MG wrung his hands together hard enough to hurt. With every passing minute, he was getting more and more worried. “Hope, I really think we should go find Lizzie.”

“She knows when we’re leaving.”

MG opened his mouth to say something else, but he was cut off by another man speaking from where he stood, obscured by shadows.

“I do hope it’s soon.”

Hope scrunched up her nose, unfazed by the sudden materialization of this stranger. “Do we know you?”

“You should.”

“I don’t.”

MG could sense the fight bubbling up in her. He reached for her arm. “Hope, let’s just go.”

“Yeah, Hope. How about you just go?”

“At least tell me your name so I can make fun of it,” Hope said, yanking her arm out of MG’s grasp.

“You don’t need to know my name. You can call me Creature of the Night.” 

Hope barked out a laugh. “Creature of the Night?”

“Yes, Creature of the Night. We don’t take too kindly to strangers poaching on our hunting grounds.”

Hope was practically doubled over in laughter. “We?”

“Yes, ma’am. We. Me and my carnival full of vampires.”

“Hmm.” Hope hadn’t seen that plot twist coming. It almost surprised her. If she could feel anything like surprise.

“We follow very strict rules so as not to bring too much attention. We choose our victims very carefully.”

”I assume you like teenaged girls?” Hope arched an eyebrow. “Maybe ones with annoying little sisters?”

“We have a taste, yes.”

“That’s fucked up, man.”

“Look, we’ve dealt with your kind in the past.”

Hope perked up at that. Her lips curled into a knowing smile. “My kind?” She highly doubted that this Creature of the Night had ever dealt with a tribrid before. 

“You don’t know what you’re getting into,” MG said, stepping in between them. “We’ll just be getting on our way. We didn’t mean to -”

Hope pushed MG aside mid-speech. “He doesn’t speak for me.”

“I’m warning you, girl -”

“And I’m warning you, vamp. You’ve never met a monster like me.”

“A monster like you?” Now it was the vampire’s turn to laugh.

It didn’t last long. Hope squeezed her fist together, raising him in the air without touching him. He grasped at his throat as his windpipes began to collapse.

“But … you’re …”

“A vampire? Yeah. And a witch.” Hope smirked.

“But … how …?”

“What was that third thing?” Hope turned her head a few degrees towards MG, refusing to look away from the confusion and fear in the carnie’s eyes. She snapped her fingers like she couldn’t come up with the answer.

“She’s also a werewolf.”

“That’s right!” Hope threw her finger up in the air. “A tribrid. You’ve dealt with my kind before, right?”

Hope wasn’t sure if she was squeezing his vocal cords too tightly for him to answer or if he genuinely was left speechless. Either way, she was having a good time. She squeezed her hand harder and harder until his head detached from his body and rolled to the side. She was almost disappointed. She had enjoyed watching him squirm.

“I didn’t know I could do that,” she said casually, eyeing the man’s decapitated head. She shrugged. “Cool.”

“Hey!” MG stepped forward, trying his hardest to appear angry. It was hard, given that he was one of the few people in the world who didn’t loom over Hope. “We promised Lizzie. No killing.”

Hope barked out a laugh. “Lizzie’s not here right now, is she?” Her voice turned bitter. “Lizzie ditched us.”

“Actually, you ditched Lizzie.”

“Same thing.”

“No, it isn’t.” MG shook his head. “Lizzie would never leave you behind.”

Hope opened her mouth, ready to fire back, when she heard something. It sounded like her name.

Hope.