A/N: This one is from Brandon's point of view, starting the night of the prologue.

I waved goodbye as Kristi and Sylvia walked out the door and towards the elevator, laughing at a joke one of them had told. I waited ten seconds until spinning to face my Mom, who was putting away what remained of dinner.

"Can I go now?" I asked quickly. Mom laughed.

"Go ahead. Be careful."

I grabbed my wallet and went out the door. I pushed the button for the elevator, and went down.

Kristi was going to a see a movie with her best friend, Sylvia Harington. It was also the night before her seventeenth birthday, and I didn't have a gift for her yet. I sort of did- there was this one book I had noticed that I thought she would really love, and it was the first in a series too- she liked that she could keep reading after the first book. I had wanted to get it for her for a while, but never had enough money with me. Now I did, and Kristi was gone. The bookstore would close in fifteen minutes, so I had to be fast. Luckily, it was only a block away, the opposite direction of where Kristi and Sylvia were going, so I got what I needed without any trouble.

I got home and wrapped it, then went to the living room and put it on the small table. I sat at the kitchen counter while my mom baked the birthday cake. Unfortunately, she knew exactly what I was trying to do, and didn't give me a chance to steal any of the batter.

I went to my room and texted some of my friends on my phone. A few of them were planning on coming to the birthday party tomorrow. Some of them just wanted to hang out, but though they never actually said it, I think one or two of them liked my sister. The thought made me want to gag.

I realized the movie was a late one, and waiting up for my sister wasn't going to be smart if I wanted to stay awake the next night too. So I did some of my homework (even though it was Friday, my mom had insisted from a young age that we do at least some of it so it wouldn't be as hard later, and now it was habit.) before hugging my parents good-night and going to bed.

…

I woke up later to footsteps and voices. I checked the clock- it was fifteen minutes until midnight. Kristi must be home. Now that I had woken up, there was no way I was going to fall asleep anytime soon. And if I got up now, I could wish her 'happy birthday' at midnight.

Decided, I got out of bed and went down the hallway to the living room. I didn't see Kristi, but the front door was closing.

"Hey, Dad, where's Kristi and Sylvia?" I asked. He chuckled.

"It started raining, of course, but they walked there, so your mother is going to pick them up."

"Oh." I said, understanding, and sat down to wait on the couch. After maybe ten minutes, Dad's phone beeped. He pulled it out, frowned at the text he saw, and answered it.

Fifteen minutes later- around ten minutes after midnight- the door opened again, and Mom came in. She was wet- she had clearly been walking around in the rain. Her eyes were wide, panicked. I stood up. Something was clearly wrong.

"What happened?" I asked.

She shook her head, and met my Dad's eyes, saying "I can't find Kristi and Sylvia."

My blood turned to ice as she finished breathlessly, on the edge of hysteria. "I went to the ice cream place they said they would be at, but didn't see them. I called and they didn't answer, so I texted checking if they had walked home. They hadn't so I called again and kept looking. I called three more times before the phone was answered by a woman who said she had found it on the ground when she heard it ring."

Dad froze for a moment. "I'll call the police." he decided, dialing on his phone. I turned to my mom.

"Let's go." I urged. "We have to keep looking."

She shook her head. "No. The police know how to take care of this. You could get hurt."

Panic started to take over. I couldn't just sit here and do nothing. They probably had taken a wrong turn and had both dropped their phones… Or maybe…

I couldn't just sit here or my mind would start coming up with worst-case scenarios. They could have run into the gang or serial killer that was murdering so many people!

I mentally slapped myself. This was exactly what I shouldn't be doing! I pulled out my math homework and made myself concentrate on the problems, but the distraction didn't work. I sat at the table with my head in my hands as my mother paced the kitchen and my father talked on the phone.

After a few minutes, two police showed up at our doorstep and my mom went with them, probably to show them where she had expected to see them, and where she had looked.

Half an hour later, Dad came over to where I was sitting. "Son, you need to get back to bed. It's late."

I shook my head. "No. I can't do that."

Dad sighed but didn't answer. We waited in silence. As the minutes passed, my panic grew.

At around three thirty in the morning, the two officers and Mom came back. I saw that Mom was sobbing and I leapt to my feet.

"Where are they?" I asked desperately. The officers looked at my father and I.

"All evidence shows that they are gone, possibly kidnapped or murdered." one of them said. My heart dropped to my stomach and the words bounced around in my head.

"We are truly sorry. Please be assured that we will continue searching for evidence."

I shook my head slowly in denial. That couldn't be right. People didn't just disappear, that only happened in movies. Or the newspaper. To someone else.

