The squirrel struggled helplessly in her grasp. Its desperate chattering made Sofia feel rather sad.

“Sorry little guy,” Sofia offered and sank only her fangs into its flesh. It stopped wriggling immediately, going limp in her grasp.

Sofia only drank a hint of life, the rest was nothing more than blood and matted fur. Somehow it wasn’t her worst meal. Better than orange juice.

Unfortunately, her fangs had been so big it killed it almost instantly. Still, she felt a little better as she licked the blood from her lips and tossed the carcass into the woods where it would eventually return to the earth.

Sofia took a few breaths and looked up at the moon above. A bright and clear night. She may not have been fragile, but her life was fleeting more so than any human.

What would happen when one day she turned cold again? When all the life in the body fled and left her a conscious corpse. When the only thing she could feel was hunger.

She would have nothing to offer the world then, nothing to offer Jackie. All she could do was take. And she wouldn’t truly care, because she wouldn’t feel anything until she was warm again. She was a ticking time bomb that kept having to be reset.

Maybe Jackie should have been the one begging her never to be put in a position where she had to kill Sofia.

Melancholy was hard to overcome. That wasn’t really the right word though. Sofia was scared. She never really stopped being scared. She could lose everything in but a moment. As she would exist through so many moments. What a risk to take.

She checked the time on her phone. Her father hadn’t taken no for an answer to bring Sofia back to the motel room he had rented. Visitors weren’t allowed overnight anyway. Still, the moment he was asleep she was out the door.

With a moment to centre herself, her body started down that path of becoming a gas. White mist trailed off her body, the edges of her no longer solid.

Sofia ran away from the tree line, bounding through the air like gravity did not touch her. Like an astronaut on the moon, except Sofia was fast.

She had to stop herself, and return the weight to her body lest she go careening into the hospital. But she was getting better. Practice made perfect.

Following the edge of the building she closed her eyes and focused on the thread. More of a rope now really. She had preemptively unlocked the window so she would be able to return to Jackie’s side. The only problem, Jackie was on the second floor.

Sofia couldn’t walk on walls but she could certainly climb them. Or well… she had the strength to do it, just not the skill. Plus the window had a wire mesh and was already a right squeeze.

The only alternative option she could come up with was brute forcing her way in. Easy as it would be, all she wanted was to check on Jackie.

Though while visiting hours were over it wasn’t as if the hospital was closed.

Begrudgingly she adjusted her glasses and headed around to the front of the hospital. She would just have to get in the human way.

Emergency only had a few people waiting. Not much of the busy emergency room Sofia had been hoping to slip through unnoticed.

She walked up to the counter and removed her glasses.

“Name?” The woman asked without glancing up.

“Not sure,” Sofia replied.

The woman frowned and finally looked up at her. Her expression melted into one of trance. “We’ve just had a conversation where you’ve taken pity on me because my girlfriend is all alone in the hospital. Despite the rules you’ve decided to be kind enough to take me up to the second floor to keep her company.”

Sofia slipped her glasses back one, letting the band of control break immediately. A zombified woman leading Sofia upstairs while she hurried along struggling to hold onto the woman’s mind would never have worked. She was curious to see how far her powers could go.

The woman blinked, adjusting back to consciousness. She frowned slightly but glanced up at Sofia to give her a pleasant smile. “We’ll have to be quick, I’m not really supposed to just up and vanish,” the woman offered conspiratorially.

Sofia happily followed after her as the woman led her upstairs without issue. The woman seemed quiet as if trying to puzzle something out. But she still carried out Sofia’s suggestions. How terrifying. How fascinating. How cool.

“What’s her room number?” the woman asked.

“It’s just that one,” Sofia offered, not actually pointing to a room. “I’ve got it from here, thanks.”

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“No problem,” the woman smiled and hurried back the way they had come.

With only dim fluorescent lights illuminating the night Sofia had no issues making her way to Jackie’s room. She crept in, careful not to disturb her.

Jackie slept soundly. Sofia could relax a little. She slid into the bedside chair.

“You’re not as sneaky as you think you are,” Jackie muttered before yawning. Her blue eyes blinked open to look Sofia over.

“Sorry,” Sofia winced.

“Glad you're back.”

“Dad’s trying to get me to sleep was entirely a waste of time, happy to be back,” Sofia retorted. “How are you feeling?”

Jackie shrugged. “Dinner was awful. The nurse says I’m healing freakishly fast and I’d be bored if I wasn’t high on pain meds.”

“How fast?” Sofia asked, unable to hide the concern in her words. While that was fantastic news, no one could ever find out about them.

“The nurse kept marvelling that it was remarkable,” Jackie winced. “She couldn’t believe I had gotten injured last night. Even went to verify my chart was correct.”

“Fuck,” Sofia muttered. “We’re gonna have you break you out of here. If they know something’s up, they're gonna start investigating.”

“Yup,” Jackie sighed, popping the p. “Slight problem.”

“What?” Sofia asked.

“The best I can do is hobble unsteadily,” Jackie explained. “Maybe I heal fast but nothing like you.”

“Jackie, I could break through the window and carry you all the way to Gem Creek without breaking a sweat. You don’t need to walk,” Sofia snorted.

“I’m sure you’ll manage not to remotely jostle my stitches,” Jackie retorted sarcastically. “Or god forbid trip.”

Sofia sighed. “I really don’t know what to do here then.”

“Your dad drove all the way out here,” Jackie pointed out.

“There would be so much I would have to explain,” Sofia groaned.

