I stared at the black book resting neatly on the shelf. It stared back at me with no eyes, but with all the memories it caused my mind to unwillingly recall. From what I saw, it was only me and the other book matched up one-on-one. All the other hundreds of books sitting on the shelves, collecting dust in that od bookstore, left my thoughts. The only reason I had gone into that bookstore--which I would never have done on a normal day--was just to settle my mind's agonizing crave to look at that book once more, to make sure my memories were real. After twenty minutes of holding in my screams of mixed emotions that flowed because of that helpless object in front of me. I reached out and pulled the book from its spine. Its thickness weighed in my hand as I brought it to the young clerk at the desk. I would have wondered why the young woman was working in a bookstore at nine at night and not with her friends, but my mind was too busy thinking about how much I would regret buying it.

"Will that be all, Sir?" the young woman asked.

"Yes, thank you." I tried to sound polite. I was never polite. It was hard for a guy like me to be polite, but the young woman reminded me of someone, which added to my discomfort.

"May I see some ID?"

"Sure." I said smoothly. I pulled the fake ID from my pocket and handed it to her. She had to be in her teens, possibly seventeen or eighteen. Her brown hair was pulled lazily back into a bun. Her sweet eyes were what stalled me, though. I had come to avoid eyes such as those.

"Thank you, have a wonderful night." she said. Yea right. That never happened. Wonderful nights for me were like purple elephants. Never hapened. I just nodded her off and left the store.

The chilly night brought icy rain. My black trenchcoat was almost soaked by the time I got to my car down the block. I didn't care, each step I took required a clear mind from what I was doing, really. I stepped into the black Bugatti Veyron--tossing the book into the passenger seat and driving off into the wet streets.

The pouring rain on my car added an "eery" feeling to my many feelings I felt. I looked over at all the innocent people both on the sidewalk and in the cars next to mine. Everything seemed calm. I had been paying attention every day to the news since I met Her. I knew it would not be long until her killing began. Not long at all. You see, I had met this woman whose safety ensured our safety. Being an assassin, I was actually ordered to kill her, to prevent the vampires from changing her and using her against us. This young woman held the fate of the world in her soul. If she was ever changed, the world would fall.

As I made my way down town I realized something was very wrong. I heard sirens of every kind a few blocks away. Flashing lights chased away the darkness and triggered my worst nightmare. My heart beated roughly in my chest as I pulled out one of my many guns I carried in my belt--let alone my car. Screaming humans ran in panic away from the scene I could not yet see.I drove to the end of the block and stepped out of my car to see the problem ahead. I loaded my gun and looked closely at the rows of police cars and S.W.A.T trucks.

Shots fired and people screamed louder. To confirm what I had feared for so long, a police car flipped into the air and rolle dover another. Streetlights fell and glass shattered everywhere as the authorities attempted to fight a battle they had no chance of winning. i saw the creature quickly spring up a building and came down on people running away. She feasted on their flesh as blood sprayed about. I spun around into my car and sped in the opposite direction. I didn't even bother shooting her, it was hopeless. With all my skill, heck, even all the army's skill and firepower they had wouldn't even be able to stop her.

At that time my mind threw out all my thoughts and drew my attention straight to geting backto my apartment. I knew I wouldn't last long, she would smell my scent and follow it immediately, but I had to at least get back to my apartment.

The sound of my powerful enginevibrated the air around me. My heart pounded strongly and I felt my adrenaline increase. I was almost there. The sirens that screeched just a few seconds before sounded far behind me. I was almost there. I was about to turn the corner to my apartment when I heard crashes and shatters behind my car. My eyes shot up to my rear-view mirror just in time to see Her leap onto the building. A feeling of small panic and anxiety came over me. Though I was used to living in high-speed chases and slipping from Death's grasp, facing her was truly terrifying. I knew what she was capable of, and what she would do to me.

I swept up the book and leaped from my car onto the street--gun in hand. An old woman stepping out from the apartments screamed at the sight of Her climbing along the buildings toward me. She hissed and growled as her claws clung to the bricks. I aimed my gun at her and unloaded my whole clip. She dodged them, of course, but they slowed her down a bit.

"Go inside!" I yelled at the old woman and ran up to the door and swung it open. I ran through the lobby and up the wooden stairs. I clenched the the book tightly in my hand as I reached the third floor andran down the hallway and stuck myself against the wall at the corner. I peeked my head down the long hallway and listened. Nothing. Within a second my body was in motion again. I came up to room 21, my room. The keys sounded loud enough to wake the neighbors on the silent third floor. I swung my door open and locked it behind me. I set the tiny sensors on the doorknob and hinges to go off if touched or moved. I also turned on all the lights and locked all the windows--putting sensors on every one. It was standard procedure. I always locked and sensored everything. Being an assassin, I took no chances. As for her, I knew it was only time until she would break down everything and I would have to face her. But with my sensors, I would at least be ready. I couldn't run, she would track me, it was hopeless. I had only a few minutes of life left, I knew what she wanted.

I put the book on the coffee table and sat on the couch. My wet trenchcoat hung on the rack and my guns were placed neatly in a suitcase, reserving one handgun on my chest. I could only wait. How could she let this happen? How could she let herself be changed into this monster? Her great spirit, her beautiful personality, all demolished. How could James let her be changed? And me, of all people to protect her, handed her over to him. I let her down...

I closed my eyes sadly and heard a small scratching noise on the door. My eyes shot open and I pulled my gun off my chest and swung it and aimed at the door.My hand shook but I forced myself to strongly as I focused and listened. I approached the dor slowly and peeked out of the small hole to the hallway. Nothing. Something made the hair on the back of my neck stick up and my fingers tingled. I turned slowly and froze instantly. She was standing there, in the middle of my livingroom, staring at me. Black filled her whole eyeball. Only a thin ring of gold replaced where her iris would be. Everything else was black and seemed like I could look into them forever as she stared back at me.

Blood oozed from her mouth and dripped from her chin and onto the floor. I was too terrified to move. I watched her face turn hard and she flung herself toward me. She lifted and pinned me against the wooden door that cracked behind me from the force. My breath was knocked from my lungs. She hissed in my face as I gasped for air and fought the sharp pains in my chest and back. She stared at me, not with the eyes I had fallen in love with before, but with evil ones. She clenched my arms and held me up effortlessly against the door. Her fiery hair flowed behind her like venomous snakes. Why?

Then, she tossed me aside to hit the wall and crumble to the floor. Great pain filled my whole body, but I was not dead. I looked up at her and she stared down at me. A baleful smile peeled across her pale face. Why wasn't I dead yet? Why hadn't she killed me yet?