A New Breed Unleashed
by Greg & Shelly

Chapter 1


The night sky was overcast with billowing gray clouds as the dark haired vampire stalked her prey. She licked her ruby red lips as she watched the newest ECW vixen arguing with her in ring partner. The vampire smiled as she took in the sight of the newest vixen; her curvaceous form was much like her own with dirty blonde hair that fell to the middle of her back. She wore it in loose curls down her back, streaked with red and black. Her denim jacket covered a black shirt that was cut into a halter top with a rhinestone gun on it. She wore jeans with the knees ripped out and a pair of black combat boots.

"Alicia," the vampire purred. "You will make an excellent addition for the master."

The newest Extremist was of less interest at the moment, though she did examine him for future prey. His shoulder length black hair blew in the light breeze as he continued the argument to the parking lot. His oversized leather jacket hid his muscular form, though the huntress knew perfectly well how chiseled his body really was from watching him in the ring. His baggy jeans revealed bits of flesh through the tears in the knees and his T-shirt clung to his form, revealing a glimpse of the abs that hid beneath the material.

"Not ready for you just yet, Johnny," the vampire said smiling. "But soon." She strained her ears to hear exactly what the newest stars were arguing about.

"I’m telling you, you should have let me do that moonsault to CM Punk and you would have won," Alicia yelled.

"I don’t need a woman to help me win a match," Johnny yelled.

"Obviously you couldn’t win on your own tonight," Alicia retorted. "As I recall you tapped in 2.4 seconds once he slapped on that Anaconda Vice Grip."

"It’s called a submission hold for a reason," Johnny retorted.

"Whatever," Alicia sighed as she rummaged through her purse for her keys. "I can’t believe Paul stuck me with such a loser."

"What was that," Johnny demanded.

"Nothing," she replied. "See you in the next town."

"Whatever," Johnny said. "Just make sure you’re on time this time."

"Yes, master," Alicia said sarcastically as Johnny stalked toward his car. "What a loser," she muttered as she finally found her keys.

The huntress was joined by her sisters. "Is that the one the master wants, Ariel," Trinity asked, her thick New York accent unmistakable.

"Yes," Ariel purred.

"She’ll make a lovely addition to our family," Francine said smiling, her fangs glinting in the moonlight.

"Wait here," Ariel said. "Master wants me to do this one alone." Francine and Trinity nodded as they watched Ariel head down to Alicia’s car.

Alicia had just started up her car and was letting it warm up as she applied some fresh lip gloss. She was fiddling with the radio as Ariel silently slipped into the back seat, licking her lips. "Hello, Alicia," she said.

Alicia jumped a mile, yelping in fright. "Jesus! Ariel," she said, her heart practically pounding in her chest. "You scared the shit out of me!"

"You seem tense," Ariel said reaching forward and massaging the younger woman’s shoulders. "You really need to relax. I saw you arguing with Johnny. I thought I’d come try to cheer you up."

"You have a funny way of cheering people up, girl," Aicia replied. Ariel smiled, revealing her white fangs. "Nice. I see you’re taking your gimmick home with you."

"Let’s just say, it’s very near and dear to my heart," Ariel replied with a chuckle. "What would you say if I told you that I could make you stronger and faster than you already are?"

"I’d say where can I sign up," Alicia replied with a chuckle.

Ariel leaned forward so that her mouth was by Alicia’s ear. "I was hoping you’d say that," she purred, as she sunk her teeth into the delicate flesh of Alicia’s neck.

Alicia cried out in pain as she felt the pin pricks of teeth penetrating her skin. She squeezed her eyes shut feeling Ariel draining her blood. Her head began to spin as she felt the life draining from her body.

"Ariel," she whimpered as the vampire let her slump down to the passenger seat. "What….what have you done to me?"

"You said you wanted to become faster and stronger," Ariel replied wiping away the blood from her chin.

"You…killed me," Alicia whimpered, she could barely feel her heart beating.

"What you feel is your mortal life slipping away, but soon…soon you’ll feel your true life beginning," Ariel replied with a mirthless laugh.

Alicia’s eyes opened, her vision blurred. She could just make out Ariel’s face hovering just above hers. Her head began to throb as she felt the life slipping from her body. She closed her eyes as the world slipped into darkness.

Francine and Trinity joined Ariel at the car. "Help me get her back to the master," Ariel said. The two vampires nodded and pulled the young woman from the car.

Chapter 2

When Alicia awoke she was in a large four poster bed. The gauzy crimson canopy draped around all four corners and hung down, creating a sort of tent-like bed. It gently swayed in the breeze from the open window. The bedding was a sensuous black satin with a deep crimson velvet comforter.

Pushing aside the covers Alicia realized that she no longer wore her jeans, halter top and boots. Instead she was clad in a white gown that was practically transparent in the moonlight that illuminated the room. Feeling like she was being watched she scanned the room, but could find no one to account for the presence she felt.

Alicia made her way over to the full length mirror that stood in the corner. She almost didn’t recognize herself. Her skin was now porcelain pale, her lips full and rosy. Her violet eyes seemed darker and more amethyst in shade now. She bit her lip nervously and winced as he tasted her own blood. Bringing a pale hand to her mouth she realized she now had fangs.

"What did Ariel do to me," she muttered, running her fingers over the now healed puncture wounds in her neck.

"Ariel has given you immortality," came a familiar male voice from the shadows.

Alicia jumped, spinning around toward the sound of the voice. "Who are you? Show yourself," she demanded, feeling much to vulnerable in the unfamiliar surroundings.

There was a sound of a match striking flint and then a small flame illuminated the corner the voice had come from. The man lit the candles sitting on the table beside him, the flames barely lighting his face. He smiled at her, fangs glinting in the flame’s glow.

"Thorn," she gasped. "Where am I?"

Thorn moved toward her, closing the distance in a matter of seconds. "This, my child, is your new home." He turned her around to face the mirror. "Ariel was right about your beauty. I’ve never seen your equal." He ran his hands up and down her arms before they traveled up her form to her face. "You have the face of an angel," he purred in her ear. "You will become my greatest huntress. You’ll lure them in with your angelic face and they will never know what happened until it’s too late." He chuckled.

Alicia closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of his warm breath on her neck. "Why did she choose me," she asked, her voice barely audible.

Thorn chuckled. "Ariel didn’t choose you," he said, his lips close to her ear. In a flash he spun her around to face him, grasping her arms. "I chose you. That's all you need to know."

The door opened and Francine entered carrying a pile of clothes. "Good evening, master," she said doing a small curtsey.

"Ah, Francine," Thorn said smiling. "Good evening to you as well." He took one of her slender hands and placed a kiss on the back of it. He then turned his attention back to his newest vampire. "Alicia, I think you will find this outfit to your liking. Dress and we shall start your hunting lesson. Do not be long. We only have two hours until sunrise." Francine placed the clothes on the bed and left with Thorn.

Alicia strode over to the bed holding up the clothing to get a better look at it. Thorn had left her with a pair of form fitting black pants. The top was corset-like and made of black and red leather, which laced up the front. Her combat boots had been replaced by stiletto heeled black knee boots. She found a hair brush on a vanity and pulled her long waves into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. Giving herself the once over in the mirror she smiled, liking what she was seeing. Satisfied that Thorn would be pleased with her appearance she headed out of the room and down the stairs where her new family was waiting for her.

"You look delicious," Thorn said smiling, offering her the crook of his arm as he led them out of the mansion. Alicia noted that all the women wore similar outfits to hers.

"Who’s home is this," Alicia asked as they strolled down the drive and onto the street. The women giggled and Thorn chuckled.

"You are a curious one, aren’t you," he said still chuckling. "The only thing you’ll ever need to worry about as long as you’re with us is that you have a roof over your head and a warm bed to sleep in when the sun rises."

That night Thorn and his huntresses taught Alicia the finer points of hunting. All were pleased to see that she was a quick study. They returned to the mansion shortly before sunrise, their blood lust satiated for the night. Drawing the drapes in all of the rooms they settled in to rest until the sunset.

Shortly after the sun rose Johnny picked up Tommy Dreamer and Sandman to give them a lift to the airport. The three men rode in silence, none of them awake enough to say anything. It wasn’t until they drove past the arena parking lot that Tommy spoke.

"Johnny, isn’t that Alicia’s car," he asked. Johnny slowed the car and looked.

"I think it is," Sandman said squinting to get a better look. "Looks like the driver’s side door is open."

"We better check it out," Johnny said with a sigh, wondering what his in ring partner had gotten herself into. He pulled the car into the mostly empty lot, pulling up right next to Alicia’s abandoned car. Tommy was the first out of the car. He stood staring into the driver’s side, frowning.

"What is it, Tommy," Sandman asked.

"Blood," he replied pointing to the now dried puddle on the passenger seat. Sandman and Johnny joined him. "Did you speak to her at all after you left here, John?"

"No," Johnny replied. "I went straight to bed when I got to the hotel. I was beat." He kicked the driver’s side door and groaned. "We had an argument after the show and I stormed off. I should have stayed with her."

"Try calling her," Sandman suggested. "Maybe she cut herself and someone drove her to the hospital or something." He glanced at the stain on the passenger seat knowing that he didn’t believe his own words. There was too much blood for it to have been a minor injury.

Johnny pulled out his cell and dialed Alicia’s number. He frowned and closed the phone. "Voicemail," he said to the older men.

"We don’t have to be in the next town until later," Tommy said. "Why don’t we change flights and see if she turns up."

"Sounds like a plan," Sandman said pulling out his cell and making the arrangements.

"I hope nothing happened to her," Johnny said as they got back into his car and headed back to the hotel. "I’ll never forgive myself, not when I could have prevented it."

Tommy reached out and gave the younger man’s shoulder a squeeze. "We’ll find her," he said, though he really wasn’t sure they would.

Chapter 3

At dusk Ariel escorted Alicia back to the hotel to collect her things before moving on to the next town. She was just putting her clothes into her suitcase when the door to the adjoining room opened. Johnny and Tommy entered the room, looking her over for any sign of injury.

"Alicia," Johnny said when she didn’t look up from her task at hand. "Are you all right?"

"Peachy," she replied gathering her cosmetic bag from the dresser and placing it in her suitcase.

"We saw the blood on the passenger seat of your car," Tommy said, glancing at Johnny and exchanging worried looks. "Are you sure you’re ok?

Alicia sighed. "The blood was from a wounded dog I found in the parking lot last night," she replied. "I really don’t want to talk about it, guys."

"You found a wounded dog," Johnny asked, not believing her.

"That’s what I said," she replied turning around to glare at them. "I really don’t appreciate the third degree. I spent a horrible night and if it wasn’t for Ariel I don’t know how I would have gotten through most of the day." Just then Ariel exited the bathroom causing both men to jump.

"Are you all right, sweetie," Ariel asked going to Alicia and pulling her into an embrace. Alicia buried her face in Ariel’s shoulder, sobbing.

Ariel turned her attention to Johnny and Tommy, glaring at them. "You should be ashamed of yourselves. She spent all last night in the animal clinic with that poor dog." Alicia sobbed louder. "Some careless jerk ran the poor thing over and left it to die. Alicia out of the kindness of her heart rushed the poor beast to the hospital where it fought for dear life before losing the battle at sunrise."

Ariel cooed something to Alicia, stroking her hair. "She was so broken up about it and then she has to come here to have you two grill her like a common criminal?"

"I was just wondering where she was," Johnny said defensively.

"We found her car in the parking lot," Tommy said. "There was blood in it. We were worried."

"She’s fine," Ariel said. "Now if you’ll excuse us. We have a flight to catch." Ariel closed Alicia’s suitcase, picking it up and escorting the distraught woman out of the room. The two men were left watching the women, thoroughly confused.

"Laid it on a bit thick, don’t you think," Alicia said once they were on the elevator.

"They bought it, didn’t they," Ariel replied. "You’re the one that came up with the dog story."

"Whatever," Alicia replied, leaning against the back wall of the elevator.

Sandman poked his head into the room, spotting Tommy and Johnny. "Did you find Alicia yet," he asked.

"She picked up her stuff and left," Johnny replied.

"With Ariel," Tommy added.

"That hot vampire chick," Sandman asked. "I didn’t know she was friends with her."

"She is now," Johnny replied with a shrug.

"Something just doesn’t make sense about the whole dog story," Tommy said leading the way back into Johnny’s room. He filled Sandman in on what Ariel and Alicia had told them.

"John, did you see any dog when you were leaving," Sandman asked.

"No, but who knows where she could have found it," Johnny replied.

"We should check all the animal hospitals nearby and see if any wounded dogs were brought in," Tommy suggested.

"We don’t know what kind of dog she brought in," Johnny replied.

"That doesn’t matter," Sandman replied. "Just describe Alicia or Ariel. Someone is bound to remember them."

Tommy glanced at his watch and sighed. "We better get to the airport. Our flight leaves soon. We’ll do it when we get to the next town." The other men nodded and followed Tommy out of the room to the car.

Chapter 4

"Thanks," Alicia to the make up and hair woman as she looked over herself in the mirror. Half of her long dirty blonde hair was pulled up, her bangs and shorter strands framing her face. It fell in cascading curls down her back, the red and black streaks untouched. "You did a divine job." She smiled at the woman, who returned the smile.

