The Coffin Club(50)

She needs to make a decision!

You better turn now! one demanded.

You must decide for all eternity, one said seductively. You won`t regret it.

There is only one way to be a member! another ordered, his gold fangs flashing.

Our way is the best way, someone added.

We are offering you the chance for immortality. Would you rather be buried in a grave or just sleep in one?

Come join us. We won`t bite... one said with a laugh.

Scarlet linked tightly on to one of my arms and Onyx the other.

Back off! Onyx yelled.

The two girls held on to me like a prized possession, but I felt more like a pi�ata. They were no match for the angry mob of Jagger`s crew, and it took only a few moments before our hold was broken.

I stood alone, surrounded by bloodthirsty vampires. The rest of the club was motionless. Even Phoenix`s benign vampires, who wanted nothing more than a secure place to hang out, were now conflicted. Was I more of a threat alive--or undead?

I`d always fantasized about becoming a vampire, hanging limp-bodied in the arms of a seductive vampire lover. I`d be the only one who could sustain his eternal life. Without me, he wouldn`t exist and he`d be buried deep within his coffin even in the moonlit hours. We`d live out our Underwordly lives together--shrouded in mystery. This is the picture I`d always had in my mind, and when I met Alexander, I felt this undying love for him--my dream was coming true.

But being seduced by a gang of Jagger`s cohorts wasn`t what I`d imagined. I was living the nightmare I`d had a few nights ago. I wasn`t ready to give up my mortal life because of peer pressure. I`d waited forever for Alexander to be the one to turn me--not a gang of Underworldly strangers. I`d always wanted to become a vampire, but under the moonlight during a covenant ceremony, not in a club brawl. My heart raced. I hoped to wake up at any moment, out of breath on Aunt Libby`s futon. It didn`t happen.

Don`t touch her! Onyx yelled as a few evil-looking vampires held her back.

So you`ve been hanging out here... a white T-shirt member said, slithering up next to me. Is it what you always dreamed of?

Jagger`s crew inched closer, hovering around me like a flock of vultures.

Yes! Just not this way.

There is only one way to become a member of our club, one said as they tightened their circle. I turned to my new friends, Onyx and Scarlet. And to the whole club that I`d been accepted in and wanted to remain part of. Though I was attracted, mesmerized, and even seduced by the Dungeon, when faced with the decision, was I willing to give up my life to join? At what cost did I want to be a member of the real Coffin Club?

At any moment, like an action hero, I hoped Alexander would burst through the Dungeon door.

But Alexander was nowhere to be found. He and Jameson were naively packing while I was moments away from becoming a vampiress.

Even Dragon wasn`t in plain view. I`d have to get myself out of this mess. Only I didn`t know how. The entrance was locked, and there was no getting past the gang of POSSESS-ed.

I`ve always wanted to be like you. That`s why I`m here. Why I snuck in! I shouted. Don`t you see?

Then join us! one said.

You will be eternally grateful, another proclaimed. They stared at me with hypnotic eyes. I became dizzy and shifted my gaze away.

Not now, not this way! I cried.

Two clubsters in POSSESS white T-shirts grasped my wrists and brushed my hair away from my shoulder.

I was overpowered. I couldn`t move. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would explode at any moment. It won`t hurt, they said, licking their lips.

Well, it might sting a bit, one said, and leaned into me.

No! Not this way. I want Alexander!

Suddenly the sound of a motorcycle`s engine tearing through the catacombs was heard.