The rain was pouring down. It fell from the sky and soaked everything and everyone. London was wet, really wet. Rain fell from the trees, the people, the buildings and the swings, the playpens, the benches and the umbrellas. Crowds trudged along, bustling and depressed. Except her. She walked along slowly, savouring each droplet of water as it fell onto her ivory skin. She watched the water glisten as it cascaded from the sky. She missed the rain; she craved for it, it was like returning home.

Her jeans were soaked half way up her leg. The furred fringe of her hood was now sodden. Her socks so wet she felt as though they could never dry. However, she didn't care. The colour of her hair was indistinguishable beneath the thick layer of rain. Her smooth young face was upturned to the damp heavens. She stepped daintily through the deepest puddles, padded softly along the fast flowing rivers and tip toed beside the soaked fields.

She grounded to a silent halt as a tall young man stepped out in front of her and blocked her path. Her deep eyes wondered over his facial features, taking in his strong jaw line, slight stubble, light cheekbones and flushed brow. His blue-grey eyes, masculine nose, slightly pointed ears and wavy dark hair. However, his scent stood out to her most. His scent soothed her yet overwhelmed her, made her feel comfortable yet made her nervous, it made her alert and careful. She smiled timidly as she realised who he was. Or rather what he was. He turned towards her – startled at her unknown presence and smiled
"Sorry!" He exclaimed and turned again to leave. She watched his expression carefully. She saw him momentarily hesitate. She saw him take in her scent. She could see the furrow of his brow as he registered who she was. His body slowly turned towards her. His eyes slightly widened with surprise. She raised one of her her eyebrows teasingly. He gently leaned towards her, listening intently.
Then he heard something. Something that wasn't supposed to be there. However, it was. The tall dark stranger stood before her and frowned. She reached out, placed her hand in the centre of his broad chest and pushed him to the edge of the crowd. When they were out of earshot from passing strangers, he looked deep into her eyes and asked,
"What are you?" She smiled, her light pink lips slightly parted to reveal pearl white teeth beneath.
"My name is Lara, Lara Rauchlend. I need to talk with you" she said
"John! John where are you, I leave you alone for three seconds and you disappear! I mean come on . . . "A refined and handsome man broke from the crowd. His hair was dripping from the rain, his black suit soaking but his eyes wide and alert. He walked slowly and gracefully over to them. He stared at Lara and Lara stared back. She could feel his presence as his eyes bored into her. The stranger was lost in her eyes. They were like great pools of greens and blues. He became dimly aware of the rain slowing around him.
"Alex – this is Lara Rauchlend, Lara this is Alex Matthews and I am John Murray" His soft voice broke the silence.
"I want to talk with you both" she whispered, "I know what you are"
"Tut tut John, what have I told you about talking with them about us, you've known her for like three seconds man. I suppose we can just dazzle her. This is the last time " He was stopped midsentence by John
"Alex, shut up and smell her," he said. Alex frowned and looked at his friend. John was usually right. He raised his finely groomed eyebrows just enough to look amused yet bewildered. However, he done as he was asked. Alex leaned towards her, swallowed her scent greedily, and took an involuntary step backwards into a shallow puddle
"Sorry, it's just at first you didn't seem to be …" He was once again stopped mid sentence "What now?" He demanded,
"Alex, shut up and listen" John said, barely audible. Alex sighed and rolled his eyes at his friend. None the less, he listened closely to Lara. His eyes widened with shock and John frowned. Slowly Alex straightened up and calmly walked over to John
"How the hell is that possible?" he hissed. John said nothing but shook his head slowly and stared transfixed at the … girl? In front of him.

