Each street blurring by looking the same as the last, but stopping wasn’t an option. The burning in her chest was bearable as long as she could get away. The sounds of running footsteps had disappeared a while ago, but they must still be there. Taking a quick left, Jessica darted into the closest alleyway and headed straight until she found a dumpster to hide behind. Brushing a bit of long blonde hair out of her eye, Jessica tried to control her breathing, waiting to make sure that she was safe.

Jessica now wished that she wouldn’t have tried to make it to the party against her parents will, and was now promising never to do it again. It was now close to midnight with a remarkably clear sky and a full moon. Jessica was about to take her chances and try to make it back home until she heard the clacking of the same boots that had been following her. Peaking around the corner, she could see three men making their way down towards her. Each one laughing as they got closer and closer. Knowing what was going to happen, Jessica darted from behind the trash can and rushed toward the other exit until a couple more guys showed up to block her path.

“You would think that on a clear night like tonight, that you wouldn’t decide to hide when you can be seen perfectly.” said the leader of the group walking closer.

“Please, just please let me go. I’ll give you anything that you want, just leave me alone.” pleaded Jessica as she backed away.

“Now why would we do that? I mean we are in an empty part of town with no one around and we have you just walking through our territory.” giggled the man as he took another step forward.

Now pinned against the wall, Jessica was cowering trying to think of a way out of here. The encouraging shouts from his friends made the man bolder. Taking a step forward, he placed one hand roughly on her shoulder pinning her to the wall. With one hand on her waist, he started to trace it downwards towards her neither regions. Before his hand could reach, Jessica’s fight or flight response kicked in and a knee shot out and landed between the man’s legs. Stumbling back a couple feet the man tried to regain his composure as Jessica tried to make a hopeless run for it. Only getting a couple of feet away, Jessica was quickly grabbed again and thrown against the wall. Trying to fight back, Jessica realized that her hands were now pinned against the brick wall.

With new tears running down her face Jessica tried to scream out but only a whimper came. Looking back at the man, Jessica saw his hand shoot out and crashed into the side of her face. Wincing from the burning feeling on one side of her face, Jessica tasted blood from the inside of her mouth as the swelling started. Trying to refocus from the latest impact Jessica saw the man laughing with his friends again.

“You shouldn’t have done that you know. You could really hurt someone you know. Well, I guess that we have to make sure that you don’t do that anymore.”

Raising his hand again, Jessica braced herself for the impact that was coming. After a few seconds, Jessica opened her eyes to find a new man standing between her and her perpetrator. Looking up she could see the man straining to get his hand released from the iron grip. Looking at the new guy, Jessica noticed that underneath his raven black messy hair glowed a pair of dark red eyes.

“Usually I wouldn’t interfere with matters such as this, but this time I’ll make an exception.”

Releasing the younger guy, the stranger effortlessly pushed the man away and looked at the others.

“I’ll give you one warning, leave now or you’ll wish that you had done so.” said the stranger as he brushed hair out of his face.

Now having a clear look at his face, the man appeared to be in his late forties with a few wrinkles around his face. Looking for support from his pals, the leader of the group rushed and swung at the stranger, only for his fist to phase right through. Grabbing the younger man by the throat, the stranger slammed him against the wall. Once pinned the others were about to join until a shower of blood sprayed over them as the stranger continued to rip the young man limb from limb. Turning towards the crowd, the stranger’s face seemed to have transformed into a grotesque demon with jagged teeth protruding from his mouth.

Seeing the sight before them, the group of men ran trying to get away as the demon turned towards the girl cowering on the ground. As the stranger leaned over, his features changed back to what they use to be as he reached for Jessica’s face.

“Are you okay mortal?” asked the stranger as Jessica backed away from his hand.

“Don’t kill me please.” whimpered Jessica as fresh tears welled up in her eyes.

“Considering the fact that I haven’t killed anyone yet, I’d like to keep it that way.” laughed the man.

“You just tore someone apart and you don’t consider that killing!?” asked Jessica.

“Well, look for yourself.” signed the stranger as he moved to the side to show one unconscious man lying on the ground intact.

“It’s just a simple illusion to tell you the truth, but you mortals believe anything that you see. Now let me take a look at that or I’ll just have to force you.”

