Ellen was lying on the forest green couch in the living room with her feet dangling over one of the arms. She had her nose stuck in The Lord of the Rings. Somehow, out of everything she'd read in four centuries, that book had escaped. Luckily, some of Viola's friends had read Tolkien's works, and when they found out that she hadn't they made damn sure that error was corrected. Oh boy, had she been missing out! Markus said I can't watch the movies until I read the books, Ellen laughed mentally as she flipped the page. Eh, I could live a thousand years and still not understand how some people come up with these ridiculous nuances. As if I'd consider watching the movies first. What does he think I am, some kind of a savage? She flipped the page and continued onwards with the adventure.  There had been a time when she could read entire volumes in a day. Now there were too many other distractions and other aspects in her life that got in the way. However, she was intent on finishing the chapter she was currently reading.

        She couldn't wait to see whether Sam would be able to actually beat Shelob with only a sword! That better be one HELL of a sword, she thought. In a fair fight, no mammal would have a chance against a spider that size.  It's armor would be too thick.  That was why she made the giant one in her house.  It was the ultimate assassin, nature's deadliest predator by a very wide margin. Even so, she still shuddered a bit when she thought of reading that note on the wall of her house that said: THE SPIDER HAS POOR EYES, HE CAN'T EVEN TELL COLORS APART. The thought that crossed her mind when she read that was: Oh dear. Well, I'm properly screwed right now. Her fondness for spiders had ended that day.

        She continued to flip through the pages as she read, admiring Sam's courage in the face of a genuine killing machine. He was a moron for risking himself to save Frodo, but she couldn't say he was lacking in the balls department though. She had no doubt he'd win despite the odds, after all he was one of the virtuous characters of the story. In fantasies like that, such characters always won in the end.  

        She kept getting more and more engaged, until a very obnoxious noise snapped her out of her reverie. It was that fucking doorbell. Oh, how she hated that noise! It seemed like one of those innovations that sounded good on paper, but was far less useful in reality, especially for a house this small. Why not just knock on the door? It buzzed again.  She rested the book on her stomach and frowned.  She didn't feel like answering the door right now. Besides, there was that warning the police had put out over the local news an hour ago. It advised people not to leave their homes, but she didn't remember why because she wasn't listening when it was on. She decided to ignore it either until the person went away, or until her father told her otherwise. It buzzed again, now coupled with the sound of a fist loudly knocking against the door. No way she would get back to her book with that racket. They hit the doorbell again and knocked even louder. No way this jackass was leaving until someone answered. Hm, she thought with a slight smirk. I think I know a way out of this.

        She hopped up from her spot on the couch and quietly slipped out of living room and went down the hall. She entered the first door on the right, the bathroom. She closed the door behind her, making as little sound as possible. Then the doorbell rang again.

        "Vi!" Came the muffled voice of her father. "Would you get that?"

        "I'm in the bathroom, Daddy!" Ellen shouted back.

        "Never mind then, I'm on my way."

        "Wait. Should we even answer it? I thought the cops said we should stay inside!"

        "Yeah, but it might be that new gun sight I ordered," he said as he walked past the bathroom. "It was supposed to come today. I have to sign for it."

        "Ah," Ellen replied. He actually ordered that? Sheesh, boys and their toys. It's a bit late for anyone to still be delivering packages though, isn't it? Now that I think about it, would they even still be aloud to deliver anything right now because of the thing with the cops?

        Ellen sat down on the covered toilet, intent on carrying on with her reading, only to realize she had set her book down on the couch when she got up and had left it there.

        "Oh, curses!" she grumbled quietly. "I would leave the book on the couch."

        Luckily, she did have something else that could be of use in here. She opened one of the drawers under the counter-top pulled out an eight inch long black-handled switchblade, a weapon that Viola's grandfather had used in World War II. He had given it to her father, but he gave it to her for self-defense if she was home alone. The knife she used on Viola had nothing on this thing.  She made sure the safety catch was in place and slipped it through one of the belt loops on her pants but out of sight behind her back and pulled her shirt down over it. Perhaps some might call her paranoid for that, but years of attempts on her life as a witch made her cautious on principle, and she no longer had her powers or immortality to protect her. It gave her peace-of-mind simply to know that it was there in case she did have need of it. Ellen closed the drawer and left to get her book.

