Uncle Paul could walk, but since it wasn't easy to breathe, Aunt Betty supported him.  They brought him to the study, where Alice’s mother was.  As Alice had learned, Sara Hayes sat there in shock, her eyes wide as she stared into space.  She didn’t even seem to notice that they’d entered the room.  As the others lay Uncle Paul down on the floor, Alice went to her mother and knelt next to her.

            “Mom,” said Alice, looking her in the eye.

            “Alice,” said her mother, staring into space with fear. “That noise.  That horrible noise.  Was that what I think it was?”

            Alice closed her eyes and sighed.

            “Yes,” said Alice. “I’m afraid it was.”

            Her mother closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and gave out a tiny sob, saying, “Oh God.”

            So Mom had figured it out without even seeing one.  It was no wonder she was upset.

            Alice took a deep breath and said, “Mom, Uncle Paul was hurt.  He needs help holding an ice pack to his neck gently, so he can still breathe.  Can you do that?”

            When she heard that Paul was hurt, Sara Hayes looked over and seemed to break out of her stupor.  She went over to help, and Alice breathed a sigh of relief. 

            The next moment Alice retrieved a marker and told Penny to mark the window and the door with crosses.  Then Alice got some garlic powder from the pantry while Ryan snapped off a leg from the dining room chairs to sharpen a stake.  Sadly, the wood cutting ax was in the toolshed, so Ryan got to work with a serrated knife from the kitchen, putting a point on the chair leg.  Alice and Penny armed themselves with rifles while Aunt Betty grabbed a pistol and a flashlight, which ended up being the only light source in the room, and they kept watch.  In a moment of inspiration, Alice got the marker again and started marking her skin with crosses.  She put one on either side of her neck, several on her arms, more on her legs, and finally, one on each palm.  When she finished herself, the others eagerly accepted such markings.  Ryan took a break from sawing to get marked and went back to work immediately.  Alice marked everyone else, and she prayed silently that it would be enough.  Alice didn’t mark her Uncle’s neck, unfortunately.  Alice didn’t think he could take it, so she settled for marking under his neck.

            “This is brilliant,” said Ryan, still sawing the leg. “Now we’re vampire proof.”

            “I don’t know,” said Penny.  Does anyone else think this seems…I don’t know…too easy?”

            “Hopefully,” said Alice, finishing up marking Penny’s ankle and picking up her rifle. “We’ll soon find out.”

            Alice got out her phone, thankful she had a signal and picked up the business card to dial the number.  She didn’t do so immediately, as everyone in the room looked at Alice doubtfully, even Uncle Paul with his strained breathing.  Alice’s mother, in particular, had a terribly fearful look.

            “Alice,” said Aunt Betty. “They’re never going to believe you.”

            “Maybe,” said Alice. “But when I talked to them, they admitted that they’re investigating other, similar murders.  Thinking back, they never said how long they’d been doing so, but it has to be at least ten years since the day Arthur was taken.  If they’ve been investigating it for that long, there’s a chance they’ve already discovered the truth.  I mean, admit it.  It wouldn’t surprise you if the government knew vampires existed and kept it secret.  Would it?”

            No one argued with that, and Alice dialed the number, setting the phone to speaker so everyone could hear.  Moments later, she heard Agent Walker’s voice.

            “FBI, agent walker speaking.”

            “Agent Walker,” said Alice. “I’m on my Uncle’s farm in the country, and we were just attacked by a vampire.”

            The other line was silent for a moment as Alice held her breath.  When Agent Walker answered, he did so seriously.

            “That’s quite a claim, Mrs. Hayes.  I acknowledge that all these murders are at least made to look like vampires did it, but I’m afraid you’re going to have to give me something to go on if I’m to take you seriously.  Please explain what happened clearly with as many details as possible.”

            He hadn’t flat out dismissed them, which Alice took as a good sign.  She took a deep breath and explained the situation as clearly as she could.