Leaning down again, Jessica realized that her body seemed to have frozen as none of her muscles seemed to move on her command. Once the strangers hand was only a few inches away from the bruising on her face, Jessica felt a cooling sensation as the pain started to fade away. Once it stopped, Jessica found that she could move again so she decided to check out her face. To her utter astonishment, her face seemed to be perfectly normal. There wasn’t any sign of an impact at all. Looking up she noticed how the stranger seemed to be looking down while rubbing his head.

“Is something wrong?” asked Jessica as the stranger seemed to realize that she was still there.

“Considering the amount of magic I just used, it would seem that I need to feed again. But it does look like some delicate prey is sitting right in front of Me.” smiled the stranger as his teeth started to sharpen and his eyes started to glow.

Seeing the change in this man made Jessica’s heart race. Sweat started to pour down her face and she started to back away again until she started to hear laughter. Looking at the man again, he seemed to return to normal as he stood up and turned the other way.

“Again, you humans believe anything that we show you. Seriously it’s just an illusion. You do smell delicious, but I don’t drink from people who know where I am. Where do you live by the way?”

“A quarter of a mile up that street in the red house, why do you want to know?” asked Jessica as she got back up on her feet. Standing, she realize that this man towered over her.

“Considering that you seem to be in trouble all the time, I might as well make sure that you stay safe until you get there.”

“Thanks I guess, but what is your name if you don’t mind me asking?” asked Jessica taking a step towards the stranger.

“You can call me Tobias, and it’s also nice to meet you Jessica.” said Tobias as he turned and started to walk away.

“How’d you know my name and where are you going?” asked Jessica as she started to follow.

“Off to feed if you must know, but I would stay away because I don’t know if I could control myself. You might accidently end up on the menu, and the fact that you’re still alive given the fact that you were bleeding a moment ago is miraculous enough.” smiled Tobias as he quickened his pace.

“You’re a vampire?” asked Jessica as she started to catch up until Tobias disappeared into thin air.

Deciding that it might be a good idea to get home, Jessica got out of the alleyway and started on her journey back home. Making it a couple of blocks Jessica noticed that her entire appearance showed no sign of any of that night events ever happening. Walking briskly now Jessica was busy pondering who and what she had met. Tobias was a vampire, that she was sure of, but she didn’t know whether or not to be afraid of that fact or not. He did say that he had used up too much magic as he put it, and that he needed to feed. The feeding was what weighed on Jessica’s mind the most. He seemed nice but he must become dangerous once he fed and he might kill someone. But Jessica couldn’t see Tobias doing that, he did after all saved her life and he didn’t kill any of her attackers at all. But he looked so old in her opinion. Being in high school meant that Jessica wasn’t interested in older guys, but Tobias might be an exception. But what was she thinking, Tobias wasn’t human and she had only just met the monster.

While pondering this Jessica didn’t notice that she had passed the street that she needed to. Turning around Jessica was preoccupied by the thought of Tobias that she didn’t notice the change in lighting. By the time that she was aware, Jessica saw the lights of a semi flash in her face coming her way. The speed of the truck was too great, and Jessica knew that she would not be able to move in time. She thought that it was messed up that she escaped a group of guys only to be killed by a truck. Finally feeling comfortable with her fate, Jessica gave up until she felt a pair of arms surround her from behind.

“You really don’t pay attention do you!” growled Tobias as the world seemed to tighten around Jessica.

For an instant the world seemed to compress on top of Jessica. She felt there was a great weight crushing her, but she seemed to be floating. She seemed to not move, but felt like she was traveling faster than she ever had. All of the sudden she felt normal again as her back hit the soft ground. Gasping for breath, Jessica opened her eyes to see the back of her house. This wasn’t the weird part though. Lying on top of her was Tobias panting, but he seemed weightless. Jessica tried to touch his face only for her hand to go through as Tobias disappeared. Jessica wondered where he went until she looked down to see something laying on her chest. Freaking out, Jessica sat up quickly just to have the object fly from her chest to between her thighs to finally rest on her skirt.

Looking down she noticed the figure of a little person that couldn’t be more than five inches tall. Gently grabbing the figure in her hand and putting it in her palm, Jessica saw that it was Tobias. Only this Tobias was different, for one thing he seemed to be much younger maybe around her age. The next was that his hair was short and a little neater that the one she knew and he was missing the shadow of a beard that was on his larger counterpart. After close examination, Jessica realized that Tobias wasn’t moving and hadn’t opened his eyes yet. The small form was still lying in her hand with his hands near his head, panting as if he couldn’t get enough air. He also seemed a little cold to the touch and slightly shaking.

