Rory, Riese, Alec, Chase and Lena. Best pals since forever…. not quite. They all became a gang when Rory and Alec went on a journey together. It was that very unforgettable journey, on that very day. 

“Quiet. Don’t make a sound.” Alec whispered. Rory followed behind, silently. She was careful not to step on even a single twig. They were walking into a hosptial where they had seen bats flying in every month on a particular day. 

              Alec reached out to open the door. Rory followed in, and they both started walking up the stairs at the side. They knew the bats had to be up there. Rory shuddered. She knew bats in this town could bite, and there were cases where humans suffered diseases getting bitten by these bats. The police had 

investigated the situation, and found out that those bats which bit those people were from this building. Afraid, but still committed, Rory led the way to the topmost floor. When they had reached the top of the staircase, they saw something drop to the floor. It was blood. 

              They slowly craned their neck to see what was up there. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of bats all hanging from the ceiling. There was a bat in the middle, its fang sticking out from its mouth. Both Alec and Rory squinted to see what that was on the bat’s fang. It looked like strawberry jam, but it 

wasn’t. It was blood. To their horror, the bats all started to fly down. They transformed into something slim, dark, and sickly- vampires. The one standing in the middle, in front of all of them could be the leader. 

              “What reason do you have for coming to our territory?” asked the she-vampire. “This is my clan. I’m head, Lena. We are short of 2 vampires… would you like to join us? Of course, we have to make you vampires first…If not, we will do it by force!” “Never! Just because you’re head of your clan, doesn’t mean you are in-charge of me!” Rory shrieked. Lena’s eyes shone bright red with fury. “Then you 

have no chance for survival!”

               Alec took Rory’s hand and dashed down the stairs, to the level below. “Run to room 50!” Alec shouted. Rory skidded to a halt in front of room 50. Alec ran in behind her, and locked the door. “ Open 

that door! It has an elevator inside it!” Rory did as she was told, and got into the locker. Alec slid in after her, and they pressed the button at their side.

               Alec had been to this hotel many years ago, before it was abandoned. He was very familiar with this place. The elevator took them down and to the side, and up again. “This elevator takes us to the building beside this hospital, but unfortunately, it is the territory for the werewolf clan.” Rory got out of the elevator, and made way for Alec to get out. They were surrounded by werewolves. “What are you doing here? Did you sign a contract with Lena?” the wolf in the middle, clan leader said. “No. We mean no harm, please let us out.” Rory replied. The werewolf took a long glance over its shoulder. “Fine,” 

the werewolf then turned back to his second in command and told him, “I will lead them out on my own.” With that, the werewolf transformed into a human. Rory looked with surprise, “Chase? Is that you?” Chase nodded. “Yes, it’s me. I am a werewolf.” 

              Rory and Alec were led out by Chase, Rory’s best friend, outside downstairs. “When Lena comes, whistle through this,” Chase said as he passed Rory a dog-whistle. Just then, the ground shook. The vampires jumped down through the windows from the building next-door. “Lena, you can’t hurt them. They are in werewolf territory.” Chase warned. “I never said I would hurt them. They just reminded me of myself when I was human…a year ago,” Lena replied, coldly. “I was just looking for something that you have, Chase. The pearl of the Lake Of Dreams.” Chase looked taken-aback. “You can have it. Only on one condition- if you team up with me to look for the Lake Of Dreams.” Lena nodded, and said, “Let’s go.”

              After Rory and Lena had explained that the Lake Of Dreams was at the hillside next to the beach, all four of them went there together. At the hillside, Riese the princess showed up, asking for them to pass the pearl to her. “Please, your highness, we need this pearl to have peace amongst us all- the vampires and werewolves, and even your fairies and…your power.” All four were kneeling on the ground. “Sure! I’d love to! That was what my parents had been waiting for all these years. The peace and alliance amongst us all! Come, I would love to do everything I can to help.” 

               The journey ended this way, with all of them living in peace, harmony and alliance. The biggest enemies, the werewolves and vampires became good friends, despite all the legends and stories about their hatred for each other. Their friendship lasts almost forever. But the best of them all are Rory, Riese, Alec, Chase and Lena.