Penny ran.  She wasn’t sure how long she’d been running through that forest, but she kept running all the same, the sun twinkling through gaps in the leaves above her.  Tears streamed down her face, making her vision blurry, but she was determined to put as much distance between herself and the mansion full of vampires as possible.

            Before long, however, she could feel the weakness in her legs.  She pushed herself as far as she could, but eventually, she slowed to a walk.  She finally stopped when she couldn’t push herself a step further, leaning against a tree for support.

            Tears dripped down her sweat drenched face as she rested there, breathing heavily.  Now that things were still, the weight of what had just happened finally crashed into her.  Gary hadn’t made it out.  He was still there, a prisoner to those vampires.  Penny covered her mouth, beginning to sob.

            Penny stayed there for a moment, crying, her body on fire from exhaustion.  Eventually, though, her tears ran dry.  She couldn’t help Gary now, but she could honor his last words to her.  Alice was waiting for her, and Penny’s path could lead them back to the vampires.

            Wiping her face, she steeled herself and stopped leaning on the tree.  Ignoring her fatigue, she walked forward, slowly but surely making her way out of the forest.

###

Alice stood in the mindscape, holding her red, glowing katana.  The vampire whose mind she was in lay in the snow, unable to handle the thought of a cross in this world, reflected on Alice’s sword.  The elder vampires had left this mindscape, finally seeing through Alice’s ruse, and Alice’s mind raced with questions.  Had Gary and Penny escaped?  Could she go back to Victor’s mind to check?  Or was that too dangerous?  What should she do now?”

            “Alice.”

            Alice turned and saw Jacqueline.

            “You’ve done all you can, Alice,” said the vampire.  “Penny managed to slip out but…I’m afraid Gary didn’t.”

            Alice trembled; her thoughts conflicted.

            A moment later, Jacqueline placed her hand on Alice’s shoulder.

            “I’m sorry,” said the vampire.  “But you’ve done all you can.  Staying here just risks them catching you.  It’s time to wake up.”

            Alice woke up in the hospital bed.  Director Farrow and Captain Wagner sat beside her, getting up when they saw Alice’s eyes open.

            “P…Penny got out,” Alice stammered.  “Gary, he…he…didn’t make it…he…”

            “It’s alright,” said Wagner, his voice calm and soothing.  “We’ll find your cousin, and we’ll help your partner as soon as we can.”

            Director Farrow immediately got on the phone and started shouting orders.  He told the Night Hunters to be on the lookout for a young woman matching Penny’s description.  He also made sure to call the Saint Vivia Police department and the military commander overseeing the roadblocks and give them Penny’s description.  If a civilian found her and called the police, they’d know, and the military would also alert them.  Alice heard all this and lay back in the bed.  Even though she’d been unconscious until just a moment ago, she felt exhausted.

###

Gary had been forced to his knees in the great hall, surrounded by vampires.  Each vampire stared at him with anger and hatred in their eyes.  Their glamours were up, but Gary had already seen the ugly creatures beneath that façade and wouldn’t soon forget it.  The vampire that had taken Gary stood meekly to the back, ashamed of her failure to tame this human.  The three Elder vampires, Victor, Fara, and Harold, stood before Gary sternly while he looked back at them defiantly.

            “It doesn’t matter what you do to me,” said Gary.  “Penny’s out, and she’ll lead the Night Hunters back here.

            The elder vampires looked at each other.

            “He’s not wrong,” said Harold.  “What do we do?  Perhaps we can retrieve the warlock from the catacombs and send him after her?”

            “He’ll have nearly as much trouble in the sunlight as the other thralls,” said Victor.  “And we can’t risk him running into a Night Hunter patrol while blinded like that.”

            Gary laughed, and the vampires looked at him with annoyance.

            “Look at you,” he said.  “Rendered helpless by a little sunlight.  You think you’re so superior to humans, but you give your servants fear of something we avoid with a little sunblock.  Pathetic.”

            The vampires around them hissed, though the three elder vampires looked at him disapprovingly.  Fara, in particular, sneered.

