It was cold.

Sitting in the dark ruins of a nefarious city, Midgar, this was but one of the many thoughts that flashed across Elena's mind as she contemplated her current situation.

She was alone. In the middle of a monster and criminal infested ghost of a city with just two 9mm pistols and a lousy motorbike. Now, she wasn't so much afraid of one monster or one cutthroat. Elena, since the fall of Shinra, had learned some new tricks, thanks to Rude. He helped her improve her ghastly punch and her abysmal aim, and in return, when she had learned all she could from the stoic man, she left him alone, asking no more favors of him.

On her own, she improved and grew stronger and more experienced. When she had first joined the Turks, the idea of really KILLING someone made her queasy. Now, it was a simple matter of pulling a trigger. It was just something she had to get used to. The more she killed, the easier it became. Though true, she may never be on par with Rude or Reno, she was still capable of many things.

Her work as a gun-for-hire became the main focus of her life. She was independent. Now, people were going to her because of her capabilities and style. She was reckless, she admitted, and still barely experienced in the art of negotiation. But so far she had met only with success and fortune, and was finally making a name for herself.

But here, in the dark, any creature, be it man or beast, when in a fair sized group, could easily overwhelm her, despite all her skill and strength.

Thus, Elena tapped her foot impatiently, her breaths coming in wisps of smoke before her. The anonymous letter she had received had told her to come here specifically, to wait until someone came with the information of the one they wanted her to find.

This wasn't an unusual request for Elena. She had had two other employers in the past that asked to meet the same way. It was less easy to trace or eavesdrop on conversations like that when no electronic devices were in use.

But the person she was supposed to meet was late. This made Elena anxious, and she hated being anxious.

The woman considered getting on her bike and leaving when a smooth voice, dripping with arrogance rang soundly behind her. "Sorry I'm late."

Elena jumped slightly and turned around. Her mouth dropped and she sputtered, "R-Reno??"

And indeed it was he.

Burnt amber eyes lit with smug amusement as the scar on his cheek crinkled in light of his smile. Strands of hair curtained his eyes and forehead, framing his face. His hair in general had grown larger, making him look fierce and untamed. His hands were shoved carelessly into the pockets of his dark denim jeans.

Chuckling, Reno winked. "It's me, in the flesh." Pushing the hair out of his face in that trademark fashion of his, he asked simply, "Did'ja miss me?"

Elena was at a loss for words.

It had been ages since she had heard from the capricious young man. She didn't know what to think. How to react. Should she be angry? Should she be glad?

She decided to play it cool.

Regaining her composure, she asked, "What are you doing here?" Her voice was steady. It had been something she picked up from Rude.

Raising his eyebrows, Reno whistled. "Well now…aren't you all grown up?" He grinned, "All right. I'll tell you why I'm here." He began to walk slowly, taking deliberate steps around Elena, circling her like a shark, his eyes never leaving her. "I've got a proposition for you." He said after a long moment of just staring her down.

"Well I know that!" Elena snapped, growing agitated. "Just tell me what you want. You've wasted enough of my time!"

Reno's grin widened and Elena felt a chill run up her spine as she eyed his teeth.

My…what sharp teeth he had.

"Okay, okay. Slow down. This isn't any normal proposition." He pushed his hair out of his face again. "I've been working for this person, they're from out of town, and they gave me permission to invite two other people into our little underground organization. Convenient, eh?" He added with a smirk. "Well our organization is dedicated to the survival of a dying culture. It also helps preserve our dying race." He placed a reverent hand on his chest, and Elena wrinkled her nose at him in confusion. "This is a great cause Elena. You're paid well. You're given an array of resources like you wouldn't believe, all standard too. You actually have fun. And-" as he circled around her for the dozenth time, he brushed intimately past her, whispering in her ear, "The health benefits are nothing short of amazing."

Elena flinched away from him at this, noting that his breath stunk something horrible.

Arching his eyebrow, Reno came to a stop in front of her. "Does that sound like a job you would take?"

