Author's Note: Sorry it took me a while to update. I was going to update this last night, but something came up and I didn't have the time. Anyway, I apologize for the wait.

Chapter Four

"Oh, stop being a baby and hold still!"

Dawn was dabbing at the wound on Abe's arm with a cotton ball. The cleaning solution from the first aid kit burned like a bitch, but he obeyed ceased his wriggling. The cut was deep and Dawn told him that he probably needed stitches, but Abe just shook his head and told her to clean it out and wrap it up. Hellboy was discussing something with Kate on the phone while Dawn bandaged Abe's injured arm. Hellboy put the phone on speaker so that everyone could hear what Kate was saying and sat on the end of the bed.

"Psychic Vampires…." Kate's voice came from the phone and the other agents could hear the rustling of papers. "I've been doing a bit of research and it seems you may have some trouble on your hands."

"What else is new?" interrupted Hellboy.

"Well," continued Corrigan, ignoring the demon, "just like normal Vampires are known for draining the blood of humans, Psychic Vampires drain energy from their surroundings, particularly life forces. They're pretty rare these days so there aren't a lot of reports on them." There was more shuffling of papers. "But they've been known to draw energy from supernatural forces as well, say… a pyrokinetic's fire energy or…"

"The electrical energy from someone like me," Dawn finished for her.

"Precisely. I don't know where these weird animals come into play, but this guy sounds like he means business if he sent them after that old man for giving you information."

"That could have just been a coincidence," Dawn said hopefully.

"I don't think so," Abe said. "Coincidences are very rare in this business."

"I've gotta agree with Abe on that one," Kate said. "I've gotta get to work on some things. Just be careful out there, okay? When are you leaving again?"

"Tonight," Hellboy said decidedly.

"All right. Good luck and be safe."

"Bye, Kate."

Dawn excused herself and walked the few feet through the rain to her own room. She opened the door, flipped on the lights, and stared across the room at her reflection in the mirror on the far wall. I look like hell, she thought, closing the door behind her. Mud tangled her dark hair and covered her clothes. The sleeves of her black t-shirt were soaked in blood from the wounds on her shoulders. She took off her muddy boots and carefully made her way across the hardwood floor toward the bathroom, trying not to leave a trail of dirt behind her.

She showered and cleaned the cuts on her shoulders. Thankfully, they weren't very deep and the bleeding had stopped some time ago. Her shoulders were going to be sore for a while, but she'd live. Dawn put on a clean shirt as she exited the bathroom and sat on the edge of her bed, the old springs of the mattress groaning in protest. Her pack sat next to her and, without knowing why, she pulled it close to her and unzipped it.

She pulled out the stone and unwrapped the towel around it. She didn't know why she felt compelled to hold it, but she did. It still seemed to glow despite the dim lights of the hotel room. Dawn stared at it for a few moments before wrapping the towel around it once more and storing it in the backpack, which she set on the floor beside the bed. That stone still made her nervous, but she didn't really know why. She lay back on the bed and looked at the clock, deciding that she had time to take a quick nap before she left. It would be nice to get in some rest after the events of that morning.

A few hours later, Dawn woke to the sound of knocking on her door. The noise made her jolt awake and she rolled over, falling off the bed and crashing to the floor with a dull thud. She disentangled herself from the blankets and hurried toward the door, trying to smooth down her hair as she went. When she opened the door, Hellboy looked amused but he didn't say anything about her appearance. He simply informed her that they were leaving in five minutes and she assured him she'd be awake and ready to go by then.

The drive to the location seemed ten times longer than it had that morning. The agents spoke only rarely and awkward silence of the car made Dawn uncomfortable. She wondered what the guys were thinking but she pushed the thought from her mind and stared out the window at the trees going by. After what seemed like years, Abe finally pulled off to the side of the road near the area where they'd stopped that morning. Dawn wasn't excited to be back out in the cold rain, but she was thankful when the others agreed that they should stick closer together this time. Maybe they'd be able to find strength in numbers.

Dawn picked her way through the woods, this time keeping her gun in hand just in case one of those 'dogs' decided to drop out of the trees. It was hard to keep an ear out for things when the rain was coming down so hard and blurred out the natural sounds of the forest. It made her on edge and every strange noise had her jumping and tightening her grip on her weapon. She could see the shapes of Abe and Hellboy moving through the trees only a few yards away on either side of her. Their odd skin colors stood out oddly against the rich browns and greens of the woods.

The woman stepped out into a clearing and openly stared across it. A small two-story building stood on the other side of it, a small light shining in one of the windows on the second floor. Firewood was piled against one side of the house, though no smoke issued from the chimney. Scratches scarred the wood on the exterior of the house and dark stains that Dawn hoped were not blood were splattered across it in a few places. The whole place gave her the creeps and she started as a familiar voice came from beside her.

"I wonder if this was Howard's place," Hellboy said.

"I don't know, but it doesn't look friendly," Dawn replied as Abe came to stand on her other side.

Author's Note: I'm really not fully happy with this chapter. :| I don't know why, but I'm just not satisfied with it. I'm too tired to change anything tonight, but I may rewrite it at a later date. For now, though, this will have to do.