Disclaimer: I do not own the Newsies as they belong to Disney and I do not own the character Saoirse Callan because she belongs to Lady of Tir Na Nog.

AN: Hello readers out there. I apologize like crazy for not writing and posting this chapter sooner. I do hope you enjoy the upcoming chapter.

~~"The soul is born old but grows young. That is the comedy of life."

Oscar Wilde

~~What you thought was real in life somehow steered you wrong
Now you just keep drivin' tryin' to find out where you belong

The Road I'm On by: 3 Doors Down

August 2008

Theafternoon sun shone in the sky as a few students wandered around the campus. There was still a week to go before classes started at the university so the influx of student life had yet to arrive. Every now and then one of the students would step into a shop to see if they could find a class text book, last minute supplies they needed for their new apartment or grab the latest piece of school spirit merchandise before the items flew off the shelves.

Unlike some who tried to stretch out their summer vacation as long as they possibly could, Dodger was amongst the early arrivals trying to move all her things in before havoc ensued. If she had waited to come up from New Orleans, she'd have had to deal with her neighbours sooner than she'd like. She would also have had to fight for one of the prime parking spaces amongst the U-Hauls, Sudans with mattresses bungee-corded to their roofs and overstuffed Buicks. She was sure that once her neighbours saw the size of her truck, they would go and try to convince the landlord that for everyone's best interest, the beast be moved to a side lot. This had happened in New Orleans at least once a month. By arriving a week early, she managed to get the parking placement card and avoid any parking lot disaster, unload the truck faster and not have to worry about a maze of people in the halls.

Now,this wasn't her first move and she doubted that it would be her last. As far back as she could remember, she had always moved from one city to another. Always being labelled as the 'new kid', she never had any real friends or a BFF, but she was rather content with simple acquaintances. Up until she was ten years old, her family had moved around the country due to her father's position in the military. She enjoyed seeing the new sights and smells, finding out that even the hot dogs sold on the street had a different aroma to them. Even though her parents apologized for every move, Dodger would just give them a sweet smile and pick up one of her boxes for the truck.

The apologies ended though a month after her tenth birthday. While she spent New Year's Eve with a babysitter, her parents went off base to a party, and were killed in a late night car crash on their way home. A few tears were shed when the Colonel broke the news to her, but when the time came for the funeral and watching the caskets lowered into the ground next to her grandparents, not one tear was shed. Many of the officers and wives and husbands who knew her parents gave her looks of sorrow mixed with admiration and pity. Pity for the fact that she lost both parents within one tragedy, but admiration for they could see how grown up she was and how she would make both her parents proud. Some would give their condolences, while others would say to each other how "Major Denton McClure would be proud of his little soldier."

Neitherof her parents thought that they'd be the one to go so no will was ever made. She stayed with her father's best friend until his own family was stationed elsewhere. After that she was sent around, bouncing from one family member or friend to another. She often spent more time with the family friend's than with her own blood. No one wanted the 'odd child' longer than they had to in fear something, well, odd would happen.

Dodger wasn't different in the way she dressed or a few marbles short- she was odd in the way that, as she grew up, she held a striking resemblance to her Grandmother Skye who passed away the night she was born. The aunts and uncles on both sides of the family felt uneasy about how much their niece took after the old woman in looks, and thought that she would get the same talents and become interested in the unknown like her namesake.

Sure enough their worries came true. Dodger enjoyed reading the gothic classics like Dracula and Frankenstein far more than any Babysitting Club or Nancy Drew Mystery. She would rent any movie that she could that had some sort of supernatural being. She even went so far as attending kickboxing and self defence classes after watching the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the age of eleven. She felt a connection to the genre that she knew no one else in her living family felt.

