“Damn! Missed!” Scott scowled, watching the two teens panic with his binoculars. “Guess that means we go with plan B, then. Right Amber, Leo, you’re up!” Amber groaned.

“D-Do we have to? I mean, I’m all for protecting the city, but plan B is a little…”

“Amber!” Scott barked.

“Alright, alright!” she moaned, giving up. She knew that people’s lives were at stake. But plan B was…difficult.

“Hey now, it’ll be all right.” Leo reassured, giving her a smile that shone like a beacon in the night. “Remember, it’s all in your head. You’ve got superpowers, you’ll be fine no matter what.”

“Thanks, I guess.” she said glumly.

“Hurry up, they’re getting away! Go! Now!” the necromancer urged, the zombified birds returning to his arm.

“Okay!” Amber and Leo ran across the street, and Amber knelt down. Leo hopped into her open hands, and she heaved with all her strength. The quarterback shot up in the air like a rocket, reaching to grab the edge of the roof and just barely making it.

“So glad I brought gloves.” he muttered as he vaulted over.

Back down below, Amber nervously dithered, trying to put off the inevitable.

“Save the city, they said. Protect your loved ones from vampires, they said. This’s worse than a vampire!” Sighing, she decided to get it over with. She crouched and leapt, hopping from a windowsill to climb onto the roof, squeaking with fright all the way. She’d tried to shut her eyes, but that was even worse as she couldn’t see handholds.

“Looks like she still hasn’t gotten over her fear of heights.” Scott sighed, watching.

On the roof, Leo helped Amber up, never taking his eyes from the oddly-dressed vampire and his companion, who quickly pulled his hood up. Leo tried to make his face as stony as possible, but it was a little difficult to resist the laughter at the vampire’s outfit. Amber tried, but failed to suppress a giggle. The masked vampire stepped forward and raised his hands.

“Hold! Who are you, and why have you challenged me like a craven rat!?” Kevin said in his best deep, booming voice but actually squeaked three times. Leo and Amber shared a quick glance.

“Tell me: is the story going around town true? Are you really a vampire, feeding on blood?” Leo said, stepping forward as well. Will inhaled sharply as he recognized Leo Manning, captain of the football team. He looked nervously at Kevin, who didn’t seem to recognize him.

“And what did you plan to do if I am?” Kevin challenged, an eyebrow raised beneath the mask. He was confident his newfound power would allow him to carry the day with minimal harm.

“Then I will take whatever measures are necessary.” Leo said, voice hard, and threw out his arm. The gleaming silver sword appeared in it and ignited into flame, burning from hilt to tip.

Kevin and Will both stared at it wordlessly.

“Run!” Will screeched and jumped on Kevin’s back. He didn’t need to be told twice, flickering over the rooftops as fast as his legs could carry him.

“Hey, wait! Hold up!” Amber called after them, then turned a glare on the blinking quarterback. “Nice going, genius! We might’ve been able to talk to him if you hadn’t pulled your sword!”

“Sorry. He sounded like a threat.” he mumbled, looking bashful. “I thought the goal was to capture him anyway, Scott said so.”

“Yeah, but only to determine if he really is a danger! If we talk to him first, we could avoid that! Scott isn’t always right, you know.” She scanned the city, not liking one bit what was to come next. She sighed and crouched down. “Hop on.”

“Excuse me?” Leo blinked.

“Hurry up and piggyback on me. You’ll never make it, and they’re getting away!”

“Uh, right.” Leo climbed on her back, and was astonished at the ease a girl that was nearly half his size could lift him, like an empty backpack.

“Now hold on tight and keep that sword of yours ready, just in case.” Amber gulped, eyeing the edge.

“Right. Uh…is there any way we could not mention this to Evangeline…? Whoa!” She was off like a bullet, staring straight ahead and not down as she leapt from roof to roof, resolutely focused on not thinking about the thirty-forty foot drop beneath them.

“Yikes! They’re gaining on us!” Will said, looking back. “Leo’s riding that girl!”

“That’s obscene! But who are they?” Kevin grunted, risking a glance himself. He had to concentrate or they would go plunging off the side.

“Leo’s the captain of our football team! Why’s he chasing us, and why does he have a flaming sword?”

“Dunno! But here!” Kevin landed, skidding to a stop and kicking a length of railing, catching it with his foot and flipping it up to Will. “I gotta run, use that if they get too close!”

“Y-Yeah!” Will nodded as the vampire resumed running.

