10:00 pm in the UK town of Stockley (The Dracula Castle)

Everyone seemed ready for what they were about to do. Max, Justin, Alex and Robin were standing in front of the Dracula house, waiting for something… Max had his wand in his hand, Justin too, had his wand and also, a vile, a small one ounce vial that held a concentrated pumpkin- garlic juice. Every second Justin felt like throwing the vial away, but deep, deep inside, he knew he couldn't. He knew.

Vladimir had a bag filled with water, papers, pencils and one bottle of blood. Chloe was over in Vladimir's room, instructing the clones Justin made on what to do. A weird yellow cup sat next to her. Robin stood with Max, Justin, Vladimir, and Alex, wondering how this adventure would end. Alex just stood there, wand in hand, still thinking about what Justin told her.

"But I just blacked out!" she said.

"No, it was worse… way worse." He said. Alex stood gloomily as the others waited, waited for her.

"Ok, its 10:05. It should be 6:30 in Egypt." Stated Justin.

"Night time…" sighed Alex.

"Alright everybody, Max, Alex, get ready."

"Wands ready?"

"Yep." Said Max. Alex nodded. She seemed paler than before, more lifeless as if she really was dead.

"Ok." Said Justin. "Ready, set. Go!"

"Travel by foot, car, or air. To the red sea, take us there!" said the three wizards in unison. For a second or two every one of the kids was feeling like they were being "stretched" across the ocean to Cairo, Egypt, home of the Red Sea.

6:31 pm in Cairo, Egypt, in the Tahrir square by the Egyptian Museum

The city lights glitter and glow in the night sky. People of all shapes and ages bustle about the streets. Families go in and out the Egyptian Museum, laughing and smiling as they go. Suddenly, Vladimir, Justin, Robin, Alex and Max popped into the middle of the square. Since there are so many people walking around, they are unseen by anybody.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Robin.

"Good. We made it." Justin looked around him and counted. "1, Alex, 2, Max, 3, Robin, 4, Vlad." Good. Suddenly Alex spoke in a curious voice.

"Do you guy's hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" asked Justin worriedly. "You can't hear anything but chatter and music." Justin was right, he could barely hear his sister speak in the crowded town square.

"Those drums! They're really loud!" Justin couldn't hear any drums. He could hear a wife telling off her husband for going to a bar on their anniversary night, he could hear three kids laughing and telling jokes, and other small conversations all mixed together and even a couple rock songs that you could barely hear, but no drums.

"No, I can't hear them! What do they sound like?" Justin yelled to his sister.

"What are you guys yelling about?" asked Max.

"This is brilliant! Wizards, vampires, lost stones! Just absolutely brilliant!" Cheered Robin.

"Where are we going now?" asked Vladimir, even though absolutely no one could hear him whatsoever.

"Alex!" Justin yelled.

"What?" Alex answered.

"What did the drums sound like?" Justin said as loud as he could.

"Like… well sort of like a… heart beat." Alex realized it. It wasn't a drum playing, it was the heart- beat of somebody, and to her the drum beat was unbearable. Then she heard another. The beat of a boy going on a first date was fast and rabbit like. The beat of the old man sitting on the corner was slow and not patterned. The two women walking down the street was slow and steady, the man by the bakery was fast and irregular, the man by the museum, the girl in the blue chair, the kids skipping in the street; the heart- beats pounded and thumped, making Alex's ears feel like they were bleeding. Blood. Their hearts pumped blood; if the blood was gone, heart- beat would be gone and that noise that terrible head crushing noise would stop. All she had to do was take away that blood, to stop that heart from pumping. Blood.

"It hurts!" Alex screamed. She fell to her knees and covered her ears with her hands, trying to mute the throbbing rhythm of the human hearts around her, but it was unsuccessful. She was pinned to the floor of Tahrir square in pain, wanting it all to go away. Suddenly there was this voice in her head that just made it all go away.

"Drink it," he whispered. "Drink all their blood so their hearts can't beat any longer, then the pain will stop."

"No!" Alex screamed. That was the one thing she was avoiding in her mind about being a vampire, drinking blood. She couldn't.

"Then suffer." Whispered the voice, and the pain flowed into Alex's ears once more. It was unbearable, for a second Alex even thought she might die, in the middle Egypt looking for a ruby to save her soul, but then that word popped up again. Blood. And then it was followed by another word. Live. Blood, live. They were connected.

"Blood…" Alex murmured. It might have been way too loud to hear anything in that square, but Justin and Max heard Alex, they heard her well.

Suddenly Alex had two sharp fangs hanging from the top of her mouth and her eyes sparkled a light red.

"Blood." She said. And Alex ran, ran to where she would have no pain, no heart beats pounding in her ears. To blood.