more light – more of a chance that she'd be noticed. She didn't need the light herself. And since it provided an advantage to those she was hunting without giving _her_ one, she tried her best to avoid it. But she'd put off going out for several days now because of the near-constant rain. It'd been five days since she'd last been out and the cravings had gotten so strong that she just _had_ to chance it. Lucky for her, the sky was relatively clear, and the weatherman promised she shouldn't be caught in any showers tonight.

Her thoughts were brought back to the present by the sound of old tennis shoes squeaking loudly on the pavement. Again, someone was coming down the path towards Anna. She smiled hungrily in anticipation.

Even from across the park, Anna could see the person coming towards her. It was a boy, she guessed, in his early twenties. His dark blue jeans looked new, the despite wide gashes cut into both knees. Anna could see that he was wearing a light jacket over his green shirt. His hands were jammed into his jacket pockets and he was hunched over a little to keep warm.

When he finally approached her, it was all Anna could do to keep from leaping off the bench. She started to get up, but managed to stop herself before she actually left the wooden slats. She wasn't nearly as subtle and in control as she usually was, and it was showing; the guy'd already seen her and he was still six or seven feet away – much too far for the smooth attack Anna liked to carry out.

He looked at her and smiled in a cocky, self-assured way. This time, it was Anna who smiled sheepishly.

"You know," he said with a gleam in his eye, "You really shouldn't be out here so late. They say something's wrong with this park."

"What's wrong with it?" Anna asked sharply. She hadn't read anything bad about it in the papers.

"It's supposed to be haunted. At least, that's what everyone at school says." he told her, walking casually over and taking a seat.

"Really?" Anna asked, trying to hide her sudden concern. Then almost challenging him, she asked, "Do _you_ believe that?"

"Me? I don't believe in ghosts. I think they're overreacting – scared of the dark, maybe." he added, chuckling nervously.

Anna was glad to hear him say that. Maybe he'd be less cautious than other kids at his school. Even still, it'd be better not to chance it. She decided to make her move now before he got smart and left. Her eyes became flecked with gold, and the boy began to fall easily into a trance.

She didn't wait as long as she usually would have. She wasn't sure if he was completely under or not, but decided he was close enough. She leaned in towards him and bit him on the neck. She usually bit her victims fairly hard, but this time there was even more power behind it; it was almost frenzied. As she bit into this guy, she could smell the blood, throwing her into an even deeper craze. She didn't start to calm down until she could feel his warm blood gushing into her mouth and running down her throat.

***

When Anna woke up the next morning, she checked the paper as usual. But when she saw the article about what she'd done in the park, the warm, satisfied feeling she still had from getting fresh blood turned into an icy knot in the pit of her stomach:

Boy Found in Park:

Early this morning 23-year-old Richard Shubert was found lying on a bench in Rutherford Park, just after sunrise. When found, Shubert was partially conscious and had what appeared to be two bruises on his neck. Shubert claims to have met someone in the park, but is unable to provide any description of this person. If you have any information regarding this, or any other possible attacks, call the police at...

Anna sat staring at the article; she couldn't believe it. She didn't remember last night being different from any other. True, she _had_ been more desperate than she'd been in a long time. But could she really have been _that_ desperate? Maybe it was just that she was too comfortable – she'd gotten too careless. Either way, she'd have to watch herself even more closely now; she had much more to lose than ever before.

## Chapter 9: Carmine's Discovery

The bell rang, signaling the end of geography. Anna was surprised when she realized she was actually looking forward to eating lunch with her new friends. It had been so long since she'd had friends that she'd forgotten how nice it was.

Once she got her backpack zipped up, Anna left with Sharon and Carmine to meet up with the rest of the group. Since the three of them usually got out before Mina or Joanna did, Sharon, Carmine, and Anna were always the ones to find a table. This new plan usually worked quite well, and they were almost always able to find one.

Today, however, was a different story. There were no tables available inside, and it looked like it was going to rain outside. And since none of them wanted to be out in the rain – _especially_ Anna – they decided to sit on the floor in the cafeteria. Mina and Joanna came and joined them a few minutes later, threading their way past the numerous other students who'd had the same idea.

As soon as Joanna sat down, Carmine grinned at her. "Guess what?" she said excitedly.

Joanna looked a little wary, but asked, "What?"

Carmine beamed proudly, pulling the morning paper out of her backpack.

"Look at _this_!" She jabbed at the paper with her index finger. "See? I _told_ you!"

Anna had never seen Carmine so excited before. She leaned over as casually as she could and tried to see what all the fuss was about. What she saw made her heart skip a beat. The article Carmine was pointing to with such glee read _Boy Found in Park_ – the story about Anna's attack! She was shocked. It had never occurred to her that anyone she'd meet would not only read those articles but would actually be _excited_ to see them.

Anna was horrified, and started kicking herself all over again. How _could_ she have been so careless? Would Carmine know it was her? She felt like everyone in the cafeteria must know that she'd been the one who attacked that boy – Richard Shubert. Her heart was beating in her ears so loud, she felt sure that it would give her away. Not knowing what else to do, she decided to just stay quiet. If she ignored it, maybe it would all just go away.

_"Look_ at this!" Carmine repeated. "This is documented proof that vampires exist! _And_ there's one in this city!" Carmine's eyes were shining. Joanna, however, looked completely unimpressed.

"And _how_ is this proof of vampires?" Joanna asked, sounding more than a little exasperated.

"Because! I mean, just _look_. This guy was found unconscious with two bruises on his neck! Two. _Bruises,_ Joanna." Carmine said. "And don't forget all those rumors, too...people passing out, being attacked in dark places. How can you deny it? It's so obvious! Wow! Maybe we can actually _meet_ the vampire."

Anna's heart was still racing, but she felt just a little bit relieved when she heard Carmine say she'd be interested in meeting a vampire. Maybe she'd be able to tell them her secret after all. Maybe they would understand. Anna began trying to think of how she would tell them, what she would say. But Joanna quickly put an end to that train of thought.

"Carmine," she said sternly, "you wouldn't _really_ want to meet a vampire. I mean, think about it. This would be someone who _drinks people's blood_. Do you really want to know someone who does that? What would stop them from drinking your blood too?"

Carmine looked pretty crushed at the thought. "Well...I don't know. Maybe..." But she brightened as a thought struck her. "But, we could still try to find the vampire, right? Could we at least do that?"

Joanna was about to object when she saw the look in Carmine's eyes. It was clear that Carmine was really excited about this whole thing. Joanna, looking resigned, obviously decided to at least humor her.

"Ok," she sighed. "Why not? Even though you still haven't proven it's a vampire doing it."

"But it's so obvious!" Carmine repeated incredulously. "How could it be anything else? What else do you know of that leaves two marks on people's necks when it attacks them?"

Joanna started to say something, but Sharon cut in.

"Joanna, don't even bother arguing with her on this. Her mind's already made up – she reads way too many of those stupid books to be convinced of anything else."

Carmine just stared at Sharon, a look of hurt on her face. In the interest of avoiding an argument, Joanna decided to skip the debate about what was causing the attacks.

"So how do you plan to go about meeting this 'vampire' of yours?" she asked. "Especially without them knowing what you're up to?"

Carmine looked overjoyed by what she interpreted as Joanna's acknowledgement she was right. But Anna saw out of the corner of her eye that Sharon was still looking rather annoyed.

Anna looked around at each one of her friends in turn. Carmine looked like she was on cloud nine, and Joanna was looking more than a little exasperated. Sharon had started looking thoughtful and a little uncomfortable. Anna was surprised to see that Mina was looking amused; she was almost smirking. But before Anna had much of a chance to think about it, Sharon spoke up.

"So...you never did say how you planned on finding your _vampire_ , Carmine." she said. Carmine looked slightly surprised.

"Well...I hadn't really got that far." she confessed.

"Maybe you should start by visiting that park where this kid was found." Sharon suggested. The sarcasm, however, was completely lost on Carmine.

"Good idea! We should check it out tonight!"

"Not a chance." Sharon said rather sharply. "I have a Spanish test tomorrow. I'm not going _anywhere_ tonight – and I'm especially not going hunting for _vampires_."

Joanna, though, was looking thoughtful and asked, "This story's just like all those other newspaper reports of people passing out and not remembering what happened, right? Except for the fact that he remembered being attacked. You think those cases are connected to this one?"

"Joanna, you're a genius!" Carmine exclaimed, looking at her friend with awe. "I'll bet you're right!"

"Well, these attacks don't occur every night, do they? How far apart are they?"

"Well, I don't know for sure. I only hear about them happening every other day or so." Carmine told her.

"See? So you wouldn't be able to go tonight anyway – nothing would happen."

"But that doesn't make any sense." Anna blurted out before she could stop herself. The conversation stopped, and Anna could feel everyone's eyes on her now. Even Sharon, who'd been making a show of being more interested in her math book, looked up.

"What do you mean?" Carmine asked, her eyes narrowing just the slightest bit. Anna could feel her cheeks turning red.

"Well...I mean..." she started. _What did she mean? That she only attacked people every three or four days?_ Anna took a deep breath and composed herself. She quickly decided that the best way to get out of this was to have Carmine do the thinking.

"Well...do vampires attack people every day – or every other day? I mean, is it really that often?"

"Hmmm..." Carmine appeared thoughtful for a minute before saying, "I don't think so...I think it's more spread out than that." Then looking at Anna appreciatively she added, "Good point."

Anna sighed inwardly with relief; she was off the hook. The conversation about tracking vampires continued, but Anna stopped listening. It was clear no one suspected her yet, and since she wasn't about to contribute to the group's knowledge on vampires any more than she already had, what was the point? She decided the rest of lunch would be better spent by starting her biology homework.

Anna opened her book, but she just couldn't concentrate on the questions. Bits of conversation kept floating over to her; Carmine was trying desperately to develop a vampire-hunting plan, despite the efforts of both Joanna and Sharon to thwart it.

Anna's head was spinning. She couldn't believe how fast things had changed. Only forty-five minutes ago, her biggest problems had been homework and facing the possibility of finding a new place to hunt. Now, she was looking at being hunted _herself_. And what if her friends found out that _she_ was the one they were after? She would almost certainly need a new group of friends if that happened. How could she hope to keep them? But more importantly, would they tell anyone? Would they make sure she never had friends again? Or would it be worse? Would they tell the police? Chase her out of town?

As her stomach turned, Anna was surprised to realize that she was actually more concerned about what her friends thought of her than with who they might tell. She hadn't been concerned about what individual humans thought of her for over two hundred years; they'd just been prey. Strange how much things had changed. Now all she had to do was figure out how to keep her friends from finding out it was _her_ they were after.

## Chapter 10: In the Alley

Anna walked silently down the deserted sidewalk, light pooling around her from the streetlamps above. It was only this afternoon she'd been listening to Carmine talk about catching vampires, but here she was, out hunting anyway. Normally, she'd never go two nights in a row. For starters, she didn't need to go out that often; was an unnecessary risk, really. But with the rain coming almost every single day, she needed to go out when she could. Besides, she didn't want to get so desperate that she was as careless as she was last night. Of course, her other major concern was Carmine; if Carmine really _did_ plan on hunting for vampires, Anna couldn't take the chance that she'd be out when Carmine was. And tonight, at least, Carmine would be safely at home. For Anna, this was actually the best way to avoid more problems.

She knew she couldn't go back to the park – it was too risky. Besides, now that people were afraid of something evil lurking there, it had been getting harder and harder to find people willing to go there at night by themselves. Last night, she'd had to wait until practically dawn. And with that newspaper article still fresh in everyone's mind, she doubted anyone would go there at all tonight. Eventually, she decided to go downtown. It was usually busy there, and she had a pretty good chance of finding someone. She just hoped she could get them alone.

After walking quickly for about half an hour, Anna found herself on the edges of downtown. She picked an area that wasn't the best, but wasn't too dangerous, either. After all, she didn't want to be attacked – she was hoping to be the attacker. She found a street with several bars and a night club on it. The club had a few people talking outside, and music was drifting out from somewhere behind its double doors. She figured this would be promising. There was a dark alleyway almost directly across the street. Anna stood just inside it, making her all but invisible to anyone passing by. On the corner, a neon sign flickered, and she could hear its buzzing from where she stood.

As she waited in the shadows, Anna saw a man come out of the club. _This could be her chance._ She watched him walk halfway down the block before getting into a parked car. Anna sighed; it looked like this was going to be more difficult than she thought.

It seemed to take forever before she finally saw a couple pass through the doors and start down the sidewalk. And even though they were across the street, Anna could hear everything they were saying. As soon as they passed Anna's hiding place, she stepped out of the alley, pulling her hood up over her head as she went. She walked quickly but quietly, her boots silent even as they hit the pavement. The three of them walked down the street. Anna was about thirty feet away, but closing in. She hadn't crossed the street yet, deciding to wait until the last possible minute.

As it turned out, this was a great plan. She was directly across from the couple and about to cross over when the man stopped suddenly. Anna stopped too. The woman just turned to him, confused.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't have my keys." the man replied, sounding a little embarrassed. "They must have fallen out of my pocket."

"Really?" the woman scoffed, folding her arms over her chest.

"Yeah – probably when we checked our coats. I'll be right back. Wait here, ok?"

"Fine." She rolled her eyes and made some comment about how he was always forgetting everything. "I'm going to go wait by the car."

He nodded and the woman continued on without him.

Just a few feet away, there was a narrow street that crossed the one Anna and this woman were on. The woman turned down it, causing Anna to smile. This was working out even better than she could have hoped – she hadn't been this lucky in days. Anna crossed the street, and within just a few minutes was right behind the unsuspecting woman. Anna realized she realized she'd have to work fast; the man wouldn't be gone for long. As soon as she was within earshot of the woman, Anna put her plan into action.

"Excuse me." Anna said as nicely as she could.

The woman started a little and turned around. When she did, Anna was standing face to face with her. She pulled her hood off and smiled politely. The woman was nervous at first, but once she saw that the person she was talking to was a rather small teenaged girl, her worry lessened considerably.

"Yes?" the woman asked.

Anna didn't bother to reply; she just wanted to get this whole thing over with as fast as possible. Anna smiled at her, and she smiled back. But soon, the woman's smile began to fade and her eyes glazed over.

The woman's knees buckled. Anna expertly grabbed onto her shoulders and set her against the car. The woman was several inches taller than Anna, but her slumping made it much easier to reach her neck. Carefully, she leaned into the woman. She knew she was in control today, and she wanted to keep it that way. This attack would leave _much_ less evidence.

As the blood flowed from the woman's body into her own, Anna's cheeks flushed. This was one of the few times she actually took more blood than she needed. With Carmine now on the lookout for vampires, Anna wasn't taking any chances; she might not be able to go out again for a while.

When she'd finished with the woman, Anna slowly pulled away. She was so careful, there wasn't even a trace of blood. Gently, Anna set her down on the pavement. She knew it wasn't the most comfortable place, but there wasn't anywhere better. Besides, the man would be back soon, and he'd take care of her.

_The man._ The reminder that this woman wasn't alone startled Anna back into action. As soon as the woman was as comfortable as Anna could make her, she jumped up, pulling her hood back over her head and walking quickly and quietly down the street. She avoided the streetlamps, staying in the dark where she was nearly invisible.

As Anna hurried back up the street towards the club, it occurred to her that she hadn't passed that man yet. Her blood went cold; something was wrong. Maybe he'd spotted her and ran for help. She pressed herself up against the side of the building, watching intently.

She looked at the club again. No one was rushing towards her – or away from her. There wasn't anyone there at all, and Anna was left confused. _That man really should have passed her by now._ And if he'd actually gone for help, there should be some kind of commotion. _How long could it really take to go into a building, talk to someone, and leave?_

Anna sat there for a minute, thinking. There was a narrow alleyway that cut between the night club and the building she was leaning against. She thought about hiding in there, but something stopped her. Even though it was very faint, she could swear she heard some noises coming from inside. It sounded like the faintest of footsteps coming towards her. She knew she should run; if whoever was there caught her, there was an excellent chance they'd remember her. But she'd never heard someone being so quiet, and she just _had_ to know who it was. She leaned up against the side of the building, melting into the shadows.

She didn't have to wait long. Wearing a dark jacket and blue jeans, the person was almost as invisible as Anna herself. The shadows hid the face, but there was something familiar about them. With a start, Anna realized it must be a student at her school; those were the only people she'd ever taken the time to get to know.

The figure left the alleyway and – thankfully – turned away from where Anna was hiding. Whoever it was started a silent run down the street. They were surprisingly quick, and that speed blew the hood off their head. Unfortunately for them, Anna was watching intently. And when she saw the profile, Anna gasped – she _did_ know this person. She saw that girl every day. What was _she_ doing out here?

Slowly, Anna crept into the alleyway. Trash littered the ground, spilling out of the dumpster towards the back. And as Anna continued to look, she saw something move slightly just behind it.

There was something – or, _someone_ – back there; a human was lying crumpled on the ground. She walked towards the figure, kicking Styrofoam cups out of her way as she went. As she approached, she realized why she hadn't passed that man on the street. Apparently, that girl had lured him into the alley.

Anna knelt down beside him and examined his neck. Just as she suspected, there were two small puncture marks. She watched as the wounds went from being obvious bite marks into small, indistinct bruises. Just as she thought – _another_ vampire. Well, that would certainly explain why the papers reported so many attacks.

Anna stood up, ready to leave. But just as she did, something caught her eye. Not even a foot away from this man's head was a deep red ribbon.

## Chapter 11: The Confrontation

Anna made it to school just as the bell was ringing. She'd been up almost all night, thinking about what she'd discovered. It was funny, really; she'd been so caught up in hiding her own vampiric tendencies that she'd completely missed the fact that one of her own friends was just like her.

Anna knew she was going to have to say something – it was too good an opportunity to pass up. She'd never talked with another vampire – at least, not knowingly. Now all she had to do was figure out what she was going to say.

Anna walked into English two minutes late. She hadn't been late to anything in almost two hundred years, but somehow she always seemed to be late to English. She wondered if it was due to the fact that Mrs. Boyd was always late herself. How was Anna supposed to care about being on time when her teacher couldn't even be punctual? Anna walked over to her desk, dropped her backpack on the floor and sank down into her seat. She looked over at Summer – her only friend in the class. As usual, Summer was happy and cheerful. Anna yawned.

"Long night?" Summer asked, looking over at her.

"Yeah." Anna replied. "I just had a lot on my mind."

"That's understandable. A lot's been going on lately." Summer said cryptically.

Anna's eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, with all those late-night attacks going on..." Summer shrugged.

Anna nodded but didn't say anything. She wanted to press Summer, but didn't know how. At least, not without giving too much away herself. But after a few minutes of silence, Anna's worries got the best of her. She needed to know what Summer knew.

"Have you been thinking about it a lot?" Anna asked cautiously. Summer looked straight at Anna and sighed.

"I've been trying not to, honestly. This whole thing is...disturbing. I just hope it stops – soon."

Anna nodded, not knowing what else to say. What _could_ she say? There was something about the way Summer talked about it – a look on her face – that told Anna very clearly she was holding something back.

Suddenly, Anna felt sick and looked down at her desk to steady her nerves. She found herself tracing the patterns in the faux wood on the desk with her eyes. Summer seemed to know more than she was saying, but what, exactly? _Did she know that Anna herself was behind some of these attacks?_

Anna closed her eyes and steadied herself. After taking a deep breath, she looked back at Summer. When she did, she saw that Summer was no longer looking her direction. Instead, she was chewing on her lip and looking lost in thought. It occurred to Anna that Summer actually seemed nervous. But what did Summer have to be nervous about? _It must be the stress of all the attacks building up_ , she reasoned. Anna had been hearing whispers in the hallways about what had been happening. That had to be it. Right?

***

Anna, Sharon, and Carmine found a table by the window that day. Anna pulled her sandwich out of her bag, looking across the cafeteria for any signs of Joanna and Mina. She hadn't seen Mina yet, and Anna hoped that she'd come to school. Nervously, she fingered the red ribbon curled in her pocket. It was nice to know someone else who was in the same boat as her. Suddenly, she didn't feel so alone.

Mina walked in with Joanna, as usual. Anna noticed instantly that her hair was down, falling below her shoulder blades. It was the first time Anna had ever seen Mina's hair down. And she wasn't the only one to notice.

"What happened to your ribbons?" Sharon asked as soon as Mina sat down.

"I woke up late today – I didn't have time to do my hair."

Anna was impressed with how easily Mina lied. If that ribbon hadn't been curled up in the bottom of her pocket, Anna might have believed it herself.

"I've never seen it down before." Carmine said. "It looks nice."

Anna thought she could detect a strange note in Carmine's voice. _Was she suspecting Mina of something?_ Or was Anna just reading too much into it?

Mina pretended not to notice. "Thank you," was all she said, effectively closing the subject. Anna didn't mind; she wanted to wait until they were alone to have their talk.

When the bell rang, everyone started picking up their things, getting ready to head off to class. Anna packed up slowly. She knew Mina had a free period next, so she was the only one who wasn't bothering to get up. Anna glanced down at her watch; she had four minutes to talk with Mina before getting to class.

As soon as everyone else was a safe distance away, Anna turned to Mina. Mina just looked up at her questioningly. Anna stared at her for a second and took a deep breath. When it came right down to it, Anna didn't really know how to go about this. She'd never confronted anyone like this before, and certainly not about something so important. Slowly, nervously, she reached into her pocket.

"You dropped something. Last night." Anna said as casually as she could, though her voice still squeaked a little. "I thought you'd like it back." With that, Anna pulled the ribbon out of her pocket, and set it on the table in front of Mina.

Mina looked down at the ribbon unfurling on the table in shock, and for a moment there was complete silence. Then slowly, she looked up at Anna. Anna could see the uneasiness in her eyes.

"Where did you find this?" she asked quietly.

"In an alleyway, next to a man."

A look of panic passed across Mina's face. She stiffened slightly but didn't say anything. Suddenly, Anna felt sorry for her. She knew what Mina must be thinking; Anna would be terrified if someone had confronted her like this.

"Look," Anna said reassuringly. "I don't want to scare you. I mean, I'm not going to tell anyone." She checked her watch again. "I have to get to class. Can we talk later? After school? It's important."

Mina nodded slowly, looking defeated and more than a little sick.

"Meet me in the courtyard, ok?" she asked after a minute. Anna nodded her head in agreement.

"Alright." And with that, she took off as fast as she could, using her impressive speed and agility to thread her way through the halls. The classroom door shut behind her just as the bell rang.

As soon as Anna was sitting in class, she instantly regretted the way she'd brought that up with Mina. Anna could have just _kicked_ herself – she knew she should have told Mina she was a vampire before she left the cafeteria! _Did she spring it on Mina too suddenly? What if she didn't show up after school?_

The rest of the day seemed to take forever. She glanced down at her watch every few minutes, unable to believe how slow the time was going. French dragged on. Even math class was unbearable. By the time art rolled around, Anna was so antsy she could barely sit still enough to finish her painting. With only five minutes left until school was out, Anna, for the first time in her life, started packing up early. When the bell finally rang, Anna jumped out of her seat and leapt towards the door. She was hurrying down the hallway before the other students had even left their seats.

Anna needn't have worried though. She found Mina sitting at one of the tables at the back of the courtyard. As she approached, she scanned the surrounding tables. No one was within earshot. It was amazing how fast the school cleared out once the bell rang, and after about ten minutes, the place would be all but deserted.

The look of panic Mina had worn earlier was gone. Instead, there was an air of confidence about her. She looked almost smug, and when Anna sat down, she found out why.

"You found my ribbon in an alley?" she asked. When Anna nodded, Mina continued, a smile starting to form on her lips. "What were you doing in an alley so late at night?"

"I was doing the same thing you were." Anna confessed – there was no point in denying it. She noticed that Mina's eyes positively lit up.

"I knew it!" Mina said triumphantly. "What _else_ would you be doing there?"

"Remember how he'd been with a woman?" Anna asked, smiling sheepishly.

Mina nodded.

"Well, I got her – apparently while you were taking care of the man."

"This is _great!_ " Mina exclaimed suddenly, catching Anna off guard. "I've never known another one before – except the one who bit me, I guess. So, how long have you been one?"

After some quick mental calculations, Anna replied, "Just over two hundred and ninety years." It was the first time she'd ever told anybody.

Mina's eyes widened in disbelief. " _Really?_ You still look young, though."

"I stopped aging after I was bitten. Didn't you?"

"Well, yeah. I guess." Mina replied. "It's only been about a year for me. What do you do about your parents?"

Anna paused for a second before replying, "I don't do anything. My parents haven't been around for a long time."

"Oh," Mina said, a look of embarrassed realization creeping across her face. "I guess that's true, if you're so old."

"Yeah, I guess." Anna replied, slightly insulted. It was true she was old, but she still didn't like people telling her. And especially not like _that_. Mina, however, didn't appear to notice her friend's reaction and continued on.

"It's hard sneaking out of the house all the time – I keep worrying that I'll get caught."

"Yeah, I guess that would be hard." Usually Anna was indifferent to the fact that her parents were dead; it had been so long ago that she really didn't think about it anymore. This was the first time she was almost glad they weren't around.

"I sneak out the window." Mina told her. "I go every three or four days."

"That's about how often I go out too." Anna replied. Then a wave of nostalgia passed over her as she remembered, "I used to go out the window at my parents' house...Now, I just use the front door."

"I wish I could do that!" Mina said with envy. "It would be so much easier."

"Yeah..." Changing the subject, Anna suddenly asked, "So, what do think about Carmine's vampire obsession?"

Mina sighed. "I don't know. I mean, she _is_ right. But we can't _tell_ her that."

"Definitely not." Anna agreed.

"And what Joanna said is true. I think Carmine's only interested in the _idea_ of vampires – she'd be too scared if she found out her friends were vampires in real life."

"I hope she forgets about it."

"Yeah. I don't know what I'd do if she found out." Mina told her.

"I'd hate to have to move again." Anna tried not to worry. She'd finally settled down again, and she was happy for the first time in as long as she could remember. Would she really be able to start all over for a _third_ time?

"I don't know if I _could_ move." Mina said, dejectedly. "I still have to worry about my parents. They don't know."

"Well, hopefully it won't come to that – I mean, I don't think she'll figure out it's us."

"Yeah." Mina smiled for the first time since Carmine came up in the conversation. "I don't think she suspects us. If she did, she wouldn't have said anything while we were there, would she?"

Anna agreed. _Unless, of course, she had been testing them_. Anna, however kept this thought to herself and said nothing. In the silence that followed, a thought suddenly struck her.

"Do all of your attacks get reported in the papers?" she asked Mina.

"Of course not." Mina said defensively. "Maybe once a week at most – I'm not _careless!_ "

"Me too. I only get two reported a month, if that...So, how did Carmine see reports every other day?"

Mina had opened her mouth to say something, but this question stopped her. She closed it and narrowed her eyes, thinking. Finally she said, "It's not possible."

"But it has to be." Anna pointed out. "It was in the papers – we saw it. What else could it have been?"

"Maybe it's a mistake?" Mina asked hopefully.

"Maybe..." Anna said. She wanted to believe Mina was right, but something just didn't add up. "These attacks happening every other day – when did they start?"

"Carmine said about two weeks ago." Mina said after some thought. Anna nodded, glad at least Mina had paid attention.

"I wonder what's changed in the past two weeks." Anna said, a feeling of dread coming over her. "We'll have to be very careful – and keep an eye out."

Mina nodded, understanding the seriousness of what Anna was saying. In the heavy silence that followed, Mina glanced down at her watch.

"Oh!" she said. Slowly, she looked back up at Anna. "I have to go...My mom was supposed to pick me up almost fifteen minutes ago."

"Will she be mad?" Anna asked, already feeling guilty.

"Probably." Mina shrugged. "But I'll tell her I was getting help with my homework. That'll make her feel better."

Reluctantly, the two girls picked up their backpacks and headed out towards the back of the school. The parking lot was almost empty, and only a handful of kids were standing outside waiting to be picked up. As they walked out to join the group of tired-looking students, Mina spotted the small white car that her mother drove. She hurriedly said goodbye and quickly made her way across the parking lot. As she approached the car, she turned back to Anna.

"Thanks for the ribbon," she said with a meaning attached to it that only Anna could understand. "See you tomorrow!"

Anna just waved as her friend jumped in the car and drove out of sight.

## Chapter 12: The Past Comes Back

As Anna left the classroom, she was feeling pretty good. A 95% on her French test! True, she had learned French when she was younger. But that had been almost three hundred years ago, and her teacher often complained that Anna's French was almost unintelligibly old-fashioned. But it seemed she was finally learning some more modern phrases.

She held that paper, smiling proudly to herself as she walked down the hall towards her next class. She was about twenty feet away from the door when she heard a familiar laugh. She stopped cold, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. But, it had been _years_ since she'd heard that laugh – _surely_ she was mistaken. Slowly, with a feeling of dread building up inside her, she turned to face the sound.

The hallway was filled with students shuffling back and forth, but Anna was able to spot him easily. He looked just as he always had – thick, blond hair and ice-blue eyes. She could even see the dimple that appeared on his left cheek whenever he smiled. He was tall, handsome, and athletic-looking and Anna recognized him instantly. His name was Fredrick.

