Huber Heights, Ohio

0925hrs, Oct 27th

Alan woke up in his bed to his phone vibrating. He groaned and picked it up groggily. "Hello?"

"What the fuck were you doing last night?"

"Good morning to you too, Director," Alan yawned, rubbing his eyes. What had happened last night? He went out, met his friends, but it became groggy after that.

"Pierce, don't play with me like that. I'm looking at a double homicide report that occurred outside of Huber. Where the hell were you?"

"Sir, I went to dinner with my friends. That's it." I think.

"Who was there?"

"Sir, what the hell does that have to do with the double homicide?" Alan looked at the clock. 9:30? Shit, he really woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

"Just answer the damn question. Who was there?"

"Sir, none of my friends are cold-blooded killers. I know what the reports say about them. But half that shit is speculation."

"Then you know the names I want."

"Yes, they were all there. Mina left early, but that's because she has a child at home and her husband is in the Army. She doesn't do that anymore. She left that life."

"Alan, you know that's a load of bull. Once you enter, you never leave. You told me so yourself."

"Sir, that was about the military and you damn well know it." Alan was silent for a moment before, "This is more than about before. You had already scratched her off the list as soon as I said she had a child. Why?"

"That's need to know, Alan. Just keep up what you are doing." Alan heard the phone go dead and looked up, wondering what the hell had he gotten himself into.

Washington, D.C.

0938hrs

The director hung up the phone and sighed. It was true, he had scratched off Mina Cain's name. But he had scratched off the name months earlier, when he had found out about the birth of her first child. Did it mean she was completely innocent? Perhaps not, but they had nothing on her more than she knew the true identities of her friends, if they really weren't human. And since the damned creatures had created a formula that was basically sun block on steroids, they could walk in the sun, for a while at least.

A knock interrupted his thinking and Agent Minez walked in. "Sir, I received word that Walsh arrived safely in Ohio. He called from his hotel room phone."

"So, Day Two officially begins. Any leads on the murderer?"

"No sir, but we do have the photos from the scene." Minez held up a manila folder. The director waved it off and leaned into his hands sighing. "Sir, did you go home last night?"

"OK," Director Peterson said suddenly. "So, what do we know? We know none of his closest friends were directly involved. That doesn't mean they weren't involved. So, do we have anything on the people who were under them?"

"Director, what if they have nothing to do with the murders? I'm not saying they are completely innocent, but what if they aren't involved in this particular case."

"Who then? We know Pierce was steeped in their dealings. He admitted it himself. He knew what they were doing. Pierce might not have known they weren't human, but he damn well knew what they were doing to keep the income positive. He had to have been close to the top person."

"Sir, there is one person that might be responsible. But that might turn him against us for good."

"Who?"

Huber Heights, Ohio

1017hrs

Alan sat in Nikki's Chevy Cobalt. She had picked him up twenty minutes earlier and still hadn't answered any of his questions. It irked him horribly that she wouldn't answer. She had never ignored any of his questions before, but now she absolutely refused to answer any now. So when he looked up to find them stopped at a house outside of town, he was completely perplexed as to what the whole thing was about.

"Oneechan, please tell me what's going on." Alan looked at her helplessly, hoping this would get her to relent.

Instead, she looked at him seriously and said, "Go into the house and survive."

He hesitated, looked at Nikki, then opened the door and walked to the house. As he got closer to the house, he could see just how desolate it really was. The paint, which looked like it had been white at one point, was now grayed and peeling. The shingles had completely fallen off the roof in some places. And the windows were all broken and shattered.

The door creaked when he pushed on it. It opened slowly. As he walked in, the darkness engulfed him, causing him to panic momentarily as memories of Iraq surfaced. Alan calmed himself enough to let his eyes adjust to the low lighting, which he found from the windows in the rooms surrounding the foyer and coming in through the holes in the walls. He found a wooden katana and picked it up.

He walked through the house cautiously. His mind wandered wildly, pumping adrenaline throughout his system before he finally closed his mind all together and just walked through the first floor of the house.

Once he had cleared the first floor, he climbed the steps, making sure not to break through any of the rotting wood. He had made it up the stair and turned right before he heard a creak behind him. Spinning, Alan brought up the katana in defense of his body. He felt the shock of wood hitting wood, saw the flash of brown hair in the dim light, and then heard the laughter.

"Who's there?" He looked around wildly before calming down and closing his eyes. He heard his assailant step to his left and spun in time to block another attack. This time, he caught a glimpse of brown eyes and small lips, creased in joy. Then she was gone.

"Damn it, I asked who's there," he yelled before taking a wild swing. When his katana hit wood, he changed tactics and tackled his would be attacker.

"You've changed so much, haven't you?"

Alan finally got a full look at the girl and gasped. "Rachael?"

"You do remember," she said softly before kissing his lips gently. "And here I thought you had all but forgotten about me."

"What the hell is going on?"

"This was your test. And you past." She looked at him lovingly, memories of three years ago coming like a river racing down a river in spring. "In case you were wondering, she does know and is part of it."

"What was this about? Why the hell did you attack me? I could have killed you." Alan stood up, and looked down at Rachael. In the dim light, she looked so much like she had three years ago. But more filled out. She's become the woman I knew she would. He helped her up and laughed softly. "You really haven't changed much. If you're not trying to attack me, you're trying to love me."

"But we had so much fun together," Rachael said, walking down the stair and opening the door. Alan cringed at the blinding light. "I forgot how sensitive your eyes were. I'm sorry."

Alan walked outside with his eyes closed, following her footsteps "Hey Rae," Alan asked as they stopped at Nikki's car. "What are you wearing? I don't recognize the smell."

"It's sun blocker. You know I burn easily." She slid into the backseat before Alan slipped into the passenger seat as Nikki sped off into town.