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PART ONE

Another World

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Chapter ONE

She hadn't even planned to stop in Dallas, or even Texas. The United States had never held much interest to her. She wanted to see Cuba, Brazil, Japan, China... it was the idea of seeing those countries that was the reason for her around the world trip. Not the US. She had only planed to stop over in the US to see New York and San Francisco. Yet somehow along her planning a friend had convinced her to drive across the country with her. They were going to do a Thelma and Louise thing, without the killing, robbing, and dying. But then Jess's dad had gotten worse, his cancer treatment wasn't working, and Kate had ended up driving across the United States by herself in the car Jess had bought online before she had gotten the news. Perhaps not the wisest decision, buying a car online, but it was gorgeous and Kate understood her reasons perfectly.

She also had to admit the US was prettier than she had expected, and people were not quite as stupid as she had feared they would be after having seen too much day-time TV in her early teens. And though she would probably never admit it, she had just found herself quite liking the south when her car had started acting up just out of Dallas. But now Kate found herself stranded until it could be fixed. A day's wait would have been fine, even two or three. But after a week's wait… it was beginning to push it. Not to mention all the Fellowship of the Sun bull she heard everywhere she went in the city. It was annoying. She preferred not to think too much about vampires, they tended to keep to their own crowds, but as far as she could tell there was no reason to eradicate them all. Not with that synthetic blood and all that.

According to the media the United States had taken better to the vampires when they came out of the coffin than most European countries, but walking around Dallas she was beginning to doubt that. Back home in Edinburgh they were certainly more welcomed than they seemed to be in the southern US. At home there they even had vampires doing ghost tours for the tourists. Sure, her friend told her that 'their' vampire was only three decades old, and that included his human years, but as far as the tourist were concerned he had been walking around the city for centuries, been one of the many vampires that used to feed in the underground city… it had even been his home once. Now that was utilising the vamps, they had gotten great reviews by the Lonely planet and after that they had been sold out for months in advance. At least until the other tour companies copied the idea. Still, they were the first and that still helped sell tickets. Besides, as far as she could tell Jack was perfectly alright, at least the few times she had met him, and according to James's tales.

In Dallas on the other hand the vamps seemed to be hated. She briefly wondered if they were different here. More menacing somehow. She had been to one of those horrid vampire clubs that were popping up everywhere in Louisiana with some other people from the hostel she had been staying at and that was one too many times in her opinion. But she supposed she couldn't judge the American vamps on how they were there, that was a tourist attraction. Back home she the vamps went to normal pubs and clubs. That was one of the reasons they had suddenly gotten stricter checking IDs. Serving a minor might not be too bad, but if said minor ends up being the drink there would be trouble, and not just for the vamp. Though it still annoyed her.

Being 26, newly graduated, and with the appearance of a 22-year-old, she was annoyed to suddenly be carded at every place she went, at least in the States. At home no one had tried to card her since she was 16, but that was before the vamps came out and she supposed the drinking age was different in the US. She found it hilarious that you could join the army, get married, have children, vote, and even become a vampire legally at 18, but you had to be 21 to order a beer. Still, the country was growing on her. She might have to stop making fun of her best-friend's American loving boyfriend. She liked him, but it was just too easy to rile him up with anti-America propaganda. He was one of the few people she could actually have a fun political debate with, which was strange considering her degree was in political science… others simply got defensive in a boring way, not Matt though. Jen had won the jackpot with him.

When Kate retuned to the motel for the night she had not seen a single vampire out and about, but then again she doubted any sane vampire would go to any of the bars she had stumbled into considering all the FotS talk. In two of the bars she had even seen people walking around with FotS rings or pins. Something she wondered if it should be illegal or not, was it a religious symbol or the equivalent of a nazi cross… she couldn't decide. But then again, it wasn't really up to her. She was neither a vampire nor an American. She had no reason to feel offended and no power to change things even if she wanted to. She was a tourist, and, God willing, within two weeks she would be in Mexico. Though she wasn't so sure about that considering her luck with her car and her mechanic. Wasn't it bad enough that she had to risk her life driving on the wrong side of the road?

