The early morning sun peeked over the horizon just as the wave crashed over Shane and his board. He broke the water's surface with a gasp and immediately searched for his board. The fiberglass surfboard was a few feet away, bobbing gently in the surf. Jumping onto the board, Shane paddled into shore and collapsed onto the sand. "Whew." He breathed, stretching his arms. He stared up at the sky for a long time before he sat up and sighed. "Guess it's time to go." He admitted, hopping to his feet and tucking his board under one arm. The sand was still cool under his feet, not yet hot from the day's sun.

He sauntered back to his jeep and stuck his board in the back, the fins sticking out of the back slightly. Shane pulled off his wetsuit and toweled the water out of his hair and off his chest before quickly pulling on a pair of cargo shorts and a red V-neck shirt. He climbed in his jeep and tossed the towel in the back seat. His hidden cove was empty, as always, and Shane gunned the jeep on the dirt path that led to the main highway. The southern Oregon morning traffic had only slightly begun, which made Shane's drive to school all the easier. He cranked up his music and hummed along to an upbeat song, ignoring the tired glares that the other students directed at him as he pulled into the school parking lot. He pulled into a parking spot that was relatively close to the front door and killed the engine, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes. He sat there, resting, for a few minutes before he heard the whispers. He cracked one eye open and turned in his seat, frowning as his best friend Grayson was about to shout in an attempt to startle him. "I really wish you would find some other way to say hello." Shane said irritably, grabbing his book bag from the passenger seat and climbing out of his jeep. "Seriously. You never win. I'm sure someone else would be much easier to scare."

"Nah." Grayson said, evidently finding pleasure in his failure. "You know many people would say that my own personal brand of friendship is in very high demand."

"Not by me." Shane said curtly, but he smiled nonetheless.

"That's because I'm always around you. You have a surplus of my friendship." Grayson said wisely. Other than Shane, Grayson was one of the only students that was actually a morning person. If it weren't for that fact the two would have absolutely nothing in common. Grayson was a social butterfly and involved himself in as many sports and clubs as he possibly could. Shane on the other hand was much more reserved. "You coming to tonight's game? You know the coach always wants you on the sidelines."

"I don't know." Shane said noncommittally. He knew exactly why the coach wanted him there and it wasn't because of his athleticism. It was for his mind. "Might do some night surfing tonight. The swell was pretty great this morning, hoping tonight might be the same."

"Come on dude!" Grayson groaned as they walked through the front doors. "It's the playoffs! You have to come!"

"You can win without my help." Shane told him reassuringly, morbidly amused by Grayson's pleas. "Besides, everyone just gets freaked out when I'm there."

Grayson thought about this for a moment and then shrugged with a rueful grin. "They don't say anything if we win though, do they?" Grayson laughed. "Just make sure that we keep winning."

"I'll do what I can." Shane said uncertainly. His dislike of attending games extended further than just his rather anti-social tendencies. With his assistance the team had yet to lose a game this season, a marked improvement over last year's winless season. This was the first year that they had made playoffs in over half a century. Shane had joined the team only after much whining and convincing on Grayson's part. Their first game had started out like every game had last season, but at halftime something changed. During the second half Shane's team had routed the opposition without allowing so much as a single yard in offense. The victory had been so one sided in the second half that an article in the county newspaper had actually called into question the referee's judgement. The change had begun when Shane had put a quiet word into his coach's ear and that word had led to the dark haired young man getting a headset. After the rout the coach had looked at Shane like he had been possessed. Guess that's what happens when you can tell them exactly what play the other team is going to run. Shane thought bitterly. After they went on the longest winning streak in school history word began to spread and Shane soon enough began to receive odd looks from the other students. He had ignored it at the beginning, but soon enough the odd looks had turned into cold shoulders and ignored greetings.

"Just make sure you are there buddy!" Grayson encouraged him, punching his shoulder lightly. A light went off behind his eyes and a sly smile spread across the blonde man's face. "So have you heard the news? Some rich doctor and his family moved into the old Franklin place up on the hill."

That took Shane by surprise. The Franklin place had long since been hailed as a local haunt, rumor had it that the ghosts of the elderly couple that died there still roaming its halls. "I thought that the Franklin place was run down?" Shane wondered. He had in fact been there just the month before and the walls had been falling in on themselves. "Where are they going to live? That place isn't suitable for living right now."

"Apparently they've been working on it for a little while now." Grayson shrugged. "I thought that maybe someone would have heard something before they actually got to school, but hey. It is what it is. What do you think they'll be like? From what I heard a few are juniors and a few are sophomores like us."

"I guess they'll be like normal students." Shane shrugged noncommittally. "I mean, the doctor is probably going to work at the local hospital, right? Or was he going to open up his own little clinic?"

"I don't know man." Grayson said, shrugging. "But from what I hear the girls are pretty freaking hot."

"One-track mind, right Grayson?" Shane sighed at his friend. "Come on, I don't want Mr. Zuma to yell at us for being late again."

"I'll meet you there." Grayson said, turning and walking the opposite direction from his friend with a backwards wave.

