In the distance was a strip of gold along the horizon, but it did little to warm the pervasive blue haze of an overcast evening. Layla crawled out of her dugout shelter, a mild tingle of the last licks of daylight on her skin. It reminded her of the pain that the sun had brought her before, but she fought the urge to flee back into shelter. She had a long trek ahead of her. And she wasn't the only one.

A small herd of caribou dotted the riverbank, digging through the snow to get at the lichen covered rocks and logs. Many of them were lean, with their ribs in sharp relief. She heard the rumours that winter had persisted over the span of two or three years. It amazed her that anything was still alive, and yet those who could adapt were struggling to carry on. It was also time for her to resume her own struggle.

Layla followed the river until she reached the harbour. An impressive steamship was docked, and unlike every settlement she had seen before, this port city did not have a segment closed in by walls. It took navigating deserted streets until she was able to find where the survivors had all settled. Plumes of smoke rose high up into the air. Rows of warehouses shone their lights and a nearby factory was groaning and sputtering as its various machines were being brought to life for another day of work.

This industrial port was a welcome change from the huddled and closed communities of frontier living which North America had been reduced to. Dawn would come soon, and she knew she would have to find shelter sooner rather than later. As she searched out a safe place to escape the encroaching daylight, she heard some voices that she could not ignore. Not when the word 'vampire' reached her. She stepped into the shadows and observed.

"If word gets out, it could hurt sales," a woman said in a firm, mid-range voice that made her age difficult to determine by sound alone.

"Down in th' Bleak, they're gettin' big. Most of 'em have what he calls The Stench. It ain't gonna stay secret much longer," another voice, a high soapy voice which conjured the image of an older, but soft featured slip of a man. So, vampires are preying on each other here? It's more desperate than I thought. Layla thought to herself as she moved closer to try and get a look at the two conversants.

"I know he pretty much built our steamships. But if our business partners knew there was a vampire here, I'm sure we'd have angry mobs knocking on our doors. Probably blame them for the plague," the woman griped, occasionally breaking up her words with a grunt. As Layla neared, she saw that they were loading crates onto a pallet and tying them down.

"When Laurie gets here wi'ther lift, we ought'er be good to go. Too bad we ain't got cranes," the man said. His voice was reedy, but his body was not. His voice did not match his bulk. He was all brawn in his arms, but all paunch in his gut, with spindly legs that barely held him up. The woman, whose head was shaved and face covered in a spiraling tribal tattoo, had a triangular figure with broad arms and narrow hips. She wiped her brow with the back of her bare arms, wearing thick work gloves too filthy to touch her face with.

"Those crazies down at Bella Bella sure pay well for these deliveries. But they are some of our best fur and lumber suppliers..." the woman said. To Layla's disappointment, the conversation turned away from mention of a vampire to strictly business. Although learning the local trade information could prove valuable, she had a tight schedule. After a moment of deliberation, she stepped into the dim light just outside the warehouse.

At first her presence wasn't noticed. But when the grizzled man saw her, he did a double take and groped around until he found a plank of wood, holding it out. The woman, seeing this, glanced in the direction he was staring, and seized a crowbar that was leaning up against the wall, poised to strike should Layla approach.

"Where is this vampire you speak of?" she inquired, watching as their faces became chagrined, then panicked.

"What? You must'a heard wrong!" the man exclaimed, slinging the board across his shoulder. The woman kept her crowbar pointed towards Layla, still ready to strike.

"No. I heard right. Tell me about the vampire," Layla repeated calmly. The man and woman looked at each other, then over to Layla.

"Lady, you'd better just move along," the woman said, narrowing her slanted eyes menacingly. Layla did not have time to waste convincing the mortals. She dug her feet into the ground, feeting the traction of her boot treads before launching herself at the woman. There was barely time for the worker to swing her crowbar before it was wrenched free. With fluid motion, Layla slipped behind the bewildered woman and held the crowbar across her throat. The man with the board raised it, but then hesitated, seeing his coworker held hostage. The woman began struggling, but Layla used her free hand to grab one of her arms and twist it back.