        She opened the door and stepped out just in time to overhear her father say: "What do you want with her?"  Whoever he was talking to saw her coming.

        "Hey, honey!" Said a soothingly sweet and charming woman with dark red-hair, small sunglasses and a half-finished cigarette in her hand as she peered around the muscular form of the father. She smiled without exposing her teeth when Ellen looked her way and then sweetly asked: "Are you Viola?"

        "Yes, I am," Ellen answered back in a welcoming tone. It wasn't what she wanted to do, however it would have been Viola's natural response. "Is there something I can do for you, miss?"

        "Hang on a second," said her father sternly, putting himself in between her and this stranger. "Who are you, and what do you want with my daughter?"

        "I'm afraid that's none of your concern, sir!" Before he could open his mouth to respond, her hand clasped around his throat and she hoisted him off the ground with one arm like he was as light as a feather. "Now, outta my way!" A quick toss sent him flying a couple meters right through a window and onto the grass outside.

         "Oh my God!" Ellen screamed. "Daddy!"  Ellen stood frozen in disbelief and fear as a chill raced down her spine. There was no way a woman of her size and build should have been able to lift up a beefy man like her father, much less throw him like that. She's some kind of freak or something! Who, or dare I ask what is she and what does she want with Viola? Her first instinct was to run for it, go to her room, grab her phone, get out of the house, and call the cops. But, she dared not turn her back to this woman. If she was caught with her back turned, she'd never get loose. She had another alternative, but it was almost as risky.       

        "Oh, don't worry about him, dear," the woman said in a silvery voice as she took a step towards Ellen. "A few stitches and a little pick-me-up to mend his broken ego he'll be fine."

        Ellen quickly eyed her surroundings. She was in a fairly open space in the living room, and the more room she had to maneuver, the better her chances of escape. "Wh-what do you want from me?" She asked weakly, mimicking the shaky voice of someone in an uncontrolled state of terror. She was afraid, but she learned that with a clear head, fear could be an extremely useful emotion.

        "What I want is: you," she replied, now coming towards her much more quickly. "I don't know why they want you and I don't really care. Even if I knew, I'm a trained professional so I wouldn't say in a place like this.  As you can tell I'm a lot stronger than I look, so let's keep this simple since I'm on a tight schedule. I'm supposed to keep you safe and sound 'till I get you where we need to go, but there are some other people coming after you also. This place isn't safe anymore, so you're gonna come with me. We clear?"

        "Um, y-yes," Ellen nodded, placing both hands slowly behind her back.

        "Then let's go," she said quickly as she grabbed Ellen by the shoulder and began to lead her to the door.

        Who did this woman think she was fooling? A trick like that might have worked on Viola. She had a feeling these were the people the Black Cat warned her about. They must've decided to kidnap her. They knew something about that day five years ago. There was no other reason to keep tabs on her. How much they knew, she could not yet say. It didn't matter, as she had no intention of going with this redhead at all.  She might be super-strong, but that was meaningless if she was dead before she had the chance to use it. She carefully manipulated the knife out of her belt loop and flicked off the safety catch, allowing the blade to swing out. Now she just needed to pick her moment. The neck was the weak point no matter the opponent's strength, and it was within Ellen's reach.

        Ellen shifted her knife into her free arm.  When they reached the door, instinct told her that the time to strike was now. She flipped the knife in her hand, wrapped her arm around the woman's and in one swift motion plunged the knife into the side of her neck. The redhead's body shuddered and she let out a sickening croak as she gurgled crimson bubbles and blood poured over the knife blade. Ellen didn't even wait to see the result, she knew she had severed the jugular and pierced the windpipe.  The redhead had minutes left, at best. She wrenched the knifed out of her and just ran out the door without a second thought. She could borrow someone else's phone, but she was not going near that monster while there was a chance of her fighting back. She'd send the cops and an ambulance or something over to deal with the mess and get help for her father. She headed for the garage, which thankfully was still open and grabbed her bike since her father had the keys to the truck. She hopped on and peddaled like a madman right past Toby. He must've come running out when he heard all the commotion.

        "Toby, stay!" She shouted back at him when she saw him running after her. He immediately slowed and then stopped at her command, but then started to walk in circles and was still barking at her. She had trained him very well indeed.  He was more useful staying by father's side.

