Thank you snowflake2410 for reviewing. You're a sweetie! Thank you to everyone who read the last chapter. And to all UKers... Happy Bonfire Night! =D

Imogen had been in pain all weekend, sleeping most of the day and eating hardly anything. She had tried, thinking that the hollowness of her stomach was due to her appetite. But when she tried to eat something, a slice of toast or a packet of crisps, she ended up spitting it out. The food tasted bland, unappetising yet she still felt that desperate need to have something. She just wasn't sure what she was craving if none of her favourite meals or snacks were doing the job.

She sat in homeroom by herself, not wanting to face her friends or Bobby. She didn't want to see any of them, scared as she thought of the reason why she had been feeling so sick and her stomach hurt.

There was something else that was odd. Something that had sent her into panic as she tried to figure out what was making her feel so different. She had counted on her calendar, marking the days so she wouldn't be caught out by surprise. Yet Saturday had been and gone and there was absolutely not show of it.

If she calculated correctly, everything fit. A month ago she had been drunk, absolutely pissed at Peg's house. Her friend had hosted a big party, taking advantage of her parents being away and Imogen had drunk too much. She was usually so careful but she knew Bobby had not brought anything that night. But they still went ahead…

Fuck, she thought. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

A hand cradled around her stomach, a small tear escaping and she quickly wiped it away when the door opened. She straightened, watching Sam Emerson walk in. He didn't pay her much attention, eyes casting for one, brief glance at her.

She had never really gotten to know Sam. He had been new to their school and when he started he had already grouped up with those strange Frog brothers and those bitchy girls that also hung around with them. Well, if she was fair only two of those girls were bitchy. Bernice Teahan had always been nice. More mannered and friendlier than her sour faced sister. She actually thought Sam was okay, a bit weird in his dress sense which got him a lot of comments from the guys but despite the things they said to him, he was always confident and never seemed like their words and insults bothered him.

Normally he was quite a happy guy, always smiling. But lately he had been quieter. Kept to himself. Imogen guessed the reason. The last month had been awful for him and the others. He had lost three of his friends. Bernice, Bridget and Alan. They had all gone missing with Bernice's boyfriend, Leon, being a main suspect at first but he had seemed to disappear off the face of the earth as well. The police continued to go with that lead but anyone who knew Leon also knew that he was probably just another victim like the other three were. Then there was his friend Bonnie who had lost her mother recently. A break in that went horribly wrong according the news.

Despite what she thought of them, it was a tragic thing to happen at their school. She may have taken part in teasing Alan and the cat fights she would have with Bridget but she would be the first to admit they didn't deserve to be the latest victims.

"Hi, Sam," she greeted and Sam gave her a brief nod. He had circles under his eyes and a yawn followed. But then he looked back at her and frowned, observing her and she knew what he could see. She looked very pale and her face glistened with sweat. Now and again, she cringed and whimpered in pain. At the sight of her, she noticed Sam swear under his breath.

"What?" she asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Sam may have been a vampire hunter for eight months but he had seen plenty of half vampires to know what they looked like.

"Oh… shit. You're…"

He paused, not wanting to blurt out everything so sudden because Imogen would have no clue what he was on about. Although she glanced at him with fearful eyes as if she knew what he was about to say.

"How do you know? Does it look that obvious?" She whimpered again, hand rubbing her stomach. She had to admit while she was in top classes for most of her subjects, headed towards an Ivy League path for college, she didn't know much about sex education. She had always been too embarrassed to find out more, trying to avoid the lessons school forced them all to have and never wanted to ask her parents a thing. It was only really last year that she actually started sleeping with Bobby despite being with him since Junior High.

"I've seen it happen before," Sam said and her face crumpled, biting down on her mouth and she suddenly stood up. She didn't notice how fast she had stood up but Sam had, backing away at her quick movements. Too quick for a human and he raised his hands.

"Just calm down," he told her but she marched over, grabbing his arms. He yelped, feeling her fingers clamp down into a tight, iron grip. Her eyes flashed yellow.

"I can't calm down! I'm scared," she wailed. "I can't tell anyone! Not even Bobby. I don't want this."

"No-one ever does. But it's happened and I can help. I know how to deal with this."

She blinked, tears dripping down her cheeks and she straightened. "How? No offence but what can you do?"

