SATURDAY

Janice awoke to the sound of the door to the hotel room closing; her sister Alice had just come in. The closed curtains hid the early signs of dawn's arrival.

'You were up all night, weren't you? With Gabriel?' she says struggling to fully open her eyes and indeed sounding like she only just woke.

Alice didn't need to answer; the smile on her face told its own story. Janice at this moment knew for sure that her sister was somehow different, somehow changed. Before now, it had been only a feeling. Alice's current demeanour is definitely a whole lot different to how it has ever been before.

'Why you and not me?' Janice asked.

'Do not worry sister' responded Alice, 'Gabriel has big plans for us, both of us.'

Alice got into bed.

'So, you're not coming down for breakfast then so?'

'You know I can't sister', with that Alice turned on her side, facing away from her twin. Janice got dressed, grabbed her jacket, and made her way to the hotel restaurant.

Being so early, there weren't many down for breakfast just yet, however it was clearly obvious that the nighttime activity had only just come to a conclusion. It is more than probable than many of the hotel's current guest won't be coming down for any kind of breakfast. Janice glanced across the restaurant. Her parents had yet to come down. Gabriel, however, was there sitting alone in the restaurant at a table about halfway down and towards the left-hand side and away from the windows. He signalled an inviting wave for Janice to come join him. She did.

Janice inquired as to why Gabriel seemed to have a preference to her sister Alice over her. He responded by telling Janice that there was no such preference and as he had already told Alice he had plans for them both. Janice wanted to question Gabriel on those plans in regards as to what they may be, but she did not get the opportunity to do so. For the moment, it did not matter to her anyway. She would be a willing participant to whatever they may be. Whatever it was or is about Gabriel, the girls were both mesmerized by him.

Gabriel noticed the arrival to the dining room of Brian and Denise before Janice as Janice had her back to the restaurant entrance. It's safe to say that Brian was not happy at all to see one of his daughters sitting with that guy. He meant the warning he had dispatched the night before.

Wanting to keep trouble to a minimum, Gabriel stood up, glanced over at Brian while placing his napkin on his empty plate. Having moved away from the table, Gabriel looked back at Janice and told her that they would talk again soon, and then moved to leave the room, pausing to make eye contact with Brian before continuing on towards the exit.

Brian was definitely not happy at all and didn't back off as a response to Gabriel's stare down, instead he offered a more menacing stare to reiterate his warning without speaking. Before deciding to say anything to either Janice or Denise, Brian calmed himself down somewhat. Janice joined her parents as they sat at a table quite a distance away from the one that Gabriel had got up from.

Denise asked Janice as to where Alice was. Janice, wanting to cover for her sister, told her mum that Alice was not feeling so well. Denise wanted to go see Alice, but Janice told her mum that Alice hadn't slept much during the night and had only just fallen asleep not long before Janice left to come down for breakfast. This is a truth though not a whole truth and Janice also said she would bring some breakfast back to her sister for if and when she felt up for eating any of it.

'Janice, I don't like the thoughts of you or your sister for that matter spending time with this guy. You're a fifteen-year-old girl and he is a fully grown man and a stranger at that, and the fact that he thinks he is a vampire too, well things are more than just a little disturbing' spoke Brian, deciding to break his silence.

'It is fine dad; I can handle myself.'

'It is not about whether or not you can handle yourself. That guy does not impress me, nor does he intimidate me, and I do not want you or Alice hanging around him. Do I make myself clear?'

Looking away and not feeling up to arguing with her dad Janice responded with a half-hearted 'yes dad.'

'I mean it young lady ...'

The rest of the breakfast chat went between Brian and Denise with Janice not taking in another word whatsoever. Janice could see her parents move their mouths while her own thoughts began to wander. Before long Janice had drifted into a daydream. This daydream would take her away into something she never had previously experienced before, including that drop of blood like vision which had become its own odd moment of reality.

Spinning around in near total darkness, Janice could see a light beneath her. What she could was more of a singular spotlight, a light not taking up much space at all. Her own movement too was strange and unusual. It was as if she was flying sideways in a slow moving circular motion while at the same time being in an upright position, circling and descending towards the space that light shone upon.

The closer she got to that light the more evident it was that someone was standing within it. Taking a couple of steps forward upon landing, a landing she took with ease and momentum, she could see the man standing within the light before her. That man being Gabriel Grimmel, put a finger to his own lips as if to tell Janice to keep quiet.

'What's the matter honey? Are you not hungry?' asked Denise.

'Huh?' was the reply Janice gave as she came out of her daydream ... nah ... it was more than a daydream ... it actually felt like she had been in two places at the same time for a moment or so.

'Your breakfast, you have hardly touched it.'

'Oh' Janice continued, realizing where she actually was, 'I'll wrap it up and take some up to Alice and I will eat up in the room.'

'Are you sure you are alright honey? You have hardly spoken a word either.'

'Yeah, I am fine mom, just feeling a little tired too I guess.'

'Ok then, I guess myself and your father will catch up with you girls later and Janice, if there is something bothering you, you know you can talk to me, right?'

'Yeah, sure mom, but honestly, everything is grand.'

