Blood Morals

By GoldenEagle

Prologue

A gentle breeze whisked quietly through an empty alley. It was far too late for anyone to be up, and because of this the streets of London were no longer filled with tourist cars or walking, babbling people. Yet, in this dark alley stood a lone figure, silhouetted against a flickering street light. This figure shifted quietly from foot to foot, waiting for dawn to come at some point to warm her tired body. Her deep eyes skanned for any movement or light on the horizon, hoping that either the sun or someone looking for her would come. She felt so stupid for getting lost, taking the wrong train and heading in the opposite direction of her parents. The sky was starting to grow to a dark blue as the sun prepared to make its way up. She heard a rustling behind her and spun around, yet her eyes only took in the empty alley and its shadows. As she turned around she let out a small yelp, for in front of her stood a man wearing dark clothes. She caught up with her breath and finally spoke out.

"Umm... Do you want something or what?" She asked, completely aware that her voice was wavering. The man merely stared at her quietly. He had been watching her for some time and it was only now that he had decided to take her. He stepped forward without a sound, and before she had a time to react he had pushed her into one of the shadows.

She started to scream but he put is hand to her mouth. "Don't be afraid! I'm going to give you life by taking it." She was still screaming into his hand when he lowered his mouth to her neck. First she felt his lips, then his mouth open. She was sure she would feel him kiss her next, but instead she felt teeth. Teeth too sharp for a human. Her screams went mute for a second as she went beyond terror.

And her screams did not return. Instead she could only moan at the wave of pain that hit her head on as he sunk his teeth into her neck. She glanced to the sun that had now made its way over the horizon for help, but as its rays hit the creature in front of her, it did not melt or sizzle away. It stayed where it was. She cried out suddenly one more time before she blacked out from the weakness that now settled in her almost bloodless limbs.

Chapter One

A gentle groan escaped Rachel's mouth as she pulled herself up out of bed. Her alarm clock was blazing and she was about to reach and turn it off when the words of the DJ finally registered. She turned it down to a bearable level and listened quietly.

"This is Carl Johnson with your daily dose of news. To start the day off with a bang, Larson Highschool is shut down for the day due to a grisly death on the campus." Rachel's interest peaked to an unusual high. "Tenth grader Grace Lorenzo was found dead this morning on the campus. His parents claim that she was missing the day before, though they had dropped her off from school. She was found at five this morning when a janitor came in to clean up, apparently attacked by some sort of animal. Authorities are uncertain of how the animal got inside, nor where it is now. People are being asked to keep their eyes open for any animals and to please not approach any stray dogs. Wow, well, that sure gives you a new perspective of Fido. Now, on with the news, Congress-" Rachel flipped off the radio with one graceful movement and moved quietly downstairs, where her mom was in her robe, reading the newspaper.

"I don't have school today, Mom." Rachel said plainly as she whisked past her mom. Rachel was partially disturbed by the death, but she was also pleased for the fact that she didn't have to take her science test which she had missed studying for because of a stupid mission.

Rachel caught her mom's eyes on her and gave a quizzical look. Her mom tore her eyes from the almost smiling Rachel and dismissed the feeling that Rachel was being a little too unemotional to all of this. Of course, Rachel had been that way for quite a while now and she might as well get over it. "Yes, I know. It made front page. I'm surprised. It was rather late when they found the body. It's also pretty suspicious that the body was found inside if it was an animal attack."

"You think it was murder?" Rachel asked, a little uneasy now.

"Well, the victim's throat was ripped out, and that's pretty odd. Also, it wasn't a clean cut, according to the paper, so it must have been an animal. It just seems a little too unusual. It also says... Well... It almost seems like-" Rachel's mom stopped before she continued, knowing that it was beyond impossible that what she was thinking was true.

"What?" Rachel walked forward, glancing at her mom and then down at the paper. Rachel grabbed the paper from her startled mom rudely and scanned the article. She looked down at her mom then back at the article. She also saw what her mom was saying. "There was only a few drops of blood on the girl's clothes. Her body didn't have a drop of blood in it and there was none on the floor." Rachel glanced at her mom skeptically. "What? Do you think it's a vampire or something?"