When she was seventeen, Dodger was living in Boston with a retired officer friend of her dad's when her inherited 'talents' hit her full force. This was also the first time she saw and fought a vampire. Dodger had been in the library looking for some books on vampires that she had yet to read when a vision of a girl being attacked in a nearby alley hit her. Before she'd always had a sense of déjà-vu but knew that everyone got them and so just brushed off the visions. This one though she had a feeling within that she couldn't simply brush off. This time someone was in danger. Following her gut feeling, Dodger dropped the books she had in her hand on a nearby table and ran out of the library. Darkness had already fallen on the city with the street lamps radiating their light in splotches on the pavement. She looked both ways, trying to figure out which direction to go when the shrill soprano scream came from her right. Sprinting towards the sound, Dodger dropped her bag at the mouth of the alley as two figures came into view.

The buildings on either side had a few security lamps on them, one on either side, shedding some light on the situation. Dodger could feel the bass pulse from one of the buildings along with the guitar solo screaming from a lit window. The library had been on a side street so there was a lack of traffic. All of these factors explained why no one had come to the girls rescue. Doing a quick surveillance, she took note of crates piled up, trash cans and a few dumpsters lining the brick walls. Leaning up against one of the trash cans stood a pipe which Dodger grabbed as she moved down towards the victim and attacker. As hard as she could, Dodger swung the pipe like a batter wishing this hit was the winning homerun against the man's back. Neither a groan nor a cry of pain came from him. Instead, a growl that sounded as though it came from a grizzly rather than a man rumbled from him as he turned away from his prey.

Now that she was closer, she realized that the moon was also actually the full source of light. The security lamps were pointed towards the mouth of the alley. In the shaft of silver light, Dodger took in the features she could see and instantly recognized the pale skin, the darkened eyes and last but not least the pointed canines. This was no mere mortal man before her. What she was dealing with was a vampire. She watched as the fiend licked his lips as he took in the piece of meat that interrupted his meal and smirked as he noticed the pipe in her hand. Dodger took a step back before taking another swing, this time aiming for his head. Prepared for the move, he grabbed the metal laughing.

"Weelass... you've taken on more than you know." His yell sounding like a whisper amongst the music coming from the buildings. She tugged at the pipe to get her weapon back and his laughter kicked in her instincts and adrenaline rush. Remembering her training, Dodger kicked out into his stomach, knocking him back against some trash piles near the building taking the pipe with him. The mess and assault caused him to lose his footing, stumbling and hitting the brick wall with a crunching sound.

With the adrenaline pulsingthrough her, Dodger took a quick look around for another weapon, taking notice of a busted up crate near the dumpster. She also saw that this was where the young girl was now hiding behind. The growls became louder from the vampire so she moved quickly. Taking part of the crate, she snapped the wood making sure that the end had some sort of point to it.

"Stay here and stay down."

"But…"

"You want to stay alive? Then do what I say. Stay here and stay down." She gave the girl a hard look and in that moment Dodger felt the monster grab her, throwing her body back into the trash bags he had just come from. She pulled herself up, tightening up the grip she had on the piece of wood.

"That all you got?"

"Nay… I like to play with my food before I eat." He licked his chops again taking a step towards Dodger. Her eyes narrowed as she stood her ground, weighing her options and calculated what she could do in such little time.

"You want to play huh?" He smirked and nodded before taking a lunge in Dodger's direction. Everything seemed to slow down as she leaned back out of the way of his fist, bringing her forearm up to block and lock his arm from moving. He bared his teeth; growling even louder as he tried to use his other arm. As he brought down the other, Dodger moved her makeshift stake straight into his chest, breaking through cloth and skin. Once the wood had pierced his chest, Dodger let go of the grip she had and stepped back. His eyes widened, the black orbs changing to a human green before a snow white, his skin gaining some pigment as he began coughing. What felt like hours watching these effects occur were in fact mere seconds as he finally burst into dust and flame. She could feel her arms aching from the fight as she stared at the pile of dust.

"Is he… gone?" Hearing the girl's voice, Dodger turned her attention over to her and nodded.

