A blaring siren disrupted my peaceful sleep. Sleep was something that I had a hard time finding most nights, and I guess this one was just like every other. The lumpy mattress was uncomfortable on a good day.

One loud, tyrant sound rang out through the hallway and seeped through our pathetically thin wooden door. It squealed once, then twice quickly, then once again. It repeated itself continuously and I groaned in frustration. The walls shook from the intensity of the sound.

A raid drill. Great.

There was a potential threat inside the dorm; our small collective community of monsters could possibly be in danger. Or mythical beings. Or whatever people wanted to call us. Pop culture continuously changes. Whatever floats the boat, I guess.

It was most likely just a drill, but we were taught to always take them seriously. Avery had already locked the door by the time I fell out of bed. Mornings were hard.

She was bending water, freezing it around the door frame quietly. The clear crystal ice made slight cracking noises every time it froze in place.

I shifted into a bear, feeling my bones crack as they extended and grew in width and length. My spine lengthened and claws extended from where my nails had previously been. I growled quietly, then shoved the couch against the door, making sure it was more than reinforced. It thumped loudly against the door and Avery slowly turned to look at me, seemingly unimpressed.

"You know Amanda, we're supposed to be quiet during these drills," she whispered and I growled a little louder at her, shifting back. I had broken every single bone in my body more than a hundred thousand times and there was no longer pain when it happened; at this point, it felt natural. My body slumped against the cool floor for a few seconds as it went back to its original form. I cracked my neck as my facial features returned to normal. I shook my head hard once to the side, my nose snapping back into place. Standing, rolling my shoulders back, I gave her a look.

"Even if this was real, they are not getting in here without a fight." I snapped quietly and she shrugged, looking at the window. She went near it, looking outside slightly. It was still early enough in the day that the sun hadn't risen. I had never been a morning person, and I can say that I most likely never will be.

Someone banged on the door and the couch budged; the ice around the door cracked and we stared at it, a little surprised. The frame around the door was split, the wood splintering in a few places.

Avery and I exchanged looks and she nodded. Maybe this wasn't a drill, after all.

Water from our flower vase flowed into the air in a swift arc, Avery directing it to follow her. The spare bottle she kept under the bed opened as well, so she had lots of water to work with. She had already used her entire bottle of water to seal the door and didn't want to chance taking it off the door. Talons forced their way out of the tips of my fingers as I shifted into a liger. My body pressed firmly against the wall in a crouched position, talons digging into the floor. My gaze remained on the door, ready to spring into action. The couch flew back a few feet and the door busted inwards.

A male vampire, tall and slender, stood there, breathing heavily as though he were trying to control himself. Blood dripped from his hands, the smell of gore creeping its way into the room.

He stared blankly in my direction, no expression on his face. The menacing glow of his red eyes reached mine and he hissed, showing a set of jagged fangs. Avery moved, taking two silent steps and pushing her arms out in front of her, palms down and fingers extended. A wave of water collided with the vampire and froze him in the blink of an eye, snapping his face into place. Pulling her arms back as though she were gripping an invisible rope, the frozen man skidded forward. She grabbed onto his body and pulled him further into the room. Bending the water toward the ground, she laid him down and kneeled next to him with a curious expression on her face.

Already back in human form, I picked up the cracked door and pushed it back into the frame as quietly as I could. It barely stood in it's regular spot, the hinges flailing loosely. Avery used the rest of the water to freeze him to the ground. After a few moments of silence, Avery finally perked up as she studied the vampire.

"He's cute. Can we keep him?" Avery questioned and I glared at her. Hadn't he just tried to attack us? I rubbed my temple as I questioned whether my friend was just making a joke or naive. Maybe a mix of both.

We rarely encountered new creatures, aside from the few who joined the dorm. Not many were lucky to find a safe haven such as this.

Avery tapped on the ice and smiled down at the vampire, waving her hand in front of his now dark, frozen eyes. His black shaggy hair was covered in frost and was as solid as the rest of him.

"Let's go," I said, grabbing her arm to help her up. I carefully moved the door from its place, it close to breaking apart in my hands. I peered into the darkened hallway, then took a cautious step out, motioning for Avery to follow.

The emergency lights flickered ahead, the darkness filled with light for a few seconds. In the literal blink of an eye, my eyes began to adapt to the lighting. A perk of shifting was perfect eyesight no matter how much or how little light there was.

The hallway was quiet. The scent of blood clung to the musty air.

We ventured down the hallway, looking around at the damage that had been done. Most of whatever was happening, had already taken place. The majority of the rooms were broken into, doors missing from their hinges or ripped off and thrown aside.

Our soft footsteps padded down the hall as silence took it's claim on the dorm.

I went over to the room just to the left of ours and huffed out as I spotted a corpse in the doorway. I knelt down next to the motionless body on the ground and carefully rolled it over.

"Damn it," I whispered, and laid the body down on its back. Blood covered the young girl's torn open face and parts of her blonde curls had been ripped from the side of her small head. She wore a light pink nightgown that was torn at the bottom. Green eyes stared into the emptiness above. The once gleaming eyes were dull compared to the brightness they usually held. Her skin was pale and lifeless. I ran my hand over her face and closed her eyes, standing back up. A few drops of blood fell from the same hand, landing on her bare legs.

