[b]Chapter 1: Courtney [/b] Courtney slowly walked up the gloomy Cathedral stairs, her head hanging. “God has forgotten about me”, She thought to herself. “Why else would he give me this curse?” After all, that was the reason parents gave her up. Her mind gave her flashbacks of the day she was bitten. She was only five, and when her parents finally found out, they gave her away for fear of them becoming “unclean”. That was nine years ago. Now Courtney is alone and she promises to never trust anyone again. Soon Courtney was driven to tears. She got up and ran towards the orphanage, like she was being chased by something that was tormenting her. Courtney soon reached the orphanage and flung the door open. She ran through the main hallway and into the door to her room. She crashed on the bed, buried her head in her pillow, and started crying. Luckily the guardian, Mrs. Tristolle, was very wealthy and was able to give orphans their own room. Courtney needed space, especially when she’s hurt like this. Courtney knew she needed blood. She always got moody when she was bloodthirsty. She didn’t want to kill another human. The thought of seeing another death almost made her sick. But she knew she had to do it to survive. Courtney flinched as she heard her door delicately inch open. In the doorway stood Chelsea, a girl who had always seemed to be particularly interested in Courtney. She saw Courtney’s tear-stained eyes and quietly asked, “May I come in, please?” Courtney nodded and sat on the bed. “I could take advantage of this,” thought Courtney. “After all, we are alone.” Courtney slowly drew out her fangs and turned to Chelsea. She reacted quickly, jumping up and walking backwards until she reached the wall. Courtney grabbed at Chelsea’s neck, but soon let go and fell backwards. Chelsea looked down, and remembered that she was wearing a crucifix necklace. Courtney dizzily pulled herself up from the ground and lie back on the bed. “I- I’m sorry Chelsea. You see, I’m a vampire, which is the reason I’m here…” Courtney continued to elaborately explain her story about how her parents gave her up after learning her secret. She cried, and soon Chelsea was crying too. Courtney knew that she would soon die if she didn’t drink blood right away. “I need it. If I don’t have blood soon, I will die.” Courtney choked back tears as she said this. “Then why don’t you dig up an old body to feast on” Said Chelsea Courtney had never thought of that. She and Chelsea walked out of the room and out of the orphanage. They strolled through the brown, dead grass, talking and getting to know each other. The gray, dark clouds above them grew darker and darker. They knew they had to hurry, for it would soon rain. Courtney and her shortly arrived at the old, abandoned Cathedral. They grabbed some digging tools and started to dig at the earth beneath them. They finally hit one of the coffins, and Courtney opened it up, her eyes filled with hunger for blood. She grew out her fangs and injected them into the man’s pale neck. Chelsea watched from behind, and felt a raindrop on her nose. Courtney sucked the last drop of blood out of the dead man, and shut the coffin. Now the rain was starting to pour. She gently placed the coffin back in the hole and turned to face Chelsea. “Are you going to be okay, now?” asked Chelsea. “Yes, but just until I need blood again. And who knows when that will be.” And with that, the rain started to pour even harder than it was before, and they ran back to the orphanage, mud splattering all over the both of them.