The Familiar Strangers

Laura Hall, is 20 years old, fair-skinned, with golden-brown eyes, brown straight hair, and a small face with a slim body. She is sensitive, closed-minded, trustworthy, and fragile. The first daughter of Jones and Madeline a human, sits beside her window, watching the snowflakes drop on the window. She watched everything turn white and the beauty of those white fluffy balls just makes the whole world feel like they are in a huge gigantic freezer.

A knock was heard on the door, but before she could say anything, the door flashed open as her mom-Madeline enters the room, wearing a long blue coat and a black beanie on her dark blonde hair. Her amber eyes were trapped in her recommended glasses. It's hard for her to see anything without her glasses on.

Madeline is also known as Martina looked at Laura's room wondering why the room felt even colder than the outside. Then her eyes caught the fireplace and saw that the light wasn't lit. "For heaven's sake, Laura, heat your room a little". She voiced out, moving close to the fireplace, she lit up the fire. Laura just sat there staring outside the window. It was like she could see something out there, but the snowballs made it hard to make out what it was.

After she was done fixing the fire, she walked up to her daughter whose attention was still focused on something outside the window., sitting next to her, she held her cold hands trying to keep them warm by rubbing them together with her palms. "Couldn't get any sleep?" she asked. Laura nodded her head, but her stare did not leave the window. "The same nightmares?". Laura immediately turned to look at her mom. She focused her attention on her mother's face. Her mom's face showed a lot of worries. "Tell me about it". She said, but Laura shook her head. "Is it that scary?". She asked again, but Laura couldn't say anything. Laura wished she could tell her about the dream at least to ease her mom's worry a little, but the truth is she couldn't remember the dream.

"Where's everyone?". Laura finally spoke up, trying to change the subject. Her voice sounded a little coarse.

"It's midnight Laura. They are in bed". Her mom smiled at her question. Laura looked at the clock and saw it was midnight. She had no idea she had been up for that long.

"I should get some sleep now". Laura said, walking up to her bed. "I'm fine mom". She gave her mother a reassuring smile when she noticed her mom was still wearing a worried look on her face... "It's late like you said, you should get some sleep too". Her mom looked at her, trying to figure out if she was faking it or not, but one thing Laura is good at is pretending. She should be an actress or something relating to that. Madeline always tells her anytime she wants to hide something.

"Are you sure you'll be OK?" she asked. Laura laid down on her bed as she pulled the bed cover closer to her chest.

"I'm OK now that the fireplace is on". She told her mom smiling and Madeline returned the smile to her daughter.

"You could have just done it yourself or asked Ashley to do it". Mom laughed at the latter.

"Ashley? Seriously mom... of all the people you could think of..., It's Ashley?". Laura laughed. Her mind suddenly drifted to her younger sister Ashley. Ashley is 7 years old, but that girl is a little menace. She is this curious kid who goes around trying out anything and everything until she finally gets what she wants or finds out whatever she wants to. Asking Ashley to come to help me with the fire is like giving ice cream to a child. No way would she even suggest that. Laura thought. "Thanks, mom". Laura told her just to reassure her that she was okay and she'll be fine even though she was not even sure about that.

"I love you, sweetheart". Madeline told her as she came to peck her forehead. "Let me know if you need anything ok?".

"I will". And with that, she left her room but not without looking at her for one last time. Moms and their weird way of knowing their children. You can't seem to lie to them because trust me, they will do everything to find out that you're lying. Some might even become detectives. Laura smiled at that thought.

After her mom left, she sighed. These past few days have been hell for her. Here she is alone in her room and she can't even seem to get any sleep. She's scared to even close her eyes because she can't imagine what she would see again. The last time she slept, when she woke up, she saw everyone - her dad, her mom, and Ashley around her with their sleepy eyes revealing that they were disturbed. Laura asked them what was wrong and they told her they heard her scream and that was why they rushed in. Ashley asked her if she had a bad dream, but she didn't seem to remember anything. She didn't even seem to remember screaming. Ever since then, it's been hard for her to get any sleep even though she wants to.

