Chapter 7 (Revised Version)

Dana's mind floated in a pocket of stillness as time and space seemed to flow leisurely past her. She considered the possibility that she didn't actually have a body and realized the idea didn't frighten her. In fact, she was quite calm about it.

Maybe I'm just a stray thought lingering in someone else's mind as they wake up from a dream they can't quite remember.

But no. She had to have a body because she could hear the sound of a wailing siren slowly getting louder and louder as it drew closer, though it still seemed a long ways off yet.

Who is that for? Does somebody need help?

The thought gave her a slight jolt of fear and she realized she did in fact have a body; it was just numb and she wasn't entirely in it. She concentrated on her body and the attention seemed to give it a hazy outline. She was pretty sure she was standing upright, though the notion of any direction at this point still seemed somehow meaningless. It occurred to her that maybe she should try to move, but it didn't seem that important, so she remained still.

Time passed and Dana slowly became aware of the area in front of her face, where little puffs of mist were appearing and disappearing with each of her heaving breaths. She wondered why she was breathing so hard, as if she'd recently been doing something strenuous, but she couldn't remember what.

She looked down and saw her bare feet flattening the grass of her front lawn, though she couldn't feel them. She still had on the white shorts and tank top she'd worn to bed, but now they were stained red with blood, and the top was torn so that only one strap held it haphazardly in place to cover her breasts.

A slow trickle of fear began to build inside her as she desperately tried to remember what had happened to put her in such a state of disarray even as another part of her mind warned her not to look any further. Her curiosity was too insistent though, and her awareness widened to include the space around her.

She noticed a warm glow off in the distance, and by its light, vaguely made out several shapes on the ground. She idly wondered what they were. Instantly, her eyes obeyed the unspoken command, bringing the image into focus long before her mind was able to comprehend what it was seeing.

Finally, understanding dawned, and it was as if her body suddenly had form and substance as she felt her heart thud in her chest at the realization of where she was and what she was looking at.

No. No, it can't be. This isn't real. Please, God, don't let this be happening. Please...

A few feet in front of her were the mangled bodies of her parents and younger brother. They were carefully laid out on the grass, while a fourth body seemed to have been carelessly dumped off to the side. Dana reflexively clenched her fist and found she was holding a wooden chair leg. In a flash of memory, she suddenly recognized the last corpse. It was the vampire who had attacked her family in the middle of the night.

I killed him. At least he can't hurt anyone else.

The thought brought momentary relief, but then her gaze returned to the other bodies clearly visible by the light of the rising blaze that had been her home up until now.

She wanted to run, to scream, to do something, anything, but she couldn't move. All she could do was stand alone in the night as her whole world went up in flames.

The siren was getting insistent, but she still didn't see any police cars or fire engines or ambulances. Not that any of them could do anything now. It was over.

Suddenly, everything seemed too real. She could feel everything and everything hurt. The smoke that burned her eyes and the inside of her nose, the rawness of her throat from screams she couldn't remember making, the sticky blood hardening on her skin and pulling at the fine hairs on her arms, the cold ground slowly numbing her feet, and yet somehow making them burn at the same time.

She heard somebody come out of the house next door and started to sigh in relief at the thought that an adult would soon come and take over, would take the burden off her barely-eighteen and painfully tense shoulders, but then she heard other doors opening and more people coming out to see what was going on, and she realized no one was actually coming to help her. They were just there to gawk.

Hope sparked again though, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw several people move towards her, but then they abruptly stopped. It took her a moment to figure out why, but when she did, she felt disgusted. They had seen the bodies, not to mention her current condition—covered in blood and holding a weapon.

They think I did it. They think I'm one of those whacked out kids who suddenly kills their whole family one night for no apparent reason until the cops investigate and find out the kid was horribly abused. Well, that's not me. My family loved me. I didn't do this. I'm not a killer! Why won't somebody help me!

She waited for someone to get up the courage to approach her, but no one did. She could sense their fear and hesitancy, how they hung back, not daring to come near her, yet their curiosity wouldn't let them turn around and go back inside their safe, non-burning houses.

It made her nauseous, the feeling of being so exposed, as if she were on display solely for their entertainment. They clearly didn't want to become involved in the carnage, and yet they didn't seem to see anything wrong with watching it from afar. Just a little light entertainment before bed.

Assholes. If it was my family out there, they'd help. They wouldn't hesitate. They'd be right here, doing whatever they could. But they're not here. They're not here to help me because I wasn't there to help them. I was too late. I failed them. I failed them and now they're dead. They can't help me because... because they're dead... Oh God, they're dead. They're really dead. Oh God... Mom... Dad... Davey... No... Please, don't be dead... Please... Please, God, please...

Her vision blurred as tears formed in her eyes and a feeling of total despair threatened to overwhelm her and send her to her knees, even as a wave of panic urged her to scrabble for their bodies, cling to them, scream for them to wake up, to come back, please...

No! I'm not gonna fall apart! I won't give 'em the satisfaction.

Dana gritted her teeth and clenched her fists again, deriving an odd sense of pleasure from the painful pricking sensation caused by the dried blood pulling on the dusting of fine hairs on her forearms. She felt the pain ground her, allowing her to focus on the rage growing as quickly inside her as the flames consuming her home.

Her tears dried without ever getting the chance to fall.

I shouldn't have to feel like this. No one should ever have to feel this kind of pain. My family didn't deserve this. They didn't deserve to die like this. It's the vampires who need to die. And they will.

"Every last one of 'em."

Dana stood up a little straighter, her determination giving her strength as she waited for the authorities to arrive, but they were nowhere to be seen and the incessant buzzing of the siren was getting on her nerves.

