"Hurry up."

"I am."

I tapped my fingers on the cold desk impatiently as I waited for the devices to do their jobs. Meanwhile, Rami stays outside the laboratory, swaying back and forth while on the lookout for any intruders. I mean, technically we are the intruders, since we sneaked in the hospital; it's for science and research purposes.

"Rami, stop dancing."

"I need to pee. Hiding and doing sneaky stuff makes me want to pee." The boy explains, dancing with his hands on his crotch. "How long until the tests are done?"

"I just started them. It will take a while." I sat on a wooden stool, keeping my eyes on the devices. "I think there's a bathroom down the hall. Just run there and come back as soon as you can."

Rami sighs in relief. "Thank you. I'll be back. Don't miss me too much." With that, the boy sprints away from the lab, leaving me all alone in the third floor of the Gold Valley Hospital.

Just a typical Friday. Sneaking in a hospital's laboratory with a friend to run some tests on a vampire's blood that we had collected the other day. The hospital is the only place that have proper equipment for tests, so that's where we went. Because we needed to learn more about vampires and their biology, analyzing their blood would give us a lot of information and that will help us make the cure for their skin, so they don't burn under the sunlight. I'm not exactly sure how the hell I'm going to pull it off, but it's worth a try. After all, a deal is a deal. Idris helped me rescue Lysander from the hunters in West Grove, and I give him a cure. That vampire really overestimates me.

It's only six in the morning, the sun is just starting to rise, so there aren't too many people in the hospital yet. Just the night shifts, early birds and inpatients. It's rather quiet as well, and to be honest it's a bit creepy. The hospital is old and looked like those haunted ones from the movies.

Wandering around the lab, I found a white lab coat with chemical stains. I wore it over my all-black attire and smiled at my reflection in a mirror next to a clock on the wall. I am enjoying the familiarity of the environment: computers, scientific equipment, and chemicals. It's like being back in SIlverstein as an intern. I miss that place, even if I was only there for a few days. I wondered what I would be doing right now, if I had never met Lysander. Experiment 17, who makes my insides feel all weird and fuzzy.

My thoughts on the werewolf stopped as one of the devices beeped, indicating that it is done running. This one tests the composition of their blood: red and white blood cells, platelets, and plasma. Although vampire blood composition is exactly the same as humans, the numbers are entirely different. Especially the number of white blood cells and platelets. It's probably why vampires are so hard to kill. The number of red blood cells are quite low in compare to humans, which most likely impacts the blood flow and heart.

Rami has more knowledge about biology, so I thought I'd just take pictures of the results and wait for him to return so he can analyze them further. He's still in the bathroom and the other tests are still running, so I used the time to observe the blood a little more. Using a dropper, I put a drop of blood on a microscope slide and slid it under a microscope. Just as the first test result found, the compositions are similar but differs in number and size of each part. They look thinner than the human blood cells as well.

I carefully removed the slide from the microscope's stage clip. As I reached for my phone to type down my observation, the sunlight through the blinds of the window hit the slide and I heard a fizzing noise. I focused on the vampire's blood at the center of the slide and watched it boil like water.

The blood is literally boiling under the sunlight. This is so rad. I mean, horrible, for vampires, but it looked so cool. "Rami? Where the hell are you?" I asked loudly, wanting him to see the reaction. Within a minute, the drop of blood on the slide had completely dried up.

I took more blood from the container we brought and put two drops in the glass slide before holding it up to the sunlight, same intensity. Because there are more blood than the first one, it took longer to boil and dry up. The first one took a minute and this one took about three. I repeated the process two more times, adding more blood than before, and I learned that the more blood there is, the slower it dries up. I also changed the intensity of the sunlight by opening the blinds more, and just as expected, it dried up faster.

The stronger the sunlight intensity is, the faster the blood dries up. The more amount of blood, the slower it dries up.