At the sight of him, she froze. Fortunately for Anna, Fredrick didn't see her. He just walked right on by, joking and laughing with a group of guys on the football team. Anna followed him with her eyes until he rounded the corner and was out of sight. She continued staring after him, as if she could still see him. It wasn't until some kid ran straight into her that Anna finally started moving again.

It had been a long time since Anna had seen Fredrick, but she knew him well _– how could she ever forget him?_ In 1724, when Anna was just seventeen, Fredrick had been twenty-three. He had lived in the same town as Anna – grown up with her. Even all those years ago, Fredrick had been the most popular person in town, and he'd known it. He was smart, funny, and charming – able to light up a room just by walking into it. It seemed like little had changed, even in almost three hundred years. Then, as now, he was constantly surrounded by admirers. And, as the son of the mayor, Fredrick was the most eligible bachelor around. That is, until the day it was announced that he was getting engaged – to Anna.

Anna had also come from an old and fairly well-established family. And, as the only daughter in a family with six children, she had been the natural choice for him to marry.

Anna thought back to the engagement. It had been the talk of the town when it was announced. Fredrick Evans and Anna Ellington. Not that anyone had been all that surprised; they came from two of the most prominent families in the town. It was only natural for them to marry.

Before the engagement, Anna hadn't really known Fredrick. She'd known _of_ him, of course, but she had never really said much more to him than the occasional hello. Her parents had arranged the marriage along with his. It wasn't until after the engagement had been announced that Anna had begun to spend any real time with him.

She remembered how nervous she was the first time she met him. He was so popular, so handsome, that she worried she might do something foolish or somehow look stupid in front of him; the first time he'd visited her home, she'd barely said two words to him she was so shy! But Fredrick, suave as ever, had more than made up for her lack in the conversation. He'd joked with her and told her stories until she felt completely at ease with him.

Even now, Anna couldn't help but smile when she remembered how they would laugh together. She remembered when he and his parents would come over to visit. Anna would go out on the porch with Fredrick for hours; she perched on the bleached-white railing, and he standing beside her, his hand lightly touching hers. When the rain would fall, she would stand there safely under the eaves with him, hand in hand, and watch as the water ran off the leaves and gathered in grassy pools below them. On these days, the rain would make the grass and the plants look so green, she almost felt as if she were in a tropical forest instead of staring at a small garden in an old New England town. It was during these moments that Anna truly fell in love with Fredrick. They seemed to have so much in common – she felt that there had been a real connection between the two of them. Fredrick was so easy to talk to, the hours would pass by in what seemed like mere minutes, and she was always sorry to see him go. With a wave of nostalgia, Anna realized that she had never been happier in her life than on those days when she was with Fredrick.

***

Over the next few days, Anna did her best to put Fredrick out of her mind. After all, what happened between the two of them had been over long ago; he probably didn't even _remember_ her after all these years! For the most part, Anna was successful in suppressing any and all thoughts of the man she was supposed to have married. After seeing him in the hallway, Anna had spent the next two days scouring the faces in each and every one of her classes until she was absolutely sure that Fredrick wasn't in any of them. Only then did Anna allow her mind to focus on other tasks.

Now, there was only one time during the day that had Anna looking around frantically for Fredrick – lunchtime. There were two lunch periods at the school. That meant that Anna had a 50% chance to have the same lunch as Fredrick – pretty good odds, as far as she was concerned. So, each time she entered the cafeteria, she scanned the crowd – checking the tables, the lunch line, even the groups sitting on the floor – expecting at any moment to see him. So far, she had yet to spot him. It was starting to look like he might, _just might_ , have the later period for lunch. Anna really hoped this was the case. And once she knew for certain, she hoped she could _finally_ relax.

After Anna had finished what was now her daily scan for Fredrick, she opened the brown paper bag containing the sandwich she'd brought and joined her friends in eating lunch. As Anna carefully unwrapped the plastic enveloping her peanut butter and jelly, she heard Carmine exclaim in frustration.

"I _hate_ math!"

Anna looked at her friend in surprise. Carmine had a sandwich in one hand, a juice drink in the other, and her math book spread out in front of her.

"Do you have that test today?" Joanna asked sympathetically. Joanna was a year ahead in math, but she'd heard about the test that Carmine's teacher was giving; apparently, it had already brought more than a few students to tears.

_"Yes._ " Carmine said, her anger turning into a pout. She stuck her lower lip out slightly and slumped her shoulders as she continued. "I've studied all this week, and I _still_ don't get it! It's taken up all my time for the past _four days!_ "

"I'm sorry," Joanna told her with feeling. "What's it on?"

"Quadratic equations." Carmine said, glaring at her book. "I was _supposed_ to go out this week, but I haven't had time because of my stupid math class!"

"Where were you supposed to go?" Sharon asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Anna had heard nothing but despair over the test in Carmine's voice, but Sharon had apparently picked up on something else as well.

Carmine looked quickly at Sharon and shut her mouth tightly, as if she'd said something she wasn't supposed to. Sharon gave her a look that clearly said she already knew what Carmine's foiled plans had been. Carmine, however, wasn't offering up any information.

"Oh..." she said, stalling for time. "I was just...going out. You know." She tried to sound casual, but Sharon was having none of it.

"I've known you for a long time." she told Carmine with thinly veiled annoyance. "And only one thing gets you that upset. You had plans to go do something with all those fairy tales of yours, didn't you? Were you going to go hunt for your _vampire_?"

Carmine flushed a little at Sharon's accusation, and Joanna gasped. Anna exchanged meaningful glances with Mina, but the two remained silent.

"Carmine!" Joanna exclaimed, clearly aghast. "You can't do that! Do you know how dangerous it is?"

Carmine looked defensive and opened her mouth to reply. But Joanna held up her hand to prevent Carmine saying anything as she continued on.

"People are actually getting hurt! What if something happens to you?"

Carmine looked down sullenly at her math book.

"It's a good thing you have that math test! You shouldn't go out alone these days! Now come on, I'll help you study."

Carmine stole a glance at Joanna, glad that the scolding was over, and even more excited that she would get some much-needed help before her test.

Anna absentmindedly got out the little notebook she used to keep track of her homework assignments and began thumbing through it. She pretended to go over her list of upcoming projects in order to avoid having to talk to either of her currently unoccupied friends. With her eyes reading the week's assignments for the 6th time, Anna went over Carmine's statements again in her mind. _Had Carmine really been planning on going out to hunt for vampires?_

Anna had spent the last few days being so caught up with the idea of seeing Fredrick again that she'd completely forgotten about Carmine's idea. Mentally, Anna kicked herself – _how could she have been so stupid?_

If she had to be completely honest with herself though, the answer was easy; Anna hadn't thought that Carmine was really serious. Anna had figured when it came down to it, Carmine would be too scared to go out alone at night – especially in areas where there was likely to be an attack. Who wouldn't be scared of the possibility of not only _seeing_ someone get hurt, but of maybe even _being_ that person? Clearly, she had underestimated her friend's conviction.

Anna sat for the rest of the period in silence, lost in her own thoughts. She was amazed at how complicated her life was suddenly becoming, and she wondered if all humans had these kinds of unexpected intrusions into their lives. Aside from keeping up with homework assignments and tests, Anna now had two major areas of concern in her life. She knew she should be most worried about Carmine. After all, if her friend found out Anna was a vampire, it would quite literally ruin her life.

Still, try as she might, she just couldn't help but dwell on Fredrick. She just seemed to have such a hard time concentrating on anything else – the possibility of seeing him again was just too great, and the thought never seemed to completely leave her mind. But, as difficult as it was, Anna knew she would have to stop worrying about Fredrick for the time being and focus on the more immediate concern – the potential problem that Carmine was creating.

## Chapter 13: Jacqueline

When Anna first saw Fredrick at school, she'd been stunned. But when Jacqueline passed her by in the mall a few days later, she felt something closer to horror. She really shouldn't have been so surprised – after all, she _had_ just seen Fredrick in school. Still, the thought that she would ever see Jacqueline again after all this time had simply never occurred to her.

Jacqueline was rather tall and thin, with beautiful blonde hair almost to her waist. She wore a short jean skirt and a violet top, and was just as striking as when she and Anna were growing up. Anna, who had been sitting with her friends at the food court, started choking on her soda when she saw Jacqueline sail smoothly by.

"Are you ok?" Joanna asked, looking a tad more concerned than Anna felt was really necessary. Still coughing rather violently, Anna merely nodded.

Sharon took a bite of her hotdog as she leaned back in her chair, looking behind Anna and trying to see what she'd been staring at. She saw Jacqueline flipping her hair over her shoulder as she walked into a clothing store across the way. Guessing correctly, she turned to Anna and asked, "What? Jackie? You know her?"

_Jackie? Since when does she go by Jackie?_ Anna thought.

Once she finally regained control of herself, only coughing occasionally, she replied, "Well...no. I've really just seen her around." which at this point, she decided, was more or less true. After all, how well could you really know someone you hadn't seen in centuries?

"Isn't she a junior?" Carmine asked, looking jealous. "She's so pretty!"

"I know." Joanna said wistfully. " _And_ I heard she's dating that senior, Freddy."

"Yeah, that's what this girl in my gym class told me." Carmine replied.

_"Freddy?_ " Anna interjected, her voice a little shrill. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down before continuing. "Freddy who?" _Maybe it's just a coincidence,_ she thought desperately.

Carmine paused a moment to think. "Evans, I think. Yeah, Freddy Evans."

"They've been going out for a while, haven't they?" Joanna asked as Anna's jaw dropped.

This was all news to Anna. She hadn't even known that they'd been in this town at all, let alone that they were here _together_. Anna was surprised that they were a junior and senior, and wondered why they weren't in the same class. _But at least it explained why neither of them were in any of_ her _classes._ She sat there dumbfounded, listening intently to the conversation, her head bouncing back and forth as her friends continued their exchange.

"He's really cute, too." Joanna announced shyly.

"He _is!_ " Carmine was much more enthusiastic in her declaration. Then, sinking her head into her hands, she said, "She's really lucky, isn't she?"

"Yeah."

The conversation lulled, but Anna's thoughts were still racing at lightening-speed. _Freddy? Jackie?_ What was this? Well, Anna guessed those names _did_ sound more modern than Fredrick and Jacqueline. Still, Anna couldn't recall hearing either name being mentioned around school before. How had she been so out of the loop? And more importantly, just how long had they been in her school?

"When did they start going here?" Anna asked. She felt nauseous and hoped it didn't show on her face.

Carmine looked surprised, as if she'd all but forgotten Anna was sitting next to her. But then her gaze turned thoughtful.

"Oh...I don't know..." she said, trying to remember. "It's been a few weeks at least. I'm not really sure when it was, though."

"Yeah," Sharon broke in. "It's like they just showed up all of a sudden, but I can't really remember when that was."

"You didn't even know they were here, did you?" Carmine asked, a knowing smile playing on her lips. When Anna slowly shook her head, Carmine asked, "How could you not have known?"

_How, indeed?_ Anna couldn't help but wonder that herself. How could she have missed them invading her school? It seemed like just when Anna was really starting to get comfortable with her new life, her past had come back to haunt her in a very real way. She'd tried so hard to forget about everything that had happened – she'd tried to forget about _them_. And now, here they were – together in her own backyard.

## Chapter 14: Luke

The next week found Anna still in a daze. She just couldn't stop thinking about Fredrick and Jacqueline – here, in her own school. It had taken her so long to put the people she knew in her hometown out of her mind, to move on. And now, they were back again. She caught herself constantly on the lookout for some sign that either of them was around, and they never failed to disappoint. Maybe it was just because she was looking for them, but it seemed like she'd see them everywhere she went. On more than one occasion Anna found herself wishing to be home, longing for the days when she lounged in isolation. At least then she didn't have to worry about people from her past coming back into her life!

Now that Anna was keeping an eye out, she'd seen Fredrick almost every time she left her friends at lunch. So in order to avoid the knot that formed in the pit of her stomach every time she laid eyes on him, she'd started leaving for French a little later. The plan worked great in the sense that she no longer had to worry so much about seeing him in the halls. The downside, however, was that she now had to hurry to make it to class on time.

As Anna hurried around the corner, she looked back over her shoulder, thinking she's spotted Fredrick after all. She was still staring somewhere behind her when she ran into someone. Literally.

The force of hitting a person so hard and so unexpectedly was enough to knock her back onto the linoleum-tiled floor with a thud. Anna lifted her eyes from the floor and saw a hand being offered to her. She took it, and climbed unsteadily back to her feet.

As she stood up, her mind vaguely wondering why _she_ had to be the one to fall, Anna found herself staring into the face of the person she'd just bumped into. It was a boy who looked about her age, with deep, rich brown hair. It was a little longer than most boys' she'd seen lately, and was styled in a way that looked slightly unkempt. He had gorgeous eyes – brown with a trace of green around the edges, and he had the most amazing smile. Anna couldn't help but stare – this boy was _cute_.

"Sorry about that." he said, running a hand through his hair, his cheeks turning just the slightest shade of pink. Then, looking at her more closely, he said, "You're Anna, aren't you?"

Anna nodded.

The boy said something, but Anna didn't hear it. She just stood there staring at him, not paying a lick of attention to whatever he was talking about. After a few seconds of silence, he shifted his weight slightly, beginning to look nervous.

"Luke – Lucas Volk? In Miss Molthop's class?" he said to her.

Anna realized she'd just been staring blankly at him. She'd never seen him around before, but how could she have missed him? Surely she would have noticed someone so good-looking – especially if they were in her class! _He_ was _in her class, wasn't he?_ How else would he know her? Is that what he'd been talking about? Realizing he was getting uncomfortable, she hurriedly replied.

"I'm sorry." she said. Now it was _her_ cheeks that were becoming rosy. "What did you say?"

He gave a short laugh, visibly relaxing. "I guess you must have fallen harder than I thought." he said jokingly. "I'm Luke. You're in my math class, right?"

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Lucas. Nice to meet you." she said, regaining some of her composure. She held out her hand for him to shake.

"You can call me Luke." he told her, falling into step beside her. "So where're you headed?"

"Luke." Anna repeated, making a mental note. "I'm going to French, and then math, and then art." she yammered, wondering why she was so nervous around him.

"Art – nice to have a fun class after the worst subject of the day." he told her.

"I like math." Anna said truthfully. It was a lot simpler than most of her other classes; English had changed quite a bit over the centuries, and there were way more countries now than when she was brought up. It seemed that math was the only subject that hadn't completely changed!

"You've got to be the only kid on campus to actually like math!" Luke told her, laughing.

"Really?" Anna asked, ever gullible.

"Well, no." Luke conceded. "Actually, a couple of my friends like it. I just can't get into it myself."

"So what class do you like, then?" she asked him.

"Science." he replied, grinning. "That's where I just came from, actually. I love science – it's nice to be able to have a class that's facts, not like English where it's all boring stories and stupid poems."

"Well...math is facts, too." Anna pointed out.

"Yeah, but science is at least _interesting_ facts." Luke countered.

"True," Anna replied, not being able to think of anything else to say around him. She thought math was interesting too – why hadn't she said _that?_

They continued walking down the hall together. Luke told Anna all about the merits of science class, and Anna tried desperately to focus enough to maintain a conversation with him – if only her heart would stop pounding so much! Fortunately for her, she didn't have to try too long. In only a few short minutes, they were standing outside of her door.

"This is my class." she told him with some regret. She smiled at him and started to turn towards the classroom, but Luke grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"Hey, listen," he said. "You know how we don't really have a seating chart or anything in math?"

Anna nodded. Even though there wasn't a seating chart, everyone always seemed to sit in the same spots day in and day out. Anna had always thought it was a rather amusing testament to just how predictable humans could be.

"Well, I was thinking," Luke said, interrupting her train of thought before she got carried away. "Why don't you sit next to me today? I'll save you a seat, ok?"

And before she could reply, he turned and started walking down the hall, nodding goodbye to her over his shoulder. Anna just stood there in surprise, her face flushing.

***

An hour later, Anna walked into her math class, scanning the faces of those already seated. Part of her wondered if Luke was playing some sort of joke on her. She'd never seen him before that she could remember – maybe he wasn't really in her class. Or maybe he was, and he was just teasing her, pretending he'd leave a seat for her.

Anna searched for a moment or two before she found Luke in the back corner farthest away from the door. No wonder she'd never noticed him; she usually sat at the opposite side of the room – at the front, ready to learn. As she cautiously approached, she saw an empty desk in front of him. When he saw her, he smiled knowingly, making Anna feel slightly annoyed. _What did he know, anyway?_

"Ah." he said. "I knew you'd come over here."

So that was it. He thought she was predictable. If there was one thing Anna hated above all else, it was someone thinking they could read her. She didn't even try to hide her mild annoyance as she greeted him. Of course, Luke picked up on it.

"Hey, I didn't mean anything by that." he said quickly. "I just meant that...well..." he trailed off.

It seemed as though Anna had made him uncomfortable for a second time today. Looked like she wasn't the only one getting nervous whenever the two spoke. Suddenly feeling guilty, Anna spoke up.

"No, I'm sorry. I know you weren't trying to be rude." Anna decided to change the subject. "So how was science?"

It was the only thing she could think to say. Luke seemed glad for the change in topic.

"It was good." he replied. "We're doing taxonomy. I love categorizing all the animals and plants – especially the animals."

"Why?" Anna asked him, bewildered. It had always seemed so pointless to her. Just because you called something a plant or an animal didn't mean anything. Did it tell you any more about that species than you knew before? _No_. But when she told Luke so, he vehemently disagreed.

"No _way_. It's interesting how they come up with these categories. I mean, yeah, a lot of them are just arbitrary groups. But I like seeing how people think different animals are related. Especially the ones that aren't easy to categorize."

"How can it be hard to categorize them? It's either a plant, or it's not, right?" she asked.

"Well, not always." he told her. "Take the _Euglena_ for example." he said brightening, and Anna could see just how interested in science he really was. "I mean, it's got chloroplasts, so it does photosynthesis. So, it's a plant, right? But it can move on its own and can sense light. So it's an animal, right? But it can't be _both_. So what is it?"

Anna was at a loss, and told him so.

Leaning forward in his chair, Luke explained. "Well...it's neither. It's in a different category altogether. But if you only had two kingdoms – animal and plant – you'd never be able to classify it. I like the tricky things like that – where it's got things from two categories that you wouldn't think could exist together."

Anna nodded, mulling it over. Even though she didn't say anything right away, Luke was still grinning at her, a gleam in his eye. Anna couldn't tell if it was from the joy of talking about something he loved, or from stumping her on something she was so sure she knew.

As she continued to stare at him, Luke pointed casually to the front of the classroom with the tip of his pencil. Miss Molthrop was already at the front of the classroom writing problems from last night's homework on the board for the class to go over together.

## Chapter 15: At the Dance

Since seeing Fredrick and Jacqueline, Anna found that not only had she been keeping an eye out for the two, but she'd been thinking about them more as well. Memories she'd tried so hard to repress came flooding back to her. She remembered times she'd spent not just with Fredrick, but with Jacqueline as well.

Jacqueline had been Anna's best friend growing up. They'd lived next door to each other since the two were only six or seven years old. Even then, Anna had been the shy, quiet type, while Jacqueline had been much more adventurous. Anna remembered how much trouble they used to get into – playing in the dirt and running through fields. Jacqueline had always been the one to push Anna into doing things she normally never would have dreamed of doing. Like climbing trees and swimming in the lake at the edge of town – neither of which was something Anna would have ever done without Jacqueline there urging her on. Anna wasn't sure whether it was the times she'd been brought up in or simply the town where she'd lived, but girls just didn't _do_ those kinds of things. But Jacqueline had never been one to care about what she was _supposed_ to do; she did what she wanted, and who cared what anyone else thought! And while Anna never dared swim after she'd become a vampire, she couldn't help but be grateful to Jacqueline for teaching her how to climb trees – it had turned out to be quite a useful skill, especially since it had saved her life on more than one occasion. They'd shared secrets and dreams. Jacqueline had dreamed of being mayor of their town – or even a governor; she knew someday she'd do something big – be someone important. Anna, on the other hand, had just wanted a normal, quiet life. She'd told Jacqueline that, and remembered how Jacqueline had just laughed; that kind of life would never suit Jacqueline Chilton.

Eventually, however, Anna's precious memories turned dark, and her face clouded over. Thinking about Jacqueline always led Anna to one place – that Saturday night, when everything changed. That night, there had been a dance in the Great Hall, in the center of town. It was the social event of the season, and everyone in both the town and its surrounding areas had showed up, ready not only to dance, but also to catch up on any town gossip that they might have missed out on during the year.

The party had started off well, and everyone was having a great time. The dance floor was filled with couples. Young ladies in long dresses danced merrily with men in formal coats. Anna had chosen to wear her favorite dress – a silky pale blue one that came just above the floor. It was trimmed with lace, and matched nicely with her formal white gloves. She had pulled her hair up, with long tendrils falling gracefully about her face, and she looked absolutely beautiful.

Anna walked in to the dance hall, a little late. Everyone tuned to see her when she came in and she could hear the gasps and whispers about how stunning she was, making her smile happily to herself; she had always been pretty, but rarely noticed. Now that she was engaged to Fredrick, however, she had become _much_ more talked about. Anna walked past the awestruck faces and said hello to her friends before looking around for Fredrick. She found him at the back of the room, wearing a dark coat, his blond hair tied back with a black velvet ribbon. Cup in hand, he was talking and laughing with a group of friends – the center of attention. Anna laughed in spite of herself; here was Fredrick, popular as always.

When Fredrick saw Anna, he smiled brightly and immediately made his way over to her, leaving his friends almost looking disappointed by his absence. She greeted him warmly, and the two of them walked out to the dance floor. They danced together for hours. Even now, all these years later, Anna still remembered the touch of his hand on her waist as he paraded her expertly around the dance floor. But the night air was hot, and after a while Anna needed to take a break. She walked over to a table at the back of the room that had been set up for refreshments and got herself a drink. While there, she met up with a few friends of her own, including her best friend Jacqueline. Jacqueline congratulated Anna, saying how lucky she was to be marrying such a great man as Fredrick. Anna smiled happily; she knew she was lucky, and having the support of her friends made her feel even luckier. Someone asked if a date had been set yet, and another girl asked if Anna knew where she and Fredrick would be living. It was all idle chatter; everyone in town already knew all the details of Anna's engagement. In fact, Anna wouldn't have been surprised in the least if it turned out her friends knew more about her engagement than she did!

As the group of girls gossiped and congratulated Anna, Jacqueline became more and more withdrawn. Anna smiled fondly to herself; Jacqueline never was very good at letting someone else be the center of attention. After a few minutes more, Jacqueline quietly excused herself from the group and melted back into the crowd while Anna allowed herself to be fussed over for a little while longer.

Eventually, Anna's thoughts drifted back to Fredrick, and she realized that she hadn't seen him in quite a while. She wondered where he could be, and started looking around the room, searching for him. After several minutes of scanning the crowd, Anna realized with a slight shock that Fredrick wasn't there. _That's strange,_ she thought, wondering where he could be. _Probably outside with his friends,_ she reasoned. She decided to go out and look for him.

The Great Hall was seated next to the local inn. Behind the inn, off in the distance a little, were the stables. The stables were close to the inn so that people who stayed there could have a place to keep their horses; they were also far enough away to help keep the smell from anyone in the nearby buildings.

Since the stables were a little out of the way, they were a favorite hangout place for people who didn't want to be disturbed, for whatever reason. And since she hadn't seen Fredrick in the Great Hall, she wondered if he and some of his friends had gone out to the stables.

Anna hesitated for a few minutes, trying to decide if she should go check. After all, was it really her business if he went out there with his friends? _But then, why wouldn't he tell me?_ she wondered. She was almost certain that he wouldn't have gone off without telling her, but she still had that nagging feeling. If he wasn't at the dance with her _, where was he?_

As Anna waffled, she looked out towards the stables, hoping for a sign one way or the other. She squinted into the darkness, trying to see. She was almost certain that the stable door was cracked open. That was odd. The doors were always fastened shut – especially on a night like tonight, when they'd be full of horses from neighboring villages. The doors didn't latch from the inside, and they always swung open just slightly if anyone was in there. Since it was such a well-known place for the younger people in town to run off to, Anna had seen those doors ajar more than a few times. Clearly then, someone was inside. But who?

There was a narrow dirt path leading out from stables, but it made its way to the inn, not the back of the hall where Anna now stood. If she was going to get there, she'd have to walk through an abandoned field of dried up hay and weeds. If she _did_ decide to go, it would be a long, rough trip.

After standing outside debating for several minutes, Anna eventually decided to just go out to the stables and see for herself if he was there. He wasn't _here_ – that was for sure, and her worrying was starting to get the best of her; something might have happened to him. She grabbed up her skirts in her hands and slowly started making her way towards the stable doors. The weeds were up past her knees, and the ground was rough and impossible to navigate. She stumbled several times, but thankfully managed not to fall. Eventually, she made it to the stable doors. When she got there, Anna hesitated. She didn't actually know who was in there. What if she barged in on someone else? She sat outside the door for a few minutes, debating and starting to feel like a fool. She hadn't been invited out here, what if she wasn't supposed to come? But then, she knew everyone in town – would they really mind if she was with them? After a few minutes more of standing by the thick, wooden door, she heard a laugh coming from inside followed by something mumbled indistinctly. She recognized the laugh as belonging to Fredrick.

Hearing Fredrick's laugh set Anna's mind at ease. If he was in the stable, then it would be all right for her to go in. After all, she knew him well by this point, and he wouldn't do anything that he wouldn't want her to know about.

The door was heavier than she remembered from when she was a child. She pulled hard. Slowly, it swung open. Inside, it was almost completely dark; there were no lights, not even a single candle. The only light came from the moon, and it streamed through the windows at the back of the stables and onto the hay-strewn floor. Cautiously, as quietly as she could, she walked past the stalls where the horses slept.

The first three-fourths of the building was lined with stalls to keep horses in; one row on each side. The remainder was filled with hay, about waist-deep. It was in this hay that Anna saw a shadow moving. Since all the light was coming from in front of Anna, whoever was in the hay hadn't seen her yet. She walked slowly forward, her heart beating fast. She was only about ten feet away when the figure she'd seen sat up. It was Fredrick.

When he saw her, he didn't greet her like he usually did. Instead, he sounded angry and upset. "What are you doing here?" he demanded sharply.

Anna was stunned by his outburst, and she wasn't sure how to respond. As it turned out, she didn't have to.

Fredrick's outburst hadn't only startled Anna. It had also surprised someone else. Someone who had been sitting in the hay next to Fredrick. Anna jumped a little in surprise. She hadn't noticed another person here; she'd been too focused on Fredrick's reaction to seeing her. But if Anna was surprised to see another figure in the shadows, her reaction was no match for the one she got from this second person.

Anna heard a sharp intake of breath and then a long drawn out, "Oooh...nooo..." Anna realized that she knew exactly who this was. The voice belonged to none other than her best friend – Jacqueline.

Anna felt as if she had just been slapped. What was her fiancée doing sitting alone in the dark with her best friend? She couldn't believe it. Here was the man she was going to marry – the man she _loved_ – sitting here with her closest friend, the one person Anna had felt sure she could always trust. They'd been friends forever; Jacqueline would _never_ betray her like this. They knew all each other's secrets – well, apparently not _all_ of each other's secrets. Her chest felt tight, and Anna could feel herself start to shake.

"Anna," Fredrick said, back to sounding just as sweet and loving as he always did – the anger and hostility completely gone. He stood up and started walking towards her. "I can explain. It's not the way it looks." As Fredrick started walking towards Anna, arms outstretched reassuringly, she started backing away.

"No," she said quietly, shaking her head. "I think it's exactly the way it looks." Tears were starting to run down her face, and she was grateful for the darkness. She turned away from Fredrick and Jacqueline and stumbled towards the door. As she reached the heavy oak slab, she heard Fredrick's voice calling out to her from across the darkness.

"Fine." he said, sounding cold – almost detached. "I guess that's that, then."

Anna thought he'd said something else, but by that time, she was already out the door and running through the field. Tears were streaming down her face and she had to hold her dress up around her knees to keep from tripping on the hem. Anna didn't even bother to go back to the dance. In fact, that was the last thing on her mind. Right now, all she wanted to do was go home.

Anna was a mess by the time she actually made it home. She didn't live far from the center of town, but it was still a long walk, especially dressed as she was. She shut the front door, and leaned against it. Turning around, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror that hung over the mantle. Her hair was disheveled and her face was stained with tears; her makeup had run down her face in streaks.

Her parents were still awake, and had been surprised by the sound of the door shutting – they hadn't expected their children to be home so soon. Anna's mother had asked her what was wrong, but Anna was too upset to explain. They'd find out soon enough anyway; Anna was sure it'd be the talk of the town by the next morning. All she wanted right now was to go up to her room and melt into her bed.

Once she was safely upstairs, away from all the curious questions, Anna ripped off her dress and threw it in a ball in the corner. After washing the smeared makeup off of her face and brushing her hair out, she pulled on her nightgown and slipped wearily into bed. There, curled under her covers and clutching her pillow in both hands, Anna cried herself to sleep.

