The Release of Theodore Kyreson, two years too early...

"How about this, Caleb?" I flung back the changing room curtains and held out my arms, cocking my head to the side. I twirled around a bit, making the short pleated black skirt fan out slightly.

The boy's eyes lit up. "Oh, we have a keeper! Good choice, Anna!" I grinned and pumped my fist into the air in triumph.

"Success!" Caleb laughed and winked at me.

"That's for sure. I have finally succeeded in making you look fashionable!" I glared playfully at him, making him squeak and hide behind a clothes rack. I hurumphed and stalked back into the cubicle, changing back into my usual clothes; plain jeans and long-sleeved shirt, with heavy knee length black jacket over top. I came out and we paid for our stuff.

After we left the store, Caleb dragged me over to an ice-cream stall and made puppy-dog eyes. I raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"What? You want one?" He nodded vigorously, making me laugh.

"You run out of money?" He nodded again, sadly this time.

I sighed and bought us an ice-cream each, to his delight.

Best part about being a vampire, you have a long time to pile up and invest your assets. Over the years, I had managed to build up a rather large sum of money, which I had barely dented at all in the last hundred years. And as I figured, Theo's own nest egg was only slightly smaller, due to his account being frozen during his imprisonment.

Being immortal had its perks, I suppose.

A little later, we left the smallish mall and dumped our purchases into the boot of my baby. A 1967 Chevy Impala, with a metallic dark blue paint job.

Another perk about living for so long, you get first choice on the best cars.

On one occasion, Caleb had practically begged me to let him drive it. Normally, his adorable pout wore me down pretty quickly. But he learnt that my car was the only thing I never let anyone play with. So he eventually become used to being driven everywhere we went.

As we drove back to his house, Caleb chatted randomly about the work he and his parents were doing on the old mansion. I listened carefully, but made sure that he didn't notice how carefully.
"And you should see the amount of dust in the rooms. I swear, if I was asthmatic, I would've died in the first week!"

"Do you ever stop talking, Caleb?" I asked jokingly. Caleb scoffed at me, rolling his eyes.

"There are worst things than being a talk-a-holic."

"True," I conceded.

Like being a blood-sucking vampire , I thought to myself.

Then Caleb frowned, as if remembering something. "Oh, guess what? Theres something about my house I was going to tell you earlier, but I forgot."

"What is it?" I glanced at him briefly, then looked back at the road.

"Did you know that there is a basement?"

I took my eyes off the road and stared at him for a long time with my mouth agape. Then, hearing a loud honk, I quickly swerved back onto the right side of the road and waved in apology to the car who had alerted me. Caleb looked worriedly at me.

"Was it something I said?"

I shook my head, smiling reassuringly. "No, no, it wasn't you. I just hadn't realised that the basement was still there; my brother and I used to play there when we were younger. I thought that it would probably be too unsafe now."

Caleb brightened and seemed to bounce in his seat. "Nope! Apparently, there was almost no record of it, like someone had tried to erase any evidence of it ever existing!" His eyes glowed with the thought of such a conspiracy, while a block of ice seemed to form in my chest. Theo started speaking again.

"My parents asked me to try to open the door to it this afternoon, and-"

"No!" I suddenly pulled over and switched off the engine. I whirled around to face my friend, who stared at me in surprise.

"Don't go down there, Caleb."

He frowned, his soft grey eyes confused and a little angry. "Why?" he asked.

I pulled back a bit.

Yes, why? I asked myself. Because my vampire brother is locked up in there and if you let him out, he'll kill you and probably your parents too.

Oh yea, like that'll go down well. I searched through my mind for a plausible explanation.

"Because...when we were kids, my brother and I accidentally knocked off one of the support beams. That's why I before thought that it would be too unsafe to still be there. It's likely even worse than it was all that time ago."

"But.." Caleb tried, but I interrupted.

"Just trust me, Caleb. Don't go down there, at least not until you get a professional to inspect the supports. Okay?"

He looked a bit sceptical, clearly suspicious my hastily concocted lie.

"Please, Caleb." I pleaded. "Trust me. Please."

