Nothing better than home

The fight is over and the Santa Carla vampires are destroyed. But are they really? Who survived and who didn't? Will there ever be a pack of vampires again, with the hunters around? Would vampires really care? And may it be that some of them meet again?

I don't own the Lost Boys or any of its original characters. I only own my OC's and situations I'll put them into.

Many thanks to the dear people who follow and favor my story. Comments are welcome.

Chapter 20. First Kill

A new night broke in the hiding place of the vampires, and a night later David was to find the message on his motorcycle!

Dwayne had been sitting cross-legged for some time under the iron bar he and Paul slept during the day. He waited for his friend to wake up because he had something important to tell him! Dwayne did not want Sam and Hope to hear about the conversation yet.

The dark-haired vampire was a bit irritated because he heard Sam raging furiously in his prison; the younger vampire was hungry and finally wanted to be let out!

Paul and Dwayne had been restless and excited for a few nights since they knew David and Marko were in town, and it was quite exhausting to look after the two new members of their pack.

The two older vampires had been traveling alone for more than twenty years, but now they were in charge of Sam and Hope. Although Sam was a full-grown vampire, he still had much to learn about life in packs, and besides, Dwayne was not sure he could really trust him.

If Sam would have something stupid in store, Hope would be his first victim, because as a half-vampire, she was the weakest of them. Besides, her mother was guilty of the situation that Sam and especially Michael had come across.

Well, Star, Dwayne had liked the girl before she betrayed the vampires. She was friendly and had a tender heart, but a life in the circle of vampires, unthinkable! It was amazing how long she had resisted the thirst for blood.

Marko kept trying to remind David that Star did not fit into the pack, but David did not want to hear about it. He wanted the girl by his side, and whether it was about affection or just possession, Dwayne had never understood.

Probably it would have been better if David had just killed Star after the first night, but the Lost Boys' leader just could not handle that at the time. Outwardly David looked aloof and cold, you had to know him well to know that he was not like that. His aloofness and arrogance were very important to him at the time to keep people away. Only then could they keep the secret of their existence.

Dwayne really hoped Hope would not behave like her mother. After all, the young woman had been fighting her thirst for blood all her life, she even had thoughts of suicide - secretly she was simply desperate for peace with herself and for a family in which she did not have to pretend to be someone she wasn't. Well, Hope had fought the bloodthirst all her life, but she did not know her background, and always thought something was wrong with her!

At last, Paul woke up and watched Dwayne, sitting dull and brooding on the cold floor under Paul. The tall blonde Vampir heard Sam banging on the door of his dungeon - he finally wanted to go out!

Paul sighed and with an elegant role in the air he landed and stopped in front of Dwayne, grinning. "What are you doing," Paul asked.

Dwayne looked at him thoughtfully. It was funny how time had changed the two vampires. When they were still with David and Marko, Paul had always been the carefree joker of the troupe, and sometimes he behaved like a little stupid boy. Paul was intelligent, no question, but he also had the talent to hide his intelligence well.

But the events in the home of Michael's family all those years ago had made this blond clown grow up. Whenever it came down to it, Paul had unhesitatingly taken responsibility for both vampires and taking care of Dwayne when he did not know who he was. The brunette vampire was grateful that he had no more problems with his memory since they returned to Santa Carla.

Paul could be very cruel to his victims when they bugged him, but on the other hand, he was very good-natured. Paul loved little Hope like his own daughter and he tried to accept Sam, despite what had happened back then.

"I wanted to discuss something with you, sleepyhead," Dwayne said smiling and got up. Paul nodded. "What's the matter," he asked. Dwayne looked thoughtfully at the floor, then met his buddy's eyes. "I want our little butterfly to find its first victim tonight," he explained. "It's time she finally becomes one of us!"

Paul thought for a moment. "Okay, that sounds good," he replied. "And then we can finally visit David, Marko, and Laddie! It drives me crazy that I can not talk to them, I want us all together again!"

Dwayne smiled again. "I know," he said. "I feel the same way, I would like them with us again, but I think it would be better if we invited them here, because there are neighbors at the campsite, at The Bluff, it would only be us, and besides, I know for a fact that David learned that we are no longer in our graves, he is not stupid, you could never fool him!"

Paul grinned. "Yeah," he replied. "And I also know that big daddy is looking for his little girl! He'll be very surprised when he finds out she's been home with us long since, where she belongs! We'll celebrate that reunion duly, I hope ?"

