Thanks to Shiegra, Akasha11, Dark Angel's Blue Fire, and Twilight Enigma for the reviews.

Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money off of it, unfortunately.

Chapter 2

And he walked away, just like that. I never got a chance to reply, or anything. Of course, I couldn't think of a good reply, but that was beside the point. I hated vampires! Even the ones supposedly not trying to kill me were intentionally ambiguous about their intentions. I hopped on the train and went back to the hotel, there wasn't much other choice. That place was still safe, maybe.

No vampires in the lobby, none in the elevator. None in the hallway outside my room, and the best part, none in my room. The sun was setting. I couldn't believe it was almost dark outside. Sometimes the day just flies by. I turned on ABC 7 news and opened a book. If there was any news of mysterious murders, not your run of the mill slice and dice or shooting, I wanted to know. Warnings are good. But there were no mysterious killings, nothing strange had happened at all. I was asleep by ten. If vampires were going to attack me, I wanted to be well rested.

I dreamt of my family that night, my mom, my dad, and even my brother, Evan. For those few moments of my dream, I could pretend they were all alive, and that we were a family again. But I knew better. Mom and Dad were both dead, I'd seen them, both of their throats slit, blood still gushing on to our white plush carpeting. I hadn't seen my brother, and I didn't actually know if he was alive or not. I hoped he was and that the Night World had left him alone. He was probably as dead as my parents.

The next morning my wake up call came at eight. No sense in waking up early if most places aren't open until at least nine. It was time to decide if I was going to leave or not. It was obviously smarter to leave. Vampires had seen me already, but it had only been three. And one wasn't necessarily hostile. Truth of the matter was, I simply didn't want to leave yet. I hadn't seen everything Chicago had to offer, and I wasn't bored of the place yet.

But vampires had seen me.

I was just as likely to die here as in New York, LA, New Orleans or any other city, I decided. They would expect me to leave anyway. Any sane person would. I guess it was lucky for me that I'm more than a little crazy. It's the only way to survive in this fucked up world. As far as I know anyway.

I was out of the hotel again by 9:30. I stopped at McDonalds for an Egg McMuffin and headed back downtown. Today was Navy Pier day. It must have been seven years ago, when my family came to Chicago for Dad's business. I remember Mom taking me and Evan on the huge Ferris Wheel and taking boat tour of the harbor. The captain had even let Evan and I take a turn at the steering wheel. What I would give to be eleven again.

I sat on a bench and watched the people. Okay, I was looking for vampires. Not the nice family kind, just the ones trying to kill me. The Pier wasn't as populated as it would have been on a weekend. Well, more space for me. Once I finished my people watching for the moment I walked into one of the many stores. It specialized in homemade jewelry. I bought a bracelet and a necklace, spending close to fifty dollars. I wasn't lying when I said I had enough money to survive.

I did mention I was raised to be a spoiled little rich bitch, right?

I was almost alone in the outdoor clothing store, just one blond boy who was probably fifteen or sixteen. I didn't wonder why he wasn't in school. If he wanted to play hooky, who was I to tell him no? It's not exactly like I'd graduated high school or anything.

When the boy turned around I had to do a double take. Just for an instant I thought he was Evan. I even almost said something. But I convinced myself he couldn't be. Even if he was still alive, he'd be in Ohio, not Illinois. Besides, Evan was probably dead. I rushed out of the store before I did something stupid, like ask him to identify himself or burst into tears.

At one end of the pier there is a safety fence to keep people from falling into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. I leaned against the fence and stared out at the vast expanse of water in front of me. I'd heard somewhere that the lake was so deep in one place that even ships didn't go there. It may have been false, but I liked to believe it. There were several ships out there, but I still felt alone.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? The lake?" I turned to the voice. What a surprise, my vampiric guardian angel.

"Are you following me?" I didn't want to exchange pleasantries with him.

"I asked a question first. It's standard for you to answer my question, then you reply with a question in kind. You might try something about the weather."

I looked up at the sky, "It's cold and gray out. And the lake looks fine. Are you following me?"

He shook his head, but it wasn't an answer to my question. It was exasperation. "Did your parents ever teach you manners?"

"I forgot them all after your kind killed them in cold blood." I turned my head from him, concentrating on the Lake again.

"Blood isn't cold in a living body. It's quite warm, actually." I scoffed and walked away. If he wanted to be disgusting, I didn't have to listen to it. "Wait!" I heard him call. Of course, I didn't wait. "Sarah, please wait!" He jogged after me.

"How do you know that name?" I turned around and asked him in a very unpleasant voice. Just because it wasn't my real name didn't make it inconsequential.

"Sources at the hotel," he shrugged, "We're everywhere."

I smiled tightly, "Just like cockroaches."

"Yeah," it sounded like a sigh. Obviously this guy had vampire problems. Well, I'd had human problems when I was normal. Maybe it happens to every species.

"Why are you tracking me?" I knew this couldn't be a coincidence.

He let out a deep breath, "I have some rights to wrong."

I was confused, "And I play into this how?" I know he wasn't the guy who attacked me a year ago. That guy was blond for one thing, and he had the weirdest eyes, they kept changing colors. Something occurred to me, "You don't by any chance have a hero complex? Are you looking for a damsel in distress?" Cause I sure as hell ain't one, I thought.

He actually laughed. "Not really a hero complex. And no, not a damsel, those kind of girls are really hard to come by these days. I don't know whether to damn or thank woman's lib."

It was my turn to smile. "Are you going to tell me why you chose me?"

He shook his head, "Not yet."

I rolled my eyes, "Are you at least going to tell me your name."

He smiled widely, "Not yet." Then he had the nerve to walk away.

Again.

I was starting to get sick of this.

So, now go review, you'll feel good about yourself for doing it.