It has been a long night for Nicole Collins, Rhyaad de’Annar, and Esther Friendman – for tonight they have clandestinely entered into Cranshaw House, the estate leased by Natasha Snow. There, they have discovered, that rather than the adult entertainment actress being involved in a case of simple theft and fraud, a far more sinister plan is in progress. Ian Finch, Collinport Star film critic, is in league with others in an bold attempt to bring Vera Endecott back from the dead – and in so doing, perhaps killing Nastaha Snow. The more Nicole has sat alone and and thought about the case, after Rhyaad and Esther had left for the night, she has decided that she has made a mistake and she should have taken the film within which Vera Endecott is somehow trapped. Heading back the Cranshaw House she feels she should act as Natasha Snow is in ever increasing danger – only Nicole is unaware of how much danger awaits her at Cranshaw House.

He had been looking for her in all of the usual places, and yet, he had not been able to find her. The red-haired figure, atop the building looked down at the Collinsport Sheriff’s Department SUV.

“Claude, you sure someone said they saw a break-in at the Braithewaith’s” Sheriff Patterson said into the microphone. He sat in the patrol SUV and let the heater’s lower fan blow fully upon his legs and ankles. Arthritis in this weather was painful. He was secretly glad he was going to retire in two weeks.

The voice on the radio came back, “Yah, that’s wha’ they said. Got a couple of reports of some prow’ler a-round th’ square.”

“Nothing here.”

He took note of the black Ferrari backing out of the parking slot in front of Collins Investigations. Nicole Collins. Cute little limey. He liked to watch her walk. Just like a cat. Bet she could pounce on you real good too – too bad she was a dyke. He watched her car take the rotary off toward the highway.

Bit late out for a lady – especially a Collins.

“Oh, Sheriff, “ Claude, his deputy came back on the line.

“Yeah?”

“Also got a report of a strange red-headed man asking about downtown for Nikki Collins.”

‘Nikki Collins you say.”

“Yeah-up.”

Staring the SUV, Patterson decided to hang back and make sure she got back to the old house.

Nikki had thought more and more about what Rhyaad had said – that they should have stolen the projector. And even Esther felt they could have taken the film. And so, sitting alone in the dark of her office, sipping a glass of blood, she had decided – she had made a mistake. So, she would slip back into Cranshaw House and at the least take the film.

As she drove along the highway, she turned on the CD, Sam’s, an old Jane’s Addiction. She wanted to be lying beside the warmth of Samantha, wanted to let her hands slowly caress her marvelous skin – she noted the headlights behind her.

She saw them in the rearview mirror, the same one that showed her as a hazy shadow. She turned her eyes to the mirror again – deciding that the whoever was behind her was slowing down or speeding up to adjust to her own speed.

Her phone rang, “Yes,’ she said sliding her finger across the screen to answer.

“Nikki? Nikki Collins?”

“Yes, who is this?”

‘It’s Medri Harker.”

‘Sorry, it doesn’t sound like you.”

‘”Well it is love, where are you.”

“About to shake someone following me.”

“Oh, then – where will you be, I need to see you.”

“I am going to the old Cranshaw House, off the Old Costal By-Pass Road. Meet me there I could use your help.”

“Sure thing Love, see you soon.”

And so, Nikki took some evasive action, and soon, used to the back roads, and some access roads she had come to know via her long night walks, she soon lost the Sheriff (if of course did not help Patterson that he was forced to use headlights, where Nikki could rely on her vampire sight and could turn them off) – and circled back to Natasha Snow’s house. She parked her car and slipped out into the wintery night. Her heels crunched in the snow as she walked along the highway – rather than make her way back through the tracks they had left earlier.

The moonlight on the snow made everything bright as she now turned off the road and slipped down into the shadow of an incline that ran to the back of the property. She could see the house; there were lights on – downstairs.

She was about to circle around the small pond, when she heard something moving off to her left. Medri?

Nikki turns to watch Medri Harker step out of the shadows, he moves with the lithe stride of a predator – a stride that Nikki has been told she has by Sam. Sensual but also dangerous like a panther about to stalk you, is how Sam put it . . . only she had never noticed it with Medri in past. “Thanks for coming – but I forgot to ask, what are you doing here? This is a long way from Scarlet Creek.’

Medri looked at Nikki, a wry smile now forming on his lips as he drew closer – the Entity didn’t have much time – this one was strong, very strong, her abilities to look into the mind, read thoughts – it would be only seconds before she reads what is about the happen: “I am not here or there . . . “ He said.

