Two

“No,” The vampire, Alexei, began with a small grin. “This is the one the boss wants,”

The other vampire frowned. “So we can’t kill this one? She doesn’t look like much…”

“No, we can’t kill her…” I had to forced myself to stop breathing a sigh of relief. I bit down my lip, unsure whether this was a dream or not. When the salty taste of my own blood erupted into my mouth I decided that I couldn’t possibly be dreaming. “But the boss said nothing about tasting her sweet, sweet blood…” Alexei moved his head forward, reaching towards my neck, placing all of his weight on me. I twisted and squirmed, trying to let out a scream. Unbearable, burning pain burst through my veins and body, giving off the feeling of fire. A strangled scream finally managed to escaped my throat when Alexei's teeth sunk right into the crook of my neck. I twisted under his weight, sobbing, screaming, trying to get him and his fangs away from me. He pulled back finally, but that didn't stop me screaming.

"Hm, maybe just one more bite, another sample," And as he sunk his fangs into the other side of my neck a strangled scream let loose -

I sat up bolt right, the sound of my own screams filling my ears. Sweat plastered my hair to my skin rather uncomfortably, actually. I had no idea where I was - I had no idea of anything, truth be told. Kidnapped was the first word that flashed through my mind. Slowly, the scream died out and my eyes, which were previously squeezed shut so tight that I doubted even the fires of Hell could get through their iron gates, began to open. While colours and blurs pinched at the corners of my vision, I could make out that the room I was in was small, occupied only by what I was lying on (my guess was a bed) and a chair. I began to try and take even breaths, trying to calm down, when I realised how bundled my fists were in the faded, splotchy black sheets. Yes, definitely a bed. I lifted a hand to my eyes, wiping away the sleep from them. When I removed my hand, my eyes opened yet again, and what I saw this time caused a scream to escaped loudly and strangled from my throat. Blood covered my outstretched hands, the dark crimson colour dried and embedded in the small cracks of my skin. My eyes widen and the scream that was already erupting from my throat became louder - if that was even possible - as my eyes raked my body. The dress I had been wearing was blood soaked, the dried dark red in patches covering the dress and my exposed skin. I began fighting against the sheets I seemed to be held captive in, try to escape. Fighting against the dream.

This has to be a dream. This cannot be happening. No freaking way.

Suddenly, the small door that was in the corner of the room flung open, a figure emerging and walking with haste over to me. I didn’t stop fighting against the sheet, didn’t stop screaming.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay! I’m not going to hurt you, I promise,” A soothing voice said, echoing slightly throughout the room. A hand that I assumed belonged to the figure that walked in before, rested on my shoulder. My scream continued, only now, it was beginning to quieten. “I promise you, I won’t hurt you. Ever,” The voice said again. My eyes began to travel up from the hand that was on my shoulder, coming face to face with the boy who was speaking. Through the pale light that filled the room I was able to take in the boys features. Although the boy had fair skin it had a kind glow surrounding him, big brown pupils filled his eyes and a full head of messy chocolate hair covered his head, giving me the impression that he’d just gotten out of bed. His deep brown eyes were boring into me, trying to portray what he had just said again, only without words this time. Slowly, my scream faded to nothing, and my mouth that was previously wide open closed. A encouraging smile pinched slightly at the edges of the boy's lips, exposing perfect white teeth.

God, why did my kidnapper have to be so gorgeous?

“See, that’s the spirit!” The boy said, his grin widening. I took in a deep breath, moving back slightly from (who I assumed) my captor.

“Who are you?” I breathed, unable to articulate any other sentence.

“Who am I?” The boy repeated, pointing a finger at his chest. I nodded, my eyes never leaving his. “I’m Austin,” He told me simply, the small grin spreading across his face again. He was cute. It was annoying, the fact that my presumed captor was attractive enough to make me even remotely calm about the whole situation.

I swallowed, trying to push away those thoughts to the back of my mind. “And, why did you kidnap me, Austin?” I asked before he could ask my name. I tried to say his name with as much hatred and disgust as I could. I wasn’t actually sure if it was all that convincing but I wasn’t about to give up the act.

