Some where, in a place many people of the world considered far away, where few people lived, there was a valley. It was lush and beautiful. The few people that lived there, lived in harmony with their environs. Nothing was wasted or used in a negative manner. No one was ever sad for long or angry with one another. It was a peaceful place, a wonderful place. Unfortunely it only existed in Alice's mind.

The world Alice lived in was much different. It was a drery place. It rained more often than it didn't. People rarely smiled and never at strangers. There were places rational people didn't dare venture near at night and most of the time they didn't during the day either.

Many of the people that knew Alice thought there wasn't something quite right with her. Whne talking with her they would have to call her name many times to get her attention most of the time. At other times people might find her staring blankly at them. Or worst yet, she seemed to be staring right through them.

All her life Alice's teachers would talk to her parents about her. They would urge them to take Alice to some psy or other. Depending on how persuvive the teacher was if they would atually take her. If they did the results were always the same. Nothing changed.

After awhile her parents gave up. Alice would always be Alice. Everyone that knew her could talk about her until they were blue in the face and she would remain the same.

The day she turned eighteen she woke up, chose her favorite outfit to wear to school and looked into the mirror just before she was about to leave. Her mother had helped pull her long blonde hair back from her face. Her high cheekbones and intense blue eyes stood out more then usual but not unpleasantly so. The blue dress not only emphasized her eyes but her well devolped chest and hips. If she hadn't been so strange she probably wouldn't have ever worried about getting a date.

After she had left for school her parents sat down at the kitchen table and discuessed her. They were worried. Since she was now eighteen she was offically an adult. School would end soon and she would have to start taking care of herself. Could she really do it? The conversation could have lasted all day and well into the night but they both worked and couldn't afford the time off.

The school day went by like usual. Alice didn't have any friends and so well wishes didn't come from her fellow students. Instead they came from all of her teachers. All of them had gotten together once to duscuss her. In the end it was decided that they would focus as much attention as they could on her. That meant knowing as much as they could. Like birthdays, family members and hobbies. Their hopes were that knowing these things, talking with her and doing what they could, one of them would actually befriend her and draw her out of the shell they saw surrounding her. So far it didn't seem to be working.

After school her parents met her at home and then took her to her favorite resturant. It was one of those theme type resturants. One where all the visible workers dress ed up according to the theme and all the decorations were based on the same theme. The theme here was sometimes hard to figure out as it seemed ever changing based on the owner's whim. To Alice, it was always perfect.

At the restuarant Alice seemed to her parents more alive then when she was anywhere else. They played along with the theme as usual and Alice ordered her favorite meal. Their in theme conversation was pleasant and all three had a great time.

Her parents were happy that Alice was more responsive and they wished she were more like that more often. What they didn't know is why she was that way at the resturant. When they asked her the only response they got from her is that it felt more like home. The answer confused them and they asked more questions but never got any more answers.

On the ride home the further from the resturant they got the more Alice seemed to retreat into herself once again. Soon all three of them lapsed into silence. Not too far from home a strange occrance happened. Even though her father never saw anything the car hit something. It was dark out and there were no streetlights here since there were little houses. Her father stopped the car and he and her mother got out of it after a little discussion.

From the car alice watched as they both walked to the front of the car. Once there they talked together and pointed to something there. Before they reached a decision about what to do, Alice's parents got horrified looks on their faces. Her father yelled something to her mother. She hesitated, he yelled again and then she finally turned and ran. Her father then balled up his fists as if he was going to fight someone.

It was then Alice felt fear. A featr that ran deeper than she had ever felt fear before. She ducked down in the backseat. She couldn't hear anything over the roar of the engine and it caused her fear to deepen. As the minutes slowly went by the far grew even more until it threatened to overwelm her. Instead of letting it her subconcious took her to that place that only existed in her mind.

She was violently pulled from her place when somebody suddenly pulled her from the car. Out on the street she looked up hoping to hee her mother or father's face. Instead she saw a stranger. Neither of them said a word. Alice was unable to wonder what happened to her parents as she looked into that face. The stranger suddenly pulled the arm hbe had a hold of up to his mouth and bit down.

She felt her skin give way to his teeth and be torn away. Then the stranger began to suck at the wound. She struggled to free her arm but to no avail. She pleaded and begged but her words fell on deaf ears. In the middle of a pla a feeling suddenly overwelmed her. It was nothing like what she had ever felt before. Rapture, euphoria. None of these words could ever fully explain it. It grw and grew and the world seemed to be fading more and more. She was finally in the world of her mind. And then she was completely there. For the first time in her life she was fully and completely in the place she felt most at home. Nothing could ever be wrong again.

Just as she had fully given herself to the moment it suddenly all disappeared. She was back in her body and it was filled with pain. Every fiber, every vain, every muscle, and even every cell. No, it wasn't pain. It was hunger. A deeper hunger than she had ever felt before. It was so deep that it consumed all of her senses. It was her whole world now. Something was then pressed to her mouth and she greedly bitat it. She drew the fluids out of it and it caused the hunger to back down but not to go away.

When there was nothing left, she looked up. The only thing she saw was the stranger's face. More specifically, all she saw was his fangs.

She learned later what the stranger was. Jacque, and now she also, were vampires. he told her that they were both Malkavian and that the world was filled with other creatures. Many were like themselves. People still called spacy. They still had to call her many times to get her attention. She was still considered crazy too.

Alice was still Alice.