Dwayne smiled again. "Oh yes, we sure do," he said. Paul and Dwayne put on their socks and boots and started to wake up Hope.

Hope, however, was no longer in her bed. She had been awake for some time, awakened by the noise Sam had made in his prison. She was a little scared of this unpredictable vampire and had seen the hatred in his eyes when he looked at her, but still; now she felt sorry.

She was terrified of being locked up in one of those dark rooms that were in the back of the cave. Hope figured she could come closer to Sam if she helped him now, maybe the hatred he obviously felt for her would then disappear from his eyes.

So she grabbed the flashlight Paul had given her and stalked through the dark tunnels to find out in which room Sam was. She really hoped to win his trust if she freed him now!

Paul and Dwayne might not approve of that, but they both wanted all four to live together like a family, so it would be good if Hope and Sam could make friends! Actually, Hope did not need to try to find the angry vampire, she just followed the noise.

And actually, she did not need a flashlight to see anything, because since she had drunk the blood from her sires, her senses were sharper and she could see well in the dark. She could see so well that neither her glasses nor contact lenses needed to be worn.

It was overwhelming what she could hear and see all at once, but the fact that she could sometimes hear the thoughts of her sires frightened her a little!

But still, she did not quite trust her sharpened senses, and besides, it was good to have something to hold on to - and, the heavy flashlight could serve as a weapon, if necessary!

She stood hesitantly in front of Sam's door, and when she reached out to unlock the door, two things happened.

The first was that it suddenly was dead quiet in the room, then she heard Sam laugh softly. He'd sniffed the air, knowing that Hope and not one of the two vampires were standing outside the door, he also knew that Dwayne would be mad at the kid if she let him out of the room and gloating filled him.

The second was that Hope heard Dwayne's voice in her mind. 'Do not you dare to open the door!' Dwayne's voice did not sound very friendly!

Hope got scared now and was not sure if she should obey Dwayne or not. Then she held out her hand again, which she had pulled back in shock.

But before she managed to touch the key, someone suddenly stood behind her and held her hand.

"What are you doing," Paul mocked. Hope looked at him startled, he looked pretty angry, his pupils were yellow and she could see his catches.

"I just wanted to," she stuttered anxiously, but Paul interrupted her. "What did you want," he spat. "What do you think, why we take Sam here every morning, girl?"

Hope just shrugged and looked at the floor, embarrassed. Paul shook his head, but he did not look so angry anymore and smiled. "Well, that will be done tonight anyway," he murmured, then he pushed Hope behind him and let Sam out of the room.

"I think you have to clean up here," Paul remarked dryly to Sam. Sam had done a great job, his shelves were on the floor, and beneath them were some objects that Sam had gathered together over the past few nights. Sam's clothes were scattered all over the room too, there was total chaos in the room.

Sam stopped in front of Paul with a grin for a moment, then smiled at Hope. "Good evening princess, nice that you wanted to help me," he said, then he rushed past Paul and Hope and disappeared into the tunnels.

Dwayne was waiting for Paul and Hope, but said nothing at first, just looking at the young woman disapprovingly. Then he turned to Paul. "Okay, you're going to feed with Sam," he said after a while, "and I'm talking to her!"

Paul just nodded and left the cave with Sam.

"I hope you realize that it was a stupid idea to let Sam out of the room without Paul or I being there," Dwayne said after staring at Hope in silence for a while. Hope shrugged indifferently, it was annoying that the vampires kept telling her what to do.

Dwayne read that thought to the young woman and shook his head blankly - sometimes half-vampires were really stupid.

"Look, girl," he nagged. "Sam may seem harmless to you, but he is not at all! You saw what he did to his room, what do you think he can do to you?"

Hope nodded annoyed. "I felt sorry for him," she said firmly. Dwayne looked her in the eye. "Sam has been on his own for many years, it can make a vampire mad, he has to learn to adapt and accept rules, to live in a community with other vampires is something completely new to him, if he wanted, he would kill you without batting an eyelash, so we put him in confinement to protect you! " Hope was not stupid, she knew Dwayne was right. "I'm sorry," she finally said, ashamed. "I will not do it again!"

Dwayne smiled. "No, you certainly won't, because today, a lot will change here," he replied. Hope gave him a startled look, fearing that Paul and Dwayne were planning to lock her up. "What do you mean," she asked anxiously.