She looked up and unexpectedly found herself staring into a pair of emerald green eyes...

Dana startled awake and blearily looked around her bedroom as the last images from her dream faded out of conscious memory.

She checked the clock and groaned as she realized her alarm had been trying to make its presence known for nearly a quarter of an hour. She reached over and turned it off as she sat up and threw her legs over the edge of the bed.

She stilled as her eyes settled on the top drawer of her nightstand. She didn't need to open it. She could see the picture she kept in there of her and her family as clearly in her mind's eye as if she were holding it in her hand. She turned her gaze to the floor and stared at the carpet.

Twelve years... Twelve fucking years and I still miss you guys like it all happened yesterday. If only I could've gotten to you faster, woken up a little sooner...

She closed her eyes and sat for a few moments, trying to block out the feelings of grief and guilt and pain in an attempt to find some sort of peaceful center, but when the images of her dead parents and brother intruded into her mind again, she felt the familiar restless agitation begin to build in the pit of her stomach and knew she needed to move. Now.

She opened her eyes and abruptly stood, heading for the bathroom to get ready for work. She had a hunt to continue and a certain vampire to kill. It was all the motivation she needed to rush through her 'morning' routine and make it to the precinct just as the sun was setting.

Dana went to her office and immediately immersed herself in the various incident reports she'd found regarding the blonde vampire, looking through them again for the umpteenth time in an attempt to come up with anything she might've missed that could help her find the elusive vamp.

She'd been at it for over an hour when she heard a knock on her door, quickly followed by someone opening it and stepping into the doorway. She reluctantly looked up from her computer and wasn't surprised to find her Chief standing there, looking impatient. She knew what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth.

"I didn't see your planned patrol route in the schedule for tonight," Mark said, the implied question obvious.

"That's 'cause I didn't make one. I'm still working on that other investigation."

Mark frowned.

"We talked about this, Clark. I'll grant it's an interesting case, but it isn't pressing. I need you to get back to killing vamps, not looking for the one that got away."

"I know. Just give me another week and I'll—"

"I've already given you two," Mark reminded her as she pursed her lips in annoyance. When she didn't say anything, he sighed. "You've had other vamps who got away and you lost interest after only a few days. You always said you needed to stay on top of the daily kill score board. But you haven't even placed on the board more than a few times since that night. You need to let this one go."

"I can't," Dana said, sounding uncomfortable.

"Why not?"

Dana looked away.

"I don't know."

Mark looked at her for another few moments, then shook his head.

"All right, well, whatever it is, you need to get over it and get back out there. You should've had at least another couple hundred kills added to your name by now. This ain't a paid vacation." He smirked, trying to soften the reprimand, then paused as a new thought suddenly occurred to him and he stepped further into her office, pulling the door closed behind him. "Unless you need one. You know I'd be perfectly okay if you wanted some time off or—"

"Fuck, no," Dana said with a grimace. "What the fuck would I do with time off?" Dana asked even as she imagined sitting and stewing in her house all by herself. She shook her head. "No thanks. I'm fine. I'll just... One more week, all right? Then I'll... I'll get back on patrol whether I find her or not."

He studied her, obviously trying to decide whether to believe her or not, but he finally just shook his head.

"Fine. One more week. But that's it."

Dana nodded in agreement as he opened the door and left. She went back to her computer, determined not to waste another moment.

^~\/^^^\/^~

Khiara walked up behind her wife, who was sitting on the edge of the stone wall that enclosed the balcony off their bedroom. She draped her arms around Shani's shoulders as she kissed her cheek, then stayed in place, her chin resting on her wife's shoulder as she gazed out at the night sky.

"Couldn't sleep?" Khiara asked quietly.

Shani turned her head slightly, then looked forward again, not answering, though she did reach up to place a hand over Khiara's arms wrapped around her.

They held each other in silence for awhile, the warm night breeze causing their sheer bedclothes to flutter around them. Then Shani sighed and Khiara closed her eyes in resignation.

"You're not still thinking about going to New York, are you?" Khiara questioned hesitantly.

"Maybe. What if they need us?" Shani finally spoke.

"They'll be fine. We taught them well."

"But they've never met her. I don't want them to get hurt."

"They won't."

Shani's tense shoulders finally relaxed as she leaned back into her wife's embrace.

"I thought she'd be gone for longer. That's the only reason I agreed to let them go."

Khiara gave a soft laugh.

"Agreed? When did that happen?"

"Well, I didn't stop them, did I?" Shani was sure she could actually feel her wife rolling her eyes at her and frowned in consternation. "I don't understand how you're being so calm about all this. Our children could be killed by that psycho bitch on a whim and you're acting like it's perfectly fine."

A low growl sounded behind Shani and she went completely still as she looked down to see Khiara's razor-sharp black claws extending, several of them pricking at the skin of her upper arms, though they hadn't drawn blood. Yet.

"I realize you're worried, Sashani, but that doesn't give you the right to disrespect me or to question my love for our family."

Shani flinched at her wife's use of one of the more formal versions of her name, a tell-tale sign that she'd pushed the woman a little too far, but then she saw the claws retract and Khiara held her even tighter as she continued.

"I'm worried about our babies, too, but I also have faith in them. They know what's at stake and they know how to take care of themselves and maintain their cover. To be honest, I'm more worried about what that pompous ass seems to be orchestrating. If he has his way, he's going to lead those idiots into an all-out war, with our children caught right in the middle of it."

Shani brought her wife's now human-looking hand up to her lips and kissed it in apology.

"I know. And I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken my frustration out on you. You didn't deserve that. I just feel so helpless."

"As do I. But for now... All we can do is wait."