Elena shrugged timidly. "I suppose so…but what's the catch?"

Reno's face grew dark, and he smiled sardonically. "I myself don't consider this much of a problem, but you see…once you take this job, it's yours for life. You can't quit. Of course, the only way out is if you…" and here his smile grew larger. "…Die."

Elena stared. "What the hell kind of offer is that?"

"A good one." Reno said firmly, crossing his arms. "Do you want it or not?"

Elena snorted, "Why should I take it? I get by fine on my own."

"Listen to yourself, Elena." Reno said, staring intensely into her face. "'You get by fine'? That's the kind of thing somebody says when they're living the hard life."

"Is not." Elena snapped, turning her back to him huffily. "What is it that you people do that's so much easier anyway?"

"Oh…the same stuff we did as the Turks. …Only better."

"Well that doesn't make any sense. How is just working for your organization any different from when we worked with Shinra? We'll be doing the same things after all, as you put it."

"With us, you won't have to go through everything alone. We'll be there for you. It'll be cake, Elena, compared to the crap Shinra put us up for."

"Who's 'we'?" Elena sneered as she glared at Reno over her shoulder. "You're making this 'organization' sound like some kind of cult now!"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Okay. I'll admit they do some pretty weird crap some times. And yes, they DO have some beliefs of their own, but I'm telling you now, it's worth it!"

"Sure it is." Elena made to grab her bike helmet, but a pair of arms turned her roughly around and she found herself eye to eye with a pair of furious eyes.

"Don't you want to be special? To be powerful? Don't you fear death?"

"Let GO of me!" Elena shouted, wincing as Reno's fingers dug into her arms.

Eyes narrowing, he hissed, "Answer me!"

"I don't know!" Why was he so angry all of a sudden?

"You don't know? How can you not know? How can you not want to be a step above others, to never fear death again?"

"Reno, what are you talking about!?" She shrank back as he leaned forward, the stench of his breath and the intensity of his eyes making her wish she were anywhere but where she was now. Professional guise slipping, she whispered in a quaky voice, "You're scaring me Reno…"

"Answer me, Elena. Don't you want to never have anything to fear again?"

Elena blinked slowly. Reno was horribly close. So close in fact, that she could make out the details of his eyes. Faintly, she could hear the sound of her heartbeat, like a drum, pounding in her ears. She could hear her own ragged breaths, uneven and course as they were. She could hear herself whispering, "Yes…"

Then Reno bit his lip, and she stared as blood came oozing from the cut he made, and in the next second, his lips were on hers, smothering and demanding. The metallic taste of his blood splashed onto her tongue and she felt herself grow weak and the smoke in her head grew thicker as he deepened the kiss, forcing her to swallow the blood in her mouth.

He pulled back briefly, panting, and she could see all the unsaid promises sparking in his eyes. Like a spell she was enchanted, and someplace faraway she could hear him ask, "Will you join me?"

Elena couldn't remember saying yes to this. Nor could she remember moving at all. But in the next second, she registered her head being tilted to the side and Reno leaning toward her neck. It wasn't until she felt the searing pain of something sharp sinking into her flesh that she came out of her daze enough to realize that…

…Reno was biting her.

And after the shock and horror subsided enough to allow her time to react, she awkwardly and sluggishly drew her left pistol from its holster and, jamming it into Reno's stomach screamed, "Get off of me!"

She pulled the trigger, and Reno jerked back, stumbling away before looking down at his stomach in numb surprise.

Heaving, Elena continued to point the gun at him, feeling her legs grow weak as she felt the warm blood, HER blood, pouring from her neck.

Reno, touching the bloody gunshot wound, lifted his head slightly, a murderous look on his face. His teeth were bared, sharp as they were, and his hair fell before his flaming eyes.

An animalistic growl escaping his lips, he straightened, rolling his shoulders back deliberately as he did so. Elena was automatically drawn to his chest, her gun lowering some as she took in his exemplary physique, complimented by the white cotton long sleeved shirt he was wearing. But her attention was once again snapped back to where it should have been as Reno leapt forward, mouth open wide as if ready to devour her.

