Chapter 1

Present Day

Greensboro, NC

"Shit, I'm gonna be late," Nikki said aloud as she rushed out of her class and headed down the sidewalk.

Nikki was in her third year at a small college in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was a small town with a rather small population, but it suited her just fine.

She had been at this school for the last three years and called it home. Trying to get her film degree, Nikki had been working hard at school and managing a full time job. It wasn't easy, but she found the time to do both.

Leaving her Film Noir class, Nikki realized she was late for her shift at Micky's Pub. It was a local spot, well known around town, and she was lucky enough to snag a job there about a year ago. The hours were flexible and she could work nights and weekends.

Waitressing wasn't her dream job, but it paid the bills for now until she could get her degree and become what she really wanted to be: a film editor. She had to save up money and move to a place that had work, but she was determined to get there.

She pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders as she hustled down the street. The pub wasn't far away, but she was already twenty minutes late, and her boss, Don, wasn't happy when she missed some of her shift. If she wasn't there, he had to cover for her, and he hated that. He wasn't a mean boss, but very lazy and when he had to work harder than usual she was sure to get an earful.

She crossed the road and headed into a church parking lot. It was a bit of a shortcut to go through the cemetery. She rarely used it, especially at night, but she couldn't afford to be late again.

She began the trek across the tombstone-laden ground, when a few voices suddenly caught her attention.

She stopped and listened, surprised to hear people. The cemetery was always deserted, especially at night. She crept forward, keeping her steps quiet as she approached the voices.

Coming around the bend, she could make out two men towering over another man, who was on his knees.

The two men standing up were both rather tall, wearing black suits. They had dark brown hair. One was very muscular and his face was longer, and fuller. The other was more lanky and thin, his arms draped across his chest in a defensive manner. An angry look etched upon his features.

The man on the ground cowered before them, hands raised above his head. He seemed to be shaking, but Nikki couldn't really tell from this distance.

She crouched behind a tombstone and watched with baited breath as the fuller one pulled a gun from his coat pocket.

"Please, both of you, give me another chance," the man on the ground pleaded, begging for mercy.

"And why would we do such a thing?" the one with the gun asked.

"I won't betray you again! I will do everything you ask!" the man cried into the night.

The tall, lanky one shook his head and the man looked over at him. "Changmin, please, you've always been the one with some compassion."

Changmin crouched down and patted the man on the head. "Not this time, Sam," Changmin said before standing up and taking his place beside the other man.

The other man raised the gun once more and aimed it at the man's forehead. "It's time," the man said.

Sam put his hands together and pleaded once more. "Yunho, please, I will never do anything like this again. I will be your slave, just let me live. I have kids, a wife, I have to be there for them."

"You should have thought about that before you crossed Lee Soo-Man," Yunho said before cocking the gun and putting a bullet between Sam's eyes.

Nikki couldn't hold back the scream that emitted from her mouth. The shock of seeing someone die in front of her was too much and she couldn't help the reaction.

Yunho and Changmin turned and looked in her direction, instantly catching her eye. Fear washed over Nikki as she jumped up and began running in the opposite direction.

She could feel them behind her, but she continued to run, never looking back. "Help!" she shouted to anyone who could hear her, but she knew it fell on deaf ears. No one was out at this time of night and she was well into the cemetery for anyone to be around.

She felt the wind rush over her face as she fled down the hill, trying hard to escape.

She didn't get too far before a hand gripped her arm, turning her around. Yunho stood staring at her with blood, red eyes, and Nikki had to look away from the sight. He reached up and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her high into the air. Her legs dangled above the ground, and she clawed at the firm grip around her neck, trying desperately to free herself. He squeezed tighter and Nikki could no longer breathe.

She scratched and kicked and dug her nails into Yunho's hand, but to no avail. She felt herself getting dizzy and her head lolled. Her eyes began to flutter closed. She was going to die, right here, right now.

Just as she was sure that death had drug her in, she was suddenly released from the hold, falling hard to the ground. She coughed violently as she struggled to inhale oxygen back into her deprived lungs.

She looked up through blurry vision to see a figure standing in front of her. She could only make out a long, black trench coat and black boots. He was as tall as the others. She looked over at Yunho to see him coddling his arm, which was now missing his hand and part of his forearm. Red blood flowed from the wound and Nikki tried not to gag from the site.

"Dammit Yoochun!" Yunho swore, as he backed away. Changmin stepped up in a fighting stance, his eyes flipped from brown to dark red and fangs were exposed to the world.

Nikki rubbed her eyes, sure that she was seeing things. How could there be fangs? That only happened in the movies.

"Don't start with me, Changmin, you know you can't win against me," the man called Yoochun said. He flipped open his jacket and pulled out two separate pistols, pointing them at Yunho and Changmin.

"You here to fight us, Yoochun?" Changmin sneered.

"Just give up and come with me," Yoochun said. Nikki could hear the anger in his voice and she wondered where this man had come from.

"Sure, Yoochun, let's skip off to neverland and never grow up," Yunho said, rolling his eyes.

"You two don't have to do this. You can come with me, end this," Yoochun said, and they both sneered.

"Never gonna happen," Yunho said.

"I can take him, Yunho," Changmin told him, moving forward, ready to battle, and Yunho put a hand on his arm.

"I'm wounded and you're not up to par yet," Yunho explained. He looked toward Yoochun with hate filled eyes. "Next time we won't let you leave here alive. We'll kill you and that stupid human you had to save."

WIth that, they both disappeared in a flash and Nikki tried to comprehend what was happening.

Her throat burned and her chest heaved as she began to feel light-headed.

The figure in front of her turned toward her and Nikki tried to look at him. The details were fuzzy, but she could make out his figure. She felt herself losing consciousness, and as the darkness took hold, she heard a tsk sound and the man utter, "Stupid girl."