Righto, sorry for the delay, but I've been working on it for ages, had got up to chapter 40 or something ridiculous, then yesterday deleted the whole lot. Yes, I hate myself too, and I'm sorry, but here's a quick chapter for you. The other version was so much better... *sigh* :) xxx

'Ask Me No Questions'

Claire's POV

Claire became aware of being conscious when she felt the pain.

Her muscles were burning, and her neck hurt.

She tried to touch it, and realised that her hands were tied tightly up to either side of her.

It was painful for her to turn her head, but when she twisted around she saw the metal wire cutting into her wrists. Trails of dried blood ran all the way down her arms.

Claire tried to move into a more comfortable position where she was kneeling on the floor, but quickly realised that whoever had tied her here had done pretty good job. Her arms were tied in such a way that her knees barely touched the floor she knelt on, but she was also prevented from standing up.

Claire looked around, taking in her surroundings for the first time. She was in a small, concrete room, dimly lit by a single bare bulb hanging from the dead centre of the ceiling. There was what a looked like a two-way mirror stretching across the wall to her right, and a plastic table and chairs in front of it. A door, which had a small barred window in it, was directly opposite her.

She didn't know how long she'd been there. There was no natural light in the small room, and no way of telling the time.

Claire's hands had gone numb, but they began to tingle and spike as she tried to relieve some of the weight on them.

A clear voice rang out suddenly in the silence.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is."

Claire yelped in shock and looked wildly around - but the room was still empty.

"Who's there?" She said softly.

Silence.

Then the door swung open, and Claire could make out someone's dark outline in the doorway. A second later they stepped into the light, and Claire flinched unwillingly.

Francois.

He smiled creepily.

"Hello, little Claire."

She didn't answer; she was too busy wishing everything away.

Francois frowned.

"Aren't you glad to see me?"

Before Claire could blink, he was crouched in front of her, hand squeezing her throat. She struggled to get a breath, and he growled,

"I asked you a question, and you didn't answer. We're not getting off to a good start."

Claire was too busy dying to try and understand what he meant. Just as her lungs started screaming for air, he released her. She choked and spluttered and dragged in a deep breath.

Francois grabbed the chair and whipped it in front of him, sitting on it backwards facing Claire. He watched her struggling to get her breath, smirking slightly.

"What - what do you want from me?" Claire gasped as soon as she could breath again.

Francois leant forwards, smiling at her secretively, and whispered in her ear;

"Answers."

"What?"

Francois lost the smile, and cracked his knuckles slowly.

"Here's what is going to happen. You give me truthful answers to my questions, and you die relatively painlessly. Got it? Good." Francois continued without waiting for an answer. "Here's your first question." He leant forwards again, putting his face inches away from her own. "Where is Bishop being held?"

Claire blinked in confusion. She didn't know. Suddenly, her mouth was incredibly dry. "I-I...I don't - don't know."

Francois sighed heavily, but a sadistic smile spread across his face.

"Well now, isn't it a pity that I don't believe you?"

"I'm telling the truth!"

Francois slapped her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Claire shook her head, blinking away the spots in her vision.

Francois growled and kicked the chair away. It hit the wall with terrifying force and shattered.

"I'm not playing games, child! You cannot imagine the pain I will inflict on you...Alright, let's try a different question."

It was like he was playing 'good cop, bad cop' with himself.

"Where is the cure?"

Claire braced herself. "I...don't know."

Francois' face changed and he let out a snarl, punching the wall beside Claire's head. It cracked.

Claire was helpless to do anything but watch as he reached out, grabbed her wrist and began to twist. She held back a scream as she felt it starting to splinter under the force he was exerting.

"Do you want me to stop?"

Claire only whimpered.

Francois growled. "Then tell me!" He hissed. Claire said nothing, then screamed in agony as he continued twisting, and a loud snap reverberated through the room.

Tears streamed down her face as she attempted to cradle her hand to her chest. Francois let go, smirking.

"Now-" He began, then broke off as Claire continued screaming. "Shut up!" He snarled, slapping Claire again. The force of the slap sent Claire's head flying into the wall. It connected with an audible crack.

"I don't know!" She cried. "I don't know I don't know I don't know!"

Francois growled.

"I suggest you take some time to think about your options here. I'll be back... But first...I am hungry..." Francois' voice became softer, and his wandering gaze fixated on Claire's bleeding wrist. He was in front of her in two graceful steps, holding her wrist with impossible gentleness, breathing in her scent.

"Mmm..." Francois met her eyes over the top of her wrist, and smiled widely, fangs sliding into place.

"No!" Claire whimpered, trying to pull away. Francois' grip grew harder as he held her wrist still, fingernails digging into the soft flesh there. He licked the spot where her pulse beat, and she shivered at the touch.

"No, no, no!" She cried, then screamed as Francois bit in.

He made no attempt to keep it neat, tearing at her wrist savagely. He took a lot - enough to make Claire feel woozy.

She didn't even move as he withdrew his fangs and stood up, licking his lips.

"Exquisite." Francois murmured, moving to the door. "I'll be back" He whispered, his voice lingering in the air.

Claire vaguely remembered someone coming in a little while later and bandaging her wrist, giving her food. She almost said thank you, then remembered that they probably didn't care about her at all, just didn't want her dying before they'd had a chance to torture her first.

She didn't know how long she was there in that tiny room, but she was woken up from an uneasy sleep by Francois reentering the room.

"Hello, Claire. Are you ready to give me answers now?"

Claire attempted a mocking smirk, but she was sure she just looked scared out of her wits.

"Back again, Francois?"

Francois' expression darkened, and he came closer.

"Tell me!"

Just a bit closer...

"My God, you sound like a four-year-old throwing a temper tantrum." Claire goaded.

"You will regret that, child." The vampire growled, taking one last step forwards.

Claire lashed out suddenly with her foot, catching him on the shin. He winced and bent down. Claire brought her knee into his face, sending him sprawling across the room.

There was one second of shining victory, and then Claire began to regret her actions.

Francois snarled and zoomed across the room to her, wrapping a hand around her throat.

"You little bitch!" He hissed, slamming her head against the wall again. Claire saw stars. Francois twisted a hand in her hair and wrenched her head to the side.

A moment later she felt his fangs ripping through her skin.

OK, please review and tell me what you think! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, and to 'JackieNight98', I say thank you for your review, I shall indeed consider your suggestion! (But please don't hold your breath) :) xxxxxxxxxxxxx