Change or Die

Alexa's PoV

After Libby and Matt decided where I would be staying, she led me up the staircase and through a maze of hallways to the guest room I was assigned. No matter how big I thought this place was before, it's definately bigger than that. Big enough to hold hundreds of these freaks, I thought worriedly.

"So this is your room. There's a bathroom through that door over there; it's just yours, so don't worry about anyone walking in on you. The other door is a closet. If you want to take a shower or something, I'll go find some clothes for you. You don't look that far from Lacey or Indy's size, so maybe they can lend you some outfits until we can take you shopping!" explained Libby. Looking around the room, I found out that it was definately somewhere I would like to stay if I had been given a choice in the matter. The walls were a pumpkin orange color with black molding around the dark hardwood floor and cream colored ceiling. A queen sized bed with black curtains draped around it was situated in a corner, next to a window that matched. As I looked around, Libby slipped back out and I found myself alone at last.

Finally, I thought to myself. some peace and quiet. I walked through the door I had been told led to the bathoom and locked it behind me. No matter what Libby might have said about this bathroom being mine, I didn't trust any of them to stay away from it. Especially not Indy and Charlie.

Once I locked and barricaded the door, I stripped down and got in the shower. There was already more than enough soaps, shampoos, and wash cloths for my needs inside, and I took my time cleaning off. Under the hot water, I felt like I was washing away all of the drama I'd been going through. I watched the assault, my birthmark, Indy, Libby, Zacky, Matt, Jimmy, Charlie, and Brian all wash off of my skin and down the drain with the soap and dirt.

Unfortunately, nothing good lasts forever, and this was just proved when I heard someone banging down the door to my bathroom screaming, "PINKY!! COME OUT COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE! WE HAVE CLOTHES FOR YOU! Unless you don't want them. 'Cause if you're like, a nudist or something, that is TOTALLY cool with me." I sighed in annoyance. It would be the psychopath that has to show up when I can finally try to forget this place. I turned off the water and began to dry myself off as Charlie began to bang down the door. Literally. As I was wrapping the towel around myself, a crack appeared through the center of the door. "Oh! Hehe, oops. My bad... MATT! THE DOOR BROKE AGAIN!" shrilled through the house before I heard running footsteps leading away from the heavily damaged door.

I moved the furniture away from the door and peeked out. It looks like she's gone.. for now. Sure enough, the door was dented.. pretty much all over, and there was an entire outfit laid out on my bed. "How did someone so tiny do so much damage?" I questioned in horror and awe.

"You would be surprised what small people can do," came an unfamiliar voice from the doorway. I jumped and looked over to find a short guy with obviously Polish features and a brown mohawk atop his head. He too had muscles and sleeve tattoos on one arm.. I'm really beginning to notice a pattern here.

"Yeah.. I'm not sure I even want to know. So who the fuck are you and why are you in here when I'm in a towel?" I charged boldly. Shit, I realized afterwards. That'll probably get me killed.

Thankfully, the short guy only laughed. "I'm Johnny, and I'm in here because I heard Charlie. Good for you for standing up to me, from what I heard you'd only said anything to Brain..I mean Brian."

So that's who they were talking about before! "Yeah.. He and I don't get along very well, so I really have no idea what you people are on about, soul mates.. That's ridiculous. I don't even know him! I don't even WANT to know him!"

Johnny shrugged. "You don't have to know someone to be meant for them. Just look at the other girls, they're all bound to the guys and they'd never met before... Except Indy, but she's just weird."

"Oh really now. So who's your psycho? Charlie? Because there's only three girls that I've seen, and there's five guys."

"Actually no. Charlie is with Jimmy, and believe me, it's more than fitting. I don't, uhm, exactly have my uh, soul mate or whatever. I just have Lacey."

"UNFORTUNATELY!" shouted Charlie, bursting in dramatically as always. "Really Johnny's mine though. You see, I'm so sexy, I get two guys. Lacey is just a minor inconvenience that I like to use as a punching bag and human shield!"

