The trip back to Shenandoah would have typically taken about forty minutes, but the man steering the bike was flying, and Cadence found herself winding through her own neighborhood in just under twenty minutes. Though she was happy to have the speed of the bike, at this point, she really wished she had been in a car with this person so that she could ask him some questions. The more she thought about all that had just happened, the more surreal it became. By the time she reached her house, she was quite certain she had lost her mind entirely.

And yet she knew she had not. As he pulled the bike to a stop on the street in front of her house, Cadence began to realize just how cold she was. She also wondered where her friends had gone. She was extremely concerned that they had not all made it out alive. At the same time, she had the ridiculous notion that she mustn’t wake her parents, lest she get in trouble for being out too late.

Cadence stepped off of the bike as he was putting the kickstand down. She had so many questions to ask him, but she didn’t know where to begin. As he climbed off of the bike and removed his helmet, the only thing she could think to say was, “What the hell?”

He seemed to be suppressing the urge to laugh at her frustration though it was a bit comical considering the circumstances. “It’s okay,” he said, hanging his helmet on the bike and walking around to the sidewalk. Cadence followed, her palms pressed against her forehead. “We’ll explain everything.”

Cadence stared at him for a moment. He was a bit shorter than her, even though the frosted tips of his sweeping haircut came to sharp spikes above his forehead. He was nice looking, though Cadence didn’t think him particularly striking, but he had very kind eyes. Cadence felt a bit of comfort just by staring into them for a moment. However, she did not forget all that had just happened, and she desperately wanted some answers. “Who are you?” she asked, followed quickly by, “Were those vampires? Am I a vampire? Are my friends all right?”

He motioned with his hands as if he were calming a raging sea. “Slow down, Cadence. There’s plenty of time to explain. You’re perfectly safe now.” As he said those words, he glanced up, and Cadence followed his eyes. She could clearly see the forms of the same black clad figures who had protected her at the festival on the rooftops of her own home and her neighbors. Though she still felt uneasy, her fear began to lessen.

“My name is Jamie,” he began to explain. “Yes, your friends are all fine. Well, except for Drew,” he added looking at the ground. Cadence sighed, unable to accept that information right now. “Yes, those were Vampires and no, you’re not a Vampire. Listen, Eliza is on her way here. You need to go inside and pack a bag. She will take you someplace where you will find out everything you need to know, okay?”

Raising one eyebrow in skepticism, Cadence stared at him, still not able to grasp that any of this was really happening. “Go in and pack a bag and leave in the middle of the night? Without talking to my parents or my sister? Or letting my friends know that I’m okay? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

The sound of a motorcycle approaching distracted them both momentarily. “Cadence,” Jamie said, taking her by the arm and leading her toward the house, “there’s no reason for you to explain to your parents. That will be taken care of. Your friends will have an alternate memory of what has transpired. Soon, all of your questions will be answered. Now, I have my orders, and you have yours. Are we clear?” His tone was calm, reassuring, and firm.

Though she was shaking her head “no,” Cadence approached her house, took her keys out of her pocket, unlocked the door, and walked inside. Careful not to make any excessive noise, she quietly crept up the stairs. She was fairly certain she heard both a motorcycle in front of the house and movement on the roof.

She tiptoed past her sister Cassidy’s room and gently turned the knob on her bedroom door. Reaching inside, she flipped on the light and stepped in, removing her coat as she did so. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a form across the room. Stifling a scream, she turned, terrified the redheaded woman had beaten her back to her house. Somehow, the person managed to cross the room in the same amount of time it took her to put her own hand on her mouth, and a stranger’s hand was resting on top of hers. “Shhh! There’s no reason to wake your family.”

Once she caught her breath and looked up, she realized she was staring into the eyes of the man who’d helped her in the woods. That thought was pushed aside as she angrily responded to his statement. “No reason?” she whispered, simultaneously shoving his hand off of her mouth. “As if being chased by vampires, losing Drew, and having no idea where my friends are wasn’t enough, now I have some creepy guy showing up in my bedroom!”

He pushed the door closed and crossed back across the room at a normal pace. “Creepy?” he mumbled almost to himself.

“I didn’t ….” Cadence started to explain, but she didn’t have any words left to do so. “I’m sorry,” she started.

“No, that’s okay; it doesn’t matter,” he said as if he couldn't care less what she thought. “Listen, there’re some things you need to know right away, and there’re some things that you will find out when you need to know them, all right?”

