Thank you very much to everyone who read and/or reviewed the last chapter.

Elle: You're so right. That vamp's thirsty for revenge! Thank you for reviewing.

"Bonnie and Sam should have been here by now," Edgar said. He checked his watch again, tapping his foot against the ground. Three minutes had passed since he had last checked the time.

"Calm down," Alan said. He leaned against the counter in the comic book store. The three of them, himself, his brother and Bridget, had ended their hunt half an hour ago, returning to the shop to meet up with Bonnie and Sam. He was still tense, trying to ignore the different smells and sounds of heartbeats. But now his brother's was picking up and it thumped rhythmically in his head.

"I am calm," Edgar said.

"You're not. I can hear your heart getting faster."

Edgar didn't respond but he did shudder at Alan's words. Why did his brother have to make a statement like that so casual? He sounded like he wasn't even trying to avoid using these new enhanced senses. But after today at school, Edgar himself was trying to keep control and not say anything to anger his brother. Though apparently the beat of his heart was now doing that so he was starting to wonder if there was any point to watching what he said. The quicker they could find the Head Vampire, the sooner everything would return to normal. Alan would be human and not saying creepy things all the time. His temper would still be there but at least as a human the worst he could do was storm up to his room and sulk like he used to do.

"Okay, I'm worried," Edgar admitted. "We're being hunted by vampires. They'll strike sooner or later."

Alan scoffed and gestured to himself. "They already have."

Again, Edgar didn't respond. Alan had managed to take offence. Instead, Edgar ran a hand through his hair and went over to Bridget who had wandered over to the Thor comics, reading one to kill the time. He leaned against the pillar next to her.

"I can't say anything right," Edgar whispered. "And I can't just stop talking when I'm around him."

"We'd be glad of it," she muttered. When she caught his glare she sighed and reached out to pat his shoulder. "Oh, stop scowling. I was just teasing. Trying to lighten the mood."

"You're sense of humour has never been funny," he said. "Brid, seriously… what the hell do I do? I have no leads whatsoever."

She glanced at Alan who was staring out into the crowds. The way he stared was almost predatory. He was keeping a close eye on different people as they walked past. One customer came into the store, passing Alan and as he did, Alan turned his head to watch him. His eyes narrowed but he stayed still. She could see his fists clenching. Jaw tightening.

He's still fighting. Sort of, she thought.

"I don't know," she said to Edgar.

"He could be like this for a while."

"Then we'll have to find a way to help him keep the vampire under control. But maybe…"

Edgar quirked an eyebrow. "Maybe…"

She was silent at first, cringing as she decided whether or not she should even suggest it. But they needed plans and this was the only idea she was able to come up with, despite the risks and how queasy it made her feel. "He'll starve to death. You only turn properly if you make a kill."

"So?"

"Well, maybe he can still get what he needs without killing. We could go to the hospital and find where they keep the blood –."

Edgar's nostrils flared. "Are you crazy?"

"I don't like it myself but we have to start thinking about this. We need to help him. Even if that means helping him in a way that we don't agree with."

"Your idea is a definite no. It's crazy. It's disgusting –."

"I'm just trying to come up something," she said and marched over to the counter. She rolled her eyes at Edgar's complete dismissal and stood next to Alan with a sigh, hunching up her posture.

"It's probably best not to do that," Alan said, glancing at her. "If I get the taste for blood, even it's not straight from the vein, that could be it for me."

Edgar joined them, looking at his watch again. Another three minutes. "Okay, I think we need to ring. Something's not right." He marched around the counter, going to the phone and quickly dialling in Sam's number.

It was his friend's grandpa who answered. "Hello?"

"Mr Burke? It's Edgar Frog. We haven't seen Sam and Bonnie or heard from them."

"Sam's fine," Grandpa said but his tone was slow and solemn. "I've just been on the phone with Lucy. Now… something's happened."

Edgar looked up at Bridget and Alan. Bridget was poker-faced, watching Edgar carefully for any reactions that might hint that something really had happened to their friends. But when Alan straightened and frowned, so did she after noticing his reaction.

