The slowing of the car as it got off the freeway bumped me awake. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, inadvertently dropping the T-shirt from my face onto my lap. We were on Highway 30, heading north. The trees of Forest Park on the left were nothing but dark blots, broken occasionally by the glow of street lamps.

I glanced in the back seat. Emily sat with her knees pulled up to her chin and her arms wrapped around them, staring silently out the driver’s side window. That damned meditation piano music was still playing. The clock said 4:45 AM. I glanced at the sky, but it was still pitch black outside.

The St. John’s Bridge became visible in the distance, the lights on it combined with the dark void that was the river far below made it look like it was a bridge through space, leading to the stars. However, instead of continuing on, Jack took a left at the light before the bridge turnout, into the parking lot of a car tow business just south of the bridge. It was a long, narrow lot that ran north to south, bordered by Forest Park on the west and Highway 30 on the east.

I’d seen it from the bus before, but hadn’t really noticed it before except to wonder why it had its own stoplight.

“I think they’re closed,” I said after Jack stopped at the closed chainlink fence that blocked off the parking lot from the traffic on the highway. There was just enough space between the fence and the road for his car to not be hit by the sparse southbound early morning traffic on the highway.

Jack shot me a half-smile and reached up to press the button on a garage door opener attached to the visor. “Are they?” The gate began rattling slowly open, rolling to the side parallel to the rest of the fence. Jack drove in once there was enough space for the car. After we were inside, he pressed the button again and the gate closed behind us.

He drove past a dark building that had the logo of a tow company on the glass door, and turned down a gravel path that ran between the two lines of wrecked cars that ran the length of the lot, bordered by the highway on one side and the trees of Forest Park on the other. A chainlink fence topped with barbed wire encircled the lot.

Jack said, “The tow business is a cover for our offices. Handily explains all the traffic in and out, and provides some income to keep us going. Not like we can exactly get government funding for supernatural social services, and the fines from tickets only cover so much.”

“I hadn’t considered that,” I said.

When we reached the middle of the line of cars, Jack made a hard right turn, squeezing through a space between two of the cars. Jack slowed down, but kept driving.

“Stop!” I yelled, pointing at the fence.

In the back, Emily shrieked, and I was tempted to join her, but instead reached out and grabbed the door, bracing myself for impact as the car’s bumper reached the trees. The cheap plastic cracked under my grip.

However, rather than crashing, the car kept going. The image of the fence and trees in front of us wavered like a heat mirage before vanishing. The crunch of gravel under the tires was replaced with the smooth feel of asphalt. I blinked, and Emily’s scream trailed off.

Jack laughed uproariously at our reaction. If I could have pried my hands from the door handle, I would have been tempted to punch his arm. “Best part of bringing newbies here.” Jack chuckled.

I twisted around to look behind us. The illusion of the trees was back in place, making it look like the road appeared from nowhere. Even the light filtering through from the tow lot’s floodlamps showed shadows from the illusionary trees. Despite the fact that I was now a vampire and had met both a real life werefox and werejackal, I hadn’t ever considered that might mean magic was real too.

It was pitch black. Trees lined both sides of the single-lane road which, combined with the car’s headlamps, turned the road into a tunnel through the dark. We drove for another few minutes up the hill. The road took a sharp turn around a switchback and then a red brick building came into view, lights blazing from the windows around the closed blinds.

Jack pulled up and parked along a line of cars at the side of the building, then turned off the car. “Last stop, everyone out.”

“Where’s this?” Emily asked sharply from the back seat.

“A safe space, like I said.” Jack got out of the car. “Come with me. Both of you.”

I got out, walked around the car, and stood near the trunk. Jack got out and opened the driver’s-side rear door to help Emily out. She shook, leaning heavily on his arm.

“The first transformation is always the hardest,” Jack said, shutting her door behind her. He nodded his head to me and said, “After you.”

I shrugged and walked around the building to the front door. Jack and Emily stumbled along more slowly behind me. The unmarked doors were made of thick steel. I tugged on them, but they didn’t budge.

A speaker next to the door buzzed and a crackly voice asked, “Who the fuck are you?”

“Jack brought me,” I said, glancing around until I spotted a camera above the speaker.

“He’s with me,” Jack said as he and Emily came up the steps behind me.

The door pinged and the lock clicked open. I pulled the handle and held it open, waiting while Jack half-carried Emily through, then followed them inside.

A young man looked up from the receptionist desk. A screen to the side of him showed a view of the front porch. “Jack, took you long enough. You call in late, then one fox call that should have been an hour job at most takes you all night, and then you come back with two people? Boss is pissed. She wants to see you, now. Hope you have a good explanation for it all.”

