A Night Full of Possibillities

[Larten Crepsley]

Larten tilted his head. There were only two things in existance. The Vampires.... and the Vampaneze. "Thing?" He whispered hoarsly. Then he cleared his throat, "If this thing is what I think it is then your past and mine are somewhat linked. Though you have never known me I think I might know the creature you speak of. Can you describe it the best you can?" Larten then understood why this girl was different. Her parents had been killed and he was acting like a father to her. This feeling was new, but Larten would keep it strong if he could. Erika was too precious to be lost and from the sounds of it she needed parents that truely cared that didn't flinch at the horrors of this girl's life.

He knelt to one knee and said, "Erika I have a secret. In a way I am visiting my family in the mountains, but they aren't my true family. My kind are but stories in your world. There is another creature that exists. No one knows their name because they end up dead, dried of blood. Only my kind knows their name and what they used to be." His face hardened, "What I have to say may frighten you, but do not trust everyone you meet. Some newborns of these deadly creatures look like me, but are, in fact, not." He took a deep breath and said, "The two creatures that exist are called Vampires and Vampaneze. As you may tell I am of the first variety. Yes I drink blood, yes I am a creature of the night, yes people fear me, no I am not a killer unless in defense. Erika I am not your enemy and have no desire to be your enemy."

The Vampire gathered his next words carefully, "The Vampaneze drain their victims of their blood. At first their skin is like you and me and their eyes are normal, but after a few centuries you can tell the difference between a Vampaneze and a Vampire. A Vampaneze has purple skin and dark red eyes. They are not to trifled with. Erika if a Vamapneze killed your parents then you are in utter danger. There is one Vampaneze that I know of that will not stop until all in a family are dead. There is a way I can save you, but it requires you to give up much." Pain flickered across his face, "I would have to turn you into what I am. You can never have children, you will have to drink small amounts of blood. You could still go about in daylight, but after a few hours the sun will begin to hurt. Being a Vampire also has some good things to it. You can run far, attack hard objects without hurting yourself, and you can heal, but that will appear when you become a full Vampire." Once this was said he stood up, "I don't expect an answer any time soon, but if that creature is a Vampaneze you will need protecting." He turned away, but said over his shoulder, "Sleep on it Erika and let me know soon what your answer is. I am giving you a choice. A Vampaneze wouldn't and if they did it would be entirely more painful than the choice I just gave you." Then he disspeared into the darkness.

[brittney]

The way he spoke next when he said 'Thing?' made her turn and look at his face. What was he thinking? She wondered as she watched as he cleared his throat and then continued to speak. She listened as he added a few more things before he asked her a question she didn't want to search for the answer to tonight, if ever. She didn't want to try and remember the thing that had killed her parents, much less describe it.

She watched as he lowered himself to one knee and spoke to her some more. As she listened, she didn't want to believe that what he was saying was true. She soon stopped looking at his face and instead gaze off in space as she remembered that awful and painful night as she continued to listen to what Larten said. It all made sense now. The whispers the policeman said shortly after finding her in the car with her dead, bloodless parents near the front of it. At the time, they hadn't known that she was listening in as one of them carried her away to be seen by a paramedic. She could still remember what they said about the bite marks and how it appeared that all of their blood or most of it had been drained.

However, when she heard him that if a Vampaneze killed her parents, she would be in utter danger, she came out of her memories and returned to the here and now to listen to the rest of his speech. She listened as he described how she was in utter danger and the choice to either stay human and pretty much defenseless or become a vampire like him and be able to protect herself. This is too much, she thought to herself as she lowered her arms to her sides as she listened to the rest of Larent's speech. She then watched as he disappeared into the darkness.

Scared and alone, she ran the rest of the way back to the house she's been staying in for the past few years. When she arrived there, she ran up the stairs and to her bedroom, ignoring the voices of the couple that had adopted her like she usually did. She entered her bedroom, locked her bedroom door, and went over to her window. Closing it and locking it, she stepped away from it and soon bumped into her bed. She sat down on it, shaking out of fear and from the sobs that racked her body. What has happened to my life? Why did my parents have to die? Why did we have to hit a Vampaneze or whatever that thing was that killed them? Why... By the time she trailed off, she was curled up in bed, drifting off to sleep.

About thirty minutes passed before she began to relive the nightmare she often had since she was eleven. It was more like a memory, but she watching it from an out-of-body experience-type of being. Then, after the creature killed her parents, it turned to look at her and started to come towards her. Frantic, her dreamself began to run through the country as fast as she could.

