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The next day, I woke up to see the coffin closed. I really hated the fact that there was no light…no window…no way of telling what time it was. Of course for the terrifying Mr. Crepsley it was easy, he had a built in clock or something!

Carefully, I slipped on my shoes and changed my outfit real fast. The only clean clothes I had were the dark Capri's and shirt I wore the night I slammed into Mr. Crepsley in the alley. Placing my back on backwards, hiding my long blond hair, I wondered if I should appear more lady-ish. No…it would get in the way of my work.

Evra and I spent a few hours just walking around the tents. At first, I couldn't tell the trailers apart but after a while, by the fourth time around them, I figured a way to remember them; markings, bumps, scratches, etc. I just needed to worry about the next time we moved.

Finally, close to three or four in the afternoon, the snake boy and I sat under a tree near by. It was pretty calm, which surprised me. I always thought being in the Cirque or freak shows were always hectic, panicky and such. But instead, I and Evra were sitting there, munching on apples. He was telling me how he came here.

Suddenly I heard something in the tree above us. Hesitating, I looked over at him. My hearing scenes were a lot sharper than his despite the few weeks of me not feeding. I would have been able to tell if it was an owl or something…but it wasn't. It was much heavier than an animal. And the only thing, the only heavy creature that could get on a tree like that is…well, probably a human.

It took Evra a few moments to realize I wasn't listening. In fact, when he looked at me, he was about to ask if I was paying attention. Thank goodness he didn't or the creature above us would have heard and ran. Instead, he silently looked up too. He mouthed to me without a peep, "On the count of three, shake the tree."

"One…Two…Three!"

With the silent number shouted, Evra and I started to shake the tree viciously. It was easy for me since my strength was twice Evra's, or any human in fact. The creature that was in the tree tumbled out in a ball, rolling a few feet away. Thankfully though, it did not run for it was dazed. It was…a she!

The girl was probably a little younger than me…or probably a few months younger by my appearance. Even though a good few months went by, I only looked a couple of weeks older if possible. The child was probably twelve, maybe eleven.

She had dark brown hair and light hazel eyes, her skin tan from staying out in the sun all day. Looking up, she hesitated and from her position, looked like she was ready to run. Instead, she got up and smiled shakily, "Um…hi."

"…Hi." Evra and I repeated her somewhat stupidly.

"Uhh…" She looked around, her heels and toes of her feet touching the ground in an annoying pattern. She was bouncing on her heels, ready to slip away. "My name's Kelly. What's yours?"

The snake boy and I looked at each other, obviously a little weirded out to be greeted in such a way. Honestly, who in their right minds would fall from a tree after spying and act natural, introducing yourself? Maybe the fall had hurt her 12 year old mind.

"I'm Evra and that's Samantha." He spoke up, beating me to my own name.

"But everyone calls me Sam." I glared slightly at him.

"So Kelly…" Evra raised an eyebrow, as if trying to come off as a hard ass, "What were you doing in that tree?"

"I…" She smiled suddenly, seeing through his act. "I wanted to watch you guys. I mean, I had heard rumors about this Cirque Du Freak thing, so I wanted to see what it looked like. You're obviously from different towns…and I wanted to meet you two."

"Well now that you have, you can leave." I smiled to show I was kidding. It had been a while since I met some humans. "Come on, we'll show you around." As she passed me, I smelt blood. "Did you hurt yourself coming down?"

"Huh?" She looked at her knee, "Oh yeah, I didn't notice. Oh well, I'll be okay. Can we see the place?!"

Evra must have seen the way my eyes sparkled and saw the struggle I had when I looked away. "Um…" He hesitated, stalling, "Sam, why don't you go talk to Mr. Crepsley. Kelly, we'll get you cleaned up. It's dangerous to walk around here with an open cut."

"But he's not awake…" I whispered, grateful when he stood between me and the child.

"Just go. Meet us later." He turned to Kelly and smiled, "Now then, let's get some band-aids. I'm sure the Ring Leader has some."

When he had shooed the young girl away, I started my way to Crepsley's trailer. The sun was still out…but the desire to feed was strong, almost overwhelming. I couldn't go to Mr. Tall for help because…although he knew a lot about vampires, he couldn't help me. Plus, I'm not sure if I could feed on any person in Cirque, willing or not.

"Mr. Crepsley?" I whispered as I knelt next to the coffin. "Mr. Crepsley." I spoke louder. Biting my lip, I opened the lid. It didn't creak, thank goodness. Inhaling sharply, I stared at what was inside. In his peaceful sleep, he looked so relaxed and…handsome. His scar was almost faded, his lips curled into a small grin, his hair messy.
"Larten?" I called out a little louder. Unsure of how he might react, I grabbed his wrist and held firm, just about to say his name again. However, that touch of his wrists made him jolt awake, fully aware and alert as if he had been up all this time.

Despite my firm grasp, he twisted his hands free and held onto my tightly. His eyes landed on me, focusing quickly. "Samantha?" He rasped out. "It is not even sun fall! This is the second time you have disturbed my sleep, girl. What are you doing?!"

On impulse, what with the way his voice was so low, deep, scratchy, and frightening, I tried to scoot away. His hands on my wrist proved to be like chains. I hesitated, shaking slightly. "I-I…I need to feed again…sir." I whispered softly, slightly too nervous to look up at him.

"Feed?" He looked at me with a strange sparkle in his eye. "You actually want to?"

I sneered weakly, "I met a local girl who scraped her knee and nearly attacked her. I don't want to but I need to!"

Although he didn't let go of my wrist, his grip loosened considerably. "Right…come, we will go right now."

"What about the sun?" I blinked.

"We will use the shadows."

Next chapter: Replacement of R.V. Review please!