Nightburg

chapter three

"K, thanks for the info. Ummm... Where can I get some food around here? I'm starving!"

"Oh! I already ate, but I'll show you where we normally eat, and you can have some of that."

"What'd you have?"

"Ummm.... Me? I had a rare steak, mashed potatoes, a glass of blood-low fat-and a glass of water.

"Mmm, sounds good, except for the blood that is, and the steak-I like mine medium rare." But what I had said wasn't true, the glass of blood HAD sounded good; and I wanted a glass right then and there.

I stood up, and followed Alayna to the kitchen; but I didn't think that I would know the way again, too many twists and turns to remember. I'll never remember the way here on my own. I thought.

"Here we are; the... 'Dining room'" Alayna said as she looked at the plaque that had the name of the room on it.

"Great," I said, unenthusiastically, but hungrily at the same time.

As soon as we walked in, the workers were putting away the last of the food, and the tables were all being finished getting stacked by a bored looking person who Alayna whispered to me was a vampire.

"Are all vampires that strong?" I asked as he lifted a very heavy looking table and set it on top of three others with a bored expression on his face.

"Yea, well except us, we're not a 'full' only a 'half'. Well, except for you, you're as strong, fast, and as everything else as them... maybe even more."

"Huh," was all that I could chock out, while imagining picking up things as heavy as the tables.

"You still hungry? 'Cause we can go get something to eat in the kitchen," Alayna suggested.

"What kitchen? I thought that this was the kitchen, and it's being closed up."

"Nah, there's one in every dorm room, you didn't see the one in the room? Really?! When I moved here, that was the first thing I noticed, well, that along with the shower. You have to admit, that's an awesome shower."

"It is," I agreed, thinking about how the shower sprayed water at you from many places-the ceiling, floor, and walls-how you could turn on and off certain sprayers, and how it kept the water the perfect temperature, no matter how long you were in there; according to Alayna at least. (I had only been in the shower for twenty minutes so far.)

While we walked to (and into) the dorm, I noticed how everything was old-fashioned, but modern at the same time, it looked cool, and made the place seem like home.

"Okay, here's the kitchen, it has just about everything, from apples to pizza. Oh, and if there's anything that the kitchen doesn't have just call the 'leader', Kuwanyauma."

"Why is THAT her name?"

"Because, you can change your name when you get here. I told you that so that you wouldn't think that her parents named her that. Also, she renamed herself that because her spirit animal is the butterfly, so when she dies, she'll turn into a butterfly."

"Oh makes more sense at least," I said as I grabbed a slice of pizza and a sprite, then I looked at the blood, sighed, and closed the fridge.

We walked into our room; Alayna flopped onto her bed, while I sat down carefully, and started eating

‡ † † ‡ It was around midnight when I heard the scratching. At first I ignored it, then it got so that I couldn't sleep. Carefully, I got out of bed, and tiptoed across the floor. As soon as I opened the door, I saw a cat at the door sitting there, as if waiting to come in. Then I looked closer; and I realized something, it was Clara! The same Clara that is black, brown, gray, and white.

As if she had lived there for years, she padded into the room, jumped onto the bed, and flopped down in the middle of it.

"Great, now my bed is taken, just as it was back 'home'" I said as I tried to make room for myself in the bed.

Then Clara gave one of her "meows". Her meow is that she opens her mouth, and then closes it, not making a sound. There's only that once-in-a-while one where she makes sound.

‡ † † ‡

The next morning I woke up before Alayna did. As soon as

Alayna woke up though, I had to ask her a question that had been on my mind for a while.

Alayna opened her eyes slowly, then they snapped open. "When'd you get the cat?!" Was the first thing out of her mouth. She didn't sound angry or annoyed, just confused.

"Who? Oh Clara! She came-unexpectedly-last night." I said

"Oh okay; I thought it had just walked in for no reason."

"First of all, she's not an 'it', she's a girl. Second of all, before you ask, she was my cat before I came here. How she even got here though is still a mystery to me."

"K" Alayna said.

"Also... when you told me that the Fallen's had their rose outlined in black, how can you tell it's even outlined?!"

"Oh! Did I forget to mention that? Oh well, I'll just tell you now. Anyway, when you look at their rose, the blackness looks like a black hole or something; never ending. Also, not ALL of the Fallen's are evil; some are actually nice; if you can understand that."

"I understand; I was just confused is all."

"Okay, good, because I have some friends for you to meet."