After the shift you had, you couldn't stop thinking about Sarah's cousin. When Eric told you to sit down next to him all you could think was, I'm next. The police said Sarah's cousin was most likely killed by an animal. There was no forced entry, no animal tracks, no evidence at all. And her throat was ripped out. That could only mean one thing. Sarah's cousin was killed by a vampire. You wondered idly if Eric and Pam would help you find the murderer. They probably wouldn't unless you had something to offer in return. You would figure something out. There must be something they'd want from you. You didn't want to end up like Sarah's cousin. Dead in your home. Sarah wouldn't be happy if you died in her house.

Thanks to your nightmares waking you up at 3 am, you woke up on that same Friday at about 11 p.m. You peel off your clothes, slightly damp with sweat from another nightmare. During your week of rest and relaxation, you thought to unpack your clothes. So you changed into something casual, some jeans and a graphic tee. Luckily, Sarah was still awake. She sat on the couch, a magazine in her hand. She flipped the pages and crossed her jean-clad legs that were on the coffee table. Your friend wore a cropped band T-shirt and she used her shoelace as a belt. Innovative.

"Hey Sarah, wanna go get food?" You ask from behind her, arms crossed over your chest. Your eating habits were poor lately. Lifting your arm, you incline your head and smell your underarms. Your deodorant lasted a while. If you ran into any vampires they probably wouldn't notice.

She turns around and closes the magazine, standing up and dropping it onto the table, "Uh yeah sure, my grandpa has a place about 30 minutes from here." Maybe we can get a discount.

While Sarah's in the kitchen getting her keys and purse, you hear her voice, "What was with that cryptic ass note I found this morning?" She asks, making her way over to you. You're standing in the entryway of the house, leaning against the doorway in the living room. Once again you felt guilty. Damn you Sarah.

"I'm sorry, I had a nightmare and woke up early. So I went to work. If you want, next time I'll wake you up." You clasp your hands together, ready to apologize if need be.

She frowns, "God no don't wake me up that early," you let out a laugh, and she passes you to go open the door, "Next time just make the note more detailed." She pats you on the shoulder as you walk out the door. You both decide it's a good idea to take her car.

"So where is this place?" You ask from the passenger seat. The windows are open, Sarah didn't have air conditioning in her car so it had to be this way. You wondered why you agreed to take her car. Your hair started to tangle because of the wind. You brushed it out of your eyes every few seconds. Strangely, this made you feel more frustrated than anything that happened this week.

Sarah rolls up your window, looking at you apologetically, "It's over in Bon Temps. It's just a diner," She says with a shrug. You push the mirror down and fix your hair. It was a little tangled, nothing your fingers couldn't fix.

You suddenly remember something, "By the way, how's therapy?" She made an effort to talk to you, so you'd extend the same courtesy. Especially when so many things were happening. You ran your fingers through your hair, eyes watering as you tug on a knot.

She shrugs, "Well it's fine, there's not much more to improve on," You didn't think that was true, there's always something to improve. But Sarah was a smart girl, she knew what she needed. You wouldn't fight her on this, even if you disagreed with her. And you did. But she's been going for about 2 years now. You can only talk about so much in 2 years. I would run out of things to talk about too. I could just bring up vampires. What you experienced would make a lot of people want therapy. How many other Halloween monsters have I met without realizing it? You wished they'd given you an encyclopedia now. Eric would make you one if he had the time. And if not, you'd beg Pam. She didn't care for you all that much but she had a sense of humor. You didn't think vampires would have that. Living for hundreds of years probably just makes them bitter. You thought about what it would be like to be a vampire. Living through history, watching everyone around you die, drinking blood, being fast and strong.

You look over at Sarah, who's not paying attention to you anymore. She's nodding her head along to the music playing on the radio. You decided you didn't want to be a vampire, not if you had to watch Sarah get older. I doubt I'll get a chance to even ask to be a vampire anyway. That would be an awkward conversation, "Hey I don't wanna be human anymore. Bite me," That wouldn't go over well at all. If you were on the brink of death you'd do that though. Nobody wanted to die, least of all you.

Sarah bites her lip and eyes you, "Hey after we eat, can we go for a walk? I have some things to talk to you about." She looked serious, something that wasn't unusual for her. You thought she was too serious at times. But this time, you knew the situation (whatever it was) was important enough. So you nod furiously. After figuring out her aunt was killed by a vampire, you'd do anything you could to make her feel better.

"Of course Sarah, whatever you need." Sarah knew you meant that. She was planning to talk to you about all the supernatural creatures in the world. Pam told her you knew about vampires, so she'd have to tell you the rest. Eric and Pam would just be cryptic and weird if you asked them anything. Sarah would give you a supernatural encyclopedia. You just thought the conversation would be about her cousin or something. Even if it wasn't, you'd bring her up anyway. Especially if Sarah told you she knew about vampires. There must be some vampire cops or something that can help you find Jenna's killer.