"He's gone. He won't be bothering you again." She tucked the blond strands behind her ear nodding"

"How did you know?" Dodger looked at the girl and briefly debated over whether or not to tell her the truth. Even she herself was having a hard time grasping the reality of the situation. It was better though, that the truth was hidden.

"Right place at the right time I guess. You should get going. I'm sure someone's looking for you." The girl nodded and gave her thanks again before running down the alley and out of sight.

As Dodger came out of the memory, she felt a chill over her skin and a pair of eyes watching her. There was no distress though and other than a few goose bumps, the chill was soon gone. She shook off the feeling and continued on with the unloading of her truck. As her mind scanned over the boxes trying to decide which one to go with next, Dodger turned her eyes onto her surroundings and did her own watching with a critical eye.

The newest place that she could call home was one of three buildings on the street that dated back to the 1960s. The brickwork was a multi-red with dark grey mortar and caps along the sills and roof. There was a fire escape made of wrought iron that weaved up on either side like two black snakes. The rest of the buildings were higher than three stories and were modern with security systems: guards at the door and up to date elevators. The one Dodger had chosen had one of those service elevators that she thought gave the old place some charm. Plus she also found that those types of elevators were far more practical than the small box like ones in the other buildings.

When she had been searching for a place to live, Dodger had taken a tour of the new buildings and while they had everything modern, the places just weren't her style. For instance, her truck looked as though it had been transported in from the 1980s. The black exterior had a few rust spots along the bottom of the doorframes. Areas of chipped paint ran along the sides of the back end as well as on the top of the cab. Inside the back area was the usual steel metal box and within was extra tools of her trade. During the day the case was padlocked but before rounds she would make sure to unlock it in case she ran out of stakes or needed a good old shovel.

The interior of the cab was just as bad, if not worse than the exterior. The two seats were originally dark grey, but time and sunlight had aged the material to look almost dull silver. There were rips, stains and every now and then a patch that had been needed when the rips were too many in one place. Other than a few fast food wrappers that littered the floor every few days, the only permanent fixtures inside was a silver cross that hung from her rear view mirror, a picture of her parents in the visor and her iPod dock.

Dodger had gotten the truck at her high school graduation as a gift from her guardian at the time. He said that the vehicle reflected the old soul that was within her. At the time, who knew that her soul really was old and had been around for hundreds of years?

Smiling fondly at her truck, Dodger decided to forget calculating which box to go next and grabbed the one closest, hoisting it onto her hip. Heading for the elevator, she thought of the day that had enlightened her about her soul, the truth of her talents and the fact that everything about her was destined long before she knew.

November 2003

Dodger stared at the safety deposit box on the table in front of her. Three days ago on her eighteenth birthday, she had received a letter from her Grandmother Skye's law firm. Receiving the letter had been a shock. The note was short, saying that she was needed to go to the local bank with the key that was in the envelope. The words weren't even in her hand writing; they were type written. The bank employee was surprised when she arrived since the box in question hadn't been touched in over twenty years. The clerk removed the box from the wall in one room and returned setting it on the table in they had led her to. That had been fifteen minutes ago and Dodger still wasn't sure if she was ready to read things from the grave. After the clerk had left, Dodger had taken the key from her pocket and set the piece down beside the box, never taking her eyes off the metal casing. She had heard the odd story growing up about her namesake, but nothing that told her about her sudden interest into the unknown.

"Do I really want to look inside?" She traced her fingers over the box and then moved onto the key when the sudden flash of a vision hit. Unlike the others that she'd had of someone being attacked, this one showed an elderly woman setting a box, a letter and lastly a photo into the metal case. She turned around and Dodger could see some of her facial features in the woman's.

The vision ended and Dodger looked at the deposit box. Any fears she had before were now squashed now that she knew what was inside but her curiosity was now skyrocketing. Who had been in the photo? What lay inside the smaller box? What did she write? There had to have been a reason behind the vision, that possibly Grandmother Skye had known that Dodger would be wary of what was inside and this was her way of letting her grandchild know that everything was okay and that it was safe to look inside. Picking up the key, Dodger made quick work of the lock and pushed back the lid. Sure enough lying inside were those three items.