"Are you done yet," came an impatient voice from the doorway. Alicia practically bristled at the irritating sound. She turned her gaze to the door and saw ECW’s resident exhibitionist, Kelly Kelly.

"Of course," Alicia said, sickeningly sweetly. "She’s all yours." She stood and headed to the door. "Lord knows you need it," she muttered under her breath as she left the room. Kelly looked at her puzzled, sure she heard her say something, but couldn’t figure out what it was. With a shrug she sat down in the chair to get her hair and make up done.

Alicia stormed down the hall, the stiletto heeled black knee boots clicking away. "Looking good," Shannon Moore commented as she passed him. He took in the tiny black skirt, fishnet stockings and crimson halter top, appreciatively. The material hugged every curve perfectly. Alicia stopped in her tracks, smirking at him, and sauntered over to him.

"Why thank you, Shannon," she purred, getting closer to him with every word. She reached out and touched his bicep. "I love a man with ink," she said, a flirtatious smile curling her blood red lips. Her fingers traced his many tattoos.

"Why would you want a poser reject like him," CM Punk, who had heard their conversation, said. "I have plenty of ink." He flexed his bicep for her, a smirk curling his lips. Alicia groaned inwardly and rolled her eyes, making sure Shannon saw. He stifled a chuckle, interested to see what she would do.

"You know, Punk," she said sauntering over to where the dark haired man stood, already in his gear. She pressed her body close to his and brought her lips close to his ear, causing his smirk to turn to a full smile. Her hands traced the tattoos on his stomach then trailed down to the waistband of his tights. "My name isn’t Kelly Kelly and I am not impressed by anything that you have to offer," she said. His smile fell. "As far as I’m concerned, you’re the poser." She looked down at his tights, a vicious smile curling her lips. "You might want to take care of that before your match," she said pointing to the bulge before walking away, laughing wickedly.

Shannon erupted into laughter seeing the problem Alicia had left Punk with. "Shut the fuck up," he growled at Shannon before stalking off.

Alicia made her way over to where Thorn and Ariel stood in the shadows. She immediately went to his side and glared back at CM Punk as he stormed away from Shannon. "Was he bothering you, my pet," Thorn asked her.

"I can handle myself," Alicia replied confidently.

"I told you she was a strong one," Ariel purred, a proud smile on her crimson lips.

"Yes," Thorn said caressing her cheek. "You were right, as usual, Ariel." He pulled her face to his and placed a soft kiss on her lips. His attention turned back to Alicia, who was still staring at Shannon. "Forget about him, Alicia. You’re with us now. You need not worry about stupid mortals." He slipped an arm around Ariel’s waist. "Come." With that he led Ariel away. Alicia stayed behind a moment longer staring at Shannon. "Alicia, come," Thorn called. With a sigh she followed him.

As she lagged behind she heard the familiar voice that brought to mind nails on a chalk board for her. "I told you I wasn’t, Mike," Kelly said with a huff. "I will behave. Jesus! You’re my boyfriend not my father!" With that she flipped the phone closed, hanging up on her overbearing boyfriend.

Smirking, Alicia walked over to the petite blonde and placed a hand on her shoulder. Kelly jumped and spun around. "Oh, it’s you, Alicia," she said relieved. "I didn’t know anyone else was here."

"I can be quiet as a mouse when I want to be," Alicia said softly, smiling at the younger woman. "Problems with Mike?"

"Yeah," Kelly replied with a sigh. "He thinks just ‘cause he’s older than me he can act like my father instead of my boyfriend." Kelly’s eyes began to water. "I don’t know how much more I can take." She buried her face in her hands and began to sob.

Gagging in her mind, Alicia pulled the younger woman into an embrace. "There, there," she cooed, rubbing the blonde’s back. "It’ll be all right. Men can be so stupid sometimes." With every sob Alicia could hear the blood pumping through Kelly’s veins. Her mouth began to water at the prospect of feeding and she smirked wickedly. "You know a woman would know exactly what you need," she whispered in the blonde’s ear.

Kelly pulled away from Alicia and looked up at her, shocked, but intrigued at the same time. "I’ve never been with a woman before," Kelly replied.

"There’s a first time for everything," Alicia said cupping her face. She lowered her lips to Kelly’s, capturing them in a fiery kiss. The blonde groaned as Alicia’s tongue twined with hers. Alicia smiled to herself as she felt the younger woman become like putty in her hands. Her lips placed feathery kisses down to Kelly’s neck, nipping at the tender flesh.

"Alicia," Kelly gasped at the sensation. Before the blonde could change her mind about what they were doing Alicia sunk her teeth into her neck, lapping at the blood as it trickled out. "Alicia," Kelly groaned, trying to pull away. Alicia held her tightly, the need to feed giving her added strength.

Within moments Kelly’s body went limp in her arms. Alicia tossed the limp body away, wiping away the blood that had trickled down her chin. "I guess ECW needs a new exhibitionist now, Kelly," she said with a wicked laugh.

Clapping from the doorway startled her and she spun to see Thorn and Ariel smiling proudly at her. "Bravo, my dear," Thorn said admiring Alicia’s handy work.

"I am so proud of you, Alicia," Ariel said sauntering over to her and pulling the young vampire to her. "I knew you would be perfect when I saw you," she said, her lips inches from Alicia’s ear. Ariel placed a soft kiss on Alicia’s lips, wrapping her arms around her and leading her out of the locker room.

Chapter 5

"Listen, lady, I know you’re not running a friggin’ dating service," Sandman said, trying without much success to control his temper. "I just want to know if my friend brought a damn dyin’ dog into your clinic." He listened as the woman on the other end spoke to him, his free hand clenching and unclenching. "I don’t know what kind of fuckin’ dog it was. Jesus Christ, woman! Why is it like pulling fuckin’ teeth to get any information out of you?" He paused a moment and then looked at the display on his cell phone. "Bitch hung up on me!"

"Ever hear the phrase you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar," Johnny asked with a chuckle.

"What the fuck do I want to catch flies for," Sandman asked, tossing his phone away. "We’ve called just about every animal clinic in that damn city. I think Alicia was lying about the dog."

"What gave you the first clue," Johnny asked, tossing the phone book onto the empty bed. "Something is going on with Alicia, but she’ll never tell us what it is."

"Did you notice anything strange about her," Sandman asked, thinking about what Alicia had looked like when he last saw her. "She was so pale, I mean, like deathly pale."

"You think the blood was hers," Johnny asked, suspecting the same thing. Sandman nodded, thoughtfully. "So do I," Johnny said, glancing at the clock on the night stand. "At any rate, we need to find Tommy and head to the arena." Sandman nodded, grabbing his bag and following Johnny out of the room.

They found Tommy at the end of the hall on the phone. "Thank you," he said, closing his phone and turning to his friends. "Any luck?"

"No," Johnny replied. "How about you?"

"Nothing," Tommy said frowning. "I was just checking one last place before I came to get you guys." He slung his bag over his shoulder and led the way to the elevator.

~*~

"Hey Punk," Shannon said as he taped up, preparing for his match. "Need a hand with anything?"

"Why, Shannon, I didn’t know you thought of me like that," Punk replied with a smirk.

Shannon’s smirk fell and he glared at his opponent. "fuck you," he grumbled, slamming his locker shut.

"You’d want to, wouldn’t you," Punk said laughing on his way out of the locker room.

Shannon punched the locker, cursing under his breath. "Tsk, tsk," came Alicia’s voice from the locker room door. Shannon spun around to see her leaning against the door jamb. "Poor Shannon." She sauntered over to where he stood, a devilish smile curling her lips.

"Wh-what are you doing in here," Shannon replied as she took a seat on the bench and crossed her legs.

"I couldn’t help overhearing what Punk just said to you," she replied staring up at him, the smile still curling her lips.

"Great," Shannon sighed, running a hand through his hair as he slumped against the locker door. "I suppose you think I’m an idiot now or something."

"Not at all," Alicia replied, standing. Shannon scoffed and turned away from her. Reaching out she began to massage his shoulders. "Shannon, how would you like to be stronger and faster than you already are?"

Shannon faced her, searching her amethyst eyes for any sign that she was joking. "How would you do that," he asked, skeptical.

"Just close your eyes," she whispered in his ear. He did as he was told and she moved his head aside, revealing his throbbing jugular. Running her tongue over her lips she bared her fangs, sinking them into his delicate flesh.

He groaned in pain. "Alicia," he gasped, realizing what she was doing. "What are you…." His voice trailed off as he felt the life draining out of his body.

As he became limp in her arms she sank to her knees, cradling him in her lap. "Rest now, Shannon," she said softly. "When you awake you will be a new man."

She sat with him resting in her lap, stroking his hair. Ariel entered the locker room, gasping at the sight and rushing out to find Thorn. When she returned with him Thorn was livid.

Yanking Alicia up by her hair he glared at her. "What do you think you’re doing," he demanded.

"Whatever I want to do," Alicia replied. Thorn’s eyes raged blood red as he glared at her and slapped her across the face hard enough to make her stumble and fall.

"You are too young to sire another," Thorn yelled.

Ariel helped Alicia up, but the younger vampire swatted her away. "You said that I was a quick learner," Alicia replied, holding her sore cheek.

Thorn raised his hand to slap her again, but Ariel stepped between them. "Master! No," she said. "We need her. So, she sired someone. We all will eventually."

Thorn growled and punched a locker. "Francine and Trinity haven’t sired anyone yet," he growled. "They were next in line and she just skipped right over them."

"So," Alicia replied. "I’ve never been one to wait my turn."

"You’re about ten seconds from a good ass kicking if you don’t shut up, little girl," Thorn replied.

"You’ll have to go through me first," Shannon said, having woken up during the argument. He stood between Thorn and Alicia.

"This isn’t over," Thorn growled at Alicia, grabbing Ariel and leading her out of the locker room.

Alicia wrapped her arms around Shannon’s waist and kissed him softly on the lips. "Thanks for sticking up for me," she said smiling.

"Anything for the one who gave me a new life," Shannon replied, smiling wickedly.

They could hear CM Punk’s music begin to blast. "You better finish getting ready," Alicia said. "Your match with Punk is next." She leaned in closer to his ear and whispered, "After you destroy him, we’ll celebrate your victory." Shannon’s smiled widened as he watched her leave the locker room.

Chapter 6

Tommy walked along the hall, heading toward the table in catering where the bottles of water were kept. His mind was too preoccupied with what was going on with Alicia to notice his surroundings. He worried about the young Vixen and didn't understand her change in demeanor. She seemed cold and distant the last time he spoke to her and that just wasn't the woman he had gotten to know over the course of the past several months.

As he neared the table he tripped over something on the ground. "What the.." He bent down to see what he had tripped over and found a slender hand sticking out from under the table. Moving the table cloth aside he was shocked to find Kelly Kelly’s cold, dead eyes staring back at him. "Shit," he said jumping back.

"Hey Tommy," Sandman called, joining him. "You look like you’ve seen a ghost." Tommy pointed to the table, unable to speak. Sandman followed his finger to the hand poking out from under the table. "What the…" He moved aside the table cloth. "Holy shit, it’s that Kelly Kelly chick."

"I know," Tommy replied, finally finding his voice.

"Fuck! Is she dead," Sandman asked reaching out to touch her hand. It was cold and he jerked his hand back at the feel of it.

"Very definitely dead," Tommy replied, running a hand through his dark hair.

"Man! Now who’s gonna get naked for us," Sandman grumbled, reaching in his pocket for his cigarettes.

Tommy slapped him upside the head. "Is that all you can think of," he demanded. "She’s dead!"

"Who’s dead," Johnny asked joining them. Both men pointed under the table. Johnny followed their fingers to the pale, slender hand sticking out from under the table. "Who is that," he asked, moving aside the table cloth to reveal Kelly Kelly’s vacant, staring eyes. "Kelly?" He reached out to touch her face, his hand stopped just short as he noticed two puncture wounds in Kelly’s neck. "Guys, look at this."

Sandman and Tommy leaned in for a better view and saw the wounds. "Are those…bite marks," Tommy asked, not believing what he was seeing.

"I believe they are," Johnny replied. "The question is, who did it?"

"I have a damn good idea," Sandman replied. "Who are the resident vampires here in ECW?"

"It doesn’t make sense for Thorn or Ariel to do this. Besides, that’s just a gimmick," Tommy replied, shaking his head.

"Think about it," Sandman said, clearly annoyed that Tommy was not cooperating. "When Thorn got here he turned Ariel. She used to be like Alicia, now look at her. Then Francine changed, followed by Trinity. They all hang out in his locker room." He leaned in close to his friends. "Sometimes I hear chanting coming from that room. Ariel is a witch, you know. They could be performing rituals and shit," he whispered.

"That’s crazy," Tommy said rejecting the idea outright.

"Sandman raises a good point," Johnny said thoughtfully, his gaze wandering to the corpse under the table. "Alicia’s changed a lot and it came out of nowhere. What if Thorn and the others really are vampires? One of them had to have turned her."