Soon after, you arrive at a diner. There are white string lights around the roof, under a sign, LeBlanc's. You would finally be meeting Sarah's grandpa. You figured you'd be at his diner often. If your job at the video store didn't work out you'd see if you could work there. After all the secrets, you'd need a little bit of normalcy.

When both of you entered, it was exactly as you both expected. A bunch of rednecks were seated at the tables, and normal people were also there. You knew how bad serving rednecks was, and you felt pity for the waitresses. You wondered why the place was so full. Sarah tugged you by the hand through the kitchen, she stops you at a wooden door in the back. "Office" you hoped nobody was tied up in there.

Sarah barged into the room, watching as her grandpa jumped, "What the fuck Sarah." He took a deep breath as he spun around in his chair. He looks mildly annoyed, but then his eyes land on you and he smiles. Sarah's grandpa is a hard-working man, you can see that. When the two of you came in he was looking through job applications.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Sarah's told me all about you." He holds out a hand, and you look at it with furrowed brows. You shake your head, grasping his hand in your own. You forgot humans shake hands. I've been spending too much time around the video store. You shake his hand politely, a grin on your face. He was about as tan as Sarah, but his hair was the color of salt and pepper, like his long bushy beard. He resembled a redneck Santa Claus, with a dark red plaid shirt, blue jeans, and dark brown work boots. His sleeves were buttoned and rolled up his hairy arms.

"She told me about you too! But didn't mention you owned a business." You both drop your hands. Embarrassingly, your hands were a little sweaty. You inconspicuously wipe them on your pants. You were always a little nervous meeting new people, especially older people. It was important making a good impression.

After a while Sarah starts to get annoyed at how much the two of you are talking, she just wants to eat. She excuses both of you, pulling you along into a booth near the back. A country song plays from the speakers in the ceiling, not very loud, "I fuckin' hate country music." Sarah grumbles, head in her hands. She normally wasn't so vulgar but she was a little stressed about her future. And yours.

You tilt your head a little, you're indifferent about country music. You didn't listen to it but that didn't mean you would judge anyone for doing it. Before your family relocated to New Orleans, you despised country music. But your grandmother listened to a lot of country music. You could never hate it. Your grandma taught you a lot about life in those last few months you had with her.

The place was a little busy, so it took a few minutes for a waitress to come up to you with a notepad in hand, "Hey Sarah," She nods at Sarah before looking at you, "Hey... You?"

Sarah introduces her to you, telling her you just moved her and worked at the Blockbuster in Shreveport.

"It's real nice to meet you, I'm Deb." She waves at you, a blinding smile on her face. Deb is tall with light brown hair cut in layers, she's wearing the uniform; black slacks, a black shirt, and an apron tied around her waist. There are crayons and papers in one of the pockets, you asked her for some after she took your order. She gave you a weird look but complied, leaving to take your order to the kitchen and grab your drinks.

You ordered pancakes with hash browns, and Sarah ordered a steak. It was technically the morning, so it was breakfast for you. Both of you got water, which Deb brought to you after a few minutes. You told her thank you and went back to talking to Sarah. You were anxious to go on that walk with her. No idea what she would say, just that it was important. Sarah looked so serious when she told you she wanted to talk. It kind of scared you. She's a lighthearted person.

The waitress brings you two your food and you both finish it quickly. You were starving and Sarah loved food more than anyone you'd ever met. While Sarah took care of the bill you were outside. Moments like these made you wish you smoked, you could have an excuse to be outside.

Sarah comes outside, "Hey, let's go on that walk." Both of you start walking, she's in front of you, heading towards the forest. Is this about to become a horror movie? You wouldn't be mad if Sarah murdered you. She was hot and you'd end up on the news. Hopefully, they would use a good picture.

"When my paycheck comes in I'll take us out for dinner." You offer to Sarah, who turns and offers a shaky smile. She seemed nervous, really nervous. She wouldn't murder you now, not after you offered to buy her food. Who leads someone into the woods, what the fuck is happening?

When you're relatively deep in the woods, Sarah turns to you and puts her hand on your shoulders, "You might want to sit down." You look around and down at the floor.

"Where?"

Sarah sighs and guides you over to a log on the forest floor, "This is important, be serious." You wince.

She sits across from you, on another conveniently placed log. You furrow your eyebrows, how often do people just cut down trees out here?

"I know you know vampires are real." She says, watching your reaction with careful eyes.

Your eyes widen, you didn't expect this. But after you thought about it for long enough, it made sense. Sarah was quiet and she paid attention to things other people didn't. And she had the imagination to back it up. Something that was needed if you ever met a supernatural creature.

"Why didn't you tell me before I started working there?" Sarah knew what you meant, and she sighed, a little guilty. You were understandably angry. You moved here without a clue. Sarah got you into this mess. But you didn't know if you wanted to get out of it, you probably couldn't anyway.

She sighed, "I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd find out. Pam usually isn't so careless. Guess she got wrapped up in it." She said like it was normal. And at your horrified face, she cringed.

"Sarah, what else is out there?" That's your main concern, you didn't want to be surprised later on.

