• “Watch it!!” Rose said frustrated.
    “Then move” the woman was eerily calm. She lead Rose around to the back of the house, waiting there was a black van. Looks like Hollywood has one thing right, never trust a black van Rose mused as the woman opened the sliding door and pushed her in. Rose sat on the carpeted floor, swimming in the fabric of the black and red dress. The woman settled herself in the front passenger’s seat.

    “Go” was the only thing she said to the dark figure in the driver’s seat. The van started and backed out on to the dirt road that was barely visible and obviously used very little.
    Rose looked out the tinted window, there wasn’t much to see. The van bobbed along the pot holed road for what seemed like forever before Rose piped up.
    “Who’s he?” She asked confidently. No reply. “I know you can hear me. If you don’t answer I will become unpleasant.” Empty threat. The woman sighed. “His name is-…” The man cut her off in a gruff voice

    “My name is no concern of yours” He turned on to an empty high way. Rose looked at the reflection in the rear view mirror. The man was pale; he wore thick black sun glasses. From what she could see he was in a black formal suit.
    “What are we going to? A funeral or something?” She asked
    “Could be if you don’t shut your trap” He grinned, Rose caught a glimpse of it in the mirror. Rose decided it would be unwise to mess with him, even though it would pass the time. She tried her best to relax, for some or no reason she didn’t feel like she was in any danger. Courage? Maybe stupidity.
    She fiddled with the hem of the dress and then lay down. She hoped that if she fell asleep she would wake up from this dream. Her eyes drifted shut.

    “…-impossible”
    “I’m sure this time!” The woman insisted.
    “If your wrong Malaise will have your head” Rose lay with her eyes shut, trying to make sense of the conversation.
    “You don’t think I don’t know that?? If she won’t do what Malaise says, screw the flea brains, I’ll take her out myself. I’m tired of this game!” Rose tensed, they where talking about her.
    “It’s awake” the man said sharply.
    “Are you sure? She looks-“
    “Do not question me!” his voice only raised slightly, but the anger behind it was enough to melt off your face. “Get up girl” Rose sat up slowly.

    The moon was high in the sky, like a great round eye, watching the lone black van speed down the high way. The van was silent, save the normal engine noise, Rose was going mad.
    “Can you turn on the radio or something?! The silence…” The man chuckled and switched on the radio. Some classical music, maybe Mozart, filled the van.

    Rose sighed.
    “Tell me girly, does silver make you itch and garlic make you sick as well??” The amusement was plane on his face.
    “Again with the vampire thing?? What is this some kind of mass hysteria??” He didn’t need to know that garlic did make her sick, and silver made her itch, it would only solidify his crazy.
    He chuckled again “It’s quite possible Rose. Then again anything can happen if you believe enough” Great now he’s trying to play mind games She thought.
    “I think it’s unfair that you two jokers know my name but I don’t know yours!!”

    “Life ain’t fair girly. Get used to it.” The humor had been sucked out of him, like it was never there. The van pulled up to a pair of iron gates.
    “Lunar Gardens Cemetery. How cheery… how appropriate…” Rose remarked as the gates opened and the van pulled threw. “Are all of your friends this crazy or are you just doing this special for me?”
    “We are not cra-…” the woman was cut off again by the man
    “Sometimes I wonder if we are” he mused. The woman shot him an ugly glare as he shut down the engine.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Rose was curled up on the soft bed, hiding under the covers. She could hear the bustle of others in the next room repairing the window. She wanted to forget. Forget everything. She just wanted to go home and read her books. Instead she was forced into this dismal place, ruled by a maniac, and guarded by a pack of psychos. Any hope of rescue was lost along with her sense of reality.

    She lay there until sun rise, the coven was silent. She sat up and opened her curtains, looking mournfully at the horizon as the sun flooded over the snow and grave stones. She wondered silently how many sun rises she had left… how many until she became one of them. The door creaked open, she turned.

    Darren was standing in the door way, wearing the same thing as the night before only clean, she nodded to him and he stepped in shutting the door behind him.
    “I’m surprised you’re still up” He squinted into the light.
    “Yeah well its kind of hard to sleep with all that happened last night…” She looked back out the window.
    “It’s hard to get used to, but you’ll survive.” Darren joined her at the window.
    “How do you do it?” She asked softly.
    “Do what?”
    “Forget…” Darren looked at the sun rise.
    “I don’t. I can’t forget I just… distract myself” Rose looked over to him. “It’s out of our control little one.” He said encouragingly.
    “I couldn’t do it… I’d rather die then kill”
    “Really? I don’t believe that. If you where attacked its kill or be killed, your self preservation would keep you alive.”
    “I don’t know how to kill. I don’t want to know.”Rose sighed.
    “Sadly that’s why I’m here. Malaise wants me to show you the ropes.” Rose turned around and leaned on the window.
    “Why you? Shouldn’t she get another vampire to train me?”
    Darren laughed.
    “They don’t know what there doing. Unless you WANT to learn from Toby and his whiny mistress, I think he’s down in the infirmary” he grinned.
    “You have a point.” The sun hovered above the horizon, Darren turned and stretched.
    “Well, let’s get to it.” Rose looked unimpressed.
    “Now? I haven’t even slept.”
    “No time like the present. Come on.” He walked to the door, Rose stayed where she was.
    “Funny. Shouldn’t you be asleep?”
    “I sleep on my spare time, let’s go! We’re burning daylight” He opened the door and held it. Rose sighed and walked over.
    “Can we at least get some clothes that aren’t covered in black lace?” She held up the skirt of the dress. Darren laughed.
    “Yes, yes. Now move! You have a lot to learn before the sun sets.” She walked out the door, Darren closing it behind them. He led her down in to the basement, a few stray vampires where asleep in chairs and couches. Darren opened a walk-in closet. “Take what you like” He said. “There’s a change room to your left, I will be waiting up stairs.” He turned and walked up the stairs as Rose looked in the closet. She picked out a pair of baggy black pants with a skull on the back pocket, a black and red checkered shirt and a loose black zip-up hoodie. She quickly changed. It’s good to be able to breathe again She thought as she climbed the steps.

