"Oooo." Six-year-old Obie clapped.

The small television on the back of the car seat was fascinating. Normally, she was forced to watch the talking vegetables with the other kids. She didn't mind. Eventually, Veggie Tales became her favorite show to watch. Her favorite was the pirate Veggie Tales. She thought it was funny that the talking cucumber had a beard, but one big tooth like Patrick from SpongeBob.

Today was different.

She got to watch a horror movie.

"Micah!" Obie imitated the haunted lady on the flat screen, who was dragged out of the room by a ghost, "Micaaaah!"

The man chased the lady to pull her back in the room. A second later, they were on the floor hysterically crying.

Obie laughed again. Though the scene finished, she loved the way the lady screamed her boyfriend's name. "Micaaaah!"

"Osier?" she asked. "Why is this blurry?"

Osier turned around. It was funny seeing Osier out of his normal fit. His hair was unchanged and braided to his neck, tucked underneath. The change pertained mainly to his odd jeans and T-shirt combination. He had this funny nose ring too. "Obie, what did we talk about?"

"Sorry." She said in a small voice. "Daddy, why is this blurry?!"

Osier shrugged. "It's bootleg. I got it from the nail salon."

"You get your nails done?" Obie said as she looked at her own plain nails. "I want glitter on mine."

"No, Michelle does." He said, parking the car.

"Michelle?" Obie kicked her feet in thought. "You mean mommy?"

"Yes, good girl. Exactly. I meant mommy." He sound relieved. "Look at mommy now."

She followed the direction of his finger to the outside. "Mommy!"

Mommy, otherwise known as Michelle Holloway, was walking towards the car. She was signing a paper on a clipboard before handing it off to another man in a rush. Obie recognized the man from outside of Michelle's office. He answered phone calls and allowed her to play with the buttons, while she waited for Michelle to call her in. He looked like he wanted to come to the car and say hello. Though, Mommy Michelle stepped in front of him before he could get to them.

The man's attention drifted to the backseat. He narrowed his eyes, throwing his neck forward.

"I think he's trying to see me." Obie said in excitement, then began waving at the window. "Hi! I'm right here!"

"Obie!" Osier snapped. "Stop that right now!"

Her face frowned. She sunk into her seat, pouting.

"Now, put your hood on." He said anxiously.

"But you said I could take it off once we got in the car." Obie said sadly as she pulled the hood over her head. The large top nearly masked Obie's entire face, tickling the tip of her nose. She hated these clothes. They were too big, but Osier insisted she wore them for now.

He shook his head. "You can take it off once we get to the house."

Obie played with the ends of her blanket.

She looked outside the window again to find Mommy Michelle convincing the man to leave. He curiously looked towards the backseat again before walking back into the clinic.

Michelle slipped into the front seat with grace, while giving Osier a kiss and closing the door. Obie would have normally been at awe, because the doctors told her this kind of behavior was inappropriate. Though, she was too saddened to react and continued to play with her blanket.

"Hello, Obie." Michelle smiled warmly.

Obie waved with a shy smile.

"What's wrong?" She frowned, sweetening her tone.

Obie's eyes quickly drifted towards Osier before looking away in guilt. She shrugged and said, "Nothing,"

Nevertheless, Michelle caught Obie's gaze. She turned towards Osier and spoke in hush tones. Osier responded lowly, telling her what occurred. Then, Michelle glowered at him and said something to him more aggressively.

Osier released a loud sigh. "Obie,"

"Yes, Osier." She quickly corrected. "Daddy."

"I'm sorry for yelling. I got scared, because I don't want anyone to take you away from us. Do you want that to happen?"

"No, Daddy." Obie shook her head vigorously. "I don't want to go back."

"I don't either. I really am sorry. You just mean so much to us. Mommy and Daddy love you so much." Osier reached over the backseat to caress her tiny dimpled chin.

Obie felt better, but now she was curious. "What's love?"

Osier was surprised by the question. Michelle smiled when he struggled to speak. "I got this one honey."

"You know what love is?" Obie asked Michelle.

"I don't think anyone has a specific definition of love." Michelle began. "But it is a special feeling. Everyone is capable of loving someone or being loved."

"I don't understand." She said honestly.

