The lid to my coffin lay closed over me. The soft velvet gleamed in the light of my heart beat. And my body was completely at rest. My muscles, my bones, even my mind was completely soothed. The weight I'd felt as hunger barked from my stomach, was gone. All of my anxiety of wanting to know what it was like to drink from a human was satisfied. I felt like I'd never wake from the coma setting in. Much like the aftermath of a Thanksgiving Day feast, I was overtaken by peace.

"Erica?" I asked, my eyes now closed, my heart slowing for my long rest.

"Yeah?" She asked, feeling the exact same euphoria I was.

"Do you think my mom will come back soon?" It was a stray thought. My mind was too at peace to be truly wondering that. I was just trying to keep the peace flooding my system until I couldn't any longer.

"She'll be back before you know it." She said, reassuring my empty question. "Now go to bed." Her voice was so soft that I could barely hear it. The soft thumping of our two hearts filled the locked basement. It was a symphony of satisfied young vampires.

"Thanks."

"Goodnight." She said, rolling over quite unceremoniously.

"Night."

My comfort flooded from my system as I awoke from my short nap. Every single one of my taste buds was on fire, and my head felt like it was going to explode. The pain tore through my veins like liquid razor blades, and I screamed.

I flung myself out of coffin and collapsed to the floor with my legs hanging over the edge of my once peaceful bed. My hands instantly found my chest, trying to rip into myself to squeeze the pain from my beating heart. Everything was distorted and shifted as I looked around for some sort of requiem from the pain. But there was only the flashing red lights coming from my pained heart.

Tearing my hands away from my chest to keep from killing myself, I rolled over. My body felt like dead weight. Every muscle in my body held its own new pain. My legs felt like knives were being driven into them long ways. My arms felt as though tacks were trying to fight their way out of my skin. My torso was on fire, and my stomach was empty.

My fears were being brought to life as I realized that this was the epitome of the thirst. My eyes felt like they were being pushed out of my skull as I looked for a viable source of food, but there was none.

And then I had the thought I'd been fearing ever since we'd come to this place. Erica…

My screams were being muffled by my fangs ripping into both my lips. The blood that seeped into my mouth was tasteless and used. It wasn't anything compared to what I'd had earlier, and so I crawled towards her closed coffin.

Every inch felt like it took an eternity as I fought through the pain. The needles that pierced my veins, the knives in my legs, the tacks in my arms… nothing would keep me from her. Nothing!

I clambered up to her coffin and opened the extraordinarily heavy coffin. The lid felt as though it weighed six hundred pounds, but I managed to slip under it and open it completely. And as I lay there before her peaceful figure, I watched through her skin as the blood of her victim coursed through her veins. It was so beautiful.

Without another second, I slid my arm under the back of her neck, poised myself close to her, and brought her up to my mouth.

My fangs slid silently into her perfect skin and instantly the stolen blood rushed into my mouth. Like a volcano, it spurted and shoved the liquid down my throat like it was pressurized. The longing hunger in my stomach was slowly being washed away by what she was giving me. The pains in my limbs and muscles faded as well. Everything was becoming normal again. And then I noticed the silence.

There was my heartbeat… but nothing else.

I gasped as I looked at her peaceful face. Those grey eyes were hidden behind her pale eyelids, but I'd wished they were open and focused. Just so they could tell me she was alive. Even though, as I held her under my left arm, I could tell she wasn't.

"Oh my god." I cried silently. I shook her, and I rubbed her cheek. There was no response. Everything that she'd been before was gone. She wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing. She wasn't smiling… "She's dead…"

The stolen blood that ran through me felt like a mark of death. I felt as Kane must have felt after killing his brother. The only person who use to play with me, fight with me, and listen to me when I was lonely, was now gone. And I was to blame.

The light of the room was a pulsing red. Its flickering reminders of what I'd done surrounded me and a sea of guilty illumination and I couldn't escape it. Even as I rose to my feet, its quickening flashes became all too apparent of the tragedy that I'd befallen.

I looked at my arms. The red glow of life that ran through me flashed its knowing luster under my flesh and proved my guilt. This wasn't supposed to happen! I thought, dropping back to my knees.

I raised my hands to my head and tried to press the ever growing noise of my heartbeat out of my head. Its unforgiving beating blistered against my ear drums. All of the anguish my mind could muster couldn't shut out the noise.

"I don't want it."

