'Shit Anna. Shit, shit, shit. What do I do?'

Panic was zipping through Vlad's body. Over the years he had certainly had a lot of near misses; just being a Dracula had merited as much, not to mention all his run ins with slayers over the last few days. But never in his whole un-life had he been so cornered. The feeling was leaden in his stomach and he felt utterly useless.

They had nothing. No means of escape, no weapons, and nowhere to hide.

Anna was looking wildly around; at Vlad, at the room they were in, and at the mob down below. Vlad only had eyes for the green camo vans that were pulling up in the road.

The presence of the slayers seemed to have spurred the mob on a bit. Vlad watched from the shadows as the woman with the cricket bat hopped over the gate and unlocked it from the inside. The rest of the mob filed into the garden after her. Mrs Riggling stood out massively, and with flyers twirling through the air this way and that, she ran forward, and started banging on the front door.

'We'll get you, my pretty…' she shouted up at Anna, 'and you're little vampire too!' (Lions and tigers and bears… oh my!)

Behind the mob, slayer after slayer was jumping out on to the road and overtaking the placard-holding pedestrians, all with UV guns in their arms and stakes at their hips.

'Vlad, look,' Anna said quietly, 'the light is fading. Maybe if we can stall them and let night fall…'

But Vlad shook his head, now staring in fear at the sky.

'There's no way they're going to let that happen.'

And he knew what he said was true, because the slayers weren't just arriving in vans. He'd heard the helicopter before he'd seen it; a low humming noise was reverberating through the sky. Now Anna had spotted it too, and grabbing Vlad by the arm she backed them both away from the window.

The noise from the propellers soon became almost deafening.

'Vlad!' Anna screamed above the noise, still clutching at him tightly.

The wind the helicopter generated sent flyers spinning through the air, like leaves on a breeze. The helicopter flew over the houses and the mob, before it came to a hovering halt above Anna's house.

'Vlad! We have to do something. If we could just hide you…'

But it was too late for that. A foot had appeared, suspended above the window, which was quickly followed by the legs, body, and head of a slim and copper-skinned slayer.

The slayer grabbed hold of the sash window and launched himself into the room. Landing nimbly on the carpeted bedroom floor, he stood up straight with a self-gratified expression.

'Now that's what I call an entrance,' Vlad heard Anna say, in spite of everything.

The slayer smiled momentarily, before he pulled a retro-looking crossbow from his back and into his arms.

'Vladimir Dracula. We meet again.'

Vlad couldn't believe what he was seeing. There, standing in front of him, out of all the slayers in the country, was the one with whom he had the most history.

'Jonno,' Vlad acknowledged, as he watched the slayer's every move.

Anna looked between the two of them in surprise. 'You two know each other?'

It was a very strange feeling. Jonno and his family had been trying to kill Vlad's for as long as they'd been in England, and Vlad knew that as slayers went, Jonno was rather skilled, but it still felt like seeing a childhood friend after a very long time.

'Jonno and I were classmates…' Vlad said slowly, '…in Stokely.'

But Jonno was shaking his head. 'We were no such thing. You were a pestilence brought down upon my school.'

Vlad felt an exasperated sigh leave his lips. 'I wasn't even a proper vampire at that point, Jonno. I just wanted to be normal and go to a normal school and spend time with my normal friends…' He paused, as he thought about the supposedly normal friends he had actually made, and almost laughed at the memory of his old, cape-loving companion, before Jonno cut in.

'Well, you're definitely a vampire now, Vlad,' Jonno said, smirking, 'Because according to that mirror, there are only two people in this room, not three.'

Both Vlad and Anna flashed a quick glance towards the Warden's large wardrobe mirror, and sure enough, only Jonno and Anna could be seen in it.

Again, Vlad thought, as another stone sank in his chest, another confirmation that he was a freak. Vlad had been stood in something close to a protective stance, as if waiting for Jonno's first strike, but with a sigh he stood up straight and threw his arms in the air.

'I know, I know! I'm a vampire, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Sorry I was born into this world. Sorry for wanting to be normal, and have friends, and a family. I'm sorry that to stay alive I have to drink blood, instead of eating food like the rest of you beautifully normal humans. 'Vlad caught Jonno's eye and held it decisively. 'You don't know how lucky you are, and you don't know how much I wish you could see things from my point of view.'

Jonno's smirk had fallen from his face. He looked confusedly at Vlad, but then his eyes widened with realisation. 'Don't think you can hypnotise me, Dracula! I've got hypno-proof contacts in. All the slayers have.'

Above the sound of the propellers Vlad heard a smashing of glass downstairs. The mob had finally mustered up enough courage to break in. Anna seemed to have heard it too, and as footsteps sounded on the stairs she jumped quickly to the door of her dad's room, locking it from the inside and pressing her back firmly up against it.

'Get away from there,' Jonno hissed at her, but Anna ignored him. She was looking out of the window. Following her gaze, Vlad noticed that the sky outside had a pinkish tinge, like the sea of cloud a setting sun normally swims in.

Night was coming, and with it a tingle of hope. If Vlad could just keep Jonno talking…

'Time's up, Dracula. You must have known you wouldn't last long out here in the real world.'

By this point another foot could be seen hanging outside the window; slayer number two was being lowered down from the helicopter.

Vlad looked away from the window and back towards Jonno. 'Go on then,' he said, with a defiant step forward. 'Kill me.'

'You can't kill someone who isn't already alive,' Jonno said, with a nasty tone in his voice.

