Hey guys!

Welcome to the new and improved Tainted Bloodlust! I have done some SERIOUS reconstruction to this story. Several chapters have been taken down in order to re-do this story's ending. While writing this, I had several requests for it to go a certain way and I basically wrote it how everyone wanted me to but I have recently come up with an idea for all of my stories that I am rather excited about and I am going through this story and re-writing it to what I wanted it to be the first time around. In general, I am just making it better. (:

As you can see, I have taken down all the chapters after 18, and from then on, anyone that has read the previous version can expect it to be completely different. I don't know yet if the same amount of chapters will be posted as there was previously. Could be more, could be less, it just depends on how it measures up. I have also changed my OC's name.

Thank you for coming back to look at the new style, or, thank you for coming to check it out now that it's almost finished.

Please feel free to rate, review and even PM me if you have something you wish to say.

Thanks!


Two years. Two years today, exactly. That's how long we've been living this way. Two years is how long we've been living like rats, underground, to escape the prison that has become of our world. We scavenge for food, we hide from everyone, but, the most likeliness we are to rats is, we are scared. Our world, our homes have been taken. They have been destroyed in order to create that beacon of a castle. Sometimes I wondered what was on the other side, but the screams never failed to quickly turn my thoughts away.

Maybe someday we will return Earth to it's former glory… Maybe someday America would have freedom again. I wonder if history could repeat itself. The Europeans could come back over and demand land from the rulers here and restore America. Is that how it went? I was never one for history in school, myself… I miss school. Ironic how I used to wish the world would end so that school would be over… Now I just wish I was sitting in Ms. Whitley's class. I could ask her who actually took the land from the Native Americans…

Juliet snapped her head up at the sound of the all too familiar marching footsteps coming down the dark road. She quickly dowsed the fire she sat next to and hopped up, concealing herself behind a vacant car on the side of the street. She watched the aliens scout the area, looking closely for anyone who was outside the castle's walls. They held their weird guns, their faces somewhat hidden by the masks they wore. Juliet wondered if they were able to think for themselves, or if they were under the King's command as well. They never seemed to act on a conscious mind; they were always only doing the King's bidding. Juliet rolled her eyes, thinking of the man who sat up in that castle like a God or something.

The Chitauri eventually made their way further down the road, allowing Juliet to walk away without a problem. There wouldn't have been one though, with her abilities. She was gifted, she gave herself that. Smirking at the thought of it, she made her way back to the door to the hideout she called home. She let her fingers scratch the door distinctively to let the doorman know she was one of them. He allowed her in afterwards, and she thanked him.

"How was it?" he asked.

"I got my fill."

"Where are Garret and Kate?"

"They went further out, I finished before them. Kate said if they weren't back within the hour, to send someone for them."

"You should tell him."

"Wouldn't think not to."

She walked down the dark steps, her ears picking up the laughter that was buried so deep under the ground. No sooner than her feet hitting the pavement did the laughter stop, though. It had become a horror for anyone to leave the subway, especially after Marcus. She gave her friends a small smile with a nod and they resumed their chatter. All but one man, though, who walked up to her.

"And?" he said.

"We're safe."

"Where are the others?"

"Still hunting."

He gave her his typical look of disapproval, which she brushed off with annoyance by looking over at their small numbered group. She shook her head.

"I don't know how much longer I can do this."

"Do what?" he said.

"This." she said, gesturing to them, her voice low. "We lose someone every week, and we don't even know where they go. They go in those walls and never come out-"

"You chose this." he said. "You knew what we were and what we do. You wanted to live, remember?"

She walked away from him, knowing he would never understand what kind of thoughts ran through her head. The protection of her people was important, although she was the newest member to the group. They were down to seven now, and they would stay that way until they moved to the next subway. She looked back to their leader, Aaron, who watched her stand amongst the chattering group. He was protective over his people too, but sometimes she doubted his care for the well-being of their minds.

Juliet wouldn't forget her human mind, though. She was strong now, very strong, but even as vampires, each one of them were subject to insanity as much as any human. Physical strength wouldn't save them if the Chitauri took them inside the palace's walls.