Hey people! New chapter! Guess what? I have a four-day weekend to look forward to, so that means that you guys get MORE CHAPTERS! WOOT! The title comes from Avenged Sevenfold's song of the same name - i feel that it represents the story well. OMG THERE'S SOMETHING IN HERE I'VE NEVER DONE BEFORE! No, it's not a lemon, but think REAL hard . . . .

Within seconds the smoke dissipated. Whoa . . . that was weird. I blinked a few times, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. "Hello?" I called out. "You there?" There was no voice, and the Ouija board didn't move. "Hello?" I called out again. Nope, not a thing. So I did the only responsible thing I could think of.

I ran the hell out of there.

I grabbed my two-way and turned it on. "Hello?" I asked nervously. "Anyone there?"

"Jink!" Liz snapped. "What the hell happened? We lost the signal to your two-way for almost half an hour!"

"Sorry - I was stuck," I lied. "My bad." I hooked the two-way to my belt and ignored the crackle that spewed from it, making my way out of the room. Blah, blah, blah - same thing over and over. Jink, what happened? Jink, what did you do this time? Jink, do you need help? I think I can handle myself, thank you.

But as I passed the doorway, I felt this cold presence . . . Don't know if it was Astaroth or what, but it was fucking creepy. I just shook it off and made my way back.

The plane ride back was uneventful. I didn't cower in my seat this time - I sat, eyes closed, in full lotus position with the iPod in my hand and Jareth in my lap. All I had to do was focus on the music. Easy. Nothing to it.

Unless, of course, you had annoying co-workers who wanted to know what happened to you in the basement.

"Jink, what happened?" Liz kept asking.

Greg kept poking me with a pencil - since I had my eyes closed, I couldn't see if he wrote anything down.

Daimio just ignored me. Like I was used to.

Just . . . chill, I thought to myself.

That basement was creepy.

Oh, wow, hello. Nice to hear from you again. Ready to fuck up my life some more?

No . . . just warning you.

About what?

You brought home a friend.

Screw you - you lie so easily . . . how do I know you're telling the truth?

Just watch. And wait. You'll believe me soon enough . . .

Sounds foreboding . . . oh well.

I closed my eyes . . . and slept.

I didn't know what the voice was talking about until a few days later, back at the base, in my shower. I know, I know - sounds like a weird place, right? Well, trust me - it wasn't meant to go down that way. There I am, relaxin' in the shower, and out of nowhere I hear this voice . . .

"It is so nice to see you again, Jink."

I paused, shivering as I recalled the voice's owner. Was he here?

"Hello?" I asked. "Someone there?"

"Yes. It is very nice to see you again."

I shuddered, and lifted up the edge of the shower curtain. The shadowy figure that was in the basement of Castle Dracula was standing in my bathroom while I was taking a shower. I shrieked and let the curtain drop.

"Dude! What the hell!?!?" I snapped loudly, body against the wall. "Get the fuck out!"

"Jink, I am not going anywhere," Astorath said. "I have already told you - you are mine now. Either I go with you, or you go with me. So I figured that this would be better, since we are both comfortable in this realm."

He strode toward the bathtub and THROUGH the curtain. I freaked, since he was basically standing with me in the shower while I was naked. He tried to wrap his ghosty arms around me, but I stepped away from him, getting out of the shower and grabbing a towel.

"Okay, this is getting WAY to creepy for me," I said. "I don't . . . . what is it that you want from me?

"I want you," he stated simply, floating out of the shower. "Just you, as you are, in all your entirety."

"Okay, dude, I don't roll like that-," I said, holding up my hands.

"Not like that, love," he gave a small chuckle, shaking his head no. He walked around behind me and managed to get his arms around me. "Not that your form isn't simply . . . . mouthwatering," he said quietly. "I want your companionship. I want your attention. I want your compassion. I want your warmth. I want your love, or at least your friendship. I want you."

You know, in all my years, that was probably the most romantic - and heart-tugging - thing anyone's ever said to me. Looking past the shadow-y cover, he was just someone who wanted a friend. I can do that . . . right?

"Look, man . . ." I sighed, putting my face in my hands, "I don't know . . . . I'm so confused . . ." I walked out of the bathroom and started to get dressed. No need for me to walk around nude, after all. I found my glow-in-the-dark shirt and pants - yey! I LOVE those pants!!

I lay on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, wondering when my life went to hell in a handbasket. Astaroth floated out of the bathroom and sat down on the edge of the bed, absentmindedly stroking my foot. It made me twitch - his hand was super cold and made my skin feel funny.

"I wish there was a way to make this more comfortable for you," he said sadly. "But this is the only way I can be here . . . . with you."

