A/N: Ola!! Okay… so this story was seriously screwed up so I have decided to revamp it in the hopes that all this effort will spur me into actually putting up some more and hopefully finishing it at long last. I had almost written this story off as a white elephant but I'd feel pretty much awful if I did that so I'm pulling it up out of the darkness of its near-indefinite hold. This version will be more chapters in a less huffed-up, patchwork, squished-Frankenstein's-monster and more structured and orderly sort of way.

Disclaimer: yes, some dude actually flew by on his golden-winged piggy and gave me the rights to Maximum Ride... uh huh… and then Alice and I had tea in the queen of hearts' garden with the man from the moon who brought some of it's cheese to have on toast.

MN: O.o' Ata… that is…

Ata::grins::

Merla: uh… okaaay… do we have any couches handy? I think we need a set.

MN: never mind the couch… this one needs a padded room.

Ata::sighs:: okay,okay… let's just get the story up please!

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Carpe' Noctem

Prologue

Tori leant against the shower wall, her left shoulder pressed against the cool tiles. She lifted her arm and rested her forehead against the tanned skin on the back of her wrist. Her right hand was pressed against a spot on her left side, just below her ribs. A steady stream of blood trickled through her fingers to be washed away by the hot water. She focused her thoughts on the wound and felt it slowly begin to tingle and heal. The trickle of blood began to slow, and after a few moments had stopped altogether. She moved her hand away to reveal, hidden under a layer of dried blood, four pink lines running parallel to her ribs. Although she could heal the wounds, there was nothing that she could do about the scars, they'd always be there.

She finished washing away the blood and turned off the shower, stepping out into the cold bathroom, she shivered. She quickly grabbed her towel off the rail, dried herself, and got dressed. She wore thin black cotton slacks and a black strap top. She turned off the lamp and padded to the window. Pulling back the curtain, she looked out at the night. Everything was silent, except for the music floating up from the hotel bar. Maybe she should get a drink…she stood at the window and was contemplating this when a movement at the edge of the parking lot caught her eye. //them!// she thought, her blood running cold with fear. Then it was gone, before she could focus on it. She waited, and a second later, a black cat ran under one of the lights around the lot. Only when her breath rushed past her lips, did she realise that she'd been holding it. All thoughts of a drink forgotten, she turned away from the window and fell onto the bed. Suddenly she felt exhausted as the days events caught up with her. She had thought that she wouldn't be able to sleep for days, but her body betrayed her and she was soon asleep.

Tori glanced back over her shoulder as she ran breathlessly through the littered streets and dark alleys. She was sure-footed and fast, even in the murky darkness, she could've outrun any other human easily, but she wasn't quite sure that her pursuers were actually human. She heard, rather than saw them behind her in the darkness of the grimy alley, snarling and growling with the occasional howl in the thrill of the chase. It she hadn't seen them earlier, when they'd first attacked her, she would never have believed that the creatures that were after her were in any way human. They were more like rabid wolves than men. /warewolves/ she decided. But that was ridiculous, they weren't real, but whatever was chasing her sure was. //what do they want from me?// she thought, but shoved the thought to the back of her head as one of them howled behind her, a sound that turned her blood to ice. She turned sharply around another corner and found herself in one of the main streets.//Now where?// she was starting to get tired and she knew that she couldn't keep this pace for very much longer. If she didn't lose these things soon she was dead./literally/ she thought, remembering the sharp teeth of her pursuers.

She glanced up at a street sign as it flashed past. Gordon. There was a club a few blocks away, that was actually where she'd been headed before they'd attacked her, if she couldn't outrun them, then maybe she could lose them in the crowd. She glanced back over her shoulder and nearly screamed. The nearest guy was only about ten feet behind her, and he was about to leap at her. She put on a burst of speed and almost got away, but she was a little slow and one clawed hand managed to cut into her side and she felt pain flare on her left side. Without thinking, she swung her bag round and felt it connect with a crunch. Her attacker yelped in pain and she heard him stumble, which at that speed was not a good idea. She looked back to see him falter and fall, arms failing wildly. The others (she could see three more) didn't have time to react before they were on him. They yowled as they flew a few feet before smashing into the ground. A small smile of triumph played on Tori's lips as she turned her attention back to getting away.

