The bus station was dark, the lights dimmed purposefully for those trying to catch a two AM nap between transfers. Morbius appreciated the dark but wasn't sure where anyone could rest in here, the stop was cold, full of steel-ribbed benches and hard cement floors. A few college students huddled in the back camped around their backpacks on the floor sharing snacks from the vending machine with each other and chatting excitedly. There were a few sparse other people here, a man reading the paper, a homeless youth tired from bumming dollars, but no one that took any real note of him. Good, better to avoid notice. Michael yawned and leaned back on the bench, the four hour run from Holbrook Arizona to Santa Fe New Mexico had yet to arrive and he'd really prefer upon his pending arrival to have time to find somewhere to sleep in Santa Fe.

"Hi. Mind if I sit here?"

She was in her early twenties, short and perky with short brown hair spiked up with gel. Her low cut tank top exposed the top of her cleavage and the outside edges of some tattoos. Morbius blushed. "No, not at all."

She smirked and stretched out her arms falling into the seat on the bench. "Hi, I'm Amber. Where are you headed?"

"East." He tried hard to calm his heart, it had been days since he'd fed. Nearly a week. Where did she even come from? He hadn't seen her a minute ago!

"That's descriptive. Nowhere in particular?"

"New York." Goddamn it. The station was full of empty seats. Why him, why now?! She obviously wasn't taking the hint. Michael hunched over in his trench coat and pulled the brim of his hat down to hide his eyes.

"Oooooh. New York is a really interesting place! You seeing the sights?"

"No. It's my home."

"And you never gave me your name." She leaned over towards his shoulder and gave him a mischievous smile. He leaned away in response making her frown.

"Michael."

"Ah, like the archangel right? Well angel, you lonely?"

"Pardon?!" He gulped.

She spoke slower and at a near whisper to avoid being heard by anyone else in the station. "Are you lonely? You know, do you need company?"

"I prefer to travel alone." Fuck! What is her game!? It's been too long... can't deal with this right now..

"I didn't mean.. um, look. Do you need some T L C? You know, cause' it gets lonely on the road."

"I prefer women for that, not girls." He growled out the response trying to hide the glow creeping over his eyes. The room was growing brighter in his view. More red.

A look of rage overtook her once kind eyes and she stood in front of him.

"Please miss, don't." The red, so much red.

"You asshole! Fuck you you fucking creepy son of a bitch!" As she started to berate him, the other early morning inhabitants of the bus station turned towards the sudden outburst.

She stopped for a second to catch her breath, Morbius stood from his seat imposing himself in front of her.

"Oh what, you gonna hit me?! Big man hitting a little girl?!"

He leaned over towards her and put a hand on each of her shoulders. She gazed up in confusion thinking that this weird older man was going in for a hug.

He wasn't.

Claws sunk into the flesh of her bare shoulders as she screamed. He pulled her forward and opened his mouth letting his teeth scrape over the skin of her shoulder before he sunk them in to drink with a snarl. Two people ran as fast as they could out the front door in a rush to get away leaving even their baggage behind. One of the college students, a large blonde boy ran towards Michael trying to jerk him away from the girl but he felt as solid as stone. "Hey! Let her go!"

Amber continued shrieking as she felt the room growing darker. The pain he was causing intensified and spread from the bite, it felt like red hot coals. Blood started to rush down her back and pool beneath her feet as he lifted her up.

The college student slammed against his arm so Morbius threw the boy backwards losing his hat in the process, his limp body flew over towards his friends who were frozen in fear landing on the floor with a thump on the cement. Michael's eyes glowed a fierce red in the darkness and his face was monstrous.

Slowly his consciousness broke through.

NO NO NONONONONO! STOP PLEASE! STOP DEAR GOD STOP LET HER GO DON'T KILL HER! NO DON'T!

It was no use. she was already as flaccid as a rag doll hanging in his arms. She was past the point of saving and he knew it. Too much blood lost. He gripped her tighter snaking one arm around her ribs and growled sucking everything he could from her. Her heart stopped, he felt it and discarded the body to the floor like garbage.

Slowly the red receded, the glow faded, and his wits returned.

Oh god... what have I done?! He looked around pausing only to lock gazes with the kids huddled against the wall, grabbed his briefcase, and fled.

"We found one!" Officer Brady walked over and bent over to slide underneath the crime scene tape.

"Just one? The kids said there were two other people."

"Yeah and we got two sets of luggage but I don't think we're finding that last guy today. That fucker ran, could be halfway to Cleveland by now."

Pete sighed, it was too goddamn early for this kind of weird shit by his measure. He hadn't even been in the force a week. "Fine, what's the count?"

Brady flipped through his clipboard. "One April Brown and Mick Thompson were over there against the wall with our injured vic talking. Darius Montevado was over here on this bench reading the paper." He strolled through the room as he talked, pointing places out and checking his notes. "Here's our other mystery individual's seat. And here is the bench our perp sat at beside the vic." While walking to that particular spot he did his best to avoid the officer from forensics snapping photos of the blood splatter. Thank god the body had already been moved, this whole thing creeped Brady right the fuck out.

"And the girl came from where?"

"Front door or bathroom most likely, we're pulling prints. Station owner saw the camera pics and said she's a regular, Sarah Foresh, busted on three counts of prostitution so far this year. Likes to go by aliases, usually works bus stations and airport terminals. Bad drug addiction."

"We got the cam footage back?! Jesus, why didn't you tell me?"

"Cause you ain't gonna like it."

Pete eyed him skeptically until Brady just let out a "Fine, I'll get it!" and went to retrieve his laptop from the forensics team. He walked back triumphant with laptop in hand. "Okay, you ready for this?"

"Just show me the damn footage without the color commentary."

"Alright fine. Sit down for this one."

The older gentleman did as the young officer commanded taking a seat far away from the splatter.

"Okay, right here is where our perp enters looking like Humphrey fucking Bogart." The shadow of a man wearing a full trench coat and wide-brimmed hat stepped through the lobby on the screen taking a seat on the bench. The time tag said it was a quarter past one. "Here at two O' eight the girl enters."

"It doesn't show where she came from?"

"Nah man, camera's just for the lobby. No cams around the building at all." The girl on the screen rose from her seat to face the perp. "See they talk for about a minute before she get's pissed and stands. Now watch this." The man on the tape stood and clasped her shoulders. "Annnnnnnd slow-mo!" The footage slowed to a crawl as the man lurched forward over her in a blur burrowed his mouth to her neck.

"What the fuck.." Pete stared intently as the bite became ragged and the girl screamed silently on screen. When the boy rushed him and got knocked back the hat fell out of frame and Pete stood. "I know that guy!"

Every officer there turned to him.

Brady freaked out. "What like seriously? You know a goddamn vampire?!"

"Not like personally you idiot! I know him through the news, I swear to god! I am not even kidding.. he's got an "M" name, something foreign sounding... MORBIUS! That's it! Dude's name is Morbius! Saw a story that he'd been cured... apparently not"

The lead examiner in forensics stood and put down his camera and flipped out his phone. "Get me everything you have on this guy NOW!"

What have I done?! Three months of staying off the radar BLOWN because of a stupid girl! He stopped to chide himself, no, it's not her fault. My fault. Always my fault, I have to get away and it's close to sunrise.

Sure enough the sky was lightening to a deep blue, the sun would peek over the horizon soon and while it didn't burn him he'd rather not be weakened with the possibility of police coming after him. He stopped to pull a tattered map out of his pocket and glance over it. A railyard five blocks from here looked promising. As long as I can keep heading due east I'll get there eventually.

He picked up his briefcase and started to walk.