The next morning, the bite marks on Claire's neck had disappeared completely. There was no scar, no bruise, nothing. This was a good thing; it meant that Claire didn't have to worry about wearing scarves or turtlenecks, and it put her in a good mood. She showered, got changed and went downstairs. It was the weekend, which meant no school. I'll study, she thought. At least that way I'm not wasting my time. As she walked downstairs, she heard quiet, hushed voices. Feeling like a spy, Claire tip-toed down the stairs and leant against the wall. The voices were coming from the lounge, and from this spot she could hear snippets of what they were saying.
"Jason… missing… no one knows where…" That sounded like Michael, and he sounded mad. Just as she was debating whether or not to confront Michael and the stranger, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs behind her. Eve was walking and drying her hair with a towel at the same time. She opened her mouth to say something but Claire got there first, by putting a finger to her own lips. Quiet. Eve looked confused but nodded and came to sand by her anyway. Claire cupped a hand behind her ear and mouthed listen. Eve inched forward so she could hear better. "Saw… yesterday… Jason… is missing…" Eve's eyes grew wide and Claire nodded. "He's missing," Eve whispered. "Jason's missing."
Claire heard footsteps heading their way and she signalled for Eve to go back upstairs. They just made it inside the bathroom before Michael and the stranger passed the staircase to head for the front door. Eve opened the door and poked her head out, then suddenly pulled it back in and shut the door. "Who is it?" Claire asked. Eve looked freaked. "Oliver." They both stood there in silence; until they heard Michael's footsteps walk past the door. The next sound they heard was the sound of the door to the secret room being opened then closed again. After waiting a bit longer to make sure the coast was clear, they both walked out of the bathroom. Claire looked up the hall towards the secret door, and saw Shane staring at them. It looked like he had just come out of his room and seen them leave the bathroom together. Claire got why that could be strange. Eve noticed him too. "I'll never understand girls," he said, before dodging past them and taking the stairs two at a time.
"Whoa, did you hear that?" Eve asked when Shane was out of earshot. Claire nodded. "So, do we tell Shane, or confront Michael and tell him to explain the full story or," Eve continued, "sit on our lazy backsides and do nothing?" Eve then pretended to consider. "Let's… um… gee; this is a tough one…" She looked at Claire and winked. Claire nodded and they both turned toward the secret door. Time to get the story set straight. "On three, press the button," Eve said. Claire nodded and pulled back the picture frame that hid the button to the secret door. "One… Two…" Eve said. "Three!" they yelled together and Claire pushed the button. They ran in before the door could close and up the staircase. Michael was sitting on the only furniture in the room; a small couch. He looked startled by their sudden entrance. "Can I help you?" he asked them. "Ok, cut the crap, Michael," Eve said. "We know Jason's missing. Like to give us full details?"
He stared at them for a moment before replying. "I was downstairs practicing my guitar when someone knocked on the front door. When I opened it, Oliver was standing there. He came in and told me that Jason was missing." He looked at each girl in turn. Eve was the first one to speak. "How did Oliver know Jason was missing?" she asked. "Apparently, after we let him go, Oliver caught Jason trying to get inside this girl's head. When he realised that he couldn't do it anymore, Jason got angry and tried to kill her. Oliver stopped him just in time and took him to some cells under Common Grounds. When he went to check on Jason this morning, the bars had been bent back and Jason was missing. Did you tell Shane?" Michael added. Both Claire and Eve shook their heads. "Well, don't." "Why not," Claire asked. Michael shook his head. "Just… don't. Okay? Promise?" Claire and Eve looked at each other. Eve shrugged. "Ok, promise." She said to Michael.
The rest of the morning was un-eventful. Shane killed some Zombies on T.V, Michael practiced his guitar, and Eve listened to her iPod. Claire absently flipped through her chemistry and math textbooks. It wasn't till that night when Claire was in bed that things started happening. Claire was slowly falling asleep, listening to Michael playing the guitar, when she heard it. It started off quietly, and then got louder and louder. A scraping noise was coming from outside Claire's window. Claire sat up, her heart pounding in her throat. Slowly she climbed out of bed and walked toward the window. She counted to three then pulled back the curtain. On the other side of the window was Jason, knife in hand and there was a long scrape where he had dragged it across the window.
