Kaia woke up with a start, hair sticking to her forehead. Her mind was foggy, and she felt dizzy. She looked next to her to find Sappho, who was still unconscious. She took a deep breath, standing up on shaky legs.

"Kaia, let's get out of here."

She nearly jumped, looking behind her to see Chris, who had a solemn expression on his face. She tore her eyes away, unable to unsee what she had witnessed. The look he got on his face when he realized Eli was never going to come back was forever embedded in her mind.

"Why?" She asked softly. "It's the middle of the night. There's going to be vamps and zombies everywhere."

"Doesn't matter to me," Chris said. "You have a gun, anyway. Now let's go. Say goodbye to your girlfriend."

Kaia wondered what had happened, but went along with him, following him down the long hallway. Around them, people were sleeping, having worn themselves out with a day full of debauchery. They approached the red wall, and just as Chris was about to knock on It, the sound of stumbling came from behind them.

"Christian, wait!" Roza called.

Chris whipped around, hus brows furrowed. "How fucking could you, Rose?"

"I didn't- I didn't know she was going to do It," Roza said. "I just thought she was going to-"

"What? What did you think Anastasia wanted with a cloaking spell?!"

Roza's eyes narrowed. "I told you that if I let you see my memories, then you wouldn't like what you saw!"

"I thought you had made a mistake in your past, not Fucked over the entirety of our kinds!"

"You know it's our job to help our children," Roza said. "So I helped her. And something bad happened, and-"

"Almost everyone I love is dead because of her, Roza! She's the reason that the city is in ruins! She's the reason that I was thrown in jail and nearly tortured to death by psychopaths!"

Kaia stared between the two of them, the sound of her heart thudding I her chest nearly exploding in her ears. She ran back into the brothel, going over to Sappho, shaking her awake. The teenager sat up, looking just as out of if as Kaia had been.

"You- you didn't use a spell," Kaia accused, "you just intercepted what Roza was seeing! All you did was give me some kind of fancy witch drugs!"

Sappho blinked her heavy, makeup smeared lids. "Whoa. How'd you figure that out?"

"Because Chris knows what Roza did 57 years ago."

Sappho's eyes widened. "Sounds like trouble in paradise. Wait, what did she do?"

Kaia frowned. "You mean... you didn't know? You don't know who gave Anastasia Moore the spell that let her slip past the security at President Trump's rally?"

Sappho licked her lips, reality setting in on her face. "Wait... do you mean... Kaia, we've been hunting who it was for years. We were going to... execute them. To put it in perspective for you, they're our kind's public enemy #1."

Chris appeared in the doorway, looking furious. "Kaia, I said we're leaving."

Sappho jumped up, walking over to Chris. "Don't tell me it's true, Christian. Don't tell me Roza is the one who helped Anastasia. Please, please, please."

The girl's age finally started to show, tears welling up in her large brown eyes. Chris looked down at her, his face softening."

"Sappho, go back to bed."

"No!" Sappho cried. "I have a duty as a witch, to protect my own kind-"

"Christ," Christian sighed. "What's with all you young ladies and the duty of protecting your own kind?"

"Christian, I was in Roza's mind, I saw what happened to you."

Chris's hand balled up into a fist for a second, but he released It, his fingers stiff. Kaia got between the pair, looking over at Sappho.

"Listen, you do what you have to. Chris and I are leaving now."

She pushed the vampire back, surprised that he gave away under her touch. He could have easily stood as strong as a brick wall. She walked ahead of him, knocking on the door. Roza was nowhere in sight, but she didn't care. She just wanted to go. A heat prickles on the back of her neck, so strong that she took her sweatshirt off, putting the gun on safety and slipping it into the back of her pants.

"Are... you okay?" She asked Chris.

He turned toward her, his dark eyes not giving away any hint of emotion. "... No," he said. "But here's a lesson for you. Be careful who you trust."

"Its okay," Kaia said. "You had no way of knowing. I... I didn't even know she was that old."

Chris snorted. "I was born in 1990 but I look your age. Looks are deceiving these days, kumquat."