Dwayne read her thoughts and grinned. "Do not worry, when this night is over there will be no need to lock anyone up," he explained. "Today is your big night, you will finally become a real vampire!"

"But," Hope complained, but the vampire did not let her finish.

"We do not care if you like it or not," he interrupted her determinedly. "You're going to find your first victim tonight, you do not have to be scared, we'll be there to help you! Believe me, you'll feel like you've been born again, and when we finally get that done, Sam will be no danger for you any longer!"

Hope did not like the idea at all, but what could she do against the three vampires? In addition, the thirst for blood became worse since she drank the blood of the vampires.

The young woman looked at Dwayne desperately. "I don't know if I can do that," she said sadly. "I'm scared of it!"

Dwayne smiled and took her hands in his and pressed a kiss on the backs of her hands. "I said you do not have to be scared," he replied. "You'll see, when you smell the blood, just follow your instincts, the rest will happen by itself!"

"And what will happen to me then?" Questioned Hope. "I do not want to be a bloodthirsty monster!" The vampire smiled again. "You will not," he replied. "You're still going to be our Hope, your senses and emotions are getting stronger, and you'll have to feed, but apart from that, you always stay you, I promise, and believe me, there are enough very vicious people in this city. When you feed on them, you do mankind a great favor! " Hope looked doubtfully at her sire. "Honestly, I do not know if I can see it that way," she said stubbornly.

Dwayne grimaced. "How you see it does not really matter," he explained. "You will kill your first victim tonight, and once you have done that you will see that I am right!"

Hope sighed and sat thoughtfully on the sofa. She thought back to the moment when she had come down on Paul after he had returned from the hunt. Secretly, the young woman knew that Dwayne was correct in his assumption, but she still felt guilty!

She wanted to live on the other side, she no longer had suicidal thoughts, and she liked Paul and Dwayne. She had long since realized that the vampires were much more than thoughtless killing machines. And Sam - well, she would arrange with him!

As Hope stared thoughtfully, the vampire had taken his book and started to read. However, he did not make many pages because Paul and Sam came back. Paul had informed Sam that Hope should finally become a full member of the family. Sam was glad that he would not be locked up anymore, but instead would sleep with the three other vampires on the iron bars, as befitted a vampire, and finally, he would have a family again, he was glad that he was not completely on his own any longer!

It was Sam who made Paul aware of the victims of tonight, he had been watching the three men for quite a while, and a vampire or not, what these three guys did was just disgusting!

"We now know where the party will happen tonight," Paul exclaimed happily, as he flew into the cave with Sam. Hope looked questioningly at him and Dwayne raised his eyebrows. Sam walked over to Hope with a smile and sat next to her.

"You do not have to have a guilty conscience if you kill one of these guys," he explained. "Why," Hope asked with interest, but also doubtfully.

"Well, these bastards kidnap very young girls, mostly runaways that nobody misses," he said. "The girls are then sold to perverted old sacks, which abuse and rape them, the younger the girls, the better!"

Hope looked at the three vampires. "That's disgusting," she finally said. Paul smiled. "Well, kid, believe me, there are worse monsters out there than we are," he told Hope. Dwayne and Sam nodded in agreement.

Then Sam tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. "But the story goes on," he continued. "I've always wondered what would become of the girls when they became useless to the guys, I've been watching the hustle and bustle of those guys for months and wondered why the deals always run just after the full moon." Hope looked at Sam irritated. "What had young girls to do with the full moon, she asked.

Paul laughed once. "That, little butterfly, you'll never consider," he explained. "Sam showed me what happens to the poor things and that's incredible even to us!"

Sam nodded. "As I said, the deal with the girls always runs just after the full moon, and that was the day before yesterday, the girl traders are cooperating with the mayor and his lotions, these people look like humans, but they are werewolves!

Hope choked on her beer. "There are no werewolves," she remarked with complete conviction. The three vampires laughed out loud. "You have no idea," said Dwayne. "It gives us, why should not there be assholes smelling of wet dog, they do not like us much, because we're stronger than them! There's a lot in this city that you would not think was possible, but you will soon realize yourself!"

"Well, anyway," Sam continued. "The traders grab the girls and promise them all kinds of things - as long as the girls are in the dealers' house they are doing well, they get everything they ask for, clothes, jewelry, good food. This time the two younger girls are only twelve years old."

