Ben’s manager had already gone home by the time he arrived at the hospital. It was a shame because he’d been looking forward to letting him know just how terrible a manager he really was. Instead, he had to settle for giving his notice to the supervisor who didn’t seem to be in the least bit bothered by his abrupt departure.

“Just write it down, sign it, and leave it in the office,” the supervisor said. She didn’t even look up from the sheet of paper that she was reading.

“Really? That’s it?” Ben said, clearly disappointed.

“What did you expect?” She looked up so quickly that her glasses slid down her perfectly straight nose, and she had to push them back up with her finger. “Did you think I’d get down on my knees and beg you to stay? Believe it or not, Ben, you’re not that vital to the operation here. None of us are. We’re all easy to replace.”

“Okay, you don’t need to be mean,” Ben said, unintentionally sounding like a whiney brat.

“Mean? We won’t miss you, but we will miss the pair of hands that you provide. We’re already short-staffed due to the never-ending budget cuts, and now we’re down another body because you don’t even have the courtesy to serve your notice period. And the best bit of it all is that they’ll probably try to make us carry on without replacing you just to save them the cost of your salary. So, I’m sorry that I can’t give you the reaction you crave, I’m too busy feeling sorry for myself and everyone else on this team who is going to have to work even longer hours to make up for your selfishness.” She pushed past Ben on her way out of the storeroom, leaving him to silently stew in his own guilt. At least it proved that he wasn’t completely devoid of the ability to feel guilt.

The only things in his locker were uniform, a mug, and a packet of paracetamol, none of which he would be needing again, so he left them all behind. He was also reticent to go into the staffroom in case somebody told him off for being so selfish and not serving his notice. One guilt trip was all he wanted to handle. Quitting was supposed to be an empowering act, not a demoralising one.

Handing in his notice had been Ben’s secondary priority for visiting the hospital one final time. His main objective was, rather obviously, to settle the score with Lewis Pratt. He couldn’t stop thinking about the exaggerated story Lewis had spread about him. Lewis had probably already left for the day, but often doctors ended up working longer shifts than they were scheduled to.

Ben made his way to the ICU where Lewis usually worked, but he was lucky enough to catch him before he arrived there. Dr Pratt had indeed been kept for longer than his shift. Lewis had his coat and bag and was on his way to the exit. If Ben had wasted another minute getting lectured by his former supervisor then he would have missed his longtime rival completely.

Lewis had not yet noticed Ben, and unaware that he was being observed, the doctor looked completely different. Absent was the usual smugness and arrogance. His shoulders were slumped heavily and his face was worn and exhausted. If Ben hadn’t utterly abhorred him then he might have actually pitied the guy.

Then he saw Ben and his usual malice whirred to life. A dark gleam stole his eyes and his lips twisted into a sneer.

“Come for another swing? Or are you just here to clean up some puke?” he said, stopping before Ben in the quiet corridor.

Hundreds of ideas ran through Ben’s mind of all the things he could do to humiliate Lewis and get him back for all the years of bullying. But then one thought lunged to the forefront of his mind to spoil all the fun. Izzy.

Was this what she had been worried about? If he used his abilities for petty revenge then was he doing exactly what she feared? He didn’t think that punishing Lewis would be evil. He thought it would be justice. But what would Izzy think? He didn’t want to face her disappointment. Humiliating Lewis would be stooping to his level. Ben would become the bully and that was something that he did not want. Well, he did want to bully Lewis, but he didn’t want it to look like he was the bad guy.

“Get out the way,” Lewis said and tried to push Ben aside. When Ben didn’t move, Lewis’ face contorted in confusion.

Ben snorted at the stupid look on his adversary’s face. “You’re not worth it,” Ben muttered and turned to leave.

“Yeah run on home, Bent-Dick,” Lewis called after him.

Anger flared and Ben wheeled around, thrusting his arm out and slamming Lewis right in the gut. Pratt doubled over, the wind bursting out of him as he was flung backwards and landed with a thump on the shiny floor.

Lewis didn’t even try to get back up. He stayed on the floor, his face red and horrified. Other staff and visitors in the corridor looked over but none tried to intervene.

