Disclaimer: I own Anna. Lynne Ewing owns the rest
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Mason and Anna pulled their molecules together again after nearly two hours.
As soon as they hit the ground they stepped into the shadows.
Anna stuffed her freezing hands into the pocket of her black hoodie. Mason stuffed his own in his pockets.
They walked in silence for a while until they reached the run-down apartment building where Anna lived and worked.
She pressed the buzzer, hoping the repairman had fixed her buzzer, and the door swung open.
Mason caught her arm before she fully made it inside.
She turned back, keeping the door propped open with her foot.
"Be careful," Mason said in a low voice. "I don't want anything to happen to you."
She reached up and kissed him swiftly before going inside.
She turned, looking at him through the glass door.
"Don't worry," she called. "I'll be fine."
She pressed her palm against the glass. Mason lifted his own hand and did the same.
They stayed that way for a long moment before Anna turned, looking up the steps.
"Bye," she mouthed, and hurried up the stairs.
"Goodbye," he whispered. Then he stepped back and let himself become one with the night.
"Who was that girl?" Serena asked Stanton a few moments later.
"I don't know..." Stanton whispered. "But...she looked...somehow familiar."
Serena shivered in the cold night air. "Forget it," she muttered. "Let's just go..."
They turned and walked toward the city.
After a moment, Serena asked, "Will you look into it?"
"Huh?"
She turned abruptly and Stanton nearly bumped into her.
"Find out who that was!" she hissed, exasperated.
"Oh, that was Jason-" Stanton began, meaning the boy they had just passed, but she cut him off.
"Not him, the girl."
"Oh...that?" Stanton rolled his eyes. Serena was very touchy on this sort of thing. "Just another kid who wants to be converted," he replied lazily.
"Are you just going to let her be taken like that," she demanded.
"Ok, two things," he answered bluntly. "One, I can't stop Mason from doing as he's told and he's told to bring people over."
"But-"
"Now, hold on," he cut in. "Two, how do you even know that's what was happening?"
Serena shut her mouth, dumbfounded.
"Think about it," he continued. "Mason's still got human emotions and all. How do you know that she wasn't something besides an initiate?"
Serena huffed, but swallowed her argument.
As they walked along, Stanton had to work very hard to suppress a smile.
"Hurry up!" called a very grouchy voice from the living room.
Anna's hands were trembling so violently that she spilled the beer and had to go back for more.
She carried the tray carefully, but quickly, to the place where her adoptive father – Harry – was lounging about on the couch as usual. He was already twice as wide as he was tall, very lazy, incapable of using any volume softer than a shout, and very quick to get angry.
He'd already had three dinners and five bottles of beer. Anna was starting to get scared.
She placed the tray gingerly on the table beside the couch, the TV blaring behind her.
"What kept you!" he demanded.
"I spilled something..." she whispered, looking away from him.
"Show me your hands," he demanded.
Anna placed them on the table. Already she had two small burns on her right hand, a large cut across the palm of her left, and bruises to match.
Slowly he raised his only remaining empty beer bottle and smashed it on her hands.
Anna bit back a scream as the glass shattered. It embedded itself in her hands and some of it flew up into her face.
"Off with you!" he boomed. "And don't leave your room 'till morning!"
Anna hurried off at a run. She slammed her door behind her as she felt her legs give out from under her. Blood mingling with her tears as each drop fell to the carpet.
"What's up with you tonight?" Justin asked. "You haven't said a word in hours."
"Huh?" Mason looked around, startled.
Justin sighed. "Anna?"
Mason let his gaze fall back to the fire. His hand tightened around his glass until it shattered. He ignored the sting of glass slicing his bare skin.
"I knew it," Justin moaned. "You've really done it this time."
"Done what?" Mason demanded.
"You fell for Anna!" he retorted exasperatedly. "You know what He says about her!"
Mason jerked his head sharply so his eyes met those of his best friend's. "He..." he said dangerously, "killed my family, destroyed my friends, ruined my life, and now you're saying he wants to take the girl I love and I don't give a damn."
Justin stood abruptly, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Alright, whatever you say," he said lazily. "But, hey, don't say I didn't warn ya."
Mason threw the remains of his glass into the fire as Justin – his only remaining friend – stalked off.
Out of the darkening mists, Anna watched as a single figure stepped ever closed to her.
She backed away, fighting back the urge to scream. Before her was the man of nightmares.
A boy, who seemed about her age, appeared through the mists.
He wore a black shirt, and baggy black jeans. Settled around his shoulders was a black leather jacket that was home to keys and locks hung about him.
He wore spikes around his neck, arms, and in his ears, accompanied by six silver rings in each ear.
He also had a ring on each eyebrow, one on the left side of his nose, above the left side of his upper lip, and one on his bottom lip, dead center.