Elena cried out in alarm, raising her arm up again, and without thinking, she fired.

A direct hit. Right in the forehead.

Reno, his face going blank, fell forward in a heap, crashing at Elena's feet. There he stayed unmoving. Swooning, Elena let the pistol slip from her hand, and soundlessly, she fell to the ground, hard on her rear. She stared with an ashen face at the corpse that now lay before her.

Her shirt was sopping with her own blood. She had to make it stop.

Taking her shirt, she ripped off a good portion and held it to the wound on her neck, wincing as she applied pressure to it. Elena never was one for first aid. Stupid, really. Considering the work she was in.

For what seemed ages, she stared at Reno's still form, her eyes fluttering occasionally from the dizziness.

After yet another long moment of staring, she finally whispered, "You fucking bastard…" before blacking out.

When she awoke again, it was still night. Though she couldn't see the sky because of the plate (some of it was indeed still intact) she could still tell that it was night because it was darker then it would have been should it have been day. Shifting, she groaned. Her neck was stiff and sore. Bewildered, Elena slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position.

She felt weak. Running a hand through her hair, she stared around her. She was still in the same dilapidated street. And as far as she could tell, only a few hours had passed since she lost consciousness. But there was one glaring detail wrong here.

Reno's body was gone.

Alarm seizing her worse than before, Elena stumbled to her feet, gasping at the sudden wave of dizziness that hit her.

She heard a growl.

Eyes wide and fearful, Elena turned on the spot. "Who's there!?"

The crunch of feet on granite was her reply and at the sound she jumped.

Fear now controlling her actions, Elena ran and climbed hurriedly onto her bike. With a squeal of the tires, she sped off, leaving her helmet and other pistol behind in all her haste.

One can argue that her actions were foolish. She had just been bitten in the neck and lost a good deal of blood not too long ago. To ride a motorbike was beyond comprehension and defied all common sense rules. And not only did she get on the bike in the first place, she left her helmet and even one of her pistols behind. Now she was speeding dangerously down a dark road riddled with debris.

But something was different about Elena.

As weak as she felt, her senses were sharper and her reactions and reflexes quicker. It was the only reason she heard what she did back on the street. The only reason she hadn't crashed yet and was now speeding out of Midgar, down the road to Kalm.

Her wound was no longer a deep gash, but a shallow flesh wound that would heal quickly. The blood on her skin had dried and the blood on her clothes, though not completely dry as of yet, was now only sticky and turning stiff.

Unaware of her changes, Elena drove on till Kalm could be seen on the horizon. A sweet sanctuary to a girl fueled by fear.

But she became aware of the feeling that something was following her. Glancing back briefly, she saw to her bewilderment, a giant black shadow flying along behind her on the road. But the strange thing was, there were no clouds to MAKE shadows on the ground.

Above all the engine noise she could hear the sharp clops of hooves on the pavement and the sinister chuckles of a bodiless group.

Frightened, Elena tried pushing the bike to go faster, but it trembled beneath her.

It was going too fast. It was already threatening to spill her over.

The shadow however, as if to tease her, didn't advance or speed up. It remained the same distance behind her always until she zoomed into the streets of Kalm. Then the shadows and the hooves and the laughter were all gone as quickly as they came.

Coming to an urgent stop, Elena stayed sitting on her bike, gripping the handlebars with a tight grip.

Breaths coming in short gasps, she eventually pried her fingers away from her bike and slowly swung off, stumbling a little as she did so. The bike fell over with a clatter and she stared at it before moving on down the street, not even bothering to go back and prop it up or park it somewhere more appropriate. Shaking, Elena tried to make sense of her fragmented thoughts.

