Disclaimer: All rights to The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod go to the original author, Heather Brewer. Idea and inspiration (as well as allowing adoption) in this fic by sairiotana.


"I'm not going."

Vladimir Tod sighed. His uncle had been juggling his decision to go on a vacation for a while or stay home with Vlad. Ever since Vlad's parents and his aunt Nelly had died, Otis had been dedicated to taking care of Vlad and making sure their lives were as peaceful as possible. Being a cop, this was certainly difficult, but he made it work. But when he had been given a vacation, Vlad insisted he go alone so that he wouldn't have to worry about keeping Vlad within arm's reach instead of relaxing.

Otis sat on his bed, shaking his head and pushing his suit case away. "Nope, not going. I can have a vacation right here."
"No you can't, you know just as well as I do that you'd be miserable staying here for a week." Vlad crossed his arms over his chest, "You're going."

As if on cue, the honk of a taxi cab came from outside. Vlad smiled, "And there's your ride." Otis sighed heavily. He stood up and grabbed his case, pulling it down the stairs and out to the cab. Vlad followed him and helped him put his luggage in the trunk. Otis looked at his nephew and grasped his shoulders. "You promise me that you'll call and you'll be careful?"

Vlad nodded, "I promise."
Otis smiled proudly and patted the boy's shoulder. He turned and slid into the cab, mumbling "airport please" before the car took off. Soon, it wasn't even visible, and Vlad went back into the house.

He never realized how quiet his house could be. Knowing he would be alone for a week depressed him; oh well, nothing some mindless video games wouldn't cure.

The raven haired teen decided on a new game Otis had gotten. He didn't bother with the name as he figured it would eventually show up at some point, and just popped it into the system and hit 'New Game' on the menu screen.


A sandpaper tongue woke Vladimir. He swatted lightly, lifting his head to look at the black cat licking his cheek. "Amenti," he said in mock greeting. She mewed and stared at him. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Vlad jumped slightly and glanced at the clock.

11:57

Who the hell would be at my door and 11:57? he thought, furrowing his brows. The house was dark as it had been still light out when he had fallen asleep. He stumbled to the door and opened it slowly, waking up as he did so. In the doorway, there were two tall figures staring at him. Vlad waited a moment, his eyes flicking from one large shadow to the other. "Can I help you?" he asked. With a cop like Otis as his uncle, Vlad knew too well what the spark of a tazer looked like. When he saw it in the hands of one of the tall shadows, Vlad gasped and slammed the door behind him, running back the way he came.

He slammed himself into the bathroom door, wondering why it was closed in the first place, and with a shaky hand opened it and locked himself inside. He could hear the door being pushed in, but it held onto the hinges as the men behind the door tried to bust it open. Vlad pulled out his phone and attempted to dial 911, but with his hands shaking so terribly, he dialed incorrectly and had to start over. His heart was pounding in his ears, and his brain going dreadfully slow but painfully fast at the same time; he felt like he would burst with the fear. Otis would never want to go on vacation ever again when he found out about this!

He jumped and yelped loudly when he heard the door splinter and fall into the house. His thin phone fell from his hands and slid against the tiles, the corner of it hanging through the crack under the door. Heavy footsteps approached the bathroom door, their shadows blocking any light from coming in. Vlad covered his mouth, hoping his breathing was quieter than it sounded in his ears, and cursed his phone. How dare it be so thin.

The house went quiet. Silent, even. Vlad froze and waited, praying they hadn't noticed his hiding place in the bathroom. A footstep closer to the door, then a knock. Was he supposed to answer?

Suddenly the door flew into the wall behind it and Vlad backed himself into the wall, gasping and shaking violently. The two men flicked the light switch up, bringing light into the room. Their appearance was quite odd for people who were breaking in. Suits and black sunglasses. They reminded Vlad of those "secret agents" he saw in spy movies.

They stared at Vlad for a long while, making him want to shrink into a corner and hide. He swallowed and tried to speak, but with a deep voice, the man closest to him beat him to it. "You've been caught in a corner, cooperate with us and you won't be hurt."

"Who are you?" Vlad demanded. This earned him an irritated expression from the one who had spoke. "Like I said, cooperate and you won't be hurt."

"You'd better get out of my house, my uncle's a cop and he'll kick your sorry ass!" He knew it was weak of him to use that and these guys probably wouldn't believe him anyway, but the boy was desperate and would take any chance he had to get away.

The man further into the hallway sighed and shook his head, stepping in front of his partner in crime and, with lightning fast moves, had Vlad's wrists in one hand behind his back. The teenager shook and struggled violently, screaming at him to release him, pulling at his arms and trying to kick behind him. Each attempt, the man dodged or prevented; he looked at his companion, who nodded as if they were having a mental conversation. Vlad found his yells and demands cut off as the man pressed a cloth against his nose and mouth. Realizing what it was made him struggle harder, throw his head back, anything to get the cloth away. But it didn't last long, as he suddenly felt sluggish and his eyelids grew heavy. His body eventually fell limp against the man holding him, who released his hands and let the body fall to the tiles, lifeless. He looked at his partner as he pulled out a silver cell phone. "Target captured, proceed to transportation."