"Hello?! We live in reality, guys. Not in some cheesy Dracula flick," Tommy said, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips.

"Tommy, have you ever seen a weapon that can leave marks like the ones on Kelly’s neck," Johnny asked. Tommy thought a moment, realizing that he had never. "I didn’t notice Alicia’s neck, but I’m sure she has scars that look almost identical to those."

"But why would they kill Kelly," Sandman asked, shaking his head.

"I think I know who did it and I can think of a reason why," Tommy replied, sighing and running a hand through his hair. Johnny and Sandman looked at him expectantly. "It was during those Kelly Kelly’s Expose things. I happened to catch Alicia watching it on one of the monitors. She looked so disgusted, guys." He took a seat, as did Johnny and Sandman. "I think I asked her something like ‘Think you can do a better job?’ and she glared at me a moment." Tommy paused looking from one man to the other. "I remember her words because they struck me as very harsh. She replied ‘That talentless bitch could die for all I care. She’s why women in wrestling are not taken seriously.’ Then she stalked off down the hall."

"She was always bitching about Kelly," Johnny said, remembering how much she disliked her fellow Vixen. "She really couldn’t stand her."

"But would she really kill her," Sandman asked, unable to believe that the woman he had become friends with would do such a thing.

"She’s not the same woman we remember," Tommy said, knowing exactly what Sandman was thinking. "She’s changed, remember? It’s just possible that this change enhanced those feelings to a level that would make her do this."

Johnny sighed, his gaze drifting back to the poor young dead woman under the table. "Guys, we should notify the authorities," he said. Tommy and Sandman agreed. "You guys go and I’ll make sure no one disturbs the body."

~*~

Alicia stood on the roof of the arena, watching as Kelly’s body was loaded into the back of the ambulance. "Good riddance," she muttered. The sound of heels clicking on the rooftop could be heard from behind her and she sighed, knowing that her sisters were joining her. "Did Thorn send you," she asked, turning her attention to Francine, Trinity and Ariel.

"He’s really livid," Ariel replied, frowning.

"He likes order," Trinity said. "Francine was next in line to sire someone of her choosing."

"Why does it matter," Alicia asked with a sigh.

"Because," Francine said placing her hands on Alicia’s shoulders. "Master wants only the best ones to be part of our family. The strongest ones."

Alicia swatted her hands away, turning her back on them. "Shannon is strong," she said softly.

"Alicia," Ariel said with a sigh, turning the younger woman around to face her. "This decision should not have been based on a physical attraction. That’s why the master is angry with you." She tucked a stray strand of Alicia’s hair behind her ear. "Can you honestly tell us that you didn’t choose Shannon because you’re attracted to him?" Alicia’s amethyst eyes trailed away from Ariel’s. "I didn’t think so. Come," she said slipping her arm around Alicia’s shoulder. "Perhaps an apology will quell his anger."

"What’ll happen to Shannon," Alicia replied.

"Most likely master will kill him," Francine replied. Trinity smacked her arm and glared at her seeing Alicia’s eyes widen in horror.

"Don’t you worry," Ariel said smiling. "I think I can convince master to let him live, but only if you agree to teach him everything we taught you about hunting and survival." Alicia relaxed and allowed the women to lead her back to Thorn.

Chapter 7

Ariel led Alicia to Thorn’s locker room and knocked lightly on the door. "Enter," came his reply from within. The four women entered the room, Trinity, Francine and Ariel all bowing before their master. He admired his loyal subjects appreciatively before his gaze fell on Alicia, who stood in the doorway. "Leave us," he said to the others, never taking his eyes from Alicia.

The three women rose and exited the room quickly, closing the door behind them. The women did not want to anger him by lingering longer than he wanted them to. Thorn motioned for Alicia to come to him. She obeyed, bowing at his feet like she had seen the others do. Thorn smirked, tucking a finger under her chin and gently making her rise.

"You have angered me, little one," he said, though his eyes did not convey this emotion. His gaze was neutral. "Your insolence was not appreciated."

"I’m sorry, master," she replied softly, averting her eyes.

Thorn smirked and turned to the monitor sitting across from the wooden bench in the locker room, where he had been seated before her arrival. "It would seem that you have improved him," he said pointing to the ring, where Shannon was dominating CM Punk for the first time. Alicia watched, unable to help the smirk that curled her lips as Shannon executed a perfect cross body and pinned Punk.

"Your instincts for this one were correct," Thorn said pulling her attention from the monitor. He closed the gap between them quickly and grasped her chin harshly, making her look him in the eyes. "If you ever dare to do something like this again I will make you regret the day you were sired," he said, his voice deadly serious. "Understood?"

"Yes," she replied, genuinely afraid for her life in that moment.

"Good," Thorn replied, releasing her. "No doubt you would like to greet your triumphant warrior?" She nodded. "Go on," he directed, dismissing her with the flick of his wrist.

Alicia quickly exited the locker room, not wanting to keep Shannon waiting longer than she had to. She found him as he was heading toward his locker room, a smile brightening her face. Seeing her heading his way Shannon’s face broke into a wide smile as he quickly closed the distance between them. He pulled her into his arms, placing a long, hard kiss on her lips.

"What do you think you’re doing, Moore," came Paul Heyman’s voice from behind them. Shannon sighed and rolled his eyes as he turned to face the irate man. "Were you unclear about the outcome of that match? Was is unclear to you what your task was when you stepped into that ring?"

Shannon took a few steps toward Heyman, his gaze deadly serious. "No, Paul, it wasn’t," he replied.

"Then what the hell were you thinking," Heyman demanded, not intimidated by Shannon’s glare.

"Improving things," Shannon replied. "Consider this a sign of things to come, Paul."

"Whatever," Heyman said with an exasperated sigh, as his walkie talkie began to squawk. "Next time talk to me before you take matters into your own hands." With that he stalked off to check out the newest problem.

Alicia and Shannon watched him before catching sight of an annoyed CM Punk stalking toward them. "What the f*ck was that out there, Shannon," he called. "The plan was that I was supposed to go over in that match."

"Obviously not," Alicia replied with a chuckle, wrapping herself around Shannon.

"No one said anything to you, you two bit whore," Punk replied, sneering at her.

"My, those are some sour grapes you’re sucking on Punk," she replied, not fazed by the name she had just been called. "What’s wrong? Can’t handle a little competition?"

"You better shut your b*tch up," Punk warned Shannon, who simply chuckled in response.

"Or what," Alicia replied, an amused grin curling her lips. "Shannon won and you lost, get over it. You’re not fit to carry Shannon’s jock strap, Punk."

"I’ll make you eat those damn words, slut," Punk said through gritted teeth.

"I’d like to see you try," she replied with a snicker. "But for now, Shannon and I have a little victory celebration to commence." With that she led Shannon away, leaving CM Punk seething, his eyes boring holes into their backs.

Checking to ensure that the locker room was deserted Shannon pulled Alicia in and locked the door behind them. That task accomplished he pushed her up against the wall, pressing his lips to hers. She groaned, parting her lips and deepening the kiss. Their hands exploring each other’s bodies as he trailed kisses down her neck to her breasts.

Alicia, amethyst eyes clouded over with desire, pushed him away gently. She took his hand, leading him into the showers. Eagerly he followed her, licking his lips hungrily.

Chapter 8

Once they had exhausted each other in the shower Alicia and Shannon dressed and left the arena. "What should we do now," Shannon asked, his eyes taking on a mischievous gleam as he pulled her to him. He loved that his senses were now heightened and adored the feel, touch and taste of his new lover.

"I need to teach you how to hunt," Alicia said with a sigh. "Thorn will not be pleased if you have to depend on me or the others to feed." Shannon nodded in understanding. "The hotel isn’t far from here," she said with a smile. "And the cool night air is just gorgeous. Let’s walk."

Shannon smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist and following her out of the parking lot. They inspected people they passed for possible prey, though no one seemed to satisfy Alicia. She was just about to give up the hunt for the night when she spotted someone seated inside a local strip club. Shannon too caught sight and looked to her expectantly.

"Your first lesson is about to start, lover," she whispered in his ear. "Pay close attention. You will not get a second chance at this tonight."

Taking Shannon’s hand in hers she led him inside the club and over to a table in the corner. "My, my," Alicia purred, smiling like the cat that ate the canary. "If it isn’t Mr. Straight Edge."

CM Punk tore his attention from the petite blonde gyrating in his lap and glared at Alicia through bleary eyes. "Piss off," he slurred.

"And he calls me a poser," Shannon chuckled. "Doesn’t drink, do drugs or smoke, my ass."

"Fuck you," Punk replied, glaring up at him. Growing tired of Punk’s attitude, Alicia shoved the blonde away and seated herself in his lap. She ran a finger across his chest, a wicked smile curling her blood red lips.

"Is that any way to talk to someone who can make this night go from terrible to fun," she asked.

Punk took in her black lace corset top with red lacing up the front, her black and red plaid school girl’s skirt that barely covered her ass, her fishnet encased thighs and her stiletto knee boots and smiled wide. He had fantasized about her in such an outfit, but never imagined he's ever see her in it. She was causing a problem in his pants that he desperately needed her to alleviate.

"What did you have in mind, honey," he asked, running a hand up her thigh. Shannon took a step toward them, his hands clenched into fists. Alicia waved him off and though he didn’t want to, he obeyed. "Shouldn’t we get rid of him before we do anything?"

Ignoring the question Alicia stood, still smiling as she took Punk’s hand. "We need to get out of here before the fun can start," she said, motioning for Shannon to follow.

"Where are we going, baby," Punk said, pulling her to him and nuzzling her neck. The stench of beer on his breath made her want to gag, but she ignored the urge. She leaned against his chest and giggled softly.

"Back to the arena," she replied simply, pulling him forward.

"Why would we want to go there," Punk asked with a chuckle.

"It’s closer than the hotel," she replied, turning around in his arms. "And there are showers there." She cupped his face with her hands and smiled, knowing that he was putty in her hands now. Tilting his head to the side she kissed a trail down his neck, nipping lightly here and there.

"I knew you were just playing hard to get," he said, his eyes glazed over with alcohol and lust. He groaned softly when she nipped a little too hard in response to his comment. "Easy, sweetheart, I bruise easily."

Every step that Shannon took filled him with more and more jealousy. He hated watching Alicia in Punk’s arms, giving undue affection. He had no choice but to follow, knowing he would never survive on his own. He needed Alicia to survive and if that mean watching her with another man then he would just have to force the jealousy back and follow.

Alicia led the way back to the arena and into the locker room area. She pushed Punk down into a folding chair and found the portable radio that the athletes used while preparing for their matches. She looked at Punk, unable to wipe the smile off her face now. "You like lap dances, don’t you," she asked.

"Oh yeah," Punk replied, smiling wide.

"Would you like me to give you one," Alicia asked.

"Bring it on, baby," Punk said patting his lap expectantly.

Alicia chuckled, turning on the radio and searching for some music. She leaned over to Shannon and said, "Wait for my cue. He won’t know what hit him." Shannon nodded, excited to see her in action.

She turned her attention to inebriated man before her and asked, "You ready for me, baby?"

"I was born ready," Punk replied.

Swaying her hips to the beat, Alicia made her way over to Punk, dropping to her knees. Reaching up she ran her hands up his thighs and quickly unfastened his belt, sliding out of his belt loops slowly. Slinking her way up his body, being sure that he was face to face with her chest, she motioned for Shannon to come over.

"Tie him up, lover," she said softly.

Punk had been enjoying the view when he felt Shannon tug his arms behind him. "What the fuck," he demanded, struggling to get free.

"Do you want me to keep going," Alicia asked cupping his chin. "Because if you don’t I can stop."

"Why do I have to be tied up," Punk demanded.

"Because you’re not allowed to touch the dancer," Alicia giggle, turning around and shaking her ass in his face. Punk stopped struggling and allowed Shannon to tie him up, thoroughly enjoying the show.

Straddling his lap she began to grind her hips into him, eliciting a groan from him. "Baby, if you keep teasing me like this I think I’m going to explode," he said chuckling.

Alicia grabbed a handful of his dark tresses and forcefully tilted his head, running her tongue along his neck before whispering in his ear, "Soon you’ll be in paradise, baby."

She glanced up at Shannon and nodded, giving him his cue to feed. Licking his lips hungrily Shannon sunk his teeth into Punk’s neck, lapping at the blood that oozed from the puncture wounds. She released her hold on Punk’s hair, watching the man struggle and groan as Shannon fed.

"What have you done to me, you bitch," Punk asked weakly.

Alicia brought her mouth to his ear and softly asked, "Was it good for you?" She pulled away to admire her handy work, seeing the terrified look in Punk’s eyes as he realized the life was being drained from his body.

When Punk’s head slumped to his chest Shannon released him, wiping the blood that had run down his chin away with the back of his hand. "That was…invigorating," he said smiling. His smile soon faded when he realized that he had drained Punk dry. "You haven’t fed tonight," he said, worried.

Alicia made her way over to him, wrapping herself around him. "We don’t need to feed every night," she said kissing him. "As long as we have a good supply, every other day or so is fine. Can’t have the silly mortals getting suspicious of all the deaths, you know." Shannon nodded, nuzzling her neck.