"Shit," Alan said, hearing the conversation clearly as if Sam's grandpa was in the store and talking to Edgar right next to him.

Bridget grabbed his arm, horror twisting on her face. "What?"

"Mr Burke, what's happened?" Edgar asked, urgency in his tone and he gripped the phone tighter.

"One of the vampires attacked. The one from Max's pack. Sam and Lucy are fine but Bonnie was injured. She was taken to hospital."

"Edgar, what's happened?" Bridget hissed, leaning into the counter.

"Okay, we're on our way."

"Edgar… her mother was killed."

He felt his body turn to ice. On the opposite side of the counter Alan glanced at Bridget who looked back and forth between the Frog brothers. Her eyes were wide, begging for more information.

"The vampires," Alan explained as Edgar thanked Sam's grandpa and put the phone down.

"Bonnie's being attacked and she's at the hospital," Edgar said. He looked suddenly drained of colour, looking younger than his seventeen years. He rested his elbows on the glass counter, putting all his weight there as he swore under his breath. "Marko attacked her and…" He couldn't say the rest of the sentence. His chewed at his lower lip, slowly feeling his body start to shake.

"He's killed her mom," Alan finished, having heard the whole telephone conversation perfectly with his hearing. Edgar glanced up, noticing the monotone way he said that. Here Edgar was feeling like his whole world was falling apart and people were being targeted and harmed by vampires that he couldn't do a thing to stop. He felt numb, wanting to scream, shout, swear, hit something. A complete rush of emotions swept through him all at once and he wanted to let them make him curl up into a ball. Hearing that Mrs Casey had been killed was a stab in the stomach. Pain twisted inside.

And Alan couldn't look or sound like he felt something.

Bridget had her hand to her mouth. "Marko killed…?" She clamped her lips together tightly. Those words did not want to be formed.

Edgar shook his head. "We need to get to the hospital." His stomach churned at the mention of hospital but he went to see Uncle Gerry in the storeroom for a lift.

Sam and Lucy were in the waiting area when Edgar, Alan and Bridget arrived. Uncle Gerry had dropped them off straight away but had also rushed back to the store, not wanting to leave their father alone. Walking in, Alan tensed and Bridget grabbed his hand.

"Whoa, that's… strong," he mumbled to her and she couldn't help wrinkle her nose.

"That's kinda creepy," she said and he shrugged, almost helplessly.

"Can't help it."

"You need to tell us if it gets too much," she said. "I'll take you away."

"What happened?" Edgar asked, marching straight over to Sam and Lucy. Both of them were grim. Sam looked as white as a sheet.

"I dropped Bonnie off at her house but she'd been taking a while," he said. "When I went in, Bonnie was on the floor unconscious and her mother was dead. I managed to injure Marko a bit before he fled."

"Is she awake now?" Bridget asked.

"She's awake. Dazed but awake. She's pretty badly beaten up," Sam said. "Her dad's with her at the moment."

"And her mom's dead," Edgar said.

Sam nodded, his voice suddenly unable to work.

"The police had to get involved," Lucy said, a hand resting on her son's shoulder. "I called them but we haven't told them everything."

"The story is we don't know who would have done this. I dropped Bonnie off, she was a long time and when I went in she was unconscious on the floor and her mom was dead. We didn't see or hear anyone," Sam finally said. But his voice still cracked.

"Are you okay?" Edgar asked.

"I had to make sure there were no weapons around," Sam whispered. "I even had to open a window in the dining room to make it look like the murderer had got in and out that way. It felt like I was covering up a murder."

"No-one would have believed you if you said it was a vampire," Alan pointed out. "And you don't want to be responsible for trying to expose vampires. They'll kill you."

"I still feel pretty crap about it," Sam muttered.

"You gotta look out for yourself."

Edgar glared at his brother while Sam and Lucy simply looked stunned that these words had actually come from his mouth. Sure the Frog brothers could say some pretty harsh things at times. Neither of them needed to be changing into a vampire to sound completely rude and inept. Last summer all they ever kept telling Sam to do was drive a stake through Michael's heart.