Deciding that this wasn’t the best place, Jessica quickly made her way towards her house and into her room. Luckily her parents had already went to sleep so she wouldn’t have to deal with this till tomorrow, but now she had to find a way to help Tobias. Getting into her bedroom, Jessica tried to wake him up to see what was wrong but she wasn’t getting a response. After trying to rub his chest and giving him water, an idea came to her. Tobias said that he needed to feed but it was dangerous if she was near him when it happened.

Deciding that he needed her help now, Jessica closed her curtain in case of sunlight and grabbed a sowing pin out of her drawer. Sitting back on her bed against the dashboard, Jessica poked her finger near the first joint until a little blood started to come out. Gently holding Tobias in her other hand, Jessica put her finger up to his mouth. A few seconds went by and Jessica was about to get worried until Tobias started to move his head. At first it was slow but it gradually sped up. A few more seconds later, Jessica felt a small pinch on her finger, as Tobias opened the wound a little more with his little extended canines. Now grasping her finger with his hands, Tobias opened his eyes and started to gulp down the hot red blood with more energy.

Looking into his eyes, Jessica noticed that they seemed clouded over as he continued to feed. After a few minutes the feeding stopped as Tobias closed his eyes and lied down with his hand on his head. Wanting to be at his level, Jessica gently put him on her bed as she got down on the floor so that her eyes where level with him. After tossing and turning, Tobias rolled over onto his stomach and started to get up. After a few failed attempts, he was finally able to stand up. Moving his hand away from his eyes, Tobias took in the scene of a girl’s room. Seeing him look around, Jessica noticed that he started to tense up. Realizing that she was holding her breath, Jessica exhaled so that she could breathe in again.

This didn’t go unnoticed as Tobias slowly turned around to come in eye contact with Jessica. Once their eyes met, Jessica thought she saw a look of terror appear across his face. After a moment, Jessica started to raise her hand to see if anything was wrong until Tobias turned suddenly and tried to run the other way. He didn’t make it very far as his leg gave out after three steps and it sent him to the ground. Turning around Tobias started to crawl backwards, as Jessica decided to stop him before he hurt himself. Reaching for him, Jessica noticed his hand rise up towards her and she felt a slight resistance push her hand back. This was barely noticeable but it quickly disappeared as Tobias’ hand faltered and fell as his breathing increased again. Backing up slower now, Tobias couldn’t fight the hand that gently closed around him. Lifting him up, Tobias found himself seconds later in the palm of both of Jessica’s hands. Seeing that he couldn’t go anywhere, the younger Tobias looked up into Jessica’s eyes with fear.

“Please don’t kill me.” whispered Tobias as he started to shake in her hands.

This caught Jessica off guard as this was the last thing that she wanted to do. Looking at the blood covered face of the little creature in her hand; Jessica had to find a way to calm him down.

“It’s okay Tobias, the last thing that I want to do is kill the man who saved my life.” said Jessica as she started to rub his back. After a few minutes Tobias seemed to calm down a little until he spoke again.

“Can you please put me down?” asked Tobias as he broke eye contact to look down at himself.

Gently lowering him to her bed, Jessica looked in amazement as a movement of Tobias’ hand magically cleaned all of his clothing and face. Still taking in his surrounding, Tobias pondered how he was going to get out of this one.

“Can I ask you a couple questions?” asked Jessica as she looked down at this amazing creature

“As long as you don’t kill me be my guess.” signed Tobias as he took a seat on top of her blanket.

“What are you exactly?”

“A vampire, I thought that you already knew this.” replied Tobias.

“Then what is your full name?”

“Tobias Heywood would be my name such as yours is Jessica Marie Lively.”

“How did you know that and what is your middle name?” said Jessica amazed at his answer.

“To the first, it’s because I read your mind earlier. The second question there isn’t an answer because I don’t have one.”

“What do you mean you don’t have one?” asked Jessica

“I was named after my godfather and Heywood is a surname. Middle names weren’t common until after the fourteenth century.” stated Tobias as a matter of factly.

“Your over six hundred years old!?” yelled Jessica in shock.

“Not yet, I’m just shy of that mark.” replied Tobias.

“But why are you so small?”

“This is a punishment from the All Father so that humans wouldn’t die off because of excessive hunting.”

“What do you mean by die off and who is the All Father?” asked Jessica leaning in closer.