My fingernails dug into my temples. The pain only made the beating louder, irritating my already aggravated ear drums to no end.

"I don't want it!"

The steady pounding quickened. Its beating became converged and overlapped itself, tearing the world from under me. My stomach felt like it was being squeezed and twisted, and nausea built up in my throat.

"I DON'T WANT IT!!!"

One second I was staring at her corpse, and the second, I was awake. Her sovern, grey eyes looked down upon me. The little dancing diamonds that glinted in her irises were still and dead. Cracking with worry, and distorting behind tearing eyes.

I lay stock still under her gaze. Fearing that if I moved, I'd hurt her. I couldn't let that happen. She'd been my best friend ever since I could remember, and to have something so terrible burning inside of me… was like a betrayal that I could never be forgiven of. This pain… this hunger, was nearing its peak in my mind, and the only thing more disturbing, was its manipulation of my body.

It took only a soft wisp of her scent to remind me just how hungry I was. But I couldn't move to satisfy it. I couldn't take that chance. And if I had too, I'd remain in my box, unmoving to stave off the burning spasms in my stomach. The constant burning of hungry enzymes eating themselves was a pain I was willing to tolerate. But would my body be so lenient?

Erica's warm fingers were pressed deeply into my shoulders. Her fingernails threatened to burst right through my skin, but I wouldn't show it. Her force was keeping me down; keeping me docile.

Her soft, half-moon cheeks and beautifully sad, grey eyes, was all I had to keep my mind off the pain. It was all I had to keep away the monster. It was all she had that could save her from me.

My stomach growled loudly as we stared at each other.

"I can't hold it forever." I whispered through my pursed lips.

"What?" She was caught off guard by what I'd said completely. I'd put off telling her for a reason, but now it looked as if that wasn't such a wise choice. Because as my stomach clenched, and my veins throbbed, she didn't run.

My lungs suddenly felt as though I wasn't getting enough air. Making my insides feel dry and scratchy. This new feeling, I'd only felt once before. And that was when I'd been forced into my change by the fear of killing the people I loved. Something that brought both fear and dread to my face, only mystifying what I'd held from her further. She had to leave, now.

My hands instinctively found hers and pried her worried fingers off of her. Pain ripped through my arms and shoulders as her grip released the blood into my upper extremities. Its new life, brought its trump card against my resistance, and forced the spark necessary for a rapid change.

In one movement, without words or reasoning, I pulled myself up using Erica's shoulder, and threw her out into the basement stairs. All of the shock and worry that had once shown on her face was instantly replaced by the pain of her landing, and the fact that I'd been the one to cause it.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way." I said solemnly.

And with one last glance into her hurt filled eyes, I slammed the giant blue door shut, brought down both latches, and ripped them right from the door.

I've never seen him so emotionally dethatched before. That last look he'd given me before he shut himself in was so full of pain and inner malice, that I could barely feel the pain in my legs. The suffering that he'd been hiding all this time, seemed to breach through the surface, and I got my first look at Deitre.

The screams that followed the sounds of shearing metal, were indescribably horrifying. At first it was shrill and high. The epitome of audible pain. A force of which I could feel reverberating through the concrete steps I found myself frozen on. And then it started to change. It became guttural and deep; splitting into two separate sounds. Screams, and then roars.

BANG!!!

The force against the door knocked me right from my fear and practically sprung me to my feet. Dread sped through my blood unfiltered and unhindering. It comingled with a sudden burst of adrenaline, and I slowly began to back up on the stairs.

BANG!!!

Another roar followed with the explosive force on the steel door. It's blue paint chipped and fell in glittering sprinkles to the floor. Every fiber of my being wanted to turn and run, but I couldn't. I couldn't leave him there, alone. He'd been my only friend ever since I'd come into the coven. He'd been the only person who cared about me. And he was all I really had.

BANG!!! BANG!!! BANG!!!

Small protrusions of bent metal formed on my side of the door, and I began to wonder how much more the door could take before it finally gave. Sweat covered my skin instantly as the power that lurked inside him began to show itself.

I turned and ran, not wanting to be close to the door when it finally gave. But by the time I reached the top of the stairs, a strange symphony of silence had fallen around our mid-day sanctuary.

I turned in the entry way to the basement and listened. The soft sound of claws scratching against concrete lay low at the bottom of the hard steps, leaving me with nothing but wonder and fear as I stood in the doorway.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. And the metal door was free of its bonds.

