Cameron spent her one week desperately willing herself to have a vision. She did everything she could think of, including meditation, binge drinking, spending more time around Fangtasia. She even seriously considered trying to get her hands on some absinthe or peyote. She had read somewhere once, that peyote was used in American Indian rituals to bring on hallucinations and visions. Though, Cameron wasn't sure where to go to illegal drugs, and with her luck, she would probably end up buying from an undercover cop. Plus, she wasn't entirely sure how hallucinogenic substances would affect her.

Melanie wasn't much help. She seemed oblivious to the amount of stress Cameron was under. All she did was nag her about Jackson's soccer team. The two practices that the team did have that week were complete jokes. Cameron would just set up simple drills and let the kids have at it while she would pace up and down the sidelines, willing herself to have a vision. Either that or make them scrimmage the entire hour and a half. She had bigger issues to worry about than a soccer team of eight year old boys.

By Wednesday, the worry had finally started to affect her sleep. An intense anxiety took hold mid afternoon on Thursday. A little after midnight that same day, Cameron was almost hysterical. She honestly tried. It wasn't as if she was deliberately trying to hold anything back from Eric. She wondered if her fear as acting as a block, if the pressure was really getting to her and acting as some sort of vision retardant.

By Friday morning, Cameron had passed out asleep on her bed with Bo curled up against her. Sometimes it seemed like the cat could tell when she was troubled or needed comforting.

Cameron didn't wake up until late that afternoon. Lying still in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, while absent-mindedly stroking Bo, Cameron had almost forgotten about her troubles, or what day it was. As soon as she did remember, she sighed despondently. There was nothing she could do. There was no way she could face off against a vampire. And she had to go to Fangtasia. She couldn't skip out on their meeting. He would find her, and if he came to the house, Cameron worried about what would happen to Melanie and Jackson, even Bo. She liked to think that he would leave them alone, since they weren't involved in any way, but she couldn't take any chances.

Besides her father, who hardly counted, Melanie and Jackson were Cameron's only family. They had limited extended family. Her mother had been an only child, her grandparents were all dead, and her only cousin was at least fifteen years older than Melanie.

Cameron wanted to start crying again, but did her best to stay strong and keep the tears at bay. For some reason, crying felt wrong. Crying meant that she had given up. Of course there was nothing to do but give up, but crying about giving up was somehow associated with complacency or defeat. Just because Eric was probably going to kill her, or at least brutally punish her, it didn't mean that she was OK with that fact.

Cameron eventually rolled off of the bed and took a long shower. She slowly got dressed and ready. Even though she was essentially going out to meet her death, Cameron still felt obligated to continue to dress up. She didn't think she could take the look Pam would give her if she saw her wearing jeans and a tee again. IF she was going to die, she would at least look good.

Finally dressed in wedge heels, black jeans, and a black tunic, Cameron went downstairs and sat in her Jeep until it was time to go. She didn't want to see Melanie or Jackson before she left.

Cameron hadn't realized she was wearing all black until she finally reached towards the ignition with her keys to start the car. She laughed humorlessly. She was dressed like she was going to a funeral.

She drove as slowly as she could, sometimes going under the speed limit, on her way to Fangtasia. She even took the long way, but of course she eventually pulled into the parking lot of Fangtasia. There was an empty spot right in front. After parking, Cameron sat in her car, taking deep breaths and trying to calm herself. The bar entrance was directly in her view. She could clearly see all of the fangbangers dressed in leather and black waiting in line, Pam standing stoically with her arms crossed by the door, glancing down at I.D.'s and greeting patrons.

Cameron took another deep breath and closed her eyes as she put her forehead against her steering wheel. She was putting off the inevitable.

With one last sigh, Cameron lifted her head and opened her eyes. Her hands flew up to protect her eyes from the intensity of a car's headlights, but the light didn't go away. Lowering her hands a bit, Cameron saw that there was no car, but it was daytime. Looking around, the parking lot was empty. There was graffiti covering the facade of the building and the fences around it. The lot and surrounding area seemed different somehow.

