Chapter Twenty-Four:

The time it took to ultimately break my heart into little pieces was shockingly short. I stared at the closed letter for an infinite amount of time, my mind not really thinking anything, my body not really feeling anything. I felt numb.

I picked up the letter and walked back to the living room, where Feliciano was. I didn't want to be near him, lest he picked up on how I was feeling and got suspicious. I was thankful that Ludwig hadn't arrived yet.

I gaped at Feliciano when I finally laid eyes on him.

He was bent over the desk, gripping the edge with both his hands, his eyes looking maniac and terrified.

"Feliciano!" I exclaimed, running to him. He didn't seem to hear me, still staring out into space with those terrified wide eyes.

There was a gasp from the door. Before I could even turn, Ludwig was at Feliciano's side, prying his hands off of the desk and pulling the smaller man to him.

"What is it?" he asked soothingly, rubbing Feliciano's back. Feliciano buried his face into Ludwig's chest.

"Arthur," came the muffled reply.

"I'm right here," I said gently, wondering what on earth Feliciano had seen, and praying that it wasn't my mother dying.

Feliciano turned around to face me, his eyes wide and blank. I stared into them and I suddenly realized that Feliciano hadn't been talking to me; he had been answering Ludwig's question. I suddenly knew what Feliciano had seen.

I felt Ludwig send out a peaceful wave, trying to calm the both of us down. I welcomed the feeling, breathing in slowly to keep my emotions intact.

Feliciano beamed at me, keeping his emotions controlled as well. "It was just the same room as before," he breathed out. "Are you hungry – I can make pasta!"

"No, I'm good. I'll eat at the airport," I replied, excusing myself to take a shower. I could tell Feliciano was waiting for me to get out of the room so he could tell Ludwig what he actually saw.

I let the warm water from the shower hit my face, imagining it washing away my sorrows. Ludwig's calming aura and the water cleared my mind and helped me plan my escape.

I dried my hair quickly as I pulled on fresh clothes, locating an old sock where I had stuffed all the money I had and dumping the money onto the bed. I took all the bills and put them in my wallet, stuffing it into my back pocket. I didn't need the pocket change.

We left to the airport immediately afterwards, much to my relief. I sat in the back alone this time, Feliciano lightly talking non-stop at Ludwig for the entire drive. I had a feeling he was doing this to seem normal, but I saw right through what he was doing.

I waited until Feliciano was done talking to ask him a question.

"Feliciano?" I asked.

"Yeah?" Feliciano asked, turning to face me.

"How does it work – the things that you see?" I asked him as casually as I could, staring out the window absently, trying to look bored. "F-Francis said that it wasn't definite and that it could change." I guessed that the difficulty I had saying Francis's name alerted Ludwig. I felt another wave of calm hit me. I welcomed it, needing anything to distract me from my upcoming death.

"Some things are more certain – like the weather! I can tell what the weather will be but people are a lot harder to tell. They change their minds really easily! If they change their minds, I can't see what happens until they make a concrete decision," Feliciano informed me. I nodded absently, still staring out the window. I tried to make it seem like I was considering backing out on Yao's plan and that I was actually going to go with Francis. I wanted to keep Feliciano confused for as long as I could – no matter how guilty it made me.

Luck was finally on my side. As we entered the airport, we found that Francis's plane would be arriving in the main terminal. The terminal was large, and definitely would be easy for me to lose them in.

We sat down, waiting for Francis to appear. I waited for my opportunity, looking around trying not to think. I could tell Feliciano and Ludwig were keeping an eye on me, pretending to people-watch so I wouldn't get suspicious.

I pulled out the envelope out of my pocket and handed it to Feliciano, who looked confused.

"My letter," I reminded him and he nodded, tucking it into his jacket for later. I hoped Francis would read it in time.

I waited until there was barely any time for Francis to appear. When there was only 30 minutes left until his plane would arrive, the numbers on the board flashed. There was only 10 minutes left. I gulped.

"I think I'm getting hungry now. I should go get something," I said, standing up.

"I'll come with you!" Feliciano said cheerfully, standing up too.

"I think Ludwig should come instead," I said quickly. "I don't feel too good." Feliciano and Ludwig exchanged a look. I didn't even need to act; they could see the wild look in my eyes. Feliciano nodded and sat back down, Ludwig standing up with me.

We walked away from Feliciano, me leading Ludwig as far away from Feliciano's eyes as possible. That's when I saw it; a men's washroom.

"I need to go to the washroom," I informed Ludwig and he nodded. He looked a little embarrassed; I had a feeling he didn't really feel comfortable about going into a washroom and standing there doing nothing. I prayed on that; it would make my escape that much easier.

"I'll wait outside," he said, answering my prayers. I nodded and tried to keep myself looking normal as I walked into the washroom.

