Sarah walked down the dark streets of Los Angeles. She had come a long way from home. She was still searching for a reason to keep existing. She meant to go back to Christopher, but she kept putting it off and before you knew it 25 years had passed. She had been feeding on animals only the whole time. Christopher and Nikolas did not feed on animals. Despite their reasons and her acceptance of a world filled with gray, she could not bring herself to live with them. They killed humans. She had been raised her whole life to protect them. She could not reconcile her belief in preserving human life and her love for Christopher. She wanted to ask him to quit for her, but she could never ask that of him, not when she knew how much pain it caused him. She wandered these lonely streets searching for something. She was searching for a place to call home and a reason for eternity.
The nights were lonely and the days burned without her. Everyday a little more of him faded away. "Snap out of it she's not coming back..." Nikolas would say. He hoped she would return. He loved her. He made the greatest mistake in all of existence letting her go. He had even stopped killing. When Nikolas and he would hunt he would think of her, so much so that he gave it up. Everywhere he turned, he saw her. In his sleep he would think of her. He was wasting away without her.
"Is this the end?", Sarah whispered to herself. She was watching the pacific ocean for the first time in her life. She had been walking many years and now she ran out of road. The wet pavement under her soft steps did not notice her passing. The rain did not feel her embrace. The waves of the grand ocean did not see her. At 6:00 pm. the beach was beginning to clear out. She walked on a range of cliffs that seemed to guard the edges of the Santa Monica coastline. She gravitated to the pier. That in itself was strange as she usually tried to avoid large groups of people. The stars flickering bright and the waves crashing against the aged wood of the old pier combined with the whispering music of the festivities around her created a strange atmosphere of calm serenity. She saw a couple leaning on the edge of the pier, staring out into the ocean. The girl was snuggling into the boys chest and he had his arms wrapped around her. They couldn't be more then 17 years old but when they were together like that it seemed they had all the knowledge of the universe in their palms. In their quiet embrace Sarah let her imagination run away from her. She turned away from the couple and walked away from the pier. She had not yet figured out how to teleport with her mind. So only one road was open to her. She decided to walk back and just visit Christopher.
Nikolas said, " Come on Christopher, the guests are waiting, and I brought someone to meet you." He knew his brother only had good intentions but he wasn't interested in anyone Nikolas would bring to meet him. "Christopher!" he shouted at him. He breathed a heavy sigh and gave in, "Fine..." he said under his breath. They walked down the halls that carried black and white illusions that he once found comforting. Now they only made him think of the day he hurt Sarah. He walked down the stairs to the party and Nikolas disappeared and reappeared in an instant. He had with him a girl that possessed long,wavy blond hair that flowed to the back. She had cream-colored skin and deep, blue eyes. She looked very much like Sarah, but she wasn't Sarah. For a flicker of a second he almost thought it was her. Nikolas had obviously brought this girl to him in an attempt to make him forget Sarah, but no imitation would ever clear from his mind the image of the goddess whose name was Sarah. He humored Nikolas by talking to her. He danced with her and all the while imagining it was Sarah. Then the hour was about to fall, it was 11:55. He had not fed in a few days and there was a perfectly good human in front of him. "No!", he thought to himself. How could he falter now? The lights dimmed. The music quieted. The vampires silently picked out their prey. The clock struck twelve and he looked into her eyes, breathed in her intoxicating fragrance and slowly bent to her neck. His fangs pierced through the girl's skin and a delicious rush of blood flooded past his fangs and soothed his throat. He saw glimpses of the girls life. She was a very depressed girl. She wanted to die. He could so easily give her what she wanted, but she looked too much like Sarah. He couldn't bring himself to end her life. He drank but he only took a taste. He cut open his hand and she drank. He blood-bonded her to him. As she slept he carved his name into her left arm. He stared off into the distance. The room was empty. He stared at the girl whose name he didn't even know and thought of better times, happier times. His mind drifted to the past, when Sarah was still here.
