Cassie walked along her neighborhood street with a small group of her friends, chatting about the movie they just watched.


"Oh my gosh," gushed her best friend, Anna. "If I had been that girl, no way would I be concentrating on the zombie, not when I was in Tyler Carry's arms!" All four of the girls sighed in unision.


"We are so pathetic," said Cassie, laughing.


"Just cuz you're so practical, Cass, doesn't mean we all have to be!" said Kate. They all started laughing again, including Cassie. She loved her friends dearly, even if they were a little materialistic. As she giggled and talked with her friends, she got the strangest sensation that someone was watching her. She turned around to look behind her, but no one was there. Shurgging off the feeling, she said goodbye to her friends as she walked up the road to her house by herself.


Again, the strange feeling of someone following her continued. She turned around again. Her eyes widened in fear as she started to back away. In the bushes, a pair of big, green eyes stared back at her. She felt a strangled scream tear out of her throat as she turned around and started to run.


She heard footsteps behind her, signaling that her attacked was following. She knew she couldn't run very fast, hadn't her gym teacher told her that enough times? Was that a bump in the road, there? It was too late. She fell, face first on the hard road. She turned around, facing her attacker. His face nearly glowed in the dark it was so pale. His eyes were pure black, as were his teeth. He reached a long fingered, white hand down and yanked Cassie up by her hair.


He pulled out a knife. Cassie screamed.

"If you are quiet," he whispered in her ear, "you will live...for now."

Cassie gulped. His breath reeked of death. She hurried with him to minimize the tugging on her long blonde hair. She was mentally writing a death note to her parents.

"Dear mom and dad, sorry I didn't come home after the movie last night, I was abducted by a creepy guy who smells like death. Other than that, the movie was really fun. Love, Cass." Lame.


He shoved her into the back seat of his car, a corvette. She noticed there was another man there, this one not much older than herself, with shaggy black hair and black eyes.


"If you so much as make a noise, trust me, I will kill you," said the younger one.


Cassie nodded meekly in the backseat. She watched as he closed the door and locked it. What she was most surprised by was that he didn't get into the car. Instead, he stood outside and waited. This puzzled her until she noticed the strange smell in the air. He's gassing me! Panicked, she tried to open the door, but the younger man outside pulled his knife out of his pocket, just enough so she could see it. The pale man smiled. Within moments, Cassie no longer knew what was going on. There was a strange buzzing in her ears and then all was quiet and still.


Cassie groaned and turned over in a bed. She sat up, thinking that she was in her own house, until she saw the two faces above her. She scrambled backwards, only to hit the back of a couch.


The first face was the one from last night, the pale death man. The second was a woman, perhaps in her thirties, with frizzy red hair. Her face was read from the heat, which Cassie noticed all of a sudden.


"Where...where am I?"


"Ochnid, shut her up."


The man came over and hit her head with the back of his hand. Cassie cried out and fell back onto the couch. The woman with frizzy hair went over to the corner where Cassie noticed a black cauldron. She assumed this was where all the heat was coming from.


"Ochnid, tell the pretty girl why she's here," ordered the woman, who began stirring the pot.


Ochnid nodded and leered unpleasantly at Cassie. "Mistress here needs you for her potion. Don't say a word unless you woud prefer to be killed now."


Cassie swallowed hard. These weren't just kidnappers she was dealing with, they were murderers!


Ochnid continued. "You probably don't want to know how we will kill you, let's just say that it won't be pleasant."


"That will do, Ochnid. No need to get carried away."


Ochnid nodded and stepped away from Cassie.


"But, please why-" She was cut off as Ochnid hit her again. A boy, the same boy from last night walked in through a door just as Ochnid hit her.


"Mother!" he shouted angrily. "I thought we agreed that we wouldn't harm her."


"Alex, dearest, we can't not harm her and kill her. It's not possible."


"We agreed that it wouldn't be long or drawn out. Ochnid would snap her neck quickly. We agreed."


Cassie shrunk farther into the couch. Ochnid cast a wicked grin over his shoulder.


"Bring her up to the spare bedroom, at least," said Alex. "The potion won't be ready for a few days. I'll take care of her, do not let Ochnid anywhere near her."


The woman sighed. "Alright, if that's really what you want, Alex, dear. Just remember what happened with the last one."


Alex stiffened, but nodded and he walked over to the couch where Cassie was. "Come on," he said roughly.


