sorry for taking a long time to update, but i started a second fanfic in the TMI fandom called "Truth be told" (check it out if you like city of bones) so it's hard for me to update two different ones.. but no worries because i WILL keep the updates coming :)

i hope you like this chapter.. the beginning is a filler-ish because i had to get to the drama at the end without having a really short chapter ;D

ENJOY and REVIEW!

Chapter 10:

After Isaac left, I tried to go back to bed, but I was restless. I laid on my back, my side, my stomach, but nothing could bring on sleep. There were too many questions running through my head. Why did he leave so suddenly? Was it something I did? Something I said? Does he not feel the same way I do?

Our late night meetings were starting to grow on me and so was he. He treated me like a delicate creature, like he was afraid I would break under his touch. I loved being close to him, kissing him. Even though I always felt safe with Orion, there was a different kind of safe with Isaac.

I got up and paced the floor. God, I wish my sister were here. We always used to talk about boys, but everything's changed now.

I sat back on the end of my bed and then collapsed backward, bouncing on the mattress slightly. I shut my eyes and I felt warm tears fall down my cheeks as I fell asleep.

…

Once I woke up, I realized something was different. I looked around—same room. I looked at my clothes—same clothes. At first I didn't realize, but I didn't have my nightmare. I remember Isaac and I talking about it, but I didn't have it. This was the first time in a long time that I actually slept well. My luck must be changing.

I sat up as I stretched. Man, who knew what a good night's sleep could do. I walked over to my bathroom mirror and tamed my hair, changed into jeans and a plain tee shirt, and left to go to the security room. Today was taking over the morning shift, plus I felt bad about how separated Dominic and I had been lately. If I was watching the cameras then he was in the lab, if he was watching the cameras then I was talking with Isaac. But this morning we agreed to work together. We needed to catch up.

I shut my door, locking it, and made my way down the hallways. I decided, as I got closer to the boy's rooms, that I was going to stop by Isaac's room and demand to know what happened last night and see if I could make the situation any better.

There were locks that separated the boy's and girl's hallways and a code was needed to get into each. Of course, since my best friend designed all the codes, I knew them all. I quickly punched in the four-digit combination, the door beeped and the locks slid away with a click.

Since it was still early in the morning, the hallways were dead, and my boots echoed in the silence. I was lucky not to see anyone, which saved me from an awkward explanation.

I found Isaac's room and knocked. No answer. I knocked again. Nothing. "Isaac?" I knocked. No response. "Hmmm," I hummed to myself. Out of curiosity, I twisted the knob; it opened, but no one was inside. The lights were off. "Isaac?" I called out as I walked inside.

His bed was messy, clothes were on the floor, and the faucet in the bathroom was dripping. Ugh, I rolled my eyes. I hate when those things leak. It's not like we have extra water to waste.

I walked over to the bathroom to turn it off and when I reached out to twist the knob, something caught my eye. Smeared blood. Maybe he cut himself shaving, I thought, but I don't remember seeing any cut. What if he got in a fight? What if he hurt someone? I shook my head and let it hang, bringing my hands up to my forehead, putting pressure on my temples. I was making a big deal out of something small. I laughed at myself. Isaac didn't do anything wrong. I know that. He's good.

When I opened my eyes, I was looking at the ground and the garbage can, but that's not why it caught my eye. It was a normal black trashcan with a few tissues inside it, but it was the empty blood bag that caught my attention. "What the hell?" I said out loud.

I moved the tissues out of the way, which seemed to be placed to try to hide the bag. Why would someone need to hide this? Other people may suspect the worst, but I know Isaac. Isaac's not one of them. I know it. Still, I am going to demand an explanation.

I grabbed the bag in my hand and headed to the security room. If anything, I could ask Dominic if he knew something, if he noticed any blood bags missing. He was one of the only people that had access to the hospital supplies. So any in and out access went through him.

I practically stomped my way down the hallway—scared, worried and a little bit angry—bumping into people as I went along, but I eventually made it to the security room in one piece.

I swung open the doors dramatically and walked in. Two heads turned around to look at me. Dominic and Isaac. Dominic was at the control panel and Isaac had his hands flattened against the counter top. They were both, before I came in, watching the screens intently. Dominic hastily turned off the screen.

"Hey," he smiled and spun in his chair. He put his arms behind his head.