            “Give him to me,” she said.

            The others looked at her, “Are you sure?” asked Victor.

            “I’m sure,” said Fara.  “We don’t know how Alice learned to navigate the mindscape yet, but it’s obvious that she was helping him resist us.  Now that we know it’s her, we can cut her off.  Don’t worry.”

            She leaned down to run her finger under Gary’s chin, making him flinch away.

            “I’ll teach him some manners,” said Fara.

            Victor considered it, “Alright.  If you think you can get him under control, you’re welcome to try.”

            Fara grinned in satisfaction before snapping a finger.  Three vampires came up behind Gary and grabbed him.  Two vampires held Gary’s arms while a third forced his hand open, revealing the cross Gary had cut earlier.  While holding Gary’s fingers, the third vampire opened his claws and swiped, making Gary cried out in pain as the skin was sliced off his palm.  With his palm bleeding, the vampires let him go.  Gary cradled his bleeding hand as Fara stood above him, smiling maliciously.

            Fara sauntered around Gary to stand behind him.  Gary thought about fighting back but knew it was pointless.  There were too many vampires, and each was significantly stronger than he was.  He could only kneel there as Fara lowered her head to his neck, placing her hands on his shoulders.

            Gary groaned from the pain as she bit into his neck and drank from his blood.  Before too long, he felt a familiar weight on his mind as Fara assumed control.  Then Fara pulled back, licking her blood stained lips with her long vampiric tongue and grinning in satisfaction.  As Gary knelt there, panting from the pain, Fara looked at the young vampire who had originally taken him.  That vampire turned away sheepishly, ashamed of her failure.

            “Pay attention, little newborn,” said Fara.  “I’ll show you how it’s done.”

###

Even though her legs felt on fire after walking so long, Penny kept going.  Her throat was dry from thirst, and her stomach was rumbling from hunger, yet she walked on.  Every once in a while, the cross burned into her hand throbbed, and Penny rubbed it absentmindedly.  The further away she got from the vampire’s mansion, the more animals she began to see.  She saw birds, squirrels, a deer or two, and even a solitary wolf that took one look at her and fled.  Penny didn’t know what she’d do if a wolf or a bear decided to attack her.  All she could do was walk on.

            Suddenly she took a step forward and felt a chill as if she’d stepped through a wall of cold.  It passed quickly, but Penny turned to look behind her and saw the air rippling.  After a few seconds, the air returned to normal, with no sign of anything wrong.  Penny wanted to keep moving but had an inescapable feeling that this was important.

            She tentatively reached out her hand, and it disappeared into an invisible wall, the air rippling around her wrist.  This was it, Penny realized.  This was the edge of the displacement spell Alice had mentioned, the thing hiding the vampires.  Penny could enter it since the Vampires had brought her inside before, but if the night hunters passed this line, they’d probably notice nothing and find no mansion.  All the hunters would see was an empty clearing.

            Penny pulled her hand away and kept walking.

            Time passed, and the sun slowly crept on from above the treetops.  Penny felt weaker and weaker as she walked.  She came across a river in her path and knelt next to it, immediately cupping her hands to drink.  She was so thirsty she didn’t care if the river was dirty; she just needed water.  Feeling refreshed, she followed the river until she found a shallow place to cross.  If she didn’t reach civilization by nightfall, the river would at least make it harder for the vampires to follow her.

            She kept walking, taking short breaks so she wouldn’t collapse.  She wasn’t certain how long she’d walked or how far she’d gone, but the sun was lower than before, so it must have been hours at least.

            Finally, she saw a clearing in the trees, and getting closer, she realized it was a road through the forest.  She felt a small sliver of relief.  No matter which way she followed the road, it would either lead her back to Saint Vivia City or to the military roadblocks she’d heard the vampires talking about.  Either way, she’d find someone who could help her.