Rachel's mom shrugged momentarily. "That would be the extreme thought, but it also could have been some psycho. You know, kidnapped the kid, killed her, then drained her blood and returned her to the school."

"But that still doesn't explain how the person could have had their throats ripped out like that." Rachel said, laughing inside at how it almost sounded like she did believe it was a vampire.

Rachel's mom shrugged. "Maybe a person's dog attacked the kid and they freaked. They somehow had the person in a position that drained the blood and they dropped her off at the school in panic."

Rachel saw that her mom knew that still had holes in it and she saw it herself. "But then why was there only a little blood on the clothes when they should have found more. Plus, the article said all the doors were locked and no windows broken. How did they get in?"

Finally her mom gave into the stress, not wanting to talk about the impossible circumstances again. "God, Rachel! I don't know. But it couldn't have been vampires, for Heaven's sake! Vampires don't exist, right?" She glanced up at Rachel to see if she was getting this and to see her reply. Rachel stared at her blankly and left without an answer, although there was almost the slightest breath of, "I hope," that came from her lips.

A figure shifted quietly in the dark living room that neighbored the kitchen as he listened to the conversation. He pondered quietly at the girl then shifted into a small, quick rat. He saw the coldness in her and her quick mind. Perhaps coming to America was not that bad, after all.

Chapter Two

Two more nights came up with two more deaths, and everyone in town was on edge. Marco suspected that to be the reason of their next meeting, and he wasn't looking forward to it. He had talked to Rachel about it at school since his dad rarely let him out of the house because of the deaths. Rachel had insisted that it was a vampire. Marco thought of himself as a rational person, but there was also the oddness of the deaths. All three inside, all their throats ripped out, one even in a crowded movie theater, no one noticing the girl in the back row till too late.

How had this all happened? Marco wasn't sure he wanted to jump to the cunclusion of vampires, but their was deffinently something phenomenal going on. Everyone knew that tonight yet another person would be found dead, most likely one from thirteen years of age to mid twenties. The other oddity was that all of the people were in top health. How had a dog taken down a twenty-one year old woman that always carried a pistol? No one knew. Only that this was going too far. The moment Marco slammed through the doors of the barn, he knew something was up.

"What's wrong?" He asked, not even bothering to come up with an excuse to why he was late wrapped up in a joke. His mood dropped even more as he saw Cassie's red, tear filled eyes or Jake's pale complexion, or even Tobias' shifting and anxious movements.

It was Ax that spoke, and even he radiated some sort of emotional trama. "Rachel is missing." There was really nothing more to say and Marco saw it all on the faces in front of him.

"You think it was..." He couldn't continue. He was unusually weak. He sat down quickly, trying not to show that he was this vulnerable, but Cassie saw through him. Rachel and Marco might get in tons of fights, but they had learned to enjoy each other's company. Learned to be friends.

"We're not sure. She went to gymnastic practice, went outside to leave, and disappeared. She could have tried to walk home and maybe twisted her ankle." But Marco knew Cassie's words were empty comforts. He was moderately surprised when Tobias began to speak in a voice he could barely make out.

< But there's already another kid missing. There's only been one missing a day. Maybe she just got lost or something when she tried to take a short cut. > Tobias said hopefully. Marco shook his head wearily. It was impossible to get lost in this town, and even more impossible to get lost in a hospital in this town. That would be the first area the police would look.

That's when Jake spoke in a strange, straight forward statement. "I think that these aren't dog attacks or murders... I think this is some sort of survival of the fittest. Like something is trying to survive."

Marco looked up with is mouth open in shock that rational Jake would come to this conclusion, but even he somehow saw it as the only plausible explanation. "You think it was a vampire." Everyone looked from Jake to Marco slowly.

"Yes." Jake replied, the tension in his voice indicating that he was ready to believe the truth, no matter how insane.

"Prince Jake, this is a very implausible idea. Vampires are merely nightmares your specie's head has thought up." Ax said, his voice reflecting his not-quite-sure words.

