Mallory was dead and David killed her.

David didn't remember me.

... He looked at me with such loathing and disgust...

It was as if I was a complete and total stranger to him.

I had to pause from writing, as I was getting worked up over what happened. The pain was too fresh in my mind. It still is, really.

Mallory's death wasn't part of my woes, as I was merely using her to get closer to David and the others. I never had much use for humans other than drinking their blood, so her loss meant nothing to me. However, not having my friends recognize me, when I never once stopped thinking about them hurt me like a knife to the gut. It wasn't going to kill me, but the pain was everlasting.

Let me reflect on what happened.

Mallory and I left campus by using the Night Owl bus service which took us to downtown Santa Carla. It was as close to the boardwalk as we could get before having to travel the rest of the way on foot. Mind you, this was the first time I ever rode on a bus. The automobiles of today were very different from what I was used to seeing or riding in. Today many of them came in various shapes and sizes, and all of them were much faster. The bus ride was rather exciting and relaxing at the same time.

Mallory was talking to me the whole way, telling me about her mundane life prior to moving to Santa Carla, but I was hardly listening to her. I was too busy thinking about my friends, my brothers. Surely, they would remember me when they see me again after all this time.

"I still can't believe you know those guys," Mallory said to me as we stepped off the bus and found ourselves in the central area of town. It was a quiet night, as to be expected during this time of the year… or so I would imagine. Anything I learned about town, I learned from Max. He had his business, a video store, on the pier at the boardwalk. I always wanted to go see it but, as you know, he had forbidden me to leave campus.

I couldn't help but smile, knowing I was disobeying him and not feeling sorry over it. It was his fault for teasing me, describing all the wonderful sights and sounds of this town and not allowing me to experience any of it… until now.

"Lead the way," I told Mallory, playing myself off as the gentleman because I didn't know exactly which way the boardwalk was.

Mallory smiled at me and obliged with my request. She really was a nice girl, probably too nice. She was a dreamer, evident by how she wishfully talked about spending time with the Lost Boys.

Lost Boys this, Lost Boys that. I was a Lost Boy, too, but since I was never seen with David and the others, it was no wonder nobody thought of me as one of them. How foolish, how little they are unaware of our rich history together.

"So how do you know them?" Mallory asked as she walked a bit ahead of me, but spoke loud enough so that I could hear her. Obviously she didn't know of my perfect hearing; she could whisper under her breath and I could interpret what she said quite well.

I smiled proudly as my mind took me back to the year 1906, and I gladly offered my story to the girl.

"Imagine gas lanterns lining the streets of a port side town with both horse drawn carriages and vehicles carrying their passengers. Bordellos, bars, and knife fights were a part of everyday life if you were not lucky enough to be wealthy or have a benefactor. David, Paul, Marko, Dwayne, and I struggled every day to make ends meet. It would have been a miserably way to exist if not for the strong relationship we had with one another. We were a well-oiled machine, the five of us, and David took charge. David was the sharpest and smartest of us. He was a natural born leader. We all looked up to him, and because of him we were able to have fun doing what we had to do to make it through the days and nights."

I paused from my reflection and saw that Mallory had stopped walking, and she was staring at me, as if I told her the sky was red. I stopped right alongside her and wondered what it was I said that threw her off guard.

"How…" she questioned as she scratched the side of her head. "Gas lanterns?"

I sighed inward, mentally kicking myself for allowing my own memories to skip over the fact that Mallory had no idea of how old I and the Lost Boys truly were. She was a simple human, so painfully young and unaware of the world around her. I locked eyes with Mallory and decided she needed to forget what I said.

"I grew with up with them," I said, making sure the power of my influence would lace into the girl's mind, replacing my true story with the fabricated lie I was concocting. "We were childhood friends."

Mallory's lips trembled as my words sunk into her memories. She whispered, "Childhood… friends…"

I nodded once before gently tapping her on the arm. Mallory gasped and blinked as if someone had splashed cold water on her. I gestured for her to keep walking, and she simply did so without hesitation.

"That's cool you've known each other for so long," she merely said before we continued on without further fuss, only we didn't get far.

