“Alice,” said Aunt Betty, her voice quivering in fear. “Alice.  It’s Paul.  He’s…He’s…”

            Alice stood up immediately.  She was still trying to process what she’d just seen, but the sound of her uncle in danger at least gave her some clarity.  The power was out, so Alice had to navigate by the light of the flashlights her cousins held.  Kneeling next to Uncle, Alice saw the problem immediately.  He had an ugly bruise on his neck, which explained the strained breathing.  At least he was breathing at all, if barely.

            “He doesn’t seem to be in immediate danger,” said Alice. “But he still needs help.”

            “I’ll call an ambulance,” said Penny, pulling her phone out.

            At that moment, Alice noticed an absence.

            “Where’s my mother?”

            “Aunt Sara’s back in the study,” said Ryan. “Froze up when we heard that weird noise.  Turned white as a sheet.”

            Alice didn’t blame her.  That sound had been downright inhuman.  On thinking of that sound, Alice suddenly realized something that sent a chill through her bones.

            “Penny, we can’t call an ambulance.”

            Everyone looked at Alice with dumbfounded looks.  Penny had just finished getting her purse and fishing her phone out when he stopped to stare at Alice.

            “What are you talking about?” asked Penny.

            “We can’t call an ambulance,” said Alice. “Ryan, that sound you heard?  It was a vampire.  That’s what did this to Paul.”

            Ryan looked confused and terrified.  All he could do was say, “What?”

Alice got the sense that he wanted to say she was crazy but couldn’t quite bring himself to do so.  It wasn’t hard for Alice to guess why.

            “You heard that shriek, right?” she said. “Can you name one living thing that makes a shriek like that?  It was a vampire.  I saw the fangs right in her mouth.” She looked down,  “Uncle Paul, the one who attacked us would have passed right over you, crawling on the roof.  You saw it, right?”

            Weakly, Uncle Paul nodded, his breathing still strained.  Penny put her hands to her mouth, starting to breathe heavily.

            “But wait,” said Ryan. “If it was a vampire, why didn’t it…I don’t know…drain your blood or something?  Why just hit Dad’s neck?”

            “I don’t know about that,” said Alice. “But this seemed to scare it off.”

            She held up the cross around her neck for everyone to see.

            “But why can’t we call 911?” Asked Penny.

            “Because we’d just be putting the EMTs in danger,” said Alice, walking up to the front door and closing it.  She then locked everything, including the chain lock. “They’d get attacked, and Uncle Paul wouldn’t be any better off.”

            “Then why can’t we call the police?”

            “Penny, you didn’t see how fast that thing moved.  Believe me. We’re lucky only one of them got permission to come in.”

            “There’s more than one?” asked Ryan.

            “I’m afraid so,”  said Alice. “And after seeing a vampire in action, I know the police couldn’t help us.  They won’t believe the truth, and if we lie just to get them out here, they’ll just walk into something they’re completely unprepared for.  Garlic and wooden stakes aren’t exactly standard police equipment, and who knows if guns even work on them?”

            “We have to do something,” said Aunt Betty, grasping Paul’s hand.

            “I know,” said Alice.  “Get Paul back to the study and get some ice.  That should help with the swelling, but make sure you don’t put pressure on his neck.  He still needs to be able to breathe.  We’ll lock ourselves in the study with guns.”

            “And then what?” said Penny. “We hold out until sunrise?  The sun hurts vampires, doesn’t it?”

            “That would be my guess,” said Alice. “And I imagine wooden stakes through the heart work too.  Honestly, though?  Vampire stories have existed for hundreds of years.  There’ve been so many versions of them that who know’s what’s real and what’s not?  We need more information,” she pulled something out of her pocket. “Fortunately, I have a hunch as to where we can get it.”

            And she held up the business card to the FBI agents who’d talked to her before.