Repercussions, and some time later.

It took a surprisingly little amount of time to explain to Caleb what had happened, and how he became what he now was.

As far as I could guess, I told him, for some reason he decided to ignore my warning and went ahead opening the basement. He must have done it after his parents went to bed, because they were fine. So, when he opened the door, Theo, who had gotten out of his cell, attacked him in his bloodlust frenzy, and turned him into a vampire, due to his lack of control.

Then, I explained what happened after that. I broke into his house, found Theo, then found him, and with the help of Theo, cured him of his new crazed personality.

Caleb sat on the soft grass, absorbing all this information, while Theo and I watched. After a while, he looked up at me.

"So what you told me before, about your family, it was a lie? I mean, you could hardly tell me that you were a vampire, and your family died over a hundred years ago."

I twisted my lips slightly, allowing a wry smile. "Actually, my story was a half-truth. My family, my original family, did die a very long time ago. Though they weren't much of a family, I was still hurt when I learned of their deaths, many years after I became a vampire. The man who took me in, like I told you, he was also the one who turned me. His name was Kyreson, and he was like a father to me. And Theo, who was turned by Kyreson about a hundred years after me, became like my brother."

Theo smiled at me, then turned to Caleb. "In all respects, we are related, as we both drank the blood of Kyreson, becoming his fledglings." Theo's eyes twinkled impishly. "I have to point out the fact that you, boy, are my fledgling. So after the inevitable chaos dies down, I'm going to have a lot to teach you."

Caleb tilted his head, confused. "What chaos?"

I sighed. "Your parents, Caleb. As you can never talk to them again, they will think that you would have run away, or simply vanished. They will probably call the police, and there is no telling how long that will take to settle down. As it is, I will have to work double-time to prevent the council from starting their own investigation."

Theo growled slightly in annoyance. "They're still putting their collective noses where it's not wanted?" I nodded sadly.

"Council?" asked Caleb. I shook my head.

"You'll have to get Theo to answer the rest of your questions; I've got some damage control to do. You two just keep out of sight, and remember, stay in the darkness." I got up and left the two of them sitting there.

I crept out of the woods, then walked up to the front door, and taking a breath, knocked firmly. I had my plan already forming inside my head.

Caleb's mother opened the door, looking hopeful. When she saw me, her expression fell, then brightened a bit.

"Oh, Anna. It's you. Caleb's not with you?" She looked around me, as though she might find him lurking behind me. I let a bewildered look slide onto my face.

"No he's not, Mrs Johnson. I was going to ask you where he was. He was supposed to meet me at the cafe." She shook her head.

"I went to check on him at about 9.30, and he wasn't in his bed. It was all mussed up, so I thought he had gotten up early to go shopping again with you."

My eyes widened. "So, you don't know where he is either?"

She ran a hand through her messy hair, looking tired and stressed. Then, she bit her lip.

"I'm going to call the police," she said finally.

In my head, one thought ran across my mind.

I wonder how long this will last?



* * * * * *

All in all, the 'chaos', as Theo had described it, lasted for the best part of a year. The police couldn't find any solid leads, and didn't have any reason to suspect Caleb's parents of foul play. So, my friend ended up being listed as simply a run-away.

I took the liberty of taking a few personal items of his to encourage this thought; clothes, food, money and other things teenage escapees would need.

Meanwhile, the boy in question, and my brother stayed in the forest, near his house. They became a little surly at one point, but I managed to calm them down, saying to Caleb that I didn't want to risk him being seen, and to Theo that technically, he was still in prison. If the council found out, then it was likely that both of us would be punished, much more harshly than simply being locked up.

That shut them up.

Eventually, the case was closed, and the town began being interested in other things. Though I doubt it would die down completely until all who remembered it were dead and gone.

Caleb's parents, the way they continued to look for him after all that time almost got to me. It was hard watching them suffer through the loss of their only child, while he was alive and well, for the most part. But I could see that after the months passed, even they gave up hope. They finally appeared to believe that he had just run away.

