Oh, to Be Young I

An old woman stood over a large cauldron, mixing in powders and herbs. She chanted in an ancient and unknowable language. The contents of the cauldron glowed brightly. The woman continued to stir. Even as a mist entered through the hidden trap door that led into the room, she did not stop. With a final incantation, a burst of smoke was expelled from the cauldron.

'Is it ready, Circe?' an Eastern European accented voice asked.

'It is ready.' She took a bottle and a ladle. 'One drink of this potion, and the boys will gain the ability to shapeshift between human and their natural states.'

'And it will protect them?'

'Certainly more than they have been before.'

The man nodded. 'Thank you, Circe.'

12 Years Later

A car pulled up to a house on the edge of the woods and into the driveway.

'I have no idea why your grandmother lived so far out of the way,' the driver said as she looked at the house.

'She liked the quiet,' the passenger said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

As her mother sighed, a hint of aggravation could be detected. 'Jessica, get your boxes and take them into your room.'

The teenaged girl rolled her eyes and got out of the car. She gathered several boxes from the car and stacked them on top of each other. As she carried them into the house, she mused on why it seemed so easy. The boxes were easier to carry than she would've thought. At least the mover men were good enough to move out of her way when they saw her coming. She smiled at them and nodded her thanks. One of the mover men even opened her bedroom door for her.

'Thanks,' she said.

Stepping into the room she'd always slept in as a child, Jess took a deep breath. She was glad her grandmother had tied the ownership of this house in so many knots that they couldn't sell it before the divorce. It gave her and her mother somewhere to move into when her parents split up. The room hadn't changed since the last time she'd stayed here, except for the white sheets that were thrown over everything.

Jess set down her boxes and moved to yank all the sheets off of the furniture. Not a single thing had changed. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she noticed it was just as steady as it had been when she was a child. It didn't even creak. Out of curiosity, Jess leaned over the edge of the bed. Looking underneath, she made a cry of delight. She immediately reached under and pulled out a stack of books that were well-loved and well-read.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

A collection of stories by Edgar Allen Poe

The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore

The Witch of Ravensworth by George Brewer

They were all here. And there'd be even more books under her bed. Her grandmother had left the books where they were. She wondered if the records of real-life cases of monsters would be here too. But she could look for them later. With a deep breath, Jess stood up again and started unpacking her boxes.

Maybe…life would be better here.

:[

Inside a crypt, located on the estate of a hilltop mansion, the door was opened and a pale man in formal clothes walked in. He slid a sleeve up to check his watch. Confirming the time, he walked over to a screen and hit a button on the console. 'Come on, boys!' he bellowed. 'Up! Up! Up!'

300 years old, and he never thought he'd have to enter a temporary retirement in order to raise three boys. Still, needs must and all that. He turned the monitor on and watched the three teenaged boys, who really couldn't look more different, stumble downstairs and into the kitchen. Dracula kept his wince of sympathy off of his face as he watched his nephew stumble in, blinking sleep out of his eyes.

'Morning, Big D,' the boy grumbled.

'Don't call me Big D!' Dracula snapped, knowing it would cause the boy's early morning headache to spike. 'I am your Great Uncle Dracula. Now, Howard, you have a project due in today?'

Howard rubbed a hand through his shaggy brown hair as he flicked the kettle on. 'It's already packed and ready to go.'

'Frank, you have a test today, I believe.'

The tall and broad-shouldered boy winced. 'Yes, sir.'

Dracula folded his arms. Frank wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but one couldn't say he didn't try. 'As long as you pass, I'm not complaining. Vincent?'

The boy in question was half-way through guzzling a flask of plasma. It didn't taste as good as straight blood, but it was enough to wake the boy in the morning. Like all of them, he was most alert at night. Unfortunately, humans operated during the day. Fortunately, this was a more sceptical time and that led most to merely label him as "a night owl".

It wasn't entirely…incorrect.

He lowered the glass and wiped an arm across his mouth. 'I've got a test too, uncle. But don't worry. It's only on folklore.'

'Fine,' Dracula said. 'Just make sure it's their version of folklore and not the real story.'

Vince nodded his head, lips quirking slightly in amusement. 'All right, uncle.'

:[

In a dark artificial island, a man with sharp pointed features stood in front of a mirror.

There was a knock on the door.

'Come!' he called.

'Is something wrong, Dr. Dred?' a pale woman, with sharp cheekbones, asked as she stepped into the room.

'I'm getting old,' Dr. Dred announced. 'Would you look at these wrinkles?'

'Oh, you don't look that bad, Dr. Dred,' the woman said.

'Bah!' he snapped. 'Don't try flattering me, Vampira! I'm getting old! I need to reclaim my youth!'

'Where are you going to get youth?' she asked eagerly.

Dr. Dred looked thoughtful for a moment and then clicked. 'Aha! I know! I'll drain it right out of the most available source of youth!'

'What's that?'

'Teenagers.'

:[

Jess was glad to note that the main office was easy enough to find, after her mother dropped her off. Then she was handed a timetable and a map of the school. As she stepped out of the office, she heard giggling that made her lift her eyes. And then she rolled her eyes. It was a scene she'd seen many times before, but she'd never been that silly in her life (she swore!).