        She sped up. She needed to get to a neighbor's house and quickly. Her home's isolation from most of the nearby residents was not helping any. As fast as she was going, she felt like it just wasn't quick enough. She was almost to the intersection where the dirt road met the paved one.  Suddenly her bike flipped up from the back wheel, launching her straight into the dusty road with a grunt. She skidded forward, scuffing her face and the bottoms of her arms against the hard Earth. The bike landed about a meter in front of her on its side, with the pedals still turning slightly.

        "You slippery blonde bitch," growled a sultry feminine voice. A chill went down said blonde's spine. Ellen felt a hand grab the back of her head and yank her straight off the ground. She looked back over her shoulder, ignoring the stinging pain from the harsh scratches on her cheeks and arms as she was slowly turned around to meet the gaze of her assailant.

        What? How? Ellen asked herself in disbelief and fear. It was the same redhead woman from before. She was looking pretty spry for someone who just had a knife stuck through their neck not even two minutes ago. In fact, Ellen couldn't see any sign of an injury on her neck now except some blood on her clothes. It was like it had never happened. Even witches can't heal this fast, and no human could be anywhere near this strong or quick. What the fuck is she? She got her answer when she saw the woman's eyes flash red behind her glasses-when she saw the woman's enraged grimaced, with her long, pointed canines on full display. Is she a...no way! That's not-but they're a myth. I've been around centuries and not once did one ever come to my house. There was no mistaking it though. She fit all the descriptions. The pale skin, the eyes, and the fangs. Not to mention she definitely had inhuman powers. No knife would be able to kill her if the legends were true. She was the genuine article. A real Nosferatu.

        "You're a vampire?" Ellen asked. Now she had cause to be truly frightened. In this body, for all the constant work she did to keep it in peek condition, she was totally powerless against an immortal monster like this one. The hit with the knife had been a matter of luck and surprise, nothing more. She was a baby gazelle staring into the eyes of an experienced lioness about to go for the throat. Her heart was pounding furiously in her chest. Her eyes were completely dilated in fear. 

        "You're pretty clever," the woman snapped back. "You're also pretty damn lucky my boss wants you alive and healthy! If it were up to me, you'd be wearing those perky tits of yours as earrings by the time I got done with you!" She threw Ellen to the ground and planted her foot firmly on the teen's stomach and pressed down, slowly increasing the pressure. "You're coming with me whether you want to or not, and the next time you try any more bullshit with me, my sweet..." She stopped as all of her teeth sharpened and she pressed down on one of her leather bracers causing a blade to spring out up against Ellen's throat. "The next time, I might just be tempted to let my hand slip a little bit." She pressed with the knife harder until the blade ever so slightly broke the skin and a line of crimson ran over the blade. Ellen winced from the discomfort. The vampire pulled blade back and ran her tongue slowly over the blade to lick every last tantalizing drop of blood on its edge. "Mmm," she purred. "Your blood smells and tastes as delicious as you look. I might not be able to resist taking a little nibble next time, either. Just so you know, if I bit you, you wouldn't turn into a vampire. You'd become a ghoul, a rotting carcass walking with no mind of your own.  You want that?"

        Ellen shook her head without saying a word. That was an interesting bit of information. That was something she'd never read or heard about in vampire lore. However, it was also an empty threat. If the people this creature served wanted her alive, there was no way she'd do that. Although, that depended on how crazy she was. Either way, she had no way to kill this vampire or outrun it. She was completely at her mercy.

        "Good, I'm glad we understand each other," She smiled as all of her sharpened teeth except her actual fangs returned to their normal shapes and sizes. "Now, from here on, you're not going to move unless I say so, and you're not going to talk unless I ask you a question, in which case, you better fucking answer me and quickly. Got that?" Ellen nodded quickly. She refused to scream or cry. She couldn't resist, but it would take far more than this to break her spirit.  In her original body, she knew pain the like of which this vampire wouldn't be able to dream of.

        The woman retracted the blade and took her foot off Ellen's body before hoisting her up and tossing her over her shoulder, resting one arm over her back to hold the girl in place. Suddenly the world seemed to blur together as a tremendous gust of air flew past them. No, it wasn't air movement, but rather them moving at very high speed and displacing the air around them.

