The cool wind blew strongly, caressing my hair and pushing me foward, as if beckoning me to go where it took me.

"Val, come on! We are behind time already!"

"Coming, Mum!"

I haven't formally introduced myself, I am Valenie Angel, 19 years old currently and shifting houses again. I live with my mother as my father died when I was very young due to a car crash. No matter how many times I ask my mother about the car crash she always told me she had no idea. I guess she didn't want to tell me the gory details of the accident.

I grabbed my rucksack and looked at the exterior of the house for the last time. I took care to take note of the surroundings, to remember each and every detail as this was the place where I had my fondest memories. I gripped my backpack tighter and bit my lip to prevent tears from falling. I opened the car door of the red, old car and pushed my bag inside I waved goodbye to the house and to anyone who could see me. I sighed and texted my friends that I would be going to a distant faraway place where I will not fit in and people will look at me like I was an alien. I closed the car door behind me and my mother started the car and we were off.

Throughout the car journey I stared at the clouds in the blue sky. It was hard to believe that I would still live under the same sky with all my friends. The ringing of my phone snapped me back to reality. I dug into my enormous rucksack for my phone and wondered why in the world would I have bought such a big bag in the first place.Oh! It was my best friend who pulled me to buy one of those as it was part of the trend. A small smile played at my lips. It was very funny yet I couldn't seem to make myself smile. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to walk down memory lane. All too soon I was here.

The distant rumbling of car came from a far distance, two to three kilometres perhaps? Maybe further. The rain had masked the sound a little. Coming to our school perhaps? Still, just another person to deal with. The smell of blood had filled the air with rust and salt. It would seem that way to humans, but it smelled heavenly to vampires. It also signalled the arrival of dear Roxanne, my sister. I am Desmond Devilo. One of the eternal damned, that is, a vampire.

The door banged and it creaked with disapproval of my sister's treatment.

"Do you need to be so rough?"

My sister shrugged in reply, her blonde curls falling behind her shoulders. Her blue eyes always seem to look further than what is on the outside. I looked in dismay at the blood dripping from her red lips.

"You better pray that no one saw that."

My sister wiped away the blood from her lips and asked me about the human.

"What human?"

"The one that is on her way here."

"Can you see her face?"

I concentrated hard on the car. One? Two voices.

"Ah..."

"What?" Roxanne asked.

"Two humans."

Roxanne walked out of the room. I turned back to the small human at the back of the car. She had brown hazelnut coloured eyes, long brown hair and pale rose coloured lips. She looked like an angel.

The pitter-patter of raindrops woke me. Great! A wet welcome...I pushed my hair out of my eyes and pulled my blue jacket closer to myself. I looked at the street lights appearing in the distance then fading into the darkness behind.

A very grand house came into view, it was situated at the top of the hill, even when the colours were so bright and cheery it seemed dark. The car screeched to a sudden halt and my mother mumbled an apology.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, we have reached."

I glanced up just to realise that we were in the driveway of a house two storeys high. It was pink and blue, with square windows and a front garden with wilting roses lining up on either side of the path. I went behind to help the luggage and dragged it all the way to the house. I gripped the key in my hand and walked silently to the doorstep. The locked clicked and I pushed the door open with much effort. A creaking sound broke the silence. Will this wake the entire neighbourhood? Everyone will know that I am coming home or something. I heaved with effort due the backpack. What greeted me was a comforting sight, even though the house looked dreary on the outside, the interior was tastefully decorated with a small sofa facing the television and a dining big enough for four. That's big enough. I don't think we will expect anyone for dinner. The interior was painted sky blue with lime green and the steps were white with a glossy look to it.

"Pick a room, there is more than enough rooms."

I jumped; I did not hear my mother coming. I nodded quickly, eager to unpack. I let my hand gently trail along the rough wall on my way up. There were three rooms and two bathrooms. I took a peek into all of the rooms before settling on the one which faced the road. I really liked the window in this particular room as there was an extension of the wall below the window, allowing me to sit comfortably on the bottom of the window. I picture myself on some pillows sipping hot chocolate and reading a nice novel. The room looked sweet, literally. There was an assortment of cakes, chocolate and ice-cream on the walls which drew me to the room in the first place, I have a sweet tooth. Baby pink walls with a sort of creamy yellow touch to it, a small radio the shape of an ice-cream sat on the table in the far right corner of the room. Built in cupboards were decorated with posters of all shapes and sizes. After another look, I realised they were drawings of a family, probably the one which lived here previously. Light knocks on the door announced my mother's arrival. I turned to look at her.

"How many people used to live here? Are there five people? Why did they go?"

My mother was surprised and did not know how to answer me.

"How did you..."

I tapped the cupboard door and sighed, some of the drawings were so big how could she have missed it? I sat on my bed in the left side of the room. And started unpacking.

"I will be going out to get a better look of the place. Can I take the car?"

"But what if you..."

"Mom! I have a licence."

My mother opened her mouth to speak but I cut in.

"And... I won't get lost. I have a built-in GPS, remember? Much like a homing pigeon."

While pushing my mother out of the door, I pleaded for her to cook spaghetti. She thought about it and told me to buy beef and noodles. I looked at her and arched an eyebrow.