"Most of us don't, but when it happens, you'll know."

"How?"

She paused. "Once you love a person, you'd do anything to be with them."

Obie thought about the movies she watched. "Like a stalker."

Michelle's mouth dropped. "No not at all!"

Osier laughed, loudly. "I think you might be on to something, Obie. It'll explain so much about women."

"Don't entertain this." Michelle hit Osier on the shoulder and said to Obie. "Why would you think that?"

Obie said in delight. "There's a demon in the movie. He runs the house and wants to play with this lady. He just dragged her out the room and bit her because he'd do anything to get to her. He loves her right? Micah loves her too."

Michelle's forehead creased in concern. "What are you watching?"

"Paranormal Activity. Daddy said I can watch Freddy versus Jason at home. Daddy said Freddy's a pedophile with crispy skin and Jason is slow and fugly."

"Did he really?" She looked at her husband in disapproval. "Looks like we're going to have a long talk at home."

"I think my friends love me." Obie continued, amused by the thought of love. "They try to bite me all the time. Will I ever go back to see them?"

"No," she said swiftly, then paused once she saw Obie's face. "I mean yes. We got to settle at home first."

Obie shrugged, satisfied by the answer. "Okay! I can't wait to tell them!"

"You're going to make new friends too." Osier added quickly. "They are going to be your best friends forever. You'll get some at the park-"

"The park!" She squealed. "Like in the books!"

"Yes," Michelle responded. "Just like in the books."

"There's a swing there too!?"

"I'll be there to push you." She laughed.

Obie closed her eyes and reached up, playfully. "High in the sky."

"You're going to love shopping more." Michelle enthused.

"Our credit cards won't," Osier mumbled.

Osier and Michelle began conversing about spending habits. They picked at each other's weaknesses and laughed at their insulting jokes.

Obie gave her attention to the outside. She placed her hand on the window, appreciating the warmth. Normally, Obie was touching a cold glass with white walls and men on the other side. Currently, she was lured in enchantment by the warm temperature, large trees, people laughing, people wearing different clothes, animals on leashes, big buildings, small buildings, and just everything. She thought being in a car for the first time was the most fun she had in her life, but she imagined there was more.

The car stopped at a red light.

Red light meant stop.

Yellow light meant slow down.

Green light meant go.

Osier taught her.

She wondered why there wasn't a pink light or blue light. She loved pink and blue!

"I told George the key was in the mailbox. He's going to set everything up before we get there." Michelle whispered to Osier, but pretended to focus out the window. "We can still back out, O. We don't have to do this."

"Yes. We do." He defended, lowly. "For her own good."

"It's dangerous."

"It'll work, Michelle." He caressed her face.

"Shock therapy is not for kids. I disapprove of it for ethical reasons even with my adult patients."

What's shock therapy?

"She has to forget." Osier assured.

"The brain naturally deletes old information to make room for new ones. We can just raise Obie and hope she'll forget." Michelle held onto his hand on the wheel.

"Not with her brain."

"I'm telling you, Osier. She's only six years old. Plus, one session is not going to fix her memories. Most of my patients heal and remember after a couple months. For it to be permanent, it has to be more than one session."

"It is what it is."

Michelle shook her head. "This isn't right."

"But what she can remember is more wrong. I promise Michelle she'll be fine."

"You don't know that." She shook her head. "Not one bit."

"If you love her, you'll do this."

Obie opened her eyes.

Hell sure was bright.

Unless, she wasn't in hell.

Then, this was just...

"Déjà vu..." she whispered.

Waking up in a foreign area without a clue about what's going on seemed to be a repetitive characteristic defining Obie's life.

She was lying on her back, face bared to the sun's light and body soaked. From an outer perspective, Obie probably looked insane. Her clothes clung onto her brown skin, but appeared ragged and torn in techniques a designer would find evolutionary. Within the tears, the rocks picked at her back and twisted against her skin. Her hair drenched, but then flattened at the back where she laid down.

She sat up, expecting a dizziness to ruin her balance and clear vision.

Obie had to relax for a moment to gather herself and her surroundings. She spotted a dead mutant with its body burst and brain ripped out of its skill. "What the fuck happened?"