But Alan sounded especially cold right now and it also didn't help that he hadn't asked about Bonnie once when she was his oldest friend. He wasn't even shedding any tears for Mrs Casey who always used to let Alan hang out in the house when his own home was upsetting him.

"Dude," Sam whispered, shaking his head.

"People we know have been killed or harmed," Edgar snapped.

Alan stayed quiet, frowning at Sam and Edgar. Then he looked at Bridget for her reaction but she avoided his gaze completely. She started to rummage into her bag.

"I need to get a drink," she muttered and marched off.

Alan sighed. "Sorry," he said to Edgar and Sam.

"Are you really?" Sam asked.

"Don't," Alan snapped. "Tell you what, trying changing into a vampire yourself and seeing how well you do at staying as human as possible."

At the vending machine, Bridget glanced at Alan walking towards her. He had a scowl on his face, looking back once at Sam and Edgar who watched him dumbfounded and she shook her head when he was by her side.

"Are you mad at me as well?" he asked, slouching against another machine.

"It's not about being mad," she said, getting coins out. "You really don't care anymore, do you?"

When he shrugged, she sighed and pressed the buttons for a coke. One can fell to the bottom with a thud and she bent down to collect it.

"Bernice warned me about getting involved with you when you're like this," she said, standing and he tilted his head.

"When I'm like this?"

Bridget gestured to him. "You know, when you're barely human anymore."

"It's none of her business. You can do whatever you want to do."

"She said it because she's worried," Bridget argued, putting one hand on her hip. "And I'm starting to think she's right. That this is a bad idea. Fuck's sake, Alan, you don't even care what's happened to Bonnie and she's been one of your best friends for years! And if you don't even care about her then you probably don't care about me."

"No, it's not like that –."

"Well, then, answer this for me. If someone walked up to me right now and tried to stab me or something would you do anything about it?"

It was only an example but his fists still clenched. "Of course I would. I'd tear their throat open."

Bridget's scowl disappeared and her stance slouched. Now she gazed at him, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"You're not Alan anymore," she said, quietly. Swearing under her breath, she turned, collapsing against the wall and she ducked her head. She heard his footsteps come closer and there was a hand on her shoulder. She kept her eyes on the floor.

"Are you changing your mind about us?" he asked.

I should say yes, Bridget thought, biting at her bottom lip. I should say that this is dangerous and until he's human again, we're better off not pursuing anything. It should be simple.

But it was one of the most complicated situations she had ever been in and it made her head spin and ache. If this was somebody else she would have shaken them until they gained some sense and order them to break it all off. Nothing should ever be complicated because it led to trouble and she would have yelled that in their face.

But then she never actually learned until now that all these complications people seemed to have were because of feelings. That it wasn't just a case of ignoring emotions and telling the guy to fuck off. She wanted to show Alan the door and cool things down when she had more of a chance to toughen up and do her duty if the worst case scenario happened. If she didn't, she was going to mess up.

"You're worrying about something," he said when she hadn't responded to his last question. His hand moved from her shoulder to around her upper back and his head rested against hers.

She sighed. "If you turn, we're going to be enemies."

"You sound adamant," he said. "Thought you had my back."

"Not if you're a full vampire," she told him. "You definitely wouldn't be looking out for me. If we came across each other we'd probably have to fight. And that's the problem. If I don't toughen up now and that happens, I'm going to end up not doing my duty and I'd let you go. And that's weakness because you wouldn't do the same for me. I shouldn't have let myself get involved in this."

"I think I'd struggle if it was happening to you," he admitted. "Don't shut down on me because you think getting into a relationship is weak. It's the strongest thing I have right now. You were there for me last night and that meant a lot. Since we became friends you've always been there."