"Did you," I paused to look at Isaac, inspecting him. Was there something I was missing about him? He had a soft smile playing on his lips, but his brow was furrowed before. He and Dominic were hiding something. "Did you replace me?"

"No," Dominic looked at Isaac, realizing that that's exactly what it looked like. "No, I just, had to show him something real quick."

"Oh, well, are you guys done?"

"Yeah," Dominic looked at the blank screen. "We just finished up," They shared a look.

"Great, I can escort Isaac out. I need to talk to him anyways." I smiled.

"Sure," Isaac replied and walked toward me with his hands in his pockets. I shut the door behind us. "If this is about last night,"

"Not entirely,"

"I'm sorry. There are just things that—"

I held out the blood bag. "What's this?"

Isaac's face went slack when he saw the empty bag. "Where'd you get that?"

"Does it matter? Why do you have it?"

Isaac took the bag from me. "Did you go through my room?" Isaac's voice grew with anger. I could see him grit his teeth and shut his eyes. His jaw was clenched as he tried to take centering breaths. He looked genuinely angry. I've never seen him get mad like this before.

I reached out to tenderly touch his arm. As soon as I touched him, an alarm went off. Literally. It buzzed around the hard walls. White lights flashes methodically through the halls. Beep! Beep! Beep!

His head jerked up, "What is that for?" He had to yell over the loud noise.

My heart sank. I knew what it was. I was trained for this type of emergency—the worst type of emergency. "It's the vampire alarm."

"What?" he yelled, covering his ears.

"It means there is a vampire in the compound!"

Dominic came through the doors with a concerned look on his face. He looked pale. "They got in," he said more to Isaac than to me.

"What? Who got inside?" I questioned, but no one would respond to me.

"Take Abby and go somewhere safe. I'll find them," Isaac called out.

"But," Dominic tried.

"Go!" Isaac yelled and started to run down the hallway. Dominic pulled my wrist. "Come on we need to go to the cafeteria. That's where the cages will be set up."

I pulled against Dominic, stopping him. He looked back with a worried expression.

"Tell me what the hell is going on."

Dominic sighed, "I can't explain now. It's not safe here."

"Dominic, what's wrong?"

Of course, he didn't offer an explanation, but kept pulling to the cafeteria. When the vampire alarm went off it was programmed to set off bars that came down creating a cage around the cafeteria, leaving an open space in the middle. The bars fell from the over hang which made the cage into a track-like shape. The bars were made out of the same indestructible metal that the outside was made out of. The bars were also coated in a handful of herbs. Some vampires don't like the smell so they stay away, but if there are humans behind the bars, teasing them, who knows what will happen?

Practically the whole compound was gathered in the small rectangular space creating a din of conversations. The sounding alarm was off now. I could see people I knew across the room, that woman that has the twins. She was holding them close; they had tears running down their faces. I wish I could hold on to my mother right now.

Orion met up with us then. He had a handgun in a holster, and another large gun strapped to his back, a knife in his hand and one strapped to his belt. He also had a series of stakes in a backpack that he laid on the ground.

"Dom—?" I started, but was cut off. There was a loud bang followed by a metal sheet falling to the ground. Several people screamed, but I could only stay silent. There was a bulge forming in my throat, cutting off my vocal chords from fear. It this really happening? So many nights I laid awake in fear of this event. So many times I cried over fear of dying like my family, of dying by the hands of a monster.

A single body dropped from above, landing with ease. The boy had blonde hair, red eyes and fangs. He smiled cruelly. The hairs on my arm stood on end. "How nice of you to set up a buffet for us. How nice for you all to be in one place." The vampire seemed to drag out the "s" sound of the words. He sounded like a snake.

Two other vampires dropped down and walked along the bars like lions in a cage, staring fiercely at their prey. The first vampire walked closer to the bars and his upper lip curled immediately, but he kept walking forward anyway. He touched the bar with his finger, picking up the scent. "Cute trick, but it seems like abnormality and tolerance runs in the family," He locked eyes with me, seeming to have noticed me for the first time. I'm sure I had a scowl on my face, but I wasn't certain. "And who are we?" he asked, coming uncomfortably close to the bars. I tried not to step back. I tried not to show him my fear, but he seemed to pick up on it because he chuckled wickedly. I could hear Orion growl next to me. He was tense and ready to fight. "I don't understand how my brother could stand himself," the vampire leaned closer and spoke softer. "Between you and me, I never thought Isaac had it in him."