Reaching in Dodger pulled out the photograph first and looked at the two people's faces. The man in the army uniform she knew right away that he was her grandfather. Though she had never seen a young photo of him, there were familiar traits from him she knew in a wrinkled face. A few times during her childhood she would go and visit him with her parents. He wasn't very talkative, and would respond more with grunts than actual words. Every now and then though she would sit on his lap and the two would stare at one another. The two of them would share a look of fondness and familiarity and would have silent conversations for hours. He had passed away when she was six and Dodger missed those conversations every now and then.

The black and white photo showed the woman dressed in a dress that came down to around her knees in a single color, a v-neckline with a few scrunched up accents on both shoulders. She had a pair of Mary Jane's on her feet and her dark hair curled and coiffed around her face. The woman now, that face startled her. Dodger's eyes looked into the woman's and felt as though she was looking into a mirror. She now understood why her family would always say she looked like her grandmother but would also hide the photos at the same time. Every detail was the same, down to what looked like a beauty mark under her left eye. Hanging around her neck was a silver cross with what looked like thorns wrapped tightly around.

Setting down the photo, Dodger pulled out the box and took off the lid. Lying inside were a few more photos of past generations with all the women having my facial features and the cross around their necks. Beside each woman was a man in some branch of the military.

"There must be some sort of weird attraction." At the bottom of the box was the very cross I had seen over and over again in the photos. The chain and pendant were both dull from being hidden away from years but with a little bit of elbow grease, Dodger knew she'd be able to make them both shine. Not wanting the piece to hide away in the dark any longer, Dodger slid the chain over her head and felt the weight of the pendant against her chest.

Setting the box aside, Dodger finally took out the aged piece of paper and unfolded the letter. Unlike the short, curt note that she had received, this one was written in a very fluid script.

Hello my darling granddaughter,

You are eighteen years old and I have missed so much of your life. But that is the cost I knew when your mother became pregnant. I hope your life hasn't been too hard. Every other generation seems to have hardships long before they should. But there is no need to go into that. What I am about to tell you is going to shock you and seem unlikely, but it is the truth.

When I die the night of your birth, my spirit and soul will become yours. This has been occurring since the first of our ancestors. We have lived since the dawn of time, or rather our soul has.

By now, you have likely had your first vision and have possibly dealt with your first vampire if not several by now. That is what we do. This is what we have always done. We fight to keep people safe and to make sure that the vampires don't take over.

Dodger stared at the written words trying to grasp their meaning.

"Grandmother Skye... was a vampire slayer? My family tree is made up of vampire slayers and we share the same soul?" She shivered at the thought and read on.

There is much you will learn in your life; some will be from books while majority will be experienced. Every vampire you come across will be different though can be killed in the same manner. Some vampires have gifts that create problems in trying to defeat them. To help you, there is a cabin that has been in our family since the revolution. It's in a forest on a small plot of land outside of New Orleans. We've been lucky that no one has ever tried to take the land or destroy the home. It is now yours. Within the walls are mountains of information that should help you.

Now, there is one vampire that I want you to be extremely careful of. His name is Jack Kelly and has been after our family for as long as we have been around. We share a long history and our family line holds something that he has wanted since his creation. He is more ruthless than any other because he is the original. He has had time to grow and gain knowledge. He has killed many and I doubt he will stop until he has control everywhere. In his mind the vampires should hold control over the world and the human race is merely around to feed and to entertain them. Vampires fear his wrath and I haven't met a slayer a second time who has gone after him.