            Soon she was walking next to the road, trying to ignore the weakness in her legs.  She kept near the trees so she could walk in the shade, but that didn’t stop her skin from sweating.  She moved slowly, still feeling the hunger.  The sun was getting pretty low now, not quite dipping below the treeline in the distance, but getting there.

            Penny also started to feel lightheaded.  She’d been walking for hours, and the lack of food was getting to her.  Her throat was also getting dry again.  Stay awake, Penny told herself.  She had to stay awake until she found someone.  Slowly but surely, she kept going.

            Finally, in the distance, Penny saw something.  It was a bit too fuzzy to make out from that distance, but it looked like something was blocking the road.  That had to be the military roadblock.  Unable to hold herself back, Penny started running.  She was slow, her light head making it hard to run, but run she did.

            Slowly but surely, the blockade in the distance became clearer, and she could see the military humvees and soldiers.  She tried to cry out for help, but her voice was hoarse.  She tried waving her arms, but that just made her more lightheaded.  She was forced to slow down and walk, but even that didn’t stop her head from swimming.

            “Help…me,” said Penny, her voice soft and raspy.  “Please…”

            Finally, the exhaustion got to her, and she fell forward, her face hitting the grass next to the road.  As she lay there, she tried to force her limbs to move, but they wouldn’t budge.  The last thing she was aware of was movement and people standing over her before everything went dark.

###

Penny’s awareness came back slowly.  The first thing she saw through blurry vision was the color white.  It proved to be a ceiling, and Penny was lying on a hospital bed wearing a hospital gown and an oxygen mask.  For a moment, Penny realized she didn’t know where she was and panicked, thinking only that she had to get to Alice.  She moaned in a panic, feeling too tired to move much.

            Fortunately, Alice sat nearby, having fallen asleep in a chair next to Penny’s bed.  She woke up when she heard Penny moaning.

            “Penny!”

            Alice rushed to Penny’s bed, and the young woman stopped panicking the moment she saw Alice.  In fact, as she saw her cousin, Penny’s eyes welled up in tears.  Alice’s eyes grew teary as well as she leaned down and hugged Penny.  The two just hugged for a moment as they cried.

            “Alice,” said Penny, “Gary…he…he…”

            “I know,” said Alice.  “I know.  I haven’t given up on him.  I’m going to get him back.  I’m just glad you're safe.”

            And Penny kept crying as Alice held onto her.

###

Paul Hayes was still staying in his own hospital bed from his injuries, but he was reunited with his daughter soon after Penny woke up, making for another tearful reunion.  Meanwhile, Director Farrow immediately ordered a perimeter around the forest where Penny was found.  He knew they wouldn't find anything if they searched that forest due to the displacement spell, so if the Night Hunters couldn’t go in after them, Farrow would make sure no vampire could get out.

            In the meantime, he determined that Penny Hayes had been through enough.  Once the doctors determined that she wasn’t suffering from vampire sickness, he gave the go ahead for Penny and her father to be flown to a different facility.

            Behind the mansion above the Night Hunter facility, Alice stood beside a helicopter.  Paul and Penny Hayes sat inside, each looking pale.

            “Are you sure we can’t convince you to come with us?” asked Paul, his voice not as hoarse as before.  The bandage around his neck had been removed, though Alice still saw some discoloration.

            “Sorry,” said Alice.  “But I’m not ready to stop fighting for this city.  Besides, my partner is still with those Vampires, and I have to go after him.”

            Penny looked down.

            “I’ll get him back,” said Alice.  “I promise.” Alice looked at Paul.  “You take Penny and get her as far away from this city as you can.”

            “That’s the plan,” said Paul.

            “Alice,” said Penny, looking up suddenly.  “Thank you…for everything.”

            “You’re welcome,” said Alice, smiling.  “You two take care of yourselves.”

            “You too,” said Paul.

            Alice nodded to the pilot, and soon enough, the blades began whirring, and the Helicopter lifted into the air.  Alice watched it go as it rose and flew away, the morning sun just starting to rise over the treetops.

###

“So, I’m just supposed to stay here?” asked Alice.