I put my observation on the notes app on my phone before cleaning up the microscope and slide. Soon, the other tests finished and Rami still has not returned from the bathroom. He must have gotten lost. I took pictures of the results before analyzing them. Test #2 analyzes the basic metabolic panel such as potassium, sodium, glucose and blood urea nitrogen. Test #3 checks for disorders and diseases, and a couple more. They all finished around the same time and I took pictures of all the results so Rami could look at them later. I don't know where he is but we have to get out because more people will be arriving soon and we don't want to be caught.

The last thing I did in the lab is use the computer to look up medicines, chemicals, anything that can help me make the cure. Something that will change, or at least, have effect, on vampire blood flow, as that seems to be the issue I am seeing. The computer gave me a list of chemicals that have effects on blood flow and heart, for humans. I don't know how this will work on vampires, but it's a start. I took a picture of the list before standing on a chair to permanently borrow those chemicals that are contained on three inched glass bottles. This included as cilostazo, cyclic adenosine monophosphate and epinephrine.

Thankfully, the bottles of the chemicals are small and I was able to put them all in the pocket of the lab coat that I found. I examined the other chemicals and considered taking a few others, but then a voice behind me had caused me to flinch and close the chemical storage.

"Hello there!"

***

A woman wearing a lab coat smiled at me. That is not Rami. Where the hell is Rami? He's been gone for so long. I really hope he's just lost and not in trouble, which is what I'm in, right now. Although she looks friendly, my anxiety is telling me otherwise.

She turned to the computer and saw what I had googled. Still, her eyes showed no suspicion. "You must be new here. That's good! We need more women in this hospital!" She grins, holding out her left hand. "I'm Vanya. I've just started working here as well. I recently moved from India, two months ago."

I shook her hand, despite the nervousness in my stomach. "I'm Sam."

Rami and I agreed, if a stranger talks to us, we use a fake name, just in case anyone tattle tales. "Nice to meet you, Sam. Were you transferred from another hospital or is this your first job? You look very young to be a physician."

I let out a fake laugh. "Thanks."

Was that even the right response? I don't know. The woman looked confused for a second but shrugged her shoulders and typed something on the keyboard. I took a deep breath to calm myself before starting my way out the laboratory. However, the tall woman stopped me.

"Wait." She turned to me, looking a little panicked. "Will you help me with something? I'm supposed to make this medicine because we ran out of stock and I need them done as soon as possible. All the other physicians are busy and you're the only one here."

I need to find Rami.

"Please? I really don't want to get fired yet." She laughs nervously, running a hand through her short black hair.

"Alright."

It'll be fast. Rami, please stay safe for a few more minutes. I need to help a fellow doctor.

Thankfully, I knew what I was doing when I helped Vanya in creating intravenous antibiotic and acetaminophen. It was very similar to when Rami and I created mixtures of chemicals for Doctor Maxine on our second day of the internship. The mixture is meant to cure animal bites, and it required similar ingredients as the ones we used in Silverstein. I was not expecting to do what I did, but I most definitely enjoyed it. I felt like an actual scientist and I am so excited to do more of it in the future.

"You're a life saver, Sam. Thank you for the help. I owe you one."

"No worries." I made sure I had everything in my pocket: the vampire blood container, notes and chemicals. Then, I waved at the woman before running out of the laboratory.

Now, where, oh, where, could Rami be?

***

When we sneaked in the hospital, there were less than twenty patients and now there are about twenty in each floor, apart from the third which is restricted for doctors and physicians only. Fourth floor, the top floor, gave me no Rami, but a bunch of gruesome operation scenes. I checked every room by looking through the small window on the door and only saw surgeons doing their bloody job.

Third floor is where I came from and I only checked the one bathroom. Empty.

The second floor had a lot of inpatients and it has got to be the busiest floor in the building. Doctors and nurses running from one end of the hall to the other, the people behind the desks talking on phones and other patients, and visitors roaming in and out of rooms.

But despite all those people, I did not see Rami. It came to a point where my heart beats faster and faster as I scanned every room. What if he's been taken by someone? We have been in Redwoods for a while now and so far, we have only encountered that one vampire. What if he went after Rami? This is all my fault. I never should have dragged him with me.