Cassie got up and followed him up the stairs. He was taller, at least a foot taller than her, and his hair was jet black.


"May I...my I ask you a question?" She flinched, expecting him to hit her.


"Go ahead." Although his words weren't harsh, his tone was gruff and rather uncaring.


"Why...why do you need me?"


Alex turned so suddenly, she back down the stairs and would have fallen if he hadn't grabbed her arm. "I can't tell you here," he said shortly after making sure she had her footing again.


He led her into her room. It was dark and dingy, but it at least had a real bed with some warm looking blankets.


Alex sat down on the bed. "My mother, as you may have figured out, is a witch."


Cassie raised her eyebrows, but wasn't brave enough to say what was on her mind.


"Every year, at the sixth full moon, my mother needs a young girl's blood in her potion. If she does not get this, well..." Alex shuddered. "It would not be good."


"Would she die? Is that what this is all about?" She was scared, but not scared enough to let this pass. How could anyone in good concense do this? "Are innocent people killed every year, people who had parents, sisters, friends, boyfriends, just so your mother won't die?"


Alex's face was masked in fury. Cassie backed up against the wall. Even with all of her brave talk, he scared her. "What do you think I am? A monster?" Cassie decided not to respond. "I do this because I have to. If mother does not get what she needs, she will reign terror down on the world. She loses her mind. Kills everyone in sight. That is why I do this, Cassandra. That is why."


"Why not just kill your mother?"


"Cassandra, is any stranger's life, once a year, more important than your own mother? Could you kill her in cold blood?"


"I...I don't know. But I know that I could not do what you're doing."


Alex walked out and slammed the door behind him. Cassie wondered how he knew her name.


The next day, Alex came in with a small bowl of soup, but didn't talk to her. He left as soon as it was safely in her hands. The same happened for the next two days, until Alex walked in, pale faced.


"Come with me," he said shortly.


Cassie pulled away. "Alex..."


"There's nothing I can do, Cassandra. I apologize that it has to be this way." He grabbed her arm and began to drag her out of the room.


"Just give me your knife," she pleaded. "I can-"


"I'm not going to let you kill my mother. Besides, Ochnid will be taking care of you outside."


"Alex!"


He shoved her towards the huge man, who grabbed her easily and picked her up.


"Alex! Alex, please!"


"Shut up, girl. You don't know who you're dealing with. This potion is for him, you know."


"What?" She turned around to look at him. His eyes looked sad.


"He'll go crazy if he doesn't have the potion every year on the sixth full moon. He'll kill everyone in sight."


Cassie tried to pretend she didn't hear him. She thought she had trusted him.


"Wait!"


Ochnid turned around, setting Cassie down. Alex held his knife in his right hand.


"You were right, Cassandra. It's not right that one person should live while others die. I wish it didn't have to be this way. I would have liked to spend more time with you." His hand was shaking slightly as he pressed the blade against his chest. "Ochnid, tell mother. Make sure she never does anything like this again. Let Cassandra go."


Ochnid's mouth dropped open. Cassie wanted to look away, but couldn't. She wanted to tell Alex that there must be another way, there could be something...but she couldn't. Alex closed his eyes for a moment before opening them quickly. In a single moment, they turned from black to a pale blue. He smiled at Cassie and mouthed goodbye. He plunged the knife into his chest. Cassie screamed. Ochnid yelled something incomprehensible. The redheaded woman rushed into the room. Her eyes went wide and her mouth opened and closed for a few minutes.


"Alex! Alex, no, no, no! Not my son, my baby son." Her tear streaked eyes lifted to Cassie and Ochnid. "Who did this?"


"Alexander did it himself. Said something about her-" he jerked his thumb at Cassie, "-was right, that many shouldn't die for one, or something. He wanted you to never do anything like this again, and he wanted us to let her go."


"If those were his wishes..." said the woman, but she soon began to sob again. She gestured for Ochnid and Cassie to leave.


"I'll take you back home," said Ochnid.


"No, thanks, I'd rather walk."


"It's a long way, and you'll have to be blindfolded, we can't have you reporting us to the police."


Silently, Cassie agreed, and Ochnid tied a strip of cloth around her eyes and drove her home, right to the place where she had been taken. She walked up the road to her house, and opened the door. She saw her mom, sitting on a chair, crying, her dad beside her.


Her mother looked up. "Cassie!"