And so they waited.  Alice, Penny, and Ryan stood at the corners of the room and gripped their rifles, while Aunt Betty and Alice’s mother held up flashlights at the barricaded door while they tended to Uncle Paul.  Ryan had the wooden stake stuck through his belt.  As a man who worked out for a living, he was easily the physically strongest among them, so if anyone could put a stake through a torso quickly, it would be him.  No one moved from their spots or dared to speak.  Alice left her phone on the table, and it showed Agent Walker’s number as he stayed on the line.  Now that they’d stopped talking, it stuck out to Alice just how quiet it was.  She kept listening for more of those shrieks or the sound of it crawling on the walls outside that room, but she heard nothing.  They’d been waiting for ten minutes, and she already felt like she was going insane.

            The worst part was her mother.  Even as she cared for her brother-in-law, Sara Hayes had this sunken look in her eyes, and it wasn’t hard to guess why.   Not only were they surrounded by vampires, but they now had a pretty good idea about what had happened to Arthur.  If Alice were honest with herself, she’d probably be happier not knowing.  She could only imagine what her mother was thinking.  All Alice could do was try very, very hard not to think about it herself.

            More time passed, and Alice became aware of just how restless everyone was.  No one could sit still, and everyone shifted position constantly.  No one, however, was more restless than Ryan, whose eyes darted around everywhere.

            “I wish she’d just get it over with,” said Ryan. “The wait is killing me.”

            “I’d rather she never show up,” said Penny.

            “Somehow, I don’t think we’re going to be that lucky.

            “Could you please not be such a pessimist?  I’m doing that well enough expecting the worst without help, thank you.”

            “I just want to do something rather than just stand here.  Be the hunter rather than the prey.”

            “I don’t recommend that,” said Walker.

            “Could we please stop talking?” said Alice angrily. “I’d rather not make it easier for the vampire to sneak up on us.”

            Her voice came from outside the door, “Well, guess who’s the smart one?”

            Alice, Penny, and Ryan pointed their guns towards the door.  Alice could feel her heart speed up instantly, knowing what was out there.  The vampire’s voice was different this time.  It was more guttural, like an animal speaking.  Alice didn’t want to know what she looked like now but had a feeling she was going to find out.  The sound placed the vampire in front of the cross marking the door, so she was undoubtedly hungry.

            “Now now,” said the vampire, smugly condescending.  “There’s no need to get jumpy.”

            “Then maybe don’t sneak up on people,” said Alice. “It tends to make people tense.”

            The vampire laughed a throaty, gravelly laugh.  Alice, heeding agent Walker’s words, attempted to stall.

            “How’d you get back inside?” she asked.  “We didn’t hear anyone breaking in.”

            “Picked the lock,” said the Vampire. “I so rarely get to do that, you know?  But let’s not waste time with chit-chat.  I have a proposal for you.  You, Alice Hayes, give yourself up to us, and we’ll let the rest of the family go.”

            “No!” shouted Sara.

            Alice resisted the urge to look at her mother after that outburst and kept her eyes focused on the barricaded door.

            “So let me get this straight,” said Alice. “You’re a dangerous nocturnal predator who feeds off the blood of humans, and you expect me to trust you to keep your word?  Not to mention you hurt my uncle so bad he can barely breathe.”

            “Well, I don’t deny it,” said the vampire. “But I heard your conversation.  I know you’ve turned to the Night Hunters, so I know I have limited time.  If I can save time by making a deal, I’m willing to do that.  However, if not, I don’t have time to waste taking control over all of you, so anyone who gets between Alice and me will have to die.  It’s as simple as that.”

            Alice clenched her teeth, but the vampire wasn’t finished.  Its next words were smugly condescending.

            “So Alice can save all of you by giving herself up.  Or, you know, the rest of you could save yourselves by giving her up.  Either works for me.”

             Alice tried to think of a way to stall some more.