"Excuse me, could you please take this to the room at the end of the hall? They need a nurse in the second floor and everyone else is busy." A man wearing a blue uniform blocked my way as soon as I stepped on the first floor. He didn't even give me a chance to reply. He just handed me a silver tray before running up the stairs.

Sighing, I glanced at the tray. It's nothing but fruit and vegetables, as well as an unknown green, jello-like liquid on a corner. I think it's a soup? It smelled awful.

"Oh, you're delivering food? Can you please take this to room 21 as well?"

"No." I scoffed, narrowing my eyes at a boy. He wasn't wearing a uniform like the other man, but a simple red shirt and pants with an ID that says 'Volunteer'. He looks around the same age as me.

The boy raised a brow. "Why not? You're already heading there anyway." His eyes scanned me from head to toe before smirking. "Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around. I would definitely remember you if I have." He steps closer to me while I stepped back, not bothering to stop my eyes from rolling.

I ignored him and started heading to the room at the end of the hall. The boy followed me and walked closely that our shoulders are touching. "What's your name? I'm Reed. I go to UC Berkeley but I'm volunteering this summer." His eyes remained on me while I looked straight ahead. "Where's your ID?"

"Lost it."

"When do you go on break? Maybe we could -- "

I fastened my pace and ran inside the room at the end of the hall before shutting the door, locking the door knob and putting a chair by it. I sat down on the chair and closed my eyes and let out a sigh of relief as I heard the boy groan and walk pass the room.

Once I calmed down, I opened my eyes and almost screamed as I saw Rami, staring back at me.

"Hi."

"Hi?" I stood aside his bed and whacked his arm with a pillow. "You never came back to the lab, I was so worried! I looked everywhere for you!"

Rami cringed. "You don't even know what I had to go through."

"What?"

"Well, some nurse found me and thought I was a patient who was lost. He checked me to see what was wrong and you know what he said?"

I sat on his bed and looked at him worriedly. "What?"

"He said I needed to eat more vegetables." He cried, pretending to wipe tears from his eyes. "And that I need to lay off fast food."

I took his pillow and whacked him again.

***

On our way back to the wolf cave, we stopped to get some breakfast, since we haven't eaten yet. Rami and I woke up and went straight to the hospital. We got our food from a fast food place and there's Rami, next to me, shoving fries in his mouth.

"Hey, fries are technically a vegetable." He defended. "With this ketchup, which is also technically a vegetable."

"Eat whatever you want." I shrugged. "Anyway, I took pictures of the results since you weren't there to see them. I figured you would be able to analyze them more since you're the biology expert. Also, I found that their blood boils under the sunlight. It looked so cool but you missed it."

I parked the car in the same place we first parked it, at a hidden spot behind trees and bushes, which is about one and a half mile from the wolf cave. Rami and I started walking towards the wolf cave, with fries still on his hands while the chemicals I took remains on the pocket of the lab coat that I also permanently borrowed from the hospital.

"It's not my fault I - " Rami paused on his tracks and gulped. Because I was behind him and had my eyes on the chemicals, I bumped into his back.

"What's wrong?" I followed his gaze and also stood petrified.

About thirty feet away ahead of us, glaring and growling with his red eyes and sharp teeth, is none other than Lysander.

The black werewolf slowly sauntered towards us like a prey to a predator. "Are you sure that's Lysander and not a real wolf?" Rami whispered, backing away behind me and grabbing my shoulders. The wolf seem to have heard him and barked loudly, obviously angry.

He stopped when he is five feet away. Rami and I gaped at him. Still growling, the wolf circled around us while taking in our scents. He is checking if we had any vampire interactions, I'm assuming. When he found no strange scent, he stopped. He nudged his head forward, a gesture for us to continue walking. Rami cleared his throat and gave Lysander a pat on the head, though the wolf did not look amused.

"The wolf's angry." Rami murmured as we walked ahead of Lysander.