Medri stepped forward coming closer and closer towards Nikki just as he stepped into the serious moonlight which revealed what appeared to be a very deep, red head of hair – and she took note now of his eyes, they were dark . . .

If not for the shadows of the night she would have seen they were jet black.

“Medri, are you alright?” Nikki said, her blue eyes looking at him . . .

Medri smiled, “Yes yes . . . I will be . . . I just need to collect something that’s mine . . . you know, Daddy . . . Daddy Daddy . . . hid you away . . . thinking without you I couldn’t come out to play. . ..”

Nikki felt a sudden sensation along her spine, and it traveled up into her hair – her skin tingled, and there was one red, hot word in her mind – as she could read Medri’s intent and that word was DEATH!

Medri tilted his head . . . .too bad she was aware, didn’t matter. . . and Nikki noted his movement was different from the boy you knew . . . and his eyes – closer now she could see they were now black orbs with absolutely no iris . . . no white . . . just blackness”

‘But Daddy was wrong!”

Nikki’s eyes went from blue to midnight blue in a second, as some natural instinct took hold, her voice grew very tight, “Merdri, what is wrong. . . ”

He cocked his head, smiled.

“LOOK AT ME MEDRI,” Nikki commanded. “Medri tell me what is wrong with your eyes!”

Medri now slowly raises his hand.

Something strange happens now to Nikki – to her body, her blood, it responds to some ancient power. God she can feel him inside of her, all around her – it is overpowering and overwhelming . . . there is noting but violence and suffering and pain and it is like nothing she has ever experienced.

“Time to go to sleep child . . . I just want what’s mine . . . “And she now sees the knife, the glinting pure silver blade – it is stained with blood – and suddenly, her face a mask of pain, her mouth a surprised O, even as she fights the need to asleep, to collapse helpless on the ground, and she concentrates on the slitting silver slice of pain stabbing into her – being shoved into her . . .

Nikki gasps as the blade cuts into her, lifting her from her feet, she can’t fight as she is so lethargic – and yet the pain, the pain is excruciating as the silver blade cuts into her, enters deeper and deeper, and then up – he’s gutting her. This close to him she can feel this – other – this other thing inside him – as the blade is inside her.

She screams, tastes her own blood, feels the gush spilling out of her. The Blade is pulled out and then stabbed into her again – the hot, white pain of the silver cutting, slicing, opening her. She looks into the face of her attacker and draws from the Entity now so close to her; and her fangs extend; she loudly hisses; she so wants to rip his throat out, rip off his head, even as the hand with the blade inside her lifts her up and off her feet. With both her hands wrapped around his wrists she’s trying with all her strength to stop him from pulling the blade further up inside her.

She is not sure how she is still standing, the pain is ripping through her abdomen, tearing at her mind – her mind fighting so hard against the power . . . her body wanting to collapse, the mental suggestion to sleep is just so fucking strong, but the pure force of her mental intensity holds her up, as she watches dumbfounded, while Medri cuts his hand now and places it over her wounds

She gasps as she feels her blood flowing into . . . what is he talking from her?”

Medri waves his hand and the wound is suddenly healed.

Now he was using her powers of thought, as he touched her mind. Forget all of this, all this pain, and sleep! He told her.

Only Nikki’s mind rebelled and even as she held her hand to her abdomen to try and hold herself together, to keep from spilling out parts of her, she sank her fangs deep into his neck, drawing on the power she felt within him to have the strength to do so.

Fangs puncturing his flesh and she immediately saw a flash of pure darkness, a place of void – she saw Medri struggle against it and yet it drew more and more at his soul. The black blood was sickening – she leapt back and spat the blood out of her mouth.

“Sleep – sleep the sleep of the true dead.” Medri said, “Remember how Daddy was wrong! ”

Nikki fell to the ground, slipping into sleep – a long last sleep. No, to sleep is to die. He wants her dead – so wants her dead. Wants to show her daddy it can still come out to play. And then Nikki had one last thought: Oh god yes, he was here! She felt his mind’s thought, he too has returned to check on the woman Snow.

RHYAAAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Her thought flew across the land, across the pond, back toward Cranshaw House, and struck Rhyaad in his mind, with the force of having been hit with an 18 wheel truck – knocking him off his feet.