## Chapter 16: The Football Game

Mrs. Boyd came into the classroom thirteen minutes late. When she breezed through the door, the whole room audibly groaned.

There was a rumor that if a teacher was more than fifteen minutes late, the students could sign a piece of paper to show that they'd been in class. After that, they could leave. No one really knew if this was actually true, but that didn't stop them from believing it. When Mrs. Boyd was ten minutes late, they'd begun to get hopeful that today was the day they'd find out. And with each passing moment, they'd gotten more and more excited. But when Mrs. Boyd walked in the room with just two minutes to go, their hopes had been dashed.

When she got to the desk, Mrs. Boyd slipped out of her long green trenchcoat and set it over the back of her chair, revealing a bright pink shirt and a blue and green paisley skirt. Still slowly getting ready for class and unaware that most of the students were now feeling almost hostile towards her, Mrs. Boyd opened up her book and glanced casually at the clock.

"Oh, my." she said when she realized the time. "Looks like I'm late today!"

There were a few snickers, and someone behind Anna muttered angrily, "Aren't you always?" Again, Mrs. Boyd simply didn't notice. Instead, she met the cold stares with a look of joy.

Since class was supposed to have started fifteen minutes ago, Anna had been sure Mrs. Boyd would get right to business. Instead, she addressed the class by saying, "I hope you're all going to the football game tonight. My son's on the team, and he'll be playing. He's the _catcher_ , which is a very important position! I'm going to be there, and I hope to see you all there supporting him too!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Anna saw a hand shoot up. She looked over and saw that it belonged to one of the more obnoxious kids in her class – a rather stocky boy with a perpetually smug expression on his face. Mrs. Boyd looked over at him and said pleasantly, "Yes, Jeff?"

Despite the fact that Anna thought Jeff was annoying, she knew he wasn't stupid. He'd been listening to Mrs. Boyd and had decided to seize the opportunity to mock her, and – with any luck – he'd also be able to keep class from starting for just that much longer. Even Anna had learned by now that most kids felt the shorter the class, the less likely they'd have homework.

"I didn't know your son was a _wide receiver,_ " he said. He emphasized the words "wide receiver" enough to point out to the class that Mrs. Boyd was ignorant and earn a few snickers, but apparently not enough for Mrs. Boyd herself to notice. If anything, she got even happier at the chance to talk about her son.

"Oh yes, he is. And, he's very good – he's one of the best players on the whole team!"

Mrs. Boyd paused for a moment to catch her breath and reorient herself. Then, after getting her bearings back, she swept the room with a quick glance and asked, "Did everyone bring their books to class today?"

Jeff sighed, realizing his plan hadn't worked. A few kids slowly raised their hands. Mrs. Boyd looked at them sympathetically and said, "Alright. Go get them. But don't forget next time!"

The students nodded vaguely as they hurried out of the room. Turning back to the class, Mrs. Boyd sighed contentedly. "All right...open your books to page 245..."

***

That night, the stadium was surprisingly crowded. Despite the fact that Anna had absolutely no desire to attend any football games, here she was – her friends had begged her to come with them. When she said she wasn't going, they'd protested loudly. _Why not? They were all going. Did she have anything better to do?_ They'd asked her so many questions, and Anna didn't really have any answers. She really _didn't_ have anything better to do – she just didn't want to go. But that wasn't good enough. So here she was, sitting on a crowded metal bench just six rows back from the field. They sat down in time to watch the quarterback throw a pass over halfway down the field. Anna was surprised at the strength and speed he seemed to possess.

The girls hadn't gotten there in time for Anna to see any of the players without their helmets. As she watched them play what looked to her like a very complicated game, she found herself wondering if she knew anyone. She leaned over to ask Sharon.

"Probably not." came the reply, much to Anna's disappointment. "This is varsity – freshmen almost _never_ make the team."

Anna nodded vaguely and turned back to the game.

It seemed like hardly any time had passed before the whistle blew signaling halftime and surprising Anna. The game was going by so fast! She'd imagined it would be a tedious three- or four-hour game, but it didn't seem that way at all. Admittedly, she didn't understand much of what was going on, but that didn't stop her from being fascinated nonetheless.

As the players walked off the field, one by one they started taking their helmets off. Anna was surprised to see that she did know one or two of them from various classes. One of them was Jeff from her English class. Anna caught herself smirking as she remembered the conversation from earlier in the day. Apparently, he _did_ know what position Mrs. Boyd's son played after all.

But Anna's amusement came to an end as she caught herself eyeing the quarterback. He'd been the last one to take his helmet off, and as he did so he'd turned toward the crowd, smiling. He waved, and the crowd erupted. The whole place seemed to cheer just for him, but Anna's insides went cold. It was Fredrick. _Again_. Was he _always_ going to be everywhere she went?

She should have known it was him. Who else would be able to constantly sidestep bodies lunging at him with such ease? And his passes – Anna had thought he'd been throwing farther than the average human. Now she knew why; Fredrick was anything but average.

As soon as Anna recognized Fredrick looking into the crowd, she'd automatically shifted behind the boy in front of her, terrified that Fredrick somehow would know exactly where she was – that he might be looking for _her_. Anna couldn't bear the thought of dealing with him right now; she'd never wished _so hard_ that she was invisible.

Suddenly, she remembered where she was – in public. With friends who might actually wonder what she was doing. Sheepishly, she sat up, hoping that nobody had noticed her behavior; she'd hate to have to explain her sudden need to hide.

Fortunately, no one seemed to be paying any attention to her. She looked quickly at her friends, but they were all staring down at the field, mesmerized.

"Wow, he's cute!" Carmine exclaimed loudly. "I'll never get tired of seeing _him!_ "

Anna followed her gaze. Could she really be talking about _Fredrick?_

"I _know_." Sharon replied slyly. Apparently, her love of the game was only part of the reason Sharon had wanted to come so badly. "It's too bad he's a senior!" There was no doubt about it – they _were_ talking about Fredrick.

Joanna timidly joined the conversation, increasing Anna's feeling of loneliness. It seemed she was just about the only one in school who wasn't completely infatuated with Fredrick. Even her _friends_ thought he was wonderful. _If only they knew him!_

Anna sat in miserable silence, listening to every comment made about how great Fredrick was. His smugness was so obvious she could practically see it forming a cloud around him – everybody should be able to pick up on it! So why didn't they? How could it be possible that she was the only one who could see how bad he really was?

As she sat there in frustrated, lonely silence, Anna stole a glance over at her friends. They were all chattering away, oblivious to her and her feelings. All except Mina, that is. Mina was staring hard at Anna, her head tilted a little to one side. Anna stared back at her, a quizzical look on her face.

"You ok?" Mina mouthed, not wanting to draw any attention to them.

Anna deeply appreciated the gesture; she put on her best smile and nodded, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. A whistle blew from somewhere down on the field, signaling the end of halftime. The game resumed, and Anna found herself even more drawn to Fredrick than before.

Now that she knew who was under that helmet, she felt the inexplicable need to watch his every move. She couldn't take her eyes off of him as he made pass after pass, all the while dodging a number of guys – any one of whom would have been more than enough to take down a regular boy. She even saw him run a couple of times, the ball cradled firmly in his arms. Of course, he'd run almost the whole length of the field; no one else was even close to him.

Anna continued to get more and more agitated the longer she watched. Finally, when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, Mina stood up abruptly.

"I have to go to the bathroom." she told the group. Turning to Anna, she said, "Why don't you come, too?"

Anna looked up, surprised. But once she saw the look on Mina's face, Anna got to her feet. Sharon looked at Mina, then Anna, and back to Mina.

"But you'll miss the _game!_ " she said with more than a hint of whine in her voice.

"But I have to!" Mina insisted. "We'll be back. Don't worry!"

Then, grabbing Anna's hand she proceeded to all but drag her towards the end of the bleachers. They climbed down the stairs and walked around the corner. But instead of going to the bathrooms, Mina dragged her in the opposite direction, towards the concession stand.

"The restrooms are that way." Anna said, pointing behind her. Mina turned back and looked at her.

"I know." she said. "But you looked unhappy. I thought you'd want to get away."

Anna nodded, thanking her. Mina didn't ask what was bothering her, but Anna felt the need to explain anyway.

"I'm sorry...it's just all this talk about Fredrick." she started. "He's not a good person, Mina." Anna said, trying to put extra meaning into the words.

She stood there, trying to figure out exactly how to explain what she knew when she remembered how public a place this was. Now was definitely _not_ the time to be sharing any information that she didn't want the whole school to know about. She looked apologetically at Mina, who nodded in understanding.

"Later, then. If you want." Mina told her. Anna nodded.

They started walking back towards the bleachers, when something caught Anna's eye. She turned to see someone familiar walking towards her. _Luke!_ Anna was a little embarrassed to admit she was so glad to see him. He saw her and nodded his head in recognition, smiling broadly.

"Well, hey." he said as he approached. Anna saw that he was being followed by two boys in black – possibly leather – jackets.

The boy on the left had shaggy black hair that touched his collar and intense brown eyes. He was long and lean and muscular. His cheeks seemed to be hollowed out, and Anna wondered if he was eating enough.

The boy on the other side was almost this one's complete opposite. His short hair was so light it was almost white, and his ice-blue eyes sparkled playfully. He had a nice, round face that made him look much younger than he probably was. Luke stepped forward slightly in front of his friends.

"This is Zev." he said, jerking his thumb towards the shaggy-haired kid.

Zev smiled a little too wildly, revealing long white teeth.

"And this," Luke said, pointing to the other boy "is Conner."

Conner smiled up at them, as he continued to wolf down a hamburger. Anna introduced the three of them to Mina.

After the introductions were over, Anna asked Luke why he'd come. After all, she still wasn't entirely sure that a sane person would come to a football game just because they _wanted_ to.

"We're here supporting a friend." Zev told her. Anna wasn't sure what she thought of him; he seemed dangerous, somehow.

"You have a friend on the football team?" she asked.

"Yeah – Conner's older brother." Luke said. "He's a wide receiver."

"He's really fast." Conner supplied helpfully.

"Oh. Like Mrs. Boyd's son." Anna said, recognizing the term. Zev snorted.

"Yeah, just like Mrs. Boyd's son. Except that Collin's actually _good_." he told her.

"Oh..." Anna said, trailing off.

"You haven't seen Zach Boyd play yet, have you?" Luke asked, a gleam in his eye.

"No," she replied. "This is the first football game I've ever been to, and he hasn't played yet."

"That's 'cause he sucks." Zev interjected. Luke shot him a quick, appreciative glance before turning back to Anna.

"Well, they're pretty far ahead now. They'll probably bring ol' Zachery out for the second half."

"Speaking of which, I heard the whistle while we were getting those burgers. We should head back if we wanna see the rest of the game." Zev told them. Then, nodding toward the bleachers he asked, "Why don't you girls join us?"

"We came here with friends." Mina said, speaking up for the first time. Anna thought Luke looked slightly disappointed at this, but he brightened considerably when Mina asked him, "Why don't you come back with us?"

The five of them made it back to where Sharon, Carmine, and Joanna were sitting just as the players took to the field – much to Sharon's relief.

"You guys are just in time!" she said. "There were only two plays. Then they called time-out for like _forever_." Then, looking back at Anna, she said, "You brought friends."

Luke said hi, and Anna got the feeling he already knew her. _Well, they probably_ did _go to the same school together last year._

"Which number is your friend's?" Anna asked Luke as they squeezed onto the bench.

"Number 23." Luke said, pointing down at the field.

Anna watched number 23 for the rest of the game; a perfect excuse to ignore Fredrick. Collin was surprisingly quick himself. He was always the first one downfield, and Anna never did see him get tackled. Actually, he was almost as fast as Fredrick.

Zach Boyd, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. Luke had been right; he got put in towards the end of the game – halfway through the fourth quarter, to be exact. At the sight of him, Luke and Zev exchanged knowing glances, and Conner grinned happily, leaning forward in anticipation. None of the three of them were disappointed by Zach's performance.

He was clumsy and slow. Half the time, he seemed to be nowhere near where he should have been, and on the few times he managed to catch the ball, he was tackled almost instantly. It appeared the only reason he even got the limited time he did was because his mom was on the staff – common knowledge to anyone who attended these games with any regularity.

## Chapter 17: The Figure at the Window

It had been over a week since Anna's engagement to Fredrick had been canceled, and the pain finally seemed to be dying down. She hadn't cried at all today, though she still felt numb inside. The despair of losing her fiancé to her best friend had been almost more than Anna could bear. She loafed around all day, still acting as if she were in a daze. Her mother had somehow managed to convince her to come to town with her today. It had been a long, exhausting trip and Anna was glad when it was finally over. That night, after brushing her hair and putting on her favorite pink nightgown, she wearily crawled under her down comforter and blew out the candle on the nightstand next to her bed.

She was just starting to fall into a blissful sleep when she thought she heard something. It wasn't a loud noise – just enough to pull her from her much desired slumber. Anna opened her eyes a sliver, listening intently and trying to figure out what it could have been. She had almost convinced herself it was just her imagination when she heard it again. It was a soft creaking noise, coming from across the room.

Now fully awake, Anna turned and propped herself up on her elbow, trying to see better. In the almost total blackness, she could just make out the outline of the curtains framing her window. They rustled slightly, showing a sliver of night sky between them; the window must be open. _So that's what had woken her up_.

She started to get out of bed but stopped. Something was wrong; the window was still swinging open. Anna watched as it continued to slowly arc its way through her room. She wasn't afraid – her room was on the second floor, and what could possibly happen all the way up here? It was just the wind pushing the window open. She doubted very much that anyone would be able to scale their way up here. After all, there wasn't much to climb on, just some spindly-looking tree that didn't appear as though it could even hold a cat without breaking. It wasn't until she saw a big black boot slowly making its way over the sill that Anna became truly frightened.

Anna sat bolt upright in bed, panicked. _What should she do?_ She couldn't think. Instead, she just sat there, watching as the boot softly touched the floor. Long white fingers reached out and grabbed the window frame. The figure hoisted itself through the opening. And as the second boot joined its mate on the floor, the gravity of the situation finally dawned on Anna. _Someone was in her room._

The breeze from outside moved the curtains, letting in the light from the full moon and illuminating Anna's small bedroom. As the unknown terror moved towards her, the moonlight caught his face. Anna gasped as she realized she knew who it was: _Fredrick._

Anna let out a sigh of relief. She was so glad it was just him! She had been terrified at the thought of some stranger sneaking into her room. Then, a thought struck her: _why was he here_?

Despite herself, Anna was glad to see him. She found herself hoping that he'd come to apologize to her – to tell her that he really did like her. Maybe things could work out between them after all.

As Fredrick approached the bed where Anna still sat, she could see him smiling. Anna started to smile too, until she caught the look in his eye. Suddenly, she could see that the smile he was wearing wasn't a friendly one. It was the kind of smile that said he was about to do something horrible – and enjoy it all the more for that. For the first time since she'd met Fredrick, a cold chill ran down her spine at the sight of him.

"Wh-what do you want?" she stammered. She'd meant to sound angry – threatening. But the shrillness in her voice gave her away. Fredrick gave a short laugh as he continued walking slowly towards her.

"I want to apologize." he told her smoothly, suavely. "For everything that's happened. It wasn't supposed to be this way."

Anna began to relax just a little at this. If he wanted to apologize, he couldn't be here to hurt her like she'd suspected. Despite everything, part of Anna still liked Fredrick. And that kept her from believing he could really be as bad as he'd seemed recently. It was this part of her that asked in a soft, almost hopeful whisper, "How was it supposed to have been, then?"

Fredrick smiled warmly at her, the way he had before she'd discovered him in that barn kissing her best friend. He had a faraway look in his eye, as if he were reliving a fond memory.

"We were going to be married, you and I. Everything would have been fine. Normal, even." Then, his eyes became cold once again as he told her, "You were never supposed to find out about Jacqueline."

This last statement hit Anna like a blow to her stomach. Her eyes widened, and she found it hard to breathe. She looked pleadingly up at Fredrick, who by this time was towering over her bed.

Anna started to protest, but stopped. Instead, she found herself staring deep into his eyes, transfixed. As she stared, Anna thought she could see tiny flecks of gold in his irises. Funny, she'd never noticed before.

Anna continued to stare into Fredrick's eyes, and as she did, she could feel all her worries melt away. A tiny part of her brain screamed at her that something was wrong, telling her to look away. Anna ignored it; she didn't want to look away – couldn't be bothered. Eventually, the warning faded away, just like all her other thoughts had before it, and her mind became completely blank.

She barely noticed that when Fredrick smiled at her this time, his incisors seemed to have become sharper, longer. They almost looked like _fangs_. She almost didn't realize when Fredrick started talking to her again. It was so difficult to focus on his words – she was so sleepy. But liking him as she did, she just had to hear everything he had to say.

"You weren't supposed to find out about us – about me." he told her. "It was all planned out. It was going to be so simple – so easy. But you ruined _everything_."

His words barely penetrated the fog in Anna's brain. It was just _so_ hard to concentrate. She heard him, but she didn't understand. She did, however, manage to understand the malice in his next words: "You won't interfere with my plans again; I'm going to make sure of that."

Those words managed to find their way through the fog. And although it didn't lift by any means, things did start to get a bit clearer. That nagging part of her brain was back, screaming even louder that something was horribly wrong. This time, Anna listened to it. She blinked a few times as her brain started to clear. As she slowly started to break free of Fredrick's trance, Anna realized more and more that she was in terrible danger.

She looked up at Fredrick, who was now hovering only inches from her. His eyes shone bright gold, and his mouth was wide open, ready for the attack. He reminded Anna of a snake just before it strikes. He struck like a snake, too – lightning-quick. Anna opened her mouth to scream, but he was too fast. Before Anna even had a chance to move, he had already sunk his fangs into her neck, biting down hard. Anna could feel the sharp stab of pain as Fredrick quickly jerked his head, making the wounds in her neck bigger – the better to get more blood.

Anna was sure she could feel the blood as it gushed out of her veins and into Fredrick's mouth, and she knew without a doubt that she was going to die. _How could she possibly survive this?_ It was a horrifying experience that, fortunately, didn't last long. As her blood drained away, Anna began to feel lightheaded. After a few terrifying minutes, lack of blood caused Anna to lose consciousness completely. She slumped back into bed as everything went black.

## Chapter 18: The Panic Starts

Anna woke up Sunday morning, sunlight streaming in through the bedroom window. Stretching, she looked over at her alarm clock – 9:45. Anna was surprised; she rarely slept in past six.

She could feel that today was going to be a lazy day. Her big plans included reading the paper, and maybe watching her now rarely-used TV. After lying peacefully in bed a few minutes longer, she walked over to the front door to retrieve her morning paper.

Her hopes of having a nice, restful day were shattered the moment she looked down at the floor and saw the ugly black headline staring up at her:

Five Attacks in Four Days!

Anna's blood ran cold; she knew instantly what attacks the paper was referring to. Suddenly, all she wanted to do was curl up in her warm, safe bed. She snatched the paper up off of the ground, unfolding it as she walked back towards her room. As she walked, she began to read the article:

What has previously been dismissed as a strange rash of illnesses, or – even worse! – mere coincidence, has started to take a more sinister turn.

_As our avid readers know, we at_ The Chronicle _have been following the story of these mysterious occurrences for well over twelve weeks now, and have faithfully recorded these incidences since the beginning._

It started out with people – mostly teens who were alone – passing out unexpectedly throughout the city, with some of the more recent victims claiming to remember a mysterious figure being present. However, even the insistence on the presence of some strange being in the shadows by these unfortunate victims was not enough to say that these were anything other than some strange form of illness. Until now.

Within the past four days, five new victims have joined the ever-increasing tally brought on by this mysterious plague that has befallen our city. What's so different about these victims, you ask? The answer: all have been found with various cuts and bruises, indicative of a struggle before they lost consciousness.

Wednesday night, Amy Anderson was walking home from the grocery store near her house on McAnnely Drive when she was attacked. Like the others before her, she suffered a tremendous and inexplicable loss of blood. More important, however, is the fact that she distinctly remembers seeing someone out of the corner of her eye. Unfortunately for us, however, she did not get a good enough look to provide an accurate description.

Less than 24 hours later, Marcus Labrutto met a similar fate while reading a book on the other side of town. While he also was unable to provide a description of the person he saw, his story lends credibility to Ms. Anderson's claim that she had not been alone.

Friday night, however, marked a turning point in the attacks. This time, there was not one victim, but two. Annette Tanko and Jason Green were attacked around 9:30 p.m. Both sustained numerous scratches, although they cannot say exactly how this occurred. Like Anderson and Labrutto, Tanko and Green both remember seeing someone before the attack. However, Tanko claims the figure she saw was that of a woman, while Green insists it was a man. Police have put this discrepancy down to confusion brought on by blood loss.

The fifth and most recent victim, a 33-year-old woman named Claire Jenkins, was found in an alleyway near the very well-known Bar None night club. This attack was by far the worst, with the victim suffering numerous deep cuts and landing in the hospital. What's most notable about this victim, however, is the severe lack of blood found at the scene. She was missing approximately 20% of her blood, a particularly dangerous situation when one considers the fact that the loss of approximately 33% can be fatal. Fortunately, this brave young woman is in stable condition at Mercy General, and is expected to make a full recovery.

And it seems things are destined to only get worse. Attacks have gone from one or two people passing out a week, to numerous victims being attacked in a single day. Victims have gone from waking up relatively unharmed to suffering numerous injuries that have resulted in at least one hospitalization. How long will it be until someone ends up dead?

Anna finished reading the article, a knot in the pit of her stomach. She'd been so engrossed in what she was reading that she'd stopped walking towards the bed; she now stood in the bedroom doorway. Slowly, she walked the rest of the way to the bed and sat down, setting the paper on the nightstand next to her.

She sat for a long time, trying to comprehend. How had she missed this? Sure, she'd known things were going on in this town – many more attacks were being reported than she'd ever been involved in. But she'd ignored the growing sense of worry that had been lingering around the school – she'd managed to put most of that down to the fact that she was now closer to people than she'd been in centuries. She'd convinced herself that it was just because she was talking to people that she'd sensed more panic – not because there was actually more to worry about.

But now, Anna could no longer ignore the feelings of uneasiness that had been stirring around her. This article would simply add fuel to the fire. But what could she do about it? She couldn't simply resolve to be more careful – these attacks hadn't been done by her. Anna caught herself wondering – _could it be Mina?_

No, not Mina. Like Anna, Mina was too careful to get caught like this – Mina had a family to worry about. Besides, it seemed to be two people involved in these attacks, and didn't the article say that one victim saw a man? With a sinking feeling, Anna realized exactly who must be responsible.

## Chapter 19: Tensions Between Friends

Monday morning, Anna was sitting in class, still feeling sick with worry. English had passed without too much trouble, and Anna hoped the rest of the day would pass just as quickly. Even though she hadn't been responsible for any of the attacks this weekend, she still felt guilty all the same; she should have noticed what was going on in the town around her. How could she have gotten so careless? All she wanted to do was just get through the day with as little trouble as possible and slink off back home. Apparently, however, that was not to be.

Carmine sat down next to Anna in biology, looking triumphant. When Anna asked her why, Carmine grinned from ear to ear as if she'd just solved all the world's problems.

"I know what's been causing those attacks we've been reading about in the papers."

She'd tried to say it quietly, but her excitement kept her from going completely unheard by a group of students nearby. Anna could feel several pairs of eyes swing silently towards them as the blood rushed from her face.

Despite the fact that she was suddenly feeling lightheaded with fear, Anna tried her best to keep calm. In the most casual voice she could muster, she asked Carmine what she meant. If possible, Carmine grinned even wider at the opportunity to disclose what she knew.

_"Vampires_." Carmine beamed. As if that single word was enough to explain all of life's mysteries.

Anna was silent, fighting with all her might against the urge to simply bolt from the room and never look back. She gripped the edge of the table tightly, trying hard not to show any emotion on her face. _What could she say?_ She couldn't deny it, and she certainly wasn't about to _admit_ it. Carmine interpreted Anna's silence as an invitation to continue, so she did.

"Look, I know I've said it before, but this time I'm _sure_ of it. I have proof!"

Anna's eyes widened in horror, and she could only hope Carmine would mistake her look as being one of fascination. Apparently she did, because she continued unfazed.

"We've all seen the papers. And some of the attacks have even been on kids that go to _this_ school – we all know the story, right? All of the people who've gone to the hospital have been low on blood – some by a quart or two! But none of the victims left blood at the scene, so where'd it all go? _Vampires drank it_ , that's where!

"Secondly, _none_ of the victims can remember anything about their attacks. I've looked it up – vampires can make their victims forget what happened – it's like hypnosis or something." Carmine leaned towards Anna in a conspiratorial fashion, and Anna fought the urge to lean further back. Now sitting even closer to Anna, Carmine continued explaining her theory in more detail.

"Everyone who's fallen 'mysteriously ill' has been by themselves at the time." she rushed on, trying to keep Anna from interrupting. Not that Anna would – her head was spinning too fast to think of anything to say.

"Now I know what you're going to say – _'What about those couples that were attacked?'_ But even in those circumstances, _both_ people passed out and woke up with no blood and no memory of what happened. So they count as being alone too! I mean, no one has ever 'fallen ill' in a large group of people or with any witnesses to it. They keep saying it might be a flu or something, but then why does it only affect either people who are alone or couples when they're together? A flu wouldn't be that picky, would it? _I've_ never seen a flu that attacked two people at the exact same time! Vampires are the only explanation!" She finished her speech by slapping her hand triumphantly on the table in front of her.

Anna sat in stunned silence. After a few minutes of waiting in vain for Anna to say something, Carmine began to get nervous, "Well...what do you think?" she asked hopefully.

"Well...I _guess_ it could be possible..." Anna said hesitantly. She couldn't bear the thought of actually supporting the theory, but it didn't feel right to tell Carmine she was wrong – especially when she wasn't. Fortunately, Anna was spared the difficulties of any further comment by Ms. Harle announcing the start of class.

Carmine sat smiling smugly to herself for the entire class, occasionally looking over at Anna appreciatively. In geography, she'd repeated her theory to Sharon, who simply rolled her eyes and said rather derisively that Carmine was crazy. But when Carmine, undaunted by the lack of support shown to her thus far, repeated her theory for the _third_ time at lunch, Sharon evidently felt the need to be more forceful.

"Look, Carmine," Sharon said patiently, "It's fine for you to be interested in this stuff – even studying it. But to actually _believe_ it? Come on – vampires aren't real, and you know it."

"But what about the loss of blood?" Carmine persisted. "And the fact that–"

"Carmine. I know it _seems_ like vampires could be responsible for this, but it just doesn't make sense."

When Carmine still didn't look convinced, Joanna broke in.

"What about the fact that none of your vampire victims have any bite marks on them?" Evidently Joanna had decided to start poking holes in Carmine's theory, since telling her flat-out that vampires don't exist didn't seem to be working.

"I've thought about that." Carmine said, threading her fingers absentmindedly through her auburn hair. "They probably heal too quick for the cops to notice. After all, vampires are magic, aren't they? It makes sense."

"No, Carmine. It doesn't." Sharon said flatly, abandoning her attempt at understanding. "Look, you're what – fourteen now? It's time you stopped actually believing in all this crap and grew up like everybody else!" And with that, Sharon stood up, grabbed her backpack, and stormed away.

"Sharon, wait!" Joanna called after her, but to no avail. Sighing, Joanna stood up. She looked first at Anna then Mina. Finally, her gaze rested on Carmine.

"I'm sorry..." she started. She dropped her eyes to the floor and added, "I'll go see if she's ok." And with that, Joanna picked up her things as quickly as she could and headed out of the cafeteria in the direction Sharon had gone.

Anna's jaw dropped at the sudden turn of events. She looked over at Carmine and saw she was crestfallen. Carmine's lips pursed together into a very thin line, and Anna could see that she was trying her best not to cry.

Anna couldn't help but feel bad for her friend. Carmine had been so proud of herself for figuring it all out only to have her friends mock her. And even worse, Anna knew – _Carmine was right_. Anna felt so bad, in fact, that she almost leaned over and whispered to Carmine that there really were vampires – that she wasn't crazy. But Anna just couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she just sat there in silence, feeling sorry for her friend and guilty for not helping her.

_Maybe Sharon's outburst was for the best,_ Anna tried to rationalize. It would certainly make Anna feel safer if Carmine stopped looking for vampires. Besides, she knew that even though Carmine _thought_ she wanted to meet a vampire, she really didn't. _Who would want to meet someone who'd drink your blood and maybe even send you to the hospital?_ And that was only what had been written in the local papers! Anna knew all too well that a vampire would be more than capable of killing Carmine. Maybe after this, Carmine would just drop it, and she wouldn't have to worry anymore. Anna glanced over at Mina, and realized she'd never seen her friend look so uncomfortable.

## Chapter 20: The Problem of Carmine

That very afternoon, Anna arranged to meet with Mina after school to discuss what they should do.

Anna sat down at one of the red tables in the middle of the courtyard, anxiously waiting for Mina to join her. Even though it wasn't exactly an _emergency_ , Anna couldn't stop glancing at her watch every couple seconds, wishing Mina would hurry up.

