LUNA

Ugghhhh, my head hurts.
What even HAPPENED anyway? I remember I yelled at Star when we were at the boardwalk, and then...it went black.

Now, I'm back in this damp, cold cave, laying on an old couch with a throbbing head.
I sit up slowly, a dizzy spell coming over me.
Oh god don't tell me I fell and hit my head again.
That would be just great...

I slowly raise my hand and touch where the pain hurts most.
I don't think this was damaged from a fall...

I glance around at the dimly lit cave. It's eerily quiet right now...where is everyone?
Most importantly, where is Star?
She owes me a damn explanation about everything that's going on.
What's this whole vampire deal? Why did I wake up with a hurt head again?!

I almost stand up to go search, but a voice ringing through the air stops me dead in my tracks.

"You're awake, finally."

I look behind me at the curly blond haired boy who wears a jacket completely covered in patches as he leans against the cave wall.
Marko.
The same guy who drove me home that night I found Star.

He approaches me, one hand pushing aside my hair right where my head hurts. And he is NOT gentle about it.

"Ow! What are you-"
He whistles low. "Damn, David got you good. But don't worry, you'll just have a bruise. Luckily, your hair will cover that."

He lets go of my hair and walks towards the broken fountain in front of us.
David did this?
He...punched me?

I clench a fist. "He can't do that," I say through gritted teeth, "I could have him arrested for that!"
Imagine if my parents found out. Dad would be absolutely furious, he himself would come and kick David's ass.

That I'd love to see.

Marko laughs. "Please, cops are too busy searching for missing bodies. Why would they be concerned about a few radical kids like us?"

He climbs to the top of the fountain, reaching out to pick up a pigeon.
Which...actually allowed Marko to grab him.
I stare at him in several silent moments.
He's not very compassionate for those who are missing...

Then again, look at ALL these guys.
They don't seem like the type that would be concerned about others well being beside there own.

I don't like them, nor do I trust them.
But...it's the only way I can be around Star.
I need to just push aside my feelings and trust Star. If she says everything will be okay, then it will be okay.

I glance around the cave. "Where are the others?" I ask, to break this uncomfortable silence. Hopefully, they're close by. I don't want to be alone with this guy for too much longer.

"David's in the back with Paul and Dwayne," Marko says, dangling his legs in a childlike way, one hand running down the pigeons back.

"And Star?" I ask.

"She went outside to get some air, but since your awake," he jumps down, making a loud THUD sound that echoes throughout the cave. "I'll tell them that you're awake."
He begins to walk past me, but before he can leave, I stop him.

"Wait."

He looks at me, one eyebrow raised.
This is completely ridiculous that I'm even asking this question.
But I want to know his god's honest answer.

I lick my lips. "Are you a vampire?" I ask.
Silence stretches between us, one second, two seconds, three seconds...

"Yeah, I am," he answers, "so are the others. And so is Star."
My stomach sinks.
I look away from him and stare down at the stone floor.
I was hoping he would've said that it was a prank, and laugh about how stupid I was to fall for it.

But dear God...what if it's true?
That would mean that Edgar and Alan are right.
That would mean-

"It's better to explain it when everyone is here," he says, disappearing down the cave entrance, leaving me alone in this stuffy cave.
Shivers run up and down my spine, and I wrap my arms around myself, an attempt to keep my sides from splitting apart.

This cannot be real. These people are just sick in the head.
Dear God please don't let this be real.
I just wanna wake up in my bed, in my room, and go about living any other normal days.

I don't want to be stuck in this cave, waiting for these people to prove that there vampires.
And what if it's true? And Star is one of them?
They drink human blood, don't they?

My eyes widen and I slowly curl into a tight ball, squeezing myself.
I seriously hope that this is just a prank.

Star comes running in minutes later, kneeling at my side. "Luna," she pushes aside
some of my hair. "Are you okay?"
Worry fills her eyes, and I gently tap her on the shoulder and nod, to assure her that I'm okay.

Then, David's smirky, smartass face comes into view.
That is the last thing I want to see, knowing he did this to me.
I glare at him. "You think it's okay to hit girls, huh?"

Star's eyes widen. "Luna-" she tries to shush me, but I push her hand away.
This is between me and this bleached blond.
He crosses his arms. "When they think they can scream at the top of there lungs for anyone to hear, then yes, I do."

This motherfu...
I nearly lunge at him, but Star's tight grip on my shoulders keeps me sitting down.
That and the other three guys circle around him, staring at me like I'm a problem.
These jerks act like David's bodyguards.

"Please, let us explain everything," she whispers, hands still on my shoulders.
I sigh. "Fine, do whatever it is to prove that your vampires." I cross my arms, waiting to be proved.

Nothing happens.

I scoff. "I knew it, you guys aren't vampires, you're-" I freeze, jaw dropped, and eyes wide.
David's face just changed from his smirk expression to a pale color, cat like pupils, and two fangs sticking out of his mouth.

I look around at everyone, who also have fangs sticking out of there mouths.
All eyes fall on me, and I begin to feel like walls are closing in on me.
I scream.

"No! No no no it's alright, it's alright!"
Star tries to keep me steady, but I fight her with all my strength.
"Get away from me! Keep away from me!" I scream at the top of my lungs, hoping for someone to hear, but before I can scream anymore, Star throws both her hands on my mouth.

"Luna!" She shouts, which makes me stop flaying and screaming.
She stares deep into my eyes. "It's okay," she whispers, "nobody is gonna hurt you."
I breathe heavily, muffled through her hands thrown across my mouth.
She doesn't look like them...she looks just like the old Star I used to know.