She let out a deep breath inwardly. They were watching her so carefully. Inwardly she was screaming,
"What the hell are you doing? Are you crazy?" Outwardly, she was silent. The first man, John, wouldn't stop staring at her. Lara bit her lip. She didn't want to make eye contact with him. He knew her secret. He knew what she was, or what she wasn't. Sort of. Her defensive barrier had been broken. She felt as though she was taped to a microscope whilst John and, Alex examined her. However, she felt, no, she knew that they were different. First of all, they hadn't tried to kill her – yet – which is a bonus.
Whilst she was deep in thought a stranger, collided with Lara and sent her sprawling. She landed on the cold wet ground, cried out in pain, and then, darkness
Lara groaned and opened her eyes, she slowly reached up and tenderly felt a sore bruise forming.
"Owww!" She exclaimed. She blinked and looked around her. She was sat on a green park bench; she noticed the rain had started to pour down again. There was a dull drone in the background, which, she realised, was the crowd of people walking by. Lara looked to her right. There was a man sitting beside her watching her intently. Droplets of rain danced over his face. Who was he? His eyes were blue-grey, like nothing she had ever seen before. However, Lara hesitated, she had seen them before, he was …
"John!?!" she exclaimed in a hoarse whisper "What happened?" She became aware of a throbbing in her head. He grinned broadly
"You remember me! You fell and knocked your head on the corner of the bench and knocked yourself out"
"Where's umm," she frowned "Umm Alex?" John discreetly winced
"He is, taking care of something" He looked down at his shoes. Lara frowned and glanced over his shoulder. She saw Alex walking towards them. He wiped his sleeve across his mouth. Lara's eyes widened.
"He didn't!" She asked. John nodded his head.
Alex came up to them.
"He won't be bumping into any more people – so, you wanted to talk" Alex raised his eyebrows. Lara nodded silently.
"Where?" asked John. Lara frowned with deep concentration, her brow furrowed so that it hurt her head and she chewed her top lip lightly. She lifted her head to look at the men, her eyelids fluttered softly against the rain. "I know a place"
Alex smirked "Lets go then"
John helped Lara to her feet "You okay?" He asked.
"I banged my head, I didn't ran over or chucked from a seven story building, don't worry, I'm fine!" she turned around and rolled her eyes teasingly at Alex who, in turn, laughed silently.
Lara took a deep breath. This was it. She was going to tell them. She was going to tell someone, after eleven months, someone would know. Someone would know why she had a heartbeat even though … Even though she was, un-dead.
She led them down streets. Thin streets, wide streets, dry streets and wet streets. She led them down shortcuts and through alleyways. Busy shortcuts, deserted shortcuts, empty alleyways and bustling ones. She manoeuvred them through crowds. Loud crowds, quiet crowds, chatty crowds and bleak ones.
On the corner of a wet, dimly lit, cobbled street Lara stopped. She stood beside a café called Eripma`v
"Don't say anything and just follow me" She eyed her companions and walked in. There were four customers sat on bar stools drinking coffee. An overweight, middle-aged balding man was stood drying dishes behind the counter. Lara ignored them all and walked over to a large door which she pushed open to reveal a comfortable room with three tables and four chairs to each. Lara was greeting a handsome French man at the counter. She beckoned them over.
"Alex, John, this is my good friend Louis, this is his vampire-friendly restaurant and he'll be serving us this afternoon" she smiled. Before they could protest, Lara led them to a table in the corner. They sat down beside each other, across from Lara and watched her take off her jacket and boots. She subconsciously tucked her soaked feet under her.
"Before I start, drinks anyone?" she asked. Both men nodded silently
"Louis! Can we please order?" she called out
"Of course!" he replied "What will you gentlemen be having?"
"A positive please" John replied glancing up as Loui took his order.
"B negative" Alex said.
"And you my friend?" He smiled down at Lara
"White coffee with three sugars please" She grinned as Loui walked away unfazed and burst out laughing at the expression on Alex and John's faces.
"I will explain, when I was, um" she hesitated "Eighteen my family was attacked. I lived with my aunt, uncle, older sister, younger brother and twin cousins who were four days younger than I was. I was sat in my room one day when I heard my aunt scream. I raced downstairs as the screaming stopped, cut short. They were all lying on the floor, dead, and the blood. There was more blood than I could have imagined. There was a woman, a monster, crouched over them. She looked at me. When I saw them eyes, looking at me, they were black, full of hate, I knew what she was; I knew I was going to die.
I remember running through the house, trying to catch my breath, trying to escape. The worst part was knowing, knowing that I was her prey and that this was a game to her. Of course, she caught up with me. She laughed at my feeble attempts to get away, resist her and before I knew it, she bit me. There was so much pain it was unbearable. I could feel the blood draining out of me. Then…then my little brother somehow came up behind that, monster and, smacked her over the head with a fire extinguisher. I felt her blood drip onto my face, in my hair, in my mouth. She turned on my brother then and attacked him. I ran as fast as I could, to get out of there, but I can still hear him screaming. I ran out into the street and didn't stop. I knew what I was. Rather I thought I knew. Something went terribly wrong" Lara stopped to brush the tears from her cheeks. John and Alex looked at her with horror and pity.
"What happened" Alex whispered
"Well I" Lara sighed "I don't think she drained me completely. I realised that, I was, still," she paused "Well, I am half human and half, vampire"