Chap. 2: New Girl

"Vladimir! Wake up!" came Nelly's booming voice.

"Why was it so load...?" Vlad grumbled in his mind.

"You're going to be late for school!" she continued, unaware that she had indeed woken him up, and quite possibly shattered his ear drum while she was at it.

"Agh... I'm up, I'm up..." he said groggily, sitting up. He looked to the door and saw that she was standing with it wide open. "That explains why it was so load..." he thought, rubbing his ringing ears.

Nelly, satisfied that he was awake, left him to change. Vlad grabbed some pants and was about to pull them on when he remembered what had happened last night. How did he end up fainting in the woods on the other side of town, in the opposite direction of the house, and wake up in his bed and to Nelly telling him to get to school, as if nothing had happened?

"Guess it was just a vivid dream..." he mumbled as he pulled on the jeans and grabbed a shirt. That's when he noticed the shirt hooked to one of the pegs on the foot of his bed. It had blood on it.

He walked over and picked it up, and put his hand through the blood rimmed cut, right where his shoulder blade would have been. There were three cuts actually, parallel to the others. Curiously, he reached back and felt his shoulder blade, hissing as his fingers ran over the tender, crusty cut, as it had caught the edge of a scab.

He ran to the bathroom and looked at it in the mirror and saw that the longest cute- in the middle- was two and a half inches going down, and looked to be fairly deep, though not horribly so. Around the cut, it was red and puffed up.

He walked down the stairs and Nelly turned to give him a snack pack, only to stop and raise an eye brow. "I do believe you forgot your shirt, Vladimir. Or are you going to be on the skins team for basketball?"

Vlad shook his head, smirking- the day he started to play on the skins team, was the day he'd start beating Henry at any combat game in existence. He turned slightly to show Nelly the large cut.

"Need the medikit..." he said simply.

"Oh my glob! What happened?!" She said as she came over and started to look at it.

Vlad didn't resist, she'd do this anyway, being the nurse she was.

"I fell and got caught on a large splinter on my bed..." he lied. It was a bit of a streach, but it was the best he could come up with. He didn't need to worry Nelly.

She poked at the enflamed part and Vlad hissed.

"Humm... well, it doesn't look very infected, just feverish." She said as she walked over to a cabinet and grabbed the medikit. She then cleaned the crust off with alcohol- something that Vlad, if he were a cat, would be doing that hissing growl they do. She wiped a the crust and then put a large bandage over it. "Well, that should help it stay clean." she said, stepping back.

Vlad grabbed his snack pack and went up the stairs, calling back, "Thanks Nelly!"

He grabbed a shirt, glancing slightly at the bloodied and ripped one. He slipped his shirt on and grabbed the other shirt, throwing it into his closet, where it would most likely stay for about the next two years.

He heard Henry pull into the driveway and ran down the stairs, carefully swinging his back pack on to his left shoulder, and slipped on his shoes.

"Bye Nelly!" he called and went out the door.

He climbed into the car.

"Whoa, sorry I'm late, man. I almost over slept." Henry said, backing out of the driveway.

"It's ok. I almost did too. What got you?" Vlad said, leaning forward to turn the stereo on.

"Woke up for some reason. Nothing was out of place and there was no noise, but I had this odd feeling..."

Vlad thought about that for a second and decided he'd tell Henry about the wolf and his cut.

"Wow... Do you think it could have been Joss?"

Vlad, although he didn't necessarily discard the possibility, shook his head. "Not likely. He may have been the one to stake her, but not attack me. If he had, it wouldn't have been on the right shoulder, far from the main organ of weakness, not to mention it wouldn't have been just a fairly large cut. It'd be a hole..."

Henry nodded, though he had a slightly doubtful look in his eyes. He then pondered. "Maybe that's why I woke up."

They reached the school and Vlad bid Henry a good bye, as they parted for first period classes.

Vlad was bored for most of the day, but when he got to his last period, a smile cracked on his face, the first one to be caused by the fact that he had a class. He nodded to Otis, who was standing outside the door, talking with a girl Vlad had never seen before.

She'd fit in very well with all the Goths, as she wore think eyeliner and mascara, her lips were painted in a deep rich red, almost black, and she had on trip pants, steal toed boots with 3 in. thick soles, a corset over a black T-shirt, a choker, and a skull with bat wings clipped into her hair, which was mostly black and short, flaring out, with two long- slightly past her waist- thick, red strips of hair. Her eyes were an odd color. They were almost red, but for a gray sheen that covered over it, as if she were going blind.

Odd...

Vlad walked inside the class room and took his seat, ignoring Joss.

When Otis came in, the girl following, he went to the desk in the front and then gestured to the girl, who people were already studying. Vlad already knew what most of them were thinking, but he wanted some fun, so he slipped into random minds.

Carrie Andersen: "Oh, not another one..."