“If you ever do anything to me again I’ll make you wish you’d never even seen me,” Ben warned him, relishing every word he spoke.

Lewis couldn’t even piece together a reply. A security guard appeared at the end of the corridor. Ben didn’t want to cause trouble so he knew it was time for him to depart.

“This is all you’ll ever be,” he said quietly.

He turned from Lewis and walked away knowing that he was more than Lewis could ever hope to become. Lewis would spend his short mortal life slaving away inside Maidstone Hospital. He’d work long, draining hours for less than he was worth, whereas Ben would spend eternity doing whatever he wanted. He’d already won.

Ben drove home with a feeling of smug superiority. He’d walked away from his encounter with Lewis as the victor for the first time in history. Seeing Lewis’ humiliation had filled him with more satisfaction than feeding on a hundred stoners ever could. Ben had won. Now he never wanted to see Lewis Pratt ever again.

Three shady looking men were lurking around outside Ben’s apartment building when he arrived home. The familiar old anxiety of approaching them popped up within him before he remembered that he was a vampire, and had nothing to fear from a few tracksuit wearing yobs. They probably wouldn’t pay him any attention anyway, and if they did he’d teach them to mind their manners in future.

He kept his eyes averted from them, knowing that all it took was a look to start a fight with a certain type of person in Maidstone. The type that liked to wear nasty tracksuits and hang around outside apartment blocks.

"That’s him!" said one of the yobs just as Ben’s fingers closed on the door handle. A moment of panic seized him as he thought that maybe Erin had sent them after him and they were vampires. Then he saw who had spoken and his panic turned to mild annoyance.

The very neighbour who he had attacked earlier in the evening was standing a couple of metres away and pointing right at him. So he had survived the attack. He had a bandage stuck to his neck where Ben had attacked him.

The two men on either side of him were considerably larger than he was and both seemed to sport rather large arms that were prominent even beneath their baggy attire. As the two men lumbered towards him, Ben got a distinct impression that his neighbour was not a small-time drug dealer.

"Who sent you to attack Harry?" one of them asked, pointing at Ben’s neighbour. The speaker wore a baseball cap that matched the brand of his tracksuit. He had a slit in one eyebrow, but Ben could not tell whether it was from a scar or merely a fashion accessory.

"Nobody sent me. His music was too loud," Ben told them. Even as the words left his mouth he knew that they would not take that as an acceptable excuse.

"Tell the truth or there’s gonna be pain," he warned, and his friend cracked his knuckles threateningly. It was like something out of a low-budget gangster movie and Ben had to stifle a laugh.

"For you," Ben replied. A giddy chill shot down his spine. If he was going to pretend he was in a gangster film then he was going to play his part well.

The brief conversation was over and the man in the cap swung a right hook at Ben. Ben darted backwards, using his full vampiric speed to get out of the man’s reach. The man’s brow furrowed in confusion; he was trying to find an explanation for how Ben had managed to move so fast.

Both men then came at him together. This time Ben lunged forwards. It was the first time he’d used his speed fully and he marvelled at the effects. Time slowed down around him and he could see every minute fraction of a movement taking place. He watched the feet of his foes being dragged up off the floor in agonising slowness as if they were slabs of concrete. He saw as they balled their hands into fists. He even saw the veins bulge into view on their necks. But by the time they had thrown their punches he was already behind them.

"You’re a little slow on the footwork boys," he said, smiling at their bewildered faces as they turned to face him.

"How’d you do that?" The knuckle-cracking guy asked him.

"It’s a trade secret."

He swung another punch and this time Ben didn’t dodge it. He caught the fist in the palm of his hand and stopped his momentum like his fist was nothing more than a troublesome fly. He may not have got to have much fun with Lewis, but he was completely at liberty to expend all of that pent-up frustration on these thugs. Ben thrust his arm forward, smacking the man’s own fist into his face. The man yelled out in pain and humiliation. Ben delivered three more quick jabs and then released the man who crumpled to the ground clutching his nose.

