"You'll never die. But you must feed."
– David, Lost Boys

ONE

She was floating, her body weightless as it swayed back and forth with the waves until sand rubbed against the raw skin of her back, pulling a painful gasp from her. Her fingers dug into the sand and she turned herself to lean on her side as water flowed from her mouth in violent coughs. Her head spun as she couldn't focus on anything except the pulsing of her head and aching body. She simply laid there, waiting for her body to catch up to the present.

The music from the amusement park reached her ears as her eyes cleared to stare at the night sky above her. She realised that she was still in Santa Carla, California with the night life buzzing as she laid there in damp clothes and a fuzzy mind.

Her hand went to her stomach as it tightened in hunger, she clamp her teeth to ease the sensation ripping through her. It wasn't until her stomach eased that she realised her top half was naked except for the bra against her chest. Her mind instantly froze as the situation caught up to her – laughter, teeth, blood and the cliff.

Sitting up quickly, her head started spinning as she checked her body, hands flying to her neck to find no visible marks to prove the other night had happened, that skin hadn't been ripped or her body harmed by been thrown over the edge.

She couldn't understand the situation. What happened the other night? Their faces changing to monsters from myths. How was she breathing? Alive at this very moment when her body should be at the bottom of the sea.

The sound of laughter broke her from the haze, it wasn't the same deep rumbling from that dreadful night but a light sound of enjoyment. She could see people further up the beach, their focus on the booze and loud music around them to notice her further down the beach in a state of undress.

Shakily, she pushed herself up from the ground and patted the sand from her denim shorts for some composure – least she wasn't totally naked.

Slowly she made her way towards the crowd of people on the beach, involved in their own activities to be watching a new comer on the edge of their party. She picked up the first discarded shirt on the sand and continued her way towards the steps before slipping the fabric over her frame.

She froze at the amount of people walking the boardwalk – it was like every other night with the buzzing energy but the people were different. It wasn't their clothes or bold personalities that made her pause. It was sweet scent that filled the air, making her mouth go dry as each being had their own unique aroma.

She moved from the swarming crowd to press against the boardwalk wall trying to catch her breath and ignore the tugging in her stomach. She felt overwhelmed with everything, physically and mentally.

She tried to figure out what to do. She needed food that much was obvious. She could ask someone, her mind brought forth a blurry face that she couldn't clearly see though it seemed familiar to her. She huffed out a sign of annoyance. She knew that she'd come to Santa Carla with people, but her mind was a blank canvas for names and faces. She was alone in a strange place that wasn't her home town, yet she couldn't recall the name of her birth place or a family.

The churning of her stomach made her realise that someone stood beside her. She closed her eyes, licking her lips as the scent hovered around her making her gums ache with want. Smoke blew in her direction, turning her attention to the man beside her with a cigarette. It helped with masking the man's aroma but her eyes focused on the throbbing at his neck, the regular beats keeping her fixated.

"What da hell are ya lookin' at?" The man beside her looked at her strangely before moving away from the woman's intense gaze.

The man started walking towards the amusement park and she followed in his footsteps, hypnotised by an instinct that she didn't understand. The throbbing in her ears and the scent that filled her mind was intoxicating. A thrill ran through her as she shadowed the man, keeping a distance so he wasn't aware of the danger in his footsteps.

He stopped to light another cigarette beside a ride – it would be the death of him, literally. He was hidden in the shadows and it was perfect, her mind whispering to her. She moved forward to the man, weaving through the oblivious crowd as her gaze was aimed at his jugular.

The sharp knock of her shoulder from a passing by stander cleared her vision, bringing her to a standstill a few metres from her mark. Her breath came in gasps as she realised what was going to happen to the unknown man – his life hanging by a thread of her insanity.

She glanced around her at the bodies wondering the amusement park, the laughter and music filling the air with such happiness that it felt alienated to her. The smiling faces and aromas of food filled her other senses, causing a panic within her as she realised underneath it she could once again hear the beating of by standers passing her.

Her fingers clutched into her palm, the nails bringing further pain to distract her from the sweet beating. She quickly turned on her heel and walked out of the amusement park away from the masses. She hurried back to the boardwalk and down one of the lanes, looking for shelter from the chaos in her mind.

She found a house with a broken window a few streets over from the boardwalk, it offered protection as she couldn't sense any being in the house. Lifting the window, she slipped through, her feet getting cut by the broken glass on the floor was the least of her problems.

The place seemed rather spacious with little decorating in the small house. She didn't mind it, it was four walls and away from company. She walked around the room, locking windows and pulling down blinds to wrap herself in darkness, in nothing but the sound of her own breathing to fill the air.

Closing the blind, her back settled against the wall and slid down until her bottom touched the floorboards. She leaned her head on the arms crossed over her pulled up legs and cradled herself as her stomach once again ached for something.

Slowly her eyes drooped and body went lax as sunlight touched the seams of the window blinds, her mind and body finally quietening for the day.