He smiled at her when she looked at him. He had a brief moment, thinking back to the turning point in their friendship where they really did become best friends. After dealing with Max's pack, they had kept talking and Alan had introduced her to more comics but that was it. It was back at school in September when they really started getting closer. They had a lot of classes together and chose to partner up with each other whenever there was a partner task to do. Then it was sometime in October when Bobby had been in an incredibly dick mood and decided it would be funny to trip Alan over in the cafeteria at school. Alan had gone flying, his food spilling out across the floor and there was a roar of laughter around. He had got himself up, trying to ignore everyone when he had seen Bridget in the corner of his eye.

She had dived straight into a rant. Stormed right up to Bobby, standing on her tiptoes to try and stare him square in the eye. She had yelled, insisting that the guy he liked to pick on was a hero. How he needed to show Alan more respect. He was brave, heroic, a fighter… a whole list of admirable traits that only made Bobby and his cohorts, even the girls, fall into a hysterical fit of laughter. It had been the start of them questioning Bridget and Alan's friendship. The start of their teasing that there was more going on. Bridget had stormed away from the cafeteria when her speech didn't go to plan. When it only made their classmates tease them more. Alan had followed her to an empty classroom where she continued to rant, babbling about how she was getting fed up of Bobby treating him like that and that he didn't deserve any of it. She had gone on for a while, commenting on how nobody was allowed to treat her friends horribly, especially him. Maybe he had let it go to his head but he liked being seen in that light. The hero that he wanted to be. They had been closer than ever since.

Bridget shifted, so she was now facing him. "Do you still like me?" She asked. "As in, do you still have feelings for me?"

"I really do," he said, still smiling. "You're amazing and despite everything you still don't want to give up on me. You're not treating me the way everyone else does."

"I just wish you'd fight more."

He nodded, pulling her closer. "Then I'll try harder."

"Bridget?"

She glanced over Alan's shoulder and frowned as her father came over. His hair was messed up, indicating that he had been frantically running his hands through it. And he did that whenever he was feeling anxious.

"You're mom called and asked us to come straight home."

"Dad, what's wrong?" Bridget felt her heart racing. Now what had happened? Had one of the vampires got into her house? Had something happened to Bernice?

"She'll explain when we get home," he said and his daughter nodded, letting go of Alan.

"Do you need me to come with you?" he asked.

"No, I'll call you," she said and followed her father out of the hospital. Edgar and Sam walked up to him, gesturing to where Bridget and Mr Teahan had dashed out.

"What's going on?"

"Something's happened at her home," he answered and Edgar swore.

"Vampires?" Sam asked and Alan's jaw clenched.

"It better not be," he said, through gritted teeth.

As Mr Teahan pulled up to the house, he and Bridget looked straight to the police car that was parked outside their house. Bridget's stomach lurched and she started tapping her foot against the floor of the car, too tempted to take off her seatbelt and leap out now to find out what was going on. She felt her palms sweating and she rubbed them against her jeans, biting at her lips until they began to sting and bleed. When the car finally rolled to a stop and Mr Teahan turned the engine off she was straight out, slamming the car door shut and running to the front door.

"Mom?" she yelled. She tried the handle to the front door and it was open. She swung it open, dashing to the living room and coming to a sudden halt when she saw her mother's tearful, blotchy face and the grave expressions of two police officers.

"Mom?" she repeated, this time her voice cracked and she reached out for Mrs Teahan, wanting to be in her arms. Behind her, the door shut and Mr Teahan appeared next to his daughter as she was pulled into a hug by her mother.

"What's going on?" he asked and even his voice was shaking. Bridget clutched onto the fabric of her mother's blouse and squeezed her eyes shut.

I don't want to know.

You need to.

I know what's happened.

Maybe it's not that.

"Mr Teahan?" One of the police officers stood up. They were both female and the one who got up had blonde hair tied up in a bun. She was small but stood straight and her eyes were sympathetic as she walked over to the family.

"We're here about your daughter. Bernice."

As soon as she uttered those words in her gentle voice, Bridget whimpered and buried her face in her mother's clothes. She heard her father protest and a strong hand clamped down on Bridget's shoulder.

"Oh, God, no," he whispered. "What's happened?"