Stephanie Brawn: "Good grief, get a tan!"

Random person: "Damn, she's hot..."

Random: "I'd so totally do her."- Vlad noticed with interest this was a girl that thought this.

Random: "I'll bet her and that other Goth boy in the corner will be at it in less than a week... then again, he's too much of a wuss... maybe not..." - Vlad made a mental note to put that person on his definitely not friendable list.

Random: "Vampire..."

Vlad jumped at this one. Joss hadn't just thought it; he'd whispered it out load, to where only Vlad could have herd it- though Vlad was unsure if he was even meant to hear it.

He couldn't just peg her as a vampire! Sure, she was as pale as him, and wore a lot of dark cloths, but the Goths where the same... only... slightly less pale.

"As you can see, everyone, we have a new student." Otis said, "Her name is Luna Leveir Feratu. You may ask her what ever question now, but we will begin the lesson in ten minutes."

Carrie Andersen raised her hand first, and Luna nodded, with an air of indifference.

"Are you another Goth?" she said it as if being Goth was some sort of disorder.

"No, I dress in complete black because I like to raise the dead, and send them after people I don't like." Luna said, her voice only letting on a drip of sarcasm, as she looked at Carrie with innocent eyes. Then her face turned to one of indifference again. "Of course I'm Goth..." she then smirked devilishly. "But I wouldn't completely disregard that I'm a necromancer... You never know...~"

Someone else raised their hand. "What's up with your eyes?" they asked without waiting.

Luna merely nodded to someone else who had their hand raised, but stopped them and turned back to the other guy, who looked a bit pissed to be ignored. "I do not answer to those who are impatient." and then turned back to the other person. She had an air of superiority to her, as if she were part of a royal family.

"Why would you want to wear such heavy shoes?"

"Because I like to, and they provide great protection."

"How?"

"I'll just say this, their name is Shit Kickers, or for the guys-" she looked back at the guy that had asked about her eyes, and Vlad dully noted that he was the one that had thought that she was hot- though a lot of guys probably thought that anyway. "- They're called Nut Crackers."

Vlad nearly burst out laughing when he looked at the faces of many guys in the class, as they went pale and pulled their legs together, as if to protect their jewels.

Another raised their hand. At her consent, he continued. "You have a British accent, but you look Asian... Why is that?"

Luna raised her eye brow. "Well... that question should just answer your question. What, do you not think it possible for a Brit and an Asian to have sex and produce a child?"

Many people nearly dropped their jaws in utter disbelief of this girl's boldness. She'd said the whole thing without batting an eye, or stuttering. Vlad noticed Otis was having a bit of trouble keeping a stern face, trying to act like a teacher, but wanting so much to laugh.

Another raised their hand. Luna nodded.

"Did you live in Britain?"

"Yes, I grew up there for the most part."

"Where else have you lived?"

A look of slight sadness came over her eyes. "Everywhere and anywhere..."

Vlad herd Joss shift a bit, as if uncomfortable, and slipped into his mind.

"Know how that feels... To have to constantly move..." he then shook himself. "This was a girl that was a vampire, why was he sympathizing with her?"

"Alright everyone." called Otis, making Vlad pull out of Joss's head. "Today, as it happens, we are leaning about Necromancy, the ability to bring back the dead, and control them."

Luna certainly was an odd character. She knew all of the questions Otis had to ask, but she had her head on the desk the whole time, her head lying on it, as if exhausted.

"What are some creatures that have the ability of necromancy?" Otis looked around and noticed everyone was looking at Luna's general direction, wanting to see if she knew.

"Huh..." he shook his head. "Luna? Would you care to enlighten the class with your seemingly endless knowledge on mythology?"

"Humans can perform necromancy, but not completely control the dead. In order to do so, they'd have to give up their humanity, and give into the demonic aura. This is not easily achieved as the darkness could take over the soul and snuff it out like a candle in a cold wind.

"Vampires, however, are able to control it without the worry of death, as they are already dead. Legend tells of the great Vladimir D. Nosferatu, telling of his skill in necromancy, but not many know that it was his sister- name unknown, lost in time- that was the one with the ability."

Otis raised an eye brow, as if he'd never herd of this before. "Interesting..."

Luna looked up, and her face was lazy with wanted sleep. "Have you not heard of this? After all, one of your... status... should have at least heard of the great Lord D, and his beloved family, more to the point, his sister?" She looked around the class at the doubtful faces, and Vlad saw some with faces that just screamed they thought she was making it all up.

But Vlad had heard of it. However brief it was mentioned in one of his books. His face red as he spoke up, he said, "I've heard of her..." Luna looked over and smiled, and gestured to him, making him turn redder, as he felt the stare of everyone.

"See?"

She said it as if to say, "See, I'm not crazy. I just read."