As she dreamt this, she kept kicking and turning from side to side. Every now and then, she would whimper or quietly scream, but her adoptive parents were used to it by now and never came to check on her. They didn't care about her anymore, not like parents should care about their daughter. They just saw her as a freak, as someone that had the unfortunate experience of going through something no one would believe if she told them, not unless they knew about the world the Cirque Du Freak, the Vampires, and the Vampaneze were a part of.

[Larten Crepsley]

Larten had followed Erika back to her home. He climbed up to the girl's room and found her window locked. With a flick of his wrist the lock was undone and he entered her room. He stood near the window and saw that the girl was in a nightmare. Larten felt like he should be doing something, but Erika would not appreciate him interfereing. The Vampire was soon lost into his own thoughts of what happened before he was turned by his friend, Seba. His cousin had been murdered and then he killed the foreman in revenge. Larten then had to run from the law in order to save his miserable skin. Then he met Seba and willingly became his assistant.

A noise brought him out of his past. Larten saw the girl was waking up and he slipped out the window, but did not have time to shut the window behind him. He knew that Erika would know that someone had been in her room, but Larten had to make sure that he wasn't there when she did wake up. The Vampire flitted into the darkness and back to the camp just as the sun was coming up over the horizon. He entered his van and laid down in his coffin. Who had killed Erika's parents? Why did they do so? Was Erika truely in danger?

[brittney]

The nightmare seemed to last forever before she bolted upright in her bed, almost as if something had woken her. Looking around her bedroom, she tried to see what might be in her bedroom despite the way the darkness made her eyesight not so great. Reaching over to turn on the lamp she had on her nightstand, she forced her pounding heart to start to calm down. There couldn't possibly be anything in her bedroom with her. After all, she had locked the lock on her window before she went to bed.

When light filled the room, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she was alone in her bedroom. Her relief was short-lived, however, when she saw that her bedroom window was open. "What the-" she wondered as she swung her legs over the side of her bed and placed her feet on the floor. She stood up and walked over to her window. When she reached it, she slammed it shut and locked the lock once again. She then returned to her bed, got in, and tried to go back to sleep. She didn't turn off the light, though. She was too afraid.

She knew that Larten had probably came to her house to check on her, but suspected that he couldn't stay long since the sun was coming up slowly, but surely. She went through the things that he had said and knew that she had no choice, but to become what he was. She had thought about running away anyways and she had planned on taking off today. Her adoptive parents wouldn't try and look for her and wouldn't call the police to have them search for her. Besides, if she would be safer as a vampire and if she would stick in better with the Cirque, she might as well go find them and ask them if she could stay with them.

A few minutes passed before she finally made up her mind to runaway and join the Cirque Du Freak. Getting out of bed, she went over to her closet, opened it, and took out the suitcase and backpack she had begun to pack a few days ago. Kneeling down, she moved a few shoe boxes until she found the one she was looking for and took it from the stack she had made. Setting it on the floor and opening it, she took out the money she had saved from her babysitting jobs and tucked it into her right boot.

Standing up, she looked down at herself and thought that the outfit she was wearing would be fine. She would be warm enough. Opening her duffel bag, she began to fit as much clothes and books on supernatural beings she had collected over the years into the bag. Once it was full, she moved onto her backpack and put the fragile stuff her parents had give her in it. When it was halfway full and she had the things she wanted from her bedroom in her luggage, she picked up the duffel bag, put the shoulder strap on her shoulder, and picked up the handle of the backpack. She then walked over to her bedroom door, unlocked it, and quietly entered the hallway.

She quickly made her way downstairs, hoping all the while not to wake up Melanie and James Harper. Once she was downstairs, she made her way to the kitchen and got some food and bottles of water from the storage area and the fridge. She then took the door that led from the kitchen into the garage and then left the garage and began to head back towards where the theater was at that the Cirque had performed at.

When she reached it, she went inside and found it empty. Hoping that someone would find her here that was part of the Cirque, she sat her things down by the stage, laid down, and rested her head on the backpack. She then went to sleep. She wasn't sure how long she slept, but it must have been long, because when she woke up the theater was really dark.

[Larten Crepsley]

From the shadows Larten saw Erika wake up and he called out, "Erika? Its alright its just me." He stepped forward, "I asked the Cirque to stay awhile longer if you wanted to join them. They won't leave until the day after tomorrow because they are putting on a final show." Larten smiled as he saw all the stuff, "If you want we can put these in my van for you. No one would dare mess with me." He walked closer to the girl and stopped when he was a few feet in front of her. "I'm sorry for scaring you last night. It was not my intention." He reached down and picked up one of her packed bags, "Come on I'll carry this and do not worry. It will be safe here with the Cirque."

