Cebell could feel her heart pound against her chest. The blood started to rush through her veins and to her fingertips. This was it. She was going to show her disgraceful face to her group, knowing that she was the only one who made it back. How was she going to explain this to her group? Especially when her leader was the Father to Andrew. How was this going to look, knowing that she ran and didn't go back for them?

Cebell gathered up the courage to enter the home. She turned the silver doorknob and entered the home. Small candles lit up the entrance room. In front of her was a small hallway, and to the right, there was a set of stairs leading upstairs. To the far left was a separate room leading to the living room. To the far right of the entrance was the kitchen.

Cebell closed her eyes and took a slow, but a steady breath in and exhaled. She could hear small conversations between the people of her group, in the living room. With slow and steady steps, she stepped into the dim-lit room, making her presence known. The conversations among each other soon came to a halt. A cold, but awkward silence suddenly filled the room. All attention was turned towards Cebell as she locked eyes with her leader. His gold eyes locked with her brown ones.

"Where are Andrew and the others?" Maverick spoke with the voice of the dead. There was no emotion behind his voice. Cebell opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out. She soon stared at the floor and shook her head. Her chest burned like it was on fire, Andrew and Mary were some of her best friends and the only friends she had.

"No. This can't be. My son, Andrew has been stolen from this world." Maverick, the leader of the group, placed his face in his hands. Some of the other group members couldn't even look at Cebell.

"What happened?" A woman in her twenties spoke. She was Lilith's twin. The only difference between the two was, Helena was more down to Earth than the other.

"We were attacked." Cebell couldn't dare to look into the eyes of Maverick as he stared at her.

"And you were the only one who made it out alive." Maverick hissed. His words were dripping in venom. Right there, he lost his respect for Cebell. Cebell's chest burned, even more, she felt guilty that she was the only one who made it out.

"Yes. I was the only one who made it out. But they left me behind.-"

"And you somehow came back alive." Trying to get his point across, Cebell felt like he was going to rip her head off any moment.

"Moving on. . . How did you get back alive?" Hanna, the dark-skinned woman, who was Mary's sister, spoke.

"I took refuge in a library, three blocks away from here, and then I met him." Cebell didn't want to tell too many details to the group.

"Who is 'him'?" Maverick asked, digging his nails into the armchair. His brown locks were messy and his face was scrunched up in anger.

"He didn't say his name, but he helped me get back." From there everyone was silent. Cebell couldn't help but think about the consequences of running away from her group. The unknown consequences were just eating at her.

Maverick couldn't help but shake his head.

"You're out." Cebell suddenly knitted her brows together.

"I'm sorry, what?" Cebell's heart continued to smash against her chest, the blood was starting to get to her head. She felt small beads of sweat start to form. Her gut started to twist. 'Please tell me this is not what I think it is.'

"You heard me. You're out. I am going to have to ask you to leave, right now." Cebell suddenly brought a hand up to her mouth and gasped.

"No. I will not allow this to happen to my daughter!" Cebell's Father shouted as her Mother started to break down and cry.

"Please. . . She will not survive a day out there! You know what will happen to her!" Cebell's Mother screamed, as her Father took her Mother into his arms. He slowly ran his fingers through her long, brown, hair, trying to calm her down.

"She is 24. I am sure she can take care of herself." Another man rolled his eyes, he was the son of Galvin.

"I'm sorry. When you betray our group, this is what you get. And this goes for everyone else. Let this be a reminder of what a coward looks like." Cebell suddenly bit her lip so hard it started to draw a bit of blood. She had nothing to say. She felt every emotion at the same time. But most of all, she felt numb.

"Leave us," Maverick commanded. Cebell was afraid of the repercussions if she didn't leave. She slowly turned around, and with each step, it felt like time had stopped. Walking out that door was the biggest mistake she's ever made. It was like she was the sheep wandering into the den of wolves.

No one knew what happened to the ones who were seen by the vampires. There were assumptions that they would drain every last drop out of humans, and other rumours said that they would colonize them.

Ever since the sun disappeared, humanity was doomed. It was like someone just took it right out of the sky. It didn't explode, but it was like it was snapped right out of existence.

Cebell's ankle burned like acid, with each step she felt weaker. She took the long way out of the neighbourhood since she knew she was way too close to the vampire group. She already lost time for the countless hours she has been walking.

She was tired, cold, and starving. She just wanted to sit down for maybe an hour and sleep, but nothing was normal. Cebell continued down the street, as she started to see some street lamps lit up. Her lips parted in amazement, it was like a beacon of hope. There was power on this side of the city. Without thinking, she rounded the corner and slammed into someone. Cebell cringed as it was like she slammed into a brick wall. She suddenly heard a hissing sound. Those eyes. . .

They were silver.

Her heart suddenly sank. They found her.

"Watch where you're going!" A man with blond hair snarled. There were two men and one woman. The trio was dressed in fancy black clothing. Both men were dressed in black dress shirts and black slacks, as the woman was dressed in an expensive black dress.

"What do we have here?" The woman's crimson lips tugged into a twisted smile. Cebell continued to back up ever so slowly.

"What is she? She has the scent of a human and a vampire at the same time. . ." The man with ash-blond hair tapped his chin several times.

"Whatever she is, she's mine." The woman's twisted smile turned even wider. She was several inches taller than Cebell, especially with high heels. The woman had short, crimson hair that reached her shoulders. It was almost the colour of blood.

Cebell reached her hand into the back of her jean pocket and pulled out a tiny switchblade. With a *click* she flipped it out and started swinging it at them. The trio jumped back a bit and started laughing.

