It felt satisfying to feel the smooth cotton dress drape my body as we walked out of Abercrombie & Fitch, Robert having bought a new shirt as well, cursed under his breath as he re-read the bill for the tenth time.

"Get over it."

"Yeah, I'll get over the fact that I just made myself broke to buy a dress and a shirt."

I sighed once more and noticed how seriously he was taking this. True, that I insisted on entering A & F rather than the Thrift store, but what was the big deal? Vampires don't need money.

"Oh don't we?"

I just realized I said that last part aloud, and turned around to still see Robert sulking.

"Well, our food source is unlimited...and we only need clothes, and I assume you don't need to pay for shelter if you have a coven."

"I believe you forgot the most important part, humans don't know that we exist. So we need to pretend to be humans and live a human lifestyle...and what's the main principle when living as a human? Oh that's right, it's money."

At this point we reached a shabby vacant cafe at the end of the street.

"Now come on, it's chow time." He muttered dully as he opened the door without any remorse. I hesitated at first, but then my vampire senses aroused me of my hunger, which left me with no choice.

It wasn't that bad this time. I attacked my victim, a young woman who looked about twenty five, immediately so she wouldn't feel any pain. Robert however, wanted to play with his food a bit as he pinned down his victim and sniffed him as though he were vermin.

As we carried the bodies to somewhere isolated I questioned him about how he felt, as a tracker, to drink human blood.

"Well, should I feel bad for them? I mean, yeah we were human once but we need blood for survival..." He paused as we reached an alley and placed the body behind a dumpster. I did mine pitifully, and then followed him as we continued walking back towards the plaza.

"It's not a question of whether we care about them or not, because it's part of the food chain."

"I guess when you put it that way...you thought of that?"

"No...Alex did." He began to walk more briskly now leaving a gap of silence between us.

"You were really close to him, weren't you," I whispered softly as I caught up with him. He kept silent and picked up the pace, only to find that we already reached the plaza. He heaved a sigh and made his way over to a bench. I stood there, staring at his depressing figure as the silence stretched on.

"He...was an inspiration to all of us. Even James, our leader, lightened up to him."

I stared in wonder as Robert went on describing almost every detail of Alex; it was almost as if I could see him with us. When he finished, I put my hand on his shoulder and reminded him that I was atoning for his loss. At this, he chuckled and replied "I wouldn't really call it atonement; it's more like a bribe. Speaking of which, I haven't taught you anything yet."

He got up and faced me boldly, with a hand beckoning me to fight. That marked the beginning of my training.

After six months of vigorous work and effort, I finally learned how to hunt without making a mess and how to fight another vampire.

"I must admit Alice," Robert began as we practiced fighting techniques "You're becoming a worthy opponent."

"You haven't seen anything yet," I murmured as I continuously dodged his blows. His final punch, which was aimed at my stomach, ran amiss as I pranced around him. Then I unexpectedly began to sashay rapidly, confusing him as I saw his next moves and finally, caught him off guard when I angled my teeth on his exposed neck.

"I win."

"I guess for now,"

We got out of our fighting stance and lay down on the grass. I watched Robert as he took an unnecessary breath of air and stared up at the sky.

"Still want to kill me?"

He met my gaze then turned away abruptly and muttered "No," as he shifted his body into a complicated sitting position. "...but you saw that I wasn't going to kill you, right?"

Suddenly he grabbed my arms and looked me in the eye. Wait a minute, what's he going to do now? Think! But no visions came in my head, just a mass of fog and emptiness. "I'm sorry Alice...I really am. But it's for your own good. Now James can't..." My eyes widened as he pressed both his index fingers on my forehead, erasing my memory. I guess it's my fate to have my memory erased by the people I love. That was my last thought because soon enough, I felt like I was falling into an infinite hole of blackness.

I woke up with the same oblivious questions in my head, and something felt right. I knew myself and how to live as a vampire, but had no recollection of my past. It felt like I was a half-empty shell. Well, half-empty shell or not I don't want to just sit around here and do nothing. So I got up and ran, and kept running until I reached the state boundary of Mississippi. I considered which city would I long to see, probably a place with glamour, skyscrapers and of course stores filled with clothes.

I searched around the empty highway for some transportation, and sure enough there was a 'Morning Star' truck passing by. I waved my hands in an inviting gesture, identifying the driver as a male as he pulled over. Whether I didn't feel pity or I was just getting cranky because of the hunger, I attacked him without a second-thought; however I did need a food source for the drive so I didn't drain him of his blood. It's the only way, I thought as I took the body into the passenger seat right next to me. Starting the ignition I began the drive to my extraordinary destination.