The night wore on, and Mina woke up in bed next to Ada. She noticed the crucifix above the bed. She found Ada's fear a little endearing. She kissed Ada's forehead before getting out of bed to grab a glass of water.

Thank god for plumbing. She exited the room and proceeded towards the stairs, but then, she noticed Lucy's door open.

She checked the room, and Lucy wasn't in there. She searched the whole house, but she couldn't find Lucy anywhere. She left the house in search of Lucy.

Maybe she was sleep walking again, and Mina forgot to lock her door. She searched around the compact town, before she found Lucy sitting on a bench. Lucy was using her hand to compress a spot on her neck, and a creature with light grey skin quickly fled the area.

"Lucy!" she shouted in worry as she rushed over. "Mina!" Lucy exclaimed as she hugged Mina. Mina wasted no time in taking Lucy home.

She helped Lucy settle back down into bed. "Look, I won't tell your mother what happened if you're afraid she'll overreact, but be careful next time, we can't have you getting assaulted again." Mina said before leaving the bedroom.

Mina returned to the guest bedroom and settled back down into bed. "Ada, wake up." Mina said as she nudged Ada. Ada slowly stirred and woke up, turning to look at Mina. "What, hon?" she asked, letting out a yawn.

"I think a monster tried strangling Lucy." Mina said. "What?!" Ada asked, sitting up. "Quiet down." Mina requested. "She left to go on a walk, and when I found her, a light grey skinned, sickly looking monster ran away, and she had her hands on her neck. What I think is that the monster strangled her, and almost crushed something in her neck." Mina said.

"Wait... there's actually a monster here?" Ada asked. "Yeah." Mina answered. "At least, I think there is." Mina added. "Oh my god, I was actually right. We have to find this thing." Ada said.

"Ada, we can't just go out and hunt a monster. We're not prepared for something like that." Mina said. "Well... can you draw a picture of it?" Mina asked. "Actually, yeah. I've been practicing my drawing skills." Mina said before tearing a page out of her sketchbook, and she began drawing the monster.

Once she was finished, she turned the bedside lamp off, handed the sketch to Ada, and went back to sleep. Ada looked at the drawing of the monster, and it looked... terrifyingly familiar, like something she had seen growing up in Bran.

Ada went downstairs and sat in the dining room. She turned on the lights in the room, and she studied the drawing, trying to place a finger on why she recognized it. Then, she finally realized where she recognized it from.

Growing up in Bran, her family didn't have the money to move out. Her father worked just outside of Bran, and all the extra money that had been made was saved up for her college fund, and hidden from the commune's income pool (not that they expected her to go to college in another country.)

During those years living in the Bran, the commune was terrorized by a Strigoi. Her father didn't allow them to go out at night, and no one was allowed into the house after dark, all to keep them safe from the unholy creature.

Ada had long blocked the memory of the Strigoi's name from her memory, but she had a feeling that the monster that attacked Lucy was the Strigoi.

She wanted to tell Mina, but she also knew that telling Mina wouldn't do anything, since her partner had no intent of risking her life to kill the beast, but Ada knew that the authorities wouldn't be able to kill the Strigoi.

Next morning:

Mina was helping Lucy with her hair, when she noticed the true reason why Lucy was covering her neck. She had a bite mark on her neck.

Mina left Lucy's room, and bumped into Ada. "Oh, sorry!" Mina exclaimed. Ada noticed the bite mark on Lucy's neck, and she closed the door before looking at Mina. "She was bitten?" Ada asked. "I think so." Mina responded.

Ada sighed before holding up the sketchbook. "I think this monster is a Strigoi from Bran, Romania." Ada said. Mina knew what a Strigoi was from Ada's talks about them before.

"A strigoi? You can't be serious." Mina said. "I am. I spent almost two decades of my life fearing this creature, and now it's here." Ada said. "Well... don't people who are bitten by Strigoi turn into one?" Mina asked.

"The accounts I've heard only describe it happening after the people die, usually of some illness. I don't know if it happens to still living people." Ada said.

"...Okay, I'll keep an eye on Lucy, and see if anything weird happens with her." Mina said before kissing Ada's cheek, and heading downstairs. Mina's kisses still made Ada blush profusely.

5 days later:

Over the past few nights, Lucy's sleepwalking episodes got worse and worse, and Mina had to constantly lock Lucy in her room. It was currently nighttime, and Mina was about to use the restroom, when she heard rambling coming from Lucy's room.

She looked into the room, and saw Lucy sitting up, rambling in her sleep as she pointed at a bat flying around outside the window. Mina proceeded to close and lock the door before using the restroom, and returning to the guest bedroom.

She sat down in bed next to Ada, who was reading Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. "Everything just feels so wrong. Jonathan's dead, a monster is lurking around, Lucy was attacked, and her sleepwalking is getting worse." Mina said.

"Hey, on the bright side, Jonathan had you written in his will, so you get a lot of money, and the house. You can coast off the money until you can find a job." Ada said. "How am I supposed to get a job though. I don't have the education to work as a teacher, and the only other job is working a domestic job.

