...oh hello there!

I know, I know...I've got a bunch of uncompleted stories I need to get my butt moving on, but I couldn't resist. I've been playing with the idea of this for a while, and when I started writing it yesterday...it just kept writing itself. I've been having awful writer's block lately, and so I'm just excited to finally be EAGER to write something! Hopefully writing/being excited about this will get rid of my writer's block for the rest of my stories.

But anyway.

I hope you guys like this! I haven't seen too many fanfics like this, so I'm hoping to be somewhat original here!

I'm going to try and not do author notes on this story, to keep the flow as continuous as possible. So let me get it all out now...

I don't own the Southern Vampire Mysteries or any of the characters, places, blah blah blah. This is purely for fan/my enjoyment, nothing more and nothing less.

Whether I update depends on you guys, so if you want more/have any thoughts...

PLEASE REVIEW!

Let Me In

a "Sookie Stackhouse: Southern Vampire Mysteries" fanfic

by Sapphire-Raindrop

One second, I was sitting in my car, turning my head at the sight of an unexpected set of headlights rushing toward me. The next, I was lying on the ground, my head spinning and darkness spotting the edge of my vision. I couldn't move, I could barely breathe.

Somewhere around me there were voices, angry voices, rough and loud and mean. Footsteps came closer, and there was a moment of quiet before the footsteps retreated.

Help me! I wanted to cry out, but my lips wouldn't cooperate and form the words. Even if they had been able to, my throat was so tight I wouldn't have been able to speak, anyway.

The screech of car tires, the roar growing softer and softer...then...silence.

After a few minutes I knew that I was alone. I must have hit my head really hard, because the thought that the people who had hit me weren't coming back to help was oddly funny. Sure, in the movies people were cruel enough to leave someone to die, but I never thought I would see it happen in real life. It seemed surreal; it was a bad joke, an awful prank. If I could have, I would have laughed.

I blinked slowly up at the night sky. I was in so much pain, and I let out a scream when my attempt at moving my shoulder resulted in a horrible grinding sound. It was as if my bone was rubbing against the ground. I sobbed horribly, feeling the tears wet my cheeks and run down to tickle my neck. I could feel something warm and sticky soaking through my shirt, and knew without looking down that it was blood. Something heavy and painful was in my chest, something solid that refused to budge. A thick coppery liquid coated my lips, pooling in my mouth, and I flinched at the taste of it. I had bitten my tongue more than a few times and so I knew the taste of blood, like every normal person did. But I had never tasted so much of it, and the thought made my stomach turn.

My mind was fuzzy, but suddenly the smell of gasoline became unbearably strong, which sort of brought me out of the haze. Slowly – very slowly – I turned my head, and it was as if I were outside of my body. Everything felt detached, distant, like a fading memory.

The car I had been driving just seconds ago was on its side, the passenger side crunched like a soda can. The windshield was shattered, and the thousands of pieces of glass glittered like bits of diamond, the silvery light of the full moon shining down and illuminating the scene. I saw my book bag dangling off of the door, and I reached for it instinctively. My phone was in there, if I could just reach it!

But I couldn't, and my vision was going dark the longer I tried to move. I let my head fall back, feeling the sting of the asphalt but not caring enough to acknowledge it. Tears continued to fall – the pain was so bad, more terrible than I could hope to describe – and I looked up at the sky again. The longer I watched the stars, the more everything around me seemed to dim and fade. I coughed, spitting blood up all over my face and neck. But I didn't care; at least it was out of my mouth, that's all that mattered.

I wanted to yell, to cry for help, but from the quiet hush I knew that no one would hear me. I didn't want to die, dammit, but I was so alone and it wasn't fair it wasn't fair!

I wasn't ready to die. I still had so much to do, so much to see, so much to feel. My family was waiting for me in California; they were waiting for me to drive back to see them. I hadn't been home in nearly a year, because driving from Louisiana to California was awfully expensive and time-consuming, and my parents couldn't afford to fly me home.

I had graduated from LSU Shreveport just yesterday. Four grueling years, but I had finally finished. I had my entire life to look forward to…surely fate wasn't so cruel? My parents needed to see me get married, I needed to see my older brother come home from Iraq, I needed to live–

But I wasn't going to live, was I?

Everything was going all shimmery, the pain a mere echo. I was so cold, but at the same time very warm. I had to concentrate on feeling the ground beneath my body, and blinking felt final – like any second I would close my eyes and be unable to open them again.

I blinked, and when I opened them I saw an angel bending over me. In the glittering haze, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Long golden hair, silvery green eyes…

I had to be dead, that was the only explanation. I smiled up at the angel, and somehow found the strength to lift my hand to touch her pale cheek, so cool and blissfully smooth and perfect.

"Thank you," I whispered hoarsely, unable to stay silent in the face of such beauty. The angel smiled, and I felt more tears trickle down my face, but this time they were happy tears. I wasn't a particularly religious person, but in that moment I truly believed in God and the angels. I wouldn't be alone, after all.

Her cool fingers held my hand to her face, and her voice washed over me, gentle but raspy. I shivered at the huskiness of it, but then again, that could have been the cold that was seeping through my entire body.

"Why do you thank me?" she asked.

I blinked, and it took longer for me to open my eyes again. I didn't want to blink; I didn't want to lose sight of the angel.

"I'm not alone, in the end," I breathed, and although my words were strong my heart clenched. This was it, wasn't it? I was going to die, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

The angel lifted my hand from her face and kissed my palm. "All things have an end. But when one door closes, another opens. For you and I, it is just the beginning. Do you wish to walk with me, little angel?"

Angel? I wasn't the angel, she was. But her eyes were sucking me into their beautiful depths. I couldn't have said no even if I wanted to, and I didn't want to.

I nodded, grimacing at the twinge of pain the movement caused.

I felt myself drifting dangerously close to the darkness when my upper body was suddenly pulled into a semi-sitting position. I felt the cool body of the angel against my back; the generous swells of her breasts and her thin fingers against my waist. I felt my neck being bared, and let out a groan of confusion. What was the angel doing? I trusted her – she was an angel, after all – but I was still a bit lost. I noticed that there was blood in my mouth, more of it this time, and I whimpered at the taste.

The angel kissed me reassuringly on the neck.

"What is your name, angel?"

I wanted to protest, but the feel of her soft lips on my neck was making me forget how to speak. I blinked, and had to take several breaths before I could focus on responding to her question.

"Ariana," I replied, so weak that I doubted the angel heard me. But she had, because she gave my neck a final kiss before whispering in my ear.

"Are you ready to be reborn, Ariana? Do not be afraid, for I am here, and will be here always."

I wasn't sure why I trusted the angel so implicitly. But something in her voice, something in her eyes and her skin…it called to me. I wanted to be with her, I wanted to feel the weight of her arms and listen to the husky timbre of her voice.

I wanted to live.

I nodded once more, and the angel's tongue was on my neck. I gasped, because the sensation was so strong, it made my head spin and my body go even more limp. I couldn't keep a hold on my vision, it blurred and spun and the pain in my chest and shoulder suddenly flared, burning like a hellish inferno.

There was a sharp sting in my neck–