What are vampires? Are they just creatures who live and thrive off of human blood, or do they still have small strands of their humanity left deep inside their minds? Are they no more than a tool used by the devil, or do they actually have a purpose? What is with these creatures that make them so desirable by humans? Is it their looks, the mystery surrounding them, or simply the insanity to endure the pain and become one?

I have wondered this in all of my sixteen years of living, and you'd find that I know quite a bit more than the average human being. Of course, I'm not average. I'm quite the opposite, actually. I've spent most of my life looking for proof that they actually existed, and in my heart I knew they did; I just needed viable proof.

I wasn't sure exactly what happened, but I had a feeling that my vague description of the whole incident would do. I had just gotten hit by a van; a big black van. I felt myself fly across the road and skid on the grass until I was stopped and my back shattered into pieces.

I gasped and in my blurry vision, I saw someone rush over to me. I recognized the boy as Tuesday Cullen. His father was the doctor that saw my mother when she broke her arm. I heard him swear. "Are you alright?" he asked, hurriedly.

I nodded and tried to gasp for breath, but it hurt too much. I had a feeling that my lung collapsed too. My eyes blurred even more, and I felt my eyes tear up. Wait… what am I talking about? I'm not okay! I thought, furious at myself for telling him that I was okay. My vision was fading away even more.

"Serenity… stay with me…" His voice faded away. I felt the warm blood make my shirt stick to my back. "I… I…" My head fell to the ground, and I tried once again to gasp for breath, but life was slowly fading away. That's all I can recall from the event.

The next thing I knew, I was in the hospital, and Dr. Cullen was standing above me. "Ahh... You're up." He said. I tried sitting up, but it was no use. It hurt too much. "Yes, I wouldn't try doing that for at least two days."

"How bad is it?" I asked. I saw a smile creep over Dr. Cullen's mouth.

"Seven broken ribs, a broken arm, a collapsed lung, broken foot, and your backbone cracked." He smiled, slightly. "You're lucky my son was there, or you might not be here."

This sent a shiver down my spine. I felt a throbbing and realized that it was no use to shiver. It hurt too much.

I looked at the window, and saw someone's back. I supposed it was my father's, but when he turned, I saw it was Tuesday, and not my father. I looked over to Dr. Cullen. "Dr. Cull-"

"Please, call me Carlisle." He said, with a warm smile.

"Carlisle, why is Tuesday here?" I asked.

He looked as if he were going to say something, but decided upon not saying something. It didn't bother me though, for I had plenty of secrets, too. He just smiled.

I watched Carlisle exit, and Tuesday come in. It was nice to be able to talk to someone, but something was different about this Tuesday. He didn't look like anyone else I had ever seen, besides his family, of course. His eyes were a great clear blue, and his hair was long and straight. It came down to his mid-back, and was tied back into a ponytail with a dark violet ribbon. He wore a long-sleeve black shirt, which was perfect for his body type, and a pair of black skinny jeans. I smiled slightly when I saw a pyramid studded belt. He had on black, plastic rimmed glasses. And, most peculiar of all, his skin was extremely pale, and had a sort of blue tint to it.

He gazed at me for a while, which made me a little bit nervous, but after awhile I heard him speak. "How are you feeling?" he asked his voice small. I thought of him as a small mouse at the moment because he really looked like one.

"Besides the constant pain in my back and the cuts that keep burning, I'm alright," I said, quietly. I closed my eyes and listened to the beeping of the heart regulator. It was sort of like a rhythmic beat. I counted to myself.

"That's good." He said, this time even quieter than the last.

I opened my eyes and stared at him. He looked so small and helpless, but I knew that there was more to him than meets the eye. I took a deep breath. "What happened, exactly?" I asked.

He looked away, "You just got hit by a van." I knew there was more to it by the way he had said it. It was too simple an explanation for it to be correct. Any normal human being would have added more to it.

"There's more, isn't there?" I asked. My tone of voice told him that I knew he was not telling the complete truth. I stared up at him.

Tuesday sighed. His eyes looked tired, and worn-out, but he pressed on. "Do you want to know what happened?" he asked.

I nodded. I felt guilty that I was making him go on, but I needed to know, after all it involved me,

He paused for a moment, but then spoke again. "Are you positive you want to know the whole story?" he asked.

