I am a Godsend!' you scream..."

"Herbie...don't read that!" Tess said, dropping Lynn onto the desk and reaching for the papers in Herbie's hand.

"Relax, Tess," he countered, turning his body away from her to block her grab. "This is good. Let me read it, please?"

"No, Herbie."

"Please?"

"Oh, okay," she said, returning her attention to Lynn -- who was making her way toward the end of the desktop.

"I'll start again," he said, "these things sound much better if they are read aloud."

"Yeah....what ever."

"'I am a Godsend!' you scream.

'The savior of this world!'

You stand behind your false claims.

And empty promises, freely

Offering redemption with just a touch...

But on that fateful night

-As the bullet took your life-

Your true soul came shining through.

And you were wrongly thrust into.

The storybooks of the Martyrs

Swallowed by a world of real Heroes.

Hiding behind deceit and lies

Twisted dreams and false beliefs...'

"Hey, is that it?"

"I didn't get a chance to finish it yet," she said, the color slowly returning to her face.

"Well maybe you should," Herbie said with a smile.

"Do you really think so, Herbie?"

"Yeah," he said, placing the papers back on the desk and glancing at the aquarium before him. Pale pink eyes stared back at him. After a second, Herbie came out of his daze and jumped back, "What in the hell is that?"

"Oh....you mean Homer?" Tess grinned. "Relax, Herbie, he's only a frog for Pete's sake."

"A frog? That thing is no frog!" he said, staring at the large white, fleshy thing staring at him.

"He is so! He is an Albino clawed frog, thank you very much! My daddy told me so," she said, sitting up in her chair and dropping Lynn once again.

"Oh..." "Yeah! And he is five years old, weighs 4 pounds and is 12 inches long!"

"Oh, I see. And what exactly do you feed him, Tess?" Herbie shot.

"Smart-ass boys like you," she shot back with a smile.

"Cool," Herbie said, "Homer....I like that."

"So do I," Tess followed.

"About the poetry, Tess."

"Yes," she said, catching Lynn at the edge of the desk.

"What was it about? A great leader?"

"No. It was about my history teacher at school. He is a hateful, chauvinistic man."

"Oh," Herbie said, taken back by her forceful reply.

"I had a dream about killing him and I decided to write about it..." Tess was cut off by a loud crash that came from below.

"What was that?" Tess looked up at Herbie, unconsciously dropping Lynn back in the aquarium and drooping the lid.

"Don't know. But I shall be back shortly," he said, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Tess said, rising from her chair to follow him.

"To see what that was, silly."

"But what if there is a monster there?"

"I am a vampire, remember?" he said raising his arms and baring his teeth in mock hostility. "You stay here. I will be right back," he said, leaving the room. He had gotten halfway down the hall when he heard a knock at the door and his name.