As soon as she sat down next to Anna, the atmosphere immediately became tense. Finally, Mina spoke.

"You're really worried, aren't you?" she asked, looking at Anna's expression.

"I am." Anna replied. "What are we going to do?"

Mina chewed her lip for a moment, and Anna could see that though she tried to hide it, she was just as worried as Anna.

"Well...what can we do?" she asked. Whether she was stalling or simply had no idea was hard to say.

"...Normally, I'd move." Anna confessed. "But I don't think I can do that this time. I've never really gotten to know anyone where I've lived before. Now that I have, it would look too suspicious to just leave...Carmine would know for sure."

"At least you have that choice." Mina muttered. "I _can't_ just pack up and leave. You can always disappear – even if Carmine knows, she'll never be able to find you. But I'm stuck here. What would I tell my parents?"

Anna thought a moment. There really was nothing Mina could tell her parents to convince them to move. Anna realized that even simply running away would do Mina no good – unlike Carmine, Mina's parents _could_ track her down.

Leaving wasn't an option for Mina, and deep down Anna knew it wasn't one for her either. Now that she'd finally met people she could talk to, Anna was starting to actually like having friends again. Even though part of her still wanted just pack up and leave, she knew she couldn't – she'd never be able to start again; it'd just be too hard.

"We can't leave." she told Mina with certainty.

Mina nodded, lost in thought. She looked down at the red polish on the table, lightly tracing a scratch in it with her nail.

"Well..." Mina started hesitantly. "We could get rid of Carmine."

"How?" Anna asked, not entirely following.

"We could get her alone somewhere..." Mina didn't finish the thought. Anna stared at her in silence for a minute.

"You mean...get _rid_ of her?" she asked cautiously. "As in...forever?"

Mina nodded decisively, but didn't say anything. Anna's eyes got wide.

"I don't want to _kill_ her!" Anna said a little louder than she meant to. Quickly, she looked around to make sure no one had overheard her. But they were alone in the courtyard.

"I don't either." Mina confessed. "But it _would_ get rid of our problem."

"No." Anna said firmly. "We can't do it."

Mina squirmed slightly, but asked, "Why not?"

"For one, I just _can't_ kill her." Anna said honestly. "She's my friend – and yours too. Would you really be able to kill someone you've eaten lunch with for months?"

"But she's going to cause us a lot of trouble." Mina answered, sidestepping the question.

"She might." Anna conceded. "But I still couldn't do that. Besides, what if we fail? She'd know it was us."

"But we won't fail." Mina said simply, her resolve growing. "How can we fail? She's not as strong, or as fast. She can't see in the dark as well as we can, and she can't hear as good."

"...So what happens if we do succeed?" Anna asked quietly.

"We go on with our lives." Mina replied. "It's most important that we aren't killed – they would kill us, if they found out."

"No." Anna told her after a minute. "What's most important is for us to never be found out in the first place. And if we kill Carmine, then we _will_ be."

"How?" Mina asked, her eyes narrowing slightly as she tried to understand Anna's way of thinking.

"Because she's the only one talking about vampires. If she suddenly dies, it'll look like she _could_ have been right. Or, if not right, at least not completely _wrong_."

Mina thought about this for a minute, and Anna could see her resolve wavering slightly. She continued on, before Mina had a chance to regroup.

"Besides, right now, even with as much talk as there is about 'attacks', there's not any evidence. There's nothing for the police to investigate. But if someone is _murdered,_ then the police will have to look into it."

Mina nodded. "I see."

Anna breathed an inward sigh of relief, glad to have that settled. She'd never killed someone on purpose and she didn't want her first to be a friend. Mina, however, brought her short-lived victory to a halt.

"So what do we do?"

"...Nothing." Anna told her, surprising even herself.

_"Nothing?_ " Mina looked incredulous.

"Yes, nothing." Anna repeated, more sure of herself. "Right now, Carmine just looks crazy – no one believes her. It's best to do nothing and let this all just go away."

"Ok." Mina said, nodding once. "I just hope it really _does_ go away."

"It will." Anna promised, not because she was sure it was true, but because she really wanted it to be.

The two girls stood up to leave. Anna leaned down and picked her bag up off the ground. As she slid it over her shoulder, she heard Mina exclaim "Oh!" and Anna turned to face her friend.

Mina had slid her backpack over in front of her and was digging around for something. After a moment, she pulled out a pen and a notebook. She tore off a scrap of paper and wrote something down on it.

"Here." she said, handing the paper to Anna. Anna looked down at it and saw that Mina had hastily written out her phone number. "You can call me if you need anything. And if anything happens...if the plan changes...you can talk to me."

Anna stared down at the small scrap of torn paper in awe. Her first phone number! Anna was somewhat embarrassed to admit it, even to herself, but she was really flattered. She doubted she'd ever use it – she didn't even have a phone. But it was the thought that mattered; this was the first time she'd ever been given a phone number in her entire life.

"Thank you." she told Mina with feeling. Carefully, she folded the piece of paper and put it in her pocket. Mina smiled at Anna, not knowing just how happy she'd made her friend.

Anna walked with Mina out to the back of the school where her mother was waiting impatiently. Mina hurried into the car, apologizing profusely, and Anna continued across the parking lot towards the street. Now that a decision had been made, Anna felt much better – much more relaxed. Even though the plan was to do nothing, Anna was glad that they'd at least made a decision. She walked the rest of the way home, feeling oddly better than she had in some time.

## Chapter 21: Sharon's Explanation

Over the next few days, Anna noticed a subtle change in Carmine. Ever since Sharon had stormed out of the cafeteria, she and Joanna had stopped eating lunch with Anna, Mina and Carmine. Sharon had tried to convince Anna to join her and Joanna instead, but Anna refused to leave Carmine sitting by herself in the cafeteria – partly out of loyalty, partly out of guilt. Anna had asked Sharon why she'd decided not to eat with them anymore.

"It's not you." Sharon told her, shrugging. "It's Carmine."

"Why don't you want to eat lunch with Carmine anymore?" Anna asked, slightly annoyed at having to rephrase the question.

"Look," Sharon said, sighing. "I've known Carmine for almost ten years now. And I've put up with her acting childish for all of them. I don't mind that she likes to read about myths and legends – it's actually pretty interesting what she learns. I don't even mind it really when she explains how some myths are related to modern-day things. But to actually convince yourself that vampires are _real?_ To me, she's just taking it too far."

"But if it makes her happy to think those things..." Anna trailed off.

"I know." Sharon told her. "I do understand that. But there comes a time when you have to stop believing in things that aren't _real_. To be as old as she is and to really believe that vampires are lurking in dark alleys, taking over the town? She's delusional. And I don't want to hang out with delusional people."

"I see." Anna told her truthfully. "But it doesn't seem to be hurting anybody...she just...has an active imagination." she finished lamely.

"Not hurting anybody?" Sharon asked. "Not yet. But wait and see. If she keeps making up stories like that, someone will get hurt – maybe her, maybe somebody else, I don't know. But I _do_ know that I don't want any part in it. If she comes to her senses, I'll still be friends with her. If not..." Sharon trailed off, shaking her head sadly.

Since then, Anna hardly saw Sharon around at all, except of course for geography – which had become quite awkward since Carmine and Sharon's falling out. Now, every day Carmine would sit board-straight in class, careful not to notice anything Sharon did in the seat just behind her. Sharon, for her part, acted as though nothing was wrong and wore an exaggerated air of indifference. Anna pretended not to notice either of them and avoided the whole situation by taking incredibly thorough notes of absolutely everything that came out of Mr. Wilson's mouth.

With the exception of their bizarre behavior in geography, Carmine and Sharon both refused to acknowledge each other's presence and avoided each other whenever possible. At lunch, neither Sharon nor Joanna were ever mentioned, and both groups now sat on opposite ends of the cafeteria. Since it was starting to get warmer outside, Anna, Mina and Carmine tried to sit outside whenever they could.

Despite the fact that Carmine steadfastly ignored everything Sharon did, Anna could easily see that their argument had affected Carmine deeply. While she pretended that nothing was wrong, it was obvious that the loss of her two friends had been quite a shock to Carmine, and she was much more subdued since the event. She now only smiled halfheartedly at Anna and Mina during lunch, and it was suddenly the two of them that kept conversations going.

It hadn't helped that the whole school had somehow found out about Carmine's theory. Suddenly, everywhere Carmine went, she was greeted by smirks and soft snickers. Carmine managed to keep her head up, ignoring the whispers of _crazy vampire-hunter_ as she walked down the hall.

At lunch, Anna and Mina made a concerted effort to have their little group sit on the far side of the courtyard, near the grass. Anna hoped that by sitting as far away from everyone else as possible that Carmine might at least get some break from the near-constant stares and not-so-subtle remarks being thrown her way throughout the rest of the day. Even though the group now sat quite a few feet away from any other students, Anna was disappointed to realize that it hadn't worked as well as she'd hoped. True, they were now out of earshot from the whispers, but crowds of students still snuck glances their way.

Anna and Mina tended to sit facing the students in an effort to protect Carmine. Anna did her best to ignore the looks her group received, but it was hard. Even though she knew _she_ wasn't the focus of all this unwanted attention, Anna still found herself feeling awkward. She knew that at lunch at least, she was being judged as much as Carmine, and how long would it be before people started looking at _her_ that way? Would they think she was supporting Carmine's vampire theory? As much as Anna had always liked to think she was above caring about what humans might think of her personally, going to school and being surrounded by them day after day had made her realize that their opinions of her were more important than she would have imagined possible.

After over a week of sneers and jeers, Anna found herself moving to sit beside Carmine rather than stare at the judging faces of the other students. Anna hoped that Carmine wouldn't sense the feeling of awkwardness that washed over Anna every time they sat down to lunch. Unfortunately for Anna, she wasn't quite as subtle as she had hoped.

After the bell rang one day, Anna and Carmine slowly stood up, ready to head for class. Mina, of course, stayed where she was. As Anna and Carmine made their way across the courtyard, trying to stay behind the crowd of students heading back to class, Carmine spoke up, forcing Anna to realize that maybe Carmine wasn't as oblivious to what was going on as she seemed.

"I'm sorry I'm putting you through this." she said sincerely. Anna was dumbfounded by the directness of the statement.

"What do you mean?" she asked, trying to buy time. She hoped Carmine wasn't really talking about the sense of embarrassment that came over Anna more often than she'd like to admit.

"Well..." Carmine started. "I know how everyone in school thinks I'm crazy. But since you and Mina still hang out with me, I know they're starting to wonder about you, too."

"You mean, they wonder if I'm crazy?" Anna didn't like the sound of that. Her mind started to flash back to her experiences in her hometown – the first time she'd attracted too much negative attention. Quickly she shook her head, bringing herself back to reality.

"Yeah," Carmine continued, seemingly unaware of the sudden turn Anna's thoughts had briefly taken. "I mean, I know you don't believe me. And I feel bad that you're starting to be lumped in with me because of it."

"It's not that..." Anna started.

"It's not what?" Carmine looked intensely at Anna, trying to discern her meaning. "It's not that you don't believe me? So you do believe me, then?" Carmine asked, correctly interpreting the expression that Anna was too slow to hide.

"Well...I don't know..." Why did Anna have such a problem lying? Why couldn't she just tell Carmine that no, she didn't believe her vampire theory? Quickly, she changed the subject. "How do you handle it? All the stares, the comments...how can you seem so calm about it all?"

"Because." Carmine answered simply. "I know I'm right. Not just that I think I _might_ be right – I _know_ it, deep down. How could I be wrong about something that fits so perfectly? It explains everything." Anna thought about this for a minute before responding.

"I admire your conviction" she said honestly. Carmine looked surprised at first, then laughed.

"You know," she told Anna, "sometimes you can be really strange."

"Oh..." Anna mumbled, not sure what else to say.

"Look, don't worry about me." Carmine told her. "I'll be fine. Sooner or later everyone will see that I'm right. I just have to keep going until they do."

Anna and Carmine walked the rest of the way down the hall together in silence, both lost in thought. When they reached the end of the hall, Carmine put her hand on Anna's shoulder.

"Don't worry," she told Anna. "I'm right, and I know it. That's enough for me." She smiled reassuringly at Anna before turning and heading through the last door on the right and into her algebra class. Anna walked the rest of the way to French, trying to figure out how she could _not_ worry.

## Chapter 22: Trouble at School

The next day, Anna made it into English just as the bell was ringing. Of course, Mrs. Boyd wasn't there. _Why did she even bother to be on time if the teacher never was?_ Dejectedly, she sank down into her chair.

"Late night?" Summer asked. Anna looked over to see the petite girl smiling cheerfully in her direction.

"Yeah." Anna replied. "I couldn't get to sleep."

It wasn't entirely true since Anna didn't exactly _need_ sleep. But she'd learned it was a good excuse to explain why kids around here were more subdued than usual.

"A lot on your mind?" Summer pressed.

Anna ignored the invitation to talk. Instead, she just nodded at her desk, tracing the patterns in the fake wood with her eyes.

"It's all this vampire talk, isn't it?" Summer guessed shrewdly.

Anna froze for a moment, taking in what Summer had just said. Slowly, she turned her head towards Summer, a stunned look on her face.

"What?" Anna asked quietly.

"The whole school's talking about it." Summer explained. There was a look on her face that Anna couldn't read.

"Word travels fast around here." Anna replied dryly.

"It does." Summer confirmed.

Anna shrugged, but Summer was not to be deterred by Anna's lack of a response.

"So, I heard Carmine Zwaanstra's the one starting the rumors." Then, with what Anna thought looked suspiciously like a smirk, Summer asked, "So what do _you_ think about that?"

"Well...I don't know..." Anna replied, wishing Summer would talk about something – _anything_ – else.

"Oh? I thought _you_ of all people would have an opinion on it."

Anna wasn't sure what Summer meant by this, so she just kept quiet. Summer, on the other hand, seemed to have plenty to say.

"Nothing good will come of it, believe me." Then, looking intently at Anna, Summer's tone suddenly became much more serious. "You should tell her to stop talking so much about the supernatural. Start looking for more mundane answers."

The conversation had taken an unexpected turn, and Anna was curious. _Why would Summer care?_

"Does it bother you?" Anna asked. Now _she_ was the one pushing the conversation.

"No." Summer said a little too quickly. But Anna had seen her eyes widen just a little before quickly resuming their usual sparkle.

"Then why can't she say what she likes?" Anna asked as innocently as she could manage.

Summer didn't say anything for a minute. Instead, she stared at Anna, as if sizing her up. When she did speak, she seemed to take on the tone of a particularly patient teacher explaining something that should have been obvious to the student.

"Well...there's no such thing as supernatural beings, are there? Vampire or otherwise. And even if there _were_ vampires, she couldn't do anything anyway."

"Who said she's going to do anything?" Anna asked. She tried to sound neutral, but there was a hint of a challenge in her words. If somebody thought Carmine was going to act on her hunches, Anna wanted to know who it was – she _really_ needed to know how credible that story was. Summer paused a minute before replying.

"Nobody's saying that." she said finally. Then, she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "Look, all I'm saying is that it's important she doesn't do anything stupid. She could get somebody hurt."

"I know." Anna nodded.

Of _course_ she knew that – it had been on her mind for almost two weeks now. Every time she saw Carmine, Anna had searched her face, trying to see if Carmine was planning something. The instant Carmine had a complete plan in mind, Anna knew her life would be in danger – to say nothing of anyone else's.

There didn't seem to be much else to say, and the two lapsed into silence. Anna found herself wondering just how far the story of Carmine's vampire theory had spread, and where it would end.

***

Anna finished taking her books out of her backpack, getting ready to go home. It had been a long, exhausting day, and she was looking forward to simply going home, making a cup of tea, and relaxing. Maybe she'd take a bath – a nice, long bubble bath. She closed her eyes a moment, wishing she were home already. No matter – she'd be home soon enough. She closed her locker and turned around, almost running straight into Luke yet again.

"Hey," he said grinning as he casually sidestepped the near-collision.

"Hello." she replied, wondering what he could want. She couldn't decide if she was happy to see him or not. Any other day, her heart would be pounding. But today, she didn't even have the energy to feel nervous.

"You said you live close to 4th street, right?" he asked her, shifting his weight slightly.

"I do. Why?" She was more abrupt than she'd meant to be, but Luke didn't seem phased by it.

"Well, I live down that way, too." he told her. "So I was thinking I'd walk you home."

Anna was surprised by how casually he said it, but she quickly agreed. Maybe walking home with someone else was just the thing to get her mind off all her troubles. They headed out the front of the school together and down the street. After a few minutes of what Anna thought was beginning to be an uncomfortable silence, Luke spoke up. As her luck would have it, he brought up the one topic she didn't want to discuss.

"So things sure have been weird around here lately, haven't they?"

"Yes, they have." Anna replied wearily.

"You haven't lived here long, have you?" he said in what felt to Anna like an abrupt subject change.

"About five months." she told him. It was a long time for her, but Anna knew that she moved much more often than anyone else; Luke wouldn't consider it long at all.

"Well, I've lived here all my life, and I've never seen anything like this...I don't like it." He looked worried.

Anna suddenly felt tired. She'd been keeping her guard up so much lately, trying to figure out what Carmine was planning – if she was planning anything at all. And would Carmine suspect Anna? She didn't now, but how long could Anna really be friends with the school's biggest mythology nut before she was found out? Eating lunch with her every day, talking with her – what if she slipped up? Not to mention all her problems with Fredrick and Jacqueline, and the fact that it was getting harder and harder to hunt in this town.

Anna hadn't realized how tired she was, how tense, until that very moment. But suddenly, she just didn't care anymore. It was just too much for her right now. She was sick of being always on edge, trying to figure out what everyone else was thinking. And it was with these thoughts in her head that she blurted out, "So you think it's vampires, too?"

Luke actually stopped in his tracks for a second, running his hand through his tousled brown hair before resuming his walk. Laughing a little nervously, he asked, "So how is your friend Buffy doing anyway?"

Now it was Anna's turn to stop short.

"What?" she asked in confusion. _Who was that?_

"You know, _Buffy the Vampire Slayer?_ That old TV show? Everybody's been calling her that...I just thought...Sorry." he mumbled.

_Buffy the Vampire Slayer?_ A TV show? How had Anna never heard of it? She used to watch TV all the time. Probably something to do with the _Vampire Slayer_ part; it didn't sound like something she'd ever want to watch. Anna shook herself out of that train of thought – that wasn't the point. The point was that Luke was making fun of her friend.

"Don't call her that! She's not a vampire slayer!" At least, Anna _hoped_ she wasn't a vampire slayer.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to..." Luke said weakly.

"Well, good." Anna said, calming down a bit. "Because Carmine is my friend and she's not crazy." Luke surprised Anna by agreeing.

"No, she's not." he told her. "Half the school secretly believes her, you know. They're just too afraid of being the next target to actually come out and side with her. Really, I think everyone's just scared; they don't know what to do. Like I said, nothing like this has ever happened here before. Have _you_ ever seen anything like this?"

Anna had flashes of being chased out of her home in Massachusetts. But that was different – people were much more superstitious then. And there was actually more proof in her hometown than what Carmine had now.

"No. I haven't." she half-lied. "But aren't people too smart to believe in such superstitions nowadays?" Anna tried to sound casual, but she really had to know how serious these rumors actually were. Luke thought for a minute before answering.

"In general, I'd say yeah – but they're scared. They believe in vampires now because they don't know what's causing this – as soon as it stops the vampire rumors'll go away. But there are those people out there who really do believe in things like vampires. And it seems like your friend Carmine is one."

"Well, I'm glad most people don't really believe in that sort of thing." Anna told Luke, not allowing herself to think about what he'd said about Carmine.

"Me too." Luke said, smiling for the first time since the topic was brought up. As the conversation lulled, Anna could see Luke relax his shoulders. She hadn't realized how tense he was until she saw him calm down.

"This whole topic really seems to make everyone nervous." she said quietly to herself.

"With good reason." Luke told her. _How had he heard that?_ Apparently, she'd said it louder than she'd thought. She looked at him quizzically, and he continued. "It can cause a lot of problems."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...it can divert attention from whatever – or _whoever,_ I should say – is actually responsible. Not to mention the fact that innocent people could get blamed for it."

"I hadn't thought of that." Anna said truthfully. She'd been so worried about getting caught that it hadn't occurred to her that someone completely innocent might take the blame.

"That's why this had better stoop. Soon." Luke said darkly, seeming to scowl at no one in particular. Anna was surprised by the intensity in his voice. She hadn't really thought of him as the kind to worry much about what could happen to other people. Maybe there was more to him than she'd given him credit for.

The walk home was much quicker with Luke to talk to. Anna looked up in surprise at the street sign, realizing that this was where she turned off.

"See you tomorrow." Anna said to him as she started down her street.

"Later." he replied, smiling broadly. Then turning away, Luke put his hands in his pockets and continued his stroll down the street. Anna realized with surprise that she was sorry to see him go.

## Chapter 23: The Blame Game

It had been almost a week since Anna had talked about Carmine and her vampire theory to either Summer or Luke, but she was still waffling about what to do. She kept thinking about what Luke had told her – that people who weren't to blame might be held responsible if this continued.

But as soon as she would decide that she needed to do something, she would remember the times she was run out of town. Her home in Massachusetts was the first place she'd been forced to flee, but it certainly hadn't been the last. Though she tried her best not to remember, there had been other times when people had come after her. She'd been run out of Philadelphia after a neighbor saw her climbing back through her own window late one night, and she'd had to leave Baltimore when someone remembered her attacking them. She'd even been chased out of Savannah to cries of _"Witch, Witch!"_ much to her confusion.

Each time taught Anna something, allowing her to be much more careful. After her rather short-lived time in Savannah, Anna had never been chased out of a town by an angry mob again. But that didn't mean she'd always been safe. There had been numerous other times when tensions had been running high and she'd been forced to leave a place before anyone suspected her. Each time, she moved in the night, taking everything she could carry with her and sending for the rest when she was able.

Now, for the first time in as long as she could remember, Anna was in a town that she didn't _want_ to flee. She'd grown to like this city. And even though people were getting restless, they weren't suspecting _her_. It was thoughts like these that inevitably led Anna to the conclusion that she should just keep quiet. Maybe the whole mess would go away on its own. After all, if Fredrick and Jacqueline were anything like her, they would move on soon. Anna just hoped they'd do it before too much more attention was devoted to the matter.

Anna sighed contentedly, swapping out the books in her backpack for the ones she needed to take home that night. Her talk with Luke had really been weighing on her mind, and she was glad to finally be able to put the matter to rest. Even though she was still planning on doing nothing, she was glad she could say she'd at least _considered_ his point of view. But she was convinced that Fredrick and Jacqueline would move on, once the pressure got to be too much. And the best part was, Anna wouldn't have to do anything! Once they were gone, things would go back to the way they should be, just like Luke said.

Anna rounded the corner, heading out towards the front of the school. She was smiling the first genuine smile she'd had in almost a month. She looked up, half hoping to catch sight of Luke – they'd walked home several times together recently, and Anna had to admit she enjoyed the company. As she scanned the nearly-empty hallway for a sign of him, a streak of red and gold caught Anna's eye. She turned to see what it was – a pom-pom. But when Anna saw who the pom-pom belonged to, she ducked her head and quickly turned back the way she'd come.

Unfortunately, the sudden change in movement attracted the attention of the very person Anna was hoping to avoid. She'd barely gotten four feet down the hall when Jacqueline caught up to her. In a flash, she stepped in front of Anna, cutting her off.

"I can't believe it!" Jacqueline said in genuine surprise.

Anna looked up cautiously, staring straight into the face of her one-time best friend.

"It _is_ you!" Jacqueline exclaimed. "Anna Ellington! I never thought I'd see you again!"

Jacqueline stood there, as beautiful and confident as ever. She was a couple inches taller than Anna, and her long platinum hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing her cheerleading outfit, and Anna realized that Jacqueline was going to be late to cheer practice in order to have this conversation. Anna wished she could feel lucky about that.

While Anna stared at Jacqueline in uneasy silence, Jacqueline continued talking. _She never had been shy about saying whatever she felt like,_ Anna thought vaguely. As she stood there barely listening to what Jacqueline was saying, Anna couldn't help but start to feel a little foolish. Jacqueline seemed so nice, so friendly – maybe Anna had been overreacting just a bit. It _had_ been almost three hundred years...maybe she should give Jacqueline a chance. Slowly, a timid smile spread across her lips. Jacqueline didn't seem to notice. She stopped talking and looked carefully at Anna.

"Don't you remember me?" she asked Anna sweetly. "Your best friend?"

"I remember you, Jacqueline." Anna said cautiously, slowly gaining confidence.

"Actually, it's Jackie now." Jacqueline bubbled. "Jacqueline just seems too old-fashioned to me. But anyway, I'm so glad you remember me! I guess you were just surprised. I know I was! I mean, I didn't think you'd _survive_ this long – much less that you'd actually end up in the same town as me!"

Anna stared dumbly at Jacqueline. Despite the fact that Jacqueline's tone had been friendly during her entire speech, Anna could see that something wasn't quite right; her eyes were too cold. Jacqueline smiled a slow snakelike smile, letting her words sink in.

"You didn't think I'd survive?" Anna asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She took in a slow breath, trying to calm her nerves.

"Well, to be honest, no." Jacqueline told her happily. "I mean, _look_ at you. You haven't changed a bit. You're still the same scared little girl you always were. I mean, you're practically shaking just standing here!"

"I have changed, Jacqueline." Anna told her, willing herself to look like she wasn't feeling ill. _Why did she have to be so easy to read?_

"It's Jackie!" Jacqueline snapped, her eyes flashing. "I told you that! And no, you haven't changed – you'll never change. It's just not something you could ever do."

Suddenly, Jacqueline's eyes widened then narrowed maliciously. Anna could see that she'd just formed a particularly devious plan.

"This is perfect, actually." Jacqueline said, her smile widening into a brilliant flash of white once again. "There's been all kinds of talk in school about some evil monster roaming the streets at night – you're an evil monster, aren't you?" Despite the words coming out of her mouth, Jacqueline continued to talk in a tone that said she was having a pleasant conversation with a close friend.

"I'm not." Anna mumbled, barely able to hold eye contact. Jacqueline laughed, clearly unimpressed. Anna hadn't even managed to convince _herself_ ; she could only imagine what Jacqueline was thinking.

"Sure you are." she said, lightly putting her hand on Anna's shoulder. Anna shuddered inside. "So this is what we're going to do. We're going to make _you_ take the blame for these attacks. How's that sound? You like that idea?"

Anna didn't say anything. Even if she'd been able to think of something to say, she was sure she'd never be able to get the words out.

"Well, good." Jacqueline said, deciding to take Anna's silence as agreement. She leaned back confidently on the wall next to them. "I'm glad you like it. You know, we were just talking about how we were going to have to go somewhere else – but now I've found you! They'll run you out of this city – or kill you. Either way, everybody will calm down. The town will get back to normal, and we'll continue on like we have been. _Everybody wins_." Jacqueline smirked at Anna, glancing down at her watch.

"Oh!" she said, straightening, "Time for me to go. I'm going to be late for practice!"

As she walked away Jacqueline called out over her shoulder, "Take care! We wouldn't want anything to happen to you!" She dropped her voice low enough to be inaudible to any human who might happen to be in the area, but Anna clearly heard her attach the word _"yet"_ to the end of her sentence – just as Jacqueline had intended.

Anna managed to stand there until Jacqueline was out of sight. Then, her knees buckled and she slid slowly down to the floor.

## Chapter 24: A Confidant

Jacqueline had long since left for cheerleading practice by the time Anna finally dragged herself out of the hallway. She wasn't sure how long she'd sat there – maybe five minutes, maybe an hour. She just hadn't wanted to move. All Anna wanted to do was melt into the floor. Only one thing got her up and moving – the realization that she did _not_ want to be sitting in that same place looking helpless and scared when cheerleading practice was over. She could only imagine what would happen if Jacqueline came back and found her still sitting there over an hour later.

Anna slung her backpack over her shoulder quickly as she hurried towards the front of the school. Her heart beating fast, Anna fought down a growing sense of panic. By the time she got to the big double doors at the front of the school, Anna could only think of the terrible things that were sure to happen when she inevitably met up with Jacqueline again.

Anna walked at lightening-speed down the street and quickly turned at the first corner she came to. There – at least now she wasn't in direct line of sight from the school. Feeling much more secure now that she was away from that small, suffocating hallway, Anna took a deep breath and began slowly to relax. She still wasn't calm by any means, but her heart began to slow, and her hands did eventually stop shaking. Now, she needed to think.

Anna walked down the street, hoping for inspiration. She didn't want to go home just yet, but she didn't know where else she should go. So instead, she walked around the city, her backpack still slung over her shoulder, lost in thought. She walked for what must have been two miles without even paying attention to where she was going. Shifting her backpack to the other shoulder, Anna looked around, trying to figure out where she was.

She noticed the crowded sidewalks and the streetlights beginning to come on; she'd managed to walk all the way to the middle of downtown! Out of the corner of her eye, a flashing neon sign, still dull against the brightness of the sun, gave Anna her first real idea.

