This is a (really late) birthday present for The Clown That Smiles. Sorry for it being so overdue, but I've spent some time on this piece and this is probably my most favorite thing I've ever written for you. I honestly hope you enjoy it as I had a blast writing it.

Disclaimer: although I don't own The Lost Boys, I do own Jena. Any references and characters that come from The Lost Boys major motion picture all belong to Warner Brothers Pictures.

Sunny

000

There was always something about railroad tracks that had interested Jena. The concept of running away, of course, that was tied to the holders of train transportation had run across her mind plenty of times and now, even if she couldn't believe it, she was doing the same as all those she witnessed go missing on television. Except this time, unlike those faces on the falsely lit screen, she wouldn't be coming back. At least she hoped not because she so desperately needed to escape, to disappear forever from those boys.

She needed to vanish from the living world, from all the plain, empty faces of the robots that wondered around like life was just a set of instructions. That was why she had ridden with them in the first place, why she had explored their cave full of magic and why she had let the juice of forbidden fruit run down her throat. She wanted to escape the droll drag that was her life, yet now she wished she hadn't taken her mediocre existence for granted. Because now, now she had nothing but a pocket full of sea shells and a half beating heart.

She thought about how curious the sound of track pebbles underneath her worn down flip flops were and even attempted a smile when the tiny rocks bounced out behind her. She wished she could take a pocketful with her, but Jena could waste no time. This was her only chance to leave and she was already losing daylight. The sun was starting to sink behind the clouds and soon it would melt into the earth and blend with the dirt and waters. As much as Jena thought the moon was as beautiful as the sun, it was her enemy now, for she brought with her the four entities that injected her into such torture and suffering.

Jena was very, very sick.

She was supposed to get "better" instead of worse when the boys later revealed that she had drank vampire blood instead of sickly sweet, lukewarm wine. But Jena's body did not respond the way it should have, in fact, it repelled the poison and released deadly venom of its own to fight off the blood. A body like Jena's was rare, her blood type supposedly was the source of the problem, type AB. Something with the chemicals and lack of antibodies effected Jena's response to "the change" and she was slowly dying instead of surviving the push and pull of mortality.

Day by day she deteriorated, in mind and body, and the process was slow and painful. On some nights, she could walk, slink around the boardwalk, ride Paul's motorcycle when David wasn't determined to make her ride his. The two boys had a territorial rift when it came to Jena; Paul was the one who found her and David was the one who changed her. The later outweighed the former, yet Paul was risking a lot by fighting over Jena with David. Paul liked Jena's personality, but David saw her potential.

Other nights, she could barely move, her limbs so arthritic and locked that she was forced to stay trapped on that worn out mattress, curled up in colorful sheets and sequined pillows. The blankets smelled of salt and firewood smoke, reminding her of what her life could have been if she hadn't drank that blood, if she hadn't found a slight attraction towards the boys and their life style.

She sometimes wondered who had been before her, who had suffered as she had and sometimes she wondered if they ever got away. She wasn't, couldn't be sure that she would escape and stay hidden forever. Those boys were lethal hunters, murders with the tools that only animals are granted with and she knew sooner or later they would track her down.

She just hoped it would be later.

The sun was slowly disappearing, leaving the sky to turn from a pale pink to a hazy blue. Jena's heart squeezed more venom through her body as she began to panic. She was running out of time, she knew, as she saw that wretched moon take the sun's position in the sky.

They would be waking up soon. She had to hurry and find someplace they would never look.

Picking up her pace as much as she could, Jena found herself at a slow run even though her limbs were screaming in protest. The track pebbles flew out behind her and her ponytail began to come undone, but she didn't care. All that mattered was getting away.

Maybe there was some hope for her, maybe someone somewhere had found a cure for what she had. That's what kept Jena going, the hope that maybe, just maybe she could live again.

"Come on, Jena, run faster," she whispered to herself.

Sweat beaded at her hairline, but she didn't take time to wipe it off with her sleeve; she had none to waste.

The sun was officially gone, leaving behind nothing but a wisp of crisp light along the horizon line. The moon was slowly reaching its way to the stars that had begun appearing with the absence of the sun. Night creatures came out of their holes in the ground and fireflies lit up the tracks like Christmas lights. Jena tried to pretend that the boys wouldn't come near so much natural light, but she knew lying to herself wouldn't help anything.

She had to be realistic.

The chances of escaping were 1000 to 1, but she had to take that measly chance and put everything she had into it.

She wouldn't go back to living that way again.

"Come on, pick up the pace."

She forced herself to run faster, scrunching up her face as her legs strained against the venom coursing through them. Just walking was painful enough, but this, this was torture.

Maybe if I slowed down a little…

No.

She had to escape, to get far enough away from Santa Carla and maybe….maybe she could go back home.