Shane rolled his eyes at the lie. Even without his… whatever it was he could tell that Grayson was lying without reading his thoughts. He very rarely showed up to class on time, but his position on the football team somewhat negated any hostility that the teachers might have had towards him. Unfortunately for Shane his role in the team, while largely responsible for their success, was only a passing rumor that made his life all the more difficult. The faculty would not be nearly as forgiving to him as they were to the other members of the team. Even the coach would only go so far to help him and he knew exactly how valuable Shane was. The five minute warning bell dinged gently overhead and Ryker walked into his first class, Chemistry, with a resolved sigh to another boring day at school. He didn't bother to mean any of the wary glares sent at him, he didn't even bother trying to listen into their thoughts. They would only be filled with suspicion laced slanders at him. He had heard them so often that he had most of them memorized. That was the unfortunate thing about a small school, creativity was not in large supply.

Shane took his usual place by the window and stared out at the student parking lot, already yearning for his surfboard again. He loved surfing before school, but it made school all the more boring because of it. He barely paid any attention at all that day, which was pretty much standard since the football season had begun. Yet even with that lack of interest his grades had never been better. Sort of makes it easy when you can eavesdrop on other people who have the right answer. Shane thought with a tedious sigh. He made it through the day without a care in the world, rejoicing internally when the final bell for the day rang. He was the first out of the class and had made it halfway to his truck when he heard the unmistakable bass voice of his coach call, "Shane! My office! Now!"

Groaning, Shane looked back and forth between the coach's office and his jeep before turning back and sulked his way into the office. Once inside the coach directed him to the chair on the other side of his desk. Taking the seat opposite him, the coach sat down and crossed his arms. "So, tonight's the first round of playoffs." He said gruffly, eyeing Shane warily. "We even have a home field advantage. So where were you going?"

"Nowhere." Shane muttered, resolving himself to another Friday wasted.

It was just as he had predicted. A wasted Friday. The other team put up a tremendous effort, even managing to score several touchdowns, but in the end their efforts were for naught. When the team met in the locker room the coach praised their tenacity and great skill, but Shane was left out of his praise. As usual. In fact, Shane had left as soon as the game was over. He wanted no part of the inevitable celebrations that were to follow the first playoff win for the school in such a long time. He wandered his way to his jeep and slipped into the driver's seat. He breathed out a sigh as he sat back in his seat, closing his eyes. "At least they made it interesting." He said quietly. Almost as much as he hated being used, he hated allowing a team that so definitely did not deserve to win the victories they had not earned. The opponents should have wiped the floor with them several times over but, thanks to Shane, it was as if none of their flawlessly executed plays could pierce the defense that seemed to know each play they ran.

The familiar sound of the waves on the shore served to somewhat calm him from his agitated state. Shane quickly switched his clothes out for his wetsuit and grabbed his board. The moon provided a perfect light for night surfing, which Shane eagerly took advantage of. He paddled out to where the waves crested and spent the next several hours losing himself in the waves. Only when the water had grown too cold for him to bare did he finally return to shore. Even the sand was bitterly cold beneath his feet, but the activity had served his purpose. He had effectively tuned out the pesky guilt that had accompanied the victory. He grabbed his towel from his jeep and was toweling off his hair when he heard something behind him. He glanced around curiously and his mind went momentarily blank. Standing behind him was an absolutely gorgeous girl. Far surpassing anyone that Shane had ever seen before, in fact she eclipsed them entirely. She was gazing at him with such an odd medley of emotions that all intrigued him equally. "Uh, hi?" He said uncertainly, throwing his towel over one shoulder and leaning casually on his jeep. He focused his mind and peered into her thoughts, curious as to why she was in his hidden cove, and immediately recoiled. She was thirsty in a way that Shane had never experienced. In the instant that his mind touched hers he instantly knew that she was not human. She was something else entirely. She took a lurching step towards him, her chocolate brown eyes ravenous even in the moonlight. Shane tried to take a step back as well, but he merely ran into his beach. She took another step forward, hesitant and jerky like before. It was almost as though she did not want to move towards him. But move towards him she did all the same. When she was only five feet away Shane threw his surfboard at her and leapt into his jeep. He heard a shattering sound but did not bother to see what had become of his board. Instead he turned the key in his jeep and slammed his foot on the accelerator. The jeep lurched forward about a foot before it suddenly stopped. Shane hammered the ignition over and over but it was no use. Cold hands grabbed him and roughly pulled him out of his vehicle. He was airborne for a moment before falling hard against the dirt road. His breath was driven from his lungs but before he could draw in another breath the girl was there. Her eyes were filled with remorse and hunger as she leaned over Shane. He tried to push her away but she was strong on a level he had never experienced before. Strong on a level that he didn't even think existed. Her hands were like vices as they wrapped around his head and forced his neck to the side. "I'm so sorry." She whispered before lowering her mouth to his now exposed neck.

"What are- STOP!" Shane wheezed, fighting to regain his breath.

But she did not stop. He screamed in pain when her teeth broke the skin of his neck and she began to drink his blood. It was all the more terrifying as Shane could hear her own hatred for her actions, hating herself. His vision grew dark and his attempts at pushing her off grew more and more sluggish until he was forced to cease the efforts altogether. His hands fell to his side and he faded from consciousness entirely.

Alright readers, first of all thank you for taking the time to read. Your input as to this story thus far are tremendously appreciated. This was... interesting to write.