I nodded once more.

"Well, it all started-" He stopped abruptly when Carlisle came in.

"Tuesday, I'm afraid you'll have to go. Serenity needs her rest, and Edward would like to speak to you," Carlisle said, looking as if he knew that Tuesday had been on his way to telling me something important; something that I needed to know, but Carlisle didn't want me knowing.

"So…" Carlisle began, "What did he tell you?" He looked at me in a strange manner, and I looked at him in an odd way also.

"He was on his way to, but you came in and he stopped."

"Good."

I looked at him strangely. "Carlisle, sir, what ever it is, you can trust me." I said. This got me an odd reaction, as if he knew he could trust me, he just wasn't sure how I would take it.

Carlisle looked back at me, and walked out. I watched him. Then I caught sight of Edward and Tuesday. Edward had a horribly mean look on his face, and Tuesday was looking like a hurt puppy. It almost made me want to cry, because I knew it was my fault. Not his. I was the one who wanted to know, and I would find out… Eventually.

I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. I counted the cracks in it and made pictures in my head using all of the little bumps. It kept me entertained for about an hour, until I reached up and sat up. My eyes widened automatically. It didn't hurt to sit up. I twisted around very slowly and I realized that I had my full range of motion back… but how did I heal so quickly?

I heard a knock at the door and Carlisle came in. He looked at me, surprised. "That worked faster than I thought it would…" he whispered to himself. I wasn't sure if he had meant for me to hear that or not, so I stayed silent. It wasn't abnormal for my ears to be able to pick up things they weren't supposed to hear. It happened all the time and some times got me into a lot of trouble.

"Umm… Carlisle? How come my back is healed so quickly? … If you don't mind me asking, of course…" I blinked a few times, and waited for his reply.

It was simple, his answer, but I knew it wasn't the whole truth. There was more to it; he just didn't want to tell me. "It's a new medicine… Just came out yesterday, but we've been trying to keep it quiet… Mainly, because it works on extremely few people…" He smiled. "You should be ready to go home soon. Maybe in, hmm, let's see, two days?" He nodded, quietly and started for the door.

"Umm… sir, can I talk to Tuesday again, if he's still here?" Ha. Of course he was still here. I knew he was, even though I couldn't see him, he was some where around the hospital. He wouldn't have left yet, because he knew that I needed to know what had happened. Or at least I hoped he knew.

Carlisle smiled. "I'll send him in."

Seconds later, Tuesday shuffled in without saying a word. He carried what looked like a book. It was dark and leather bound. The cover was black, and the title was in silver shiny letters. I tried to see what they said, but his hand blocked the title. All I could see was a crescent moon, and the author.

Sarah "Crisis" Barton. I knew that name… from somewhere. It sound so familiar, yet, I couldn't put my tongue on where I had heard of it before. It was mainly the whole Crisis thing that rang a bell, but from where was it?

I shrugged of the peculiar feeling and looked up at Tuesday who had pulled up a chair, and sat down next to me.

"Feeling better?" he asked in his silky voice. The sound of it sent chills down my spine and I shivered.

I nodded, "Much better… Thanks…" I smiled, and he smiled back in an odd way, but it was nice. It was a sort of crooked smile, and it reminded me of a lot of things; spring and fall, warmth, and a nice breeze on a perfect day. It just made me feel nice inside, and then I realized something. The heart meter started beeping faster.

He looked away. "Sorry."

The heart meter steadily slowed down.

I needed to say something! "… So what are you reading?" I asked. My voice was small. I pointed to the book with my broken hand.

"Oh… I," He cleared his throat, "I actually picked it up for you…" He handed it to me. "One of your friends said that you liked to read fiction, and since there's nothing to do here, I just… picked it up." He was looking down in to his lap. For some reason I felt sort of sorry for him. He just looked so sad.

I looked down at the book and gasped. The cover was so beautiful. It had a picture of a person illuminated in the moonlight that, oddly enough, resembled Tuesday. It was sort of scary how close the two looked. Then, I read the title; Mythical creatures. A mythology book. Clever. Obviously, one of my friends, probably Kimi, told him exactly what I liked, and for good reason, too.

I looked up at Tuesday, and swallowed, "Thank you…"

He nodded, solemnly. "You're welcome…" He sort of smiled. It was to himself. He obviously knew that he had found the right book, and that I loved it. I heard it in his voice. It was just hinted at, though.

