Chapter One

"No no no no no no no no no no!" A small brunnet boy struggled against the arms of the man who had brought him here, to this alley; screaming for anyone who might hear him. "No no no!" Tears cascaded down his face as he pulled against the hand holding his wrists.

"Be quiet, boy." A long thin finger pressed over the tiny lips, dark eyes stared into the young child's brown eyes, almost seductively. "Shhh, Shawn. I'll take care of you."

Wide eyes looked back. The screaming stopped, but the child felt no calm. Fighting wasn't working. Crying hadn't help. The immature mind couldn't think of anything else to do except what he was told. Fear controlled his breathing, and it seemed to grow darker around the two.

"Don't lose your nerve. Don't give up boy. It's more fun that way." Fangs peeked out of an evil smile.

The voiced echoed throughout the alley; it seemed to swell around the two, making a shell; a wall between the world and this fight; it crawled up Shawn's arms and ruffled his hair; slipped through his thoughts and twisted reality; it tugged the boy toward a trusting calm.

"No! No no no!!! Stop it!" Fighting against the vampire's charm, using the last of his strength, but the power of an undead easily killed the will of a seven year old boy; the boy's body went limp as terror and exhaustion combined and disappeared, leaving nothing but an unconscious being in the wake of the vampire. Arms quit pulling and eyes closed; the mouth quit screaming.

"Hey kid. Get up. You can't sleep there. It's nearly dawn." A short dark figure gently kicked the form of a boy a pile of boxes were hiding.

Shawn rubbed his eyes, looking around. He felt like he'd been run over by a tractor and hung on the clothes line by his ears. He looked up at the sky; he couldn't see nearly as many stars here as he could back on the farm.

"Boy, what's wrong with you? What's your name?"

"Name?" Shawn looked at the figure over him; he didn't know who this was, never seen him...But he didn't seem threatening. "Shawn..."

"Why're you out alone?"

Shawn just stared at him. "Who are you?" He started to get up, and his stomach convulsed under the movement and he crumbled back down, sitting on his rear bent over.

Brows nit in thought. The figure knelt down. "Hey kid..Who's your companion?"

"My..what?"

The figure was quiet; then he put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Keiran. You don't understand. What do you remember?"

Shawn looked up, unsure. "Understand what? What's wrong with me? I want to go home. Can't you just take me home? Please??" Tears started foring in the small eyes.

"Don't cry. You shouldn't do that." Keiran really didn't want to deal with a hysterical child, and he knew as soon as Shawn realized he was crying blood, he would be a hysterical child. Keiran wiped away the tears before they could fall, forcing himself to resist the urge to lick his fingers. "Now listen to me, okay? Don't fight anything you feel, and just listen."

Shawn nodded; he forced his eyes to dry and tried to be as calm as he could.

Keiran pulled the boy up to a standing position, ignoring the hurt on Shawn's face. It was easy to find his way into the mind of a child, all he had to do was following the internal crying that radiated from the small body; he pushed through the weak wall and into the thoughts and memories of Shawn.

Shawn's feelings twisted and fear ran through him as he realized that Keiran could see into his thoughts, and he was supposed to let this foreign presence just roam around; he stared back into the dark eyes, asking why and how. No answer. Not even a flicker of acknowledgment. Shawn tried to pull his arm away.

"Don't."

Shawn stopped, but still wanted Keiran to leave his mind. He didn't want to be a library, he wanted to be alone and go home. He didn't care if he understood or not, he just wanted to lay in his bed and have his mother make his sick go away. She always made the sick go away and he needed her now.

"Your mother can't help you Shawn." Keiran let go of one arm, then let go of the other; Shawn managed to stay standing. "You can't go back to your mother. You can't see your family anymore. You're a vampire."

"No I'm not!! I'm a kid!"

"You're a kid that's a vampire. You were taken by a vampire; he broke you down; he bit you; he changed you. Your stomach hurts because you're hungry. When someone is changed, their sire takes them to feed immediately. Your sire abandoned you. He knew he would be killed. You need to feed. That pain won't go away."

"Changed..I don't want to be a vampire!!" Shawn's face crumbled and tears starting running down his face. He wiped them away and stared at his hands.. "Keiran..."

"It's blood Shawn. When vampires cry, they bleed."

"A vampire's pain comes from the heart. It isn't superficial like a human. So we bleed."

Shawn looked toward the source of the new voice and saw a female with black hair.

"I'm Saya. I'm a friend of Keiran. Well, not a friend. Keiran doesn't have friends. I'm one of the few he doesn't hate. That's better put." She walked over and took one of Shawn's hands. "Most of us didn't want to be vampires, Shawn. Most of us never had a choice. It just happens to some people. It's a very contagious disease. But it isn't as terrible as it seems." She smiled at him. "You're stronger now; you're faster; you have more freedom; you don't have to sleep, only if you want to; you don't have to eat all your veggies; you don't have to sit in school for 8 hours every day. There are some bad things, but there's always bad things. You just have to know the good things." She squeezed his hand. "Don't cry now, Shawn. Keiran's not very good with children, okay? Give him some slack." She smiled at them both, then let go. "Don't be stupid, Keiran." She walked off.

Shawn looked at Keiran. "No more school..?"

Keiran was glaring. Saya had a talent of showing up and leaving before he ever said a word to her.

"Keiran..?"

"No more school, Shawn. But you have to feed. Drink blood. Don't think about it, just do it. It'll be easier for you that way." He grabbed Shawn's arm and started walking along the alley.