"What should we do with him," he asked kicking Punk’s lifeless body.

"Toss him away like the trash he is," Alicia replied with a chuckle. "Take care of that and meet me back at the hotel when you’re done." Shannon nodded, watching her leave before finding a way to dispose of the body.

Chapter 9

"You ready for another shot at CM Punk," Tommy asked Johnny as they entered the locker room. Johnny sighed, dropping his bag, and looked at Tommy. "You’re not worried about this match tonight are you, John?"

"Are you kidding," Sandman said with a chuckle as he set his bag down. "Johnny could kick that kid’s ass any time he wanted. Why would he be worried?"

"I’m not worried about taking on CM Punk," Johnny said with a sigh. "I’m worried about Alicia. You know how she feels about Punk. I don’t want her getting involved in my match." Tommy and Sandman nodded, understanding his feelings. "I don’t want it to seem like I can’t win a match on my own if she interferes."

"That’s if she even shows," Tommy said opening a locker and stuffing his jacket inside. "I mean, she was supposed to be ringside when you faced Thorn last night, but she definitely wasn’t there."

"Wonder why," Johnny said dryly, as he unpacked his gear.

"I just can’t believe that Alicia is a vampire now," Tommy said pulling out his gear and stuffing his bag into the locker. "It’s just so crazy."

"Crazy as it is it’s got to be the truth. There’s no other explanation for the way she’s been acting lately," Sandman said opening a locker. He jumped back when something fell out with a loud, sick thud. "What the hell," he screamed. Tommy and Johnny were at his side in seconds. "Is that…CM Punk," Sandman asked, poking the lifeless form that had fallen out of the locker he was going to use.

Tommy reached out and rolled the body over, the familiar black hair falling out of the corpse’s face to reveal Punk’s stunned expression. "That’s definitely CM Punk," he said, frowning.

"He’s got the same puncture holes as Kelly," Johnny said sighing as he ran a hand through his hair. "This has to be the work of Alicia."

"Let’s not jump to any conclusions," Tommy said placing a hand on Johnny’s shoulder. "Maybe some other….vampire did this…." Johnny shot him a look, sighing.

"Thank God, you’re here," Paul Heyman called as he entered the locker room. "Have you seen Punk anywhere?" Tommy, Sandman and Johnny all pointed to the corpse. Heyman did a double take, his bottom lip quivering. "Not again! First Kelly and now Punk? What the hell is going on here?" He turned his attention to Johnny. "We don’t have an opponent for you now. What are we going to do?"

"Relax, boss," Shannon said, smirking as he sauntered into the locker room. Alicia trailed behind, unable to hide the smile when she saw the corpse. "I’ll take Punk’s place."

"You," Johnny scoffed. "No offense, Shannon, but I’m not in the mood for a squash match."

Shannon’s hands clenched into fists and he took a step toward Johnny. Alicia stopped him, glaring at Johnny. "What’s the matter, John John, afraid of some competition," she asked.

"I’ve got it," Heyman said. "Johnny, you’ll be taking on Shannon tonight."

"What," Johnny demanded. "Paul I…" He was cut off when Heyman waved him off.

"Get ready," Heyman said. "I’m sending a camera crew in here in a few minutes."

"For what," Johnny demanded, having no clue what Heyman was thinking.

"The last time Alicia was ringside she tried to interfere in your match and you stopped her," Heyman said, his smile widening. "She was conspicuously absent last night. Tonight you’ll argue over why she was absent and then demand that she’s at ringside." He rubbed his hands together, giggling to himself. His eyes had taken on a dreamy look, as the gears in his head worked out the storyline. "Shannon, having witnessed how you’re treating Alicia will issue the challenge that the winner of the match gets Alicia’s services." He looked from Shannon to Johnny and then at Alicia. "This will set up a feud between you two."

"Great," Johnny muttered. "Whatever, Paul."

"Great," Heyman said still giggling. "Tonight will go to Johnny due to Alicia distracting Shannon. We’ll see how the crowd reacts to the match and see how far we should take the feud." With that he left the locker room.

"Wonderful," Johnny said taking a seat on the wooden bench. He glared up at Alicia. "Do you mind? I need to change for my match."

"Fine," Alicia replied. "Shannon and I have to tend to his pre-match ritual anyway. Just so you know, I don’t like this any more than you do." With that said she took Shannon’s hand and led him out of the locker room.

"Come on, Sandman," Tommy said, patting Johnny on the shoulder. "Let’s let the kid get ready." The two men left, leaving Johnny alone with his thoughts.

As they rounded the corner Tommy and Sandman could hear the sound of someone yelling and thrashing in a nearby locker room. "That’s Rob," Tommy said to Sandman. "Come on."

Kicking the door in Sandman found Francine pinning RVD down, her fangs just inches from his neck. "Franny," Sandman called, Tommy close behind him. "What are you doing?" She hissed at them, tossing RVD away with a sick thud. With little effort she pushed the two men out of her way, disappearing down the hall.

"Rob," Tommy called going to his fallen friend’s side. "Are you all right?"

"Damn she’s strong," RVD grunted, rubbing his aching head. "She tried to bite me. Jesus Christ! What is going on with Franny?"

"Long story," Tommy replied, helping him up. "Come on. We have to go tell Johnny about this." Tommy and Sandman slipped RVD’s arms around their necks and helped him walk down the hall.

Chapter 10

"Francine had you pinned," Johnny asked RVD with a smirk. "Are you serious?"

"She was strong," Rob protested. "How the hell could she possibly be that damn strong?"

"You better sit down, Rob," Tommy said placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder. RVD did and Tommy, Johnny and Sandman went on to explain the situation. "And then Sandman and I saved your life tonight, bro," Tommy said with a sigh.

"You’re serious," Rob asked, quirking a brow at the three men. They all nodded. "Let me get this straight, Thorn, Ariel, Francine and Trinity are all vampires." They nodded again. "And one of them turned Alicia in to a vampire as well."

"That’s right," Sandman said.

Rob sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I know it sounds crazy," Tommy said.

"You think," Rob replied his words dripping with sarcasm. "And I’m the one that was busted for drugs." He shook his head at them. He couldn’t understand how Tommy, the most level headed guy he knew, could believe the story he had just been told.

"Think about it, Rob," Tommy said. "Franny was trying to bite your neck." Rob did think about it and realized that it made sense. "If she wasn’t a vampire why would she try to bite your neck?"

"Knock, knock," Alicia called, knocking on the locker room door as she entered. "Everyone decent?" She had changed into a pair of low ride jeans and a black crop top with silver studs around the collar. On her feet were black combat boots in case she would be getting into the ring. She wore her hair in a high pony tail, wisps of hair framing her face.

"Hi Alicia," Rob said nervously. She eyed him, her amethyst eyes scanning him up and down before she turned her attention to Johnny. Rob looked to Tommy and Sandman when she ignored his greeting. She clearly wasn’t the same woman he had befriended.

"You ready," she asked Johnny. "Paul wants us to film some things before the match tonight." She held up some papers that Heyman had given her. They contained dialogue for them to work with.

"Yeah," Johnny said, nodding. "Let’s get this over with." He looked at Rob, Tommy and Sandman. "I’ll talk to you guys more later."

"Buh-bye now," Alicia said to the men as they headed toward the door. "We have to work." The camera crew entered the locker room and they got down to work.

"I can not believe that CM Punk had the nerve to no show tonight," Alicia growled, punching a locker.

"He’s probably too scared to show his face," Johnny chuckled. "He probably saw what I did to Thorn is too chicken to face me."

"Wish I had been there to see that," Alicia commented.

"Where were you," Johnny asked suspiciously.

"No place of importance," Alicia replied nonchalantly. "Are you prepared to face Shannon Moore tonight?"

"It doesn’t matter," Johnny said. "I don’t care who I face tonight or any night."

"Just say the word and I’ll be ready to nail Shannon with a…" Alicia began, but Johnny grabbed her shoulders harshly, shoving her up against the lockers. She winced upon impact.

"I don’t want you getting involved in this match, Alicia," Johnny said. "I can win this on my own. I don’t need you interfering. I didn’t need you last night when I beat Thorn and I don’t need your help tonight. You better be ringside to see what I can do on my own." With that he released her and stormed out of the locker room.

Shannon entered a few moments later, finding Alicia had slumped to the floor, holding her now sore shoulders. "Did he hurt you," Shannon asked, tilting her head up so that she was looking in his eyes.

"I’ll be fine," she replied brushing him off. "I have to go. Johnny wants me at ringside." With that she rushed out of the locker room to catch up with Johnny.

Shannon entered the ring and demanded a microphone. "Johnny, I saw how you treated Alicia earlier and I think it really sucks. You seem to take your beautiful manager for granted and I will not stand for it. What do you say tonight we make the stipulation of the match that the winner gets Alicia’s services?"

Johnny’s music hit and he headed toward the ring, dragging Alicia behind him. "You’re on," he said when he was handed a microphone. "You want her you’ll have to go through me." With that he tossed away the microphone and rolled into the ring. Alicia stood at ringside watching the action unfold.

The crowd ate up the action as the two men locked up and began beating on each other. Alicia was clearly torn on who she wanted to win the match and the crowd loved it. She shied away when Johnny caught her smiling or clapping when Shannon got in some offense.

Towards the end of the match Shannon clearly had the upper hand, climbing the turnbuckle to the top to execute a high risk move. Alicia seized this opportunity to interfere. She jumped up on the ring apron, holding onto Shannon’s leg before he could make it to the top turnbuckle.

"What are you doing," he demanded, trying to pry her off. She held on for dear life. With a sigh Shannon climbed down, grasping her shoulders and making her look him in the eyes. "What are you doing?"

Before she could respond Johnny grabbed Shannon by his mohawk and pulled him over the top rope into the ring. "I told you not to interfere," he yelled at Alicia as he held Shannon by the hair. He reached out to shove her off the apron, but Shannon kicked him in the gut. Alicia jumped down, watching the remainder of the match from the floor.

Johnny finally nailed Shannon with a DDT and got the pin. Sliding out of the ring he glared at Alicia, grabbing her hand and pulling her to him. "I told you not to interfere. Next time you will stay in the locker room," he yelled and dragged her along behind him. The crowd was deafening as they headed through the curtains to the back.

Johnny released her hand and eyed her. "Did I hurt you," he asked, dropping his in ring persona. "I grabbed you kind of roughly out there."

"I’ll live," Alicia replied, waiting for Shannon. "It barely stings." She showed him her wrist. "Not even a bruise."

"Listen," Johnny said, deciding to take advantage of the fact that she was without Thorn, Ariel or Shannon. "We need to talk. We haven’t had the chance to hang out like we used to."

"I’ve been busy during the days," Alicia replied. "And when we’re not doing a show my nights are pretty busy too."

"With your new friends," Johnny asked, meaning Thorn and the others.

"Yes," Alicia replied, noting the tone he had taken on. "People grow apart, Johnny. It’s a fact of life. Sometimes people just don’t have anything in common anymore and they stop hanging out with certain people."

She saw Shannon come through the curtain and smiled, rushing to his side. "Great match," Shannon said holding out his hand for Johnny to shake. He did and was greeted with a vise grip. "I let you win tonight," Shannon said, pulling Johnny to him. "Remember that." With that he snaked his arm around Alicia’s waist, leading her away from him.

Alicia looked back at Johnny, seeing the hurt in his eyes as he watched her walk away. "I’ll meet you in the locker room," she whispered to Shannon before heading back to Johnny. "You need to understand that we’re two different people now, Johnny," she said softly. "That’s why we don’t hang out anymore." With that she rushed back to catch up with Shannon.

"I do understand that," Johnny said with a sigh. "More than you know I understand that."

Chapter 11

RVD, Tommy and Sandman approached Johnny after his talk with Alicia. "Dude, looked like Shannon gave you a run for your money," Rob said with a chuckle. "Way to put the kid over." Tommy and Sandman chuckled as well.

"I wasn’t putting him over. He did give me a run for my money," Johnny replied pulling his gaze away from the direction Alicia had gone and eying his friends. "He’s stronger and faster than I remember him ever being. I wasn’t positive, but now I am. Alicia’s turned him."

"It shouldn’t come as a surprise," Tommy replied. "They can turn anyone at any time. They’re stronger than a normal human being."

"Which means they can also try to feed on any one of us at any given time," Rob said, frowning.

"I guess it’s a good thing that we’ve got each others’ back," Sandman said smiling.

Suddenly they heard a commotion from down the hall. "That sounds like it’s coming from the women’s locker room," Johnny said leading the way toward the sound. He kicked open the door and all four men peered inside.

They saw Balls Mahoney and Sabu trying to keep Trinity off of Jazz, both men equipped with steel folding chairs. Jazz lay prone on the floor, a small gash on her forehead. "Stay away from her, Trinity," Balls yelled.

"What has gotten into you," Sabu demanded.

Trinity ignored the men, kneeling over Jazz and lifting her prone body into her arms. She was about to lower her mouth to Jazz’s neck when Sabu nailed her between the shoulder blades with his chair. The raven haired vixen turned her glare on him, jumping to her feet and stalking toward him. She showed now apparent damaged from teh chair shot.