"Let's just hope nothing happens". She muttered to herself as she closed her eyes and surprisingly, the sleep took her by surprise.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . ******* . . . . . . . . . . .

Somewhere in the deep dark forest, Evan McGraw, 23 years old, fair-skinned, with blue-gray eyes, 178cm, broad shoulders, slim body with musculature. He is the leader of the Goodwine Vampire. He is a strong leader but a good procrastinator. He is willing to lie to save the one he loves. Apart from the fact that he is a reliable leader, he is also very handsome and optimistic. He has been summoned by groups of other people like him for an important meeting but he got delayed.

Arriving at the location, a beautiful young lady rushed to meet him as others who were with her followed suit. "What took you so long?" She asked.

" I was caught up with something Emmy," Evan answered. His green eyes turned back to normal after using his speed.

Emmy is the short form of Emerald. She is the second in command of the vampire gang. To differentiate themselves from other vampires, they call themselves the "Goodwine"- meaning 'they are good but suck blood, just about any kind of blood'. The question is, "are there really good vampires"?

"Really? Another excuse for wanting to skip tonight's meeting?". A voice asked as the team laughed.

" Shut the hell Adam". Evan said, glaring at him, "you should know when I'm telling the truth and when I'm not by now", he added. That made Adam quiet, it showed that he hasn't been practicing as he ought to and while he should be improving, he's stuck at a point.

"So what happened?". Emerald asked as Evan sighed.

"I caught a lady staring outside the window on my way here". Evan started and the whole team looked at him confused. How does a lady staring outside 'her' window affect the reason he should be thirty minutes earlier?

Emerald looked at him confused, "so?" She asked, not understanding the reason.

"She was staring straight over here, I couldn't pass her without her noticing a movement in the trees, even if I used my speed. I had to wait till she was done".

Everyone nodded. It's a rule that no one must be found out no matter what. Everybody needs to be careful and not get caught, not even at the slightest chance.

"Glad you're here anyway. The commander told me to give this to you". Emerald handed him a sheet of paper.

Evan collected the paper and asked, "What's this?" he looked up at Emerald.

She shrugged. "It was meant for you".

Evan opened the paper and there the lady he saw staring out the window was the one in the paper right in front of him. The shock was so great that the paper fell from his hand.

Emerald picked up the paper and was staring at Evan weirdly. "Are you OK?". She asked. It took a while before he recovered from the shock.

"What does the boss want me to do to her?". He asked, staring at Emerald hoping it's not what he thought it was.

"He wants you to protect her". That even shocked him more. He wasn't expecting that.

"Protect her?" Adam asked because it was a shock to him too. Emerald nodded.

"Well, did they say why?" asked Evan.

"I asked but they said she's going to be useful or something like that".

Something didn't seem right and everyone knew it. When a picture of a person is given to them, it's always that the person is a threat and perhaps another vampire that needs to be executed, but for them wanting to protect this girl is still a surprise and a big one.

"I guess we'll find out why". Evan said as he folded his papers and the team left each other and went to their various homes before gathering up at the vampire's hideout later in the day.

The Goodwine Vampires, are vampires that have been blessed with an enormous gift of walking under sunlight. Some vampires don't have that. Some do, but no one knows their whereabouts.

It all happened when the first vampires drank the blood of an angel. Those present at that place where sunlight screened while the others who didn't get to enjoy that remained the vampires that walked at night. Fortunately, Evan McGraw, Adam Leo, Emerald Isle, and, a few others had parents that were sunlight screened.

The question remains, why is Evan asked to protect Laura and not kill her? Could there be a reason why a vampire is asked to protect a human?

Laura was still sleeping when little Ashley entered her room, she walked furtively to her bed without making a sound. She sat down beside her sister as she began her experiment. She touched Laura's hair, then brought it up to her nose and smelled it, "smells nice but not as nice as mine". She commented while perceiving her hair too. She then went to Laura's eyes and opened one of her eyes with her hand. "Golden-brown eyes. I guess she's got Mom's eyes while I got Dad's.".

