Salem kept me company and helped me pack, a feeling of dread weighing down on me—what was I thinking? I could tell that even he was nervous about me leaving, no matter how many times I assured him I would be all right. He paced around my room as I collected my bathroom items and stuffed them in my book bag.

“I could come with you,” he suggested.

“Paul would recognize you in a second.”

“You're right.” He sighed. “I just don't feel comfortable with you being among them.”

I wasn't sure whether he meant my father and aunt or the possible vampire lurking around Denver—maybe both. After my bag was fully packed we both sat on the edge of my bed, our hands intertwined.

“I'll be safe; I promise.”

“Unfortunately, that is not a promise you can keep on your own,” he said smugly. “Try to stay at the hospital while Paul does his...work...”

“That's a good idea,” I replied. “I can stay with Janet. I should call to check where she’s staying.”

“Go ahead.” He offered me the cell phone. “You should take this with you, also. I have one of my own that you can reach me at. The number is already in there.” He smiled.

“Thanks.” I returned the expression as I dialed Janet's number. “Hey, Mom-”

“How many times do I have to tell you that she is fine?” Mark growled.

“I-I just wanted to talk to her,” I said in shock “Just for a second.”

“Fine, but make it quick.”

“Alex?” I was relieved to hear Janet's voice. “How are you doing, honey?”

“Where are you at, Mom?”

“Just in a hospital here in Denver. It's not that important, really.”

“Yes, it is!” I thought carefully. “I wanted to send you some flowers, but I need the address.”

“Oh…that’s sweet of you.” I could tell she appreciated the idea. “Hang on, just a second.” I heard the muffled voices again, this time Mark's voice sounded angry and loud. She whispered the address to me, and I could tell she was more than a little frightened.

“Thanks, Mom...” I mumbled. “Are you sure you don't want me to bring you home or something?”

“No, it's okay...I'm fine where I am. Denver is my home now, sweetie.” I didn't believe that for a second. “I'll talk to you later.”

“Bye.” I said it too late, she had already hung up.

After relaying the conversation to Salem, I heaved my bag downstairs. We were both further convinced that something was just not right. It was nearing time for Paul to arrive to pick me up, and I was growing more and more anxious as the minutes passed. Salem stayed with me, anxiously sitting on the couch beside me. He insisted he would hear the car pulling up long before they arrived.

“I wish you could go with me, Salem,” I said quietly as he played with my hair absent-mindedly.

“As do I.” His voice was withdrawn, and I knew he was filled with worried thoughts still. “Please make sure to call as soon as you get to Denver. If Paul asks, tell him you are talking to Jason.”

“I will,” I promised.

“He will be here soon,” he muttered and sat up. “Be safe, my little raven.” He leaned in close and gently pressed his lips to mine before heading through the back door. I stared after him, wondering if this might be the last time I would see him.

Not two minutes later I heard the rumble of Paul's Jeep Wrangler pulling into the driveway. I stared out the back window, watching Salem vanish from sight. The knock on the front door startled me despite knowing it was about to happen, and I ran to open it. Paul stood there with a grin on his face, and beside him was the pretty red-haired woman from the photograph on his desk.

“You must be Alex,” she said in a light, wispy voice. “Paul has told me so much about you.”

“Sorry I can't say the same for you,” I said with a frown.

“Keeping me a secret are you? Embarrassed of your little sis?” She smiled comically at Paul as she nudged him with her elbow, then looked back at me. “I can tell you everything you want to know on the trip.”

“Let's get in the car; we don't want to miss our flight,” Paul said with a sense of urgency, then took my bag and headed to the vehicle. “We’ve got a bit of a drive to even get to the airport.”

The airport was packed, and it took Paul almost twenty minutes to direct us to the right side of the huge building. This was precisely why I wasn't looking forward to the trip (excluding the fact that we were possibly going to meet a hostile vampire) —airports are too busy, too crowded and too stressful. We made it through security without any issues, and made it to our terminal right on time to get in line and wait to be seated. Paul was fortunate enough to get three seats together. I wasn't sure if I felt good about that or not, but I was relieved to know I wouldn't be sitting beside some chatty stranger—plus I was interested to hear more about my aunt's life.