    “Took you long enough” Darren was leaning on a book shelf.
    “You know how it is, I couldn’t find a shade of black I liked.” Darren looked at her feet.
    “No shoes?” He asked.
    “I haven’t had any since I got here” She grinned. Darren sighed and smiled.
    “It’s a good thing I come prepared.” He said walking over to an old trunk. He opened the lid, the smell of leather filled the air, he dug down and pulled out a pair of black climbing boots. “These will have to do” He said dropping them in front of Rose. She slipped them on and followed Darren out the door.
    The morning was crisp and cold, Rose’s breath spiraled in the slight breeze. She followed him to a clearing, though it was hard to see him against the snow. He spun gracefully and raised his fists.
    “Let’s see what you know” He said watching her.
    “I don’t know anything.” She said.
    “Really?” He swung at her and she dropped kicking his feet out from under him. Darren spun mid air and landed on his hands and feet. “Nothing huh?” He stood up and brushed the snow from his hands.
    “I…I… did I do that?” Rose was puzzled.
    “Told you. It’s called instinct, everyone has it, but not everyone listens to it.”
    “This is just weird.” She shook her head. “There is no way I would be fighting any one your size any way”
    “Better to be prepared right?”
    “I guess…” Rose yawned and rubbed her eyes.
    “Hit me” Darren said.
    “Why? Not like it will do any damage”
    “So little faith!! Just do it.” He turned his shoulder to her.
    “Oh fine” Rose punched his shoulder feebly. Darren grabbed her arm and flipped her over his head, she landed softly on her back in the snow.
    “Fail” He said hovering over her.
    “You set me up!!” She scowled
    “Never trust your opponent” Darren grinned and offered her a hand, she took it and he helped her up.
    “I thought you where supposed to be teaching me, not using me as a practice dummy!” She wiped the snow off her hoodie.
    “The only way to learn is through experience”
    “Says you!” Rose sat in the snow and crossed her arms. “I want to go back to bed. I’m done with this nonsense.” Darren grinned and picked her up, putting her over his shoulder. “What are you doing?! Put me down!”

    “Quiet down princess, you’ll wake the neighbors.” Rose glared and rammed her knee into his gut, he loosened his grip and she squirmed free pushing off his chest with her foot. She landed low on the ground, one hand in the snow. Darren faked a charge and Rose leaped to the side, Darren grabbed her foot and flipped her. Rose landed on her stomach, face in the snow Darren put a foot lightly on her back.
    “Better, but you still fail” He grinned and helped her up again. Rose looked unimpressed.
    “This is pointless. We both know I won’t amount to anything useful.” She once again brushed herself clean.
    “Keep thinking like that and you’ll be right.” He crossed his arms.
    “Don’t act like your better then me. We are only a year apart, and on the same intellectual playing field.” Darren twitched slightly.
    “Time has been cruel to me. I have had to fight my whole life just to survive, you grew up with a normal family! You had what I never did and you cant see how good you have it you whiny brat!” a vein began to pulse in his thoat.
    “I wish I had to physically fight for my life!! At lest then I wouldn’t be such pansy and I could have gotten out of here!” Rose bent her knees and stood feet wider then her shoulders.
    “And go where?! You’re stuck here for life. This morning the police found your bloody body at the bottom of a cliff. You don’t exist any more and Malaise will make sure all trace of your former self is swept away.”
    “I am still the person I was three days ago!” She launched at him with incredible force, sending them down. Darren put a foot in her chest and catapulted her away, flipping himself back to his feet. Rose planted her feet on the ground and slid back wards.

    “Would your former self have done that?” He leapt over to her, pinning her to the ground. “You are stuck here, just like the rest of us. Malaise is the reason humanity is plagued with nightmares. She is the one who creates the creatures that haunt the dark corners of your mind. They obey her or die. End of story. If you resist, chika, your brains will leak out of your ears, your heart will cannibalize its self and I will be scrubbing little splatters of what’s left of you off of the ceiling for years” Rose grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him to her face. She glared into his eyes threatening him.
    “bring it on”