Vlad rolled his eyes. 'Get rid of me then. Because I would rather be a pile of dust for you to trample under your boots than go back to that camp.'

'You'll be going back to the camp,' Jonno said, sounding slightly annoyed. 'If you're clever enough to come quietly you might not even get hurt.'

'No flapping way!' Vlad said. 'You're going to have to dust me, Jonno. I'm not going to be taken prisoner again and taken back to that dissection room.'

Jonno blinked. 'What are you on about, Dracula?'

'I'm not going back to that.'

'Listen, the Guild wants you alive,' Jonno hissed, as the slayer dangling outside the window tried to pull herself into the room, with a lot less grace than Jonno had. 'Vlad, don't make this difficult.'

There was a light and polite tapping on the door that Anna was leaning against.

'Ooo ah, can we come in?' came a muffled voice.

'Out of my way, old man!' cried the voice of Mrs Riggling, and a surprisingly strong banging began to sound on the other side of the door.

'Code 83,' Jonno said quietly over his shoulder to the other slayer, who had finally managed to stand up.

'Vlad, they're going to use garlic gas!' Anna said, loud and clear. 'I haven't been the Warden's daughter my whole life and not learnt anything.'

'Dammit!' Jonno said, but the other slayer had already pulled a toggle on a can and thrown it into the room. A cloud of thick and pungent gas filled the room. Immediately Vlad's eyes began watering and a deep cough bubbled in his throat. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and he doubled over on himself.

Visibility was instantly diminished for all four of them because of the smoke, but Vlad was the only one trying not to cough his guts up. Vlad saw a dark shadow rush towards him, and within seconds Jonno had grabbed him by the throat and pushed him up against the wall.

This made the cough Vlad felt inside him even worse, and his body felt weak as Jonno knocked Vlad's head against the plastered wall.

'I'm not enjoying this, Vlad,' Jonno whispered to him, as he fumbled momentarily at his belt before removing a clinking object from it. He had brought out a pair of fang-cuffs, and was trying with one hand to open them.

A sickening pain was emanating from the back of Vlad's head. He felt like he was going to pass out as with every breath the yellow smoke flooded his lungs. It was all he could do to scratch feebly at the hand Jonno had around his neck.

'Jonno, please…'

'I have to bring you back, Vlad. I have to! You of all people must know what she's like…' Jonno said through gritted teeth, as he tried to slot the fang-cuffs around one of Vlad's moving wrists.

'Vlad! Vlad, where are…'

Anna's voice sounded far away. Everything sounded far away. Jonno's death-like grip felt like a light tickle as Vlad felt more and more lightheaded. Every breath felt like he was inhaling sandpaper. Every sniff set his nose hairs on fire. Every time he opened his eyes it felt like someone had rubbed hot chilli in them. The only sense still working properly was his hearing. Jonno's own breathing sounded laboured, as he fumbled with the fang-cuffs. Behind him there was still the banging of Mrs Riggling's savage assault against the door. On the floor of the room there was a scuffing sound, followed by a savaged-sounding kick and a yelp of pain from the female slayer.

'Got it!' cried Anna from somewhere on the floor, and with a hitch of breath she pulled back her arm and launched the garlic gas can out of the open window.

Vlad heard a yelp of pain from outside; a third slayer had obviously been lowering themselves down. The female slayer let out a cry of annoyance, but was unable to open another can of gas as Anna launched herself on top of her.

The smoke already felt like it was thinning, and Vlad wanted to cry with relief. From the sound of Anna's fight it seemed like her slayer opponent was a little more physically capable, but Anna still managed to scream, 'Fight, Vlad! For garlics sake, fight!'

Fight… fight? Yes! He had to fight. The smoke still hung heavy in his lungs and clouded his eyes, but he had to power through it.

In one quick movement Vlad brought his knee up to collide with Jonno. The slayer let out a wince of pain and doubled over on himself, but his grip around Vlad's throat didn't loosen. Vlad was about to reach for Jonno's hand when he heard a fumbling noise at the window. The third slayer was attempting to make their way inside. Like a bat Vlad focussed his hearing onto the faint creaking of the rope, before sending a fire ball directly at where he knew the slayer was hanging from.

There was a muffled cry and a swooshing of air as the slayer fell and landed on the flowerbed beneath.

The smoke was clearing fast now, being sucked out through the open window into the night air. Vlad caught sight of Anna, pinned to the ground under the second slayer. Jonno seemed to have somewhat recovered, and tightened his grip on Vlad's throat.

But now the smoke was gone it was all too easy. With one hand Vlad grabbed Jonno's wrist and bent it unnaturally backwards.

Snap.

Jonno let out a sickening cry, but he was not so easily defeated. Instead Jonno pushed his shoulder into Vlad, and using his uninjured hand reached for the stake lodged in his belt.

'I can't…. let you… go…' Jonno hissed.

Vlad met the slayers gaze and held it for a long moment.

'But go I must,' Vlad said, with a knowing smile. 'Until the next time you try to kill me, old friend,' and Vlad closed his eyes and felt the splendidly nostalgic feeling of his limbs as they began to shrink.

Jonno let out a yell of fury, found the stake on his belt and sent the sharpened point straight towards Vlad's heart.

But Vlad's heart was now over ten times smaller, and soaring swiftly through the air. The garlic gas skimmed over his wings, as Vlad flew as a bat out of the open window and up into the moonless night.