Sookie Stackhouse lay on her bed, sinking deep into a romantic novel. She was gripped, captivated by the main character. He was reliable and trustworthy, everything that Bill wasn't. Sukie knew for certain that he would go to the ends of the earth and back for her, but even if he brought her back the most wonderful of treasures, how could she possibly trust him? How could she ever feel safe, with the occasional thought that he could be lurking in the forest opposite to his Victorian house, searching frantically for some poor young soul to quench his thirst? She loved Bill with all of her heart, she really did, but sometimes, when her head hit the pillow each night and the moon was suspended above that humid little town in Louisiana, her dreams felt more real to her than when she was wide awake.

Sookie turned back to the front of the leather bound book, stroking her pale, petite hand gently over the spine. In thick golden letters it said, "Property of Linda Stackhouse."

This was nothing new to her, as she had read the small print a thousand times before, but this time it formed a large lump in her throat. Gulping, as she rested the book on her lap, she stared out of the open window through which the soft white glow of the moon flooded through, illuminating her face. Her body refused to move, and stayed transfixed on the end of her bed. Sookie was still haunted with spine chilling memories of the day of her Grandmothers murder. She had managed to control it over time, but now and then, if she lost focus for a second, the images would creep slowly back into her head like serpents slithering quietly through the long grass, ready to pounce on the un expectant prey.

Shaking these disturbing thoughts from her mind, Sookie climbed quickly under the pastel pink bed sheets and clicked the lamp light off. No more novels, no more thinking, just quiet peaceful sleep. After all, she had work in the morning, and that would be just another long day of other people's thoughts and feelings speeding into her brain like bullets.

"Why can't I be normal?" she whispered into the darkness, clutching her pillow.

Several hours passed by, until it reached the time of three am. Sookie's alarm clock went off, breaking the cycle of her sleep. Her eyelids fluttered open and she sat up slowly, her fingers gently touching the snooze button. Something wasn't right. She had set the alarm for seven. She always set the alarm for seven, so she could get to Merlotte's without being late. She yawned and her eyes fell upon the window.

She had left it wide open.

As soon as her eyes had once again became adjusted to the darkness, she heard a chair screech loudly across the kitchen floorboards downstairs. Her chestnut brown eyes widened and her heart was hammering against her chest. The person had clearly sensed that she was in the house, as the screeching came to an abrupt halt.

"Sookie!" a familiar voice called quietly. She would recognise that voice anywhere. She leapt to the window, looking down upon the figure standing outside her house. They stepped out from the shadows.

"Bill!" she cried, ecstatic to seem him, despite everything that she had been feeling earlier. He still meant everything to her. Bill had a serious expression on his face.

"Sookie, now you have to listen very carefully to me. You have to get out of the house." he said, his pale white skin almost matching the moonlight. He sounded anxious and Sookie could see fear hiding in the back of his eyes.

"What are you talking about? Bill, you really shouldn't be here. Sunrise is just in a couple hours and you can't risk-"

"Sookie listen to me!" cried Bill. This time his voice was pleading desperately with her. He looked as if his eyes were about to fill with tears. Sookie fell silent and swept her shiny blonde hair behind her.

"Bill, your scaring me-"

"There's no time. Your going to have to jump out of the window. Don't worry, I'll catch you. Please Sookie. Please. Just do this for me!" he said, edging closer to the house, his strong arms outstretched. Sookie stared in his direction and flinched as she heard footsteps creeping up the staircase.

"Is someone trying to kill me?" Sookie gasped, her lip quivering in fear. The long netted curtains flapped in the breeze beside her and the sound of crickets chirping floated through the warm night air. Bill looked at her uneasily, his arms still outstretched.

"Sookie, there's no time for questions, please just jump!" he yelled, his voice cutting the wind like a knife. Sookie took a deep breath and stopped herself from answering back. She gripped the window ledge and swung both feet outwards, so that they dangled in mid air. It was a longer way down than she had realized. She took a moment to gather her thoughts, then in a split second, she spread out her arms and slid off the ledge.

Her eyes were screwed tightly shut as she imagined herself hitting the ground with a sickening thud. She didn't. Infact, she didn't move anywhere. She felt a strange sensation, like she was floating outside of her bedroom window. It wasn't long before her day dream was interrupted by Bill.

"Let go of her!" he shouted, his voice full of fear and frustration. Sookie opened her eyes and peered behind her shoulder to see Eric, the owner of vampire bar Fangtasia. Fresh blood trickled down from his lips as he smirked at Sookie, gripping onto her shoulders to prevent her from falling.