Last she remembered, Obie was at her house. She and Burrito decided to go on a venture to get some food. She was about to go through a shortcut when a mysterious man came to give an address for food. Like a starved idiot, Obie followed his direction.

In order, Obie was attacked, kidnapped, tied up, interrogated, and then kidnapped again by traitors of the same group. She recalled screaming so loudly that it awakened the vampire community to swarm the market, so she can find an escape route. She was dangerously close to finding her escape route through death, however Military man aka Logan and Sam led her to the roof.

Shit got real from there.

She remembered the mutant killing Sam.

Poor Sam.

She remembered the vampires crowding the roof, while Logan was going crazy.

She remembered her parents grabbing her and drank loads out of her until she was damn near dead.

She remembered Logan saving her last minute, then ordered her to wear his jacket-

Obie quickly looked at herself.

-and telling her to contact a man named Cian.

She remembered Logan sacrificing-

"Logan!" She exclaimed in realization.

Obie looked far beside her to find Logan laying limply.

She scurried over, finding her leg was no longer a problem.

Obie lowered to Logan's body.

She gulped.

He looked dead. He had vampire bites throughout his skin. There were too many to recognize the bites in pairs that the holes seemed exceedingly random. The tiny pits were nearly invisible as the stains and constant flow of blood acceded their presence. The part of the body untouched was startlingly his face. Little splats of dirt and gore lined with tear streaks decorated the tan skin of his still face.

Obie pressed her finger on his neck, chasing the pulse on his carotid artery. She held on for a couple seconds after feeling no response.

...

Miracle.

He had a pulse. Marginally low. She didn't expect his pulse to be this steady.

Not after what she saw.

She flinched as his screams circled in and out her ears like he was being tortured again.

Tearing her shirt, she wrapped the fabric around his bleeding arm.

He should be dead.

There was too many feeding on him.

But...they didn't take much.

As much as Obie was tempted to add this oddity to the list of weird shit, she was too consumed with guilt, which was overcoated with an incomprehension about his actions. Logan, literally, sacrificed his life to distract the vampires from Obie as she attempted to escape. They weren't interested in Logan whatsoever until he slit his own wrist. She really did try to escape under the moving clouds that either shaded or enlightened her.

Though, she failed.

She certainly didn't remember crawling over the building.

She certainly remembered the mutant finishing off with Sam and looked to her as if she was the new target.

That's where it ended.

Obie tapped her chin.

How was she alive?

Her body worked painlessly as if she wasn't beaten, shot, and drained. Obie felt strong. She felt better than usual. She felt like she had a goodnight sleep. Oddly enough, she felt...full.

Full? Obie repeated in her head. "Full!"

Rapidly, Obie touched her neck.

No holes.

She touched her leg for the gunshot wound.

No injury.

This was impossible. How did she?-

Great

Why did she have to ask?

"Shit." Her hands cradled her face as she groaned in frustration. "Not again."

It was the vampire. If anything was to officially solidify the vampire followed her was this. Not the blood on her front door. Not Logan telling her his "group" was using her as bait to catch him. Not the weird stuff occurring with her actual body and state of mind. This was topping on the unwanted cake.

Obie had a hard time expressing one feeling. Anger, frustration, irritation, and sadness, engulfed Obie and fought for superior position. The battle caused Obie to shake till a possible eruption. Relief wasn't an option; the emotion was quickly defeated by Obie's rage that steamed over any other optimistic response.

She held her mouth, unsure if she wanted to belch or cry.

Why the fuck was this happening to her?

She got kidnapped twice.

She was beaten up by some vampires.

She was drained by her parents.

Some guy she doesn't know wanted to sacrifice himself because her father's name was tangled in some conspiracy.

She almost died, again!

Then, she was saved by the vampire, because he put his blood inside of her.

Something was happening to Obie, because of the blood. She knew it in heart, though she seemed normal. She could feel the changing happening inside from the random nausea to the chilling sensations.

Now, the vampire made it worse.

"Fuck!" Obie exploded, throwing her fist against the border.

Abruptly, the cement shattered against her hand in tiny particles and chunks of rigidity.

Obie looked at her bleeding knuckles and the large hole she created. Obie's voice turned into a whimper. "Fuck..."

Definitely made it worse.