In a calm voice which seemed incongruous with the threat of violence her actions portrayed, Layla urged, "Tell me about the vampire."

"Let her go! We don't know much, just that a vampire's calling the shots!" A clatter resounded as the chunk of wood fell to the ground, and his arms reached to the sky.

"Hm." Layla twisted the woman's arm tighter and pulled her closer. She lowered the crowbar so it was pressed just below her victim's clavicle, holding her firm as she brought her head over one shoulder. She opened her mouth and her hinged-back fangs flipped forward, and she bit the woman's neck.

The man began swearing, his hands going to his head as his eyes bulged. "Another vampire?" No further convincing was needed; the man turned and ran down the narrow alley between warehouses as the woman in Layla's arms cussed and struggled. Layla had no intention of endangering the woman's life. She licked the wound, but did not stimulate the healing gland under her tongue. As the woman tried again to pull away, Layla released her, letting her stumble clumsily away, tripping over her own momentum. The vampiress watched as the woman ran off into the fading darkness. That should draw him out.

There was a prickling sensation as Layla's hair stood on the back of her neck. The sun would rise soon. Layla broke into the warehouse, which had no windows and found a nook to hole up in for the day, entering into a light sleep.

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

"This is your last chance. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Rena and Lily were both sitting on berths in the Fisham Hospital. They had been tucked away into a storage area for privacy. Cyrus was standing by, and Linda stood beside her sister. Set up between them was all the equipment needed for a blood transfusion, including a manual pumping device.

"I am sure. If it makes me worse, then at least I tried something," Lily said as bravely as she could, although she was shaking. Linda placed a hand on her shoulder, the two sisters exchanging a look.

"And if that happens, I'm prepared," remarked Cyrus a bit too cheerfully as he rested an axe on his shoulder.

"Alright, Cyrus, get the tourniquet on Lily while I prep the rest," Rena instructed.

"I still think you are crazy to try and do this yourself," Cyrus said as he cinched the ratchet strap around Lily's upper arm. "Why not just feed her your blood?"

"She's not a sanguivore, it won't do her much good," Rena responded as she applied some alcohol onto a cotton cloth and rubbed it on the anterior of Lily's elbow.

"Come on, stop applying science all the time! Just let the mysterious, magical, weirdness do what it does best: defy all explanation!" Cyrus suggested facetiously as he fiddled with the other tourniquet.

"Just because you never tried to understand what a vampire is and how they work doesn't mean there isn't a logic to it," Rena responded crisply as she picked up a needle, inspecting it closely. She looked over at Lily who was looking away. Linda was holding her hand and watching Cyrus suspiciously. Cyrus caught the look and snorted, walking a few paces away to give them all space.

"The White Plague, I am guessing, was wrought by science. So it needs to be solved by it." Rena listened to Lily's heartbeat, isolating it from all the others in the room. She focused on her personal rhythm, the flow of her blood. Her fingers pressed and explored Lily's antecubital fossa until she found the closest vein. She closed her eyes again, focusing on it. "Little poke..." Rena said quietly to Lily, who just nodded but kept looking away. She winced as it went in, and Rena secured the IV as best she could with a string in lieu of medical tape.

"And no one knows where it started?" Cyrus asked as he responded to a beckoning gesture from Rena, cueing him to put the tourniquet on her. "I'm sure I asked before but I think I may have forgotten already."

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"There's lots of rumours, but the facts were never verified." Rena's tongue peeked out the side of her mouth as she focused on inserting the needle in her own vein. "The CDC were working to track down patient Zero, and two possibilities were somewhere in Washington State or Alberta." Rena watched as the blood pushed its way through the tube to the mechanical pump. "But as I said, it's not any known pathogen. It's something else."

"Because it's mystical!" Cyrus insisted, his mouth tugged to the side, delighted despite his argument being shaky at best.

Lily sighed and stared at the ceiling. "What if there's a cure, but we just don't know?" she asked, breaking into the conversation she had not been much of a participant in.

