CHAPTER 2: TAKING STEPS

Michael then wakes up and sees R.M. breathe into him and he pretends to be unconscious a little longer and of course R.M. notices this and then knees him in the crouch gentily.

"Ouch, hey it was just a little joke, calm down."

"Good your still alive, you were a real stupid jerk."

"Well stupid is as stupid…..never mind you got me,

I'm sorry ok, listen I think both of us got off on the wrong foot here."

He extends his hand

"Hi I'm Michael and I'm your new partner."

She then doesn't shake his hand. Michael looks at her with concern.

"Hey, what's eating you?"

"Listen every partner I've had has died, I'm bad luck to you kid go home."

"Well I can't go home because I have a mission to

complete, and I won't get paid."

R.M. looks at him scornfully.

"That was a joke."

R.M. just walks to the other room. Michael breathes out a small sigh.

"Yeah, I know not a good one."

Both of them go into a living room which has a lot of old newspapers from decades long gone as well as several books all dusty and slightly corrupted. Michael looks at all of them and then looks at R.M. just searching.

"Look if your distancing yourself because you're a

vampire don't I know all about you and how you changed,

do you want to tell me a little about it you know just to help?

gets the ball rolling on who we are since we'll be working with

one another for a long time, look I'll tell you a little

of mine first then it's your turn."

R.M. looks at him a different way.

"That was the most stupidest thing you done. Are you that self centered."

"Your wrong about me, I'm not self centered I despise that trait,

I always go in first before anyone else."

"What, why would you do that?"

"I don't like seeing either my friends or anything so beautiful be destroyed."

R.M. turns Red and scorns Mike.

"Oh, be quiet I knew what I was doing its

you who should be more careful your not immortal,

so just stick by me ok."

Michael gives a slight smile.

"Yeah sure."

R.M. observes his mannerism and doesn't know what to make of him as she observes that smile of his he wears.

"Hey, I have a question what were the 60s and 70s decades like for you?"

R.M. begins to have a flashback of her own past, she is in a Woodstock concert she is like any other hippy she is having a good time and is wearing brown leather vest which has a patchwork of symbols from the peace symbol, the happy face, to even patches of other bands like on the left sholder a patch of the famous lips of "Rolling Stone" and on her right "The Greatful Dead", her black hair is really long and she has glasses on; she was really just an ordinary collage student, and like any of the other student back then a bit of a free spirit that was until she saw some really cute guy. She then came with him and both of them talk for a while and then during the music both of them make out in a private location, then someone whom is in a black coat and outfit along with hair which is long and covers most of his face and his eyes which R.M. can barely see.

The mysterious stranger comes up to her and says,

"How would you like to have a long life with me?"

"After the way you kiss and who you are I wouldn't mind."

"Very well, what's your name again?"

" Rachael Myers but my friends usually call me R.M."

Then the character cuts a bit of his hand sucks on the blood a bit and then transmits to blood into Rachael, Rachael then spasms from the effects of becoming a vampire.

Then present day comes again and she sees Michael.

"Hey you didn't answer my question."

"If we survive this I'll give you specific details."

"Good enough, I have two questions. Did you ever miss

who you were back then?"

R.M. looks to the ground with a look of sadness on her face and says.

"Sometimes"

Michael realizes the question he asked has stired some feeling of sadness in her and he wonders if he should of brought it up at all. Both Michael and R.M. continue to venture thoughout the house and they see the door to the basement. But the door is very strange as they see what looks like ancient architecture door frame with some symbols that are strange looking, possibly from some Samarian language. Michael observes each of the symbols carefully. R.M. sees how studious he truly is.

"Do you understand all that."

Michael continues to look and ponder at each symbol.

"I have studied many languages even the ancient languages for fun, but this one is rather strange. It looks like symarian text however I don't recognize any of the other letters could even be before symaria, let's see if I can decipher."

"I didn't think you were a person that studied languages."

"There's more to me than meets the eye."

R.M. shakes her head but has a small smirk.

"You took that from Transformers."

"G1 Cartoon not that Bay bullshit."

Michael then translates and says.

"This is what I can translate; it simply says no man shall enter unless

They abandoned all hope."

Michael is a little stunned at the morbid message but then shrugs his sholders.

"Well I don't care what it says, lets go anyway, we have a mission to finish and I want to get paid , go home, and play video games."

"Are you always this impulsive."

"In reality no, but I make exceptions. Wait I have a question since you were a vampire you had lots of years in your hands, how is it you never studied any languages."

"I just never really thought about it."

"What are you kidding me, what were you doing in all that time?"