I sat numbly on the couch, refusing to accept that they were gone. That my sister was gone.

After waiting for a few more hours, during which I processed nothing that was happening around me, I fell asleep.

...

I opened my eyes to the dim light of a cloudy morning. Why was I on the couch? I thought back. A memory tickled me, but, recognizing it, I stuffed it back where it came from before I could complete the thought. I wandered around the house, saw the birthday presents on the table, the empty kitchen, empty living room, empty hallway, empty bathroom. I checked my watch- it was six forty five in the morning. Of course Kristi would still be asleep, but I had to check.

I stood a full minute outside her door, bracing myself. I opened it as quietly as I could and walked inside.

The bed was empty.

It hit me at full force at that moment. I collapsed to the floor, kneeling beside her bed.

"No…. no." I sobbed. The world was ending. How could she be gone? Just like that? She was a solid part of my life. There had never been a moment- funny, embarrassing, or sad- that she hadn't known about or been a part of. Memories ran through my head- like how they say your life flashes before your eyes, but it was her life. It wasn't fair. She hadn't done anything. Had I done something? I would do anything to have her back. No. She was gone. She wasn't coming back. None of the missing people had ever been found, if she had been attacked by this gang or serial killer.

I sat there for a minute, sinking in despair and grief. Why was this happening? Eventually someone entered the room. I didn't look up to see who it was. I realized it was my mom when her arms wrapped around me and her hiccuping sobs echoed my own.

The next week passed in a blur. I didn't go to school, and my Dad didn't go to work for the first few days. My friends stopped by a few times, but I ignored them. Sylvia's mom came by, too, and I at least attempted to pay attention to what was going on when she was here. At some point my mom made me eat something, and I did to please her, but it tasted like cardboard.

After the week, though, I had to go back to school. My teachers gave me homework to make up for the time I had lost, but I guessed it was probably a quarter of what they would have given me otherwise. They missed Kristi and Sylvia too.

I didn't bother participating in class, but I paid attention enough to understand. The months passed slowly, and things slowly started to get better. We smiled a little more often. The nightmares started to disappear. But I also read the newspaper more often- keeping my eyes peeled for anything new on the missing people. There were a few more every week, but even more that were confirmed dead. I knew I was grasping at straws- why should the missing people still be alive when the others weren't? They must not be able to find the bodies. I was starting to accept the fact that Kristi and Sylvia were dead, and I think our parents were too.

One day my parents decided they needed to make a greater effort to get back into society. They thought that maybe a change of scenery would help, but they weren't sure. They decided to spend a weekend at a friend's house- one of Dad's old college roommates. He lived in Forks, a small town on the Olympic Peninsula. My parents asked me if I wanted to come, but I refused. It felt like too much effort to pretend to be happy for someone I barely knew. I would be staying at my aunt's house instead. She had been really nice about the whole thing- she missed Kristi too, and I knew she wouldn't try to make me do anything I didn't feel like doing.

We drove to the other side of Seattle, where she also had an apartment. We went up the stairs and knocked on the door. It opened and aunt Kayla hugged me.

"It's good to see you. Come in."

I went inside and my parents discussed a few things while I put my stuff in the guest bedroom. I came back out and hugged them goodbye, and they took the stairs back down to the car.

I played a few board games with my aunt. I had just gotten here, so I felt a little better, but I knew that after a bit my mood would worsen.

We had dinner- spaghetti- and watched a movie. Then I went to bed.

I was shaken awake what felt like only a few minutes later.

"What time is it?" I muttered.

"Five thirty in the morning." My aunt replied urgently. I sat up, alert.

"What's going on?"

She was silent for a moment before answering. "Your parents got into a car accident on the way to Forks."

I froze in shock. "Are they okay?" I asked shakily.

"They're alive." she replied, and I collapsed on the bed again in relief. "We need to go see them in the hospital."

"Uh-huh." I muttered. I willingly got up and changed. Might as well play along. This was far too similar to the dreams I had been having lately, but I could never figure out how to wake up from them. I followed my aunt to the car after grabbing a banana to eat for breakfast. We spent the car ride in silence, my aunt tense, me tired. Couldn't she tell this was obviously a dream?

We pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and went to the visitor's entrance. I waited while my aunt spoke to the receptionist and we were escorted by a nurse. I glanced around, confused and curious about all the fancy equipment. We were led through a final set of doors into another machine-filled room. There was a doctor in the room… and two beds.

My parents were in the beds, covered in bandages and linked up to various machines.

This was no nightmare. This was far, far too vivid.