There was a knock on the door and I knew who it was at once. "Tuesday, it's time to go." Edward said, quietly. He stared at me, for a moment, before looking back to Tuesday.

"I'm going to stay here… At least for a while… I'll go home when dad does."

Edward, as if I wasn't even here, grabbed Tuesday by the collar and pushed him against the wall. "You're going home now." He whispered. His voice was deathly quiet and angry.

"I'm staying with her," he said, "I owe it to her." He wasn't looking at me or Edward, but at the wall next to him.

Edward glared at him, "She owes you her life." He let go of Tuesday, who stumbled forward. Edward left the room in a flash.

I got up quickly and caught Tuesday. My eyes widened when I saw the indent in the wall from when Edward pushed Tuesday into it.

"Are you alright?" I asked him, worriedly.

"… You're fine…" he said. It wasn't a question, but a statement. He was pointing out the fact that I was healed… in two hours.

I stopped, suddenly. "Yeah… I am." I said, quietly. It was odd how I didn't think of it as amazing. I had recovered from being hit by a car, and I healed in two hours. No, that wasn't amazing to me, but Tuesday finding the right book was. Yep… Show's how easily fascinated I am.

"You're fine…" He repeated.

I laughed, "Tuesday, it's no big deal. Besides, you said that already."

He still couldn't get over the fact that I was okay. He helped me up, because he sort of fell on me when I caught him. I watched him carefully to make sure that he was okay, but he didn't look it. His eyes had gone all black and he was moving very… strangely. Almost like a robot, but not the same.

"Tuesday, are you alright?" I asked, slowly. I guess I was just being cautious, but what was I supposed to be cautious about? It wasn't like Tuesday was going to kill me or anything.

He spoke, "Yeah… I guess I'm just a little sad about seeing you this way…" He trailed off. His voice sounded exasperated, as if he were extremely tired, and worn out.

"Why…?" I asked, "It's not like it was your fault or anything…" I looked up to see him looking at me, but when he saw me looking, he looked away. My eyes opened wide in shock. "It was your fault?" I whispered.

He got up, and without looking at me, he spoke, "You know that book is very interesting. There's a break in the binding though, and some papers were stuck in there. I felt they added something to the book so I left them in there. Maybe you should read that section first…" He walked out of the room, and left.

I looked over at the book and sighed. I wasn't in the mood for reading at the moment, even though the way Tuesday said that, I really did get the urge to, but I let it go.

I got up onto the hospital bed and turned over so that my back was facing the door. I pulled the covers up to over my mouth, and smiled. It was really warm and comfortable, and within seconds, I was asleep.

I woke up the next morning because of people walking around me. My eyes stayed shut, but I listened.

"Are you going to tell her?" I heard someone say. It was Carlisle's voice. He sounded worried, or something. His voice sounded off.

'Tell me what?' I thought in my head. I waited for a reply from whoever he was talking to. My heart beat increased steadily and I heart the heart monitor's rhythm change. 'Crap…'

"… Serenity, we know you're awake." It was Edward. I winced. How does he do that? I mean, I know the heart monitor changed its rhythm, but still, it was as if he read minds or something.

I opened my eyes, and slowly sat up. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and yawned. "Tell me what?" I asked, looked from Edward to Carlisle and then realizing that Tuesday was in the room.

Carlisle looked at me with a kind look on his face, "It's nothing…" He said, quietly. His voice was low, but not a scary kind of low. It was just a calming low. It felt good to hear this once again, because I hadn't in a long time. Not since… Him.

I waited patiently for someone else to speak.

"I think we should tell her," He said. It was Tuesday speaking. "She has a right to know, after all, mainly because we saved her life…"

"Tuesday. Stop. Do not say anything more." It was Edward. His voice was deadly and scared me. My pulse started to quicken, but I had to calm myself down. It wasn't fair that I couldn't know when it obviously concerned me.

"But I want to know!" I said, "It's not fair!" I paused to look at Tuesday, Carlisle, and Edward in turn. "I have a right to know! Mainly because it obviously concern-" I was cut off sharply by Carlisle.

"Fine." He had stopped my ranting for the moment. "We'll tell you."