"Tamara," Avery spoke softly, her voice a little shaky as she looked down at the girl. She kneeled down, a light sob leaving slipping from her mouth. We were both saddened by the loss of our friend.

Every Sunday, we would hang out with her and drink coffee down in the dormitory's cafeteria. She was a lower realm telekinetic, but she was such a kind and loving girl. Her family had abandoned her when she was a baby before even knowing of her powers. The dorm took her in once the orphanage reported her to the authorities for having powers at the age of four. She had been here ever since. Tamara never left the dorm, keeping to herself most days. Any time she needed something from a store, Avery or I would go get it for her.

"There's nothing we can do for her now," I mumbled and Avery stood abruptly, turning around with water flowing down her arm and lashing out. The vampire from our room had unthawed quite quickly. Avery hissed and catapulted a thick block of ice into his face. Moving swiftly, she grabbed him by the collar and threw him against a wall, his body cracking the drywall. He slumped to the ground and fell to his knees. As she neared, he lashed an arm out and caught her in the face with his fist. She stumbled back a few steps, throwing an arm out and crashing another block of ice into his face. His head slapped back into the wall and he groaned.

Avery spat to the side, blood dribbling from a cut on her lip. Avery was rarely caught off guard, but the sight of Tamara wavered in my mind. Wiping at her lip, her pupils bulged as she loomed over the helpless vampire. He was good as dead to her. Before she got her revenge, we needed answers.

I shifted into a cheetah and stood over him fast, putting myself between Avery and him. My claws pressing lightly into his neck.

"Who are you?" I growled and he flinched, his face still emotionless.

I pushed harder on his neck with my claws. He tried pushing me off but I shifted my entire weight onto him, pinning him down. My hind claws dug into his legs and he screeched angrily, but he didn't dare move beneath me as my front claws were very close to ripping his neck open.

"Alarics Vamps. We live not far from here and we were hungry." he struggled to say. I growled, letting my claws pierce the skin on his neck and tore into it. I crushed his windpipe with my weight and crawled off of him. My tail flicked behind me as I sat on my hind legs.

"Stupid vampire," I said, shifting back into my human form. The tips of my dark hair were dipped in crimson; my right arm was covered in blood to my elbow. The red liquid dripped from the ends of my fingertips, dropping to the ground with the slightest resemblance to a leaky faucet. It mixed with the Tamara's blood already drying on my hand.

"We need to find everyone else who's still alive," I said, looking at Avery. Water gathered around her, flowing from our room down the hall. It swirled in a circle as she moved her hands slowly in front of her chest. She shifted from one foot to another, pulling and pushing the water as it swirled. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes.

"Here," she said, sending out the flash of water. It was as if time stood still. Micro droplets of water scattered through the entire building, searching each room for any sign of life. Her arms twitched as they extended in front of her, feeling around with the vapor in the air. She would use it to locate anyone and everyone in the building; it was like her sixth sense. I had only seen her use it once before, and that was when we had played hide and seek as kids; she clearly had an unfair advantage. I guess it sort of helped that we were all made up of water, no matter what kind of being we were.

"Four girls, two boys and 33 bodies. Not sure who they are, but they're from here. Then there are about 15 unknown vampires roaming the hallways." she said, looking back at me. The vapor in the air came back to her and she put it back in her bottle, filling it with water. She shut it then cracked her hands.

"Get the survivors to safety, I'll take care of the vamps." I leapt into the air, shifting into a small, slim dragon. My hands turned and stretched into green scaly appendages equipped with long black talons, curved and as sharp as a double-edged sword. My body cracked and extended. Wings grew from my back and stretched the length of my form and a tail grew from the tip of my spine. My face lengthened and I could feel my jaw break and stretch into place. I flew down the hallway, heading into another.

Three vamps were standing in there, unaware of what was to come. I grabbed onto two of their shoulders, inches from their necks and ripped into their skin with my claws, throwing a chunk of each of their shoulders aside. Their bodies collapsed as blood sprayed out onto their friend who I left for last. Digging my curved talons into both of its shoulders, I whipped it at the wall. It's spine snapped on impact and it crumpled to the ground. Fuming, I killed the other twelve vamps. Oddly enough, I could sense one more. Avery was pretty accurate with her count, and I was confused as to how she missed one.

I couldn't seem to find him. I flew around the dorm, searching room after room in an attempt to find the last one.

I blew smoke from my nose and landed in frustration. I shrunk and changed into a bloodhound; it's senses were far better than a dragon. The green scales split and thinned down into tiny tufts of brown fur. I began searching, taking in one big whiff of the hallway and sniffing out the vampire. I closed my eyes to concentrate, but I must have not been close enough to scent him. I ran through the dorm hallways with my stubby legs, searching for it. I sniffed the air every couple of steps until I smelt the pure stench of blood and.. A hint of honey.

Interesting. It was the weirdest of scents combined, and yet, slightly familiar.

I finally tracked him down and slowed my pace as I neared my room. Anger boiled up inside of me as I realized where he was.

He's in my room.

He.

Is.

In.

My.

Room.

The only place I truly felt safe.

I was beyond pissed, and now it was personal.

Blinded by rage, I ran into my room and pounced on my prey without warning, latching my tiny jaw into its arm without a second thought.

~~