When I come to, the hunger is still there. I sit up, grab hold of the counter and stand unsteadily. I hesitate, afraid of my own reflection. I glance at the mirror. It’s me… me, much paler, my eyes look different, and my canines are still fangs, but it’s definitely me. I’m not the monster I was- wait, how long has it been?

I know I got back around 11:15 in the morning, and my clock says 1:20 now. Have I been out for over 2 hours? I open the window, and I find that it’s much worse. Outside, it is pitch black. My cell phone lights up, dancing on my nightstand where I forgot it this morning. I reach for it, six new voicemail messages.

Each is from a different friend of mine “Where are you? The party’s great!” I wonder if it’s still going on. As I’m deleting the last message, Anika calls, with Emily in the background. The party’s still on, I should totally go. The party won’t die ‘til 4. I decide I will; it seems like fun. It’s a huge party, plenty of people, plenty of alcohol.

What better place to feed?