He sat down and motioned for Tuesday and Edward to do the same. They both shook their heads no. "Serenity," he said to me, "Your mother and father died in a car crash."

My heart stopped and it showed on the heart monitor. There was a long, high-pitched beep! And then my heart started working again.

I didn't speak for the rest of the time I was there. Not for two more days. Not even to say what I wanted to eat, because I didn't. I didn't want to eat, I didn't was to breathe, I didn't want to live, but I did. The pain went on and on, until I couldn't bear it anymore. I would burst out into tears, and cry my eyes out, to the point where I would be dehydrated, and I would pass out during class. It was two weeks later in my High School biology class, when I saw Tuesday again.

Mr. Mayra was in the zone, with a lecture, and we were taking notes. I doodled instead. I didn't remember myself falling to the ground on the way out when the bell rang, but that's apparently what happened. Or at least what Kimi said.

I felt a weird shaking, when I was unconscious. It was all I was aware of. Then I felt a pressure under my knees, and going across my shoulders. Then something dawned on me. I was being carried. My bag tugged at my shoulder. It was bugging me, but I couldn't do anything.

When the annoying running finally stopped, I felt my body being set down. I was suddenly very aware of myself then.

I heard several familiar voices.

"My God… what happened to her?" Carlisle asked, in barely more than a whisper. I felt his finger taking my pulse on my wrist. 'Crap.' I thought.

I heard some shuffling in the room. "She can hear, and feel, but she can't move." He said. It was Edward.

Carlisle gasped, holding my wrist. He sort of just froze there, not doing anything, but then he continued looking me over. He spoke, but his voice was odd. "Her body is functioning correctly, but she can't respond, other than thinking. Good thing we have a mind reader, here…" He said.

'Mind reader?' I thought. Okay, so now I was confused, but what could I do?

"Carlisle, she doesn't know, remember?" Edward said, quietly.

I heard some more feet enter the room. "It's her!" I heard from someone jumping up and down. "It's her! It's her! She's the one I saw! This is her!" The girl was practically squealing, but the only thing that bothered me was the high pitch. It hurt.

"Alice. Calm down." Tuesday said.

The girl called Alice spoke again, "You… haven't told her, yet, have you?" Her voice sounded as if that hurt her. "She's supposed to know!"

"That's what I said!" Tuesday exclaimed. I heard him jump.

'Tell me what?!? Edward, if you can actually hear this, then I demand that you tell me!' I shouted in thought. This was making me furious. What was I to know? And why couldn't they tell me?

"I can't, Serenity. I'm sorry, but it's extremely important that it stay a secret," Edward said, his voice was quiet and soft.

"… Alice?" Carlisle asked. The room seemed to stop as they waited for a response from Alice. I, too, was waiting, however, I think I was the most impatient person in the room, at the moment.

"… No. Edward, you're right; she isn't supposed to know, at least, not yet. Sorry, Serenity, you'll find out soon…"

That was the last thing I heard from Alice or anyone for that matter. But still, it was bugging the heck out of me, and I wanted to know.

The next time I woke, I was in another room, probably still in the building that I was in when I had found out one of Edward's secrets. That reminded me that I needed to watch what I thought from now on.

"Carlisle!" I heard someone yell, "She's awake!" That was Edward. He had heard me. 'Edward, I hate you.' I thought to him, as Carlisle walked in.

"Nice to see you awake." He said. His eyes looked sad, and angry at the same time, except, his voice told me that he was angry at me, and I knew exactly why. "Serenity… You were very close to dying, and that would have been extremely hard on everyone here, do you know why?"

I shook my head no. Of course I didn't know why.

"…" he seemed to be at a loss for words and that scared me. I had always thought of Carlisle as a person who always said just the right thing. So, for him to not be able to say anything, that scared me. A lot.

"Carlisle, can't you tell me anything? I… I need to know something, just one little thing… It doesn't matter what it is…" I trailed off. Then a thought struck me. "… Where am I going to stay? Since… my parents are gone…"

"Who were you staying with for the past two weeks?" he asked.

I looked away, and made sure not to say anything. I sighed, and thought to myself, until someone interrupted me.

"What do you mean, you were on your own for the past two weeks?" It was Edward who had barged in on the two of us, and our conversation.