        Never before had she wished she still had her magic as much as she did right now. The Black Cat had offered to make her a witch again. If she had accepted, then this vampiric bitch would've been the one trembling on the ground a moment ago. No, never again, she thought, hating that the idea entered her mind. The sacrifice she would have to make for that would amount to giving up everything she had spent centuries trying to achieve. She wasn't going to sell her soul again. Not even if the Black Cat really could grant anything she wanted.

....

        The vampire carried her precious cargo onward into town, staying away from main roads and using alleys and backyards to stay hidden. Even with her super speed, this was a much slower way to get out of the area, but it was perhaps the safer one. Ellen began to wonder if maybe the vampire hadn't been lying and there were really were other people interested in her. If I get out of this jam, I'm gonna need some more answers to better protect myself, contemplated the former witch. I hate to admit it, but it looks like I'm gonna need cat-boy's help after all.

        "Good, we're almost outta here," the vampire mumbled to no one in particular, snapping Ellen out of her train-of-thought. She was correct, they were fast approaching the edge of town. However, she suddenly also seemed increasingly agitated. "Where is that little snot and my boyfriend! Dammit! I don't sense either them now. Up until a moment ago I could feel Algy's presence. Did he go and get himself killed already? Now that I think about, I haven't been able to sense Lance for a while though. Wait, don't tell me they-they killed my Lance too!  I'll make them pay a hundred times for that, baby! Once I get this bitch to the boss I'll come back and kill em' all and burn that mansion of theirs in the woods to the fucking ground! I'll burn them, the forest, and this whole fucking backwater town off the map!" Her voice sounded shaky, full of rage and sadness. Was she crying?

        What on Earth is she screaming about? Ellen asked herself.  There are probably actual screws that are not as screwed as I am right now. How the hell did I get caught up in this madness?

        Suddenly the redheaded vampire stopped sobbing and froze in her tracks. "Oh no!" She breathed as she turned her head towards the full moon. Now it was her turn to experience fear. Her eyes widened and she began to look around frantically. This added to Ellen's distress as she looked at the moon, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. What was she looking at? "Gotta move now!" She exclaimed wearily as she started to run again. She didn't get far before she stopped again without warning, her momentum nearly flinging Ellen out of her grip. The blonde had to hold back her urge to puke. Somehow she didn't think that would help her situation much. The woman's dress looked quite expensive.

        Ellen heard an odd sound as the vampire started to try to look for someplace else to go. It sounded like a very high-pitched squeak. It was very faint, but it was constant and steadily growing louder. It sounds like a bat, Ellen thought. Then she remembered something from when she read Bram Stoker's Dracula: vampires could turn into bats, among other things. That couldn't be coincidence. Now what? Don't tell me there's another one! Figures, it's an undead bargain bin sale! Why are all these fucking vampires having a pissing contest over who gets to kidnap me and/or suck my blood?

        She looked up with dread, and saw that indeed there were a great many little black bats gathering above and around them. She had no clue what was about to happen, but she knew that in all likelihood, it would end very badly for one or both of them. All of the sudden the redhead woman let out a frantic cry of fear and the next thing Ellen knew, she was sailing through the air at high speed some distance. It all came to a sudden halt when she hit the pavement of a nearby road where she hit her right shoulder and her head against the ground.

        Ellen saw stars dancing in her vision and heard a dull ringing in her ears. She could also hear faint noises that sounded like some kind of a struggle nearby. Her body was slow and not readily responsive to her commands, her shoulder ached, and she was dizzy but she had to try to escape. Anywhere but here would do. In a daze she managed to sluggishly and shakily rise to her feet, trying to shake off her dizzy trance. She put all of her concentration into commanding her legs to move forward, but her sense of direction and balance were so off that she only managed to stagger aimlessly in circles. Her legs did carry her just far enough to find a tree to lean her uninjured shoulder against, but as soon as she did, she didn't want to leave. I have to get out of here, but I can't right now, she thought as a wave of sudden and powerful drowsiness washed over her spinning head. I need to rest my head first, and get myself together. Then I can leave...