Then, to my surprise, they moved away from the area. As far as I could tell, they had moved to a different state altogether. Sensing an opportunity, I immediately called the council.

"State your name and reason for contact," said the familiar monotone voice.

"Annabelle Kyreson. I am calling in conjunction with my previous call, over a year ago."

"Are there any new developments?"

"Yes. The family has moved out. I would like to request that I purchase the Prison house, to protect it from future possible owners who could become endangered by anyone incarcerated within it."

The voice said nothing for several seconds, and I held my breath.

"Agreed. The Council agrees with your suggestion. Watch over the Prison House, while monitoring your brother's final year. When he is released, he may stay there with you. Continue with your work." The caller hung up, and I cheered silently.

I immediately called the Real Estate agent in charge of the property and right then and there, bought the mansion. After that, I ran into the woods to find my wayward brother and fledgling friend.

We walked into the house, and Caleb decided to have a shower as soon as we set foot within the doors, with Theo dibs-ing the next one. As I had my own place in the town, I didn't need one. But I realised with a sigh that I had to move my things here.

Great. I had hundreds of years worth of nick-nacks in my flat. But...I could always recruit Caleb and Theo to help me move.

When they weren't sucking each other’s faces off, that is.

Their relationship had really taken off during their time together in the forest, with me away most of the time, monitoring what was going on with the mortals, they were all alone. And two teenage, hormonal vampires alone together for any length of time, meant there were many possible activities available to them.

I actually walked in on a couple of them...

Rather embarrassing on my part, while also making Caleb blush like a beetroot, and Theo glare irritably at me, annoyed that I had interrupted his 'wooing'.

Now that I think on it, it was kind of funny as well.

Several days after we moved in, most of my belongings were now in the mansion, and I loafed in front of the tv, absently flicking channels, bored out of my mind. Eventually, I decided to watch a DVD. I went through them, picked one, then went upstairs to see if my roomies wanted to watch it with me.

I knocked on Caleb's door, calling out to them. Not hearing any answer, I tried the handle and it opened.

And there they were, making out on the bed, hands up each other’s shirts and some even going past the band of their jeans.

I stood frozen on the spot for a full second, then cleared my throat pointedly.

They practically flew apart, Caleb with his signature furious blush, and Theo with his usual reproving pout at the interruption. I smiled at them brightly.

"Sorry to disturb the snog fest, but would you guys be interested in watching 'The Princess Bride' with your lonesome room-mate?" Caleb and Theo aw'ed in unison and hopped up from the bed to link arms with me.

"Of course, Anna, we would love to watch a movie with you!" gushed Caleb, while Theo cuddled my arm, nuzzling his face into it.

"I agree with my boyfriend completely. Let us watch this 'Princess Bride', my dear sister."

I laughed and allowed them to steer me back to the couch.

We ended up watching movies until quite late, and before we knew it, all three of us were sound asleep on the couch, with 'Robin Hood: Men in Tights' still playing.

The next morning, I awoke to loud knocking on the front door. Though we didn't really need sleep, it was through force of habit, and not a little relaxing at times.

Grumbling to myself, I eased Theo off me, and being careful not to wake them, tiptoed to the door.

I wrenched it open to reveal an overcast day, just the way I liked it. Then, I noticed the boy standing with his fist raised to knock again, his expression of surprise for an instant, then it faded as his fist dropped. He smiled and held out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Daniel Whytikker."

I hesitated slightly in confusion, then slowly extended my own hand to shake his. "Annabelle Thegora," I replied, using my mortal name. "How may I help you?"

He shifted on his feet a little, and I noticed how young he was. He seemed to be about 16 or 17. He had straight black hair, with brown and blonde highlights, that swept past his gentle brown eyes, which were gazing intensely at me.

"Yea. I was wondering if you knew a person called Caleb Johnson."

I blinked, then smiled hesitantly. "Yes," I answered slowly. "We were friends. Why?"

"He was my cousin." The boy drew himself up to his full height, which was a little taller than I was. And I wasn't short either.

"And I don't believe that he ran away."

Oh. Shit.