I wasn't sure when we ended up on the bikes again.

I remembered hazy chanting and dancing, and the next thing I knew, we were speeding down train tracks.

My arms were clutched tightly around Dwayne's waist, my forehead pressed into his back between his shoulder blades. He helped me off as we parked and Michael's arm immediately found and snaked around my shoulders as he mouthed, "Are you alright?"

I nodded with a smile, which had been strongly forced onto my face.

David made a comment about perfect timing as I perked up, "What's going on, David?"

"Rhiannon wants to know what's going on," David addressed to the group. "Marko, what's going on?"

"I don't know. What's going on, Paul?"

"Who wants to know?" Paul laughed.

"The newbies want to know!" Dwayne shot back.

"You all aren't funny," I grumbled under my breath.

David stepped between us and threw and arm over both of our shoulders, "I think we should tell them what's going on." He looked to Marko and said his name with a questioning tone.

Marko immediately smiled, "Goodnight, you two." He wiggled his fingers before dropping down off of the side of the tracks into nothingness.

Michael and I exchanged horrified looks as Paul took his place, disappearing after an utterance of, "Bottoms up, man."

Dwayne merely just pointed his hands out before following.

"Come with us, Michael," David clapped him on the shoulder before turning to me, "You two, fighter."

I cringed at the nickname that had once been only used by Dad.

Michael quickly dropped to his knees and we both let out relieved sighs as we saw that they were all hanging from bars under the tracks.

"Crazy fuckers…" I muttered as they let out noises of excitement and David yelled, "Come on down!"

"You never mentioned this," I spoke softly as I shot a hazy glare at the back of Michael's head.

"Hm?" Michael looked back at me with a raised eyebrow, his shaggy hair falling in his face.

"Oh, nothing," I shook my head as I climbed down after him, grateful for my upper body strength. I felt my stomach quiver as I held on to the bars overhead, my feet dangling over what seemed like endless fog.

How high up are we, again?

"Fun, huh?" David asked with a twinkle behind his eye as I finally looked back up, shocked at how dry his tone was.

This is my soul mate? You've got to be joking.

The sounds of a train's horn immediately filled my ears and Michael and I shared a look of panic.

Paul and Marko joked around on the other end as I tried to block out the head splitting noise and focus on keeping my hands steady.

That was a bit of a challenge due to the rattling under them, of course.

"Jesus Christ!" Michael shrieked as Paul let go.

Marko laughed, "Don't be scared, Michael!" before falling as well. Dwayne finally lost his grip, and I couldn't hold back my inner terror any longer as tears pricked at my eyes without warning.

"You're one of us, Michael. Let go!" David yelled over the sounds above as Michael shouted back at him.

David turned to me with a wink, "You're one of us!"

Then he was gone.

"David!" We both yelled out as I felt one of my hands slipping, "Michael! I can't..."

"Just…" The train began to slow as Michael tried to lift himself up, inevitably failing at that task. His strength for that was gone. The sounds of cheering below us could be heard in the distance and we both shared a look of confusion before he spoke up, "On three."

I nodded as I clenched my eyes shut, "One, two…"

"Three!" Michael yelled as he grabbed my loose hand and we both fell towards the invisible earth.

I felt a stab of pain shoot through me and I immediately fell unconscious in the fog.

"Mike, wake up! It's mom… whoa, who's that?"

"Mom's home?" Michael responded groggily, ignoring the question at the end as Sam stated that she was on the phone sitting across his chest.

I covered my face slightly and quickly fumbled inside the bag beside me for a pair of sunglasses, letting out a sigh of relief as I found and pulled them on.

"What time is it?"

"2 o'clock."

I looked around, holding back a smile at the sight of my Uncle. He really did have the worst fashion sense back then... now.

Michael and I were sprawled out on his bed, fully clothed and laying opposite ways.

"You need sunglasses to talk on the phone?" Sam asked with a scoff. "Are you freebasing? Inquiring minds want to know… and who is the girl? That's not the one from the Boardwalk."

I dropped my voice to a whisper and introduced myself, the best I could, as Michael answered the phone. I covered by saying that we had been out too late for me to rent a motel room to stay in Santa Carla, so Mike offered to let me crash; I was just a friend helping him out with Star.

Sam nodded with a raised eyebrow and kept further comments to himself, minus a scoff at the idea that he needed a baby sitter according to the phone conversation going on between us.

Michael hung the phone up not long later after a grumbled, "Okay, Mom." He shoved the phone back to the side and instructed Sam to get out. Sam finally did after a death threat, and Michael turned his attention towards me for the first time, "Uh…"

"That's how I feel," I laughed nervously. "Do you remember getting back here? Cause all I remember is-"

"Falling?"

