• Constance yawned as she walked down stairs towards the kitchen. She yanked open the old freezer and pulled out a box of waffles. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she pulled out two waffles and popped them in the toaster, pushing down the lever and waiting for them to cook. While she waited, she pulled a stick of butter out of the fridge and put it in the microwave for 10 seconds. She heard the beep and pulled it out, putting it in the empty butter boat. Pulling a knife out of the silverware drawer and a plate out of the cupboard, she watched the waffles pop out of the toaster and placed them on her plate.
    Buttered and ready, the waffles made their journey to the table, then to Constance’s mouth. As she chewed slowly she looked out the window at the old forest. Untouched and never burned, it was a perfect place. The old trail beckoned to her, making it almost impossible not to consider the possibility of taking a walk through the woods today.
    She sighed and looked at the clock. There was no school today and Maria was picking her up at 7:30 for trick-or-treating and possibly scaring younger kids. It was now 8:34, so she had plenty of time to take a walk and make it back in time. She then looked at the sky. Gray clouds covered up the sun, making it look dark and gloomy outside. It was no surprise that it was going to rain. It was almost always raining here, but the weather man had said it would be warm tonight. Wrong again… she thought.
    Finished with her waffles, she brought the plate up to the sink and washed it slowly; drying it on an old towel and placing it back in the cupboard. She pulled out a peace of paper and wrote down a note to her brother, telling him where everything was in the kitchen and where she would be. Lazy bum, she thought, still asleep and it already late. He’ll probably wake up at 11:00 again.
    She grabbed a rubber band off of the counter and pulled her hair back into a neat ponytail. Grabbing her coat from the hall tree and pulling on her shoes, she opened her back door and walked outside into the gray morning air. The trail was just in front of her, willing her forward. She hesitated, thinking about going back inside and working on her costume, but her feet seemed to go forward on their own accord. She closed her eyes and breathed in the soft, familiar scent of the tall wintergreen trees, but her feet still propelled her forward, or was it sideways? When she opened her eyes, she was farther in the dense woods then she had expected and she was far from the trail.
    Great…now I’m lost...stupid stupid STUPID! She thought as she tried to find her way back to the trail. Before she had gotten very far however, she heard a soft chuckle somewhere behind her. She whirled around and looked for any sign indicating another human was present. There was nothing in the thick wall of trees. The wind…that’s the only logical explanation…She walked forward in the direction she thought was the trail, when she heard another noise. A laugh. And it was loud, too. This had to be a person. She looked behind her and ,again, nothing was there.
    “Jonathan!” She yelled her brother’s name. “If that’s you, it’s not funny! If you wanted to come and walk with me, you should have asked inside! Now go home!” With that said, she continued to walk.
    Now the laugh was louder, closer. She turned her head to look behind her. Slowly, oh so slowly, a figure clad in a black cloak walked out from behind thick wintergreen.
    His face was covered by the hood of the cloak, so Constance could not see his face, but she knew that it belonged to the person who had been laughing. She knew she should have been afraid, but she wasn’t. Not of this person. It wasn’t her brother. Too tall to be her brother. So, if it was a stranger, why wasn’t she afraid?
    “Who are you?” She asked. “Show yourself.” She had meant for the statement to be forceful, courageous, but it seemed to get stuck in her thought. She sounded like a frightened child.
    The figure laughed again. “Who am I? I thought that would be quite obvious…” Constance could tell it was a boy now. His voice was soft and musical. He seemed like someone she could befriend. She couldn’t be afraid... “After all, you created me…”
    “Stop talking in riddles!” Her voice was more forceful now. “Take off your hood and let me see your face.” The last statement almost sounded uncertain, afraid.
    He laughed softly and removed his hood. His face was soft, gentle, almost like that of an angel. He was pale, but color flushed his cheeks. Probably from laughing, she thought. His hair was solid black, long, and messy on his head. He had a toothsome smiled and extremely sharp canines. Despite the fiendish appearance, she wasn’t afraid. He looked familiar from somewhere, though she couldn’t quite place it…
    “You don’t look scared…you are a peculiar girl…with a very peculiar mind…” He laughed again. “You want to know my name?” he asked, seeming to read her mind. She simply nodded. “My name is Damian. Ring a bell?” He laughed again.