A thunderous roar erupted from seemingly out of nowhere. Mallory and I stopped walking and I turned to the direction of the sound. I couldn't help but smile as I saw a familiar face riding up to me on a modernized motorcycle. Even with the odd spikey hair and the long black coat that resembled a cloak, I recognized David anywhere.

David! I knew it! I knew he wouldn't forget about me after so many years!

I stepped off the sidewalk to greet him, because I assumed he would slow down to greet me back. Instead, he only sped up and he was aiming right for me. I used my own speed to jerk out of the way. Tires screeched and it was followed by Mallory screaming. I turned around and saw David had parked his bike right along the curb of where I was once standing. Mallory apparently fainted out of fright and was lying limp in David's arms, even as he was still sitting on his seat. I must say, he always did have a way with the ladies.

I wore the biggest smile on my face as I started to approach him. There was so much weight lifted off of my shoulders. Finally, after years of being kept away, I would be reunited with one of my friends!

But David's next words puzzled me.

"Step any closer to me and I will kill you on the spot."

Both of my feet were planted on the ground as I stood a few feet away from my leader, my buddy, my pal. Even as he held Mallory in his arms, he was staring at me with such distant, cold eyes. My stomach was twisting all sorts of knots on the inside. I couldn't help but frown.

"David," I started to say, but he cut me right off.

"We don't allow outsiders on our turf."

"Outsiders?" Who was he talking to?

Wait—he was referring to ME?

I pointed to myself and slowly shook my head. "Don't you recognize me?" I wanted to say to him. "It's me, good ol' Jasper!"

The words failed me, because I was too much in shock. So many years of having to wait, and here was the moment I was longing for, and it was falling apart before I could attempt to pick it all up. Before I knew it, something sharp hit me in the back of the head and I fell into darkness.

When I came to, I found myself stretched out in the middle of an unfamiliar road. There were no buildings or anything that resembled downtown. All I could see was the dirt next to the street, the ocean behind my back, and a steep, rocky cliffside in front of me.

Oh, and Mallory's corpse was sprawled out next to me. Her throat had been lacerated and with the exception of blood stains on her clothing, she had been drained dry. I leaned over and took a whiff of her open wound.

David. It smelled just like him, thick of smoke and a hint of whisky.

I sat back on the ground and closed my eyes out of frustration. What did I do wrong back there? Why did David treat me like he'd never seen me before? What was the matter with HIM?

I heard gravel crunching nearby. I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder, surprised to see a car with its headlights on pulling up to the road. Unlike with David, this one made no attempt to try and hit me. The driver kept the engine running as they stepped out of the car. To my surprise, it was Max, and he wasn't pleased.

"You're lucky I came upon you before anything bad could happen," he said as he noticed Mallory's body. With a heavy sigh, he ordered me to take the girl and put her body in the trunk, where we would properly dispose of it later. I didn't hesitate. There was so much I wanted to ask of Max. Yet he was silent with me during the whole ordeal. From finding a place to dump Mallory and on the way back to the university, Max was quiet. He was mad and disappointed; you could see it on his face. I didn't care. I wanted answers.

It was an hour before dawn when Max pulled into the West Remote parking lot of the school. That was when he berated me.

"After everything I've done for you, this is how you repay me? You endanger yourself by leaving the campus? For shame, Jasper! I expected better from you."

I snapped back, "What you've done for me is trapped me here! You know I'm haunted by memories of the past, yet you continue to do nothing to help! I had to get answers for myself, and when I saw an opportunity to get them, I took it!"

Max actually smiled remorsefully as he unlocked the doors to his car, because he knew I was right, or so I wanted to believe.

"You are much safer staying on campus grounds," Max insisted as he stared ahead at some of the family student housing buildings in the distance. "David's not like you. He doesn't listen like you do—under normal circumstances. I'm willing to forgive the stunt you pulled tonight if you promise me you will never leave here, unless I tell you that it's okay. I can't imagine what David would have done to you had I not been there by chance."

I repressed the urge to openly object. I was extremely frustrated over everything that happened tonight. Instead of answers, I was left with more questions. So what if Max "rescued" me? I wanted to stay and talk to David, see what was going on with him.

"I want to see my friends," I maintained before opening the door and pulling myself out of the car. I didn't even bother closing it behind me as I spirited away into the night, fuming, and full of utter disappointment.

No matter what, though, I was determined to get through this tribulation.