"Murder! Here kitty, kitty!" I called out when I had reached my house. I heard a meow and my cat waltzed out of the barn, swaying with each step she took. I cautiously petted her, and, hearing her purr, I picked her up to take her inside. She was really heavy. I almost dropped her before we got inside but I made it inside before I put her down. I slammed the door shut before she could stumble back out. She had trouble turning around, but eventually she made it and headed for the couch.

I ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time, up to my room. I wanted to know now, in a right-this-second kind of way. So I rummaged through my bag in search of Twilight. I had put my marker in the page and I was opening it to search for more clues.

'Incredible speed...perfect features...strangely coloured eyes...old-fashioned ways of doing things.... How had I not noticed this before? But...it must just be a coincidence. It has to be. There is no way that vampires are real, and that's final,' I had thought to myself. I forced my brain-hamster to stop moving. I didn't want to think about that anymore...for the moment, at least.

So I just decided to wait for my parents to come home, so I could have supper, and then I could go to bed and ask Jen on the bus.

* * *

That night passed by a lot slower than I had thought it would. When my mom had come home, I was basically ripping my hair out to stop myself from breaking every single clock in the house. She had brought home the mail and some fresh tears. I had asked her what was wrong, and she told me that around noon an animal had murdered our neighbour, who was her best friend. I was absolutely horrified when I took Murder out of the house before supper. It was getting dark out. My mom made spaghetti but I didn't pay much attention. I was too busy thinking - 'no.' I had stopped myself, right before the phone started to ring.

My dad answered it, but then he hung it up with a sad look. 'Come on! Another murder!' he had said. He had then burst into tears and crumpled to the floor.

My mom had run to him and she somehow understood his sputtering and she started to cry too. Later that night I had asked my mom who was killed. She told me it was the rest of the neighbours' family. Their daughter and I had become friends, and Murder was friends with their cat Rosie. I had run up to my room, and slammed my door shut, crying myself to sleep.

In the morning I had rushed in putting on my clothes because I had forgotten to let Murder back inside. She was really mad and I had to cautiously open the door. I stood behind it and turned the knob, then high-tailed it up to my room. Taking a deep breath I peeked out my room and down the stairs then tiptoed back down to close the door. Murder was sitting in the kitchen by her empty food bowl, obviously demanding more. I decided that I would give her some tuna to soften her up a bit.

So I dug around in the cupboards for a can then opened it and dumped it on a plate. I carefully placed it on the floor and hopped onto the counter. Murder was too fat to jump up there. I waited until she was eating in bliss to slide around her and get myself breakfast.

She meowed and I slowly turned around to find her sitting by the fridge with a scowl on her face. I looked at her and then took a deep breath. I walked past her and shuddered - her eyes were following me - as I opened the door and took out the bottle of milk. She growled and I jumped ten feet into the air, nearly dropping the milk in the process. Finding my feet, I walked to a cupboard and took out a saucer, pouring the milk on it while lowering it to the ground. As soon as it touched the ground I let go of it and fled up to my room to grab my bag.

I heard the screeching of claws on the door and zipped down to open it for her. She waltzed out towards the barn and I shook off my fear and walked down my driveway to wait for my bus. Suddenly I became extremely excited. Today was a very important day for me.

"Yes!" I yelled towards the sky. A bird sang in joy with me. The clouds swirled above me as I spun around like a little girl. Around and around and around I spun, with my arms up and my hair being pulled out behind me because of the gravity. When I came back to my senses I brushed myself off and then pumped my fist in the air like a civilized teenager. The dust cloud appeared and I jumped high enough to join my bird friend. My limo had arrived.

I eagerly jumped on and into my seat, telling the driver to, "Start the car! Start the car!" and practically touching the roof every time I bounced. I was staring out the window, trying not to blink - but not doing it very well - and moving my eyes at the same speed as every shrub or tree that passed. As soon as the sky darkened I was squishing my face to the window in an attempt to see her house. And I missed it. There was a 2 second glimpse but my eyes missed it. Then I saw her.

Jen was standing as still as a stone and her hairs were being whipped around her face. The second I saw her there, I felt self-conscious. 'Was I being stupid? Did I really believe she was a vampire? Or was my imagination taking the better of me? I guess there's only one way to find out.' As soon as she sat down I said hello and then whispered, "You're different aren't you?"

"We all are," was her response.

I tried again. "But you're special."

"We al - "

"You're a special kind of different."

She was quiet. When I looked at her face her expression was blank, unreadable, though I never quite could read any of her strange emotions, or keep up with her unpredictable mood-swings. "You don't know that. How could you anyway?" She seemed to be saying it more to herself than me.

"I can observe things when I want to."

"I can tell."

It was quiet for a moment before I spoke up. "Well?" I asked. "You are, right?"

"I am what?"

I sighed in exasperation. "You're not going to make this easy are you?"

"Not one bit."

I hemmed and hummed trying to figure out what I was going to say, and how to word it properly; I didn't want to sound stupid when I talked to her. She had this way of talking that made her sound...like she was from a different era. "Hmmm...."