            Alice sat in her room, and Director Farrow stood outside her door, cringing apologetically.

            “I had to report this to the Night Hunter Council eventually,” he said.  “And certain council members are uncomfortable that you talked to Jacqueline without their approval.  I’ve been ordered to keep you under solitary confinement until a hearing can be held.”

            Before Alice could object, Farrow put his hand up, “Don’t worry.  We’ll have to have one of the dhampirs examine your mind for tampering, but I don’t think we’ll find anything.  Jacqueline has had opportunities to stab us in the back before.  In the end, we successfully rescued a vampire victim and determined the location of their hideout, so most of the council will have to side with you.  Even the holdouts will have to admit we made the right choice.  Just sit tight for a little bit, and you’ll be back to training before you know it.”

            And so Alice waited in her room, lying on the bed and watching the ceiling.  It didn’t take long for Alice to get bored, as they hadn’t given her anything to do except wait.  Wanting to pass the time, Alice began to think about Jacqueline.  The vampire had proven true to her word and had helped her rescue Penny.  Alice only wished they could have rescued Gary as well, but that just made her more determined to save him next.  Even considering that, Alice realized that she owed Jacqueline Castellane her life, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

            As she thought of Jacqueline, Alice slowly realized that she could feel something at the edge of her mind.  It was one of the red threads she’d felt in the mental world, and she sensed a familiar presence at the end of that thread.

            Concerned, Alice tugged on that thread and found herself in that mental world again.  It was different this time, however.  Before, her real body was unconscious, and it felt like she was just there.  Now, however, she was in the mental world while awake.  It was like being in two places at once.  She was still lying in her bed in her quarters, but she was simultaneously in that seven sided mirror room.

            “This is weird,” she said as she looked around.  It wasn’t long before Alice’s gaze turned to the center of the room to see a very surprised Jacqueline.

            “Alice?” said Jacqueline.  “This is a surprise.  Usually, I’m awake and you’re asleep when we meet.”

            “I learned from the best,” said Alice.  “And you know what I learned?  That red line went straight to you.  You weren’t connecting to Victor to get to me through Penny or Gary.  You’re connected to me directly, and I’d like to know why.”

            Jacqueline looked away shamefully.

            “Jacqueline, there’s going to be a hearing,” said Alice.  “A direct connection when it shouldn’t be possible won’t look good to the Night Hunter Council.  Please, I need to know.”

            Jacqueline sighed, “I can’t explain it.”

            “Jacqueline…”

            “I can’t because I don’t know how it happened.”

            Alice frowned, “What do you mean?”

            “I’m a vampire,” said Jacqueline.  “Every human mind I’ve connected through has been through the consumption of blood.  I’ve never done so without it.  All I know is that as I watched Victor try to ensare you, and when you called out for help, I wanted to help you.  At that moment, I could form the connection and pull you out of Victor’s mental world.”

            “Because I was calling for help, and you wanted to help me?” Alice asked skeptically.

            “I told you, Alice, I don’t know.  Vampires usually use mental connections as a power play to gain influence over each other.  This kind of connection is new territory for me.  I can’t explain it better than that.”

            Alice considered this and didn’t know what to make of it.  She didn’t know if it was possible one way or the other.  She’d have to ask someone.  Alice still couldn’t rule out the possibility that Jacqueline had her own agenda, but for now…

            “Jacqueline,” said Alice.  “Whatever else happens, you helped me rescue my cousin, and I’ll never forget that, so thank you.”

            Jacqueline smiled meekly, “You’re welcome.”

            They stood in silence for a moment.

            “So,” said Alice.  “How are the other vampires handling Penny’s escape?”

            “They’re on edge,” said Jacqueline.  “They were convinced that something like this couldn’t have happened under the circumstances.  I’m not sure how Victor intends to respond, but I know he’ll make his move soon.  I can only imagine what will happen when Archibald arrives.”

            “Archibald?”

            “Archibald Jackanape,” said Jacqueline.  “An elder vampire with an…eccentric reputation.  I think Victor was reluctant to bring him aboard but needed someone to replace Cassandra and Axel.”

