I started writing this a couple of years ago but never finished it. Having been a fan of The Lost Boys since childhood I really enjoyed writing my own prequel to the film. And since The Lost Boys canon is relatively open (we have no firm history for their past ect.) it was even more fun. If it seems like people like the story and want me to continue posting I will. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think.

Chapter One

1.

Soquel, California - 1965

She was twenty years old; with dark hair and dark eyes. Everyone said she was beautiful, but that didn't make Sarah Daniels feel any better about who she was. The reason was simple. Too much was expected of her and already she was beginning to feel the steady increase of her age hang on her like a weight. She was afraid of the future. So afraid that if she started to think about it her heart would beat faster, her palms would coat themselves in sweat and then tears would well up in her eyes. From the moment Sarah was born she had already begun to die. Every breath she inhaled brought her one step closer to the end. And what if when the end came she had nothing to show for the life she had lived? The thought lodged itself deep within the crevices of her mind, gnawing at the gray matter like a rat with cheese. Her father told her that everyone had these types of fears, and maybe they did, but it did nothing to silence the waging war of doubt in Sarah's mind. It was time to go, to find another way of life different from the one she was expected to lead.

She stared down into the crib and watched as her three week old baby sister slept soundly. Sarah tucked the blanket under Sadie's legs and smiled to herself. It was hard leaving her sister here. Sarah wondered how long it would take her before she no longer thought about Sadie, or how fast she was growing up. It might never go away, the ache to know what kind of person her sister had become, but it was a pain Sarah was willing to accept. She took a folded piece of paper from her bag and laid it at the foot of the crib. It was a letter for Sadie, one she hoped their parents would one day read to her. It explained everything as best Sarah could, with the promise to always love her no matter how far away they might be.

I could take her with me. Save her from ever feeling like I do.

This wasn't the first time Sarah had thought about taking Sadie along. But to take her away from their parents, who were very good parents, seemed terribly cruel. Maybe one day, when Sadie was all grown up, she would come looking for her. Anything was possible. Sarah bent forward, the tassels on her belt clinking softly against the bars of the crib, and kissed her sister for the last time.

She wiped the tears off her cheeks and turned for the door. It was impossible not to glance back one last time and watch Sadie slumber without bad dreams, or night terrors. Sadie was the perfect picture of innocence and Sarah photographed the image in her mind. "Goodbye, Sadie." She slipped out the door and disappeared into the cool California night. Sarah Daniels was never seen again.

2.

Santa Carla, California -– 1986

Sadie Daniels was watching TV from the sanctum of her bedroom. George Michael pranced around on the screen declaring that he wanted someone's sex, while barely clad women with dark eyes and red lips danced around him. Her roommate, Hayden, was in love with George Michael, always swooning when his videos came on. "He's such a stud ain't he, Sadie?" Sadie was pretty sure George Michael was gay, but she kept the thought to herself. No sense in breaking Hayden's heart if she didn't have to. Outside the rain was beating the roof of the one story beach house with rough jabs. Sadie used the remote to turn off the TV and then called for Shadow, her two year old brown dachshund. The dog waddled to the foot of the bed looking up at his mistress with happy eyes. The vet had warned her that Shadow was severely over weight, but in other wise good health. Sadie had tried to put him on a diet but found it was too hard to deny him the only simple pleasure he really had. She scooped him up in her arms and let him nestle down on the pillow next to hers.

"Good night, Shadow," she said, then kissed the tip of his cold wet nose. She was so sleepy. It was her first night off in more than a week and instead of spending it on the Boardwalk, or walking the beaches, she was using it to get a good nights rest. No one should feel this old at twenty-one. Sadie closed her eyes and started counting backwards from ten. She was asleep before she reached number four.

It was obviously a dream. Even in her subconscious Sadie knew fantasy from reality. This place was pure fantasy. There was a full white moon in the sky and soft grass beneath her bare feet. She couldn't see the grass though. There was a thick soupy fog swirling around her ankles, obscuring the view. A voice was echoing out around her, as though there was an invisible speaker in the sky and someone had just turned up the volume. The voice was low, sultry and seemed to be speaking only for her benefit. Instead of making Sadie feel comforted, the voice made her skin break out in goose bumps. The feeling in her belly was the same one she got when she was getting ready to board the roller coaster. Fear and curiosity merged together into one desperate need to experience the moment.