Anna continued her walk down the street, but now she had a mission; she was searching for a payphone. After fifteen minutes of patrolling the streets, she still hadn't found one. _How could that be?_ She remembered when there were payphones on nearly every corner. Had it really been that long ago?

Finally, she found a dilapidated gas station with two graffiti-covered payphones nestled on the side of the building. By now, it was starting to get dark, and the lengthening shadows only added to the gloominess of the area. She walked towards the phone and unfolded a small scrap of paper she'd taken out of the front pocket of her backpack. Carefully, she dialed the number.

***

"So why is it that you want to help me?" Anna asked, surprised in spite of herself.

It was dark outside, and Anna was seated with Mina at the brand-new kitchen table in her apartment. It was the first time Mina had ever been over, and Anna was really glad she was able to come.

While wandering absentmindedly around downtown, Anna had run across the sign outside of a building where she'd attacked a young woman some months ago. Anna remembered that night, and the ribbon she'd found just a short time later. Thinking of Mina had reminded Anna that she wasn't as alone as she'd thought – one of her best friends was a vampire, after all. If anyone would know what to do, it would be Mina.

Anna had called Mina for two reasons – first, she knew she'd need help. And second, it was important to Anna that Mina agree with whatever she ended up doing. Anna already had two vampires who were out to get her – she didn't want a third.

"Well, you said so yourself." Mina told her, "Jackie wants to blame you for all the attacks in town. You're my friend – I can't let that happen."

Anna was incredibly relieved to hear that. She let out a breath she only barely realized she'd been holding.

"I'm really glad you feel that way." she told Mina honestly. Mina nodded.

"So how are we going to get rid of these two?" she asked, a wicked grin playing on her lips.

"I'm not sure," Anna confessed, splaying her hands out on the table in front of her. It was something she'd been going over in her own mind, but so far she hadn't been able to come up with a plan she could actually execute – which was exactly why she'd called Mina.

"Are we going to kill them?" Mina asked abruptly.

"I don't know if I can." Anna said quietly.

"Even after they threatened you?" Mina was surprised. Anna could tell from her reaction that Mina would never let someone threaten _her_ that way. Anna wished she had that kind of resolve herself.

"I don't know if I can purposely set out to _kill_ someone." Anna said, glancing down at the table.

"Have you ever killed someone before?"

"...Not on purpose." Anna said after a long pause.

For the first several months after becoming a vampire, Anna had put off going hunting until the last possible moment. It made her feel better inside to know she didn't have to go out more than once a week – that for six days, at least, she was normal. The downside was that when she did go out, she was desperate.

One of the first people Anna had ever attacked, she'd met walking down the darkened cobblestone road of a town just east of her own. There had been no streetlights in the town then. If there had, he would surely have seen her, surely realized that something wasn't right. But he hadn't seen her. She'd jumped out from the deep shadows of a building and lunged at him. And being so _new_ to vampirism, she didn't know how much blood she could take before she caused damage to someone. Anna had long ago forgotten the man's face, but she could still remember the feeling when she realized he was dead. There had been a few others that Anna just wasn't sure about, but she liked to think they'd all survived. But after killing that man, she'd finally started going out more than once a week. Too bad it had taken his life for her to get to that point.

"Well..." Mina said slowly. "Maybe we could just scare them away."

"I hope so." Anna told her. She thought for a moment before shaking herself back to reality. Of course it would work – she just _had_ to believe it. "No. I _know_ we can."

Mina smiled, though she didn't look completely convinced. Instead, she decided to change the subject.

"How long has it been since you went out?" she asked.

"Out?" Anna asked, confused. She thought for a moment before adding, "I've had a lot of homework lately, so..."

The look on Mina's face told Anna that wasn't what she meant.

"No, I mean _out_." Mina said meaningfully.

"Ah." Anna said, finally understanding. Smiling, she told her, "It's been a couple of days."

"This is my third night." Mina said. "Why don't we go out tonight – together?"

Anna smiled at the thought. This was exactly what she needed, something she could easily do. It would be good for her – she'd be in her element. She'd never hunted with anyone else, and the thought was somewhat exciting. She wouldn't have to wait for one person to be alone, and it would certainly make those hours of waiting much more interesting.

"Where do you have in mind?" she asked.

Mina thought for a moment. "I usually go someplace downtown." she said. "I have to take a bus to get there. But since I usually go a lot later at night, it's a good place because there are more people still out."

"I haven't been downtown in a while." Anna replied, returning Mina's mischievous grin.

## Chapter 25: Hunting Together

The two set out from Anna's apartment. Before long, they were nearing the edges of downtown. As the lights from the stores got brighter, both Anna and Mina instinctively scooted closer to the buildings. But they still walked side-by-side – an odd mix of friends spending time together and hunters looking for prey.

Mina glanced casually at Anna as they neared the front of a brightly-lit thrift store. "Where do you want to go?"

Neither of them had been hunting around here before. They'd picked this particular area though, for a change from either of their usual hunting grounds. In Mina's streets, much like in Anna's own neighborhood, people just weren't venturing out by themselves like they used to. So the girls decided to try someplace new – and with _two_ of them, what better time to go someplace busy?

Anna saw a narrow car-lined street a block or so past the glow from the thrift store. She pointed it out to Mina who nodded silently in agreement.

Casually, they walked down the dimly-lit sidewalk until they reached the middle of the street. Anna smiled happily into the darkness. Mina had been right – this was exactly the thing to make her feel better.

It was hard to believe that just a few short hours before, she'd felt trapped in that suffocating hallway at school. Now, she was outside – _free_ – doing what she was best at. There was nothing like the thrill of the hunt, of keeping her senses alert to every change around her, to make Anna feel so alive. Even as she stared up into the starry sky, Anna continued listening for any change, trying to detect any microscopic difference that would alert her to somebody's presence.

And then she heard it. Faintly, but it was there. Shoes squeaking ever so slightly as they squished into the pavement. Anna snapped immediately back to attention. She did a graceful 180 as she pulled her head down away from the sky and towards the sound of whoever was approaching. Two middle-aged men in business suits – one lean and muscular, the other much shorter and stockier, were walking down the street.

Anna turned, ready to head closer to the shadows along the edge of the sidewalk. But sensing that Mina wasn't moving, Anna turned to face her. Instead of preparing for the ambush, Mina seemed to be completely preoccupied with shifting things around inside her bag.

"Mina!" Anna whispered harshly, trying to signal the approach of the two men.

"Hmm?" Mina asked casually, not even looking up.

"What's wrong?" Anna asked, exasperated. _What could possibly be so important she'd risk letting these two get away?_ Unconsciously, Anna began to shift her weight from one foot to the other, silently begging Mina to hurry up.

"I can't find my keys!" Mina wailed piteously in a voice that carried down to the end of the street.

_"What?_ " Anna asked, baffled. Of all the things for Mina to worry about, this was definitely not on Anna's list.

"My keys!" Mina repeated, sounding close to tears. "Where could they be?"

Anna was at a loss. She'd never heard Mina sound so upset before – she was usually so calm, so aloof. And forgetful? Not since Anna had met her! Anna struggled for something to say. What she really wanted to say was _"Can't you look for them later?"_ but she knew that would be a bad idea. Mina sounded so upset, and Anna just couldn't bear to make her cry. Instead, she struggled for something more reassuring to say to her friend.

"Well...uh..." Anna started, wishing she could do better.

"Are you young ladies alright?" a deep voice asked from over Anna's shoulder.

Anna jumped visibly and had to focus all her energy on not screaming. Turning around, she saw the two men she'd been hoping to ambush standing only feet away, and her surprise turned to annoyance. _So much for sneaking up on these two,_ she thought bitterly.

"Sorry we scared you."

It was the shorter of the two men who spoke. As he did so, he took a small step backwards in an effort to appear nonthreatening. Anna smiled at this useless gesture. For his part, the man took it as a sign that he'd made the right decision in stepping away.

"I lost my car keys." Mina told the men dejectedly. _Car_ keys? Anna just stared. Fortunately, it was too dark for either man to read her expression.

"...How old are you?" the taller of the two men asked suspiciously.

"Old enough." Mina said, managing to sound insulted at the implication. The man just shrugged.

"Which car is yours?"

"This one." Mina said, sweeping her hand casually towards the closest car – a black one with lots of shine on it.

"Really?" said the first man again, and his voice sounded strange.

"Yes!" Mina said, sounding like she was going to cry all over again. There was a slight pause while the two men looked at each other.

"That Jaguar's yours?" the second man asked, suspicion obvious even to Anna.

There was a pause while Mina digested what the man had said. When she spoke again, she didn't sound as upset. Instead, she sounded defensive.

"Yes, it's my car." she told the two men. She met their stares head-on, as if daring them to contradict her.

"No, it isn't." the man said, obviously up for the challenge. "It's _my_ car."

"Oh." Mina said, surprised. Then, her voice full of genuine interest, _"Really?"_

"Really." came the reply.

By now, the two men were no longer sounding so good-natured. Instead, they were beginning to look suspicious. The owner of the Jaguar peered intently at Mina. He tensed up for just a moment, as if he were going to say something else before seeming to relax, and Anna could tell by his body language that his mind was beginning to glaze over.

The shorter man looked from his friend to Mina, and Anna could sense his confusion. Seeing the two of them standing still, not moving a muscle, he began to get nervous. Turning slightly behind him, he looked to see where Anna was.

By now, even Anna had figured out what was going on. As soon as he glanced her way, Anna was ready. Smiling as pleasantly as she could under the circumstances, Anna met his gaze head-on. In just a few short minutes, she could see his shoulders start to slump as he fell, like his friend, into a daze. As his knees began to buckle, Anna casually walked up to him. To any passerby, it might have looked as if he'd simply stumbled, and Anna had come to catch his fall. As he leaned in to her, Anna carefully tilted his chin, getting the best angle possible.

Anna leaned forward into the man. But just before she reached his neck, she caught Mina's eye. Mina glanced wickedly over at Anna and mouthed the word _"Sorry"._

## Chapter 26: A Proposition

It turned out that neither Anna nor Mina actually knew how to get rid of vampires; they were going to need the help of an expert. And of course, they both knew exactly who to ask.

They'd planned on asking Carmine for help during lunch. But what they hadn't taken into consideration was how crowded the cafeteria and courtyard actually were. It was too loud to have a quiet conversation, and even though they were generally out of earshot of the other students, neither Anna nor Mina wanted to take the chance of being overheard talking about what they wanted to divulge. Instead, they decided it would be best to have their conversation after school.

After art class was finally over, Anna made her way to the library, where the three had agreed to meet. She'd been disappointed that today she'd definitely have to walk home alone, but there was nothing she could do about that; this was too important. Anna opened the library door and stepped inside.

As she looked around, she saw Mina sitting at a round table almost dead center of the room. Since all of the other students seemed to be sitting near the edges, this was actually a wise decision. Anna sat down next to her and waited. It took almost ten minutes before Carmine finally walked through the door.

Mina waved Carmine over to the table where they were sitting. When she got there, Carmine dropped her backpack on the floor with a dull thud and then helped herself to an empty chair.

"Sorry it took me so long. Mr. Clarinval _never_ lets us out early. So, what's up?" she asked, looking from Mina to Anna.

"Well...we've been thinking about what you've been saying," Anna started, slowly working up the nerve to tell Carmine what they were after. When Carmine looked blank, Anna continued. "About vampires."

Suddenly, Carmine's eyes narrowed, a suspicious look coming over her face.

"What about it?" Carmine asked levelly. Anna floundered, but Mina picked up where Anna had left off.

"We think you're right." Mina told her.

"...Are you guys serious?" Carmine asked, looking slightly bewildered by the sudden turn of events.

"Yeah." Mina replied. "And we think we know who it is. So...how do we get rid of them?"

Carmine hesitated a minute before saying softly, "Are you guys making fun of me?"

Anna and Mina looked at each other, shocked. It had never occurred to either of them that Carmine would think they were just teasing her. They'd been so sure Carmine would jump at the chance to catch a vampire that it simply never dawned on them that she could be suspicious.

But it made sense. They hadn't made fun of her, sure. But they hadn't really stood up for her either. And they _certainly_ hadn't told Carmine they thought she was right – though they'd had plenty of opportunities. Neither Anna nor Mina said anything for a moment. Carmine, however, took this silence as confirmation she was right.

"Look," she told them, "You don't have to believe me. You can think I'm crazy, too! But dragging me here to mock me – that's pretty low."

Carmine stood up indignantly, ready to leave.

"Wait!" Anna and Mina said simultaneously.

Mina grabbed Carmine's arm before she could leave. Unfortunately, in their hurry to get Carmine to stay, they'd been a little louder than they'd intended.

"Ladies, please!" the grey-haired librarian whispered loudly, looking up sternly from behind her desk.

"Sorry!" the two whispered back in unison.

"Carmine, don't go." Anna pleaded.

Reluctantly, Carmine sat back down, still looking suspiciously from one friend to the other.

"We would never make fun of you. I know we didn't speak up earlier, but...we think you're right. In fact, we're sure of it."

Carmine studied each of their faces before finally speaking.

"You serious?" she asked cautiously, still not sure whether to believe them or not. Anna and Mina nodded earnestly, and Carmine let out a sigh of relief. She smiled nervously as she said, "I'm glad someone else actually believes me."

Anna looked at her, suddenly realizing exactly how hard it had been for Carmine to endure all that teasing over the past few weeks. She thought back to what Luke had said – even though others at the school secretly believed Carmine, they had never let _her_ know it; as far as Carmine knew, she was the only person at school to believe in vampires.

"I'm so sorry we didn't say something earlier." Anna told her.

"Why didn't you?" Carmine asked.

The answer was simple: she hadn't want to get involved. But there was no way Anna was stupid enough to say that. Instead, she just lowered her eyes to the table and shrugged.

Carmine nodded. Then slowly she asked, "Are you sure you want to get rid of them?"

Anna looked at her. It suddenly occurred to her that Carmine liked vampires an awful lot – well, at least the concept of vampires. Carmine really _could_ be more interested in meeting a vampire than getting rid of one. Anna knew she was going to have to make absolutely sure Carmine would agree to helping her and Mina out.

"Yes." Anna said firmly. "You've seen all the attacks being reported in the papers. People are getting _scared_. It's _dangerous_ , Carmine. We have to do something."

"Well...how do you know they're actually vampires?" Carmine asked.

This stopped Anna and Mina dead in their tracks. It never occurred to either of them that they might actually have to _prove_ Fredrick and Jacqueline really were vampires before Carmine would agree to help. Anna exchanged a glance with Mina, but neither could think of anything to say.

In the resulting silence, Carmine said, "Look, you don't want to have to go through all the trouble of trying to get rid of a vampire only to discover that they weren't _really_ one in the first place! It'd be a complete waste of time. Plus, it'd be _super_ embarrassing."

Anna and Mina looked at each other. Anna shrugged; Carmine did have a point. And while _they_ knew that Fredrick and Jacqueline were vampires, they really should get some sort of proof. Especially if they wanted Carmine's help. After all, Anna wasn't sure she'd do it herself without proof – how could she expect Carmine to? Mina spoke first.

"So...if we can prove that these two are vampires, _then_ we can work on a way to get rid of them?"

"I think that would be the best way to go." Carmine replied.

"But how can we prove it?" Anna asked. She had never tried to prove someone was a vampire before. Until now, she had always been much more concerned with how to _keep_ people from being able to prove that kind of thing.

"Well...let's see..." Carmine said, thinking. "They're not supposed to have reflections. So, if you can get them to a place where you should be able to see their reflection and you don't, that should work."

Anna thought about this. It's true when she first became a vampire, she'd had no reflection. But that hadn't been true for a very long time now. The reason for this was silver. Mirrors used to be backed in silver, and something in that precious metal kept it from reflecting vampires. But since they'd started using other metals, like aluminum, Anna'd discovered that she _did_ cast a reflection. She remembered the day she first started casting reflections in mirrors again. It had been so long since she'd gotten a clear view of her face that she'd almost forgotten what she looked like. Lakes and streams just weren't a good substitute for mirrors – especially when you're afraid of falling in. She smiled to herself as she remembered going out and buying an armful of mirrors that very day.

"I'm not sure that that's right." Mina said, pulling Anna back to the present.

Anna looked over at Mina. She could tell by the expression on Mina's face that she didn't believe that myth was ever true.

"Wouldn't people notice someone with no reflection? I mean, your image reflects in all sorts of things. If it were really true, they probably wouldn't last too long, would they?"

Before Anna could say anything, Carmine was defending herself against what she perceived of as Mina's scorn of her knowledge.

"Hey, this is just what I've read." she responded. "I've never actually _seen_ a vampire, so I've never really had the chance to go out and try it. Anyway, if you're so sure about what works and what doesn't, what do you need me for?"

This wasn't turning out the way Anna had planned at all. Before the situation got completely out of hand, she leaned forward to interject.

"I think it _used_ to be true." she said. "But not anymore. When mirrors used to be made out of silver, they wouldn't show a vampire's reflection. But now that they're made with other metals, it doesn't work anymore."

Anna realized that both Mina and Carmine were looking at her with a mixture of awe and skepticism. Mina was surprised that the myth had been true; Carmine was trying to figure out just how Anna would be privy to such information. Anna blushed under the focused attention.

"That's about the only real information I have on vampires." she explained, her cheeks still burning. "That and the fact that they hate running water – I read it in a book." she lied lamely.

Out of the corner of her eye, Anna saw Mina shudder slightly at the thought of running water. Carmine, however, didn't seem to notice.

Turning back to the original conversation, Carmine said, "Well, if vampires cast reflections...how about the one about sunlight? That they can't go out during the day?"

Anna and Mina shook their heads in unison.

"Well, what do _you_ suggest, then?" Carmine asked them, getting frustrated.

"...Garlic?" Mina asked after a few minutes of strained silence.

"Well, that could work." Carmine replied. "They don't like garlic."

"But how could we use that against them?" Anna asked, quickly dashing the hopes of both Mina and Carmine. "I mean, would we just throw it at them? Isn't that a little strange? Especially if we want to be subtle about this."

"We could sneak it into their food, maybe?" Mina asked hopefully. But Anna shook her head.

"That wouldn't prove anything." she said. "They could just say that they didn't like it – or that they were allergic to it. Besides, garlic smells pretty bad. It'd be hard to get someone to _accidently_ eat it."

"Yeah..." Carmine said. Then looking over at Anna, she asked, "What were you saying about running water?"

"That vampires don't like it." Anna replied.

"Yeah, that's true..." Carmine said thoughtfully. "They can't swim. And running water is supposed to hurt them somehow."

"So...throw them in a river?" Mina interjected hopefully.

"But that's even less subtle than throwing garlic at them." Anna countered. "Besides, they could just say they couldn't swim."

"Who can't swim these days?" Mina asked in disbelief.

"Lots of people can't swim." Carmine interrupted, before Anna had the chance. "There's a girl in my P.E. class who can't. And I seriously doubt she's a vampire."

Anna looked questioningly at Carmine. _How could she be so sure?_ Carmine correctly interpreted the look.

"She's kinda nerdy." she explained a little sheepishly. Anna didn't even bother to ask what _that_ proved.

"Well...what's left, then?" Mina asked dejectedly, her shoulders slumping slightly. Carmine shrugged, looking almost as disappointed as Mina.

"I don't know." she said. "Those are the only things I can think of. And apparently, none of them'll work."

"So..." Mina said slowly, taking it all in. "It seems like the only way to actually _prove_ that someone is a vampire is to catch them biting a person, right? Everything else seems to just be a sign. They all seem to be things that could be explained by reasons other than being a vampire."

Anna couldn't help looking unhappy as Carmine nodded in agreement.

"Pretty much." Carmine told her. "I mean, if there were some obvious way to tell who's a vampire and who isn't, they'd all be long gone by now – if there ever _were_ any in the first place." she added in an attempt to keep from looking like some lunatic that believed in things that weren't really there. Apparently, the others kids at school had started to make an impression on her after all.

As much as Anna didn't like what Carmine was saying, she really couldn't argue with it. It made perfect sense. And it would explain why neither Anna nor Mina had been able to come up with anything that would prove that they – or anyone else – were vampires.

Suddenly, Carmine got a strange look on her face – like something obvious had just dawned on her.

"Why _don't_ we catch them in the act? If that's the only way, why not try it?" she asked, a renewed excitement in her voice.

_Of course!_ It was so obvious! Why didn't Anna think of that? It was the one sure-fire way to prove Fredrick and Jacqueline were vampires. _But how?_

"Do we just stalk them until they attack someone?" Anna asked. That could take a lot of time – and they could get caught spying. Anna shuddered involuntarily at the thought of what Fredrick and Jacqueline would do if they caught Anna and her friends chasing after them.

"It's the only real option." Carmine replied. Slowly, Mina started nodding.

"She's right." Mina told Anna. "Everything else can be explained away. But how could you explain biting a stranger on the neck? It's perfect! We'll just follow them around until we can catch them in the act."

"Yeah." Carmine chimed in. Then, a look of realization passed over her face. "Wait. Who _are_ these vampires of yours? You never did tell me. And if I'm going to be helping you out, I want to know."

Anna hesitated. How could she tell Carmine that two of the most popular kids in the school were actually dangerous vampires terrorizing the town? Anna shrugged; she'd find out soon enough anyway. Still, Anna couldn't help but feel nervous – and maybe even a little guilty – as she quietly whispered their names.

"Fredrick and Jacqueline." she mumbled, unable to quite meet Carmine's eye as she said it. Carmine leapt up from her chair, almost knocking it over in the process.

_"What?_ " she practically yelled, forgetting where she was. The librarian looked up sharply and stared menacingly at the group.

"Ladies!" she whispered loudly. "If you can't be quiet, I'm afraid you'll have to take it outside." Carmine's cheeks turned bright red.

"Sorry," she said. The librarian just shook her head disapprovingly before resuming whatever she was doing behind her desk.

Carmine sat down again, then turned her attention back to Anna. She repeated her question again, although much quieter this time. And she continued by adding, "You mean Freddy and Jackie? Are you _serious?_ They're just about the most popular kids at this school! Why would you suspect _them?_ "

What was Anna supposed to say to this? That she'd met Fredrick and Jacqueline around 300 years ago, and the only reason she could figure for them still being alive was that they were vampires – just like her? Not to mention the fact that Fredrick was the one who _made_ her a vampire in the first place! No, Anna didn't think so.

"Really...I guess it's just a feeling that I have." she shrugged.

Carmine still looked suspicious, but apparently decided not to push the issue; it seemed she knew this was the best she'd get.

"Alright." she said, nodding at Anna and Mina. "Well, if you guys really think that those two are vampires, then we need to get proof. _Then_ we can work on a plan to get rid of them. Because I'm _not_ accusing anyone of being a vampire – especially those two – without some hard evidence." When she saw that Anna and Mina were both reluctantly nodding in agreement with her, she continued on. "Well, I hate to break this up, but I have to catch the bus, and I don't want to be late. Can we continue this later?"

## Chapter 27: A Different Kind of Hunt

Since Carmine had said she needed proof that Fredrick and Jacqueline were vampires before she'd actually agree to help get rid of them, it was slowly sinking in for Anna that she would, in fact, have to catch them in the act of attacking someone, and do it with Carmine by her side. And she could only think of one way this could be accomplished; she'd have to follow them until they went hunting.

The plan took several days for Anna to actually complete. She decided to focus her attention on Fredrick. Jacqueline was too observant; she'd already managed to spot Anna once. But Fredrick – he was arrogant enough that it would never occur to him anyone would be able to follow him without him noticing. But, oh how wrong he'd be! Anna smiled at her own cleverness.

Anna had talked with both Mina and Carmine, and they decided the best plan was to find out where Fredrick lived. Then, all they would have to do was go to his house at night and wait for him to come out; they'd be able to follow him hunting and catch them in the act. They'd discussed going to the office and seeing if they could find out where he lived from the school records on file, but decided that was too risky; since they had every intention of getting rid of both Fredrick and Jacqueline, they didn't want there to be such an obvious link. No, it was much better to find out in a more subtle way – one that didn't involve actually asking anybody who might remember the conversation later.

Carmine hadn't been too interested in helping to find out where Fredrick and Jacqueline lived – she still wasn't convinced that the two really were vampires. Mina was more than willing to help, but since she got picked up every day after school, she wouldn't be able to do much. So, the task fell on Anna to complete.

The only way any of the girls could think of to find out where Fredrick lived was to follow him home. Anna would have to be one of the first students out of class in order to make sure she'd be ready and waiting when Fredrick came out of the school. Unfortunately, this meant at least another few days where Luke wouldn't be walking her home, but it wasn't something Anna could afford to worry about now; she had more important things to take care of. She would start that Monday.

During art, Anna could barely concentrate. She was supposed to be sculpting an animal, but her heart really wasn't in it; her fox was a little too lumpy, and was looking more like a bear with a long tail. Despite the fact that her artistic skills were clearly lacking, Anna wasn't putting any extra effort into her project like she normally would have. With ten minutes left in class she started cleaning up so she could leave the instant the bell rang.

Anna was already out the door and halfway down the hall before half the students in her class had even grabbed their bags. She hurried gracefully down the spiral stairs and flew out the front doors. Only a handful of students were outside. After a quick scan, Anna realized thankfully that Fredrick was not among them. Casually, she walked across the lawn and leaned as nonchalantly as she could against a tree, making sure that the tree blocked most of her body from view of the school doors.

Anna spent almost ten long, agonizing minutes waiting. It felt more like forty. She glanced down at her watch, realizing that she must have missed him. But how? She'd been one of the first people out of the school. Could Fredrick really be in such a hurry to leave that he actually beat her out the doors? Anna adjusted her backpack on her shoulders and sighed. She took a step towards the parking lot, glancing one last time back towards the school. And that's when she spotted him.

Anna caught her breath and quickly stepped back behind the big oak, careful not to be seen. She didn't have to worry; Fredrick was surrounded by people clamoring for his attention. And while he didn't look at any of them, Anna could see he was listening, soaking up the attention. She casually followed behind, using the group as a shield between her and her target. Anna took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax – this was just like any other prey she'd stalked before, right?

They continued walking, and Anna realized they were heading not to the sidewalk as she'd expected, but towards the parking lot. Anna didn't understand at first why they were headed that way, and didn't make the connection until she watched Fredrick walk up to a nice, shiny red sports car, unlock the door with an automatic opener and slide into the driver's seat. Anna found herself surprised to realize that Fredrick owned a car – and a nice one at that. _She'd_ never learned to drive a car, and it had never occurred to her that Fredrick might have.

_Well, this was going to make things a whole lot more complicated._ As fast as Anna was, she wasn't _that_ fast; she knew she'd never be able to chase down a car – especially one as quick as that one probably was. Besides, she didn't want to be noticed, and chasing after a car was a surefire way to attract all kinds of unwanted attention.

Fortunately, Anna was sharp and had quick eyes to go along with her fast feet, so despite this setback she did manage to pick up some important information. She now knew not only that Fredrick drove a car, but what the car looked like and what the license plate number was. More importantly, Anna saw which way he had gone once he pulled out of the parking lot; he'd gone right, then turned at the second stop sign. As she watched Fredrick speed away, Anna realized with a sinking feeling that this was going to be a long, drawn out ordeal.

Anna left her spot at the corner of the parking lot and slowly started walking home. Across the street, just over a block from campus, was a gas station. Anna knew they sold maps there, and she decided to pick one up. On the side of the counter was a spindly wire rack filled with maps of various places. She found a large fold-up one that showed the entire city.

When she got back to her apartment, she spread her newly acquired map out on the kitchen table. Then, she fished around in her backpack until she found one of the highlighters she'd bought for biology class. After searching for several minutes, she found the school near the bottom left corner. She took out her highlighter and traced a short, green line along the small amount of Fredrick's trip that Anna had actually seen him take; she didn't know how far across the city her surveillance would take her, and she couldn't afford to forget where she left off. Looking over the map, Anna's self-congratulatory smile faded into disappointment. The city was pretty big, and the three blocks that Anna had highlighted looked so small and pathetic in comparison. This was going to take much longer than the day or two she'd planned.

_Well, there wasn't much she could do about that now._ She took one more dejected look at the small green line before deciding to put the map away and start on something more important – her homework. She had a five-page paper due in two days, and she hadn't even started it yet. She never would have thought school could be so much work!

***

After a week and a half of hiding behind bushes and parked cars, Anna finally had a complete route from the school to Fredrick's house. It had been very difficult – more so than Anna would have imagined, but that just made it all the more satisfying for her when her work was finally done.

On Anna's first day of surveillance, she'd seen Fredrick turn down a street two blocks from the school. So, armed with this knowledge, on her second day she ran as fast as she could down to that corner so she could see where Fredrick went next. There were some bushes lining the yard of the house on the corner, and Anna only felt a little foolish hiding behind them. Fortunately, Fredrick's car was distinctive enough that she wouldn't have too much trouble spotting it, even with her view obstructed by branches.

Anna didn't have to wait long for his car to fly by. As soon as he passed her, Anna snuck her head out to see where he went. She watched him go straight for several blocks before making a left down a street with an ugly salmon-colored house on the corner. All of this went into Anna's map as well.