“Could you… make him think everything was normal?” Jackie added hesitantly. “Or just, to ignore vampire stuff?”

Sofia winced, she really didn’t like that idea. The last thing she wanted to do was use her eyes on her family. While that was theoretically possible, her interaction with the receptionist had only barely worked. Something like that would require so much finesse. Finesse she didn’t have.

She wanted to go home, but she wanted her family to have a normal life even if she couldn’t be part of it. “I really fucking wish I could call Eloise right about now. I’m sure she would have some kind of smug, insufferable solution.”

“You give her way too much credit,” Jackie huffed with disapproval.

Sofia shrugged. “Regardless of if we like her, she has information.”

“Well it doesn’t really matter since she can’t even be decent enough to stick around,” Jackie replied.

Sofia nodded. It was hard to argue with that. Not having the decency to provide answers was a dick move. At the very least make some kind of brochure or something.

While Eloise had answered some questions and seemed… maybe fond of Sofia, Sofia clearly wasn’t her priority. Considering Eloise had murdered her in the first place that was probably an understatement.

“Did you get something to eat?” Jackie asked after a pause.

Sofia nodded. “Ate the patty of a hamburger and drained a squirrel on the way over.”

Jackie gave her a strange look. “Well, at least you’re eating something. Probably better than the slop they’re feeding me.

Sofia rolled her eyes. “You’re such a drama queen.”

Jackie smiled, a smile that slowly faced into acceptance. “Alright, fuck it. Scoop me up and get me the fuck out of here.”

“You sure? Now?” Sofia asked.

“They want me for a few more days in case of infection and whatnot. Pretty sure vampire blood covers that,” Jackie shrugged.

“Okay,” Sofia reluctantly accepted. They couldn’t risk exposure. “But if you remotely feel worse we are taking you back to a hospital.”

Jackie scowled as she sat up, using her arms to support herself as she swung her legs off the bed. Sofia’s confidence in this half-hazard plan was quickly waning.

“Maybe… maybe give it a few days,” Sofia interrupted her.

“Seriously?” Jackie huffed with disbelief.

“You're in bad shape. I know basic first aid but that’s it. Even if it’s risky it’s better for you to be here where you can rest and heal,” Sofia continued. She would not be budging on this. Jackie could barely sit up on her own. So much for super fast healing.

“And when the men in black show up?” Jackie groaned, lying back down.

“Well… it’s gonna be me they want when it comes down to it,” Sofia pointed out.

Jackie shook her head. “So we just wait, twiddling our thumbs for someone to get curious?”

“Just until you’re back on your feet. Dad says he’s got a few more days of vacation anyway. I’ll break the whole sunlight issue in the meantime,” Sofia continued. “It’s a public hospital, they can’t just start doing experiments on you.”

“When has the law ever stopped anyone before?” Jackie huffed.

Sofia shrugged. “I’d put my money on a very pissed-off vampire.”

“Fine,” Jackie grumbled. “I hate being stuck here.”

“I’ll keep you company. We can hate being here together,” Sofia promised, tucking Jackie under the blanket and taking her hand.

----------------------------------------

“Dad, there’s something I should mention,” Sofia sighed, as she sat on the second bed in the shared motel room Charles had rented.

She had told Jackie she would bring up her aversion to light. Now that they were headed home tomorrow the deadline was fast approaching. Jackie could walk around on her own, though she still had much healing to do she was recovering at a remarkable speed. Even a few days had made a world of difference.

“What is it kiddo?” Charles yawned, putting down his book.

“I… I’m partially blind,” she offered.

Charles sat up, a confused frown crossing his face.

“I’m ok at night, but bright light, daylight, just makes everything go white,” she explained. Reciting what she had told that doctor. It seemed like a good enough explanation. “That’s why I wear these,” she offered, tapping on her sunglasses.

“Have you… gone to the doctor?” Her father frowned.

“Yes obviously,” Sofia sighed, her lie rolling uncomfortably easily off her tongue. “They’re not sure but… as long as I avoid bright lights, especially UV light then it shouldn’t get any worse. So I’ve just had to be pretty nocturnal the last few months.”

“You didn’t tell us,” her dad said bluntly, whether it was disbelief or hurt in his voice she wasn’t sure.

“I was in Toronto, you and mom were hours away. I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Honey, we’re your parents, it’s our job to worry.”

“I’m sorry, I just…” Sofia trailed off. Trying to come up with an excuse that had some truth to it she continued. “Telling you guys would make it real. It was one thing for my teachers to throw me a bone. Another to… change everything.”

Charles approached and hugged his daughter. “I’m not mad, I’m just worried,” he laughed nervously. “The last thing I want to learn is that you’re sick, not because I don’t want to know but because I want you to be healthy and strong.”

“I know, Dad. And… I had no idea how to break it to mom. I’m uh… I got a referral but… the doctor said it could take months for them to call me back,” Sofia replied. “Everything is in limbo. Jackie’s been a big help though.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to your mother. When we get home we can sit down and talk about it,” Charles replied. “Figure out what you need and what we can do.”

Sofia nodded even if the idea of doing that was the last she wanted. “Thanks, Dad. I… can we drive home tomorrow evening rather than after lunch? If it’s a little darker out it would hurt my eyes so much.

“Of course, I’m sure Jackie is in no rush to go on a long car trip in her condition.”

Sofia smiled. Jackie was losing her mind so cooped up in the hospital. If only her dad knew. That statement applied to so much more than Sofia would have ever liked.