"I've dealt with this before. I'm quite experienced."

"Huh?"

"Okay, you look very confused now." He frowned before realisation hit him and he raised an eyebrow suspiciously at her. "Wait. What exactly are you on about?"

"I think I'm pregnant."

"Oh. Oh, I get it now!" Sam chuckled nervously and peeled her hands off him. "Sorry, I thought you meant something else."

So she was possibly pregnant? But she looked like a typical half vampire and now Sam wasn't so sure. Unless he dared to test her. There was a bottle of Holy water in his bag but he would probably get into a lot of trouble if she tested negative for vampirism. Apart from a few odd comments, Sam had never been on Bobby's bad side. The shoving heads down toilets and tripping up in the dinner hall seemed to be saved especially for Alan. Sam didn't want to be Bobby's next and newest victim. But he did have a cross.

He began to dig into his bag and pulled out a cross.

"A cross? Oh, are you one of those really religious people?"

"Not exactly," Sam said and held it up, right in front of her face. She recoiled back, suddenly feeling a horrible force pushing her back. She had no idea where it came from, only knowing that she didn't like it being waved in her face like that and she had a horrible fear of going anywhere near it.

"Just as I thought," Sam muttered.

"What's going on?"

"How long have you felt like this?" he asked, putting the cross away.

"Since Friday night. There was a big party down in the woods and I suddenly felt ill."

"Did you drink anything strange?"

"No, I'm very wary of drinks. I stuck to my own and Bobby's."

Sam put his fingers to his lips in deep thought. Vampires were fast. And if her and Bobby weren't paying much attention or watching their drinks closely, a vampire could easily sneak some of their blood in.

"Have you noticed anything else strange?"

"Like what?"

"Strange noises? Lack of appetite?"

"Yes! I get this awful pounding in my head all the time and I haven't been able to eat anything. I mean, I feel hungry but nothing is helping."

"What about water?" Sam asked. "Does running water burn?"

"What? Well, I burnt myself last night in the shower but the water must have been too hot. I ran a bath and I was fine."

Sam nodded. "Okay. Now…"

He suddenly grabbed her hands, examining the nails. It was lucky she had nail polish on. The white tips stood out from her purple nail polish, already grown out and longer.

"When did you put the nail polish on?"

"Friday. Just before the party." She observed her nails. "They've grown. Sam, why are you asking me all of this. What's wrong with me?"

"You're not pregnant," he said. "Take a test if you really want to know but you're not."

"So what is it?"

He scratched at his head and cringed. He really wanted to let her know what was going on but he was worried about her reaction. He wasn't like Edgar who would happily blurt out the truth and not care how crazy he sounded. He wanted to be careful, not wanting to scare Imogen. But if this was the work of Marko or Logan, whichever vampire, he wanted the girl to know as much as possible so she didn't turn or get lured to their side. Too many people he knew were lost to the vampires.

"Just know that I can help with what's happening to you," he said and took out his bottle of Holy water. He unscrewed the lid and let it trickle onto Imogen's skin. At the contact, the skin bubbled and hissed with Imogen crying out. She wrenched her arm away, eyes widening at the red burn on her skin. She was about to shriek at Sam, ready to demand what sort of chemical he had just poured on her but he let a couple of drops hit his own skin. There was no reaction.

"What's happening to me?" she asked. "Why did it burn me and not you?"

"It's vampires. You're one as well."

There was a pause from Imogen. She seemed frozen. Mouth agape. Eyes wide. Sam braced himself for her reaction, expecting anger to explode right in front of his eyes. All he had ever seen was anger from half vampires and he couldn't help be wary of the recently turned. Time seemed to drag by as Imogen stood there and Sam waited for a reaction. Anger… disbelief… he hoped for something because the situation was starting to get a little awkward and weird now.

She laughed. An almost hysterical cackle as she tossed her head back and laughed at Sam's words.

"Have you taken drugs or something?" she asked. "Vampires? That is fucking ridiculous."

Are you guys sniffing old newsprint or something?

That memory flashed into Sam's head, a memory that seemed like years ago but was only last summer. He could sympathise with Imogen. Not really angry about her reaction because eight months ago he was exactly the same. Edgar and Alan had wandered over to him, attempting to persuade him that vampires roamed his new hometown. They had shoved yet another horror comic in his hands. One of Blake's. He thought they were completely nuts. Two bored teenagers who wanted to scare him or delusional nut-jobs who really did think monsters were under their beds.