On day three, Anna had barely managed to find a place to hide before Fredrick's car whizzed by. So, the next day she decided to borrow a bike from Carmine. This way, she could get to the next corner faster – hopefully before Fredrick did. It worked out quite well, but the day after, again, she only just made it before Fredrick passed her by. She knew there'd be no way she could keep this up – she'd need help.

In order to give Anna time to get to where she needed to be, she enlisted the aid of Mina. Over the next several days at school, Mina tried various tricks to stall Fredrick, eventually resorting to jamming his locker when she couldn't think of anything else.

It was on this day that Anna finally figured out exactly where Fredrick lived. She had been standing incognito at a bus stop in the middle of a residential area, pretending to wait for a bus, when Fredrick passed by. She watched as the car turned about a block up from where she was standing, and she quickly made her way to the corner. When she turned onto the street, there were cars in the driveways of a lot of the houses, but no one outside of any of them; the street itself looked completely deserted. Anna listened, and realized she couldn't hear his car off in the distance as she normally could. She casually walked down the street, trying to look like she was walking home. But as she walked, she was scanning diligently to see if she could find Fredrick's car. It was a long shot, she knew, but this was a residential neighborhood. If he didn't live on this street, he had to be close. How far could he have gone before turning off his engine?

As she walked down the street, she suddenly stopped in surprise. About four houses away from where she now stood, she saw it. Sitting in the middle of the driveway in front of a small stucco house was Fredrick's car. Even though she'd been half expecting to see it, she still had a hard time believing her eyes. Could she really be done with her search? She walked closer to the house to get a better look. She could hear the creaking of the cooling engine as she carefully studied the car from across the street. Despite knowing next to nothing about cars, Anna knew she had the right one; after following this car for so long, she knew it well.

Now that Anna knew where Fredrick lived, her big plan was to follow him until he attacked someone. And, with any luck, Jacqueline would be there, too. Since Anna started hanging out with Mina, she'd discovered it was a lot easier to hunt in pairs. And since Fredrick and Jacqueline obviously knew about each other, Anna thought it was likely that they hunted together as well. She would just have to follow them every night until she caught them. There was just one problem: if Anna and Mina were following Fredrick and Jacqueline around all night, when would they hunt themselves? It looked like they were going to have to start hunting during the daytime – the worst time to hunt, as far as Anna was concerned.

## Chapter 28: In the Park

It was Monday afternoon, and Anna and Mina were sitting on a blanket in the middle of the huge park downtown. It wasn't the kind of park with a playground like Anna usually visited; it was the kind with trees everywhere and paved paths winding through the grass. It was a nice place, where businessmen and businesswomen would go on their lunch breaks to relax or take a quick walk before heading back to the office.

And today, Anna and Mina were out sitting on the lawn with them. It was a teachers' work day, so neither of them had to worry about missing class. They got to the park a few minutes before 11:00 in order to make sure they covered as much of the lunchtime crowd as possible, and spread out a blanket they'd borrowed from Mina's mother to sit on. They'd brought their backpacks with them on the off-chance they'd study, and some sandwiches Mina's mother had insisted they take for lunch. But the real reason they were here was not to read books or to eat bologna and cheese.

Since they'd decided to start following Fredrick and Jacqueline around, Anna, Mina, and Carmine had been waiting outside Fredrick's house from dusk 'til dawn. Of course this meant Anna and Mina had to start hunting during the day. But Anna was getting a little worried. They had been spending the night outside of Fredrick's house for two nights now; tonight would be the third. And still, they hadn't seen anything even the slightest bit suspicious.

Anna knew that neither she nor Mina could go for very long without blood. While they could go for six days without it if they absolutely had to, neither of them really liked to go more than three. After three days, their judgment would start to become clouded, making it even harder to execute a good attack. So, in order to avoid these problems, they tried to go out a little more often.

They'd been outside of Fredrick's house two nights already, so Anna figured this would be day three for him – at best. It could even be his fifth or sixth. _Especially_ if he knew they'd been there. It was possible he was waiting until they stopped spying on him to go out. _Well, either way,_ Anna reasoned, _he'll have to come out sooner or later._ And when he did, they'd be ready.

But, in order to make sure that Anna and Mina actually were ready, they were now sitting in the grass, watching the people strolling by. They had decided in advance that they would target two people who were walking or eating together. Now, they just had to find the right two people.

Eventually, Anna spotted a man and a woman in business suits, walking hand in hand down the path right in front of where she and Mina were sitting. They were headed straight for a small grove of trees near the middle of the park, about thirty feet from where the two girls had set up their blanket. The trees obstructed the path, but the girls had scouted the area before sitting down and Anna knew that there was a bench in the middle of the grove. Clearly, the couple planned to use the trees as cover. Well, Anna and Mina could use those trees, too.

As the couple walked hand-in-hand towards the trees, Anna and Mina exchanged glances. They both knew instantly that these two would be perfect.

With a gleam in her eye, Mina smiled impishly at Anna. She pushed herself up off the blanket, and Anna silently followed suit. Together, they walked slowly, casually down the path towards the couple. As they strolled down the path, Anna's pulse began to quicken slightly with anticipation. It was much more fun to hunt with a partner – so many possibilities opened up! And she could take on people that previously would have been too risky for her to attempt. Once they were about ten feet away from the trees, Anna stopped and casually looked around, making sure that they weren't being watched. Mina, however, continued her stroll down the path, turning off just before she got to the trees. The plan was for Mina to sneak around the trees and end up on the other side of the couple.

As Mina disappeared out of sight, Anna casually resumed walking. If she'd timed it right – and Anna was sure that she had – the two girls should approach the couple simultaneously, one coming in from each side.

Using their excellent hearing, the two managed to synchronize their approach; they reached the sides of the bench at almost the exact same time. Anna found herself next to the man, while Mina had come up on the side of the woman. The two were sitting close together in the middle of the bench, talking quietly. Anna estimated about a foot of space on each side of the couple.

Once both girls were in position, Anna made a slight noise to let the couple know that they were no longer alone. Startled, they looked up.

"Hello." Anna said to the couple, smiling her sweetest smile.

"Hi." Mina chimed in. She sat down next to the woman, forcing the couple to shift over to the far side of the bench to accommodate her. The woman looked at Mina in surprise.

"Can I help you?" She said it politely enough, but Anna could hear a definite twinge of annoyance in her voice as well.

"No." Mina responded simply, the smile never leaving her face. Her eyes slowly started to turn gold as she stared into the woman's face.

"Uh..." the man said, obviously feeling like he should speak up. He cleared his throat, regaining some of his composure before turning to Anna. "I don't mean to be rude..." he started, "But we were hoping to be alone right now, so if you two could..."

But by this time, he'd already started to fall under Anna's spell. While Mina had been working on the woman, Anna had decided it was time to position herself closer to the man. As he stared into her eyes, the man fell easily into a trance, much like the woman sitting quietly next to him. Anna, now standing next to the bench and only inches away from the man, looked over the couple and down at Mina. Sensing Anna's stare, Mina smiled up greedily at her before turning back to her prey, digging her fangs deep into the now-unconscious woman's neck.

Anna met Mina's smile with an amused look of her own. She'd never seen Mina look so excited and decided it was due to the new thrill of a daytime attack. Turning back to the man now laying motionless on the bench, Anna reached out and carefully pulled his head back, leaving his neck exposed to the sky. Anna took her time, enjoying the moment much more than she'd ever admit. Leaning down carefully, she took his head in her hands and bit down on the man's neck, feeling his blood gush into her mouth.

## Chapter 29: The Chase

Just before dusk, Anna walked up an unfamiliar street, scanning the houses as she went. The houses in this neighborhood were all two stories and separated by tall hedges instead of the customary fences that Anna was used to. They were set farther back from the street than most of the homes Anna'd seen, and she had a little difficulty finding the addresses on some of them. A torn piece of notebook paper in her hand had Carmine's address scribbled on it, and Anna kept glancing down at it for reference. She was almost to the very end of the street when she finally spotted the house she was looking for. It was a nice stucco one that had been painted a light beige color. Slowly, Anna started walking up the driveway towards the front door.

Anna stepped up onto the porch and knocked on the door. Within a few moments, the door was opened – by Mina.

"Hi. Come in – Carmine's almost ready." Her face darkened a little as she added, "I'm not really sure what she's doing though..."

Mina stepped back from the door, and Anna followed her through the house and into the kitchen. Carmine's schoolbooks were sitting in a messy pile on the table. The pantry doors were open, and Anna could see the crown of Carmine's head over the top. Carmine shut the pantry door, and Anna saw she had her backpack in one hand and a box of fruit snacks in the other. When she saw Anna she smiled a little sheepishly.

"Last night," she explained, "I got really hungry. If tonight's going to be anything like _that,_ I'm going to want a few snacks."

Carmine saw the look of mild annoyance on Mina's face and told her, "Hey – it's not like I'm only packing food! I've got binoculars and garlic just in case."

Mina grudgingly accepted this, but was left in shocked surprise when Carmine added with a gleam in her eye, "Besides, all this food isn't just for me – you can have some, too!"

The look on Mina's face was priceless. Anna laughed out loud as Mina protested, "But that's not the point!"

It clearly hadn't occurred to Mina that Carmine's packing could have any kind of selfless gestures in it – she'd only seen it as Carmine taking forever to get ready.

Anna thought about what Carmine had said and was fairly impressed. Carmine had good planning – especially considering the fact that she hadn't even wanted to go on this trip. And it hadn't occurred to Anna before Carmine had said something that staying up all night without really doing anything could make someone hungry. Anna was glad _she_ never got hungry.

Carmine walked around the kitchen, pulling out various drawers and throwing a few more things into her backpack. A few minutes later, she was finally ready. The three of them walked out to the backyard.

Both Carmine and her parents were fairly active, so they had a few bikes outside that were in good shape. The girls had already decided in advance that they would ride the bikes over to Fredrick's house so they could get there as soon as possible.

Carmine lived about twelve blocks from Fredrick's house, so they set off as fast as they could. The sun had slipped almost completely below the horizon by the time they left. Anna knew they had to hurry; she didn't want to miss what could be her last chance to convince Carmine that Fredrick and Jacqueline were the dangerous vampires she'd been looking for. And if Carmine didn't believe them, then where would they be?

They turned right onto Fredrick's street. Without saying a word to each other, they all slowed. None of them wanted to be noticed, especially since they wouldn't actually be going into any of the houses when they stopped. If they were noticed by some nosy neighbor, things could get ugly – at this point, any attention was bad attention. They went slower and slower with every house they passed, and by the time they were in front of Fredrick's house, they were all but crawling. Anna's bike started to wobble with the lack of speed, and she had to get off to keep from falling over. Carmine and Mina followed suit. They walked their bikes up to the driveway and looked at each other. Mina pointed to the spot where they would be spending the night – at the side of the house where they'd been stationed the night before and the night before that.

The fence met the house about seven feet away from the corner, and a couple of very tall and very overgrown bushes had been planted between Fredrick's house and his neighbor's. The result was a small inlet where the girls could park their bikes and manage to stay hidden. As they walked into this space, Carmine started to lean her bike against the side of the house. Anna stopped her and twirled her finger in the air, motioning to Carmine that they should turn the bikes around before setting them up against the house. Carmine smiled and nodded knowingly; if they had to make a quick exit, they didn't want to have to waste time turning the bikes around first. Anna leaned her bike next to Carmine's. Mina looked at the two bikes for a second before putting the kickstand down on hers. She then dragged it over to the side with the bushes. Anna realized that while this would mean that they had a little less room to sit in, it would save precious time when it came to following Fredrick – if they got that chance. By the time they sat down between the bikes, almost thirty minutes after they'd left Carmine's, it was completely dark outside.

The girls sat down on the cold concrete and settled in for a long night of nothing.

The first hour wasn't so bad. They whispered very quietly to themselves, Anna and Mina knowing what Carmine only believed – vampires have excellent hearing. They didn't want to alert Fredrick to their presence if he managed to come out of the house without them hearing.

While the hiding spot that the three girls had chosen was on the left side of the house, the front door was on the right. So they had to keep an eye out to see if Fredrick walked down the driveway. Anna and Mina were also listening for the sound of the front door opening. They all assumed that if he did come out of the house tonight, he would take is car. Fortunately, they could see a sliver of the front headlight from where they sat. And, if all else failed, they figured they'd hear it start or see the beam of light from the car as he got ready to leave.

The second hour passed a little slower. The girls started running out of things to talk about as boredom set in. Carmine shivered slightly. Despite the fact that it was almost summer, it was still a little cold at night. And sitting, doing nothing on a concrete slab didn't help matters.

By the third hour, the girls were practically bored out of their minds. Anna reflected that stakeouts never seemed so boring in the movies. Mina pointed out that this was because they cut out most of the waiting. Carmine slowly and very quietly unzipped her backpack, looking for something to do as much as anything else. She reached into the bag and pulled out something wrapped in plastic. Anna looked. It was a Twinkie. Carmine offered it to first Anna then Mina. Both refused. She shrugged and opened it for herself.

Carmine polished off the Twinkie and a pack of fruit snacks in just a few minutes. She was reaching into her bag for yet _another_ pack of fruit snacks when Mina suddenly sat bolt upright. Anna and Carmine froze. Anna listened in the darkness, straining to hear what Mina had heard. She closed her eyes in the hopes that it would help her hear better.

In the darkness, she heard a small click – _the front door locking!_ Then, footsteps. She exchanged quick glances with Mina. This was it – the moment they'd been waiting for! Reading the looks on her friends' faces, Carmine carefully took her hand out of her backpack and started, ever so slowly, to zip it back up. Anna had never seen someone move so slowly. But the careful movement worked – the zipper didn't make a sound.

The footsteps got closer and closer, and Anna suffered a momentary panic. _What if he was coming towards them?_ Could he know they were waiting for him? If they were seen, it'd be all over. Then suddenly, the footsteps stopped. Anna guessed that he was still ten to fifteen feet away and relaxed just a fraction. She heard him cough slightly. Then, the fumbling of keys. The cough alerted Carmine to just how close he was, but Anna barely noticed the color draining from her friend's face; she was too intent on listening.

She thought she heard the car door open, but she knew for sure when she heard it close. The car started up with a roar, and the headlights lit up the entire front of the house. The three girls leaned back instinctively, not wanting to be caught in the light. The engine whined slightly as the car sped backwards down the driveway. It was clear that Fredrick wanted to get wherever he was going as fast as he could. The girls were momentarily bathed in the headlights as the car turned and headed down the street. Fortunately for them, Fredrick was too preoccupied to notice. He headed down the street and out of sight.

Mina was already running down the driveway as the red glow of the car's taillights disappeared down the street. She crouched down on the sidewalk, taking care not to be seen. She watched the car for a few seconds before running back up the driveway. Anna and Carmine were still sitting there, frozen in place, watching her.

Mina looked incredulously at them. " _Come on!_ " she all but shouted. This was enough to stir them, and Anna and Carmine jumped up. Anna grabbed her bike and pulled it down the driveway. Carmine, who was already running hers down towards the street, jumped on it in one fluid motion. Mina was right on her heels, quickly leaving Anna alone in the driveway.

Anna hurriedly mounted her bike and peddled furiously until she caught up to her two friends. From a few feet ahead of her, she heard Mina say "He went this way!" just before making a hard left.

The announcement was so sudden that Anna and Carmine almost passed the street, only barely making it in time. They peddled as hard as they could in a desperate attempt to catch up with the car.

In her heart, Anna knew this was an impossible task. There was no way they would be able to catch up to a car as fast as this on their bikes. She felt her heart sink as she realized that it was very likely that she would never be able to prove to Carmine that she wasn't imagining this. Her heavy heart made it hard for her to peddle, but she kept on going, doing all she could just to keep up.

They peddled on, Mina leading the pack with Anna and Carmine close on her heels. They made a few more turns. First right. Then left. Despite the fact that Fredrick's car was nowhere in sight, Mina seemed to know exactly where he was headed. Anna wondered how Mina could possibly know where they were going. She began to think that Mina was just guessing when she realized she could hear the faint sounds of an engine in the distance. Mina must be following that sound as well!

Realizing they still had a chance filled Anna with a renewed sense of hope. She peddled even faster, until she managed to catch up to Mina. They went on for three more blocks. Finally, when Anna thought she couldn't take it no more, Carmine shouted " _Stop!_ " and skidded to a halt in the middle of the street.

Mina, not wanting to stop unless they absolutely had to, shouted over her shoulder, "Why?"

"Look!" Carmine said, pointing to the parking lot Anna and Mina were now passing. "There!"

Mina looked, and Anna followed suit. On their right was a huge, almost empty parking lot. Anna realized it was the movie theater. And there, parked three rows from the very back, not thirty feet away from where the three girls were riding, was a deep red sports car resting under a big oak tree. Mina pulled her bike over so fast Anna had to swerve to avoid running into her. They hurriedly got off their bikes and started looking for a place to hide.

One of the nicest things about this city, Anna realized, was that it had a lot of trees. Moving as often as she did, she knew that not every city had as many trees, which was a real shame. Trees – and especially bushes – provided a much-needed cover. She was starting to wonder what she'd ever done without them.

This parking lot, like so many others in the area, had one side lined with bushes. Apparently, the people who made these kinds of decisions thought bushes looked nicer than fences – a decision Anna was more than happy with. The girls laid their bikes on the grass between the sidewalk and the hedge and slipped quickly into the leafy cover.

As they lie panting on the ground, Anna realized that a fence actually ran through the middle of the hedge. Apparently, this allowed the theater to have the security of a fence, while still keeping the air of sophistication that a hedge provided. She liked the fence. It proved to be a great support to lean on while she tried to catch her breath.

No one said a word for several minutes; they were all trying too hard to breathe. Carmine, looking absolutely exhausted, started fumbling for the tab that would unzip her backpack. After what appeared to be quite an effort, she managed to open it and started riffling through the contents. Anna just watched; she was too tired to ask what Carmine was looking for.

After a minute, Carmine pulled a bottle of water out of her bag, looking at it with incredible joy. Anna and Mina didn't even try to hide their jealousy. Carmine looked at Anna and smiled triumphantly before turning to Mina.

"See?" she panted. "And you... thought... it was... stupid... of me to... bring... so much... stuff... didn't you?"

Mina looked at her a little sheepishly.

_"I_ didn't!" Anna said quickly, in a belated attempt to be supportive. "I thought... it was... a really... great... idea."

Carmine looked at Anna. She had already taken several gulps of water in that short time, and was feeling much better.

"No, you didn't." she said. "You didn't say anything at the time, but I could tell by your face."

Anna looked at Carmine through the shadows being cast by the parking lot's lights, and could see that she was smirking. She reached into her backpack, and brought out two more.

"Nah...I'm just kidding. I brought a couple. Here." She handed one first to Anna, then to Mina.

They took their drinks and opened them immediately. Anna wasted no time in gulping down half a bottle, but Mina muttered something under her breath that even Anna barely heard: "It _was_ a stupid idea."

Carmine looked up. "What'd you say?" she asked.

Mina, who'd started drinking by that time, put down her bottle and smiled sweetly. "Nothing." she replied.

"Uh-huh" Carmine said, clearly suspicious.

They finished their drinks quickly, and Carmine held out her hand, ready to take back the empty bottles. She zipped them back into her backpack and stood up. "You guys ready?" she asked. The two nodded and got to their feet.

Hunched over, they walked as fast as they could single-file, along the edge of the parking lot, doing their best not to be seen. When they got about thirty feet from the front of the building, Mina, who was in the lead, stopped suddenly. Anna and Carmine crashed into her, nearly sending the three tumbling to the ground. Anna grabbed onto the fence to keep from falling into the dirt. When they regained their balance, they saw what had made Mina stop. Fredrick was standing outside the theater doors, waiting.

Immediately, the atmosphere became tense. This was it – they'd actually managed to track him down. Now, all they had to do was settle in and wait for the inevitable.

## Chapter 30: The Horror Show

They peeked through the leaves as best they could, trying to see what Fredrick was doing. He was leaning up against a pillar near a row of glass doors.

He was trying his best to look casual, but Anna could see he was fidgeting. Clearly he'd been putting this off, and it was taking its toll on him. Carmine checked the time. It was 12:14; the theater was pretty much closed. There was no one in the darkened ticket booth, and even most of the interior lights were dimmed. Anna wondered what he could possibly be doing here.

"Are they still showing movies now?" Anna asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Carmine shook her head no. "They stop playing at like ten or ten-thirty."

"So...why are we here?" Anna asked, puzzled. Carmine shrugged and motioned her to watch; they'd see soon enough.

Mina looked over at Anna and whispered, "Maybe he's here to meet Jackie."

If that was the case, Anna hoped he was here to do more than just drive her home – she'd hate to have come all this way just to watch Fredrick whisk Jacqueline away to an even more remote location. They turned back to watch, waiting to see what would happen and hoping it would at least take place in this parking lot.

They didn't have to wait long. Fredrick had timed it so that he'd gotten to the theater just as the last movie of the night was letting out. If Anna looked hard, she could just make out the shapes of people walking around on the other side of the tinted theater doors. Fredrick straightened a little, gearing up.

Soon, groups of people started coming out of those doors, walking right past Fredrick. He stood there checking his watch, looking past the crowd – doing a good job of showing anyone who might glance his way that he was waiting for someone. Then, his eyes fixed on a person at the back of the crowd and he smiled to himself. Anna strained to see who it was, pressing her nose into the chain-linked fence to get a better look.

It was a girl, maybe eleven, but probably younger. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, and she wore what looked like a pink jean jacket paired with her skirt and sneakers. Anna noticed that not only was she in the back of the crowd, but she didn't seem to be talking to anyone. Anna's breath caught in her chest. If this girl really was alone, she would be the perfect target for Fredrick.

Fredrick turned his head to stare at her as she walked by, quickly and hungrily sizing her up. She passed him by several feet before he called out to her.

"Um...excuse me." he said in a loud, if hesitant voice. Startled, she looked up from her shoes and turned around quizzically.

He looked absolutely charming as he stood there. The leer he'd been wearing only seconds ago was gone, replaced with a trustworthy smile. He waved her over with a small gesture, trying to be reassuring, but still allowing the perfect amount of anxiety to shine through.

As she made her way back to him, he hesitated for a second or two. The girl seemed to think it was embarrassment; Anna knew he was just waiting until the crowd moved further on.

"I'm really sorry to bother you..." He didn't continue right away, instead letting the conversation hang there for a minute.

"That's ok. What's wrong?" the girl asked in sympathy. Apparently, the fake nervousness he was exuding had won her over.

Fredrick glanced causally at the crowd again before continuing. The closest person was now well over twenty feet away, too far to notice what would happen. He turned back to the girl.

"Can I borrow you for a sec? You see, I have a slight problem." He flashed his winning smile at her, his brows furrowing just the slightest bit.

"Of course." she said, "What do you need?" For all practical purposes, the two were alone. It was time.

"What do I need?" he asked, shifting his weight slightly, moving closer to her. As he gently reached out and touched her upper arm, his eyes became cold and filled with malice. His charming smile changed into a cruel leer, exposing his long, sharp fangs. "I need... _you_."

He said it with wicked delight, as if the only purpose of the statement was to terrify the girl. It worked. She started backing up, a look of panic on her face. But Fredrick's gentle touch on her shoulder had morphed into a vice-like grip, keeping her in place. She opened her mouth, but before she could even scream for help, Fredrick lunged at her.

The attack was as quick as it was brutal. He lunged down at her with lightning speed, closing the small distance between them almost instantly. He didn't even bother to put the girl into a trance first, and even from this distance, Anna could see the horror on her face. She would be awake for every gruesome moment until the lack of blood finally got to her. She struggled in vain to get away, but Fredrick's iron grasp was too tight. The more she struggled, the tighter his grip became. His knuckles turned white, and Anna was afraid he was going to break the girl's arm.

While she was still trying to get away, Fredrick causally reached up with his free hand and grabbed her head. Her delicate muscles were no match for the brute force he possessed, and he was easily able to pull her neck back and to the side. Expertly, Fredrick bent the girl backwards at the waist and leaned down in kind, as if he was taking the lead in some macabre dance.

The angle they were now at allowed Anna to see the young girl's face – and all the fear in it – quite clearly. Fortunately for Anna, the girl would have been unable to see her through the leafy plumage even if she _had_ been looking that far away. Instead, she was looking down as best she could at Fredrick, straining desperately to see what he was doing.

The girl screamed, and Anna was unsure if it was from seeing Fredrick's malicious fangs so close to her, or if it was from the force with which he ripped them into her neck. She fought as hard as she could, the punctures in her neck giving rise to fresh panic. After several seconds of useless fighting, the girl's eyes slowly started to glaze over from lack of blood. And when they did, her movements slowed, becoming a mere shadow of the valiant effort she'd put up earlier. Finally, her eyes rolled back into her head and her body went limp in his arms.

Fredrick stayed for several minutes, drinking his fill. When he was finished, he pulled his head away from the girl's slender neck, a satisfied smirk on his face. Even across all this distance, Anna could hear his cold snicker, and a chill ran down her spine.

Blood dripped out of Fredrick's mouth, a few drops landing on the ground. The girl was now ghostly pale, but it didn't seem to concern Fredrick in the least. He didn't drop her, but he didn't let her down gently, either. It was more like he discarded her. He leaned down with her as far as he could without bending his knees. When she was as close to the ground as he could get her without the inconvenience of having to actually set her there, he dropped her, allowing her unconscious body to fall to the pavement. Fredrick looked down at the girl laying at his feet and smiled coldly.

"Thank you." he said evenly. "That's all."

And with that, he stepped lightly over her limp form and walked casually through the parking lot towards his car, whistling a carefree tune as he went. He never even looked back.

***

Anna was shocked by what she'd just seen. Fredrick's attack was unnecessarily brutal, and watching it had been exceptionally difficult. Her mouth hanging open, she looked first at Mina and then, almost dreading what she'd see, turned towards Carmine. Mina was sitting there, her jaw clenched, rage filling her eyes. Carmine, on the other hand, looked a little sick. She closed her eyes and turned away from the other two.

Anna darted out of the bushes, away from the fence. As quickly as she could, she sprinted along the sidewalk, back towards the bikes laying in a heap on the grass. With one graceful leap, she flew over the pile of pipes and gears, never slowing down. She continued until she reached the end of the parking lot where the fence stopped. Quickly rounding the hedge, Anna hurried towards the unconscious figure still laying crumpled on the pavement. Her mind was racing almost as fast has her feet; she just had to know that the girl was alright. It was only a few seconds, but it seemed like the longest run of her life. Slowly, she knelt down next to the poor girl and felt for her pulse.

Anna looked back at her friends, who were now themselves running across the parking lot, each girl's look of worry mirroring Anna's own. As they approached, Anna looked at them solemnly.

"Her pulse is weak." she told them. "I think we need to get her to a hospital – soon."

Mina and Carmine both looked upset at the news, clearly hoping it looked worse than it really was.

"How are we going to get her there?" Carmine asked flatly, as if in shock.

"Do either of you even know where the hospital is from here?" Mina wanted to know. "'Cause I don't."

Both Anna and Carmine shook their heads slowly.

Suddenly, a look of realization flashed dully across Carmine's face. " _Oh_." she said, and fumbled absentmindedly with something in her pocket. Carmine got whatever it was out held it up to her ear. A cell phone. After a moment of silence, Carmine dully spoke into the phone.

"I think we need an ambulance at the Lakeside movie theater...A girl's here – unconscious. She's really pale."

Carmine hung up the phone, assuring her friends that someone would be there within ten minutes.

It was the longest ten minutes of Anna's life. She sat there on the cold, hard pavement next to the unconscious girl's body. Mina, who was standing beside Anna, reached down and put a hand on her shoulder in an awkward attempt to reassure her.

Carmine stood somewhat back from them, staring off in the direction that Fredrick had gone. None of them spoke. No one knew what to say. What _could_ you say after something like this? So they sat there in silence, each alone with their own dark thoughts.

## Chapter 31: Resolve

After the ambulance had taken the girl away, the three had just stood there in silence, not sure what else to do. The night seemed so quiet, so empty. Anna couldn't bear to look at either of her friends, and ended up staring at the tops of her black-and-white sneakers.

Eventually, Carmine looked at her watch. "It's almost two..." she said, trailing off. Her voice wavered a little, causing Anna to look up at her, a guilty expression on her face. Carmine still looked a little pale, but at least she'd stopped trembling. In response to Carmine, Anna and Mina had merely nodded – neither of them said anything. There didn't seem to be anything they _could_ say. After a few more minutes of silence, Carmine, realizing that no one was going to respond, tried again.

"I guess we may as well go get the bikes," she said.

"Ok" Mina replied quietly.

Anna responded with a "yeah" and slowly started following her friends towards the back of the parking lot.

When they got there, the bikes were still laying in a tangled heap on the grass. In their haste, the girls had forgotten to lock them. Someone mumbled something about how it was a good thing they weren't stolen, but Anna didn't hear who it was. She figured that the police cars, which had been sitting in the parking lot with them for the past hour or so, had helped in this, though she didn't bother to say it out loud.