        "Just for a minute," she whispered as she stood listlessly against the tree. Logic and instinct told her to keep trying to run for it, but the urge to try and rest was too powerful. Besides, she couldn't get far in her current state. She could still here noises behind her, and they were growing louder as the buzzing in her ears faded away. They sounded like gunfire-sporadic and loud, but unmistakable even in her condition. Instantly she thought of her father, being that he was the person she associated most with that sound. This didn't sound like any of his guns, though.

        When it stopped, she willed herself to turn around and looked back, her clouded mind failing to see the danger and stupidity in that. She saw two blurry forms collide about twelve or thirteen meters ahead of her in mid-air before rocketing off to the left into a small grove of trees by a creek that ran through this area. One of them was much stronger than the other. There were houses nearby in the opposite direction, but to Ellen they might as well have been a million miles away. Her body felt too heavy to move at the moment, although the fuzziness in her head was starting to dissipate somewhat.

        She could still see movement through the trees, one of the two monsters was coming towards her at a regular human walking speed. She felt like running again, except that she wasn't sure that she could and it would do her no good anyway. Then a strange dark fog appeared out of the trees and blocked the blurred figure's path and began to drive it back towards the trees. Suddenly, a different female voice called on the wind: "Run you fool!"

        The command jolted Ellen and she became completely aware of herself and her surroundings again. Ellen shook her head once more as she snapped out of her trance-like state. She felt the dull throb in her shoulder again, and the sting from the scrapes on her arms and cheeks. Her muscles felt strong again, like they would move again. Without wasting another second she turned back and fled down the road. Her legs were still a bit weak but at least she could use them now. She made it some distance before she heard the redhead let out a horrified scream before one final gunshot reverberated through the area.

        She kept running. She had to make it home, and it wasn't terribly far from where she was. A good twenty-five minutes' walk from where she was right now and she'd be home. It was less if she ran the whole way. Then again, nothing was terribly far from anything else in Nornville. She just wanted to get home, and that singular goal in her fear-ridden mind drove her legs forward. She kept running and running past the houses, ignoring the breeze as it whipped through her disheveled golden hair. None of it mattered.

        As she ran onward, she noticed some people coming out of their homes, no doubt in response to the noises of the fight back there. Now that it had been quiet for a couple minutes, their natural curiosity was overriding their fear. Some of them saw her run by and called after her, but she ignored them and kept going until her legs refused to carry her any further. She had to stop and catch her breath. Sweat dripped from her forehead, and she was panting fiercely. She looked around, trying to find a bench someplace. She didn't see anything she could use, but she heard the voice of a boy she knew well accompanied by his almost obscenely loud footsteps coming up behind her.

        "Viola!" He called as he caught up with her. "Are you okay?"

        "Gabe..." started Ellen as she looked up into his sparkling blue eyes, trying to catch her breath. She said it in a very distraught tone because that was how Viola would've spoken in this situation. Gabriel and Viola would've been eighteen had she lived. Viola's memories tod her that he and Viola had been very close friends since they were both five years old. So far as he was concerned, they still were. He was definitely one of the most attractive boys in his age-group at school with a very well-toned physique. At the moment, that did not appear to be the case, however. His short light brown hair was in a total cow-lick and he was wearing a wrinkled white v-neck shirt with some stains on it from what she guessed was either red or meat pasta sauce. He also had on a pair of black basketball shorts and was barefoot.

        "Are you okay?" He repeated. 

        What the fuck do you think? Ellen asked mentally. He was sweet and attentive, which made him quite handy at times. But, he could be thickheaded, and so he'd ask obvious questions. He could see clearly that she was not alright, so why bother asking? Yet another habit of the populace that she didn't understand. Then he saw the scrapes and cuts on her body. "What happened?" He asked.

        "I fell off my bike on the way over here," she said while trying to think up a cover story. "I'm fine, though. Really, Gabe. I'm okay." She needed to draw his attention away from why she was here. She just wanted to get home, see to father, and then try to figure out what was going on around here. However, she had no idea how bad her Dad's wounds were, and then she got an idea. Knowing Gabe, he would probably offer to help, and she realized that she did have need of his services.

        "You sure?" Gabe asked. "Those scrapes look pretty bad."

        "I'm fine, really.  Gabe listen to me!"  She grabbed his wrist rather harshly. "Dad's hurt! I-I think he might need to go to a hospital and-"

        "Whoa! Hold up. Your Dad's hurt? Where is he?"

