"Sam!" I yelled. I pulled my hair out of its ponytail and walked around the corner of the bar. I walked down the hallway, my feet clicking on the polished floors. I shook my hair out with my hand and knocked on Sam's office door with my other hand.

"Yah." He called. I opened the door and poked my head in.

"I'm gunna take off." I told him as I grabbed my purse off of the shelf.

"Oh, okay. Tomorrows your day off, right?" he asked, stifling through papers on his desk.

"Yah, do you need me to come in?" I paused at the door, looking back at him.

"No, no. I'm just trying to figure out schedules." He muttered. Normally I would have asked to help him and he would have said yes, and I would sit there for an hour and a half figuring it out with him, but today was just not my day.

"Sam, I'm real sorry, I can't stay to help you tonight. I've got to get my car from the repair shop and then pick Jason up from the airport." I said.

"That's fine, Sookie." Sam said, lifting his head long enough to give me a small smile.

"How're you getting to the repair shop?" he asked as he opened a drawer to retrieve a paper.

"Oh, I called a taxi. It's waiting out front now." I said, trying not to seem like I was in too much of a rush.

"Alright. Tell Jason I said hi." He said. I smiled and walked out the door, back down the hallway, around the corner of the bar, and out the front door. The night was cool. It was around 10 o'clock, and the day's heat was just starting to diminish. I looked around for the taxi, but didn't see it. I sighed and went to sit down on the bench by the doors. I fished a small clip out of my purse and pulled my hair back out of my face. I leaned back against the chair and closed my eyes, lacing my fingers over my stomach.

"Hello Sookie." A familiar voice said directly behind my right ear. I jumped to my feet, my heart skipping a beat.

"Jesus Christ Eric! For ONCE could you stand in front of me and not try to scare me to death?" I asked, trying to calm my heart. His familiar, cocky smile filled my vision.

"What are you doing here all alone?" he asked, slowly walking around the bench with his hands behind his back.

"I'm waiting for my taxi." I muttered, turning around to look at the road. It was eerily empty.

"Oh, I canceled your taxi." He admitted with absolutely no shame. My eyes widened.

"Eric! I need to get the shop! Like now!" I exclaimed, groaning. "Now I'm going to have to walk ten miles. Thank you Eric, I really appreciate it." I turned on my heal and started to walk away. Of course he kept pace with me easily.

"I thought I would give you a ride." He said raising his eyebrows.

"Why do I feel like that has two meanings?" I muttered. His cold and humorless laugh filled the night.

"You'd really rather walk ten miles then take a quick car ride with me?" he asked sweetly.

"Yes."

"Well, I didn't want to have to drag you to the car kicking and screaming. Actually, I sort of did want to. But I'd much rather you go of your own accord." He said. I could hear the smile in his voice, and I knew he meant it with all of his dead heart.

"Shit." I muttered as I turned around and followed him to his sleek black jaguar. He was such a show off. He held the door open for me and I slid into the leather seat. Quick as a flash he was around the other side and in the driver's seat.

"Where is Bill?" he asked as he started the car.

"Oh, wow, you're so funny Eric. Like you would forget he went to Lorena?" I laughed and stared out the window so I wouldn't have to look at him. The car purred to life and we were on the road in the next second.

"Ah yes, so he did." He muttered. "So who is your next target?" he asked.

"Don't get your hopes up, Eric." I snapped. He chuckled.

"Don't worry, Sookie. I'm only looking for one thing from you." He winked at me and I shuddered.

"Wow, Eric, you sure know how to make a woman feel special." I said, and then turned to look back out the window.

"You won't give me just one night?" he asked leaning towards me and whispering into my ear.

"God, I rather kill myself." I shuddered again with the thought. He turned into the driveway of the shop.

"How fast were you driving?" I shouted as I climbed out of the car.

"You now I like to go fast." He said, smiling over the top of his car.

"Ugh, go to hell, Eric." I snapped as I walked into the shop, his laughter ringing behind me. I walked up to the woman standing by the counter.

"Sookie Stackhouse." I said.

