Samara jolted awake after reliving what happened in her nightmares. Her swollen eyes barely open, and she looks around the room. By the decor and bare, dusty furniture she could tell the room was once a hotel room. The bed was against the wall with a nightstand next to it, a small four-drawer dresser on the opposite wall, and a blanket where the door should be. Sam's aching body protested as she turned in the bed to put her feet on the cold stone floor. She slowly walked over to her bag and grabbed some clean, loose-fitting clothes. She carefully changed out of her dirty, torn clothes, trading them out for light gray sweats, and another plain, black t-shirt she stole from her brother. Sam couldn't bend down to put on socks without feeling pain in her ribs from when that guy tackled her. Sam sat back on the bed and tried to figure out what to do next.

Sam laid back down in the middle of the bed and closed her eyes. There's not much else she can do besides sleep and let her body recover. She knew she needed to let Corbin know she won't be able to work for a few days, but didn't want to move too much. It took a little while to get comfortable before she fell asleep. Sam slept until she felt someone gently shaking her and calling her name. Sam didn't really recognize the voice so she kept her eyes closed.

"Samara, sweetheart," Max never really steps foot into the sunken hotel, but after David and his boys explained what happened he wanted to check on Samara himself. When he pulled back the covers and saw her swollen, black eyes, bruising of her nose, and a split lower lip he knew his boys won't be letting her out of their sights. Max tried one more time to wake Sam before he left. He figured she was still exhausted from the events of last night. He listened for a moment and could hear a steady heartbeat and slow even breaths. Reassured that she is going to be okay, Max left to go speak with Ethan Hughes about what happened.

Angry Grandpa

Ethan Hughes had returned home to a mess. Not a physical mess, but a bad situation turned worse. Lucy was passed out in her room with a guy, Samara's door wide open but no Samara. He scanned his granddaughter's room for any indication of what happened. Ethan noticed her dresser drawers were opened and practically empty, some of the clothes in her closet were gone too, and her window was open. He left Sam's room and went downstairs to unload his truck. He had sold several of his 'stufties' this past weekend, so he only had a few to bring back inside. When Ethan stepped outside, he looked at the ground near his truck with worried eyes. The unmistakable sign of blood had caked the dirt driveway.

Ethan went back inside to wake Lucy. He opened her bedroom door all the way with a kick causing it to slam against the wall. The loud bang startled the two in bed. The man sat up and saw an angry, older man standing in the doorway. Ethan raised the volume of his voice on purpose, "You have two minutes to get out of my house before I get my gun." The man scrambled out of the bed, grabbed his clothes, and left. Lucy was sitting up with a blanket covering her body, she stared at her father. "What the hell dad?" Lucy yelled. Ethan is disgusted with his daughter, "Where's Samara?"

Lucy rolled her eyes, "Of course, it's always about her." She turned to stand and put clothes on, "Do you mind? I need to get dressed." Ethan didn't move, he just looked up at the ceiling. He didn't want to give Lucy a chance to get out of talking about what was going on. Lucy scoffed, grabbed the dress she wore last night off the floor, and put it on. "I don't know where she is. She was here last night. Maybe she went to the boardwalk?" Lucy moved to leave the room when Ethan stepped in her way. "I'm tired of this Lucy. Sam is your daughter, your only child, and you're treating her like shit. I won't stand for it any longer. You better hope she's alright," Ethan walked away from his daughter standing there confused and angry.

The day was spent in silence for the both of them. Lucy cleaned her bedroom and bathroom, did her laundry, then spent the rest of the day in her room reading. Ethan had unpacked his truck, and his suitcase, then cleaned a little before closing himself inside his workshop. From his workshop, he could hear everything going on in his house. When the sun started to set and no sign of Sam, Ethan got really worried. He told himself to wait a little longer before going out to look for her.