“I didn’t kidnap you,” Austin told me simply, his shoulders shrugging ever so slightly.

I frowned. “Then why are you keeping me here?”

“I’m not keeping you here,”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? You brought me here! I do not remember willingly coming with you! I’d never even met you until two minutes ago!” I asked with a ferocity I didn’t know I possessed. What the hell was this guy playing at? “Last thing I remember I was walking to a party with my friends and now I’m here! So I’m about two hundred percent sure I did not come here to be with you willingly,”

I saw the boy, Austin, open his mouth to reply but he was cut off by the door that he’d entered through only minutes ago swung open, hitting the wall with a bang. For a few moments, there was nothing, then a tall figure walked through the doorway.

“For starters, we didn’t kidnap you. We saved you. So, you’re welcome. Secondly, we aren’t keeping you here; in fact, I voted that we dropped you straight off at a hospital and left you there, but oh no, old Mr. Noble said that we had a responsibility to take care of you, so that’s why you’re here. But you’re not staying, you can leave on your own terms or leave when we force you to; either way, we aren’t keeping you here, you’re free to leave if you want.” Each word was spat out with annoyance and hatred, immediately telling me that the figure was a boy by the tone and depth of his voice.The boy sat down in the chair that was in the room, a small beam of light crossing his face. My breath caught in my throat slightly as I took in his features. His brown hair was messier that Austin’s, his long hair sticking out in all directions on the top of his head. His blue eyes were squinted slightly under his frowning expression. My mind was screaming as I took in this boy and I would’ve continued to marvel at him if I didn’t suddenly realise how rude he was.

“Don’t be a dick, Will,” Austin huffed, leaning back against the wall as he spoke to the other boy. So, the dick head had a name. Austin looked over at me, a sympathetic apology grin on his face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”

I looked over from Will, whose frown seemed to be ever present, to the more likable Austin. His eyebrows were raised, waiting for an answer.

“Oh, it’s Lennon,” I told him simply, blowing a strand of long black hair out of my face.

Austin’s nose crinkled with curiosity. “Lennon? As in John Lennon?” I nodded and Austin let out a small laugh. “Anyway, Will, Lennon’s had a hard twenty four hours. Be nice.”

Will rolled his icy blue eyes at Austin before diverting his attention to me, causing me to stiffen. “Tell me, what’s the last thing you remember?”

“Uh, walking down an alleyway to a party with my friends,” I said cautiously to Will. His eyes were searching my face, his expression hard.

“And after that?”

“Nothing.” I started, running a hand covered in dried blood through my hair.

“Nothing at all?” Austin asked softly from the corner. Will turned round and shot him a glare for interrupting his interrogation but Austin merely shrugged. I began to shake my head. “Please, Lennon, we need to to think - really think back and tell us what you remember after that. It’s imperative that we know what you remember."

My eyebrows knitted tightly together as I thought back, trying to recall what happened after Aly, everyone else and I began to walk down the alleyway before I blacked out. I struggled with my thoughts, trying to recall what happened. After what seemed like an eternity and as I was about to give up and tell these two strangers I knew nothing one word entered my mind, as bone chilling as it was when I first heard it.

“Vampire,” I breathed almost inaudibly. That one word turned my bones and blood to ice. That one word made me feel the need to empty the contents of my stomach. That one word brought memories better left buried in the back of my mind forward.

"What?" Will asked, his ever present frown plastered on his face.

I swallowed, fighting the bile that threatened to leave my body. "Vampire," I said again, only slightly louder. I looked at Austin out of the corner of my eye; his expression had changed and he was leaning off of the wall, his lips parted in question, almost a look of recognition crossing his face.

“I can’t hear you,” Will huffed in annoyance, glaring me down. When I tried again, nothing came out but squeaks. Will clenched his jaw, running a hand through his hair. He groaned, his frown deepening. “I really don’t have time for this stupid muttering, Princess -”

“Vampire!” I screamed suddenly, surprising everyone, including myself. I looked at Will, fuming that he was making me repeat the word over and over that would haunt me forever. Will’s frown turned into a blank canvas, unreadable and empty. No one said anything, leaving only the sound of my own thoughts and memories flying through my head.