I sat up, turned around, and sat back down Indian-style, with my arms crossed. No way was I talking. I have to admit, I was pretty angry with them, especially Edward.

"Serenity," Carlisle said, quietly, as he put a hand on my shoulder, "We just want to help you. Can you at least tell me what's on your mind?"

I remained silent, until Carlisle spoke again. "Then I guess I'll have Edward tell me what's on your mind." He glanced to Edward and nodded.

Edward, who concentrated on me, widened his eyes with surprise. "She's thinking in Japanese…" he said, with a chuckle.

Carlisle smiled as well. "I've never met a single person who even suspected to do that, other than me. Too bad it wasn't French. Edward knows French."

I smirked, and glanced back at them. They had no idea just how clever I was. Not even a close guess, because even if I were a super genius, I would still continue to surprise them, but no one knew. I was nearly failing all of my classes on purpose. I don't want to be considered a freak for the rest of my life, so I purposely almost fail.

I heard Carlisle get up. "I'll be back in about an hour. Serenity, if you would like to, you're welcome to stay here, since you have no one else. I've already gotten your things, from your previous home, and moved them into one of the spare rooms. I really do hope that you'll come to forgive me in time, and just know that we have our reasons for not saying anything, yet. After all, don't bet against Alice."

I glanced over my shoulder, and gave Carlisle a weird look, but Edward nodded, as if understanding what Carlisle meant by not betting against Alice. I watched Edward for a moment before turning around to face him.

"What is with you?" he asked, frustrated. "We're only trying to help you, you know. That's all, and-" Something cut him off, perhaps it was the look on my face, of pure anger or just the fact that Tuesday was standing in the door way.

He got up, "I'll leave you two alone, then." He walked out as Tuesday walked in.

"Feeling any better?" he asked.

I nodded my head. "A little." I said, as he started taking something out from behind him. It was the book that he had given me.

"This was in your locker." He said, "I got it when I was going to get your homework." He set it down in front of me, gave me a meaningful look, and then left.

I sighed, and seeing as I had nothing to do for an hour, I opened the book to the table of contents. The sections were divided up by creatures. In the beast section there were Dragons, Chimeras, ancromantulas, and basilisks. In the bird section there were Phoenixes, Hippogriffs, Griffins, and Whoppers. In the nocturnal section were witches, and… Vampires.

I smiled. I had always loved vampires. So I flipped to the last section in the book and searched for the word Vampire until I found it on page 721. I started reading.

"Present day vampires are extremely different from their primitive counterparts. For example, the present day vampire cannot be harmed by garlic, crosses, or daylight.

They look almost godly in appearance; the males strong and tall, and the females independent. Their skin is usually tinted blue and is cold to the touch. Their hair, varies as much as a human's would, but their eyes, however, change depending on their diet. If they are vegetarians, or eat animals, they will have a golden eye color, but if they are carnivores, then they will have blood red eyes. However, in rare cases, the vampire will have a color other than gold or red.

Their strength is greatly enhanced and so is their speed, and hearing.

The vampire cannot be killed by a wooden stake, or anything else relating to pain. There is only one known way to kill a vampire. It is to dismember them and burn their body parts. The present day vampire tends to…"

I stopped abruptly. This sounded exactly like the Cullen's, and then I knew one thing for sure. 'The Cullen's are vampires!' I thought to myself, worriedly.

"Carlisle!" I heard someone yell. It was Edward. He must have heard me. "She knows!"

My heart started beating faster. I had to hide. I had to find somewhere to hide. I jumped up and off of the bed, and ran to the door, locking it before running back to the bed. I stashed the book under the covers, and ran to the closet, which was full of clothes. It was a walk in closet. I went as far back into the back as possible and sat down, burying myself in the clothes.

I heard someone running up the stairs; actually more than one someone. Probably four. The door opened. I figured they broke the lock. 'Close your mind… Close your mind…' I thought, concentrating hard.

"I can't hear her." Edward said, quietly. I could barely hear him.

"I can't feel her either," I heard another voice. I wasn't sure who this was, but it was probably a brother of Tuesday's I hadn't met, yet.

"Where is she?" Tuesday asked. He sounded worried. "She couldn't have left, could she?" he asked. His voice was filled with worry.

"Wait," Carlisle said. There was a quiet pause. "There." He said, and I smushed myself back further into the clothes. My heart was beating even faster.

