I didn’t have a plan. I had my jacket, my house key, and the growing certainty that if I stayed home one more minute, the walls would start talking back. So I strolled.

  I never minded the night life as much as the daytime. Daytime is just so loud and bright, crowded with people going about their own lives and not caring that they are practically shoulder to shoulder with others on the street. How could people not feel claustrophobic in the city during the day?

  At night, there’s significantly fewer people out. A lot less traffic, less noise: a boon to introverts such as I. I took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of the nearby bay; petrichor and fish, the signature scent of Seattle. The fog wrapped around me, making everything look just a bit more eerie than usual.

  I headed north, figuring I’d circle the block once at least. The fluorescent lights of the corner deli cast light blue and red on the sidewalk, glowing in the oily puddle next to the manhole.

  Ah, man you gotta love Seattle.

  I continued on, enjoying the night breeze and only occasionally passing others by in the light fog. But with a thousand windows glowing like distant eyes, I didn’t have to believe in the supernatural to feel just a little haunted here.

  A familiar boisterous laugh broke the air ahead of me, and I jerked my head up toward the sound.

  Ahead, Michael was escorting a woman on his arm, perhaps a date if their nice outfits were any indication.

  I looked down at my sweats and hoodie, my shoes barely more than slippers…

  Wait, slippers?

  I looked back down to confirm that, yep, I had indeed gone out in my slippers instead of regular shoes.

  So much for going on a walk, I thought to myself as I turned to start back toward home.

  I glanced back at my would-be trainee, a bit unnerved to run into him so close to home.

  They had stopped at a building. Presumably, she lived there and he was there to drop her off after their date.

  Please God – if you exist and have any mercy at all – don’t let that be where Michael lives. That’s less than a block away from home!

  A passing car’s lights shone on them briefly, and I noticed… something.

  …Something feels off about this.

  A lead weight in my gut told me something was not right here. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but something about Michael himself was bothering me. He seemed a bit desperate looking for someone who just went on a date. The woman used a code on the building’s front door to open it.

  What does he have to be so desperate about?

  They started into the building and without thinking I followed, catching the door before it could lock behind them. I waited a few moments, not wanting to be caught snooping. Also not knowing what the hell I was even doing.

  “This is so dumb,” I whispered to no one before opening the door just wide enough to slip in, quietly closing the door behind me.

  Following their voices, I saw them on the landing of the third floor. I stopped on the half-landing between the second and third floors, just out of sight behind the railing. I could just make them out between the bars of the rails.

  They chatted for a moment before she turned to go in. Michael started to lean in, his golden-brown hair catching the light.

  Oh, God don’t let him try to kiss her, she’s obviously not interested!

  Then I noticed how incredibly still the girl had gone. Unnaturally still, and he continued to lean in.

  What is she doing? What is he doing? Is this lady okay?

  Instead of his lips puckering, they pulled back into a snarl.

  I squinted; something is weird about those teeth. Are they… longer?

  The thought barely registered before he suddenly bit the side of her neck.

  She remained stock still in his grip as I watched my trainee clamp down on this poor woman’s throat.

  Oh, hell no, was all that I had time to think before I saw red.

  My body seemed to move automatically to save this fellow woman from this sicko. I raced up the stairs, grabbing his arm to get him away from her.

  Michael’s body and head whipped around to reveal a mouth filled with blood-stained teeth.

  I froze, my blood rushing in my ears. Everything felt off-kilter. My eyes darted to the woman’s neck only… she was fine? No wound, just a small bloody patch that could easily be wiped away. Still frozen in place, but otherwise completely fine.

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  I glanced back at Michael, noting the fear in his eyes, mouth still bloody.

  Why should he be afraid, he’s not 5 feet total… Five feet of fury at the moment, sure, but—

  “Please don’t tell anyone else I’m a vampire,” he squeaked out.

  I stood there in complete shock at the turn of events.

  First I forget my shoes, then I see Michael and his date less than a block away from home and decide to stalk them for who knows why. And now he’s saying he’s a vampire.

  It’s totally unlike me to begin with, so if you add a vampire discovery… Of course, I must be dreaming.

  I’m having a very strange dream because I started working directly with him today. That’s all. The vampire bit is random, though. I can’t think of anything that had to do with vampires today at work…

  Michael stared at me as if waiting for a reaction. He looked ready to bolt.

  “Stupid dream,” I muttered before flatly going, “Ah, oh no. A vampire. Everyone head for the hills.” I could give Gene Wilder’s Wonka a run for his money with that performance – ‘Don’t. Stop. Come back.’ I was completely deadpan.

  He pulled back and scrunched his face into a look of confusion, his back straightening and making him taller. “What do you mean ‘stupid dream?’”

  His frank tone gave me pause. As did his towering height, which made me remember yet again just how small I was in this situation.

  Breathe, it’s just a stupid dream.

  I glared up at him, “Duh, dream. Vampires aren’t real, smartass.”

  But he only shook his head at me. “I can’t believe I got caught! Such an idiot, but I was just so thirsty.” Wringing his hands and then grabbing his hair, he seemed to be serious.

  I looked up at him – damn being so short – and squinted my eyes, my hands on my hips.