I had to squint even harder through the almost non-existent light to realise how pale this man really was; he wasn’t even skin colour, he was almost as white as snow. He was almost glowing, but the feeling that this man gave me made me think that the aura around him was not a good one.

The laugh was so haunting it sent shivers down my spine, turning my blood to ice.

“Didn’t your parents ever tell you that it’s dangerous to roam the streets at night, girls?”

I opened my mouth to shout out her name but it was too late. The man raised his hands and grabbed Penelope, pulling her close to him before he twisted her head. There was a loud crack, like the sound of a pencil snapping, causing everyone in the group to finally turn and scream as we watched our friend fall to the ground, lifeless.

“Oops,” The man at the front purred. We all turned back to him, the sounds of crying and whimpers now apparent. One of the girls closer to the front - I think it was Willow - began to scream, but somehow, the man at the front managed to appear behind her. He wrapt one of his arms around her waist and placed one hand over Willow’s mouth, stopping the scream from coming out. He leaned forward, whispering something in her that made Willow try to scream, her face contorting in horror, before the man placed his mouth on Willow’s neck. Then, he let her fall. A few screams sounded as the man turned around, but I couldn’t scream. Blood - Willow’s blood - was all around his mouth and all over his teeth. The man grinned, exposing his blood coated teeth and - fangs. My stomach turned, words flying around in my mind.

Vampire.

“What are you?” Aly sobbed, tears streaming down her face. My eyes began frantically searching, searching for a way of escape. Some how, despite the impossibility I knew we were all thinking the only rational thing.

The man was now in front of my best friend. “Vampire,” He hissed before grabbing Aly, pulling her towards her and sinking his fangs down into her pale neck.

That was when the chaos erupted, screams coming from each person in the group. That was the moment when I truly realised that my life - whether I survived this or not - would never be the same again.

I backed up, tears falling in a steady stream, make-up running down my face now until my back made contact with the hard concrete wall. I slid along it till I hit the ground, my eyes never leaving my best friend’s motionless body.

First, Kira fell, then Olive then Hadley - each scream more heart breaking and bone chilling than the previous. I wanted to move - to run - but no matter how hard I tried to will myself I couldn’t move.

The two men were standing still, wiping blood away from their mouths before turning to me.

My lip began to tremble as tears poured freely down my makeup covered face. The two boys sat staring at me, their facials not giving away anything about how they may of felt. I swallowed, biting my lip. “Those two men in the alleyway…” I began, my voice catching on each word. “They were…?” I couldn’t get out the last word, but I didn’t need to; Austin nodded, answering the question for me. I shuddered, my breathing thinning. “And you guys, you know kill or hunt them or whatever you want to call it?” They both nodded in unison.

This could not be happening.

“And my friends…?”

“Gone.” Will intergected, obviously not having a heart. I heard a loud thumping sound followed by proclamation of annoyance and ‘just trying to get it over with’ but I didn’t take too much notice.

“Oh, God, I think I’m having a panic attack,” I managed to mutter, beginning to hyperventilate. Sobbing now, I ran my hands through my hair over and over, as if that one motion could bring all my friend’s back. “This can’t be happening -”

“Lennon,” I heard Austin say, although it sounded far away. I felt hands gripping my shoulders, trying to comfort me, but i couldn’t see. My vision was blurred by tears. “Lennon, you need to breath,”

“My friends are dead and I almost died because we were attacked by vampires!” I shouted, sounding more ridiculous out loud. “And you expect me to be calm?”

“Look, Princess, you really need to stop screaming -” Will began, actually sounding semi-concerned for my well being; before I cut him off at least.

“Oh my God, do people think I died?” I asked, raising a hand to cover my mouth. “S**t, what do my parents think? I’ve gotta go see them -” I started throwing the blanket off of my body, my skin being exposed to the cool Brighton air. I threw my legs over the side of the creaky old bed, standing up to walk out of the room.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Princess,” Will drawled, standing up and leaning his back against the door, blocking the exit.