            “First, tell me why you’re after me.  If…”

            “Did I not make myself clear?” asked the vampire irritably. “I know the Night Hunters are coming, so I won’t tolerate stalling.”

            Alice cringed.

            “Everyone in there can either live, or they can die as horrible a death as I can give them,” the vampire continued. “Either way, Alice Hayes will leave with us this night, now choose.”

            For a moment, Alice considered it.  She didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of her.

            “Maybe you should have made this offer before you attacked my dad,” said Ryan angrily.  “Save your deals for someone more gullible and stay away from my cousin.”

            Ryan shot his gun at the wall, making Alice Jump and the Vampire shriek.  Alice guessed that loud sounds really did hurt a vampire’s ears.  There was no way that bullet had gone all the way through.  Moments later, the room was silent again.  Alice felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

            “Thanks, Ryan,” she said.

            “Sure thing.”

            “Word of advice?” said Walker. “Aim at the roof.  You don’t want to weaken the wall.  That’s just helping the vampire get through.  Right now, the sound from the guns is the best repellent you have.”

            “Got it,” said Alice.

            Moments later, something banged on the door, causing the bookcase in front of it to shake.  All of them backed away as the three elders on the floor cringed.  Alice let out a shot at the roof, making the vampire shriek again.  For a few moments, the room was silent again, and then the banging began once again.  Penny shot this time, but the process just repeated.  The vampire would start banging at the door, one of them would shoot so the sound would repel it, or so a stray bullet might hurt it, but it would be back in less than a minute.           

            Soon the bookcase started falling over.  Ryan let off a shot and ran over, backing against the bookcase to hold it to the door.  His whole body buckled when the vampire struck the door again.

            “This isn’t working,” he said.

            “I know,” said Alice, reloading her gun. “At this rate, we’ll run out of ammo before the vampire even gets in the room.  Agent Walker?”

            She shot the roof again, forcing the vampire to flee temporarily.

            “Our men are on the way,” said the phone on the desk. “Just hold on.”

            The bookcase buckled again, pushing Ryan forward before he planted himself back.  He was never going to hold this thing off for long.

            “Walker,” said Alice, almost shouting.  “We don’t have time to wait.  Penny, get a handful of garlic powder.  Aunt Betty and Mom, get your flashlights and get ready.  We’ll overload it, then shoot it down.  Ryan, when I tell you, get away from the door.”

            “Okay,” said Ryan. “Just let…”

            At that moment, something impacted the door, and Alice heard wood breaking.

            “Ryan!” she cried. “Get…”

            Before Alice could finish, they heard the sound of wood bursting.  As Alice looked before her, she saw Ryan’s eyes roll back in his head as he started convulsing.  Moments later, his arms went limp, and he fell forward, revealing a clawed hand sticking through the back of the bookcase, claws dripping with blood.  As the hand disappeared through the wooden hole, Ryan hit the floor with a thump, revealing holes in the back of his head, spilling blood.  He convulsed for a second more and then went still.

            Alice’s eyes grew wide, and she felt herself trembling.  In the back of her mind, she heard Penny screaming Ryan’s name at the top of her lungs.  Alice grasped the gun in her hand, her fingers tightening until they were white.

            The next moment, an impact knocked the door off its hinges, and then both it and the bookcase fell onto Ryan, making Alice step back.  Then, in a moment where time seemed to stand still, Alice saw a vampire’s true form for the first time.

            The creature wore similar clothing to before but ripped, dirty, and full of holes as if she’d put something on and hadn’t take it off in years.  She had dark, grey, leathery skin all over, and her claws opened threateningly, ready to rip flesh apart.  The creature somehow had both powerful muscles and bones that protruded from her skin, including her ribcage visible through her clothing.  Her hair was wild and shaggy, and her feet, having ditched the shoes, bore sharp talons that cut into the wooden floor.

            But the thing that stuck out to Alice most was the vampire's face.  It had wrinkled skin pulled tight, showing every detail of the skull beneath it. The creature had a flat, batlike nose that sniffed the air and intense, bloodred eyes.  In those eyes, Alice saw pure hatred and malice as the vampire bared its gleaming fangs.