"Well, can you at least let me see your face?" I snapped. "It's really weird seeing you . . . with no face."

"I do not have a face," he said sadly. "And this is my only humaniod form."

"Well, I'm going to bed," I sighed, rolling over and pulling the blankets around me. I squeezed my eyes shut. Please let this be over when I wake up, I pleaded.

Nope. Toldja yer screwed.

Oh yes. THANK you, voice.

All of a sudden, a shuddery cold feeling descended over me. I flailed for a second, unsure of what it was, until-

"Goodnight, my love. Sleep well. I know I shall rest well, hearing the beating of your heart."

Oh.

My.

God.

I am . . . so fucked.

I tossed and turned for most of the night, but I must have gotten some sleep, because I woke up to someone pounding on my door. With a groan, I kicked the blankets off and stumbled to the door. With a yawn, I made to open the door, only to realize that it was locked.

"Grar . . . ." I moaned. I unlocked the door and glared at the person who knocked. "Didn't know you were tired of living, Kate," I grumbled. "What?"

"Jink, what happened in the basement?" Man, can she cut to the quick or what? With her perky blonde hair and somewhat tall-ness, she could be formidable . . . if I wasn't sleep-deprived and pissed.

"Nothing happened in the damn basement," I snapped, rubbing my eyes. "I got stuck in the dungeon. Case closed."

"Not from what I heard . . ." she trailed off sadly. She pulled out my two-way from the castle. "They have built-in recording devices," she explained, and pressed a button.

"Hello? Anyone there? Would you like to talk?"

That was MY voice coming out of the two-way.

"Did you know of Vlad Tepes?" A pause. "Is your soul trapped here?" Another pause. "Are you human?"

The conversation went on, until you could clearly hear . . .

"Is this better?"

The one voice on the tape that wasn't mine.

"We know that you found something in that basement, Jink," Kate went on. "We just want to know what it was."

"It was a ghost," I sighed. "Nothing else."

"Jink . . ." Kate trailed off warningly, putting a hand on her hip.

"Kate," I replied, matching her tone.

"Jink," she sighed, letting her arm drop, "I'm just worried, that's all. You won't come out of your room, you locked your door . . ."

"I didn't . . . . I began, but stopped. I didn't lock my door. "I'm sorry," I sighed. "I don't mean to worry you guys. What time is it?"

"About two AM," she shrugged.

"Dude," I glared, "I'm going back to sleep. Good night." I closed the door on her before she could say anything else. You call it rude, I call it ending the conversation.

I turned back and went back to my bed. Just as I lay down, I felt that cold pressence again.

"Those damn humans . . ." he swore. "One of these days, they're going to kill you."

"No, they're not," I assured him.

"They cannot take care of you properly. You are much better off now that I am here."

Huh, and I thought I was fucked a few hours ago? Now, I was doublefucked.

Oh God Oh God Oh God Oh God . . . . I was sitting at a table in the cafeteria, waiting for the inevitable panic attack when Daimio sat across from me. I didn't say anything - I waited for him to make the first move.

"So . . . how's it goin'?" he asked finally.

"It's goin'," I replied, shrugging. "How 'bout you?"

"Okay, here's the deal," he sighed, and laid out a handful of pictures. They were all dark and and of the same place. Closer inspection revealed that it was my room. Even closer inspection revealed that it was my bed - with ME in it.

But when you looked even closer, you could see a second body . . . but it was ghostly pale, and see-through.

"I want to know who this is."

I looked up at him with a bruising stare. "You came into my room . . ." I said slowly, "and took . . . pictures of me . . while I was asleep." My hands curled into fists and a few lights over head began to flicker. "What . . . the . . . fuck."

"That's what I was thinking," Daimio said slyly. "Here you are, telling me all these rumors about you aren't true . . and then I get pictures like this."

"It's not like that!" I shouted, standing up. The Light above me burst with a shower of glass, but I didn't pay it attention. "Dammit, Ben, when you go and pull shit like this it makes me think you're nothing but a fucking bastard with too much time on his hands!"

I stormed out of the cafeteria, trying to hold back tears.

In my room, I slammed the door shut and leaned against it, sinking to the floor. I wrapped my head in my hands and rocked back and forth, trying not to cry.

"Jink, why are you crying?"

And that was when the tears began to flow and burn the floor.

ha! OMG THERE'S A BIT OF ROMANCE. Okay, this chapter goes out to AKA, for all our fun conversations and for being such an awesome reader-person! This also goes out to The Rev - rest in peace, dude. So, love to you all, and I'll see you this weekend. And i apologize for any suckiness in the end.

~Izzy