< But then where do we get these ideas, Ax? You get all your rational ideas from other andalites, we get our moral beliefs from humans... Who gave us all these nightmares to think up? Surely not some person who saw some bat fall from the ceiling and into someone's face. Even the unicorn came from a sight. And it was many people's sight. How many people saw a normal person and just thought, hey, that guy just drank someone's blood? No one, Ax. No one. > Tobias gave his small speech and everyone looked down to ponder this, except Cassie, who was thinking the very same thing.

Tobias was right. For, where do human beliefs come from, or these monsters? Nightmares? And don't even nightmares come from a person's worst fears and experiences? No one person could think and spread the legends of the vampire. Too many people had these figures in their nightmares before the legends for it to be coincidence. Maybe people got it wrong sometimes, but people also saw the truth. People's minds may dilute the truth to a point, but the truth is nothing more than the truth.

Chapter Three

Jake sat in class, deep rings circling his eyes. Another death had been announced on the news and in the paper. It was the death of the other kid that had disappeared the day before, not Rachel, although they mentioned her as possibly being the next victim.

The science teacher droned on and on about the behaviorism of wild canines, particularly wolves and dingoes. Cassie and Marco were in the same class, just as tired as him. He was on the verge of falling into a half slumber like state when the teacher's words seemed to ring in his ears and he sat up straight and noisily, yet no one notices, for they were already in the slumber like state. "When a wolf is separated from its pack," the teacher droned on. "It will hunt out a partner to hunt with, for it is easier to find or take down prey with another to help. If they find their new-found partner to be no help, they will often seek out another more capable wolf, and once found, their previous partner will be eliminated or have it's status dropped, making a small pack."

Jake's eyes shot behind him to catch Cassie's and Marco's momentarily. They both had wide eyes as they realized the truth along with him. And as he looked into Marco's eyes, then Cassie's he mouthed out the words, "There's more than one."

Chapter Four

They had gathered in the mall this time. It had taken Tobias longer to find because he had been out all day, looking for Rachel or some mysterious stranger. He found none, though. Tobias moved from foot to foot, making a strange rhythm, and kept jerking his handsome human head from side to side in a predator type of way, completely out of place in the booth that set within the Cinnabun's serving area. Even Ax was not in the mood for his favorite meal served here. Jake leaned forward quietly, trying not to become too loud.

"I-" He stopped momentarily as he looked from Marco to Cassie then back at Ax and Tobias. "We think that there's more than one. One to help with the attacks." Tobias' eyes widened at the idea.

"But, Prince Jake, wouldn't there be more than one death a night if there were two?" Ax asked logically. And suddenly everyone saw that a puzzle piece had been overlooked.

But Cassie found it with ease and put it together to form a confusing and captivating picture. "Maybe one doesn't kill. Like Tobias, the other one feels guilty for their acts. You know, perhaps they go off and attack animals and such." That's when Jake picked up yet another over looked piece.

"Maybe that's why Rachel's gone. The one vampire is a loner and he needed a partner. He took in the other one, but found that the other one was not what he wanted. And now he wants to replace his partner with Rachel." Everyone stared up at him and Tobias' human heart skipped what he could imagine as ten beats. It was at that time that an employee decided to interrupt noisily.

"Would any of you like to order or are ya gonna sit there?" Cassie looked up at the girl with the slightest bit of annoyance. The girl had long dark hair and pale green eyes. Her skin was unusually pale on her tall slim body. Her sixteen year old voice mixed in with slang and an even more unusual English accent, which turned out to be a tad bit unsettling. Yet maybe it was just her presence that unsettled them.

"No, thank you." Marco said with a strained smile. She gave an even less adequate smile that soon became a mysterious grin.

"Then how `bout some answers?" Everyone's head snapped up at her in shock and her grin spread a little fuller and her teeth were revealed. It was Marco who took the overly long canines in first, with their sharp edges and their shining splendor.

"Oh-" He cussed breathlessly as he took it in and her smile grew fully, her teeth completely visible now. She stopped the smile in its fullness and deminished it to hide her secret.

"I said," her English accent was drowning out Marco's thoughts now. "Do you want some answers?"

