My face was pressed into the airbag as I dragged myself up from unconsciousness. The seatbelt I was wearing had saved me from breaking my neck and the airbag had stopped me from crushing my face on the dashboard, or even worse, the windshield, because the seat I was in hadn't stayed where it was supposed to. Of course, once I pulled a knife from my boot and popped the airbag, I saw the extent of the damage.

Instead of seeing a vampire beside me, I saw the tree trunk.

I was groggy and shaken when I reached for the door handle and didn't realize there wasn't a door there. I fumbled for a minute and then used the knife to cut the seatbelt and freed myself. Or so I thought.

I tumbled out of the remnants of the sports car and laid down on my back, only to see a large piece of something sticking out of my abdomen. I couldn't tell what it was. Metal or plastic? I shook my head. It didn't matter.

_______________

You have a life endangering choice. Will you lay there and hope that someone comes along to help or will you do everything that you can to survive?

A) Yell for help. B) Use your cell phone. C) Lay there and die. D) Take matters into your own hands.

Fuck! I thought and read the options. Who the hell am I going to yell for? Or call? I asked myself. The timer popped up and had five seconds on it. No, I'm not staying here to die. I choose D.

_______________

In what I thought was a monumentally stupid idea, I grabbed onto whatever the thing was that was sticking out of me, and I yanked it out. It easily came out, along with a large spurt of blood.

“ARGH!” I yelled loudly and covered the spot with my hands to staunch the bleeding. It was then that I remembered the medical advice that if you ever had something foreign penetrating your body, you should leave it, in case it had perforated veins or arteries. It was acting as its own tourniquet.

After only a few moments, I felt better for some reason. I blinked my eyes and took in a breath of air. The cool night air was like a slap in the face and I sobered up quickly and my head cleared. I wasn't sure how long I was actually unconscious after the accident, then I remembered Natalie.

“NO!” I rolled over and coughed up blood, wiped at my face, and stood. I was a little shaky and blood still seeped out of my abdomen wound. I didn't care. I was only down the street from where they had held Natalie and I started running. I had learned years ago not to run flat out because you ran out of energy quickly and are out of breath if you sprint too long. I ignored that advice and ran as fast and as hard as I could.

I could feel my leg muscles burning after only a few minutes. I guess not using my legs for over two months was detrimental to my physical fitness. I thought and it made me laugh.

I came up to the main entry of the cemetery and leaned my forehead against the cool metal gates while I rested for a minute. Taking deep breaths, I reached for my holster and my gun... then realized I didn't have it.

“Fuck!” I cursed and looked around to see if there was anything or anyone waiting for me. I couldn't see anything obvious except that everything seemed much shorter than when I was here before. I guess that was because the last time I was seeing everything from waist level. I could see the gate was chained and padlocked, and it had never been before, so I knew someone was trying to stop me from getting in.

I wasn't going to get in the front way, unless I wanted to break the lock off and alert the bad guys to where I was. So, I needed another way in. I walked along the outside wall and scanned the darkness for a support to help me over the wall and noticed a recycle bin near the street corner. It was pretty weak for a trashcan and probably wouldn't have held a full-grown person.

I sighed for a moment, then remembered how I felt when I gathered all that power earlier at Jeanette's. I could feel a little of it was still there and made a fist. I couldn't tap into the undead around me, because I knew that would also alert whoever might be there. I had to be careful about showing off like that.

I glanced at the wall and it was ten feet high. I took several steps back and hoped this worked, jogged to the wall, and jumped. “Jesus!” I exclaimed as I easily reached the top and landed with my chest on top of the wall. I grabbed on and hung there, motionless. That was like an eight foot jump! I thought in surprise. Okay, okay. Calm down. You can do this.

I took a breath and glanced around to see if anyone was waiting to ambush me. No one was. I hopped over the edge and hit the ground, then ducked and rolled to minimize both the sound and the impact of the ten-foot fall. I was sorely out of practice when I hit the dirt and almost rolled into the wall rather than to the side or away from it.

Damn it, David! Get your head in the game! I thought to myself. Stop making rookie mistakes and get your ass in gear! Move it! Move it now!

I got up from the ground and ran for cover under the nearest tree. I kept looking around and I still didn't see anything. Where were they? I asked myself, because I knew for a fact that there were at least three vampires around. Mina, the male vampire, and the old man. There could also be more, because those were only the ones I knew about.

After a quick search, using the mental image that Natalie had given me, I spotted the mausoleum in the dark. It was nestled in the middle of some large headstone monuments and could easily be concealed from sight, since most of it was already hidden.

I never understood the significance of having huge monuments as headstones. The dead don't care about such things. I know that because I've asked them. As far as the corpses are concerned, the graveyards were for the living and not the dead. All they wanted was a nice piece of dirt and a marker to let people know who they were, and they were happy.