"Reno…Reno is a…a…"

And she couldn't bring herself to say it. How absurd. How absolutely absurd. It was a myth. A stupid myth told to children who went romping around at night. But as she stared down at herself, her hand absently flying to the wound on her neck, she murmured hoarsely, "Well…you might as well call me the bloofer lady…"

For a split second she thought, "I need to go to a hospital." But then she realized that, Reno being what he was…if her theory was true of course…then the hospital was a horrible place to go. They accepted everyone there. But at the realization that it was only indoors where she would truly be safe, Elena grew hysterical. They, HE could come flying down at her at any moment out here in the street! And as if sensing her realization, she felt the familiar feeling of being followed creep up her back again, and with a sudden burst of energy she ran.

Where could she go that wouldn't allow just any stranger who showed up inside?

Why one of these houses of course.

Running to one of the houses, she shouted and banged on the front door. "Help me! Please!!"

No answer.

She heard a low chuckle and her face twisting in despair she shot off again, farther this time. Charging into a familiar plaza, she jogged tiredly to the first house she saw and did the same as before. "Someone answer, please! Help! Help!" Still no answer. What was it with these people!?

Frantic and exhausted, Elena, instead of running another long length again, went on to the next house, whose lights flashed on at her cries. She banged on the door frantically. "Help! Please! Let me in!"

It didn't take long for the door to open before a sleep bedraggled elderly woman greeted her in her nightgown. "What is it dear, what's the mat-" she stopped as she saw the blood. "Oh my stars…"

Elena, fell to her knees, "Let me in, please!" she begged.

Confused and somewhat frightened, the woman did the first thing that she could think of.

Pulling Elena up, she quickly led the girl in. "Now come on dear, hurry now…" She shut the door behind her and set the lock on securely. Turning to Elena, she was about to ask something when the girl in question fell in a heap on her floor.

When Elena awoke again, it was this time to a wet sponge being applied to her forehead. Groaning, she pushed the sponge away and carefully opened her eyes. The woman was looking down at her, a worried expression on her face. Sitting back she asked, "How are you feeling, dear?"

Elena closed her eyes and swallowed. "I don't know." She was lying in a bed, a heavy quilt draping her. The room was lit only by a bedside lamp, which lit the woman's face in a peculiar way.

The woman in question frowned, "I cleaned you up. Your pants and jacket are in the washer. The shirt I'm afraid I had to throw away. I hope you don't mind."

Elena shook her head. Frowning, she lifted the quilt up some. "So who's clothes am I wearing?"

"My daughter's." Was the reply.

Elena stared at the woman with a quirked eyebrow. Her daughter's? Did her daughter like so much pink even at this age?

"What time is it?" Elena asked quietly, relaxing against the pillow.

The woman set the sponge on the tray on the bedside table. "It's eight in the morning. You passed out on my floor last night."

"Hey!" Elena shot up, ignoring the stabs of pain that went through her head and neck. "Where's my gun??"

The woman pursed her lips. "It's on the dresser…I threw the bullets away though."

Elena made an indignant noise.

"I don't mean to be pushy," continued the woman, "But I'd like to know what was chasing you and most importantly I want to know what happened to your neck. That isn't normal."

"Something bit me…" Was Elena's vague reply.

"What in the gods name were you doing that made something bite you like that?"

"I really don't feel like discussing this with a complete stranger."

The woman's brows furrowed. "Even a complete stranger who gave you shelter?"

"Lady, you really shouldn't pry into things you can't understand. I don't even understand it." Elena said, turning her head.

"You're in my house. I'd like to know just whom I'm harboring here. You didn't have any ID with you."

"No ID usually means 'don't ask questions'."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Young lady what happened to you last night?"

Elena turned and looked back at her, giving her a look that said something along the lines of 'and who do you think you are? My mother?' "I've already said, I don't WANT to discuss this with a complete stranger!" She hissed.

"Excuse me." The woman stood, the tray in her hands. She looked horribly insulted and her cheeks were flushed a deep red. "When a young woman, a 'stranger', comes onto my doorstep seeking shelter from god knows what, I think I'm entitled to know. In all honesty, I could have locked you out, or the heavens forbid, shoot you with your own gun after what you and those other monster did to me, that poor girl, and my daughter!"

