Dear Diary,

I did it again. Got myself into a situation I'm not sure I can get out of.

I was in the grocery store, some tiny little place just outside city limits, doing my weekly shopping. I had to get the essentials like Pepsi and chocolate. This girl couldn't survive without her junk food. I was examining a bag of some new wacky flavored potato chips when I overheard a couple of ladies over on the next aisle.

"...don't know what my husband is gonna do. This is the fifth cow this week."

"Just dead?"

"Yeah. What's so weird 'bout it is that the animal is just eating the cow's throat. It's cleaned ripped out like it had to get gone in a hurry. John thinks there might be a den of coyotes in that old abandoned house a couple miles down..."

That's all I needed to hear. Seemed like I had plans for tonight. I bided my time until Lady Deadcow was finished shopping. I had to follow her to know where the abandoned house was. From her description, it sounded like I had a Feral to take care of.

Feral's are wild. Extremely violent in their quest to get more blood. Most ferals are turned against their will. They start off as just your normal vampire but with a great distaste for human blood. It could be ethical reasons or maybe like I said, they just didn't want to be a vampire in the first place but they flat out refuse to drink human blood. Things start out ok, with them going from animal to animal to get their sustenance, but it just isn't enough.

The thing about vampires is that they have to drink human blood to live. I'm not sure why this fact is greatly unknown or overlooked. Without human blood, the vampire slowly loses their mind until they snap and kill anything with a heartbeat until it gets the human blood its body craves. The vamp is never the same again. The only solution is to put them out of their misery. Just so happens that I can take care of the job.

It was right before nightfall when I made it to the house. I left my old beat-up Toyota parked on the side of the road. I had to hike across a field to get to the house. Lady Deadcow was correct in her assessment that the house was abandoned. It was old. The windows had been broken out then covered with planks of wood. The planks were even old, rotted, and half falling off some of the windows. The paint was peeling off in places and completely gone in others. I think the house was once white with red shutters. Now it just looked grey and rusty. I better watch my step in this one. Don't want to fall through the floor.

I put my back flat against the outer wall of the house, reached out with my right hand, and gently pushed the door open. The creek that followed was so loud and unexpected that it made me jump. I almost dropped the backpack of supplies I carried with me at all times. I know that a backpack wouldn't really help me if I got into a tight jam, the time just wouldn't be there for me to open up the bag and reach in and find what I needed. It was just nice to know that I had everything with me. If there was time for a plan I wouldn't have to leave to go get supplies. The thought made me reach down and double-check my custom made holster. No, I don't carry guns. A gun wouldn't get me very far with a vampire. It wouldn't even slow it down. If I was to shoot at a vamp it would just keep coming at me like nothing had happened. I know for a fact, I had tried it several times. It just left you with a more pissed off vampire. My holster held wooden stakes. It was black leather and it wrapped around my waist like a belt and held a total of six stakes. three on each side.

Being that a feral didn't rush toward me I felt safe enough to walk into the house. The entrance led right into what was left of the living room. The only remaining furniture was a dust-covered couch. To the left was the kitchen and to the right was a hallway that probably led to the bedrooms and bathroom. It was a small house.

I decided to check out the kitchen then make my way to search the bedrooms. If the rooms were clear I'd look in the backyard. The house was pretty quiet so it is quite possible that the lady's cow problem was just a wild animal. It did happen sometimes, but better safe than sorry.

The kitchen checked out. The only thing in there was a couple of jars containing old canned food so I eased my way down the hall. That's when the smell hit me. Rotting flesh has a particular odor. If you ever smelt it once you'd never forget it.

Shit.

I was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans today. So far it was a warm winter in Alabama and I couldn't be bothered with dressing in my normal leather get-up just because some hunch I had told me to follow an old lady. I pulled the collar of my t-shirt up over my nose and mouth so I could breathe a little better without gagging. The smell told me I should have taken the time to change. I had a huge feeling things were about to get ugly.