            They reacted immediately.  Aunt Betty and Alice’s mother raised their flashlights, making it wince, and penny threw some garlic powder, stopping the vampire in its tracks.  Alice immediately opened fire, shooting her rifle as fast as her finger would let her as the monster shrieked in pain.  Blood spilled wherever bullets struck the vampire’s flesh, and then it fled.  Though it moved more slowly than before, it still got away, disappearing through the door and turning left down the hall.

            Alice ceased firing.  For a moment, she stood there, holding her gun up and never moving it from the now gaping hole where the door used to be.  The only sound was the labored and fearful breathing of everyone in the room.  She didn’t have time to dwell on that, however.  Moments later, Alice heard something else.  Uncle Paul gave out a painful moan, which turned into stifled sobs.  Alice didn’t need to look to figure out what he was crying about.  Moments later, Aunt Betty came over and tried to lift the bookcase off of Ryan.

            “Ryan,” the older woman said desperately. “Ryan.  Ryan!”

            “Penny,” said Alice. “Watch the door.”

            On the verge of tears herself, Penny nodded, raising her rifle to watch the door.  Alice then knelt, helping her aunt get the bookcase off of him.  Once Ryan was visible, Aunt Betty turned him over and shook him, saying his name over and over again.  Alice, keeping an eye on the entrance as she placed a finger at Ryan’s neck.  His blank, glassy stare didn’t bode well, and it only took a few seconds to determine that there was no pulse.  Aunt Betty looked up at her with wide, fearful eyes, and it pained Alice to say what she had to say next.

            “I’m sorry.”

            “No,” Aunt Betty moaned, saying that same word over and over again.  Alice could hear Penny start to cry, and Uncle Paul give out more pained moans.  For a moment, Alice looked over to see his pained face as he struggled to breathe, tears falling down his cheeks.  Alice’s mother stayed by his side, tears falling down her face as well.  Alice closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them, deciding on what to do next.

            Still kneeling next to Ryan, she reached down and closed his eyes with her fingertips as Aunt Betty clung to his lifeless form.  Then she carefully reached down to Ryan’s belt and pulled out the wooden stake.  Sara Hayes noticed.

            “Alice,” said her mother fearfully. “What are you doing?”

            “Taking Ryan’s lead,” said Alice. “I don’t think we can just wait around any more.  I’m going to go out and kill that thing.”

            “Alice, you can’t,” said Penny. “It’s after you.”

            “Exactly,” said Alice slipping the stake through her own belt. “If I fail and it gets me, then they’ll have what they want.  Then they’ll have reason to leave before the night hunters get here.”

“I would advice against that,” said Walker hesitantly. “But will concede that I’m not in a position to argue.”

            “Penny,” said Alice.  “You saw it go left, didn’t you?”

            “Y…yeah,” said Penny. “I think so.”

            Alice got a second bottle of garlic powder, poured some into her hands, spit on it, then rubbed it onto her neck and arms.  She didn’t want to waste time, so she stopped there.  Her pants were thick enough that she figured the vampire would have trouble biting through them all the way.  Covering her neck and arms would be enough.  It had to be enough.  Alice then picked up her gun, took a flashlight, retrieved some tape from a desk, and taped the flashlight to the barrel of her gun.  With those tools in hand, she braced herself, then stepped towards the doorframe.

“When I’m through,” said Alice.  “Find something else to block the door.  Don’t remove it for anything.”

            “Alice,” said her mother. “Please don’t.  You’re all I have left.”

            Alice paused, taking another deep breath and resisting the urge to look back at her mother.  A tear fell down her cheek which she tried to ignore.

            “I know, mom,” she said. “I’m sorry. Stay safe.”

            “Alice Hayes,” said Agent Walker. “Good luck.”

            “Thanks,” she said.

            And Alice went through the doorframe, keeping her gun forward the entire time.