Celeste put her fingers to her lips and whistled. Before the sound finished echoing through the space, her cohorts had arrived. Alice had Allan, Silas had Michael, and David strolled in with a smile on his face. He came up to us as Celeste threw me into David, his grip tight on my arms as Celeste dragged Edgar over to the others.

"You know you can't fight against me. Why do you try?" David mocked.

"Because I'm not like you," I sneered, my eyes drilling holes into his face. "I'm not a monster."

"You can keep telling yourself that as much as you like but it doesn't make it true," David said, moving his mouth beside my ear. "You're just as much of a monster as I am."

He spun me around so his stomach was against my back, his arms still holding onto mine. He moved his face into the crook of my neck and whispered. "After they're gone, you'll see things my way."

David motioned to Celeste who then brought a struggling Edgar forward, stopping a few inches in front of me. My eyes locked on his as I tried to tell him it was okay but I didn't believe it. And from the look on his face, neither did he.

"Killing your friends in front of you will be a fun show. You are the guest of honor, however, so I think it only fitting that you participate," David said, his eyes locked on Edgar. "You get first kill."

My body stiffened in his grasp as I shook my head slowly but frantically. "I'm not going to kill him."

"He offered his blood to you just moments ago," Celeste sneered, twisting his arm behind his back. "What makes this any different?"

"I'm not going to hurt him. You can't make me," I spat.

"Is that so?" David said, turning toward Celeste. "Would you like to do the honors?"

"Gladly."

Celeste took a nail to Edgar's throat and slashed across his skin. The wound didn't hit an artery but it did cause blood to seep to the surface. The sight of his blood made my fangs involuntarily extend. I caught sight of myself in Edgar's pained eyes and looked away, trying to pull myself together.

David grabbed my head so I had to look at Edgar. "End his torment and yours."

"No … n-no," I gasped, trying to hold back the tears in my eyes. "I can't. I won't."

"You must."

David pushed me toward Edgar as Celeste pushed Edgar toward me. We slammed into one another as my face found its way above the cut. The smell consumed every thought as my resolve waned. I wouldn't be able to hold myself back much longer.

Sam waited at the far end of the boardwalk, out of view from passersby. When the car pulled into the lot, he left his hiding spot and walked over. Star stepped out of the car and stopped short when she saw him.

"You look like…"

Sam interrupted her. "Crap? I know. Did you bring what I asked for?"

"Yeah, but you know this is idiotic, right?" Star groaned, walking over to the trunk, and opening it to reveal weapons, holy water, and a bulletproof vest that Edgar had someone gotten. "This is a suicide mission and in your condition … even more so."

"I have to help them," Sam said, sliding the vest over his blood-encrusted shirt. "I didn't believe Dawn and look where it's gotten us. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I left them down there to die."

"You don't have the strength to fight them off, Sam," Star worried, crossing her arms over her chest. "If they get a hold of you, you'll die."

"Well, if I die, so be it. Hopefully, I take a few of those bloodsuckers with me," Sam said.

Star placed a hand on his shoulder so he'd meet her gaze. "Dawn saved you. Going back is like spitting on her attempt."

"No, it's not," Sam reassured her. "Dawn saved my life. It's my turn to save hers."

He took as many weapons as he could carry, moving back from the car so Star could close the trunk. Her worried gaze hadn't changed and Sam could tell she was tempted to come with him.

"You have to stay with Laddie, I'll bring my brother back to you," Sam insisted.

"Are you sure you can do this alone?" Star asked.

"It's the only option we have," Sam sighed, clutching a stake tightly in his hand. "I'm going to end this and this time no one escapes."

"David isn't stupid, Sam. After the last time, he'll be smarter about what he does and doesn't do. He won't be easy to kill," Star warned.

"I love a challenge," Sam shrugged.

Sam talked a big game but he was afraid. He was at half strength if that. He had to attack from a distance because up close he didn't have the strength to win. This could very well end in his death but he was willing to risk it. He had to.

My face hovered over the wound on Edgar's neck, the scent consuming all reasonable thought. I tried to pull away but David pushed me forward. I wasn't going to get out of this and neither was Edgar. There was no way out.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, a tear landing on his shoulder.

"Don't be. If I'm going to die, I'd rather it be you than any one of them." Edgar whispered, placing his hand on my back.

I looked down at the blood and slid my tongue across it, Edgar shivering in my grasp. The taste pushed me over the edge and just as I was about to bite, I heard a familiar voice. I turned back to find Sam standing at the entrance of another tunnel.

His eyes met mine with fake confidence, I knew he didn't truly feel. If my heart beat, it'd be beating out of my chest. In his condition, if he fought any of them hand-to-hand, he'd die.

"You've decided to come back to us," David said, crossing his arms with a smug grin. "That was really dumb of you."

"Maybe, it was dumb. But I didn't come unprepared."

Sam pointed a squirt gun at Alice and sprayed her in the face. She screeched, covering her face with both hands, letting Allan go free. Sam threw a stake to Allan who rammed it through Alice's chest, pushing her backward so the stake went into the wall behind her.

Blood spilled from the wound and then it began spilling from her eyes, ears, nose, and lips. Allan stepped beside Sam as her head fell forward and the struggle stopped. This entire thing happened within seconds, yet it felt like hours for those watching.

Celeste threw Edgar at me as we fell to the floor, her attention on Sam and Allan, directed mainly at Sam. The anger radiating off of her was thick in the air. She was beyond furious and it was terrifying.

"I'm going to KILL you!" she screamed, baring her fangs.

Sam lifted a finger and motioned her forward. "I'd like to see you try."

Sam backed into the tunnel behind him and made a run for it; Celeste in close pursuit. While this was going on, Edgar helped me to my feet. Once I was stable, he ran to his brother's side, whose eyes were set on Silas who still had Michael in her hands. I tried to follow but David wrapped his hand around my throat to stop me.

"I will not let you kill more of my friends," David sneered.

"It's too late for that now, isn't it?" I said, my eyes never leaving his. "Two of them are already dead. And I don't think the others have much of a chance of succeeding. Do you?"

David and I watched as the Frog Brothers walked toward Silas. She threw Michael off to the side and tried to claw their faces out with each lung. She succeeded in giving Allan an excellent cut to the arm and a deep slash across Edgar's cheek but they were done playing around.

Edgar tackled the vampire to the ground while Allan pulled a bottle of holy water from his pocket that he must've gotten from Sam. He undid the cap and shoved the bottle into the struggling vampire's mouth, making her drink the contents. They stepped back as her body began to seize, her stomach growing in size. Edgar grabbed Michael's arm and helped him to his feet, all three stumbling back as she exploded.

I turned to David with a smile. "You've lost."

"Not entirely."

His eyes locked onto the tunnel Sam and Celeste had gone through. I followed his gaze to find Celeste coming back into the room, dragging Sam by the back of his vest. She threw him forward as he rolled to a stop. He was covered in blood but I couldn't tell how much of it was his as Celeste wasn't a clean bill of health either.

I pulled out of David's grasp and slid down beside Sam. He was pale but his chest was rising. A wicked claw mark at the crook of his neck was deep enough to see muscle. With how little blood he had left in his body, it would be the end of him.

"It's too late," Celeste said, rubbing her hands on her pants. "He's going to die and there is nothing you can do to stop it."