Hope gasped in horror. "That's really weird," she exclaimed indignantly Sam nodded. "Yes, I know, the girls trust that bastard and in the end, the kids are sent to hell. Last month I watched three guys share a thirteen-year-old. I don't even want to tell you the details. I wanted to know what happens to the girls when the assholes are done with them, that's why I did not kill the guys right away! To make a long story short, at this point the werewolves are coming in. The men put the totally distraught girls out in the forest at the full moon, where they are then helplessly at the mercy of the werewolves, who eat the girls and thus leave no trace. No one would ever come to the girl traders or the perverted sacks, as there is no evidence. The girls are just gone, and the Werewolves make sure that the police will not look too hard. More than thirty years ago, when I moved here with my mother and brother, the board in town was full of pictures of missing children. We always thought the guys here were responsible, but that was a mistake!"

Hope had tears in her eyes, she had seen many bad things in her career, but what Sam had said surpassed everything!

Dwayne looked at Hope very seriously. "You know, we may be monsters on the one hand, but we would always protect children, no one should attack them," he said. "Do you still have a guilty conscience now?"

Hope shook her head. "I would never have thought such a cruel thing possible, how sick do you have to be," she asked sadly. "What happens to the girls when the men are dead?"

Paul smiled. "Do not worry, little butterfly," he replied. "No hair is being bent on them, Sam already knows how to take the children away, just let yourself be surprised!"

Hope looked tensely at the ground. "Okay, let's just go and get those assholes done," she said determinedly, jumping up from the sofa and heading for the exit of the cave.

The three vampires looked at each other in surprise and Dwayne sighed in relief, then they followed the young woman. Hope stopped in front of the cave and looked questioningly at the vampires.

"How do we get there," she wanted to know. The three vampires grinned. "Well, what do you think," questioned Paul. "How did we get into the cave when we brought you here?"

"I, I" stammered Hope, "I can not fly!" The vampires laughed. "We're pretty sure you can, but don't be scared," Dwayne explained. "I'll carry you and I will not let you down again, I promise," he said with a laugh at the thought of Hope's reaction the last time he had carried her through the air. "When this night is over, you can do it all by yourself, you'll see," said Paul. "And there will be a big surprise next night, you'll be very happy about that, I'm sure."

Hope smiled at him. "A surprise," she asked. "What will it be?" "Wouldn't be a surprise, if we would tell you now," Dwayne answered grinning. "But Paul is right, you'll love it!" Then he grabbed Hope and took into the air. This time Hope enjoyed it.

The girl traders owned a house outside the city, the nearest neighbor lived so far away that it would take half an hour to reach it. The house of the Morgan brothers and the property looked very well maintained. In the driveway was a modern VW bus with dark-tinted windows, and a BMW, which was a bit older.

The Morgan brothers had inherited the blue-painted house from their parents who had died in a car accident several years ago. Duncan was the youngest of the three brothers at forty-one. He was the only one with a good school diploma. As a young man, he had begun studying for a teaching post, but he had given up after a motorcycle accident. He suffered from back problems since the accident, so he lost his job again and again.

His brothers Leslie and Rick, who were forty-five and forty-seven years old, had done miserably at school. Honest work was a foreign word for the two, they preferred the money that their parents gave them to gamble and drink.

None of the three brothers had ever married, which had weighed heavily on Lydia and Henry Morgen, the brothers' parents. They had been diligent and honorable businessmen with a successful food chain. Lydia and Henry were very involved in the city and had donated large sums of their fortune for various projects to help homeless people and seriously ill children.

The two older sons were a big disappointment to the couple, and the youngest was a loser. But since the couple felt responsible and loved their sons despite everything, they always helped the men out with money.

But after the accident, in which the parents died, the money was quickly used up and the three men were close to losing their home. In this situation, the mayor, who was the leader of the werewolf pack, suggested the three men to this dirty business.

The older brothers had no problems with that, why should a few dirty runaways not serve them to get a lot of money. Duncan did not want to join, but his brothers put pressure on him and eventually he gave in.

Duncan felt sorry for the girls who Leslie and Rick took into their dirty game, so he made sure they did not miss anything as long as the girls stayed at the home of the Morgan brothers.

Duncan fulfilled almost every wish of the children, he was happy when they were happy. He liked children and would have liked to have them, but since his accident, that was unfortunately no longer possible.

