Moments after Annie vanished, Sam found Charles collapsed in the restroom, deathly cold. He rushed him to the clinic, half-dragging, half-carrying him.
The clinic reeked of antiseptic and panic. Charles lay sprawled on the cot skin clammy, eyes half-lidded, breath shallow. Mrs Adams stood beside Sam while Raymond, sleeves rolled up, did everything in his power to stabilize him.
"What happened " Mrs Adams demanded turning to Sam who looked shaken
"I... I don't know," He stammered. "I went into the restroom and found him like that."
Then Mrs Adams turned sharply to Raymond, her voice low but urgent. "Mr. Raymond? Anything?"
He shook his head grimly. "Nothing physical explains this. Whatever's wrong… it's beyond normal medicine."
Minutes passed tension stretching the air tight.
Then Charles stirred.
Raymond leaned in. "Charles? Can you hear me?"
Charles blinked rapidly, then winced as he sat up slightly. "What… where am I?"
"The clinic," Mrs Adams said gently. "What happened to you?"
He stared at the ceiling, disoriented. "There was a girl… in the restroom. She kept talking to me like she knew me. Said weird things… asked how I'd survive."
Mrs Adams narrowed her eyes. "What's her name?"
"Um… Angel? No, wait… Annie. Yeah. Annie."
Both Mrs Adams and Raymond exchanged a sharp, silent look.
"Annie?" Raymond repeated.
Charles nodded. "She was pale. Cold. Her eyes… her eyes weren't right. Then she touched me and... I blacked out."
"Are you sure?" Mrs Adams asked, voice tightening.
"Would I lie about this?!"
Before another word could be spoken, Charles convulsed violently his back arched, limbs thrashing.
"Charles!" Sam shouted, frozen in fear. Foam spilled from Charles's mouth as he choked and seized.
Raymond lunged, pinning him down gently. "He's burning up his temperature is inhuman."
"What's going on?" Sam asked, voice cracking.
"Whatever magic Annie used… it's killing him."
Despite Raymond's efforts, cooling spells, pressure points, healing charms Charles's body stiffened, then went eerily still.
The light faded from his eyes.
His skin lost color rapidly, grey, then pale green. Veins darkened. His cheeks sunk in.
Raymond stepped back and sighed disappointesly, "We lost him."
Sam stood motionless, horror dawning on his face. "W-What? He was fine a minute ago…"
Mrs. Adams swallowed hard, staring at the corpse. "Why does he look like that?"
Raymond's jaw tightened. "Because... he's been dead. A long time."
Finally, the weekend arrived, as usual, Pink and her girls went to have fun at the beach and I wasn't invited.
I spent the day in my room, wrapped in a blanket fortress, watching back-to-back movies on my laptop. Not exactly the dream Saturday but it was drama-free, at least.
Around noon, the sound of laughter floated through my window high-pitched, carefree, and laced with the sting of exclusion. Everyone's having a fun weekend, I turned the volume up, pretending I didn't care.
By the third movie, I had wrapped myself in a blanket like armor and eaten way too much microwave popcorn. Just as the credits rolled, my phone buzzed. A text from Jesse:
"You alive in there? Wanna hang?"
I stared at the screen for a second, debating. He wasn't exactly my go-to person, but after everything we'd been through earlier this week, he felt more real than the girls tanning in matching bikinis.
"Sure," I typed back. "Meet me at the smoothie joint?"
Maybe the day wasn't going to be about being left out after all.
...
He showed up ten minutes late unsurprisingly wearing a hoodie two sizes too big.
"You look like someone who's either been dumped or cursed," he said, nudging my shoulder as we stepped inside.
"Neither," I replied. "Just a girl recovering from social exile."
He laughed, the sound low and familiar. "Well, lucky for you, exile comes with smoothies and sarcasm."
The smoothie joint was quiet just the hum of the blender and the faint buzz of lo-fi music. We grabbed a corner booth, far from the windows, and ordered two berry blasts. Mine with extra chia seeds, his with extra attitude.
