In mere minutes, she was dead. It was just too easy. Staring into her eyes and watching the life leave her body was only a fraction of the satisfaction I felt when I was human. When I was human, they actually had somewhat of a fighting chance. Now, with my looks and speed and strength, the thrill of the kill was just... mediocre.

I sighed as I stroked my hands along her neck, running my fingers over the bumps and bruises I had just left. Honestly, sucking them dry was less satisfying if they were dead first. I just couldn't help myself. At least, not with the pretty ones.

I bent over and bit into her flesh. Her blood was still hot, and I drank voraciously, unable to curb the frenzy. When she finally ran dry, I sat up, and licked the remainder off my lips. I was suddenly acutely aware of the two heartbeats in the next room. Somewhat unappealing before, but since I had a taste, they were suddenly all I could focus on.

I sprinted into the next room, banging the door open and startling them awake. Her parents. Not my preferred age or type, so I felt no compulsion to strangle these first. No, these I wanted to drink alive.

The husband flicked on his bedside lamp. I gave them a minute to adjust to the light. When the husband finally processed what was happening, he jumped up and grabbed a baseball bat that was lying in the corner.

I chuckled darkly.

Then I attacked.

I didn't bother cleaning up or hiding the bodies. Let the police make their own assumptions, and in a few years, the case would go cold forever. Besides, I had more important things to do.

I turned my nose up and deeply inhaled the night air. It felt like no matter how long I had been a vampire, I would never get used to my heightened senses. The air was warm and humid, and carried the smells of freshly cut grass and blooming flowers. Cicadas sang to each other in the surrounding trees. Fireflies swirled around me, and even in the dark, I could pick out each blinking bug. All together, they created a beautiful tiny galaxy of twinkling lights.

But among the wonder and beauty of a blossoming summer, I had a job to do. I closed my eyes and inhaled again, focused this time. A breeze drifted from the east, and on that breeze – a hint of cinnamon.

I began sprinting towards the smell before my eyes could even open again. I flew through the suburbs, past houses and trees, leapt over a railroad, and narrowly skirted a bustling gas station. I ran east along her trail for miles, following the same general direction she had been going since Nevada. At times it was almost boring – the thrill of running as a vampire only lasted for so many hours, especially when just running in a straight line. My mind began to wander. Tracking a scent and sprinting at deathly speeds had become instinctual.

I followed her as she ran past suburbs toward more densely populated places. The highways got wider and houses became apartments. I reached a large, bustling city, and followed her trail past it when gradually, her scent grew weaker. I slowed to a stop and frowned. I turned around and retraced my steps back to where her trail was strong and fresh. I quickly realized my mistake. She had turned north – changed direction for the first time in days. I began sprinting again with renewed excitement, but more caution.

Her trail took me around the outskirts of the city, and looped back toward where we came from. I slowed slightly, but continued along. She had traveled around the north end of the city, through a shadier part with abandoned hospitals and warehouses. I passed a few junky bars and a prostitution house poorly disguised as a massage parlor.

Her scent slowly grew stronger as I ran, and the area grew nicer. I slowed, so as to not catch up with her too quickly and spook her. I reached a quiet suburb that still seemed in slightly poorer shape than that of the suburb I had hunted in. Here, the houses were older, there were more abandoned buildings, and groups of teenage boys lingered on corners and down dark alleyways.

I noticed her scent growing weaker. I growled in frustration as I lagged to a human's walking speed, hoping to get a better read of where she went. Far ahead, a dark school up on a hill began to peek out from between trees. I was about to turn away from it, toward a slightly stronger trail, when it hit me. It was like I had smacked right into a wall. It was so powerful it almost knocked me off balance.

Cinnamon. Strong, sweet, overwhelming cinnamon, with a hint of fresh, warm bread and... maple?

I had been so used to following a weaker version of her scent that the full, undiluted force of it almost knocked me over.

I almost started salivating. I began to follow it eagerly, when I paused. In the weeks and countless miles that I had been following her, her trail had never crossed itself, and she never turned back into a city once she had already been through.

I whipped around, quickly scanning the streets and trees around me. All was quiet. I froze, letting myself completely tune into my senses. I could almost feel my eyesight sharpening and my ears tingling. No underbrush rustled, no branches shook. I could hear the quiet breathing and slowed heartbeats from people in their houses as they slept. But there was nothing out of the ordinary. No hair stood up on the back of my neck that signals when someone is watching.

I relaxed, but only slightly. With newfound apprehension, I continued at a human-speed walk along her trail, keeping my eyes and ears open for any disturbances. She had stuck close to the tree line and brushed up against houses as she (and now I) made her way towards the school. I crouched, and crept up the hill. There was no coverage here. The full moon shone especially bright on my skin, and my exposed hands glinted.

I cursed, and sprinted the gap between myself and the school wall. I clung to the shadows as I followed her scent to a side door. There were two windows on either side of the door, and I peered inside. Empty, darkened hallways.

