Chapter 7- Anastasia

Name: Anastasia Parezides

Age: 24

Occupation: Bartender, the Rusty Nail

"When exactly am I getting the hell out of here?" an exasperated Anastasia Parezides asked herself. "I have been at work since 2:30 this afternoon, without a lunch break, without a coffee break, and without a breath of fresh air." She blew a strand of hair out of her face, then went back to picking up the bin of dirty dishes she was about to take into the kitchen.

Lina, her boss, came running up to her. "Ana," she called.

"Yeah, Lina?"

"Guess what, girlie? You get to go home now...go get some rest for the next few days, because I have decided to give you the rest of the week off."

Anastasia was elated. Not only could she go home, she had the rest of the week off. More reason to be happy.

Anastasia Parezides was known as the so-called "badass" of her circle of friends, which included Eve Kansperi and Ayla Lantzere, her friends since childhood. Ana, as she was nicknamed, worked as a bartender at the Rusty Nail, a local bar located on the outskirts of the city, in Tysons Corner. She was a highly intelligent, charming, and independent young woman who had to constantly use her charm to get out of sticky situations involving perverts who called themselves bar patrons, which usually resulted in her using her fists to fend off some of these men.

Ana was described as a "true fighter" by people she knew. This was because she stood up for herself and wasn't afraid of anyone. She also didn't take people's shit, much less let anyone put her down, and took pride in using her fists to solve her problems.

Maybe this was the reason she lived alone.

Ana lived pretty nicely, living in a beautiful one bedroom apartment near Union Station, which the Nightwalkers had allowed to keep running because they realized the importance of the transit systems to their subjects. For Ana, it was an easy way to get to and from work every day without the huge hassle of rush hour traffic.

What she didn't know was that she was being watched...by one of the Nightwalkers themselves, for she was to be one of the Sacrificed for the Sacrifice that was to occur in a few days' time.