"So," Jesse said, stirring his drink lazily, "what's it like sharing rooms with Pink now?"
I groaned. "Imagine a goldfish bowl. And you're the fish no one feeds. That about covers it."
He grinned. "Honestly? Sounds better than being swarmed by hormone-crazed fan girls every five minutes."
We talked about random things, favorite movies, weird teachers, whether Caveroop's cafeteria pizza was actually edible. Honestly, it was kind of refreshing.
At one point, Jesse pointed out a kid struggling to carry four smoothies at once and made me laugh so hard mango shot out my nose. Gross!
Eventually, the sun started dipping and the air took on that soft golden glow only weekends seemed to have. We left the smoothie place and walked slowly, no real destination in mind.
"Thanks for today," I said. "this was the kind of break I needed."
Jesse glanced sideways at me. "Anytime, exile girl."
We bumped shoulders gently and kept walking, our steps in sync, like maybe, just maybe I wasn't as alone as I thought.
That night, Summer walked home alone beneath the soft hum of streetlights. The warmth of the day still clung to her skin, scented with salt and sand. She had spent the afternoon at the beach with Pink and her friends, laughing beneath the sun, letting the crashing waves drown out all the chaos. For a few hours, everything felt normal.
Then, a strange stillness fell over the block. Quiet. Nobody in sight. No crickets. Not even the breeze stirred the leaves in the trees. The air felt thick, as if the night itself was holding its breath.
A chill ran down her spine.
Why was it this quiet?
She glanced at her phone, almost curfew.
"I better get home fast," she mumbled to herself. Her house was just a few blocks away.
As she strolled down the street, she noticed a car parked with its door wide open. From inside came moans.
Great.
Another couple making out on a quiet night.
But it was almost curfew.
As she walked past for a better look, she froze. A figure was hunched over another, a lifeless body slumped beneath, pressed against the car seats. The sound came next: the sickening, wet noise of feeding. Blood shimmered in the dim light, trickling from the lips of the figure on top and pooling beneath the victim.
Summer's breath hitched.
A vampire.
Terror gripped her. Her legs screamed to run.
"Run now before you end up like Terra!"
She'd heard what happened how close I'd come to dying in a vampire's grasp. The horror was still fresh in her memory.
But something about this vampire stopped her from bolting.
There was a strange familiarity to the figure, the shape of her shoulders, the curve of her jaw. Her dark hair, tousled and damp with blood, stirred something deep in Summer's chest.
The vampire turned slightly, and the moonlight caught her face.
Summer's heart dropped.
"Regina?"
Regina scoffed as she pulled away from her victim and turned to her sister.
"Hello, sis," she said with a smile, wiping blood from her lips with the back of her hand. Her fangs slowly receded.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
"Well, what does it look like I'm doing?"
Still shaken, Summer sputtered, "We... we don't feed."
Regina let out a short laugh. "I do now."
"What happened to you?"
"You wouldn't understand, baby sis."
Summer, almost in tears, whispered, "Why? What have you done to yourself?"
Regina smirked. "I upgraded. Now go home because I can smell you." She sniffed the air licking her lips "And I'm still hungry."
Summer hesitated, but realizing the threat was real, she ran as fast as she could, to the house slamming the door behind her and bursting into tears.
Peeking through the window, she saw Regina watching her. Her eyes were dark, black veins etched across her face as she smiled… then slowly vanished into the mist that began to spread across the street.
Summer sobbed, whispering to herself, "What have you done?"
...
Monday came fast, boring and hectic as usual.
At least I had enjoyed the weekend, that rare slice of peace, even if short-lived.
But the moment I stepped into the crowded hallways of Caveroop High, the noise, the chaos, the tension, it wrapped around me like a heavy fog.
Class was normal. Notes, half-listening, dodging glares from people who still thought I was some kind of freak show.
Between second and third period, I saw Jesse.
We practically bumped into each other outside the science wing. He was cool, calm. He looked... different. Or maybe I saw him differently now. He'd always been a total jerk, a coldhearted asshole but now... he seemed warm. His charm felt brighter, and I couldn't help but stare.