"We got a call from the restaurant she works at saying they had heard screaming after Bernice had left the building. When someone went out she wasn't there. Her car had been left and they noticed she had dropped her bag."

Sickness rose in Bridget's throat. She stiffened, worried that the next movement she made would send up the contents of her stomach. She took a deep breath in and her eyes prickled.

"Have you…?" Mr Teahan's voice trailed off. Bridget knew what he wanted to ask. Have they found a body? Or was she going to be another face on posters and milk cartons?

"She was meeting Leon after work," Mrs Teahan said. "What about him?"

"Leon's nowhere to be seen either. We actually need to ask a few questions about your daughter's boyfriend. He was the last person to be seen with her –."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Bridget straightened up, breaking out of her mother's grip and she stared wide eyed at the police officer. "Please don't tell me you're suspecting Leon? He got upset once when he accidentally trod on a spider! He felt guilty for days!"

"We're looking into anything or anyone who could give us answers on what's happened and where Bernice might be," the officer replied slowly and calmly, making it sound like a sentence she had rehearsed and said millions of times.

"He's missing because he's in trouble as well," Bridget insisted. "Speak to anyone at school, speak to my folks. They all love Leon. He's a good guy."

"Bridget, it's okay," Mrs Teahan said, rubbing her daughter's shoulder. She was trying to sound reasonable and collected but from the way her voice trembled so much, she sounded more on the verge of hysterical tears. "They need to look into everything."

Bridget was shaking her head, pulling further away from her mother. "You know what's happened? Yet more people have gone missing in Santa Carla like they always do and whoever is responsible for it will get away with it!"

"Bridget!" Mrs Teahan snapped. There were tears streaming down her face. The small officer's lips were parted, looking back and forth between Bridget's parents.

"Honey," Mr Teahan said. "Go upstairs and we'll talk with the officers. Take some time to calm down."

"Are you still looking for her right now?" Bridget asked the police officer, ignoring her father.

"There are cops at the scene now –."

"What good is hovering near the car? Go out and search for her and Leon! That's my sister! Leon's practically a brother-in-law already! Please, you need to start looking for them!"

"Bridget, upstairs," Mr Teahan said. When she opened her mouth to argue he raised a hand. "No. Go upstairs. Please."

She huffed, putting her all her rage into her feet as she stomped up the stairs. It was when she had entered her room, slamming the door shut so it shuddered through the house, and collapsed onto her bed that the anger suddenly faded away and she let the tears come. Her sobs were loud, her shoulders shook. She wanted to go find one of those vampires now and rip them apart with her bare hands. They had to be involved. With everything that was going on at the moment… Alan's turning, Bonnie being attacked, Charlotte being turned… everything was connected to them. This was those bloodsuckers' doing and she wanted to see them crumble to ash with a stake through their hearts or melt away from Holy water.

There were footsteps on the stairs that stopped outside her door and there were two knocks. She didn't respond, her sobs dying down as she stared at the door as it creaked open and her mother peeked her head in.

"Leon hasn't done anything," Bridget said, quietly.

"I know. I think it's a stupid lead," she said and came to sit on the bed. Bridget shuffled back, leaning into her pillows and Mrs Teahan put her hand on her daughter's knee.

"Do you think she's dead?" Bridget asked.

Mrs Teahan's lips pinched together and fresh tears glistened in her eyes. "God, I hope not. But…"

Bridget nodded. Her mother didn't need to finish. She wanted to stay positive because who wanted to see their child dead? No-one ever wanted that to happen, wanting to keep it as a nightmare that never turned real. But they both had an understanding of where they lived. Even though her mother didn't know vampires were real and the cause, she was well aware of how dangerous the town was and how high the number of disappearances and murders were.

Her mother began stroking the tousled waves of her daughter's hair. "How come you were at the hospital with everyone?"

"Somebody got into Bonnie's house," Bridget answered. "They killed her mom and attacked Bonnie."

"What is wrong this town?" Mrs Teahan shook her head. "Have you seen Bonnie?"

"I just got there when dad came to get me. She's awake but apparently badly beaten up."