Sarah was wary approaching the town. Her aura reaching out all around her. She detected numerous insect in the dirt. She could feel the powerful auras' stretching out from the Single Earth building. She would rather not have come here but she needed help. She realized halfway through her journey she had no idea where Christopher was these days. She had associated with some Single Earth people in her time but she could not bring herself to actually join the group. She was too afraid of encountering non-Single Earth witches. If her mother ever learned what had become of her, lets just say she didn't want to even think about it. She was startled to feel a familiar aura approaching her. Caryn Smoke was briskly walking in her direction, a bright smile on her face. Last time Sarah had seen her she had become the head of her line, the powerful smoke witches" I had a feeling you'd be here today Sarah." " How would you know that? And why are you even here? Isn't your house 200 miles from here?" " So many questions Sarah... Come inside, I'll answer whatever I can. Its not safe out here." Caryn's eyes darted all around her as if she expected monsters to come jumping out at any moment. Her stance was not something Sarah expected her to be capable of. It seems times had changed. Sarah had been disconnected from the world for far too long. As she walked into the building Sarah nearly stumbled to the floor. The strength of the magic wards around the place must have been incredibly strong. " Sorry, it takes some getting used to but believe me, it's necessary." " I've had enough cryptic remarks Caryn, I need help, if you can help fine. If you can't, that's fine too, but I don't enjoy being toyed with." Caryn's face was blank. She showed no reaction at all. It was as if Sarah had said nothing at all. She continued walking and came to a stop at a regular looking wooden door. Sarah realized that despite her aura flaring out, she could feel no one else in the building. " It's part of the protection Sarah, there are a lot of people here." "How did you do that? Whats going on here Caryn?" " Times have changed Sarah. This world, our world, has fallen into a state of war. Ten years ago a group of powerful vampires attacked the Vida line of witches. Sarah, they...killed Dominique." Sarah's confused stare quickly became a mask of horror." What!/ How is that possible? No..." " Adriana survived. She was quick to seek vengeance. As the new head of the line she called a meeting. She gave us an ultimatum. If Single Earth did not side with her, we would be against her. Things got out of hand, voices were raised. As head of the Smoke line I decided to leave the council. The smoke witches came with me to Single Earth. Silver's Blood line got involved, they offered us their assistance. Rumor even went around that Siete himself is planning to intervene." Sarah spoke after a very awkward silence, " I don't understand. How could things have changed so drastically? That still doesn't explain the powerful protection around this place, or how you knew I would be here." Caryn turned towards the door, her eyes quickly scanning all directions. Again, this paranoid attitude seeming to surface at odd times. " Sarah, I didn't have a choice. I took help from whomever offered it. I accepted Silver's offer on the terms that he would curb the appetite of his line. Silver himself now does not feed on humans." Her eyes seemed to drop as she said this. There was something she wasn't telling Sarah. " The Triste witches sided with Adriana. They were too powerful. We needed defenses of our own Sarah. We were desperate. We did things we aren't proud of. You know Sarah, the Smokes were once the most peaceful of all witches. Now we are warriors, using our magic to kill, not to heal. Our magic combined with the Shape-shifter magic created this barrier. One shape-shifter among us can see the future. Its a shaky alliance. Enough explaining, you've come here to ask for my help, no?" Sarah spoke, " I need your help finding Christopher."
Christopher was happier then he had been in a while. Thoughts of Sarah still haunted him, but Ariel was a blessing. She was kind and generally likable. He spent his most of his time with her. It was a regular day. One like all the others that had passed. The wind seemed to blow more ominously. The birds were oddly quiet. The sky itself clouded its own vision with oddly shaped clouds. Christopher noticed none of this. Ariel was sitting on the luxurious couch waiting for him. He sat down next to her. She turned her head, the sweetest look on her face. He gently caressed her right cheek. His eyes fell to her throat. She leaned back her head. Christopher had different plans. He tilted her head up. She looked confused. He moved his face closer to her. He gently laid a kiss on her soft lips. Then quickly jerked away. He realized that he had been thinking of Sarah. " Sorry, that was out of line." Ariel looked out the window and said, " It's okay... Who's that?" Christopher turned toward the window, and there he saw the angel that haunted his dreams. Sarah was standing right outside the house with a small letter clutched in her right hand. From where she stood she had a full view into the house through the window. Christopher had just drawn the curtains. Her features were crumpled into a face that could only be seen on a broken heart. She turned away from the window and began to walk away. Christopher quickly ran out to her and he shouted out, : Sarah wait!"
What exactly did she expect? Did she expect to see him worried and anticipating her return? I don't know why I actually thought... I thought that he...Her whole thought process in taters, she walked calmly away from the house. She heard Kristopher shouting her name, but she didn't consciously register that fact. And then she was gone, for a fraction of time that was not time at all she did not exist in space-time. Sarah turned her head up and realized she was somewhere she did not recognize. It was very cold and a dusty desert spread as far as the eye could see. She walked and walked and it seemed as if she hadn't gone anywhere. The desert was the same no matter which direction she walked. She decided to run at full vampire speed, surely she would reach a location sometime. She ran for over twelve hours and amazingly she did not get anywhere. "This is impossible... I should have ... somewhere... What is going on?" She took a deeper look at her surroundings and began to realize that there shouldn't be a heat haze over the desert at night, not when it was this cold. There seemed to be a strange clear mist ghosting over the entire area. She realized that the sun should have risen by now. It was still a dark, cold night. "Something magicky is definitely going on here...", she whispered into the dark.
It had been ages since any soul dared venture here. The ancient spirit of the Lost Desert watched the young vampire wander endlessly through her realm. "So so long since any living being ventured here...", the spirit whispered to her invisible companion.