I stumbled backwards in shock, and almost fell to the ground, but I was saved by a pair of strong arms. It was the doctor- he had a strange shade of golden eyes, blond hair, and looked really young. In his early twenties, maybe. He had skin so pale it was almost white, and shadows under his eyes. His nametag said Dr. Cullen.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned. I nodded weakly.

"Yeah… It's just a shock… and I just lost my sister, too…"

The golden eyes were sympathetic. "Don't lose hope yet. There is still a strong chance your parents will pull through."

I didn't process the rest of the visit or the car ride home. When I got to the room I was staying in, I collapsed again, sobbing. First Kristi, and now my parents? Who else could I possibly lose?

I heard my aunt moving around the house, and I suddenly didn't want her comforting me. I wanted to be alone. I knew that if I told her so, she wouldn't listen. Not for very long, anyway. I grabbed my backpack, stuffed an extra blanket into it, and when I heard my aunt enter the bathroom, I left through the front door. Though first I left a note on my bed asking for her not to look for me. I would come back when I felt like it. knew this wouldn't be easy on her.

When I reached the street, I started running. I didn't really know where. Eventually I realized I was going to get lost if I kept going, so when I saw a gas station with a convenience store, I slowed down and turned into a space between two buildings. Normally, it would have been too similar to a dark alley for my liking, but right now I didn't care.

I sat there for the rest of the day and through the night. It got cold, and I was glad I had brought the extra blanket. The next morning, however, I was hungry, so I went to the convenience store to grab a bag of chips.

I sort of wandered around the block for a bit, then returned to my original place. I goofed around on my phone for a bit, but it held no appeal. Eventually, the little amount of sleep I had gotten the night before got to me, and I fell asleep.

When I woke up, it was dark, in the middle of the night. I glanced at my watch- there were a few hours left until the sun would rise. I sat up, my back against the wall of the building, and rested my head on my knees.

What was I doing here? Why did I think that being here would solve anything? All I had done was cause my aunt even more worry. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I couldn't keep breaking down every time I started thinking about Kristi or my parents.

I heard quiet footsteps and felt a small prick of fear. Of course, I had just put myself in the same situation Kristi had been in. It didn't matter that all the disappearances and murders had stopped a month ago, there were still other people out there. My heartbeat sped up, but I kept my head down. Maybe if I appeared to be asleep whoever it was would ignore me.

The footsteps got closer, and soon they sounded right in front of me. I couldn't help myself, I peeked up to see if whoever it was was going to do anything.

I saw little more than the outline of the face in the dim light of the streetlamp, but it was enough. The face turned my direction and my heart stopped. I was frozen, unable to convince myself I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. The person I was looking at froze as well, mid-stride. Some other part of my mind noticed there were two more people when one of them spoke.

"Kristi-" one of the dark figures said in a warning voice. If my heart could have stopped again it would have.

"Kristi?" I whispered, almost to myself. I silently pleaded with the girl to answer yes. If I was wrong…

"Brandon." the girl said, her own voice barely above a whisper.

That was it. I leapt to my feet and threw my arms around her, hugging her as tightly as I could. My breath hitched and tears started pouring down my cheeks again.

She's alive! She's alive she's alive she's alive!

I heard Kristi start sobbing as well as she hugged me back. Her arms were cold as ice, and hard. There was something wrong- was this another dream? I couldn't bear it if it was. It was vivid like the one with my parents had been, but I couldn't be sure. I hugged her even tighter, and we both continued sobbing for another minute.

One of the other people must have said something, and Kristi gently let me go, but still held on to my shoulder as she backed up at arm's length. I got a good look at her face for the first time. She was still hiccuping, but her face was pale, and there were no tears that I could see. Her skin was smooth, and there were shadows under her eyes. I couldn't see her eyes themselves very well, but they weren't blue anymore, they were something else.

"What happened to you?" she said, and her voice rang and shimmered like the pealing of bells. I smiled, amused that she was the one asking. Couldn't she see herself?

"I could ask the same… but yeah, a lot has happened."

"Why are you here? You should be at home. This isn't safe." she said, concerned.

I sighed. "I know. I've been living like this for a day or so."

"Days?" she hissed. "What happened?"

"Well…" I took a shuddering breath. "First you disappeared. Of course, we all assumed you were dead. The murders and such going on...we thought you were victims. Your names might have shown up in the paper."

Kristi winced.

"Of course, we were all really upset." I took another deep breath. "Things started to get a little better after a few months. We were coping with it for a few weeks… and then a few days ago Mom and Dad were driving up to Forks to visit a friend or something. They got into a car crash and got stuck at the hospital there. Then it was just too much… I ran away."

