A/N You guys are fan-fucking-tastic! I have had over 100 reviews and alerts in less than a day and most of them have been for this story. This just makes me giddy and that is why i am posting this next chapter so quick. Maybe there might be another one before the end of the day. (Just to let you know, the Viking makes his appearance in the next chapter) Let me know what you think.

I tossed and turned for awhile that night before I was able to fall asleep, but it didn't last lone. I was soon plagued with nightmares of Bill Compton abducting me and take me to New Orleans and nobody tried to stop him. I kept replaying it over and over until the sun came up over the horizon and I was finally able to fall into a deep and dreamless sleep.

I don't know how long I had been asleep for, but I was awakened by the sound of Gran knocking on my door. "Sookie, are you awake? It's after eleven and I was wondering if you were hungry."

I couldn't believe that I had slept so late, but at least I had the next two days off so I didn't have anywhere that I needed to be. "I'm awake Gran. I'm just going to take a shower and I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Okay dear."

I got out of bed, grabbed a t-shirt, shorts, bra and panties and went down the hall to the bathroom. I took a quick shower, dressed, combed out my hair before pulling it up into a messy ponytail, then I went out to see what Gran had cooked up.

I walked into the kitchen and was met with the smell of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and biscuits and gravy. I sat down at the table and Gran set a heaping plate of the most delicious food down in front of me. I didn't realize how hungry I really was until I took my first bite. My Gran is the best cook ever. She and I ate in silence and we finished quickly.

After we were finished I went about washing the dishes and was thinking about what I had to do today. I really only had to go to the library and that wouldn't take too long. I needed more to do to keep myself occupied so that I wouldn't think too much about what I was going to do that night. I really wished that I had somebody to talk to about what was happening, but I wasn't about to go to my brother Jason with this and I definitely wasn't about to say anything to Gran. The less that she knew that safer she was going to be. "Hey Gran, I'm going out in a bit. Do you need me to pick up anything for you?"

"I do need a few things at the market. Are you sure you don't mind picking them up for me?"

"Of course not Gran. Just leave me a list of what you need and I'll get whatever you need." I finished the dishes, then grabbed Gran's list. She had added some yarn and a new set of knitting needles, so this gave me a good reason to make the trip out to the Super Wal-Mart. I grabbed my purse, keys and library books, slipped on a pair of sandals and was off.

It didn't take me long to get to the library and took some extra time picking out some new selections. There was a group of preschoolers that were there for story time and it was relaxing to me. Letting their innocent thoughts wash over me was like a soothing balm to me. There biggest problems were which juice box to drink and which cartoon to watch after school. I wished that everyone had thoughts like this, but that wasn't how the world worked. I checked out three new romance novel before I made my way to Wal-Mart.

It was a bit of a trek to get there, but I cranked up my radio to country and it was a nice distraction.

When I got there I went inside and decided to browse as well as picking up what Gran needed. I picked up a couple of CDS that were on sale, a couple of bargain DVDs, I found a couple of really cute tops for two dollars a piece, a sundress for three dollars, and a red pair of heels for five dollars. All this really brightened my day as I picked up Gran's things and made my way up to the checkout.

By the time I had checked out and loaded everything into my car it was almost five o'clock. Luckily the days were longer, so I still had a couple of hours before it got dark. I wanted to be on my way to Fangtasia before it was fully dark out. I wasn't about to take any chances on Mr. Compton snatching me up before I had the chance to talk to the sheriff.

I got home a little after six and Gran was fixing macaroni and cheese for dinner. That was one of my favorites, but I didn't know if I was going to be able to eat much if at all. I was really starting to get worried about what I was going to be dealing with tonight. I had no idea what this sheriff would expect from me if he helped me or if he would even help me at all. There was the possibility that I would have to use my telepathy as a bargaining chip with him, but I would worry about that when the time came.

I quickly put away Gran's groceries and took my things back to my room and when I came back out Gran had the table set and ready for us to eat. I was only nibbling at my food, but I managed to eat my whole plateful as I told Gran that I was going out tonight. I told her that I was going to a club in Shreveport. It wasn't a complete fib, but I wasn't about to tell her that it was a vampire bar.

I was worried that she wouldn't want me to go since this was not something that I would normally do, but she was happy to see me go out. She wanted to see me go out more. I wished that I could tell her the truth about where I was going, but it was too dangerous.

I was glad that Gran didn't ask too many questions about where I was going and I hoped that she wouldn't question me on what I was about to ask her. "Gran, if I asked you to so something for me would you do it without asking me any questions?"

"It depends on what it is Dear."

"I don't want you to open the door for anybody that you don't know while I'm gone. Can you do that for me?" I had caught some thoughts about vampires from some woman's mind while I was out shopping today and it had been very helpful. Apparently a vampire couldn't come into a home unless they were invited, they were able to hypnotize people to get them to do what they wanted and that silver burned there skin. It was almost like this woman was a vampire encyclopedia and I was glad for it.

"I guess I can do that. Is there something wrong Sookie? You seem awfully nervous tonight."

"I'm fine Gran, I'm just excited to be going out. I need to go get ready." I hated keeping things from Gran, but it couldn't be helped.

I went into my room and looked through my closet for something to wear tonight. I figured since I was probably going to have to pimp out my telepathy to get me out of this mess, I might as well have my other assets displayed in a pretty package as well.

I looked through everything until I found a white dress with red flowers on it that would go perfectly with my new red shoes. I'm not going to lie, my new shoes were definitely "fuck me" shoes and I didn't mind.

That was something else that I had to think about. The woman from earlier was thinking that vampires were very sexual creatures. Would I voluntarily give up my virginity to some strange vampire who could possibly kill me? That was definitely not going to be offered unless I had no other choice. I may be in trouble, but I was still a lady.

I laid my dress on my bed along with a white bra and panties set, then I went into the bathroom. I took a quick shower making sure that I didn't get my hair wet and just washing away the grime off the day and I also shaved my self smooth. I definitely needed to look my best all over tonight.

When I was done I got out, dried off and went back into my bedroom. I brushed my hair out straight adding a red headband to keep it out of my face, slipped on my bra and panties, slid my dress on over my head and finished the outfit with my new heels. I put on a little mascara and lip gloss to complete my look.

I found a red handbag in my closet that went with my outfit. I slipped my wallet, lip gloss, and mascara inside and kept my keys in my hand.

I made my way out into the kitchen and I could see that it was getting dark outside. I didn't feel safe outside without some kind of protection, so I grabbed a knife from Gran's good silver set. I hoped that I wouldn't need it, but I felt better having it with me. I wrapped it up in a handkerchief and slipped it into my purse.

I went into the living room and said goodnight to Gran. I promised her that I wouldn't stay out too late, and that I would be on my way now.

I went out through the kitchen to the back door and I stopped before I opened it. I clutched my keys and put my other hand on the silver knife in my purse. I dropped my shields and listened as far out as I could. There was nothing out there so I ran out to my car as fast as I could without tripping and hurting myself.

I got in and locked the door behind me. I sat there taking a couple of deep breathes and my eyes wandered over to the Compton house. It looked deserted, but I wasn't about to take any chances. I started my car and made my way to Fangtasia.