As if that were not enough, she walked towards Laura's nose, snooping in her nostrils and making Laura sneeze slightly.

"Hello," Ashley smiles briskly.

Laura turned around to get a good insight into her sister who was dressed for school and didn't let her enjoy the rest of her sleep. "Seriously Ash! Must this be done every time?"

"I couldn't find anything better". She shrugged. "Mummy and Daddy need you downstairs". She moved to the door before she left, and she said to Laura, "You better shower first, you stink". Laura quickly grabbed a pillow and threw it at Ashley but the little girl was too fast, and the pillow fell to the ground. Ashley peeked at her sister. "You missed". She mocked, sticking out her tongue.

"Get out of my room Ash!". Laura grunted. Ashley knew her mission was successful so she left, shutting the door behind her. Laura looked at herself in the mirror not believing that she slept and had no nightmare. I hope all my nights end up like this. She thought to herself. She went into the bathroom and heated the water a little. Looking out the window of her bathroom, she could see the snow melting and the sun was finding its way to shine despite how snowy it was.

Ashley was set for school. "No fighting in school today Ashley". Her mom warned, handing her the food flask.

"And less experiment". Her dad- Jones added, his eyes not leaving the newspaper he was reading.

Ashley gave them a strange look, but still, she said, "I'll keep that in mind". Before her parents could say anything, she had zoomed off and the only sound they heard was the sound of the door shutting.

Laura came downstairs, but was surprised to see only her mom and dad so she asked, "Where's Ash?".

"Good morning sweetheart". Both parents greeted sending Laura warring looks.

Laura smiled when she realized she didn't greet her parents. She walked up to her dad and pecked his cheek. "Good morning dad". She greeted. She went to meet her mom who was setting up breakfast in the kitchen. "Good morning mom". She pecked her mom's cheek as well.

"You look and sound better than you did a few days ago". Her mom remarked.

Jones took his eyes off the newspaper to look at his daughter and he asked, "No more nightmares?"

Laura took a while before she replied. She thought for a while if she had any dreams or maybe she did but forgot about it but nothing, her mind was blank." I slept well, I guess". She said, taking a bite of her pancake.

"I'm glad you did, " her mom said happily. "It's been a long you were this cheerful," she added

Laura wasn't that much of a foodie so she only ate two pancakes and she was satisfied. "I will go to the shop now,". They own a flower shop where they sell different kinds of flowers for different occasions and they have lovely cards too made by their daughter, Laura. ".... Besides, I still have to make more cards". She said as her parents nodded.

"I'll join you shortly," said Madeline.

Laura nodded as she pecked her parents goodbye. "You should come sometime to see it to dad," Laura said but her dad just laughed it off.

" I can tell you guys are doing a good job even without seeing it". They all laughed at Jone's remark.

"Be careful on the way there, OK?" Her mom advised.

"I will".Laura said as she shut the door behind her.

"You should come to check out the shop". Madeline told her husband.

Jones knew where his wife was going with the discussion and he wasn't ready to argue with her so he pulled her close, cupped her face in his palms, and said, "I don't need to check it out because I know how amazing of a florist you are. You know the right flowers for every occasion..." he paused. "... Remember when I came to you and told you I needed a flower for my mom's birthday?" Madeline smiled because she remembered vividly that moment. "... Without knowing, you gave me her favorite flower, that's how I figured you're an amazing florist". After he said that, he looked into his wife's eyes and planted a kiss on her lips.

Madeline had a lot of questions, she couldn't understand why her husband wasn't interested in coming to see her shop. He doesn't even go out with the kids for family picnics. It's more like he was hiding, but she couldn't tell why. She decided not to push on with the matter and just go on with it. If there's something he wants us to know, he'd tell us about it, right? She asked herself. She decided to forget about anything and focus on her husband's lips on hers. The kiss gave her a new assurance that her husband has nothing to hide and all she needs to do is believe him. She pulled away from the kiss, took the plates, and was about to do the dishes when her husband stood behind her and grabbed her waist.

