His Girl

Juiced by Juice

"Claudius-"

"No!"

The two stood in front of the new neighbor's house, precisely the location Astrid never wanted to step near. It was a lovely, bright afternoon, and a giant banner across the yard read "Housewarming Party!", inviting the entire neighborhood for the day. Some people flipped burgers on barbecues, children ran amok, and pets meandered through the legs of their owners, joining in on the excitement.

Nothing seemed out of place at all.

"I told you this guy tried to kill me!" Astrid pointed out, trying to drag him back by his arm. The man snatched himself out of her grip and gave her a light smack on the head.

"Stop acting ridiculous or I'm depriving you of food for the rest of the day," Claudius threatened. "There is nothing wrong with this party. It may be generic, but it's nothing dangerous."

"You just wanna drain the blood from somebody," Astrid accused, though relenting her grip. The vampire shrugged, and ran a hand through his bright blonde hair.

"I've got to eat somehow."

"Welcome," a deep voice boomed. "I haven't met you before. May I have your names?"

An average-sized, skinny man bounded towards them, holding hands with an attractive brunette much taller than him. He smiled and extended his hand towards Claudius.

"I'm Mr. Aiden Wellfarrow," he said. "This is my wife, Taylor."

"Nice to meet you," the vampire greeted them. "You too, Miss Wellfarrow."

"Is that your daughter?" the woman asked, her light grey eyes gleaming. "What a beautiful child."

Astrid frowned, recognizing their voices as the ones from the phone call last night. She subtly pressed herself closer to Claudius, hoping he'd understand her discomfort. The blonde man rolled his eyes.

"Not my biological daughter," he told Aiden. "But yes, she's mine. Astrid, say hello."

"Hi," Astrid mumbled, uncomfortable with the stares she now received from the couple. Their smiles were wide...

A little too wide.

"Oh, darling, I'll bet you're thirsty," Taylor gushed, bending down to meet Astrid's eye level. "I'll go get you a drink."

Taylor left, and her husband followed- but not before giving Astrid one last grin- the same he'd given her yesterday. Claudius gazed down at the teen, and ruffled her hair.

"Wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked. "She sounds nice since she's getting you a drink too. Your lips look dry."

"They're creepy is what they are," Astrid retorted, hugging his side. "Who smiles like that? CIA agents?"

Claudius laughed. "It's called first impressions. Now, go find me someone who's been eating cookies or something. Their blood tastes great this time of day."

Astrid huffed, but complied. She knew finding new victims for him was part of the "rent" she paid to be taken care of, but she would rather be alive than dead. Astrid walked over to a punch and smacks table, and tapped the shoulder of someone stuffing their mouth with Oreos.

"Excuse me," she said, pointing at Claudius. "He says he hasn't seen you in a while, and would like to catch up. Do you mind?"

"Not at all," the young man replied. "I haven't seen him in a while either. Thank you. I was getting kind of bored of this party already."

Claudius smirked at the teen, blew her a smirk-y kiss, and led the younger man inside the house to "chat". Astrid frowned, then leaned against the table. She decided she might as well get something to eat too, since she'd skipped breakfast that morning-

"Excuse me," a young girl called out to her. "Do you want some juice?"

Astrid turned her head to find a small child staring intently at her with highly focused brown eyes. She was holding out a plastic baggie filled some strange blue-green liquid, which Astrid took.

"What is this?" the teen asked. The girl shrugged.

"I found it in the house," she said. "It tastes really bad, but I still didn't want them to go hog it all. Meanies."

Astrid chuckled, realizing it was probably a refreshment meant for personal use. The little girl had probably stolen it from the kitchen in a fit. "Okay, thanks. What's it called?"

"Soul juice."

And with that, the little girl walked away, leaving Astrid all alone with the bright liquid.

The teen stared at it, poured it into a cup, and took a drink. She doubted it was anything alcoholic, as it looked like some flavored sugary drink, and chugged it down. It tasted like nothing she ever had before- a strange combination of sickly sweet and mildly spicy.

Oh well. It wasn't bad at all-

Until the world started turning black.

Astrid screamed, and dropped the bag. One by one, everyone she knew dissolved into the air in thousands of particles. The grass, shrubs, trees, and the entire neighborhood became pitch black, then dissolved as well. Her entire environment had dissipated into a dark, shadowy mass.

Astrid kicked the ground harshly in an attempt to still be able to stand on something, but to no avail. The ground underneath her feet disappeared into millions of particles as well, causing her anxiety to increase. He heart raced as she saw everything she knew become a massive black ball a thousand times her size, and she nearly had a heart attack when all the color drained from it before her eyes.

All she was left to do now was float in an empty, white, endless space. 

"Good afternoon" a strange voice spoke to her, seemingly from every direction. "Don't be afraid. You're going to enjoy this."

(Yay, more plot! Don't forget to vote/comment!)