Kaia relaxed a little, following close behind Chris. However, she felt a special form of gnawing guilt in her gut. He had only trusted those thoughts to Roza, and she had invaded them. Nevermind that what she saw was terrible itself, and that Sappho was a liar. Let alone that Roza was an indirect cause of the world she was living in.

"What are they going to do to her?" Kaia asked.

Chris shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. She's dead to me. I showed her some of the worst things that ever happened to me, and she still didn't spare me the truth. Trust me when I say that ignorance really is bliss. Now come on, we're not that far from my house."

Kaia bit her lip. "Yeah. Okay."

The city soon gave way to a highway, which ran along restaurant after restaurant, car dealership after car dealership, and strip mall after strip mall. Kaia's feet felt like the were bleeding by the time they reached the right spot. They walked across a desolate parking lot, approaching a building that had long lost all of its sign. However, the faint ignoring of "Raymour and Flanigan" could still be seen, a ghost of the past. Chris approached the large glass doors, which had long since been covered up with black tarping, and knocked. The makeshift-curtain slid to the right, and a pair of bright green eyes pecked out.

"What's the pas- holy shit!"

"Ziggy, I thought we agreed the password shit was stupid," Chris said.

The door was flung open, and the small blur of a short young man rushed out, leaping into Chris's arms.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! You're alive!"

"Why would I be dead?" Christian asked, a lopsided smile on his face. "You know Sector Y doesn't... okay, we we thought it didn't. Long story."

Ziggy jumped down, stepping away. "... Who's the chick?"

"This is Kaia. She helped me break out of prison."

"Oh man, seriously?" Ziggy laughed. "Man, you're still a lady killer even half starved in a jumpsuit."

"Just shut up and let me in. I'm not in a good mood."

"Why not? I bet you've been dying to come back and see your dumbass friends."

Chris sighed softly. "Move, Stardust."

Ziggy stepped back with a small frown on his face, holding the door open for Chris and Kaia. He quickly shut it behind them. Immediately, Kaia was hit with the sound of loud progressive rock music.

"We were playing your favourite Pink Floyd album in your honor," Ziggy said. "Rock on."

Chris snorted. "You were born in 2007, kid. Don't get ahead of yourself."

"Whatever," said Ziggy. "You were born before The Wall came out too, jackass."

A small white woman with shoulder length mousy brown hair came out. She had a spoon in her hand, but dropped it to the floor the moment she saw Christian.

"Oh my god," she said, running over and hugging him. "William told us you were dead!"

"Of course," Chris said, rolling his eyes. "William's a fucking liar. He's mad that my new friend here tried to 'save' his feeder. Don't be surprised if he comes in within the next few days to disassemble our computer."

"Great," Molly sighed. She turned around, giving Kaia a stern look. "Who are you, exactly?"

Kaia Hall... I um, was a guard at the prison... I'm not anymore... obviously."

"Don't worry, she's not a traitorous scum," Chris said. "At least, not to our kind. To hers, definitely."

A third person came around the corner, this time a tall black woman wearing a robe that was longer than she was. She smiled wide, crossing her arms, but didn't approach.

"See, I told you two he was still alive. We wouldn't be able to get rid of him that easy."

"You said it," Chris said. "Now be nice to the human. I'm gonna go take a nap. I'll explain everything later or whatever."

He walked over to the moving escalator, letting it take him up to the second floor. Kaia watched them before turning back to the three vampires, who were staring at her like she had two heads.

"Umm... I smell pasta," Kaia said.

"Mhmm," Molly replied, staring her down.

Ziggy licked his lips, feeling the tension. "... Come on, mom, let her have some pasta!"

Molly sighed and relented, walking into a display room that they had turned into a kitchen. The stove they owned was older than Kaia, but seemed to be doing it's job. Molly gave the pot of pasta one last stir before taking it off the heat and pouring the meal into a strainer.

"So... how old are you?" Ziggy asked.

"20... almost 21. And I assume you're way older than that."

"Only technically," Charlie snorted.

Ziggy glared up at her before turning back to Kaia. "Yep, I am! Um... you like MST3K?"

"Oh my god," Molly sighed, but she still had a smile on her face.

"What's that?" Kaia asked.

"Oh Jesus," Charlie groaned, feeling the same sentiment as Ziggy's mother.