"You can leave for work now, I'll do the dishes".Jones offered with a smile.

Madeline pulled his face closer and kissed him, "You are such a darling." she said before leaving for work.

. . . . . . . . . . ************ . . . . . . . . .

"I am serious Theresa, I slept like a baby". Laura said in a video call with her friend.

Theresa was Laura's favorite customer when they opened the shop. She helped Laura boost her mom's business by telling people about it, she and her boyfriend Jason has been amazing to her and they are like the only friends she's got in Texas.

"I just can't believe you were able to sleep without waking up in the middle of the night screaming. Did something happen last night?". Theresa asked. Theresa knew about the nightmares and she felt sorry for her.

Laura thought about last night, "Nothing much happened." Laura finally spoke up after a few seconds of thinking.

"Well, maybe you weren't meant to have those nightmares in the first place". Her friend said as she nodded in agreement.

Laura looked at the time and saw that she needs to do something first so she told Theresa she would call back, as she was about to end the call, someone brushed past her, hitting her on the shoulder, making her almost drop her phone on the ground but good thing she was quick enough to grab it. "Hey! Watch where you are going, will you?". She turned to face the guy. The guy turned to face her when he noticed what he had done. The moment their eyes met, Laura froze. She couldn't believe her eyes. The shock was so great that she didn't even know when her phone fell from her hand, her eyes were still fixed on the guy in front of her. She remained motionless and her mouth was left agape. His fair skin, green eyes, black hair, slim body with prominent shoulders, and his small face made Laura take a step back. How can he look so familiar? She thought.

The guy walked up to her and helped her pick up her phone. He was about to give the phone to her when he noticed she was motionless. He waved his hands across her face multiple times before she blinked her eyes, returning herself to reality.

"Are you OK?" he asked He tried coming closer to her, but Laura took to her heels. She didn't know why, but she knew she had to leave, without looking back, she took to her heels, straight to the shop. She shut the door after her while her back rested on the door with her hand over her beating chest,

Why does it feel like I know him? Like I've seen him before. She asked herself. She needed someone to talk to and the person that came to mind was Theresa. "She will know what to do." She muttered. She looked in her hand for her phone but was surprised to see it wasn't in her hand. She checked her pockets and on the floor, but no phone. She got a flashed back and she remembered her phone fell off her hand when she saw that stranger which means that she left it with that stranger. How am I going to get it from him now? She asked herself as she opened the door to check if he was there but he wasn't

Reed looked at the phone in his hand and wondered why she ran off like that. He had better give the phone back to her, but how would he get it across to her? He didn't even seem to know her name or anything. Then suddenly her phone rang revealing the caller to be Theresa. He was doubting whether to pick up the call or not. After the call ended, he decided to start searching for her. He was about to begin his search when the phone rang again and this time the caller was Jason. He mustered up the courage to pick up the call. "Hello". He answered.

There was a long silence on the other side of the line. " Who the hell are you and what are you doing with my friend's phone? Where's the owner of the phone? What did you do to her?". The question came from a girl. He was shocked that he had to look at the caller again, but it was still Jason that was written there. Is Jason a girl? He thought.

He placed the phone to his ear, he spoke gently saying, "I have no idea where your friend is, she ran off and left her phone behind. I was thinking of getting it to her, but I have no idea where she is".

Theresa became silent as that voice calmed every wrecking nerve. She cleared her throat and asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Reed Fletcher and believe me, I do not have any bad intentions towards your friend, I just want to return the phone to her. Can you tell me where she is?".

Theresa became silent. How was she supposed to trust a stranger? "How am I sure I can trust you?" she asked.

"If I don't return the phone to her, you're free to call the cops". He suggested.

Theresa felt it was a good suggestion. If anything should happen to her friend, she can call the cops besides she knows his name. "She should be at her mom's shop. It's a florist shop, in fact, the only florist shop you'll ever come across around the Town coast".

"Thanks. You can call her later to confirm". Reed hung up and began his search.