"Hey," he said, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.
"Oh... hey," I replied, snapping back to reality and hugging my books tighter. We paused. The silence between us felt way too loud.
"You look…" Jesse started, but before he could finish, Pink practically appeared between us all perfume, lip gloss, and way-too-obvious intentions.
"There you are, Jesse!" she beamed, looping her arm through his and ignoring me completely. "I was looking everywhere for you! You're still coming to the pool party Friday, right? I saved you a spot next to me."
Jesse blinked, clearly caught off guard. "Uh… I don't…"
"You have to," she cooed, tightening her grip like she was claiming him for sport. "It won't be the same without you."
I stepped back, rolling my eyes. A pool party? Really?
I walked past them and went to class.
We had Chemistry, and Summer, my partner wasn't in school. That was weird. She always showed up early, and she never missed practicals. Maybe she was sick or something. I tried to shake it off and partnered with Genora instead.
During recess, I stopped by the café to grab lunch and found a quiet corner next to Genora and Sam, chatting about random things.
Then Pink passed by and dumped her drink on me.
The café fell silent. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned.
"Oops," Pink said with a smirk. "Sorry, thought you were the trash can."
She and Clary burst into laughter.
Eska wasn't with them. She sat across the café with Zack, eyes on me.
I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"Here," Genora said, helping me clean the mess on my clothes.
I turned to Pink "What now?"
"Well, nothing much," Pink sneered, stepping closer. "Just a gentle reminder that I'm onto you." She slapped her hand on our table, nearly knocking over the food. "What the fuck were you doing with Jesse outside the science wing?"
"I dunno. How does that concern you?"
Her smile faltered. "Excuse me?"
"Look, Pink, I'm not doing this with you. Okay?"
She scoffed. "Let me make myself clear, bitch. I don't want to ever see you anywhere near Jesse again."
I sighed. "Fine. Can you go now?"
She smirked, snatched Genora's chocolate milk, and poured it over my head.
The entire café held its breath.
Even her friends looked stunned.
Something inside me snapped.
I stood, gripped her wrist tightly, and looked her straight in the eyes.
"You know, I've had enough of your childish crap. Who do you think you are, the self-absorbed queen?"
Gasps echoed around us. Phones came out. People were recording.
But I didn't care. I was too angry.
"You think you're so good at bullying me? Fine. Let's play. I bet two can play this game. And from where I'm standing, you're still desperate for attention you don't deserve." I scoffed "You're still just a learner."
Pink trembled, trying to break free, but I held firm. My grip was tight. My anger valid.
The moment didn't last long.
The lunch bell rang, and the intercom buzzed to life:
"All students, please report to the main hall for an important announcement. Immediately."
I hissed, released her hand, and brushed past her, our shoulders colliding.
People murmured. Even Pink looked more shocked than anyone else.
...
The auditorium buzzed with rumors by the time Mrs. Adams stepped up to the mic, her face a strange mix of stern and shaken.
"I'll get straight to the point," she said. "There was a tragic incident on Friday afternoon. We had an unexpected visit from a former student... Annie Broadway. And tragically, one of our students, Charles Coleman, has died."
Gasps echoed through the room. My chest tightened. I turned and searched the crowd for Clary. She was at the back, frozen, her eyes wide as her sister's name was mentioned. Tears slid down her cheeks.
Who knew how devastated she must be?
"Counselors will be available this week for anyone who needs support," Mrs. Adams continued. "But in the spirit of keeping our community strong, we also have another announcement. As of this Friday, the Caveroop High basketball season will officially resume."
A wave of noise rippled through the room. Some kids whispered about Charles. Others lit up at the news of the game.
I stayed silent.
I didn't know what to feel.
Was Charles gone… again?
Did Annie kill him?
How?
My thoughts were a whirlwind. Then someone brushed my shoulder.
Zack.
"You okay?" he asked.
I didn't know how to answer. My eyes followed Clary as she left the room.
"I-I need some air," I whispered, and walked out.