Elena stared in disbelief, her mouth agape as she tried to process what she had just heard. The woman seemed surprised herself, and her eyes were shiny with tears. Bowing her head, she hurried out of the room, her face now an even deeper shade of red.

Flabbergasted, Elena stared at the wall, and after a moment, she closed her eyes and sighed. "Aw geez…"

The woman was standing at the end of the hall leading to the living room weeping. Elena, who had crept out of her room, was now approaching from behind, hugging the same wall. The sunlight bloomed at the end of the hallway, and Elena shivered at the sight of it, stopping just at the edge where the shadows met the light. The floor creaked beneath her weight, and the woman glanced back at her. "You should be in bed." She snapped with a sniff.

Elena sneered. "What, you think you can start crying and expect me to ignore that?"

"You did so before. I don't see the difference from then and now."

"There's plenty of difference. Then, I was doing my job."

"That wasn't a job." The woman scoffed.

"You're right." Elena's eyes turned to slits. "It was a living."

"Nor that either."

"Give me a break, I don't work for Shinra anymore!"

"Only someone with a cold heart can ignore the tears of a scared little girl like Marlene!"

"Your wrong. A weak person can ignore the cries of a child just the same. I was afraid of the consequences should I have done anything. Plus, I was stupid and ambitious. I tricked myself into believing The Turks could do no wrong. But there still wasn't a day gone by that girl's tears didn't break my heart. I'm different from the person I was two years ago." Elena ranted.

"If you've a reason to own a gun, your no different." The woman argued.

"I'm plenty different!"

"Then what were you doing last night? Why was your neck wounded? Why were you running?"

Elena sighed and leaned her head wearily against the wall. "You'll hate me. You'll think I'm crazy."

The woman snorted. "It can't be any worse than the impression I already have of you."

So, sliding down to the carpet, Elena told her everything. From the anonymous letter she had received in her mail to when she went to Midgar and met Reno. From the moment he bit her to the moment she came speeding into Kalm on her bike, a large ominous cloud tailing her.

When she finished the woman was staring at her with a strange expression on her face, and her eyes flitted down to the border that Elena was standing at, the border between the sunlight and the darkness. Shaking her head, she went shuffling away, muttering, "I need a brandy…"

Elena grumbled as she made her way back to her room. "I need one too."

Collapsing into the bed, she eventually went to sleep.

When she awoke again, she did so of her own accord. A funny taste was in her mouth. She was thirsty. She was hungry. The dizziness had greatly subsided and the painful stiffness in her neck was nearly gone. Rolling onto her back she noted with a groan that despite her improvement she still felt drained of energy. Annoyed, Elena sat up.

In that instant, the woman came into the room carrying a tray again, this time holding a bowl of steaming soup. "Oh. I was going to wake you." Her eyes traveled to Elena's neck and she swallowed. "I've brought you soup…if you want it."

Elena smiled bitterly, not missing the hidden context of that sentence. "Thank you…"

The woman set the tray on the bedside table. "How…do you feel?"

"Weak." Was Elena's curt reply.

"Your neck. It looks much better."

"It feels better too."

"You look awfully pale you know."

"I work mostly at night."

"Are you feeling thirsty at all?"

"Look." Elena snapped through gritted teeth. "I know what you're getting at, okay? I see that gold cross around your neck, and I'm telling you now, you've nothing to fear from me."

"Are you sure?"

"No. But I'll leave if you want me too."

The woman sighed tiredly. "No, you can stay."

"…Awfully brave of you to trust someone like me. You said it before. I'm a monster. Now, it seems that's really turned literal."

"Would you rather I kicked you out?" The woman snapped, flustered.

Elena watched her carefully, thinking that the woman wouldn't be able to kick her out even if she really tried, but the thought fell away from her head. Shrugging almost childishly, Elena mumbled. "No. I just want you to trust me."

The woman's eyes softened.

"So you lost your daughter in the laundry?" Elena laughed. "You actually lost her in all the clothes!?"