The Vampire truely wanted to help the girl, but only if she allowed it. Larten would not do anything that she didn't want. He had given her choice and waited for it. He had more or less gone to her house to keep an eye on her and no doubt she saw that the window had been left open. A Vampaneze would not have left like that. They would have stayed in the shadows to wait for its prey. He looked down at Erika and said, "You are different than the others I turned. I know your not turned, but you do know what I am and what I do. The others seemed more strict and hardened than you do and I find myself drawn to you for a reason." He gave a gentle smile, "Not anything further than like a father caring for a daughter. That's how I feel about you. I feel like I want to destroy every evil creature to keep you safe, just as a father would do for his child." Larten held out a hand to the girl. "Come on. Its too cold to be in here. Lets get you to the Cirque where its warm and bright."

[brittney]

A few minutes passed before she heard Larten's voice. She then watched as he stepped towards her and told her that the Cirque was staying a little while longer and that he would keep her things in his van if she wanted him to. She sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes as she watched him take a few more steps toward her and continued to speak as he reached down and picked up one of her bags. She smiled to show that she was more welcoming than she was last night. She stood up and got her backpack from the floor.

Before she began to head towards the exit that they had used the last time they were together, she saw Larten looking down at her and listened to him as he continued to speak. When he said that she was different from the others that he had turned and that he was somehow drawn to her, she wasn't sure how she felt about that. Was she different, because of the things she has been through? Why was Larten drawn to her?

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard the vampire continue to speak. She looked back up at him and listened as he said that he didn't feel anything more than that of what a father feels for his daughter. This brought tears to her eyes, because she hasn't heard anyone say that to her since her real parents died. She tried to keep the emotion hidden, but, within minutes, she found herself hugging Larten and resting her head on his chest. "Thank you," she whispered as she left the cold tears begin to run down her cheeks.

[Larten Crepsley]

Larten put down the bag and held her close, "Shhh. Its alright. Everything will be fine." Larten was still a little awkward with this, but he was willing to care for the girl, "Do you want to travel with me to Vampire Mountain? If you say yes then your saying yes to becoming one of us. With training you can become a great Vampire, but before you do you would have to go through the Trials. They are a Vampire's way of proving his/her worth to the Clan. Be warned. These Trials are dangerous and Vampires have been killed in them. If you think you are not ready then you can stay with the Cirque until I next return." He wiped the tears away from Erika's face. "I will let nothing harm you. At least not without you having some kind of defense." He held her close for a moment longer and then let her go, "Come. You must be tired again. Let's get you to the Cirque where you can rest and leave your things."

The Vampire smiled. Erika had a rough life and he had seen how her adopted parents were like the night before. They didn't come in when she screamed. Obviously the nightmares were an every night occurance and they just ceased caring. He hesitated and then said, "I was guarding you last night. Yes I was in your room, but a Vampaneze could have done the same thing, but I wanted to make sure you were safe. I noticed that your adopted parents just ignored your screams." His face hardened, "No child should ever be ignored like that. Whatever happened in the past needs to be dealt with and not ignored. They may not think that creatures like me don't exist, but its their fault for not having an open mind." He looked Erika in the face, "You know what I am and what that creature was in your past. You know we exist. The Vampaneze used to be Vampires, but broke away when they felt that a feeding meant draining their victims dry. The Vampires try to keep the Vampaneze at bay. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we don't."

[brittney]

She let Larten hold her close and welcomed the way he comforted her. She could barely remember the last time someone else had comforted her besides her real parents. It was a nice feeling to have someone care about her like Larten appeared to care about her.

When he asked if she wanted to travel to Vampire Mountain with him, she looked up at him with her tear-filled eyes. He was the only one she was beginning to trust in the Cirque and she had decided to become a vampire only because she wanted to be able to protect herself, but everything was happening so quickly. She couldn't get her mind around it and the warning he said next about what she would have to go through to prove her worth to the Clan. She wasn't sure how strong she was, both physically and emotionally. She just knew that she wasn't sure that she wanted to be away from him for that period of time and to be afraid of the thing that was most likely hunting her at this very moment.

She came out of her thoughts when she felt Larten letting her go and listened to what he said. She nodded and put her backpack's straps on her shoulders and was beginning to walk towards the exit when she heard him begin to speak again. She turned back to him and listened to what he said. He was there last night, she thought as she listened. Her body grew stiff when he talked about Melanie and James. They had stopped coming into her room a few months after they adopted her. That was when they realized that the nightmares weren't going away and that they had to deal with a girl that screamed in her sleep.