Cameron caught the door of Fangtasia opening out of her peripheral vision and quickly turned her attention to it, to see Eric walking out into the daylight. Shocked and unsure what to do, Cameron continued to watch as Eric tentatively walked out into the sun unharmed. She moved forward in her seat, eager to find out what was going on as Eric moved about the parking lot. Finally, he came to stand directly in front of the car, facing Cameron. He was staring right at her, though she knew he really couldn't see her. She wasn't really there.

Slowly, Eric's skin started to react to the skin. It was a frightening sight for Cameron. He was burning slowly. Whatever he had done to protect himself was starting to wear off. He remained still, though. Cameron wanted to shout at him, force him back inside, something. She didn't want to see him burn.

Behind Eric, the door opened again. A man, much shorter and older than Eric, walked out. He looked absolutely thrilled. He was talking, though Cameron couldn't hear him. He finally came to stand next to Eric, who instantly chained himself to the man with silver. Cameron could see the burns and smoke the metal bindings were creating on both of their wrists. This other man was also a vampire.

Cameron continued to watch in horror as they both continued to burn directly in front of her. They eventually collapsed onto the pavement of the parking lot, and continued to be burned alive.

The sound of a car horn jolted Cameron out of her trance. She was staring at the exact same spot, only she was back in the dark parking lot full of cars and people.

Without thinking, Cameron threw herself out of the car and ran as fast as she could through the parking lot. Pam let her run by, and Cameron ignored the typical protests of patrons being forced to stand in line. Ever since the first night, Pam didn't bother asking for Cameron's I.D.

Cameron pushed her way through the crowd. Only yards away from the office door, Cameron mis-stepped and tumbled to the ground. She had rolled her ankle. She recovered quickly, though. She was too desperate to get to Eric's office, to make sure he was alright, not burned, or didn't have any plans of burning, to care about her ankle.

She ignored the people who came to her aid and pushed passed them on her way to the office. She rushed into the office, slamming the door behind her on accident.

"Eric!" she cried breathlessly. He looked up from his work on the desk with an amused expression.

"I could get used to you saying my name like that," he said slyly.

"Are you OK?" she asked, ignoring his lewd remark. He looked at her curiously.

"Why do you ask?"

"I saw you burning," she said, still slightly out of breath after her mad dash and her fall in a crowded room. What she said seemed to catch his full attention.

"You had a vision," he said. It wasn't quite a question, but more of an affirmation.

"Yeah. Just now," she said, shifting her weight to her good foot to relieve the pain that was starting to permeate her rolled ankle.

"That was very lucky of you," he said.

"So, tell me why I was burning," he encouraged her to elaborate.

"I saw you walk out of the bar, stand in the parking lot in full daylight. At first you were fine, but then you slowly started to burn. Then this other vampire came out and you made him burn with you," Cameron explained in almost a single breath.

Eric took his time to consider her words before finally speaking. "You saw the past," he said.

"What?" Cameron balked. She had seen fragments of the past before. It was like seeing a lingering feeling or even that was attached to a certain place or object. Avoiding touching personal items that belonged to other people or being in important places usually prevented that from happening, though.

"About a month ago. The other vampire you saw has been taken care of," he said vaguely. Cameron didn't think he was going to share the full story with her, and she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to hear it anyway.

"So you're fine," she confirmed. He nodded smugly.

"I do appreciate your concern for me, though," he said, smiling a bit wickedly.

"It counts, though, right?" Cameron didn't care that he was being a bit flirtatious. She just wanted to make sure that she wasn't going to die.

"Technically, yes. Though, it wasn't what I was hoping for." Cameron sighed in relief.

Unable to stand anymore, based on both her emotional and physical exhaustion, Cameron limped over to the couch against the wall and slumped down in it. She took a deep breath stretched her legs out.

"Your ankle is swelling," Eric observed.

"I don't wear heels often. I tripped while trying to run in here and make sure you weren't about to burn to death in the sun," she explained as she leaned forward to pull off the wedge heel on her left foot to examine the swelling of that ankle.

"Do you need medical attention?" he asked, though Cameron could tell he didn't really care.

"I need a fucking drink."

Two songs this chapter! Aka I couldn't decide which one.

"Ain't No Easy Way" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

"The Sun Ain't Shining No More" by the Asteroids Galaxy Tour