Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the television show, True Blood, or the book series by Charlaine Harris. I do, however, own all characters that were not in or mentioned in the show/books.

Chapter One

Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves –
regret for the past and fear of the future.
Fulton Oursler

"So, what is this thing again, Dad?" I questioned as I tried for the fourth or fifth time to get my sleeping bag to fit in its carrier. My dad and I were in the living room packing our bags slowly. We weren't exactly excited about our upcoming adventure.

Dad shrugged his shoulders. "Some thing your mom wants us to go to at the church. I tried to tell her we were a little old for lock-ins, but you try talking sense in to her." He took the sleeping back out of my hands and gently after a few seconds had it in the carrier.

"Thanks," I said with a sheepish smile.

When we had moved to Texas due to my dad's job, my mom had insisted that we try our hardest to find a church in the area that fit out spiritual needs. If there was just one thing wrong with a church, she declared it was not the one. Five churches and eight agonizing weeks later, my mom had finally found THE church for us (or so she believed). The Fellowship of the Sun, in her opinion, was everything we needed to be good Christians.

"Reverend Newlin and his wife are just a delight!" she gushed. "Not only do they preach about His love for us, but they fight bravely for the rights of human's to exist free from fear of those nasty vampires. You should have been there, Roger, the congregation is so full of love and acceptance. They welcomed me with open arms!"

It wasn't a surprise that mom had found a church the Sunday dad and I went to visit family members out of town. She had passed up the opportunity in order to continue her search. So here we were, three months after Mom's declaration packing for some lock-in the church was throwing.

I sat on the edge of the couch and fiddled with the zipper of my bag. Though I didn't want to go to this church shindig, I felt like I had to. Mom had always been there for me when I needed it. She cleaned, made dinner, did the laundry, and drove me around for years. One little lock-in wouldn't be too bad.

"What's the worst that could happen?" I said with a shrug as Dad patted my shoulder.

"It'll be over before we know it," he chuckled.

"I sure hope so."

"Ready to go?" Mom asked, appearing in the doorway. She looked so happy and alive. Her blonde hair curled around her face, bouncing gently as she shifted from foot to foot. Her excitement was palpable.

I smiled and grabbed my duffle. "Yep, all ready to go. My outfit okay?"

I was wearing blue jeans, tennis shoes, and an old t-shirt. My brown hair hung loose just past my shoulder blades. No use in getting dressed up if I was just going to be lounging around in the pews most of the night.

"Yes, sweetie, it's fine."

Dad shouldered his duffle and picked up both of our sleeping bags. "After you, honey."

Mom practically skipped through the living room toward the front door. Her duffle and sleeping back were slung over her shoulder also. Dad gestured me to follow her. I sighed softly and followed, but with much less enthusiasm. I heard him chuckle.

"It's not going to be that bad."

Oh how I hoped he was right.

The car ride over took around twenty minutes. The Fellowship of the Sun was located on the outskirts of town. The closest buildings were easily a couple miles away on either side. Since it was the middle of the spring, the trees and flowers were in beginning to bloom, making the church appear beautiful and less full of bigotry and hate.

As Dad pulled the car into an empty parking space, I glanced over at Mom who was smiling from ear to ear. This was the event of the year for her. Reverend Newlin was hosting this lock-in to help his church members learn to not fear the darkness, to fight it and the demons lurking.

To be honest, I thought Mom was on crack when she chose this church. The Reverend and his wife were preaching hatred under the disguise of love. It was blatantly obvious to anyone with a brain or who wasn't on crack. When I explained this to Dad after our second visit, he patted my hand gently and said, "Just let it go in one ear and out the other. If it makes your mother happy then I'm happy, but it doesn't mean I have to listen."

"…and for the kids there will be arts and crafts," Mom was saying as she climbed out of the car. "Oh, this will just be so much fun!"

A car pulled up next to us, and after a few seconds out poured the O'Donnell family complete with their two little brats—I mean kids. I fought desperately to control the groan that threatened to slip when I saw them. Dad cleared his throat loud enough to remind me to behave myself.

Finnegan, Finn for short, and Cass O'Donnell were identical twins no older than ten, and they believed that they knew everything. With flaming red hair and freckles sprinkled across their nose, the kids looked like perfect little angels. Looked being the key word.

"Did you bring your PSP, Maggie?" Cass asked me as I pulled my stuff out of the trunk. She didn't look up as she talked. Her nose was buried in her electronic game.

"Uh, I don't have a PSP, Cass." I shifted my bag onto my shoulder, watching my parents disappear into the church. I was stuck with the brats. Great.

Cass raised an eyebrow and gave Finn, who was also playing an electronic game, a pointed look. He snickered. "What a loser."

I rolled my eyes and left the twins with their games. The sun was slowly setting behind the church, sending out beautiful rays of pink, purple, and orange. Two gentlemen were standing on either side of the door along with Sarah Newlin, the Reverend's wife.

"Welcome, y'all!" she said, extending her arms outward. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that the twins were right behind me. Great.

I hugged Mrs. Newlin, plastering a fake smile on.

"It's so great to be here. You guys are doing a really wonderful thing with this."

Sarah placed a hand on her heart. "Why thank you, honey. Now just skidattle right on into the chapel. Festivities should be starting soon!"

She gestured to a large room right in front of the main doors. I saw my parents finding somewhere to sit in the pews so I headed in their direction.

"Now what do we have here?" Mrs. Newlin asked the O'Donnell twins.

I couldn't help but smile when she took away their PSPs claiming that they were "filthy creations that condoned violence." The kids screamed in protest. Served them right.

"There you are!" Mom squealed as I plopped my stuff down on the pew next to them. My eye caught the giant cross in the front of the room. "It's almost sun down, and they'll be starting soon."

I looked around the room at the other families and kids who had come for the lock-in. In my opinion, they looked like normal middle class families, not vampire hating loonies. It was sad how most people hid their true selves behind a mask, never showing even their loved ones at times who they really were.

After a few minutes of people watching, Dad nudged me gently in the side and pointed at the middle aisle. Reverend Newlin was strutting—there was no other way to describe his walk—down the aisle with a huge smile on his face. There was something sneaky hiding behind that smile, but I hadn't the slightest clue what it was. Behind me, the O'Donnell twins were arguing about something. Where are their parents?! I glared back at them. It did little good.

"Welcome, members!" Newlin exclaimed when he reached the stage. The congregation began to find their seats and quiet down, fixing their eyes on the speaker. Behind him sat a long wooden table. Normally, it held a few candles and the bible that Reverend Newlin preached from. However, tonight it was bare.

"That's odd," I murmured.

"Hmmm?" Dad said, leaning to the side to hear me better.

"It's nothing."

Also, where was Mrs. Newlin? It was rare that one was seen without the other during church. I shrugged my shoulders and shifted to get comfortable in the pew. Reverend Newlin's speeches tended to be boring not to mention long. I needed to be comfortable.

"Tonight," Newlin continued, "We have a very special gift for you devoted followers of Christ. Tonight, we're going to watch as a vampire meets the sun!"

So much for boring…