Ethan is glad he waited. A familiar red, sports car pulled up to the house. Ethan stepped outside onto the porch watching only the driver's side door open. "Hello, Mister Hughes," Max greeted with a tight-lipped smile. "Evening, Max. What do I owe the pleasure for this visit?" Ethan was hoping he had Sam with him. Max came up to the porch steps and sighed, "I'm not sure how to tell you this." Ethan held his breath waiting to hear the worst. Max explained what happened the night before leaving nothing out. At one point Ethan looked at the blood-cake dirt and exhaled a sigh of relief knowing the blood didn't belong to Sam.

A very dark expression crossed Ethan's face when he realized how awful Lucy had become. Ethan could barely contain his anger, "Well, I'm glad Sam is safe. Now, if you excuse me, I have something to take care of." Max nodded in understanding and left to the boardwalk.

Ethan went inside and found Lucy sitting in her room with a bottle of liquor. "Pack your shit, and get out of my house. I found out what happened to Sam last night." Lucy set down the bottle, "Whatever she said, she's lying. She just wants attention." "No, you're the one that's lying. I trust who told me what happened more than I trust you, and that's saying something. This is your last warning, pack your shit and get out," Ethan turned to leave when Lucy stopped him. "Where will I go?" Lucy made it look like she was going to cry. "I don't care. You should be grateful I'm not calling the police to have you arrested." Ethan went downstairs to the kitchen, grabbed a root beer, and sat at the table.

A few moments later, Ethan heard Lucy stomp down the stairs then the front door slamming shut. Ethan has a feeling he will have to deal with his daughter again. For now, he is more concerned about Samara. The poor girl has had a rough time without her brother, he would always protect her from their parents. But now Sam has the Lost Boys and Max in her corner, along with Ethan. He knew Sam will eventually be okay, once she gets over the shock of them being vampires.

What Are You?

When Max left the cave, Paul checked on Sam. He pulled the blanket/door aside and saw Sam sitting up, "Hey." Sam turned to Paul, "Hey." Paul moved to sit at the end of the bed, "How are you feeling?" "My face, ribs, and feet hurt but it's bearable. Trying to figure out what to do now. I can't exactly go home, I don't feel safe there anymore." Sam fidgeted with some loose strings on the blanket. "You could stay here. David already said you could," Paul sort of rambled. He felt nervous for some reason.

Sam's quiet voice was barely above a whisper, "I don't want to impose." Paul shook his head, "Nah. This room was going to be yours anyway." Paul winced when he realized what he just said. "You were expecting me?" Sam tried to keep calm, but Paul could hear her racing heartbeat. Paul sighs and lays back on the bed thinking it's now or never. "When we first saw you on the boardwalk, the four of us felt this connection to you. Like you belong with us. So…We made sure to have someplace you could go if you were with us. Then last night happened, and I brought you here."

The room was quiet as Sam thought about what was said. It was like a light bulb went on in her head, "You've been watching me." She thought about the things she would find on her windowsill. "I would wake up and find little trinkets on my windowsill. That was you guys," Sam looked at Paul. He had sat up and was staring at the floor with a worried expression on his face thinking Sam is going to be scared of him, of them. His brothers listened to everything from the main cavern.

Samara smiled, "I'm glad it's you guys and not those creepy comic book guys. Whenever I'm on the boardwalk, I could feel their eyes on me, leering at me. They make my skin crawl." Just thinking about those two had Sam pulling the covers onto herself trying to hide from the memory of Edgar and Alan Frog staring at her.

Of course the guys could feel her anxiety levels rise as she spoke about those kids. Marko almost killed the one dressed like Rambo a couple of times, Dwayne fairing no better with the other brother. All four of them want to get rid of the Frog brothers one way or another. Edgar and Alan have been a nuisance ever since their drugged-out parents accidentally ordered a crate full of horror comics. The Frog brothers' imaginative minds linked David and his boys' behavior to the vampire comics on their shelves. Not truly realizing they were right.