"I have grown used to people letting me scream in my sleep. After all, it's been years since anyone has comforted me at night or even during the day. I just thought that that was normal for me now," she said before he could go on to talking about how the Vampaneze used to be Vampires, but had went too far and that the Vampires have been trying to keep them at bay. Looking straight into Larten's eyes, she said, "When I do become a Vampire, I won't cross that line. I don't want to become like the creature that killed my parents and I don't want to be responsible for killing a child's parents."

She let a few minutes past before she said as she turned and began to walk over to the exit, "Come on. The Cirque will be wondering where we are if we don't leave soon and I want to eat something soon." She was putting up that stone wall she usually put up without realizing it when she didn't want to deal with her past. She also felt the numb feeling course through her body as she looked over her shoulder at Larten to see if he was coming.

[Larten Crepsley]

Larten smiled at Erika and followed her. He carried the bag that he had originally picked up. The Vampire then led the way out of the theater and to the camp. "I'm sorry about Truska. She's actually a nice person." Then he pondered the performers, "There are some performers you haven't met. Would you still like to meet them?" He headed to his van first, "We'll drop your things off and then talk to Mr. Tall. I'm sure he can find you some chores for you to do while you are here." He smiled gently at the 17 year old.

He was beginning to enjoy her presence and the more he talked to her the more he opened up. Larten would need to read some books on parenting, but he was sure that Erika would make a great daughter as well as assistant.... if she chose to become his assistant. Larten brushed back Erika's hair back behind her shoulders. The night air felt good against his skin and Larten wondered how it felt against Erika's skin. He wanted to do all he could to make the 17 year old happy. Then a thought came to him, "Erika how far away from 18 are you? If its only a few days away then your running won't be cared about by the cops because 18 is when your a legal adult and can do whatever you want."

[brittney]

She smiled back at Larten when he smiled at her and began to follow her, but was still feeling numb. She didn't know how long this feeling would last before she began to feel happy or sad or something else and didn't know how to make herself feel something. She used to think that it was better to not feel anything at all then to feel scared or sad all the time, but she didn't want to feel that way anymore. She wanted to actually feel something, even if that meant feeling sad or scared.

She walked beside him as they headed to the camp and listened to him as he apologized about Truska and that she was actually a really nice person. I truly doubt that, she thought to herself as she stared ahead steadily as she continued to listen to what he said next. When he brought up the subject of meeting the other performers, she looked over at him and said, "I will meet them later. Let's just get my things dropped off, talk to Mr. Tall, and maybe get something to eat." She didn't return the smile Larten gave her and instead faced forward again.

When she felt him brush back her hair, she pulled away slightly, not wanting to be touched at the moment. She just wanted to get this over with. What were the others going to think when they see a normal girl accompanying Larten back to the camp? Would they wonder if she was a freak, too? Would they talk about her behind her back? She thought about these things for a few minutes before she realized that Larten was speaking again.

Turning to look at him, she listened to what he said about how far away she was until she turned 18. She also listened to what he said about how the cops wouldn't bother her if she was a legal adult. Before she could catch herself, she said, "I just turned 18 a few days ago." She knew that lying to Larten would probably bite her in the butt later on, but she didn't want him to know that she had actually turned 17 a few days ago. She remembered what Truska said about how she should tell the truth to Larten, but somethings were better off left lied about, especially when it came to her age. The cops won't come after me anyways, she thought to herself as the two of them neared Larten's van. When they finally reached it, she went in and put her backpack on the floor. She then turned back to Larten and said, "Should we go talk to Mr. Tall now?"

[Larten Crepsley]

"Yes we should. He should have some chores for you to do while your here." Larten set down the bag he was carrying and headed to Mr. Tall's van. He knew that Erika was lying, but he didn't say anything about it. It would be a good quality for a Vampire, but Larten did not want to push the girl. Once outside Mr. Tall's van he knocked on the door. The Vampire hadn't spent time with his friend for some time and having the head of the Cirque help with Erika would be a good way to get Erika used to the Cirque.

Larten waited for the door to open. He wondered how Hiberneous Tall was doing after the last time they had seen each other. The Vampire missed his friend and even though Larten seemed to have just arrived back at the Cirque. He would leave soon and he needed Erika's answer. However, he would go with whatever decision that the girl made. Larten would miss the girl if she decided to stay here while he left for Vampire Mountain, but he kept this to himself. Erika was a sweet, sweet girl.