"Stay back! I am warning you!" Cebell gritted her teeth.

"Looks like we have a fighter!" The ash-blond hair man let out a blusterous laugh.

"Indeed we do." The woman ran her tongue across her crimson lips. Cebell widened her eyes when she saw their nails turn into long, sharp, claws.

"Not so powerful now." The blond smirked. They continued to slowly creep towards their prey. Cebell started to regret pulling the knife out on them. The woman's eyes glowed with a gold tint, and her eyes flickered with a shiny coating. She didn't seem like the other two vampires, it was like she was different in her own way.

Out of nowhere, Cebell was suddenly yanked behind someone.

"Oh! Look who it is! Mr. Runaway-circus-freak!" The man with ash-blond hair mocked. His locks were wavy and shoulder length. Every time the wind blew, his hair would still be perfect. No one ever told Cebell, that vampire's hair could look so flawless.

Cebell then looked up at the man, noticing that it was the same man from before that helped her. He held her arm and used his body as a shield to protect her.

"How dare you show your face, Eric. You know she ran into our territory." The blond man hissed, each word was like knives. Once Cebell heard Eric's name, she couldn't help but repeat it quietly to herself. Eric's face continued to look calm and collective, as he let each word bounce right off of him.

"She may have gone too far into your territory, but no one has claimed her. She belongs to no one but me. She's mine." Eric replied in a stern voice. Cebell tried to protest, knowing that she belongs to no one. But she was starting to have suspicions about Eric. He was able to talk to vampires without getting eaten alive.

"What a shame. . . I thought you were smart, Eric, but it looks like I was wrong. A runaway will always be a coward." The woman pouted, knowing that this might hit a soft spot.

Eric then turned around and looked at Cebell.

"Let's just go," he whispered. She nodded with a smile as they started walking away. The two men's faces started twisting in anger.

"Hey! Get back here, and finish what you started!" The curly, haired, blond shouted in anger. His fists were balled as he glared at the two walking away.

"Don't worry, Alen. Just drop it, we'll get them back, don't worry." Madeline spoke with a softer tone, trying to calm the two down. Some of these vampires didn't even have a brain, most acted like snobbish teenagers, while others acted like they were grownups.

"Why don't you stand up for yourself?" Cebell asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

"Just keep walking," Eric whispered, placing a hand on the small of her back. He didn't look back but kept looking forward. So many thoughts were going through his head. It was true that he ran away. But for good reasons.

"I won't waste my time on bullshit like them. . ." Eric mumbled under his breath. It was a low enough growl that she couldn't hear him. But Cebell did hear mumbling but she decided to not question Eric.

They continued to walk away in silence. Everything about Eric seemed so mysterious. He could somehow talk to vampires without getting attacked and killed. He had advanced abilities, and he had a hidden past. Cebell decided to ask him later about the 'abilities' he has.

*****

"Here we are, home sweet home," Eric commented, opening the door for her. Cebell couldn't help but be in awe. This apartment was absolutely beautiful. It was on the top floor, and high above the ground.

Beautiful wooden floors, large glass windows, amazing, and well-kept furniture. This home was ten times better than the crappy apartment she lived in, not to mention the rent was not cheap!

The room was big and open. The kitchen, and the dining room, were in one big room, while the living room was separated by a wall. The other rooms were separated by a hallway that was off to the right. To the left was the kitchen with all new appliances and ebony marble countertops. Black, leather, stools complemented the counter's look while cone lights hung above the counter.

Right in front of the counter, and a few feet away from the kitchen, was the dining room. A smaller, shiny, wooden table, with six chairs, sat in the middle of the room. He soon led her over to the counter, offering for her to sit on a stool.

"Okay, first off; I'm not going to go into much detail about what just happened, but we're going to need to go over some rules." Eric headed around the opposite side of the counter and leaned partially forward on the counter.

"1. Don't go near the windows. 2. Try not to use much light. 3. Never go through my room. 4. Don't answer the door. 5. No hitting on me." Cebell couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the last rule. A small smirk suddenly tugged at the corner of her lips.

"What are you smirking at?" Eric suddenly raised his eyebrow. He couldn't help but be the slightest bit curious about what was so amusing.

"Rule five." That was all she could say before a small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

"And I am serious about that rule, especially during these times." Cebell then started to chew on the bottom of her lip, thinking what to say next. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head.

"Why? Are you taken?" Eric was suddenly taken aback by her snarky comment. He continued to have a calm expression, as he adjusted the cuff of his dress shirt.

"No. . . It's not that. It's just.-" Eric started to chew the bottom of his lip, his teeth hitting the bottom of his medusa bites every time.

"Bad experience?" she questioned with a chuckle.

"I guess you can say that." he shrugs before grabbing her a glass of water.

"Now, let's talk about you. You haven't even told me your name yet." Eric leaned a little bit more forward, propping his elbows up on the counter and his jaw sitting in his hand.

"My name is, Cebell, Cebell Delilah Corliss." Cebell's eyes couldn't help but wander around the room. She then brought the glass up to her lips and took a sip. She felt her throat was relieved by the cool liquid.

"I suspected; that you're the type of person that would have kept their name a secret, before telling a total stranger who has taken you into their hospitality." A small, teasing, smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Hey, you're the one who asked." A small chuckle escaped her throat.

"Well, you're not wrong." A sudden toothy grin came from Eric. Cebell suddenly widened her eyes at what she saw.

Fangs.