Disclaimer: I don't own the Lost Boys, I just desperately wish I did.

I didn't end up getting much sleep during my first attempt to nod off. It was some terrible hour of the morning and I felt like I hardly got a wink when I woke to the sounds of a scuffle in the hallway. That wasn't unusual, to be honest. The apartments could get pretty rowdy due to the lack of supervision and cameras. Cram a bunch of college kids in a building with no parents or RAs for the first time in their life and you can guarantee four things: sex, drugs, alcohol, and fights. However, what set this particular scuffle apart from the countless others that occurred in my hall so far was that I found myself suddenly in total darkness. The power to at least my room had been knocked out.

"God damn it," I grumbled, feeling around the room for my robe and, in the process of throwing it on, locating my can of pepper spray and a baseball bat from beside my bed before stomping through the kitchen. "The sun isn't even up yet," I screeched, flinging the door open to the hall.

I was surprised and confused to find, of all people, my new friend Jay cowering on the floor. The still costumed young man was protecting his face from who I realized was Theo and Jack. Theo brandished a small, clear bottle at Jay and I didn't exactly understand what I was walking into, but now that I knew who I was dealing with, I didn't think twice about acting.

"Hey!" I banged the bat against the metal door frame, the loud twang meant to startle the brothers. "Drop the bottle!" I pointed the bat at Theo. I saw Jack raise his stake and I lifted the mace in response. Theo scoffed. "This has a range of about fifteen feet. You wanna find out what it feels like to get sprayed in the face with it? It'll hit both of you before you have the opportunity to touch him." I was met with silence, although both brothers lowered their weapons slightly indicating my words were actually sinking in. "No? Then get the hell away from him!" I began to position myself in between the brothers and Jay. "Go on." I was met with scowls as the two backed off.

"You don't know what you're doing," Theo warned.

"You two need help," I accused, my voice cracking noticeably as emotions other than anger were finally given the ability to work their way through me. If I had just stayed in bed, there was a strong chance I would have been waking up to a crime scene later today. I glanced down at Jay, still clutching his face and making quiet hissing noises. I turned back to the brothers with renewed rancor."People are being kidnapped around here, probably killed, and rather than do anything productive to help with that, you're choosing to hide behind this supernatural bullshit. You're SICK!" My voice echoed down the empty, silent hall. Jack flinched at the accusation and seemed to want to look anywhere but at me. Theo, on the other hand, still looked ready to fight. I readjusted myself, straightening up and planting my feet more firmly. "Last warning." I directed at him and my voice took on a new edge. With how tired and angry I was, my voice dropped what felt like an entire octave and even I was surprised at how authoritative I sounded. "Get the hell out of here before I call campus PD after I beat both of your asses."

Theo started forward, pulling up one sleeve and reaching for the other and I clenched my fist around the grip tape on the bat, but Jack grabbed him by the arm before he ever reached me. Theo's head jerked toward his sibling, his expression equal parts of frustration and confusion, but Jack just shook his head. He mumbled something I couldn't make out but managed to convince Theo into retreating to their apartment. Again, while Jack still wouldn't make eye contact, Theo's stare bored into mine nearly the full duration of his walk. I stood my ground until their door clicked shut behind them.

"Come on," I exhaled, my frame deflating perceptibly as the adrenaline faded from my system and exhaustion swept over me once more. I knelt at Jay's side until he began to uncurl from himself bit by bit. I hadn't noticed until then the four large holes kicked into the base of the wall separating the hallway from my. "Fucking hell…" I couldn't that the Darts had done this. I knew they made threats but…They just seemed like dorks with a weird obsession. I didn't think they would actually try to kill someone.

I gingerly took one of Jay's hands to pull his arm over my shoulders and slowly began to stand with him. I made sure to take things slow, supporting as much of his weight as I could as I led him to the plaid couch inside.

"Let me get a look at you." I tried to pull one of his hands away from his face and mask, but he pulled away sharply.

"I'm fine," he insisted shortly. "Just…Do you have any ice?" I rolled my eyes at his reluctance but got up to dig around in the freezer anyway. There wasn't actually any ice made, but I wasn't shocked that Jordan and Colette either hadn't noticed or cared to refill it. I glanced over at the sink and, sure enough, it was full of dishes. What was I – the maid service? I understood that they were busy, but at least pick up after your damn self.

I eventually did come up with a frozen bag of peas for Jay. I also decided to take the extra time and care to place it in a large Ziploc bag and wrap it with paper towels. When I handed it off, I was glad to see he was only covering one eye now. He grunted at me as he took the bag which I guessed was a sign of thanks.