Once class was over, Luna walked over to Vlad- and Vlad noticed the looks the kids were giving them as she approached.

"Hey. So you really have heard of her?" she asked.

"Yeah, but not all too much." Vlad said, knowing he was red in the face out of embarrassment. "It was briefly mentioned in a book, saying that people saw a young girl, obviously a vampire like him, and had a certain likeness about them, as if they were related."

"Ah... well, I was also wondering. Do you know of any good clubs? No offense to your home town, but I get a bit antsy if I don't have some excitement."

Vlad laughed. Bathory certainly didn't get all that exciting. "Don't worry, I understand. And yeah, I go to one with the other Goths about every other week. It's called the Crypt."

Luna brightened up immensely. "Oh, perfect! The Crypt... just the perfect place for a vampire, don't you think?"

Vlad winced inside. There was something odd about the way she'd said the "v" word. It wasn't just that she said it casually; it was as if she knew they were real...

She handed Vlad a slip of paper that she'd scribbled on to and said, "Tell me when you're going next time. I'll see if I can go- maybe even get Drea to come.

"Well, I got to go. See ya Mr. Otis." Luna said, and Otis nodded, as she bounded out of the room.

When Vlad and Otis's eyes met, they raised their eye brows. "She's some character." Vlad said. Looking down at the slip of paper. His eyebrows raised again.

"Well, she certainly didn't seem well. And her eyes...?" Otis shuddered slightly.

"What?" Vlad said, looking up and slipping the paper into a pocket. "The fact that they look like they could be red, or that they're glazed over?" Vlad asked.

"Both..." Otis replied and then picked up his bag. "Let's get home. I'm starving..."

Vlad only nodded, for he was not in the least hungry- though he would not say this to his already suspicious uncle. He just couldn't bring himself to tell Otis that he was doing the very thing he had restricted him and his uncle to do: To feed from the source while in Bathory- and anywhere for Vlad. Vlad had been so adamant in his argument that he would never drink from the source. So if Otis were to find out, Vlad was worried he'd be angry.

As they walked out of the building, Vlad couldn't help but look up at the Belfry, were the bloody foot prints and puddles were. He'd have to go up there at some point to clean it, or he'd never be able to hang out there again, and for two reasons: 1) the sight was a bit scary, and 2) the smell would surely drive him crazy with hunger for a while.

"What's wrong?" Otis asked, looking over the roof of the rust bucket that was his car at Vlad with a worried look.

"Oh... nothing..." Vlad said and hopped in the car before Otis could say more.

Otis climbed in as well, and although he gave Vlad a slightly worried look, he didn't say any more.

They got home and Vlad went upstairs to set his stuff in his room. He pulled the piece of paper out again and looked at both sides. He'd expected there to be a number, but the back was blank and the front had four words on it.

Thanks for the save...

"Is it that bad in Bathory?" Vlad said and shook his head, "Guess it's because she's used to being on the move, a small quiet town is just too small and too quiet for her... Or was it about my confirming that she wasn't making up that girl…"

He shook his head again and went down the stairs. Nelly was already cooking up some dinner- hamburgers.

Otis was sitting in the living room watching the news.

Vlad walked in, and sat down as well.

"In other news, it seems a very big time Doctor has taken a job at a very small clinic, Bathory Hospital. He is said to be from all over, and will not give his reasons for deciding to work at a smaller and quieter place, just that he wanted a break, but needed a means to make money."

"Very interesting indeed, Kelly, but I believe what I may have something even more odd then that." The camera focused fully on the male news reporter. "Early last night, a wild dog was spotted. It was astoundingly big and completely black."

Vlad gasped and turned the volume up, not caring that Otis looked at him oddly.

"Some say they saw blood on it and in its foot prints." the news caster continued. "Yes, one even managed to get a fairly decent picture, at least showing that it is indeed canine."

The screen turned to a picture of a black mass. It wasn't a very clear picture, but it did indeed give an outline of a dog, running past a car. It was as big as the car.

Vlad gasped again.

"Yes, people should watch out, and keep their children close. It is unknown where the beastly dog is, but one thing is for sure. It is not safe, and has most likely killed someone- though who it is still unknown as well. We insist that you do not go after it, and let animal control take care of it. We wouldn't want you to have to meet that nice new doctor for no reason, now would we?"

The TV was then shut off and it was only then that Vlad realized he was practically nosing it. He got up and looked at an even more worried Otis, and Vlad could tell he was really trying not to peek into his thoughts.

"Vladimir, are you sure there isn't anything you don't want to tell me?"

Vlad thought about it and came to a decision. If he could tell Henry, Otis should be alright too.

"I was... out last night..." Vlad said with telepathy, and Otis nodded.

"Let's go for a walk. You can tell me the story then." Otis replied, and got up.

AN: Well, two chaps. so far. And about to upload the next.

R&R and tell me what you guys think.