Author's Note: I'm getting close!!

Red and white lights danced from the ceiling, spilling over every one in the club. They flicked frenziedly to a crazy pattern that kept in time with the music. A hissing sound was heard from above as smoke poured from the ceiling. It covered the club in a transparent veil and created a smoky underworld where anything was possible. The music pumped at full force and shook the walls with every pulse.

"Hey! Now this is what I'm talking about," Reid smiled as he observed the club.

"Not bad," Pogue chimed in. "I could see myself coming here more often."

"Me too," Tyler said as he admired a group of females who walked by him.

Kate looked at the girls and snorted.

"That better not be the reason you wanna come here more often," she hissed at Pogue giving him a death glare.

"No! Of course not! I was just saying--"

"Whatever!"

"Kate I didn't even look at them!"

"Save it!" Kate snapped and moved toward Sarah and Maya. "I have a fake ID, wanna get drinks?"

"Sure," Maya chuckled.

"Ok," Sarah smiled.

"Then follow me," Kate bubbled, once again her cheery self and walked away. The girls followed suit.

"Freaky," Reid said in astonishment.

"She just bit your head off then starts smiling like nothing happened," the blonde smirked.

"Let's hope this drink will mellow her out," Pogue worried looking at the girls' direction.

"Maybe it'll help Sarah, too," Caleb sighed.

"Trouble in paradise?" Tyler questioned.

"Something like that," Caleb said. "But I don't wanna talk about it."

"Agreed," Tyler chuckled. "Glad I don't have a girlfriend."

"Newsflash: I don't have one either," Reid said.

"Yeah but Maya's still got you whipped!" Tyler laughed.

"Shut up!" Reid said giving his friend a light push. "You're just jealous."

"Of what?" Tyler questioned. "Not having any balls?"

"Hey what are you trying to say, man?" Pogue stepped in.

Suddenly finding himself in the hot seat, Tyler realized that his joke hit more people than his intended target.

The panicking look on Tyler's face was too hard to ignore. Pogue started laughing who was then joined by Caleb and Reid.

"It's ok, dude," Pogue chuckled and put a hand on Tyler's shoulder. "Relax."


"There are so many hot guys in this club!" Kate exclaimed as she sipped on her third round of cranberry juice and Crown Royal.

"What?" Sarah giggled. She was on her second Cosmopolitan and she was starting to feel a little tipsy. Not to mention it was getting harder to perform simple tasks such as listening.

"I said 'There are so many hot guys in this club!"' Kate repeated louder.

"What?"

"I said 'There are so many hot guys in this club!'"

"WHAT?"

"I SAID 'THERE ARE SO MANY—WOAH!'" Kate yelled as she leaned in toward her friend and almost fell off her seat. Maya caught the intoxicated young women just in time.

"Why are you guys yelling?" Maya laughed. "You're sitting right next to each other!"

Ignoring the question Sarah paused. "Oh you said 'hot guys!'"

The blonde let out a loud laugh like she had just been told the funniest joke in the world.

"Didn't you just bite Pogue's head off about looking at other people?" she reminded her friend.

"Yeash, I mean, yeah," Kate slurred as she downed the rest of her drink. "So what?"

"You drink like a fish," Maya chuckled as she gulped her Bloody Mary.

"Look who's twalking--talping—talking!" Kate laughed placing her empty cup on the bar. "Third time's a carm--charm!"

Kate sighed as she leaned back in her chair. "Who's up for another round?"

"I think you guys need to ease off the drinks," Maya suggested. "Especially you Sarah."

Sarah sighed and looked down as Kate attempted to stand up. Gripping the bar she placed her feet on the floor.

"I feel like dancing!" She yelled to no one in particular. "Where's Pogue?"

Without waiting for an answer she marched off into the crowd leaving her friends behind.

Sarah attempted to follow her inebriated friend but a hand grabbed her shoulder roughly.

"What are you doing?" Maya hissed. "Did you forget why we came here?"

"Kate's drunk! I can't just let her wander off by herself!" Sarah explained as she pushed Maya's hand off her shoulder.

"You don't have a choice," Maya said as she leaned into Sarah. "They're here."

Sarah felt a chill run down her spine. "What?"

"While you two were drinking I was monitoring club from my seat," Maya glowered.

"I sensed several dark presences and their scattered throughout the club."

Sarah stood there dumbstruck. "What are we gonna do?"

"First I'm getting you to Caleb then I'm going to find out where those leeches are," Maya growled as she grabbed Sarah's hand and pulled her into the crowd.

"What about Kate? Sarah worried. "Won't they go after her?"

"If they can't get to you then they will," Maya said as she shoved her way through the horde. "Don't worry. I'll look for her."

The brunette stopped as she spotted a familiar looking raven-haired male. Letting go of Sarah's hand she faced her friend and spoke slowly.

"You know what to do. Stick to the plan and don't get out of Caleb's sight," Maya ordered then disappeared into the mass of people.