Her feet moved through the fog as she walked toward the train trestle she could see in the distance. Obviously she was meant to go here. The voice seemed to be centered around the trestle, the vibrations reaching her ears moments after the speaker said the words.

"Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December, And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor."

Sadie kept moving forward, her hands at her sides. She could feel the fog leaving misty trails along her skin, the cool wind was tugging at her hair then blinding her as it forced hair into her eyes. She was only feet away from the train trestle now and the voice was louder and deeper. Whoever it was continued to recite Poe's "The Raven". Mixed in with his hypnotic tone she could hear laughter. Why hadn't she noticed it before? Sadie turned her ear towards the trestle, wondering if she could pin point whether the voice and the laughter were coming from the same place. But the laughter was not coming from the trestle where the voice was. No, the laughter was above her, beside her, lurking some distance behind.

"Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;-'Tis the wind and nothing more'." Now the voice was laughing too. His laughter seemed to drown out the others.

Sadie closed her eyes and gripped the skin of her right arm hard. She pinched and pulled, digging half-moons in an attempt to force herself awake. This once pleasant dream was fast approaching a nightmare. Something whizzed past her, the sound rushing in her ears like an ocean wave. Sadie opened her eyes in time to see a blur of moving color, then another and another.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" She was screaming the words aloud, calling out into the growing darkness. She watched as the clouds encircled the moon until finally the light was gone. Sadie was now alone in the night. The first thing she noticed was how quiet it suddenly was. No sound but the wind and far off in the distance the hoot of a trains horn. Then she heard the laughter again, and somewhere in between those overlapping cackles she heard the voice once more.

"And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, Shall be lifted—nevermore!"

The ground suddenly opened and Sadie could feel herself falling through the fog. It filled her mouth and choked the screams she was trying so desperately to release. All around her she could hear them laughing and the voice whispering, "Nevermore."

3.

"Good morning, Santa Carla! It's going to be a beautiful Friday night with temperatures around 83°. The Rebel Yell will be playing the Boardwalk tonight so get there early!"

Sadie rolled over and slammed her hand against the alarm clock, silencing the chipper DJ abruptly. She opened her eyes and squinted against the sunlight breaking in through the blinds. Next to her Shadow was sleeping soundly, his pink tongue hanging from one corner of his mouth. She got out of bed and walked to the window, lifting the blinds and looking out over the beach. Already a group of surfers had staked a claim on that mornings waves. There was no sign of rain the night before, only the salty ocean air and warm sun.

She stepped out into the hall with a yawn and smiled to herself as the smell of fried eggs and greasy bacon filled her. Hayden was in the kitchen dancing around the stove with a spatula in her hand. The radio was on full blast, the screeching voice of Vince Neil piercing Sadie's ears. She destroyed him with a jab of her finger against the power button. Hayden turned around with furrowed brows.

"What was that for?"

"It's a little early for the Crue." She took a mug out of the cabinet and filled it with coffee from the pot.

"You working today?" Hayden asked. She was trying to flip her egg, which had broken, spilling yellow yolk across the skillet's surface. "Shit," she muttered, before turning their fried eggs into scrambled.

Sadie nodded. "Double shift tonight. I'll be off by seven."

Hayden shook her head. "That's bullshit, you know. You have no business working all those hours."

"Well, Maria has an audition so I told Max I would take her shift. It's not his fault."

"I guess." Hayden piled the eggs onto two paper plates and handed one to Sadie. "The Rebel Yell is going to play tonight. Wanna come with me?"

Sadie laughed. The Rebel Yell was supposed to be the next big rock band to break out of California, but Sadie couldn't get past the ridiculous get ups they wore. The singer looked more like woman then a man, and Sadie was not ashamed to say that she was envious of his legs. Still, it would be nice spending some time with Hayden. "Sure. Come by the store at seven and we'll walk to the pier together."

"Deal."

The two girls carried their breakfasts to the living room and sat down on the floor. When they'd first rented the house they couldn't afford a dining room set, so they had made the living room their eating quarters. Even though they had since bought a table and chairs, meals still took place atop the living room carpet.

"You look like shit," Hayden stated, her mouth full of eggs. "You get wasted while I was out last night?"

