"YOU DID WHAT?"

"I've told you like FIVE times," David growled. "I let her go."

Marco and the rest of the gang stared at him in disbelief. David had relayed the evening's events to them as soon as he had gotten back to their hideout. Marco seemed to be having the most trouble comprehending what had gone down.

"Dude, are you going fucking soft on us, or what?" Marco snorted. "She's a human for fucks sake!"

"Shut it," David glowered.

"Yeah, can it Marco." Dwayne agreed, turning to David. "So what are you saying David? Do we want her to join us?"

"I don't know," David grumbled, beginning to second guess his decision to tell the guys about all of this. "I just want to keep an eye on her is all. She's different."

"Look at you David!" Paul cackled. "You sound like a damned romantic."

"That's not what I ment dumbass!" David snapped back. "You don't get it!"

"Well what the hell are you trying to say?" Marco demanded. "What's so special about this one girl?"

"It was weird!" David growled in frustration. "She's the first person who's ever really stood up to me, you know? She was terrified, but she didn't let that stop her at all. She just kept fighting to the very end. It was like she had this incredibly powerful will to live, and it was just so … strange."

"I still don't get you man." Marco shrugged. "Some people try to fight us off when they're not too busy pissin' themselves."

"BUT NOT LIKE HER," David shouted."HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU? SHE'S DIFFERENT!"

The guys stilled looked skeptical. David sighed, rubbing at his left temple agitatedly.

"I can't believe you pricks," He grumbled. "We've lived for so long and all we do nowadays is stalk the boardwalk. It's the same damn thing every night! But now, I've found something, this girl, who can maybe change things up a bit! Doesn't that interest you at all?"

The others looked as if they were entertaining the idea now.

David smirked. "Maybe YOU all are the ones who are going soft. Are you all content to lull into the same old routine for eternity?"

"Okay fine," Marco consented, though in a very annoyed fasion. "You win David, now will you knock it off?"

"Yeah." Paul agreed. "We'll look into your "girlfriend" tomorrow, but the sun's already up and I am fucking spent. I'm goin' to bed."

David nodded, though a smirk was plastered on his face. He was always pleased with himself when his domineering attitude won over the guys.

As he prepared for sleep as well, David thought of Claira.

"Tomorrow they'll see what you're like," he thought as he began drifting off to sleep. "And tomorrow… we'll decide your fate."

-Thiswouldbealinebreak-

Meanwhile, the sun began to rise over Santa Carla. It's warm rays spreading light over the city, including a particular park bench.

Claira woke with a start, squinting her eyes in the bright morning sun. She felt a moment of distoriantation, not knowing where the hell she was. She felt the smooth wood of the bench under her fingers and looked around nervously.

She was alone.

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to remember where she was and how she'd gotten there. Reclolection donned on her and she let out a small gasp.

The man from last night!

She stood up quickly, searching her suroundings with new vigor. She still seemed to be alone but her trepidation did not subside.

"What the hell happened?" She wondered aloud, looking herself over. Her clothes were just as they'd been the night before. It didn't look like he had sexually assaulted her after she had lost consiousness. She could feel bruising on her arms and neck from where he had grabbed her, but other than that there seemed to be no other physical malady.

"So that weird fuck tells me that he wants to drink my blood, attacks me, and then leaves me in peace, on a park bench, AFTER I lose consiousness? What the FUCK?"

Claira shivered. None of it made sense.

"Maybe he was just some wanker trying to mess around," She thought, trying to come to a conclusion that would put her mind to rest. "Maybe he took it farther than he had ment to and freaked when I passed out… so he left me here."

It wasn't very good reasoning, and she knew it, but what else could she come up with? He was gone and she was okay, that's all that mattered.

She made her way across from the park bench, trying to find her whearabouts. She caught sight of a sign anouncing the park's name. "Autumn Creek Park"

She grinned. She knew where she was now! Autumn Creek Park wasn't that far from the bar she worked at. She could go back now and get her car, the very thing she had been attempting to do last night before the Incident.

With a turn of her head, Claira took off briskly, heading out of the park and back to the allyways, with which she was much more familiar. Her eyes scanned every turn cautiously. She had never been one for walking around aimlessly, but last night had been a stark reminder that she ALWAYS had to have her wits about her. Yet, as her eyes incriminated every nook and crany of her suroundings, she becam more self-assured that she really was alone. Still, she didn't allow herself to be comforted.

After a couple blocks through dirty ally streets, Claira reached her car. Pausing at it's front door, she thrust her hand unceremoniously down her shirt and pulled her keys from out of her bra. She smiled triumphantly to herself as she unlocked the door, glad to find that her keys had not fallen out or been nicked last night.

With the door finally open, she sank, relieved, into the front seat, slamming the door shut behind her. Stretching her hands out on the stearing wheel, she leaned farther back into the driver's seat and inhaled deeply, the sent of old leather filling her nostrils. She exhaled slowly, bringing her keys up to the ignition. She'd had a hell of a night, and now all she wanted was to get back to her apartment and sleep, but this time, in the comfort of her own bed!

"Wait," Claira thought, her mind spurred by the imagining of her apartment and the bed it held. "The rent!"

She groaned loudly, thrusting her keys away from the ignition and into the cup holder beside her. She'd forgotten about the damn rent! She hadn't paid it in months and she was dead broke until Friday when she received her, less than satisfactory, paycheck.

Until then, she needed to stay away from her apartment, and her landlord. Hopefully if she returned with SOME money, he'd be less likely to kick her out.

"You were going to be my apartment for the rest of the week, weren't ya' you hunk of tin." She grimaced to her car, giving it a less than optimistic rap on the dashboard. Not as if this was a new occurrence, for she had lived in her car many a time before. With a yawn and a sigh, she reached into the back seat and pulled up a big black duffle bag. Lugging it half-way into her lap, she unzipped it and proceeded to pull some clothes out of it. Outfit in hand and bag aside, Clair shrugged out of her uniform and slipped into a, much more comfortable, tank and capris. She glanced at her disgarded uniform disdainfully.

It was ruined.

"God I hope they don't take that out of my paycheck."

Claira frowned and curled up as comfortably as she could manage in her seat. She was still tired and she had no where to be until her night shift. She'd be fine to sleep whilst parked in the secluded spot she had found the evening before, at least for a couple of hours. Besides, she really needed all the sleep she could get. Last night was just another dose of crap that she had no time to deal with, but perhaps she could find some solice in sleep. That is, just as long as that man's piercing blue eyes didn't follow her there as they had been in the back of her mind ever since she awoke.