  “There’s no way you’re serious. There’s no way this is real. This is the result of too much TV and fantasy novels and an oddly early bedtime.” I nodded to myself as if in confirmation. “Too much fantasy. Maybe I ought to try something a little less exciting for a while—”

  Michael grabbed my wrist, his fingers like ice, and waved my own hand in front of my face.

  “This isn’t a dream, Drew, and now I’m in serious trouble if you go and tell everybody!”

  He just as quickly let go of me. He began to pace as he worried.

  “No, I won’t be in trouble if I… Dammit I don’t know how!”

  My hand was still warm but my spine had gone rigid and cold.

  His hand was real. He was real.

  I really was standing in this random apartment building with Michael and his date, the latter still eerily frozen. I tried to keep my breaths steady even though everything in me screamed to run away from this monster.

  Shit. Shit, shitty, shit! What am I supposed to do?

  But he was the one acting scared. I just needed to keep my face straight, not show my fear.

  Michael cleared his throat, “Is there any way you could, just, pretend this never happened, Drew? I’m embarrassed and flustered and don’t know what else to do right now.”

  Perhaps I can use this to my advantage.

  “I don’t know Michael.” I lifted a hand to my chin, holding that elbow in my other hand, attempting a thoughtful visage. “In my eyes, you just attacked this woman and, as a woman myself, I see that abhorrent behavior as something that needs correcting, not ignoring. And obviously I don’t have the knowhow for that so it is my responsibility to report this, is it not?”

  The ball was now in his court.

  Now, to see what he does…

  He looked like a puppy who just got scolded. His entire demeanor was suddenly that of a chastened dog. He glanced back at his date. “Drew, can we please take this somewhere else so I can let Kelsey go? Go back down a couple steps so she doesn’t see you and then I can walk away and she’ll hear my steps.”

  I glared at him, untrusting.

  “You’ll have your eyes on me the whole time, and I’ll be walking toward you. No risk of me trying to hypnotize you, we haven’t spent enough time together.”

  That brought up more questions than anything, but I didn’t want to traumatize “Kelsey” any more than we already had.

  Without breaking eye contact, I cautiously stepped backwards to go down the stairs, begging every deity I could think of that this would not be the time where I’d trip and tumble down to my death. By some miracle, I made it back to my spot at the half-landing without breaking my neck.

  Michael wiped the blood off Kelsey’s neck with the sleeve of his black jacket, then didn’t seem to do anything when suddenly the static Kelsey reanimated.

  She continued to unlock her door when she paused on her own.

  Michael paused himself on the first step down upon noticing.

  “Hey Mike, you wanna come in for a coffee before you go?”

  I raised my brows. Dang, his date must’ve gone well. Up until he went and ruined it with non-consensual neck sucking.

  It was obvious that he really wanted to, and who could blame him? Whether he was a vampire or a creep or both, this would be the perfect opportunity to get a victim alone.

  He let out a heavy breath, “I really want to, Kels. I do, but I have something I’m actually running a little late for.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he asked, “Would you like to go out again sometime?”

  She smiled and nodded with a cute, “Sure,” and then, “I’ll text you, Mike.” She waved at him and he returned the wave with his own shy grin.

  He continued down the stairs and she closed the door with a click that might have made Michael flinch just a little.

  Poor baby, you’ll get over it.

  I was fuming. “What the hell was that?” I whisper-yelled at Michael.

  “What the hell was what?” he whispered back with similar urgency.

  “That… that shy act! You just fed on her! ‘Would you like to go out again sometime?’ Was her company that good or her blood? Either way, you just violated that girl’s trust and have no right to meet with her ever again as far as I’m concerned. What kind of creep are you?”

  At this point, I was faced with a possible vampire and had nothing to defend myself with. Heck, even if he was just a freak of some kind, I had left home with nothing but my phone. I had even forgotten my pepper spray; I really must have been out of it; it was sitting right next to the door.

  Right above my shoes.

  Did I really just up and walk out of my apartment? Did I even close the door? What if Husker got out? I have no idea where my brain was so who’s to say if I left the door to my home wide open or not? But I had to keep my focus on the vampire in front of me. I did not want to fall victim to him like Kelsey had.

  Michael defended, “I did genuinely have a nice time with her and wouldn’t have minded seeing her again.” He sighed, “But you’re right. I went about everything all wrong. Stupid, stupid, stupid,” he emphasized, beating his fist against his forehead with each word.

  He put his hand down, letting it hang limply. “I genuinely don’t know what to do right now.” He looked like a lost puppy, dejected and frightened.

  Was I starting to feel sorry for him?

  Stop that! Okay, we need to talk and the only place I can think of is home… I can grab my pepper spray as I walk in, then I won’t be completely defenseless at least. Plus, maybe if I kept him close I could stay in control of the situation better.

  “We need to talk, and I’m pretty sure you’d prefer privacy, right?”

  He nodded in assent.

  “Well, come on then. I guess we’ll go back to my place.”

  We walked in silence – a woman and a vampire – toward home, questions swirling in my mind, while Michael walked with dread, a man whose secret had just been revealed.

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