Sadie giggled. "I hate to disappoint you, but no. Just had some weird dreams is all."

"Well, you know what that's about don't you?"

Sadie rolled her eyes. To Hayden everything bad in life came from a lack of sex. "Don't say it, please."

"But it's true. It's a scientific proven fact that a lack of sex will cause bad dreams, loss of money and weight gain."

Sadie lifted her brow. "Are you trying to say I've gained weight?"

"No, no," Hayden gasped. "I was referring to the bad dreams part."

"Nice," Sadie said, sitting back on her hands with a smile. "Still, I don't think my bad dream came from not getting laid."

"How long has it been since you got some?"

There was a sly smile on Hayden's face. She leaned forward with a smirk, clearly waiting for Sadie to answer. "Okay, so it's been a while. I'm busy," she said in defense.

"I'm busy too, girl. And I can promise you that I don't let a week go by without taking care of business."

"There's just no one I'm interested in," said Sadie, watching her plate of cold eggs with disdain. Maybe Hayden was right. It had been four months since her breakup with Kevin and Sadie had been throwing herself into work, trying hard to avoid the process of learning to live without him. "I miss him."

"I know you do. But sweetie, it's time to let go of all that. Kevin was an asshole and we both know it. Maybe you should think about going back to school or something."

Sadie gave a forced laugh. "Oh, I'm sure that would make my parents ecstatic. There's no way I'm making them happy with the career choice of video store clerk."

"Who cares if they're happy, Sadie. You're the one who has to be happy."

"I was happy with Kevin."

Hayden shook her head hard. "No, you were not happy with Kevin. You pretended to be happy with Kevin."

"I'm pathetic aren't I?"

"A little." There was a pause before both girls started to laugh. "We'll have fun tonight. You, me and The Rebel Yell."

"Yeah, we will." Sadie smiled and sipped her coffee. She was going to have fun even if it killed her.

4.

It was ten o' clock, the point where night becomes its darkest. Christy leaned against the railing behind her, a bottle of beer in her hands, eyes trained on the traffic of the boardwalk. She knew they would be there, the boys on their motorcycles. They came every night and she was tired of waiting for them to make the first move. The sound of engines rumbling forced Christy to turn around. There they were, four motorcycles speeding along the beach, waves of sand following behind them. Christy finished the last swig of beer and tossed the bottle into a trashcan next to her. "Here we go," she said, removing her denim jacket to showcase the black corset underneath.

"You're a whore," her friend Miranda laughed beside her.

"Yeah? Well I'm a whore whose gonna get what she wants tonight." Christy smiled victoriously at Miranda.

The four boys pulled up, coming to a stop next to the sign for hot, fresh corny dogs. They were all young, late teens early twenties maybe. The leader was pale, but had a nice build. Platinum hair spiked from his head; an earring dangled from his left ear. He wore all black, a heavy coat that dipped past his knees and leather gloves to match. Behind him was the one Christy assumed to be youngest. Curly honey blonde curls and olive skin, a serene almost innocent smile that chimed through the night like a mischievous bell. His jacket was a multi-colored display of artwork and symbols. The other two were polar opposites when compared to each other. One was a blonde, his hair styled in a way that was made to look as though he'd just rolled out of bed. The other had long dark hair. His ethnicity was a mystery, but his lips were full pink blossoms Christy was dying to try. She knew that Miranda would follow her lead as always. If not, Christy would take them all for herself while Miranda went back home and cried over the fact that her thighs were too fat.

The boys got comfortable on their bikes, laughing to one another as they surveyed the boardwalks pedestrian traffic. The platinum blonde let his gaze fall on Christy and for a moment she couldn't even breathe. He smiled at her, winked, then turned back to his friends.

Miranda whispered to Christy, "Oh my God! He was totally looking at you."

"I told you."

"So now what do we do?"

Christy took a deep breath, letting the air fill her lungs and force her breasts to strain against the corset, which was deliberately one size too small. "I guess we have to make the first move."

Christy walked toward the boys with her lips curled into a smile. The other boys were looking at her now. They smiled, licked their lips in appreciation of her appearance and one gave out a cat call of approval. She walked directly to the one in black and stopped an inch from his bike. "Hey," she smiled.