"Are you kidding?! You don't know Mystery Science Theater 3000?!"

"No-"

"IN THE NOT SO DISTANT FUTURE, NEXT SUNDAY A.D-"

Before Kaia could even blink, Charlie had run over to Ziggy, clamping a hand over his mouth.

"Don't get him started," she said, looking over at Kaia.

"Why don't you let her eat before you introduce he to your collection?" Molly asked.

Ziggy pushed Charlie's hand away, sighing. "Okay. Whatever."

The pasta was the best meal Kaia had eaten in a while. She scarfed it down, the whole time wary of the three sets of eyes that were boring into her. She slipped the last few noodles into her mouth before speaking.

"Listen, I know you don't trust me-"

"It's not that we don't trust you..." Molly said. "It's just strange seeing a human that's not in a compound or-"

"Comatose," Charlie said. "You're lucky Chris has morals."

"I helped him break out," Kaia said. "It... um... my compound, I realized, isn't exactly what I thought it was."

"Sympathy for your enemy," Charlie snorted. "That's a riot."

"Actually, they're doing horrible experiments on both monsters and humans... they're trying to make a perfect hybrid."

The three vampires stared at Kaia blankly.

"I always knew Sector Y was into the technical stuff like restarting the space program..." Molly started.

"Those poor rats," Ziggy injected.

'But I never thought they'd go so far as perform human experimentation."

"Neither did I," Kaia said softly.

"Well..." Molly said, taking her bowl off the table, "if Chris trusts you, then we trust you."

"I don't know," Charlie argued, eyeing Kaia. "Chris kind of let's his dick take the wheel when it comes to pretty girls."

Kaia blushed heavily. "I-"

"Charlie, fuck off," Ziggy said. "She saved his life! If anything, we should be down on the floor kissing her boots... which are dirty... and no offense, but I can smell your feet from here."

Kaia folded up in her chair, her face growing redder. She probably did reek. She'd been marching in the summer heat in the same outfit for the past two days.

"Here, you can go to my room and change into some of my clothes," Molly said. "There's also a shower in the storage room you can use. I think there's some spare shampoo under the sink, so you can use one of those bottles for yourself. Just write your name in it so no one else uses it."

She handed Kaia a small key, an old, beat up keychain attached to it. The faded brown dog had a large hole in its bottom. She squeezed it and a gross and gooey brown slime came out. It was disgusting, but she wasn't about to criticize Molly taste in keychains.

"Thanks."

Molly nodded, giving Kaia directions to her room and the shower. She stood on the escalator, letting it take her upstairs. The place was covered in items the vampires had collected, but it was all arranged neatly, giving the home a vibe of organized chaos. The showrooms had been split up by curtains, but she could clearly see the individual "bedrooms" that had been made. Not too far away, Chris slept with a large orange cat curled up on his chest. She caught herself smiling, moving into the room that belonged to Molly.

It was sparse compared to the rest of the rooms. It only seemed to have a few pieces of furniture, and wasn't as decorated as the rest of the rooms. A large wardrobe stood next to the wall, it's bronze handles worn with age. She unlocked it, opening up to reveal a modest collection of t-shirts and jeans. She grabbed a white tourist shirt and a pair of sweatpants, her eyes glancing over to a photo taped on the door.

In it was Molly, posing with her hands on her hips. She was wearing a pink and purple out for that didn't seem too flattering, with a long red wig obscuring her natural hair. On either side of her were two children; a young brunette girl dressed as a dog and a small blonde boy wearing a cardboard van. All of them had huge grins plastered on their faces. She frowned, wondering what had happened to Ziggy's older sister.

After the shower, (which was much needed and extremely refreshing), she went back upstairs, knowing Ziggy would be searching for her. She walked into his room, seeing him cross legged in the middle of his bed. In front of him sat a huge TV, which was playing a cheesy looking movie. It took her a moment to realize there were three people watching it in a theater within the show, making fun of it.

"This one is classic," said Ziggy. "Everyone loves Santa Claus Conquers The Martians."

"They don't," Kaia said.

"That's the fun of it! C'mon, sit down. I'd make you some popcorn, but... we don't have any left. I think."

