476 AD
The world was flames. The raven haired beauty could smell it even from deep within her crypt. The air above was ash. People were screaming and crying, She could hear the sound of metal slashing away at flesh! Halima laid still in her stone tomb. While the sun was up her body lacked the strength to even move. The plush interior was more for habit than necessity. Her silken white tunic resting against her dead body as she felt the chaos above. It mattered not, during the day Ra held power over her, like a great stone pinning her to the ground where she laid to rest. The dark haired beauty could only listen on in horror as she heard the timbers crackle, The creek of the support beams and then it was the fall of her home above her. More screams played out through the day as she waited for Ra's power to wane over the sky.

As her body gained strength she rose pressing her slender hands against the lid and slid it to the side. Rising from the stone chest she could smell the ash and blood. It was an abyss of her own making. Yet she knew the distance to the stairs, the space between the walls, the direction to the surface. Sure footed steps lead her to the stone steps. The way was blocked. The house had fallen and even after the fire was mere cinders the weight of it remained. Halima had made the perfect cage. There were no other exits. Exits for one were entrances to another so she ensured the cellar was stone blocked and too thick for trespassers. Screaming was useless as she made sure all her meals were uninterrupted. Her mind went to work and when it came back with nothing she laughed hysterically!

Nights turned to years, years turned to decades... Decades turned to centuries. It was painfully slow as the hunger over took her body! The clawing, the screaming, all for nothing. There was no escape for her. Until one moment a loud noise she had never heard before now! The repeating inhumanly fast sound of some hammer being struck over and over with great speed and intensity from the side wall! In little time the wall was broken down and the sound of voices could be heard! They were strange voices, not Greek, not Roman, it was something new. Even as a husk the creature could feel the Eye of Ra above her with his promises of death for her betrayal. Even as their bodies so full of blood and warmth graced her chamber she was helpless for now. Soon more voices came and more warmth grew ever closer to her cell of stone. A metal sound struck her stone lid, then another, until she heard it slide once more. A human wretched spilling his stomach contents to the floor. Others spoke while one laughed; they were so warm, so very close. More strange sounds the once slave girl from Egypt listened to but could not name. They left for a time and Ra started to loosen his grip over her body once more. It mattered not as she had withered away to the husk state in her hunger.

A set of heavy footsteps approached her once more. Halima could feel a warmth, closer, and closer still to her body! The heart beat driving her mind to the singular focus! As the hand touched the golden amulet she wore on her chest, the husk whipped up like a serpent from the reeds! Striking the human in the side of his arm! He thrashed and screamed as the creatures fangs held tight! The trickle became a stream in her mouth! Like the Nile her body turned every drop of liquid vitae from him into strength for her! The creatures arms wrapped about his body as her lips became flesh! She bite into him harder making more of his blood flow! Something metal and sharp struck her in the back but it mattered little. Only a God could have stopped this force of darkness! The other human tired to run but it was too late! Those golden eyes were regenerated enough to stop him in his tracks! Even as the mans very soul must of begged his body to run The serpents eyes held him in place as she continued to drink! Even staring at him while she moved to the first mans neck with blinding speed as to not loose her prey! She drank deeper at the source! Only when his heart grew still did she move with inhuman grace to the other human! Wrapping around his body like Set himself! Her lips pressing against his throat as Halima bit deeply into his juicy flesh!

It was not enough! Two was nothing in her state! Blood was screaming in her withered body! She ran once more on two legs! It had been so long and she was still starving! The dancers mind a raving beast as she rushed down this new passage! The air was cold on her withered form, the clothing that once adorned her body had rotted away long ago. Reaching the open space she never stopped moving. Hunting flickering her tongue into the air she turned and continued to move! There was a feast a large mass of humans near by, their heart beats were the sound of the world! The lights and noises from this place were small and still compared to the steady beating! The passage was dark and there were two, then one, then nothing. From the nothing she grew a little more each time. Each dark shadow, every small passage, even the ones sleeping out in the open under some parchment the creature feasted on!

Her body grew stronger, the husk turned into a corpse, then into a dark force of gluttony! Halima sighed feeling her strength slowly stretching out into those slender limbs. Like a serpent from an egg stretching the muscles for the first time free from the confines of imprisonment! It had been a long time indeed. Her mind once again her own the creature looked out into the world of humans. It was terrifying! Metal chariots without horses roared passed her alleyway. The garments they were were so form fitting! The language they spoke was strange, too foreign. Every corner of the street had light from steel posts. The chariots had lights from the front and back! Every other window in these massive buildings had light too! For a while she sat in the shadows and watched them like a predator to a heard. She moved from alley to alley on the look out until Halima found her prey. A woman wearing a robe of sorts. It was red and fell to her ankles, the front was a deep gap that exposed the woman's center line, a slit up the side exposing her hip and thigh as she walked. The dark creature whistled, as their eyes met the woman stopped and turned toward the shadows. As the red dress disappeared into the darkness a soft sucking sound followed. Emerging was a slender woman with raven hair and bronze skin. Her full lips wore the crimson shade of life. Bare foot the new creature strode out into the city.

1990AD...
Halima felt small and alone in this new world. The words of her world fell on deaf ears in this new one. Did everyone forget Latin? It was so very frustrating for her! The creatures first night of freedom yet she was still captive to her old world. On the street and on some cars and building there was the strange markings. Not hieroglyphs, not Latin, but something different yet similar to a language. Recalling the masters words, "victims attract victims." Halima began to speak aloud in a soft scared tone. "Please can someone help me? Please I am lost and I need help can anybody help me?" As she walked about to crowds she repeated the message in semi false desperation. A woman turned to her voice, tilting her head slightly to one side. "Yes? Are you all right?"