"Shit," Sabu muttered as she shoved him back, sending him sailing into the wall. He landed in a heap on the ground, barely conscious and groaning in pain.

"Trinity," Tommy yelled, distracting her away from her newfound prey. She turned her demonic glare on him, stalking toward him licking her lips. By this time Balls had helped Jazz to her feet and handed her Sabu’s chair. While Trinity was distracted they took the opportunity to smack her across the back with the chairs.

Trinity let out an animalistic cry of momentary pain before hissing at her adversaries and shoving her way out of the locker room. She was unwilling to deal with so many foes alone. Jazz dropped the chair stumbling forward, obviously still groggy from the attack. Johnny caught her before she could fall.

"Sabu," Rob called and helped his one time tag partner to his feet. "Are you all right?"

Sabu groaned, holding his left shoulder. "I’ll live," he replied. "No broken bones."

"What the hell is going on," Balls demanded. "Why did Trinity attack Jazz?"

"She was like mega-psycho-bitch," Sabu said groaning as he took a seat. "My chair shot didn’t even faze her. I know she’s tough and all, but that was ridiculous."

"I think you guys should brace yourselves," Johnny said taking a seat next to Sabu. "There’s something very strange going on in ECW and it all started with Kevin Thorn..."

~*~

Joey Styles stood by the soda machine pondering what flavor he wanted. He was so deep in thought that he did not hear the click of stiletto heels on the tiled floor. He finally made his decision pressing the proper button and retrieving his bottled beverage. When he straightened up he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders.

"Did I scare you, Joey," Ariel whispered, her mouth centimeters from his ear.

Styles gulped and nodded. "Y-you did, Ariel," he replied.

"Don’t be afraid of me," she purred and held out her hand for him. "Come with me. I have something I need to show you."

"A-all right," Styles said taking her hand and allowing her to lead him away.

~*~

"Mike? Is that you," Test called, hearing a sound from the other side of the locker room. "Knox? I’m not in the mood for games," he called out when no one answered him. He was still trying to get over the loss of Kelly. He just couldn't believe that she was really gone.

Hearing another noise he strained, trying to see over the row of lockers. With an exasperated sigh he made his way over to the row that the noise was coming from. Silently he cursed Knox for trying to a prankster at a time like this.

"Shit," he exclaimed finding Knox’s pale, lifeless body. "What the fuck," he said seeing the two fang holes in Knox’s neck. "Jesus. What the hell is going on here?" Before he could do anything else he felt pain in his own neck and felt the blood oozing out of the fresh puncture holes. He felt the life draining from his body and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes Test found himself lying on the floor, someone caressing his pale face and stroking his hair. Looking up he saw Francine smiling at him. "You have been reborn," she said smiling, leaning down to press a kiss to his lips.

"What did you do to me," he asked feeling all of his senses had heightened. He inhaled her sweet, flowery scent, savoring it.

"I made you better than you ever could have dreamed of being," Francine said getting to her feet. "Come. Our master will want to meet the newest addition to the family." She held out her hand for him and he took it, allowing her to lead him out of the locker room.

~*~

Still reeling from the fight with Sabu, Jazz and Balls Trinity stumbled into the first locker room she could find. Leaning against the wall she caught her breath, not caring if anyone else saw her. She felt the bruises beneath her skin healing and groaned as the last bit of pain evaporated.

"Are you all right," she heard someone asked behind her. Spinning around she found Rene Dupree, clad in only a towel, beads of water rolling down his bare skin.

She smiled wide, her bloodlust rising again. "Fine," she replied. "Just needed to catch my breath." She sauntered over to him, running her finger over his bare chest. "My, aren’t you a tasty looking morsel?"

He blushed realizing that he didn’t have anything but the towel between them. "I was just showering when I heard a noise," he replied. "Thought someone was in trouble."

"It’s sweet of you to be so concerned," Trinity replied, her tongue snaking out to moisten her lips. The beads of water rolling down Dupree’s body were replaced by beads of sweat. There was something very menacing about the woman that stood before him. She was looking at him as if he was her next meal and that frightened him more than he wanted to admit.

"So, you’re all right," he asked, trying not to think about the look in her eyes.

"Better than all right now," she said taking his hand and leading him back to the showers. She turned on the water, adjusting it to the right temperature before pulling off his towel and shoving him under the spray. She shed her own clothes before joining him.

~*~

"So, you’re telling me that Thorn and his harem are vampires," Sabu asked, quirking a brow at the others. He turned his attention to RVD. "You really buying this shit?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the truth," Rob replied.

"It sounds insane," Balls replied.

"I’d agree with you boys if I hadn’t seen the fangs with my own eyes," Jazz said softly. "Trinity is definitely a vampire and that means that Thorn, Ariel, Alicia and Shannon are too."

"So far Rob and Jazz have been attacked," Tommy said. "Any one of us could be attacked next for helping them. I say we band together and make sure we have each others’ backs."

"Agreed," Sabu said. Balls and Jazz both nodded in agreement.

"All right," Johnny said with a sigh. "They can be sneaky. Keep an eye out and I would suggest that no one go anywhere alone from now on."

The group was so engrossed in their conversation that no one saw the two figures standing in the shadows. As the group broke up into smaller groups they watched from the shadows. Only when they were certain that they were finally alone did they step into the light.

"What should we do about them," Shannon asked Alicia.

Alicia smirked. "We’ll tell Thorn," she said taking his hand. "He'll know what to do."

Chapter 12

When Shannon and Alicia made it back to Thorn’s locker room they found some new members to their family. "Meet your new brothers," Thorn said motioning toward Dupree, Test and Joey Styles.

"Are you kidding me," Alicia said placing her hands on her hips. "You made a fuss about me siring Shannon and you let Ariel sire Joey freaking Styles?! How is he an asset to our cause?"

Styles’ hands balled into fists and he growled at her. Ariel placed a hand on his shoulder to quiet him. "Calm down, my pet," she purred, smiling. She turned her glare on Alicia. "You sired Shannon because you were attracted to him," she hissed. "I think Joey is adorable and I could use a playmate while Thorn is occupied."

"All right," Alicia said crinkling her nose. "Please do not share any more details." She turned her attention to Test and Dupree, nodding her approval. "Do we get to share," Alicia asked Francine as she ran a finger down Test’s chiseled chest. He smiled wickedly at her, wriggling his eyebrows. Shannon stepped forward, pulling her away from the newly sired vampire.

"Looks like your boy toy is jealous," Ariel teased. Alicia flipped her off, which made the others laugh.

"Master, we have a problem," Shannon said shaking Alicia off.

"What is it," Thorn said quieting the others.

"Balls Mahoney, Sabu and Jazz have joined with Dreamer, Sandman, RVD and Johnny," Shannon replied. "They’re aware that something is going on."

"Then we’ll have to be much more careful," Thorn replied. "Come, my children," he said smiling. "I’m feeling a bit hungry." Ariel smiled, giggling menacingly.

~*~

"Are you sure that this is a safe place to meet," Johnny asked, looking around the boiler room.

"Don’t worry about it, Johnny," Balls said. "It’s safe. We got Bob and Al keeping watch."

Johnny turned his gaze to Hardcore Holly and Al Snow positioned just inside the door. "How exactly did they get involved in this," Johnny asked taking a seat next to Sabu and RVD.

"I told you," Balls said with a sigh. "Thorn attacked Bob and Trinity tried to get her demonic hands on Al."

"All right," Tommy said. "Let’s just get the meeting underway."

"Who died and left you leader, Dreamer," Sabu asked.

"I didn’t say I was the leader," Tommy replied with a sigh. "I just think that instead of comparing stories we should just get the meeting underway."

"Sabu raises a point though," Rob interjected. "We should have a leader. We know that we’re heading into a war with these fiends."

"I vote for Johnny," Sandman said smiling as he clapped Johnny on the back. The young athlete groaned, but forced a smile at Sandman.

"I second," Jazz said.

"I agree," Balls, Holly and Snow said.

"Yeah, I can see Johnny leading the group," Rob said smiling.

"Works for me," Tommy said with a shrug. Everyone turned their attention to Sabu.

He glared at Johnny long and hard, clearly weighing the options. Finally he said, "Yeah, we could do worse than the kid."

"All right," Tommy said. "Now that that’s settled we need to come up with a strategy to get rid of the vampires."

"We need all the information we can get on vampires," Johnny said. "From movies, the internet, books, folklore, whatever we can get our hands on."

"Great," Sabu muttered. "Now we’re turning into the motherfucking Scooby gang."

"There’s the door," Johnny said pointing to the door. "You can leave, Sabu, but you’re on your own if you do."

"Fine," Sabu said, knowing that they’d all need the back up. "I’ll tackle the movies."

"We’ll do it together," Rob said smiling at his former tag partner.

"What do you say, big man," Jazz said to Balls. "You willing to work with me on the books?"

"Sounds good," Balls replied.

"I could hit the net," Tommy said.

"All right," Johnny said. "Everyone do your research. We’ll meet in my hotel room in the next town to compare notes."

~*~

"Shannon," Alicia whined, as she ran her hands through his mohawk. He swatted her hands away and she pouted. "Are you still angry about my comment about Test?"

Shannon glared at her. "I thought I was your mate," he replied. "You chose me."

"I was kidding," she said, her mouth inches from his ear. "You know you’re the only man for me." He ran a finger over his many tattoos. "Can you forgive me?"

He sighed, knowing he couldn’t stay mad at her. "Yes," he replied cupping her face and kissing her. "I doubt Francine would share Test anyway." He chuckled when she swatted his shoulder.

"Come, I’m famished," Alicia said, leading the way into a nearby locker room.

Ariel and Styles were feeding on Tony Mamluke. Francine and Test were working on CW Anderson. Trinity and Dupree were draining Matt Striker. Thorn had chosen to feed on Danny Doring. Alicia looked around and frowned catching sight of Little Guido cowering in the corner.

"You take him," she said with a sigh. "I’ll find someone else."

"Thorn said we need to be more careful," Shannon replied.

"Like a locker room full of dead bodies isn’t going to raise some suspicions," Alicia replied. "I’d love to know what he intends to do with all of our victims." She shook her head. "Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine." With that she headed into the hall. She smiled seeing Stevie Richards heading into a locker room down the hall. She hurried along, careful to keep an eye out for Johnny and his group.

"Hey, Stevie," she said catching up to him and startling him.

"Oh hey," he said smiling seeing her. "What’s up?"

"Nothing much," she replied. "Just decided to spend some time with a friend." She smiled at him.

"Since when am I your friend," he asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Stevie," she said slinging her arm around his shoulders. "I thought we’ve always been friends. Why don’t you go change up and we can hang out somewhere?"

Richards eyed her suspiciously, but sighed and shrugged. "All right," he replied. "I could use some company tonight, especially one as attractive as yourself."

"Oh you flirt," she teased. "You know, I could come in there and help you change." She smiled innocently at him.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Sweetheart, I’m a little too old for you don’t you think?"

"Not at all," she replied, taking his hand and opening the locker room door. "Age doesn’t make a difference to me. I’m an equal opportunity lover." She tugged him along behind her, forcing him to sit on the bench. She walked around behind him and began to massage his shoulders. "You’re so tense," she whispered in his ear. "Relax."

She could hear the blood pumping through his veins and her mouth began to water. She leaned down and placed feather light kisses over his neck, tracing his carotid with her tongue. He groaned at the sensation her warm tongue on his skin.

"Alicia," he said softly.

"Shhhh," she replied. "It’ll be over before you know it." With that she sunk her teeth into his tender flesh, lapping at the blood.

Richards grunted at the sudden pain. "Alicia," he groaned. "Please. I don’t want to die. Make me like you."

Alicia was taken aback by the request and released her prey. She hadn’t drained him enough to kill him, though it was enough to sufficiently weaken him. If left like this he would bleed to death from the oozing wound on his neck.

"Please," he grunted. "Don’t leave me like this. Make me like you. I don’t want to die."

With a sigh she said, "Close your eyes. This may hurt a little, but when you wake you’ll be like me."

He did as he was told and she plunged her teeth into the puncture wounds and began to drain him once again. She felt his body go limp in her arms and waited for him to wake, knowing Thorn would be angry with her once again. Something in his plea had struck her and she couldn’t bring herself to kill him. With a sigh she cradled his head in her lap and stroked his hair as she waited.

Chapter 13

Richards grunted and opened his eyes. "You kept your promise to me," he said smiling and reaching out to caress her face.

"I did," Alicia said forcing a smile and leaning into his touch. She stood and offered her hand to him to help him up. Thorn was not going to be happy with yet another new member of his demonic family that night. "Come on, Stevie," she said sighing. "I need to introduce you to the master."

"All right," he said pulling her to him and nuzzling her neck.

"Stevie," she said pushing him away. "Please don’t take this the wrong way. I was on the hunt, looking for a kill. That’s why I was flirting with you."

"No one is that convincing," Richards replied, pulling her to him and pressing his lips to hers harshly. She tried to pull away, but he held her tightly. Soon she gave in and returned the kiss.

