Even without my werewolf genes, I was booking it on adrenaline. This could not be real. Vampires!? Really? Was I in a movie?

Something scratched my back. I cried out.

"Run," Jeremy pulled me along.

I must have slowed down. Somehow we curved our way back to the house, I had not been paying attention to which way we ran. Jeremy and I ran inside, slammed the door, locked it and ran downstairs.

"You're hurt," he said.

I winced, "It's just a scratch."

Before Jeremy could check, the door slammed and Derek came down the stairs followed by Simon and Matt.

"What on earth is going on?" One of the asked.

"Matt," I said between trying to catch my breath. "You were right. They followed."

Matt swore.

"Could someone answer me?" Derek asked.

"Vampires," Matt said and started back up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Simon asked.

"To fight," Matt said.

There was bangs of something trying to get in the front door.

Matt took one last glance at me and raced up the stairs. Derek turned to help, Simon grabbed him.

"You have no idea how to fight them, help Chloe instead."

Derek caught the scent of my blood and rushed over to me. He turned me around.

"Oh Chloe no..."

"It's a scratch. I'm fine."

"It's curved Chloe, that's a partial bite."

Liz did a circle around me, "He might be right?"

"Might?" I asked her.

"I didn't say might," Derek said. Then realized I wasn't talk to him, I was facing no one so it had to be a ghost.

"Well I didn't see it," she said. "I'll go find Kyle, maybe he did."

Footsteps pounded down the stairs, Tess.

"You kids stay down here. No matter what."

I pinched Derek before he could say anything to her. She raced back upstairs and out the front door.

We sat in silence for some time. I have no idea where the other subject kids were but I didn't hear any movement upstairs. Maybe I was going deaf.

A door shut loudly above us, I wasn't deaf it really had been that quiet.

Derek kept trying to fret over my cut but I kept my back away from him.

Matt came down the stairs, covered with specs of blood. He walked past everyone and up to me. I thought he was going to yell at me for being outside or yell at me for something else. But all he did, he walked up to me and hugged me.

Quietly he said, "Don't ever scare me like that again. Stay inside at night."

His hand accidentally brush my cut as he pulled back and winced.

"What?"

"I fell and got scratched by a stick," I said. "What happened out there?"

"There were only a few so we need to get moving quickly. They were just scouts."

"Are we ever coming back?" I asked.

Matt nodded, "I'm staying behind to clean up my mess, Tess is going to take you kids somewhere else."

Nate came down the stairs and cracked a few knuckles, "I'm in the mood for a fight. I'll stick with you."

Matt rolled his eyes but didn't argue against the help.

We started up the stairs, Matt caught sight of my back.

"Chloe," he said worriedly.

"I'm fine," I said and kept walking.

I went into Tess' room instead of going upstairs with everyone and went to her bathroom. I flipped on the light and took my shirt off. Looking over my shoulder, I examined my back. It was deep and bleeding. I grabbed her washcloth and cleaned it up as much as possible. My eyes watered and I winced with each touch but I cleaned it up. Upon closer inspection, there was one deep cut and several smaller surface cuts. A fang and teeth.

I dug through her cupboard for an ace bandage and supplies. I wrapped myself up and put my shirt back on. Left her room and headed back upstairs. I grabbed my backpack and stuffed clothes and toiletries in it.

As I tried to leave my room, Rachel cut me off.

"What do you want?" I asked.

I heard someone call "hurry up kids" from downstairs.

"I heard you're a vampire now," she smirked.

"What?"

"You got bit, you're a vampire now," Rachel repeated. "I mean, I wouldn't want to be a werewolf either but I could never go that far to make sure I was never a werewolf. Props Chloe."

Rachel winked at me and walked away.

She's just trying to get in your head, I told myself. You got scratched my a stick.

We couldn't fit everyone into one car so we had to take two. As everyone was piling in, I leaned over to Tess.

"Is it ok if I go in the other car with Derek?"

"Of course sweetie, but hurry. We need to book it."

I thanked her, shut the door and stepped back until I was in the dark. Out of reach of the car lights. Each car thinking I was in the other, off they went.

"What in gods name are you doing?" Liz was standing behind me.

"Keeping everyone safe in case this is a bite," I said. "If it isn't then I can be like hey guys why did you leave me behind? If it is, then they are safely far away."

"You know that they are turning around the moment they realize you're not with them. So you're also putting them in danger. What if they come back before Matt's killed all the vampires?"

"He's Batman, he can take care of them quicker than anyone else."

"Is that so?" Came from behind me. Matt came walking up, "I had a feeling you might try to pull something like this after I saw your back. You do have a history of 'keeping everyone safe.'"

"Don't tell them," I begged.

Matt didn't acknowledge my plead, he pulled us inside where it would be safer to talk. Liz and Kyle followed. He turned me around and lifted the back of my shirt. Undid the bandage and examined it.

"How long have you known about me?" Matt asked.

I coughed, "It was a hunch, I never knew for sure."

"This is going to hurt," Matt said and whatever he was doing, it did.

I grabbed onto the nearest wall. The pain subsided when Matt pulled his hand away. His fingers tips bloody. He was checking to make sure no fangs were left behind in me. Matt smelled the blood and examined it. He sighed.

"What?" I asked.

"It was a bite Chloe. Or at least the vampire tried to. You've got the venom in your bloodstream."

I started hyperventilating. I don't know if he said anything else. I couldn't hear. Every sense, every nerve, went into full panic mode.