Chapter 2

I woke up resting on a big bed. My head resting on a pillow cushion-ier than a cloud. My head ached like insanity.

I sat up slowly and saw the weird bed curtain think surrounding me. Where am I? What's going on?

I slid over to the deep crimson velvet curtain and pulled it back slightly. Tentatively I peeked out, nothing. Was it all just a dream? Had I fallen asleep?

I silently slid off the bed and felt my bare feet touch the dirty wooden floor. Bare feet? I had shoes and socks on.

Slowly I remembered what had happened. I had been trapped in the haunted house and I saw the weird coffin thing… and then...

I felt myself begin to shake. Someone no,something else had been there.

I took another step and heard the floor creak. I tensed up again. Nothing. I kept walking until I reached the door. I pressed my ear against the door, listening for any sound or huff of expelled breath. I heard a piano playing, a low sad song that echoed through the hall.

Slowly I twisted the knob on the creaky door and slid it open. When i was open enough for me to step outside the music stopped. I held my breath. Slowly, I stepped out of the room and into the dark hall. The floor was stone. I swore that the house had been made from old creaky planks of sawdust packed together and called wood.

I heard a foot step from down the hall and ran back into the room quickly shutting the door and patting down my pockets for my cell phone.

Where is it?! Where is it?! I frantically stuck my hands in my pockets but nothing. No cell phone, not even one of those stupid jock notes I had in my pocket.

"Looking for this?" I turned around and stared in horror at the man standing behind me. How long had he been there? The man had my small flip phone in the palm of his hand. He met my gaze with cold, red eyes? Red eyes?!

He smiled. And as his smile came onto his face, his hand closed around the phone. There was a sickening cracking noise and when he opened his palm again the pieces fell out of his hand with almost no ties to each other.

Bull crap. I stepped back away from him flattening my back against the wall.

"Who- who are you?" I felt the wall, desperately grabbing for the handle.

Silence was my only response. I found the handle and started turning it but in an instant something solid and ice cold had grabbed me and basically football chucked me onto the bed. I recovered my bearings by the time the curtains had settled back into place. What on Earth…?

I sat up slowly, my head swimming through incoherent thoughts.

"And stay there." I heard that cold voice from about two inches away and flinched back almost sliding off the bed. Ice wrapped itself around my wrist like the touch of a corpse and pulled me back from the edge of the bed.

I felt my breath expelled as I hit the stone wall behind the bed.

"Stay still."

I froze eyes wide in fear for my life.

At least until I saw a spinning wooden like spear thing come flying through the curtain and miss the freaky cold man's heart by about millimeters.

I felt a new hand clamp around my wrist, this time warm and pulsing with a heart beat.

"Run!"

I did.

I ran all the way through the hall skipping down the stairs two at a time. There was a broken window at the end of the long hallway beneath the stairs and I saw some other guy standing at the opening beaconing me.

"Come on! Hurry!"

I got to the window and he helped me out onto the dangle rope, closely followed by two teenage boys. The rope raised itself and by the time I got to the top I saw a girl standing stiff.

She ran over, "Connor, Vic are you two ok?! Who's the girl?"

"She was captive. What now Jessica?" The one with brown shaggy hair said, he cut the rope from the place it was secured and then the three of them started walking to the edge of the building.

I just stood there awkwardly.

"You coming?" The darker haired one turned, I think he was Vic.

"Sure?" I jogged over to them and followed behind the three.

I honestly tried not to listen into their conversations, so I ended up being the only one to see the figure dart up the roof and straight towards us.

"Uh… people?"

They stared at me then at the place I was staring.

All three instantly had weapons out and instantly were pummeled. I, luckily, was smart enough to leap into a dive roll and barely missed being tackled also. I got up to see the shape dart towards me again and barely dodged the next attack and grabbed one of the dropped silver knives.

I dodged to the side again and turned jamming the knife into the back of the creature.

A second later the brown haired guy (Connor I think) leapt over me and jammed a wooden spear thing into the creature's limp form. He stood over the body and walked back over to the group.

"We need to go. He'll send more of his minions after us soon."

The blonde girl just stared at me. Her face was void of expression. Connor looked at her than back to me questioningly.

She shook her head then pulled out a cell phone just like mine. A few quick motions and she was on it, "Sejiluan, we're done. Get the hell over here."

There was buzzing on the Phone and I saw the girl's face contort with fury.

"Just get over here smartass!"

I heard buzzing laughing from the phone and the girl slammed it closed muttering curses.

Vic just stood there grinning, Connor rolled his eyes and stayed alert.

A few minutes later I heard the whop whop whop of a helicopter. A few seconds later there was a mini tornado of wind flapping around us and a ladder came flying down out of the Heli.

"Damn." I just stared. Who knew I'd ever be standing on top of a castle with a few hot guys, a super humanly bad ass chick, and a helicopter?

Connor, who saw me day dreaming, walked over and grabbed my hand roughly putting it on the ladder, "Go already!"

I snapped back to reality and climbed up into the open part of the helicopter, Vic, the girl, and another boy were already up there and Connor came in on my heels.

"Who's she?" The boy (I assumed) Sejiluan said pointing at me over his shoulder as Vic pulled the ladder back up.

"She was Vladimir's captive." Connor walked over to the passenger helicopter seat and buckled himself in. Once again I stood awkwardly.

"Oh."

Vic walked over and slapped me on the back, "It's good now!"

"Ow?"

"Vic, you have to remember not everyone is made of steel," The girl rolled her eyes at me and held out her hand to me with a smile, "I'm Jessica."

"Cassandra." I shook her hand, "Mind explaining what the hell those things were and who the hell you people are?"

Jessica's face hardened, "You don't know?"

I shook my head.

"Damnit he's bringing more innocents into this."

"He?"

"Vladimir Dracula, the one who took you." Vic supplied.

"He's been taking anyone foolish enough to enter one of the passages to Transylvania." Jessica could barely contain her fury.

"Passages?"

"There's some spread out around the Americas that have space portals to his castle. Speaking of which, where are you from?"

"Um… Alamosa Colorado?"

"Where?" The three who weren't driving the helicopter stared at me questioningly.

"America?"

"Oh" they all said in complete unison

"And, where exactly are you taking me?" I asked, feeling increasingly more awkward with their stares.

"Back to our base." Connor didn't even turn around to look at me as he spoke. Does he have a problem with me? I don't even know him!

I stopped dwelling on the subject, his problem not mine.

I stood silently for the rest of the ride.