Chapter 1

It was a dry warm night and Stanley Collins had decided to walk home after the scout meeting. It wasn't a long walk less than two kilometersand though the night was dark, he knew every step of the way as surely as he knew how to tie a reef knot.

Stanley was a scout master. He loved the scouts, he'd been one when he was a boy and kept in contact when he grew up. He'd turned his three sons into first rate sons, and now they'd all grown up he was helping the local kids.

Stanley walked quickly to keep warm. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and even though it was a nice night, his arms and legs were soon covered with goosebumps. He didn't mind. His wife would have a lovely cup of hot chocolate and currant buns waiting for him when he got home. He'd enjoy them all the more after a long, brisk walk.

Trees grew along both sides of the roade home, making it very dark and dangerous for anyone who wasn't used to it. But Stanley had no fears. On the contrary, he loved the night. He enjoyed listening to the sound of his feet crunching through the long grass and briars

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

He smiled. When his sons were young he'd pretend there were monsters lying in wait up in the trees as they walked home. He'd make scary noises and shake the leaves of low hanging branches when the boys weren't looking. Sometimes they'd burst into screams and run for home at top speed and Stanley would follow after them, laughing.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

Snap

Stanley stopped and frowned, That had sounded like a stick breaking, but how could it have been. He would have known if he'd been stepping on a twig. And there were no cows or sheep in the near by feilds.

He stood still for about half a minuite. listening curiously. When there were no more sounds he shook his head and smiled. It had been his imagination playing tricks. He;d tell the wife when he got home and they'd have a good laugh.

He started walking again.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

There, Back to the familliar sounds. There was nodody else about. He would have heard more than a single branch snapping if there was. Nobody could sneak up on Stanley J Collins. He was a trained scoutmaster. His ears were as sharp as a foxes.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Cru

Snap

He stopped again. the fingers of fear tightening around his beating heart.

That hadn't been his imagination. He'd heard it, clear as a bell. A twig snapping, somewhere overhead. And before it snapped: had there been the slightest rustling sound, as if something was moving?

Stanley gazed up between the trees but it was too dark to see. There could have been a monster the size of a car up there and he wouldn't have been able to spot it. Ten monsters. A Hundred. A thou

Oh, that was silly. There was no monsters in the trees. Monsters dont exsist. Monsters weren't real. It was a squirrel or an owl, something ordinary like that.

Stanley raise a foot and began to bring it down.

Snap

His foot hung in the air and his heart pounding quickly. That was no squirrel! The sound was too sharp. Something big was up there, Something that shouldn't be up there. Something that had never been there before Something that

Snap

The sound was closer this time, lower down, and all of a sudden Stanley could stand it no longer.

He ran.

Stanley was a large man, but fairly fit for his age. Still, it had been a long time since he'd ran this fast, and after a hundred meters he was out of breathe and had a stitch in his side.

He slowed to a halt and bent over, gasping for air.

Crunch

His head shot up

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

There were footsteps coming towards him! Slow heavy footsteps. He listened terrified as they came closer and closer. Had the monster leapt ahead of him through the trees Had it climbed down? Was it coming to finish him off? Was...

Crunch. Crunch.

The footsteps stopped and Stanley was able to make out a figure. It was smaller than he'd epected. No bigger than a boy. He straightened up, gathering his courage round him like a cloak and stepped forward for a better look.

It was a boy. A small frightened looking boy, dressed in a dirty suit.

Stanley smiled and shook his head, what a fool he'd been. The wife would have a field day when he told her about this.

"You ok lad?" Stanley asked.

The boy didn't answer

Stanley didn't recognise the youngster, but a lot of new famillies had moved into the area recently. He no longer knew every child in the neighbourhood.

"Can I help you?" he asked. "Are you lost?"

The boy shook his head slowly. There was something strange about him, something that made Stanley feel uneasy. It might have been the effect of the darkness and the shadows but the boy looked very pale, very thin, very...hungrey.

"Are you alright?" Stanley asked, stepping closer, "Can I"

SNAP!

The sound came from directedly overhead, loud and meancing. The boy leapt back quickly out of the way. Stanley just had time to glance up and spot a huge red shape which might have been a bat, slashing it's way through the branches of the trees...

And then the red monster was on him. Stanley opened his mouth to scream but before he could the monsters hands, claws clamped over his mouth. There was a brief struggle, then Stanley was sliding to the floor unconscious, unseeing, unknowing.

Above him, the two creatures of the night moved in for the feed...

I turned the fat man over smirking to myself, looking round I saw only Darren was in view. He looked uneasy but he was still getting used to my habit of sucking blood from victims. Just as I had to with Seba, he would just have to get used to it…he is now my assistant so he must do as I say.

"Imagine a man his age wearing a scouts uniform…" I snarled, Darren walked forward so he was alittle closer to me.

"Were you in the scouts?" he asked me. I shook my head.

"We did not have them in my day…" I told him but left it at that. "Plenty of blood in this one!" I said and as I drank I thought about the past two months with my new assistant.

Darren and I had a teaching relationship at the moment, nothing more, two months of asking questions and replying was all that really past between us.

