Chapter Three.

As the two young girls ran, trying to erase the images they had seen, they knew they were far from being silent and discreet. Their feet were thudding on the ground and they were both panting like tired out dogs. They jumped together over fallen trees, scrambled through bushes and avoided stranded branches, never once breaking their stride. As they were running, rain began to fall.

When they finally found a hole in the trunk of a tree big enough for the both of them, they squeezed into it, covering themselves in leaves and mud, trying their best to blend in the darkness. Then, they both calmed their breath as best as they could, sending up little puffs every time they let out a breath. But the rain helped mask the unsteady breathing.

For a while, all they could hear were crickets, the occasional owl, and a random shuffle in the leaves from time to time because of bugs or even a little mouse. But they didn't move, remaining as still as possible, breathing as quietly as they could. They had seen what those people, those creatures, had done to their village. They wouldn't hesitate to kill two escaped girls.

As the rain eased, the girls huddled together.

"Quinn ..." The blonde one whispered, her green eyes wide and fearful.

"What is it, Cameron ?"

"Quinn, I'm tired …"

"So am I, but we can't just fall asleep." As if her body wanted nothing more than to contradict her, she let out a yawn. Then, they fell silent again. Too silent. They were falling asleep …

"Quinn !" Quinn woke up with a start and saw Cameron's hands, that were digging into the ground, drag out of her view. She knew immediately that their hunters had found them. She scrambled backwards, panicking, and her hand slipped through a hole. For a moment, she froze.

Cameron's screams were echoing off all the trees in the forest. Quinn closed her eyes and tried not to cry; she needed to concentrate. She started digging at the ground and managed to make a hole big enough to squeeze through just as a hand grabbed her ankle and pulled her away from her escape. She turned and bit down hard, and her attacker actually squealed and let her go. She then scrambled over to her hand-made escape and squeezed through.

Without thinking, she stood and ran for it, with her friend's screams echoing all around her as tears started running freely down her cheeks.

.-.-.-.

"Quinn !" Quinn woke up with a start. She had blacked out in the forest, she hadn't even known what had hit her. She had sat up in her waking up, and she found herself nose to nose with Jacob. He actually looked worried. "We heard you scream, we came running." He stated, leaning back. She didn't remember having let out a sound, with those hands around her neck … She put her hands to her own neck and took in a deep breath.

"What happened ?" Her voice rasped.

"Well, it's a good thing you're not human, otherwise you'd be dead by now. You were attacked by a vampire, the one we've been talking about." Oh, that explains a lot. Quinn shook herself and stood up, too quickly. She fell to her knees and Jacob stood to help her back up.

It was at that moment that she noticed she was in a house; probably at his house. She had been in a bed; probably his bed. Quinn rolled her eyes and shooed Jacob off of her, standing on her own on wobbly legs. She suddenly felt sick.

"What happened ?" She repeated, expecting him to continue and tell her how she had landed there. But Jacob just shook his head.

"You were having one hell of a nightmare." He stated, watching her carefully as she sat herself down on the bed. He was watching her as if she were some fragile thing that could break at any moment, and Quinn didn't like that.

"Yeah, well, you can't say you've never had a horrible nightmare." She snapped, glaring at him. She could see he was fighting back a smile. Then, Billy walked in and smiled.

"Ah, Quinn ! I see you're awake." And suddenly, she felt guilty. These people had just saved her life and she had been thinking about leaving them with their problems and moving on, on her own. Maybe she did need a bit of help, maybe she'd been alone for a bit too long.

"Yeah, I guess." She muttered and then silence fell. Once again. Great. Quinn shuffled her feet and then suddenly stood. "I'm sorry about causing trouble, and by saving me you probably put yourselves at risk. I don't want to be a bother." She half bowed and went to slip between them and leave the room, but Jacob caught her arm.

"Where do you come from, Quinn ?" It was Billy who asked. She felt light-headed and Jacob led her back to the bed. "We accept you among us, but we must know what your story is." But she didn't want to tell. She just remained silent. "That vampire, the one we've been chasing, she stopped choking you once you passed out. You know why ?" Quinn shrugged. "Because she saw your face."

"I'm sorry, what ?"

"She got a good look at you because to finish you off, she let you drop and she turned you around. Her moment of hesitation granted us the chance to intervene and get you out of there. Quinn, she knew you." And that's when it hit her.

Cameron. The vampire they were hunting was Cameron, her childhood friend, the only other person who had escaped her village. Those people who had destroyed all that she loved were vampires, and they had gotten to Cameron. But she should've been seven … Unless they had waited before turning her.

"I don't feel so well …" Quinn muttered, wanted to stand, swayed, and fell to the ground. Jacob caught her just before her head hit the floor, and realised she had passed out again.