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He was watching her again. He’d been watching her for months now. The others thought he was foolish, eccentric, and mocked him. They preferred to just pick someone, anyone, it didn’t make any difference to them. Not as long as they were “clean,” anyway, but it never took long to determine that. Yet he always chose carefully, watched potential “victims,” noted every detail about them. It wasn’t about the blood, that didn’t matter to him. In fact, he would often attack others while watching his chosen person. The watching usually took several months, and he couldn’t last that long without a victim. But the ones he watched, the ones he chose … they were different. They were the “potentials,” the new recruits. And they had to be chosen carefully. Not just anyone was fit to join him, to join them. It was just a pity the others didn’t think the same way. They attacked at random, killing all.
He wrinkled his nose in disgust. All that did was create more fools like them. They could never be pure, not like him. The “pure” ones had to be chosen carefully, and would choose their own the same way. That was something that had been taught to him long ago, when he was first recruited.
He let out an almost inaudible sigh, memories haunting him. Those were the times. The times when all were pure, when there were no half-breed fools. If only he could recreate that. But things had changed so much. They had all died, and all attempts he had made so far to create new ones had failed. Perhaps he was choosing the wrong ones? No. He shook his head, denying the thought. It had been simple misfortune. After all, he had not tried many times. And one had succeeded. If only he had survived.
He sighed again. But this one would be different. He was sure of that. He would make sure.
He pulled himself away from his thoughts, and looked at her. He whispered her name softly. “Alicia …”

Alicia stirred slightly and turned over, the moonlight shining through the window into her face as she did so. She stirred again and opened her eyes sleepily, flinching slightly as the bright light met her eyes. She closed her eyes again, trying to block out the light, but it seemed to shine even through her eyelids. She groaned softly, stretched a little, then got out of bed and crossed over to the window. She looked outside for a moment, her eyes passing briefly over the empty house opposite, and then pulled the curtains closed before going back to bed.

Her mother let her sleep in the next morning, and when she awoke it was almost 10.00 am. Perhaps not too late, but she was usually an early riser. She pulled on some clothes, plain jeans and a T-shirt, and then went downstairs. Her father looked up as she entered the kitchen. “You’re up a little later than usual,” he observed. “Late night?”
“Not really,” she said. “I just had a little trouble sleeping last night. The light from outside woke me up. It did a few nights ago, too.”
Her mother turned around slightly. “You should close your curtains before you go to bed,” she said.
“I do,” Alicia replied. “I guess the wind must blow them around a little during the night.” She pulled a face. “It’s far too hot to close the window though.”
Her brother snorted. “The wind blows them open? Have you felt any wind at all since about April? And anyway, I bet wind couldn’t do that.”
“So what do you think it is then? A ghost?”
“It might be a stalker,” he teased. “He probably likes your skimpy nightdress.”
“Derek!” His mother looked shocked. “Honestly, I don’t know where you get your ideas from!”
“He’s just growing up. I bet all the kids his age come out with stuff like that.” Their father laughed. “He is almost thirteen, after all.” He noticed Alicia scowling at her brother. “He’s just messing around, love,” he told her. “Just ignore him.”
“I know.” She turned away from Derek, biting back a retort, and then looked back over at him. “And anyway,” she said, “my nightdress is NOT skimpy! I only wear a thin one because it’s too hot for anything thicker!”
He poked his tongue out. “It’s still skimpy.”
She managed to ignore him this time. He was five years younger than her, after all, she reasoned. He was bound to annoy her sometimes. She poured herself out some orange juice, and drank it in one go. She looked over at her mother. “Is it alright if I go out for a while?”
Her mother nodded. “Of course. Just don’t be out for too long.” Then she frowned slightly. “But what about breakfast?”
“I’ll get something while I’m out.” She left the house before her mother could reply. She looked across the road, up at the house opposite for a moment. It’s kind of creepy now that it’s empty, she thought. But it’s just a house, no different to how it was before. She turned away and began walking up the road. But as she walked, she couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy, almost as if someone was watching her.