Mary stalks Jade

[Mary's POV]

"Don't scream" Mary commands.

Glugg, glugg, glugg...

Mary holds the human close, one hand holding the back of the girl's neck the other holding her arm. Mary's fangs are plunged into the girl's throat. She drinks deeply.

Glugg, glugg, glugg...

It has been years since she hunted, since she took a human without any regard for consent. It feels good. Her eyes are closed, as she focuses on the girl's heartbeat, the blood pulsing into her mouth.

Take her a little voice says. You've been so good for so long, Mary. Her blood is so sweet. You deserve a reward...

Mary withdraws her fangs and sighs. The girl is still conscious. A little woozy, but otherwise undamaged. Mary licks the girl's neck, savoring the last traces of blood.

"Go straight home and go to sleep. Forget about me, and forget about any of this. You felt sick and went straight to bed" Mary commands, enthralling the girl further. The girl nods, dazed, and shuffles off in the direction that she came.

Mary wipes her lips. She really did need the blood, but didn't want to give Catherine the satisfaction of seeing her attack a human. The girl, returning from work to a house just up the street, was a convenient target. She tasted so good Mary thinks, nothing beats hunting fresh prey. She shakes her head, trying to banish the thought, but it's hard to think about anything else. Her stomach tells her to find another, to drain them, and then another, on and on. These urges, so well controlled for so many decades, have roared back to the fore. This is exactly why Mary has been so careful. Relapses are easy, recovery is hard.

Perhaps I was too hard on Jessica Mary wonders. After all, how many humans did I drain as a newborn vampire?

Her own blood cravings have made her more sympathetic to Jessica. Do I actually want to help Jessica, or just be self-righteous? Mary thinks, chiding herself for her outburst earlier. Jessica appears to be genuinely wrestling with herself.

It will be time for Jade's "escape" any moment now Mary thinks as she stealthily runs back to the house. She feels re-energized from the blood - a little goes a long way. She finds a spot with good visibility in a stand of trees about fifty yards from the house, and waits.

Almost on cue, Jade flies out of the house. Well, she seems to have recovered Mary thinks. Jade looks around, and runs down the road to the right. Mary, keeping her distance, follows her. She'll look for blood first, then a way back to Elizabeth Mary predicts. Jade looks nothing like the wounded animal from earlier, she looks strong and revitalized. Mary follows, keeping her distance. She knows that she isn't stronger than Jade, especially not one-on-one. Mary tracks Jade for about two miles.

She hears a car approaching, followed by headlights. Jade steps out into the middle of the road, facing the approaching car, her hands on her hips. The driver, clearly driving distracted, sees her at the last moment. The driver swerves off the road, spinning out, the passenger side hitting a tree trunk with a loud clunk.

"Shit" Jade says, exasperated. She wanted the car Mary thinks. Jade walks over to the driver side door, and opens it.

"Gee, are you alright mister?" Jade asks sarcastically. She pulls the dazed driver from the car, viciously biting into his neck. He screams as Jade drinks him.

Mary takes a moment to text Catherine.

Mary: Jade carjacked some guy. Don't know if his car will work, crashed. Sending my GPS location. Come with a different car but keep your distance

Catherine: ok

Jade's victim goes limp in her arms. Mary is conflicted. She wants to help, but also can't blow her cover. I'll save many more by stopping them for good Mary assures herself as she watches Jade feed. Mary's stomach rumbles, her mouth fills with saliva. She looks away, understanding the affect that Jade's attack is having on her. Mary hears a thud, Jade has dropped the lifeless body.

Jade jumps into the driver's seat. The engine is still running. She shifts the car into reverse, and backs up onto the road. There is an unpleasant grinding sound of metal on metal, the car is clearly damaged, but seems usable. Dammit Mary thinks, listening for Catherine and Jessica's car. They don't seem close. Jade does a wide a u-turn, and starts driving away as Mary looks on. There goes our only lead. I failed. Mary memorizes the car make and license plate, just in case.

After a minute or so, Mary hears a second car. A minivan. Great she thinks. She waves her phone to get the driver's attention, flagging it down. The car pulls to the side of the road, and the driver rolls down his window.

"Are you in trouble, ma'am?" the male driver asks. Mary looks inside the car, a woman is sitting in the front passenger seat and two kids in the back. Shit she thinks. I have ****.

"I need your car. You all need to get out now. I won't hurt you. Take your phones, walk up a mile or two, and call for help. You were carjacked. It happens. Two white teenage boys with **** on their breath. You stopped, thinking they needed help" Mary instructs officiously. The mother and father nod, blinking a few times. They help their children out of the car, and the father hands his keys to Mary.

"I am sorry about this. You don't remember me, though. Two teenage boys, right?" Mary says, jumping into the front seat. The family stares at her, dumbfounded, as she drives swiftly down the road in pursuit of Jade.