His spiked hair, lips, and eyelids were all colored black, as were his fingernails, while his skin was deathly white.
Twisted around his hands were black flame tattoos that writhed as he smirked at her. His heavy boots clunked as he stepped. Chains clinked as he advanced.
"So," he whispered gently. "We meet again, Anna?"
"Stay away from me," she hissed, terrified.
He stepped into the light and Anna let out a stifled shriek. His eyes had met her own.
Her image, pale and small, was reflected in his horrible, merciless, red eyes that sparkled with wrath and hatred all their own.
He lifted his hand and, ever so gently, touched her cheek.
She flinched at the coldness of his flesh.
"Do not fear me, Anna," he hissed. "I shall not hurt you...yet." His lip curled slightly.
"I know what it is that you are doing," he continued. "And it shall not work. No one can displease me and live. You will one day rejoin me, Anna. Remember that." He paused, savoring her fear, feeling her terror beneath his fingertips. "Remember that it was not I who has made you suffer for all these years, but Nicholas."
She tried to back away only to find he had his other arm around her waist, keeping her there.
"I was never on your side!" she cried, using all the courage she could muster. Even in his dream form, the Atrox horrified her.
"And what does Nicholas have to do with any of this?!"
"Everything," he answered lazily. "Everything, Anna," he repeated. "If not for Nicholas, you would not be alive...and alone."
"You liar!" she yelled, trying desperately to break free. "Nicholas is dead! He died over four hundred years ago!"
"No, Anna. Nicholas is still alive. He is the only reason you stand here now. He is the one that betrayed you." He smiled as though remembering something sweet. "Nicholas, your twin brother, betrayed you. He betrayed all of you. He is the reason you suffer. However," he hesitated for a fraction of a second before finishing, "it was also your resistance that kept the both of you alive for this long. If...you had...surrendered your will...both of you would have died."
"No..."she sobbed. "No! You're...you're lying!" she cried weakly. "Nicholas would never...would never do something like that! He...he's a good person..."
"Ahh, you see, that is where your largest error came from, Anna. Your brother was nothing more than my slave. He did exactly what I told him to do. And he did it." He began to slowly disappear, though his voice was as clear and strong as ever. "You shall see him again one day...soon."
Anna fell through the smoke that had been holding her up, screaming as she fell.
Anna sat up, gasping.
"It was only a dream," she told herself. "Nothing more...than a nightmare..."
She looked around in the pale light of the full moon.
Her alarm clock now faced the wall.
Mason and Anna pulled their molecules together again after nearly two hours.
As soon as they hit the ground they stepped into the shadows.
Anna stuffed her freezing hands into the pocket of her black hoodie. Mason stuffed his own in his pockets.
They walked in silence for a while until they reached the run-down apartment building where Anna lived and worked.
She pressed the buzzer, hoping the repairman had fixed her buzzer, and the door swung open.
Mason caught her arm before she fully made it inside.
She turned back, keeping the door propped open with her foot.
"Be careful," Mason said in a low voice. "I don't want anything to happen to you."
She reached up and kissed him swiftly before going inside.
She turned, looking at him through the glass door.
"Don't worry," she called. "I'll be fine."
She pressed her palm against the glass. Mason lifted his own hand and did the same.
They stayed that way for a long moment before Anna turned, looking up the steps.
"Bye," she mouthed, and hurried up the stairs.
"Goodbye," he whispered. Then he stepped back and let himself become one with the night.
"Who was that girl?" Serena asked Stanton a few moments later.
"I don't know..." Stanton whispered. "But...she looked...somehow familiar."
Serena shivered in the cold night air. "Forget it," she muttered. "Let's just go..."
They turned and walked toward the city.
After a moment, Serena asked, "Will you look into it?"
"Huh?"
She turned abruptly and Stanton nearly bumped into her.
"Find out who that was!" she hissed, exasperated.
"Oh, that was Jason-" Stanton began, meaning the boy they had just passed, but she cut him off.
"Not him, the girl."
"Oh...that?" Stanton rolled his eyes. Serena was very touchy on this sort of thing. "Just another kid who wants to be converted," he replied lazily.
"Are you just going to let her be taken like that," she demanded.
"Ok, two things," he answered bluntly. "One, I can't stop Mason from doing as he's told and he's told to bring people over."
"But-"
"Now, hold on," he cut in. "Two, how do you even know that's what was happening?"
Serena shut her mouth, dumbfounded.
"Think about it," he continued. "Mason's still got human emotions and all. How do you know that she wasn't something besides an initiate?"
Serena huffed, but swallowed her argument.
As they walked along, Stanton had to work very hard to suppress a smile.
"Hurry up!" called a very grouchy voice from the living room.
Anna's hands were trembling so violently that she spilled the beer and had to go back for more.
