Brian's pov

Every day I wake up, wishing I hadn't. Just knowing that as soon as I do, my day will be consumed by fulfilling my brother's demands. And that alone, has made me dread my existence of late. The worst part of it? I am older than he is. Granted, it's only by eight minutes, but I count it.

Things weren't always this way with Zacky. He used to be the exact opposite of who he is now, and it's eating me alive. He's become darker, more clouded and put off. The only real emotion he showed anymore these days, was anger and hatred. His once bright, emerald green eyes were now stone cold and lifeless. And it's all thanks to her. Because of her, my brother became real nasty and I swear he's also become more powerful than ever before. Zacky's always had hidden strength, but it was rarely seen. It came at random times, mainly if someone's life was in danger or he was angry. But now, he's got full control over it. And it has made him terrifying.

He easily became the leader of our clan, managing to over power Matt. Zacky is extremely skilled and deserves every right to be our leader, but he doesn't work with us. He doesn't try to. He either barks orders at us or he takes care of it himself. He doesn't view or value us as a team and that makes things around here extremely difficult.

I sigh with a heavy heart when I snap back to the mission at hand. I am absolutely livid that he has us out in this rain right now, just to fetch him another play thing. He must be extra bothered by something, considering this will mark his fifth human torture toy this week. As I grumble to myself, I fail to pay close attention to what I am doing. Moving a wet branch out of my way with the tip of my fingers, it slips from my fingertips and smacks me across the face.

"Ow! Son of a-*sigh* Johnny, have you even been trying to find a target, or are you just dicking around over there? And your night-vision could be helping the rest of us out, Jimmy, don't you think? I can't see jack shit out here! It's too damn dark." I snapped.

I can hear the irritated sighs of my comrades.

"We're all equally as frustrated as you Brian. Let's just get this shit over with." Matt muttered.

I roll my eyes, knowing damn well he couldn't see that.

"Hey! Guys! I see a girl up ahead, walking across the park. No one else is around right now." Johnny piped up.

"Well hot damn. It's about time!" I say, perking up.

"Don't get careless guys. One wrong move and we could risk exposing what we are." Matt said.

"We need a game plan." I said.

"Brian, you'll go out of the woods with Jimmy following you in his invisible form. Talk to the girl without freaking her out. Once you have her distracted, Jimmy will circle behind her and use the chloroform on her. Once she's out, we hurry and take her back to Zack. Quick and easy." Matt said.

"Why am I always the distraction?" I muttered.

"Because Johnny's too awkward and Jimmy's well...Jimmy. Besides, you've got the silver tongue in the group." Matt said.

"And you?" I ask, raising my eyebrow, even though he couldn't see me very well.

"Me? I'm tired. Your brother has run me ragged all damn week." He said.

I again sigh before nodding my head.

"Fine, fine. Let's just get this over with. I'm tired and wet. And not in the good way. Jimmy?"

"You're in the clear. No more branches to out best you," He snickers. "About ten feet up ahead and we'll be out of the forest."

"Pfft. Keep up." I mutter as I pick up my pace.

Without warning, I break out in a run. And just as Jimmy said, we were both out of the forest in no time. My exiting the forest in a rush startled the girl that was passing by. Her small form jumped, clutching her umbrella tighter.

"Oh, sorry miss, didn't mean to startle you. But please, I need your help!" I tell her, acting to be out of breath.

"What were you doing in the forest...in the rain?" She asked suspiciously, not letting her guard down. I can tell she's still startled.

"My sister and I are on vacation at the lodge on the other side of this forest. But, she forgot her medication back at home and she's anemic. This is an electronic free vacation for us, so we don't have phones. I came to town hoping to find someone to call 911 and get her to a hospital. Please miss, please tell me you have a cell phone on you!" I sputtered, panting.

She started nodding quickly, digging through the front pocket of her jeans.

"Yea, sure! Don't worry, I got it right..."

But before she could finish her sentence, Jimmy wrapped his arm around her waist while he quickly used his other hand to shove the chloroform rag to her face. She instantly dropped her umbrella and struggled against Jimmy with all of her might. I waited and watched as a few minutes tick by, seeing her struggle less and less until she finally went limp in Jimmy's arms. Jimmy visibly reappeared and looked at me. He gave a small, saddened smile.

"Alright, mission accomplished. Let's go." He said, picking her limp body up and gently hoisting her over his shoulder.

I nodded numbly as I hung my head. I quietly start to follow behind Jimmy. I steal a quick glance at the darkened figure that is slumped over Jimmy's shoulder. My eyes darken and I can't help clenching my jaw and balling up my fists, as memories of the past begin overtaking my current flow of thought.