Elsewhere, Scott had managed to make his way up an abandoned high-rise and was surveying the scene with his binoculars.

“What in the goddamn hell are they doing?” he wondered aloud, incredulous. He saw the chase unfold on the top of the town. Team Vampire was hopping about, trying to circle around and double back, but Team Ghoul kept up their determined pace. Occasionally, they would get too close and the riders on top (both oversized for their mounts) would try to engage. The one on the vampire swung his pipe, and Leo parried with his sword in the world’s deadliest and most ridiculous chickenfight. The necromancer shook his head. “Uggh. I told them to discreetly capture him, they fight it out above the town so everyone can see.” He checked his phone. 1:14. At least it was the middle of the night, but if they kept making a ruckus this wouldn’t go unnoticed for much longer. “Guys!” he barked to his bird zombies, and they cawed in response. “Fly up and be ready to move. I have to do something about this.”

“Stay still damnit!” Amber snarled as she pursued her quarry.

“Make me!” Will tossed back, squeezing Kevin’s ribs harder to make him go faster.

“I’m not a horse you know!” he complained.

“Hush! Faster! Yah!” Will urged, leaning low to reduce wind resistance.

“Hold on, I think there’s been a misunderstanding!” Leo called out, but the duo head weren’t listening. “Amber, what happened to trying to talk to them?”

“Shut it!” Amber growled, face red. “They had their chance, now we catch ‘em!” This entire…chase was, in a word, humiliating. She was a delicate teenage girl, not a racing mount! But it happened, she’d made her bed, and now she was going to see this through all the way to the end. Otherwise, all this embarrassment was for nothing. “Rrrrraaaahhhh!” She poured on speed, legs burning to catch up to them. “This is so wrong! Why is this happening! You’ll pay for this!” she howled, and both Kevin and Will gulped, making a hard turn and leaping off the edge, Amber and Leo following.

They landed, one after the other, on the side of the high-rise they’d left Scott outside of. Both undead teens clambered up the side of the building, Amber furious and reaching out to catch him before he got over the top.

“Almost…there…!” she grunted, throwing out her hand. There, she was close! She had him! Her hand was about to wrap around his ankle when…it disappeared.

“WHAT!?” she bellowed. A window? He had ducked into a window! “Rrrraaaagggh!”

“Easy, girl, easy.” Leo tried to soothe calmingly, but Amber was having none of it. She burst into the building, watching them disappear up a flight of steps. Hot on their heels, she took the steps six at a time, ad found them in the hallway, frozen.

“Out of the way, please.” Kevin said, voice deep and harsh. His eyes were lit up a crimson red.

“Sorry, I’m gonna need you to come with us. Won’t take too long, I promise.” Scott said, his birds encircling him. His own eyes shone an emerald green from deep in his hood.

“This’s so messed up, this’s so messed up.” Will kept whispering nervously.

“Give it up. You’re surrounded.” Scott said, stepping forward. Kevin took one step back.

“Stay back, all I want to do is leave.” he pleaded. Scott ignored him.

“I don’t know what you’re doing here, but I don’t like it. You will be coming with us to the lab.”

“Lab!?” Kevin cried in alarm. Who were these people? “W-Wait, just a minute! I don’t wanna fight you, and I don’t wanna hurt anyone. Please, just let me go in peace!” Scott came to a halt.

“Don’t…want to hurt anyone?” he said, cocking his head. “You are a vampire, right?” Kevin tensed, looking between the necromancer and the two behind him, mentally weighing his options.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that!” He kicked a piece of fallen plaster at the single opponent in front of him, and prepared to run ahead.

“Larry!” Scott shrieked, and one of the birds dived down to intercept the missile with its’ own body. It cawed and fell, back broken. “Crap! Attack!” The other two zombies swooped forward as Leo and Amber surged from behind.

“Hang on.” Kevin said to Will, and licked his lips, concentrating as hard as he could. He moved.

Time seemed to slow as Kevin raced forward, out of the grasping reach of his pursuers. There was a large black bird on his right, coming in high. He ducked low and left, evading the strange assailant. However the second one, a blue jay, was zooming low straight at him, and he was crouched and leaning, unable to dodge again.

“Hhnnn!” Calling upon every last ounce of his vampiric reflexes, Kevin’s left arm shot out to the ground, shoving him out of the path of the bird. He landed on the balls of his feet, and before the floorboards could creak he zoomed forward again.