Harry was watching the action play out from afar, a stupid expression on his already stupid face. That just left the man in the baseball cap who was still trying to figure out how Ben was able to best two men who were both a lot bigger than him with such ease.

"You could just leave," Ben offered, and it looked like the man very much wanted to accept his offer.

Instead, he ran at Ben and Ben waited patiently for the man to reach him. When he arrived, Ben took hold of the man’s jacket and flung him effortlessly over his head. The man soared through the air and then crashed onto the windshield of some poor person’s car. The glass shattered and the man fell right through the window and into the car. His hat came off in the excitement and landed on the bonnet like a bizarre calling card.

"Well that escalated fast," Ben said. When it became clear that neither man was going to get back up he felt a tad disappointed; he’d been enjoying the fight. It was amazing how much fun fights were when he wasn’t on the losing side. Adrenaline coursed through his veins and his body pulsed with power.

Harry was visibly shaking as he cowered behind a nearby car. Ben walked slowly, enjoying each step as he made his way to his troublesome neighbour.

"What are you?" Harry asked, voice quaking.

Some dark part of Ben enjoyed the fear that he had instilled in his neighbour and he wondered if this was how Lewis had felt every time he’d bullied him. Not that Ben was a bully, he was simply retaliating, acting in self-defence. At least that was what he told himself. He squatted down so that he was on the neighbour’s level, feeling not a lick of apprehension about being so close to somebody who wanted to do him harm. This frail little man could do nothing that would hurt Ben and they both knew it.

"What matters is who are you?"

"I’m just Harry."

"Obviously, you’re more than just Harry if you can tell men like that to attack me."

Harry shook his head so fast it was a wonder that he didn’t pull a muscle. ‘I didn’t tell them to do anything.’

"Then who did, and why?"

"You attacked me." His eyes were wide and terrified, his pupils almost filling the entirety of his orbs.

"That doesn’t answer my questions," Ben told him, his voice was a dangerous whisper.

"My boss. My boss told me to bring them here to find you. He said you can’t attack his guys and get away with it."

"You’re a dealer, right? A drug dealer and that means your boss is a bigger drug dealer?" Even as a vampire Ben was not too keen on getting involved with a big-time drug dealer. Or any drug dealer at all for that matter.

Harry nodded his shameful head. "Rashid Khan."

"Never heard of him," Ben said with relief. Drug dealers often made it into the local papers and the fact that Rashid’s name had never been printed indicated that he was not too high up in the drug-dealing food chain. Either that or he was just really good at staying under the radar. "Will this be enough to make him leave me alone?" Ben indicated the fallen henchmen.

Harry clearly did not want to answer, fearful of being on the receiving end of one of Ben’s attacks. The silence proved too much for him and he finally whispered, "No."

Ben stood up with a groan and stepped away from his neighbour in order to get some thinking space. Rashid was not going to let this go. If gangster films were anything to go by then this would probably be taken as an act of war. Rashid would likely think that Ben was some new dealer trying to push into his territory. He’d send more people, and every time Ben saw them off the numbers would increase. Vampire or not, there was a limit to Ben’s strength and he did not know how many thugs he could take out at once before they finally managed to overwhelm him. He didn’t even know the full list of potential weapons that could be used against him.

He had to end this escapade before it could grow. He had to convince Rashid to leave him alone tonight. As much as he really did not want to go anywhere near him. Although, exerting his will over the head honcho of a drug-dealing operation might be quite fun. He’d had fun taking out the lower-ranking men so the enjoyment he’d get from taking down the top dog would surely be far greater.

Of course, he wouldn’t need to fight him. All he needed was a few seconds of eye contact and he could make Rashid Khan leave him alone forever. That was the mature thing to do. That was the plan that would not disappoint Izzy.

Ben turned back to Harry. "Take me to Rashid," he said.

Harry’s jaw practically hit the floor. "Are you mental? I can’t just take you to Rash. Do you have any idea what he’d do?"

"Do you have any idea what I’m going to do?" Ben opened his mouth and bared his fangs. Harry’s face paled and he swallowed hard. The lump travelled down his throat slowly.

