Melody opened her eyes and blinked several times. Her vision was blurry and her head was pounding. She groaned and did her best to ignore the pain. Her surroundings were slowly coming into view and everything was unfamiliar.

"Good. You're awake." A voice said, causing Melody's head to throb for a few seconds. She tried to move her hand to cradle her head, but she couldn't. "Sorry about that. Can't have you running off now, can I?" The voice said again. It was distinctly male and vaguely familiar. Melody looked down at her hands and saw she was restrained to some kind of chair. Her feet were securely held in place as well.

"What's...What's going on?" She asked, looking around to see where the man talking to her was standing. Mel couldn't remember how she got here. The last thing she remembered was...walking along the beach. Chloe!

"I have a question for you, if you don't mind." The man stepped around into view and Melody stared at him in disbelief.

"Steve?" She asked quietly. "What the heck is this? What are you doing?" She demanded after finally regaining her composure.

"Now, now. I'll be asking the questions here." He corrected her, running his hand through her hair. Melody tried to shake him off, but she couldn't get far enough from him.

"Get away from me!" She exclaimed. Her gaze narrowed at him and she watched as he flew back across the room and hit the wall. It took Steve a moment to realize what had happened. He stood up and gathered himself before staring blankly at Melody.

"You're not the only one with powers." He replied darkly. The moment he finished speaking, Melody felt an agonizing pain overwhelm her entire body. It was like her insides were on fire; exploding and trying to escape her body. She writhed in the chair and let out a blood curdling scream of pain. Her vision tunneled to black and she squeezed her hands into fists.

"Oh fuck! Please!" Melody screamed, letting the obscenity fall from her lips. "Please... STOP!" She could barely breathe, the pain was so excruciating.

"You use your powers on me again, and I promise you... Next time, you'll beg for death." Steve said. His voice was close. Melody nodded and whimpered loudly in pain. "Speak!"

"OK!" Melody cried out before screaming again.

"You will tell me what I want to know. Understand?" He asked. Mel nodded again, prompting Steve to wrap his hand around her throat. He had no intention of strangling her...yet. "Do you understand?" He emphasized the word.

"Yes!" Melody yelled as she continued to writhe in the chair. "I'll tell you! Just...please stop!" She begged. The pain stopped and her whole body relaxed. Steve gently kissed her forehead, but she made no effort to resist. She felt weak and exhausted, and hadn't noticed the tears that fell from her eyes until she opened them and blinked away her blurry vision.

"There. That wasn't so hard, huh?" Steve smiled as if nothing was wrong and ran his fingers down her neck. "Now, what is Chloe? She's not human and neither are you. What are you both?" He asked. Melody looked at him, panting softly.

"What's it matter to you? Are you some kind of hunter, or something?" She asked, hoping she wouldn't have to reveal their secret. Steve smiled.

"Something like that..." He replied. Something shifted in the air around him. Something unseen, but definitely not unfelt. That was when she realized what she was dealing with...

"Vampire..." Melody growled lowly in disgust. Steve chuckled softly.

"Indeed I am." He replied. "But you still haven't told me what you are." Melody knew she was stuck. She would have to tell him eventually, but didn't know how much more of his torture she would be able to take.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She replied with irritation. Steve narrowed his gaze at her.

"Don't play coy with me." He warned her. "You obviously knew what I was the second I lifted my guise. Any normal human wouldn't have been able to tell." His blue eyes pierced right through her and she could feel a dull pain throughout her body.

"No, please... Not again." Melody begged weakly as she stared up at the vampire towering over her. He leaned down close to her, his face inches from hers.

"Then tell me what you are..." He whispered softly into her ear. Melody turned away from him.

"I...I don't know." She lied, hoping he would believe her. It was a long shot, but worth a try. Steve chuckled darkly.

"I see... I guess we'll have to do it the hard way." He replied. "For you..." Melody turned back towards him and saw the smirk plastered on his lips. She felt a gnawing panic deep in her stomach, making her uneasy and nauseated. Steve moved over top of her and straddled her in the chair. He leaned down and held his lips against her neck.

"Please don't! Please... I'll - " Melody tried to backtrack, but Steve's mind was already made up. In the middle of her pleading, he cut her off and sank his teeth into her neck.

Chloe walked home from James' house, still kind of riding the high she got from him feeding from her. She could only imagine how he felt... Pretty great, she hoped.

The walk home seemed to take no time at all. Chloe unlocked her door and stepped inside. The house felt lonely and she couldn't deny that she missed James already.

"Mel! I'm back!" She called out, eager to tell her about the date and how nice James was. She also really wanted to prove Melody wrong about vampires. "Mel?" Chloe walked around the first floor, but couldn't find her. "Don't tell me you're asleep..." She muttered as she headed upstairs. Chloe poked her head into Melody's bedroom, but the bed was made. There was no sign that Mel had been there recently.

"Wonder where she went..." Chloe shrugged and just figured Mel wanted to have some time to herself after their little argument. She headed into the kitchen and grabbed herself a glass of water. When she turned to leave, she noticed a piece of paper taped to the fridge. It was Melody's handwriting.

Chloe,

I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden I couldn't sense you anymore. I hope you're OK. I'm going out to look for you.

~Mel

Chloe tensed up and stared at the note with wide eyes. Mel couldn't sense her? Oh crap... That was bad. When angels couldn't sense each other, it was always worrisome.

"Shoot. Where are you, Mel?" Chloe wondered aloud as she stepped onto her back porch. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, concentrating her focus on finding Mel's location. It took her a few minutes, but she finally found her.

Mel! Are you alright? Chloe asked her, tapping into their telepathic bond.

Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just got worried when I couldn't sense you. Melody replied. She sounded fine, if just a little tired.

I'm alright. Are you coming home soon?

I don't know. I just need some time to calm down. Don't worry, OK? Melody replied. Chloe felt a wave of relief wash over her.

Alright. Just take care of yourself. She said. Melody didn't answer, but that was pretty normal. Chloe opened her eyes and sighed with relief. She was glad Mel was OK, but she hated that she made her worry. The young angel resolved that she would apologize to her friend when she got back home.

Melody trembled in the chair as Steve still straddled her, blood staining his mouth and chin. She could feel the warmth of her blood trailing down her neck and chest.

"P-please, Steve..." She whimpered weakly. "No...No more..."

"Hush now." He whispered and stroked her hair. "You're like nothing I've ever tasted before." He leaned down and licked some of the blood off her neck.

"No, don't... I can't..." She pleaded again, but to no avail. Steve sank his teeth into her neck again and she whimpered loudly. Melody closed her eyes, wondering how much longer she could hold out.