"Well it's just I was always doing something else."

"Like what?"

"You know what I can't really remember."

"Wow, all that time in the world, you did everything and yet still missed out

On a lot of details."

R.M. looks at him taken aback a little at what he just said but then gave a small smile as what he said is true, both of them then go though the door and advance. Michael then asks another question.

"Ok, answer me two questions have you seen Scarface and played Gunstar Heroes?"

"No and no."

"Well we'll just have to do something about that. If we live through this

You'll have to come to my place and we can do all those things you haven't done."

Both R.M. and Michael then stop at the bottom and she looks at Michael curiously and feels slight reluctance at what it seems like he's asking.

"Are you trying to ask me out on a date? You know I could be just as old as

Your mother."

"No, it's not a date, just inviting a friend it's been a while since I had company."

"You must be use to being alone."

Michael he then looks down a little and there is some profound sadness from him

"Too use to it, too long."

They both keep advancing on the maze their in. Michael can't help but look at her, seeing her long hair which is cropped just right where is sways every time she walks. He even sees the color of her skin which is slightly pale but there is some color that makes it hard to believe she even is one. Despite being one of the creatures of the night she doesn't look like one of them nor does he believe she really is. R.M. then notices he's noticing her, and he shyly looks away.

R.M. says, "What?"

"You know despite that vampirism and your age you still are beautiful not just on the outside but the inside as well."

Michael then puts his hand to his mouth slighting a little taken aback by what he just said and is a little blush. R.M. is a little red also with what he said which was a comment she never really had before or in a long time. Michael at this point isn't sure what else to say or do but then he stops thinking and suddenly the words come to him, words he realizes were dormant for the longest time.

"R.M. this is going to sound strange but all my life I've been wanting to meet you."

"What how, why?"

"Both of us actually meet when I was about 9."

R.M. then thinks about what he's talking about and then the memory comes to her.

"Wait a minute were you that boy that saved me from falling down?"

"Yes, I never forgot it, when I looked at you for the first time I saw something"

R.M. looks at him curiously.

"What did you see?"

"I thought I saw an angel. I described you to mom and dad and they told me who you were and told some stories about you on how you use to work with them for a while. I never did get bored of those stories or even a picture with you and my parents together. I had this silly dream that one day when I grew up both of us would be partners and fight evil side by side. It looks like that dream finally came true."

"I didn't think you'd remember me."

"That's the problem with this world people forget things too easily."

"Were you disappointed when you meet me for the first time, even when I decked you?"

"Not at all."

Both continue walking as both traverse a rather long hallway which is also full of some symbols and writing on a few of the brings. Most of it was just misulanious junk and some graffdi he didn't care for. Michael still wanted to know more about R.M. as he looks at her she is just a tomb of mystery waiting to be uncovered, but he still wanted to be curtious toward her.

Michael says, "Um, do you mind if I ask a few more questions."

R.M. then looks at him with a small smirk of amuzement.

"Sure, nothings really happening right now, and I hate too much silence."

Michael then thinks for a moment and asks.

"I have a question did you ever see your family?"

R.M. looks at him and responds in a nice even tone.

"Only one time when I was in a cemetery I finally meet my parents for the first time in fifteen years, I was able to see my ole sister there visiting them."

"What did you two talk about?"

"Not much, it was a brief conversation then after that both of us said our goodbyes and didn't see each other again."

" Did you tell her who you are and what happened? "

"No. "

R.M. looked blankly at Michael and then suddenly as both venture further into this maze. Michael and R.M. hear something around them in certain turns left or right which ever one they pass, up ahead, or even behind it was hard to pinpoint the noise. And as both then get to some section of the maze which only consists of open rectangular space except for six benches lined up on opposite ends of each other and a few feet apart. There are also some sort of marble monster heads on roman pedestals which all look like different demon and devil heads with twisted and rotting facial features, cruel unfriendly evil eyes, with a lot of morbid expressions, one with his tongue hanging out and having a maddening look, another with it's mouth sewed up, another with a rictus grin consisting of a series of shark like teeth, and plenty of other facial expressions and faces all messed up. Adam and R.M. desire not to look anymore as the unpleasant looks were getting to them. A strange thing about this space is that it has a Gazebo right in the middle of the lined-up benches.

Both approach the Gazebo but then suddenly they see that there all kinds of demons and monsters all popping out on different places of the maze, all of them with one think on their minds both their deaths. R.M. and Michael come close to each other and go into their fighting stances as they realize their both going to be in for one hell of a fight to get out of this maze alive.