'Please. Please, stay away from me.' I was scared. Well, actually more like terrified. I felt myself trembling, until I heard the closet door open. Then I froze. I could feel move, even though I didn't really want to. It was all just too much for me to handle. I heard footsteps coming towards me, and, for once, I was glad to be out of sight.

Some one bent down next to me, and peered into my little cavern to see me hiding. It was Carlisle. "Serenity?" He said, holding a hand out for me to take it.

I coward away, hoping he would take a hint. He stood up, and turned. He walked out of the closet and someone else entered. It was the voice I didn't recognize. The guy had dirty blond, curly hair, and golden eyes. He looked kind enough, but scared me anyway. He sat down and looked at me, curiously, as if he were intrigued by the very idea of my existence.

"Hello," was all he said. He just stared at me for a bit. Just looked. It was a little weird, but it sort of calmed me. Then he spoke again, "My name is Jasper."

I flinched as if he was going to hit me, but he didn't.

"There's no reason to be scared…" he said. "Won't you come out?"

I stared at him, a blank look in my eyes.

I wasn't usually like this. I mean, I had fantasized meeting a vampire for years, but I had never even dreamed of actually meeting one in real life. It was only in my dreams, and now the reality of it scared me. A lot.

I sat there, staring at him, and my eyes went out of focus. My mind wandered, but I could still feel myself sitting there. I felt someone touch my hand, and I realized the person was cold. Really cold, so cold I couldn't stay in my dreamland.

The boy named Jasper had put his hand on mine, trying to comfort me, I guess. I felt the urge to pull my hand back, but I went against myself and kept it there.

"We won't hurt you…"

Those words brought back a memory. One that I had long since forgotten. One that had changed me, and the way I thought about things forever. My eyes went out of focus, as I recalled it.

I was six, and I had lost my way, at least, I had ran away from my grandmother. I hated her. She was rude, and hurtful, and mean. After running for at least ten minutes, I stopped and ran to the back of an alley way. I sat against the wall.

Some one staggered forward, and looked at me.

I let Jasper pull me up, and out of the clothes. I brushed off the ones remaining.

'I won't hurt you…' I heard the man say. He was bloody and covered in something that I had no idea what it was. I stared at him with worry, and was scared. Absolutely horrified. It was something that I would never forget.

The man stepped forward, towards me, and held something out. In his had was my grandmother's necklace. The one she never took off.

I gasped, and turned to run the other way, but it was blocked off. I had no where to go.

I blinked and he was gone, but I felt myself slam into the brick wall at, probably, 40 mph. My bones shattered, and I felt something stick into my eye. I heard someone screaming, but until I opened my eyes, I didn't know it was me.

I felt something on wrist, and then felt pressure. The only thing I remember after that was an incredible burning sensation, and extreme pain. It hurt so much.

I don't remember much, after I passed out. Apparently someone heard me screaming, and carried me to the hospital, where my parents were called and I was healed.

The burning I felt on my body was the venom of a vampire, but for some reason, I wasn't changed. All I have left is a scar on my wrist, in the shape of a crescent.

Jasper helped me out of the closet, and I walked out to the others. Edward, Tuesday, and Carlisle stood there. I felt a pain in my wrist, where the scar had been, and in my chest. I have a feeling that the vampire that bit me was not an ordinary one.I coughed, and felt my knees giving in.

Someone caught me. I continued to cough; only it got worse. It got to where I couldn't breathe. I tried, as hard as I could to stay awake.

"It's him." I heard Edward say. "It's the one I've been hearing for weeks. It's the Rogue." I looked up at him. In his eyes, I saw myself. In his eyes, I was scared. In his eyes, I was… dying.

"Rogue?" Jasper asked. His head turned sharply to look at Edward. "Do you know his name?"

Edward shook his head no. "But maybe Serenity does…" I felt their gaze upon me. All of them, but I couldn't answer. I was too busy hacking my head off, and they didn't even notice.

In a flash, Tuesday was by my side with a glass of water. I took a drink and the coughing stopped. "…" I didn't say anything. It was pointless until I got my thoughts straight, and at the moment, they weren't. I waited a few minutes and then spoke.

In my head I saw a flash of a memory. It was the man's face. I shuddered. "His name is… Erick."