Trying to ignore the shudder going down her spine Sarah walked over to her boyfriend.

"Hey there," Sarah smiled as she put her arms around Caleb.

"Um hey," he replied in shock at her sudden affectionate behavior.

"Dance with me," Sarah said coyly as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Uh sure," Caleb said puzzled.

Women.


Maya let her senses guide her through the club. The mob of perspiring, dancing bodies slamming up against each other made it easy to distinguish who was human. It was the ones who weren't dancing that she was worried about.

She could feel a pair of eyes upon her. She turned to her left and saw a pair of amber orbs flash from across the room. He was staring at her. His face was blank and his cat-like eyes shined in the dark. They made eye contact for several minutes, each one silently daring the other to make a move. Then, just as Maya felt she could stand it no longer a neon red light above him caught her eye.

Exit.

Exit? Why was he standing by the exit? Then a frightening thought hit her. Frantically, she looked for another exit sign and rushed toward it. She was met with a different pair of amber, cat-like eyes. Maya raced toward another exit and was met with the same cold, hard stare. In her final attempt, she sprinted toward the entrance of the club and felt her heart drop. Four pairs of amber eyes were glaring back at her. One of them smirked.

Shit.

Sarah had to be warned.


Sarah rocked her hips back and forth and swayed her hair. To any onlooker she would have seemed perfectly calm but on the inside she was a wreck. She was holding onto Caleb's hand for dear life, unbeknownst to him. She knew he thought she just wanted to dance when in actuality dancing was the last thing on her mind. Staying alive was.

This was just part of the plan.

The plan that she never wanted to do.

Pushing those thoughts out of her mind she continued to dance, spinning around and always keeping a close watch on her surroundings.

"I guess you're feeling better," Caleb smiled as his girlfriend danced up against him.

"I guess so," Sarah lied. She forced a smile onto her face.

"I'm glad. Look about what I said earlier--I'm sorry," Caleb said as he leaned into her then kissed Sarah on her neck.

"Me too," Sarah sighed as she rejoiced on the inside at the sign of his affection.

"If Maya means that much to you then I'll try to get along with her."

Sarah turned around to face her boyfriend and placed her hands on his chest.

"Thank you."

In the back of her mind Sarah wondered exactly how accepting he would be of Maya once he learned the truth. Or of her for that matter.


Maya pressed through the crowd using Caleb's scent as a guide. She knew that Sarah was still with him and she had to tell her that things were not going as planned. They were supposed to bait the vampires and lure them away from the club. Once out of the sight of mortals, Maya would finish them off. Now it seemed that leaving was not an option.

A hard push from behind knocked Maya into a nearby chair. Whirling around, she gazed upon a familiar face.

"Menon," Maya seethed.

"Traitor," he retorted. His amber eyes glowed fiercely in the dark.

"You've got a lot of nerve being here," the brunette hissed.

"You're not welcome in this land, either," he snickered.

"I'm not like the rest of you."

"True. We are not spineless traitors who betray our own kind," the male snarled.

"And I'm not a cold-blooded killer."

Menon gave a bark laugh. Running his fingers through his short, jet black hair he stepped closer to the female. He was twice her size in height and muscle and he bared his fangs in anger.

"You were once," he hissed.

"Those days are over," Maya replied as she stepped closer to him.

"And so are the days of your friend," Menon gave a dark chuckle. "You've failed."

Maya opened her mouth to speak but stopped. A loud snap was heard from above as one of the lights wobbled then broke free from its wire. It landed upon the ground with a loud crash sending glass and wires flying everywhere. The rest of the lights stopped dancing and the entire club went black. The music began skipping then halted to a stop. Another snap was heard followed by a large crash. Screams filled the club and people stampeded to get out of the death trap. People were pushing and shoving to get out knocking down others who were too slow to get out of the way. Their fallen peers were forgotten as the frightened teens trampled them to get out. It was sheer chaos.

Maya used the darkness as a cover as she darted in and out of the frenzied mob to look for Caleb. He was near the entrance with the rest of his friends looking panicked as he searched the crowd. Sarah was not with him.

Within seconds she reached Caleb who was turning pale with worry.

"Where's Sarah?" They both said in unison.

"I thought she was with you!" Maya yelled.

"She was but as soon as the light fell we were separated," Caleb panicked. "Have you seen her?"

"No!" Maya yelled as she spun around frantically searching the crowd. Calming herself down she tried to locate the scent of her missing friend. Breathing in and out she focused until she could pick up her faint smell. It was coming from the exit door on the left side of the room. She could pick up her trail from there.

"I think I know where she's headed," Maya said. "Follow me."

"Where's she's headed?" Caleb said. "What are you talking about?"

"No time. Follow me and bring your friends," Maya ordered. "We'll need all the help we can get."

A.N: Pleaseforgive any typos, I was really tired when I wrote this.