David got up from his wheelchair to join Paul and Sam. When he entered the room, David gave a slight nod to Paul. "How are you doing, kitten?" David threw an endearment at the end, wanting to get a reaction out of the girl. "Kitten?" Sam's eyebrow rose in curiosity. David just nodded and lit his cigarette. "Alright, I guess. I'm hurt that my so-called mother would be so mean. And I feel like a coward since I don't want to face her," Sam was holding back her tears, she was tired of crying over someone who obviously didn't love her.

"Are you up for heading to the boardwalk? Get something to eat?" Once David mentioned food, an embarrassed Sam hid her face when her stomach growled. "That's a yes. We'll step out so you can change then we'll leave," David nudged his head towards the blanket/door. Sam came out moments later in an oversized hoodie, comfy jeans, and her sneakers. All five of them head to the boardwalk with Sam riding with David.

The Lost Boys spent the night hanging with Sam, however, one by one they would disappear to go feed. It wasn't until Dwayne rejoined the group that Sam noticed something was up. She could tell the four of them seemed irritable until after they returned. Sam wanted to ask what was going on but she spotted an angry-faced Lucy staring at her. "Um, I think we should go," Sam stepped backwards bumping into a growling Dwayne. He had followed her line of sight and was watching her mother push her way through the crowd to get to Sam.

Before Lucy could get to Sam, Dwayne had pulled her behind him. The others blocked Lucy from coming any closer. "Out of my way, boys. I'm taking my daughter home," Lucy plastered a fake smile on her face but her eyes burned with rage. David blew smoke in Lucy's face, "Why? So you can have some dude rape her?" Lucy narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, "I don't know what you're talking about." She wasn't fooling anybody. "Right…And I'm the tooth fairy," Paul remarked.

Lucy tried to push her through, "Just give me my daughter and we'll be going." Sam peeked around Dwayne, watching her mother unsuccessfully move any of the guys out of her way. She glances at Marko and could have sworn his eyes changed to something not quite human. She felt the overwhelming urge to run, but she also felt safe with them. It was confusing. Sam looked away from Marko to watch the scene unfold in front of her.

Lucy walked around the boardwalk after being fired by Max. He had caught her pocketing money from the cash register. There were a few times the register came up short by at least $20, and now Max knew who did it. He called Lucy to his office and fired her. Max could have just killed her, but he didn't want to break the treaty with Ethan Hughes. If Lucy gets out of hand, then Max will speak with Ethan before any action is taken.

So, here she was walking around the boardwalk, jobless and living in a crappy hotel room. Lucy saw her ungrateful daughter hanging around some punks, and decided Sam was the cause of her life being ruined. She was going to grab Samara, take her back to the hotel and offer Sam as payment for the room. But those punks stood in her way. Lucy was not able to get Sam away from them. She narrowed her bloodshot eyes once again at the guy standing in front of her, "She is my daughter, and you will move."

David glanced behind Lucy seeing the newest security guard watching the altercation so he spoke a little louder, "Yes, she is your daughter. We will move but Sam will not be going with you. She doesn't feel safe with you. Especially when you reek like you bathed at a brewery." He kept his eyes on the security guard who just started working at the boardwalk as he moved around the group and walked up to Samara, "Miss, are you alright?"

They all listened to Sam, "No, I am not. These guys were helping me when my mom became violent towards me. I don't feel safe with her." The security guard got a good look at Samara's battered and bruised face, "Just for clarification, did she do this or did any of them?" He pointed to the Lost Boys and Lucy, who was smirking like she had won. "Not them. They wouldn't hurt me. My mom did this," Sam had kept eye contact with the guy. The guard nodded his head then turned to David, "Sorry about that, I had to ask." "Understandable," David gave a nod. The security guard faced Lucy, "Ma'am, I suggest you leave them alone or I'm going to have to remove you from the premises." Lucy huffed, "Fine." Turned on her heels and walked away even angrier and in need of a drink.

The security guard walked away once Lucy was out of sight. Then all their attention was on Samara. "Are you sure you're alright?" Marko asked. Sam gazed into his eyes, and couldn't help what came out of her mouth, "What are you?"