Theresa prayed silently hoping that this Reed guy isn't a bad person. She can't risk the life of her friend by doing something so stupid, but what if he's really a good guy and he meant well?

A lot of questions and doubts were rising, but the only thing she could do was hope for the best.

......

******......

Somewhere along the Town coast, Evan was receiving a call from his human friend Max Newton. Max knew all about Evan's secret and he's even planning to become one, although distance has been an issue. Max was very good with information about some people in the town. Evan was inquiring about Laura and Max knew her. Max gave him some basic information that could be of help to him. "Her mother owns a flower shop?". Evan asked. "Yeah, I'm at the town coast". He told Max. "Is it the only flower shop I'll see across town?" As he walked a little bit further, he saw a flower shop just a stone's throw from where he was standing. "I think I've found it, I'll call you back". He ended the call and walked to the shop.

"Good morning and welcome. This is L.A florist, how can I be of service?". Laura asked without looking at the person in front of her. She was too busy arranging some flowers into their vases. Evan and Reed looked at each other, it was as if they were examining themselves. Evan could feel something strange about Reed and Reed could feel something strange about Evan but both said nothing to each other. Evan broke the stare first. He walked to Laura, who was still busy. "Who attends to customers without looking at the?" Evan asked

That voice. Laura turned only for her to see a strange person next to her. I have heard this voice before.

"I came to drop your phone". Reed placed the phone on the table and left. Despite the fact he had many questions to ask Laura, he decided now wouldn't be a good time. Laura turned to watch Reed leave. She didn't understand why, but she was short of breath. The appearances of the two guys made her breathless. She clenched her chest tighter, hoping to breathe fine but she couldn't. She slumped and Evan was quick to grab her.

Evan looked at the lady in his arms. He studied her features, her brown hair with a fringe covering her forehead, her oblong face, her pointed nose, and her V-shaped pink lips. She looked skinny, but she weighed a lot. Evan quickly unbuttoned the top of her shirt, he was moving to other buttons when Laura groaned. He looked at her and saw her eyebrows furrowed. He didn't understand why. Could she be dreaming? He thought.

Laura's eyes were closed and she was having that nightmare again. Without knowing, she clung to the hem of Evan's shirt making it impossible for him to move. She held it so tight that Evan had to give up escaping. He could see she was scared, but of what? Only one way to find out. He looked around and shut the windows and doors. It's dangerous to use his powers during the day, but he didn't mind besides this is all part of protecting her. He thought. He placed his right hand on her forehead and closed his eyes, images started flooding into his very eyes. He could see every scene. He saw Laura running, but he couldn't see what she was running from. He decided to focus his attention more thereby using more power, that was when the sights of hungry vampires appeared. She's been chased by vampires? He asked himself. He opened his eyes and removed his hand from her forehead. He placed her gently on the sofa. "What exactly are you?". He asked her, but she didn't respond to him. He knew what he had to do. He placed his right hand on her chest and the left hand on her forehead, he closed his eyes, and every dream she had about being chased by vampires, was erased. "This is for your protection," he said.

He brought out something from his pocket, it was a silver necklace with a pendant shaped like a full moon and he put the necklace around her neck. He looked for a sharp object that he could cut himself with, he found a knife and cut his palm with it as the blood was rushing, he poured a drop of blood into the moonlight necklace and the necklace glowed with a red light, after some time the necklace went back to its normal silver color.

Evan needed some time alone to heal before he could use any of his powers again. He stared at Laura one last time before deciding it was time to leave. Without moving, he stretched forth his hand to the windows and doors and they opened. Evan could hear footsteps so he quickly jumped out of the window at the back and used his speed to leave that area.

Madeline came into the shop only to see her daughter sleeping soundly on the sofa. "I thought she said she slept well last night?". Madeline asked, but decided not to disturb her daughter. She took care of the shop while Laura slept.

A Few hours later, Ashley returned from school and went straight to the shop. "Mom, I'm back". She screamed.

