Amata stared out the window of her apartment, the gentle breeze caressing her face. She knew where to find her first victim but she wasn't ready to go out and kill him. She wasn't in shape. After she had left the city, she had let herself fall apart, not bothering to try and take care of herself.

But now she had to change that. She had to get her speed and agility back up to scratch. She couldn't kill someone if they could outrun her. She sat on the white velvet window seat, contemplating on whether she should go for a quick run or not. Why not? Amata thought, might actually do me some good. She pulled her gaze away from the window and surveyed her room.

A queen-sized bed was on the far wall, a purple throw rug at the foot of it. She hadn't bothered to make the bed this morning, she wasn't sure if she was going to actually get up and stay up. A small bedside table held a white lamp and was covered in used tissues and her mp4. A dresser with a mirror was against the other wall, cosmetics and perfumes scattered all over it. Her hairbrush lay discarded on the floor. A door to the right led into her bathroom and the door opposite her led to the kitchen and then to the entrance hall. She sighed and stood up. Yep, this was home.

She walked over to her closet and flung the doors open. What to wear, what to wear? Amata thought as she studied the racks of clothes. Definitely not jeans or a skirt; how can I run in that? She started to fling clothes out of the closet and dumped them on the floor. She had nearly emptied out the entire closet when she found what she was looking for. She pulled on a pair of black leggings and a white tank top. This will do for running. She rummaged through her shoeboxes and managed to find her sneakers. She then turned and looked at her room. Oops, I really should clean this up.

Amata walked over to the dresser and sat down and stared in the mirror. Her auburn hair fell messily around her shoulders and her fringe was sticking out at odd places. Her sapphire blue eyes no longer had the twinkle in them and she had massive bags under her eyes. Who ever thought that vampires could get bags? We don't even sleep that much! She frowned, and noticed the slight frown lines forming on her forehead. I really should smile more. But what is there to smile about? I'm dead for crying out loud! She frowned again and leant down to retrieve her brush. She brushed her hair quickly, not even bothering to get all the knots out properly. I'll worry about that later. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and swept her fringe out of her eyes then studied herself again. She was beginning to look like a human again although a few more adjustments could be made. Well, it's a start.

She pulled her phone from the draw on her dresser and shoved it down her shirt. No one's going to try and take it now. She walked out of her room, only just remembering to lock the door. She walked down the stairs then quickly froze. The landlord's room was just across from the stairs. And this was the third time she had been late with the rent. Crap, crap, crap! How am I supposed to get past? She tiptoed the rest of the way down and almost made it past when

"Where do you think you're going?" Amata winced and turned to face the landlord. Darcon Pendleton, part-time owner of the apartment block, full-time pain in the butt. Dark had short messy platinum blond hair, pale green eyes and a permanent smirk. The other owner, Clark Pendleton, had a permanent scowl. Clark had had it in for Amata ever since she had moved in. She didn't know why he hated her, he just did. To make matters worse, Clark was Darcons father and she had a sneaking suspicion that Clark liked to diss her behind her back.

"Where are you going?" Dark repeated.

"Nooooowhere," Amata answered smiling.

"Uh huh," Dark said leaning against the door frame and folding his arms, "where are you going?"

"For a run," Amata answered.

"Where?"

"I don't know. Anywhere."

"You do realise that you are three days behind on rent?"

"Yes, I do realise that. It's just that…." Amata started.

"It's just that what?" Dark asked.

"I don't have the money at the moment but I promise I'll pay it soon!" Amata said.

"Uh huh. You said that last time."

"Well, this time I actually mean it."

"You really love pissing off my father, don't you?" Dark stated raising his eyebrows.

"Well that's a stupid thing to say," Amata muttered as Dark laughed.

"Okay, I'll let you slip away for now," Dark said backing into his room, "but I'm warning you: next time I won't be so nice." And with that he disappeared into his room. Amata let out a breath then continued out of the building. She pushed through the revolving doors and stepped onto the sidewalk. Now where? She looked up and down the street. Do I start running here, or do I wait until I get to a beach? She started walking down the street, heading for a beach. Just a quick run, don't want to be out here for too long. Even though she could go into sunlight, she couldn't be there for too long otherwise she started to burn. She had made that mistake once and she wasn't going to do it again. Last time she spent a couple hours in an ice bath. And that was not pleasant.

She made her way down onto the sand and started jogging. She couldn't run too fast otherwise people would look at her strange. But maybe they wouldn't be able to see her if she ran like a proper vampire? Ah well, she wasn't in the mood for a full on sprint. She continued to run for another two hours then decided to head back home. She was getting sick of the sun.

On the way home she bought herself a soft serve from McDonalds. After that run, she deserved a treat. She arrived back at the apartment block at quarter to six. Teatime. She bounced up the stairs not bothering to sneak past the landlords' room. She skipped down the corridor that lead to her room and all but ran into her door. Oh yeah, I locked it.

She unlocked the door then walked inside, kicking off her sneakers and walking into the small kitchen. She pulled open the small pantry and studied its contents. Chicken noodle soup sounds good, she thought as she pulled the packet out and dumped it into a pot. Even though she was a vampire, she could still eat normal food, just as long as she had some blood every couple weeks. She sat on the counter and waited for the soup to cook, stirring it occasionally. Don't want to burn it like last time.

Once the soup was down, she spooned it into a bowl and ate it leaning against the counter. She hadn't bothered to try and buy a dining table. She liked to eat where she stood and she rarely had visitors. All her immediate family had died years ago. Once she was finished she tidied up and padded into the bathroom, stripping while she walked. She climbed into the shower and let the hot water run over her. Hmmm, better not stay in here too long otherwise I'm going to get another scolding from Clark. Reluctantly, Amata climbed out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her. She walked back into her bedroom and stared at the floor. Crap, I still have to put all these clothes away.

She quickly pulled an over-sized shirt on and mini shorts then set about to clean up her clothes. She was halfway done when she decided she had had enough. She gathered the rest of the clothes in her arms and chucked them into the closet. She quickly slammed the doors closed and leaned against them. Satisfied that the doors weren't going to burst open and clothes spilling everywhere, she walked away and flung herself down on the bed. Maybe I should invest in a TV, that way I won't get so bored. Amata sat up and stared at her feet. Now what? She didn't want to go and hunt the bastard just yet, she wanted to get used to the idea of living in a city again. She lay back down and blew out some air. Why did I come back? By the time I'm ready to go out and kill them all, they'll probably have moved onto another town and all this will have been a waste of time. Amata climbed pulled back the bed covers and snuggled beneath them. As she started to drift to sleep she thought: Okay, tomorrow I'll start looking for them. I can't live in fear forever.

Okay, so what did you think? The chapters get more interesting from now on. Please tell me what you think and don't forget to review!

VampSa