She leaned forward to hug me again. I held her back, but she was cold. "Thanks. You're really cold… are you sick or something?"

She winced again. "Yeah… or something. Have you seen Mom and Dad since the crash?"

I nodded. "Yeah, they're hanging in there. They'll feel better once they know you're alive. Even though you're… different. You actually kinda look like one of the doctors there. What happened to you?"

Kristi frowned. "What do you mean, I look like one of the doctors?"

"White skin, gold eyes, shadows under your eyes, face like a supermodel."

Kristi snorted at my description, but her eyes were narrowed.

"Carlisle." One of Kristi's companions suddenly spoke. I gave a little jump out of shock- it was Sylvia. She was alive too.

"We know the doctor. We should visit your parents." she said to me, though she seemed to be speaking to Kristi at the same time, almost as if she was asking permission or something.

"Um, Sylvia, first of all I'm not sure about that. Second, we're talking about a hospital. You can see why that isn't a good idea?" There seemed to be a hidden meaning behind Kristi's words… maybe they didn't want to be seen in public, because they were supposed to be missing.

But why wouldn't they want to be found?

Sylvia sighed. "I know, but we'll have to risk it. Brandon's right, knowing you're alive could be what helps them pull through."

Kristi turned to me, panic in her eyes. "It's bad, isn't it? Really bad."

I frowned, thinking back. "I don't really… yeah, I think so." I said hesitantly.

"They must be already weak after losing you." Sylvia said. Kristi glanced at her, and seemed to take her seriously. Did she know something we didn't?

Kristi nodded. "Thank you, Brandon… we have to go."

Shock went through my mind. She was leaving? After all we had gone through, she was going to stay away?

"No!" I cried, grabbing her arm. She couldn't leave me again, even if this was only a dream. I missed her, and if this wasn't real, I still wanted as much as I could get. "You can't leave me here. I don't want to go home without any of you there. Take me with you."

The three people froze. The third, a boy a little older than Kristi who had dark hair, pale skin and shadows under his eyes, spoke. "Kristi… I'm not sure that would be safe. Especially after a few days."

"Why don't we do it just for a few days?" Kristi asked. "We can figure out what to do with him after we talk to Carlisle."

"What do you mean, 'figure out what to do with him'?" I interrupted, getting a little frustrated and confused. "Why can't I stay with you? Where are you staying, anyway?"

Kristi sighed. "Brandon, I know this is all really weird. Believe me, I would love to tell you exactly what is going on. You'll just have to trust me. There is a reason for all of this."

"Why can't you tell me?" I demanded. "I can keep a secret."

"Brandon," Sylvia said, "It's not so much that you can keep a secret. It's just that knowing the secret will put you in danger. You'll have to change like us to stay safe."

"So? You're alive. I can't leave you again. Big deal, I look different." I said, a little desperately.

"It's a lot more than skin and eye color, Brandon." The boy warned. "We can't tell you what else changes or you'll have to change."

"Maybe not…" Sylvia said cautiously. Her eyes were unfocused for a moment. "It was an accident they learned that Bella knew. I think there are more people than we know who know the secret without being one of us. They weren't originally planning on changing Bella, but they found out and they have to now. If they find us, we can promise we'll change him. Only if we have to."

Her statement completely baffled me. The guy looked at me, as if measuring me, and I tried to look innocent and trustworthy.

"All right, we can give it a shot. Only if you're okay with it, Kristi." he decided.

Kristi looked back at me. I held my breath as she stared into my eyes. I realized her eyes were a yellowish shade of gold. But I didn't care. Please. Don't leave me. I pleaded silently.

"You can come with us." she said. I hugged her in relief.

"Thank you." I said fervently.

"Do we tell him back at home or here while he can still run?" Kristi asked her companions.

"The house." Sylvia suggested. "This might take a while, and if it does we don't want to be caught in daylight."

I frowned, trying to search for the meaning behind her words… their skin was so much paler. Maybe it was extra-sensitive to the sun.

"Okay, let's go. Do you have anything you want to take with you?" Kristi asked me.

I shook my head. "I can go now."

"Follow us." the guy said, and we continued down the dark alleyway out of the city. He and Sylvia led the way. Their obvious sense of confidence calmed me down.

"You know, most people are scared of walking down dark alleyways at night." I commented to Kristi. "What are you guys?"

She smiled grimly. "I suppose increased confidence is one of the perks of being us. You're right, we aren't afraid of anybody who would try to give us trouble here… I'd almost like to see them try."