"Ah, yes. Your car is parked around back. If you could just sign these forms." She said, slipping me some paper.

I was on the road in another ten minutes, driving twenty miles over the speed limit. I tried not to look at the clock because every time I did I felt more and more guilty. I was going to be at least half an hour late. Jason was going to be so mad. I turned the radio up and tried to calm down. Eric seemed to always tie my insides into a knot. The difficult part was untying them. I took a deep breath in, deep breath out. I closed my eyes for a second as I breathed in, and then opened them as I breathed out. And then closed them, and then opened them. And in time to see the man standing in the middle of the road. I screamed and turned the wheel sharply. My car cleared his pale skin by an inch, but with not enough road to get good grip, it spun out of control. I did a complete 360 turn, and then it flipped over. I screamed as my seat belt snapped and I was thrown to the roof, and then to the seat where I hit my head on the dash board. Then I flipped again, and my arm landed at an impossible angle, resulting in a sickening snap. I screamed louder, and fell to the seat again, knocked almost unconscious. It spun once more, then fell to the ground with a thud. The windows exploded, cutting into me and covering me with glass. I stopped screaming, and the car stopped rolling. I tried to call out, but I choked on blood, and began coughing. I tried to unfold myself on the roof, but cried out in pain whenever my arm moved. I looked out one of the smashed window, and watched a pair of boots, black leather, walk slowly towards the car. I couldn't locate the face. All I saw were black jeans and a tick belt. Something rose in my throat, an odd sound that was half way between crying and screaming. The boots stopped right besides the car. I could hear him breath in deeply, then groan in pleasure. I watched his knees bend, and he knelt on one leg. His head bent down and he looked into the window, directly into my eyes. I never knew someone could have pure, black eyes. How could someone be filled with so much evil and hate that it is shown like a painting in their eyes? His hair was short, just brushing his eyebrows. It was as black as his eyes, glossy and shinning. He smiled when he saw me, and with a sort of pop, his fangs were produced. This time I really did scream. He reached into the car and pulled me out in half a second. I screamed again as my arm flopped lifelessly. He seemed to get more excited, the more I screamed. His eyes would grow darker, and he would growl from deep in the back of his throat. I was lifted to me my feet which wouldn't support me. They shook and trembled. One of his arms circled around my chest, pinning my arms to my side. I whimpered and he purred in response. My back was pressed against him, making it so I couldn't see what he was doing. I felt his fangs graze my neck and I cried out in fear.

"Please." I begged. He lightly nipped my shoulder and I felt the first tears spring into my eyes. He was going to kill me, and he wasn't going to think about my pain in the process. I'd never really thought about dying, not even when I was dating someone who was already dead. It always seemed to skim over my head, pass me by without a second thought. And now I wasn't prepared when it beat me down ruthlessly. He groaned as he inhaled my scent.

"You smell so sweet." He growled.

"Just let me go." I whispered, pleaded. My breathing was coming quicker, faster. "Please." I cried.

I knew it was about to happen two seconds before it did. He took a giant breath in and it sounded like he hissed. I felt a slight whistle of wind on my neck as he moved faster than light, and bent in. When his fangs sank in, it didn't hurt. It felt like getting a shot, just a little pin prick. But then he started to take my blood. The screams started then, long and loud. They pierced through the night air, louder than I thought possible. Being drained against your will is nothing like getting bit for pleasure. Not even close. I always let Bill bite me. We both enjoyed it. But when you're struggling and unwilling to lose any blood for the monster attacking you, it's like nothing you've ever felt. It felt like my life, my spirit, everything I've ever seen funny or happy, was leaving me. I felt like my very soul was being slowly ripped from me. Every nightmare I've ever had flashed before me, every pain, every broken bone or torn tendon I've ever had was refreshed in my memory, and my nerves. All of those disgusting things that make my skin crawl seemed to surround me. The people I hated most screamed in my head and the night air chilled to the extreme. Soon I couldn't scream any longer. My legs collapsed beneath me, and the vampire lowered me to the ground. H knelt and continued to suck the blood. It happened faster than I thought possible. The fear, destruction, hate, and disgust only grew in my mind, as I became weaker and weaker, unable to fight them back. I tried to keep my eyes open, but they were getting so heavy, like weights were tied to both of them. His arm dropped from my chest to bend my head further to the side so he could get to a better angle. I tried to push his head away, to claw at his face and pull at his hair, but that lasted for only thirty seconds before my arms collapsed to my side and my whole body seemed to give away. I fought real hard, pushed at the darkness that threatened to drown me. With a gasp and a squelching noise, he pulled back.

"Mmm," he groaned. I fell to the ground in a heap, suddenly released from the horrible pain. I tried to take a breath in, but failed. I could only take short gasps that didn't satisfy my need for air. "Better than I expected." I heard him whisper from some distant place. I tried to talk, but failed. It came out as a sort of gurgle. He crawled around in front of me so I could see him bite his wrist. His lip curled back as he pressed it against my mouth. Gathering any strength I could, I twisted my head away and let the blood dribble out of my mouth.

"No." I gurgled, moving my head away when he placed it back towards my mouth. I knew he was going to kill me, that much was obvious. Half way through I prepared myself for oblivion, for a never ending abyss. Not ever did I expect it to be worse, to be turned into a vampire. I could not, I would not, let him do that to me. But I was in no position to fight back. He hissed and gripped the back of my neck to keep me from moving. The tears spilled down my cheeks as he held his wrist to me. There was no way I could stop the blood from dripping down my throat. My body started shaking and I was moaning, trying to move away. How could he do this? Why was he doing this? Why couldn't he leave me to die on this road? I would have been happier if he had done that. Much, much happier.

"Sookie!" someone yelled from away. I had never heard so much fear and anger mixed into someone's voice. Instantly I was dropped onto the ground, blood still dripping from my chin. He appeared above me, fangs glistening white in the sky. He looked so tall when he was standing. His eyes widened as he looked down at me. He turned to look at the car, then me, then around the woods. "Sookie." He said again. I smiled. He looked so pretty in the moonlight, his hair shinning like it was glowing and his skin pale, like my own, giant angel.

"Hi." I whispered. He knelt down beside me, lifting me to lean against his knee. He tilted my head to see the bite mark and growled. His fangs seemed to get longer. Weird.

"You're fangs are shinny." I whispered, my eyes drooping shut.

"Sookie, stay awake. Stay with me Sookie." Eric growled, shaking me so that my eyes opened. I watched him bite his wrist, the same way the other vampire did. I knew there was a reason I shouldn't take it. There was a reason I shouldn't drink the thousand year old blood that was readily given to me at the moment. I turned my head to the side so I wouldn't have to drink it.

"Sookie, honey, look at me." He whispered. His voice sounded soft, gentle, caressing me to my inner core. I turned my head to see him staring down at me with incredible blue eyes. "I need you to drink. Drink, Sookie." My eyebrows knit together in determination. I turned my head away again, like a child. "Sookie, pleased rink. Stay with me Sookie, stay with me." He begged. He sounded so hurt, so pained. His voice was drifting away like it was being carried on a current. I wanted it to stay with me, to keep holding me close. I wanted his words to wrap around my mind and keep me warm in the cold, freezing night. I turned my head back, my eye glistening with new tears. I felt my lower lip tremble as he slowly pressed his cold wrist against my mouth. I watched his face, watched the blood slowly escape the corner of his eyes and leave a trail down his cheek. Odd, I'd never seen him cry since Godric. Never thought he would cry over me of all people. It was so unlike Eric. I hated seeing him this hurt, this sad. I wanted him back to normal. So I took the blood and let it slide down my throat like a cold drink. It tingled on my tongue, left a trail of energy down my throat. His eyes became hard as he watched me take in his blood, and then without warning, I dropped away, sliding off of his knee because he was off guard, and there was no way to support my weight. I felt my throat close up, and my breath caught in my throat. My eyes widened, and the last thing I saw as a human was Eric's panicked face, begging me to try.