The woman chuckled. "Yes I did. She had hopped into the basket without my noticing. She was so small she could bury herself underneath all the clothes and I wouldn't notice. It took me an hour to find her; she was such a mischievous girl. But she was no less sweet." The woman sighed. "Bless that girl, she had such a good heart." She fell quiet and her face became sad and pensive.

Elena fell quiet as well, and she shifted uneasily on her place on the bed.

"You know, I hadn't been a part of the Turks yet when they kidnapped your daughter." She suddenly wanted the woman to understand that she hadn't had anything to do with it. She needed her to know that she hadn't been an accomplice. She never had been.

The woman examined Elena, her soft gray eyes roaming over her thin pale face. She smiled a small, sad, shaky smile. "Thank you…it…helps to know that. It really does."

Elena smiled back at her for a brief moment before turning away. Awkward moments like these Elena disliked. She didn't enjoy feeling vulnerable. All together, she now wanted it to stop, so she started talking about something else. "So what have you been doing since Meteor?"

The woman blinked. "Oh, nothing really. Some volunteer work here and there. I fuss over my plants all day and tidy up the house when I need to…"

"You don't work?"

"No. Cloud and his friends insisted on giving me some of the money they earned in their adventures. I didn't want it, but they insisted, and so I've been living off of that this entire time."

Elena nodded and sighed as she felt the conversation die away. A silence fell between them, and she fiddled with the front of her shirt.

"Oh!"

Elena looked up at the woman with a frown. "What's the matter?"

"Your soup!" said the woman. "You still haven't eaten anything."

"Oh…" Elena wrung her hands. "I'm not all that hungry…" It was only a partial lie.

"Well it's gone cold anyhow…I'll just toss this."

"I'm really sorry."

"It's quite alright dear. Just excuse me a moment while I take care of this."

The woman left the room, leaving Elena alone. The girl in question rubbed her face and sighed heavily. Lowering her hands down to her mouth, she looked around the room. It was darker now than it was before. Surely night had come. But…how could she tell?

She wasn't sure.

But she felt it. It was night.

Elena dropped her hands down at her side and leaned forward.

Night. It was night.

Her eyes bulged.

It was night!

Jumping up, she clumsily charged out of the room, down the short hall into the living room. The woman-!

"Hello, Elena."

Elena stopped cold in her place, her face turning horror struck. "Reno!"

And indeed…it was he.

Smirking sinisterly he stood behind the glassy eyed woman, his hand on her shoulder. His forehead was clear of any bullet holes and the wound on his stomach was gone.

Elena began to slowly move forward. "Reno…don't…don't hurt her…Please." She swallowed hard. "She has nothing to do with this."

Reno raised an eyebrow. "She has plenty to do with this. She let you in. And now, she let me in too."

"But how?"

"Surely you must know the hypnotic powers we possess."

Elena began to shake. "You—You fucking bastard!"

"Take another step, Elena." Reno's hand moved to the woman's neck. "See what happens."

Elena clenched her fists but stopped. "You leave her alone!" She shouted hysterically.

"No." Was Reno's simple reply.

Taking both the woman's shoulders he clicked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk, Elena. You are an ungrateful one. I give you a magnificent gift and you shoot me in the head? Just because I nipped you in the neck?"

"Nipped me in the neck!? You tried to rip out my jugular!"

"It wasn't like it was going to be gone forever." He deadpanned.

"You turned me into one didn't you? That's why my neck is nearly healed! That's why I can sense when night comes! That's why I'm afraid of the sunlight!"

"You just figured it out?"

"No. I knew almost as soon as I came here that you turned me into…into…"

"Go on. Say it. You're a vampire now. So am I."

"Fuck you!" Elena seethed.

Reno scowled. "You should watch your tongue. I've got your friend here and when I get mad I tend to break things…"

Elena trembled, her anger sloughing off in an instant, leaving her bare with sudden fear and anxiety. "Reno please…" she clasped her hands imploringly. "Please let her go…"

He sneered. "You're so attached to her? Someone you barely even know? You do know who she really is right?"