Duncan had been thinking for some time how to stop the crimes against the girls or how he could at least get out himself, but he knew his brothers would never let him go because, without Duncan, the girls would never take confidence.

He had already thought of a police report, but some of the officers were in the deals themselves because they were corrupt. And to be honest, he was stuck in himself, and he did not want to die yet.

The deals were always done the same way. The girls were taken to the brothers' house by Rick and Leslie, where they met Duncan, who took care of the children and stayed a few days. Then the girls were taken to a warehouse that the Morgan Brothers had rented especially for this business. There they were inspected by the customers and then taken away. The clients were mostly elderly married, bored men. The girls were grossly abused and maltreated for two to three weeks.

Then Leslie and Rick picked up the girls and put them out in the woods at the full moon, where the children were then food for the terrible beasts.

Duncan knew that someday he was going to burn in hell for his actions, and he knew he deserved it, too. If only he remembered that the girls who would be sold that night were only twelve and fourteen years old, he felt sick.

Amy and Amanda had been friends since kindergarten and came from a good parent's home, but for some time, 12-year-old Amy's father was unemployed, and occasionally tended to outrage the girl.

Now Amy had received a very poor mark in a mathematics assignment and did not dare to go home. When the girl told her friend that she wanted to run away, she just came along. The two girls thought the whole thing was a great adventure and felt really grown up. They were not aware that they were in danger.

For the evening, Duncan had promised the two girls a trip to the city, saying he had to go to the brothers' warehouses to get something, and then drive to the Boardwalk with the girls.

Willingly and eagerly, Amy and Amanda sat in the backseat of the VW Bus. Their parents never allowed the two girls to be outside so late. The two children were very naive and trusted Duncan.

Rick and Leslie were not so nice to the girls, but Duncan acted like a big brother to them and the girls enjoyed that attention. "Amy, Amanda, you can go in," Duncan said as the three arrived at the warehouse. "There's Coke for you inside, in the little room at the end of the hall, you can not miss it, I'll park the car and then get there!"

Rick and Leslie were already in the room, handing bottles already opened to the girls. Drugs were in the bottles, of course, the girls did not know and drank. Even before Duncan entered the room, the girls had fallen asleep and the two older brothers started to prepare the girls for the two customers.

No one noticed the three vampires and Hope were hiding in the shadows outside the hall, watching closely. Dwayne, Paul, and Sam had agreed that they would not go to the hall until after the men who wanted to buy the girls arrived.

The Morgan brothers were expecting two men to come to town from San Francisco. As the men entered the hall, the girls were already tied up on chairs made for them and undressed except for the underwear.

That way the men could see that they bought "flawless goods", without bruising or other injuries. Dwayne had to reassure Hope that the vampires were not threatening the girls, but the moment the Morgan Brothers' customers entered the hall, the three vampires could barely keep her from rushing into the hall. Hope was worried about the kids and she was hungry as well.

"Hope, you stay with Paul and me," Dwayne ordered, looking rather serious. "And you do what we tell you, understand?" The young woman nodded impatiently and started to charge again, but Dwayne held her back.

"We're quiet in the hall like the mice, we go in and kill the bastards, and then you leave with Paul," he explained. "And the girls," Hope asked annoyed. Dwayne was getting impatient. "Okay, look, Sam's gonna make sure the girls get out of here," he replied. "And Paul takes care of you, I'll take care of the fucking hall!"

"What do you mean," Hope asked. Paul grinned. "We can not leave any traces," he explained. "So far no one knows that we're back in town, and that should stay that way for now!"

Hope nodded understandingly. "And why is Dwayne doing it all by himself," she asked with interest. "If we do it together, it's faster!" Then Sam grinned and shook his head.

Paul put his hands on Hope's shoulders. "You're going to drink human blood for the first time tonight," he explained. "You'll feel intoxicated and unable to help Dwayne, but I'm with you and take care of you, so you do not have to be scared!"

"Okay," said Hope just disappointed. Dwayne looked at the other three. "Can we finally get in there now," he asked impatiently. "I want to get that over with now!"

The brunette vampire took Hope's hand and led her to the hall. The four moved silently through the hall toward the closed door at the other end. 'Ready,' Hope heard Dwayne's voice ask in her mind. At the same moment, Amy and Amanda had woke up again.

