I was eating breakfast with my family. My younger brother was being chastised by mom for texting at the table. My older sisters gossiped among themselves. My dad brought me bacon and eggs from the frying pan. It was nice. It was peaceful. I watched the little dust particles in the air as light shone from the glass door to the patio.

Without warning, Gabe crashed through my front door. He sprinted towards me and slammed his hands on the table.

"Elizabeth, where are you?" his eyes were terrified.

"I'm right here! Gabe, calm down! You're going to frighten my family," I attempted to settle him down. Although glancing around the table, my family continued to eat as though they weren't aware of his presence. My eyebrows wrinkled at this curiosity.

Gabe grabbed my hands between his, "Listen to me, Elizabeth; you're dreaming. Where are youright now? Who are you with?"

The room flashed back and forth between my pleasant breakfast nook and the pharmacy cellar. "I... " but before I could respond, I was falling. My family and Gabe were gone. Darkness enveloped me and I couldn't see what I was falling toward. Blackborne appeared, hands behind his back and fangs protruding from his twisted smile. He strolled across the air towards me.

"You poor, frightened creature," he said with falsified pity. His voice echoed through the tunnel as I fell.

"Run home, little mouse."

I woke up, panting. Those last words rang in my ear. It was unnerving.

My door slammed open, shaking the walls. A hanging picture frame behind the door hit the floor with a shatter. Nate and Chris stumbled into the room, ready for action.

"Why.. what's going on?!" I stammered.

They lowered their guard, realizing I was the only one in the room.

"Your heart rate suddenly rose, then you screamed. We thought someone got in." Chris said, taking a couple steps forward to examine whether I was okay or not.

Nate remained where he was, close to the doorway.

'I screamed?' I thought to myself. Trying to defuse the situation I told them, "It was just a dream... You heard my heartbeat from the next room?"

"Werewolves can hear better than your average human, bloodsuckers can, too. That scream, though, that was pretty loud. I'm pretty sure I just lost most of my supernatural hearing," Chris joked with a smile.

Nate nodded solemnly, corners of his mouth turned down. The dark circles under his eyes were much more obvious now.

"Well if you're okay..." Chris started, turning towards the door.

Nate slipped out before Chris took his first step.

"Na-," about to call Nate's name, I realized he was already gone. I had hoped to talk to him privately about my dream.

"Looks like your friend isn't doing too well," Chris observed, glimpsing at me over his shoulder.

"Why?" I sprung out of the bed and took a menacing step toward him, "Why would you put him through this? Why can't you see he's not your enemy?"

"Because he is my enemy. Yours, too. What do you think he normally eats to keep him from becoming this weak? It sure as hell not pizza and ice cream. He drinks blood. Whether it's from a blood bag or the source itself, it's blood. Doesn't that bother you? As soon as he's hungry enough, you won't be his buddy anymore; you'll be food. I'm certain that he has already killed his fair share of humans to be alive today. It's not safe to be here, and if you were smart, you'd leave." he solidly defended himself, "And the only thing keeping him alive for now is my curiosity. What makes him so important that Blackborne is sending his troops after you two?"

With nothing noteworthy to reveal, I told him the truth, "he saved my life, killing two of Blackborne's henchmen in the process."

"So he's either a heroic bloodsucker or just an idiot?" He must have realized the gravity of what I had said after he spoke, because after a short pause he asked, "Wait, he killed Blackborne's personal body guards? Big guys in suits?"

"Yeah," I confirmed.

"Shit. Who is this guy...?" Resting his chin on his fist, he contemplated out loud, "Firstly, a sane vampire would never be daft enough to attack Blackborne's top men. But how could any vampire take on both and survive? Much less kill the two of them."

"He made it look easy," I shrugged it off but was perplexed myself, if what he said was true.

"Interesting..." Chris gave me a peculiar look, and finally left me to think in peace.