"Having troubles?" she laughed.

"No," I said defensively. "You just talk weird."

She laughed, shaking her head at me. "And what is that supposed to mean exactly?"

I blushed. "I'm trying to say stuff like you. You make yourself sound old and civilized. Like you were born in the early 1900s or something."

She laughed again. "You are more observant than I thought. I should give you more credit for that...." She let her sentence hang in the air. "But did you really have to tell me that I sound old?"

"Well that's the only thing I could come up with!" She smiled and I realized what she was doing. "Hey! You're just distracting me from what I wanted to ask in the first place," I accused her.

"Darn. You figured it out. Much more observant...."

"I want to know if - "

"This is hardly the time, or the place. Maybe if you can visit my home then we can talk."

I glared at her but sighed and nodded. "Tonight." It wasn't a question at all.

"Deal."

The bus stopped and Jen stood up, holding her bag in her arm. We stepped off and went to our classes in silence. I was still mad at her.

* * *

I was still mad at her when we got back on the bus. I had thought that was the perfect time, and place. If we whispered quietly enough then not even the people in the seat beside us could hear. But no, Jen had to make me put it off. Well, I don't forget easily.

I glared out the window until the light vanished, mumbling an angry, "See you later" as Jen stood up to leave. She gave me her own bland and emotionless, "Yeah" before she walked down the aisle.

I angrily shoved - but not literally or she would have ripped my head off - Murder inside and dumped - again, not literally - her some food and water. I snatched the phone and called my mom.

"Hello?"

"Hey mom, can I go to a friend's house? Like, really soon? Before you come home?"

"Who is this friend?"

"Her name's Jen."

"Does she live close enough to walk?"

'Oh. I forgot about that.' "Yeah," I lied.

"Okay sweetie. Have fun! And don't forget anything there. Love you, bye."

I hung up the phone and fist-pumped the air, then grabbed the door handle and swung the door wide open. Murder discouraged my happy and excited behaviour with a hiss but I went on whistling my happy little tune. Some birds sang a harmony along with me as I searched for my bike.

That's when the phone rang. Murder was having a hiss-fit as the phone rang...and rang.... I seized the phone and greeted the person on the other side with a, "Hello?"

The person was bawling her eyes out. "Help me! Please help me!"

"Who is this? Where are you? What's wrong?"

"It's your neighbour, Mrs. Patty! I'm in my barn and oh gosh this is bad!"

"What happened, Mrs. Patty?"

"Mr. Patty is gushing blood from his face and all over him! Oh gosh please help me!"

"I'm on my way Mrs. Patty! Put pressure on his wounds! It'll help stop the bleeding!"

"Ok, but I don't have that many hands! Oh gosh please hurry Erica!"

"It's Maggie! Mom's still at work, but I'm going to be there soon! See you soon!" I hung up the phone and dashed out the door, slamming it shut behind me. I spotted my bike leaning against the barn and sprinted for it. Swinging my leg over the side I started pedalling down the drive to the Patty's house.

When I got there I was out of breath and my legs were tired, but I dropped my bike off on their lawn and rushed to the barn. Mrs. Patty was bawling and screaming and a river of blood was making its way towards the barn door from Mr. Patty.

"Do something Maggie! Help me! He can't die Maggie! No!"

"Mr. Patty can you hear me?" I asked.

An inaudible mumble came from him.

"Good! You need to stay with us sir! We won't let you die!"

And then he started screaming. His eyes popped out of his head and he was flailing, throwing blood all over us. "Cat! Cat!" he screamed. "Get it away from me!"

I turned around and saw a fluff of white disappear behind a hay bale.

"GET IT AWAY FROM ME!" he screamed again. He knocked Mrs. Patty down and she hit her head on the stall.

"Mr. Patty calm down!" Then the white ball attacked him.

Mr. Patty screamed again, and then his eyes grew dim, leaving his face in a permanent look of agony and horror. The white ball was gone, and all that was left was some fur and the torn up, bloodied Mr. Patty.

I screamed and yelled, "Mrs. Patty, come on! Wake up! Wake up or you'll die too! Please Mrs. Patty!" I grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the barn - and through the river of blood - towards her house. She was slowly coming to, but I was failing to drag her quickly; she wasn't exactly a young girl anymore.... Her eyes sprung open and she attempted to stand up, pulling on my arm and making me fall on the ground.

She took my shoulders, shaking them wildly, screeching, "HE'S DEAD ISN'T HE? AND THE CAT STILL LIVES! GET ME AWAY FROM HERE!" Standing up she wobbled towards her house.

She screamed and fell to the ground. Red shot into the sky, a white blur being coated in it. I screamed and ran to my bike; there was no way that I could save her.

The tires threw grass up behind them as I pedalled away in fear. I had just witnessed two murders. Then something strange happened. I heard a scream, but not a scream of pain or fear. It was a scream of outrage. A flash of colour whizzed passed me, making me screech to a stop and my bike fell on me. It attacked the white ball, and the last thing I saw before blacking out was the golden blonde throwing the white fuzz into a tree.