The girls realized their predicament and started screaming. Sam, Paul, and Hope nodded to Dwayne. "Shut up, you sluts," Leslie roared in the room at the frightened girls.

Paul pushed Hope behind him and Dwayne positioned himself next to the door and nodded to Sam, who now quietly opened the door. The men in the room were busy quieting the screaming girls, and no one but Duncan saw Sam enter the room.

The man turned white as he saw Sam's yellow-hot eyes and his catches. Duncan said nothing, he sank to his knees and began to pray again and again the "The Lords prayer". The Morgan- brothers had nothing to do with God or the church, and that was the only prayer Duncan could remember.

Sam growled loudly and his catches flashed in the light. Thereupon it became so quiet in the room, one could have heard a pin fall down. "Am I interrupting," he only asked, leaping at the four men standing around the girls.

Paul opened the door completely and showed Hope into the room. Hope was so shocked by the sight of the girls that she forgot for what reason the vampires had brought her to this place.

She pushed one of the men aside and immediately began to free the girls from their shackles. Amanda and Amy started screaming again, which brought Duncan to his feet.

For a moment he forgot the monstrous face of Sam and wanted to protect the girls. He lunged for Hope and tried to pull her away from the children. Meanwhile, Sam had thrown one of the men over to Paul, and the vampire killed the man without further ado.

Dwayne had two of the men in an iron grip and dragged them into another room. Hope looked furiously at the floor, and when she looked back at Duncan, her face had changed as well. She stared at him and growled angrily.

As Dwayne entered the room, bloodied, Hope lunged at Duncan and bit into his neck. Amy was now released from the shackles and was crying to free Amanda, her hands trembled. "Shit," Sam shouted when he saw that Hope had just caught Duncan. He broke Rick's foot to immobilize the man and threw him to the ground.

"Hope, no, we still need him," Sam shouted, pulling the growling and beating Hope away from Duncan. Paul grabbed Hope and left the room with her. Duncan had dropped to his knees again and pressed a hand to his bleeding wound.

Amy and Amanda looked at him in horror and started screaming again. Hope was held by Paul with an iron grip. She hissed and growled, trying to kick and punch the sheer vampire, but Paul was much stronger than she was. Hope had licked her blood now, she was hungry and damn angry, she could hardly be restrained.

In the second room of the hall, Paul dropped the young woman next to the man Dwayne had left for her. "He's yours," he said, watching with amusement as Hope lunged at the man nearly twice her size.

She drained him to the last drop, and when she was done, her face was smeared with his blood. She looked up at Paul, he helped her to her feet and licked the blood from her face and neck with relish.

Hope realized what she had done and started to shiver. Paul laughed. "I'm proud of you," he said.

In the other room, Sam had pinched Duncan, while Dwayne tried to calm the girls and helped them dress.

"Today is your lucky day, asshole," Sam said to the completely distraught man. "I've watched you for a few months, so I know you've always treated the girls well, that's why you will not share the fate of your brothers."

Duncan was shaking all over and still, could not believe what he had just seen. Sam pulled him up and put him on the chair Amy had been sitting on before. "You will make sure that the girls return to their parents, and should I ever see you even approach any young girls, I'll come back, get it?"

Then he grabbed Rick and dragged the man whimpering in pain into the other room. Dwayne erased the memories of the night's events from the girls' thoughts, then turned to Duncan.

"The girls will not remember anything when they wake up tomorrow morning, and now you go before we change our minds! And never forget what Sam just told you!"

Duncan did not need to be told twice and shoved the girls to the VW bus. As Dwayne left the room, Hope behaved as if she were totally drunk, but that was what the three vampires had expected. The young woman danced through the dark warehouse, giggling. The three male vampires watched her with a grin, after a while she ran outside.

"Where is the stuff I need," Dwayne asked Paul and Sam. "All you need is in the back of the little room" Paul answered, then he followed Hope outside. She danced there for a few minutes and sang again and again: "Life is beautiful."

When she noticed Paul, she ran to him and dropped humming into his arms. Then she just fell asleep. "Well, that went fast," Paul murmured amused.

He took the fledgling into his arms and flew back to the cave. There he put Hope on a sofa and waited for Dwayne and Sam.

Today, at sunrise, all four vampires would sleep upside down on the iron bar, as a pack.

The next morning, the daily newspaper said that the Morgan brothers' warehouse had burned to the ground.