It had always been interesting in my life.

That's what I was thinking before the crash. The crash that took away my family, my life, my freedom... but not my friends. I was one of them. I had always been one of them.

I just never knew it.

My name is Rusk. It used to be Chane, but that was when I was still human.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Allow me to begin from the beginning.

Winter. A drive in the woods on the way home. It was a grand time in the car with my father Dave, my mother Ruth, and my younger sister Jennai. We all had our similarities and differences. We all had blonde hair, green eyes, and fair skin. Mom used to joke around that she and Dad were twins that were separated at birth. I used to wrinkle my nose at the thought of incest, but what I learned later was even more surprising. My sister was always making fun of me, though, because sometimes, when it was that time of month- my period- my eyes would change from green to kind-of-gold in a matter of seconds.

So we had been driving home on a Friday night, having a great time after seeing a Disney movie of some kind. We were joking around, laughing, singing, and imitating celebrities when the car suddenly slammed into a large, vertical object and sent the rear end of the car into the air. When it crashed down, Jennai and I yelped in pain. I remember mom turning to us, blood streaming from her nose, and yelling, "RUN." Jennai took me by the hand and opened the car door. I was dazed, but I followed my little sister. She seemed to know where she was going, but I sure as hell didn't.

Mom and Dad's screams rang in our ears, and Jennai wiped tears away from her eyes, and I kept running numbly. Whatever was happening had to be a hallucination or an injury-induced dream. That's what I had told myself.

"Chane, no matter what happens to me, get to the Happenhiemer's house." Jennai said. That was when I began to wonder. Wasn't the older sibling that usually said something like that? The Happenhiemers' were our neighbors, and their daughter Sentra was my best friend. I didn't say anything, but I nodded my head. I hadn't hit my head that hard, but everything seemed fuzzy and out of proportion. Jennai was the only steady thing I could see, even though she was running. We had been running for what seemed like only a few moments when a dark shadow enveloped me and ripped my hand away from Jennai's. I screamed, and Jennai turned around, shock showing in her eyes.

"Let go!" she yelled. But another dark shape threw itself upon her. "NO!" she cried.

I kept screaming and trying to run, fighting against my attacker's strong arms. The air was filled with flying snow as a car pulled up. The back door flew open and a voice yelled. I was being drug backwards, towards the car.

"JENNAI!!!!!" I screamed one lsat time before the car door was slammed shut and the lock went down. Jennai's still body on the snowy meadow was the last thing I saw before the creeps that had taken me hostage and sedated me. I had continued to fight, so in went the needle and out went my consciousness.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a chair, tied up and in a grey room. At first I tried to struggle out of my bonds, but decided it might be best to take it easy and wait for an explanation. I was only 15, for chrissakes! What on earth could be wanted from a 15-year-old?! After a while, I decided not to answer that question.

I can't say exactly how much time passed while I was like that, but it felt like hours until someone came in and I had actual human contact. Several someones, to be exact. Two males and a female.

"Sorry, dear. You look uncomfortable. Untie her." the woman ordered. The taller male, a blonde guy that looked like he was around twenty-five years of age, ripped my bonds off and helped me to my feet.

The other male, a bald guy with an undeterminable age, stood by the door like a bodyguard. Somehow I knew that he had been instructed not to touch me. I wobbled a little, unsure of my balance, but quickly regained it.

"It's best to not ask any questions. This is your home now. Meal time is in fifteen minutes. You are free to move around the room as you like." the woman said in a robotic voice. Then, as swiftly as they had come, they were gone. My head spun and I flopped down on the ground, kneeling with my fists on the floor. I barely heard the door open and close as a small tray of what seemed to be beef stew was placed where it's aroma could reach me. Still I did not move. the stew reminded me of my mother, and I was suddenly full of questions that were screaming and begging to be let out. Instead, I began to cry silent, slaty tears. I never had much of a backbone to begin with.