[brittney]

She nodded after she listened to what Larten said and followed him out of his van and to where Mr. Tall was staying at. She watched as he knocked on the door and began to twirl a strand of her blonde hair around one of her fingers out of habit. She was beginning to feel really nervous about speaking with this stranger and kept wondering what he would think of her.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and Mr. Tall appeared. He first looked at Larten Crepsley before turning his attention to her. He stared at her for a few minutes before returning his gaze to Larten, the expression on his face showing his interest in the reason why she was here. She wished she knew what was going on inside his head at that very moment, but remained quiet and looked down at the ground as she continued to fiddle with her hair.

[Larten Crepsley]

Larten smiled when his friend opened the door, "Hiberneous. Its been awhile."

Mr. Tall nodded, "It has. You don't visit much anymore. I wonder why that is." Then he beckoned Larten and Erika inside, "Bring Erika inside."

Larten looked at Erika and said, "He knows things that no one else does." He gently pushed Erika forward, "Hiberneous most likely knows why we are here and what I told you and about your past." The Vampire found a seat and sat down in it. Then he began making himself at home.

Hiberneous raised and eyebrow, but was otherwise silent. He turned to Erika, "So you know Larten is a Vampire? And yes I know exactly what happened in your past and who it was." He looked hard at Larten, "I believe you know him quite well from your home town Larten."

Larten had taken that time to take a drink of blood when he heard that. He choked on the liquid and when he had regained himself he said, "Murlaugh?! That's who Erika saw years ago?"

Mr. Tall nodded. "Yes. He was the one who killed her parents." He turned to Erika, "Murlaugh is a rouge Vampaneze. He does what he wants, when he wants. Last I heard he has been looking for you to settle an old score. He is getting very close. Erika will not be able to stay at the Cirque for very much longer. For as long as you stay then she can too, but when you leave for Vampire Mountain Erika has to go with you. Her things can stay here, but Erika has to go with you Larten." Mr. Tall looked at Erika, "The Vampires can protect you better than I or the Cirque can."

[brittney]

Erika listened as the two men talked before she heard Hibernous invite her and Larten inside. She looked up at Larten first, wondering if it was safe to go inside. She listened to what he said to her about how this man knew things that nobody else knows, that he probably knew why they were here and what has happened in the past twenty-four hours. She nodded as she let Larten push her forward and sat down in a seat beside the vampire. She looked down at her hands as she clasped them together tightly, wanting desperately to run and hide, but she hid this from Mr. Tall and Larten.

She noticed Hibernous turn his body towards her out of the corner of her eye, but didn't make any move to look up at him. She listened to what he said and nodded when he asked her if she knew that Larten was a vampire. She stiffened when this stranger said that he did know about her past and who it was who had murdered her parents. However, she didn't expect the murderer to be someone from Larten's hometown and definitely didn't expect the reaction Larten had.

She looked over at Larten with a worried expression when he choked on the liquid he was drinking and asked quietly, "Are you alright?" Before he could reply, she heard Mr. Tall speak and turned her attention to him. She listened as he explained what Murlough was and how he does what he wants when he wants. She stiffened once more when Hibernous said that the Vampaneze was getting closer to where she was at and that she couldn't stay at the Cirque for much longer, that Larten and the other vampires would be the only ones capable of protecting her from this creature.

She took a few moments to take this all in before she finally said, "When will we leave and how soon can I become a half-vampire?" Her voice was as steady as she could possibly make it and she forced the fear she was feeling back and instead tried to make herself feel numb. She had known that she wouldn't be able to stay human for very long when she decided to run off and join the Cirque Du Freak earlier that day. It was just happening sooner than she had expected, but she wanted to take this change in her life as smoothly as she could.

[Larten Crepsley]

Larten turned to Erika, "I leave tomorrow night. I can turn you then if you would like or we can do it now. However, the change is painful and sometimes the person becoming a Half-Vampire or Half-Vampaneze do not make it. Though its better to attempt then to let Murlaugh get you." His eyes flashed dangerously. "I've delt with Murlaugh in the past and he is not to be trifled with. I thought I had gotten rid of him, but obviously I was mistaken." That meant the death of Erika's parents happened after Larten thought he had gotten rid of the Vampaneze. The Vampire sighed, "The death of your parents was ultimately my fault since I didn't deal with him properly."

He turned to the girl and said, "I am sorry." The Vampire's face was sad and he stood up. "I'll be in my van preparing. I will see you shortly Erika." He left hoping the cold night air would clear his head. The Vampire hoped that Erika would forgive him. Larten sighed sadly and headed to his van. He entered and waited silently for Erika to follow.