Prologue

Timothy roamed the streets of New York. He had been doing that for several weeks. He hadn't had a bath during that time; he ate whatever he could scrounge up.

Timothy hadn't come from a loving family. They would often taunt him and hit him. It was all because of his 'condition.' That's what they said anyway.

It was because of the way his family had brought him up and a lack of socialization that made Timothy so independent. He could take care of himself, even homeless in a city like New York.

Timothy had been drawn to New York. Even if he was what his parents would call 'normal,' he still would not have been able to describe the feeling. It was as if the whole city had been calling to him. Now that he was there, something else was calling him. He hadn't figured out what it was, though.

Timothy watched everyone cautiously. He hated being alone. He hated being lonely. He hated being surrounded by people he didn't know. Strangers were bad. They could --

"Do I know you?"

Timothy turned to see a man not much older than he was. The man gave Timothy a comforting feeling. There was some kind of bond between them. Timothy decided he liked this man.

Timothy shrugged. "I-I-I don't remember y-you."

The man laughed. "I don't remember you, either. I have this feeling about you, though. . . . I can't describe it." The man extended his hand. "I'm Ray."

Timothy took the man's hand. "I-I'm T-T-Timothy."

Ray's face turned to concern. "You have a place to stay?"

"N-No, sir."

Ray laughed. "'Sir'? That's funny. I'm only 24.

"Why don't you come with me? I got this great apartment. Actually, I don't pay for it. Some other people do. I don't really understand the deal, but . . . you want to stay with me?"

Timothy smiled. "That w-would be great."

Ray smiled. "Cool. Come on, we've got to get you some clothes, a bath . . . Hey. You hungry?"

Timothy nodded.

"Well, we could . . . say. What are you?"

The question confused Timothy. He looked oddly at Ray.

Ray sighed. "You're magical. I can feel it. What are you? I'm a gargoyle, if you're wondering."

"I-I'm a vamp-ire."

"Oh. I guess McDonald's is out of the question then. How about I make you something at the apartment?"

Timothy nodded again.

"Great! Come on. It isn't far."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 minutes later . . .

Toby watched two men in their early twenties walk to an apartment building. _The_ apartment building. The men were his. They were being called, just as he was. But in the end, they would be his. He would make sure of that.

Toby studied them. One was tall and slender with short blonde hair. He was obviously the youngest of the two. He, along with his clothes, was filthy.

Toby thought back to his files that he had on each person. "That must be Timothy. The slow, retarded one who stutters. He'll be easy to manipulate. . . . "

His eyes fell on the other man, who was leading Timothy. He was medium build and was just a bit shorter than Timothy. He had short dark brown hair that was spiked up. This man was a bit harder for Toby to place a name with. "That's . . . Ray. Kind and intelligent. He may be a bit harder to control. Just a bit."

Toby hadn't moved into the apartment. He had wanted to, but he had a feeling that the minute he did, something would happen. Something he couldn't control and wasn't ready for. He resolved that he wouldn't move in until he was sure of the others being called. So far, he had no reason to worry. "Easy pickings so far. Easy pickings."

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Not very far away, in an apartment just above that which Ray, and now Timothy, lived, a group of people sat around a coffee table. Files and pictures of thirteen young individuals were strewn on top of it.

One of the men sighed. "There are too many. That's my opinion, anyway."

Another one laughed. "You're just thirsty for more blood! Can't you wait a little longer until it happens naturally?"

A woman spoke up. "And what's natural with what we're doing?"

Everyone was quiet for a while, thinking about the woman's question and of who they wouldn't mind getting rid of right away. It stayed that way for several minutes.

Finally, the woman in black spoke up. "Todd or Chris?"

Duncan looked up at her. "What?"

"They have similar personalities," she explained. "Getting rid of one will not do much to the balance we wanted."

Carl pointed at a picture of a cute woman with red hair. "I say we off Teresa. She's quiet and gentle; we won't get much out of her, anyway."

Luke, a man who had kept quiet up until now, objected. "She isn't like that when she's in her gargoyle form. Besides, people do things they normally wouldn't when they're angry and have others controlling their emotions magically. We could have loads of fun with her." He smiled a bit maliciously.

A very young woman shook her head in disagreement. "I can't believe what I'm hearing?! You guys want to get rid of them already! What's the fun in that?! Only two of them have met! We've done this before, and we've never gotten this bloodthirsty in the beginning. What's up with this?!

"Let's wait. We can have fun playing with them later. I say we just watch them like we've done all of the other times. If they need a little push here and there to get out of character, we'll do it. And, if that doesn't help," she grinned in a very sinister manner, "we'll do the deeds ourselves."

Duncan smiled a bit and sat back into the sofa. "And just what are ye implyin', Lucy? 'We'll do the deeds ourselves'?"

Lucy laughed. "Why let the others have all the fun??? Why can't we get our hands a little dirty?"

Some got it right away and smiled. It took some of the others a bit longer. In the end, though, everyone liked the idea.