Rachel’s face turned bright red as he questioned her. This was the last thing she needed. All her classmates were staring at her in awe.

“Well, I guess so, but I’m fine now,” Rachel said, trying to end this very public conversation.

“Do you want to share your story with the class?” Mr. Allen asked.

Turning even redder, she said, “I’m all right for now. Maybe another time.”

“Ok, I can respect that. You’re probably still in shock after everything you went through,” Mr. Allen said.

Suddenly, her world became cloudy, and all she could think about was feeding. Her body felt like it was quivering all over, and her lips started to get tense. She could feel her eyes start to bulge and open wide, looking for anything in her path. She gazed out the window and spotted a deer walking past, grazing in the back lawn of the school, and knew she had to get outside, and fast.

“Rachel, are you OK?” Mr. Allen asked, looking at her.

She knew she had to pull herself together and get her mind off feeding, if only for this moment.

“Yes, I’m fine, just not feeling well,” Rachel replied, as she stood up and ran quickly out of the classroom.

The class stared at her in shock, as if they couldn’t believe what they were saying.

She couldn’t wait one more minute to find that deer and feed on its blood. Visions of blood going down her throat flashed through her head as she ran ravenously down the hall to find her prey.

“Where are you going, young lady?” the hall monitor asked in a stern voice.

“I have to go outside,” Rachel snapped, not thinking.

“Get back to class!” the hall monitor retorted, and reached her arm out to grab Rachel as she went running past her.

As her outstretched arm reached for Rachel, a surge of rage came over her and she grabbed her arm and swung her over her shoulder and down the hall about twenty feet. The shrieks of the hall monitor’s voice filled the air, but Rachel used mind control to silence her and have her stand back up as if nothing had happened. Then, the hall monitor turned around, and walked down the hallway in the opposite direction, paying no attention to Rachel whatsoever.

She flung open the back doors of the school, which opened into a woodsy area surrounded by big tall trees. She knew this would be a good place to find something to feed on. She ran quickly through the brush, picking up tree stumps, looking in small rabbit holes and up into the trees for anything she could get her fangs on. Then she spotted the deer, deep in the woods, far enough from school, that nobody would see her. She felt safe. She knew she would be able to have a peaceful feed now.

She focused on the deer with all her might, and used Mind Control. It stopped in its tracks and looked her straight in the eye. She knew this was it. She had mastered it. Now all she had to do was make her way over to the deer without scaring it away, and then its fate was sealed. It would be her next meal.

She crept over to the deer, which was still entranced, staring at her, and then, with twenty or so feet to go, she leapt into the air, her fangs descending from her gums, her hands outstretched and her fingers wide, as she prepared to capture her kill. The deer continued to stare at her, and within moments, she sunk her fangs into its neck. Then, with her supernatural strength, she lifted the deer up off the ground and drained its blood into her mouth. As she did this, her body felt more relaxed. She was much less tense, and felt her eyes go back into her head as she became normal again—well, normal enough to fit into her school.

She put the deer back down and stared at it, watching the fleas jump off its lifeless body. Suddenly she felt a little grossed out, and she couldn’t believe what had just happened. She sat down on the ground next to the deer and began to cry. Part of her felt bad for killing an animal but what upset her the most was the fact that she didn’t recognize herself anymore. She hated who she’d become, and knew there was no turning back. She knew this was the new Rachel and she just had to get used to it – it was just a hard pill for her to swallow.

As she wiped the tears from her cheeks, she stood up and looked at her watch. She’d been gone from class for about twenty minutes, and knew she would be in big trouble for this. She quickly walked back out of the woods, checking to make sure nobody was watching, then she heard a man’s voice coming from the back door of the school.

“Excuse me? What are you doing outside?” the man said.

She looked up to see the security guard standing in the doorway, looking dead at her. She didn’t know what to say, and waited for a moment as she walked closer to the building.

“Oh, I um, just needed some air,” Rachel said, smiling. “I wasn’t feeling well.”

“Are you ok?” the security guard asked, looking stunned, as if she got hurt.

“I’m feeling better now, thanks,” Rachel said.

“No, I mean, your face, it’s bleeding,” the security guard said, ushering her into the building.