She leans back a little, looking away in thought, "Werewolves, shapeshifters, witches, maenads, faeries, and a whole bunch of other things I don't know about." She counts them on her fingers, and your jaw drops every time she names a Halloween villain.

"Did I just step into fucking Halloweentown?" You sigh, bringing your head into your hands. You rub your eyes, wishing this was a dream. Unfortunately, it wasn't. It's more like a nightmare you can't wake up from.

Sarah giggles nervously, wringing her hands. She didn't know what to say to make you process it any better. Your friend stands up, sits beside you, and places a comforting hand on your shoulder, "Eric and Pam won't hurt you. They won't let anyone hurt you, now that you're an employee." That didn't make it any better. You didn't want to be spared just because you worked for them. Maybe soon there'd be another reason to protect you.

"Well, I'm glad you told me. But uh, can I think for a minute. Alone?" You ask, lifting your head and looking at her. She nods, leaving the way you both came. She looks back at you and sighs sadly, thinking about the way she reacted when she found out. She was a little worse off than you were.

It was overwhelming, all this new information. Not knowing about this your entire life, it frustrated you. You needed to know more. You stand up, ready to walk back to the car, when you hear a loud thump. It's not too far away.

"Fuck this." You say, walking back towards the car.

A man screams, you sigh and turn back to the noise. I guess it's time to save lives. You walk towards the source of the noise confidently, trying to be as quiet as you could. It was hard, the leaves on the ground are hard and they crunch under your feet. The closer you get the more you can hear.

You push some foliage out of your way and your eyes meet a man's. He's laying on the ground, and his arms are covered in chains. Like his legs and neck. His fangs are bared, so you know he's a vampire. But this isn't what surprises you. What surprises you is the woman kneeling next to him, she has a syringe in her hand. She's taking the vampire's blood. There are a few syringes full of blood scattered around them. You notice she's alone, good. You didn't think you could fight off two people, "You're gonna make me rich, fanger." She says it like it's a slur. And it probably is, to vampires.

"Not if you die first." You say, watching the woman whirl around, eyes wide and crazed. You're holding a fallen tree branch in your hands, it's long and thick, heavy in your hands. But it would do the job. Whatever the job was.

It feels like slow motion, the woman reaches at her side, starting to pull something out of her waistband. You act quickly, swinging the tree branch at her. It hits her in the head and she's thrown onto the forest floor. She looks up at you, scowling. She goes to reach for her weapon again, and you swing once more. She grasps her stomach, gasping for air. Her nose is bleeding, and her stomach would be bruised.

She stands eventually, "We coulda shared, greedy bitch." She spits on the floor at your feet, blood and mucus mixed. This time she successfully pulls a weapon out of her waistband, another syringe. She rushes towards you, tackling you to the ground with a yell. She's straddling you, lifting the syringe high above her head. While she brings it down, you reach up as far as you can and punch her in the throat. She's thrown backward, gasping for air. She still managed to stick it in you, though. You look at your shoulder, the syringe is sticking out of it. You can't feel the pain yet on account of adrenaline. All you feel is heat spreading through your body.

You clench your teeth, ripping the syringe out of your shoulder. You march over to the woman, standing over her with the syringe in your shaking hand, "Help..." The vampire calls out weakly. You snap out of your rage, looking over at the man. The woman stands up slowly, swaying on her feet.

"This ain't gonna be the last time you see me, bitch." She threatens, limping away into the forest. You were glad, you didn't want to murder anyone. Not if you couldn't help it. But you knew if she kept going you probably would've killed her. You wished she wasn't wearing a mask, you had no idea what she looked like. Just that she wore dark clothes.

When she's finally gone, you rush over to the vampire, pulling the chains off of him. You watch in awe as steam comes off of his skin underneath the chains. You didn't know chains did this to vampires. One of their weaknesses, you guessed.

"Sorry." You say as he groans, fangs still out. The chains are off now, and you back up a little bit. His wounds have started to heal, he must've eaten recently.

He stands, groaning as he does. But he politely puts his fangs away, "Why'd you help me?" He asked, now in front of you. You jump, taking a few steps back. His hair is long and black, and he's wearing a cape too. Like the vampires in movies. Maybe this is Dracula.

"She was taking your blood, wasn't she? That's impolite." You shrug, a little embarrassed. Nobody had ever seen you like that before. Of course, a vampire had to be the one to see it. For now, you'd think of it as releasing your anger.

He laughs, but not because it's funny, "I'm in your debt." He bows deeply, shocking you all over again. This guy must be old.

"Well if someone ever tries to kill me, I'll call you." He nods seriously, his wounds are fully healed by now. He looks at the ground, at the syringes full of his blood.

And then at you, "Did you want that?" He picks one up and offers it to you. Your eyes widen and you back away, shaking your head.

"No, I just wanted to help." You answer, why would I want your blood? The thought alone is enough to make you want to gag.

He smiles now, dropping the syringe onto the ground and stepping on it, along with the others. You hear the crunch underneath his feet.

You look back at where you came from, where Sarah's waiting, "I gotta go, my friend-." You look back at the man, he's gone. You huff, irritated.

"Stupid vampires."