"I haven't gone out in a while and the cupboards are bare. Unless you want to eat imaginary pasta..."

My tummy growled. I grabbed my jacket and wallet resting on the bed and ran quickly out of the house. I reached the car and dug around my pocket for my car keys.

"Val. The car keys are on the table!"

"Oh okay, thanks!"

I smiled sheepishly at my mother and went back into the house for the car keys. Finally! I am getting a chance to drive. I slid into the car seat and started the car. The rhythmic falling of the rain onto the windscreen, created a steady beat, soothing to my ears. I stepped on the pedal and the car lurched forward, and then groaned. It spluttered and died.

"Oh my gosh! I killed it."

I banged the steering wheel and tried to start it again. Nothing. I killed the car.Ahhh! I KILLED THE CAR! Mom's gonna kill me!

I chuckled. That old car was a goner from the start. If only she knew what her mother was thinking. How could she? She is not like me.

"What's so funny?"

"Mum."

My mother's pale face shone in the sunlight. She seemed aged, yet as a vampire she couldn't have. What was it? Her green eyes? Or the wrinkles that appeared when she smiled? Her hair had always stayed brown with a hint of ebony. My mother had probably been worrying.

"Do you think you can complete the school year?"

I nodded unsure yet hoping that I would not cave in to my desires. For blood. I wrinkled my face in disgust. My mother, Emilia, patted me on the head and said,

"Don't put pressure on yourself."

I listened half-heartedly, the back of my mind wandered to the inconspicuous human in the towncenter. A babble of voices filled my head. But I only wanted to listen to one voice. Her voice.

I hopped out of the car slammed the door and ran as fast as I could till I couldn't see the house any longer. Panting, I continued walking. The town centre was in front and I could see the pasta and butcher shop side by side round the corner. I felt the warmth of the sun embrace through the cold rain. A gust came at me and as sudden as it came, it went. I shook my head. Is it me or did I see something there?

A sudden emotion had washed through me just as Val experienced it. Shock.

"Roxanne." I said through gritted teeth.

I listened carefully to the small voice in her head. Relief had washed through me when Val brushed my sister off as a figment of her imagination.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The tinkling of bells as pushed through the butcher door alerted my arrival. The butcher, a lady of about 45 years of age, greeted me. Wow! I didn't expect the butcher to be a woman... this seems more of a man's job.

"Are you the lady who just moved here?"

"Um...yeah I guess I just moved here, how did you know?"

"Word of mouth gets around quickly ya know? After all we are quite a small town."

"I would like to buy minced beef, please."

Boy was I in for a surprise of how quickly everyone knew of my arrival. The butcher smiled and gave me more then I asked for. I paid the money and went out of the shop. The pasta shop was filled with a sort of wheat smell. It was pretty warm and cosy. When I finished making my purchases and was about to walk out the door, two guys, one with blond hair, green eyes and small build and one with reddish brown, a lengthy build and blue eyes came in and bumped into me.

"I am sooo sorry, did I hurt you miss?"

I nodded. The guys seemed to be looking at me. Is it a pimple? No way!

I almost jumped out of my seat. I looked at the audacious person. Ha! Rick Clyon, the so-called ladies man. I studied Val's face while listening to her voice. She thought she had a pimple. When the guys were thinking of whether she just moved into town. A pimple... hardly...her face is flawless. Jewel-like eyes which were exactly like Roxanne's; it looked into your soul.

"You are the pretty girl which just moved into town!"

Is it on the newspapers or something? I can see the headlines. Girl, 19 moves house due to circumstances. It was like the whole town knew of my arrival. The guys were called Kelvin, the blond one and Rick, the reddish brown haired one.

I smiled. Her thoughts were different from others. She has funny misconceptions of what people think. It was easy for me as I knew exactly what people thought. It was a small town. Val should have expected it. The only thing that the guys got correctly was the fact that Val is pretty. The simpletons.
 "Are you coming to Dakota College with us?"

"Huh?

Town I should be, after all it is the only college here right?"

Kelvin and Rick politely walked me home and filled me on St. Vampere.

"Meet you in school! Do you need us fetch you?"

I declined the offer. They were really nice, maybe I will fit in after all. At dinner, I told my mom about the guys. She was pleasantly surprised that I made new friends in such a short period of time. I washed my plate and walked up to my room. It was the way I had left it. Clothes strewn around and hardly packed. I opened the window to allow fresh air to replace the stale musty one in the room. I set my laptop on the table and my MP3 beside it. I lay on the bed and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

I moved silently to the bed, a mere prop in the house, like the kitchen. I picked out a book from the vast library in the room. As I read the book, I trained my thoughts on Val. Her dreams would show things about her, mostly her personality, what really went on in her mind. I got up after a while to go hunting, I saw in the mirror the colour of my eyes changing. I felt really thirsty too. The burning sensation had returned .I also knew that I had to prepare myself for tomorrow. The forest had a vast number of preys. The smell of animals filled my nostrils. I let the nicest smell guide me towards it. The kill was fast and accurate. It was over in a minute. I wiped the blood trail from my mouth and proceeded home.