"They wouldn't understand."

Jena couldn't do that to her parents, to her brothers and sisters and she couldn't explain to them why she left and how exactly she became a half vampire. She'd rather not put them through that.

She was already a disappointment to them by running away with four strangers, not to mention they were boys.

She shook her head, scowling when it made her dizzy and kept running, looking back occasionally to make sure no one was behind her. The sky was still a dark blue, reminding her of what her eyes used to look like before…all this. Now, they were usually yellow.

She hadn't taken human life before, she refused of course, but sometimes the hunger was too much to bear. Plus the illness didn't help with the symptoms all too much.

Jena liked to believe that's why Paul picked her and why David changed her; her eyes. She was always complemented on how pretty, or how soulful they looked. The boys, she came to figure out, had similar ones to her own. They held things that a person could never fathom, could never wrap their head around.

A sudden sound behind her made Jena's head whip around. She would have screamed if it weren't for her lack of vocal energy and sped up, surprising herself with an extra boost of adrenaline.

This was fight or flight and right now, flight was winning.

They were there; she saw them with their pointed teeth and yellow eyes full of malice and deadly control and they looked livid.

Jena was sprinting now, flying over the railways like a bird with giant wings. She would not be caught no matter what, even if she died from a heart attack in the process. Her lungs burned with the sudden intake of oxygen as well as the venom, her legs felt like cracked stone, ready to tumble at any moment and her mind could only think of one thought; survive.

Wind whipped her copper brown hair away from her eyes, giving her a clear line of vision ahead.

Nothing.

Yet, she could still hear them behind her. It wasn't like the boys to be so…obvious. She turned her head around once more, just to make sure, but surprisingly, she could see nothing. Were they gone? No, she knew them better than that.

She spun back around just in time to crash into something rock solid. The breath was painfully knocked out of her as she plummeted towards the ground, landing so hard on the rocks that she fell backwards, smacking her head against the railway.

For a second, she couldn't move as the pain and venom coursed through her body. Her heart was slowing down, giving her nerves time to go into a sudden lapse as shock raced through her. It wasn't wise to have run as fast as she did; too much movement sped up the process of the venom through her veins. Black dots lined her vision as the world spun around her; this definitely wasn't good.

"Jena, get up."

Her vision cleared, but all she saw was a mop of blonde hair and blue eyes. A hand shot out in front of her, offering its assistance.

"Jena, hurry, come on."

"Paul?"

"Shit, girl, take my hand and get the hell up."

Jena did as she was told, gasping as she was suddenly standing upright, looking into his eyes.

"What were you thinking, running away like that?" he asked in a hushed whisper. His eyes were clearly angry, but his tone was patient, waiting for an answer.

She snatched her hand away from his, scowling. Her feet turned away from him, trying to walk away before he caught her arm.

"Where are you going? We've got to get back before David finds you. He's pissed as hell, Jena," Paul hissed.

"Let him be," she croaked, jerking her arm from his grasp and limping away. Her legs were starting to shut down. This wasn't good.

Fall colored leaves shuffled around Jena's feet, gliding with the chilly wind that night brought. The bright orange autumn moon was half way towards the peak of its journey and she knew it was now or never.

Before she got a chance to leave however, Paul grabbed her arm again, spinning her around to face him. His expression clearly displayed frustration and confusion, making her challenged heart even more troubled.

"You can't leave, Jen, you're coming back home with me."

"Home," she spat, getting close to his face. Anger was evident in her eyes and Paul's aggravation increased.

"Yes, home, so pick your ass up and start moving."

Their noses touched. "I'm already up," she hissed.

"You know what I meant," he said slowly, grinding his teeth.

They stared at each other for what seemed like eternity before he grabbed her wrist and forced her to start walking.

"Let me go!" she screeched, straining her voice.

"I'm doing you a favor, Jena. Be glad David's not the one who found you."

"I wish he was! I always liked him better!"

This was her chance, she knew when she uttered those words that Paul would stop, would be hurt and she could run.

His grip loosened and before he knew it, she took off, veering sideways and headed for the woods surrounding the train tracks. Leaves and rocks spit out behind her as, once again, she surprised herself with another round of adrenaline.

Flight was definitely winning.

There were a few trails that began around the edges of the forest and Jena chose to take the first one she saw. Hopefully it would lead her someplace far away from Paul and any of the others boys that had accompanied him.

Night owls alarmed her senses, fireflies lit the small paths, and if she weren't on the run, Jena would have stopped to marvel at the October beauty. But she was running out of time and she could sight see when she was finished hiding from the boys.

She realized something important then, something she should have thought of; she needed to get off this trail. Swerving to the left, she burst through the leaves, blazing through the dead underbrush. The boys would expect her to follow a trail and besides, there were better places to hide in the untamed forest than on the manmade paths. They were all just too predictable.