"Hey back."

Christy shifted nervously on her high heels. Breaking the ice was proving a lot harder then she thought. "You boys going to see The Rebel Yell play on the pier?"

He shook his head slowly. "Nope. We're going to go down to Byson's beach. Wanna come?"

Christy's entire face lit up with happiness. "Yeah, sure. Let me get my friend." She turned around and waved Miranda over. "What's your name?" Christy asked.

"David."

"I'm Christy, this is Miranda." She nodded in her friends direction but could not take her eyes off David. He held her gaze, smiling coolly, letting his eyes soak up the exposed flesh she was showcasing. "I'll ride with you." Without waiting for his okay Christy climbed onto the back of the bike and wrapped her arms around him. She shivered a little. He was cold, even through the layers of his clothes Christy could feel the chill off his skin. She shrugged the thought away, figuring it was from the spray of the surf as they drove up.

"You can ride with Marko," David told Miranda. The one with the curls waved and smiled, scooting his body forward so that Miranda could climb on behind him. She hesitated for a moment, biting hard into her bottom lip. It wasn't a smart thing they were doing. The hundreds of Missing Person's posters taped to every conceivable surface of the boardwalk was proof of that. "He won't bite," David laughed. The others laughed too. "Paul?" He turned to the blonde and lifted his brow. "Marko doesn't bite does he?"

Paul smirked and shook his head. "I don't know. Dwayne? Does Marko bite?"

The dark haired one looked directly at Miranda. "Not hard," he said. There was a chorus of laughter, Christy's the loudest, but Dwayne did not laugh. He didn't even smile. Miranda looked away from him and back at Christy.

"Come on," she urged. "We'll go hang on the beach for a bit and then we'll go to the pier."

"Well, maybe I'll just meet you at the pier then," Miranda said, an uneasy feeling settling in her chest.

"You're going to hurt Marko's feelings," David said. "Come with us, Miranda." His voice was soft, a sweet song in her ears. Before she even knew what she was doing, Miranda climbed onto the back of Marko's bike and wrapped her arms around his waist. Everyone laughed again.

"You really know how to sweet talk the girls, don't ya?" Christy asked.

"You have no idea." David revved the engine on his bike and Christy shrieked as it leapt forward. She gripped him tighter hooping and hollering with delight.

"Hold on tight." Marko let his bike fly forward, following behind David, while Paul and then Dwayne brought up the rear.

They zoomed away from the boardwalk with a round of cheers. Several people had to lunge out of the way as the bikes flew past them. Miranda closed her eyes against the vicious wind, her fingers gripping Marko's jacket fiercely. They were on the beach in a matter of seconds. As they drove along the sand Miranda could see the scattering of bon fires becoming less and less, until finally they were on an empty stretch of beach with no one around. Byson's beach was often closed because of dangerous rip tides, and no one ever went there because of that. Miranda peered over Marko's shoulder and saw the yellow barricades set up to block people from entering that section of beach. The bikes zipped in and out of the barricades until finally – they stopped.

"That was a rush!" Christy exclaimed. She jumped off the bike with a roar of laughter. "We'll have to do that again."

"You okay, girl?" Marko was off his bike, but Miranda was still seated on it. She was trembling. The air had turned colder, stinging drops of ocean water had drenched most of her hair. A steady fog rose from the surface of the ocean, rolling along the stretch of sand toward the boardwalk in the distance.

"Just cold," Miranda said. She looked hopefully at Marko, expecting him to offer her his jacket, but he didn't. Instead he offered her his hand and helped her down off the bike.

"Who's thirsty?" Paul asked as he pulled a six pack of beer from beneath the pull up seat on his bike.

"I'll take one." Christy held out her hand and Paul tossed her a beer. She popped the tab and squealed like a little girl when the beer sprayed out at her. It coated her chest in sticky patches but she didn't seem to mind. She put the can to her lips and finished it in four long gulps. When she was finished she threw the can into the surf and wiggled her fingers at David. "Wanna dance with me?" she asked, a seductive tone in her voice. David gave a hefty chuckle then walked towards her, his black coat whipping in the wind behind him.

"Let's go farther down," he said. "For more privacy."

Christy nodded and took his hand. "Be back in a minute Randa." She could not see the tears glistening in Miranda's eyes. She and David walked away from the group while the boys whooped and hollered after them.