"Yeah…"

"I think I'm going to be sick."

XXX

"Michael!"

I came running down the stairs not long after my Great-Grandfather, someone I had only briefly known in my childhood, left.

He was a little crazy, but entertaining; I was instantly upset at missing out on having him around longer before his death when I was 7.

The house was loud and shaking, the revving of motorcycles echoed through it, "What's going on?"

Sam looked utterly afraid and yelled as Michael moved towards the door, and I quickly grabbed Sam's shoulders to hold him back.

As soon as Michael yanked the door open, silence and darkness returned to the house and he told Sam to go take his bath in an effort to give the two of us time to figure out what was happening.

Granted, I already knew… I just, for now, had to play like I didn't.

I shot Sam a reassuring look as he put on a smile and disappeared with Nanook on his heels.

Twenty minutes later, I realized I needed to get some air after listening to a cranky Michael mutter under his breath about conspiracy theories.

I slipped out of the back door with a pack of cigarettes and retreated off into the distance to settle down under a tree.

The pain didn't hit until I was half way through my cigarette. I pushed it to the back of my head at first, until I was doubled over on the ground with the cherry burning into my hand.

I could hear the sounds of rumbling in the house, but with my own problems, realized that I wouldn't be able to make it there in time.

A small scream escaped my lips as I stumbled up to my feet and entered the house in time to hear Sam shout at Michael, "My own brother! A goddamn, shit sucking vampire! You wait until mom hears about this, buddy!"

"Sammy, wait. Sam!"

Their shouting quickly overlapped one another's and I was able to make it to the stairs, literally having to crawl up them as doors began slamming shut.

"Sam, open the door!"

"Michael!" I managed to yell out as I collapsed at the top of the stairs, the burn mark across my palm sending a searing pain through it as it slammed below me.

Michael's attention turned and with wide eyes he lifted me into his arms and carried me into his room, kicking the door shut behind him before laying me down on the bed, "Are you okay?"

"I'm hurting," I managed to hiss out as I clutched at my stomach.

He noticed my hand and found something to wrap around each of our injured ones before clicking the light off and falling back on the bed next to me with a strained sigh.

We both had labored breathing at that point, and I could hear Michael's heart pounding in my ears as I struggled to drift off to sleep.

XXX

I wasn't sure how long I had been unconscious when I heard a groan from across the room and Michael saying my name repeatedly.

"What?" I grumbled out, my eyes still closed.

"Wake up!" He yelled out and I finally opened my eyes and let out a muffled scream as his hand clamped over my mouth.

We were both half way out of the window… floating.

"Fuck!"

I quickly grabbed hold of one of the beams on the side of the house as Michael drifted towards Sam's window with a phone in his hand, "Don't listen to him mom, he doesn't know what he's saying! Shut up, Sam!"

The next thing I heard was shrieking from Sam and my Grandmother through the phone.

"Open up!"

"You stay back!"

"Sammy, help us! Open up!" Michael yelled in fear as I struggled to move down beside him.

"Sam, open the window!" I yelled heavy panic lacing my voice. "Please!"

"You're both vampires! I knew it!"

"I am not!" Mike shrieked.

"So what are you? Some kind of flying nun!" Sam shot back as I screamed, my hands slipping from the beam.

Michael shot me a look of worry before turning back to the window, "I'm your brother! Help us! Sammy! Open up." Sam slowly moved towards the window to see the both of them clearly. "Please… Please!"

Sam finally opened the window and pulled Michael inside, who grabbed onto me and pulled me in and onto the floor on his other side.

"Thank you," I whispered as my body shook and Mike mumbled, "We've got to stick together" to the pair of us

"What about her?" Sam nodded towards me, and I had to suppress a hurt look.

It was hardest adjusting to this aspect of the past; where only my Dad seemed to care about my fate, despite having no clue why he did. No one else gave a damn.

"We've got to take care of her, too."

"Why?"

"I don't know… just, trust me."

Sam nodded reluctantly before adding, "What about Mom?"

We began coming up with a plan and minutes later I heard tires come to a skidding stop and the yelling of, "Sam, Sam!"

Sam sighed and moved up from the ground to disappear from the room, shooting one final look at the two of us huddled together on the floor.

"Come on," Michael whispered into my ear as we grabbed our coats and snuck out of the side door towards the garage.

Michael decided to go to the cave, but I quickly shook my head and asked to be dropped off at the Boardwalk; we could meet up later.

I knew only my Mom would be there. I didn't need to cock block my parents.

… That was still creeping me out.