The gloves Vivian wore felt like they were sticking to her hands. It was a few days after the Halloween fair, and winter was slowly rolling in. There had been a dusting of snow when Vivian walked to work this morning, but it melted in the daylight. She stood in the back of the cafe, washing dishes in the large sink that was tucked away. Vivian hummed a song to herself, the end of her shift nearing. She was excited to head home and work on her graphic novel, the project sitting untouched for these last few days. It was a paranormal romance, of course, as that was her favorite genre, and she had been working on it since she finished college.

"Hey Vivian-." Ophelia started as she walked over to the space where Vivian stood over the sink, but then there was a loud knock on the metal door which led out to the alleyway between this building and the next.

The sound rattled Vivian, making her stomach drop. Suddenly everything around her started shifting and swaying, the black haired woman grabbing the sink in front of her to steady herself. She tried to blink the dizziness away, but it wasn't working. She closed her eyes for a long moment, and when she opened them up, it was nighttime. Vivian stood outside in the alleyway, breath fogging the space in front of her face.

Confusion radiated through her body, looking around and trying to remember how she got to the alley.

"Vivian!" A voice called out, making her look around. It was then she saw the form running towards her, red curls bouncing with each movement. Penny. The black haired woman instantly began running towards the other, feeling a panic stir in her chest. "Vivian, run!"

Behind Penny another form took shape, and fear shot through her veins when she saw red eyes looking back at her.

"Vivian?"

The woman blinked, and she was back in the kitchen. Whatever she had been holding slipped from her grasp and crashed down to the sink below. It broke with a loud sound, starling both Vivian and Ophelia. "Woah!" Ophelia said as she stepped towards Vivian, a hand pressing into her back as if to steady her. "Are you okay?"

Vivian could feel the room spinning. "Uh I think. I need... I just need a minute."

"Come here." Ophelia led her to a chair in the corner of the kitchen, sitting her down with gentle hands.

"What's going on back here?" A voice came from the door leading to the front of the shop.

"Vivian had a dizzy spell or something." Ophelia says, both women watching as the owner of the cafe, Ophelia's mom, walked into the kitchen.

"Are you okay?" Ophelia's mom repeated the younger woman's question.

"Yeah." Vivian breathed out, putting a hand to her head. "Like Ophelia said, I just had a bad dizzy spell."

"Are you eating enough? You look skinny." The older woman said, coming to stand in front of her before kneeling. "Are you sleeping enough?"

No. "Yes, yes I'm fine Mrs. Garcia." Vivian replied, sitting up in the chair. "I just felt a little dizzy. I missed breakfast this morning so it must be that." The lie came easily to her, trying to not let it out that she's been missing breakfast for over a week now. She was barely eating, ever since Penny's disappearance she hasn't had much of an appetite. "I'll be okay, I promise."

"What's all the commotion back here?" Another voice sounded, pulling Vivians attention to the teenager who just entered the kitchen. "Why is everyone back here?" Finn crossed his arms as he approached the group.

"Vivian almost passed out." Ophelia said before Vivian could speak.

"I did not almost pass out." Vivian cuts in, standing from her chair. The room tilted slightly and she sat back down immediately. "I just need a minute."

"Why are you passing out?" Finn asks, clearly not amused with the adults in the room.

"You could show some sympathy, you know?" Ophelia said, poking Finn, her brother, in the chest.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"It's fine, I'm fine." Vivian tried to stand up, doing so slowly this time. When the room didn't tilt, she felt confident. "Let me clean up the mess and we can all get back to work."

"No." Mrs. Garcia said, shaking her head. "You're going home for the day. Finn, you clean up the mess."

"What? Why me?" Finn sounded as annoyed as he looked, gesturing towards Vivian. "She said she's fine!"

"Finn." Their mothers voice was firm, making everyone silent. "I'm asking you to do your job."

"Yeah, fine." He mumbles, storming off towards the sink to clean up the broken dish.

"You." Mrs. Garcia pointed to Vivian. "Go home, I will see you tomorrow."

Vivian couldn't fight with the boss, so she took her loss and got ready to head home. It was only four in the afternoon but the sun was beginning its descent from the sky. During her walk home, she got that uneasy feeling in her chest again and couldn't help but feel like someone was watching her walk all the way home.

