Note: Just so you guys know, Touché is pronounced two-shay. That is all :D

Chapter VII

Ariel treaded the hallways quietly, as quiet as a mouse. It was midnight- she could see the light casted down from the twilight moon, on the wall across the single window. Everything else was black. Still, it didn't matter to her- She could see perfectly, and as a matter of of fact, twilight was her favorite time in the twenty four hour day. It was so peaceful..

She snapped out of her day dream once realizing that the door to room 315 was open ajar. What an idiot.. Ariel though to herself, shaking her head. Still- It was the perfect opportunity to feed. In seconds she was on the other side of the hall, sneaking into the door like a cat. Once inside, she tip-toed her way over to a man's bed, by window with the curtains pulled aside.

Her sharp nails dug into the flesh of his arm, causing crimson blood to immediately blot on his skin. Delight tingled down Ariel's spine once pressing her lips to the wound, letting the metallic flavor trickle down her throat.

But even blood wouldn't replace the distinct tingle on her lips, the taste that still lingered from a few hours back, when Darren had kissed her on mistake. It was awkward, but she had secretly enjoyed it. Every time she though back to that moment, her stomach filled with butterflies. Ariel stopped sucking blood, leaned back, and allowed the memory to play over and over again in her mind, like a broken record.

The blood that was leaking out of the stranger's arm suddenly pulled her back into reality. With a quick swipe, she caught the drop before it stained the bed, licked the rest off, and used her spit to close the cut.

"Too goddamn close.." She whispered. As soon as the words escaped her throat, something orange outside caught her eye. The hell? Ariel placed her hands on the window by the bed and leaned against the glass, fixing her eyes on the distinct color outside, amongst the darkness.

After a brief moment, she recognized Mr. Crepsley's hair. He was chasing after something, which struck her as odd. Was he chasing after somebody? What was going on?

Should she go after him? Nah, it was too late. Mr. Crepsley was long gone by now. Ariel eyed the window for a moment, suspiciously, than turned around and left.

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I sat up in bed and yawned, stretched my arms, and let them drop back to my sides. After staring in to space for a brief moment, I realized Ariel was sitting near me, watching TV, and I remembered what had happened last night. I fell out of bed, shocked by the sudden memory, and embarrassed by the awkwardness that I knew would come. But she didn't notice me, or giggle like she usually does when I do something stupid. It was like I was invisible, because she didn't even realize I was there. Her eyes were glued to the television.

"Oh my god.." Ariel murmured.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, then looked around to see what she was talking about. I wasn't sure if I should speak or not, because I was kind of scared of her, and what she would do. I didn't want things to be awkward between us.

"Oh. my. god." Was the only thing she could say. Her expression was confused, and for some odd reason, scared. But it was because of whatever she was watching on TV.

"What?" I finally inquired.

"Darren, look at this.." She whispered.

I sat next to her, puzzled by what was going on, and why she didn't seem to remember what had happened last night. But that all went away when I glanced at the news. I could see what was bothering her.

"..Several bodies were discovered in an abandoned building by police, all of them seemingly victims of a serial killer or sacrificial cult. All of the bodies found shared the same bizarre wounds and conditions."

"Could you explain once again what those conditions were?" The anchorman asked.

The reporter nodded and cleared her throat. "The victims, who appeared to be drained of their blood, all have slit throats. The blood was possibly sucked or pumped dry, but only the police can answer that."

"Or the murderer.." I whispered.

Ariel muted the television and looked at me, her eyes filled with worry. "Darren, I need to tell you something."

"What?"

"Last night, I looked out a window and I saw Mr. Crepsley. He was chasing after something, I think, but I couldn't do anything about it because he was gone instantly."

I stared at her for a moment, at first shocked, but then pissed off. "No wonder why Mr. Crepsley has been out every night-"

"Without telling us anything." Ariel finished.

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I was so angry, I stormed around the hotel room screaming and throwing my fists in the air and cursing Mr. Crepsley off, while Ariel watched me in silence, mostly hiding behind the couch.

"I'll kill that son of a bitch!" I screamed. "I drive a stake right through his cold-blooded heart, chop his head off, light him on fire, and throw him into a river!"

"We can never be too sure," Ariel commented, sarcastically.

"Ariel..." I eyed her. How could she joke at a time like this?

"Darren, we can't jump to conclusions.." She crawled out from behind the safety of the bed, deciding it was safe. "Maybe it wasn't Mr. Crepsley."

"If it wasn't Mr. Crepsley, than who else could it possibly be? Who else?!"

Ariel looked down, paused a brief moment, and then sighed. "I don't know, maybe it was some insane lunatic pumping the blood out of people's bodies."

I shot her a skeptical look.

"Okay, probably not.. But Mr. Crepsley wouldn't kill innocent people.." She said sadly. "He wouldn't!"

"You don't know that for a fact." I replied.

"You don't know that Mr. Crepsley killed anyone for a fact either!" She returned.

"..Touché ."

"Look, there's only one way we can find out for sure." Ariel's tone and facial expression were dead serious.

"I'm listening.."