As I mentioned in the above paragraph, there is something our family and particularly our bloodline has that he wants. What he wants is our blood. Whatever helps us to survive and gives us strength and visions lies within our blood and sings out to him; taunting him you could say if we are in the same city as he. I'm sure by now you have figured out that you are quite stubborn. All the women are but I must emphasize on this. Do NOT be stubborn like so many I have seen and go after him to fight. Wait before hunting him. You will know when the time is right.

There are a few others that I must tell you about. First, Padraic Conlon but now he is known as Spot.

"Spot?" The name sparked something within Dodger's mind that she had never remembered before. A flash of memory struck of him first as a friend, then as a foe.

He is a general level vampire. He leads around his own pack of vampires and has the ability to alter a memory. My grandmother faced off against his group in the 1880s and managed to do some damage before he got away. Another who travels with him now is a Trey Parker. He is known as Kid Blink and has a way of manipulating dreams. Be careful around these two because I believe that if you come across them, you will come across Jack soon after.

There is one last person whom I need to tell you about. She is not a vampire but a kindred soul. Each generation has searched for her soul but hasn't been able to locate the family line. The soul may continue to lay dormant during your lifetime but keep an eye and ear out. The soul began as Saoirse Callan several hundred years ago. There is information at the cabin that will explain even more.

In my heart, I believe you are the generation to find her and we all were simply information gatherers. I won't tell you what to do because I know you'll be like the rest of us- stubborn and inclined to follow your gut.

I love you my sweet child. Be careful and be strong.

Love

Skyler Annalise McClure

1982

August 2008

The memory tucked its way into the back of Dodger's mind as she pulled out her iPod and changed the song to something different. The sun dipped behind a few of the buildings and she couldn't help but think of everything that had happened since she'd read the letter five years ago. She had found the cabin and had added a few improvements and modern day appliances. Dodger had taken all the most recent information left by her grandmother, organized and transferred it into the new computer system. Almost every night she had fought vampires and when she finished she would go to her small apartment in New Orleans, an hour's drive from the cabin. Here she would spend several hours studying for her bachelor degree in history, predominantly on the theology of Christianity and the Renaissance all the while cleaning her clothes of dust, ash and dirt.

Her travels had brought her to New York now where she would work on her master, but also to fulfill a vision. She knew that this is where she would find Saoirse. Her grandmother was right that she was the generation to find her and for their paths to cross once again.

While Dodger hoisted yet another box onto her hip, a match flared to life, igniting the cigarette that rested between two lips. The eyes of the person whose lips they belonged to watched as the new girl went about unloading the truck; watching as she paused now and then to determine what box would go next. They noted the way the girl took the steps into the building, how she would hold herself without the added weight and what she would do when someone passed by her on the sidewalk. They had watched as several football players from the new monstrosity called an apartment building had sauntered over offering her their help, likely hoping for a very personal thank you later on. This new girl didn't simper and take the help. She simply kept at her pace, declining them in the process.

The eyes took in her appearance and noted that this person dressed like any college student- jeans cut off below the knees, black and white striped top and her hair pulled back at the base of her neck. She looked plain but something about her kept calling out. At one point when the girl stilled, the person leaned back against the wall thinking they'd been caught observing. The girl simply observed her surroundings before continuing on with her work.

The shadows were starting to grow on the sidewalks and street as the sun went down for its' daily rest; signalling that night was soon upon them. It was time to go in and get ready. Night was their time to play; night was their time to have fun. Slipping out of the shadows and into their home, they took one last look at the girl. There was something about her that drew them near; making them want to keep a close eye on her. What it was... who knows, but soon they'd know.

AN2: Okay. So I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. Please remember to review. I don't care how short the review is, I simply want to know what you think of it. Thanks go out to my lovely Beta Laelyn who without her, I would have submitted this sooner but wouldn't have been satisfied with what I wrote. Also to Lady of Tir Na Nog who helped me think of the story line in the first place.

I promise with the next chapter will be some more Newsie goodness. Hoping chapter two will come to my mind a lot faster and smoother than before.

Kitkat681: I finished chapter one! Did you find a copy of the film?