The girls picked their bikes up off of the ground and peddled slowly back to Carmine's house. The car in the driveway told them that Carmine's parents were home by now. Quietly, they snuck through the gate on the side of the house, down a short paved walkway, and into the garage. They stacked the bikes up against the wall of the garage, just the way they'd found them. After a few bland comments about how they'd see each other tomorrow, Carmine snuck inside, while Anna and Mina crept through the garage and back out of the gate. At the end of the driveway, Anna turned left while Mina started heading towards the right.

Before they got more than a few feet apart, Mina turned back to face Anna. Even in the darkness, Anna could see Mina's eyes were filled with concern.

"Are you going to be alright?" she asked sympathetically. "After all, Fredrick was your friend – even if it was a long time ago."

Anna looked back at her, touched by Mina's thoughtfulness.

"I'll be alright" she replied. "I just have a lot to think about."

Mina nodded, understanding. "Okay" she said, coming over to give Anna a quick hug before turning back towards home.

Anna walked slowly down the empty streets, back to her apartment. A breeze picked up, noisily blowing leaves down the street in front of her and sweeping strands of hair over her eyes. Absentmindedly, she pulled her hair behind her ear. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Anna felt cold. When she got home, all she wanted to do was sleep. She just wanted to put the events of that night as far out of her mind as possible. She pulled on her favorite pajamas and hopped into bed, pulling the down comforter up to her chin. She reached over to her nightstand and turned off the light.

Anna closed her eyes, but couldn't sleep; her mind kept replaying the events of the night over and over, like a movie that just wouldn't end. During her walk home, Anna had managed to keep herself distracted – looking at leaves dancing across the sidewalk, watching the lights of passing cars. But now that she was tucked into bed without the distractions of the city around her, the events of the night came flooding back to her, too vivid to be put out of her mind anymore.

Anna never did get to sleep. Instead, she'd stayed up all night thinking about what she'd witnessed earlier that evening. Anna couldn't believe how Fredrick had changed. Even after their engagement had been called off, he'd still seemed so kind and charismatic – at least to others. Anna knew he'd kill her if given the slightest chance, but she never thought he'd act like that towards someone else; he was too concerned with maintaining his polished image. To see him act that way – it was almost as if he'd lost control.

But deep down, Anna knew that Fredrick was never out of control – he acted brutally because he could, because no one would stop him. Who _could_ stop him? Watching him that night, and replaying the images over and over in her mind, Anna could only come to one conclusion: Fredrick _had_ to be stopped. And she was the only one who could do it. Anna just hoped she'd be up to the challenge.

***

Carmine was absent from school the next day. Anna wasn't really surprised; it had been a rough night. She'd been up all night herself, and she could tell by looking at Mina that she she'd stayed up worrying too.

Anna was pretty sure she knew what Mina's thoughts on the subject were. But Carmine was a different story. _What was going through_ her _mind?_ Carmine had been obsessed with vampires and the occult for years. She'd loved the topic, and even though she'd tried to hide it, Anna still knew how excited she was at the prospect of seeing a real-life vampire in action. Too bad it turned out to be such a violent attack – this couldn't have been what Carmine had imagined at all.

Anna had wanted to see how Carmine was holding up – how she was taking it, and if there was anything Anna could do for her. But the fact that she wasn't at school put a damper on those plans and left Anna wondering. And as much as she hated to admit it, there was something even more important on her mind – would Carmine still want to help? Sure, she'd been happy to help stalk a vampire before, but would this change her mind?

Since it was just her and Mina at lunch, neither bothered with pretending to eat. Instead, they made awkward small talk and caught up on the homework they'd been neglecting in order to spy on Fredrick. Anna was almost glad when the bell rang. But she spent the next three hours thinking about Carmine and regretting that she hadn't talked to Mina about last night. So when the final bell rang, Anna went outside to the parking lot.

Mina's mom always picked her up in the back parking lot after class, but she always seemed to run a few minutes late for one reason or another. So as soon as school let out, Anna went out to find Mina and talk to her before her mom showed up.

Mina wasn't talking to anyone, but there were about fifteen or twenty other students waiting around next to her. As Anna approached, Mina looked up and smiled wanly.

"Hi." Mina said. Just like everything was normal. Anna realized Mina didn't want the other students to notice anything was wrong. She looked vaguely surprised to see Anna standing there, but before she had time to ask, Anna spoke up.

"Come over here – I want to ask you something." she said with a forced cheeriness.

Mina obligingly hopped down off the wall and followed Anna down the length of the parking lot to a spot where they wouldn't be overheard. They stopped and faced each other.

"So..." Mina started, not sure what to say. It was obvious from the way she stood fidgeting that she knew exactly what Anna wanted to talk about.

"I wonder how Carmine's doing...I mean, it must have been a big shock to her."

"Maybe too big." Mina said slowly.

Anna watched Mina as she fiddled with the hem on her shirt, realizing that they'd been thinking the same thing after all. Anna had been really hoping she was just overreacting.

As much as Anna hated to admit it, it was something the two of them had to consider. After all, Anna had been pretty shaken up herself by what had happened the night before, and _she_ was a vampire. But it must have been that much more horrifying for Carmine, who couldn't have known what she was getting in to.

Mina looked across the parking lot, straightening up. Anna followed her gaze. Mina's mom was driving across the parking lot towards them. _Figures,_ Anna thought. _The one time Mina's mom was on time._ She rolled up next to the girls and waved at Anna as Mina walked around towards the passenger door.

As Mina got to the car, she turned back towards Anna. She placed her fingers lightly on the handle, but before opening the door, she left Anna with one final thought.

"We have to stop them. Even if Carmine won't help."

## Chapter 32: A Little Help from a Friend

Anna was seated comfortably in her tall chair, legs swinging back and forth slightly. She was reviewing her biology homework before class when she saw the door swing open. A flash of red caught her eye, and knot formed in the pit of her stomach.

Carmine walked over to the seat beside her, a deliberately casual air about her. Anna carefully studied her friend's face, trying to decode the bland expression there. She crossed her fingers under the table, silently hoping against hope that Carmine hadn't decided to back out of the vampire hunt. Or _worse_ – to stop being friends with Anna altogether.

Carmine set her backpack on the ground carefully. She turned slowly and looked at Anna, who gave a small, weak smile in return – after all, it had been Anna's idea to stalk Fredrick that night. If Carmine was upset, then Anna knew without a doubt it was her fault.

"How are you doing?" Anna asked gently.

"I'm ok." Carmine replied evenly.

She was a little pale and she had bags under her eyes. But overall she didn't seem too bad. She was certainly looking better than Anna would have imagined, especially considering the circumstances. Before Carmine could say anything else, Anna spoke up.

"Listen," she said. "I just wanted to let you know...If you don't want to do this anymore – you know..." Anna glanced around, making sure no one was near enough to hear before continuing on, her voice barely audible. "The whole vampire thing – you don't have to. I didn't realize it was going to be as bad as it was. I'm really sorry I dragged you into it."

"I know you didn't know what was going to happen – how could you?" Carmine sighed, looking resigned. Anna tried her best not to look guilty as Carmine continued, "But just because I don't like what happened doesn't mean I should ignore it. The fact that he's so brutal is actually _more_ of a reason to help – not to quit. Besides, you guys are definitely going to need my help after this."

Anna smiled, appreciating what Carmine said and noticing the twinkle that was dull, but nevertheless still present in Carmine's eye.

***

Anna's day continued on much like any other. She ate lunch with Mina and Carmine, and was relieved to see that Carmine seemed to be in much better spirits than she had been earlier that morning.

The girls had talked, though somewhat cryptically, about what their next move would be. It was clear that they were going to have to act, and the sooner the better.

Anna had been slightly embarrassed to realize that she'd formed no plan whatsoever; she'd been too busy worrying about how Carmine was doing. She decided to devote the rest of her day to planning. But even with every spare moment being spent trying to come up with something, she didn't have much. She'd been relieved to get to math early; she could use those few uninterrupted minutes try to come up with _some_ ideas before the end of the day.

Luke walked into the room and sat down behind Anna. She waved absentmindedly at him. As nice as it was to talk to him, she really couldn't be bothered today. Luke got out his books, waiting for Anna to give him a more friendly acknowledgement. When it became clear to him that this wouldn't be coming any time soon, he decided to start the conversation himself.

"So...me and a couple of friends were thinking about going to the movies this Friday..." he told Anna, shifting a little in his chair.

"That sounds nice." Anna told him in a friendly, if disinterested manner. She hadn't really been paying attention to him; she was much more preoccupied with her own problems than whatever Luke's weekend plans were. Luke smiled a little and leaned forward.

"Well..." he started again, "I was thinking...why don't you come too? You know, bring a couple of your friends, and we can all go together?"

"Really?" Anna asked, surprised. Maybe she should be paying more attention to what he was saying after all. She sighed inwardly. _Well, there was still art class to come up with something._

"Sure." he replied, his confidence returning. "Remember Zev and Conner? I'm going with them, and Conner's older brother, Collin, is gonna be there too – he's giving us a ride. And if you wanted to bring any of your friends, you could."

"Alright. Sounds like fun." Anna told him happily.

It had been such a long time since she'd been to the movies; school had been keeping her pretty busy lately. And now with this business about Fredrick and Jacqueline – she didn't seem to have much free time at all! It'd be good – not just for her, but for Mina and Carmine too. They could really use a break from their scheming to actually have some fun for a change. And what better way was there to relax than to see a movie?

"What time?" she asked.

"Well, I'm not sure yet. We haven't actually decided what we're gonna see. I'll let you know as soon as I find out though." Anna nodded, and Luke continued smoothly. "You know, the theater's on the other side of town from where we live. Do you have a ride?"

Anna thought for a minute. She'd taken the bus across town once or twice, and it took almost an hour. It was annoying, but she could do it. When she mentioned the bus to Luke, he responded immediately.

"We can pick you up. You don't live that far from us – you're practically on the way."

"Thank you – that'd be very nice."

"Actually, why don't I get your number?" he said.

He leaned down and started rooting around through the front pocket of his backpack. Anna, however, just sat there confused. _Was she supposed to have a number? For what?_ After several seconds of pondering and coming no closer to an answer, Anna finally broke down and asked.

"My number?" she mumbled.

"Yeah, you know, your phone number." he told her, finally pulling a small, black cell phone out of his bag.

Anna stared blankly as Luke started pressing what seemed to her like a dozen buttons in no particular order. After a minute, he stopped and stared at Anna expectantly. Anna could feel herself flush.

"I don't have one." she admitted. Now it was Luke's turn to be confused.

"Don't have what? A cell phone? That's fine," he reassured her. "Just give me your home number then."

"I don't have a house phone. I don't have a telephone – of any kind." Anna's face grew even redder.

_"What!_ " Luke exclaimed in disbelief. He was louder than he'd meant to be, and several people nearby turned around to see what all the fuss was about. He lowered his voice again as he asked, "How could you not have a phone?"

Anna thought for a minute. It was quite simple really. Nobody called her – and not just because she didn't have a phone. She'd had a telephone once before – a nice, shiny black one with a rotary dial trimmed in gold-plating. But that had been decades ago, and nobody had ever called her on it. Instead, it had sat on the counter for months – unused, silently collecting dust. Once or twice she'd even thought about calling someone on it herself, just so she could feel that it did, in fact, have a function. But she never did; she had no one to call, and nothing to say even if she did.

After a while, the sight of her brand-new, never-before-used telephone sitting alone on the counter began to depress her. It only served as a persistent, nagging reminder that she had no one to talk to, no one who cared about her. So the next time she moved, the phone stayed packed away in a cardboard box where she wouldn't have to look at it. And it stayed there as she moved from city to city, all but forgotten. When she'd finally taken it out of the box years later, it was with regret. She'd sold it – like so much else – at the local antiques shop.

But even though Anna thought all of this, she didn't say any of it to Luke. Instead all she said was, "I don't know...I just never got around to it, I guess." She said it quietly, still somewhat embarrassed. Fortunately, Luke let it pass, nodding with gracious understanding.

"It's ok, don't worry about it." he told her, smoothly sliding his phone back into his backpack. Then, leaning forward, he grinned in that oddly reassuring way of his. "Why don't you just take down my number – you know, in case you ever need it. You could use a pay phone or something if you want."

"...Umm...yes – alright." she said after a minute of hesitation. _So eloquent_. Luke pretended he didn't notice anything odd in her behavior. Instead, he grinned wide.

"Great. Got a pen?"

## Chapter 33: Can't Even Get a Break

Anna finished brushing her long, raven hair and put on her favorite green shirt. She was going out tonight, but not to hunt. No, this time she was going out for _fun_. She put on her coat and checked herself in the mirror one last time. Even she had to admit, she looked pretty nice.

After making sure she had enough money on her, Anna sat down on the couch to wait. Luke had agreed to pick her up at 6:00, and it was now, according to Anna's watch, 6:02.

By 6:18, Anna started getting anxious; she was starting to wonder if she'd made a mistake – if she'd gotten the time wrong, or maybe even the date. When the doorbell finally rang, Anna hurried off the couch to answer it.

Even though she knew who'd be on the other side, she looked through the peephole anyway. Just as she'd expected, Luke was standing there. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and he was bouncing on his toes anxiously. Anna quickly grabbed her keys and swung the door open.

"Hi." Luke said as soon as he saw her. "Sorry we're late. I would have called you, but..." he trailed off, looking vaguely apologetic.

"It's ok." Anna told him. Then she added, "I'm sorry I don't have a phone...maybe I really should get one." The two started down the hall towards the elevator.

They waited for the elevator in silence, Anna's mind racing desperately for something to say. She never had been good at making conversation, even when she wasn't woefully out of practice. Fortunately, the elevator came almost immediately for once and quickly sped them to the ground floor. Once outside, Luke only spent a minute looking around.

"Over there." he said, pointing across the parking lot to a car idling in the center of the isle. "Come on – we better hurry."

They strode quickly across the parking lot. As they approached the car, Anna could see that Conner was sitting in the front seat while Zev was lounging in the back. Anna recognized the driver as one of the players from the football game she'd been forced to attend. Luke walked straight up to the passenger's seat where Conner was sitting happily and opened the door.

"Out." he said simply, looking down at the small, fair-haired boy.

"But – I'm already here, see? I've got my seatbelt on and everything." Conner replied, tugging at it in demonstration. Luke, however, was unmoved.

"Out." he repeated, this time with more force. Dejectedly, Conner unbuckled his seatbelt and slid out of the car.

As Conner climbed into the back seat next to Zev, Luke opened the door wider and looked at Anna, who'd simply stood there, watching the scene. Luke smiled at her as he gestured that she should sit.

"What about Conner?" she asked, feeling guilty at the prospect of taking someone else's spot. Out of the corner of her eye, Anna could see Conner sitting up straighter, hopeful that he might get his way after all. But Collin leaned over the passenger seat to talk to her.

"He knows he doesn't get the front seat." he told her. "It's reserved. Ladies first."

"Oh," Anna replied. "Alright then."

This was logic Anna understood perfectly; she'd been raised with this idea. It was only recently she found out not everyone thought this way. So without further ado, she got into the car.

Luke got quickly into the back seat, forcing Conner into the middle. As soon as Luke's door was shut, Collin took off. "We're gonna be late." he mumbled to himself.

Conner, however, had more immediate concerns on his mind. "I was already sitting there...why can't I ever have the front seat?"

"That's not the way it works, and you know it," Collin said over his shoulder, a trace of annoyance in his voice. "Even if there weren't a lady in the car, you _still_ wouldn't get the front seat – Luke would."

"The only time you'll ever get the front seat is when it's just you and Collin!" Zev interjected, grinning rather wolfishly. Conner grumbled a bit, but didn't say anything more. Clearly, it was something he already knew.

The rest of the trip was filled with the usual chatter Anna had come to expect from students at school – homework, football, plans for the rest of the weekend. It was nice to hear them talk – and to be part of it. And it made the ride so short, Anna barely noticed when they turned into the parking lot. Anna and Collin each got out of the car quickly, and Anna turned around to watch the three boys in the back tumble out.

"Hurry up, guys! The movie starts in five minutes!" Collin called out over his shoulder, already heading towards the theater. Anna turned and hurried after him, glancing at her watch. Behind her, she could hear the three boys yelling at each other as they ran to catch up.

As they approached the theater, Anna spotted Mina and Carmine waiting by the ticket booth, looking anxious. Mina spotted them first, and waved as they approached.

"We didn't think you guys were going to come! We were getting ready to go inside."

"We already bought our tickets." Carmine said as the five latecomers quickly formed a line and began purchasing tickets of their own.

"What took you so long?" Mina asked. Anna apologized, even though it wasn't her fault.

"We were running a little behind." she told them by way of explanation. Mina just nodded vaguely.

"Come on!" Luke said urgently, ushering everyone through the door Zev was already holding open.

They jogged down the long hall to the theater – the last one, of course – and quickly passed through the now closed wooden doors.

Inside it was already dark, the only light coming from a preview showing loudly on the screen. Slowly, the group made their way towards the seats. Anna didn't need to wait for her eyes to adjust to the darkness – one of the advantages of being a vampire. Instead, what slowed her down was the sheer number of people in the audience.

Anna scanned the crowd, trying to find any place where the seven of them could sit together. But the best she could come up with was a group of four seats in the front corner.

Anna was about to suggest they split up when Luke gently took her hand. She felt butterflies rising up in her stomach, and she was glad that the darkness hid the trace of red she was sure was on her cheeks.

"Up here." Luke whispered to her. Zev and Conner were already making their way up the steps towards the top of the theater. Anna allowed herself to be guided up the stairs to a group of seats that had somehow eluded her three rows from the very back.

As they approached the row with the empty seats, Luke whispered to Anna, "There's a group of seats here sort of close to the middle. But watch out – there's like nine seats with people in them."

Anna smiled quietly to herself. She'd been about to point out that there were only eight people seated, but thought better of it. Luke was obviously trying to be helpful, guiding her in a darkness he had no way of knowing she could easily see through. And it had been such a long time since Anna had been the benefactor of such chivalry. How could she point out to him that she could see better than he could possibly imagine?

Instead, she whispered a thank you and followed him nimbly down the aisle. As they inched past the people already seated at the edge of the row, Anna glanced back over her shoulder to see Mina subtly guiding Carmine up the last of the steps and pointing out the seats that Luke had spotted. Once seated, with Luke on her right and Carmine on her left, Anna settled down to watch the first action movie she'd ever seen.

***

"That was _awesome!_ " Conner said through a mouthful of hamburger. Zev rolled his eyes. But to Anna's surprise, instead of making fun of him, Zev actually did agree with Conner.

"Of course it was." he said. "After all, _I_ picked it!"

After the movie, the seven of them had decided to grab something to eat. There was an all-night diner about a block from the theater, so they simply walked over.

It turned out, the movie had been quite an icebreaker. From the moment it had let out a little over an hour ago, the group had been talking almost nonstop. When conversation about the movie started to run dry, they'd simply switched to other topics. The usual things came up – school, various teachers, and of course, football. Anna remembered seeing Collin play; he'd been very good, and she told him so.

"Thank you." he told her, obviously pleased despite trying his best not to look it.

"You're going to give him a big head." Luke warned jokingly.

"You just say that 'cause you're jealous!" Collin shot back, the look of pride turning to one of slight annoyance.

"I'm not jealous! I could play better than you if I wanted."

"Then why don't you?" Carmine cut in.

Luke looked over at her, surprised. He looked as if he couldn't tell whether she was teasing him or asking a genuine question. He thought about it, not responding right away. So she asked again.

"Why don't you play?"

"I know it's weird to say, but I'm not really into football." Luke confessed, shrugging. "I like track better."

"That's Luke for you." Zev said. "Not much of a team-player, are you? A regular lone-wolf."

Zev's comment sent the other boys into fits of laughter, leaving the girls glancing sideways at each other, trying to figure out what the in-joke was. As the laughter died down, Collin turned back to the girls.

"In all seriousness, though, we do have a good team. I mean, some of the guys are no-talent, wastes of space, but there's a couple of guys on the team that are amazing. We could go all the way this year."

"All the way where?" Anna asked, and the boys started laughing all over again. Even Mina and Carmine joined in this time.

"That's a good question!" Zev snickered. "If you think you can go to any championship games with people like Boyd on your team, you're more of an optimist than I thought!"

As the laughter continued, Anna saw with relief that her ignorance had been taken as a joke. She was glad that for once, no one seemed to notice her blunder.

"We can make it. Just bench Boyd and we'll be fine." Collin said with confidence.

"Well, good luck getting anyone to watch you!" Luke told him. "Even if you guys did end up actually going somewhere, no one's going to watch. Nobody wants to be out at night anymore – not even to see the amazing Collin Boehm play!"

And with that simple statement, the whole mood seemed to shift for Anna. No longer was she talking and laughing with friends. Instead, she was in the midst of yet another conversation about the strange and growing attacks on people in her town. Anna glanced at Mina and Carmine, noticing that they looked almost as uncomfortable as she felt.

"Speaking of those attacks, have any of you noticed that most of the victims are kids?" Collin asked.

"It does seem like they're mostly our age." Luke replied, thinking.

"Not the girl at the movie theater last week." Carmine said quietly. Anna's stomach lurched at the horrible reminder of the girl laying like a broken toy beneath Fredrick's feet.

"Yeah, I heard about that." Collin said. And if possible, he became even more serious. "She was in pretty bad shape, wasn't she? I heard she was taken away in an ambulance and everything!"

There was silence for a minute, and Anna knew Mina and Carmine were busy staring at the table almost as hard as she was. Realizing the change in mood, Zev spoke up.

"This is a depressing topic – let's talk about something more fun. Like the fact that Collin'll never go to state championships if Zack Boyd tackles another member of his own team again!"

"That was just pathetic." Collin said, disgust obvious in his voice.

"He really did that?" Mina asked, her curiosity overcoming the discomfort she'd felt just moments before.

"Of course he did!" Luke chimed in. "I told you he was the most pathetic thing to ever happen to football!"

"At least his mom thinks he's great." Collin said, rolling his eyes.

Even Anna had to laugh at the thought of Zack Boyd making such a huge mistake. And she could just picture Mrs. Boyd there, cheering on her son, oblivious to his shortcomings.

"Are you _kidding?_ " Luke replied. "She's the only one who does! He'll literally never be too terrible for her to stop admiring!"

As the boys continued recounting all of Zach Boyd's numerous mistakes both on and off the field, Anna could feel the mood lift. She even allowed herself to relax just a little bit. But one glance over at Mina sent Anna's heart plummeting once again.

The two exchanged guilty glances, knowing that they'd put off acting for far too long. The pressure might be off them now, but this was by no means over. Inwardly, Anna sighed, wishing that she could have just one night out without having Fredrick and Jacqueline ruining it for her.

## Chapter 34: The Plan

"We need a plan." Mina said.

It was Saturday afternoon and Anna, Mina, and Carmine were sitting around Anna's kitchen table. Carmine had brought every book she had on vampires as well as a few she'd checked out from the library. There were currently four open books spread out on the table and three more sitting on a chair. Carmine was looking in the glossary of one while Mina scribbled indecipherable notes on a piece of paper. Anna had been busying herself thumbing through a particularly thick book and had caught herself reading someone's theory on exactly why garlic was so dangerous to vampires.

"Someone should get out a pen." Carmine said. "We need to write down what things can both hurt and kill vampires."

"I have a pen." Mina said, holding it up in the air. Anna, however, was already walking over to the closest drawer in the kitchen. She opened it and pulled out a pencil and a spare notebook before walking back over to the table. She'd seen Mina's handwriting – if either she or Carmine were ever going to have to read what was written, Mina would be a bad choice to pick for scribe.

For the next several hours, the girls sat, thumbing through books, taking notes, and _planning_. They needed to cover as many possibilities as they could – the more prepared they were, the better their chances. Key in Anna's mind was safety. She didn't know what she'd do if either of her friends were hurt – or worse, _killed_.

She also had to keep in mind that Carmine would be the only non-vampire involved. There was a good enough chance that either Anna or Mina might be hurt, but the chance was so much greater with Carmine. She'd be slower, weaker, and much less able to withstand the kind of damage that Fredrick and Jacqueline were capable of dealing. Even worse was the fact that Carmine wouldn't _know_ she was at such a disadvantage.

After working all afternoon, the girls had managed to formulate a detailed plan of what they were going to do. Now all they had to do was to put it into action.

***

Friday, Mina was late for lunch. Anna and Carmine had found a spot outside, pretending that nothing unusual was happening. Usually Anna and Carmine would have waited for Mina, but not today. Today was the day Mina was dropping a note into Jacqueline's locker. It was short and simple and Anna knew every word written by heart:

To Fredrick and Jacqueline:

We know what you are and what you've been doing around town. Meet us in the park on West 8th street at 11pm tonight.

Simple and to the point. And the less it said, the less the girls would give away. As Anna and Carmine sat in anxious silence, Carmine began nervously unpacking her lunch.

"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked Anna as she pulled a sandwich out of her bag and began fumbling with the foil wrapped around it.

"Shouldn't we wait? To make sure everything's ok?" Anna asked, glancing around, hopping to see Mina.

"We agreed not to." Carmine reminded her. But even so, Anna could tell Carmine was as nervous as she was. "We know she's going to be late – that's part of the plan."

"You're right." Anna nodded absentmindedly. She reached down into her backpack to pull out her own lunch.

The girls had decided that Mina would put the note in Jacqueline's locker Friday at lunch while Anna and Carmine waited in the courtyard. Anna was glad she didn't have to do it – much to her relief, Mina agreed that it'd be best if she stayed as far away from Fredrick and Jacqueline's lockers as possible. After all, Jacqueline already knew Anna was going to their school. If they saw her near Jacqueline's locker, they might realize she'd helped write the note. The only thing worse than them seeing Anna was the possibility of them seeing Carmine.

Before they'd even brought the subject up to Carmine, And Anna and Mina had already discussed it. And they decided that they didn't want Carmine going anywhere near either Fredrick or Jacqueline when they weren't around; it was just too dangerous. So, Mina had volunteered to do it before Carmine had the chance. As Mina dropped by Jacqueline's locker, Anna and Carmine would eat lunch, carrying on as if nothing unusual were going on. They needed to keep suspicion off all three of them – just in case.

Anna absentmindedly twisted the stem off an apple she'd brought but couldn't bring herself to actually eat it. She rarely ate anything as it was and with her stomach in knots, food looked even less appetizing than usual. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Mina appeared through the brick archway.

Despite Carmine's talk of sticking to the plan, Anna could see the tension ease in her body at the sight of Mina standing there. Mina quickly spotted her two friends and headed over to where they were anxiously waiting.

"I had to wait until there was no one in the hall." Mina explained. "I didn't want anyone to see me near _her_ locker. Especially since she won't be here on Monday..."

"So it went smoothly?" Carmine asked. She'd tried to sound casual, but the relief on her face showed how nervous she really was.

"Yeah." Mina said. "No one saw me. It was no big deal – really." Mina flashed them a quick smile, and Anna and Carmine visibly relaxed.

"Good. The easy part's done." Carmine let out a deep breath. "Now comes the hard part."

Anna tried to calm her nerves, but she couldn't help wishing Carmine had kept that last thought to herself.

## Chapter 35: Vampire-Hunting

Carmine wasn't sure their note would be enough, but Anna had no doubts; there was no way Fredrick and Jacqueline would be willing to take the chance they'd been found out. Besides, being vampires, the two would feel they had a distinct advantage over anyone who would dare confront them, so it wouldn't be fear that kept them out of the park. Instead, it was much more likely they'd use the opportunity for an attack of their own.

The setup had been simple enough. Mina had gone over to Anna's apartment after school, and Carmine promised to join them a few hours later. She needed to go home and get a few things first, she'd explained. When she showed up at Anna's, she had her backpack slung over one shoulder and a plastic grocery bag in each hand.

"I had my mom take me to the store." she explained, lifting the bags slightly.

Anna led Carmine through the living room and into the kitchen where Mina was sitting at the table, a glass of untouched lemonade in front of her.

"Would you like something to drink?" Anna asked Carmine. Carmine grinned and shook her head.

"I ate already, too." Carmine said proudly, setting the bags down on the table. She shrugged out of her backpack, setting it on the chair next to where she stood. Anna and Mina leaned forward, trying to see what was inside those bags.

The first bag contained things that looked like they'd been purchased at some store, and Anna could see the outline of various boxes through the plastic. Carmine opened the bag, pulling the sides down to the tabletop and revealing the contents. It was filled with things that every good vampire-hunter should have; there were three bulbs of garlic, containers of salt, garlic salt, and what appeared to be a box of mustard seeds. Anna smiled at the mustard seeds nostalgically. She remembered a time when mustard seeds, like rice, were thought to prevent vampires from coming around.

Mina reached down in between the boxes and pulled something out – a tiny, cheap-looking mirror. She sneered at her reflection for just a fraction of a second before looking up at Carmine.

"I thought we said we didn't need these." she said somewhat testily.

"I know. But they were cheap." Carmine explained. "Besides, I figured it's better to bring some things and not use them instead of _not_ bringing them and wishing we did."

Carmine smiled reassuringly at her friends, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Anna realized Carmine was much more nervous than she was letting on; more than likely, she'd bought the mirrors due to some sort of reflex. Mina must have reached the same conclusion about Carmine. Instead of arguing the point, she simply shrugged.