"Be quiet!. Your sister is sleeping". Her mom cautioned. Ashley's eyes widened in shock. "I'm going home so wait here till she's awake and you both can come home together."

"Sleeping?". Ashley asked. She took some steps closer to the sleeping beauty. "That's so unlike her". She said as her mother nodded in agreement. Madeline left the shop.

Ashley took care of the shop and watched over her big sister, it was almost eight, she looked back at her sister and decided to wake her up, but before she could wake her up, Laura woke up, holding her head as she moaned in pain. She had no idea why her head was pounding so much. Her visions were blurry, it took some time before her visions became clear. Her eyes caught her sister who was standing in front of her with folded arms.

"Ashley". She called but it sounded more like a question. "Why aren't you in school?" She asked. She tried to stand up but couldn't find the strength to.

"Who stays in school till around eight in the evening? ". Ashley asked.

Eight? Did I hear that right? Laura asked herself. She stared at the clock and it was five minutes after eight. What the hell has she been doing? She thought. "Why didn't anyone wake me?" She asked. She finally found the strength to get up and start closing up. "Where's mom?".

"She went home and told me to wait here for you to wake up".

"What?". Laura asked. "why didn't she wake me up?"

"She didn't want to disturb you". Ashley answered. While she was still staring at her sister, something caught her eyes. She moved closer to her, but Laura was giving her weird looks.

"What's that?" Laura asked.

"What's that?" asked Ashley with her finger pointing to the necklace around Laura's neck.

"What's what?". Laura couldn't understand what Ashley was saying. She felt it was one of her jokes so she said, "Listen, Ash, if this is some kind of a joke, I'm not in the mood for it right now."

"I'm serious. There is something around your neck. It's like a kind of necklace". Ashley said. Laura finally looked down and there it was the necklace.

"What the heck!" she exclaimed. "How did this get around my neck?" She rushed to look for a mirror. She was fortunate to see a transparent glass. She looked at her neck and she saw the silver-moon-shaped necklace. "How did this..?" She paused.

"It suits you perfectly. Where did you get it?". Ashley smiled. Laura thought for a while about the necklace getting around her neck but she had no idea.

"I don't know, can you get it off me?".

"Okay".

Laura scouted so Ashley could get to her neck. Ashley looked for a look around the necklace, but there was none. "Um..there seems to be a problem., she said.

"What now?". Laura grunted. She was fed up with everything that had happened to her today. First, she had to meet two strangers that triggered something in her and now a necklace finds itself mysteriously around her neck. What more does she need to expect in one day?

"There's neither a hook nor a knot". Ashley said, still looking at the necklace.

"What?? How's that possible?". Laura asked. She tried to pull the necklace above her head, but it didn't work. She tried to cut the necklace, but she injured her neck in the process.

"Stop Laura, you're injuring yourself. Let's go home first, we'll think of a way to get it off". Ashley said while holding her sister's hand.

Laura felt it was a good idea, that way she can focus more on how to get the mysterious necklace off her. "Don't tell mom and dad about this, I don't want them worrying, understand?". Ashley nodded as they went home.

Immediately they got home, Laura greeted her parents and ran straight to her room. Her parents looked at her then at Ashley where it lingered. Ashley knew her parents wanted explanations, but instead, she shrugged pretending not to know anything. "I'll be in my room in case you need me." She quickly went to her room before they could ask her further questions.

Evan walked to his house and he was surprised to see his team there. "What are you all doing here?". Evan lives alone in this huge house. His mother ran away after finding out his father was a vampire after giving birth to him of course. Evan's father is the boss of the Goodwine.

"We came looking for you. Where have you been?". Adam asked.

"Out". He answered bluntly.

"How about your search with um...What's her name again?". Emerald asked, trying to remember Laura's name.

"I found her, but she's in danger". Evan said as they all looked shocked and worried.

"I went into her mind and I also used my powers to go into her dream".

"What?". Emerald asked. "Are you crazy? Don't you have any idea how dangerous interfering with people's dreams is, you could have been locked in there forever".