        Her plan was working.  He was worried about her.  Good. That blockheaded Viola! Obviously this boy fancied her, but she never considered the tool she had at her disposal because of it. Whether or not she returned those feelings was irrelevant, this was common sense! There was no harm in using feminine charm to get a boy to do some mundane task to make life easier. She looked into his eyes, with her emerald orbs full of shock and worry, and replied: "H-he's at my house! He had an accident and fell through a window.  I don't know what to do! Oh God, Gabe I need help!"  She lowered her head and pretended to solve. She was a master of shedding fake tears when the situation required it.

        "It's gonna be okay, Vi," he said in a concerned but soothing voice. He didn't entirely know what to do with this situation but he was trying his best. "I'm sure he's okay. I'll call an ambulance and then drive you back to your place, okay?"

        "Yes, please do!" She threw her arms around him and pulled him into a big hug. He patted her lightly on the head. What he saw was a traumatized kind girl that cared for her father deeply.  That was precisely what she wanted him to see: a desperate Viola in need of his help.

        "Hey now, what're friends for?"

        Friends indeed! Ellen chuckled mentally as she broke the hug. Give me a break! You want this and you know it. She knew him well enough to know that he didn't mean anything by that statement. Some girls might have been offended or put-off by a comment like that, but not her.

        "Imma go grab my phone, tell my folks what's going on, and make that call. Come in, Vi. You want anything? A glass of water or something?"

        "No, I'm fine," she replied with a little smile. "I just want to make sure Daddy's okay before anything else. I'm already causing you enough trouble as it is."

        "Don't worry about it.  You're the one having the emergency and you're worried about imposing?  Don't worry about it. If you need anything, let me know."

        "Thank you, Gabe," she said, smiling a little brighter this time as they sat down on a very dark brown leather couch in front of a wall mounted plasma screen television. She truly did appreciate how much he cared. Normally he put on the macho-male attitude, but revealed a very different side of himself in her presence. Even then, he still had an aura of refined strength about him that made her feel like she could rely on him.

        "I'll be back in a sec, I'll go make that call," he said.

        Ellen almost asked him to let her do it, but quite frankly it didn't make terribly much difference that she could see and it would give her some time alone with her thoughts. He smiled down at her and hopped up from the couch and ran off down a hallway to the left and up a flight of stairs.

        Ellen reviewed everything that had happened to her in the last ten or fifteen minutes.  She had been powerless against the abilities of the undead bloodsucking woman that tried to kidnap her. It was like the first time she had smelled the scent in her Cute Little Bottle. When the woman had her pinned to the earth with her foot, her wrist blade was like Death's curved scythe at her throat. If she were still a witch, it would have been a different story, but she was just a simple human. She thought she was dead, until something or someone saved her.  There was no doubt the swarm of bats was in fact a shape-shifted vampire, but why save her? At first, she thought they were fighting over who got to capture or eat her, but that voice she heard blew that idea out of the water. There was something about it...it sounded strangely familiar. Perhaps it reminded her of someone else's. She couldn't place it right now.

        She was juast glad she had escaped. I hope I'm wrong, she thought with a twinge of fear and a slight shudder. But I have a feeling this isn't over. The Black Cat told her something big was coming. A vampire or group of vampires was certainly very terrifying, but she didn't think it would be enough to make that demonic asshole try to tempt her with magic.  She would need to take some steps to try to protect herself from future attacks.  However, the sound of Gabe's footsteps as he came down the hall brought her back to present.

        "Vi," he stated. "They're on their way.  We should try to get there before they do." Ellen saw that he already had his shoes on.

        "Kay," Ellen nodded, slowly rising. He was more correct than he thought. Toby probably wouldn't take kindly to people he didn't recognize going near her Dad while she was away and he was injured. "I'm ready."

        She followed him to the door and to the left where his red sudan was parked in the driveway. It looked like it was in serious need of a wash, not unlike its owner at the moment. One could probably write their name or the words "WASH ME" on the back if they wanted to. His parents normally kept their car in the garage, and being that it was only a one car garage this was the best way since there was rarely any street parking. She slowly hopped into the passenger's seat as he took his spot and started the car. He looked over at her and put his hand on her shoulder and said: "Vi, I'm sure he'll be fine. He's one of the toughest people I know."