After seeing what was in the first bag, Anna was even more curious about the second; it seemed much lumpier, and Anna could see a leaf or two poking out of the top.

"What's in there?" she asked Carmine. Not waiting for an answer, Mina was already opening the bag, taking out bundle after bundle of twigs.

"Well, that's ash." Carmine said, pointing to the bundle still in Mina's hand. Then, turning to the table she continued, "And that's hawthorn, and that's...uh..." Carmine grabbed the last group still laying on the table. She quickly checked a little slip of paper that had been taped around the base of one of the sticks. "Wild rose." Carmine reported, looking triumphant. "I labeled them all, so I wouldn't forget."

"Why do you have so many plants?" Mina asked with interest.

"Well, all the books I've read say different things. So I got some of each just to be sure."

After they'd finished examining the contents of the two bags, Carmine unzipped her backpack. Anna and Mina stared in a kind of horrified fascination as Carmine pulled out a long stick of wood, narrowed to a sinister point at one end. A stake. This was followed by six bottles of water with blue sports caps screwed on tightly.

"You sure did bring a lot of stuff." Mina commented, almost pointedly ignoring the stake.

"Yeah, well, I figured it's better to have too much instead of not enough. Especially with what we're up against."

"So what's the water for?" Anna asked, running her finger along the top of one bottle.

"Oh – that's holy water. I made it myself a couple days ago."

_"What?_ " Anna and Mina exclaimed simultaneously. Anna jerked her hand away.

"How did you _make_ that?" Anna asked, not able to keep the incredulousness out of her voice.

"It's amazing what you can learn on the Internet." Carmine replied with a gleam in her eye. "Honestly though, it's pretty much saltwater."

"Who would have thought?" Anna mumbled to no one in particular.

In spite of herself, Mina laughed. Anna still felt a tad horrorstruck.

After everything was taken out and looked over, Carmine set the empty backpack down on the floor. "I'll be right back." she said. She walked into the living room and stopped. Turning back at the doorway, she leaned into the kitchen and asked Anna, "Where's the bathroom?"

"Down that hall on the left."

"Thanks."

As soon as they heard the bathroom door close, Anna and Mina looked at each other.

"Holy water? You can't _really_ make that, can you?" Anna asked. Mina looked incredulous, but didn't say anything. After a slight hesitation, curiosity got the better of Anna.

"Does it really work?"

Mina shrugged. Then, a slow smile spread across her face. "Wanna find out?" she asked.

"How?" Anna tried not to look like Mina might be insane.

Mina grabbed one of the bottles and walked over towards the counter where Anna was standing. She grabbed a paper towel out of the dispenser and folded it up. Wrapping it around the lid, she carefully popped it open; she didn't want to take the chance of any touching her. Not yet, at least.

No water had spilled out, so Mina carefully turned the bottle upside down and let a few drops pour out onto the paper towel. Then, after righting the bottle and setting it carefully back on the counter, Mina slowly drew her finger towards the paper towel.

As she touched it, Mina cried out in pain. She clenched her closed hand to her chest, and the two girls stared at each other, eyes wide. Mina slowly opened her hand for them to see. The tip of her finger where she'd touched the water was already red and more than a little swollen. Anna could see a blister already forming in the small space – as if Mina had been burned.

The bathroom door opened and closed loudly, causing both Anna and Mina to jump. _They'd almost forgotten about Carmine!_

Anna hurriedly ran the bottle back over to the table where it had been and Mina threw the paper towel in the trash under the sink. By the time Carmine came into the kitchen, the two were standing there, as if nothing had ever happened. Mina had her hand hidden casually in her pocket.

Carmine looked at the two of them, Mina by the counter, Anna looking somewhat intently at the items on the table. "I thought I heard a scream."

Both Anna and Mina shook their heads.

"Probably from next door." Anna said, thinking quickly. "Sometimes the people who live there are pretty loud."

Carmine looked at Anna through narrowed eyes for a minute or two before shrugging.

"Ok." she said. "Well, then, shall we pack all this stuff up and go over the plan one more time?"

Anna, Mina and Carmine had decided to arrive about fifteen minutes late. This way, Fredrick and Jacqueline would already be there, and the girls could watch for a few minutes first. Besides, as Mina pointed out, they definitely didn't want these two sneaking up on _them_ instead. Better to stalk a vampire than be stalked by one.

The girls had all worn dark clothes, so as not to be seen from far away. Anna had worn her favorite black pants and that familiar old overcoat she'd worn on her first day of school. Carmine had on dark blue jeans and a black button-down t-shirt. Mina, on the other hand, had opted for a black skirt paired with shoes that had a rather impractical heel and a red shirt so dark it would look black as soon as they got away from the light. Carmine had thought the skirt and heels were more than just impractical – they were a possible hazard.

"It's a _lucky_ skirt." Mina informed them. Carmine looked less than convinced, but decided not to press the issue. Instead, she concentrated on Mina's feet.

"What about your shoes?" she asked skeptically. "How are you going to fight vampires in those?"

"They go with the skirt!" Mina told her. "Don't worry, they'll be fine."

"As long as you can move around in them – we might need to run. You can't afford to fall tonight."

"I won't fall." Mina said with an air of such confidence that Carmine could do nothing but nod, though she clearly still had her doubts.

Once their bags were packed, Anna took one final glance at her friends. Mina was looking just the slightest bit paler than usual, and Carmine's hands were clutched tightly around the draw-string bag. Finally, when they could put it off no longer, Anna spoke up.

"Let's get this over with." she told her friends in a voice that wasn't nearly as confident as she'd hoped it would be.

The park where the meeting would take place was the one near Anna's house; she'd hunted there often enough that she knew it like the back of her hand. Besides, since all the panic caused by Fredrick and Jacqueline had started, no one seemed to go there much anymore; they were all but guaranteed to have the place to themselves.

The girls approached the edge of the park at 11:10 from the southeast corner. Anna knew that the bushes lining the side there would shield them from the light of the streetlamps, making them almost impossible to spot from within the park. From here, they snuck in single-file with Anna in the lead and Mina taking up the rear. Carefully, they crept through the grass, avoiding not only the noise of the sidewalks but also the light reflected dimly by the moon.

Anna clutched her bag to her like a lifeline, listening to any and all sounds around her. The park was deathly quiet. As they neared the center, Anna could see two dark figures waiting ominously. The shorter one was leaning up against a tree. The other paced silently back and forth, hands seemingly thrust deep into its pockets. Even from a distance, Anna could tell the two were impatient.

The closer they got to the figures, the slower the girls went. Anna could feel her heart pounding harder and harder in her chest, and she started to wonder if this was such a good idea after all. What they were doing was very dangerous – _they_ could be the ones killed instead. The prospect of death suddenly seemed so real to her; she felt its imminent presence like never before.

As she stared into the clearing where the deadly figures waited, Anna's slow crawl came to a halt. Rather than walk in one-by-one, her friends walked around to stand next to her – one on each side. Mina grabbed Anna's hand, as much to reassure herself as it was to calm Anna. Carmine turned towards her friends.

"We have to do this. It'll be ok." After a short pause where no one moved, she added, "We should at least look confident when we go up there."

Anna nodded, swallowing hard. Then, letting go of each other's hands, the three walked up to where Fredrick and Jacqueline were waiting.

## Chapter 36: Fight to the Death

Anna and her friends walked slowly through the trees and into the small clearing where their targets waited. They were about fifteen feet away when the light of the moon caught them, causing Fredrick and Jacqueline to turn their heads sharply, staring at them with wrathful eyes. The light landed on Carmine first, and when Fredrick saw her walking determinedly toward him, he started laughing – a loud, menacing sound. Jacqueline just smirked sadistically.

_You?_ " Fredrick said in disbelief. As the light shone on Anna and Mina, Fredrick's shock turned to outright glee. "Oh, this just gets better and better! You three sent that note? Are you _serious?_ Just _look_ at you!"

He pointed at Carmine, a malicious grin spreading across his face. "Who do you think you are? Some girl trying to save the city? Everybody already thinks you're crazy! ...And the fact that you even bothered to show up here just proves them right."

Carmine stiffened a little. Anna glanced sideways at her and thought she could see Carmine's ears burning, even in the dark. Fredrick, however, wasn't finished. Now that he'd put Carmine in her place, he turned and focused his attention to Mina.

"And look who else decided to come along." he jeered. "I never thought you'd be the kind of person to even _care_ to show up. You act so high and mighty all the time. Unless..." Fredrick's eyes gleamed maliciously, as if a particularly nasty thought had just occurred to him. "Unless you showed up just to watch _that one_ fail."

As he said the last part, he pointed derisively at Carmine. Mina glared silently at him for a moment before sneaking a quick glance over at Carmine. Anna's eyes widened as she watched the sliver of doubt grow between them, just as Fredrick had intended. Finally, he focused his attention on Anna, his pure hatred for her showing plainly on his twisted face.

"This is all _your_ fault, isn't it?" he said, rage filling his voice. "You weren't even supposed to _survive!_ I meant to kill you! The only reason I didn't come back and finish the job was because I thought you'd never last this long. Well, I'll fix that little mistake tonight!"

Fredrick crouched somewhat, preparing to attack. But, while he had been busy insulting everyone around him, Anna had not been idle. The more she'd listened, the angrier she'd gotten. She was tired of him mocking her friends, and she was tired of him putting her down. She realized she was just plain tired of Fredrick himself.

While Fredrick was berating Carmine, Anna had merely been clutching her little bag tightly in her hands, crushing the fabric in her fingers. But, as he started in on Mina, a thought had dawned on Anna. Slowly, she pulled the bag open, grateful that she'd thought of something so noiseless; despite his outrage, Anna knew that even the slightest sound could alert Fredrick to her plan. By the time he was done with Mina, Anna had her hand in the bag and was groping around inside. As Fredrick stood there insulting and threatening Anna, her hand was feeling about inside her bag – carefully, but quickly.

She felt through its contents as best she could, trying not to draw attention to the fact that she was doing anything suspicious. She needn't have worried; Fredrick was too busy staring intently into her face. Trying to see every bit of the hurt he caused, no doubt.

Anna searched in vain for the little baggie filled with chopped garlic. With no visual cues to aid her, she just couldn't tell which baggie held the garlic and which were the useless mustard seeds. Fredrick finished his little speech too quickly; Anna still hadn't found what she was looking for. But time had run out. As he started to crouch, Anna reached quickly into the bottom of her bag. There, she found a clove of garlic nestled in the corner. Anna clutched it in her hand and in one smooth motion drew it out of the bag and hurled it as hard as she could at Fredrick's head.

_"Oww!_ " Fredrick exclaimed, his hand flying up to his cheek, eyes wide. "What was _that?_ "

He pulled his hand away, and Anna could clearly see a bright red triangle where the garlic had hit him just under his eye. She knew it hurt – and not just because of the force with which she'd thrown it; her own hand was burning too.

Throwing a clove of garlic at a vampire wasn't the most effective thing she could have done. All it really seemed to do was make Fredrick mad – _furious,_ actually. But it had been so much fun! And the look of shock on Fredrick's face was priceless. Yes it was ineffective, but it was so worth it! Anna stood there grinning. Fredrick, however, was doing anything but.

"Why you little – " Fredrick started as he lunged towards Anna. Then, things happened fast.

Anna jumped back behind Mina to avoid being hit by Fredrick, dropping her bag of weapons in the process. Fredrick sailed harmlessly by, and Mina and Carmine each dove for the bag. Jacqueline dove for Carmine, teeth bared, fangs ready to strike.

Carmine reached the bag before Mina. As soon as she grabbed it, she spun around to face Jacqueline – who was now standing where Carmine had been only moments before. Carmine frantically reached down into the bag, pulling out a handful of plastic. Looking down, she saw that she'd grabbed the bags of mustard seeds, salt and garlic salt. Seeing Jacqueline bearing down on her ready to strike again, Carmine stumbled backwards, dropping everything but the garlic salt. Now lying on the ground, Jacqueline only a few feet away from her, Carmine opened the baggie. She closed her eyes and turned her head as she flicked the power out of the bag and into Jacqueline's face. Jacqueline jumped back into a standing position, face in hands, and let out an ear-piercing scream.

While Jacqueline was writhing in pain, Mina seized the opportunity. She'd grabbed her bottle of holy water while Carmine had been occupying Jacqueline. Turning now to face Carmine's attacker, Mina opened the sports lid on the bottle and squeezed it as hard as she could. Water sprayed, drenching Jacqueline from head to toe.

As the water hit Jacqueline, she let out a terrible, nightmarish scream; a sound that could only come from someone dying a horrific death. The noise stopped everyone else dead in their tracks. Around the clearing, four pairs of eyes involuntarily turned towards Jacqueline.

What little color she had seemed to drain away from Jacqueline, leaving her ghostly pale. Her hands, which were still covering her face, began to melt away, slowly turning to ash and falling towards the ground. As her face was exposed, the four could see it was covered in red blotches from first the garlic, then the holy water. As her body continued to decay, Jacqueline lifted her face towards the night sky. Her eyes rolled back in her head, showing only white; her dark mouth open still open, still emitting a shrill scream. Slowly, she began to collapse toward the ground, her body continuing to crack and crumble. After a few moments that seemed to last a lifetime, nothing was left of her except a pile of fine grey ash and the faint sound of her lingering scream still echoing through the trees.

Then silence fell. Everyone stopped, as if they were unable to comprehend what had just happened. It was as if nobody could really believe that Jacqueline had actually been killed.

Fredrick was the first to recover. He had been chasing Anna around the clearing since she'd thrown that _thing_ at him, but so far she'd managed to avoid the brunt of his attacks, suffering only minor cuts and bruises. They'd migrated to the other side of the clearing, several yards away from Mina and Carmine and the grisly pile of ash that had been Anna's one-time best friend.

Seeing that Anna was distractedly looking at the place where Jacqueline had so recently been, Fredrick lunged. Anna, who had seen him out of the corner of her eye, moved just in time. Instead of a killing blow, his fangs only grazed her neck as he flew past her.

The movement on the other side of the clearing was enough to snap Mina and Carmine back to their senses; it wasn't over yet. Mina grabbed the bottle of holy water from the pouch that had been Anna's and the two raced to their friend's aid.

Fredrick was consumed with his hatred of Anna, and was concentrating now only on destroying her. Because of this, he didn't realize just how close Mina and Carmine actually were. Mina, seeing how well holy water had worked on Jacqueline, decided to try that trick again. She flicked the blue cap open on her new bottle and aimed it directly at Fredrick.

With her hands wrapped around the bottle's middle, Mina stopped. She couldn't get a clear shot – Anna was too close to him, and Mina couldn't risk hitting her instead. Quickly, she ran around behind Anna, intending to hit Fredrick from the front. As Mina ran, Carmine grabbed something out of the almost forgotten backpack still resting securely on her shoulders and followed Mina.

Anna saw her friends circle around behind her from out of the corner of her eye. While her attention was divided, Fredrick tried once again to jump her. Anna ducked, landing palms first on the hard dirt under a large oak.

"Ha!" Mina cried as she flung some of the water at Fredrick. But now that he knew what was in those bottles, he'd been prepared and twisted around in mid-air to avoid the deadly spray. He escaped fatal damage, but the water had hit him in the ear and across his hand, leaving deep red gashes in both places. He screamed in pain and stumbled backwards.

"Anna!" Carmine yelled, chucking something across the grass. It skidded across the dirt and hit Anna squarely in the elbow. Without thinking, Anna grabbed at whatever it was. She picked it up along with a handful of dirt. And as her fingers wrapped around the smooth wood, Anna knew what it was.

Carmine had just thrown Anna that stake. Anna grabbed it tight, feeling its sinister, heavy weight in her hand.

"I've had enough of this!" Fredrick screamed furiously at her. He stood up, his face smeared with blood. He ran straight for Anna at full speed. This time, his aim was perfect – he hit Anna full-force, knocking her to the ground.

Anna struggled to breathe; the weight of a full-grown vampire coming down on her like a truck had knocked the wind out of her. Somewhere she heard a scream – Mina or Carmine, she couldn't tell. Pinned under the weight of Fredrick's entire body, she closed her eyes, waiting for the end to come – for him to finish her off.

And she waited. After a few minutes of nothing, Anna opened her eyes just a sliver. Still nothing. She opened them all the way and looked up at Fredrick, who was still lying on top of her.

He was gasping for air, his breath ragged. His eyes were glazed and unseeing. With all the strength she had left, Anna rolled him off of her. As she stood up and gazed over him, Anna saw what had happened to Fredrick.

As he had run towards her, Anna had instinctively put her hands up. And with them, the stake.

It hadn't gone straight through his heart; it was too low for that. But she knew, miraculously enough, that she'd gotten at least a piece of it. And the look on Fredrick's face only confirmed it. Anna watched as he, like her former friend before him, turned a chalky-grey before crumbling to ash, leaving no trace that anyone had ever laid there, except for the flattened grass.

Anna looked down at the pile of ash. It was over. _Finally_.

"You ok?" Mina asked after a minute.

"Yeah." Anna replied. She could still feel the burn in her hand from the garlic she'd thrown, and a wetness on her neck reminded her of where Fredrick's fangs had gotten too close. Still, they were minor injuries, and they would heal.

"I'll be fine." she told them. Then, pulling away, she looked carefully into each of her friends' faces in turn. "What about you two? Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. Just a few scratches from falling on something in the grass." Carmine said, sounding surprised at the fact that she hadn't been more seriously injured during the ordeal.

"Me too." Mina chimed in. Though Anna could see the faint red lines along the backs of her hands where the holy water had dripped down the bottle after being sprayed. Mina followed Anna's eyes, seeing the blisters already starting to form. Mina looked back at Anna and tried to smile brightly.

"I'll heal." she reassured her.

"Good. I'm glad you two are ok – or, relatively ok." Anna said, letting out a sigh of relief; things could have been so much worse. She turned to the pile of ashes that used to be Fredrick, her one-time fiancé. It was strange. Looking at that pile – no bigger than a shoebox – she didn't feel sorrow or regret; she felt nothing but relief.

## Chapter 37: Finishing the Deed

"Guys," Carmine said, breaking the silence that had settled over the group in the moments that followed. "We're not done yet."

Anna and Mina looked at her in disbelief.

"Huh?" Mina asked.

"What do you mean?" Anna said at the same time. They'd just killed two vampires – wasn't that their goal? What else could there be?

"We have to make sure they don't come back." Carmine explained. "Do you want to have to do _that_ all over again? We might not be so lucky next time."

Anna stared blankly at Carmine, and the look on Mina's face said she was just as confused as Anna. "They're gone." Anna gently reminded Carmine. "They're just ashes – they can't come back."

Now it was Carmine's turn to stare blankly.

"Of course they can." she told them matter-of-factly. "Look, the books might disagree on a lot of things, but one thing they're all very clear on is the fact that vampires can come back to life. They regenerate or something."

Anna thought back to when she was young. She vaguely remembered hearing stories about improper burials and vampires returning. But were they _vampires_ that returned? Or just humans who had returned once they became vampires? She couldn't remember. Still, it was best to do everything they could to ensure that these two would stay dead, regardless of any half-remembered stories.

"What else do we have to do?"

Earlier, Carmine had dumped her backpack near the trees. Now, she stood up and walked over to it. This time, instead of reaching in and pulling things out one at a time haphazardly, she turned it upside down, dumping everything that remained onto the ground.

Anna watched as Carmine picked out the twigs of ash, a few extra bags of salt, the hawthorn flowers and wild rose, the remaining garlic powder, and two bottles of holy water. She was having difficulty carrying all of her supplies, so Anna struggled to her feet and walked over to help. Mina followed. Together, they managed to carry everything.

"Let's put it in that firepit over there." Carmine said. She pointed to a small soot-blackened pit on the outer edge of the clearing planted next to a faded picnic table. Not bothering to clean out the ashes that came halfway to the top, Carmine unceremoniously dropped the twigs and branches into the center of the pit. Next, she set the hawthorn flowers and wild rose in a ring between the edge of the firepit and the twigs.

"We need the ashes." Carmine said. Then, after a pause she clarified. "You know, _their_ ashes."

Anna nodded and trudged back toward the pile of ashes that had once been Fredrick. Mina made her way over to what used to be Jacqueline.

Anna scooped up the ashes with her hands as best she could, filling up three of the small plastic baggies, which were now empty. There was still some ash nestled in the blades of grass, but not enough to pick up. Anna brushed it, trying to make it appear as if it had never been there. She figured, even if she didn't get _all_ of the ashes, it still wouldn't be enough to allow him to come back. Once she was satisfied, Anna straightened and, holding her three little bags, walked back to where Carmine was standing over the pit.

Using a lighter, Carmine had managed to set fire to a small pine branch that she'd found nearby. As the flame licked down the branch towards her, Carmine placed it carefully into the pit on top of everything else. Looking over at Anna and Mina, she signaled them to come closer.

"Now, pour the ashes onto the fire, ok?" she said. Silently, the girls obeyed. As the ashes fell into the pit, the fire momentarily roared to life before retreating back to the wood. "Not too fast." Carmine warned. "We don't want it to go out."

As they continued pouring ashes over the fire, Carmine walked back over to the table and picked up the salt and garlic powder. Taking one in each hand, she began to pour those into the fire as well, just to make sure.

Once finished, the girls retreated to the picnic table, eyes never leaving the fire. As the various woods and powders mixed with the ashes of the now-dead vampires, the flames turned from a bright golden-orange to various shades of turquoise, emerald, and even a few licks of violet. Anna and Carmine sat across from each other, one on each of the picnic table's chipped benches, as they stared at the unnatural flames. Mina, on the other hand, opted to sit on the tabletop between them.

"So, this is it, then?" Mina asked quietly.

"Yeah, I think so." was Carmine's reply.

"Good."

Anna looked each of her friends in turn. Mina, staring intently at the fire, as if daring Fredrick and Jacqueline to even try to reappear. And Carmine, arms on the table, cupping her head. Her eyes were closed, and she looked as if she could be asleep. Seeing her friends here, Anna was filled with gratitude; they'd been through so much together – and they'd done it just to help her. She'd never known such selflessness.

"Thank you. Both of you." she said, swallowing back tears of gratitude and relief.

"Mm-hmm" Carmine replied, not moving. Mina turned to face Anna.

"It's ok." she said. Anna could see by the look in her eyes that Mina knew just how grateful Anna really was.

As the fire started to dwindle, the three walked back to the pit. The embers were still smoldering when Carmine poured one last bottle of holy water on top of the newly-made ashes. Then, taking a pine branch up off the ground, she stirred the mixture together until the steam from the water had floated away.

"There." she said with an air of finality. "We've burned them, used holy water, garlic, salt, hawthorn, ash, and pine, and stabbed Fredrick through the heart – or chest – with a stake. All of those are supposed to kill a vampire on their own. I think it's safe to say we did it. They're not coming back."

"Good." Anna said. And with that, the three headed wearily back out of the park and towards Anna's house.

## Chapter 38: What Carmine Knows

The girls sat on the floor of Anna's living room, each with a steaming cup of hot chocolate in front of them. Despite all that had happened, and the fact that it was almost 2:30 in the morning, none of the three felt the least bit sleepy. Anna wasn't surprised – how could you kill, not one, but _two_ vampires and then go home and fall asleep?

The walk back to Anna's had been long and slow. All three where physically exhausted from their brush with death, and none felt like putting in the effort it would take for a conversation. Still, Anna could tell that something had been bothering Carmine. Ever since they'd left the park, she'd had a troubled look on her face. Even after they'd reached the warm light of Anna's apartment, Carmine remained preoccupied. It wasn't until they'd been seated comfortably in the living room for several minutes that Carmine finally spoke up.

"Can I ask you guys something?" she said slowly, staring down intently at her mug.

"Sure," Anna said, smiling warmly at her friend. After all, Carmine _had_ just helped Anna get rid of two vampires; answering a question was the least she could do! Carmine still stared down at her marshmallows swirling around, never looking up. Nervously, she pulled a strand of hair out from behind her ear and tucked it back again. Finally, Carmine took a deep breath.

"I was just thinking...about everything that's happened, you know? And there's some things that just don't add up."

"What do you mean?" Anna asked. Now, it was she who was starting to get nervous.

"Well...like how you knew that vampires have reflections. I thought you were wrong, but you're not. When I was looking for that stake, I found one of the mirrors that was still in the backpack. And I saw Freddy's – _Fredrick's_ – reflection in it." Carmine shuddered, remembering the scene.

Anna was starting to feel lightheaded with worry. She looked to Mina for help, but Mina was steadfastly avoiding eye contact. Anna thought Mina must be as worried as she was, until she saw the rather sheepish grin on Mina's face, and the repentant look as her eyes quickly met Anna's. The realization was so sudden, and Anna's nerves were so high, that she almost laughed out loud; Mina, obviously deciding that the mirrors were a stupid idea, had placed hers back in the backpack before they left for the park.

"Anna?" Carmine asked, and Anna realized that she'd stopped paying attention to whatever Carmine was saying.

"I'm sorry." she replied. "What was that?"

"How did you know he would have a reflection?"

"Well...I..." Anna started lamely. The question had caught her off guard, and she had no believable answer. With Anna still stammering, Carmine continued on; evidently Anna's lack of response was all she needed.

"Both of you knew weird things like that, actually. Things you really shouldn't have been able to know. It was odd, but that's not what's been bugging me. I was thinking about what Fredrick said to you tonight. Remember? When we first saw him?"

Anna's mind flashed quickly back to what seemed to have been weeks ago. She remembered him making fun of her friends, but what did he say to her? She'd been more focused on finding something to attack him with than on what he'd been saying. It was just on the tip of her tongue, but Carmine continued on without waiting.

"He said he meant to kill you before. That he _meant_ to. He _knew_ you, didn't he? And not from school, either."

Anna just stared with eyes wide, mouth open. Her mind froze, not believing what she was hearing. Her ears burned, and her thoughts turned automatically to escape plans. Most of her possessions were in storage still; she could leave tonight and be back for them later, and–

Then, as Anna sat there, unmoving, she saw Carmine's hand nervously go up to pull that strand of hair back behind her ear again. That little motion brought Anna back to reality. She stared intently at Carmine. And Anna saw, just for a moment, a slight twitch of Carmine's lip – Carmine was nervous too. But Carmine put on a big _I'm-not-afraid_ smile and continued.

"You're one too, aren't you? A _vampire_." Then she turned and faced Mina. "You too. Both of you are, aren't you?"

_"What?_ " Mina exclaimed, in what Anna thought was a very impressive display of righteous indignation. "What are you _saying?_ "

It was incredibly convincing, but Anna could see that Carmine wasn't buying it.

"What I'm saying," Carmine said, much more calmly than Anna would have thought possible, "Is that the two people I trust more than anyone else in the world are vampires. It's true, isn't it?"

This last statement was leveled directly at Anna. Mina had proven herself time after time to be a great liar. But Anna, as Carmine was fond of pointing out, was one of the worst liars she'd ever seen. And Anna, true to form, folded under the pressure.

"Well...yes." Anna said quietly, suddenly unable to look at Carmine. _What else could she say?_ "I'm sorry..."

_"Anna!_ " Mina hissed reprehensively. But when Anna looked up, she saw Mina was looking even more guilty than Anna felt. Carmine stared at each of them for a minute or two before finally replying.

"I want you to know...that I'm ok with it."

_"What?_ " Mina said again, but with confusion this time. "You're _ok_ with it? _Really?_ "

"I am." Carmine said with a nod that let them know without any doubts, she was telling the truth.

"But...how can you be ok with it?" Anna asked.

"Well," Carmine told her, "I've been thinking about it. And I guess vampires are just like everybody else – some are good and some aren't."

***

For the first night in as long as she could remember, Anna slept peacefully.

In the morning, she walked carefully out of the bedroom and into the living room. Mina was lying on the couch, her arm dangling off the side, fingertips brushing the carpet below. Carmine had taken the pillows from the back of the couch and laid them in a row on the ground, forming a small mattress of sorts for herself. Anna approached Carmine and her self-made mattress, noticing she was in almost the exact same position she'd fallen asleep in, except for the strands of hair that had draped themselves across her face.

Carefully, Anna threaded her way between Carmine and a wingback chair and made her way to the beautiful bay window on the far side of the room. Light streamed out around the curtains, giving them an almost angelic appearance. Clearly the sun was out, but Anna pulled the curtains back anyway; she wanted to see for herself what kind of day it would be.

Throwing the curtains wide, Anna looked up into the pure blue sky and smiled. A few wisps of cloud floated by here and there, and birds were already chirping cheerily.

Behind her, Anna could hear Mina's groans of protest and Carmine sleepily mumbling "Light – too much light," as she turned over and planted her face in the cushions. Anna just laughed as she looked back at them. After all, she knew for the first time in her life that today was going to be a perfect day.

The End

About the Author

Stephanie wrote her first story in college after binge-watching bad movies. She thought she could do better, so she decided to give it a try. And even though her computer managed to eat that first story, she kept writing. Now, she has a full-length novel that she's publishing for the first time.

More Books From this Author

If you enjoyed reading this book, please check out these selections from this author:

###### You Were What You Eat (Series)

You Were What You Eat

A Grave Problem

Blood Relatives

###### Other Books

Not So Super

Nobody Likes Megan McGowen

