Chapter 1

"Yeree, wake up," Cree gently whispered, "It's 7."

Squinting around the dark room, Yeree yawned.

"Yeree, today's the day! THE day! Wake up, wake up," Cree urged, dragging Yeree out of her bed.

Groaning, Yeree crawled to the sink. Wasn't Cree tired? Finals ended yesterday, couldn't that event wait? Ah, Yeree thought. Right. Cree gave up on studying. Right. Dastke is going to be so mad. Yeree shook her head.

"So, Yeree. How does it feel? Our last day as...mortals," Cree excitedly stated.

Glancing at the mirror, Yeree examined her troubled skin and dark circles from two weeks of cramming. "Dunno. I mean, we can choose to stay as mortals or not."

"What. Yeree! It's immortality, for heavens sake. Don't you want it? I don't want to turn into a hag like Ms. Couch in town." Cree paused, "Plus, its not like I don't know how you look at Dastke, Yeree" Cree giggled.

"Aw, shut up!" Yeree shouted as she threw her pillow at Cree.

"We're nearly 20! I was waiting for this day, since we met Dastke, remember?" Cree exclaimed.

Yeree and Cree was from the "other world" full of what they called "humans" - mortals - that aged and died in less than 100 years. Here, it was unheard of. No one died unless they were murdered. 18 years ago, two young mortal infants were found on the border of this world and the other world - Cree and Yeree. The only other "mortals" known were two more in town - the old Ms. Couch and Scott, who was adopted under Dastke's sister Demitri. Though Dastke was around 20 when he decided to adopt BOTH Yeree and Cree, he was still considered as a young "teenager" here - same age as what Yeree and Cree would be considered as in the other world.

Joking and pushing each other, they scrambled down to the kitchen.

"Dastke?" Cree called. No reply.

"He must've gone to see Demitri or something" Yeree shrugged, a bit disappointed that Dastke left without telling them.

"Ahh, whatever. I want to see Scott quickly. I'm staaarving. I wonder how these people eat...I mean, they don't eat what we eat" Cree said.

"Quit wondering about your boyfriend," Yeree snapped, half giggling and half…jealous.

Cree laughed, eyeing Yeree and glancing at the Dastke's door

"Arughgh shaddaaap!" Yeree shouted.

"Oh hey, good morning! Sorry I was a bit late, it's pouring outside." Dastke said as he staggered inside the room with groceries.

"Perfect weather to sleep…" Yeree dreamily stated.

Laughing, Dastke ruffled Yeree's hair. "Sit down, I need to tell you guys something."

Glancing at each other, Yeree and Cree sat down.

"I'm sure that you both were probably waiting for this day." Dastke stated, seriously. He handed each of them a small vial full of something that looked like carbonated water. A clear liquid. "You guys can either drink this and become one of us - immortal - or choose to stay just the way you are. I will not force you to drink this, since this is entirely your choice."

Cree excitedly looked into the vial. Yeree, on the other hand, uncertain, looked at Dastke and was met with a pair of red pupils staring into Yeree's brown ones. Dastke looked somewhat worried, Yeree observed.

"Dastke, um, if we drink this, will we not be able to eat properly or something…?" Yeree asked.

There was a long pause.

"Before you guys decide to do anything, I guess I'll tell you guys what exactly we are. Don't be surprised. You all heard of rumors that...sometimes human corpses appear at the edge of the forest, right?"

He paused.

"Those aren't rumors at all. They are all true. We are… vampires. That clear liquid is what we call "elixir" from my own body, since I am your protector. I was late today because I needed to convert my blood into two vials of elixirs."

Yeree stood up, her eyes wide with fear, "Then you..you...guys eat...us? What? What?"

Dastke quickly held Yeree. "Shh, shh calm down...most of us don't - we drink donated blood from the hospital...it's kind of complicated - the other world leaders and our leaders have an ancient agreement that … that they will give us human blood in exchange for a clear separation between the two worlds."

"Then..then you...you attack humans?" Yeree stammered.

"No, NO. We don't. Listen, Yeree. Calm down. Sit down, calm down." Dastke soothed Yeree.

Cree recovered quickly. "So we just drink this and we become vampires? Immortal? Does Scott know this?"

"Yes, he most likely will drink it, too; he has Demitri's elixir," Dastke stated.

"I can't believe this! I'm drinking this right away" exclaimed Cree. Opening the vial, she gulped down the contents. Choking, she held her neck, and fell into her chair.

"It's a bit acidic, so it'll hurt your throat for a few seconds, but no need to worry," Dastke explained to Cree, who was now … evolving?

Her brown frizzy hair became neater, her features more sharper yet softer; her skin became smooth, her freckles were gone, and she became...different. She was one of them.

"I'm...thirsty…" Cree exclaimed, grasping Yeree's chair.