"I assume you drove your bike here?" I pulled myself up into one of the kitchen barstools. Jay nodded in response. "I'd offer to take you back, but my car is still at the party. I can't imagine driving with one eye will be easy, not to mention all the wind in your wounds. Why don't you just crash here?" He stared at me, clearly displeased, through his one good eye. "I mean, if you're not comfortable, I understand," I backtracked as fast as I could. "But you're more than welcome here."

"Thanks" he sighed as though admitting this weakness was some point of great shame. "That's…Probably for the best."

"No problem. Just let me just go get some things set up." I hopped down, happy to now physically remove myself from the awkwardness of that conversation. From my bedroom closet, I pulled some fresh blankets and pillow cases for my guest before stripping my own sheets off the mattress. I would move my things to the living room to create a makeshift bed on the couch in the living room while and let Jay take my room. I didn't imagine my roommates would be too pleased finding a strange boy in the living room when they woke up, so it was for the best I kept him behind closed doors. As we began to switch places, however, I noticed that he was shuffling a little.

"I don't mean to be a dick…I'm just kind of sensitive to the light right now. You know, with the whole..." He gestured at his face with the hand not pressing frozen peas against it. "It's kind of giving me a migraine. And I know these apartments get pretty bright. How dark is your room?"

"I think you'll be ok." I smiled, tiredly. "I put up blackout curtains my first week here because the lights kept me up at night. But, if that's not going to cut it, well…We can always throw you in the bathtub? There aren't any windows in the bathroom." I was happy to see him crack a small smile at my comment.

With the frozen vegetables still glued to his face, he checked out the room and seemed to be satisfied.

"I would offer you the remote so you could watch TV or something, but…" I scratched the back of my neck. "You guys kind of killed the power to the room, so…" He shrugged, sitting on the edge of the bed and testing out the comfort level by pressing his unoccupied hand into the mattress.

"It's fine. This is all great." His spirits seemed lifted considerably, but he gave me a curious look then. "You're very tired." It wasn't a question, so I knew it must have been apparent. "You're going to end up sleeping in late. You should get some rest." I yawned, nodding and pulling the door shut behind me with a soft "Goodnight." I flopped face first onto the couch, hoping I could shield myself from some of the sun's rays when it decided to rise, and finally returned to my slumber. It felt like a deep, unnatural sleep as it washed over me, like when I took Benadryl as a child. It was fulfilling, but I felt trapped and my dreams were strange and potent.

July 31, 1987

Sam couldn't believe what he was seeing. Where had things gone so wrong? Why had this sounded like such a good idea a few hours ago? It felt like Michael had spanned the gap between himself and Alan in a heartbeat. Had he just flown? The shock of the situation prevented Sam from doing little more than watching, mouth agape, rooted in place, as Michael landed on the last surviving Frog brother and began choking the life out of him.

"YOU KILLED HER!" Michael kept screaming over and over again. "YOU KILLED HER! YOU KILLED HER!" With his throat being slowly crushed, Alan couldn't offer much of a rebuttal aside from some wheezing noises as he struggled to escape the much larger boy's grip. Michael eventually did remove one hand, but to Alan and Sam's collective horror, it was only to cock one arm back and slug the Frog square in the face. By judge of the crunching noise that echoed through the cavern, Sam could be sure that Alan's nose was broken and he couldn't prevent himself from wincing empathetically.

He wanted so badly to look away, but Sam just couldn't. Michael pulled back to hit Alan again and Sam once more cringed, awaiting the impact, but it never came. Michael had stopped yelling, frozen in place, still tensed and ready to strike the boy. As the seconds ticked on, the eerie quiet of the cave really began to sink in. The stillness was broken only by the sounds of ocean waves lapping against the cave walls and Alan's soft whimpers. Michael had clearly loosened his grip and the Frog continued to squirm with his legs as though trying to swim away from his attacker, tearing his clothes and skin on the jagged floor. Sam noticed his brother's expression was strained, but it was hard to understand from the distance that separated the two what exactly the expression meant.

Alan finally managed to push himself up off the ground into a seated position and Sam could see just how bad the damage was. Alan's eyes were puffy, but it was hard to tell what swelling was caused by tears and what was residual bruising from his now very apparently broken nose. It had shifted from its original position on Alan's face by about an inch, bending painfully to the right at the center of his bridge, and blood dripped out of it at an alarming rate.

It clicked then for the youngest Emmerson brother why his brother was sitting so very still and he felt himself go as rigid as Michael appeared to be.