********************************

Nearly choking on the Mt. Dew I was drinking, I can't stop my outburst of laughter. Zacky, not understanding what was so funny, furrowed his eyebrows at me.

"Come on Syn, what is so damn funny about this?" He asked, a trace of annoyance evident in his tone.

"I'm sorry, Zacky. I know I shouldn't be laughing, but have you looked at yourself in a mirror? You look fucking ridiculous! Why can't you just be yourself around this girl?" I ask, taking another swig of my Mt. Dew before tossing the empty can aside.

His cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"I AM being myself!" He claimed, probably not even fooling himself.

"Oh yea?" I ask, quirking my eyebrow. "Then you wouldn't mind me doing this, right?"

Before he can ask, I scoop up some mud from the ground and throw it at him, successfully spewing it all over his nerdy outfit he was wearing. Zack jumped back and stared down at his now ruined outfit. I happen to notice Johnny and Matt stepping out onto the patio, watching what was unfolding before them.

"What the hell is that for, Brian?! You know that I have a date tonight! She's going to be here any minute!" He half shouted at me.

It was my turn to furrow my eyebrows.

"Exactly! So just be you, Zack!" I strain.

Before he could move, I leapt at him. He yelped in surprise as I tackled him onto the wet, muddy ground. At first, he angrily tried to fight me off of him. I easily continued to overpower him as I reached down and scooped up some more mud. I then smeared it all throughout his well groomed, gelled back hair and all over his face.

"What the...? Oh, gross! Really?! You are SO going to get it now, fucker!" Zacky laughed, pouncing on me.

I couldn't help laughing as I realized Zack started to gain tremendous strength out of nowhere. Having flipped us both and having me pinned to the ground, I hadn't realized a girl stepping out, standing next to Matt.

"I'm going to make you eat this, you know." Zacky stated calmly, a pile of mud engulfing his hand.

My eyes widened. "Oh, you fucking wish!"

Before he could react, I grabbed a hold of his wrist and quickly flipped him over, pinning him back down in the mud. He turned his face to the side to prevent from suffocating and huffed.

"Okay, okay! You win!" He growled.

That's when we heard someone clear their throat above us. I looked up to see Zacky's date standing over us. Zacky quickly pushed me off, rising to his hands and knees and looking up at her. She gently grabbed the underneath of his chin.

"So, this is how you get ready for a first date?" She quirked.

"I..." Zacky trailed off.

I held my breath, feeling guilty. All of a sudden, she reached her hand forward and ran her hand through Zack's now messy, muddy hair. Her brightly dyed red hair cascaded over her shoulders as she did so.

"So, this is how your hair naturally is, huh? Well, I mean besides having mud in it. I like it messy like this you know. You should keep it that way, Baker." She smiled brightly.

Zacky gave a small smile, rising to his feet. I also stood up. Zacky glanced over at me and I winked. He then looked back at the girl and shyly cleared his throat.

"I'm uh, I'm going to go get cleaned up—again." He said, shooting a playful glare my way.

"I'm so sorry. Please wait a little longer for me." Zacky sputtered.

To my surprise, she giggled.

"No worries, Zacky! I'll just stay here and hang out with the guys. Don't worry, I'll keep your brother in check while I'm at it. Oh, and Zacky? Don't you dare think about wearing that god awful outfit on any date that we may have in the future. Something just tells me that isn't the real you." She said.

I smiled brightly as Zacky nervously gulped, nodding his head at her. With his face heating up, he quickly excused himself and made his way inside. The girl then turns to me and smiles.

"It is so nice to finally meet you Brian! I've heard so much about you from Zacky. I'm Zara!"

A/N: Where to start? Well, this is a new story that inspired me from a daydream. I am throwing a few different 'races' in here and I swear, I have never done this much research for a story before! So, I do apologize ahead of time if things sound...off. It is much easier to just imagine a story than it is putting it to writing, haha. Okay, now a few filler details for this: Johnny is a full blooded vampire with an ability called 'Remote Viewing' (or how it is stated on a site I looked up), which is the ability to mentally view a distant, unseen target. With it being dark in the beginning of this chapter, this is how he found the girl that no one else could see or sense. Johnny will have more cool things about him along with the rest. Obviously, Jimmy has Night-vision and invisibility, which is pretty handy for the team. And yea, more to come! Oh, also. I have a thing about Zack and Brian being fraternal twins in some of my stories. I feel it makes the bond stronger in these. I will go ahead and let you in on who's what ;)

Zacky and Brian: Half Vampire, Half Demon
Matt: Demon
Johnny: Vampire
Jimmy: Half Vampire, Half Human
Zara: Demon
Val and Michelle: Half Vampire, Half Demon

*More to come later.