“Holy-!” Scott saw the vampire coming at him, too fast to respond. Now, it was over.

Kevin sprang to the side at the last second, avoiding him entirely. He looked back at the necromancer, red eyes meeting green. Then, he was gone.

“What?” Scott spun around, barely seeing the vampire and his passenger disappear up the stairs to the roof.

“Scott! You alright?” Amber gasped, coming up behind him.

“Y-Yeah. C’mon, let’s go.” They raced up the stairs, praying they weren’t too late. The trio emerged to see the other two standing at the far edge, about to climb down. Unfortunately, they were at the end of the black, and there was nowhere to run to. And while his vampiric body was fantastic, Kevin doubted he could survive a fall from this height. Will started cursing.

“Relax. I will get us out of this. I promise.” Kevin said quietly to his friend, who nodded.

“Right. Now that you’re cornered-” Scott began, striding forward “-you’ll be able to give us some answ-”

He was cut off by the sound of approaching sirens.

As one, every teen on the roof froze and turned to the noise, eyes wide.

“Crap, we were too loud!” Amber wailed.

“No, those don’t sound like just police sirens.” Leo said, brow furrowed. “They sound more like-”

“Fire!” Kevin exclaimed, leaning over the edge. There, five blocks away, an apartment building was being consumed in an inferno. Now that the chase was over, the smell of smoke in the air was obvious. He squinted, his excellent night vision picking out the people on the ground outside. They all seemed to be safe, except one woman kept trying to go back into the blaze, being held back by others. “What in the heck? Is she crazy?” He focused all his attention on the scene, and turned even paler when he heard a baby’s cries coming from the building. “H-Holy crap!”

“What is it?” Will asked.

“T-There’s a kid in that building! I can hear a baby!”

“Really? How can we believe that?” Amber asked cautiously, nervously flicking her eyes between the fire and the vampire.

“He’s telling the truth. There’s a woman trying to get back in.” Scott said, peering through his binoculars. “Problem is, the fire’s too intense. Not even the firefighters can get through.”

“Damn it!” Leo slammed his fists on the railing. And by the time we’d get there, the building will collapse!”

Kevin watched quietly for a moment, then turned to the others.

“Please. Let me go. I can make it if I move as fast as I can.” he said, putting Will down.

“What!?” Will shrieked.

“I can do it. I’m faster than that girl, I can get over there in no time. Please, let me go and do this.” Kevin implored. Scott, Leo, and Amber stared at him, then shared a glance.

“Well…” Leo began, aware that this might be their only chance to catch the vampire.

“Why?” Scott cut in. “Why do you wanna save ‘em?” He stared hard at Kevin, his eyes glowing.

“Because. Above being a man, above being a vampire, I am a superhero. I want to help. Please, let me.” Kevin pleaded quietly. Scott met his gaze. He remembered the vampire charging straight at him, able to tear through him like wet tissue, and dodging instead. He nodded.

“Right. Go!” Kevin smiled gratefully and crouched down like a sprinter, then blurred. He was down the building in two seconds, unencumbered by a passenger. He streaked through the night, towards the flames.

“Are you sure this’s a good idea?” Amber said without any heat. There wasn’t any more doubt with her, but it still needed to be said.

“Yeah. We just wanted to catch him. Not have a baby die in the process, not if we can help it. ‘Sides,” he grinned. “If he tries to run off, we got his buddy here.” He gave a sidelong glance to Will, who squawked.

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“Make it, make it.” Kevin muttered under his breath, running as fast as his legs would allow. The crowd appeared in front of him, but there was no time to turn or slow down to push his way through. “Yaaaahhhhh!” He leapt with all the strength and momentum he could muster, pinwheeling his arms and legs above the heads of the crowd. He landed to the gasps of everyone around, and before anyone could stop him he barreled into the building.

Inside was a close approximation of Hell. Black smoke choked the air, and Kevin learned the hard way vampires still needed oxygen. Coughing, he peered around, and despite the smoke stinging his eyes everything was still relatively clear, despite the walls being on fire. It had to have originated on an upper floor.

“Where (cough) are you?” he muttered, trying to hear the baby over the roar of the flames. There, he could make out a child’s cry, but it was weak, and growing weaker by the second. Where was it? The crackling of flames made it too hard to locate the kid. Suddenly, a black crow flew past. It was on fire, but didn’t seem to mind. It flew up the staircase and cawed at him. Gritting his teeth, he leapt up the stairs, the wood crumbling beneath his feet. Resolving to worry about ta way out later, he used every ounce of speed he still possessed to carry though, dodging falling debris.