Teaching I found was easier than I thought it would be, even though I'm not sure the boy agrees. He was a quick learner and took every piece of info in and absorbed it like a sponge. I was very glad of this. I knew and he knew that we were both impatient people. Both of us had very quick tempers…

I drank quickly from the scoutmaster's leg—the blood the energy I needed badly since this was my second feed in two months. Then I turned to Darren, his eyes were fix on me as though I was a monster…that was the only thing he still could not see—that I was not the only monster—he was now one also. If he could just learn to accept it and go on, but alas since the blooding bar drinking partly from his friend he had not taken in human blood. The longer this continued—the less likely he would live…

"And good vintage…" I joked, "Your turn…" I said to him and he started toward me but then stopped—looking at me darkly. I knew what he was going to say before he said it…

"I cant!" He said and I clenched my hands together angrily.

"Do not be stupid!" I growled, "You have shied away twice already. It is time you drank!"

"I can't!" he cried again. I growled inwardly, we usually got on quite well but when it came to this issue we always argued.

"You have drank animal blood!" I said.

"That's different—this is a human!" Darren retorted angrily.

"So what?" I snapped. "We are not! You have to start treating humans the same as animals Darren. Vampires cannot live on animal blood alone. If you do not start drinking human blood, you will grow weak! If you continue to avoid it—you will die!"

"I know" he said miserably. "You've explained it to me and I know we don't hurt those we drink from, not unless we drink too much—" he stopped and trailed off unhappily.

I sighed, again I had lost the battle against Darren but I wouldn't lose the war—he will drink—he has too… "Very well…" I said, "It is hard, especially when you are only a half vampire and the hunger is not so great. But you must feed soon… For your own sake!"

I clean the cut I drank from and covered it with my spit. I like taking care of the humans I drink from since I used to be one. All that was left was the tiniest spot like scar. I left the man where he was and I turned to Darren.

"Come…" I said standing, "The night is young, We will go find a rabbit or a fox for you" "You don't mind me drinking from him?" Darren asked, I shook my head.

"You will drink eventually. When you are hunger enough…"

I turned to walk away but even though he thought I couldn't hear him I heard it anyway.

"No" he said, "I wont…Not from a human. I'll never drink from a human—NEVER!"

Darren's words had effected me deeply, we didn't speak until the next evening and even though it was hard for him, he had to drink…I did not want all this worry and impatience I have suffered now for two months to go in vain because he lefts himself die! Well that's what I tell myself, but I am not entirely sure if I would miss this child if he did. We have clashed a lot with our different personalities and so it was more arguing with the human side of me than a 12-year-old child!

Life as a vampire is very different for me now since Darren came into my peaceful life. I have not only myself to look out for but Darren too. As I have probably written he's always asking questions…questions that I can't put off because that is what he needs to know. I had never ever been this curious in my whole half vampire stage and he was a nightmare…

I slept peacefully that night with some fresh blood in me, though we still need human food like eggs and bacon, blood is the thing that keeps us strong and young. Without human blood and only animal blood or none at all we grow weak and develop faster than humans. I would never admit it to Darren but that is why I look so much older than I should. I had been blooded at the age of 20, though quite a young age in vampire sense, not so young in humans.

However, I didn't want to drink human blood because of a certain incident during my first week as a vampire. For the first 5 months of vampirism I noticed the changes in my face…I had over a week changed to look as though I had aged ten years…as though a very young thirty year old.

Seba had laughed at me because of this…then he gave me some bottled blood to drink. Under protest I had drank and because of it I still live and breathe…but I lost ten years of my appearance…even now Seba gives me a ribbing!

The evenings went quicker now with Darren around, sometimes we got to chatting about vampirism…other times I asked about his life as a human, but I still don't think he trusts me. In fact I have the feeling that he's been trying not to cut off my head while I sleep.

That way atleast I will leave this world forever and he will face the consequences for his murderous actions…but I am still not sure why he hasn't murdered me yet! After all he told me he would, many times in fact, but maybe he is getting used to me after all, though I will never really know if it is truth or a lie.

It had been not long after drinking from the scoutmaster when I woke one evening to find Darren missing, I found a note but could only make out my name and his name so I hoped that it wasn't a goodbye letter—not that I hadn't expected one… Maybe I should tell Darren I am alliterate after all he would not have left me a note if he had known I could not read or write.

I started to worry a little at first, maybe he had gone to try and survive on his own in the human kill human world, but maybe he would be back soon…At that moment I wish I could read because my impatience was growing thin. When suddenly he arrived out of the blue, his face was sweaty and he looked paler than he should be ((even though he was a vampire and had lived without human blood)) as though he had been scared stiff.

"We should leave right away…" he told me sadly but urgently. I took one look at his face, knew something was wrong but didn't ask, sighed and then with a tight grin, nodded weakly.

"Very well…we leave for the next town tonight…"

It did not take long to reach the next town, we found a deserted church and that night though I wanted to desperately ask Darren what was wrong I knew that he needed his space and left him alone. I may have been a teenager 200 years ago…but even then teenage years were a lot alike...

When morning came I wanted to sleep, but every nerve wanted me to stay awake and keep an eye on the boy. I was sleeping on a pew and so I was high up…I could see the boy lying beside it. In my day when life was much harder and rougher, I as a half vampire would have rather died than be a human…now I had a troublesome half vampire in my stead whom would rather die than be a vampire and may get that wish very soon…