"Alicia," Shannon called from the hall. "Where is she?" Alicia could hear the sound of him opening locker room doors and knew it was just a matter of time before he got to the one she was in.

"Who is that calling you," Stevie asked, feeling her stiffen in his arms.

"Shannon," she replied. "He’s my mate. The first one I sired." She ran a hand through her hair with a groan. "He mustn’t know about the kiss." Just as she was about to exit the locker room the door swung open and Shannon walked in.

"I’ve been looking for you," he said. It was then that he caught sight of Richards and the guilty look on Alicia’s face. "You’ve sired another one?" She nodded. "Does the master know about this?"

"No," she replied. "I was just about to take him to Thorn."

"Was this before or after you fucked him," Shannon asked noting that her lipstick was smeared.

"We weren’t," Alicia replied, appalled by his question. "I swear to you we weren’t."

"What’s the matter," Richards teased, wrapping his arms around Alicia. "Is the Reject afraid of being rejected?" She tried to pry herself free, but he held her tight.

"Get your hands off of her," Shannon said through gritted teeth.

"Or you’ll do what," Richards demanded, shoving Alicia behind him. She tried to get between the men, but both pushed her away.

"I’ll fucking rip your throat out," Shannon hissed.

"Shannon," Thorn’s voice cut through the locker room making everyone’s head turn toward him. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Alicia has sired another one, master," Shannon said pointing to Stevie Richards.

Thorn’s glared turned toward Richards and then Alicia, whose head was bowed, hair falling into her face. He stalked over to her, tucking a finger under her chin and forcing her amethyst eyes to meet his. "What am I to do with you, little one," he asked softly. "You anger me and yet I can not stay angry with you. You do have a keen eye. You see what no one else sees in others. This can be both a blessing and a gift." He sighed, releasing her chin and turning his gaze on Richards. She stared at him wide eyed, sure that he would have wanted to punish her.

"I only meant to feed," she said softly. "But he begged to be one of us." Thorn’s attention returned to her. "He didn’t want to die."

Thorn smiled, chuckling deep in his throat. "They never do, little one," he replied patting her cheek. "Everyone begs for their lives."

Shannon grew more and more frustrated by the conversation, not wanting to have to share his mate with Richards. "Master, she did this without permission," he said. "She disobeyed you and doesn’t get punished for it?"

"I never said she wouldn’t be punished," Thorn said, turning an indifferent gaze to Shannon. "Being pulled in two directions at once by suitors will be punishment enough, I think." With that Thorn made his way out of the locker room. "Come, children," he called to them.

Shannon headed for the door of the locker room. Alicia grabbed his wrist, pulling him back toward her. He resisted, realizing that he was stronger than she was and pulled free, glaring at her. He then turned his glare to Richards, growling.

"You need to teach him to hunt," Shannon replied, coldly. With that he exited the locker room.

"Your mate is pretty angry," Richards said softly.

"That’s putting mildly," Alicia sighed. "He is right, though. You need to learn how to hunt so that you can feed."

With a sigh she took his hand, leading him out of the arena to the street. They walked around a while before deciding to enter a local club. She ordered them a couple of drinks and surveyed the crowd for potential victims. She spotted a tall leggy blonde dancing by herself in one corner of the club. With a smirk she motioned for Richards to follow her lead.

She led him out onto the dance floor close to the blonde. The hypnotic beats of the music filled her ears as she began shake her hips to the beat. She pulled Richards close to her, grinding against him as they inched closer and closer to the blonde. It was clear that she was completely drunk and unaware that she was their prey. Alicia and Richards danced their way over to the blonde, smirking at her drunken dancing.

"Hello," she said over the music. The blonde stopped dancing and looked at Alicia and Richards.

"Hi," she slurred out. "You’ve got one hot man with you." Obviously the alcohol had skewed her judgment and she assumed that she knew Alicia from somewhere.

Alicia smiled and Richards, chuckling at how easy this would be. "Yeah," Alicia replied.

"Mind if I borrow him for a song or two," the blonde asked.

"Be my guest," Alicia replied. She stood on tippy toes, pretending to kiss Richards’ cheek and whispered, "Lure her out to the alley." He nodded and wrapped his arms around the blonde’s waist.

Alicia made her way out of the club to the alley, leaning against the wall in the shadows while she waited. She knew she had to confront Shannon once she got back to the mansion that Thorn had commandeered for their stay. It wouldn’t be easy, but somehow she had to convince him that he was not being replaced.

Soon the sound of the drunken blonde’s giggles could be heard, snapping Alicia out of her thoughts. She watched as Richards brought the young woman deep into the alley where there would be no witnesses. He pinned her up against the wall and began to kiss her, nipping at her neck here and there.

"What about your girlfriend," the blonde slurred out.

"She was wondering how long it would take him to get you out here, my dear," Alicia said sauntering over to them. "Stevie, darling, were you planning on keeping this tasty little morsel all to yourself?"

"Wouldn’t dream of it, goddess," he replied smirking.

"Wow, I’ve never been with two people at once before," the blonde said, her head spinning from the alcohol.

"There’s a first time for everything," Alicia said tracing the blonde’s full bottom lip with her finger. She trailed it down to her blouse, ripping it open with one slash of her finger. "Ooops, silly me."

The blonde giggled, looking down at her now torn blouse. Alicia tilted the blonde’s head up and kissed her, parting her lips with her tongue and twining it with hers. The blonde let out a groan as the kiss deepened.

"Wow," she slurred once the kiss was broken. "I never thought kissing another woman would be so much fun."

Alicia turned her gaze over to Richards, who was watching with bated breath for his turn to get in on the action. With a smirk she motioned him over, pulling him in for a kiss that soon turned into a three way kiss. He could hear the woman’s heart beating faster and the blood pumping through her carotid. His lips soon trailed down to her neck, looking up at Alicia for approval.

Allowing the blonde to sloppily kiss and nip her neck Alicia managed to nod her approval to Richards. Without wasting a moment she tilted the blonde’s head to allow Richards access. She pulled away from the two, wanting to watch his first kill from afar.

"Where are you going," the blonde slurred out seconds before she felt the needle prick of Richards’ teeth sinking into her neck. She groaned as he drained for life force from her, going limp within seconds of being bitten. When he had drained her dry he dropped her limp body to the ground, wiping the blood from his chin.

"That was amazing," he said smiling at Alicia.

"Wasn’t it," she replied with a smirk. "There’s nothing like popping your first kill cherry." She wiped a few drops of blood from his chin. "You did very well."

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. "That kill has made me hungry for something else," he whispered in her ear, before nipping her neck softly.

"Stevie," she said pushing him away. "That’s never going to happen between us. Shannon is my mate. Come on. There isn’t much time before sunrise. We need to get back to the mansion."

Chapter 14

When they arrived at the mansion it was silent. Alicia knew that Francine and Test and Trinity and Dupree were in the rooms at the end of the hall on the second floor. Thorn and Ariel had taken the master bedroom at the other end of the hall. The room Ariel had stashed Joey Styles in was next to the master bedroom. The room she and Shannon had chosen was a few doors down from that. Next to that was an empty room.

"Come on, Stevie," she said taking his hand. "I’ll show you to your room for the night." He allowed her to lead him up the stairs to the room.

"How did you guys get this place," Stevie asked, looking at his new surroundings.

"Want. Take. Have," she replied with a shrug. "Thorn never really has a problem providing shelter for us. You should get some rest. We have to be out of here at sunset to make our flight." He nodded kicking off his shoes and crawling under the covers with a yawn.

Alicia closed the door quietly behind her and turned to head down the hall, but found Shannon standing before her. "I was just coming to talk to you," she said softly.

"Tucking in your new pet," he asked, arms crossed across his tattooed chest.

"Shannon," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. "He’s not my pet."

"I saw the look of guilt on your face when I walked into that locker room," Shannon said, dropping his arms to his sides. "Fine you didn’t fuck him, but you were doing something. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t walked in on the two of you?"

"You have no reason to be jealous," she said reaching out to touch his cheek. He pulled away from her.

"Don’t I," he replied, glaring at her as he brushed past her on the way to their room. She followed, unable to think of something to say. "Don’t have a clever response?"

"Shannon," she said closing the door behind her. "He kissed me."

"You didn’t fight him," he replied.

"I did," she replied, telling a half truth.

"Then you didn’t fight hard enough," he replied sitting down on the bed. "That’s even worse than if you hadn’t fought him off at all!" His voice rose with every word.

"Keep your voice down," she hissed. "I don’t want to wake the others over something as insignificant as a kiss."

"Insignificant," Shannon yelled, rising and stalking over to her. "You kiss another man and I’m supposed to accept it? Perhaps you think I’m insignificant too!"

"Shannon, no. I never thought that," she said reaching out to touch him, but he caught her wrist. She groaned in pain as he tightened his grip, his eyes taking on a frightening glint.

"I don’t want you to touch me," he growled through gritted teeth. "I don’t even want to be in the same room with you." With that he opened the door and shoved her out in the hall. When she attempted to go back into the room he blocked the way. "Go sleep with Stevie," he growled and slammed the door in her face.

Angrily she kicked the door before turning on her heel and heading downstairs. With a sigh, she looked out at the night sky. The sun would be rising in less than an hour. She gazed up the stairs with a sigh, not wanting to go to Richards’ room for fear of leading him on.

She made sure all of the shades had been pulled on the windows in the living room and curled up on the couch. Silent tears slipped down her cheek. She had made the mistake of giving in to Richards' kiss. A mistake she would be sure not to make again. Soon she drifted off, fresh tears sliding down her cheeks.

~*~

Johnny sat on the balcony of the hotel room he was sharing with Tommy Dreamer. He gazed up at the moon, sighing as he replayed the events that had unfolded in such a short period of time in his mind. He had lost someone he considered a good friend and wanted desperately to get her back.

He glanced back over his shoulder through the glass sliding door to where Tommy sat on the bed with his laptop. He and Sandman were discussing something that they had been researching on the net. Before long he saw Sandman heading toward the door.

"You all right," Sandman asked pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting one. He took a puff and gave the younger man a sidelong glance, leaning against the railing.

"It’s all my fault," Johnny replied softly. "I should have stayed with Alicia that night and she’d be all right."

Sandman placed a hand on Johnny’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "They would have gotten someone else," he said. "Maybe there’s some way to bring back the old Alicia."

"Doubtful," Johnny said frowning.

"Johnny’s right," Tommy said with a frown as he joined them on the balcony. "She’s one of the undead now."

"Well aren’t you Suzy fucking Sunshine," Sandman muttered. "I was trying to give the kid some hope, Tom."

"Thanks for trying, Sandman," Johnny said standing. "I’m heading to bed." The two veterans watched their friend head back into the room and crawled under the covers. They both knew that they had a war ahead of them and they hoped the rookie would be able to handle what needed to be done.

"Let’s hope the others have better news," Tommy said with a sigh. "You feel like having a drink?"

"Does a bear shit in the woods," Sandman asked with a smirk. Tommy chuckled, clapping his friend on the back and leading the way back into the room. They grabbed their jackets and headed out to the closest bar.

Chapter 15

"All right," Johnny said calling the meeting to order. They had decided to meet in his locker room at the arena the next night. "What have we learned about vampires, people?"

Rob Van Dam was just about to reply when they heard a commotion in the hall. "That sounds like Paul screaming," Rob said. They all went to the door and poked their heads out. They were greeted by the sight of Dupree holding Heyman down while Test plunged his fangs deep into the man’s neck.

"Get off him," they all heard Tazz yell, as he raced to Heyman’s aid. He threw Dupree off, smashing him into the nearest wall. Before he could turn around and face Test Trinity came out of nowhere and jumped on his back. He easily flipped her off of him, but was greeted by a boot to the face by Test.

"Come on," Tommy said leading the group out into the hall.

Jazz and Tommy grabbed Heyman, carrying him back into the locker room. Sabu and Rob grabbed Tazz, pulling him away from the fray to recover from the boot to the face. Sandman and Johnny were dealing with Test, but soon he was aided by the now recovered Dupree as well as Joey Styles, Shannon Moore and Stevie Richards. Balls Mahoney, Al Snow and Hardcore Holly pitched in to help, but the vampires seemed to be getting the upper hand.

"What the hell is going on here," Big Show bellowed as he rounded the corner and saw the battle raging. Everyone paused, looking at the giant man before them. "Someone going to explain what’s going on here?"

Unwilling to deal with such a large foe the vampires disengaged from the battle and ran off, choosing to live to fight another day. The group watched them running off, smiles on their faces. They turned their attention to Big Show and nodded in silent agreement. He had to be part of the group.

"Guys," Tommy called from the locker room. He and Jazz hadn’t left Heyman’s side during the battle. "Paul’s not doing too good." They all headed into the locker room to see what was going on.

Jazz looked up at them, her eyes full of sadness. "Test got him good," she said. "He drained a lot from him. I don’t know if he’ll make it to the hospital."

"We have to try," Tazz said helping her lift him. A large foot shaped bruise had started to form over one side of his face. "I’ll drive. You sit with him in the back." Jazz nodded. "We’ll call when we find out anything."