He was silent for a long time, gazing steadily at me. I almost thought that my lie hadn't convinced him, then he nodded slowly.

"Okay, Anna, I'll wait." I exhaled with relief. Sending him a thankful smile, I started up the car again and pulled back onto the road.

We drove the rest of the way to his house in silence.

When I dropped him off, I waved a little to his parents, who were in the yard. They waved back, then went back to their work.

Caleb grabbed his stuff out of the boot and slammed it shut, then came up to the drivers window. We hugged quickly.

Then, I drove off, waving my arm out the window briefly. As I drove away, I made my decision.
I will get him out tonight. Then Caleb and his parents will be safe.

Late that night, as I planned, I broke into Caleb's house. Using the lock-picking skills I'd picked up somewhere down the line, I silently picked the front door, and within ten seconds, I had it open before me. I risked a quick punch of the air in triumph, then made my way inside, my movements making absolutely no sound at all.

Aiming to get it over and done with as soon as possible, I made my way straight to the basement.

As the door came into sight, the moonlight suddenly made it visible. Or, lack thereof...
Instead of the safely closed door, all it was, was a great, open, yawning hole in the wall.

The door was open...

Oh no. My heart dropped when I saw it. No, no, no, no, no, no! No! Caleb, you didn't?! Why, why, why?!?!

I reached to my belt and pulled out my hip dagger, ready to face whatever came out. If Theo came out, he would probably be in bloodlust. I wouldn't hurt him, all I would do is knock him out, take him home and find something he could eat, something that wouldn't be seriously missed.

Maybe a dog, or a cow.

I made my way down the rickety stairs, hearing them creak under my weight, even with my vampiric sneaking skills. My enhanced vision allowed me to make out various shapes in the darkness, and I managed to identify them from my memory of the place, all those years ago when Theo was first imprisoned.

Cautiously, I crept over to the section of the wall where Theo's cell was supposed to be hidden.

But I froze. It was open, and by the looks of the dust pilled at the edges, it had happened a long time ago.

So Theo broke his cell door, before Caleb even opened the basement door.

No, no, no, no, no! Caleb! I looked around in panic, but I couldn't see any evidence of anything, like a body.

Then, I heard something. From above me, inside the house. It was the sound of someone humming.
And I recognised the tune. Feeling hope lodge itself squarely into my mind, I practically flew up the steps and searched for the source.

Then I saw him, looking idly through the cabinets in the kitchen. I let out a silent breath and re-sheathed my dagger.

I leaned casually against the doorframe and watched him for a moment, then spoke in a quiet, but reproving voice.

"Naughty boy. You got out too early." The boy whirled around, and when his gorgeous blue eyes landed on me, they lit up.

"Anna!" Theo cried in quiet delight, and lunged at me, wrapping his arms and legs around me. I bit back a giggle and hugged him back, patting his head as though he was a small child. He let go finally, and smiled at me, the action sending me into a happy revere.

Then I remembered Caleb. My face grew serious again. "Theo, what do you remember about how you got out?"

Theo tapped his lip childishly, then scratched his head in mystified confusion. "Not much. The last thing I remember is feeling very hungry about a hundred years ago, in that damned cell. Then the first thing I remember, is walking around in the corridors, about half an hour ago." His eyes narrowed. "Why?"

I could smell the blood on the air, but what confused me was that there were two scents. The two smells mingled so I couldn't tell whose they were, but I could hazard a guess at one of them...

Caleb? And if so, who else had shed blood here?

I swallowed my brief flair of panic and frowned. "You don't remember who opened the door?"
Theo shook his head. I sighed.

There was enough of Caleb's scent around for me to track him, but what to do with Theo? He wasn't supposed to be out yet, and eventually, the council would find out if he was spotted outside the house.

Theo watched me, his hands clasped behind his back like a guilty child waiting to be punished.
I looked at him, and he straightened.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I think I know who let you out, but I need to find him. But you can't come, so you have to stay here. Try to stay hidden from the people here. Go back into the basement for now, and I'll come and get you as soon as it's safe."

