AUTHOR'S NOTE: So I didn't really want to post this chapter yet. I'm not terribly good at writing cliff-hangers for others, but I do so enjoy my own cliff-hangers that I write for me. They give me a chance to pause, to reconsider where the story is going, to make sure I like the path it has taken so far, and to make sure that it hasn't written itself to go somewhere I didn't expect. And so, I sat back, relaxed, and thought today. And... well, the story has told me where it wants to go, and it will go there. And so, without further ado, my (probably) last chapter for the week. Please read, please enjoy, please review. Thanks. ~ Billie

SHANE

Shit was about to get real. The instant we heard the door open for the second time, the adrenaline started flowing. Michael was in the kitchen, vampire fast. Eve and I were on our feet and rummaging through the duffle bag we kept under the table, and Claire had already palmed a bottle of silver nitrate we kept resting on the fireplace mantel. And so, we ended up looking pretty damn dumb when Doctor Daybourne stepped out of the entryway and into the living room. Except for Myrnin, who still hadn't moved. He just looked tired.

She stood stock still and the look on her face was one of mild surprise as Eve and I turned as one, Eve holding a crossbow and I holding a silver-tipped stake. Michael burst through the door at about that time with one of the long kitchen knives we kept exceptionally sharp for exactly this kind of occasion. The doctor raised her arms slightly, palms out, in the typical "I surrender" pose and gave a shaky smile.

"My apologies," she said, that brittle smile still plastered on her face. "I know I should have knocked, especially since this is Texas. It's simply that... there's a dangerous looking young man outside. He wishes to speak to his sister. I would assume you all know of whom he is speaking."

"Jason," Eve whispered, dropping the crossbow to her side.

"What does he want?" I asked, tucking the stake back in the bag on the off chance that the professor hadn't realized I had been holding it.

"To be entirely honest, I am uncertain." She replied, slowly putting her hands down at her side. "He didn't say much to me at all."

Michael stepped further into the living room and sat the knife on the table. "What exactly did he say? Word for word?"

Doctor Daybourne eyed the kitchen knife for a few seconds, and without thinking, I threw a pillow from the couch over it. As if somehow concealing the knife would make her forget it was there. This is why we can't have friends over, I thought to myself.

Finally, she replied. "He asked me if there was an unexpected guest here," she said. "I told him I was the only guest I knew of. Then, he opened his mouth and hissed at me. I may or may not have wounded his pride when I laughed at him. Then, he grabbed me by the neck and told me to march my 'stupid ass in here and tell his fangbanger sister to get out front' or he would tear my head off my neck and... I believe he said bathe in my blood? I may have misheard that last bit."

We all looked at the doctor. Then we all looked at each other. No one spoke until Myrnin roused from the arm chair. "Obviously, he is here looking for me," he began, his shoulders slumped in resignation. "It is as I feared. An assassination attempt. I am forced to assume it is Oliver who is behind it, as he is behind most of the awful things that have gone on in the town these past months. I cannot say I am surprised. Do not worry," he said tiredly. "I will go without a fight. After all, I have nothing left to live for. Claire - please take care of Bob for me. And please ensure that Frank is fed regularly, as well. It has been wonderful knowing you. Thank you for being my assistant. And my friend."

He bowed to Claire, and I was pretty certain I saw her blush before her eyes started swelling with tears. I felt a flash of anger go through me, even though I knew it was stupid to be jealous of the guy. Claire could never be with a guy who acted like him. She was only as affectionate toward him as she was because she felt like she had to take care of him like he was a giant five year old who drank blood. Right?

"Wait a minute, Myrnin." Michael was stepping forward now, about to get all boy scout about this. Me? I couldn't care less. I mean, sure, Myrnin was one of the better vampires out there, but a better vampire was still a vampire, right? Except for Michael. He wasn't a vampire. I mean, he was, but he was also Michael. And if I was honest with myself, I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just handed Myrnin over to his death either, since he hadn't actually done anything that warranted it. "No one's going to their deaths tonight, quietly or while putting up a fight."

"Yeah," Eve said. "I'll just go out there and lie to him. Tell him it's only us here."

"He won't believe you," said a voice from the stairs. Miranda. We all almost jumped out of our skin we were so startled. Eve even let out a little yelp of surprise.

"You have got to stop doing that, girl! And what do you mean he won't believe me?" Eve asked her after the momentary shock had worn off. "I'm a totally kickass liar."

Michael cleared his throat and I looked in the other direction. The truth was, Eve had virtually no poker face. We could all read her like an open book, sometimes we just let her think she was getting away with it to make her feel better.

Miranda looked at Michael. "You're the one who needs to choose who will go," she said. "You're the one who is a virtual lie detector."

Michael frowned and nodded. "It's a no brainer," he replied. "We send Shane."

"Me? Why am I going out there? Why not you?"

"Because someone has to stay back here to protect the others," he replied matter of factly. "And because Jason knows you hate Myrnin. No offense." He glanced Myrnin's way.

"None taken," the mad man replied. "I feel much the same about him."

Michael continued. "Since he knows you hate Myrnin, he won't expect you to lie for him. Jason probably thinks you'd love to see Myrnin out of the picture permanently. Plus, you have the steadiest heartbeat of all of us when you lie. And you know, that's what he's going to be listening for."

I shrugged. It wasn't surprising. I'd spent so much of my life lying to everyone - myself, my dad, my friends - that I would have been shocked if my body had a response at all. Hell, it probably responded more when I was telling the truth than when I was lying. "Yeah," I said softly. "Okay. I'll do it."

