A/N Well, I kind of added in a fact here that wasn't told in the Darren Shan Saga but I think it slots in as a piece of the jigsaw, you'll know what it is when you come to it. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The Saga of Darren Shan Saga does not belong to me (unfortunately) and I do not make a load of money from it so I can't buy expensive art work like a certain author I know… pity.

"I don't believe it Don! I really don't!" my mother hissed, tightening her grip on my wrist. "You don't come in until midnight and then you lie to me about where you've been, your den! Hmm!"

"It's true mother, honestly, I've just been to my den," I said desperately, trying to pull away from her.

"Donavon Folrick, don't lie to me!" she screamed. "Where did you get those scratches down your face? You can't tell me you got those at the den! You've been in a fight with someone, I know you have!"

"They were there when I woke up this morning," I said quietly but she wouldn't believe me.

"You're not going out for a week, you can stay here where I can keep an eye on you," she growled.

"And you can rot in hell!" I yelled, suddenly. I covered my mouth with my free hand, I couldn't believe what I'd said. Mother glared at me, her eyes blazing with rage because of my outburst.

"Excuse me?" she asked in a dangerous tone.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. "It's just…"

"Just what?" Mother snapped.

"I'm seventeen mother, you treat me like a child, I have no friends because you won't allow me to go outside. I haven't had a girlfriend in my life and in a years time I'll be an adult and I've lost everything that every other teenager experiences! You just won't let me live," I sighed, determined I wouldn't let her silence me out of what I was thinking.

"If you don't like it you know what you can do, I'm trying to protect you, do what's best for you but if you will be so ungrateful you can go!" Mother hissed.

"Sorry Mother but I…"
"Go!" she screamed and I pulled away from her and ran up the marble staircase and up to my bedroom. I slammed the door and locked it then I set about packing a few clothes, some money and my favourite possessions.

I climbed out of my bedroom window so I wouldn't have to face Mother again and then hurried down our garden and out into our field. I walked quickly to the den at the end of the field, this was the furthest I was usually allowed to go from home. The den was a shed that Father had helped me to build and it was my sanctuary, a place where I could be myself and abandon the way my family made me be. It was pitch black but the sky was clear, dotted with a few stars and lit softly by a crescent moon. The air was chilly and my breath misted in front of my eyes, I wrapped my arms around myself to try and keep warm and growled fiercely at the night, trying to stop myself from crying. Mother never could understand me, neither could Father, they made sure that I had every designer label I wanted, every new mobile phone, every games console, every CD, DVD, but I still wasn't happy. They said they would give me whatever I wanted but what I really wanted was freedom, just to be myself and not have to dress smartly every day and keep my hair in a certain way. I wanted to be like other boys who were allowed to go out and sit on park benches and talk, who laughed at rude jokes and dressed in what they damn well wanted. Nobody understood that, nobody I knew. I let myself into the den when I got there and locked myself in, then I switched on the light and sat on the sofa in the middle of the room. My favourite books surrounded me, but tonight I wouldn't be reading any of them, I had to seriously think about my situation. I could sleep in the den tonight but not forever, for one it was too close to my house and if Mother wanted me to leave then I'd go as far away as I could. Soon I'd have to find something permanent, I had about three hundred pounds on me but that was all and it wasn't going to get me a permanent place to stay, it wouldn't even last me long enough to get a job.

I can't even remember falling asleep, I can just remember waking suddenly to find a grinning face very close to mine. My heart skipped a beat and I was about to ask who the stranger was and what he thought he was doing in my den. But as I opened my eyes he grabbed my face and fixed his hand firmly over my mouth, his grip was strong and hurt my chin. I noticed that his hands had claws, long and red, but not red like the nail varnish my mother wore, this was a deeper red, a natural blood red. I tried to squirm away from him, my heart was pounding fast now, and I was on the verge of releasing some frightened, confused tears. The stranger held me down with his other hand, I could feel his strength, like he could hold back an army if he had to. I stopped wriggling and just stared wide-eyed at the man, his appearance was strange. His skin was close to being purple and his lips were the same deep, blood red as his fingernails. I didn't know who he was, I was sure that I had never seen him before in my life. I could feel my body begin to tremble, my teeth began to chatter and my chest was beginning to hurt because I was breathing so fast.

"So scared, boy, so frightened," the stranger said quietly, sadly. "You must forgive me, I wouldn't do this if I didn't have to. I just think better you, a rich boy, than someone who has had nothing through their life, who might have a chance in future of better thing, you know?"

I didn't know what was happening, I couldn't say anything as the hand was still over my mouth, I couldn't stop myself from crying in fear. Tears began to roll down my face and small sobs were catching at the back of my throat.

"Shh, boy, please don't cry," the man said, almost desperately, "I would hate for you to cry, I'll be quick I promise, it will be almost painless, now shush."

And it suddenly hit me what the man was planning, he was going to kill me! I was going to die! I screamed then but the sound was muffled, I wriggled and squirmed and kicked and thrashed about but the man still had hold of me and my efforts seemed feeble compared with his strength. Realising how helpless I was, seeing that nothing was going to save me, I stopped fighting and just lay there, crying like I'd never cried before. It felt as though a hand was clutched around my heart, another around my stomach and they were both squeezing tightly, making me feel weak and sick. The stranger moved his hand further up, onto my chest and his fingers edged towards my throat. He seemed to be feeling my pulse and the thought unnerved me. Suddenly his fingernail caught my skin and I felt a small twinge of pain and then I felt blood trickling down my neck. The cut was small, but if I were bleeding for long enough I would die. I didn't understand, if the man wanted to kill me then he could have slit my throat easily and left me. Suddenly the man bent his head and clamped his mouth over the cut he had made on my neck, I could feel him begin to suck the wound, feel the blood begin to rush out and with it my life was gradually ebbing away. My vision began to blur, because of the fresh tears or the fact that I was weakening I do not know. My head began to buzz, it sounded as though the wind was blowing around my head, disorientating me. I can't remember anymore after that, my last thought was that of the blood leaving my body and the question of why it was happening, then I fainted.