    Constance stared at him for a moment, trying to remember why he was so familiar. Then it came to her. “Oh my gosh…” She breathed. “You’re from my dreams…no…my nightmares…” She took a step backwards.
    “Glad you remember.” Damian’s eyes flashed red as he took a step towards her. “Now, let me think, last time you woke up right before I killed you. Shall we continue from there?” He smiled wickedly and looked at her hungrily.
    Constance seemed to be paralyzed. She couldn’t move her feet no matter how hard she tried. Damian continued to advance, slowly, keeping his eyes on hers. They almost seemed to burn into her own, making her eyes sting, but she couldn’t move. Every muscle in her body was immobilized. He was inches away from her face. “Now, let’s see…” He leaned forward and towards her neck. This is the end…Constance thought, still unable to move.
    He was about to sink his teeth in her neck when something came crashing through the trees. Damian looked away for a fraction of a second and Constance was able to move again. She stumbled backwards and tripped over a large stone on the floor, As soon as her back met the ground, Damian was on top of her. Putting her hands in front of her face was a useless attempt to keep him at bay, but she could think of no alternative. Damian grabbed her hands and pinned them to the ground. He was sitting on the upper part of her legs, leaving her completely immobile. Constance closed her eyes and waited for the one movement that would end her life forever. Hot breath was on her neck and it seemed the moment had come, but the wait was suddenly lifted from her body.
    She sat up and scooted backwards, watching two figures fight beneath the trees. Shadows hid their faces, but she knew one of them had to be Damian. Who else could it be? The other shadowed figure looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. Somewhere, she had seen that perfect silhouette fighting before, but where could it have possibly been? She had never seen a fight such as this. But where…
    Before she could think anymore on the subject, another person jumped gracefully out of a tree. The movement looked quite feline, actually. The figure stopped for a moment and looked at her curiously, than she went quickly to Constance’s side.
    “Are you hurt?” The girl asked in a hurried whisper. “He would kill me if you where. By the way, my name is Guinevere, but call me Guinn.” She smiled slightly. “Nice to meet you, Constance.”
    Constance was baffled. How did she know her name? She took a long look at Guinevere. She had cropped, golden hair streaked with silver, literally. Her face was calm, light brown, and so perfect it was haunting. Neon blue eyes peeked out from behind her ragged hair and held such wisdom, it almost seemed impossible. Constance looked back at the fight raging before her and realized they had now drawn swords. What the heck was going on?
    “I’m fine.” She answered in response to Guinn’s previous question. “What’s going on? Where did he come from? How did you…” She was interrupted by Guinn clasping a cold hand over her mouth. It sent shivers up her spine.
    “Don’t talk so loud!” Guinevere hissed. “That’s Victor he’s saving your life. Any more questions?” She was clearly irritated and Constance wasn’t willing to mess with her, so she simply shook her head slowly. “Good!” Guinn turned her face back to that battle and so did Constance.
    They both jumped nimbly from side to side, back and forth. It almost seemed like a dream. Swords curving back and forth, plunging menacingly at the other who seemed always to dodge the perfectly aimed attack. Dirt and leaves flew up under their quick moving feet and into their faces, but they didn’t seem to mind. Damian was a vampire, but could Victor be also…
    Victor was pushed out of the shadows for a quick moment, but it was long enough to get a good glimpse at his face. It was just as flawless as Guinn and Damian’s. His features where sharp and handsome making him look like a fairytale prince. His eyes were a striking green, like moss on a tree. When Constance looked into those deep green eyes, she seemed to melt inside.
    Constance stared at him amazed before he disappeared behind a tree. She told herself to breath. She didn’t want to pass out now. Not to miss a part of this. It was too exciting. She leaned forward, trying to get a better look, but Damian seemed to be ahead of her. As soon as she was on her knees and leaning forward, he had broken free of the breathtaking sword fight and was once again on top of her. Before she was completely pinned to the ground, however, Guinn had flame in her eyes and was straddling him to the ground.
