A/N: Hey! Here's the next chapter. Tomorrow is the next episode of True Blood! And then Monday is the first day of school for me. Nuuuu~ I have AP Calculus, then Anatomy Honors, then AP English, then AP Psychology, Drama, and then to end my day, AP Biology. Good stuff. (But seriously, AP Calc first thing every day?) A big thank you to Changer of Stories who pointed out a typo in the previous chapter as well as telling me the real name of the hotel everyone stayed at. I'm going to keep my hotel name though. I like it better:) Hm...that's about it. Enjoy. (Oh, and I absolutely love Epik High. They don't do English songs a lot, but when they do, they're great!)

A Different Today than Yesterday

Chapter Four: Map the Soul

We must have a clue but we ask for evidence,
Dwell in passing sentiments,
Though we bask in eminence.
Every moment, everyday,
Busy getting paid away, the soul fades away
Into a grainy shade of gray.
Epik High – Map the Soul (Worldwide Version)

Isabel gasped at the sight before us while Eric and Godric were stunned into silence. My mind had gone blank and my body numb. It was like my body had shut down everything except for pure instinct and at that moment, my instinct was to protect my sister.

Faster than I thought I could go, I dropped to the floor next to Laura and wrapped my arms around her. "Shh, it'll be okay, honey. Shh." I rocked her back and forth, trying to calm her down. Her face was pressed against my neck, muffling her sobs.

In the mean time, Isabel had walked into the room and freed the badly burned vampire. The sizzling noise that came with pulling off the silver sent shudders through my body. After the vampire healed, she and Isabel whispered to one another for a few moments. I couldn't hear what was said, however, as Laura's cries were too close to my ears.

"I-I couldn't d…do it, Bishop! I don't w-want to k-kill anybody!" Laura bawled. I patted her back, trying to comfort her. The whole situation was too surreal. Soon Laura's cries softened and she laid her head on my shoulder. "Are they going to kill me?" she asked quietly.

I squeezed her tighter. "No. No one is going to do anything to you," I answered her. Inside, I was terrified. They could kill her if they wanted to and there would be no way for me to stop them.

"Bishop," a voice called to me, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Bishop, I believe it is time you took your sister home. The sun is almost up."

I stared blankly at the owner of the voice, Godric. My brain was slow to process the information. Hesitantly, I began to stand, taking Laura with me.

"Will anything happen to Laura?" I questioned him. He gave me a kind look.

"I do not know. It is not in my jurisdiction. However, Isabel is a good sheriff. I am sure she will know what to do."

I nodded at him, showing him that I understood. With that I turned to the door and began helping Laura's shaking form walk. We made it to the doorway before Laura suddenly stopped.

"Laura, what is it?" I asked concerned. She brushed me away, turning instead to Godric.

"Thank you. I'm not a hopeless cause. Not yet, anyway. So don't give up, okay?"

To say that we were all shocked was an understatement. The first to recover was Godric. He gave Laura a smile that she reciprocated, albeit her smile was smaller and less friendly.

With that, we continued our journey to Elise's car. As we slowly puttered down the hall, Eric walked leisurely past us. As he passed, he gave me an odd glance. I couldn't tell what the look was supposed to mean as his face was completely blank. He gave me the creeps.

Laura and I stepped into the elevator and waited for it to stop on the first floor. On the ride down, Laura asked, "Do you think Mom will be angry?"

I gave her a look. That was one of the stupidest questions I had ever heard. It was almost five in the morning, both of us had been gone for the whole night, and the truth about the lock-in was probably going to be on the morning news.

"Do we have to tell her everything?" she quietly asked. She looked so worn out, I felt a bit sorry for her.

"Yes, we have to tell her everything. Don't worry. You go to sleep and I'll explain everything to Mother."

Laura gave me a thankful grin and hugged me tighter. Not long after that, the elevator dinged and the doors opened to the hotel lobby. It was slow going to the front desk for check out, but when we made it there Elise was waiting patiently.

"Wow, he was right. You guys are slow," Elise drawled. "I'm glad I checked out already." Ignoring my glare, she grabbed her purse off the welcome desk and searched for her car keys.

"Aha! Found them. Come on guys, let's go."

Elise walked slowly in front of us, sighing impatiently every few seconds to let us know just how she felt about our pace. Every time she glanced back at us I made a funny face to irritate her. She just glared.

When we reached her beat up, blue car Laura settled into the back seat while I opened the trunk and stole one of the quilts Elise kept. Her grandmother was forever making quilts and handing them out to people. Elise just stuffed hers in her trunk and forgot about them. Thoughtful thing, wasn't she?

Tucking Laura in, in the back seat, I glanced over at Elise. She was busy fussy over her hair in the driver's mirror. Once Laura was comfortable and situated, I slid into the passenger seat and buckled up.

"You ready?" Elise asked. I nodded and then we were on our way.

The majority of the ride home was silent as Laura was quietly sleeping, Elise was driving, and I was thinking to myself. It wasn't until we were about five minutes away from our house that Elise suddenly spoke.

"So that blond vampire, what's his name?"

I blinked once, twice, three times before I answered her. "What blond vampire?"

Elise sighed in exasperation. "The really tall, really sexy blond vampire that came and got me when you found Laura," she explained.

"Eric came and got you?" I asked. It made sense. That was the reason he passed by Laura and me in the hallway and why Elise mentioned some guy that said we were slow.

"So that's his name? Eric," she sighed dreamily. Of course Elise had to fall for him. He could have been the poster boy for vampires. He had the dangerous air around him, the good looks, and the mystery that was a must for all vampires. At least, all fictional vampires.

