All of the five men walking through the night stopped suddenly as a horrific scream ripped through the air. It was the sort of scream that makes blood curdle and fresh crawl, a scream followed by nothing more than silence, an eerie silence that blots everything out and makes the air thick with fear. It was some moments before each man gathered enough courage to resume their bitter search. Their movements were slow as if they were in anticipation of another scream. As each second passed in silence their movements gradually became quicker. Each man eventually broke into a run. The scream had been their signal that they were getting closer, a beacon in the night that pulled them on. They all hoped that it was a signal that they weren't too late.

Unable to remain at the pace he was running at Ché, was forced to break into a full run whose strides put him far ahead of his companions. None of their calls fell on his ears as his rapid exertions sent echoes ricocheting off of the tall glass buildings all around them. A second scream filling the air sent him skidding to a halt, had he not been able to maintain his balance he would have fallen badly on the road. This pause in his movements allowed his companions time to catch up to him, instead of stopping at this scream they had redoubled their pace. Each of them reached their ears out as far as they would go but like the last scream this one was followed by a silence more ominous than the one before it. It was a final scream, a dying scream that lingered upon their memories and would do for some time to come.

With even less time to lose than before they moved off once more.

Tripping over his own feet, after his normal fashion, Faas Addens, a very obscure looking creature, stumbled into the hospital room. Faas Addens was a man that partly resembled a stork in frame and movement while also looking like something of a tree frog with two odd coloured eyes framed behind a pair of glasses that took up nearly the whole of his long, thin face. Atop his head was a wild brush of hair that would lay neither one way nor the other but stood up as if he had suffered some tremendous fright that it forced it into its current position, anyone that had known him for some years would know that his hair had always been like that.

As for his clothes, they hung from him as if they were at least three sizes too big for him. About his waist he wore three belts, each tightened to the last hole, to hold his trousers, that were much too short for him, securely to his body while the tunic he wore was buttoned tightly by way of extra holes that had been cut into the fabric while his sleeves were halfway up to his knobbly elbows. Nothing else except his shoes presented themselves as unusual, as for his shoes they appeared to have been stolen from a clown in their sheer length. The feet concealed within them fitted them perfectly.

As odd a picture as Faas presented his voice was even odder as he addressed the person he had come to see, "Sportacus 10, I presume?"

"Yes," Sportacus said finally stalling his inspection of this strange creature.

"Wonderful," Faas squeaked, "I'm Faas Addens from Airship Management and Tracking Services."

Sportacus frowned slightly, "AMATS?"

"Yes. I've come to speak to you regarding your airship. I'm the chief engineer regarding its case."

"Oh. Please sit down." Sportacus motioned towards a chair beside his bed.

Faas nodded his thanks and sat down, "First of all I'm sorry about what happened, your attack and all, and it's terrible when one of our numbers goes down. Anyway, from my complete inspection of the wreckage left behind after the crash I've been able to ascertain what made it lose control. It seems that some blood, your blood obviously, managed to find its way into the main controls beneath the pilot station and caused havoc. The seal that should have protected against that kind of occurrence seems to have been compromised some time in the past."

"I can't think why or how for that matter."

"Neither can I. Hopefully our autopsy of your onboard computer should give us some idea but that might take a while."

Sportacus nodded, "I can understand that. Can it be salvaged?"

"The airship?"

"Yes."

"I'm afraid not, the structural damage was too significant. I've put through the paperwork for a new airship to be assigned to you but as you know that can take some substantial time."

"How long would we be talking?"

"Months. Perhaps three, perhaps more. Unfortunately we have no spares left."

Sportacus took the news very well despite everything. He spoke no further which gave Faas the signal that it was time to leave. He watched as the odd man stood up rather awkwardly and left the room. Left alone with his thoughts only one thing filled his mind.

Robyn.

His eyes glowed amber as fresh blood dripped from his extended fangs. It had been almost too easy to turn what lay before him into a corpse. First he had drained him then he had snapped his neck to make doubly sure that what he had heard of this man didn't come true again. There were people that would get very upset if he failed to make sure it was the last time the man came back from the dead.

Energy flowed through his ice cold limbs bringing the heat of life with it. He closed his eyes in ecstasy of the sensations flowing through him. It was an experience that never dulled in excitement or power. Memories from his victim brushed his mind and he savoured them. Some were bloody while another that focussed itself to him made his eyes glow red with anger.

No one hurt her, they had no right.

Heartbeats mingled with footsteps sounded in his ears. It was time to move away from here. Bending down he removed a small, sword shaped pin from the neck of his jacket. Holding it above the wounds caused by his fangs he quickly sliced it, making it look as if the man had slit his own throat. There was enough blood on the ground to halt suspicion of any kind. Not even the most advanced forensic team could distinguish which puddle of blood belonged to who. They had all merged into one.

A slight chuckle left his lips as he took to the air.