I made my way towards the small building and was surprised that I didn't encounter any resistance at all. What the hell was going on?

I checked the door and it wasn't locked, so I entered. The smell was the same thing I always smelled around vampires that spent most of their time in crypts and underground. It was a snake-like stench that permeated the small enclosure to the point that I almost couldn't breathe.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness inside. When it did, I didn't want to see what was there. Hung on the wall by chains was the lifeless body of one of the women in my life. One of the women that I loved. The only woman that I had failed to protect. Now she was dead because I was too late.

“NOOOO!” I yelled and tried my best to open up myself to the connection I had with Natalie. Nothing was there, not even a spark or a feeling. She was gone.

The anguish I felt was indescribable as I fell to my knees and hugged her still form. Words could not tell you how I felt at that moment. I wallowed in it and let it ill me up, just like my power had earlier... then it was like a switch was thrown inside of me. My anguish immediately turned to anger. It burned so brightly that for a moment I thought I glowed.

How could they do it? How dare they take her from me! I summoned up all the anger and strength I could muster, then I reached out and grabbed the chains that bound Natalie to the wall. I did it carefully, so I wouldn't damage her body any more than it already had been, and pulled the chains from their tethers on the wall like they were nothing. Her limp body fell to the floor and I went with her.

“Don't worry, my sweet little kitten.” I whispered to her and pet her hair. “I'll get them. I'll make them pay. Oh, they'll pay. I promise you.”

I stayed there for several minutes and took out my cell phone. The screen was cracked and it was a little bent. I took a deep breath and let it out, then tried to turn it on. The screen lit up; but, I couldn't see anything. That was okay, though. I knew how to work it without seeing it.

I called Mikki first and told her what had happened. She ranted and raved at me, screaming at the top of her lungs, and I sat there and took it. I deserved it, and much more than that, so I didn't say anything until she calmed down. I told her where we were and she said she would be there as soon as she could. For her sister.

I called Lieutenant Rick Richards and told him that Natalie was murdered and where I was. They both showed up about half an hour later. I had sat there and stroked Natalie's shoulder length auburn hair the whole time with tears in my eyes.

The EMTs tried to pry me away from Natalie and I wouldn't let them. Apparently, I was pretty strong now and they couldn't force me to comply. With a lot of cajoling and bribery from Mikki, who was quite reluctant to do it, I finally let Natalie go and the EMTs got to work on her. As if there was a point to it. She had been dead the entire time since my car accident.

The police tried to question me several times and I wouldn't say anything they wanted to hear. I hadn't actually physically seen anyone around her, so I couldn't say that I saw the male vampire attack Natalie. They wouldn't believe me when I said that I saw it in a vision. They stopped questioning me when I tried to get into the ambulance as the EMT loaded Natalie's body into the back.

“Hey, we're not working on her anymore, all right?” The EMT said. “We've already recorded the death and we're taking her directly to the morgue.”

_______________

You have a choice to make. It will impact the story significantly, no matter what you choose.

A) Let them take Natalie. B) Force them to take you. C) Tell them to screw off. Natalie is yours.

That's not even a choice. I thought. I choose C! Definitely C!

_______________

“Like fuck you are!” I spat at him.

“David!” Mikki exclaimed.

“I'm not letting them cut into my little kitten and harvesting her insides.” I said and Mikki's face paled. “That's right. Imagine how often they can get their hands on a were-cat specimen.”

“N-no!” Mikki gasped.

“Look, legally we have to take her and...” The EMT started to say.

“If you take her, then I'm going with you and I'll break the hands of anyone that touches her.” I said.

The EMT gave me a look, then he smiled. “Hey, officer! This guy just threatened to break my hands.”

I grabbed the EMT by the neck and lifted him up. “Would you rather I break your neck?”

“PUT HIM DOWN!” An officer yelled and drew his gun.

“Sure.” I said as I turned and threw him at the officer. They crashed into each other and fell to the ground.

“DAVID!” Mikki and Rick yelled at the same time.

I ignored them and picked up Natalie's body. The surprised looks on everyone's faces was mixed with disbelief and determination to try and stop me. Mikki tried to grab my arm to hold me and she tried in vain to comfort me.

“David, she... she's gone.” Mikki said. “You have to...”

“Put her down, David.” Rick interrupted her and he had several officers around him.

“No. She's been through enough. I won't let her be butchered at the morgue.” I said. “Mikki, call your parents. They are her legal guardians. Tell them that they need to let these medical assholes know that they are NOT ALLOWED to cut her open or embalm her!”

“Legally, they can't stop...” Rick started to say.

“It's against their religion.” I said with a cruel smile and he shut up.

“Mom? It's me, Mikki.” Mikki said into her cell phone. “I... it's about Natalie.” She said and I heard her mother's response and she asked how her daughter was. “There's something... you should know.”