            “Three of them showed up at the door.  I knew something was wrong the moment I saw them.  They were impossibly perfect.  No wrinkles, blemishes, or even freckles marked their skin.  They tried to get my Uncle to let them into the house.  We agreed not to with all the murders going on, but one got my uncle’s permission to use the bathroom, and the moment she did, the power suddenly went out.  That’s when she attacked, bruising Uncle’s neck to the point where he can barely breathe and can’t speak, and then it went after me.  The only reason it didn’t stick its fangs in my neck is that I’m wearing a cross.  When it saw that, it shrieked, unlike anything I’ve heard, and crawled away faster than anything I’ve ever seen.”

            Alice waited for the answer with bated breath.  The others in the room didn’t seem to be breathing much either.

            “Alright,” said Walker. “I’m got some good news and some bad news.  The good news is that your description of a vampire attack is accurate enough, and I believe you.  I’ve dispatched men to your location.”

            Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, including Alice.  Alice, however, braced herself for the next part.

            “And the bad news?”

            “The bad news,” said Walker. “Is that it will take them just under an hour to get there.  You’re going to have to survive until then.”

            “Honestly?  That’s more than I hoped for.  I just wanted information.   Do you really have men that close?  We’re a day out of Saint Vivia.”

            “You’ve seen all the murders on the news,” said Walker. “That many Vampires in one place isn’t normal.  Something big is happening in Saint Vivia City.  We’ve been calling people in from all over the place.  Several of our units already on their way here were in your general vicinity. I just redirected the closest one.”

            With this new information, Alice had a hunch about something she found both reassuring and frustrating at the same time.

            “Tell me.  Are you actually FBI?  Or are you something that specializes in this sort of thing?”

            She could hear the amusement in his voice.

            “You catch on quickly, Mrs. Hayes,” he said.  “No, I’m not FBI.  I represent a secret organization called The Night Hunters.  FBI was just my cover story.”

            “And you hunt vampires?”

            “Among other things.”

            “Other things?” asked Penny fearfully.

            “Let’s stick with vampires for now,” said Alice, hoping to avoid any distractions.  “What can we do while we’re waiting for backup?  Could Aunt Betty, I don’t know, rescind the invitation?”

            “No,” said Walker. “You guess right that it has to be someone who lives at that house, but only the person who gives the invitation can rescind it, and it must be spoken out loud.  That’s why they injured your uncle’s neck.  I can tell you what to do, but first, tell me what you’ve already done.”

            At that moment, Ryan held up his finished stake, showing it off for Alice to inspect.  She nodded to him before speaking to Walker again.

            “We’ve locked ourselves in my Uncle’s study with the guns, my cousin Ryan just finished turning a table leg into a wooden stake, we have garlic powder, and we’ve marked the window, the door, and ourselves with crosses.”

            “First thing to do,” said Walker. “Barricade the door and the window with something heavy.”

            “Are crosses not enough?”

            “It’s true that symbols of the Christian faith have always been a vampire’s Achilles heel, but to actually hurt them, you need materials of religious significance.  Water and trees have symbolic relevance in the bible, for instance.  That’s why wooden stakes and holy water are so effective.  The image of a cross can repel them, but that’s not enough to kill them.  All the image can do is create a mental block, and that can be overcome with enough willpower.  Some older Vampires can resist it entirely, but even if this particular vampire was repelled, it’s only a matter of time before she’s ready to attack again.”

            Alice let that sink in for a moment, and she could just feel the worried looks around her.

            “How much time do we have?” she asked.

            “Impossible to say I’m afraid,” said Walker. “It depends on when she last fed.”

            Alice closed her eyes as she figured out the rest.

            “Because she’ll overcome it when she’s hungry enough.”

“Correct.  You’ll know the vampire is hungry enough when she no longer looks human.  Vampires can hide their true appearance behind an illusion that makes them look human.  If they get too hungry, they lose control of this ability, revealing their true vampiric form.  I recommend you barricade the room before that happens.”

“Okay, give us a minute.”

            Alice locked the door, and then she, Ryan, and Penny moved the only things they had available to block the door and the window, a pair of bookcases.  Once those were in place, Alice picked up the phone.