"I…what…" Harry stuttered, unable to form a full sentence.

"Get in my car and take me to Rashid or I’ll kill you," Ben said, hoping that Harry didn’t force him to make good on his threat.

"Okay, okay," Harry said and stumbled to his feet. Ben gave him a helpful prod in the direction of his car and the two of them got moving.

"You should’ve just turned your music down," Ben said sullenly, annoyed that he’d been pulled into such a horrendous situation, and all because Harry had absolutely zero social etiquette.

Rashid Khan lived in Kingfisher Meadow. It was a gated community, but luckily, one of the fallen thugs had a key to the gate. On the other side of the gate were two rows of apartments stretching right the way down to the river. The closer to the river they drove, the fancier the apartments became. Rashid owned a two-storey duplex apartment right next to the River Medway. Ben looked jealously at the balcony that hung over the quietly trickling river. He followed Harry up the steps and onto a boardwalk that held the three nicest apartments in Kingfisher Meadow. Rashid lived in more style than any Maidstone drug dealer deserved to live in.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Harry asked when they reached the frosted glass front door. Ben didn’t see that he had much choice.

"Are you worried about me?" Ben asked him.

"No, I’m worried about me," Harry replied, eyes trained on the door ahead.

Ben turned away from the pathetic man and rang the doorbell. The classic bell sound chimed inside the apartment and Harry let out a small groan. Ben felt the familiar pull of nervousness within his own gut even though he had a very clear advantage in this situation. It was going to take him some time to get used to being the apex predator after an entire life of being the prey.

A huge shape appeared on the other side of the glass and then the door was pulled open to reveal an absolute mountain of a man. He glared down at Ben and Harry quizzically, and when he opened his mouth to speak, Ben saw that he had very few teeth left. The ones that remained were in good enough condition so Ben assumed he’d lost the other ones in fights.

"Harry, what the fuck are you playing at bringing a stranger here?"

The veins in the big man’s arms swelled and Ben started to feel like he’d made a terrible mistake. Fighting off the two goons at his apartment had been easy because they’d been regular-sized people. This man was a giant with biceps the size of tree trunks. Ben was not sure if his vampire strength was going to cut it this time.

"He made me," Harry admitted, and although it was true, Ben still felt the bitter taste of resentment towards him. The huge man turned to Ben.

"Yeah, I did actually. He brought some guys to attack me and apparently Rashid gave the order. I’d like to talk to him about that," Ben said, doing his best to project arrogance rather than unease.

The lumbering giant actually smiled in amusement. Ben could see why. Ben was a small, skinny guy, and to the naked eye, it seemed pretty probable that he could not hold his own in a fight.

"This guy is the one who attacked you?" the man asked, failing to contain his delight. Reluctantly, Harry confirmed it with a nod. "Alright then." The man stepped back and allowed them both to enter the premises.

Ben stepped into a small hallway with a plush white carpet that his feet bounced snugly on. He couldn’t feel the hard floor underneath like he could at home. The man pointed at the door on the left just past the stairs and Ben silently obeyed. Harry followed him, keeping a safe distance away. Experience had taught him well.

The door led through to a spacious living room with the same white carpet and a huge white corner sofa. There was so much white. It must take a lot of work to keep it so dazzling. Ben couldn’t imagine Rashid going around with a bottle of spray and wiping everything down. Maybe the big biceps guy had to do that every Sunday.

Rashid was lounging on the sofa. Straight black hair was pulled back in a small bun and he had a razer-thin pencil beard that followed the angles of his well-defined jaw. One jogging bottomed leg was stretched out on the sofa before him and the other was folded beneath it. On the cushion next to him was a tray that held a credit card, a rolled-up banknote, and a small mountain of cocaine, or some other white powder.

"So, you’re the guy who beat up my dealer?" he asked in an East London accent.

"He attacked me first," Ben said truthfully.

"He beat up Mason and Ant too," Harry added treacherously. Rashid’s legs hit the floor and he sat up abruptly. Dark and suspicious eyes found Ben.