"You want a beer?" Paul asked.

Miranda shook her head. "No thanks."

The boys all sat down in the sand, sipping their beers and talking amongst themselves. Miranda wished she had stayed on the boardwalk. It always happened like this. Christy got the guy and Miranda was left behind. No one even wanting her as a second choice. She'd been battling her weight since she was a kid, and it never got easier. Maybe she wasn't fat, but she was plump. That had been her grandfathers favorite word for her. Plump. He might as well have shoved a knife in her back.

"You sure you don't want a beer?"

Miranda broke from her daze and was surprised to find Marko standing next to her. He was smiling sweetly at her, a beer in his hand. "I shouldn't," she said, wrapping her arms around herself tighter. "Maybe I should head up to the pier. I can save Christy a seat."

"It's four miles of beach," Marko reminded her. "We'll take you back when David and your friend are done."

Miranda huffed to herself. "You don't know Christy. When she comes back it will be for one of you." She shook her head and ignored the stinging tears in her eyes.

"Maybe not all of us want a taste of your friend." He turned his body so that he was standing directly in front of her. She could feel his breath on her lips and it made her gasp. He was smiling softly at her, his hands running slowly up and down her arms. "What if I want you?"

Miranda swallowed, then took the half-step required to bring their bodies together. Marko let his hand fall on her neck, slipping behind so that her hair was covering it like a blanket. She closed her eyes as his face came closer to hers. His lips covered hers with warm tenderness. Everything was forgotten as she slipped farther and farther into his seduction. His tongue moved between her lips, dancing languidly with hers before he pulled back. His fingers moved to the buttons of her shirt, slipping the first through, then another until the white fabric of her bra could be seen. Miranda's eyes darted nervously to Paul and Dwayne.

Marko laughed softly. "You shy?"

She stepped away from him, shaking. "I need to get back. Tell Christy I'll meet her on the pier."

She could hear Paul and Dwayne laughing from their seated positions on the sand. Marko smiled at Miranda before glancing back at the others. When he looked back at her there was something different in his eyes. A shift she couldn't pinpoint but knew was there all the same. She took another step back, her fingers mindlessly trying to re-button her shirt.

"There's nothing to be scared of," Marko said. "Dwayne told you. I don't bite - hard." He snapped his teeth together making Miranda jump.

"I have to go." Miranda glanced around, her blue eyes searching the deserted beach for anyone who could help her. There was nothing but the crashing surf. "Please, let me go."

"Of course," Marko said, sweeping his arm out as a gesture of compliance. "It's only fair we give you a head start."

Miranda opened her mouth to speak but shut it when she realized what he had said. In the distance she heard a scream. It pierced the night with agonizing pain, Christy's death cry echoing against the darkness. Miranda turned and ran, her screams coming from her in an endless loop. Behind her she could hear them laughing, calling her name, taunting her with their cruel cackles. She turned back once, just to see how far ahead of them she was. They were still where she had left them, their shadows silhouetted beneath the moonlight. Miranda kept running, tripping more then once and falling face first into the sand. She stumbled but always found her footing. The screams never stopped. She hoped they would attract some passer by, some rent-a-cop who was on his nightly patrol.

Laughter came barreling behind her. She turned, her hair lashing her hard against the face. What she saw could not be real, and yet there they were. The three boys were flying toward her, arms outstretched, mouths wide open revealing the elongated incisors. Their eyes glowed amber against the dark as they rode the shadows closer to her. Miranda could feel the pressure of their speed. The toe of her shoe snagged a piece of drift wood and she plunged toward the sand. She attempted to soften the impact but the force of her fall was too great. Her wrists snapped under the tension sending a blinding pain throughout her body.

They were on her in an instant. She saw them only in a blur of whirling color. Underneath their laughter she could hear the sounds of her flesh tearing, the crack of their teeth against her bones. They tore at her clothes, shredding the fabric with their sharp nails. Miranda managed one last scream before Marko ground his teeth into the hollow of her throat. The blood spilled with orgasmic bliss, the three of them sharing her between them. Before her eyes closed and Miranda was embraced by the darkness she had one final realization. These monsters really did exist. They did not fall. They did not die. These lost boys would live forever.