Heyman mumbled something incoherent. "Hang in there Paul," Tommy said giving the older man’s hand a squeeze. They all watched in silence as Heyman was carried out of the arena.

"Is someone going to tell me what the hell happened to Heyman or do I have to start beating it out of you," Big Show finally said.

"Show," Johnny said patting the big man on the arm. "We have a lot to tell you. You better take a seat."

~*~

Thorn’s locker room burst open and Dupree carrying Trinity, Test, Shannon, Styles and Richards all stumbled in. All were bruised and healing from their battle. Ariel went to Trinity’s aid, as did Francine. Alicia simply sat at Thorn’s feet, unwilling to meet Shannon’s gaze.

"What is the meaning of this," Thorn demanded.

"The boneheads decided to feast on Heyman," Styles replied, wincing as Ariel massaged his aching shoulders. "Tazz ambushed them and then Johnny and Tommy and their group of do gooders decided to get involved.

"Is Heyman…"

"Probably not," Trinity said sitting up, holding her sore back. "Tommy and Jazz carried him off."

"He soon will be," Test smiled wickedly. "I drained him pretty good."

"We can be sure that they will be even more vigilant," Thorn growled. "Whose idea was it to attack Heyman."

"It was mine," Trinity said, covering for Dupree and Test. "I thought that it would be a good test of their strength, Master."

"Come here," Thorn said standing. Trinity walked over and stood in front of Thorn. "On your knees." She obeyed him, kneeling before him. Thorn’s eyes bored holes into her as he cocked back and slapped her hard across the face. She fell over in a heap holding her cheek. Thorn lifted her up by her hair, eyes burning with anger now. He was about to slap her again, but Alicia grabbed his arm.

Thorn dropped Trinity and turned his burning gaze on her. He grabbed a handful of her hair, lifting her to her feet. "What is the meaning of this," he demanded.

Alicia fought against his grip, but he held her tightly. "She made a mistake," she grunted. "You don’t need to beat her senseless for it."

"Leave us," Thorn said to the others. Dupree scooped up Trinity into his arms and carried her out of the locker room. Shannon lingered in the doorway a moment, concern swimming in his eyes. He shook his head and left with the others, knowing that his punishment for disobeying would be twice as bad if he stayed.

Thorn turned his attention to Alicia once again. He finally released his grip on her hair, stalking to the door and locking it. "You have angered me one too many times, little one," he said rolling up his sleeves. "Now you must pay the price."

~*~

"You’re saying that they’re all vampires," Big Show chuckled.

"We know how you feel, big man," Rob said with a smirk. "We didn’t want to believe it at first either, but think back on all of the deaths around here." Big Show did. "They’re not a coincidence. It was them doing it."

"So, let’s say I believe this," Big Show said. "What are we going to do about it?"

"We did some research on how to deal with vampires," Johnny replied.

"What’d you go to www.vampires.com," Big Show chuckled.

"That would have been easier than using Google," Sandman muttered to Tommy, who just shook his head.

"What have we learned," Johnny said to the group, ignoring Big Show’s comment.

"Seems like none of the sources we checked out agree on the proper way to kill a vampire," Sabu said. "One thing is consistent though, they can not be exposed to sunlight. That definitely kills them."

"There’s also decapitation, stake to the heart, fire and some sources say pure silver kills them," Rob said.

"There’s also holy water and crosses, but none of the sources agree on what that does," Balls said. "Some say they burn them and others say that it does nothing."

"Great," Johnny said frowning. "We’re right back to where we started. We know nothing."

"One thing we do know," Tommy said. "They need blood to survive. It helps them heal, gives them warmth and keeps them alive."

"Great," Johnny said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "All we have to do is keep every living thing away from them and everything will be happily ever after!" With that he stormed out of the locker room.

"Johnny," Tommy said following him out. "Johnny, wait up!" Sandman followed close behind them.

~*~

Seering pain coursed through Alicia’s body as Thorn beat on her mercilessly. He was faster than she had bargained for and had blindsided her with a punch to the jaw, knocking her to the ground. He then proceeded to kick her side, back, face, whatever was exposed met his foot. She closed her eyes tightly, biting her lip to keep from screaming. Tears streamed down her cheek as she endured her punishment.

Just as quickly as the beating had started it was over. Thorn stood with his back to her, panting. "You should thank me for not killing you, little one," he said as his breathing evened.

When she didn’t respond Thorn turned to look at her. Alicia had gotten to a sitting position and labored to breathe. She was certain that he had cracked a couple of her ribs and she would be sore for a long while as they healed. Ugly bruises covered her porcelain skin. Stalking over to her Thorn held out a hand for her. She involuntarily winced and backed away from him.

"Your punishment is over, little one," Thorn said, happy that his beating had worked as he had planned. "I am not going to strike you again unless you anger me."

Alicia accepted his hand, knowing that he would strike her again if she did not. Painfully she got to her feet. "Thank you, Master," she said softly.

Thorn tucked some stray strands of her hair behind her ears and tilted her head up to look him in the eyes. "The next beating will be much worse," he said, deadly serious. "Let this be a lesson to you."

"Yes," she replied, never taking her eyes off of him.

"Good," he replied, releasing her face. "Now go."

Painfully Alicia made her way to the locker room door, unlocking it and exiting. She was greeted by Richards and Shannon. Neither man knew what to say. She looked from one to the other before painfully pushing past them, forcing back the tears burning in her eyes.

Shannon placed a hand on her shoulder causing her to wince. "I wanted to stay behind," he said softly.

"But you didn’t," she replied brushing him off of her. "It shouldn’t surprise me. You made your feelings perfectly clear last night."

"I wanted to," Richards began, but she waved him off.

"Don’t," she said. "What’s done is done. Just leave me alone to heal." With that she hobbled down the hall.

center>~*~

"Man, can this kid walk fast," Sandman said puffing along beside Tommy.

"Johnny," Tommy called. "Come on, man. I know you’re upset." Johnny stopped in his tracks and spun on his heel, stalking over to the older men.

"Upset doesn’t even begin to described how I feel right now," he said. "My best friend is one of these demons and I can’t do anything about it. We don’t even know how to kill the damn things. There’s no possibility that I’ll get my best friend back. How would you be feeling, Tommy?"

"Well, hell," Sandman said. "I’d want to rip the next person I saw a new asshole."

"Me too," Tommy agreed. "But that’s not helping the situation."

"There is no helping the situation," Johnny said, kicking a wooden crate that was sitting nearby. It shattered, leaving splintered boards everywhere. Sandman picked up one of the planks looking at the damage.

"Johnny," Tommy said looking past the younger man down the hall. Alicia had stumbled around the corner and leaned against the wall, the pain in her ribs too much to tolerate. Unable to catch her breath she sagged against the wall, gasping. "It’s Alicia," he said pointing down the hall.

"She doesn’t look so hot," Sandman said.

Johnny rushed to his friend’s side. "Alicia," he called as he neared her. She looked up at him through glazed eyes. "What happened to you?"

"Johnny," she gasped, feeling the darkness taking over. He caught her before she collapsed to the ground.

"What happened to her," Tommy asked finally catching up to Johnny. Sandman wasn’t far behind.

"Thorn," Johnny replied. "He did this to her."

"Get your hands off of her," Richards cried, rushing toward them. He had followed her down the hall.

Pushing Johnny and Alicia out of the way Tommy grabbed the wooden plank from Sandman, holding it out as Richards rushed at him. The jagged wood penetrated his chest, surprising Richards. His eyes went wide as he looked at Tommy a moment before dropping to the ground. They were stunned to see the body burst into dust once it landed.

"Tommy," Rob called rushing down the hall. He saw his friends standing stunned, but didn’t bother to ask what happened. "Tazz called. Paul didn’t make it."

Tommy gripped the plank tighter, his knuckles turning white. "We know how to kill these bastards now," he said. "Take her back to the hotel and tie her up. We’ll make her tell us where Thorn and the others are hiding out and then deal with them."

"Tommy," Johnny said holding Alicia to him protectively. "I won’t let you torture her."

Tommy turned his gaze to Johnny. "I won’t lay a finger on her, John. She’ll talk or she’ll starve." With that he stalked off down the hall. Sandman followed him. Carefully Johnny cradled Alicia’s broken body in his arms and carried her away.

Chapter 16

"Make sure you make them nice and tight," Tommy said as he and the others watched Sabu and RVD tying Alicia to the bed.

Though Johnny had protested Alicia being tied up the others outvoted him. He had managed to persuade them to leave her in his room so that he could watch over her. The others had agreed as long as one of them was with him at all times. They didn't trust him to be impartial when it came time to doing what needed to be done.

Rob looked over the bruises on her arms and face and listened to Alicia’s labored breathing frowning. He turned to Tommy and asked, "Thorn did all of this to her?" Tommy nodded. "Why?"

"Because she probably disobeyed him," Johnny said breaking his silence. He had been watching the others tie Alicia to the spare bed. "She most likely tried to prevent him from punishing one of the others and this is what she was rewarded with," he said with a sigh.

"How do we know she’ll give up Thorn’s location," Sabu asked.

"If she doesn’t then she doesn’t feed," Tommy replied. "These bastards have killed far too many people to go on the way they have. Their fatal mistake was killing someone who is dear to me and you and any other ECW original."

"Tommy, I understand that you’re pissed about Paul’s death," Johnny said. "Just remember that Alicia didn’t have anything to do with it. She wasn’t even around when Test and Dupree were attacking him."

"She’s one of them," Sabu said glaring at the younger man. "That’s enough for her to get what’s coming to all of them."

Just then Alicia groaned. Johnny was at her side, brushing some hair out of her face. "Alicia? It’s Johnny," he said softly. "Can you hear me?"

"Johnny," she groaned, never opening her eyes. "It hurts," she whimpered. Her broken bones and bruises were mending, though slowly.

"Tommy, you said that they need blood to heal, right," Johnny asked.

"Yeah," Tommy replied. "But do you honestly expect one of us to allow her to feed on us?"

"We could use animal blood," Sabu suggested. Everyone looked at him, surprised by the suggestion. "The sooner she heals the sooner she wakes up and tells us everything."

"So now we gotta go out and start killing animals for her," Sandman asked.

"Pig’s blood," Sabu suggested. "Pigs are closely related to humans." Again everyone looked at him, surprised by his knowledge. "What? I watch Animal Planet when I can’t sleep."

"We can’t exactly walk into a supermarket and grab a gallon of pig’s blood, Sabu," Rob said.

"A butcher," Balls said. "We can get some from a butcher."

"Then do it," Johnny said, taking Alicia’s hand in his. He fixed his gaze on Sabu. "She's not like them and she’ll prove it when she finally wakes up."

"Only enough to heal her," Tommy said to Balls. "Remember we’re trying to get information out of her." Balls and Jazz left to get the blood.

"So, what do we do now," Tazz asked.

"We wait and plot what do to next," Tommy replied.

~*~

"Master," Shannon panted. "Master, Stevie is dead." He had seen what happened to Stevie, but had not wanted to get involved.

"What," Thorn asked.

"Tommy, Sandman and Johnny found Alicia," Shannon replied. "She passed out in Johnny’s arms. Stevie tried to get her back, but Tommy staked him."

"And now they have Alicia," Thorn asked, frowning. Shannon nodded. "Where have they taken her?"

"I don’t know," Shannon replied, hanging his head. He regretted their fight the night before and not following her as Richards had done.

Thorn thought a moment. "Tell the others to gather," he said. "I think we have a fight on our hands and we need to be prepared."

"Yes, Master," Shannon said bowing and leaving Thorn.

~*~

"This is all we could get," Balls said entering the hotel room with Jazz carrying a small jug of pig’s blood.

"You’d be amazed at the odd looks you get when you walk into a butcher shop and ask for some pig’s blood," Jazz said setting the jug down on the table in the corner of the room.

"We need to warm it up before we try to get her to feed," Tommy said.

"I bring a hot plate and a small pot with me when we travel," Tazz said. "I can go grab it from my room."

"Good thinking," Tommy said nodding. Tazz left to retrieve his hot plate. "Johnny," he said placing a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. "Once she’s well enough to talk we’ll need to be firm."

"I know," Johnny replied. "I know that my friend is still in there somewhere. She’s not like them."

Tazz returned to the room with his hot plate and small pot. He poured some pig’s blood into the pot and brought it to just about body temperature by touch. He poured it into a mug popping in a straw and handed it to Johnny.

"Alicia," Johnny said placing the straw at her lips. "Drink this. It’ll help with the pain."

Obediently she began to sip the warm liquid through the straw. Before their eyes her nasty purple bruises began to fade from her face and arms. Her labored breathing became more normal as she continued to sip the liquid. Tommy reached out and took the cup away. Johnny glared up at him.

"She’s healed," he replied. "Now she has to talk."

Alicia groaned and opened her eyes, looking around the room at the angry faces before her. Her eyes finally rested on Johnny, who looked more concerned than angry. She tried to reach for him, but her restraints held her back.

"Forgive the restraints," Tommy said, his eyes deadly serious.

"There really is no need for this," Alicia replied. "I won’t hurt any of you."