"Won't find it sitting 'round here. But the world's too big to just go looking for it," Linda remarked, following her little's sister's charge into a conversation a bit beyond their mental acumen.

"If it is mystical, then what? We just handwave, burn some herbs, and heal the world?" Rena remarked sarcastically.

"Well you can't pass mistletoe. Science THAT!" Cyrus spat back, swinging his axe in a playful arc. The silence that followed was telling.

Lily finally broke it by asking, "What happens if a vampire eats mistletoe?"

Rena and Cyrus both stared at Lily, unblinking. She raised her knees somewhat and turned away, her cheeks blushing. Linda squeezed her hand and gave both of them a hard stare, willing them to answer.

"I... have no idea, and don't want to volunteer to find out," Cyrus finally answered, offering up a unilateral shrug. Lily looked back over at him, the redness draining from her cheeks.

"So... it's not a bad idea? I mean, to see if it can cure the White Plague?" Lily asked.

"It can't be THAT simple!" Rena uttered as she checked on the manual pump.

"Well... why not?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, Rena, why not?" Cyrus rejoined.

"Because someone might have already thought of it if it was," Rena scoffed. "And before you get any ideas, Lily, mistletoe is poisonous in the wrong dose. You are still mortal; I would not recommend eating any to find out."

"I mean it'd be a simple thing to try. It can't be any riskier than having me drink her blood, then replenish her with vampire blood," Cyrus made circular gestures with his hand as he spoke.

"Well we can't test it right now because if she did improve, then we wouldn't know if it was the mistletoe or the transfusion," Rena explained as patiently as she could.

"Guess we just need another infected to test it on. So. Can I bite Linda?"

All three of the women in the room, in varying volumes, exclaimed an emphatic "NO!" Cyrus pouted a moment before chuckling. He then caught Linda's eye, licking his lips, causing her to scoff and sneer.

"In all seriousness, before Layla stabbed me in the back..."

"Actually, she stabbed you in the chest. I stabbed you in the back," Rena pointed out. Cyrus paused, fixing Rena with a stare until she gave him a half smile.

"Rightly so. Before Layla stabbed me through the heart - which you missed by the way, might want to work on that - she was seeking out the cornerstones, believing they could solve the whole problem with the Plague and the Bleak." Cyrus set down his axe and crossed his arms.

"Cornerstones?" Lily asked.

"Shh, sweetie, the adults are talking," Cyrus said, flicking a hand in her direction.

"We are adults!" Linda snapped. Lily winced as Linda's hand, which was on her shoulder, squeezed too hard.

"Cyrus, leave it off," Rena said tiredly. "The Cornerstones of Genesis is a vampiric myth about five unique vampires with hidden talents, but when brought together, can perform a miracle. What that miracle is, well, depends on who you ask. Some say it will open the path to some vampire utopia, others say it will strengthen all of vampire kind, while some believe it will create vampires who can walk in the sun."

"Just what we need..." Linda muttered, letting go of Lily's shoulder. The younger sister rolled it with relief, while trying to keep her other arm as still as possible.

"Layla has always been fascinated by them. She won't tell me which outcome she believes in, but she still believes they are out there." Cyrus stroked his scruffy chin. "Anyway, Rena, you respect Layla, yet she believes in these fairy tales, as you call them."

"Why do you believe in them?" Rena asked, shifting on the bed to get more comfortable, and glancing over at Lily to make sure her IV site was looking alright.

"Eh, I'm not devoted to the idea, I just don't discount it. I think the mystical is worth investigation as much as the scientific, is all." Cyrus said with a shrug.

"You are free to try and find them and save the world, but I have my obligations here," Rena intoned, balling her hand into a fist and relaxing it. Lily looked between the two vampires. Linda sat at Lily's foot, shaking her head.

"...Well why don't we go looking for them? All of us? If we can stop the Bleak and the Plague, then that's kinda saving Fisham, now, ain't it?" Lily asked, tilting her head.

"No, no you don't! It's bad enough we're here in Fisham with its mud huts, but trotting around in the cold, sleepin' in tents, not knowin' what we're gunna eat..." Linda scolded, disparaging of Lily's idea.