I stood up and Claire handed me the vial of silver nitrate she was still holding. "Shane," she whispered, and I felt a flare of anger. Seriously? She thought I'd sell the guy out? Sure, I didn't like him. Sure, he had the hots for my girl, but look at her. Who wouldn't? But none of that mattered. What mattered was that Claire cared about him, and him dying would hurt her. If it was because of something I did? She'd never forgive me. And I don't think I'd forgive myself, either.

"I love you," I said to her and kissed her softly on the lips. I loved her lips. They were like nothing else I'd ever felt - softer than anything, and sweeter than the sweetest strawberry I'd ever eaten. This time, there was a bitterness behind the kiss - the ashes from the fire. But it didn't matter. It was Claire. And she still tasted delicious. Sometimes, when I kissed her, I felt like I didn't need anything else - I didn't need to breathe, I didn't need to eat, I didn't need to drink, I didn't even need to play video games ever again. I had her, and she was all that mattered.

I backed away from her, conscious of all the eyes in the room on me. And, even though I was just going out front to talk to Eve's psycho brother, I suddenly felt like I was going off to battle. I left the group standing in the living room, and stepped out into the darkening night.

Jason had always been a wack job of the highest degree. The worst part of it all was that I totally understood why. He'd been abused and ignored, and gladly handed away to a monster. And even though all vampires were monsters, Brandon had been a special breed all his own. So really, as much as I hated him for the things he had put Eve and Claire and other innocent people through, I couldn't really hate him completely. Some victims are victims their entire lives, and some victims become the things that victimized them in the first place. Jason definitely fell into the second category. Sometimes I feared we had that in common.

Stepping out onto the front lawn, I actually felt bad for the kid. It was pretty obvious that being a vampire was, for him at least, not what he had been expecting. He looked strung-out and bone thin. When I descended the steps, he sneered at me. I found that even now, I wasn't really afraid of him. Jason had always been a coward when push came to shove. He was a big fan of bullying and abusing those weaker than him, but would back down when confronted by someone stronger. Even now, as our eyes met across the lawn, I could tell he still thought that maybe, just maybe, I was still the strongest of the two of us.

"I said I wanted my dear sister," Jason said, closing the distance between us at a not-quite human speed.

"Yeah well, your dear sister is a little busy right now. So she sent me instead."

Jason smirked. "So what? Now that she's married to the vampire, she thinks she gets to have human lackeys, too?"

I sighed to show that he wasn't making me uncomfortable, and that he wasn't funny. "What do you want, Jason?"

Jason smiled and looked at his fingernails, which were sharpened into claws. "I want to talk to my sister."

I popped the top off of the bottle of silver nitrate in my pocket and shook my head. "Not gonna happen, jackass. You deal with me or you deal with no one."

It was about to become a battle of wills. Jason didn't want to bend to me, since he had his new-found powers. And I wasn't about to bend to him. Not because I had new abilities, or because now he was a vampire and I wasn't. Just because it was a matter of principle. I was Shane Collins. I didn't back down. He eyed me, sizing me up. I saw it in his eyes when he decided to play it safe. I also knew it wasn't because he didn't think he could take me now. He didn't want to try to take Michael, who was standing at the front window, looking out at the pair of us. Apparently I was taking too long for Michael's liking.

Jason sneered. "I just wanted to see how married life was treating her," he whined. "And to see if there were any... pests in your house what you needed to be rid of."

I kept a straight face and looked at Jason levelly. "What do you mean?"

Jason smirked. "Well, it seems there was an... unfortunate incident tonight. Looks like that idiot Mrynin finally blew himself up. Only... so far, we haven't found a body. Obviously, Oliver wants to make sure that the Founder is given the chance to... grieve over the loss of her friend, and to make sure that he can have a..." He actually giggled. Like the little evil maniac that he was. "A proper burial."

I kept staring. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised the idiot's gone," I replied with a slight smile. "It was only a matter of time before something went wrong down there. Thank God Claire wasn't there when it happened. She's going to be pretty upset about it."

"But not you, huh?" Jason asked.

"Me? Oh yeah, I'm totally distraught," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "You know how much I love the guy."

Jason smirked again. "Yeah, well, like I said, it isn't definite yet. We don't have a body. But just between you and me, Collins? That shit burned hot. And we found a fire extinguisher in the middle of the room. Or what had once been a fire extinguisher. I'm pretty sure nothing could have survived. Especially not one of us. Well, one of me." That stupid-ass smirk again.

"Well. You know what they say. Ashes to ashes and all that."

"Yeah," Jason said. "Ashes to ashes. Still, if he somehow hasn't bit the dust, the person who turns him in will be greatly rewarded. Maybe even with a trip out of town. For good." I kept my face still, pretending I was facing my drunken father. Still, the idea of getting out, of being able to leave, it made my pulse jump just a bit. I could tell Jason noticed it. "Yeah. Pretty good incentive there. Well, I guess I'll let you guys get back to your little soiree. And hey - just so you know. The next time I see that pretty little wisp of a woman who came out here tonight? I'm not going to be quite so... friendly to her. I don't see a protection bracelet on her. And that makes her fair game."

"Yeah." I said, finally getting angry.

"Now that I think about it, I don't see one on you, either."

"Don't get cocky, Rosser." I said, pulling out the bottle. "You know it'll only end in tears."

"Yeah, but whose tears?"

"I think we're done here," I said flatly. "Now carry on like a good like bloodsucker. Things don't have to get ugly. And hey. Thanks for being the bearer of good news."

He chuckled. "Any time, man. Any time. You know, for a human, you're not half bad. You'd make a killer vampire. You and I? We could have a real good time together."

"Yeah. I think not."

He shrugged. "Your loss. If you ever change your mind... I'm sure you'll be able to find me."

With that, he turned and disappeared, going full vamp speed. I waited until I was sure I was alone and headed back into the house.