Her insides were screaming in agony now, begging her to stop and rest. She knew she should have, but there was just no time and god knows vampires never wasted any.

She pumped more oxygen into her lungs, despite the overwhelming burn in her throat and sprinted to the right, zig-zagging. Hopefully the twisted scent trail would confuse the boys and give her enough time to escape.

Time; this was all she needed.

Now, she could actually feel the venom coursing through her and she knew that the adrenaline was expediting the process of her own self massacre. She was going to die if she didn't slow down.

But that just wasn't an option. This was a catch 22, she realized, though she hoped she could prove herself wrong.

"Jena…"

She nearly stopped, her body almost frozen in terror. That voice, that cold, unusual voice; where did it come from?

She kept running though, despite her fear, but found it hard to breathe now. The venom was slowly eating its way through her.

"Jena…"

She cried out in shock as the voice came again, this time closer to her ear. She tried to speed up, but her legs just couldn't carry her that far.

"Time's up Jena…"

Something kicked her in the leg and she hurtled towards the ground face first, skidding along the forest floor. She slid to an agonizing stop, her hands shaking so vigorously they seemed to vibrate. Pain erupted in her face and she spurted blood out of her mouth. The sticky red substance was freely flowing from her broken nose and bloodied teeth, earning a gag as she spit it out into the leaves. Attempting to stand up was not an option; Jena crashed back down to the ground when her twisted arm gave out.

There was no way she would escape now.

A loud wail came from her throat as she began to pull large splinters from her arm, meanwhile choking on her own blood. Gurgling sickly, she tried once again to spit it out, only managing to open up the gashes in her gums.

Now she was screaming, wailing so loud birds flew from the expanse of trees that encircled her. Crawling along the forest floor, upsetting the small nocturnal insects and animals, she scratched her fingernails against the dirt, trying to move herself along. A large, black boot came stomping down on her hand, crushing it beneath the sole. She cried, tears falling from her eyes as she immediately knew who it was.

"We told you what would happen if you ran, Jena," David's voice was dark, angered, but also somewhat remorseful.

She gagged, purposefully spitting blood and saliva on his boot. "Fuck you," she groaned.

He stepped away from her, scowling and shaking his head. "You know, that's why I changed you."

Her eyes lingered up towards his face, tortured confusion manifesting in her irises.

"Your fire, Jena. I could see it in you, I could see what we could make of it. You were special; you had something no one else did."

"Special!" she spat, "all you wanted was to play with me! And you talked about fucking family."

She groaned again, clutching her nose momentarily. "If family's so important to you, then why can't you just let me go."

He chuckled darkly. "Because you are our family, Jena."

He motioned around him as the three other boys appeared at his side. All of them looked…disappointed.

"You never treated me like I was a part of it," she hissed, trying to wipe away some of the blood from her face.

"You never acted like you wanted to be," Dwayne spoke up then and Jena starred desperately at him. He rarely spoke and now when he did, it was against her.

"I never wanted to be…this," she whispered.

Their faces shadowed and David stepped forward. "You're coming home with us, Jena."

"I'm going to die anyways, just let me go in peace," she pleaded quietly.

"You don't have to die."

"I'm not feeding," she growled the sentence out.

David laughed then. "Of course you are, Jena." He leaned down, getting close to her mangled face and stroked her copper hair.

"We control you now," he whispered.

Her hands shook with anger and determination as he stood back up, lingering with his brothers.

"Just come back home, Jen," Paul pleaded. Marko nodded his head in agreement.

"Just leave me here."

The boys stole glances at each other, yet little did they know, while David had been speaking, Jena's hand was slowly reaching for a sharp, pointed rock. When it reached its destination, she slowly closed her fingers over it, engulfing it in her palm.

"This is ridiculous, Jena, you're coming home now," David snarled, bending down to grab her arm.

"You don't control me and you never will, David!" she spat.

They all paused and she closed her eyes, taking a deep fearful breath. This was the last thing she would ever do, would ever see and would ever hear. She wanted to make it powerful.

"You made a stupid choice by changing me. I always get what I want."

Then, quicker than she could have imagined her hand moving, she brought the rock to her tender throat and plunged it into her flesh.

The boys cried out in anger and astonishment while she brought the rock across the entirety of her throat. The blood gushed out from the large, jagged opening and Jena fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

David's eyes were alight with blue fury, never had a human gotten away before. He was always in control, always. Yet, Jena had been different and he knew when he changed her, she was going to be trouble. He chose to ignore his gut feeling and that was the worst mistake he could have ever made.

Jena's last thoughts were peaceful for the most part; she remembered her family, her home, her friends and all the pleasant memories she had before meeting the boys.

But one thing lingered in her mind as she drifted to the other side.

"I ran out of time."