Jack sighed and nodded to the man. “All right, let me just get these two settled first, Dave.”

Dave shrugged and spun to the side, bending over and going back to watch his monitors.

“This way.” Jack pushed through a swinging door on the wall to the left of the reception desk, carrying Emily with him. I followed him.

This room was set up like a living room, with a couch against the far wall that was flanked by two plush reclining chairs, and a small coffee table in front of them. The wall opposite the setup had a counter with dorm-sized fridge and a coffee station. Another door exited the other side.

Jack set Emily down on the couch, and I sat on one of the chairs. Jack went over to the fridge and pulled out two Gatorade bottles. “Drink those.”

He tossed one each to Emily and me. Like earlier, time seemed to slow as the bottle flew towards me. I caught it easily, twisted the cap off, and took a big swig. This one was also like drinking rotten fruit. I gagged and almost spit it out.

“Nasty. This is the same, awful flavor you gave me in the car.” I made a face and looked at the label. “What the? This is my favorite flavor, or at least it was.” I made a face and put the cap back on.

“I know it tastes bad now in your new state, but drink it. The nutrients will help hold off your thirst.”

Jack turned to leave back the way we’d come, but then glanced at the clock on the wall above the couch and cursed. “No, wait, we don’t have time. Emily, you wait here. Everett, you come with me.”

Sighing, I stood up. Emily still looked scared, her eyes still red-rimmed yet dry, but she nodded. Jack turned around and went over to the other door out of the room, pulled out a key, and unlocked it.

“This way.”

“Why’s it locked?” The room on the other side was tiny, more of a hallway than a room. Two doors were on the far wall opposite the one we’d come through, and a third door was to the right.

“More to protect the people in the waiting room from wandering in here than anything. In here.” Jack unlocked the leftmost door and opened it, gesturing inside.

The room, more like a closet, had two camping bunks with trunks pushed underneath, a rickety old wooden nightstand between them, and nothing else. Not even any windows.

I sighed and glumly contemplated the cots. “Really? Camping bunks? I thought vampires slept in coffins.”

“Nothing is stopping you if you want to get one, but other vampires will make fun of you.” Jack put a comforting hand on my shoulder. My heart jumped into my throat at his touch, warm and comforting. “I know it’s not much. If I’d had more time I could have gotten you put up in one of our safe houses, but it’ll have to do for tonight.”

“It’s—it’s fine,” I stuttered over my words as his hand slid off my shoulder. I sidled further into the room and turned to face Jack. The events of the night were starting to catch up to me and hugged myself tightly, closing my eyes to stop the tears that I could feel threatening me.

Jack stepped closer, bending over and wrapping his arms around me in a loose hug. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise.”

“Thank you. But what now?” I stifled a sob and hugged him back, overwhelmed by the events of the night. He was warm, and I could hear his heartbeat pounding loudly near my face. My senses seemed sharper, my hearing better—or I was imagining also being able to feel each beat of his pulse against my face and arms.

“You are going to stay in here and get some rest. I’m going to go talk to my boss.” Jack’s arms squeezed me briefly, and then he let go. He put a hand on my cheek, giving me a sad smile that I couldn’t read before stepping back. I missed his comforting warmth already, and had to stop myself from trailing after him.

“And in the morning?” I asked, grabbing my arms with my hands to keep from reaching for him again.

A corner of Jack’s mouth twitched. I realized what I’d said and blushed.

“Vampires don’t really do mornings. I’ll be back for you this evening, and we’ll talk about next steps then.” Jack started to close the door. “Oh, there are sheets and pillows in the trunks under the beds. Don’t leave this room until I come to get you. The sun comes up soon, and this room is light-proofed.”

Jack closed the door, and the lock clicked.

I made the bed, got undressed, and lay down. I twisted and turned on the uncomfortable camp cot, trying to get to sleep. I was so thirsty it hurt. Choking down the rest of that Gatorade hadn’t helped much, or at least not as much as the first one had.

For a while I lay there, eyes closed, concentrating on feeling the sunrise, but I didn’t feel anything except my dry throat and rumbling stomach.

With the lights shut off and no windows, it was pitch black in here— not even stray light from under the door—but then Jack had said this room had been light-proofed. Sighing and unable to sleep, I pulled the amulet out of my pocket and began idly turning it around in my hands. I drifted off as I rubbed the face of the amulet.

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Continue on to Chapter 6

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