However there was not much rest to be had. After what felt like only a few minutes of sleep loud banging from the parking lot woke her up. At first she tried to ignore it but when that didn't work she stood to see what was going on. But when she reached the window she could only stare at the transpiring fight. She had never seen anything worse than a pub brawl before, but what was going on outside seemed to be something straight out of a kung-fu movie. The way they moved, they literally sent each other flying with their kicks and punches. And that could mean only one thing; vampires. A realisation that kept her frozen in place, she had never seen vampires fight, and she knew there was little she could do to stop them. Even the police would be able to do little, at least the human police. Was there such a thing as vampire police? She knew that in some of the bigger cities back home they had a vampire or two working with them, but did they have the same in the US? Her hesitation however ended quickly after one of the fighters was thrown against her window, shattering it in the process. Had she invited him in or if he had been human he would probably have gone through the window. But as it was that magical force that kept uninvited vamps out kept him on the other side. He didn't even seem aware of her. But better safe then sorry.

Dialling the familiar 911 number on her phone, a number that she never had imagined herself having to use in her life, it was something that happened on TV, not to her, she waited.

"911, what's your emergency?"

The next few hours would perhaps be the strangest and most frightening ones of Kate's life. Instead of the police arriving as she had expected, a large vampire cowboy showed up on her doorstep, threatening to burn the motel and that 'sweet little family two doors down' to the ground if she didn't open the door. With no other choice, she did as told.

"Now, aren't you a sight." The vampire said, taking her in top to toe with lecherous eyes. "Maybe you and I should have ourselves some fun before we get down to business. I could go for a snack."

"No, thank you." She responded immediately, saying the first thing that came to her mind. "I would be pretty bland anyway, I have an iron deficiency."

"Yet you smell delicious." He told her, his expression never changing.

"It's the shampoo. Jack tells me the same thing." She added, and it was true. It was that comment that had made her keep her distance from him, even when James insisted he was a great guy.

"You've been with one of us before?"

"He does night tours, I did day tours." She informed him, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Then maybe I should show you how."

"No thank you."

"You don't know until you try." He said, locking eyes with her. "You always wanted to try being with a vampire."

"No, not really." She told him nervously, thanking whatever power it was that kept the vampire on the other side of the door. "Didn't even like Angel, and he had the hole broody thing teen girls love." Her response made his eyes narrow, the lecherous look wiped clean as if it had never been there.

"I will forget everything that happened here tonight, and you won't notice that little window being broken or getting fixed tomorrow." He told her, his eyes never leaving hers. In fact for a moment she could have sworn his pupils dilated. This was just too wired, but if that was all he wanted to hear she would swear anything he wanted on anything he wanted. As long as he went away.

"Sure, not a word." She agreed quickly. Again he only stared at her. His intense stare made her more uncomfortable than his previous lecherous one. She wanted him gone. "Is that all?"

"Come with me."

"I am pretty tired. I think I will stay here. I am leaving the city at first light."

"You know, I love it when I have to play rough. If you don't come willingly I will have to force you, and you know how I plan to do that."

"Why?"

"I would prefer just killing you, but the Sheriff doesn't like that. Hence he can deal with you."

"Deal with me? I haven't done anything!" She protested. "I mean, yeah; I saw a fight. But I wouldn't even be able to tell you who was flighting who even if he stood in front of me. All I know is that one had dark hair, and I only saw his back when he hit my window. I promise. There is nothing to deal with. I work with a vampire, I have nothing against you guys, and I have no plans on doing anything to hurt you either. You seem to have it bad enough with the Fellowship of the Sun thing."

"I don't have time for this. Come before I force you out."

"What will your sheriff do? Who is he?" She asked nervously, and as always, when nervous she had a tendency to babble. "Or she. I am not a sexist. Not that I am a feminist, well, not a militant one I-"

"Oh, shut up. If we wanted to kill you. I would have, come."

"See, when you willingly go with someone who wants to kill you that tends to be when you get tortured, raped, or both before you die. If I am going to die, I rather die without all that."

"You are insane."

"Just too much TV. Criminal Minds just happens to be a favourite of mine."

"If you don't come now, we will get you later. We already know who you are, you won't be able to run from us. Kathryn Miller, of Bath, England. MSc in International Relations from the University of Edinburgh. 26 years old, almost 27. Your birthday is in a week. If you want to live to see that birthday you better come with me now."

"How do you know that?" She asked, her eyes wide.

He smirked, knowing had won. And he had.

"Just let me put on some trousers, and a jacket."

TBC...