5. SURPRISE! I'm A Mythical Freakin' Creature!

       When Sienna woke up, she was lying on an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, with a few unfamiliar people. And Jace.

       She blinked a couple times and recognized Jace's friends that she'd seen at the bakery. "What... what happened?" she asked.

       They looked at her. "Oh, thank God you're alive!" Jace said.

       "Yeah, right Jace. Her waking up and knowing about us is such a great thing," one of the boys, a tall one with blonde hair, said.

       "Relax, Tom. Even if she told anyone, they probably wouldn't believe her," said another boy, this one with brown hair.

       "Both of you, just, shut up already!" Jace said.

       "Jace," Sienna said. He looked back at her. "What's going on?"

       He ran his fingers through his inky black hair. "Guess we gotta tell you sooner or later now," he said. The blonde haired boy called Tom said something like, "damn blood suckers".

       "Tell me what?" she asked. "Why don't you tell me what that... thing in the forest was?"

       "A vampire," he replied.

       Sienna stared at him. "Ha ha. You're joking right?"

       "Sienna, I'm not joking. The man that attacked you was a vampire," Jace said.

       "Horrible creatures. Bloodsucking killers. Good thing we're here to stop 'em!" said the brown haired boy.

       "You're... you're really telling me that that was a... a vampire?" Sienna asked. Jace nodded. "But vampires don't exist," she protested.

      Tom laughed. "Really? And how would you know?"

      "Shut up, Tom!" Jace said. "Look, Sienna, vampires do exist, and they aren't they only things out there."

      Sienna processed this. " So, that's why you told me to stay in after dark? Because of vampires and God knows what else is out there? Sheesh, what is out there, if there are vampires?"

      "You believe me?" Jace asked, surprised.

      "Yeah. I mean, I don't really have an explanation for the whole situation, and I think a vampire is better than anything I could've come up with," Sienna said.

      "That...." Jace started. "Was a lot easier than I thought it would be."

      "So there are vampires. Where do you come into this, Jace? And why the heck do I see wolves everywhere?" Sienna asked.

      Jace looked uncomfortable. "That's, uh, kind of our fault."

      "Why?" Sienna asked.

      "Well, there are other things out there besides vampires, though as far as I know, none cause as many problems," Jace said.

       Sienna gave him alook. "You're avoiding the question."

       "Yeah, she's right. Jace, get on with it, or I will," said the brown haired boy.

       "All right, already!" Jace said, annoyed. "Sienna, I'm a werewolf. Happy now, Roman?"

       Sienna stared at him. It was one thing to learn that vampires walk the earth. It was something else entirely to learn that a completely normal-looking guy was werewolf. It couldn't have been worse if her just shouted, SURPRISE! I'm a mythical freakin' creature!

       "Sheesh, Jace. Give a little warning next time!" said a black haired boy.

       Jace looked like he was ready to punch them all. "Get out of here before I put you in the freakin' hospital!" he exclaimed. They all left.

      Jace looked at her, concerned by her silence. "Sienna?"

      She shook her head slowly.

      "Sienna, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to find out," Jace said.

      "Don't... don't talk to me. I just... need to think about this. Could you take me home?" Sienna asked quietly.

      "Yeah, sure," he said. She tried to get up, then fell back on the bed, pain shooting through her right arm. "Here," he said, and lifted her into his arms.

      Sienna noticed the bandage wrapped aroung her arm. "How did this happen?" she asked.

      "You don't remember? That damn bloodsuck scratched your arm pretty good. Took us a while to get all the poison out. Adn yes, vampires do have venom on there nails, or, if you think about it, they actually look more like claws," Jace said.

      Afte he had driven her home, Sienna told her parents she had fallen in the forest and Jace had helped her clean her wound. They looked upset but let her go when she told them she was tired.

       As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.