I blinked in surprise. What a weird thing to say, and a little scary. It was completely out of character for my sister. Something had changed. I ran through possibilities in my head, from movies and books, mostly. None of them seemed plausible, but I had to start guessing somewhere.

"You weapon dealers or something?"

Kristi laughed in surprise."Not even close. But I'll tell you this- it is really dangerous for you to stay with us. Really dangerous. We'll all be taking extra precautions, but even so you could die."

I shivered. "Why, you have ugly friends back at home who might not like me much?"

She snorted. "None of our friends are ugly. And the three of us live alone. But hopefully you will only be staying with us for only a few days and the doctor can figure something out."

I sighed sadly. "You really don't want me? Why are you trying to get rid of me?"

She put her hand on my shoulder again. "Believe me, I wish you could stay with us forever. Literally. But when a small mistake could get you killed… it's not a good idea to push our luck."

No wonder she wasn't eager to come back home. It seemed like she had changed, but I was confident she was still the same person. There was something affecting her that changed things, but beneath that she was the same. I somehow knew that if I could find out what that something was, our relationship could go back to the way it was before she disappeared. She clearly remembered me, and missed me really badly. If she was going through something, I would help her get over it, no matter the cost. I missed her too, and so did our parents. Resolved, I continued questioning her.

"So, I could get killed, but nobody else lives with you? Is the house storage for bombs or something?"

"The house is fine."

"Then what would kill me?" I said, confused.

"This is the part where you might want to run away screaming. One of us would kill you."

I frowned. "But you would protect me, right?"

"I hope so. If the wrong accident happens, I might be the one to kill you."

Whoah. I could feel it- we were getting closer to her secret. I was still convinced she was the same person underneath… but this secret was even bigger than I had guessed.

"But why?" I asked.

"When you hunt, it doesn't matter who it is who is about to die. You forget everything… but we're trying to be different. Believe me, if we were normal, you would already be dead. Sorry."

"Again, hunt? Kill? What have you become? You used to be against violence in any way, shape, or form." I said, now really concerned.

"You'll find out when we're back at the house. The only reason we're different is because we do hate violence. It might even be the reason we're still alive."

"What, there were more of you?" I asked, incredulous. I guess it made sense- were all the missing people changed into this? My head started to clear a little more.

"Yep. We liked peace, so our enemies who are actually the good guys let us go. We trust them more than we trusted those we lived and fought with. It was a risk coming home every day. Again, we're really lucky we survived. We were almost destroyed a few times."

"We spilling the beans on everything, Kristi?" the dark-haired boy called back.

"Why not?" my sister replied. "If he knows the big secret, he won't get in any more trouble by knowing a few smaller ones. They aren't really secrets, but they'll help him understand what he's really dealing with."

The teenage boy made no further comment.

"You disappeared during the time when all those people were being murdered." I prodded.

"Yes. It has everything to do with that. We were victims, but they changed us into the perpetrators. We got lucky."

"You mean, you actually did kill people? It would almost be better if you were dead!" I cried, alarmed.

Kristi winced, and I got a good look at her face. She looked incredibly remorseful, almost to the point of pain. "That's kinda the point. And that's what the people who used to be our enemies kind of thought too. That's why we're different. Yes, we killed people, but we didn't have a choice. We didn't know any other way. We were horrified by what we'd become. Like I said, we're different. We haven't mastered it yet, we've only been trying for a month, actually. But the others… if worst comes to worst, I'm fairly sure you could live with them and not be killed. They have someone like you who practically lives with them. But she will become one of them soon."

"She wants to become a killer?" I checked.

"Not a killer. She wants to be different, too. In fact, as far as I can tell, she's afraid of how many times she'll slip up. But nobody in their family has killed in decades."

"Decades? How old are they?"

"Here's the thing- the doctor you met is their leader. The oldest. He's never killed anybody."

I thought back, bringing up the image of his face in my mind. "He's the oldest, at thirty at the latest, but his younger family members haven't killed in decades?"

"You'll understand when you learn the secret. I can't say more right now. We're going to start running now."

We had followed Sylvia and the dark haired guy out of the city during the course of the conversation, and we were on the edge of it, where civilization turned to wilderness.

"Run? Are we trying to escape or something?"

"No, it's just faster and more convenient." The guy said, turning. "We'll have to find a way for you to keep up…"

"How about Brandon rides on Kristi's back?" Sylvia suggested.

"Good idea." Kristi agreed. "But first, let's only run a short distance. Brandon, this is one of the things that makes us different from you. If you want to run away, let me know, and I'll take you back to the city."