            “Archibald Jackanape?” asked Alice.  “That doesn’t sound like a real name.  I mean…I know vampires lose their original names, but that sounds like the stage name of a clown…a clown in the middle ages.”

            Jacqueline grinned, “You’re not far off.  As I understand it, he was once a jester in a nobleman's court.  The vampire who turned him did so because he enjoyed his performances, and Archibald has survived for a long time, longer than even the vampire who turned him, and he never completely lost his persona as a jester and a clown.  Despite a clown’s reputation for comedy, I doubt you’d find his antics particularly funny these days.”

            Alice pursed her lips, “A vampire clown.  Now I’ve heard everything.”

###

He was a dark haired young man who often wore a permanent scowl, and he’d reached home in the dead of night.  He expected his parents to chew him out for being so late, especially with what was happening in the city.  A few of his friends had stopped showing up to hang out, scared of it all.  He didn’t care.  He figured all this was all some elaborate hoax.  Vampires?  Really?  Come on.  People in this city were going crazy.

            However, when he entered the door, he found the house dark.  He thought maybe his parents had gone to sleep already, and he could avoid an argument.  However, as he snuck through the house, he heard his mother's voice.

            “Gene?” she asked in a cheerful voice.  “Is that you?”

            Gene sighed.

            “Hey, mom,” he said.  “Why are you standing in the dark?”

            He asked casually, but when he went to turn the lights on, nothing happened.  The house remained as dark as before.  He pulled out his phone and quickly turned on the flashlight function.

            The parents that appeared in the light, framed by the darkness around them, weren’t scowling as he’d expected but smiling.  Gene’s parents were an average couple, both a little out of shape from the rigors of life, the wife a little plump, the man a little balding, and both constantly scowling whenever their son came home late.  That they were smiling was odd enough, but upon closer inspection, something about those smiles was off.  They looked strained, less like his parents were happy about something and more like they had strings holding their lips in a smiling position.

            “Welcome home, dear,” said the teen’s mother.

            “Mom?” asked Gene.  “Are you okay?”

            “Is that a guest!?” asked a loud, flamboyant voice.

            A moment later, someone else slid into the room, and when Gene turned his flashlight, he saw easily the most astonishing person he’d ever laid eyes on.  This man wore a long sleeved dark red coat that went down to his ankle.  The coat had two rows of golden buttons, elaborate embroidery on the chest, and buttons decorating the side of the wrists.  On his head, he wore a dark red tricorn hat with a blue feather sticking out of it and black hair peeking out from under it.

            The most outlandish thing about this man was the face paint he wore.  Gene first saw white face paint and blue and gold paint around his eyes in the shape of a half mask like one might wear at a fancy masquerade.  At first, Gene thought this stranger had a beard, but he quickly realized that the man had black face paint in the shape of a beard, as it gleamed in the light of gene’s phone.

            Gene gaped at that figure.

            “Why…who…what…” he stammered.

            “Oh, pardon,” said this garish stranger.  “Allow me to introduce myself.  I am Lord Archibald Jackanape.”

            Archibald took off his hat and bowed, and Gene was surprised to see a bald head.  It turned out that the hair sticking out from the hat was a wig that remained stuck in the hat.  The teen stared in confused astonishment.

            “Mom?  Dad?” he said.  “Did you hire a clown?”

            “Oh no,” said Archibald, putting his hat back on.  “This fair lady and gentleman have graciously agreed to let me stay here for a night and a day.”

            “You can’t be serious.”

            “No, no, you’re parents are quite kind.  They’ve treated me like one of the family.  Why you’d think their very blood flowed through my veins,” he said with a wink.

            And with that, the teen’s parents began laughing hysterically, Archibald joining them a second later.  He acted as if he’d just told the funniest joke he’d ever told, while his parents seemed strained, as if they were forcing themselves to laugh.  Gene stood there in confusion as he tried to figure out what was so funny.