“Hang on, I’m (cough) coming!” he tried to call as he made it to the fourth floor, where the crow had stopped and he could hear the cries clearly, noticeably slower than when he had entered. As he approached, he was limping and gasping for air, his body pushed to the limit. His stomach growled. It had been too long since he’d last eaten.

Wheezing, he focuses his senses trying to pinpoint the apartment where the baby was. The bird was stationed at the third door from the corner.

That’s when the cries stopped.

His heart stopping too, he raced as fast as he could, patting out the small fires that had begun smoldering on his clothes as well. With a quick prayer to any god that might be listening, he charged at the door with his shoulder, bursting it open. Kevin entered the apartment…or rather, he tried. He lifted his foot, he placed it forward, he leaned his weight in, but no matter what his body would not step past the doorframe into the room.

“What’s going on!? Why!?” he exploded. There was nothing physically stopping him from going in, the door was wide open! It was then he recalled a piece of vampire lore he’d completely forgotten: vampires couldn’t enter homes uninvited.

“Nooooo!” he wailed, looking from side to side for a solution. There was no one in the building save for the baby, and not for much longer if the fire kept burning like this. He growled in frustration, then in his frantic search spotted something. It was stupid and probably wouldn’t work, but hey, it was worth a shot.

He dashed four doors down and grabbed the burning rubber welcome mat from it’s’ place. He howled in agony as the flames licked his fingers and the rubber melted on his hands, but the faded letters were still visible. Slapping it down and hoping against hope, he took a step forward…into the apartment.

“Yes!” Kevin rushed back, searching the rooms until he saw a crib in a corner. The baby was unburned for now, but it lay still, only twitching occasionally.

“C’mon, it’s alright, I gotcha little…” The burning wallpaper was pink with bunnies on it. “Girl. Yeah, it’ll be alright.” He reached down to scoop her up. That’s when he heard the creaking. He looked up in terror to see a flaming support beam break and plummet down at them. There was no time to think, only take one single action.

WHAM!

Kevin’s breath came in quick gasps, unable to fill his lungs. The beam felt like a thousand tons as it lay on him, shielding the baby with his body. He was pressed at an angle, shoulders caught between the beam and the floor, and soon to burn himself. He moaned. The beam was too heavy. The fire was too hot. He was exhausted, injured and so very thirsty. He looked down at the unconscious child, and his eyes glowed red and his fangs lengthened.

It was so small, but it was young and full of life. Like a slider or small sandwich, perfect for snacking, giving him the needed energy to escape. After all, there was no sense in them both going out here. His hand twitched, reaching towards her. In the back of his mind, he heard: Whoosh. Thwip-thwip.

“NO!” He slammed his hand into the beam, hissing in pain. “I…am a…hero…” he grunted, pressing harder and harder. “I…will…” He called upon all of his dark strength, mustering everything he had. His burned hands pressed into the smoldering beam, searing agony that he ignored. His guts and spine popped, waves of warm unpleasantness rolling through his body. He didn’t care. He grit his teeth, fangs exposed. “I will…I will…SAVE HER!”

Kevin roared and lifted up with everything he had, hefting the entire burning beam into the air. Praying no one was stupid enough to be close, he hurled it at the window and scooped the baby up in an instant, following. The beam smashed through the window, taking the wall with it, and Kevin hugged close to it. The spectators cleared out as it fell to the street, Kevin landing on it not a second later, coughing and gasping.

“She’s...not…breathing…” he managed to choke out, holding her up.

“Move!” An EMT pushed through the crowd and took her, quickly assessing the situation and giving her CPR. After a terrible minute, the girl coughed, sucked in air and started howling as loud as she could, her mother suddenly at her side. A respiration mask was fitted over her mouth and they were loaded onto an ambulance. Seeing that, Kevin sighed with relief and let his body finally give out, collapsing to a knee and half-sprawled onto the asphalt, shaking.

The crowd moved in, surrounding the strange masked man dressed in black, who had run into a burning building to save a stranger’s baby. He groaned, half his mask burnt away, his body still smoking and his formerly gloved palms red and black from the fire. The crowd murmured and cell phones flashed as police and medical personnel approached him.

“You okay, son?” an older officer said kindly, kneeling down. “That was a stupid thing to do. Brave, but stupid. C’mon, can you stand? Let’s get you checked out.” He helped Kevin to his feet.