"You seem to be in the wrong room, my child. Please, follow me." a silky, sweet-yet-dangerous-as-hell voice said. I looked up to see a man dressed in a chocloate-brown suit and wiped my eye of tears. He turned and strode past the tray of stew, and I felt compelled to follow him. I did so cautiously and was surprised to see an elaborate hallway with rich purples, reds, and silvers after being in a small grey room. The man from before took off and I nearly had to run in order to keep up with him.

"Here is where your room will be, child." He opened a door and I stepped into the room. One thing I had learned was to just go along with whatever was happening and pray for a knight in shining armor to save you, and to hope that he had a lot of bullets as well.

This room was was just no other word for it. It had carpet, a big bed, a desk with a poofy chair to sit in- and a fireplace.

"The lady from before said I wasn't allowed to ask questions." I said, gazing around the room in wonder.

"If you have one, please ask."

"Where am I?"

There was a small pause. "You're fine. As long as you're here with us they will not touch you." the man answered.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"My name would be Herkan. You are Chane, I presume?" Herkan asked.

I nodded. "Yes, my name is Chane. Where is my family?"

Another pause. "i'm afraid your family won't be joining us. They have been taken care of. Now, you must be tired. Please get some rest." Herkan said, and he bent over to kiss my hand. "Good sun, my dear."

Good sun?!

I woke up the next morning to remember where I was rather than to wake up from this terrible dream. The big bed was almost too comfortable, but it had aided my quest for a good night's sleep. Now that I was rested up, I could finally figure out an escape plan, use it, and then sell it on Ebay for thirteen thousand bucks. I wriggled out of the bed and went to look out the window.

Iron bars. I was screwed. The window was my only hope because I had no doubt that there were guards stationed outside of the room just waiting for me to make a wrong move. Wonderful. But as I looked, I recognized my coordinates. I was in the only place that no one would even consider looking for me in: the caste of Lord Desecrat. In my modern town, it had never been torn down for its old and unpopular sights but rather left up so that our town could show its history.

I looked and saw the forest on the edges of the town. It was a small place, really, my hometown in Canada. Never really any tourists there to worry about, either. But I wondered. What would my friends think when I didn't show up to school? Would the police even bother looking for me?

I scratched an itch on my thigh and realized that I had slept in my clothes. As I looked around, I realized that there were also no clothes for to change into, so it really hadn't mattered. I had nothing to do, so I went and laid back down on the bed and watched dust particles and a small spider play freeze tag on the cieling. And then, without explanation, I started to cry. I wanted this nightmare to end. I wanted to see my sister Jennai play baseball. I wanted to see my mom and help her cook. I wanted to go hunting with my dad.

I wanted out of here. Why was I here, anyway? What did these people- this Herkan guy- want from me?

"You're awake, I see. I've brought you some breakfast and fresh clothes."

I looked at a girl, no older than me, who had slipped silently into my room. She was wearing a black, knee-length dress with a purple apron. I swear to you, her eyes were purple as well. Her hair was slicked back in a bun, the golden color mixing with small red swirls. On her eye was a tattoo- a tattoo of a music key.

"Nice. Did you come from the circus as well?" I asked bitterly.

"Oh, no. This is a standard-uniform. It's required here, mi'lady. Come, come, I have also prepared a bath for you."

I followed Maid-girl out the doors of my room, down the hall, to the left three times, the right once, and finally found a bathtub with warm water waiting just for me. On one side was a privacy screen. The tub itself was very old- clawed feet, one side highed than the other.

"I'll be on the other side of the screen if you should need me." Maid-girl said.

I sighed and took off my shirt. "Sure." Off with the rest of the clothes, into the tub with me. I decided to just stay in the tub and soak for as long as I could. Water seemed to calm me down and help me think clearly. There was a small table next to the tub, a silver one, with shampoo, conditioner, and soap.

Screw that. I thought to myself. I applied a tiny amount of shampoo and washed it out, then continued to saok some more. Eventually Maid-girl asked if I was done and whether or not I would like my towels warmed up. "Why not." I snarled. "Just trick me even more, right?"