"And we’re supposed to believe this bullshit," Sabu scoffed. "You’ve killed too many of our friends to believe you, sweetheart."

Alicia turned her gaze on Johnny. "Johnny, you know me. We were roommates while we were training. You know the real me. Do you honestly believe I’d hurt anyone here?"

"If you had asked me that question a few weeks ago I would have been able to answer it with certainty," he replied with a sigh. "Now that you’ve become…."

"A monster," Alicia finished for him, tears clouding her eyes. "I don’t blame you for not trusting me. All of you. I have done horrible things recently and I’m ashamed of it."

"It could be an act," Sandman said.

"She could be trying to get us to free her so that she can go back to Thorn and warn him about what we have planned," Tommy agreed.

Alicia’s head snapped up at the mention of Thorn, her amethyst eyes darker than anyone had ever seen them. "If you think that I still have some allegiance to Thorn after what he did to me then you are more demented than he is. I want him to suffer and long painful death, preferably at my hands," she said.

"I don’t know," Tommy said, uncertain about how to proceed for the first time since they had returned to the hotel.

"If you let me free and give me a little more blood to recover my strength I will lead you to Thorn," Alicia offered.

"If you double cross us you will die a slow and painful death," Tommy promised holding out the mug of blood for Johnny to hold for her "I will see to it that you are shackled up somewhere with no access to blood of any kind."

"Understood," Alicia said as Johnny held the straw out for her. She gladly accepted it.

"Gather up as many wooden weapons as you can," Tommy said to the others. "Sandman, we’ll need those cases of beer you have in your room."

"For what," he demanded, not wanting to share his beer.

"They’re in glass bottles," Tommy replied. "We’ll need to make Molotov cocktails."

"All right," Sandman said sighing, standing and heading to his room to grab the beer.

Chapter 17

After sunset Johnny, Tommy, Sandman and the others followed Alicia as she led them to the old mansion at the edge of town. She stopped just out of view of the windows and motioned for them to lay low as they had planned. They had agreed to wait a few minutes before setting their plan in motion.

Alicia rang the doorbell and could hear the sound of it chiming inside. She inhaled deeply to steady her nerves, hoping and praying that the plan would work. The door locks disengaged and she was greeted by Trinity, who stared at her stunned.

"You’re back," she said, eying her carefully. "We thought for certain you had been killed."

"Are you kidding me, Trin," Alicia chuckled. "Those loser never knew what hit them."

"You’ve killed them, then," Trinity asked stepping aside so that Alicia could enter.

"I’m only one vampire," Alicia said sighing. "I managed to wound one pretty bad before I got away, but I fear they may have tried to follow."

"We should tell the master immediately," Trinity gasped.

"No need," Thorn said coming down the stairs into the living room where Alicia and Trinity stood talking. Ariel trailed behind him. "I heard it all." He looked Alicia up and down, his face unreadable. "Trinity, tell the others to gather only what we absolutely need. I would like to speak to Alicia alone."

Alicia stiffened when he wrapped an arm around her waist and led her to the library on that floor. He closed and locked the door behind him. She felt a sick feeling of déjà vu as she watched him slowly approach her, a smirk curling his lips. She hated being alone in a room with no exit besides the one he now blocked the path to.

"So, you’ve escaped," he asked.

"Yes," Alicia said glancing around for another possible exit. The windows had large black bars on them, probably because the former owner had been paranoid about burglars. "It wasn’t that hard. They never knew what hit them."

Thorn chuckled mirthlessly and grabbed her face harshly. "You anger me when you lie to me, little one," he growled. "Did you think I would not smell that beer swilling moron Sandman or the Neanderthal Balls Mahoney? They’re hiding out there hoping to pounce on us as we flee for our lives." He released her face, pushing her down to the ground.

"I swear I don’t know what you’re talking about," Alicia lied, hoping he would believe her.

"LIES! YOU LED THEM HERE TO KILL YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS," Thorn yelled.

There was banging on the door. "Master," Francine called frantically. "They’ve begun throwing Molotov cocktails at the mansion! The first floor is burning!"

"Take the others through the tunnels in the basement," Thorn called. Alicia’s eyes grew wide with shock. She hadn’t known about the tunnels. "Yes, I made sure we would have an alternate escape," he said seeing her expression. "I realized that I could not trust you and I needed to take precautions in case you decided to betray me." He sighed. "I see that my instincts were correct."

"I will kill you," Alicia said, her eyes blazing with hatred and hands balling into fists.

Thorn laughed. "You are no match for me, little one," he said still chuckling.

Alicia let out an animalistic cry and threw herself at Thorn. He caught her with little trouble and slammed her down on the ground hard. Her freshly healed ribs screamed in protest. Thorn grabbed her by her hair, snatching the curtain tie backs off the wall. Throwing her onto the couch he nestled his knee in the small of her back pulling her arms back to bind her wrists.

"You bastard," she grunted, trying to fight him off. "When I get free I will hunt you down and kill you!"

Thorn laughed once again. "You will not get free, little one," he said as he bound her ankles and flipped her over onto her back. He grasped her face harshly, bringing his only inches from hers. "You are going to burn," he said and began to laugh again. Hearing the crackling of the fire surrounding him he left Alicia bound on the couch and hurried to the tunnels.

"Let’s go before the house crumbles around us," Thorn called to the others.

"Where’s Alicia," Shannon demanded. Trinity had told the others that she had come back, but he had not seen her.

"She led this ambush," Thorn growled. "She’s as good as dead now."

"No," Shannon yelled rushing back up the basement steps. "ALICIA!"

"Shannon wait," Joey Styles called following him.

Thorn shook his head as he watched the two men run back up the stairs. "So be it," he said. "Test, Dupree wait here for them. When they realize it is a futile effort they will come back. Help them through the tunnels when they do." Test and Dupree nodded, standing at the foot of the steps. "Come," Thorn said ushering Ariel, Francine and Trinity in front of him.

~*~

"Something’s wrong," Johnny said frowning. "They should have come out by now."

Tommy groaned realizing why they were not fleeing from the burning mansion. "They must have another way out," he said. "Most likely a way through the basement or we would have heard Show and the others fighting them."

"We have to go in there," Johnny said.

"Whoa kid," Sabu said holding him back. "In case you haven’t noticed the mansion is lit up like a fucking Christmas tree. We are not going into that."

"Alicia’s still in there," Johnny said fighting against Sabu’s restraining grip.

"How do we know she didn’t double cross us," Sandman asked.

"She could have high tailed it with the others," Jazz agreed.

"Alicia is still in there," Johnny said finally breaking free of Sabu’s grasp. With a sigh the others followed him into the burning mansion.

"Show," Tommy called. "We could use some help here." Within moments the others joined them, Big Show breaking down the door.

"ALICIA," Johnny called, coughing from the smoke.

"Get down low," Al called. "We don’t need you getting overcome from the smoke!"

~*~

Alicia wriggled in her restraints, trying desperately to get free. She wriggled so much that she fell off the couch, hitting her head on the glass coffee table and landing on the floor with a sickening thud. She groaned as her vision blurred.

"Alicia," Shannon called as he came to the library door. "Alicia are you in here?"

"Shannon," she groaned. She could see him in the doorway, but could not muster enough strength to call out to him.

"Alicia," Shannon called, seeing her lying on the floor. He attempted to go in, but Joey held him back and ran into the room trying to save her. He hadn’t gotten very far when a piece of flaming ceiling landed on him, pinning him to the floor. Shannon and Alicia watched in horror as it burned him to a crisp in a matter of seconds.

"I’m coming to get you," Shannon said venturing into the library.

"Shannon, don’t," Alicia whimpered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Go save yourself."

"I’m not leaving you," Shannon replied as he side stepped the flaming floor where Joey Styles had once been. Just as he had gotten by the patch of fire another piece of ceiling fell, landing on top of Shannon.

"Shannon," Alicia cried, struggling against her bonds. "No! Shannon!"

His eyes met hers as the flames enveloped him. "I love you," he said before he burst into flames. Alicia buried her face in the carpet as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"ALICIA," Johnny called as he found his way to the library.

He thought he had heard her cry out, but couldn’t be sure. He almost didn’t see her because of all of the smoke. He heard coughing coming from behind the couch. Rushing toward the sound, he found Alicia lying on the ground, wrists and ankles bound.

"I got you," he said as he untied her. "Can you walk?" She nodded glancing at the patches of ash that used to be Joey and Shannon. "Come on," he said ushering her out of the library.

They found Big Show holding up the ceiling in the living room. "Get her out of here," he shouted, groaning under the weight. "The others are outside already."

Johnny nodded and ushered Alicia outside. She stumbled along, coughing from the smoke that was enveloping the mansion. "He tried to save me," she whimpered, tears streaking down her cheeks. "Shannon died trying to save me."

"Let’s get you out of here," Johnny said holding her close.

"Are you all right," Tommy asked. Johnny nodded. "Sabu and Balls found Test and Dupree in the basement guarding a series of tunnels, but they wouldn’t say where they led. The building started coming down so we had to get the hell out of there."

"They’re long gone," Alicia said. "Thorn made sure of it. I’m sorry I didn’t know about the tunnels." The wound on her forehead had begun to ooze and she felt darkness creeping in.

"It’s all right," Tommy said patting her on the shoulder before the darkness took her. "I’ve got her, John," he said taking Alicia’s unconscious body from the younger man. "We’ll take her back to the hotel and give her some more blood and she’ll be fine." Johnny nodded tiredly.

Chapter 18

"Can you believe this bullshit," Sandman grumbled as he browsed www.wwe.com. It was a few days after the incident at the mansion. Johnny had driven Alicia back to his apartment and watched over her night and day. She hadn’t said much since that night. She had resigned herself to feed on pig’s blood and stayed in the guest room.

"Did you expect ECW to remain a separate brand when half the roster was wiped out by mysterious circumstances," Tommy asked. "Not to mention Paul’s death."

"Yeah, but why do I have to be stuck on friggin’ Smackdown," Sandman demanded. "That’s the B show and everyone knows it."

"Could you guys keep it down," Johnny hissed as he exited the guest bedroom. "Alicia is trying to sleep." He plopped onto the couch between Sandman and Tommy with a sigh.

"How is she doing," Tommy asked, folding the newspaper he was reading.

"She’s like a ghost," Johnny sighed. "She hardly leaves the guest room."

"Give her time," Tommy said with a sigh. "She lost someone that she cared about that night."

Johnny was about to reply when the door to the guest room opened. Alicia stood in the doorway, her dirty blonde hair hanging in ringlets down her back and over her shoulders. She was thinner and paler and her eyes looked haunted. She was not the same happy-go-lucky woman she had been before everything had happened.

"Did we wake you," Johnny asked getting up. Alicia waved him off and he reluctantly sat back down.

"I couldn’t sleep," Alicia replied softly with a sigh. "Johnny, you’ve been a wonderful friend through all of this, but I think it’s time for me to go back to my place."

"You don’t have to," Johnny replied, knowing that she wouldn’t be safe as long as Thorn and the others were roaming free. "You can stay as long as you like. We could be room mates again."

Alicia half smiled, shaking her head. "As tempting as that sounds I need to be in my own home," she replied.

"You shouldn’t be alone," Tommy said. "Thorn could attack you at any time."

"It’s a risk I’m willing to take," Alicia replied taking a seat on the couch. "I’ve thought about this long and hard." She turned her gaze on Johnny. "If I stay I put you in danger."

"I don’t mind," Johnny said taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. "You’re my best friend, Alicia."

"And you’re mine," she replied giving his hand a squeeze too. "But I could never live with myself if Thorn hurt you." She sighed looking out the window at the late afternoon sun. "At sunset I’ll be leaving." With that she stood and headed back into the guest room to pack her things.

Sandman, Tommy and Johnny watched her walk away. No one knew what to say to her. Deep in his heart Johnny knew that she would leave eventually. He hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

"You can’t protect her all of the time," Sandman said. "But according to this you’ll be on the Raw roster together. You can look after her then at least."

"And maybe you can talk her into bunking with you on the road," Tommy suggested.

"Yeah," Johnny said forcing a smile. "It’s almost sunset. What do you say we order some take out and send her home on a good note."

"You read my mind," Tommy said smiling and pulling out his cell phone to order some take out.

"I’ll order the booze," Sandman said pulling out his cell phone. Johnny chuckled and shook his head. "Hey, if we’re partying I wanna get blasted."

~*~

Later that night, after the little dinner party Alicia gathered up her things. Tommy and Sandman had left to give the friends some time to spend together. Johnny walked her to the door, his heart heavy.

"I’ll see you on Monday," Alicia said hugging him. "We have our Raw debut." He half smiled at her and nodded. "Hey, don’t be sad. I’ll be all right." She gave him a tight hug, not wanting to let go. "I’ll see you Monday."

Johnny watched her heading down the stairs away from his apartment. He wondered if she’d really be all right. Deep in his heart he knew that she couldn’t stay with him forever, but part of him wanted to protect her.

When Alicia got down to street level she looked up at Johnny’s apartment window. She knew he was watching her and fought back the tears. She wanted to stay with Johnny, but knew that he was in more danger if she did. With a sigh she stepped off the curb and hailed a cab.