I stepped back, and examined the door. Thick, gray metal and a silver handle, with a thick rubber seal along all the edges of the door. I glanced inside again. The hallway ahead was short, and ended in a T shape, so I was unable to see around either corner. The hallway directly to the right was a bit longer, but just led to closed doors that were no doubt classrooms. Was she even inside the school, or had she just slipped through and out the front door? What would she even need here?

I growled quietly. There was only one way to find out.

In one swift motion, with elegance that only a vampire can achieve, I pulled on the handle and opened the door just wide enough to fit, and slipped into the building. I caught the door as it closed and pressed it gently against its frame. I cringed and silently cursed the noise. Although the motion only lasted for a second or two, and a human would not have even registered it, the sound of the door echoed loudly in my sharp hearing and down the barren hallway. If she was anywhere close in this school, she certainly would have heard it.

I held my breath and closed my eyes, focused. I imagined the range of my hearing extending – surging down hallways and curving around corners, forcing its way under the cracks in doors and picking up on the smallest echoes. I waited. Listened. I heard a leaking faucet in a distant bathroom. I heard some small creature scuttle through the ceiling in a classroom somewhere. I heard the leaves of a plant rustle as the air conditioning blew against it. I heard the clacking of keys as someone typed -

My eyes flew open.

I inhaled slowly, and smiled. Immediately, I sunk into a crouch, and began to quietly slink down the hallway. My bare feet were silent. I still followed her scent, but I also followed her sound, hoping to take the fastest route to wherever she was. As I crept down hallways and snuck around corners, a plan began to form in my mind. An involuntary grin spread across my lips, and my veins buzzed with anticipation as I fantasized of what I would soon do to my long-awaited target.

I turned a corner and found myself in a wide, long hallway. At the end of the hallway, a faint blue glow emanated from an office. I carefully made my way toward the office. The clacking of keys grew louder as I tiptoed closer. When I was just a few feet away, I crouched even lower, beneath the window line. I inched closer. I held my breath, and peered up over the windowsill.

It was her. It was as if she had just walked out of her house, not ran thousands of miles across multiple states. She sat in front of a computer and scrolled impatiently. Her chestnut hair fell in perfectly tousled curls to her shoulders. Thick lashes framed her ruby eyes. Her neck sloped elegantly to her two flawlessly chiseled collarbones. Her nose was defined, her lips soft. Her scent nearly overwhelmed me – sweet and subtle and, somehow, warm.

I nearly took her then and there. But I was too invested. I pulled back, tearing my eyes from her. I looked past the office she sat in down the rest of the hallway. At the end were two sets of large double doors. I didn't know the layout of the school and I didn't know what lay beyond those doors, but I had a good idea. I cursed mentally, and hoped I was right.

I crouched low, in the stance of a track runner about to take off. Then I took off. I ran stooped low, awkwardly, hoping she would only see a blur. I halted in front of the double doors and listened. She stood abruptly, her chair toppling over. I turned and threw myself through the doorway.

The sound of the door echoed loudly in the gym, bouncing off the walls and bleachers. The gym – fantastic. I quickly sprinted in circles and zig-zags, then leapt to the top of the bleachers, and pushed myself off them and into the rafters. I hoisted myself up and ran over the metal beams to the doorway I had just burst through. I squatted low over the entrance and waited.

Only a second passed before the door opened. She ran a third of the way into the gym and spun wildly, her eyes wide. I smiled and shook my head. I knew her curiosity would best her.

It was finally time to make myself known.

I chuckled darkly. Her head whipped up and her eyes met mine. Was I not a vampire and immortal, she would have taken my breath away. The connection lasted for a fraction of a second, when she looked desperately to the door she had just come through. She began to run, but I dropped in front of her before she could take three steps. She halted abruptly, her hair swishing. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for an escape.

I tutted. "You didn't really think you could beat me? Come on, I pegged you as a smart woman."

"Who are you?" her voice rang clear, though high, and echoed off the walls. She slowly backed away, presumably heading for the back-corner door.

I casually, leisurely strode toward her. "Do you really want to waste your last precious moments asking about me? Wouldn't you want to know what I'm going to do to you?"

She paused, her eyebrows knitting together. "Why?"

"Hm," I smiled, inching closer. "Why would you want to know?"

"Why would a vampire would waste his time killing another vampire?" she asked, stiffening.

I smiled and clasped my hands behind my back. "My dear, I had certain... urges while human. And those urges have transferred over even as a vampire. Of course, I have tried continuing to kill just human girls, but it just isn't satisfying. They're not... challenging."

Realization dawned on her face, accompanied by pure fear. Her voice came out as a whisper. "You'll never be satisfied."

"Oh, I don't know about that." I had almost reached her. She had given up trying to escape. How disappointing. "Tracking you has been delightful. Why did you stop at this school?"

"I had to give you some place to kill me." The words were confident, but they came out soft and weak.

I reached up and gently pulled a lock of her hair. It slipped softly through my fingers – mesmerizing. I trailed my fingers along her collarbone, then wrapped my hand around the back of her neck and squeezed. "You didn't know I was following you. No one likes a liar, Bree. Tell me. Why are you here?"