"And how the hell did you manage that?" Rashid demanded. The muscles in his biceps flexed. His eyes flicked to the big guy who was standing behind Ben. Ben recognised the concern in the top dog’s eyes and it worked wonders to ease his own nerves.

"I was faster than they were," he said with a nonchalant shrug.

"Is that right?"

Ben could see the frustration building in Rashid and decided to change tack. He had not come here to poke the hornet’s nest, after all, he’d come to calm it down. "I didn’t come here for trouble. Harry had his music too loud and when I asked him to turn it down things got violent. That’s it. I just want you to know that I don’t mean you any bother. How about I leave now and we call it quits?"

Rashid stood up fast, his large eyes glaring at Ben. "Do you think I earned myself enough cheddar to buy this place by letting people rough up my guys?"

"Cheddar? I’ve never heard anybody who isn’t in a gangster film call money cheddar before. This is a nice place, though," Ben said, adding the compliment to try and assuage any hurt feelings over his initial mockery.

Rashid was not won over. "The guy behind you is called Rip. You’re about to find out why."

Ben began turning to face Rip, however, his fight with the last two henchmen had given him too much self-confidence, and he took his time turning as if there was nothing that Rip could do to harm him. He was wrong. Before he’d finished turning Rip’s dumbbell of a fist collided with Ben’s head. Ben was surprised to feel a burst of hot pain erupt in his head as the force of the blow knocked him down to one knee. The pain faded almost as soon as it had started, serving only to disorient Ben for a moment. When the next punch came his way, Ben shot out of the way; moving once again with his enhanced speed. The speed of his movement kicked up a breeze that scattered a pile of letters from a side table by the door.

Standing behind Rip, Ben kicked him hard in the back of the legs and brought the gargantuan of a man to his knees. Now he was at a more workable height. Ben noticed Rashid looking on with intrigued wonder; he wasn’t frightened enough yet. Ben still had a little show to put on. He opened his mouth and showed off his fangs before he thrust his head forwards with wicked speed and bit into Rip’s neck. Rip screamed as his sour blood poured into Ben’s mouth. Ben didn’t need a meal and he wasn’t enjoying the taste either. With his point now made, he retreated from Rip’s neck, grabbed his head and smacked it into the wall hard enough to knock the big guy out cold. At least he thought he was out cold and not dead. He heard the confirmatory slow heartbeat and turned his attention back to Rashid who was now on his feet, mouth open, lips quivering.

Ben was becoming rather familiar with the arrogant sense of unrivalled power that filled him now. As Izzy had predicted, it was working its way into his head and bolstering his ego. He could feel a cockiness working its way out of him, and he did not hate what he felt.

"So, why is he called Rip?"

"Vampire. You’re a vampire," Rashid said. He looked more like he was saying it to himself, testing the sound of the words to see if he could believe them.

"Look at you. You skipped right over the confusion stage," Ben said with a small smile.

Rashid obviously knew that he could not defeat Ben in a fight, so instead, he opted to try and outrun him. He’d just seen how fast Ben could move, so his decision to run could only be categorised as daft. His choice of exit route was even dafter.

Ben watched, without even bothering to go after him, as Rashid ran across the room, slid open the balcony door, and ran outside. Harry looked as nonplussed as Ben by the display, but he was smart enough to stay put.

Ben strolled across the luxuriously decorated room and followed Rashid outside. He found the drug boss halfway over the railing, attempting to climb to safety.

"You’re going to hurt yourself," Ben told him with false concern. He grabbed Rashid by the shoulder and hauled him back onto the balcony. Rashid barely weighed more than a heavy gym bag.

"Please don’t kill me!" Rashid begged, sinking down to the ground and curling into a feeble ball in the corner.

"You did just try to kill me, though. Twice," Ben reminded him.

"No, I just told them to hurt you. I wanted to teach you a lesson is all."

"Yes, of course. How dare I want my neighbour not to play his music so loud that it interrupts my every thought. I definitely had a lesson to learn there."

"I’m sorry! Okay, I’m sorry! Please don’t kill me, or bite me, or whatever! I’ll do anything! You can have anything! Just leave me alone."