    Constance stared in horror as they wrestled around on the ground. Guinn pulled a wooden stake out of a small pack on her back and they started pushing it towards each other, trying to kill the other first. That’s when she realized that everyone here was a vampire. Everyone but her. She shivered unintentionally at the thought. She could die at any moment.
    Before Constance knew it, she was being carried away. The ground was rushing quickly beneath her and the wind whipped across her face. She looked up to see who was carrying her and saw Victor’s face, firm and concentrated. Her heart stopped for a quick moment and she could feel her face redden.
    “Put me down!” She ordered. He just smiled down at her. “Put me down!” She screamed.
    “Shush.” He said in a surprisingly soft voice. “I don’t want him to follow.” Obediently, Constance stopped talking.
    Too late. Damian had thrown Guinn off of him and was now chasing them at high speed and coming fast. Victor frowned and his brow narrowed.
    “Hold on tight.” He told Constance as he began to speed up. Without really thinking, she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Out of all her fears, the fear of speed was the worst. She felt the wind press against the back of her head and she knew her short hair must be flying. She felt tears coming into her eyes. Then, she was falling.
    She hit the ground hard and rolled a few feet, skidding to a stop. She was in a small clearing. Victor and Damian were nowhere in sight. She sat up slowly and put her hand to her sore back. It was wet, sticky. She gulped and slowly pulled her hand in front of her face. It was covered with a thick red substance that she recognized as blood. If there was one thing she couldn’t stand, it was blood. She took a deep breath to calm herself and tried to stand. To her horror, she couldn’t. A striking pain shot up her left leg. She clenched her teeth together and sucked in a deep breath. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she looked around the clearing for Victor. For Guinn. Even for Damian. Anyone to help her ease the pain.
    “Hello?” She called, helplessly. “Anyone?” Her voice cracked as she called. “Please?” She almost whispered.
    She felt like her life would end right then and there. She closed her eyes and let the tears fall slowly, washing away her pain. What would happen if no one found her and her ankle didn’t heal in time? Would she be able to find food, or would she starve? Would she find shelter, or would she freeze to death? Images filled her head and she just sat there. What was going to happen now?
    She heard something rustle the leaves behind her. “Poor child…” Said a familiar, terrifying voice. “Are you in pain? Are you scared?” Damian sat next to her, smiling evilly. “Would you like me to ease that pain?” He leaned towards her neck.
    Constance just sat there and stared at him. She wanted anything to ease the pain. Even death would be welcome now. Just make it stop…she thought. Anything to make it stop… She felt a sharp pain in her neck and she knew he had won. She felt herself loosing consciousness and smiled slightly. Now the pain would cease.
    Constance heard an angry growl behind her, but she didn’t care who it was. Damian, however, did. He lifted his fangs off of her neck and she heard him stand. “You interrupted me…” He said menacingly. “I wasn’t finished and my poison is injected. Either she becomes one of us, or she dies. It’s your choice whether to let me finish or condemn her to an eternity of black, cold nights.” He laughed softly.
    Constance heard the low growl again. “Why don’t we let her decide…?” His voice was menacing, threatening, but still recognizable. Victor was trying to protect her.
    Damian laughed again, but a bit louder this time. “What does she know? She has just discovered our world and what happens outside of her pathetic dreams. If you ask her, what do you think she’ll say? She only wants the pain to go away. That’s all they ever want…”
    She felt someone sit beside her. “What do you want?” A soft voice asked. “Do you want to die right now, or do you want to live forever and be cursed to walk the cold, dark nights forever?” As Victor’s sentence progressed, his voice grew more intense.
    Damian was right. She didn’t know. She felt herself falling backwards, but a cold hand caught her head and placed it gently on the ground. What should I do? She thought to herself desperately. Should I become a vampire or not? The answer dawned on her at once. For Halloween, she had planned on being a vampire, so what would be so bad about having a very real costume even if it would last the rest of eternity? It was a silly way of thinking about it, but she had to make a decision fast.
    “I want…” She spoke so softly, it seemed like no one could hear. “To become a vampire…” She finished her sentence just before consciousness slipped away.
    The last words she heard were “All right…” The last feeling she had was her being lifted gently off the hard, cold ground, and the last thing she remembered about being a human was waking up one morning to make waffles…