Oh, shit. I thought and glared at Rick. “You didn't call her parents to tell them we found her?” I asked. “It's been hours, Rick! Hours!”

Rick's face changed from impassive to regretful. “David, I've been...”

“Busy. Right.” I said. “Save it for someone who cares.”

Mikki's eyes dripped tears and I could hear her mother crying on the phone, too. After a few minutes, she handed the phone to Rick. He didn't say anything and just listened, then nodded.

“Let him go.” Rick said and gave the phone back to Mikki.

Mikki and I put Natalie's body into the back seat of her car and I climbed in to hold it, while Mikki drove us to her parents and to what I was sure was going to be less than a welcoming atmosphere.

I really do hate being right sometimes.

*

The funeral the next day was a large one, with everyone who knew Natalie showing up to pay their respects. What really hit home was that Mikki and I had decided to take a break from each other. The loss of her sister really made her think about her life and how things were impacting her more and more as she got older. I had accepted her decision without question, because I didn't deserve to have her comfort me, not after screwing up so badly.

The day was long, dreary, cloudy and misty, just like everyone's moods. Mine was also the same, except that I was also determined to catch her killers. I also convinced myself that it was my fault she was dead, no matter what anyone else said.

Only a few of the well-wishers around Natalie's family actually noticed that I wasn't in my wheelchair anymore, not that I really cared. The most important thing was that her killers were still out there and I was wasting time dealing with these people. I needed to get out there and track the bastards, and bitch, down.

“David.” Rick said and took me out of my thoughts.

I looked up to see Rick standing there in front of me. Fat load of good it did to have him on the case.

“My condolences.” Rick said, sadly.

“I don't need your condolences.”

“What?”

“I said I don't need your fake sympathy. If you had done your job better, she might still be alive right now. Instead, you sat on your ass and didn't do anything!”

“D-D-David!” Mikki sputtered.

“Go ahead and tell her, Rick. Tell Natalie's sister that you didn't have security footage from when she was kidnapped. Tell her that you didn't see who did it or the car trunk they had tossed her into!” I said loudly and that got everyone's attention. “Tell her that you didn't even try to track the kidnappers... now killers... down! Go ahead! Tell her!”

Rick had anger on his face and looked like he was going to take a swing at me. He glanced around and thought better of it, then went back to stand with his wife near the back of the crowd.

“David, what's gotten into you?” Mikki asked, shocked that I would accuse a police officer like that.

“Rick had the footage right after Natalie was taken, Mikki. He had it, and he didn't check it or followed up on the car, the people he saw, or anything.” I said and made a fist with my hand. “If he had just... if I had just... we might have found her before...” I stopped talking and a tear rolled down my cheek.

Mikki didn't say anything for a minute. “There's nothing we can do to change what's happened, David. I wish we could bring her back.” She said, her own eyes full of tears. “But, we can't.”

“Yes, I can.” I whispered and looked at her.

Mikki almost choked. “You... you can't mean...”

I nodded. “After another couple of days, I can raise her from the dead and ask her who did this.”

“N-n-no.” Mikki said softly. “I... I don't want to see her like that.”

I tried to hug her and she stopped me. “Mikki...”

“How many times have you turned down a...” Mikki caught her breath. “...a zombie raising, because the person was murdered?”

“Honestly, I've lost count.” I said. It was always a messy affair when you raised a murder victim.

“That's right.” Mikki said. “Why did you turn them down?”

I could see where she was going with this one, so I gave her the straight answer that she was expecting. “Because sometimes when the zombie is raised, the trauma could make them turn into a flesh eater immediately and they'll attack anyone around them.”

“Exactly.” Mikki said in a defiant tone.

“We just have to feed her first.” I responded calmly. “She can still answer questions eventually.”

The surprised look on Mikki's face was priceless. She had thought of it only as a deterrent to raise her and not as just an inconvenience. She was quiet for a while as she thought about it and weighed the possibilities.

“I guess... no, I think you're right. She could tell us, or even take us right to them, couldn't she?”

“I can't say that for sure until we talk to her.” I said and saw Mikki react to the 'we' part. “But, they can't lie, so... if she knows anything, then yes. She could help us solve her own murder.”

Mikki nodded. “When can you do it?” She asked and almost sounded eager.

I could understand completely because it was all I had thought about since I found Natalie's body. “She only died yesterday, so we only have to wait another night, maybe two. It depends on if she's... moved on.” I said and took a breath. “We'll find out who did it and we'll deal with them properly.”

Mikki got a feral look in her eyes and nodded.

Sergeant Sanchez had witnessed my altercation with Rick and cautiously approached me with his wife on his arm. There was nothing more discouraging for a man than to try and talk to someone that had just yelled at someone else. I didn't want him to think he had to suffer my wrath over the same thing, so I spoke first.