Chapter Five

It was Tobias who replied in a strangely amazed voice which exactly copied his voice the night in the construction site so long ago. "Yes. How much is it going to cost."

The girl frowned momentarily, considering her options a little longer. She finally came to her conclusion. "Your help and trust."

"We can give you help, but I'm not sure yet about trust." Jake said, his gaze slicing through her.

"That's enough." She said, and then slid into the seat next to Marco. He had no where to go and felt her unusual heat next to him, almost like a raging fever. "My name is Juliet. I, as you have figured out, am a vampire." Tobias tried to interrupt her anxiously, but she held up her hand in annoyance. "If you are not willing to listen to my story, then you will not be given your friend's story. Alright?" Everyone nodded quietly and let her continue. "It was two years ago that I was made what I am today by my creator, in a since, Jacque. He took me in England when I had found myself lost, although he had been watching and following me for quite some time, as he has done your friend. But I was not what he needed. He taught me to hunt down humans, hoping that I would feel the passion he felt as he took another soul away from their body. I did not, though. I have been forced to help him, forced to live by his side in hope that he will teach me all I need to know. Now I have learned all I need and Jacque is afraid that I will one day turn on him, attack him, for I have grown stronger than my master, even though I live off the blood of animals. I have found the truth of the ones before me. That, in the early 1800's, our kind assembled together and made a pack. Within this pack we agreed that we would never hunt humans again, and if we found a human who could carry on our heritage and that wanted to, we would make them one of us. Jacque betrayed this treaty in the mid 1800's and brought his wife from his previous human life with him. She was previously killed. Two years ago, of course, which is why I am what I am today. There are some myths about us. We can go out in light, but we were thought to only dwell at night because it is much easier to take down prey that are weak from the day, alone, and can't see us as well. We also are not invisible to the point where it only takes a stake to kill us, nor afraid of crosses or garlic, although garlic bothers the hell out of our senses. We can also shift to almost any creature we want... Which, I know from previous viewings, that you can, too. Although how, I am unsure." She went quiet after that, her eyes questioning the whole group, although they were focused on the air in front of her.

"It was a gift... and a curse." Cassie whispered out quietly. Juliet's eyes focused on her and Cassie couldn't help but shiver at their cold touch.

"So is ours, although it come from a much more... different source, I'm sure." The demons that danced in her eyes made it clear to who she was referring to.

"A deal with the devil." Marco muttered, a little surprised he had said it out loud. Juliet's gaze traveled down to him and it warmed considerably, then hardened in almost an after thought.

"Yes, a deal. You help me kill Jacque, I help you save your friend before she is made into this." Juliet's tongue ran over her teeth to indicate who she was speaking of.

Jake hesitated momentarily and looked again at the others in the group. They all had the look that they were to agree. He nodded to no one then reached out his hand. Juliet took it in her left hand as she grinned plainly, the mischief returning to her eyes. And Jake spoke quietly , yet surely as the heat that coursed through her veins seemed to burn into his hand. "Deal."

"Tonight at eight, show up. Don't be late." Before anyone could ask her where, she was gone, replaced by a folded map, a building circled within it with the bold word "Rachel" written within it.

Chapter Six

They were there at eight, Juliet not in sight. "Where is she?" Tobias asked nervously in his human form. At that moment a glorious white owl perched on his shoulder the molded quickly into the graceful and pale figure of a girl as she jumped off his shoulder when her weight required it.

They stared quietly at her before the questions came. "How do we attack?" "What advantages do we have?" "What advantages does he have?" "If he bites us are we vampires?" Juliet raised her hand in the familiar sign of annoyance and started to explain as they quieted. "It is best to attack from the side or the back, never from the front. Your advantage is... Well, you have me, I guess." Juliet grinned at Marco's mumbled "Gee, that's encouraging," then continued. "His advantage is he's fast, he has the wisdom of two hundred years, and he's just naturally tough. And, no, if he bites you that does not mean you are one of us. It takes almost complete drainage of blood, then the host to take blood from the creator to become a vampire. It is a choice."

Ax looked up at her quizzically. "You chose what you are?" She looked up at him, suddenly sad.