"Believe me, when I was told this last summer I would have reacted the same as you. But that pounding your hearing are people's pulses. Those cravings you're getting are for blood. It sounds crazy, I know. I learnt the hard way that everything I was being told was true. But take a look at your reflection tonight when you get home. Then you'll believe me. When you do, come to my place. I know how to help."

As more students entered the homeroom, Sam moved away from Imogen and went to go sit down. She stayed standing, now looking fearful at him. He had sounded so serious. So understanding about her doubts. And now he calmly walked away from her, sitting down in a chair and ignoring her. Leaving her to think about his explanation.

"Babe, where have you been?" Bobby asked, strolling in. He waltzed in, arms spread, and as he pulled her closer, pressing her against his body she heard a beat. Slow at first but getting faster. The faster it got, the scent she caught in the air made her mouth water and throat burn. She pushed him away, lurching back herself and went to grab her bag.

"Babe?"

"Sorry. I just feel really sick," she lied and dashed out. Sam watched her closely, shaking his head with a disheartened sigh escaping.

So Santa Carla had claimed another undead. By this rate the population was either going to be dead or undead. The petty fighting between Marko and Logan's pack was already having serious consequences and they needed to be annihilated before things really got out of hand.

Imogen wept as she leaned against the sink in the toilets. She was so desperate for whatever that aroma was that it made her stomach hurt and her throat felt like it was closing up on her. She was famished and she still didn't really know what was happening to her.

Well… she had an idea but it was Sam's explanation. An explanation that she refused to believe because it was so stupid. There were no such things as vampires.

But then again everything Sam said seemed to fit into what she was experiencing. It all seemed to click, to bring light to what she was going through. Some part of her seemed to believe what Sam had been talking about.

But he told her to look at her reflection and that's what she was doing right now. She saw nothing strange. Weren't vampires supposed to have no reflection? Yet there she was, a full reflection in the mirror. She stared back at herself, a frown on her red face, blotchy from crying. She looked pale, drained of her usual Californian, sun-kissed look. But that shouldn't necessarily mean she was a vampire. Maybe she had the flu?

It was as she was staring at her reflection that she began to notice things. Changes that made reality hit her like a sharp, stinging slap in the face. Her hazel eyes slowly faded, glowing and shifting into a bright yellow with red around the rims. It was an unnatural colour that made her cry out. As her lips parted to make the shocked wail, her teeth ached. She tilted her head, poking at her incisors with her fingertips when they lengthened. Her canines followed. They lengthened to sharp points.

Fangs.

She whimpered, tears streaming down her face. "Oh my God."

It was almost uncomfortable in Sam's house. Blake felt the amount of family members about was unnerving. Crowded. He hadn't been in a household this large since his teen years, growing up with his grandparents. It was almost silly, he thought, because the amount of people in the house were two. Michael and Sam's Grandpa, Mr Burke. But even with two people it was noisy. Grandpa was busy in his little room, covered in blood and guts from his latest taxidermy job. A stuffed cat that some bizarre owner couldn't let go of completely. But Blake could hear the squishing of guts and tearing when Grandpa sliced the cat down the middle of its stomach. He nearly gagged and vomited all over his sketchpad. And Michael was in his room, having a day off from community college and listening to incredibly loud music.

Way too noisy. And Mr Burke's hearing wasn't great so he wasn't badgering the eldest Emerson to turn it down.

You get used to being by yourself, Blake thought. For a while now it had just been himself. Just him with a small apartment in San Diego. Pretty much a kitchen, living room and bedroom all in one with a tiny bathroom that he had to move around in sideways. It was a cage but then again, Blake never had much around to make it look full of clutter. What if he had to suddenly bail?