****

Not long after having separated from her parents and after such a time mum and dad had finished with breakfast, Janice noticed that Gabriel was outside, out front of the hotel and alone just wandering slowly. She went out to him, making sure her parents were not around to see where she was going.

She was intrigued by the whole vampire 'vibe' to say the least but at the same time loved her family life even though that in itself was a fact that she would not readily admit to. Even though she would regularly argue with her parents she did not want change within her family. Although at this point change had most definitely become something which had gone way beyond her control.

The existence of vampires was something she would not doubt or question. Janice freely accepted the fact that Gabriel was indeed such an entity and despite her feelings for her family she had very much become drawn to him and to the thoughts of such a vampire existence.

Being fascinated by how a vampire can walk outside in the daytime, Janice asked Gabriel as to how this can be possible. He explained just what it is he is, that of course being that he is a day walker. He may be able to go outdoors during the day, but he is still very sensitive to light and if he were to stay out in the day light for extended periods of time ... well that would cause him serious damage and such a thing quite likely could even be fatal.

Janice didn't stay too long with Gabriel; she was afraid that her father might see them together again but as well as that Janice needed to return to her room to prevent her parents from seeing Alice. Alice, of course, could not be hidden forever; Janice knew that it would only be a matter of time until they would find out that something had happened to her.

When Janice got into the room the curtains were still closed and Alice was sitting in darkness at the side of her bed with blood dripping from her mouth while flickers of movement came from what she had clasped in her hands.

'Is that a rat you are eating?' asked Janice.

Alice paused for a moment before licking away the dripping blood and whatever else that was still trickling from her mouth and sucking in some of the morsels of flesh which had stuck to her chin. Being somewhat surprised by her own actions, and also finding amusement in her newfound situation, Alice would reply.

'Yeah, I guess I am.'

'Eewww, I won't even ask as to how you got that.'

This totally disgusted Janice, although she did find it somewhat amusing too, possibly partly due to sensing as well as observing her sister's giddiness along with being comfortable with her own darkness.

Despite the fact that it had already been broken once, there was an ongoing truce in operation at The Castlemount Arms Hotel, so if Alice was to get the blood she now craves, then rats and the likes would have to do for now. She was under strict instruction from Gabriel not to attack any human and like Janice; Alice would do whatever Gabriel asked of her.

The afternoon passed without incident. Knowing that her parents had gone wandering down to the local town, Janice spent most that afternoon sitting in the hotel lobby chatting to the reception clerk, whenever he wasn't busy that was. He seemed very interested in Janice's father, asking questions about him, even changing the flow of conversation every once in a while, to once again ask about Brian. At that, Brian was also not the only thing or person to whom the desk clerk wanted to inquire about.

'Have you met Lucius yet?' asked the desk clerk.

'Lucius? No, I don't think I have. Is he a vampire? A friend of Gabriel's perhaps?'

'No, not at all. I am just a little surprised that he has not made himself known to you yet.'

'Oh alright, no, Lucius, whoever he is, has come my way as far as I am aware, anyway I am gonna go check on my sister so maybe we'll chat again at another time. Bye.'

The desk clerk smiled and gave a nod as Janice began to make her way back to her room.

With this trip being early in November, and just like the day before it got dark early. Janice tried to get Alice to meet up with their parents for dinner, but all Alice was interested in was getting away from the hotel. Once that darkness had indeed made a return, Janice would stay or would at least try to stay with her sister.

Brian saw the two girls exit the hotel. He was about to call out for them, but they had already made their way outside, so instead of returning to where Denise was sitting in the hotel restaurant, Brian went after the girls. He followed them into a near-by wooded area, but he soon lost sight of them. Brian called out for his daughters as he continued to move deeper and deeper into this area.

With it getting so dark and with the trees becoming much more frequent, Brian wondered if he should continue after the girls, he may not be able to find his way back out to where he had entered this wooded area if he went much further. He attempted to call the girls on their mobile phones but both girl's phones were switched off. Brian continued on a little longer though his trek after his daughters would soon come to an end and not by his own choice. Something or someone hit Brian from behind knocking him unconscious. Whether it was a something or someone that hit Brian, it was definitely a someone who dragged him away.

When no one returned to the dinner table, Denise began to worry. She headed up to the girl's room and in a state of panic began calling out for them while knocking furiously on their door. Gabriel came out from his room and immediately had a calming effect on Denise, explaining to her that all is well, that she shouldn't worry herself and that the best thing she could possibly do is to go and get a good night's rest. Denise felt compelled to go to and rest a while so that exactly is what she did.

It was quite late when Janice returned, and despite her best intentions she had returned without Alice. It was so late when she returned that she needed to be buzzed back into the locked hotel. This was something she could not understand. Vampires are generally creatures of the night so wouldn't it be quite likely they'd want to come and go as they please? So why lock the hotel at night?

'Did you enjoy your evening, Miss?' asked the desk clerk.

Janice did not know how to answer that, so she asked a question of her own, 'Don't you ever sleep?'

'Not very often' was the reply.

Janice knew Alice would not be returning for quite some time and that's if she were to return at all, so with there being nothing else in particular that she could do at this moment in time and also having faith in Gabriel, Janice went to bed.