“No, no. Not necessary.” Kevin tried to wave him off, swaying on shaky legs.

“I insist. Besides, it’d be real bad if the police let you go untreated after what you did. We can deal with the press and everything else afterwards. You should get some rest, you, uh, look a little wiped.” the officer said.

“Ahh, thank you.” Kevin said, regaining his balance. He was exhausted, covered in first-degree burns, and extremely thirsty. He couldn’t stop smiling. “But I’ll be alright. It’d also be bad for a superhero to have to visit the hospital after every little adventure, after all.” The officer tilted his head.

“Superhero?” Kevin nodded.

“That’s right. Didn’t you see the insignia?” He realized his shirt was nearly disintegrated, it was so burned. “Oh. Guess not.”

“Excuse me, excuse me!” a woman cried, barreling through the crowd like a train. “Is this the brave young man who risked his life against the fire to save a little girl?” She was in a green blazer and miniskirt with frizzy red hair. Kevin’s eyes widened as he realized he’d seen her before. “Tamara Nelson, Action 7 News. Am I speaking to the hero of the hour?” A camera was pointed in his face, and a microphone was suddenly before him.

“Err, yeah?” he mumbled.

“Great! Who are you, where are you from, why did you run in when it was too dangerous even for the firefighters?”

“Look lady, let’s get him to the hospital before he gets the third degree, alright?” the officer said, but Kevin knew what to do. He placed his hand on the cop’s shoulder. “It’s alright.” he said as disarmingly as he could, before turning to the reporter. “Miss Nelson, right? Forgive me, but I’ll have to keep it brief. I’m very tired.”

“Not a problem. Just tell us what possessed you to run in there?” she said, putting the microphone forward again.

“It’s kinda simple, really. It’s my duty. It’s what I do. I’ve uh, kinda got some advantages over most people, and I’ve decided to use ‘em to help out when I can. I’m not going to be everywhere at all times, but I’ll be around. I’m actually a superhero, you know.”

“A superhero?” she asked skeptically. Kevin grinned.

“Yup. I’ve been given a chance of a lifetime, and have dedicated myself to truth and justice. Let the fang of justice shine in the night, seeking out evil’s throat! Evildoers beware, for Nightfang stalks in the dark! Farewell!” With that, Kevin leapt above the crowd, all eyes on him and wide, as he dug his fingers into a building and started clawing his way up it, soon lost in the night.

“H-He just…he just…” Tamara said in wonder, then wheeled on her gaping cameraman. “You got that, right? Please tell me you got that!” He nodded dumbly. “There you have it, folks!” she said brightly, jumping in front of the camera. “The day has been saved thanks to Nightfang, the mysterious real-life superhero of Craven Falls. Who is he? Where did he come from? All this reporter can tell you is she intends to find out.”

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Kevin huffed as he made his way back to where Will was, at a much slower pace over the rooftops. He finally got over and was astonished to see him alone.

“Hey man. Where’d those guys go?”

“They bounced.” Will shrugged. “The one guy said they were done here, and dragged Leo and the girl away.”

“Huh. Really?” Kevin rubbed his face, and discovered something. Half of his mask was burned off. It still covered his eyes and head, but a large section of the jawline running to the nose on the left side was gone. “Will, is my mask burned enough that you can see my face?” he asked calmly, fighting down panic.

“Uh, a little? It’s not enough to recognize you, I think. Not if they didn’t know you.” Will answered.

“That’s good, that’s good. But is it enough to figure out if you compared it to a picture of me? Because I just had a million photos taken and gave an interview on TV.” Will’s eyes enlarged.

“Dude! You were interviewed on TV? What happened?”

“Not really the point right now, Will!” Kevin said, less calm this time. His voice took on a high-pitched shriek.

“I dunno, maybe? It’s hard to tell in the dark. We should get home for tonight. And you should get a shower-” He looked Kevin over. He smelled like a stove and was still smoking. “-cause you look like you could use a cold one.”

“I’d love to, but I’m thirsty more than anything.” Kevin groaned.

“Oh. Will said quietly. He looked at the half-burned comic nerd, panting from exhaustion. He nodded resolutely. “Right.” He rolled up his sleeve and offered an arm. “Here. Take what you need, just not too much, okay?”

“Huh?” Kevin said, trying to focus on Will’s arm.