Theo pouted at this. "But I don't wanna go back down there," he whined childishly, his eyes growing huge. I almost caved at his Caleb-like adorability, but I managed to keep my stern expression.
"No buts, little brother. I'm still your parole officer. I need to go find Caleb." Theo's eyes lit up in curiosity.

"Caleb? Oooo, did you get a suitor while I was away?" His own expression grew impish. I rolled my eyes.

"No, he's just a friend. In all honesty, I think that he'd probably like you more in that way, rather than me."

Theo looked intrigued, but I started pulling him back towards the basement. I pushed him in and pointed at the door imperiously.

"Stay, and lock the door. Don't let anyone in until I come and get you. Got it?"

Theo pouted again, but eventually sighed and nodded obediently. I stepped out of the doorway and let him close the door. I waited until I heard the click of the lock, then hurried out of the house, closing and locking it behind me.

I took a good sniff, and began following my nose, tracking the smell of Caleb's blood.

As the woods around the mansion began to lighten up with the coming of dawn, I started noticing that the smell was growing stronger.

Suddenly, a figure stepped out from behind a tree in front of me.
It was Caleb. And he was covered in blood.
And then I smelt it, and realised.

Not all of it was his...it was Theo's.

Caleb took one look at me and lunged, snarling. I could see the flash of red in his grey eyes.
My stomach dropped.

Luckily, my reflexes were toughened by several hundred years of having inhuman speed. I managed to fend off my friend's attacks, and eventually landed a powerful blow onto the back of his head, making him drop like a stone into unconsciousness. 

I dragged him back towards the mansion and left him just within the woods perimeter to fetch Theo.
By the time I had brought him back to where I'd left the boy, the sky had lightened significantly, and faint noises had begun emanating from Caleb's house, signalling that his parents had woken.

When Theo saw him, his eyes grew even more interested. "He's cute," he told me informatively. I sighed.

"Yes, I had noticed. But can you calm your hormones for a moment and bite your wrist for me please."

Theo tilted his head in confusion. "Why?"

"Because, in your bloodlust, you managed to turn him into a vampire. And you remember what Kyreson told us about being turned while your master was in craving?"

Theo's eyes cleared in understanding. "Oh. He attacked you?" I nodded and winced as I gingerly touched the bruise forming over my eye. How vampires could bruise when our blood wasn't flowing was beyond me.

Theo whistled when he saw the bruise, then gazed down at Caleb in slight awe. "Must be strong, for a fledgling." I nodded again, then reminded him about what needed to be done. He murmured in assent, and bit his wrist. I pried open Caleb's jaws and Theo held his wrist to his open mouth.

After several minutes, Theo took his wrist away and licked it. The holes vanished, and we watched the boy anxiously.

Half an hour later, his eyes fluttered and opened, I breathed in relief when I saw no rusty red glint in his eyes. They roamed around, then settled on us.

I smiled at him. "Morning sunshine!" I chirped. Caleb looked from me to Theo, who smiled widely.
"Er...morning. Why am I outside?" I made a throat-clearing noise and hesitated for a couple seconds. Finally, I decided to just get it over with.

"Caleb, what is the last thing you remember?" Caleb furrowed his brows, then they cleared when his eyes landed on Theo again.

"I opened the basement door and he jumped out at me." He looked Theo up and down, blushing a little when my brother winked at him.

"What's going on, Anna?" he asked finally, and he pointed up at Theo. "And who is he?"

Theo and I exchanged glances, then I sighed. "He is my brother. And we are very sorry, Caleb." Caleb's eyes grew confused.

"Your brother? But isn't your brother living in Europe, like you said?" Then he paused. "And why are you sorry?"

"Because you'll never be able to live a normal life, ever again. Not now."

"Why?" He was starting to sound a little scared. I bit my lip. Finally, Theo answered for me.

"Because you have been turned into a vampire."

A bird twittered loudly in the silence that surrounded us, then Caleb laughed.

"Ha-ha! Good one." He levered himself up, then finally noticed our serious expressions. His amused face dissolved.

"You’re not joking," he said slowly. We shook our heads.

I would never have suspected what happened next, not in all my years of existing as a creature of the night. But as soon as Caleb realised that we were telling the truth, his face lit up like a beacon in darkness.

"Cool," was all he said.