"I don't get it. Why are you so mean to her?" Johnny whined. Yes, whined. So far he is definately the least intimidating out of all the people I've met here.

"Because she's an idiot and you're too good for her. Anyway, Pinky, why are you still in a towel? I brought clothes for you, c'mon!" Charlie suddenly materialized at my side and STOLE MY TOWEL.

"What the hell?! Are you COMPLETELY fucking PSYCHOTIC?! You really don't expect to just have me stand here naked in front of some guy!" I raged. Charlie smiled widely and just pointed down. When I followed her finger, I found that I was somehow already dressed in the clothes that used to be onmy the bed. "O-oh.."

"Anyway! I want to see your mark, I didn't get to look at it before. I like Brain's, it's kinda cool, even if it does look like some trippy goldfish sometimes or something. Whatever. Lemme see!" Charlie rambled, grabbing me by the shoulders and spinning me around before I could even blink. She quickly had my hair away from my neck and was inspecting my birthmark. "Oooh, pretty. It looks much better on you," she slurred.

Johnny looked cautious. "Charlie...when was the last time you fed...?"

"Oh, y'know, two.. maybe three.." she mumbled dismissively.

"Two or three what? Days? Hours? Weeks?!"

"Maybe even four.." she said, looking thoughtful. Her eyes, formerly a strange grey and teal color, were now entirely grey, almost black.

If Johnny looked careful before, he looked downright scared now. "Right, uhm, why don't you just come with me and-"

"NO!" she roared. Before I had any idea what was happening, Charlie had me clutched to her chest like a ragdoll, tighter than would allow me to breathe, and had flung herself into a corner.

Johnny's hands flew up in a defensive gesture. "All right, all right. Just, uh, calm down Charlie, okay? I'm gonna go get Jimmy, and you.. you stay right here with, uhhh, Pinky, okay?" Charlie merely growled in response. "Okay.. Okay." He mumbled before taking off.

"Oh that's great. THANK YOU SO MUCH, SHORT DUDE! I FEEL SO PROTECTED AND CARED FOR!" I shouted. Really now. He seemed decent, and then he LEFT me here with this.. this.. homicidal little troll! Ugh! No matter how much of a traitor Johnny was, though, it definately wasn't smart to yell at him. Thefreakpsycho vampire behind me was now even more pissed off. How did I know? Let's just say I think I heard a few ribs crack.

"You should feel cared for, Alexa.. We're going to take wonderful care of you here. How could we not? You're too pretty to waste.. Brian doesn't deserve you, no.. He's far too rough with his toys." Charlie purred in my ear. I took a moment to savor the irony of her words. Then I decided that if she was being truthful and Brian was even worse than her, I really, really didn't want to get to know him now.

But there was something even scarier than what Charlie was saying to me right now, and that was what I could hear from downstairs.

"Jimmy! JIMMY!!" I could hear Johnny yelling.

"He's not here, dude, calm down! He's out chasing a goose again or something, geez," was Libby's, I feel, overly casual response.

Oh. Shit.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S NOT HERE?!"

"I MEAN HE'S NOT IN THE BUILDING, YOU DIMWIT! IS LACEY CONTAGIOUS?! YOU NEVER USED TO BE THIS DUMB!"

While I was listening to this and PANICKING, Charlie had turned me around to face her. Even though I had to look down to her, she was terrifying. Her eyes were completely black and held a depraved look to them with none of the sensuality I had seen in Indy's when she was behind her Zacky before. I almost screamed when Charlie smiled at me. Yes, smiled. Like a five year old in pigtails and a gingham dress that had just, oh, let's say, violently murdered her entire family? The smile may have been warm and even innocent on its own, but her eyes were utterly soulless.

"Charlie," came a hard voice from behind me. "Let her go. Now."

