Denise was walking down the beach at night. The stars were twinkling and the moon was shining. The gentle waves broke upon the soft silvery sand. The warm breeze blew through her hair and seemed to whisper secret messages. She sensed a presence around her. She looked around. No one was there. She shrugged it off and continued strolling down the shore. All of a sudden, she heard footsteps behind her.
"Who's there?" she called out.
No response. She was starting to get scared.
"Oh, why did I decide to come down here for?! Especially in the middle of the night!"
Crunch. Crunch. It was the sound of someone stepping on the sand and abundant sea shells scattered all over the beach.
"Dammit, I know you're there! Just come out!" she yelled into the night.
Nothing. But a few seconds later, she saw a dark figure coming closer. Her heart was thumping.
"W-w-who a-are you?" she asked, her voice quivering.
The figure said nothing, but continued to get closer. And closer. She still couldn't see who it was. Darkness cloaked the figure.
"Dammit! Who are you?! What do you want?! If you don't reveal yourself, I'm going to---"
The figure stepped into the moonlight. Her eyes widened. Denise gasped.
"A-A-AJ? Is it really y-y-you?"
'AJ' smiled. "Of course, Mom. Who else would it be?"
"B-b-but you're, you're---"
Suddenly, AJ's eyes turned red and he exposed his fangs that were dripping with blood.
"Back!"
Denise woke up with a violent jerk. Her heart was still thumping and she was sweating.
"Oh my God, it's the third night in a row I've had that dream!" she said to herself hoarsely. "W-what does it mean?"
She couldn't go back to sleep. Everytime she closed her eyes, she would see the gruesome image of her dead son.
"Oh God, please help me!" she cried. She called up Elaine and told her the dream.
"A-a-and then, he, h-he had these eyes and these teeth a-a-and it was so horrible!" she concluded.
"Denise, please calm down! It was just a nightmare!"
"No, but that's not all! Lately I've had this really weird feeling. Like like, oh how can I describe it?! Like…" She thought for a moment. "Like, you know when a child is born. Your child. You've waited so long for it to happen and it finally does! That feeling you get when the baby is finally out of your womb and in your arms…when all nine months worth of pain finally pays off! That's what I'm feeling!"
"Denise, you don't suppose…"
"Elaine! I'm not pregnant! That's not even funny!"
"I'm sorry, it was just a thought!"
"No!"
"Well, have you thought of other reasons?"
"Well actually…"
"Yes?"
"I kind of thought that…"
"Yes?"
"I know it's impossible, but…"
"Spit it out already!"
"I kind of maybe sort of hoped and prayed that…"
"What?"
"That maybe AJ is really alive! Maybe."
"Oh Denise. That's not an option."
"Why not?"
"Denise. You found his body! You saw him being taken away by the coroner! You were there when they buried him! AJ is dead! Dead. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but I can't because it's the truth. He's gone."
Denise sighed. "I know, Elaine. I know."
Back in Romania…
It was night fall. Everyone was starting to wake up from their deathly slumber. AJ spent several hours locked in his room just thinking and daydreaming. There came a gentle knock on his door.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Valencia."
"Oh. You can come in."
She slowly stepped into his room.
"Hey, Val. How's it going?"
"Fine. What are you up to?"
"I'm just chilling and getting my mental juices flowing. I wonder what my life would've been like if I lived until I was forty. Would the group have made it? Would I be married? Divorced? Would I have had any children? I guess I'll never know."
"You're not alone, Alex. I've thought about it myself."
"Yeah but, you got the chance to know how it is to have a kid and stuff."
"Yes and I also experienced the pain of losing one."
"Yeah. That sucks. But they say that it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all."
"That's bullshit."
AJ looked at her surprised. "Whoa, Val! You're finally getting with the times!"
"Thank you, I think."
Just then, their peaceful discussion was interrupted by frantic cries. Inacio appeared at the door with a look of terror on his face.
"Valencia! The Daemoniacus are in the woods! They're approaching!"
"Good God! Did you alert the troops?!"
"Yes, I have!"
"Alright! I'll be right there!"
Inacio nodded then ran off. AJ stood up.
"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go kick some Daemoniacus ass!" He was about to go through the door, but Valencia put herself in front of him.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
"Where do you think?! I'm going to fight with you! I've got a bone to pick with them!"
"Alex, you're not going anywhere!"
"What?! There's no way I'm just gonna stand around and watch you---"
"Don't argue with me! We can handle this! You just stay here where I know you're safe!"
"B-b-but---"
"No ands, ifs, or buts! You stay here!"
She hastily walked away, leaving an angry and baffled AJ. He did as he was told. But only for a while. It had been a couple of hours since Valencia and her army charged into battle. There was no word from them. AJ grew restless. He was pacing back and forth.
"Dammit! Where the hell are they?! That's it! I can't take it anymore! I'm not a fuckin' child!"
He armed himself and left the castle. AJ hiked through the woods hoping to find some kind of clue to give him an idea on where they could possibly be.
"Damn trees…all look the same," he mumbled to himself.