"Besides, the two of you would slow us down," Cyrus said, crossing his arms.

"No, Cyrus, I think being a vampire slows you down," Lily responded, her lower lip turned out.

"Maybe in the summer, but right now daylight is thankfully in the minority," Cyrus responded.

"Regardless, I can't afford to wander aimlessly in hopes of stumbling across some mystical solution. Not when there are possibly more swarms of the infected coming this way," Rena asserted. "I think that's enough for now."

Rena worked on disengaging the transfusion pump. She removed the IV from Lily as delicately as she could, instructing her to hold a bandage down on it for a couple minutes.

Lily winced as she applied pressure to the small puncture. "Well I don't feel any different... so at least it didn't make things worse."

"That remains to be seen. Maybe Lily should spend the night with Rena and I, just in case. What a cruel joke it would be if in our eagerness to fix her we just sped up the process, and she ate her sister," Cyrus suggested. Rena eyed Cyrus, unimpressed, as she held a cloth over her own arm.

"That might be for the better..." Rena admitted reluctantly.

"What? No!" Linda protested.

"I know you're protective of Lily, but consider yourself, Linda, please. Lily isn't the only person's safety I'm concerned about." Rena crossed her arms, holding a bandage to the inside of her elbow as she did so, and fixed Linda with a stern yet well-meaning expression. Linda's mouth worked, but no sounds came forth. The shift of attention to her own well-being was novel. Her eyes darted around not really looking at anyone.

"And you needn't worry about my corrupting influence, because Rena will be there to keep me in line," Cyrus added merrily. "Though really, what more can I possibly do to Lily that I haven't already done?"

Cyrus got glares from everyone in the room, although Lily's quickly softened to a pout as she looked away. "I don't think it'd hurt for you to try and be nice to people," Lily reprimanded softly.

"Actually, I think it might," Cyrus responded, giving a shrug. Cyrus turned to where a blood pack had been left and tossed it to Rena. As she was still holding the bandages to her arm, she didn't even bother catching it, letting it hit her shoulder and fall into her lap. "Better top up before you get too weak."

"Why do any of you put up with him?" Linda asked, exasperated.

"He has his uses," Rena responded bluntly.

"He did save my life," Lily reminded. Linda exhaled loudly, shaking her head at the insufficient qualifications laid before her, fixing Cyrus with a look as if, were he small and squashable, she'd have no qualms of stomping him under her heel.

"Don't let that misguide you into believing he has an unlimited claim on you, Lily. I once did, and it did not end well for me," Rena cautioned. Lily tilted her head, looking between Rena and Cyrus.

"What is the story with you two, anyway?" Lily asked.

"A long one," Rena said, looking away.

"Not that long! I can sum it up in four sentences. Rena saved my life. I claimed her basement as my new territory. Then she got entangled in my problems, which I had to keep saving her from. Unfortunately, I was betrayed and Rena got shot, so my spawn turned her into a vampire to save her. I guess this is a fifth sentence, but once she got used to being a vampire, we went our separate ways," Cyrus occasionally flicked his wrist or waved his hands as he gave a brief synopsis of their history. Rena looked back at him, her lips thin and pulled aside contemptuously.

"You left out the constant threats, sexual harassment, and isolating me from everyone I cared about," Rena said bitterly, lifting her hand from the injection site and checking it. Satisfied, she reached into a small box beside the bed and pulled out some circular, adhesive bandages, hoping they were still sticky after all these years.

"Eh, details, details." Cyrus waved his hand, dismissive of the allegations laid at his feet. "Anyway, Lily there is looking a bit... peaky."

All eyes were on Lily. Although she'd been slowly becoming more pale since the infection, and her hair had gained a few more silver streaks, she was looking ashen and the colour drained from her lips. Her deep brown eyes rolled to the side, as darkened eyelids drooped over them. "I am feeling... a bit nauseated..." she admitted.

"That's not unusual. There's a bucket over there if you need it - but as soon as you feel able, let's get you back to the Relay. I'll keep watch over you."