The Entity aware of Nicole’s power grabs her head . . . absorbing all thoughts . . . and power . . . the oh so special power . . . trying to drain her . . . the blood she had tasted, sucked from his neck is being violently rejected by her system . . . she can’t digest it. It spews out of her mouth. How she fights the command to sleep? Oh Daddy built a strong one, but he was wrong.

The Entity within Medri begins to manipulate her mind . . . taunting her, telling her now how daddy had been all wrong little girl . . . oh so wrong . . . and he turned you . . . and for what . . . you see it doesn’t matter . . . you are still mine . . . oh you fight so hard – the Entity is amazed at the strength of this new one – she should be preparing to die – a quick slice of the blade across that pretty throat will hasten that moment—only, the Entity steps back and looks at it’s handy work, looks at the body that should be sleeping . . . and yet she fights the command, the body, that body that should have been — and how it had thought she would have would be the easy one . . . . Instead, looking at the bloody vampire, it decides now that it can just lean down and grasp a handful of that lovely hair and slide the blade across and through, and take that pretty, pretty little head right off and toss it over into the pond . . .I say, daddy, can you find it now! But the entity inside looks down upon where she lays, a rag doll left to lie where it has fallen, even as it feels the new powers surge through him – sees her hands trying to hold herself together. “Oh so you fight little one.” He leans down, her blood staining him as he grasps the handful of hair – you will not remember – who or what I am, what I have done . . . what I have taken from you . . .

Rhyaad who had also had similar thoughts about returning to Cranshaw House with the intent to take the film had been prepared to enter when he felt the blast of Nikki’s Mind in his – he had never felt a mind so powerful, so full of pain and anguish. It had knocked him to his knees. He knelt and turned now to look out over the deck, across the small pond to see the two figures, one of which he knew to be Nikki. And Nikki was in grave danger. A swirling mass of fog swept across the pond to the hillside across it and hovered about Nikki’s form for a moment; swirling and coalescing like a miniature whirlwind; it rapidly grew denser and more solid, taking on a form. Finally that form emerged as solid, taking the definite shape of Rhyaad. “Nikki!” He gasped and leaned over, examining the damage what had been so viciously done to his friend. “Nikki?!”

Medri leaves the Forest. Leaves Nikki and Medri far behind. The entity within doesn’t have much time. . . . he strides down the highway, at first leaving bloody footprints in the snow, until the snow as washed his boots clean. He moves quickly and is nearing the sign indicting he is entering Collinsport once more. He is careless at this point entering in the town with all the blood stains from Nikki on his clothes . . . but he must hurry Medri has to get back to Scarlet Creek.

Nikki is lying on the ground, writhing in pain, her abdomen is gashed open, blood a red gush. She is trying to hold the blood and organs in with her hand — Rhyaad — Help me!”

“Gods! What happened to you?” Rhyaad looks absolutely aghast at the horror of the severity of the wounds of her abdomen. She is terrible shape, weak and not even begun to regenerate. He scoops her up and holds her tight to him to protect her – whatever has done this will now have to come through him to get to her again!

Her mind a chaos of thoughts and none are at too clear – “Mother – where is mother? I need my Mother!”

“Don’t try to move . . . hold still” Angelique? No one knew where she was – Nikki was delirious. He had seen vampires attacked before – this was bad, violent – He holds her trying to carry her away to someplace other than this. . .

“The blood was all wrong I had to spit it out Rhyaad . . . all wrong.” She raises her head to tell him, “Where is Mother – find my mother.”

“Angelique has been missing for years . . . just hold still Nikki . . .” He rushes away, back toward his car. He puts her gently on the ground, and started to rip off pieces of his shirt and drew a small knife from his pocket.

“It hurts, god it hurts . . .. Blood I need blood Rhyaad, I need blood and lots of it!”

In Collinsport Square, Medri is walking along the sidewalk, and as he passes the windows in the shops they all begin to crack . . . blood oozing through the cracks . . . Medri moves through the square, and now passes a church the Statues of the saints begin to cry blood as the stained glass windows begin to crack and bleed, “You thought you could stop me!”

Rhyaad tries to hold Nikki’s hands back away from the wounds, “I know…”

He has little time to waste, Nikki goes limp, a dead weight. Her head hangs limp, her eyes open, unseeing . . . glassing over – he has seen a Vampire bleed out once and he is afraid he is seeing it a second time. He used the knife to slit his own hand, and pressed it against Nikki’s belly, letting the blood flow while he chanted ancient words.