She carried the tray carefully, but quickly, to the place where her adoptive father – Harry – was lounging about on the couch as usual. He was already twice as wide as he was tall, very lazy, incapable of using any volume softer than a shout, and very quick to get angry.
He'd already had three dinners and five bottles of beer. Anna was starting to get scared.
She placed the tray gingerly on the table beside the couch, the TV blaring behind her.
"What kept you!" he demanded.
"I spilled something..." she whispered, looking away from him.
"Show me your hands," he demanded.
Anna placed them on the table. Already she had two small burns on her right hand, a large cut across the palm of her left, and bruises to match.
Slowly he raised his only remaining empty beer bottle and smashed it on her hands.
Anna bit back a scream as the glass shattered. It embedded itself in her hands and some of it flew up into her face.
"Off with you!" he boomed. "And don't leave your room 'till morning!"
Anna hurried off at a run. She slammed her door behind her as she felt her legs give out from under her. Blood mingling with her tears as each drop fell to the carpet.
"What's up with you tonight?" Justin asked. "You haven't said a word in hours."
"Huh?" Mason looked around, startled.
Justin sighed. "Anna?"
Mason let his gaze fall back to the fire. His hand tightened around his glass until it shattered. He ignored the sting of glass slicing his bare skin.
"I knew it," Justin moaned. "You've really done it this time."
"Done what?" Mason demanded.
"You fell for Anna!" he retorted exasperatedly. "You know what He says about her!"
Mason jerked his head sharply so his eyes met those of his best friend's. "He..." he said dangerously, "killed my family, destroyed my friends, ruined my life, and now you're saying he wants to take the girl I love and I don't give a damn."
Justin stood abruptly, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Alright, whatever you say," he said lazily. "But, hey, don't say I didn't warn ya."
Mason threw the remains of his glass into the fire as Justin – his only remaining friend – stalked off.
Out of the darkening mists, Anna watched as a single figure stepped ever closed to her.
She backed away, fighting back the urge to scream. Before her was the man of nightmares.
A boy, who seemed about her age, appeared through the mists.
He wore a black shirt, and baggy black jeans. Settled around his shoulders was a black leather jacket that was home to keys and locks hung about him.
He wore spikes around his neck, arms, and in his ears, accompanied by six silver rings in each ear.
He also had a ring on each eyebrow, one on the left side of his nose, above the left side of his upper lip, and one on his bottom lip, dead center.
His spiked hair, lips, and eyelids were all colored black, as were his fingernails, while his skin was deathly white.
Twisted around his hands were black flame tattoos that writhed as he smirked at her. His heavy boots clunked as he stepped. Chains clinked as he advanced.
"So," he whispered gently. "We meet again, Anna?"
"Stay away from me," she hissed, terrified.
He stepped into the light and Anna let out a stifled shriek. His eyes had met her own.
Her image, pale and small, was reflected in his horrible, merciless, red eyes that sparkled with wrath and hatred all their own.
He lifted his hand and, ever so gently, touched her cheek.
She flinched at the coldness of his flesh.
"Do not fear me, Anna," he hissed. "I shall not hurt you...yet." His lip curled slightly.
"I know what it is that you are doing," he continued. "And it shall not work. No one can displease me and live. You will one day rejoin me, Anna. Remember that." He paused, savoring her fear, feeling her terror beneath his fingertips. "Remember that it was not I who has made you suffer for all these years, but Nicholas."
She tried to back away only to find he had his other arm around her waist, keeping her there.
"I was never on your side!" she cried, using all the courage she could muster. Even in his dream form, the Atrox horrified her.
"And what does Nicholas have to do with any of this?!"
"Everything," he answered lazily. "Everything, Anna," he repeated. "If not for Nicholas, you would not be alive...and alone."
"You liar!" she yelled, trying desperately to break free. "Nicholas is dead! He died over four hundred years ago!"
"No, Anna. Nicholas is still alive. He is the only reason you stand here now. He is the one that betrayed you." He smiled as though remembering something sweet. "Nicholas, your twin brother, betrayed you. He betrayed all of you. He is the reason you suffer. However," he hesitated for a fraction of a second before finishing, "it was also your resistance that kept the both of you alive for this long. If...you had...surrendered your will...both of you would have died."
"No..."she sobbed. "No! You're...you're lying!" she cried weakly. "Nicholas would never...would never do something like that! He...he's a good person..."
"Ahh, you see, that is where your largest error came from, Anna. Your brother was nothing more than my slave. He did exactly what I told him to do. And he did it." He began to slowly disappear, though his voice was as clear and strong as ever. "You shall see him again one day...soon."
Anna fell through the smoke that had been holding her up, screaming as she fell.
Anna sat up, gasping.
"It was only a dream," she told herself. "Nothing more...than a nightmare..."
She looked around in the pale light of the full moon.
Her alarm clock now faced the wall.