Hands that lay unmoving for days, suddenly firmly grabbed Keith's head, and her face dived into his clavicle.

The abrupt motion startled Maya, and she gasped, while the reality of what they had brought forth hit all at once.

Keith's scream pierced Maya's ears.

Pulling at Elena's hair, Keith desperately struggled to peel away this disproportionately strong girl. But it wasn't enough to make her budge.

This wasn't a loving embrace.

Then, suddenly released, Keith slammed Elena's body back into the old machines with incredible force. He hastily stumbled away from her as her body rebounded off and tumbled to the ground.

Newly animated, Elena contorted in agony on the cold floor, grabbing her jaw and pushing her fingers in her mouth while rivers of blood dripped from it, mingling with strands of her dishevelled hair.

Maya stared in shock and horror, her instincts forcing her to put as much distance as possible between them.

She couldn't comprehend what she was seeing. It was Elena, but also something harrowing… something that was touched by Death, then rejected.

While Elena was gagging and choking, crawling away to a corner as if something was coming after her, Keith made his escape holding his injury. Never looking back, he darted out of this small and dark room.

Maya, however, found herself backed against the wall, petrified, unable to run.

For her, the exit was in the direction of danger.

In her state of shock, Maya didn't understand why the blood that was dripping to the ground sounded like pebbles being scattered around.

Then, as if only now had she woken up, Elena stiffened up, her eyes, confused and restless, darted across the room, trying to make sense of her surroundings.

Then, they fell on Maya, and there was a hint of recognition, followed by horror mirroring Maya's own.

The creature in front of Maya carried her friend's likeness, but it was feral and hungry. Her eyes were wide and dark, and her hair a bundled mess glued with blood, dirt and spit. Fresh red blood was dripping down her chin, and, under her lips… there were blood-streaked fangs.

Elena was staring at Maya, her gaze familiar yet unfamiliar.

Although she was alone with a monster, Maya's thoughts suddenly jumped to the door that was left wide open. If she escaped, she could attack someone on the street.

Thinking this could be her last moment alive, Maya considered making a run for it, when Elena's hoarse voice sounded.

"W…what have you done to me…?" She was barely audible at first. "WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST LET ME FUCKING DIE!!" she screamed at Maya while contorting in pain again, clawing at her own face.

Maya, in a state of shock, did not expect the creature she deemed incapable of reason to speak to her so harshly. Before she knew it, her feet moved, making a run for it and letting the door slam locked behind her, trapping Elena inside that small, dark and dank basement.

Even outside, she continued to run, crying uncontrollably as bitter tears froze on her face. The shaking wouldn't cease.

'Oh, Lords, what have I done?'

She'd put her best friend through hell, turned her into a monster and now trapped her in a basement. She needed to take a walk, needed to think, to calm herself down. But the walk wasn't as effective, and Maya found herself in front of the back door of the laundromat again.

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There, she hesitated, then left again.

Hours had passed, and with short days, it meant the evening was already approaching. Maya deliberately picked the time she still had sunlight and gathered her courage.

Even though the other side of the street was bustling, at this back entrance, there wasn't a living soul nearby.

Maya summoned Leo, but he didn't appear. It was becoming a trend.

With a sigh, Maya leaned in, trying to catch any hint of sound from behind the door, then quietly unlocked it. It groaned loudly as it slowly opened, but there was still no response from within.

Maya stood in the stark ray of winter sunlight, straining to peer into the inky darkness. She searched for any sign of movement or the faintest whisper of sound, but the room was as silent as a tomb.

She lingered in the doorway, caught in a moment of uncertainty, questioning if Elena had managed to escape somehow.

A face soundlessly appeared in the shadows, keeping a distance. Elena looked awful, a sight of a truly miserable person. She said nothing, while her gaze coldly dissected every line of Maya's face.

Maya knew what she was thinking: 'You just couldn't let me go, could you?'

Now that Maya could look at her with a calmer mind, Elena didn't seem all that different.

Maya sniffled and wiped the tears she didn't realize were flowing.

"I brought you a blanket and some spare clothes."

Maya wanted to hand it to her, but she was too afraid. She let the blanket fall to the floor, as gently as she could, keeping her hand in the light.

Elena scoffed. "Spare it. It'll only get ruined when they come to kill me, again."

"I won't let it happen."

"That's your fucking mistake."

"We'll work this out, Elena. I won't let you die again."

"You can't keep me imprisoned in this basement forever. You don't have control over me and, sooner or later, I won't either."

Moving towards the sliver of light penetrating the darkness, Elena cautiously extended her fingers through the invisible barrier. Instantly, her skin reddened and seethed like a sunburn. With a grimace of pain, she recoiled as if touching a blazing surface. This marked the first time she'd attempted to touch the light.

Her hand didn't burst into flames or start to smoke, but within seconds, it reddened and blistered, resembling a severe burn.

Maya was taken aback by Elena's tolerance of the pain. The fear that Elena might attempt to run into the sunlight to end her life began to creep in. But the pain seemed too intense for anyone to willingly endure.

"Staying in the light was a smart choice," Elena said, her eyes dark and hungry. She looked away. "Is Keith okay?" Her concern felt genuine.

After she had viciously bitten him, of course, he wouldn't be okay. Although it left a more lasting injury on his mind than on his skin.

"He needed a few stitches. It wasn't as bad as he made it out to be…" Maya confessed. "Although…" she hesitated, "He did ask for a rabies shot."

Elena chuckled dryly at that. "I expected a cavalry to come for me already. Why haven't they?"

'He was afraid he'd get in trouble,' Maya thought. "He didn't say you were the vampire that bit—"

"I want to talk to him," Elena interrupted impatiently.

"I couldn't convince him to come. He said he was done with all this."

"Tell him I'm sorry."

"I will."

"I wish I could tell him myself."

"We will figure this out."

"Can I at least have my phone?" Elena requested.

Maya almost handed it to her, but then she realized it wasn't a good idea. She couldn't trust Elena with it. Not yet.

"Sorry," Maya said sincerely.

The ray of light suddenly died out as the sun hid behind the adjacent building. Maya glanced at Elena's expression; she had been waiting for this moment.

Maya rushed for the door, barely managing to slam it shut before Elena could make a move.

'Had Elena been stalling, watching the dwindling sunlight while talking?'

Elena pounded on the door once, shouting, "Let me go!"

Maya could hear her sobbing on the other side as she slid down the doors, defeated.

"Why do you insist on tormenting me?" Elena asked quietly.

Maya rested her hand on the cold metal door, tears streaming down her face. "I'm really sorry for this… but I need you. You're the only one I have left. I don't care about saving the world if the person I care about isn't living in it."

Maya waited, holding her breath, hoping for a response that would indicate Elena understood. That she would forgive her. But the silence on the other side of the door lingered for far too long.

Finally, a bitter voice responded, "But I'm not entirely living. Am I?"

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