All of a sudden, he heard a rustling in the bushes. AJ ignored it and went on. Then, a twig snapped. Ok, now someone was definitely out there.
"Ok, that wasn't very stealthy! Come out with your hands up! I've got a stake and I'm not afraid to use it!"
The stalker slowly revealed itself, snarling and growling.
"Oh, man!"
It was a wolf. AJ slowly backed away. The wolf stepped forward.
"N-n-nice, wolfy…" He looked around and realized that he had a stake in his hand. "Look at the stick. See the stick? Want the stick? Go fetch!!!" he threw the stick which diverted the animal's attention. AJ ran and tried desperately to concentrate.
"Ok, this is bad! I have to think happy thoughts! Happy thoughts! How am I going to think happy thoughts when there's a friggin' wolf at my tail who wants to eat me for dinner?!!!"
The wolf was hot on his trail. AJ kept looking back and didn't notice the obtrusive tree root up ahead. His foot got caught on it and he went sprawling to the floor. He curled up covering his head.
"Please don't eat me! I don't wanna re-die!!!"
"I'm not going to eat you."
Who was that?! The wolf?! AJ looked up. The wolf was staring at him, but not making a move.
"What the---"
"Sorry to disappoint you, but you're not on the menu," giggled the wolf. AJ's eyes dilated in surprise and confusion.
"Umm, uhh…"
"Oh sorry, let me change."
"Huh?"
The vicious predator that scared the shit out of AJ suddenly transformed into a…a girl.
"There. Is that better?"
AJ was frozen. She was beautiful. Just as beautiful as Valencia. She had shoulder length wavy red hair and almond shaped bright crystal blue eyes. She walked over to AJ and helped him up.
"Hello. I'm Antonia, but my friends call me Toni," she said smiling and sticking out her hand. AJ was still dumbfounded, but he took her hand.
"AJ."
"Nice to meet you, AJ."
"Ditto."
"Excuse me?"
"Nice to meet you, too."
"Oh."
They just stood there looking at each other, not sure of what to say.
"So," began AJ, "you're a wolf."
"Not all the time."
"Umm, so what are you doing here? I've been told that Praedari people don't live around here."
"We don't. I just came here for a little fun."
"You mean scaring the crap out of unexpecting civilians."
" *lol* Sorry, I frightened you. I didn't mean to, really."
"Ok, I accept your apology."
"Good. So…you're not from around here, are you."
"No. How did you know?"
"By the way you talk. You're American."
"Oh. Yep. I'm American, all right. A red-blooded Yankee. That's me."
"That's very interesting. I hardly get to talk to outsiders. Why are you here?"
"I live here now."
"Oh, so you're a Desmondontidae child. I could've sworn you were human."
"Thanks. Umm, if I was, would you have fed of me?"
"No. I don't care for human blood. I'd rather have pizza for dinner."
"Pizza? You eat pizza?"
"Yes, don't you?"
"Umm, not lately. I thought we could only drink blood."
"We need blood to survive. But our diet isn't restricted to ONLY blood."
"Oh. That's good! Now I can devour that double quarter pounder with cheese, large french fries, and iced tea I've been desiring for who knows how long! Uh, do you know if there's a McDonald's anywhere near here, by any chance?"
His mouth watered at the thought.
"Yes, actually. But we'll have to go to town."
"Great! Let's go!"
"I'm not going anywhere until I get to know you better."
"Ok. What do you want to know?"
"First off, your name. Full name."
"Alexander James McLean."
"Nice. Age?"
"Twenty-one."
"Really? Me, too!"
"Really?! Oh thank God! I finally met someone my own age!"
"Well, technically I'm 210."
"What?! You just said you were 21!"
"I am!"
"Ok, you're confusing me. How can you be over two hundred and still my age?"
"We mature only one year for every human decade. Therefore, I am 210, but I look, act, think and do everything else like a 21 year old!"
"Oh. That's cool!"
"Thank you."
"You're very much welcome."
"So what about you?"
"What?"
"How old are you technically? I mean really."
"Oh, I'm just 21. I'm, what they call, 'the new one'."
"Really? Aww, you're just a baby!"
"Well, compared to the rest of you, yeah!"
She smiled and asked him if he wanted to walk around for a bit. He said yes, forgetting all about the battle. He told her all about his life and family and stuff.
"Ok, now that I poured my heart out to you, tell me about yourself."
"What do you want to know?"
"Family? Friends?"
"Ok. I have a twin brother, John. We're very close. He's very protective of me because I'm all the family he has and vice versa. Our parents died when we were twelve. The Daemoniacus slaughtered them."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Thanks. Anyway, our clan is very close. We're all kindred in some form or another. So after our parents' deaths, they raised us."
"How was your life before you became a vampire?"
"We were born vampires. My life's always been in the dark of night avoiding sunlight."
"Oh."
They talked and talked and talked until AJ finally came back to reality and glanced at his watch.
"Oh shit! It's almost dawn! I gotta go and so do you!"
"When can I see you again?"
"Tomorrow, midnight. This same spot?"
"Sounds like a plan! Ok, bye, AJ!"
"Buh-bye!"
They each went their separate ways.
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