 trees and smiled. "Damn, but it'd be great to fly." Peter's back-and-forth between his common sense and his infatuation lasted until he reached his house. He walked up the yard and frowned when he noticed the back gate was ajar. The breeze swung the wooden gate to and fro, and it hammered the post with a maddening consistency. The smack echoed through the backyard. He remembered he hadn't latched the gate on his quick escape, but he wondered how Rich was able to ignore that loud noise. Peter latched the gate behind himself and noticed the house seemed darker than usual. Val had late classes and labs so he knew she probably wasn't home, but he couldn't say the same for Rich. Rich never left the house at night without going to a party, and he always mentioned the party before he inevitably dragged Peter and/or Val to it. Peter walked up to the kitchen door and tested the knob. Unlocked. The door swung open. Starlight spilled into the kitchen, but he couldn't make out anything but vague shapes. He stepped inside and flicked on the light. Peter's eyes widened when he saw Rich on the floor beside a toppled chair. "Rich!" Peter rushed forward and fell to his knees beside his friend. The first thing he noticed was his friend's chest still went up and down. The next two things he noticed were that Rich's skin was ghostly pale, and there were two puncture wounds on his neck. CHAPTER 10 One 911 call later and Peter sat in the living room with the same officer as the previous night standing over him with the same notepad and pencil. The kitchen was cordoned off with police tape and Rich was safely in the back of an ambulance on his way to the hospital. The prognosis wasn't good. "Your friend's lost a lot of blood," the officer told him. Peter stared at the floor and ran his hand through his hair. "How much?" "The medics think he lost five pints of blood. Another pint and he would have died," the officer replied. "Jesus..." Peter whispered. The officer frowned. "I'm starting to think he doesn't have anything to do with this, but can you tell me what happened?" Peter shrugged and waved his hand toward the kitchen. "I came in from taking a walk and found him there." "No forced entry? No sign of foul play?" the officer questioned him. Peter shook his head. "No, but the back gate was open when I came through. Rich always makes sure it's closed." A bitter chuckle escaped his lips. "He says it makes him uneasy with it hitting the post." "Were you the last one to leave the house?" the officer asked him. "I don't know. I guess not because somebody got him," Peter pointed out. "Does anyone else live here?" He nodded. "Yeah, Val." "And where is she?" Peter opened his mouth to reply, but there was the sound of a scuffle outside. The front door opened and Val stomped him. Her eyes fell on Peter and she scowled at him. "What in the world is going on here? Why are the police outside?" A female officer swept in behind her and tried to grab her wrist. "You're not allowed here while there's an ongoing investigation." Peter stood and hurried over to them. "Wait, she's my roommate." The holding cop exchanged glances with the officer who was questioning Peter. The man nodded, and the female released Val. She went back outside and shut the door behind herself. Val pulled her arm against her and turned to Peter. "Mind telling me why we have officers swarming the place and why where's a sidewalk full of people gawking at the house?" Peter pursed his lips. "It's Rich. Something got him." The color drained from her face. "What do you mean something got him? What got him?" The officer stepped forward and nodded at Peter. "That's what we're trying to find out. It looks like he was attacked in an identical manner to that of a victim found by your roommate here last night in the park." Val's eyes widened and she pressed her hands against her chest. She looked from Peter to the office and back. "Is he going to be all right?" Peter closed his eyes and shook his head. "They don't know yet, but he's probably at the hospital by now." She pursed her lips and turned to the officer. "Then that's where I'll be if you need me to answer any questions." "Of course," he agreed. Val hurried from the house and Peter ran his hand through his hair. "Why him...?" The officer looked to him and raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?" Peter shook his head and stared at the ground. "It's nothing, I was just thinking, that's all." The officer frowned and he scrutinized the young man seated before him. "You could start with thinking about who would want to attack your friend like this." Peter shrugged. "I can't think of anyone who'd want to do this. Rich annoyed people, but not enough for them to want to kill him like this." "Has anyone made any threats against you?" the officer wondered. Peter lifted his head and frowned at the cop. "What do you mean?" The officer tapped his pencil against his notepad. "Two people have been attacked in two nights in identical fashions, and the only constant is you." "I guess I just have bad luck," Peter suggested. One side of the officer's mouth twitched up. "Bad luck is finding you guessed the wrong numbers on a lotto ticket, but finding two victims in an apparent attempted murder? You're either cursed, or not telling me everything." Peter stood and looked the officer straight in the eyes. "If I thought I had something you'd want to write down in that notebook of yours then I'd tell you. Right now I've got nothing but a friend in the hospital who I'd like to go see, if you're through with me." The officer frowned, but tucked his pen in his breast pocket. "That's all for now. Did you need a lift to the hospital?" Peter sheepishly grinned and nodded. "Yeah. I don't have a car." The officer drove Peter to the hospital, and the front desk directed him to the ICU. He found Rich at the far end of the long room with Val seated beside his bed. Val had her hand in Rich's limp palm and he thought he heard a few sniffles. Peter shuffled over to the pair and noticed the IV stuck in Rich's arm. Val looked up and smiled at him. Her cheeks were wet. "What took you?" she teased. "The officer wouldn't put away his pen," Peter replied. He dragged a chair beside Val's and sat down. Peter nodded at Rich. "How's he doing?" Val sighed and turned to Rich. "The doctors say he's going to recover, but he's lost a lot of blood. He'll be weak for a few days, and he'll need to eat a lot of meat." "Has he woken up?" She sniffled and nodded. "For a little while. There was an officer here and she tried to ask him some questions, but all he could remember was some sort of shadow." She looked to Peter. He stared at their friend with a scowl on his face. Her eyebrows knit together. "Is something wrong?" Peter straightened and shook himself. "What? Oh, no, just thinking about something." He'd been studying the marks on Rich's neck and couldn't deny they looked suspiciously like those of a vampire. The shadow only proved his theory. Val followed his gaze and frowned. "Creepy, aren't they? The doctors think that's where the blood loss occurred, but they don't know with what kind of machine." Peter stood and put his chair back. "You're leaving already?" she asked him. "There's somebody I gotta see about-well, about something," he replied. Peter left the hospital and turned his steps toward the park. The walk took an hour and the night was nearly over by the time he pulled himself through the clingy brambles and emerged from the woods and into the meadow. He took a step toward the house, but far off came the sound of howls of hell hounds. The hairs on the back of his neck rose and he scuttled backwards. Peter yelped when his back his something hard and pliable. He jumped forward and spun around to find Roger behind him with the net still in his hands. Sharp bulges protruded from his dirty lab coat. He adjusted the bulges and smiled at Peter. "Were you looking for something?" Peter winced. "Um, maybe?" Roger shook his head. "You can't get in through the front door, but I know another way. Follow me." He turned and walked into the woods. Peter held out his hand to the older gentleman. "Wait." Roger paused and half-turned to him. Peter swallowed. "Why.. why are you helping me?" Roger chuckled. "I may be insane, but between the two of us I'm not the one who's blind. Your love is going to get you killed if you aren't more careful. Now come with me so you can see your lady friend. I'm sure she's eager to see you." Peter frowned. He wasn't so sure after she found out why he came back. CHAPTER 11 Roger turned away and strode into the trees. Peter followed close behind, and they walked on a nearly-invisible trail that followed the curve of the meadow. Halfway around the field the path turned away from the grass and dove deeper into the woods. Peter paused and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "The