Chapter 1

Michael Glass didn't like being a ghost. He felt like he was going to go insane at any moment. But it was better than being dead.

He hated that he couldn't leave. He'd tried to once. But he'd drifted away, becoming smoke and only just got back inside the house on time.

"Yo! Roomies! We've got a live one!"

He heard Eve calling, and drifted over. She'd brought in a small girl with dark hair-supposedly a potential roommate, who was also underage.

"Yo!" Eve yelled again "Shane, I smell the Chilli! Get your headphones out of your ears!"

Eve led the dark haired girl towards the couches, where Shane lay sprawled. Slowly, Shane woke up, rubbing his head. The girl opened her mouth to say something, but he put a finger to his lips.

"Hey. I'm Shane." he whispered. "What's up?" And then he noticed something that Michael hadn't noticed. The girl had a large bruise on her face. In fact, she seemed to have been beaten by someone. "Dude, that's a badass shiner. Hurts, Huh?"

The girl nodded. For a second, Michael wondered how the girl had got the bruise. But things like that happened only to often in Morganville. Hell, he'd been killed and turned into a ghost by the coffee shop owner.

Who just happened to be Eve's Boss. And a Vampire.

"So I guess you're gonna say that the other chick looks worse." Shane said.

"No, I-um-" the girl began "How did you know it was-"

"A Chick? Easy. Size you are, a guy would have put you in hospital with a punch hard enough to leave a mark like that." That was Shane. Perceptive in these things-but only because he'd been in a lot of fights already. "So what's up with that? You don't look like you go looking for trouble."

She didn't answer. Instead she said "I'm Claire. Hi."

Shane indicated for her to sit down on one of the leather chairs with a nod, and sat on the couch himself. "You want something?" Shane surprised Michael by asking. He didn't usually do that. "Coke, maybe? Chilli? Bus ticket back home?"

"Coke." Claire answered. "And Chilli."

"Good choice. I made it myself." Shane got up, and walked into the kitchen. Michael looked at Claire for a moment, then followed Shane.

Shane was pulling out the Chilli. "Hey. Eve." he said "Did you notice those bruises?"

"Yeah. Of course I did." Eve glared at Shane. "Didn't really say much except that she had had an accident, though. Like I used to have. You know, walking into fists."

Shane laughed darkly. He put the Chilli in the microwave and set it to heat up the Chilli. "Do you think it was one of them? She's unprotected." Eve said.

"What, Vampire?" Shane said.

"You know that's what I mean." Eve said.

"No." Shane said. "They'd have killed her. Trust me."

The microwave pinged. Shane made to take it out, but Eve got there first. "I'll give it to her. You can put some on for me."

And she took the chilli out to Claire. Shane quickly put some more chilli in the microwave, whilst muttering under his breath, and followed Eve out.

"Ice pack first." Eve instructed, giving it to Claire. Eve pushed the table toward Claire with her knee. "You can never tell what Shane puts in that Chilli. Be afraid."

Shane flopped down on the couch, and opened his can of Coke.

"Yeah man, thanks for bringing me one." Eve rolled her eye at Shane. "Dork."

"Didn't know if you wanted zombie dirt sprinkled on it or anything. If you're eating this week." he retorted.

"Dork! Go on and eat, I'll go get my own."

Eve walked back into the kitchen, whilst Claire took a spoonful of her chilli. Shane rushed her with raised eyebrows.

"Sgood." Claire said through a mouthful of food.

Eve walked in and sat down, and took a spoonful. "Not bad." Eve said "At least you left out the Oh-My-God sauce this time."

That's nice to know. Michael thought. He remembered how the Chilli had tasted two days ago, when Shane had put it the sauce-

It had almost burnt him alive.

Oh well. he said At least if I die I'll come to life sooner or later...or will i? I mean, I die all the time, but if I was killed by the Chilli-

"Made myself a batch with it." Shane said. Michael couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "It's got the biohazard sticker on it, so don't bitch if you get 'd you pick up the stray?"

Michael quickly made a mental note not to touch anything in the fridge with a biohazard sticker on it. Shane did have a tub with one on, after all-

"Outside. She came to see the room." Eve said.

"You beat her up first, just to make sure she's tough enough?"

"Bite me, Chilli boy." Eve said. Which, Michael thought, was never the cleverest thing to say in Morganville.

"Don't mind Eve." Shane said to Claire. "She hates working days. She's afraid she'll tan."
"Yeah, and Shane just hates working." Eve crossed her arms. "So, what's your name?"

Claire opened her mouth the answer, but Shane answered instead. "Claire. What, you didn't even ask? A Chick beat her up., too. Probably some skank in the dorms. You know how that place is."
"Is it true?" Eve gasped. "You got beat up in the dorm?" Claire nodded. "Well, that totally blows. No wonder you're looking for that room." Claire nodded again. "You didn't bring much with you."
" I don't have much." Claire said. "Just my books and maybe a couple of things back at my room. But-I don't want to go back there and get my stuff. Not tonight."

"Why not?" Shane grabbed a baseball and starting throwing it. "Someone still looking to pound you?"

"Yeah. It's not just her/ She's got friends." Claire said. "And-that place...it's just creepy."

"Been there." Eve said. "Oh wait, still there."

Michael laughed slightly. They were all stuck here. Well, except maybe Claire, who might be able to leave one day...if she got back to the Dorm.

Or, the Vampires could kill her. She's unprotected.

"What time is Michael getting up?" Eve asked.

"Hell Eve, I don't know." Shane said. "I love the guy, but I don't love the guy. Go bang his door and ask. Me, I gonna go get ready."

Michael groaned. So Shane was going out again. At least he had the sense this time to not go out at night.

"Ready for what?" Eve asked, and then she realised. "You're not seriously going out again, are you?"

"Seriously, yeah." Shane said. "Her names Laura. If you want the details, you're gonna have to download the video, like everybody else." He got off the couch. "See you later, Claire." he said.

"Wait a minute!" Eve said. "So, what do you say? Do you think she'll be okay here? Or what?"

Shane waved at hand at Eve. "Whatever man. Far as I'm concerned, she's OK." He smiled quickly at Claire, then disappeared upstairs.

"Guys." Eve sighed. "Damn. It'd be good to have another girl around here. They're like yeah, whatever and when it comes to picking up the place or washing dishes, they turn into ghosts." Michael laughed. He did turn into a ghost, true. Technically, he was a ghost.

"Not that you have to be, like, a maid or anything." Eve added quickly. "I mean...you've just gotta yell at them until they do there part or they walk all over you."

Claire smiled. When the blood trickled down onto her cheek from her spilt lip, she grabbed Eve's napkin and dabbed the cut with it.

Eve frowned. She picked up the abandoned ice pack and put it against Claries bumped head. "How's that?" she asked.

"Better." Claire said. "Um...I should ask...about the room."

"Well, you'll have to meet Michael and he has to say yes, but Michaels a sweetie, really." Nice you think so, Eve, Michael thought. "Oh, and he owns the place. His family does, anyway. I think they moved away and left the house a couple of years ago. He's about six months older than I am. We're all eighteen. Michaels sort of the oldest."

"He sleeps days?" Claire guessed.

"Yeah. I mean, I like to sleep days, but he's got a thing about it." Eve explained. "I called him a vampire once, cause he really doesn't like being up in the daytime. Like, never. He didn't think it was real funny."

That's because almost became one. Michael shuddered as he remembered Oliver tricking his way into the house, and pinning him to the sofa, and the pain as Oliver sunk his fangs into his neck and drank...and then the horror of waking up and staring down at his body...

"You sure he's not a vampire?" Claire asked. Michael could easily tell that she was joking. She didn't know anything about Morganville. "I've seen movies. They're sneaky."
The movies got that right. Michael thought. He'd have never suspected that Oliver was a Vampire, and yet, he was. Oliver was the one that had made him a ghost.

"Oh pretty sure." Eve replied. "For one thing, he eats Shane's chilli, which, god knows, has enough Garlic into it to explode a dozen high-quality dracs. And I made him touch a cross once."

"You-what?" Claire sounded surprised. "Made him?"

"Well, sure. Yeah." Eve answered. "I mean, a girl can't be too careful. Especially around here." Claire looked blank. Eve rolled her eyes. "In Morganville, you know?"
Oh no, Eve. You're not going to-

"What about it?" Claire asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Eve said in disbelief. "How could you not know? Morganville's full of Vampires."
Michael groaned. Not that anyone heard him. He was a ghost. Right now, he didn't exist.

But he wished that he could be there. That he could tell Eve to keep her mouth shut, and tell Claire that she was too young to join the Glass House and to go back to the college.

But that wasn't going to happen.

Thankfully, Claire didn't believe Eve. She just laughed.

Eve didn't.

And Claire noticed.

"Um...you're kidding?" She said.

"How many kids graduate TPU every year?" Eve said as an answer. TPU was the local university.

"I don't know." Claire answered. "It's a crappy college, most everybody transfers out."

Or become dinner...Michael thought.

"Everybody leaves." Eve said. "Or most, they stop showing up, right? I can't believe you don't know this." Michael could. And Claire should stay in the unknown. It was

safer that way.

Is it though? he wondered.

"Didn't anybody tell you the score before you moved in?" Eve continued ranting. "Look, the vamps run this town. They're in charge. And you're either in, or your out. If you work for them, if you pretend they're not here and they don't exist, you get a free pass. You get protection. Otherwise..." Eve mimed fangs on her throat.

From the look on Claries face, Claire thought Eve was mad.

Good. Michael thought. Maybe she'll just leave and decide not to live with such mad people.

"You think I'm a wacko." Eve sighed when she saw Claries face. "Yeah, I get that. I'd think I was too, except I grew up in a protected house. My Dad works for a water company. My mom was a teacher. And we all wear these-" she held up her bracelet, the symbol now red. it was Brandon's, and it wouldn't protect her anymore. "See how mines red? Expired. It's like health insurance. Kids are only covered until they're eighteen." Se looked at it, and then pulled it off. "Might as well not wear it, I guess. It sure won't fool anyone."
Claire still thought Eve was nuts. She hadn't grown up here, experienced life in Morganville where even if you were protected, you life could still end at any second.

"Fine. Go ahead. Think I'm nuts." Eve said. "I mean, why wouldn't I be? And I won't try to convince you or anything. Just-don't go out after dark unless you're with someone. Someone protected, if you can find them. Look for the bracelet. The symbols white if it's active."
"But I-" Claire began, and then paused. Whatever she as going to say, she didn't say it, and instead said;

"Ok. Thanks. Um-Is Shane-"

"Shane? Protected?" Michael laughed. Eve snorted. "As if! Even if he was, which I doubt, he'd never admit it, and he doesn't wear the bracelet or anything. Michael-Michael isn't either, but there's a sort of standard protection on houses. We're sort of outcasts here. There's safety in numbers too"

Claire was trying to work out what to make of Eve, and the vampires, when she yawned. Eve laughed.

"Hey, call it a bedtime story." she said. "Listen; let me show you your room. Worst case, you lie down for a while, let the ice pack work, and then bug out. Or, hey-you wake up and decide you want to talk to Michael before you leave. Your choice."
Michael watched Claire get up, Eve following. "Hey-can you make it up the stairs, because you know-" Eve began.

"I'm okay." Claire said.

They went upstairs. Michael floated, drifting up the stairs. Watching as Eve showed Claire which room was which. When she swung open Claire's room, Claire gasped.

"Is that a TV?" she asked.

"Yeah. Satellite Cable. You pitch in, though. Unless you wanna take it out the room." Eve explained. "Oh, and there's internet too. Broadband. I should probably warn you, they monitor internet traffic around here. You have to be careful what you say in messages and stuff." Eve dropped Claire's backpack on the dresser. "You don't have to decide right now. You probably ought to rest right now. Here-here's your ice pack." she handed it to Claire "When you get up, Michal will probably be awake. I have to get back to work, but it'll be okay." Eve smiled at Claire.

"Thank you, Eve." Claire said. "This is-Wow."
"Yeah, well. You look like you could use a little wow today." Eve shrugged, and smiled again at Claire. "Sleep well. And don't worry, Vampires won't come here. This house has protection, even if we don't."

Eve left the room and shut the door. Claire lay back at the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Michael knew that Claire couldn't see him, so he watched. He wanted to protect the girl-she was so young...to young to be in college, maybe only about 16, and she was dealing with Morganville.

But the Glass already had to much attention from the vampires. He couldn't risk anymore. He'd feel guilty if Claire got hurt, but he knew what he had to do.

Claire had to go...before things got dangerous.