✩

Trees zipped by him as he ran through the forest. The sun had already set, but that wasn't an obstacle for Kit. It was easy to move through the forest at night, especially when the moon was as full and bright as it was. It took him no time to reach his destination, the cobblestone estate standing tall in an opening of the forest, hidden away from the main roads that ran through the mountains of the Oregon coast. He slowed down to a walk as he approached the entrance, the huge wooden doors opening by themselves, allowing Kit to move easily into the estate.

The place was lit with candle chandeliers and torches on the walls, tapestries hung on the walls and huge paintings greeting Kit as he walked through the hallways. It was a familiar walk for him, and once he reached the wooden doors he was looking for, he knocked and waited for a moment before entering.

"Good evening Kit." The man inside the room spoke as he entered, papers in hand as he stood behind a huge wooden desk. "What news do you have for me?"

"I killed three rabids on the way here." Kit said, moving to stand in front of the desk. "There has been more in these past few weeks."

The man, Niccolo, looked up to Kit from his papers. "I've noticed. But we've been doing a good job keeping them from the humans."

"There was that one girl." Kit offered, earning a glare from the man.

"Yes, so far we've had one casualty. Hopefully there's not more." The man set his papers down on the desk before sitting himself. "You and the others on patrol have been doing an excellent job."

"But there are more rabids every night. I fear for the safety of Lake Ashton." Kit replied, earning another look from the man. "I know you fear for their safety too, Niccolo."

"Of course I do." Niccolo said with a firm voice. "I care for all the towns and cities under my care. But Lake Ashton is the only one having a rabid problem."

"Who do you think could be turning them?"

Niccolo took a moment to think. "It could be a group of rogues trying to upset the balance."

"They want to expose us to the humans?" Kit asked, crossing arms over his chest.

"They want to stir up trouble and get me thrown out." Niccolo copied Kit's motion, crossing arms over his chest as well. "I'll have to have you do more patrols through the town."

"More patrols?" Kit choked out. "I'm already out there all night."

"You'll be out there earlier in the evening, right before the sun goes down. You and the rest of the officers."

Kit wanted to argue, wanted to tell Niccolo that the attacks only happen during night fall, but he bit his tongue. "Yes sir."

"That is all, thank you." Niccolo waved Kit away as he went back to the papers on his desk.

Kit left the room, knowing he had been dismissed. He had to think for a moment on his next move, given the information he just heard. Kit began winding through the halls until he found the person he was looking for. "Sebastian." The man said as he caught up to the other. "I have news."

Sebastian, the officer he does most of his patrols with, stops and turns to look at Kit. "What?" The man asked with a harsh tone

"We are being put on patrol earlier in the day."

"What?" This time it was harsher. "We're already out there all night. Niccolo wants us to go out during the afternoon?" The man turns and continues walking, Kit speeding to catch up.

"A few hours before sundown, yes. It will be more complicated, we will not be able to travel the way we usually do." Kit replies, making sure to keep his stride the same as Sebastians. "There's been more rabids out and we need to keep them from killing."

"I know what my job is." Sebastian bit out, stopping again to look at Kit. "But being out there earlier is a risk."

"I know it is." Kit said, taking in a breath to calm down the anger that was boiling up. Sebastian was a good partner, Kit knew he could rely on the other man, but he had too much of an attitude sometimes. "But we need to keep the rabids from killing anyone else."

Sebastian let out a puff of air, putting hands on his hips. "Fine, what time are we going out tonight then?"

"Be ready by four."

✩

Darkness had fallen over Lake Ashton, Kit having been out on patrol for a few hours now. Him and Sebastian were far apart from each other, two separate rabid sightings pulling them away from one another. Kit was near the boardwalk now, close to the local cafe. He knelt on a rooftop, crimson eyes watching the crowd below moving about. There was a surprising amount of people out, but then again they didn't know about the dangers that lurked in the woods. It was his job to keep it that way.

Watching the crowd, he recognized one familiar face. It was the woman from the cafe and the fair, the same one he saved a week ago. At her side was the blond man and auburn haired woman that he met at the fair. He wondered for a moment how she was doing, but then a tinge ran down his spine and he was moving, away from the boardwalk and towards the forest where a rabid awaited him.