Sunday, 8 p.m.

Sundown. The evening light still radiated out, causing beautiful hues of purple and red to reflect off the clouds above. It was quiet out as a calm summer breeze blew in from the north.

Sebastian stood. His back pressed roughly against the warm brick wall that was the outside of the club. In the shadows he stood and waited for a moment until the man who had come to check on the place was out of sight.

Quickly, he moved closer to the door. The light hitting his back for a brief second as he fiddled with the door caused his skin to melt and burn. Immediately, the door was open and he scurried inside.

For a moment he took a breath and looked around the place. He knew the inside like it was his home. In fact, he had spent most of his nights here, eyeing the girls on the dance floor. When his appetite fueled, he would seduce who he could into submission before taking their life.

It was amazing how well Sebastian knew this place, for that memory would come in handy for the impossible task at hand.

Slowly, he made his way towards the back. It was luck on his part that no one was around.

When he was at the double glass doors, he pushed to check if they were locked. After confirming that they were, he reached into his pocket to remove the same object he used to break into the front door. In haste he worked until the door popped open and he was able to move into the red-lit room.

Passing by the first glass case and making his way to the second, Sebastian saw the one he was there for. Her hair laying over her naked shoulders, her face in solitude at the fact she had been punished.

He carefully pulled open the door and made his way inside the case. Quickly, he brushed up against the first prisoner.

The man's head came up in wonder and he spoke silently. “Who are you?”

“Shh,” Sebastian didn't care to look back at the man who spoke to him. “Just be quiet.”

He made his way into the case which held Nadia, still tied to the crucifix, her arms burned slightly under the weight of the celestial object. Sebastian felt the heat radiating from her wrists as he untied the ropes. He felt the scorch as he accidentally touched the cross but he moved rapidly to remove her.

“If you save her.., you must be here to save us all!” the man across from him said, voice cracking.

Sebastian still couldn't make time to look at the captured man. “I have no obligation to save anyone. So be quiet.”

Once Nadia was safely in his arms, Sebastian scurried past the man once more and out of the room. Nadia held on tightly around his neck unknowing what was happening; only that she was free.

He raced towards the front door before his ears caught the sound of a door opening behind them and footsteps coming forward.

“Hey!”

Sebastian looked behind him and saw the guard desperately trying to button his jeans.

“What are you...”

With Nadia in his arms, he escaped out the front door back into the blinding evening sun. Rapidly, the smoke began to rise from Nadia's naked skin, her flesh beginning to wilt under the heat.

“Let me down!” She struggled, and Sebastian held tighter.

“Not until we get out of here,” he said before the front door of the building opened and the guard was behind them.

With unmatched speed, he raced with Nadia in his arms until they were out of the guard's sight. Into the shadows behind the large buildings that made up Northern City, he ran as Nadia kicked and screamed.

“Would you shut it,” he told her.

Finally, he entered into an old apartment and up into the second floor bedroom. The floor was covered in debris, dirt, and old boxes. There he set Nadia on the floor and unwrapped the blindfold from her eyes.

“Son of a bitch!” She protested before smacking him hard in the chest. “Just what the hell do you think you're doing?”

Sebastian stood scratching his head, wondering exactly what the hell he was doing. Nadia promptly went towards an old dresser and dug through for something to wear.

“I don't know what's going through your head, but you have some nerve!” she grumbled as she pulled a shirt over her head.

“Shh!” He grabbed her and pulled her to the floor.

They hid between the bed and an old table. Sebastian could sense a team of vampire's approaching, most likely a search party. As they came closer, Nadia perked her head up to the noises from outside the warehouse.

“I don't see them.. they gotta' be here somewhere!” “Shit! Raphael will have our heads when he hears about this.” A few moments passed and the party left the area.

“Why didn't they spot us?” Nadia asked knowing well the senses vampire's normally possess.

Sebastian shook his head. “I don't know. Just be lucky they didn't.”

Nadia looked at Sebastian who crouched next to her. “So who are you anyway?” she wondered as she stretched her hand out to touch his.

He met her glaze and looked away. “A friend.”

“Yeah, right.”

“What did you do?” Sebastian asked. “To deserve punishment, that is?”

She was silent for a moment. Perhaps debating if she wanted to admit the reason for being persecuted.

“You don't want to know,” she whispered.

“Of course I do. I rescued you, didn't I?”

“That's the reason why you saved me?”

He lowered his head to the floor once more as silence followed.

“I was in Southern. I met a man.. there. A fine young mortal who let me stay with him,” she explained. “I was in love, truly this time... not like in the past. He had admitted his interest in me and wanted to be turned so I did what he wanted.”

Sebastian remained quiet, his eyes focused on the hardwood floor as he listened carefully to her story.

“Weeks after, I was on my way home from a visit into the city... when...” Her voice started to crack as tears ran down her cheek. “They captured me. Bound me to these... ropes. Held me, beat me, raped me.. right there in that house. And he.. was nowhere to be found.”

Sebastian's eyes drifted towards her as she spoke. Desperately, he felt the need to wipe her tears, yet he remained calm.

“Do you know what the worst crime among vampires is?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“Neither did I... until that night. They claimed I killed him.” Nadia wiped a rogue tear from the tip of her nose. “They said I turned him so I could torture him.. and kill him. But I did no such thing! Damn it, I loved him dearly.”

Finally Sebastian looked at Nadia. “And they didn't believe you?”

She shook her head.

“Who are you?” she asked again.

“Sebastian. I was--”

She lifted her head. “Sebastian? You lived in the house of Serena?”

“Yeah.”

“But it was rumored you were dead!”

A slight chuckle came from his lips. “Rumored... but distorted. I'm very much here, aren't I?”

She smiled and snuggled into his torso once more. Silence filled the room again as Sebastian contemplated touching her.

Strange, he thought. He never cared to show anyone such affection before. Just a brush of her hair would be too much, he wondered to himself. Even when staying with Serena, never did he care to convey any emotion or sentiment. He only wanted the mansion to himself.

And now with Nadia tucked up close beside him, he swallowed his feelings back down for a moment before carefully setting his hand upon her head.

“So what do we do now?” he asked quietly as to not disrupt the silence.

She sighed. “I just pray they won't find us.”

Suddenly, he tightened his hold around her. “I won't let anything happen to you.”

Her head popped up and she looked him straight in the eye. Their bodies so close to each other, Sebastian felt his stomach tie into knots as he thought of kissing her. He blinked, as if this was just a dream...

“I need to visit Chris.” Nadia's voice echoed in his ear.