Kuro-chan: Hihi! ^^

Darren: uhh...hi?

Steve: *smiles* hello!

Kuro-chan: I feel really happy today! ^^

Darren: And why is that?

Kuro-chan: Cuz I'm posting my new favorite chapter!! XD

Steve: hmm...first word of the chapter--"Steve" Last word of the chapter--"Darren"

Darren: Whoa! I didn't even realize that! O.O

Kuro-chan: umm...what's so important about that? o_O

Steve: Nothing really. I just wanted to point out the obvious. ^^

Kuro-chan: *rolls eyes* of course...

Darren: Kuro-chan doesn't own the Darren Shan Saga!

rAtE&rEvIeW pLeAsEeEeE!!!!!!! XD

Chapter 13

"Steve."

My eyes widened. No! No! No! I tried to take a step back but Steve kept his arm around my waist.

He snickered, "Good to see that you still remember me."

Darren scowled and took a step forward, ready to pounce on the blond-haired monster.

"Ah, ah, ah," said Steve, holding me even tighter. Suddenly, I felt something pressing against my back. It was cold…and sharp. "You wouldn't want me to kill your little girlfriend, would you?"

I gasped. Girlfriend. The word was painful. Almost too painful. I felt my heart ache as it swallowed the anguish and martyrdom in my thoughts.

"Let her go!" he snarled through his teeth.

A smirk played upon Steve's lips. "No can do." I found myself abruptly hoisted off the ground and before Darren could react, he flitted out the door in a blur, carrying me along with him.

Only after a few seconds, though, we were suddenly rolling along the ground in a tangle of flailing limbs. I spit out a few pieces of grass as I brought my head up and looked around. I was lying in a large field right across the street from the school. Darren and Steve were struggling with each other a few feet away from me. I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the bruises and scrapes I now had on my arms and legs.

"Jenn!"

I whirled around as I heard someone call my name. Standing at the front entrance of the school, I could just make out the figures of Evra, Marisa, and Kat as they began sprinting toward us.

"No! Stay back!" I called. But they either couldn't hear me or were ignoring me.

Turning back to the fight, I could see that Steve was clearly winning. In no time at all he pinned Darren down and began punching him repeatedly. Without thinking, I raced forward and jumped on Steve's back, pummeling his head with my tiny fists. Growling, Steve bucked me off of him and I landed with a hard thud on the ground. Through bleary eyes I could just recognize Steve standing over me. I was too dizzy and weak to defend myself or even get up. Suddenly another person attacked him, kicking him repeatedly in the legs. Growing frustrated, Steve turned and grabbed the arm of his attacker, then yanked them forward and threw them onto the ground next to me, rendering them unconscious. I twisted my head to look at them. As my vision slowly returned to normal, I realized it was Marisa. She was the one who had attacked Steve. She had put herself in danger just to protect me.

"Marisa!"

Evra dashed forward and kneeled next to her limp body. He brushed his fingertips lightly over her arm, but she didn't even stir. A terrible feeling grew in the pit of my stomach, and I ignored my throbbing head and got to my knees.

Evra had lifted Marisa up slightly, and that was when I caught a scent. It was luscious and fragrant, like vanilla and lavender.

Blood.

After close examination, I discovered that her hair was soaked with blood. She must have hit her head on a fairly large rock. Her head was now dripping with the crimson liquid. Ignoring my strong thirst, I told Evra about the cut.

"She's not dead…is she?" he asked worriedly. I checked her pulse, and, thank the heavens, I could still feel it beating.

"No, she still alive. The wound isn't enough to kill her." I replied. Ripping a piece of fabric off my dress I handed it to Evra and said, "Here. Keep this on the cut for now to stop the bleeding."

He did as he was told when suddenly I realized we were still in the middle of a fight with a ruthless vampaneze. Darren and Steve had continued fighting. Darren punched Steve right in the gut and sent him stumbling back. Steve straightened up and was about to rush at him when all of a sudden he froze and sniffed the air. His gaze snapped to Marisa, and, like a shark, zoomed in on his soon-to-be prey.

"No!" I cried and stepped in front of her. Steve was quickly approaching me and I shut my eyes in fear.

Nothing happened. I didn't feel any pain of some sort. I opened my eyes just a crack and, to my surprise, no one was there, saved for Darren who was standing a little ways off. But Steve disappeared. Where did he go? Just then, I felt an arm latch onto my waist as a body pressed against my back.

"You always seem to cause me trouble," Steve said, as he breathed down my neck. I shivered. It was the same feeling when Darren did this. My mind grew hazy as I felt my body growing numb. He whispered into my ear right before I slipped consciousness.

"Kill him."