"Is he? I can't tell." I replied, glancing back at the massive animal behind us. "He looks like that all the time." The werewolf growled and narrowed his eyes at me, making me crack a smile.

We walked all the way to the wolf cave with Lysander shadowing us. As soon as we entered through the wooden door, Rami and I sat down on the couch while Lysander shifted to his human form. He put on his shorts that was on a chair before standing in front of us with hands on his hips.

I fixated on his chest and licked my lips before meeting his grey eyes. "So, how was your morning?" I asked with a sheepish grin.

"I don't know her." Rami commented, scooting away from me.

Lysander frowned at us. "I woke up to find both of you gone. No note, car gone," As he ranted, my mind brought me an image of Molly Weasley scolding her children. "I looked through the woods. I thought something happened. I thought those vampires took you. Even worse, what if hunters took you?" His chest rapidly moved up and down as he paces back and forth, running a hand through his hair.

"We just went to the hospital. We're okay." Rami replied slowly, unsure of what to say.

Lysander hissed. "You could have told me you were going."

"It's my fault." I stood up and held is arm so he could face me instead of Rami. "I asked him to come with me. It was my idea." I briefly peered at Rami. "I'll talk to him. Don't worry."

He nodded. "I'll be at the library looking at the pictures you took." Rami took my phone, along with the vampire blood and chemicals that were on the coat, as he left the living room.

When his footsteps faded to the second hallway, Lysander grabbed my waist and held me against him. His nose met my neck and a second of coldness ran through my body. "You could have gotten hurt. They could have taken you and Rami. I woke up to find you gone and I thought something happened. I was so worried, An." His raspy voice took my own voice as I was unable to say anything back. "Never do that again." His eyes flickered red for a second.

I glided a hand over his jawline. "I'm sorry. I thought we'd only be gone for a bit."

"It doesn't matter. You should have told me anyway."

"You're right. I'm sorry."

He glared at me before kissing my forehead and enveloping me with his arms. "You have to make it up to me now."

"What?" I chuckled, pulling away from him. "What do I need to make up for exactly?" I sat down on the couch, spreading my arms and crossing my legs as he stood in front of me, looking down with a smirk.

"For scaring the crap out of me and making me wake up without you."

"That sounds like a you problem."

I was then suddenly picked up from the couch. The werewolf carried me in his arms and took me to his room. I sat on his bed as he hovered over me. I looked around his room and caught the sketchbook I saw before. I reached over the desk and took it.

"This sketchbook. Is it yours?" I held it up between our faces.

Lysander frowned. "Yes." He took it and sat beside me. "I haven't used it in years." He flipped through the first page, revealing the familiar scene of the mountains, lake, moon and stairs. It's that place. Our place. The next page is a group of wolves with trees in the background. The next one is a little boy with a wolf. The rest are similar: nature, wolves, and little sketches of random objects. Every single one of them are amazing and deserved to be hanged on museums, even without colors.

"These are great." I smiled when I reached the end of his drawings. The last thing he drew was the Sirius constellation sign. The same symbol that is tattooed on his arm. "I want to say a Titanic reference but I'm spare you for tonight."

Lysander barked a laugh. He put down the black book on the floor before a hand found its way under my shirt. He hovered over me again while his eyes darkened and his lips curved up mischievously and amusement. "You want me to draw you like a French girl?"

"So you've seen Titanic. Good. I was beginning to think you hate all the good things in the world." I sigh in relief. "Speaking of, there's a chocolate ice cream in the fridge and I am in need of some chocolate." I quickly kissed his cheek before running out of the room, ignoring the whining behind me.

I eagerly opened the fridge and reached for the ice cream. I removed the lid and my heart dropped.

"Which one of you little shits ate my ice cream?!"

***

"If we mix these substance together, it will make vampires' blood flow faster. Then, the parts of their body will receive enough blood without it drying out so quickly from the sunlight. Get it now?" Lysander shakes his head once again, making Rami groan with frustration. "I don't know how else to put it. If they drink this, they don't burn."

"Oh." Lysander grins. "Makes sense."