We rented a simple little copper-colored car that Kim picked out and paid for, then headed to the address Janet had given me after Paul inserted the information into the GPS. We passed a hospital on the way, and I had an uneasy feeling we had been given the wrong address. I gasped.

“Paul...” I mumbled as I stared at the address on the little yellow Post-it note. “I have a bad feeling.”

“What is it?” he asked as he peered back from the passenger-side seat.

“I don't think Janet is in the hospital.”

“What makes you think that?”

“We just passed the hospital, and that wasn’t the address.”

“Denver’s a big place, Alex. There’s bound to be a bunch of hospitals,” he replied calmly. “Let's just follow the directions from the GPS and see where it takes us. Okay?”

“Okay,” I said quietly, crumpling up the note in my hand. I felt around in my pocket for the cell phone Salem had given me. I browsed through the contacts and couldn't find one that said his name – probably just in case Paul got hold of it. I found Jason's number, Janet's, and Paul's among the list. My heart jumped when I saw the word ‘Bat',’ and I laughed out loud.

“What's so funny?” Paul asked as he looked back at me again.

“Nothing...just a text from Jason,” I lied. “I'm going to give him a call really quick, to let him know we landed safely.”

“Is there somethin’ going on with you two?” he said with a grin.

“No!” I said. “We're just friends!”

“Sure, sure.” He laughed. “We'll be quiet so you can talk to your ‘friend’.”

“Thanks…” I grumbled and set the phone to call Salem's number.

“Hello?” My stomach fluttered at the sound of his voice.

“Hey S...Jason,” I quickly corrected myself. “I just wanted to let you know we made it to Denver.”

“Good. I was worried.” He sounded anxious and didn’t question me referring to him by Jason’s name—it had been his plan, after all. “Where are you now?”

“We're on our way to find Janet.”

“Stay at the hospital with her if you can,” he insisted.

“I'm beginning to wonder if she’s even at a hospital.”

“Why do you say that?” The anxiousness increased.

“I'll have to tell you later, Paul’s being snoopy,” I muttered. “Try not to worry too much.”

“You know that's impossible.”

“I know.”

“I miss you.” There were those flutters again.

“I-I miss you, too...” My voice trailed off when Paul glanced at me with an ‘Uh huh, I knew it’ look on his face. “I've got to go; we're almost at the place.”

I hung up the phone and tucked it back into my pocket. The GPS alerted Kim to turn left, that our destination would then be on the right in just three hundred feet. My eyes scanned the area for a hospital, but all I saw was a row of small houses. This had to be the wrong place.

“Where's the hospital?” I said as we cruised down the street.

“You may have been right, Alex,” Kim said gravely as she stopped the car in front of one of the houses. “This is the address.” She pointed out what appeared to be an abandoned house at the very end of the road.

I recalled all of the horror movies I had seen revolving around haunted houses, and this house could have been pulled directly from one of those films. Just looking at it gave me chills. The two-story building was covered in thick layers of ivy; wooden boards crossed over the two lower story windows. The windows above the awning were shattered, and I could have sworn there was a dark figure standing behind the glass, staring out at us.

“Did you see that?” I whispered to my father. I glanced back up at the window, and the figure was gone.

“I didn't see anythin’,” Paul replied. I saw him lean forward in his seat and rummage through his luggage. “I'll go out first, and then you two follow behind me.”

“Okay,” Kim and I replied in unison.

Paul handed something over the back of his seat. I shook my head when I realized what it was—a hand-crossbow identical to the one he gave me for my birthday. I had intentionally left mine behind so I wouldn’t have to use it—so much for having an excuse. “Oh, no...I'm not taking that!” I protested. “How did you even manage to get that on a plane?!”

“It's just in case, Alex. Put it under your sweater,” he instructed and ignored my question. “You have yours, Kimmy?”

“Yep, got it.” She smiled.

I watched as Paul left the car and walked down the cracked sidewalk. He approached the door of the abandoned-looking house and knocked gently on the wooden surface. No one responded. He turned toward us and beckoned us over with a quick gesture. Kim and I climbed out of the car and marched along the concrete. I walked behind her, fumbling with the crossbow as I tucked it under my hoodie.

“I'm going to break down the door if no one answers this time,” Paul grunted and knocked again.

“That's illegal, Dad.”

“See if I care,” he said and slammed his thick shoulder into the rickety door. It crashed loudly against the floor.

Cobwebs clung to the ceiling. The atmosphere surrounding the house gave me the creeps, but I stepped over the threshold regardless and followed them inside. There wasn't a single piece of furniture throughout the entire downstairs. The floorboards creaked noisily beneath us with each wary step. Paul turned around and held up his hand, signaling for us to stop.

“There's someone here,” he whispered. I was about to ask how he knew, but then I heard a muffled voice from upstairs and something crashing into the upper floor. My dad approached the aged staircase and began climbing up it. With each step, I could picture him falling through the rotting old wood and had to force those thoughts away to focus on what was ahead. He made it up safely then we followed quickly behind. I was beyond unprepared for this. I could feel sweat trickling down the side of my face, and my heart felt like it was about to burst through my chest. If that wasn’t bad enough, the butterflies I had felt only minutes before had melted into bile in the pit of my stomach.

“You should have stayed away.” I shut my eyes tightly as I heard Mark’s deep voice reach my ears. I couldn't tell just where it was coming from; it seemed to reverberate off the walls.