Nikki goes into convulsions.

Red foam at her lips.

Eyes rolled back so that only the whites are visible.

As his unnaturally dark blood spread over the wound, it would close, becoming an angry red line. The convulsions would be accompanied by a feeling of a freezing fire, running through her abdomen.

Nikki’s dying eyes open, and she gasps, the same long terrible gasp she took that first night she awoke from the dead.

“Gods . . . what happened to you, Nikki?” He drew back his hand, still bleeding.

She trembles, for the first time since she awoke in the morgue, she is so cold – she can feel it.

“The gutter . . . the gutter is so full of blood . . . “

“Mother why have you forsaken me?”

Rhyaad lifts her and puts his arms around her: “Nikki! Snap out of it! You are not in the gutter!” Reluctantly, he put his bleeding hand to her mouth.

She is thinking and he can hear her, came to kill me, came to kill me, came to kill me.

Nikki suddenly grabs Rhyaad and pulls him to her, “Daddy was wrong, do you understand. Daddy was wrong! Oh, Goddamn it hurts so much – the blade cutting me up inside – I could feel it cutting me up!!! Help me Rhyaad.”

“I am”

“Please, I need blood — ” Nikki is frantic, “I need blood – Help me!”

“No—Nikki . . . I don’t understand. Now try to be calm. Who did this to you? Yes, yes, I know.” He put his hand to her mouth again. “Drink. A little.”

“Took my memory . . . “ Puts her lips to his wound and sucks and sucks and sucks for life.”

Medri is almost there and pays little attention as he passes a police SUV. The Sheriff inside, having returned to the snowy town since he lost Nicole Collins on some turn off to an access road, sits inside at first listening to the radio, but upon seeing the strange redheaded figured stained with blood immediately grabs the radio: “Hey Claude, we have a young male about 5 ‘11’’ red hair soaked in blood hear I’m going to check it out.

Sheriff Patterson gets stiffly out of the vehicle, “Son . . . I’m going to need to ask you to stand still.” He calls out to Medri.

Medri stops and turns around the pure silver blade still in hand; blood all over his clothing and his hands.

“Yes officer,” he smiles politely.

Patterson pulls out his gun, “Now, Sir, I’m goin’ ask you to drop your weapon right now.

Nikki is still writhing in pain, “I can’t remember.”

“Can’t remember?” Rhyaad asks Nikki, as it seemed very odd to him, but he didn’t question more. “Drink. A little. It will burn, but drink.”

Medri steps forward. . . the dark eyes glare at the Sheriff, “…now Sheriff, you wouldn’t kill a young pretty thing like me in the middle of your small and quite town would you?”

Patterson is spooked for certain by this strange red-head and finds himself he backing up and fires a warning shot in the air.

Medri laughs, “Oh please . . . lets try this.”

Medri reaches out his hand . . . the gun flies outs of the sheriff’s hand and into Medri’s

“. . . such a strange contraption you humans make.” Medri aims the gun at the Sheriff, “Didn’t they used to call these cannons?”

Medris fires one shot into his kneecap.

Medri stares at the gun as the Sheriff winces in pain and falls on one knee. “Or was it a musket?” Fires another shot into the Sheriff’s other kneecap.

Nikki grabs Rhyaad and curls up into him, ‘If I die Rhyaad don’t let me lie here in the sun?”

“Rhyaad,” Nikki says in almost a whisper, “he is killing again.”

“You aren’t going to die! Now bite me and drink!”

Nikki looks at him and then grabs his wrist and sinks her fangs into him and sucks . .

Sheriff Patterson looks up at the dark slayer, “Please. . . .please . . . “

Medri steps forward looking at the Sheriff’s weapon than placing it in his pants,” But you see, personally . . . I prefer a good old fashion,” Medri takes Sheriff Patterson’s head and grips hard onto it, “beheading,” and with one strain of Medris’ hands he twist the Sheriff’s head . . . the neck snapping—the sound of tearing flesh and then the gush of blood that follows sprays Medri as he holds the head. “….now wasn’t that fun…”

Nikki finds that the blood from Rhyaad is very different from human. It has a bit of a sweet taste, but is also incredibly strong, heady, and causing an icy burning, tingling sensation to spread through her.

Medri tosses the head to the side the headless body falling limp on the pavement . . . and Medri turning and not looking back disappears into the night.

Cue Music and End of Episode