Mary might not be who she claimed...

Jessica creeps to the end of the hall and peeks into the half open door. She is barefoot, wearing the pajamas Olivia laid out for her. What she sees makes her lightheaded. Jessica feels like she has been punched in the stomach.

A human girl is sitting in a chair, naked. Her neck and breasts are covered in bite marks and blood. The girl is gagged, tears streaking her makeup. Olivia holds the girl's shackled hands above her head.

Kneeling on the floor is Mary, who is alternating vicious bites between the girl's thighs and mound. Olivia and Mary are laughing mirthfully as the bound girl sobs into the gag.

"You did well tonight, Olivia" Mary says sinisterly "this one is delicious."

"Thank you, Mistress" Olivia replies adoringly. Olivia looks up and sees Jessica in the shadows outside the room. Olivia freezes. Jessica turns and starts running towards the elevator door. Tears are welling in her eyes. Behind her, she hears Mary screaming "she wasn't supposed to see this! I thought you locked her door you foolish cow!"

Jessica open the elevator doors and jumps in. She starts mashing the G button frantically. "Jessica, come back! It's not what you think!" Mary shrieks, the desperation palpable in her voice. The elevator doors close just as Mary, naked, comes bounding toward them. The elevator begins its descent to the garage as Jessica can hear Mary pounding on the doors, shrieking.

Jessica runs barefoot through the streets of the quiet city, in no particular direction She feels completely betrayed. Even Elizabeth never lied to me like that Jessica thinks bitterly. If Mary, after all these years and all that bullshit introspection, is still a total fiend, what hope do I have?

Jessica's bewilderment and despair mutate into pure rage. She wants to hurt someone - she wants to work through her sense of betrayal, she doesn't care on who. All of her more complex human sentiments like reason and empathy are completely suppressed, and the animal urges are in control. Her anger and her cravings are the only relevant emotions.

I am a monster Jessica thinks, for the first time without cringing. It isn't good or bad, it just is. Monsters hunt. Monsters feed. Monsters kill.

The city streets are empty, but Jessica needs to feed. The sky is beginning to lighten. Dawn isn't far. She finally sees a woman in a housekeeping outfit locking the door to a first floor apartment in a walkup. She is a middle aged woman with curly black hair. She has put on a little cushioning over the years but still has quite an attractive figure. In a flash, she is behind the woman, who let's out a small yell.

"Open the door and go inside" Jessica commands confidently. The woman obeys, unlocks the door and walks inside as Jessica follows.

Jessica slams the door shut behind them, and is on the poor woman. Jessica wraps one arm under the woman's armpit to grip the woman's shoulder from behind. Her other hand covers the woman's mouth to dampen any screams. Jessica looks into the woman's eyes as and flashes her a wide smile, showing her fangs. The woman screams harder into Jessica's palm.

Jessica strikes, driving her fangs into the woman's carotid artery, biting down harder and harder. The woman's shrieks die down and her legs give out. Jessica releases the woman's mouth and steadies her with her other hand. The woman expires, and Jessica drops her. Jessica feels much better now. The bad thoughts have been muted by the kill. She licks the blood from her hands.

The sun is rising in the distance. Jessica closes the curtains abruptly and begins looking through the apartment. It is empty, except for a sleeping teenage girl in one of the bedrooms. Jessica considers draining the teenager, but knows that she'll wake up famished tomorrow night. Jessica goes to the master bedroom and rifles through the dresser, and grabbing a bunch of stockings. She goes back to the teenager, and grabs her, gagging her with a pair of stockings tied around her head. She uses the other stocking to tightly bind her hands behind her back, and her feet. She dumps the struggling girl in the closet, and closes the door, blocking the handle with a desk chair.

Jessica falls asleep, too exhausted to think.