            “Oh, I love making people laugh,” said Archibald gleefully.  “And I’ve been making your parents laugh for the past hours.  They simply can’t control themselves.”

            The three began laughing again, and Archibald smirked, enjoying the young man’s confusion.

            “This is too weird,” said Gene.  “I’m out of here.”

            He turned to leave.

            “I can’t let you go,” said Archibald.

            “Bite me,” the teen spat.

            For a moment, the room was silent, and then the three behind Gene gave the most uproarious laughter yet.  The teen stopped, frustrated, and turned to ask what was so funny, and he realized that Archibald was nowhere to be seen.  He looked around in confusion until a pair of firm, strong hands grabbed the sides of his arms, pinning him.

            “Oh,” said Archibald, whispering in the now terrified teen’s ear, “You have no idea how happy I am that you said that.”

            Archibald bit into the teen’s neck, causing him to scream in pain as he dropped his phone.  As the device fell to the floor, the screen shattering on impact, the teen tried to break free but could not overcome the vampire’s strength.  A moment later, the boy was still as Archibald’s influence crept over his mind.  The vampire finally let him go and walked away, licking his lips.

            “Now,” said Archibald.  “You’ve been a very grumpy boy, and I think you can do with an attitude adjustment.”

            Archibald put his face right next to the teen, who stood there, frozen and terrified.

            “Laugh,” said Archibald.

            Gene felt an involuntary snigger.  He tried to hold back, but he started laughing, and within moments he was laughing hysterically at nothing.  He heard more laughter, looked up, and saw his parents walk over, shadows going up their faces from the flashlight on the floor.   As the three humans laughed, Archibald waved his hands as if conducting an orchestra.  Even though they laughed, Gene looked at his parents with terror in his eyes, and his parents looked back at him with tears in theirs.

###

Phoenix and Gordon sparred in the training room, their swords sparking against each other.  Phoenix fought aggressively, grunting with each strike.  Cora watched in the corner, frowning.  She could tell that Phoenix was off his game, getting reckless.  Recent events must have gotten to him more than he let on.  It was no surprise when Gordon slipped past Phoenix’s defenses and slapped him on the back of his head with the flat of his blade.

            Phoenix grunted again, rubbing the spot, and Gordon sighed.

            “That’s enough for one day,” said Gordon.

            “No!” Phoenix spat.

            “Yes!” said Gordon sternly.  “You need to cool down.  We’re done for today, and that’s final.”

            Phoenix stared angrily, breathing heavily as sweat dripped down his skin.  He relented with a huff, sheathing his sword and walking off.  Gordon watched him go, worried.  They’d worked together for a couple of years now, and he’d never seen Phoenix this bad.  It wasn’t as if they hadn’t lost anyone before.  Jaiden wasn’t even the first dhampir to go full vampire around Phoenix.  Perhaps it was how Jaiden was turned, being force fed blood like that.  Gordon had to admit that even he found the idea disturbing.

            A moment later, a walkie talkie on a nearby bench went off.

            “Agent Brand,” it said.  “This is director Farrow.”

            Gordon walked over and picked up the communicator.

            “Go ahead, sir,” said Gordon.

            “Gordon,” said Farrow.  “I have news.  We’ve determined the general area the vampires are hiding.”

            Gordon, Cora, and Phoenix immediately perked up at this.  Finally, thought Gordon, some good news.

            “How did you find them?” asked Gordon.

            “It wasn’t anything I did,” said Director Farrow.  “It was actually one of our recruits, and she used an…unconventional method to do it…and the Night Hunter Council has summoned everyone for a hearing because of that.  Recruit Alice Hayes, unbeknownst to us, has been in contact with our turncoat vampire, Jacqueline Castellane.”

            Gordon frowned.  That shouldn’t have been possible, but before he could wonder how the vampire had contacted the recruit, he sensed a swell of anger coming from Phoenix.

            “What did you just say?” Phoenix demanded, fury written all over his tattooed face.

            Gordon sighed.  So much for cooling down.