+-+-+-+-+

I inwardly groaned. My head was throbbing and my ears pounded against my skin. I tried moving my arm, only to realize that I had no control over it. I opened my eyes but saw that they were already open. M-my body! It was moving on its own! In my left hand was a knife, similar to the one Steve had earlier. I was running with the weapon held high above my head, charging at my target. I looked ahead to see who my body was aiming for.

Darren!

He stood in front of me, looking just as surprised as I was. At least, that was how my I truly felt. My body didn't seem to care any less. I tried to scream for Darren to get out of the way, but I couldn't get my lips to move. Luckily, Darren dodged the attack and the knife swung at the space he once stood.

"Jenn! What are you doing?!" he called out towards me. I couldn't answer. My body didn't let me. But even if I could, I wouldn't know what to say. How could I explain why my body is acting on its own?

Steve seemed to have an answer. "She won't listen to you. No matter how much you scream, she won't listen."

Suddenly, my body turned in the direction Darren ran and charged forward. The knife lunged towards him again and once more, he dodged it.

"What's the matter, Darren?" Steve snickered. "Can't you fight?"

The knife swung again and Darren dodged it.

"Or are you afraid that you'll have to kill her."

Darren was now exhausted from dodging my attacks. My body showed no signs of fatigue, but internally, I was in pain from watching myself trying to kill Darren. I wanted to stop and cry, but my body thought otherwise. It immediately ran forward to attack its intending target. He tried to dodge it but was too slow. He cried out in pain as the knife sliced through the flesh of his arm. Darren fell on the spot, cradling his arm at his side. Blood began pouring from the wound.

No!

My body stood above him, staring at him with an unfazed expression.

No!

I could hear Steve snicker as he stood farther away, watching us as if we were an entertainment show.

No!

"Kill him," he commanded.

No!

My arm lifted high above my head, preparing to make the fatal blow on my body's wounded target. That was when I screamed.

"NOOOOOOO!" the voice was my own. I felt my fingers loosening its grip on the knife, letting it fall to the ground. I instantly backed away from Darren's wounded body. I have control over my body again!

"Jenn," Darren said as he slowly got himself up.

"No!" I shouted. "Stay back!" Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my head. At first I brushed it off as a minor headache, but when it grew, the pain was too much for me to handle. I screamed at the top of my lungs as I helplessly clutched my head with my hands.

Steve laughed. "You should know better than to reject a command."

"What's happening to her?!" Darren shouted over my screams.

"Well, it's supposed to be a secret," he said, faking a guilty tone, "but I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you."

I continued to scream. It felt like someone was either stabbing my head or crushing it till it exploded. The pain was simply excruciating. I wanted to immediately die and end the madness.

"Years ago, I injected her with this potion that Mr. Tiny conjured. Apparently, it allowed me to control her mind and do what I want. You are able to resist it, but," Steve contradicted, "if you do, the consequences can be very fatal."

Fatal?! Am I gonna die of this continues?! I laid on the ground in a helpless fetal position. My fingernails were clawing into my scalp and I could feel the blood gushing out of my head. The unbearable pain began to spread from my brain down to my spinal cord. My back arched as I screamed in protest of the sharp sting that seemed to slice my back open.

Soon after, my body began to numb out, probably because of nerve damage. The good thing was that the pain was slowly fading away, on the other hand, so was my consciousness. My eyelids began to droop and I could no longer keep them open. I had to stay awake; otherwise I may never wake up again. Easier said than done.

Soon I could no longer sense the ground underneath me. I forced my eyes to open a little to see what was happening. Steve was carrying me. I was pissed at him, but my body was too weak to inflict damage on the half-vampaneze. I turned my head to the side and saw Darren scrambling to his feet. I tried to make out his expression but my vision began to blur.

Slowly, I lifted an arm in his direction. "Dar…Darren," my voice was barely a whisper. My throat started to dry up as my sight quickly faded.

"Goodbye Darren," Steve said before flitting off into the night.

They were the last words I heard. I repeated them over and over, slowly, before my mind completely closed off.

Goodbye Darren.

Kuro-chan: Yay! *applauds* ^^

Steve: DIE!!! :D Bwahahaha!

Kuro-chan: Hey! That's my line!

Steve: Not anymore! ^^

Kuro-chan: *grabs Steve and begins to choke him* DIE!!!!! YOU F-ING BASTARD!!!! XD

Darren: umm...wasn't there something important you wanna say?

Kuro-chan: * releases Steve* Oh right! ^^ I must give credit to my BFF Marisa for helping me get over my writers block and for typing part of this chapter! ^^ I wouldnt have done it without you!

Btw! I wanna give you guys a riddle to solve just for the heck of it! XP

~~~ Rearrange the letters of NOR DO WE to make one word

i WiLl GiVe SoLuTiOn In NeXt ChApTeR!!!!! xD