            “Okay,” said Alice. “We have the closest thing approximating barricades available.  Now what?”

“Now,” said Walker. “Avoid fighting the vampire if you can.  Stay behind the barricade.  So long as only one of them can enter the house, your best hope is to stall until we can get there.  I guarantee that you won’t have the proper tools or training to take down a vampire safely.”

            “I’m sure that’s true,” said Alice. “But suppose we have no choice?”

“If you have no other choice but to fight, then loud sounds, bright lights, and strong smells can throw them off.  You can use your flashlights to blind it, and your guns, even if you don’t hit her, will at least hurt her ears.  Their strongest sense is their smell, so if you have garlic, that will work.  None of these methods will repel it completely, I’m afraid, but it can distract them enough to get the upper hand.

            “After that, your best bet is to shoot it so it can’t move, then stake it through the heart.  The problem with that strategy is that vampires heal from normal wounds fast.  Your window of opportunity to stake it will be quite low.  It doesn’t help that vampires are fast in general.  It won’t be impossible to shoot them, but you’re likely to miss all the same.  Furthermore, that’s assuming you’ll even see it coming.  Vampires are nocturnal predators, and a successful hunt ends with them catching their prey before they even realize it.  I still maintain that your best bet is to hold it at bay until we arrive.”

            “What about cutting her head off?”

            “If a vampire loses its head, it can just put it back on.  You need the right weapons, like a sword shaped like a cross and plated with silver, or perhaps a giant wooden axe.”

            “Too bad I’m fresh out of swords,” said Alice, starting to get a headache. “What about fire?”

            “That will do it, but the amount of fire you’d need risks starting one in the house.  Considering you can’t leave the house should it catch fire, I’d recommend that only as a last resort.”

“Alright.  You mentioned it could change its appearance with an illusion.  Can vampires make other illusions?”

            “No,” said Walker. “For most people, they can only alter their own appearance.  To gain more influence over a human, they must feed from them.”

            “Good to know,” said Alice. “One more question.  If we do manage to kill this vampire, what will the other vampires do?”

            “In the unlikely event you manage to kill this vampire,” said Walker. “The others will undoubtedly try to force you out of the house somehow.  That might include sending in humans under their control.”

            “What?” asked Penny, distraught.

            “As I said, vampires can take control of someone once they feed on them,” said Walker. “There’s a good chance they won’t risk their food source if they don’t have to, but it will be the easiest way to get inside a house they can’t otherwise enter.  If any humans enter the house, I recommend you shoot to kill.”

            “But…” Penny stammered. “But we can’t shoot people.  I mean, if this is true, aren’t they just victims too?”

            “The process to control their victims isn’t instant.  The more feedings they undergo, the more control the vampires have.  If any humans are willing to attack other humans on behalf of a vampire, then I’m afraid they’re too far gone to help.  The kindest thing you can do for them is free them from their mental bondage.  Furthermore, if any humans approach asking for help, they are under a vampire’s control.  There’s no way a human is getting to that house without the vampires getting to them first.”

            Alice looked around.  Everyone was distraught at this news, none more so than Alice’s mother.  Alice took a deep breath, putting on as determined a face as she could.

            “We understand,” said Alice.

            “Good,” said Walker. “One more thing.  Your description matched vampires.  That’s true.  But I did find one detail rather…odd.”

            “What’s that?”

            “Vampires usually only target one person at a time to avoid attention.  In the cases where they take an entire household, they do so one at a time, making sure they have control over all of them before anyone realizes something is wrong.  They always target someone with authority to grant an invitation first, for obvious reasons.  However, in your case, they merely disabled someone so he couldn’t rescind his invitation and went straight for someone who doesn’t even live there.  That suggests that they’re targeting you specifically, Alice Hayes.  Why would they do that?”

            Alice looked at her mother, and the fear in her face was evident.

            “Believe me,” said Alice. “I wish I knew.”

            Once again, Agent Walker didn’t respond immediately.

            “Alright then,”  said Walker.  “You just sit tight, and our men will be there as soon as they can.”

            “Got it.”