"No," was her reply in a hollow voice. "Either you want her or you don't, Haner, you can't have it both ways. You said you want nothing to do with her, so there's no reason I can't touch her.. I won't kill you both. Even if you really deserve it."

"Just let her the fuck go, Charlotte. What would your Jimmy think if he came back and found that you murdered his new guest while he was out, hmm?"

"It's not murder to kill any other animal for food, how is it just because this one is person-shaped? And how is it any different than what you do every other night with those girls you bring back here? Don't think that none of us notice, I've seen you taking them out in the morning."

"What I do is none of your business."

"It is when you criticize me for something you do all the time!"

As much as I appreciated the help Brian was trying to offer, it was really hell on my arms and ribs. I began to wonder at this point if I had any ribs left that weren't broken.

"Just put her down, Charlotte! She is none of your business and she is definately not your FOOD!"

Charlie roared in defiance. "WHO ARE YOU TO SAY WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT DO, BRIAN HANER?! YOU ARE NOTHING TO ME! EVERY OTHER TIME I'M ANYWHERE NEAR YOU YOU IGNORE ME OR TREAT ME LIKE DIRT UNDER YOUR SHOE, SO DON'T GET ON YOUR HIGH HORSE NOW JUST BECAUSE THERE HAPPENS TO BE A GIRL IN THE HOUSE THAT YOU HAVEN'T GOTTEN A CHANCE TO FUCK YET!"

Now would be a really good time for someone to come and rescue me...and probably Brian, too, I thought.

"...You know what? Fuck you. I ignore you because you're not worth my time and frankly, you're just proving that. You're not worth anything to anyone here, so go ahead. Do whatever you want to her and then do yourself and all of the rest of us a favor and get out. Nobody will miss you here, least of all Jimmy," Brian quipped coolly.

"BRIAN!" roared a voice in the hallway. If I thought Charlie's yelling was scary, this made me wish I could curl up and hide.

"Jimmy," he acknowledged calmly.

"What the FUCK is your problem?! That is COMPLETELY out of line! I don't care WHAT is going on with you two: You. Do. Not. Speak. To. Charlie. Like. That," seethed Jimmy, looming behind Brian. As he berated Brian for the attack on Charlie, I felt something drip onto the hem of my shirt. Is she... crying? I wondered. Charlie had spun me out to face Brian some moments ago while she was yelling, probably to emphasize some point, and I could no longer see her face.

Shortly, Brian stormed off and Jimmy rushed in, all of a sudden looking panicked, in some weirdly sympathetic way. He silently pulled Charlie's arms from me, a feat that would probably have taken an entire team of human firefighters, the Jaws of Life, and a crowbar. I gasped, a big mistake with my cracked ribs, and scurried away from the two vampires towards the bed.

When I looked back, I saw that Charlie was, in fact, crying. It was the quietest thing I had ever seen her do. Jimmy pulled her to him before gently lifting her into his arms and carrying her off. He might have been whispering to her, I saw his lips move, but it was far too quietly for me to hear if, in fact, he actually was.

I lifted myself up onto the bed and laid out on my back, trying to hold myself together. How long I was like that, I have no idea. But it was obviously long enough for someone to worry as Libby eventually wandered into the room, looking worried and frustrated. "Alexa? Are you in here?"

I wondered for a moment why she was asking where I was, but then I remembered the curtains on around the bed, and although I didn't really want to think about talking when breathing was already an exercise in torture, I wheezed more loudly to indicate my presence.

Libby rushed over to the bedside and threw back the curtain. "Alexa! Oh my God, what happened?! Are you okay?" She began quickly and industriously checking me over, moving my arms to my sides and raising my shirt, letting out a small shriek when she saw my torso. "Oh. My. LORD, Alexa! We have to get you to a hospital!"

Despite her words, it took her a few more seconds of staring at me in horror before she picked me up easily and took off outmy the door, through the maze of hallways, down the stairs, and out the front door.