I grabbed a stake from my waist, preparing myself for a fight, and pushed the first room's door open. Nothing. Just a stained covered mattress pushed against the far wall. I backed out of that room leaving the door open. I didn't want the sound to give myself away. The bathroom was to the left and next on my list. The door was ajar and a quick glance in told me that this was the source of the smell.

There was a naked female body laid out in the bathtub. Multiple bite marks covered what was left of her body. Blood was splattered everywhere. If this wasn't a Feral it was a group of vamps on a warpath. I didn't know which would be more of a challenge. Nothing I could do for her now though. I gently closed the door leaving it open just a crack. I felt like she deserved some kind of privacy. Then I moved on to the next room.

I grabbed the stake a little tighter and braced myself for what was in the next room. I opened the door, nothing. One room left. I pushed on the door and it wouldn't budge, so I pushed a little harder. The door happened to open just a crack, a sliver from the force. I put my face up to the opening to get a better peek at what was blocking the entryway. I should have known better. It was a total amateur move. A mistake I hadn't made since my initial training. In the time that it took me to realize that it was another body blocking the door, a hand reached through the opening and grabbed a wad of my shirt.

Whoever snatched me up was fast. I didn't even see it coming. I was pulled so hard the door broke in half with my weight. I landed in a heap in the middle of the room. Before I could regain my bearings, something was on back pushing me into the carpet. I wiggled and squirmed around trying to at least get myself on my back. I needed to see what had me and I also didn't want to die face first in the old musty carpet.

Stake still in hand, I swung backward trying to make contact with the thing. Thinking maybe I could buy myself a little time. My blows must have landed a few times because every once in awhile it would let out a low hiss. All that and it still wasn't enough damage to knock it off of me, though. If anything it just got a better hold of me. It's razor-sharp nails dug into my shoulders. I could feel my blood ooze out, surely putting the monster in more of a frenzy. Its knees dug into my lower back pushing me more firmly into the carpet. I was good and trapped, and it knew it. Any moment and I'd be Biter food.

"Get off me, you sick fuck!" I yelled as I kicked out. If there was a time to have a potty mouth, this was definitely it.

I felt a tug at my holster. Making me think that someone had taken a stake. An instant later the weight was removed from my back. I was up and turned around before I could even blink. A Feral was disintegrating in a puff of flame and smoke. It had been staked through the heart. Sure enough, that was my stake. That let me know that the tug at my belt definitely had to have been someone taking it.

A blur of movement to the right of the departed Feral caught my attention. My arm darted out and I had thrown my stake without much thought. Reflex. Sadly, it had only grazed the arm of the vampire that had startled me. Even though it had rescued me I still decided it was next on my list.

"I was going to comment on your rather vile language, but you just ruined my favorite shirt," he said. " is that how you thank the person that just saved your life?"

"Your kind would never save a life," I spat at him.

He actually grinned at me. His blue eyes sparkled with merriment. The creep was having a good old time.

"Although you do smell rather delicious," he said," I did just save your life. If I had waited another moment you would have been lunch."

He took hold of the hole my stake had made in the sleeve of his shirt and with a quick pull, he ripped the sleeve from his shoulder. He threw the offending piece of material at me.

"Take that and clean up. You shouldn't waste that, you know," he said pointing to the free wounds in my shoulders. "If you aren't going to take care of that may I have the honor?"

Him licking his lips was my undoing. I was good and pissed now. This vampire thought he could mess with me. My answer to his question was throwing another stake. This time aiming for his heart. He was too fast. Faster than any other vamp I've ever encountered. My stake hit the wall and clattered to the floor. The vampire was gone.

I gave the house another walkthrough. Surely even an old vampire couldn't get away that fast. I should have at least been able to detect which direction he was traveling in. I had no luck. It was like he was never there, but the pile of ash from the Feral was proof enough that he was.

I was collecting my scattered stakes, no need to waste, when I thought I heard his laughter echo through the house. A chill ran down my spine. This guy was big time.