Rogues

Anna

Okay so don't panic, don't panic. DON'T PANIC!

I just go and tell mum and dad what's happened and they'll sort it out.

No no no I can't do that. They'll freak! They'll send the police out and a search party and then it'll be all over the news and oh god, Joel!

I sit on my bed bent over, head in my hands.

"What am I going to do?" I whisper.

Wait? Why do I have to do anything? It's not my fault he's gone off to destroy himself. God forbid only one of us suffers, but both? I mean, I never asked to be a vampire. I had no choice. Well, not unless I protested in my mothers womb. But I don't think that would have gone down so well.

"Joel Joel Joel!" I sigh. Seriously, he's done it this time.

Why did he leave the note? I mean, surely he didn't think no one would see it other than him? He's such an idiot, it's unreal. Dad is going to kill him. Again. And again. And then dig him up and kill him again. Urghhhh!

Joel

Lying on a soft leather cough, Joel stares up at the ceiling. His thoughts are foggy. Nothing's clear. He can hear odd sounds around him. People whispering. No, not people. Vampires. Wait, what? He thinks, Vampires? Am I am vampire? I don't feel like one. Maybe it takes time.

He stays still on the couch. He feels movement beside him. Looking to his right he sees a young female, or at least, she looks young. She's checking him over. Maybe for signs of bruising or something. He didn't know.

"Joel? Joel, can you hear me?" she whispers in his right ear. He twitches. "Good," she says in response. "Okay, Joel? I'm going to try and move you now, to see how you respond. You might feel a bit dizzy. That's normal. It's still daylight outside, so we need to move you to a proper bed for you to rest." she told him.

"Who...who are you?" he managed to whisper. He couldn't remember anything that had happened. He knew he'd come here for something, and well, to be a vampire. He just didn't remember what happened exactly.

"I'm Isabella. We're helping you Joel. Everything will be okay. In a few hours, you will be perfectly healthy and able to go home." she looked down, "If that's what you wish." she said with a sad smile.

Joel nodded in acknowledgment and yawned. She helped him up by the arm and he took two steps forward and nearly fell over. He was incredibly weak. He didn't remember Anna - his sister, that's right he had a sister. Oh, she was going to be so pissed! - being this weak. But then, she was born a vampire. Not made.

Isabella helped him towards the big staircase that led him to the next floor. The vampires coven was in an old mansion. It used to be a childrens home back in the day but since then was abandoned and then taken over by refugees. But they weren't the normal refugee's that the government thought they were. Vampires, from what he'd read, didn't usually bother the public other than to feed and even then they wouldn't remember what had happened to them. Vampire's can use hypnosis apparently. Joel thought that was cool.

A few minutes passed by and he soon found himself lying across a double bed in a room designed for a six year old. He guessed they never bothered to redesign the rooms over the years.

He felt dizzy, so he closed his eyes.

The next thing he knew, he was being prodded by someone and when he opened his eyes it was pitch black, yet he could still see as if it was daylight. Ouch, the thought of daylight made him feel sick. He could hear strange things. Birds. People laughing. Television. And, was that, someone having sex? Yuck, he thought.

He looked around and saw some guy he hadn't remembered seeing before, standing at the end of the bed with Joels backpack in his hand. He tossed the bag on the bed. "Here, you change and then you leave. Got it?" he spat. He had a gruesome face. But Joel reckoned that was more to do with lack of care than him being a vampire in general. He looked a little rough to say the least apart from the face. Speaking of rough, Joel felt like he had been dug up from a grave. Spooky, he thought.

He wondered where Isabella was. Why send this unpleasant man to ship him out?

He didn't hesitate to change into some clean clothes. He felt dirty and didn't fancy going home in what he was wearing. Home. He was incredibly worried about going home, but he'd have to face them soon. He remembered his father telling him not to be home too late. He checked his watch. It was 6:45pm. S**t

He dug out his toothbrush. He saw the other guy hovering by the door, "Hey, um, where's the bathroom?" he called out.

The other man peeked in and frowned in disgust. Obviously not used to having guests. Charming, he thought.

"Down the hall on the left. Make sure you don't mess anything up, punk. I just cleaned" he answered, with a matter of fact tone.

Joel trotted to the bathroom, minding not to mess up any of the towels that were hanging from the rails. The bathroom, unlike the bedrooms, looked like it was actually designed for a palace. Shiny linoleum floor with tiled walls and a huge two person shower cubicle. He went over the sink that was at the end of the shower area. Brushing his teeth profusely, he found himself looking in the small mirror just above the sink.

He didn't notice much change, but the eyes. The eyes didn't look dark brown anymore. More like, an eery hazelnut. He was surprised by how normal he did look. He was expecting to look so much more different, let alone feel different.

Finishing in the bathroom, he grabbed his bag from the bedroom and went back downstairs. He found Isabella tidying around in the room where he first found himself. She looked at him in surprise. "Joel, what are you doing up so.... oh you're changed. Are you sure you're ready to go home so soon?" she asked with a slight worry line. She behaved more like a mother, yet she had the face of a 15year old.

Joel shrugged, and blushed slightly. "Yeah, I need to get home anyway."

Isabella finished cleaning the cabinet that was next to the couch and walked over to him in the entrance hall.

She touched his forehead. "How are you feeling?" She eyed him carefully. He noticed how she had a small scar on the side of her neck. He pondered for a moment if he had one too. He hadn't noticed in the mirror but then it wasn't a very big mirror.

"I feel fine." he reassured her. Smiling, he opened the front door and she caught his elbow.

"Hey, if they're ever a problem, you can come over anytime. Remember that." she smiled warmly and then he turned and left the house into darkness.

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