“Take some of my blood, dumbass. You need it more than I do right now, but I still need enough to live, alright?”

“Will…” Kevin said, as gratefully as he could. He took the proffered arm as Will shuddered and turned away, eyes firmly shut. The fangs slid out, then in.

“Yowch!” Will yelped.

“Sorry! Sorry! Did I bite too hard?” Kevin said frantically.

“The problem is you have to bite at all!” Will snapped, then shook his head and braced himself. “C’mon, let’s just get this over with.” Kevin nodded, and Will squeezed his eyes shut as his friend bit in. It hurt, but after a minute the pain subsided. “Huh.” he said, starting to get dizzy.

The taste was divine, exquisite for Kevin’s parched throat. He could feel the blood rejuvenating him, exhilarating him, making him whole again. This time though, he knew what to expect, and kept a steady eye on Will’s vital signs. A little piece of him howled in agony when he drew his mouth back, but his resolve was as hard as Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton. He was a real superhero now, and he felt the ones he’d grown up with smiling down on him. He licked the last of the crimson ambrosia from his lips.

“Ahh. Thank you. I feel much better. C’mon, let’s go home for tonight.” Will blearily nodded and hopped on his back, and they flitted off into the night.

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A smoldering black crow, formerly on fire, had enough feathers left to fly up and perch on the necromancer’s stretched-out arm. It was unceremoniously dumped into his bag.

“Fried chicken, extra crispy.” Scott muttered.

“Are you sure it’s alright to call off the hunt for tonight?” Leo asked as they watched the duo take off, soon lost in the darkness.

“Yeah. Pursuing him now, after what he just did and has been through, would be a real dick move.” He turned and started walking down the street, yawning. “Besides, we’ve completed the main objective anyway.”

“Which turns out is what? I thought you were so gung-ho about this ‘cause you needed to catch him.” Amber said, putting her gloves on. It was chilly. “Also, kinda hungry, I used up a lot of energy chasing him down.”

“Sekh.” Scott incanted, placing his hand on her shoulder. “Yes, that is a secondary objective, which will be moving up to main mission status after tonight. However, now that we’ve literally seen him run into a burning building to rescue a baby, I feel confident in saying he means no harm, and poses a much less significant threat.”

“So we’re letting him go?” Amber asked skeptically.

“Oh good lord no. He may not want to hurt people, but a vampire’s still a vampire. If he doesn’t have a regular source of blood, he could snap and cause a bloodbath to sate his bloodlust. Get it?” He elbowed Amber, who rolled her eyes. “In fact, if he doesn’t want to drink blood that makes him even more dangerous, since if he restrains himself too much he’ll be a ticking time bomb. Undead instincts are very powerful, and can easily override the morality of the deceased. Why do you think I’m constantly giving you a refill?”

“Oh yeah.” Amber said in a small voice, walking a little slower. She knew he didn’t mean anything by it, he was pretty casual about mortality, but even that reminded her that she was still not human. She could fool everyone else, and even herself, but it didn’t change the fact that she was a dangerous monster as well.

“Well, I suppose we’re not moving out tomorrow, since its Sunday and I have things to do,” Leo said, interrupting her dark thoughts. “We’ll have to suspend the search until Monday.”

“But…rrgh, you’re right.” Scott growled. Two of his birds were broken and scorched; he’d need to prepare more zombies for the hunt. And time to prepare different strategies. He scowled as he remembered the chickenfight, and the vampire’s behavior with the press. This would not do at all. “He can be left alone for now, but that doesn’t change the fact we have to find him, and soon. Some of his mask was burnt off, did anybody recognize him? I couldn’t make him out.”

“Sorry, I didn’t see much. I feel like I’ve seen his companion, though.” Leo said, arms folded and chin tilted in concentration. “I just can’t remember where.”

“Seriously?” Amber said, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t know who the vampire guy was, but the other one was Will Dupree. He’s a junior on the basketball team.” The other two turned to stare at her. “What? He and Carla used to date. I think he’s kind of a tool, but she seemed to like him for whatever reason.”

“Of course!” Leo exclaimed, snapping his fingers. “I thought that the basketball team said someone was out today.”

“The wonders of a large social circle.” Scott said dryly. “But that’s good, that makes things easier. All we have to do is stick by him, and he’s bound to lead us to our quarry.”

They chatted, making plans as they headed towards home. Though it was dark, they were easily tracked by a pair of baleful red eyes, skulking in the night.

“Hmm…interesting.”