"I am lost, I cant recall anything." The dark haired woman in the red dress replied.

Clearly she looked like someone punched her in the mouth with the stained blood caked lips. "It will be alright I will take you to the hospital." As the woman approached Halima leaned on her.

"My gratitude." They walked arm in arm to a large building three blocks down. The building was all lights which caused the red dressed woman to flinch.

"Are you hurt?" The other woman asked as they walked.

Halima simply nodded weakly. Nearly shutting her eyes as they got to the front doors. The doors opened by magic to their approach. The creature glanced at her 'savior' noting the woman didn't find it odd. Getting to a desk her new companion walked her to the new woman in white. They spoke that different language to each other. "This is a ...medicine woman. she will help you." As the woman tried to walk away Halima grabbed her arm. "STAY WITH ME." The creature whispered.

The woman stood by her side. Through the ordeal she couldn't take the intense lights! They were everywhere, in the ceiling, the desk, a picture, in the corners of the room! It was a bad choice and Halima had enough. She leaned closer to her friend. "TAKE ME HOME." She quietly hissed.

They left the waiting room and soon her new friend was using a small metal box. "I live pretty far, I'm calling a ...ride." A lot of current objects and services didn't exist in the Latin language so substitutions were required. Her friend got in first then the woman in the red dress. As the metal carriage took off she stared at her friend then out the window. She noticed the person in the front giving her looks. As the rearview didnt want to show the red dress woman she closed her eyes and focused, soon the driver only knew of one person in his cab. The tenseness in the man's shoulders melted as he drove them to their destination.

Home was a large building which Halima would learn was actually a large group of smaller rooms. At the front door the creature sensed her friend was becoming apprehensive. "WE ARE FRIENDS. LET ME STAY." She said authoritatively.

"Come on in. This is my ...home." She walked inside then moved aside to welcome her new friend.

The flat became an opium den of sorts. Where blood became the drug of choice and domination became the chaser. Days became weeks and weeks became months. In between the time they spent together at night there was still time during the day for Alissia to continue her normal routine of working and taking care of things for the flat like the bills. Even though she was only getting about six hours of sleep and constantly moving more so then ever before she always woke felling refreshed for some reason. Her new friend never left their place. Always sleeping during the day in a make shift bed in the bathroom as it was the only room in the flat without a window despite the hall closet.

A powerful mixture to be sure as Halima had this dance with many in the past. She was near perfection in her technique. By the end of the first month the poor roommate had no choice but to be ever so helpful. Teaching the dark temptress about the new world. The technology advances, the languages, the night life. During the times her new pet slept the dark haired Egyptian learned of the world. This is not to say the dark creature never ventured outside. More then once has she dared to step out of the flat and wander the streets while her 'friend' slept off being drained. The beast knew not to harm its live stock too harshly, so she would venture out to feed. The alleys and corridors dimly lit provided the avenues through the bright city street lights she loathed. Like veins they carried her through to the heart and every corner of the thriving giant. Playing many roles in the process of perfecting her new language skills. Sometimes she would play the damsel in destress, some time's when need was great a harlot in desperation, she was a creature with many faces. Her obfuscation gave the image of a friend, lover, confidant, family member. And with each encounter she was parts student and master. Learning of gestures, fashion, customs, anything she saw as new, the creature learned from.

Halima marveled at the innovation of humans. The car, the cell phone, the internet, it was all so powerful, yet simplistic in its role fulfillment. She wanted to try it all but was blocked by the resources of her roommate. She needed the coin of the realm. One point she took her new friend back to the tunnel entrance just out side the city. Deep into the crypt where the beast had been buried by the destruction above. Moving to a wall there was a plastered portion weaker then the stone. Breaking it open was a simple task. Inside there was coins of gold and uncut jewels in small sacks. Through persuasive language and her friends help she was able to sell it all for the paper currency. Humans could track the currency in any other form. In point of fact they had become very fanatical about the practice. This made Halim's tasks harder, but with a few well placed words things would smooth over. After a few locations the dark temptress had well over half a million in cash. Through her friend she had bought a few choice items; a cell phone, some clothes, motor bike, and a short blade. It was a start, but there would be things she needed to fake, like identification. This new world was very into labeling everything under Ra until she felt more then a little stifled on how the new world worked.

After the first few months she was refining her practices, speech patterns, gestures. By six months Halima was a tourist, still with her faux pas and trouble with language. Many thought at first meeting the creature might have been from 'American' the way Halima would act. Many ask to the point she thought of visiting this new world at least once, though the thought of traveling the ocean terrified the once servant girl to her core. Time passed her pet interaction was routine in nature though new requests and feedings were given almost daily.

Halima eventually found her niche in the modern world. Though there were times she found herself in the library online reading of the time between the present day and the time Rome fell. The creatures mind only created more questions then answers. Where there more vampires? Was she one of the few that survived? Where would they be in the world that now doubled in size from the flat earth she thought she knew? Did she really want to know the answers to these questions? It seemed that the more the dark haired beauty learned the more there was just beyond the edges of the previous answer. Standing on the sidewalk letting her thoughts encircle her head with questions without answers, Halima sighed defeated for the time being. Standing out in the open in her sneakers, jeans and suit coat. Not really dressed to stand out from the passersby. Yet the silent beauty still caught the attention of those that looked her way.