She shrank under my hand. "Why do you care if you're just going to kill me?"

"Answer me!" I barked, shaking her.

"I'm trying to find my past life," she whispered, looking down.

"Your human life?" my voice was quiet again.

She nodded.

"You don't remember it?"

She shook her head.

"Bree," my voice was velvet. She looked up at me, through her long, dark lashes. "Worry no more. It will be over soon."

Her eyes widened as I wrapped my hands around her neck.

"You can't strangle a vampire," she gasped, no doubt using the last of her oxygen reserves.

"No, but old habits die hard." I squeezed harder, relishing her look of terror. I imagined I could kill her this way. I imagined I was squeezing life out of her, feeling a rush of adrenaline and lust. Cracks began to form on her skin as I crushed her throat. Newfound panic flooded her eyes, which only fueled me to press harder. She brought her left fist up and weakly swung toward my face. I easily swatted her away with my right hand and laughed, still holding onto her with my left.

Pain erupted in the left side of my abdomen. I instinctively doubled over, and my grasp on her throat slipped. She wrenched herself away and began running to the exit behind her. I snarled angrily and chased after her.

She was fast. But I had recently fed. The gap between us began to close. She reached the door. She threw herself against it, but even as a vampire, it slowed her a few fractions of a second. I threw my hands out. One hand wrapped around her upper right arm, and the other braced against the doorframe. I leveraged my weight against the doorframe, causing the metal to warp, and ripped her back into the gym. She stumbled and fell.

I was on her in seconds. I pressed my foot against her chest and took hold of her left arm.

"Please!" she shrieked. "Please don't do this! I'll give you whatever you want!"

"This," I growled, twisting her arm to an uncomfortable angle. "Is what I want."

In one swift motion, I wrenched her arm from her body and threw it across the gym. She screamed in pain and writhed under my foot. Her other arm clawed at my leg and she bucked her hips, desperately trying to throw me off.

I reached down and took hold of her other arm.

"No!" her voice reached a new level of desperation. "Please! You don't have to do this, I'll -"

Her own shriek of agony cut her off. I tossed the other arm away. She tearlessly sobbed as I straddled her abdomen. I took hold of her neck again.

"I know it's a bit theatrical," I said slowly, trying to make myself heard over her cries. "But I do allow my victims any last words."

She gulped, and gasped for air as she struggled to quiet herself.

"I just," her voice still shook, and she cleared her throat. "I just hope the Volturi find you. There's no way you could get away with this forever."

My brows scrunched together. "Who?"

She still struggled for breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "The Volturi. How long have you been a vampire?"

I ignored the latter question. "I've never heard of the Volturi."

She forced out a laugh – a pathetic attempt at bravado to salvage any sliver of dignity. "They'll come for you. No, they won't allow a vampire serial killer."

I released her throat and sat back on my heels. "So. I deal with the law even as an immortal."

"And they are much more effective than human law enforcement."

My eyes snapped to hers. She glared at me with newfound defiance. I growled. I leaned forward and wrapped my hands around her neck once more and squeezed.

"Give the Volturi my –"

I crushed her larynx, cutting her off. Cracks in her skin spiderwebbed up her throat and down her chest. I relished in the pain that contorted her face. I squeezed harder and pulled. A grating, high-pitched screech split the air as I tore her head from her body.

I lifted the head and took in the last horrified expression that graced her beautiful face. Her words echoed in my mind. Disgusted, I tossed the head in the general direction of her arms.

I made quick work of the rest. I tore her legs from her torso, then stacked the pieces of her body in a pile. I ripped up the floor and tore apart the bleachers and added them to the pile. I lit a match and watched her go up in flames.

When the heat got uncomfortably close, I decided to leave. The sky was beginning to lighten ever so slightly, so I set off to find a dark place to hide for the day.

As I ran, an involuntary growl rumbled in my chest. I would have to find a place with a computer. It was possible she was bluffing about this secret vampire justice system. But on the off chance she was truthful, I would need to prepare.

I searched homes until I found one with a single woman. I waited in her basement until she left for work. As soon as she was gone, I logged onto her computer and began my research. As the day progressed, I found myself feeling more anxious instead of more prepared. Annoyed, I snapped off the computer and sat back, crossing my arms.

I pondered the previous night's kill, desperately searching for a reprieve from my own mind. I replayed the feeling of tearing her limbs from her body and the sounds of her screams as she begged for her life. Still, the annoyance grew and grated on my nerves.

It wasn't the Volturi. I had never been caught as a human, and would certainly never be caught now. It wasn't her sneak attack – the swift punch to my abdomen while I was distracted. Ultimately, I won. It wasn't her look of defiance as I crushed her throat. Her final stage was fear. It was what she had said earlier.

The door unlocked upstairs. As soon as the woman locked the door behind her, I sprinted upstairs and attacked. She wasn't my preferred type, but I was feeling desperate. Again, I squeezed the life out of her and forced her to beg for her life. But as I drank the last few drops of blood from her body, I grudgingly admitted that she was right.

I would never be satisfied.