**AN: Wow! Sorry for the short chapter this week, guys. For some reason I added chapter four to this, and thought it was a part of chapter three. Well then, I'm a lot more ahead of schedule than I thought! Next weeks' chapter should be normal-length, don't worry! ;P Read and enjoy 3**

CHAPTER THREE. HODAMN.

Jessica woke up the next morning without the fear she'd felt the night before. She was curled up against Jonathan's body, feeling warm and safe again. She stretched out her legs and gently kissed Jonathan's cheek as she woke herself up. Melissa was awake only a few moments after she was and Jessica heard her m

moving around, getting her stuff together. Looks like they were going into town today. Jon woke up a bit later, his eyes half closed, sleepy and voice slurred with grogginess as he mumbled,

"Wha time issit?" Jessica grinned at the funny way his words sounded and replied, "Time to get up, sleepyhead." She started to get up and out of their sleeping bag, surprised at the cold air that hit her when she was fully out of the bag. Why was it cold?

"'Cause we're up north, dippy. Not that far, but far enough." Melissa growled from several feet away. Apparently the mindcaster wasn't a morning person. Jess shrugged, though. She didn't mind the cold, she'd lived in Chicago for the first fifteen years of her life, so you had to get used to it or you'd be screwed.

Jon sprawled himself out in the sleeping bag after she'd gone, tossing an arm over his eyes and moaning about it being too early.

Well, now I know what happens to all that energy at the end of the day. She thought with a smile. Melissa turned to Jessica with a look of annoyance and barked, "Get that lazy ass up, alright? We need to get into town." Jessica held back laughter as she nodded.

"Joooooooonathaaaan!" Jessica said in a sing-songy voice, peeling back the sleeping bag. Jon shot upright with a yell of shock as the cold reached him, making Jessica and even Melissa laugh.

"Okay, okay, I'm up, let me get my damn sweatshirt..." He looked around for his pullover and once he found it, put it on, still trembling a bit in the cold. Jessica found this incredibly funny, and kept giggling at the sight of her boyfriend, shivering and looking pretty freakin' pathetic.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," He grumbled irritably, wrapping his arms around himself and rubbing them. "It's not like I can help it." He added on, muttering.

"Okay, snowman, lets get our stuff together." He snorted at the nickname but helped Jessica roll up the sleeping bag and tie them to her backpack (which was empty).

"I don't see why we're keeping these if we're just gonna be staying in a hotel..." grumbled Jonathan, still cranky. Melissa just rolled her eyes and finished up her packing.

"Okay, once Mr. Slowpoke is done, we can go." She said. Jon stuck his tongue out at her, earning himself a suppressed giggle from Jessica.

Finally they were all ready go, and they set off, walking the mile or so into town. Jon was antsy, and it was obvious he would rather be flying. But Jessica succeeded in calming him down enough so he wasn't complaining every five seconds.

It took them about fifteen minutes to hit the first houses on the outside of the city, and by that time Jon had moved to complaining about how hungry he was and how he needed food. Melissa was about to slap him, but Jessica beat her to it...sort of.

"Oh, Jesus, Jon, shut up will you? You sound like my sister...we'll get food soon, okay?" Jon tried to look offended, but he ended up giggling like he was insane instead. Jessica shot a look at Melissa and thought, Who slipped him the drugs? With a grin on her face. Melissa laughed and shrugged back, both of the girls earning an odd look from Jon.

Finally they came to a Diner and Jon shot right inside, leaving the girls behind. They sighed and went in after him, barely managing to catch the waitress in time to grab two menus.

"So, Jon, is food going to be your next girlfriend?" Melissa asked with a grin. Jessica shot a glare at her, but then laughed, knowing she'd only been joking. Jon was too busy frothing at the mouth over the food options in front of him to notice, or probably even hear what Melissa had said.

Once they had gotten their food, eaten and paid (Jon getting twice as much as the girls, yet somehow finishing it faster than them), the three midnighters spilled out of the diner and onto the busy streets of midday Tulsa. Everything was fine at first. They walked along, Melissa mindcasting for midnighters, Jon holding Jessica's hand and absently swinging it, Jessica smiling and looking around, happy to be back in a large city again. She'd missed the skyscrapers, ugly concrete and asphalt, bare minimum of nature, the deafening noise and the smelly smells of the city.

As weird as it was, she adored everything about the city.

Just as they passed a deli, Jessica's heart pounded in her chest, a strange craving crawling its way up her spine to plant in her brain, nagging. She clenched her hand around Jon's, sweating slightly. What was this? She walked slower, her head craning to keep the deli in sight.

"M-melissa?" She squeaked, fear in her voice. The mindcaster looked at the strange look on Jessica's face and frowned.

"Jess, I can't read your mind. What's wrong?" She was feeling panicky. How could she not read Jessica's thoughts? That had never, ever happened before.

"I...when we passed that deli...I...I had this really, really weird craving for meat." Melissa sighed and shrugged. "Oh, come on, Jess, that's not that big a deal. But what are you thinking? I can't read your though--" She cut herself off as she received something from the flame-bringer at last. It sent a shiver down her spine,

Meat, meat, fresh meat, hunting time again. Hunt, hunt, helpless prey, big city, big fun!

Jon looked at the stricken expression on Melissa's face, then at the one of terror on Jessica's, impatience building in him as he demanded, "What? What's wrong? Tell me, dammit!" Melissa walked up to him, putting her bare hand on his and replying what she had just heard in Jessica's head. Jonathan froze, his eyes wide and he turned to Jessica, her terror melting into disbelief and dread.

That craving had been her own, not Cronos'. She looked at her hands, noticing that she was trembling.

What am I? She thought with dread at the answer she might receie.

You are one of us, halfling.

Jessica's legs stopped supporting her and Jonathan caught her, holding her up.

"Babe, what's wrong? What happened?" Jessica did all she could to not sob into his shoulder. All she could do was stare at him and repeat with her face screwed up in anguish,
"Oh, Jon, I'm sorry...I'm so, so sorry..."