When we finally arrived at our house, I got out and woke up Laura. After saying goodbye (and thank you) to Elise, she drove away, back to her apartment.

Taking out my key, I opened the front door and sent Laura up to her room. After checking the kitchen and the living room, I figured Mother had had to go into work early. Still, I tiptoed to my room, wincing at every creek.

It wasn't until I got to my room that I relaxed. I walked inside and then shut the door, which then resulted in a frightened scream from me.

Behind my door was Mother with a very angry glare on her face.

"I saw the news, Bishop Anne Pennington."

I sighed after realizing who it was behind my door. Then I realized that my full name was used. That was never a good sign for anybody. Semi-ignoring her, I sat on my bed and took off my shoes.

"Where were you two really at, Bishop?" Mother's angry tone softened a bit and took on a concerned edge. I could clearly see wrinkles on her face that hadn't been there just last year, before Father had died. It made me feel guilty that I had worried a woman that had been through so much already.

"The suicide bomber, Luke McDonald, he called Laura last night. He wanted her help, so she went to him. I followed to stop them, but I didn't make it in time. Luke detonated the bomb. After that, Laura left with some vampire. She was going to kill her, but she couldn't do it. Laura's not a killer."

During my small confession, Mother had glided over to my bed and had dropped onto it next to me, all energy drained from her. She didn't seem surprised by anything I said so I continued.

"The vampire sheriff and former vampire sheriff of this area helped me find her. I think she broke vampire law. We might have to leave Dallas for good," I explained.

There was silence for a few moments before Mother spoke.

"Or it could be worse."

I nodded soberly. "Or it could be worse."

Mother lied on my bed and closed her eyes. My guilt magnified tenfold for the worry and problems Laura and I were throwing on her. She didn't deserve daughters like us.

"When will we know what will happen?" she asked tiredly.

"I don't know. Probably tonight. We'll just have to see."

Mother nodded. Feeling particularly childish, I curled up next to her on the bed and closed my eyes. Sleep followed shortly as I hadn't gotten sleep at all the past night.

It was seven at night when I finally woke up to the sound of Mother cooking dinner. Stretching, I got out of bed and changed into a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt. I walked down the hall to Laura's room where I opened the door and saw that she was still sleeping quietly.

With a small smile, I strolled over to her bedside and gave her forehead a kiss. I was glad that she was safe. As long as she was safe, I was content.

After walked out of her room and closing the door, I hurried down the stairs to Mother. She was making spaghetti with salad and French bread.

"Need any help?" I asked her. She told me no and sent me on my way to the living room where I then turned on the T.V. and discovered that even though we had over 800 channels, nothing was on.

While I was in the middle of deciding between the news or some cartoon channel, the door bell rang.

"I'll get it," I called as I jumped off the couch.

I made it to the door and then tried to see through the eye hole. I wasn't tall enough to reach it, so I just opened the door.

I was expecting a door-to-door salesman, not Godric, to be at the door. Startled, I gave a yelp.

"Bishop, dear, are you alright? Who's at the door?" Mother's voice called as she walked to the door. When she saw Godric the blood drained from her face.

"Are you here for Laura?" she asked fearfully. I was just as frightened as Mother was. I had just gotten my little sister back; they weren't going to take her away from me just yet.

"Good evening, Mrs. Pennington, Bishop. May I come in? I have a few things to discuss with both Bishop and Laura."

Mother looked hesitant, but with a swift look from me she nodded. "Of course. Please come in Mr.…"

"Godric. His name is Godric, Mother," I supplied.

I guided him to the dinning room where we all took a seat at the table. The air was tense around us as Mother and I were worried about the reasons for the visit.

"The crimes that Laura committed last night have the punishment of exile. She didn't do anything serious enough for death. Many vampires would disagree however. It would be in her best interest to leave the country to avoid those vampires," Godric started.

Mother's worried look faded a bit now that she knew Laura wasn't going to be killed. I was relieved to hear of the punishment.

"By when would we have to be gone?" I asked.

Godric sighed softly. "By tomorrow morning."

Mother stood up in outrage. I wasn't surprised at the time span. Most vampires didn't care how slow humans were. Everything had to be done at their superhuman pace.

"What if we don't want to leave?" came a small voice from the dinning room entrance. Cocooned in blankets was a bleary eyed Laura. "Would we die then?"

Godric was silent for a moment. "That brings me to my next point of discussion. Bishop also played a part in last night's happenings."

My breath caught in my throat. The sentence itself didn't sound too nice. I didn't remember doing anything to be punished for, though.

"Bishop tried to warn us of the suicide bomber before then saving the life of Yoona Kang, a vampire in Area 9. Because of those acts, the Sheriff is giving you a choice," Godric explained. "You can either leave America by morning or you can stay here in Dallas and continue with your normal lives. The only catch is that you must spy on the Fellowship of the Sun for the sheriff. We have been informed that you are close to Mrs. Sarah Newlin."

I nodded.

"You do not have to worry. Isabel does not want a spy so that she can attack the Fellowship of the Sun, but so she can keep her vampires safe from them. It is her duty to keep all vampires in her area safe. Something I failed in doing."

No one said a thing after Godric's confession. Laura, still keeping her distance from Godric, walked over to a chair and sat down. "I don't think I really have a choice with this. I will be your spy, but only if you keep Bishop out of trouble. I don't want the Fellowship of the Sun or any vampires trying to hurt her, okay?" Laura asked.

I stared at her, startled. Since when did I need protection? Last time I checked, it was me who saved her from whatever trouble she had managed to find herself in.

"I promise to keep Bishop safe from anything," Godric pledged. This seemed to make Laura and Mother, who had been silent all the while, happy.

Great, just what I needed. A vampire bodyguard.