        "I know, but I should have called the ambulance right then and there! God, I'm so stupid! I heard him yell and then the window broke and I...I just freaked out and ran out of the house. I thought it was a burglar or something."

        "Hey, you were scared, don't beat yourself up for not thinking rationally. It happens. Just be thankful it actually wasn't someone trying to break in."

        "Yeah," she said slowly and shakily as she put her seatbelt on. "I know. But I just feel like I should've done more. Anything that happens to him is my fault. I worry about him. He's the only family I have left."

        "I know," he said as he began to back the car out. "But, this isn't like that. What happened to your Mom-oh, shit. I didn't mean to, oh wow I'm such an idiot."

        "No, no, it's fine," Ellen replied quietly as she looked down. That hit a nerve alright, but not in the way he thought. To her, the word "mother" was not one she associated with joy and happiness. She did not think of Viola's kind and loving mother, although the pain of her loss was in her memories, she thought of her own. The woman who had taken care of her in her first seven years of life, but did not see her as anything more than an inconvenience or a doll. It made her blood boil with hatred and her heart heavy with the darkest form of sadness to think of her. She could feel tears beginning to well up, and she tried to steel herself against her despair. Images of her final night as a human in her original body flashed in her mind.

        "Get along with father, won't you?" She had said.

        "Be well, Ellen," she had said.

        "Mother," Ellen had replied in an emotionless voice.

        She remembered her mother gazing down at her with a face full of affection, but it was all false. She had no place for the doll that was Ellen in her life anymore. Nor did she have any need of her husband, who cared for her more than anything else in the world. That same man who wouldn't even so much as look at his own daughter but gave his all for mother. Ellen once cared for her mother, and the black hole she felt at the realization that she meant to abandon her and father was too much. She would never forgive or accept such betrayal. She raised the crafting knife and aimed it at her own mother's neck...

        "Viola!" Gabe said loudly, breaking the image and temporarily, the emotion that came with it. By now they had backed out of the driveway completely and were turning to head down the street.

        "Oh, s-sorry," Ellen mumbled. "I was just...thinking about my Mom."

        "I'm sorry I brought it up," said Gabe.

        "Don't be," she said, smiling. "It's fine. I'm over it. Dad isn't though. I think in his heart he forgave himself and the doctors, but he just couldn't forget it. Me, I'm the opposite. I'll never forgive myself. But, sometimes I can forget." Those words were false entirely. Maybe Viola might have felt that way about the death of her mother, but Ellen had long ago forgiven herself for the death of her own mother. It was her mother who could not be forgiven.

        He smiled at her as he put the car into drive. She smiled back and then gazed out the window and thought she saw something on the rooftop of Gabe's house. It looked like the silhouette of a person staring down at her. She could tell they were looking directly at one another for just a fraction of a second. Then Ellen blinked and the figure was gone. That is, if it was ever truly there in the first place.

....

        A rather pudgy man sat in a wide leather chair in the middle of a very dimly lit room. His hands were clasped under his chin and he had a most despicable smirk across his face as he stared at a large screen on the wall before him. There were two other people on either side of him also obscured from view by shadows and a third smaller shape laying on the floor in front of him. The screen had just gone from whatever it was showing them to static and snow. The man in the chair grabbed a remote and clicked off the screen.

        "This is very interesting indeed," he stated with a very thick German accent. His voice had a most vile and obnoxious tone, yet it was also full of energy and enthusiasm at the same time. In a way, that made him sound even worse. Each word rolled off his tongue in such a disgustingly sinister cadence, but also ever so classy and suave. "It seems that both pieces to this puzzle are in Nornville, just like we planned. Both are in one place, and things are starting to come together. Hellsing has their first clue, but I suspect it will take a while before they realize it."

        "I'm sorry the three specimens weren't able to complete the mission, Major," said the shorter of the two people standing beside him.

        "Not to worry, my Doctor," replied the man in the chair. "I never expected any of them to succeed. They had two jobs, both of which they have performed perfectly. The first was to get both the witch and the girl in the same place. The second, was to serve as messengers, herr Doctor. And the message, has been received." He clicked the remote again, and the giant screen flicked on. This time it depicted a blue background with white lines drawn over it in the shape of a flat rectangular object. They were heavily enlarged schematics of a strange computer chip. Or more accurately, a microchip.