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"Mimi!"

Elliot whirled about, having heard the voice of his childhood friend behind him.

Out of the shadows, a female figure moved, a soft glow of light emanating from behind. The unexpected person stepped forward, revealing herself -- an HP officer -- as identified by her standard-issue green uniform and black boots. It was not surprising an officer was already present within the Center, given the recent snake crisis, but unexpected that that officer would turn out to be Mimi and that she would be able to track Alessandro and Elliot down to the library. Loose strands of brown hair flowed across her steely expression. She placed a hand at her right hip.

"So what are you guys doing?" she asked coolly.

"I, uh... I found Aless!" Elliot exclaimed. How long had she been there? he wondered. How much of the conversation between him and Alessandro had she heard? "We were just, uh, talking... about things... "

"Uh-huh," Mimi nodded. She eyed Elliot with a tense brow. "And I thought you two weren't an item."

Elliot became wide-eyed. "Wha—?"

"What's this about a vampire?" Mimi cut in.

So, Mimi had heard their conversation! Elliot thought. Had Aless known she was there, too? Had he allowed her to listen? To hear his origin?

"You have heard correctly, Mimi," Alessandro acknowledged.

Mimi moved around the two young men carefully, as if walking within a cage with two large cats. She sat down alongside Elliot, completing the circle between the three of them.

She felt the necklace at her chest shift.

Alessandro pulled his head away slightly.

Mimi froze. She studied Alessandro's eyes and remembered a similar distraction from a time before.

Alessandro's eyes pulsed with a cool blue glow, as he stared at Mimi's pendant. His teeth began to bare.

"You saved those two boys from earlier today," Mimi said, referring to Luc and Bruno.

Alessandro looked up and stared into Mimi's warm brown eyes.

"You saved me, too. Didn't you?" Mimi asked.

Alessandro hesitated.

His eyes lost their electric glow.

"You also saved us from the canines the night we went out on campus grounds. You warned us about the mongrels."

Alessandro stared.

"Thank you," Mimi said.

Alessandro placed his palms together and bowed his head. He slowed at an eye level to meet Mimi's eyes, then seemingly winked and gave her a thin smile.

Mimi's eyes narrowed, and she smirked.

After a moment, she turned to Elliot. "So, what's the plan here?"

Elliot looked at Mimi, and then at Alessandro. The plan?

"Uh, well, we'll start by conferring with, uh, the other scientists. I'll have to explain everything to them."

Elliot stopped to look at Alessandro, and then back at Mimi.

"But Aless will have to stay in the lab, to keep him away from everyone, just in case. We also need to keep him away from the canines. They already know he's here. One of them already broke in and discovered our secret underground."

"That's why there's an evacuation," Mimi cut in. "I was told the HP Unit was being notified, but I haven't heard anything official yet."

"The, uh, the mongrel that discovered our lab," Elliot hesitated and swallowed, "he...uh... he killed Dr. Berman."

Mimi placed a hand at Elliot's shoulder. "I'd heard. I wish I had been here for you."

"I don't know if... if somehow I had led the mongrels to him..."

"No, Elliot. You can't blame yourself. It's not your fault." Mimi wrapped an arm around his back.

Elliot hung his head.

"Mimi, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about your father."

Mimi froze.

"And I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Aless sooner," Elliot added. "I should have. You're practically the only person I trust, the only family and friend I have."

Mimi nodded and patted Elliot a couple of times on his shoulder before separating. She looked away and flicked at her eyelashes. She took a deep breath and touched the necklace at her chest. "We'll have lots to talk about later."

There was a quiet agreement.

"Okay," Mimi said with another deep breath. "So what do we know about vampires?"

Elliot paused.

"Well, we've just started our research, but we've learned that they can be very fast and strong. They're nocturnal creatures, and they heal very quickly from injuries."

"Heal quickly, huh?" Mimi looked at Alessandro. "You sound invincible."

"Hardly," Alessandro denied.

"He does have weaknesses," Elliot confirmed. "Direct sunlight will burn him. And a wooden stake through the heart will, uh... will kill him." Elliot cringed.

"I imagine that'd kill just about anyone," Mimi deadpanned. "What about this?" she asked, pulling her necklace out from around her neck.

The newly burnished cross glistened as it hung from its metallic chain. A dissonant sound seemed to fill the air.

Alessandro gasped and pulled away, but Mimi did not put the necklace aside quickly. She observed the strange boy. "Is it the cross you fear?"

"No, God is with me."

"Aless was sent here on a mission from God," Elliot explained to Mimi.

"What mission?"

Alessandro paused. "To save humankind."

Mimi stared. "No small order there. What about my necklace?"

"Silver and all of its brilliance can injure me as well."

"The silver protects me? From you?"

"No, your goodness protects you. God protects you." Alessandro turned and looked at Elliot, too. "He protects all of us."

"We're going to need it," Elliot said.

"It doesn't mean we're laserproof," Mimi said. She put the necklace away. "We're going to need each other if we are to survive the wrath of the canines. They are a barbaric species and can be obsessive in their persistence."

The three teens looked at each other in the way that only young people can; with big eyes, open hearts and impossible dreams. Barely sitting a distance away, they were bound together by a strange faith in one another, and yet also separated by those invisible unknowns of love, trust and God.

Coming up Next: Another descent into the dark world of the mongrels...