Blake tried to concentrate on his drawing. A sketch of vampires being slayed by a hunter. Not him exactly but he liked to think he looked this cool when hunting. It had been a while since he had drawn anything to do vampires. Not since…

He paused, biting his lip. Why did he always try to think of her? No matter how much he tried he couldn't get rid of the image of a blonde girl. Tall, just about his height, with thick hair always in 70s flicks. Freckles peppered around her nose and cheeks with wide brown eyes, the colour of chocolate, and a large smile that made her right dimple crease. She always looked like a Goddess in his mind and she was. Had been. A Goddess. Perfect. And smart. Too smart for him. His only qualifications were his high school diploma. And there she was on her way to getting her university degree. In biology. He always wondered why the hell a biology major in college would want to be with a comic book artist for the rest of her life. He may have been a talented artist but even he admitted that the writing and plots were shit. Then again, he hadn't really written it for entertainment. He always hoped people would start to realise there was some truth in his comics, like Sam and his friends had done. He hoped it would expose vampires and maybe… just maybe allow those two vampires to come out of their hiding place.

Instead he just added another loved one to his list. Killed another person because of his stupid choices.

Blake had allowed the pencil to drop from his hand. Now he simply stared into space, abandoning his sketch as her name revolved around in his head constantly. Taunting him and reminding him. Obviously seeing her mutilated and ripped apart body wasn't torment enough for him. He always had her on his mind… in his nightmares… her name whispered in the little voice in his head.

Kate, I'm sorry, he thought.

The gentle knock at the door brought him back to reality and he blinked, immediately reaching for his stake but then he looked out of the window and saw the bright sunlight. He sighed, standing up.

"Day time, idiot," he muttered to himself.

He opened the door and Star stood there. Blake had met her briefly when he first arrived and was only told that she had been the former half vampire of David's pack. One of the lucky ones they managed to rescue.

Blake wasn't sure what to think about her. She dressed like she was ready to go fortune telling. Even in the cooler temperature, the shift from winter to spring, she still wore her long, sparkly skirts and thin blouses. At least this blouse had long sleeves. She smiled, tucking her bushy hair behind her ears and her bracelets jangled from the movement. She was incredibly girly in his mind and wondered how someone so feminine was taken in by David's pack.

"Hi, Blake. Rest much today?" she asked.

He was honestly curious. How did a gentle, softly spoken girl like Star wind up in a vampire gang like David's? She must have been interesting somehow because no vampire would turn just any person.

"Uh, yeah. Just, y'know, drawing," he mumbled, opening the door for her to come in.

"Yeah, Sam said you were a comic book artist. Wrote all about vampires. Our kind of vampire," she said, coming to sit down. Blake called for Michael before he answered her. When he glanced at her, she winked.

"Was just trying to spread the word," he muttered.

"Thank you," she said and he blinked.

"Um, I haven't done anything," he said.

She smiled. "If it wasn't for your comics, Edgar and Alan wouldn't have put two and two together. And they would have never passed anything on to Sam. Our leads began from your comics. So, thank you."

She was nice. Too nice. How did a pleasant girl like Star manage to stay half human for so long?

Blake shrugged. "No worries. So, this pack of yours. The brat pack seemed to get rid of them with no trouble."

"We were lucky," Star answered as Blake sat down again. "I think we had more people on our side than we do now."

Blake nodded. "Yeah, I guess even if four of you were half vampires you were still working together."

"We were determined," Star said. "David acted impulsively. As soon as Sam, Edgar and Alan attacked we knew David was coming. But still, they were tough. Don't underestimate Marko."

Blake glanced at her. "Tell me about Marko."

Star looked down at her skirt, reaching to pick at a loose hem before she cleared her throat. "He scared me. People on the Boardwalk would see a short guy with a sweet look. Too sweet to be a biker. People targeted him a lot because they thought they could easily win a fight. But they didn't see the side I did. He was cruel underneath. Loved people assuming stuff about him because he enjoyed showing them what he really was. He's angry, malicious and I never liked him. Something was never right there."

"You think he was always like that?" Blake asked. "I've noticed a person's flaws can be enhanced with vampire blood. It's like it unleashes all those dark parts that were always inside you."

Star nodded thoughtfully. "I see that. There were a few things I did that were… well, best not to think of the past. But you can see it. I like to hope there was something good in Marko when he was human. He didn't talk about his past much. Your memories fade as a half or a full vampire but Marko particularly never spoke of his background."

Blake nodded, gazing down at the floorboards until he heard the sofa creak from Star moving. She edged forward, elbows resting on her knees as she tried to catch his eye.

"You want to know a lot about Marko," she said.

He smiled, although it never reached his eyes. "Gotta know your enemy."

Thank you for reading and please feel free to review. I'll post Chapter 11 on Monday when I'm back. :)