“What the Hell are you doing? I need to see them -”

“Everyone thinks you’re dead, Lennon,” Austin said softly, placing his hand on my shoulder. I spun around from Will to face his friend, searching Austin’s face for information. “If the vampires find out that you escaped and weren’t killed, they’ll hunt for you until you’re dead. You can’t stay here anymore,”

“What do you mean I can’t stay here anymore?” I knew exactly what he meant, I just didn’t want to believe him and that what he was saying was true.

“If they find out that you’re here, they’ll go straight to your house and kill you and your family, Lennon. They’ll know if you aren’t here so they won’t hurt your family if you leave,” Will began to explain, his face full of seriousness. He finally used my real name and didn’t call me ‘Princess’ so for once, I didn’t interrupt him. “There’s something about you that they want; the vampires. Before we killed those two in the alley they said that none of them will stop looking for you until the master gets you. No one survives these guys, unless you’re like us; we’re trained to fight them, to kill them. Someone’s after you so my advice, run. Run and you might have a chance to save your pretty little a*s. Or stay; stay and face the inevitable. Your choice, Princess.” Oh, there was the Princess again.

I can’t believe I’m about to do this.

I took a deep long breath, looking between the two strange boys. “Or the third option -”

Will raised an eyebrow, looking over to Austin. “Pretty sure I said there were only two options… -”

“I come with you.” I finished, cutting the rest of Will’s sentence off. The two boys both turned to look at me at the same time, their lips parted and eyes wide at my sudden change. I shrugged. “You pretty much said I’m as good as dead and I need to leave. I know I can’t protect myself from these - things, and I’m sure as Hell that you guys know that too. So, if I came with you, you could protect me -”

“No. Absolutely not! There is no way that you are coming with us -” Will began, pointing a finger at me.

“You it said yourself! You felt as though you had a responsibility to me -”

“Actually, he said that,” Will interrupted, jabbing a thumb in Austin’s direction. I ignored him.

“So, you’re just going to go back on your word and make me fend for myself?! Wow, so much for responsability,” I scoffed, crossing my arms tightly over my chest. Will looked down at me, a slight dumbfounded look on his face.

“I mean, Will, she has a point… we can’t just leave her to be slaughtered - that’s breaking the code,” Austin interjected, looking at his friend with a look I couldn’t quite read. The code? What ever it was, it caught Will’s attention.

After what felt like an eternity, Will groaned, running a hand through his hair. “Okay, fine. We’ll take you as far as London, but after that, you’re on your own, Princess. That’s final,” Will opened the door and began to walk down what looked like a long hallway.

“Will, seriously? Only to London -” Austin began, moving past me to follow him.

“We leave here in an hour,” Will called, not even looking back as he walked around a corner and vanished from our view.

Austin sighed, looking down at me and sending me a small smile. “Come on, let’s clean you up before we leave,” He said, ushering me out of the small room and into the hallway before closing the door behind me.

Austin ushered me into a room that i quickly realised was a bathroom and sent me a smile before jogging off to find Will. I knew I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it. Turning on the shower, I left the bathroom and tiptoed down the hall in the direction Austin had gone. I almost turned the corner too, but immediately stopped myself the second I heard hushed voices.

“Did you want her to see through the glamour?” One of the voices hissed. The intestines and harshness of it made me believe that the voice belonged to Will.

See through the what? I mentally questioned, my eyebrows knitting together.

For a moment, there was nothing other than the sound of deep breathing. “No,” Austin replied quietly, some undertone to his voice that I couldn't understand. Will let out a murmured curse before Austin even have the opportunity to continue. “As soon as I went in I left my glamour up, just to see; she looked at me as if I was just there.”

A knot of confusion grew in my gut. What the hell was a glamour? Why hadn't they wanted me to see them?

“Well how the hell can she see us then?” Will retorted angrily, his voice rising ever so slightly.

“I don't know!” Austin almost yelled, shocking Will - any myself really - into silence. “I don't know, Will - if I knew, I would tell you,” he said, his voice quieter this time.

I would've stayed longer, if Will hadn't let out a loud groan and stomped off in some unknown direction. Out of fear, I quickly ran back to the bathroom and locked the door behind me, leaning against it as I desperately fought to catch my breath.

Then, my mind reeling with more questions than ever before, I slowly peeled myself away from the door and began to pull off my blood stained clothes.