"That poor girl."

"Mom, I hate this town," Bridget said.

"It's too dangerous," Mrs Teahan said, nodding agreement. "If we had the money to move we would but…" She shrugged helplessly. "Honey, I think it might be best if we made a curfew."

No, I need to kill those vampires, she thought and shook her head in protest. "Mom, I can't stay locked up forever."

"No, I don't mean it like that. I just… I know you usually stay out late with your friends on the Boardwalk but I'd rather you start coming home at earlier times. Please, Bridget."

"Fine," Bridget said. She had done her fair share of sneaking out in the past. Hell, Bonnie had taught her most of the tricks. And she managed to hide the fact she went vampire hunting most nights for eight months. She understood her mother's feelings, knowing she was only enforcing this because of Bernice and it would crush her if something happened to her second daughter as well. But Bridget would never sit back and let the others deal with these vampires. They were taking everything away from them all. She was losing Alan and now she had, most likely, lost her sister. Something had to be done.

"Thanks, honey." She leaned over and kissed the top of her daughter's head. "There are still a few things we need to discuss with the police officers."

"I think I'll stay up here if that's alright," Bridget said.

Mrs Teahan nodded. "I'll come back after they've gone."

"Mom, it's okay. I kinda want to be alone."

"Talk to us if you need to," Mrs Teahan said, nodding to her daughter's wishes and left the room. Bridget sniffed, wiping more tears away from her wet cheeks and chin. Glancing out into the night sky, she could see the lights of the Boardwalk ahead and she moved to the glass, her nose touching it. Her hands were at the handle and she was tempted to open it and sneak out now. But no doubt her parents would be coming up to check on her now and again. If she was going on the prowl tonight it would have to be when her parents were asleep. Trouble was, it was already quite late to begin with. She glanced at her clock. It was nearly eleven and she doubted her parents would actually manage to sleep tonight.

She got up, moving out into the hallway where she could hear the mutterings of her parents and the officers downstairs. She kept walking till she reached the door of her sister's bedroom.

It creaked open and she peeked her head in. Bernice's room always looked so white and neat compared to the dark and messy state of her own. There wasn't even anything on the beige walls while Bridget's own were covered in posters of punk rock and metal bands and she had also hung fairy lights around which normally served as her usual light. Bridget liked dark and cosy. Bernice liked spacious and light.

She sank down on Bernice's bed, her head sinking into the fluffy pillows. She kicked her shoes off, knowing that if her sister had been here she would have thrown a fit if Bridget's dirty converses got on her duvet. The sheets smelled like her sister. Covered in the fruity perfume she always wore. On the bedside table next to the bed there was a dresser mirror where Bernice had stuck photos on the frame. Various ones of Bernice in the arms of Leon, ones with herself, Bridget and Bonnie and ones with the whole group including a poker-faced Edgar and Alan. Never smiling and posing because they loathed getting their photograph taken. There were a lot of Bernice and Bridget together. With their similar features, blue eyes and smiles they almost looked like twins. The only difference being their hair colours.

She grabbed one group photograph that had been taken on New Year's Eve. Everyone had been invited to Sam's for a meal and to get a good view of the Boardwalk fireworks without having to deal with the rowdy, pushy crowds. It wasn't a very good photo, more like a random candid one their father had taken. Bernice and Leon were the only ones smiling and posing, having caught sight of the camera. Edgar and Alan were sitting poker-faced. Sam had tried to pose and smile in time but he had been caught mid-smile which looked more like a grimace and his eyes were shut. Bonnie was in mid-conversation which must have been on a subject she was passionate about because her hands were up in the hair and her eyes were wide. And Bridget had her mouth full of cake. It was a terrible photo and Bernice was supposed to have thrown it away.

She was glad her sister hadn't now and she traced her fingers across the photo, eyes flickering back and forth to Bernice, Bonnie and Alan. She repeated that until a sudden wave of tiredness swept over her and she felt her eyelids closing.

Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave a review. :) It's back to regular Saturday updates again so look out for Chapter 25!