What Ludwig didn't know was that there are two doors to the washrooms in the airport we were in. I bolted to the second door, knowing fully well Ludwig wouldn't be able to see me run away.

I pushed past surprised looking people, squeezing into an elevator just before it closed. I waited impatiently for it to open before dashing out of it and out of the airport.

I found a shuttle bus just about to leave. I climbed on, giving the bus driver money. I knew he was confused as to why I was there without any baggage, but I didn't have time to answer. I sat down far away from anyone else and waited, my foot tapping impatiently. I pictured Francis looking around in confusion, any trace of my scent gone. I felt terribly guilty, but I couldn't do anything about it.

Luck continued to help me out. As I bolted out of the shuttle at the last stop, I spotted a man getting out of a cab. I ran to it and climbed in, ignoring his surprised look.

"I need to get to this place as soon as possible," I breathed out and recited my mother's addressed to the cabbie.

"That's pretty far from here," he said and I shoved at him a bunch of bills.

"This enough?" I asked. He nodded and started driving. I leant back in my seat, trying to control my breathing. It was odd; despite the fact that I was running to my demise, I felt strangely happy…triumphant that I had managed to escape Ludwig and Feliciano.

"What was the number again?" the cabbie asked.

"Er 72," I said shakily. The cabbie gave me a worried look and kept driving. My heart sped up as I saw familiar buildings and signs. We were getting closer.

"Here you are," he said anxiously. I flew out of the car without a backwards glance.

"Thank you!" I called out from over my shoulder as I ran into the apartment building. Thankfully, I didn't see anyone who I recognized back when I still lived there. Without waiting for the elevator, I flew up the stairs, marveling at how much exercise I was getting. My father would've been proud. Pity I was going to die so very soon.

I fished out my keys, my hands shaking as I unlocked the door. It was so familiar, returning to this house I used to live in what seemed like a million years ago.

I ran towards the phone, stumbling slightly in the dark. I reached over to my side and found the light switch easily, shedding light to the room. I saw a sticky note attached to the wired phone nearby the kitchen. I lifted it up, staring at the numbers for a few seconds. I grabbed the phone with my other hand and wedged it between my shoulder and ear, my hand shaking as I dialed the number.

It only rang once between I heard his voice again. "Hello, Arthur," Yao said, sounding surprised. "You are a lot earlier than I expected maybe you aren't as incompetent as I originally thought."

"Is my mum alright?" I demanded, ignoring the insult.

"She's fine…for now. Unless you're with someone else…?"

"No, I'm alone."

"Excellent. Now, do you remember that old community centre with the separate building? The one that contains a large kitchen?"

"Yes, I know how to get there."

"Perfect. I'll see you then." He hung up.

I placed the receiver back into its place, breathing in deeply. I couldn't believe that he had trespassed something I thought was a sanctuary of security. I rubbed the bridge of my nose in exhaustion before remembering that I had to hurry. He was waiting.

As I ran out of the apartment, I noted that it was extremely sunny outside – something that wouldn't have been normal in St. Helens. The sun's rays bounced off the white concrete and into my eyes, blinding me as I staggered forwards. I was dripping with sweat now and more than ever I wished that I had worked out more. I pictured my mother and forced myself to keep going, a stitch growing in my chest. My throat burned as I gasped for air, finally stopping in front of the community centre, 3 blocks away from where I had originally started.

I remembered that the kitchen the cooking classes were held was in a separate building, the only Yao had mentioned over the phone. I walked towards it, my legs feeling oddly jelly like and I fought to catch my breath. I lay my hand on the cold handle, trying to collect myself. I couldn't look disheveled right before I died. It wasn't proper. I controlled my breathing and wiped the sweat off my face. I opened the door [which was unlocked] and stepped in like a man.

The entire area was dark and cool. I was surprised that in this empty building, the air conditioner was on.

I suddenly felt so terrified, I couldn't even move. I couldn't go on…I just couldn't. I could feel my heart thumping through my chest and I just wanted to turn back and run away to Francis.

"Arthur? Arthur?" my mother's hysterical voice called out from the darkness. I ran forwards towards the sound of her voice…promptly running into a door.

I threw open the door, running in.

"Mum!" I exclaimed, looking around. The room was dark, so I couldn't see too well. I stumbled forwards, trying to see if I could find her.

And then I heard her laugh. I whirled around to face the sound.

She was on the TV screen, holding a little me near the water. I recognized the scene; my grandfather had taken this when we went to visit him in Ireland. I had been standing too close to the water and looked like I was going to fall into the deeper end, hence why my mother had been calling my name.

I had been tricked.

I watched the screen go blue.

It was then when I realized that someone was staring at me from behind. I turned around slowly to see Yao casually leaning against the wall, looking directly at me. For the scariest person I have ever met, Yao was surprisingly normal-looking, feminine-looking even. If I didn't know what he was capable of, I would've wondered why I was so scared of him. He didn't look frightening in the least.