"Riley!" a familiar voice shouted. The sounded echoed in the hard, silent room.

The vampire snapped his head around. "Brother!" he opened his arms. "This is a good place. I can't believe you found it."

I thought before was a good time to panic, but now was a good time as any. My heart dropped when I saw Isaac standing in the middle of the room.

"What are you doing here, Riley?" Isaac responded with his teeth clenched. This must be Isaac's brother, but Isaac said his brother died. The boy looked a lot like Isaac despite his light hair and vampire features. Isaac had hazel eyes and flat human teeth, not red eyes or fangs, but the angles in their faces were similar. So if this was Isaac's brother (who didn't die?) was this the same one? Did he end up turning? But it seems as if Isaac isn't surprised to see his brother. Things weren't just adding up.

I'm starting to think there are a lot of things that Isaac lied about.

"You said you'd share the winnings, so we're just here to pick up our prizes." The blonde vampire, Riley, turned towards me again, smiling. His smile was nothing but cold and sinister.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I sneered.

Riley jerked his head at one of his vampire minions and they seized Isaac, putting him in a chokehold. Isaac's legs flailed as scratched at the powerful arm holding him tight. Riley spoke up, "You really fooled them didn't you. They actually believe you're a human. What stories did you make up to make them believe you?" Riley turned to me again. "I guess humans are as stupid as we thought," Riley turned to the vampire that was holding Isaac. "Show them," he ordered as he turned around. He started pacing around Isaac.

The vampire's muscles tightened around Isaac's neck that made Isaac make even more choking noises. I couldn't watch.

"Stop," I thought I yelled it, but it only came out as a soft whisper. The vampire kept going. He used his other hand to grasp Isaac's jaw, prying it open, and squeezing. Isaac groaned and kicked his legs more. As the vampire squeezed, something happened. Isaac's teeth changed; fangs grew. Fangs.

The vampire pulled Isaac up just enough to punch him directly in the jaw. Isaac crumpled to the ground. When Isaac pulled himself up, he looked at me, and his eyes were red.

Isaac was a vampire. How could I not have seen it? My knees felt weak. My palms began to sweat. My heart beat faster. Everything was from sheer terror. It explained everything. Orion's suspicions, Isaac's strange behavior, the blood bag… My mind raced: Orion had been right this whole time; Isaac could have killed me; how much of what he told me had been lies?

"It's a neat trick, huh? Isaac here is the only one that seems to be able to change his looks." Riley spoke up. "It's seems to have fooled you." Riley leaned on the bars, gripping his hands around them. He leaned in as far as he could. My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest, and not in a good way. "Listen to your heart. I can hear it beat faster now and damn, it makes me hungry." he asked. "What's making your hair stand up on end, your palms sweat, and your heart race? I can hear your breath catch in your chest like it's a wild thing that's caged. What are you really afraid of? Are you afraid of the dark? The boogie monster? Are you afraid of losing your precious human memories? Or is it something more? Is it me? Is it Isaac? Are you afraid of what you might become? A dark, soulless, blood thirsty monster?"

"Stop!" Isaac yelled. I could barely look at him. He was a vampire. A horrible, lying, bloodsucking monster. He ran at Riley with inhuman speed, grabbed him by the shoulder and slammed him against the bars with ferocious force. Isaac spoke through gritted teeth. I sucked in a little breath as I saw his fangs again. "You're not getting anywhere torturing her, and you never will. These bars are indestructible. You can't get to the humans."

"Is that one of the tricks you learned about from them?" Riley asked calmly, not seeming to mind that he was being beat.

"Yes. It's hopeless and we can't stay here much longer. The sun will be up soon. The best bet is for us to go back to the city. Please, brother, let's not waste our energy. Not today."

He chuckled and mumbled. "They're not so stupid after all." Riley seemed to contemplate Isaac's comment. He growled in annoyance. He knew he couldn't break thorough the bars. He turned his head to look at me, "I'll come back for you, sweetheart."

"And when you do, I will personally put a stake through your heart." Orion grabbed me protectively.

Riley only smiled at the threat and turned. The vampires he came with jumped to the upper level with ease and climbed out the window they had come in. Reluctantly, Riley followed, and then, with a quick glance at Orion, Dominic, and me, Isaac left too.

What do you think? A few things will be cleared up by the next chapter. REVIEW PLEASE!