“Where’s Janet, you bastard?!” Paul shouted, holding his crossbow cautiously ahead of him as he rounded the corner.

“Janet is not important,” Mark hissed. “I d0 sense that you forgot to bring something with you, however, Alexis.”

I stopped behind Kim as she followed Paul into a room full of sheet-covered furniture. “I don't know what you’re talking about,” I replied in a croaky voice, trying my best not to lose the contents of my nervous stomach.

“I had truly hoped you would have brought Salem along with you, that way I could have killed two birds with one stone,” he snickered maliciously. “Or, in this case—a bird and a ‘bat’, right?”

I gulped as I felt Paul's eyes turn towards me. “Salem and I have nothing to do with each other,” I said bitterly, meeting my father and aunt in the room.

“Stupid child!” Mark bellowed. “Don't think that I’m going to fall for your lies. Your father might be daft enough to believe you, but I am far wiser. I know about you and the boy.”

“How? And why would you care?” I asked and ignored the angry glance Paul was directing at me.

“He is a pathetic excuse for a vampire, don't you see? Feasting on animals!” He spat. “He thought he could change me, too. To be ‘strong’ like him, but I can tell you that there is no strength in hiding in the shadows drinking animal blood. The blood of humans…” he paused, making a deep and audible sniff with his nose. “…is just too enticing. Too delicious. Strengthening.”

“You’re a monster!” I yelled, the realization that Janet had been the temptation he was talking about finally sinking in.

“A monster? Now, now…what would Salem think if you called us such names? He and I are no different, don’t you see? I imagine it will be little time at all before he drains you of blood, too.”

“You are wrong about him. He’s different!” What had he meant by ‘too’?

Paul was about to say something to me but Kim shook her head. “This isn't the time or place, Paul,” she said.

“Just tell us where Janet is. Please!” I pleaded.

“Hurting her was a mistake; I will admit that one. At first, anyway.” His voice had grown softer. “She had cut herself with a kitchen knife the morning before the...incident...and I tried to control myself. But once I smelled her blood, oh...it was hard to control my thirst for more. The hunger was far too powerful.”

“How many people have you hurt, Mark?” Paul spat as he spoke, turning out of the room and into the next which was roughly identical. There was only one room left, down the long hallway and at the very end.

“Oh, you know, just a few. Before Janet cut herself, I would slip away now and then and get what I could. It was never quite enough to satisfy, though.” He laughed darkly. “But all three of you should do the trick.”

“So, you admit that you killed all those innocent people...and you put Janet in the bear cage after you...” I gasped; the rest of the words were too difficult to speak.

The wretched laughter came again, sending shivers down my spine. “And I saved the best for last.”

I watched as my father inched closer to the door down the hall, steadily holding his weapon. Why had I agreed to come here? He and Kim were experienced hunters, whereas I was a coward with a shaking crossbow and feelings for a vampire. Feelings for a vampire that for all I knew could lead me to be in this same situation. What the hell was I thinking!

My thoughts of Salem vanished, and I held my breath as Paul wrapped his hand firmly around the wobbly doorknob and pushed the door open. At first, I couldn't see anything, but once my eyes adjusted I saw two red dots floating around amidst the dark void. Red, glowing eyes. The eyes of a vampire that had just eaten.

Paul tripped forward suddenly. I glanced downward and gasped in horror, stumbling backward.

“No! No! No!” I shouted, staring in disbelief at the body sprawled across the floor. Paul gathered himself and tried to ignore what he had tripped over, but I could see the anguish in his eyes.

“I simply couldn't help myself.” I could see Mark's teeth shining in the darkness. I now realized what the crashing sound had been. “This is why you don't let your guard down and fall in love with a vampire.”

Janet's empty, dead eyes stared up at me as I cried—this wasn't happening…it couldn't be happening! I had just spoken to her on the phone less than a day ago. The moisture behind my eyes began to cloud my vision, and the sickness in my stomach churned.

“Oh, Alex...don't cry. She begged for it after all I put her through.” I could see him grinning mockingly.

“Just shoot him already, Paul!” I shrieked.

“Yes, Paul, shoot me,” Mark taunted from his shroud of darkness. I realized he hadn't noticed Kim yet, and she crept noiselessly to the side of us. My father held his crossbow steadily in front of him, but he had no intent of shooting the vampire. He was the bait, the distraction, while his sister inched around the empty room, preparing to strike.

I heard the click of her weapon. Mark flinched as the arrow seared through his skin, and yet he didn't fall over as I had anticipated–Kim had missed her target–his heart. He laughed mockingly at us. Before I had the chance to think, he was out of my line of sight. Paul and Kim turned in search of him in the darkness. My eyes grew wide as his cold hands slithered up my back and around my throat.

“Get your filthy hands off of her!” Paul said through gritted teeth.

“You might as well give up now,” Mark replied, coiling his hands tightly around my neck. I gasped for air, but it was no use. I struggled, wriggling my arm between us, attempting to grasp the arrow that pierced his skin. I felt it with the tips of my fingers and put as much pressure as I could manage against it. He shrieked and pushed me away. I inhaled deeply; the rush of air burned as I consumed it. I dizzily crashed to the floor beside Janet's body.

Paul took his chance, fired an arrow, and I watched Mark stumble backwards. I let my eyes fall shut with relief, knowing that Paul hit his sad excuse for a heart. The screaming agony from the vampire lingered for only a few seconds as I fell unconscious.