She didn't seem to care. The warm towels were all right, I'll admit, but I still felt disoriented and trapped. As I put on the fresh clothes, Herkan himself appeared in the room and surprised the crap out of me.

"Good Morning. Care to join me for a walk?" he asked ever so sweetly.

I stood my ground. "Tell me what's going on here." I ordered.

Herkan crossed his arms behind his back and gave me a strange look. "You have no reason to know. Just be a good girl and do as wel tell you."

This was when the pangs of growing began in my body. What I didn't know back then was that the process I was going through took two years exactly to complete, and that the cycle began and ended exactly one month after my birthday.

I fell to the floor and yowled in pain. My legs hurt, and it felt like my teeth were cutting my gums. Herkan did not look amused as he watched me gasp and shake on my hands and knees on the floor. "Resistance is futile. Be grateful that this came at just the right time."

I struggled to look up. "Y-you bastard... what did you do to me?!"

"You are merely growing into your inheritance. This will never be fully explained to you, however, so you needn't worry about it." Herkan looked pleased all of a sudden.

"AAAGH!" I cried out, and shut my eyes against the pain. I didn't have to taste it to know that blood had just spurted out of my mouth onto the floor. I rolled onto my side and cradled my body. I'm not sure about how long this lasted, but it was over eventually. Herkan simply turned his back on me and walked away.

"Learn to behave and maybe I'll tell you some of the reason why you're here."

Sunday. Day two of my imprisonment. I had been alone since my episode the day before, and was sitting with my knees to my chin up against the wall. Maid-girl had given me a book to read, a young-adult vampire romance novel that I could care less about. The sun was shining at me through my iron-barred window. I had looked out of it again- only once- during the night because I had heard something. I needn't have wasted my energy. It was just a guard.

I sighed and pushed my face deeper into my knee. In all the storied I had read, the main character was kidnapped, tortured for an undeterminable length of time, and then rescued. I was a bit of a bookworm, but it kept me going. I held on to the one scrap of hope that I had. The door to my room opened and a bag was placed on the floor next to me. I didn't bother to look up when the door closed. After a little while, I looked at the bag.

"Who the hell gives a prisoner FAST FOOD?!?!?!??!? WHAT HAPPENED TO MICE AND GRUEL AND CRUSTS OF BREAD, MAYBE POISONED FISH?!!???!" I yelled, clutching at my head. None of the books or stories I had read ever mentioned THIS! When did the Count of Monte Cristo get McDonald's, for crying out loud?! After my drama, I opened the bag and slowly chowed down on the contents. I needed my strength, after all.

Just as I had eaten my last french fry, Herkan walked into my room, bold as you please, and smiled at me. "Glad you liked the food. Is there anything you'd like to drink?" he asked pleasantly.

"Just water is fine." I said, ignoring his hand that obviously wanted a handshake. "Since I'm a prisoner, you don't have to be nice to me."

"Prisoner? Oh, you're not a prisoner at all. You do have freedoms, you know. Come, let us walk." Herkan smiled genuinley.

I decided to follow him this time. All of my knowledge about kidnapping was gone- blown completely out of proportion. We stepped into the purple-gold-red hallway and turned left.

"Ah, this must feel better than being cooped up in your room all the time, right? Poor Chane. I'm sure you have homework from school, right?" Herkan asked in a fatherly tone.

"I don't even have my backpack. It's at home." I said with a hint of anger.

"Oh, no worries. It's here, all right." Herkan said cheerfully. "And we have a wide array of tutors ready and waiting for you if you need help. However," he stated suddenly, "When you come back after school you will be expected to do your homework right away and then take a seventy-minute class on history. Then you will have all the time to relax that you need. there will be no breaking this schedule."

Now I was worried. "Say what?"

"Oh, Strangla. How are you this evening?" Herkan paid me no heed.