Ben was absolutely going to hurt Rashid for what he’d done. He wouldn’t kill him, but he’d make sure the message sunk in not to cross him again. He looked out at the river that the balcony overlooked, giving Rashid the false impression that he was considering the matter. The full moon was reflected wondrously in the water and the entire scene was bathed in mystical silver light. Once again, Ben felt a stab of jealousy that Rashid got to enjoy this kind of scenery every night, and Ben got an apartment with a hole in the ceiling.

"Anything?" Ben said, turning back to Rashid.

Excitement exploded in Rashid’s eyes. "Yes! Anything you want! Name it and it’s yours!"

"I want this place."

"What?"

"This apartment. You own it, right? Give it to me and I won’t harm you."

Rashid was utterly stunned. He’d obviously only meant money or drugs or something. Not his home. He looked into his apartment at everything that he stood to lose and then back at Ben. "Really?"

Ben almost laughed. Rashid didn’t want to part with his home so much that he seemed willing to risk death in order to keep it. "That’s my price," Ben said. "Take it or leave it."

Rashid nodded glumly. "Done."

Ben grabbed Rashid and hauled him to his feet so he could stare comfortably into his eyes. When he opened his mouth to speak he exerted his will to ensure that the hypnosis worked. "You will honour our deal completely. You will not try to take this place back and you will never seek to harm me again."

Rashid blinked as though he was trying to dislodge dirt from his eye. Ben recognised the dazed expression that had been on Castling’s and Lewis’ faces when he’d used the same power on them.

Ben made sure everything was taken care of immediately. Rashid called his lawyer to get the paperwork sorted whilst Ben used mind control to force the drug lord’s goons to bring his things to his new apartment. Ben didn’t have much, just books and gadgets really, so it didn’t take long for them to move him in.

Then they moved Rashid out, leaving behind anything that Ben decided he wanted. A terribly disgruntled lawyer turned up a few hours later and the papers were signed. By the time the night was coming to an end, Ben had a new apartment, and had secured his safety from Rashid and his little gang of thugs. All in all, he’d had a pretty good night.

Once he was alone in his new abode he went out on his balcony with a celebratory glass of Rashid’s expensive whisky and looked out over the river. It really was an excellent view. The apartment was just the beginning. He could have anything he wanted now, and he was going to make sure that he got everything that he wanted. Life was only going to get better. And better and better and better.

As he sipped his drink he heard an odd squeaking sound growing steadily louder as it made its way towards him. It seemed to be coming down the river but it was definitely not a boat. Ben peered into the distance, grateful for his newly acquired night vision. He couldn’t see anything, but he could hear a distant squeaking sound and the very faint undertones of flapping wings—several sets.

Then he saw it appear at the river bend. A great cloud of blackness, moving quickly across the sky and coming his way. That sense of unmatched power that he had been enjoying evaporated in a heartbeat. His glass slipped from his grip and smashed on the tiled floor. Ben backed up slowly, not wanting to make any sudden movements that might attract the approaching cloud’s attention. He pressed himself right up against the wall of the apartment, hoping that the shadows would provide him with the cover he needed.

Then it was upon him. The cloud reached his apartment and the squeaking became deafening as Ben realised it was not a cloud at all, but a massive swarm of dark-winged bats. The cloud of darkness was big enough to block his view of anything beyond his own balcony.

This is it, he thought, Erin had come to end his life. In the back of his mind, he knew that this swarm was not Erin. He could feel the power emanating from whoever commanded this swarm and Erin did not have such power at her disposal. This was somebody else. Somebody far greater. Somebody Ben did not want anything to do with.

Ben held his breath, pressed his trembling arms to his sides, and prepared for the attack. But it didn’t come. The bats flew right by without so much as casting him a sideways glance. Whatever they were after, it was not him. Not tonight at least.

Ben waited until they’d vanished into the distant darkness, then he hurried inside and locked all the doors and windows. Not that doors and windows would keep such a thing out. He had no doubt at all that the swarm of bats had something to do with whatever Erin was up to at the hospital, and he wanted nothing to do with it.