"Hey, it's never too late to go to school. You're still young." Ada said. "Always so encouraging. That's why I love you." Mina said before kissing Ada, and slowly unbuttoning her partner's nightgown.

The next day: Mina was reading the newspaper and drinking her morning coffee, while Lucy was lying on the couch, rambling to herself. "His eyes, his eyes were more than just blood shot, it was as if he had eyes of blood. I keep seeing them in my dreams." Lucy said.

Mina didn't want to admit it, but she had been growing quite used to this behavior. Perhaps it was just a strange trauma response. "Try to relax, Lucy." Mina said before leaving the room.

Later that day:

It was dusk. Ada and Mina were returning from a lovely dinner, when they saw Lucy leaning out the window, a crow on the window sill. "Lucy, go to bed!" Mina shouted, scaring the crow away. The two women went inside, and Mina checked on Lucy, who was now in bed, covering the bite mark on her neck, groaning in pain.

"You okay?" Mina asked. "Yeah, it just hurts a little. I think it may be infected. I'll check in the morning." Lucy said. "Okay, just tell me if anything serious comes up." Mina said before closing and locking the door. Mina then proceeded to the guest bedroom.

The next day:

Lucy heard a knock on the door. She opened it and saw Arthur. "Arthur!" she exclaimed before kissing him, and then she pulled away. "My father has gotten better, and the marriage can take place soon." Arthur said. "Oh, absolutely lovely!" Lucy's mother said as she walked up to the two of them. "I'm glad to hear that Lucy will have a strong man to look out for her." Lucy's mother said.

The next day:

Mina had noticed that Lucy was growing weaker, and her bite marks were growing larger. She had also noticed that crates had arrived at the abbey, and others were shipped off to London. She went into the living room and sat down across from Lucy.

"So, what exactly happened a few nights ago?" Mina asked. "I sat down for a moment to rest during my walk, when a kindly old man walked up to me. I didn't assume much about him, but he walked up behind me, and a frail looking light grey hand was placed on my shoulder, and well... let's just say he had a drink." Lucy said as she began laughing, which caught Mina off-guard.

It wasn't like Lucy to laugh about things like this, so why was she doing it at her own expense of all things?

Later: Mina and Ada were pacing back and forth in the guest room. "It drank her blood?!" Ada asked. "Yeah, that's what she said." Mina responded. "So it is a Strigoi that attacked her." Ada said. Then, she remembered the name on the letter telling them about Jonathan's "Death."

Dracula... it sounded so familiar, almost as if Ada had heard the name in Bran before. "Mina, what part of Romania did Jonathan's client live? Did Jonathan tell you?" Mina asked. "Transylvania, why do you ask?" Mina asked.

"No, where in Transylvania?" Ada asked. "I believe he said his client lived in Bran castle." Mina said. "Oh my god." Ada said. "What?" Mina asked. "I recognize the name Dracula from Bran, I recognize the Vampire from Bran, Jonathan's client lives in Bran, and Jonathan died while staying in Bran castle." Ada said.

"Wait... are you suggesting that this Dracula person is the Strigoi from that terrorized Bran?" Mina asked. "Yes, I remember now, I remember, the Strigoi's name is Dracula." Ada said. "Jonathan wasn't killed by a wolf, and I don't think he was killed." Ada said.

"What are you suggesting?" Mina asked. "The man mentioned in the captain's log. Dracul must've taken Jonathan onto the ship to feed on his blood, but when Jonathan was found and taken away from him, he had to feed on the ship's crew, hoping that he would still make it to this town." Ada said.

"I believe that the man who fled from the ship was none other than Jonathan. He's alive, and he's out there, we have to find him." Ada said. The information made Mina rather happy, thinking about the prospect of her best friend still being alive.

"Look... we can't allow anyone into the house at night. So that-" Ada was cut off by Mina. "You've told me before. Vampire's have to be invited into people's homes, and then they'll be able to come in and out of the house as they wish." Mina said.

Meanwhile:

Renfield was in his room, when he felt a strong force blow over him. "The master is at hand!" he exclaimed before breaking through his cell window, and climbing out of his cell before heading towards the walls of the asylum.

Seward, having heard the sound of the window breaking, rushed into the room, with a security guard, and they saw Renfield climbing up the wall. "Get him!" Seward shouted before he and the security guard rushed outside.

The security guard had a crossbow on his person, and when they saw that Renfield was too high up for them to grab him and pull him back down, the security guard aimed, and shot an arrow into one of Renfield's hands.

Renfield screamed out in pain and fell to the ground, before the arrow was pulled out of his hand and he was dragged back to his cell. "Master! I will get back to you!" Renfield asked as he attempted to wiggle free, only to be thrown back into his cell.

As Renfield sat in his cell alone, he quietly rambled to himself about murder, and the devil, before licking the blood off of his hand wound. "I will return to you. I swear by it." Renfield said before laughing maniacally.

A/N: And that's the 8th chapter. Things are preparing to get a lot more tricky, and prepare for Van Helsing!