"Okay…" I said apprehensively as she knelt so I could get on her back. "But what about your friend… Sorry, what's your name?"

"I'm Caleb." Caleb replied.

"Yeah, him. I thought you couldn't carry me? If you're running, how can you possibly keep up with them?"

Kristi grinned her old smile. It comforted me, reassured me that she really was there. "I love being me most of the time. Watch and learn, little brother." She gestured for me to get on. I put my hands on her shoulders.

"You sure?"

"You're going to want to hold on tighter than that. Go ahead and stick your arms around my neck, you won't strangle me." She grabbed my legs and stood up smoothly, as if the fact that I was probably heavier than she was meant nothing. "Let's go. Brandon, let me know if you want to stop. You can watch if you want, but I would recommend closing your eyes."

I kept his eyes open, not wanting to miss anything that could help me solve the puzzle. Kristi sighed, the sound was exasperated but also seemed to have a hint of pride. "Okay, go." she said. Caleb and Sylvia seemed to vanish. I said "Whoa" but Kristi started running a second after them. She ran for about ten seconds, the trees blurring around us, the wind whistling through my ears and making my eyes water, before she slowed to a stop.

"You still good?" she checked nervously. I nodded. "That was awesome. I really miss you, Kristi. This is a really weird dream." That was the only plausible explanation. That and one other.

Kristi laughed darkly. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. But it's not a dream. I learned that when I learned I would never wake up again."

"That sounds really morbid. Are you dead? The undead? Like a zombie?"

"No. Unfortunately, that was your closest guess so far. You still coming?"

That confirmed the second theory, which freaked me out for a moment, but I reminded myself why I was doing this.

Kristi was not human.

"Okay." She broke back into a run, holding tight to me. She caught up to Caleb and Sylvia, who had paused to wait and see if we were coming. They broke into a run beside us.

"How can you see anything?" I yelled as they darted through the forest.

"We have good eyesight."

"You wear glasses. And good eyesight doesn't help when you go too fast to see things in the first place." I protested. I went back to my theory- the world as I knew it had turned upside down. "Is that why your eyes are gold? Magic contacts?"

"No contacts. And I'm fairly sure it's not really magic involved."

"I meant for that to be a sarcastic comment. You're fairly sure?" I choked.

We slowed down. I spotted a log cabin-ish sort of house through the trees. "Yes, fairly sure." Kristi replied. "You okay? Motion sick or anything?"

I slid off her back, then crumpled to my knees, a little dizzy. "Uh-huh… just a sec." I moaned.

Sylvia mouthed something under her breath.

"We won't. We'll have to be really careful. Just a few days until we can contact Carlisle." Kristi said.

"How'd you hear what she said?" I mumbled.

"We have good hearing." Caleb replied.

I snorted. "Of course you do. This is a really cool dream, I hope I never wake up. I didn't know I was this creative."

"When you figure out this isn't a dream, you'll be begging to wake up." Kristi growled.

"Uh-huh." She growled? What was going on?

"We've all killed people. This isn't all cool."

"What are you?"

Kristi and her friends exchanged glances. "Do you think it would be better if we told him or made him guess?" she asked. Sylvia thought for a moment. "Make him guess." she suggested.

She turned back to me as I got up and brushed off the dirt."Your undead zombie guess was the closest." she said cautiously. "Maybe you can figure it out from there. But some of what you know about us isn't true. Most of it is, though."

She took a few steps back… giving me room?

"Okay, what have I noticed so far?" I asked.

"Cold, hard skin, gold eyes, speed, good hearing and eyesight, strength, fearlessness for everything except ourselves killing you, and we look like supermodels." Sylvia rattled off. She frowned. "I suppose I mentioned we didn't want to be caught it daylight too. And remember the fact that the doctor is different like us. Most of us are completely baffled as to how he has enough control to work in a hospital. But it's a good thing- his enhanced senses help save lots of lives."

I was silent for a moment. They had given me a lot of information when they put it together like that. "You said part of what I know is myth."

"Speaking of which," Kristi interrupted, "I did also make that comment about never waking up again. That proves some of the myths aren't true. The most important and commonly known stuff involves the day thing and the doctor thing." she hinted. I nodded. They couldn't sleep, but I was supposed to think they did. They couldn't be out during the day, and Dr. Cullen shouldn't be a doctor.

"I'm scared but this is also starting to feel like twenty questions. You mentioned you don't kill people, but you still mentioned something about extra hunting."

"Animals." Kristi clarified. "Here's another clue- our eyes are gold because of the animals. If we went back to people, our eyes would be red." she frowned. "I think I said too much. How do I explain without giving it all away?"