The club was now only a block away and she covered the distance quickly, stopping a little way back to gather herself. She looked down at the wound in her left side, it was pretty deep, and she didn't have enough energy right now to heal it, she needed to rest for a little while, maybe she could get a ride to a hotel, she couldn't go home, the maids would tell her father. She moved her bag so that it was covering the wound, thankfully she was wearing black so it hid the blood soaking her top. She walked toward the bouncer and forced a smile. She knew him well and always smiled at him, but when he turned around he suddenly wasn't the bouncer at all. It was a guy, not much older than herself. He was very tall, with shoulder length jet-black hair, a handsome face, and the most startling eyes she had ever seen. They were pale blue, almost white at the pupils, with dark blue bands on the outer edge of the iris. He looked at her and his expression became one of fear.

"Tori..." He said in a thin voice.

Tori woke with a start and stared wildly at the room around her. His voice was still clear in her mind. She didn't know who he was, but she had the feeling that he was important. She sat up and leaned back against the wall. This wasn't the first time she had dreamt of him, she had been dreaming of him since she'd turned sixteen just over two weeks ago, but it was the first time she had seen him clearly, mostly she just caught snatches of him running through a forest, or down a corridor, but she knew it was always the same person. She could feel it.

She turned her thoughts back to the dream. The first part was exactly what had happened earlier, and she had the feeling that he was wrapped up in whatever was going on. Whoever he was. She wondered for a moment why she was so convinced that he was real, she didn't know, but her instincts told her that he was, and they hadn't let her down yet.

She got up and padded to the window and looked out. The music from the bar had stopped now and the night was completely silent.

"Who are you?" she whispered to the night, "And what are They?"

Stefan sat up sharply, her name still hanging in the air around him like an electric current. He had dreamt of her again. Tori. Her name was new to him, yet it sounded familiar. He had never seen her before, yet she had haunted his dreams since just before he had escaped from The School two weeks ago. She always seemed so calm in his dreams, he'd catch glimpses of her in a crowd of people, drifting gracefully from group to group like a ghost. But tonight was different, she had been running for her life from Erasers, her black hair(not much longer than his, he noted.) whipping around her face as she ran, her violet eyes wide with a mixture of courage, fear and determination.

He'd almost laughed when she'd made that first Eraser fall, but had panicked a little when he realised that she was running straight towards him. He had turned around and tried to act as if he hadn't noticed her sudden appearance a few feet away and when he'd turned back she was about a foot away, with a smile fixed in place that didn't reach her eyes. They widened in recognition, and she gasped as her name was spoken. He'd known instantly that it was her name but it took a moment for him to realise that he'd been the one to speak it, and with that realisation he'd woken up.

"Tori…" he said softly to the night. He needed to find her before the Erasers could get hold of her again and do any damage. He thought back to the dream, trying to find anything that would tell him where to look, and he found it. The street name, Gordon. At that moment he was extremely grateful that he had a photographic memory. He wondered if she would go back there. /maybe not/ he decided, but at least it would give him somewhere to start. He stood up gracefully on the pine branch he'd been sleeping on, ran to the edge and jumped off into the dark. He let himself fall for a couple of feet before unfurling his wings and starting to fly. A small grin played on his lips as he rose above the trees. /I don't think I'll ever get used to this. It feels so wonderful./

He rose high into the night before stopping. He didn't know where to go from here so he flew in a wide circle, thinking. He looked in all directions before turning back to the southeast, how he that it was the southeast he had no idea, maybe it the avian DNA. He was, after all, 2 bird, and birds had a good sense of direction. He concentrated on the horizon and could see lights. It was probably a city. /A city!/ he thought excitedly/that could be where she is!/ He tried to remember anything about the city but it was no good, apart from his sense of direction, his geography was useless. They never bothered to teach him anything more than the basics. He grimaced at the memory of the School. /It's a wonder I've survived this long/ he thought sourly as he began to fly toward the city.

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MN; okey-doke… well… there's the prologue up. Now… on to chapter one. XD