And then he smirked.

"You must be relieved that your mother isn't in any danger aru," he remarked, walking past me to turn the TV off. I kept facing him, a glare on my face.

"I am, actually," I replied, my eyes narrowing.

"You don't sound angry enough aru," he added, and I wondered absently why he kept ending his sentences with that strange little word. What the hell did 'aru' even mean?

"I'm not mad," I told him and he looked surprised.

"You actually sound like you mean it," he said in amusement. "Maybe that is why your coven likes you so much aru."

"Maybe," I replied.

He stood only a meter or so away from me, watching my expression. His almond eyes were a dark, dark black with hints of red in them. I wondered if it was because he was a carnivore rather than vegetarian like Payes.

"This is usually the time you use to tell me that your boyfriend will avenge your death and that I will pay for this aru," Yao told me.

"I'm not a girl," I growled at him. "And I told him not too."

"What did he say to that?"

"I don't know. I wrote him a letter."

"How very girly of you aru."

"At least I don't look like one," I growled, and a part of me wondered why I was egging on my killer like this. I felt strangely at ease.

Yao shook off the insult like it was nothing. "Do you think your boyfriend will honor your letter aru?" he asked me.

"He better."

Yao sighed. "A pity. I would've preferred battling someone to my own strength," he said, and I agreed. Just because he finally had me didn't me he automatically won. After all, it was all too easy for him to kill a pathetic human like me. It would've been more rewarding if he got Francis in the process. "But at least you'll let me send him my own letter too?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked warily, going the gory route and thinking that Yao was going to send Francis my decapitated head or something.

He motioned to the left of him and I saw a small video camera perched upon a tripod, its flashing red light indicating that it was already recording. Yao strolled over to it and picked it up.

"Say hello to your boyfriend, Arthur," he said with a smirk. "It's a good thing he didn't come here, actually. It would've ruined the fun. Only one of my victims has ever escaped me and that was very long ago. He was rather young for a vampire, but extremely old. He fell in love with one of the inmates at a nearby asylum, a boy who was forced to wear the girls' uniform because they didn't have one in his size aru. They put him in for his unusual visions and the vampire was very infatuated with him – even though he didn't know his love's true gender. He snuck his dress-wearing lover away from his little cage and the moment they were free, he changed him aru. The boy didn't even seem to notice the pain; he had been locked away for so long. The vampire had created a new strong vampire and there was no reason for me to attack him. So I killed the other as revenge aru," Yao concluded.

"Feliciano," I breathed out. Yao nodded.

"Indeed. I was very surprised to see him with the rest of his coven aru. What a pity too, he smelt very good – better than you do actually," Yao remarked, walking towards me and sniffing at me. I backed away, hitting the wall. He smirked, setting the camera back on its tripod momentarily. "We should probably get started aru. I want to finish this movie so I can send it to your boyfriend."

I felt nauseous, inching away from him as fast as I could, finally panicking. I was going to die. I waited a few seconds and then bolted, trying to get to the door.

Before I could even register it, I was flying through the air, hitting the cupboards. I fell onto the counter, rolling off into the ground. I was winded, unable to breathe.

I tried crawling away from Yao, feeling bruised and battered all over. Yao was right behind me in an instant, stepping down on my leg with ease. I felt it break and let out a yell of agony. The pain temporarily blinded me. I reached behind me to grab at my leg.

Yao smirked at me. "Still don't want your boyfriend to save you aru?" he asked, video camera in hand. I shook my head.

"Don't come, Francis!" I croaked, letting out a howl as Yao nudged my broken leg. He reached over with his free hand and pulled out a knife from a nearby drawer. A large butcher knife. A very mundane way to die, but a painful one. I backed away as fast as I could, my breath coming in short gasps as my broken leg moved.

Suddenly something was sliced into my stomach, blood pouring out of it. I screamed, covering it with my arm.

The look on Yao's face was terrifying. He swooped down and grabbed me by the collar, sending me flying through the air. I hit the large metal door that stored all the unused food. The collision had me seeing stars as I sank towards the ground. I was bleeding all over now, my blood spread across the floor.

I knew Yao wouldn't be able to resist my blood any longer, he was so hungry. Please, don't let it hurt, I prayed silently.

I could feel myself drifting away, slowly losing my breath.

A faintly heard a growl from Yao as he advanced towards me hungrily. I watched his blurry figure come closer. Unable to take it, I closed my eyes, bracing myself for his final attack.

I felt myself fade away.

And then I died.

A/N: There are two more chapters and an epilogue left to go.

Happy Thanksgiving too all you Americans! We already had our Thanksgiving up here in Canadialand but hope you guys stuff yourselves with lots of Turkey! :D