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Walking home from work that night I was listening to the song Haunted by Evanescence. I was singing along to it softly to myself thinking about what Ian had said. I don't know what he thought, but based on the way he said it, it sounded like he actually believed the nutcase nurse and thought a vampire had actually killed my mom in a car accident. Something was definitely weird but I don't think the explanation needed to involve supernatural beings that didn't exist. I mean, the circumstances were strange, but thet weren't that strange.

So here I was, walking down a street at almost 1 a.m.. Why was I working these strange hours, you ask? Because I was officially on summer break. I was relieved about it, too. I had graduted highschool a year early because I had packed in as many extra classes as I could handle. I was planning on just graduating next year with a bunch of extras, but I decided I didn't want to return. Studies didn't seem to mean as much as they used to since my mother died. I knew that going back to school would just screw everything up and besides, I had work to do.

I arrived back at Carlene's. She was sleeping on the couch, snoring. The kids were in bed and would stay there for the rest of the night, or else risk Carlene's rath. I trudged upstairs as quietly as I could. I was tired. I didn't want to think anymore. I wanted to stop pondering all of the stupid questions Ian's findings had brought up. I almost wished I had listened to him when he said he thought we should stop. Almost.

I never even felt my head hit the pillow. I went to sleep with thoughts of my mother, and for the moment I was really happy. It was hard to remember her most of the time. It hurt. But for now, I was remembering my sixth birthday party when my mom had started teaching me about herbology and had given me a book of plants. I had treasured that thing so much because even though I was young, it was obvious my mom regarded the knowledge held within it like a priceless artifact. I was very apt at recognizing plants and there characteristics now. I didn't even need the book anymore. I think I smiled in my sleep.

The smile was long gone when I awoke to a crash downstairs at oh-dark-thirty. I gritted my teeth and planned the murder of whichever kid it was that had caused the raucous that woke me. I grudgingly pulled myself completely out of my slumber and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I stubbed my toe and cursed under my breath, pushing aside the sheet and sneaking down the steps. I looked into each kids room, one by one. Sasha and Kate were in their rooms, oblivious to the noise. Bobby and Charlie, too. I looked in the next room over. The last room. Gregory was in his room sleeping, but the other bed was empty. That left one person. Tommy.

I was going to kill him.

At that moment I heard a woman's yell. Carlene? I climbed down the stairs at a faster pace, wondering what was wrong. It sounded like there was a struggle going on. Was Tommy putting up a fight?

In the next instant, everything was slow. My breathing stopped. My heart stopped. I stared uncomprehendingly at a man who was not supposed to be here.

He had a shaved head and a black cloak with the hood down. I was seeing the back of his head. He had a symbol tatooed on his neck that was in a language I didn't recognize. And yet, I somehow knew what it meant. Power. He was tall, nearing 7 feet and he was angled towards Carlene, who had Tommy protectively shoved behind her. She saw me then.

"Donna, run!" She shouted at me. The man turned to face me then. He grinned, menacingly at me, showing me his blackened, rotting teeth. He was missing an eye.

"Belladonna Arnica. We meet at last," he said in a quiet deep voice. My hands began to shake as I looked him straight in the eye.

"How do you know me?" I asked. My voice shook as noticeably as my hands.

He laughed. "I know quite a lot about you."

Great. This creepy guy was apparently my stalker. Just what I needed, I thought to myself, unable to keep my inner monologue from being sarcastic.

"Actually, I'm here to kill you." He said completely nonchalant. Then he flicked his wrist outward and a dagger flew at me. Not kidding. A dagger. Who carries a dagger around with them? I can see a chainsaw, or a butcher knife. But a dagger?

I ducked on an instinct I wasn't aware of having. The knife flew over my head and landed in the wall behind me. Carlene jumped on his back and started pounding on his back with her fists. The man didn't even flinch. He simply lifted Carlene up with one arm and threw her across the room. She grunted as she collided with the table. Tommy was crying now, screaming and shaking in terror. I ran up to the dagger in the wall behind me and yanked it out. It was heavier then I thought it would be. I examined the handle and the blade. The symbols were all over it. All in a foreign language I had never learned but somehow knew. Knowledge, speed, strength, and power were the symbols written in a circle on the hilt. Something in me clicked. These symbols together. They meant something. I examined the blade more closely, and realized I had missed one. Awaken.

I inhaled sharply and my eyes widened, my head thrown back. A memory flickered to life before my eyes.

"But what will you do?" A younger Tanya asked in a pleading voice. My mother was here. I ran to her and tried to hug her but I phased through. "Mother! MOTHER!" I yelled.  A man replied to Tanya's question.

"I will come back for you both. Soon. I promise."

"But she'll not know you. You'll miss everything. Don't go. PLease don't go, James. We can hide! We will be safe! Please, don't leave," Tanya begged.

"I must. To keep you safe," James then walked to Tanya. He kissed her sweetly and then stared down. It was then that I noticed the baby in my mother's arms. He took the baby and said softly. "I will come back for you. You and your mother." He kissed the baby, and seemingly looked directly at me. "I promise."

His eyes. They were my eyes. Emerald green.

"Goodbye, Belladonna." He kissed the baby again and gave her back to my mother. She sobbed. He embraced her and then turned and walked away. Leaving us alone.

James was my father. I was the baby.

I came to, lying on the floor with the intruder standing over me. He stared at me maliciously.

"Goodbye, Belladonna Arnica," he hissed.

I stared up at him with wide eyes, knowing this was the end. I was about to die.

"AHHH!" Carlene screeched, once again jumping onto the man's back and hitting him with her fists.

"YOU!" He growled. "You will pay for that!" He flung his hand out to the floor, pointing to where the dagger lay. It flew up to his waiting hand. I watched, frozen in terror as he plunged the dagger into Carlene's throat. She fell off his back to the floor next to me. She stared at me with wide, pain filled eyes as she took her last shuddering breaths. And then, she died.

Tears stung my eyes as I stared at her lifeless body. She had died trying to protect me. Tommy screamed louder as the man stepped torwards me. He clutched the dagger in his hand, and with a yell of fury, drove it into my stomach.

The pain was unbearable. I screamed, unable to stop myself as tears poured over my eyes. I stared at the man and the smug smile on his face.

"Don't worry, you'll be dead soon," he promised.

I gasped. Drawing breath was so painful. I could feel the cold growing inside of me. I was dying.

Then something impossible happened.

A man appeared suddenly behind my killer. Rage and pure hatred obvious on his face as he clutched my killer's head and gave it a sharp jerk to the side. I heard a sickening crack as my killer crumpled. This new man stared down at the first intruder with the coldest look I've ever seen. He then seemed to remember me. He glanced down at me and then looked over at the still screaming Tommy. "Call 911," he said.

Tommy leapt up, still terrified and hurtled towards the phone in the kitchen. The killer of my killer kneeled beside me. Pain was evident on his face as he looked at me.

"You'll be alright, Belladonna," His voice cracked.

I stared up into his eyes, and I recognized this stranger.

It was the man from my vision. The man with the emerald green eyes. James. My father.

My head spun. My eyes fell to rest on Carlene's glazed ones. I stared at the pools of blood, mine and hers, as they embraced eachother. Finally meeting. Mixing until they were no different.

And I drifted off to sleep in death's waiting arms, in a pool of blood that was not entirely mine.