"No…" Sam whispered, his face morphing as unrestrained horror traveled across it. It was the blood. Michael had resisted killing up to this point, but it had been difficult enough without the stuff sitting out in the open and just inches away from his brother's face. And it wasn't like it would be difficult this time. At least, not after Alan had killed Star. Michael was probably itching for revenge and Nanook was not around to play the part of the defender.

Sam thought about calling out to his brother - maybe he could distract the half-vampire long enough to convince him that this wasn't really what he wanted, especially not with the strings that were attached. Fortunately, however, h remembered that the three weren't alone in the cave. He glanced over to the four vampires, equally still, waiting to see what Michael would do. Two of the blondes wore shit-eating grins while the dark haired one's mouth had formed a deep frown. Their leader, as though he knew he was being watched, glanced over to Sam. A smirk began to crawl across the final blonde's own smug face into a giant smile. Sam's heart hammered against his chest. Should he stay or should he just run? He wouldn't have to wonder long. The moment was broken by the shrieks of the last living Frog brother and his mind was made up before he even got a look at what was going on. He knew what had happened and he didn't need the gory details up close and personal. As Sam turned tail, sprinting toward sunlight, he caught just a glimpse of his brother giving into his urges and mangling the neck of the boy. Sam tried to block out the cheers and hollers of the other vampires as they celebrated Michael's surrender.

Sam sprinted up the stairs as fast as his legs would carry him. They felt like jelly and it was no surprise that as soon as his feet sunk into the sand, he collapsed to his knees. Sobs wracked his body drowning out the dying wails from the cave. Sam was all alone now. His only friends in this town were dead and his own brother was one of the monsters that killed them. He could still try to convince his mom that they needed to get out of town, but he would have to make it to her before the sun set. They had traveled here by car, but he had no idea how to drive even if he was in any sort of emotional state to try.

The boy took a few shuddering breaths to try and calm himself and began to stand, leaning heavily on the car's frame. He would have to walk, he realized, and he prayed he would make it to Max's Video Store before sundown. This all felt so wrong…

My eyelids drowsily slid open what felt like a couple of days later and I was vaguely aware of Jay shaking my shoulder.

"Hey," he spoke softly and I rolled over to face him, squinting from the brightness of the living room ceiling light. Stupid natural light bulbs... "I'm gonna head out. I figured you might want to be woken up." I glanced around, pushing myself into a sitting position as I tried to locate a clock to see what time it was. I didn't find one, but noticed that it was definitely still dark out between the slats in the Venetian blinds. The math wasn't quite making sense to me.

"Shit, not again." I pushed myself fully into a sitting position as I read the time off of my phone screen. It was dark because the sun had already risen and set once more. It was rare that I slept in any later than 3:00 pm, but this wasn't unheard of for me. I tended to lead a nocturnal lifestyle when left to my own devices, which I wouldn't mind except that it was agonizing to try and reverse when responsibilities called.

"I told you that you were tired," Jay shrugged. "Anyway, this works out. I'll send Paul or Marko over to get you. I believe you had plans for tonight?"

"Yeah," I rubbed my face, yawning a bit. "I should go make myself presentable." I was quite certain my makeup had to be smeared all over my face. There was no point trying to cover it up at this point – he had already seen the worst of it. What harm could a few more smudges do?

"Alright, I'll catch you later." He slid his shoes back on and waved a goodbye as he exited.

It took a while to get motivated enough to extract myself from the warm cocoon of my blanket burrito, but it wasn't too long before I finally finished showering and applying the finishing touches to my makeup for the evening. I was just pulling my phone off the charger in the living room when I heard a tap on the nearby window. I glanced over, puzzled. It was followed by another tap just a few seconds later. I decided to pull up the blinds and laughed and who I found.

"You're so clichéd, Paul!" I yelled, whipping the glass pane open.

"Oh yeah?" Paul hollered back, dropping the remainder of the gravel pebbles in his hands back into the parking lot. "Am I gonna have to bring my rock box out here too and serenade you until you come down?"

"Jesus! Don't get your panties in a bunch! I'll be right down!" I shouted back. Shutting and locking the window like a responsible adult, I grabbed my basic necessities and was out the door in a flash. My roommates were oddly quiet, so I figured I had missed them and they were out for the evening again. Truth be told, it was like they didn't even live here anymore. I wasn't sure why it bothered me so much, but I noticed I was frowning. I shook it off pretty quickly, though, and practically skipped the rest of the way down the stairs to meet Paul. I found that he was shaking his head at me.

"Did you forget what kind of chariot I drove again," he asked as he surveyed my outfit. I only realized at that moment that my car was still parked on the street from the other night, but I figured we could take care of it later.

"I'll be fine!" I smiled.