She was still leaning against the wall near the door, her exhausted body toying with the idea of giving up. She said nothing, only nodded slowly. He did not seem like the type of person one would argue with, assuming he was, in fact, a person.

“Jamie told you Eliza will be removing you; that’s true. You’ll need a bag. You’ll be gone for a few days. While you are away, my team will have your home and your friends’ homes under surveillance. The next time you see your friends, they will not remember these events exactly as you do, and you should just accept their understanding as reality.” He was pacing as he was talking, and Cadence’s weary eyes were having trouble keeping up with him despite the slowness of his pace.

Cadence had so many questions, but she didn’t feel like he was the right person to ask. He seemed incredibly impersonal and rigid. Despite the fact that he was probably one of the most physically attractive men she had ever seen, she felt completely uncomfortable in his presence, as if he were a drill sergeant and she was the newest enlistee.

As if he could tell his demeanor was startling her, he suddenly stopped pacing and turned to face her. He kept his distance, however, both physically and emotionally as he said, “I’m so very sorry we weren’t able to help your friend.”

Cadence thought about that for a moment. There were so many people in black everywhere she looked. None of them were available to help Drew? “Yeah, why weren’t any of you?” she asked, as tears began to stream down her face.

The stranger sighed. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. I can’t really explain all of the rules of engagement right now.” He looked around the room, as if hunting for a tissue.

Cadence realized all of her emotions were catching up with her now that she’d had a chance to think about what had happened, and she began to sob uncontrollably now.

“It’s okay,” he said, stepping closer to her. She hesitated at first, but then she put her head on his shoulder and let her emotions consume her for a moment. He patted her gently on the back and Cadence struggled to gain control of herself. “Listen,” he said quietly into her ear, “there’s only so much we can do in these types of situations. You’ll learn all about that, and then you’ll understand my team was pretty helpless to stop this. And you can’t blame yourself. You... you were incredible. I’ve never seen anything like that. So, don’t try to put the responsibility for this on anyone except the guilty party. And that’s the Vampire, okay?” She was still crying a bit, but she was starting to regain her composure, and she slowly nodded her head against his shoulder, though she wasn’t quite sure she understood everything he was telling her. “And you got that bastard,” he added. “You got him good.”

At that Cadence looked up, wiping the tears still streaming down her cheeks on the back of her hands, “Yeah?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah,” he confirmed.

Despite the situation, she couldn’t help but smile. She wasn’t sure why she was proud of herself for being able to rip the head off a vampire, but she was, and the fact that he was also proud of her somehow made her feel like maybe she hadn’t failed Drew after all. Maybe she really had done everything she could.

Cadence realized that his shoulder was fairly wet, and since leather isn’t particularly absorbent, her tears were rolling off his jacket. He stood there, awkwardly for a moment, as if he wasn’t exactly sure what to do about it.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” she said, suddenly feeling a little silly. Here she was crying on this handsome man’s shoulder, and she didn’t even know who--or what--he was. Quickly, she crossed the bedroom to the attached bathroom and grabbed some tissue. She crossed back over and absently wiped at his jacket. “Thanks for letting me cry on your shoulder.” She glanced at him but had to look away, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

He took the tissues from her and continued to work on his jacket for a moment before tossing them into a nearby trash can. “It’s okay. So, get a bag packed,” he reiterated.

“Right!” Cadence said, coming back to the reality of the moment. “Let me see….” She bustled around the room, looking for a bag and for items to place in it, deciding to take things one step at a time. Thinking about going off in the night with a group of strangers, to an unknown location, was terrifying. She pulled open her closet to grab a few things, but stepped back out once she realized he was still talking to her.

“When you’re ready, Eliza will be waiting out front. You’ll have everything explained to you as soon as you arrive at the other location. All right?”

Cadence nodded and pulled open a dresser drawer, feeling a bit self-conscious about pulling out her intimates in front of this handsome stranger. While she understood what he’d said, she felt out of place, like she wasn’t sure if she should thank him again or scream at him and tell him to get out of her house.

Glancing up, she could see him looking toward the window and checking a band on his arm that didn’t quite appear to be a watch. She realized he was probably still very busy, what with all of the angry vampires. Once he announced he was leaving, she didn’t know if she should shake his hand or wave goodbye from a distance. She was, however, quite certain that she shouldn’t hug him. Hugging did not seem to be his thing.

Cadence searched the drawer, trying to gather her thoughts. She finally realized there was one thing she did need to ask. “What’s your name?” She looked back up and found herself all alone.