The door swung open slowly, and my heart raced. I knew only two things could come from that basement. Either Adam had finally gained control. Or Deitre had broken him into pieces and was now on his way to feed.

A thick, white hand gripped the edge of the door. It took me a few seconds of focusing to see that it was covered in hair. Its visceral claws scraped against the painted metal, shearing it and slicing divots right into its frame. Fear engulfed me completely.

The door swung open silently. And I was met with a pair of amber, uncaring eyes. This wasn't Adam. His mouth hung open, agape with the dissention of frustration with his prison. His breaths were gapped and sharp like knives as he stared up at me. For a second, I hadn't expected him to even move as he watched me. And yet, I knew time was running out.

His white fur seemed to stand up around his neck and spiked on the top of his head as he felt my anxiety. Those thick, powerful jaws of his snapped shut. And he released the door. I could see his claws retracting as he prepared for his ascension. All that was left was for me to move.

My heart beated against my chest furiously as I tried to summon up the courage to run. And with every thought I had about running, he'd move. His eyebrows would twitch, or his hand would shake. Every thought I had was accompanied with some sort of mental notice from him, and it was extremely unmoving.

I took in one last breath, deep and clear as I prepared to run. He did the same, reading my body language perfectly. Oh, god.

I slammed the door shut and ran left, avoiding the sunlight as best as I could. My legs felt as though they'd been beaten with a hammer as I ran. And the burning in my lungs debilitated any chance of quick stepping through the halls. I didn't want to risk breaking through a wall and falling into the sunlight, but then again, I didn't want to die either.

A loud crash sounded behind me as the dilapidated wooden door to the stairs splintered and in the debris, slid the beast. His claws caught the tiles and instantly stabilized him, and then he was back to hunting me.

I turned down the second hallway as sharply as I could without putting too much pressure on my legs as I ran. I didn't want to fall, but I couldn't just ignore the pain from when Adam had thrown me. It was too thin a line for me to blur and confuse.

The stagnant air in the school rushed past me as I turned down another hallway. Adam slid right behind me. I could even feel the rush of wind behind my legs as he swiped for me.

Almost there.

I ran as fast as I could down the straight shot to the boiler room. It was the only other room in the school with a giant metal frame. I just pray it could hold him till sundown! Panic rushed through me as I felt the rip of his claws tearing at my shirt.

The door to the boiler room stairs was open, and only yards away. My muscles tensed painfully as I put in one last burst of speed. My feet crushed the dirty tiles as I sprinted to my destination. But it wasn't enough. So I dove.

I prayed for the door at the bottom of the stairs to be open, because as I flew through the gap, I couldn't remember if I'd left it opens or not. Miraculously, it was open. And I flew right through the entrance and slammed against the ground.

All of my realization for the pain was absent as I quickly got to my feet and lunged for the door. But as my hands met the door, his did the same. And as I wrenched the metal door forward, his face swung around and met mine. The cold, wet tip of his nose met mine, and somewhere behind the gruesome features on his face, was a smile.

He snapped at my face and I backed away from the door in recoil. A cackle escaped from his throat, and I learned quickly that it had been a ploy to get me from the door. Those uncaring eyes, they were unlike anything I'd ever seen before.

The beast stood tall after huddling in through the doorway. He pushed the door into the concrete wall and turned the crank, pushing the metal bars right into the concrete. There was no more sanctuary. Even if I could somehow get around him, there was nothing to keep me from being grabbed up and…

I shuddered.

The evil smile that had once been plastered at his dominance between the two of us faded quickly as his stomach growled. A noise that made my teeth clench with fear. It stopped my breathing and cut my movement away from him down to a small spasm in my left leg. God, please…

His thick hand rubbed against his stomach as he stared at me. I wasn't quite sure whether it was to instill fear or if it was an unconscious movement. All I knew was that there was nothing stopping him from satisfying that craving.

And with one final look towards his food, it lunged for me.

I really couldn't tell what had happened at first. On second I was standing my ground, petrified with fear, and then I was on the ground, pinned to the cold concrete. I shut my eyes tight as I felt his mouth start to close around my neck, and I tried to keep from screaming. This was it.

"DEITRE!" A voice yelled from behind him. His sharp yellow teeth lingered at the precipice of my death as I felt his entire body shift. He was debating whether or not to look. "That's not how I raised you!"