She touched her face and looked at her hands, which had blood on them. She couldn’t help but think what a misstep this was, what an amateur move she’d just made to leave blood dripping down her face.

“Oh my!” Rachel said, trying to sound surprised. “I just brushed by a branch, it may have scratched my face?”

“You better get to the school nurse right now and get that cleaned up, Ms. Woods,” the security guard demanded.

“OK, I’ll go now,” Rachel said, as he took her arm and walked her to the nurse. They walked in silence, until finally she opened the door to the nurse’s office.

“What do we have here?” the school nurse asked, looking at Rachel’s face.

“A scratch?” Rachel said, uncertainly.

“Well let’s get that cleaned up, shall we,” the nurse said in a soothing tone.

The school nurse reached into her drawer and got out the alcohol and gauze pads to wipe down her face. She put on rubber gloves and then began applying the alcohol to the gauze. As she put the gauze up to Rachel’s face she said, “There’s no scratch here? No evidence of anything that would cause all this blood.”

Rachel didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know how to get out of this mess. “Well, I um don’t know?” she said, looking at the nurse.

“This is the strangest thing I’ve seen in all my years,” the nurse said, taking off her gloves.

“Guess I healed pretty quickly!” Rachel said, trying to turn it into a joke.

“Well, you should go back to class,” the nurse said as she handed her a nurse’s note to get back into class.

“Thanks!” Rachel said, as she turned and walked out of the office.

Realizing what a close call that was, she walked quickly back to Mr. Allen’s classroom, passing the hall monitor on the way. She was surprised that her Mind Control worked so well on her, because she didn’t even look twice as she passed by.

“You feeling better?” Mr. Allen asked as she entered the classroom.

The class stared at her as if she was a freak.

“Yes,” Rachel said, feeling much more like herself as she walked in and handed Mr. Allen her nurse’s pass, which thankfully she had because it had been over a half an hour since she’d left.

“You all right?” a guy’s voice asked quietly from behind her.

She turned to see Rob, sitting in the seat behind her, looking visibly worried about her.

“Oh yeah, I’m fine, thanks,” Rachel said, smiling.

She couldn’t believe he even noticed she’d left the classroom and even if he did, that he would care to ask how she’s feeling.

“What happened? You flew out of here so quick, I got worried,” Rob asked, whispering so that the teacher wouldn’t hear.

“Just felt sick, that’s all. It passed,” Rachel replied.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Rob said. “So do you want to hang sometime?” he asked.

She thought for a moment, remembering their last interactions and time spent together. She couldn’t help but remember the feelings she had for him at the movies and how it abruptly ended when Benji showed up.

She remembered her love for Benji. She didn’t want to betray him or cheat on him, but part of her felt OK with spending time with Rob. It wasn’t like they were dating or anything – it would be an innocent hang out.

“Um…I guess,” Rachel replied. “This weekend works, I think.”

“Perfect, I’ll be in touch,” Rob said as the bell rang and everyone got up out of their seats.

“Rach! I’ll see you at lunch, right?” Emily asked, as they parted ways down the hall.

“Yup! I’ll be there,” Rachel said, secretly dreading the cafeteria. She didn’t even want to let her mind go there yet. The morning passed quicker than she would have liked it and as she looked at her watch, she knew lunch was right around the corner. Thinking about it made her feel queasy, then the thought of throwing up made her even more nervous, because the only thing swishing around in her stomach was blood. She couldn’t image the scene that would cause.

As she walked towards the cafeteria, she didn’t know how she would face everyone in such a big, bright space. She didn’t want to do it, but knew if she didn’t, it would cause more of a stir.

“There she is!” Taryn’s voice came barreling down the hall.

“Ahhh!!!” yelled Liv and ran to give Rachel a hug.

“OMG! You’re really back!” Jen said, waiting her turn for a hug.

“I’m back! In the flesh!” Rachel said, as she pointed to herself and smiled. “Glad to see you guys, too! I’ve missed you.”

“Let’s grab our table!” Emily said as she started walking into the cafeteria.

With all her friends around her, she felt at ease. She didn’t feel as overwhelmed as she thought she would entering the cafeteria for the first time in days since she’d gone missing. She was happy to have such a caring and loyal group of friends at AHS and she felt lucky that they all happened to meet up with her before she had to walk in alone.