Chapter Three:

Six Hours Before Sunrise

I crawled into bed and just lay there, unmoving. I didn't want to think about what was going on. I just wanted to sleep and forget about it, but sleep wasn't coming. When does it ever come when you want it? In fact, I felt pretty awake. Exhausted, but awake.

And really, really thirsty.

I got up out of the bed and searched the fridge for something to drink. Hot chocolate, orange juice, milk… I wondered if I had actually started craving coffee. So, I made a pot and took a sip. It tasted bitter; more bitter than I'd ever tasted it.

I dumped the pot and my cup into the sink and tried desperately to get the bitter, metallic taste out of my mouth. Water worked wonders, but it didn't really satisfy me either.

Maybe I'm just getting one of those crazy girl cravings… I thought as I flopped onto the bed.

I heard the doorbell ring, so I crossed through the rooms of the apartment and checked to see who it was. It was just Alec, so I opened the door.

"Woah, Jo," he said, smirking, "you look like hell."

"I feel like hell," I grumbled as I stepped to the side, letting Alec pass. "What're you doin' here?"

"Cole asked me to watch over you," Alec said with a shrug. "Something about you just not feelin' like yourself."

You got that right, I thought with a frown. And then I remembered my conversation with Cole. He'd said that he'd call Alec. I wondered why I forgot so quickly.

"Well, I'm trying to sleep."

Alec nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'll just watch some T.V. If you're feelin' any better, you could come watch with me. Though I'm not really sure why you wanna miss out on Pyre Night."

"Just believe me when I say I wanna sit this one out."

Alec shrugged and sat down on the couch, grabbing the remote and flipping through the channels. I went back to my bedroom but stopped at the door. I returned to the living room after a few minutes of standing around.

"Hey Alec, d'you have anything to drink?" I asked.

"Why would I? I can mooch off of Cole and Lucy!" Alec replied, a grin on his face. "Mooching is great, ain't it?"

"Y-Yeah…"

My eyes moved to Alec's neck. I started to move forward, getting thirstier and thirstier as I did. My throat was burning!

The next thing I knew, my hands were wrapped around Alec's throat. Alec leapt up and got out of my grasp easily, but I continued to stagger forward. I was no longer aware of what I was doing; I just wanted…

"What the hell Jo?" Alec snapped. I saw him reach for the gun slung across his back. "Hey! Would you just stop for a sec?"

I leapt at him. Alec slammed the butt of his gun into my face, but I still managed to get on top of him. A feral growl ripped out of my throat. Alec smashed his head against mine and staggered me, but that didn't stop me. Alec was screaming at me, but I couldn't hear him. And then he sank into the floor, before I could do anything. He reappeared too fast for me and kicked me hard in the stomach, right out the window.

I landed on a car in the alley, my head ringing. I could taste my blood in my mouth, metallic and sweet. Alec followed me out the window, landed on the car gracefully, and pointed the barrel of his sniper rifle at my throat. He shouted something; I couldn't make it out.

The next thing I knew, I was running. Alec was leagues behind me. He probably hadn't yet realized that I wasn't even there anymore. A stabbing pain found its way into my chest, but I didn't know what caused it. I had found my way into another alley, where a man and his friends were drinking and listening to some music. I pulled the hood of my windbreaker over my face automatically, and took a step forward—.

"Did you have fun?" a voice asked.

My eyes opened groggily. The pain in my body had left, and I didn't feel thirsty… Was it all a dream? I couldn't remember half of what happened.

"It looked like you did," the voice continued. "I was debating joining you, but you fledglings are so ferocious, and hog all the fun whenever there are groups. Ah, well. It can't be helped, can it? You'll simply have to learn with time."

Huh? I looked around. No one was there, but… Where was I?

"Finally decided to join the ranks of the undead, have you?" The voice chuckled. "I was wondering when your instincts would kick-in. You lasted longer than Cole, that's for sure."

Bloody Mary, I thought angrily. What're you doing in my head? I've already had one bitch in my head before, and that was enough!