Claire screamed and let the curtain drop. She ran to the other side of the room and flung open the door. She sprinted down the stairs screaming out to Michael. "Claire," he met her at the bottom of the stairs. "What's wrong?" "You know how Jason's missing?" he nodded. "Well, I just found him, outside my window." Right on cue, a rock smashed through the lounge window only to land right by Michael's guitar. She screamed again. Eve and Shane came clattering down the stairs and stopped beside her. "What's going on?" Eve asked when she saw the rock. "Jason was outside my window, now he's trying to get in." Shane nodded, "So, just the usual."
There was a knock on the door. On impulse Claire said, "I'll get it." She ran to the door before anyone could stop her and opened it, only to be grabbed by the arm and hauled outside. She felt cold, sharp metal push up against her neck and realised it was a knife. Jason pulled her to her feet and turned her around to face the front door. Michael and Shane were there and they started advancing towards Jason. "I wouldn't," he said and pushed the knife harder against Claire's throat. She let out a gasp. Her heartbeat was twice the normal rate per minute. Both Shane and Michael stopped. Michael's eyes began to turn red from the pupils outward. "What do you want, Jason?"
Jason laughed. "Control over Morganville. You already know that." Michael seemed to change tactics and decided to try for some answers. "Who broke you out of the cell? Only a vampire is strong enough to bend the bars." A smirk worked its way across Jason's face. "Meet Roy, an old friend" he said and gestured towards the corner of the house. Everyone looked and big bulky man, who was defiantly a vampire, stepped out from the shadows. If it came down to it, there was no way Michael could take him on in a fight. Roy smiled and showed off pointy, white fangs.
Roy looked at Claire and his eyes were red. No other colour was visible. He started advancing towards her and just as he was about to grab her, a wooden point pushed its way through his flesh. Roy paused in his tracks, looked at the wood producing from his chest and collapsed backwards onto the grass. Behind him stood Richard Morrell, the mayor's son and head of the Police for Morganville. "Hopefully that didn't kill him," he said and looked at Jason. "Get him!" he yelled. Two vampire cops grabbed Jason from behind. Jason dropped the knife and Claire fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Shane ran forward and scooped her up. "You alright?" She nodded. Meanwhile, Jason was being shoved into a vampire cop car. Once he was in, one of the vampires came and began dragging Roy towards the car too. Both vampires lifted him (somehow), dropped him into the boot and shut the door.
Claire stood up and she turned to Richard. "Thanks," was all she could manage to say. "Anytime," he replied and smiled kindly. Richard was defiantly way better than his sister, Monica. "How did you know to come?" Michael asked. "One of the neighbours called in," Richard said "Something about a loud noise and lots of screaming. I knew it could only be Jason, so I grabbed my vampire friends here and we wandered on over to see what was going on." "Just in time then," Shane said. "You saved Claire's bacon." Claire glared at him but deep down she was extremely grateful.
"What happens now?" Michael asked. "Now?" Richard looked at Michael. "Now we take Jason here to jail, under 24 hour watch and we take his buddy to Amelie and get some tips on what we should do to revive him or…not." Michael nodded and they both shook hands. Eve put her arm around Claire's shoulders and guided her back to the house. Michael and Shane followed and Michael shut, locked and bolted the door. They stood in silence while the sound of the Police sirens faded into the night. "Everyone upstairs," Michael said. "It's way past bedtime. We'll deal with the broken window in the morning" They all walked upstairs. Eve took Claire to her room and, once she was certain Claire was going to be ok, left to go to hers.
Claire was slowly drifting off when she heard a soft knock at the door. Shane poked his head in. "Mind if I join?" he asked. Claire shook her head and shimmed over so he would have some room. He climbed into the bed and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. She snuggled in and breathed in his scent, letting it fill every inch of her body, mind and soul. She reached up her neck and Shane leaned down. Their lips connected and Claire felt safe. She pulled him as close as possible and kissed him harder, more franticly. He curled his fingers through her hair and responded. After a while he pulled back. "No, Claire," he whispered. "Not tonight. You need some rest." Very much against her will, she pulled back and cuddled into him. "Stay with me tonight?" she asked. "Always," he whispered back and held her tight. Claire began drifting off and found comfort in the fact that Shane was right beside her, holding her, protecting her from anything that might harm her. And as she drifted off, she smiled.