"Your brother tastes good, by the way." he laughed evilly, wiping the blood away with one of his hands, holding onto her with the other. He had the strength of 10 men, and as the fresh blood was still pulsating in his veins, there was no telling how dangerous he could be.

"Jason!? I swear you better not have hurt him or I'll kill you!!" screamed Sookie, anger erupting inside of her like an active volcano.

"Don't make him angry!" whispered Bill, just a little too loudly. He stood as still as a statue, as any sudden moment could send Sookie plummeting to her death. Eric was like a ticking time bomb, on the verge of exploding.

Eric smiled with an evil gleam in his eyes, enjoying every second of Bill and Sookie's torment.

"That's right, little girl. You really shouldn't make me angry. One slip and you could-" he released his grip from Sookie and she screamed as she was jerked forwards. Eric dug his nails into her shoulder again to prevent her from leaving his strong grasp. Bill leapt closer to Sookie in a desperate attempt to rescue her, but she was still too high up for him to reach.

"Just let go of me you evil monster! Haven't you got your little vampire friends to run off to?" Sookie snapped, swinging her feet towards him. Her feet missed and he just let out another cry of laughter. Her efforts were clearly useless, so she quickly resorted to what she did best. Reading his thoughts. His head sounded fuzzy and unclear. It was something about, Jessica. Jessica? Jessica had became like a little sister to Sookie, ever since Bill brought her into their home. She had a kind heart, like him, and Sookie knew that deep down, she was battling to keep off the blood. At that moment in time, nothing was making sense. All she needed to do was the piece it all together.

"What have you done with Jessica?" she questioned him, her heart racing as adrenaline rushed through her body.

He jerked her again violently and his eyes blazed into hers.

"You stay out of my head, do you hear me? DO-YOU-HEAR-ME?" he shouted in her ear, his blood boiling. Bill crept forwards slowly, unable to bare this torture any longer. He edged carefully towards the front door, not taking his eyes of Sookie, who was trembling directly above him. Eric was filled with fury, much too angry to notice that Bill was no longer in sight.

"You think your really smart, don't ya? Reading people's minds. Well I know your not. I know, your weakness." he spat, purple veins standing out distinctively on his forehead. Sookie struggled to free herself from his grasp, not caring if she fell to the ground. Any place was better than with Eric.

"My Weakness? What are you talking about? You're the weak one, charging into people's homes, threatening them! Why can't you just leave me and Bill alone?!" she fumed, her arm quickly losing all of it's strength. His hand was pressed so tightly around Sookie's shoulder, that he was starting to cut off her blood circulation.

"So you want me to leave you both alone, right? Well, you see, that doesn't really work for me. Your weakness? It's Bill. You like living your happy little life with Bill, reading people's thoughts, poking your pretty little nose into other people's business. Now, I really, don't want you poking your nose into my business, do I? So, I need to put a stop to it. Now, just how do you think I'm going to do that, smart little Sookie?"

Eric stared at her, waiting for her to answer. Sookie stared back, and she saw something in his eyes. Something wild. Something…not human.

"What," she stammered, "What are you going to do?" gasping her words as the pain shot further down her arm. He grinned, his pupils growing larger until no white was left visible. He reminded Sookie of her old cat, Tina, when she first saw a mouse in the backyard. She didn't like this similarity at all.

The pain was now growing unbearable and Sookie was struggling not to scream. Screaming was no use, it would only cause someone to come and try to help, and they were powerless against a vampire like Eric. Unless…Sookie peered back round to where she had last seen Bill standing. He was gone. Her heart sank to the bottom of her chest as she felt all hope fade far away. How could he leave me with this monster? She thought to herself, thinking that everything she had thought about Bill loving her had been a complete lie. She looked back towards Eric.

"Just kill me. I don't care anymore." she said quietly, wondering how she could have been deceived so easily. Jason had always said she was naïve. As a matter of fact, so had everyone. Had the whole town been laughing at her behind her back, the whole time she had been with Bill? Arlene? Sam? Tara? Sookie started to question whether she could trust any of her friends.

That's what Eric can do to your mind. He twists it, and shapes your feelings into what he wants you to feel, transforming you into a different person. He was so clever at disguising it, that Sookie just couldn't see what was right in front of her.

"Kill you?" he questioned. "Now, that would be far too easy."

Before Sookie had chance to look up, he pressed into her arm with all of his strength, and she screamed in agony. He refused to let go until her eyes closed and her head flopped forwards on to her chest. She was unconscious.

Bill appeared in Sookie's bedroom, but he was too late. Eric was twice as fast with fresh human blood running through his system, and in a split second, they were gone. Eric bundled Sookie into the back of the Black Fangtasia van parked in the thick trees, and sped off down the dirt track and into the fog.