Brown eyes. Curly dark hair, and a soft expression.

Even though my heart is racing, and panic has seized me, I try to relax.
Star is here, she'll protect me.
She's my sister, she wouldn't let anything happen to me...

Her hands slowly lower from my mouth right when David and Dwayne lean down to look at me. They look like regular men now, but I can't get the image of them from just seconds ago out of my head.

"Oh my God," I breathe, "you're- you're-"
"Vampires," Paul says for me since I'm incapable of speaking. "Crazy huh?!"

"But...but HOW?!" I stand up, "I thought vampires were myths!"
David chuckles. "Not entirely."

"Luna," she sits me back down, "that's a story for another time. For now, you need to know what happened to me."

She takes a breath in, straightening her posture.
And her story begins.

"As I said at the boardwalk, I was 17 when I met these guys," she nods towards the Lost Boys, "they were outcasts, like me, so we had something in common. They allowed me to stay at there home. Originally, it was supposed to be for a few days, but those days turned to weeks and soon, a year. They became my friends, and this place became my home. I never had a real home after I ran away..." She exhales softly, eyes lowering to her skirt.

"And on my 18 birthday, they gave me a gift."

"A gift?" I raise an eyebrow. "What kind of gift?"
Star glances at David, who reaches behind him and grabs a wine bottle with these weird red stones attached and a red liquid inside.

"They said that I could be with them forever, if I drank this." She takes the bottle, staring at it. "So, I did. And, well...I became a vampire."

Okay...by drinking that, you become a vampire?
Uhh, that's just weird.
What's inside it anyway? Some potion or something?

"What is it exactly?" I ask hesitantly, reaching out to touch it.
David takes the bottle from Stars hands before I can graze it with my fingertips.

"It's blood. My blood, to be precise," he says.

My eyes widen.
That's...human...blood...and it's...David's blood?!!

I throw up a little in my mouth, quickly throwing a hand over my mouth to keep the bile in. Dear Lord that's just disgusting. My sister actually drank a humans blood and became a vampire?

I cannot believe that this is actually real.

David continues. "I was the first one to become a vampire, so by drinking my blood, you become one too."
"Well, kind of," Paul shrugs, arms crossed as he stands in the corner. "You become a real vampire when you make your first kill. Which SHE has not done yet."

Paul nods towards Star, and her gaze lowers.
"So...that means what?" I ask.
David opens his mouth to speak, but her voice fills in.
"I'm only a half vampire," she states, "I can handle being in sunlight, but only for a limited amount of time. I can't grow old. Meaning that I look exactly the same as I did when I drank from the bottle."

"So..." I trail off, "you look 18, but...if you were, more human," I choose my words carefully, "you would be 20."
"Yes," she whispers, "I'm four years older then you. But, I'm stuck on the age of 18..." she exhales softly, before inhaling and raising her shoulders in the process, continuing her conversation.

"And most of what they can do, I can't. For example, levitating."

"Levitating?" I raise a brow, only then to see Paul's feet leave the floor and hover in the air.
What's next?! Can they grow unicorn horns too?!
Jesus some day this is...

"And now you know," Star whispers, "that's why I can't go back home."
Her gaze falls from me to the floor. She purposely lets her hair hide her face, but I can hear her sniffles.
She's crying.

I want to reach out and hug her, to tell her it's okay, but the asshole steps in before I can.
"Hey, I'm doing you a favor by allowing you to spend time with Star. Now it's your turn to do me a favor."

I almost tell him to screw it, but instead, I glare at him. Waiting for whatever favor he
wants me to do.
If it's anything like becoming a vampire, or leaving my family, I will stand up and leave this cave for good.

"You cannot tell anyone about us." David states, finger in my face, "not your parents. Not your friends. Nobody. Understood?"
"And if I did?" I threaten.

He glares at me, his face shaping back into vampire form.
"Because if you did, they will kill us. They'll kill Star. And then you'll never have your sister back again."

My eyes widen.
Star stands up, placing a hand on David's shoulder. "May we please have a moment of privacy?" She asks.

David stares at her for a moment, before sighing and snapping his fingers for his followers to follow him at the end of the cave.
Star and I are alone in the room, one of us waiting for the other to speak.

I look at him. "Did you know? When you drank that bottle?"
She looks back at me, shame coating her face. "Yes, I did."
"Why did you do it?" I stand up, "why?"

"Because," a tear slides down her cheek, "I had run away so long ago. I-I thought that maybe Mom and Dad had gotten over my disappearance. That maybe if going back meant they would never look at me the same again. I didn't want to put that on them, on myself."

She holds herself, eyes glued shut. "I just wanted to be okay..."
My heart breaks.

I wrap my arms around her, hugging her tightly.
She hugs me back, crying in my shoulder, squeezing my arms and wetting my shirt with her tears.
Vampire or not, this is my sister, and I love her.

I'll always love her.

Hearing her story, knowing everything I need to, I understand it now...
She was scared. She had to do it.
But she paid a high price...a price she didn't think she'd have to pay.

I hold her for what seems like hours as she cries.
"It's okay Star," I whisper, "it's alright."
"I'm so sorry, Luna," she whispers, "I'm so sorry..."

I hug her a little tighter.
"Don't be," I whisper, "you're here now. That's what matters."

I just wish that Mom and Dad could understand...
Now, I have to keep Star a secret, in front of my mother as she cries over the loss of her oldest daughter.
I have to keep Star a secret in front of my father as he stares silently into a family photo of us.

I'll have to stand by, and not say a word.