"I wish I had known what I was getting myself into, and how to overcome my body's earges." And it was then that Juliet saw her mistake. "Oh, no." She whispered out. "He's not here. Where is-" The attack came from behind, knocking Juliet to her knees before she passed out. The others only caught sight of a shadow moving within a shadow and a slightly familiar face with a flash of gold before they followed Juliet into uncontiousness.

Chapter Seven

Juliet was the first to wake up in her new surroundings. She took in the others around her first. Cassie, Jake, Marco, Ax, Tobias... It was then that she noticed where she was. There were think steel walls around her, no windows, and now cracks to escape from. The door looked heavy and solid and she suddenly saw the situation as it was. There was no sounds of rats or birds. There was no food, except for the humans beside her. She moaned quietly. "The dirty scoundrel!" She muttered hurriedly in her English accent. "He's pushing me to kill them... Making me challenge my instincts." And she knew that, in the end, instincts always won.

"Will you kill us when that time comes?" She jerked in the direction of the voice and was faced with the groggy eyes of Marco, the only other one awake at the time.

"Yes." She replied quietly. "Unless you kill me right here, on the spot." She said in a kind of dying hope. Marco shook his head and his eyes betrayed the truth that she meant too much to all of them to do that.

It was an hour later before everyone was awake. It was Tobias and Ax that panicked the most as they began to demorph. Juliet watched them, a puzzled look playing on her face. "You must tell me the story of how you received your powers." She said as she watched them.

But they were not listening. Cassie spoke first in a hopeless voice, lacking any life or courage. "There were two vampires who attacked us. One was Rachel." And it was true.

Juliet had found there were few reasons to lie since she had been made what she was and that those situations were only the dire one. "Yes. Now, how did you come to having these powers?" She asked again.

< Don't you care?!?! Our friend is a vampire! We failed! > Tobias' voice died quietly within all of their minds, threatening to carry their own souls down into that death.

"Yes, she is a vampire. But she is still your friend. You are never truly lost, even when you become what we are. Now, talk about your past, not this present. How did you come about your powers?" Juliet asked just as monotonously as before.

It was Jake who finally gave in and told the story. No one felt like sleeping, so he went through the entire story, everyone listening intently all night. By the first light of day, Juliet had begun to pace, trying to cut out her nawing hunger by the rhythm of her feet. No one else had a clue that it was morning besides her and Ax, who both had a kind of internal clock which ticked within them. They were quiet that entire day and the others were starting to see the reason of their confinement, too, as they watched Juliet's eyes become wilder, her movements more jerky. It was that night before anyone got any sleep. But Juliet was on the verge of snapping and for three hours she stared quietly at the beating pulse behind each creature's neck.

Chapter Eight

Jacque, his eternally young body contempt, stared over the two bodies below him. He then glance up at Rachel. She was a good choice. She was just as witty as Juliet, but much more ruthless. Her morals were deminished by her burning hunger. Yet he was mistaken the entire time that the fire in her eyes was just an evil like his. He had no idea it was the last strand of innocence struggling to stay alive no matter what. The last strand anyone must shed if they want to become true evil.

Friendship.

~~~~~~

Juliet's eyes had now focused completely on Marco's neck, his pulse driving her into a hypnotic rhythm. She fought herself as she made her way towards him, begging herself to wake up from this nightmare, but her hunger drove her, pushed back her flame of innocence, and as she leaned over him, her mouth opening to reveal her teeth, he woke up and looked her in the eyes. And she wanted to stop for that begging intense look in his eyes. But she couldn't. She couldn't stop the hunger, and as her teeth settled into his neck, that flame in her eyes died.