The seats on the plane were relatively comfortable. Aunt Kim took the window seat – apparently she had experience with sky diving and loved imagining herself soaring over the world—I took the middle and Paul was at the end. I was perfectly content until the large, rotund guy in the seat ahead of me decided to recline his chair so far back that it crushed into my knees.

“Excuse me, sir?” Paul said politely to the man. “Could you please straighten your chair up a little; you are squishin’ my daughter.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure,” he grumbled in response, clearly not eager to re-situate.

With great relief, I stretched out my legs and relaxed as the seat was lifted. The flight attendants gave instructions on what to do if an accident happened while in flight, and then requested everyone to put on their seat belts. I gripped onto the chair arms as the plane ascended and the flight attendant’s safety instructions played through my mind—I had not braced myself for any of this. This would be my first plane ride, and I had not been anticipating the push of force against my body as we rose into the air. Kim leaned over and patted my arm reassuringly. She appeared completely at ease, almost giddy.

“You’ll get used to it, trust me.” She smiled. “I can’t even count how many plane trips I’ve taken. I was nervous at first too, but now I love it.”

“What do you do for a living, anyway?” I asked as I nicely declined the peanuts the attendant offered. My palms had grown sweaty as I continued to anxiously grip the arms of the chair.

“Well, outside of...hunting...I'm a journalist,” she replied, glancing out the window. “As well as a bit of a thrill-seeker, I guess you’d say.” She turned toward me and grinned. “Maybe someday I will take you skydiving.”

I was certain she could see the horror in my expression. “Umm…I think that's something I’m going to have to say no to.” I laughed nervously.

“Your dad’s never been too keen on the idea, either,” she said, eying Paul. “It's amazing how he doesn't freak out about his side job, which is way more dangerous than parachuting out of a plane.”

I laughed, trying to hide my discomfort on the subject of vampire hunting. It amazed me how open she was about discussing the subject, especially on a full plane, but no one seemed to notice. Of course, she never openly used any words beyond 'hunting', so no one would know exactly what she was talking about. If anyone did hear her, they would probably just assume she was talking about hunting animals.

“I think I’m going to try to take a nap,” I said out of nowhere, despite not being tired. My mind was lost in thoughts of Salem, wondering what he was doing – probably worrying himself to death. I was also still conflicted on this sudden relationship that had been sprung on me. Sometimes the idea thrilled me, and I could feel my heart flutter, other times it was almost enough to make me queasy. I told myself it was just the flight and shut my eyes. There was so much noise on the plane that it was impossible to sleep. I could hear children crying in the back. The man in front of me was talking to the lady beside him about an authentic Italian restaurant he had gone to during a business trip to Rome—he was apparently a food critic and was working on an article about it. Paul and Kim were chatting across me about their plans in muffled voices. I tried to mute them out the most, not wanting to think about what was going to happen when we reached Denver. The worst of it was probably the conversation going on between the two ladies in the seats opposite ours.

“I can hardly believe so many people are flying to Denver,” one of them said in a somewhat hushed tone. She had a very distinct Southern accent. “There’ve been so many murders here lately that you’d think no one would go. You’ve been seein’ the news too, hadn’t ya?”

“Well, Cynthia, we can’t be the only ones just passin’ through to Portland. You have to remember this ain’t a one-stop flight. Most these people are probably headin’ elsewhere and just connectin’ through Denver same as us,” her friend replied.

I tuned out their voices as best as I could and attempted to reflect on the other night at the creek to distract myself. I finally dozed off.

Paul shook me gently as we descended. Why, oh, why couldn't he have waited until after the matter? I was enjoying a pleasant dream that reflected memories of the night at the creek. However, that wasn't what made me unhappy about being woken up; it was the lurching of the plane as it began falling toward the ground. I was almost certain we were going to crash into the runway, but slowly the plane leveled itself. The wheels popped out, and we were safely on land again. The only thing that caused me not to feel relieved was the fact that I was going to have to endure that again on the way home.