“Hi, Sanchez.” I said and nodded. “Cathy.”

“Hey, David. How are you doing?” Sanchez asked before he could stop himself.

I gave him a sideways glance while Cathy shook his arm reprovingly.

“That was automatic.” Sanchez said with a sigh. “I'm sorry.”

I nodded. “Any leads on Natalie's murderers?” I asked, since he had taken responsibility for the case, now that it wasn't just a 'simple' kidnapping. Cathy visibly winced. It was either my casual tone or my choice of subject.

“What makes you think there was more than one?” Sanchez asked as he went into cop mode.

“Common sense. She was a were-cat, so there had to be at least two supernaturally strong creatures to hold her to chain her to the wall like that. Plus, you know it's better to assume there are multiple murderers and find out later there's only one than to be surprised by multiple suspects later.”

“Good point.”

“So, have you got any leads or what?”

“The place we recovered the... body from... was completely clean. No fingerprints, no fibers, no dust, nothing. The only thing missing from the cover up was a fresh coat of paint.” Sanchez said. “My section just got the security video from the bar and from the camera outside.”

“Good, because the camera covers the employee entrance in the alley and it recorded the whole kidnapping, including the perpetrators and the getaway vehicle.” I said. “Just in case you didn't hear me yelling at your boss.”

Sanchez chuckled. “I think the whole state heard you.”

I sighed. “Jeanette showed it to me yesterday and I rushed out to where I thought I felt Natalie.”

“Felt?” Sanchez asked. “You mean like with your necromancy, right? How did that work?”

I opened my mouth to tell him I was going to become a were-cat at the end of the month, then sighed. “I knew she was with a couple of vampires.” I said instead. I wanted to save my were-cat 'coming out' party for later and with a lot less witnesses.

Sanchez nodded and reached out to shake my hand. I took it and then Cathy gave me a hug.

“I'm so sorry, David.” Cathy whispered, then she and her husband turned away from me and walked back toward the other mourners.

I wanted to avoid any more awkward moments with everyone else, so I walked toward my jeep. Mikki trailed behind me, even though I knew she wanted to stay with her family.

“You should stay here with your parents, Mikki.” I said and opened the driver's side door.

“You need me more than they do.” Mikki said and climbed into the passenger side.

I climbed in and looked at her. “I thought we were taking a break.”

“I thought Natalie was completely gone and couldn't do anything to help.” Mikki said. “If even half of what you said is true, I won't leave you to face it all alone.”

I closed my eyes and sighed. “Mikki, I'm so sorry.”

“So am I.” Mikki said. “Now get me out of here before those people come over.”

I looked across her and saw several people, one of which was my reporter friend, Luke. I didn't have to guess that the people around him were other reporters. They just looked the part. I started the jeep and drove out of the cemetery, leaving behind a little bit of my grief behind.

Another day, Natalie. I thought. Another day and I'll see you again.

I debated about telling the police about the vampire disappearances; but, I figured that if they couldn't find Natalie with so much evidence, then the odds that they would find the others was pretty damn low with almost no evidence.

I wasn't saying they couldn't do their jobs, just that whoever these kidnappers were, they were good enough to not be found. It was then that I felt a shiver run down my spine. It wasn't cold out, so I knew it must have been someone either trying to use some kind of ability on me or someone just wished me ill will or something. We passed by Rick's car and I was betting on the ill will.

That night, I went to Jeanette's mansion and she wouldn't see me. I wasn't sure why, since I didn't really do anything to her. I did meet her sister and she had a few interesting things to say.

Charlotte's fancy sports car was a total write-off. She said that her insurance covered it, so I didn't have to pay for the damages. I almost laughed in her face when she told me that. Instead, I apologized and said that I was very sorry for the loss of her second bonded vampire.

“The car was worth more.” Charlotte said and stepped close to me. “If you really feel bad about me losing one of my underlings...” She gave me a kiss. “...you could always replace him.”

This time I did laugh. “If I thought it would solve all my problems, I think I would take you up on the offer.” I said and touched her face tenderly. “I have too much to do to give it all up.”

“I know.” Charlotte said and gave me another kiss. “If you did accept, I would toss you aside.” She smiled. “Who would want someone that would walk away from their life so easily?”

“Hey, I'm the one that likes your defiance, not the other way around.” I said.

“You keep telling yourself that, dearest.” Charlotte said and walked away, her laugh filling the parlour.

“Wait!” I said and started to follow her. “I came here to...”

“It's in your pocket.” Charlotte's voice said as she disappeared from my sight.

I reached into my pants pocket and a business card for a black magic practitioner was on it. “Thank you!”

“Yes, David.” Charlotte's disembodied voice said as it floated by me. “You will.”