~~~~~~~

The attack came from the back totally unexpected. Rachel lunged and ripped her teeth through Jacque's neck, her scream filling the silence. He whipped away, causing Rachel's teeth to dig deeper into his neck. The blood of his previous victim poured from his own neck as he attacked her. He was much more experienced than her and she was barely fending off his blows, much less fighting back. Suddenly he stepped back, his stolen blood leaking over the ground in puddles, and the creator fell, finally repaid for his evil. Rachel looked up, feeling the mind crying out to her, and she bolted, leaving the withering body behind her.

~~~~~~~~

The door burst open as Rachel charged in. Everyone woke with a start, and Juliet pulled away from Marco, startled. Her eyes were wide and blinking like a deer caught in a cars head lights. "Marco!" Jake cried out and ran over, pushing the confused Juliet over. Marco let out a small moan, the wound on his throat still bleeding. Juliet saw what she caused and let out a scream of disspair before she bolted out of the room, only a shadow moving too fast to make out. As Rachel leaned over him he looked up and smiled quietly.

"It's okay. I'm okay. She'll be fine. She just needed some strength and I gave it to her..." His voice died away with his contiousness and Rachel looked up at them with eyes that were barely human enough to recognize.

Chapter Nine (one week later)

Marco was still weak from his lack of blood, but smiling and fooling around just as if he had the best day. The others were trying not to laugh as he became more and more ridiculous as the minutes flew by. It was Rachel who spoke first. She was quite popular at the moment, being the missing girl returned to all her family and school friends, the new vampire to her friends the Animorphs. "I'm confused." She stated plainly. Everyone looked up at her. "I don't know truly what I have become. I need someone to tell me but... I am not sure where to find that someone."

Tobias moved forward nervously, trying not to seem to awkward or out of place and gently held her from behind. Before he could react, she turned into his grasp and tried to hide her near tears in his shirt and strange, "new" smelling smell.

"You look for your help in the shadows, for that is where help lies for us." Everyone spun around towards the voice, Marco swiveling in the hospital bed. And out of the shadows that lined the open window a barely viewable silhouette stood still as a statue, the almost glowing eyes giving away who and what it was.

"Juliet." Marco was the first who found his voice. The pair of eyes shifted to him, almost seeming to soften and glisten.

"I'm sorry, Marco. I'm so sorry." The voice was filled with a deep pain and Juliet found herself crying for the first time in two years. Yet, like Rachel, she smoldered the tears into something else, although her Tobias was darkness, and darkness hides feelings well.

"Come out of the shadows." Jake said quietly. "Let us see who you are. Maybe we can see a piece of what you could teach Rachel." But Juliet shook her head regretfully.

"Is this an emotional moment? For I can never show myself, not truly. I am a shadow within a shadow. What is there to see within that shadow? It is dark and mysterious and hides everything it touches, and it is alive for it shifts and changes when nessacery. That is what I am. And what Rachel is today."

"Then step out for me?" Rachel asked quietly. Juliet's form hesitated momentarily before it shifted into the bright hospital lights. She seemed to glow in them, but she squinted momentarily before her nocturnal eyes adjusted to the new environment.

"Is this what you want to be? Immortal, like a god? Seeing all that you love," Juliet's eyes flew from Tobias to Marco, deceiving the two messages in one beneath her words. "Diminish into time? It is something I am sure you have just began to ponder about. Sure, we can chose to age, but that is not only what we are. We could be eighty or five in one second, yet we are not children nor old geezers." Everyone almost laughed at the last words tainted with her English accent. "We are shadows. We do whatever we're demanded. Yet we, you and me are the true shadows. We will do what the light makes us do. I can teach you, but only if you will forgive me for giving in to my own shadows." She felt vulnerable now as her tears threatened to come, but found she could smolder them in Marco's gaze.

"Teach me." Rachel said quietly, Cassie crying quietly at the new Rachel's side. Jake placed a tentative hand on Cassie's shoulder to show her he was there and she quieted some, melting into his presence.

Suddenly Juliet grinned her mischievous grin. "We start tonight. Ready?" Rachel's grin copied Juliet's perfectly.

"Ready." She said, her voice as full of daring as before.

"Oh, no. Here we go again... You just had to persuade Rachel even farther, didn't you?" Marco said. Both of the vampire's grins grew larger and they suddenly were not there, the only sign that they were was blur of shadows into the night. ~~~~~~

Well, I wrote this in one day cause I wanted to get it out in time for Halloween. My little treat to all you guys. If people like it there might be a sequal. Just think, Vampires during Christmas! (Just kidding. I think...) Anyways, I better go!

-GoldenEagle