"And your hair is still dripping wet…"

"I'll be fine!" I repeated "My dad used to have a Harley that he specifically used as a blow-dryer when he was my age."

"And no jacket…"

"What are you, my mother?"

"You wound me!" Paul raised his hand to his heart for emphasis before he began to shrug off his own coat. I thought it was part of his costume from the previous night, but apparently, along with his white t-shirt and light wash jeans, it was a member of his regular wardrobe. I was equally surprised to discover that the earring he wore last night wasn't a clip on. Interesting. As he helped me into the garment, one arm at a time, I decided to take a closer look for anything else I had missed from the previous night. For one, his blue eyes were softened to more of a seafoam color without the guyliner and I also noticed that his nose was somewhat crooked, likely from being broken several times in the past.

"That'll do, pig," he kidded, stepping back to admire his handiwork. I shot him a glare as I realized just how terrible the fit was, making a move to swing at him. With the length of its tails, the coat turned out to be more like a dress on me and hung just centimeters above the ground. "Oh, chill out and hop on Cinderella!" At least I had enough sense to wear my boots and jeans tonight instead of tights. I decided to oblige when I realized I was already aching to get on our way.

"Come on, come on, come oooonnnn!" I drummed my hands on Paul once I was settled in.

"I've created a monster," he groaned, but his smile betrayed feelings somewhere between satisfaction and pride.

"Where are we going, anyway?"

"Just a ride!" He called back, gunning it.

She tried to stay in the largest group possible when her class let out – she figured that had to be her best chance at survival. Surely they wouldn't attack while there were these many witnesses. Or, maybe that didn't actually matter. Could they take out all these people at once? What the hell even WERE they?

She jumped every time a person brushed past her in the hall. She hadn't been resting well since her experience last night, and it was only attributing to her paranoia. The fatigue made it so much easier to believe she saw one of their faces peering in through a window from the corner of her eye, or that she heard one of their voices behind her in class. She had been holding in the outward manifestations of her anxiety all day and simply did not have the willpower to keep her façade up, but now that the sun had set, the shadows redoubled their efforts to play cruel tricks on her at every turn.

She did not stop to peek outside the building to see if anyone was waiting. Her plan was to keep her head down and to keep moving with the herd, but even while shielding herself with her classmates, she felt completely and utterly exposed, as though she stood naked in front of the world. She tucked her hands under her arms and slouched in a way she hoped wasn't noticeable, trying to become as small as possible without drawing attention to herself. When that wasn't sufficient, she tucked her dark hair and as much of her face as she could beneath the hood of her sweatshirt. None of it would ease her apprehension. She hoped that once she was in the safety of her car her hair would no longer stand on end, particularly those on the back of her neck. They pricked painfully every few seconds, a constant reminder that she was not safe, and it sent tremors running through her.

The five-minute walk felt like it was taking hours. She knew she was overanalyzing, but every step, shuffle, crunch, and ruffle sent a new wave of panic crashing upon her. It was all she could do to keep walking at a steady pace and breathing normally, the tingling in her legs growing stronger and more difficult to ignore, urging her to run as fast as she could to the car and break away from the crowd. Each normally paced step up the stairs in the parking garage to her now visible Nissan was agonizing. She was so close, and she no longer had anyone around. Her fingers curled tighter around her keys, terrified to drop them and ready to put them to use as a weapon if the situation called for it.

Gaze flashing every direction, she began to speed walk, then scurry, then actually run to the car, mashing the unlock button on her key fob as she gave into her barely contained hysterics. She whipped open the door and threw herself inside, slamming the metal shut behind her and locking the doors once more immediately. As her own breathing echoed off the glass of the windshield, she realized just how close to hyperventilating she had become. With no energy left in her, she sank in her seat, attempting to regain control over herself. She was still sitting in a glass box, not necessarily her safest option when sitting still. If she could just get the car in motion and to the safety of her apartment's garage…

"You know, I was starting to think you wouldn't show." And there he was, lounging across her back seat as though he belonged there. She found herself paralyzed – a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car. This was it. "Now, let's get this show on the road! I believe you still owe me dinner." He sat up, placing one hand on either side of her seat. "So I suggest you start your car before we're late for our reservation"

Author's Note: Sorry, but I gotta cut it there! This chapter got WAY out of hand. In better news, Part 2 is going to be almost double the length of this one! Expect to see it up sometime this weekend!

Hopefully this chapter cleared a few things up, but it also opened up a few more questions. What do you think happened with Sam and Lucy? Is Paul being truthful? Who was in the girl's car and, for that matter, who was the girl? Let me know with a review!

Thanks to JakkiiSukaru and Shipless Oceans, as always, for your speculations!