“The All Father is the greatest and first of our kind. Have you heard of the Black death?”

“Yeah, the plague that killed most of Europe off.” replied Jessica thinking back to history class.

“There wasn’t a plague at all, my kind got too power hungry again so the All Father changed us into this tiny form so that we wouldn’t drain the rest of humanity. He then continued to forge a fake memory into everyone into thinking that a disease did this.” thought back Tobias.

“So what all can your kind do anyways. The magic that you used a minute ago wasn’t as impressive as when we first met. I mean, you where at least six and a half foot tall back then.”

“No, that was an illusion when we first met. I can change size but I can’t maintain anything over eight to ten inches for any period of time. It was just the fact that I used a lot of magic just to keep you safe. What I did earlier was all I could do based on how much I replenished.” said Tobias.

“What all did you do, and how long does it take to replenish yourself?” asked Jessica now intrigued.

“To start off my disguise was just an illusion and also the death of that punk in the street also. There was a little bit of force manipulation to hold that guy still and to knock him out. Then I had to slow down time to read your mind while you were being chased. Don’t forget the healing that I did on you after the incident and the renewal of your clothing. The fact that I have to fly everywhere doesn’t put a strain on my body that badly. The thing that got me was teleporting something of your mass over such a long distance. That one nearly killed me, but luckily you remembered that I had to eat.” finished Tobias.

“If you need to eat to replenish, then why don’t you just eat some more now.” asked Jessica extending her finger towards Tobias again.

“You have to remember that I’m not a tick. I can only eat so much at a time, It’s the same as asking you to eat everything that you need for the next few weeks in one sitting.” smirked Tobias pushing the finger away.

“Okay then, what are your weaknesses? Do you burn in sunlight and do you lose your powers if you touch silver. And why don’t you have an older accent?”

“None of that is true and I’m not going to just run in here and say ‘Sookie’ like a certain vampire you’re thinking of right now. Sunlight just weakens our magic if we are exposed to it, but indoors is just fine. And you got to think, I’ve been alive for over five hundred years. I can adapt to changes in language you know.” said Tobias leaning back.

After a few more questions, Tobias got Jessica to agree to wait till tomorrow to answer questions as it seemed that she needed to go to sleep at some point. All that Tobias needed was to be hidden somewhere that no one would find him so that he would be safe until he regained his powers. After placing him inside a partially opened drawer, Jessica went to bed hoping that tomorrow, she would learn more about her visitor.



The annoying familiar ring of Jessica’s alarm clock penetrated her dreams as she groggily got up. After turning the alarm clock off and rubbing her eyes, Jessica took a quick look over at her drawer to see if Tobias was still there. To her alarm, nothing was there and she was worried that last night might have been a dream if it wasn’t for the throat being cleared beside her. Looking over Jessica noticed the small form of Tobias lying on top of her pillow to the right looking at her.

“I’m hungry.” was all that Tobias said as he stretched to get up.

“I’m sorry, I must have forgotten.” replied Jessica as she started to reach for the sowing needle on her night stand.

“You won’t be needing that.” said Tobias as he took a step forward and jumped, landing slowly on top of Jessica’s hand.

“Um, ok then.”

With this Jessica slowly lowered her finger down to Tobias’ level and waited for the small pinch that she expected to come. To her surprise, the pain never came as Tobias reopened the previous wound and continued to drink his fill. After several minutes of silence, Tobias finished up and with a wave of his hand and a small cooling sensation, the wound closed up on her finger.

“The reason that we are never caught is that blocking the signal to nerves in any part of the body is child’s play. Also closing the wound is important so that you never notice that we are there to begin with.” Said Tobias as he floated up and landed lightly on top of Jessica’s shoulder.

“Also breakfast is nearly done downstairs so you might want to get ready.”

“Um, could you get off and turn around while I get changed please.” asked Jessica as she blushed a light red.

“I’m nearly six hundred years old you know, and you are far from the first naked lady that I’ve seen. But if it’s that uncomfortable, then I shall take my leave.”

With this Tobias turned to the right and floated towards the door. After making sure that the door was closed, Jessica quickly changed into some new clothes and fixed her hair as fast as possible in order to make it down stairs for breakfast. After making sure that she was satisfied with her appearance, Jessica started walking down the stairs trying to make up an excuse for why she showed up late last night. Hopefully she could get away with only being grounded for a week at the least.