You're in Vampire Country, Now

Sorrow’s P.O.V.

It was October 24th. Tater had gone missing, and Frank was a nervous wreck. I felt horrible for him. He really loved her and she had just disappeared. I asked Mikey what he thought might have happened to her, but he hadn’t the slightest clue. Of course, Chloe wasn’t any help; she didn’t believe Tater just went missing. Ray, Bob, and Jen were freaking out about it, but they didn’t know any more than Mikey or Frank. Poor Frank was so depressed, he would just sit on the couch in the main hall and cry his eyes out all day long and drink. Of course, the alcohol he was drinking couldn't have been to strong, because despite the pint he drank every hour, he was really sober acting. It was really horrible. I tried to comfort him, once, but all he did was mumble and not even make eye contact with me, so I gave up. Poor guy.

But, other than that, I had more important things on my mind. I wanted, more than anything, to go back home. I wanted to see my mom and dad; I wanted them to know that I was okay. However, I didn't want to be the one that had to break them the news of Kayla's death. She was like their second child; it would destroy them if they knew. I wondered many times if they were looking for me and Kayla. They knew exactly where we had been going, there was no reason for them not to send out a search party. I needed to get to Lafayette, or at least New Orleans. Then maybe they would recognize me, and send me home. I wondered more than once if our story was on the news. I could just imagine the headline. "Two Dallas girls go missing on a trip to Lafayette, Louisiana. Their parents urge anyone who sees or has seen these two girls [our pictures pop up on the screen] Kayla and Sara Winston, to call the police immediately. They were last seen..." My eyes started to water. They had to be worried sick. I had to get home.

Just then Mikey spotted me and began walking towards me. He was the only person, besides Ray, that I had seen regularly around the house for the last two days. "You okay?" He asked immediately, the smile fading from his face. I looked up at him.

"I want to go home." I said, my voice faltering. Mikey said nothing. "I have to get back to my parents. I have to let them know I'm okay." Still, he said nothing. Frustration was building inside of me. "Where's the nearest town?" I asked, looking him straight in the eye.

"You can't leave." He said after a minute. I blinked. "It's too dangerous out there. And you're not properly healed-"

"Mikey, I'm fine!" I said, stamping my foot like a child. "My wounds are now just bruises! I can walk, I can speak, I can fend for myself. I'm okay."

"No...no, you don't understand...there are things out there that are far greater than you suspect."

"Like what?" I asked, growing impatient.

"Like Wolves." I cocked an eyebrow. Wolves in Louisiana? "Yes." He stated, as if he'd read my mind. "Whole packs. They'll tear you up to shreds."

"But...but you guys go out there all the time and you're all fine!"

"Sorrow, that's because we know the area!" He said, grabbing my hand. "Please, you have to understand." I felt tears spring to my eyes. I didn't understand at all.

"Okay..." I lied. "Then can I at least call them?" I asked, feeling a little hopeful. Mikey looked down at me, and I knew my hopes would be crushed.

"I'm sorry...this house is so old...we don't have any working phones..." I started to cry.

"But I have to-" I barely got out before Mikey wrapped his arms around me.

"Please, please don't cry." He whispered. "Every thing's going to be fine, I...I promise." He sighed. I pulled away from him and started to wipe my eyes. He suddenly handed me a tissue our of thin air. I blew my nose and wiped my eyes. "Look...I think I have something that'll ease your pain...a bit of a distraction, if you will..." I just looked at him. "Will you come with me?" He asked, smiling. I couldn't help but smile back. I nodded, and he grabbed my hand. "You're going to love it."

I gasped as he threw the large oak doors open. "Holy crap..." I whispered. He was showing me a library. It had black marble floors and black walls with pictures on them that were painted in shiny gold paint. Painted on the ceiling were thousands of gold stars. On the walls were various pictures and shapes; butterflies, roses, bats, eyes, ribbon, lines, weapons, little characters, cats, people, and many other things all painted in gold. The library reminded me a lot of a maze. There were hundreds of bookcases and chairs in every corner. I felt like a tiny speck compared to the size of it.

"This is where I usually come to unwind..." Mikey said, gesturing for me to go inside. I went in and he shut the doors behind us. "It's just...comforting, I guess. That's probably weird...but, everyone of us has painted something on the walls. All of us did the stars a long time ago...Chloe and Gerard painted a lot of it, they're both pretty amazing. I did the fang thing over here," He smiled, pointing at a large painting of a fang. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't all that great either. I smiled. "It's not the greatest, but it's always fun..." He walked over to where a large bucket of the golden paint was. I followed, with interest. He kneeled down, and so did I. "You can paint something if you want." He said, gesturing towards the empty space on the wall.

"Seriously?" I asked, genuinely surprised. He grinned and handed me the paintbrush. "I...don't know what to paint..." I laughed slightly.

"Paint...your favorite animal?" He shrugged, watching me as I began to paint. A strange oval, a beak, another oval, some claws, and wings. Mikey laughed. "A penguin?" He asked. I nodded, blushing. "It's really good." He said. I looked over, and saw that he was completely serious. I blushed even more. I started to paint in the penguin's stomach in. "Hey, Sorrow?" He asked. I stopped painting and looked up at him. "What's your real name?"

"...Sara..." I said. I hated my name, more than anything. It was just so...normal.

"Sara..." He said quietly, playing with it in his head. "It's beautiful." My heart nearly stopped. "Do you mind if i call you Sara, instead of Sorrow?" He asked, reaching out and playing with my hair. I couldn't even speak. He stared at me, his warm liquid brown eyes meeting mine.

"Uhhh....s-sure." I managed to stutter. He smiled again.

"Thank you, sweetheart."