"Don't worry, you lost me with the eyes thing." I said. "Why don't I just go through all the myths I know? Are you some sort of gods, Greek, Roman, Egyptian or something?"

Kristi snorted. "No. But Riley did tell us we were once. Riley 'babysat' us and around twenty others. We were created by someone named Victoria, but that means nothing to you."

"Okay… superheroes?" I said, moving on.

"No. Try thinking more along the lines of the bad guys." she suggested.

"Okay, not zombies. Is it a futuristic thing? Zombie apocalypse, robots sort of thing?" She didn't look like there were wires in her, but I wasn't sure.

"Nope. Our kind have been around a really long time."

"Ghosts?"

"Closer."

"Werewolves?"

Kristi smiled nervously and exchanged glances with her friends. "Even closer. I might have fought a few, but that's not us."

"You fought a few? Seriously? I'll admit that openly admitting werewolves exist freaks me out more than the changes I've seen." Speculating was one thing, but this...

"Then maybe you should stop guessing. Just go with it." Kristi suggested. She sounded a little desperate.

"That bad?"

"I'm sorry, the burn is coming back a little." Sylvia said. "I'll be back in a few minutes. I barely feel it, just being careful." She vanished into the woods and I watched carefully, putting this new incident with my other clues.

"Burn?" I asked. "What burn?"

"Um… it indicates… we haven't hunted in a while, I guess."

"Like fire?"

"It feels like it if it gets too bad."

"So… like you're being burned? Like a witch?" They used to burn them at stake all the time. Had they actually been real?

"No. Just…" Kristi hesitated. "on our throats."

"Burning throats. Like your neck is on fire or like you're thirsty?" I checked.

Kristi swallowed nervously. "The second one." She took another step back.

"And it indicates you haven't hunted… animals, people…" I muttered to himself. "Thirsty… but what could you possibly..."

Thirsty, hunting. Daylight. People. It snapped into place and I slapped my hand to my throat in horror. Kristi backed up again, so she was now maybe twenty feet from me. The expression on her face was miserable.

"But… you smiled…" had they found a way to remove their fangs?

"Some parts are myth." she reminded me sadly. "Don't be afraid, we really are trying our best to keep you alive."

"You know what I guessed. Am I right?" I asked, looking back and forth between her and Caleb. I backed into a tree.

"If you would prefer to run away screaming, let me know and I'll take you back to Seattle so you don't get lost." she offered. I shook my head slowly. She sighed sadly, a tortured expression on her face. "I know I can keep in control long enough to get you back." she said.

"No… it's okay, I believe you. I can handle it… just give me a moment, I learned that my older sister isn't dead, and she's actually…" I shook my head. "I think I've just received a lot of shocking news today. Tonight. Whatever." I leaned against the tree, and closed my eyes. I could almost sense the two vampires in the clearing. I was glad I could hear their breathing, it would have been a little creepy if I felt alone. They could be stalking me, but I kept my eyes shut. There was no point in running or hiding, I could tell instinctively.

Yes, they were vampires. I considered the fact. They hadn't done anything strange except for demonstrating enhanced speed, strength, and senses. None of them had mentioned thirsting for my blood… except Sylvia mentioning she wanted to be careful. But it didn't sound like she wanted to attack me, she was just afraid she was going to.

Everything fell into place. Kristi was the same person, probably. She had a valid reason for being afraid to have me near her. I assumed she would want to drink my blood if I started bleeding, and therefore she might be the one to kill me. I resolved to stay away from all sharp objects.

Then I remembered the doctor. He was a vampire… but he had acted so human. He was genuinely concerned and cared about me and my parents. And if the gold eyes indicated animal hunting as opposed to humans… Kristi's eyes were a bright gold, but Dr. Cullen's were twice as golden. And now that I knew, I could tell he was old. His eyes held wisdom and compassion no twenty-something year old person could ever hope to achieve.

This last fact, the doctor, the vampire who was so obviously good despite who he was, convinced me. Of course Kristi would be the same way, though less experienced. And I didn't know Caleb very well, but Sylvia… she was so compassionate and caring that I could never see her as a monster. I took one last deep breath, having reached my conclusion, and opened my eyes.

"Nothing would surprise me anymore unless I found out you have a vampire boyfriend or something." I joked, smiling.

Caleb suddenly started coughing. "I think the thirst is getting to me too." he mumbled, then ran into the forest after Sylvia. I watched him go.

"Wait… WHAT?" I shrieked.