There were a bunch of girls all crowding around a single boy in a red sweater. Jess would admit that he was good-looking. He was the kind of guy she would have gushed over with her friends back in her old hometown. Thick black hair and blue eyes, and he was dressed like the kind of guy you could bring home to meet your parents. Yes, he was dreamy.

But, from the smirk on his face as he talked to the girls, he knew it.

The jerk was probably enjoying every moment of it.

Jess shook her head and walked right past. Her first class was math – nice and simple. The hardest part was finding her way there. Her gut was churning. She was sure it was nerves from being at a new school. The teacher handed her a textbook when she walked in and pointed her at one of the seats.

'Hi,' the girl she was seated next to immediately started talking. 'You're the new girl, right? Jessica? I'm Emily. Do you prefer Jess or Jessie?'

Jess looked over at her. 'I usually go by Jess.'

'Okay. Cool. So, how come you moved here?'

'Oh, my parents got divorced,' Jess said. 'You know. Pretty old story.'

'Oh, yeah. Right, right, right. So which parent did you move with?'

'My mom.' Jess shrugged. 'She got a job at the downtown vet clinic.'

'As a vet?'

'No, as a receptionist.' Jess suddenly noticed two boys walk into the room. One of them was a towering broad-shouldered guy with a lantern jaw that looked like it could crack walnuts. The other was shorter, far skinnier and wearing a t-shirt that looked a size too small. Both had brown hair and brown eyes. They, however, were led in by Mr. Popular. He still had a smirk firmly on his face. They all moved over and sat together. And, by God, they looked mismatched. 'Who are they?'

Emily turned her head and looked. 'Oh, we nickname them "the terrific trio". I'm not sure what the story is but they're all orphans so Vince's uncle looks after them. They're practically brothers.'

'And which one is Vince?'

'The gorgeous one.'

'In the red sweater?' Jess checked.

'Yup. Vincent James. No one's got a hope with him because everybody wants him.'

'I know,' Jess said. 'I saw him when I was coming out of the office, surrounded by girls.'

Emily waved a hand. 'Exactly!'

Well, now she knew what to call Mr. Popular. But Jess wasn't really interested in him. Boys like him were never worth the time of day. 'What about the other two?'

'The big guy's Frank Herbert and the little guy's Howard Bane.' Emily nodded her head. 'When you saw Vince before, he was probably waiting for them.'

Jess pulled a face but, at that moment, their math teacher called the class to attention.

Falling into a routine was easy but, by God, did Emily know how to talk. By the end of the class, Jess knew about her mom, her dad, her brothers, and her sister. It amused Jess, really. She could never talk to anyone quite so easily. She always ran her mouth off. Her opinions always just rolled out of her mouth.

The period passed and Jess gathered up her books. She looked at her timetable again.

'Where are you next?' Emily asked.

'Art class,' Jess said.

'Oh, cool! So am I! Come on, I'll show you the way so you don't have to stick your nose in that map all the time.' Emily skipped on ahead.

Jess shook her head and followed. She barely stepped out of the classroom when she found herself having to dodge back as she heard, 'Frank, careful!'

The big guy – Frank Herbert – had apparently lost his balance over something and Jess had to duck to avoid getting landed on. He was a big guy and sat there, stunned a moment. Jess couldn't work out what he'd tripped on. Howard winced a bit. Vince was in the process of rubbing the bridge of his nose. He looked up, though, and his eyes landed on Jess. She pulled a face at the thought that he might be checking her out.

A guy like him was probably was used to doing that to every girl he saw, looking them over like a slab of meat.

The big guy, at least, was polite enough. He got to his feet. 'Oh, I'm so sorry, miss. I didn't see you there.'

'Think nothing of it,' Jess said.

Vincent walked over and leaned against the wall next to her, smirk firmly in place. 'You're the new girl, aren't you? You certainly moved exceptionally well.'

Jess was pretty sure she wasn't imagining the double entendre in that last sentence. She cocked an eyebrow at him. 'I bet you say that to all the girls.'

Even though his eyebrows lifted in surprise, the smirk did not shift from his face. His two friends, on the other hand, cracked up laughing.

Howard leaned on his shoulder. 'She's onto you, Vince!'

The smirk still didn't move as he said, 'Oh, don't tempt me.'

Jess shook her head. Obviously, he'd taken that as a challenge. 'Please!' She turned and headed over to Emily, who was watching this with wide eyes, glimmering with awe and excitement.

Jess wondered how long it'd take him to lose interest.

Frank and Howard cracked up laughing again.

'Wow,' Emily said, falling into step with her. 'I've never seen anyone play hard to get with Vince before.'

'What hard to get?' Jess asked. 'I've dated his type before. The jerk had two other girls at the same time.'

'Oh…' Emily winced. 'Sorry. But I'm sure Vince isn't like that.'

'Has he ever had a long-term girlfriend?'

'Well…no, but he is rather spoilt for choice.'

Jess sighed. 'The sad truth is that the more gorgeous a guy is, the more unattainable he is.'

Emily sighed somewhat dramatically. 'I guess.' She opened the door which led outside. 'It just seems—'

As Emily opened the door, though, she was cut off. A bright beam of light shot out. Jess instinctively threw her arms up. A warm tremor shot through her body and the next thing she knew, she was thrown back. She hit the wall. The breath was forced from her lungs. Her head throbbed.

She opened her eyes to a living nightmare.