"I know OK? I don't need all that lecture. But you all won't believe what she dreamt about?".

"A Knight in shining armor?". Adam asked as everyone stared at him. "What?" He asked them.

"Anyways, she didn't dream about Knights she has never dreamt about Knights not to talk of them in shining armor."

"So what then did she dream about?". Chloe Wood asked.

Evan sighed before he replied. "Vampires".

"What?". Everyone chorused.

"That's not possible". Jim Lee said.

"It is because I saw it".

"So what did you do?". Emerald asked.

"I had no choice but to erase her memory and the dream too".

"Why would you do that? Isn't it better for her to know her life's in danger?". Chloe asked.

"If she doesn't know, they wouldn't know. It's as simple as that. If those vampires find out she has a hint about them, then her life is in danger". They all agreed.

"I thought we were going to live a quiet life forever, but now it looks like a war is going to break out soon". Jim said.

"It all begins with this girl and it will end with her". Adam said.

Everyone was giving their opinion about the matter, but Evan was silent for a while like his mind was hovering around searching for something he might have missed, then it suddenly hit him. "Right, I found a vampire". He said and that got everyone quiet.

"Where? How? ". Emerald asked.

"At Laura's shop".

"Who is Laura?". Adam asked. "Oh! Is that her name?"

"yeah".

"This is confusing. How do they know each other?". Jm asked.

"I don't think they do. It's kind of hard to explain. From the way I see it, it's like she knows the two of us because when she saw the both of us, she was shocked and fainted".

"This is weird". Emerald said.

"I think there's more to why the boss wants you to protect her". Adam said.

"I know but what could be the reason? ". Evan asked himself.

" Do you think she's a vampire too?". Chloe asked.

Evan thought about it. He thought about every encounter he had with her and the few minutes he spent with her. "No, I don't think she is".

"How would you know? I mean you talked about how shocked she was when she saw the two of you, that could mean something". Chloe said.

"She's not. I put the moonlight necklace on her neck, if she was a vampire, she would have vanished".

"The moonlight necklace is dangerous". Emerald said.

"To vampires, not to humans". Evan corrected her. "Let's just be careful. If there's one vampire out there, there could be more".

"We'll be careful".

Evan stood up and was ready to leave when Emerald walked up to him.

"Where are you going?". She asked him.

"I need to check up on her to see if I'll find anything".

"Be safe, OK?". Emerald said. She tried to touch his face, but he looked away. "Do you still hate me?" She asked

"Not now Emerald ". And with that, he left.

.....****.....

Reed went to the quarter where he was staying with his team. "I met someone today".He told them as he sat on the sofa. "I think he's one of us". The team looked at him

"How sure are you, he's a vampire?" Jack McGuire asked.

"I could feel it and he could feel it too". Reed said.

"This isn't right". Phoebe answered.

"That's not possible. There hasn't been another vampire for a century now ". Phoebe Daisy said.

"That's what we thought". Reed told them.

"Why are they suddenly showing themselves?". Flora Hanson asked.

Reed stood up to calm down his team since he could sense the terror in their voice. "All we need to do is be careful. There are some vampires that walk in the day, just like us. We can't put ourselves into any kind of danger. Be careful. If you sense anything, just leave immediately". He addressed as they all nodded.

Reed couldn't tell if the vampire, he met was a good one or a bad one, all he knew was that the guy was a threat to him. His attention drifted to the girl he met. Could there be something about her that he might have missed? He thought. He remembered her face, her golden-brown eyes, and that beautiful straight hair she's got. He had no idea why he was thinking of someone he wouldn't meet again.

If he has his way, he would want to see her again and ask her those questions he couldn't ask her because of the guy he met.

How do they know each other? He thought. Could it be that she is also a vampire? He shook his head at the thought of that. "She doesn't seem to possess the traits of a vampire." He muttered. Then who or what is she? He walked up and down the room, thinking and biting his finger. "I didn't even ask her name?"

He stared at the moon, "Will I get to see her again?" He asked the moon, hoping for some kind of answer but the moon kept staring back at him.