"Ah, yes. I can see that. Sasha was her name. You almost burnt her from the inside in Empire City. You're quite the killer, aren't you?"

And what would you mean by that?

"Look around, my darling Joan. You are something of an artist as well."

My eyes didn't need to adjust to the darkness around me. I could see as if it were bright as day… or as close as it could get at such a time in the morning. Blood was splattered all over the bed, the apartment, the door, the hallway… It looked like a crime-scene of a massacre.

"W-What…?" I muttered.

"You handled yourself well, fledgling. After approaching those men, you were so weak without blood that one of them decided you needed to rest in his apartment. One of his friends even convinced him that they could take advantage of you while you were in such a state. And then, as soon as the door closed, you pounced." Bloody Mary chuckled inside my head. "There were five men; your tore out the first's throat, and tossed his corpse into three of them. You went after the last man standing and plunged your arm through his stomach. He died in seconds. The last three, you broke their necks. Art, if I'd ever seen it. And I am very old; I have seen my share of art. Though it could have been less bloody, that's for sure. You wasted so much…"

I was hyperventilating. The memories were coming back in quick flashes, but I could see every detail. Alec had threatened to shoot me on the car. I tossed him over me and started running. As soon as I saw those guys, I did exactly what Bloody Mary had described. Worse, I didn't feel anything for it.

"You can really go on a blood craze," Mary said. "How useful. And think; you wasted so much of their blood that you'll go after more. And more, and more, and more, until an appetite like yours is satisfied. Maybe you'll never be satisfied. Either way, I think I'll enjoy having you and Cole around." Mary laughed again. "You haven't got much longer, anyway."

"GO AWAY!" I screamed. When I heard her laughs die down, I brought my knees up to my chest and buried my face in them.

And then the door to the apartment broke. Actually, someone had kicked it in. I heard a little gasp as they saw the massacre inside, and then a weapon was drawn. Activated, I recognized it was the AMP.

"What the fuck happened…?" I heard Cole mutter. "Another Vampire coven…?"

And then he entered the bedroom. I felt like if I stopped holding myself, I'd fall apart.

"J-Joan…?"

I looked up at him. I wasn't even sure what my expression was, but his gaze turned from shocked to concerned in an instant. "How'd… How'd you find me…?"

"A woman ran up to me and reported some guys taking a kid into their apartment. She was worried, and so I figured it was another Vampire coven with another victim." Cole deactivated the AMP and sat on the bed, trying to sit on a part of it that wasn't covered in blood. "What happened, Joan? Weren't you supposed to be at home? Alec was watching you."

I was finding it hard to explain. The words kept getting caught in my throat. Suddenly, Cole's cell started ringing. Cole seemed torn as to shutting it off or answering it, but in the end he answered.

"Yeah?"

"Cole, I lost Joan," Alec said from the other end. "She tossed me into the wall of the alley by your place and knocked me out. I dunno where she is! And can you tell me what the hell's up with her? She tried to friggin' kill me!"

Cole glanced at me. I hung my head. "Don't worry, Alec. I found 'er."

"Well, can you at least tell her that she owes me? She bent the barrel of my sniper rifle when I hit the wall. I want her to pay for the repairs!"

I closed my eyes. "Don't worry," Cole said, "she'll pay for 'em. Right now, we've kinda got some issues to deal with."

"Yeah, no shit." Alec shut his phone off, disconnecting the call.

Cole glanced at me. "You tried to kill him?"

"I guess I did," I muttered. "It was a bad idea to call Alec…"

"Well, that was my fault." Cole grabbed my hands and helped me off the bloody bed. "C'mon. You might as well get cleaned up a little."

"How bad is it?" I asked.

"Pretty bad. You look like—." Cole stopped short. "Well, you look like you were involved in a massacre, which you were."

"Well, if ya think about it, they really were gonna take advantage of me…"

Cole shrugged. "Well, those days for them are over, I guess."