"Um. Not really. Maybe a little." Kristi protested. "You seem to be okay with the vampire thing, but not this? It's really not a big deal. I guess we've saved each other's lives a couple of times."

"Yeah, but-"

"Can we just forget about it?" she blurted, darting forward and putting her hand over my mouth. She realized her mistake an instant later.

"Oops. Sorry. I'll stand over here." she said, darting back to the other end of the small clearing. As if it would make a difference with her speed.

"It's fine. I know you're trying. But you're only seventeen! Actually, never mind, it's impressive you've managed to go this long." I concluded.

"I don't even know if I'm seventeen." Kristi protested. "We stop aging when we transform. That's why the doctor is the oldest and the others still haven't killed in decades. The doctor is like three centuries old or something, but he's only twenty-three. I turned seventeen during the process, so I'm not sure it counts."

"Wasn't your birthday the day after you disappeared? Were you… transformed… before or after midnight?" I wondered.

"You know, it might have been after. Sylvia and I were out pretty late. That makes me feel a lot better. I'd rather spend the rest of my… existence… seventeen than sixteen."

"And, you said your birthday could have passed during the transformation process." I noticed.

"It usually lasts about three days. But the pain… Imagine your entire body on fire. Then multiply the pain by a hundred. Make it last three days, then add the fact that you're aware the entire time. Not unconscious. You feel everything, hear everything, and you get even more sensitive to it as your senses improve. It isn't something I would wish on anyone. And then the pain gets even more unbearable as it leaves your legs and arms and gets your heart… and it stops beating. Then your throat starts burning."

"Ouch."

"Understatement of the year." she said fervently. I felt bad for her and everyone else who had gone through it.

"So, what else can you do? As vampires, I mean." I asked curiously, but also hesitantly.

"Better speed, strength, reflexes, sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste. Our skin is unbreakable. No human could possibly hurt us. The only way we can be killed is if another vampire or werewolf tears us to pieces and burns us. I know from experience, unfortunately."

"You killed a vampire?"

"No!" Kristi cried, shocked by the idea. "The only things I have ever killed were food. But I've seen lots of vampires killed. I almost got killed myself. See, most vampires are really crazy when they first wake up. It lasts months. They're called newborns, and they're stronger than mature vampires because their own human blood still lingers and gives them strength. It lasts about a year. And most of them are completely ruled by their instincts. They get upset easily, their emotions take over, and they get into lots of fights. A few of us have a little more sense than others and can restrain ourselves somewhat. That's why the three of us are still alive. We were created to form an army to destroy this other coven of vampires, except it turns out what our creator really wanted is revenge on this particular human that stayed with the coven."

She began telling me about the first few months of her new life. I was shocked by her experiences and impressed when she showed me her special power. She could go invisible! When she finished telling me how they had gotten help from a vampire named Carlisle after the epic battle, Sylvia returned.

"Hi. Seeing as you're talking about Carlisle, I assume Brandon guessed right?"

Then I remembered- Carlisle was the first name of the doctor. "Wait, Carlisle? Didn't you say that was Doctor Cullen's name? I'm sorry, I've only seen him once but I really can't picture him fighting vampires."

"You could." Sylvia said, and I remembered Kristi mentioning she could show me memories.

"No, Sylvia, I'm fairly sure he doesn't need that image in his head. Actually, could you explain to him about the Volturi? I'd like to hunt. If it's okay with you, just a precaution." Kristi said this all hurriedly, but it could have been a normal pace for her.

I nodded, and she zipped off. Sylvia stood a few feet away from where I was sitting, and began to explain about the Volturi, the 'rulers' of the vampire world, and the reason Kristi had been reluctant to share how she had been changed. One of the reasons, anyway. They sounded freaky, and I was again grateful Kristi and her friends were trying a 'vegetarian' diet.

Kristi and Caleb returned after only a few minutes, smiling once she saw I was still alive.

"You good?" she checked, and Sylvia and I nodded. Kristi went inside to see if she could get ahold of the doctor.

"So, how are your parents doing? Or just life in general?" Sylvia asked.

"Pretty good. It got better, then worse. The teachers have been going easy on me since you disappeared. Of course, my opinion would be a lot more negative if you asked me two hours ago." I admitted, and Sylvia laughed.

"Yeah, I'm glad you know. And hey, maybe soon we can tell your parents, just not the vampirism part."

"That would be great." I agreed.

I smiled as Kristi walked towards us and held out her hand. I took it, curious and wanting to help however I could. Two seconds later, I laughed in surprise to find I was sitting at the the top of the tree with my sister, facing the rising sun.