"Not by name, I'll admit, but yes I do."

"And you care for her that much? A woman whom you can't even recall the name to?"

"I'd care for anyone that much, Reno."

Reno snorted, his eyes hardening. "Then you're a fool."

It happened before she could even blink. The woman was lying dead on the floor, her neck snapped and her head twisted so grotesquely far that the skin stretched and threatened to break. Blood oozed from the woman's mouth and whatever life had been remaining in her eyes a moment ago was now completely gone.

A scream tore from Elena's lips as she beheld the woman at her feet. She fell to the floor on her knees, her hands outstretched toward the woman's corpse.

The woman. The poor, poor woman…

Reno sighed. "First lesson," he said as he went for the door, "Never grow attached to your food." He stopped. "Oh…yes. And I've just heard from my boss that a group of troublemakers will be arriving in the docks come morning. The group is made up of werewolves and these things called 'cat demons'. One of the Avalanche members is with them too, so if you see them, run. You're only a fledgling vampire now, you can't engage in any fights and hope to win them, at least not against anything that isn't human."

And just like that, he was gone, the door shutting sharply behind him.

Elena sat staring, her lip trembling and tears spilling silently from her eyes. Her mouth was horribly dry and her eyes were dull as well. The sight of the corpse filled her with dread, disgust, and painful agony. But she continued to stare. She continued to stare until she began to feel night slip away from her. That's when she snapped out of her morose trance long enough to realize that she needed to retreat to someplace dark, as far as instinct told her.

But she didn't want to leave the woman's corpse alone. She was struck with a need to keep it near her. Somewhere, in the now smaller but luckily still existent innocent portion of her mind, she moaned at the thought of leaving the woman alone. Of abandoning her somehow, despite her lack of life.

But this was not the only need she felt driven by as she dragged the corpse back to her room. Leaving it in the middle of the floor, Elena sat in the corner, eyes red and puffy from tears and wide with an eerie attention.

The woman. The poor woman. Her lips were blue. Her eyes were like glass. For the moment Elena had witnessed it, she had died a woman without a name.

Elena felt like crying. Alternatively she felt like throwing up.

She also felt hungry.

She considered, after a long moment of even more staring, of crawling back into the woman's kitchen and digging up something edible. But her mind rejected the idea of solid food, normal food. Plus, she knew the sun was coming. She didn't want to deal with the sun.

The corpse in front of her once again mesmerized Elena. Her pale lips were parted slightly, slow hoarse breaths rattling in and out of her lungs.

She felt weak. Terribly weak. Dull in mind, Elena stood to her feet, swaying. Licking her lips, she trudged slowly over and stared down at the woman's corpse.

She was…so…

…Thirsty.

A/N: A fair sized update that's only partially done. The next chapter is complete, however, I need to type it into the computer. And the chapter after that is half finished. I just wanted to post something to let you people know I haven't forgotten this story and still plan on carrying it out. I've taken your reviews to heart, and in the coming chapters I hope to fulfill some of your wishes. I realize these chapters weren't exactly what you ordered in terms of speeding things up or better explaining just what and who the angels are or showing more of the antagonists and their current plans/motives. But as I said, these updates are primarily to show you I'm still alive. I feel bad for the long break I took, but I've been kept busy with the school play I'm starring in (which opened yesterday) and projects and of course homework and family life. Now I have midterms to look forward to after all this theatre stuff is over with. I'd like to apologize for any mistakes and/or inconsistencies in these new chapters, as A) it is now almost two in the morning and my ability to edit is just about nonexistent, and B) There was a long absence of writing after chapter 16, so some things may be off as the details from before may have slipped from my memory. Again I apologize, and I hope you accept this god-awful attempt to produce something enjoyable.

My god I'm exhausted...well I have my birthday to look forward to at least. December 7th. Sweet sixteen here I come...

Next chapter: Sparks in the Dark