He stood up, rummaging through the pile of random junk in his room. The only thing that was organized was the several bookshelves, which were lined with DVDs. She stood up, only recognizing a few of the titles. Some of it seemed like it'd be obscure even for someone who knew a lot about old films. On the shelves were also knick knacks, and she found her eyes drawn to the same picture that was in Molly's wardrobe, this time in a frame that was slightly too big for it.

"You were a cute kid," Kaia said.

She pointed to the little boy, causing Ziggy to short as he glanced over.

"That's not me."

Kaia paused for a second, confused, but when her eyes landed on the girl it all made sense.

"Oh! You're..."

"Trans? Yeah. Don't worry, it's not a big secret. As long as you know I'm a guy, we're good."

Kaia nodded. "Sorry, I thought the girl was your sister, not you."

Ziggy shrugged. "Well, I'm not her."

"... Where's your brother?" Kaia dared to ask.

Ziggy paused, a Magic 8 Ball clutched in his hand. His tanned knuckles turned white as he squeezed it.

"Sorry... I shouldn't have asked."

"No... it's fine..." Ziggy said.

He sat down, pausing the TV show. Kaia sat next to him, her eyes focusing on the plastic piece that floated inside the Magic 8 Ball. She didn't dare look up at his face.

"He died," Ziggy said bluntly. "That's the thick and thin of it. I don't know what happened, mom was there but she never told me. But whatever it was killed dad too. And, she was lost for a while after that. She didn't have any other choice than to try and move, so we packed up the car and left... and incidentally found a town full of vampires. Chris saved us from becoming lunch cause he recognized her. They worked together at a college before the war. They were both Vet Techs and taught in a program for it."

Kaia resisted the compulsion to say she knew that already.

"You've been with him ever since?" Kaia asked.

"Yep," Ziggy said. "Charlie came along a few years later. I have no idea what her backstory is, though. She was already a vampire when she came and she seemed older but we didn't wanna pry."

Kaia licked her lips, questions flooding her mind. This would be her chance to milk information and get exposition on everything she'd always wondered about.

"Who was she, really? Anastasia Moore, I mean? if you remember."

Ziggy tossed the ball up and down in his hand. "Eh, I don't really know. I shut out most of that part of my life. All that dead family and dysphoria shit is worth forgetting. But, I kind of remember Eli talking about her, saying that she was a huge vampire 'activist'. Whatever the hell that means. I guess she just decided that vamps were the superior race and wanted to kill all humans or whatever. Starting with Trump."

"... Do you remember Trump?"

Ziggy laughed. "Who the fuck doesn't? I barely remember since I was just a kid, but I've never met someone that didn't call him out for being a piece of shit. Especially Chris. I think Chris hates him more than anyone else on earth. I bet he laughed when he got his head yanked off."

Kaia's mind flashed back to the moment. Chris had seemed more shocked than amused. "I can imagine him doing that..."

Ziggy nodded, then turned to Kaia, placing the Magic 8 Ball in her hands. "Okay, my turn. Why'd you help Chris?"

Kaia paused for a moment. "I... happened to be assigned to a post next to his cell, and he started talking to me. And I reluctantly started to talk to him. And then, when the horrible shit happened... it turned out he was the only person I could trust. Even my own mom had been lying to me."

"How beautifully ironic," Ziggy said.

He placed a hand on her wrist. Suddenly, his face seemed to be stony. Kaia watched him carefully, his face so close to hers that she could tell that his glasses had no lenses in them.

"I don't know what your deal is," Ziggy said. "I kind of agree with Charlie here. I don't know who the fuck you are, but since you're human, I know what you're about. I know you've been taught your whole life to hate vamps, and I doubt that changed overnight. So, if you hurt a single hair on my mother's head, or Chris's, or Charlie's, I will murder you."

Kaia nodded slowly, not sure if she should take the threat seriously. It seemed he was joking... maybe she shouldn't chance it. He smiled, squeezing her wrist and letting go, unpausing the show. He went back to watching it as if nothing had ever happened. Kaia looked down at the Magic 8 Ball I her hand, shaking it quizzically.

"... is this going to end well for me?" She asked.

"VERY DOUBTFUL"