Scott and I both took a dozen or so case files that had some similarities to our case to go through. 

"That's a lot," Scott said quietly, getting in the car.

"If this goes back that far, I think we have an even bigger problem on our hands."

"Yeah, this is a huge issue. Back to 2000? I mean the person would have to be how old now?" he asked.

"I guess it depends on when they started and how intricate the work was done. It seems rather juvenile and not all that well hidden then. Our perp seems to have improved over the years."

"Okay, so 23 years that we know of."

It wasn't long before I pulled into the parking lot of our precinct when I got a call from Maddy.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Cassidy. What's up? How are you?"

"Fine. How are you?"

"Yeah, glad you could ask. I'm okay, but, um," she started yelling at someone while on the phone with me. "Hey! You! Quit following me! I'm on the phone with my best friend and she's a cop!"

"Maddy?" I asked.

"You better back up!" she yelled.

"Maddilyn!" I screamed into the phone.

"Is everything okay?" Scott asked.

I hit the speaker button so he could hear.

"You are way too close...hey! Let me go! Let go! Cassidy! Someone! HELP!"

"Maddy!"

I heard heavy breathing on the other end for a few seconds before the line went silent.

"Shit," I said. "Shit. Shit. Shit."

"Oh, that's not good. Where is she?"

"I don't know. I....she didn't tell me."

"Trace her phone?" he suggested.

I nodded my head and jumped out of the car, running to our forensic office in the building.

"Dave!" I threw open the door and ran into the large room. "Dave, where are you?"

"Yo, Perry, I'm over here. What's the problem?" He poked his hairy head around the corner.

"Whoa, Dave."

"Yeah. I know. It's a full moon tonight." He rolled his eyes. 

Dave always hid when it was a full moon. He was a relatively new werewolf and didn't have full control over his change yet. The older wolves could hold off until nightfall, new wolves tended to sprout their hair throughout the day before their full change.

"Dave, can you trace a phone?"

"Of course."

"Good. Trace this number."

"Do you have a warrant for it? I don't want to get in trouble."

"Dave, I appreciate you wanting to follow policy, but my best friend was literally kidnapped on the phone while I talked to her. Trace her phone."

"Oh. Wow. Okay. Yeah. Sure. Do you know the IMEI number?"

I furrowed my brows and stared at him.

"Okay. Guess not. What's the number?"

"555-1234"

He typed it into this computer and watched while the little map he stared at started triangulating the number. It centered on an area near the hospital.

"What the hell is she doing there?" Scott asked.

"Frank works there."

"Oh, so they are a thing?"

"Scott! Not the time!" I ran from the room shouting behind me. "Thanks, Dave!"

"Cassidy," Chief Connors said as I ran past him.

"Not now, Chief. Busy. Talk later!"

Scott followed behind, causing a bit of a commotion as he tried to keep up. "Slow down! Not all of us are vampires!"

"Half!" I shouted. "Follow in the car. I'll be faster on foot!" 

Once outside, I was able to pick up speed and flitted to the hospital. I paused on the main street, facing the massive, gothic-looking building, and inhaled deeply trying to find Maddy's scent. 

She always wore a very specific perfume. Her father bought it for her when he visited Paris a few months before and it was her favorite. It had a slight floral smell with an undertone of strawberries and cherries. When I first smelled it, it was such an overpowering scent that I had to walk outside her house. Now, I'm glad it was so overpowering and unique. 

I could still smell it slightly. 

Following the trail, it stopped at a parking garage. It was just gone.

"Perry!" Scott shouted from the driver's side window of my car. "What the hell!"

"She was taken. She's gone. I-I can't smell her." I yelled back, putting my nose in the air and inhaling deeply. "Wait, I can smell it!"

I followed down the street. It was so faint. The car she was in must have been driving fast.

Once we hit the highway, it was gone.

"I lost it," I mumbled.

"Okay. Okay. Let's stop and think. I mean, Maddy is resourceful. She'll find a way to contact you," Scott said.

"What am I doing?" I asked. " I can't even protect my best friend!"

"Perry, this is in no way your fault."

"If it's the same guy who's killing college kids and taking my blood, yes it is. We have to find Maddy before she's dead or worse."

Scott had nothing to say because he knew I was right. He took the first exit and went back to the station. I walked in and sat at my desk staring at my blank computer screen. Scott walked in behind me, carrying the case files.

"Cassidy," Chief Conners approached my desk. "What is going on?"

I looked up at my boss and pursed my lips for a few long moments. "Maddilyn was kidnapped."

"What?"

"Maddily, my best friend, was kidnapped."

"How do you know?" he questioned.

"I was on the phone with her when it happened. That's where I was running to. I could track her scent."

"Cassidy..."

"What?" I asked.

"There was another attack."

I stared at him. I knew my brain was trying to process what he said. "I...okay."

"Do you want someone else to go?"

I shook my head and stood, leaving the station again.

"Do you want to know where?" he shouted.

I shook my head.

"Uh, tell me, Chief," I heard Scott say before I exited to my car.

I sat in the driver's seat just waiting for him.

"You sure you want to do this?" Scott asked, climbing in next to me.

"Yeah. I can't stop working because this happened."

"The chief is sending out a few detectives to investigate Maddy."

I nodded and sighed. "Where are we going?"

"The Pitt campus. Next to the cathedral."

"On campus?" 

Scott nodded his head. "They're not hiding bodies very well now."

"Were they ever?"

"Why is he getting sloppy?" Scott questioned.

I was quiet for a long moment, thinking. 

Why is he getting sloppy now? He was careful for so long. But now, he's sloppy.

"What if he's not getting sloppy," I said.

"What?"

"Yeah, what if putting the bodies where we are finding them is not him being sloppy? It's part of his plan."

"Why though?"

"Why? That's a good question. Why?"

"Oh! He's closer to his end goal. Whatever his plan is with your blood. He's confident that he's almost finished."

"Right. Okay. So the only reason anyone would want my blood is the fact that I'm a hybrid. I'm not vamp and I'm not human."

"But, I mean, technically you're not human at all."

"Yes, but nobody knows that. Which is why it's taking him so long to figure out how to make another of me and why he finally came for my blood."

"I'm telling you, it's that blood doctor. He has a motive. He has an opportunity."

"What is his motive?" I asked.

"Perry, come on! The dude is obsessed with your blood."

"Obsessed or curious? He's a hematologist. He literally works with blood every day. This is probably the most interesting thing he's ever seen."

"Who else would want to do this though?" he questioned.

"I guess anyone obsessed with becoming half vampire and half preternatural?"

"Alright, let's figure out who that is then."

I pulled into a parking spot next to the Cathedral of Learning and watched as students congregated around the yellow tape. I heard yelling and a guttural scream.

"Another not dead?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. If they were vamp they'd be toast right now."

We hurried out of the car and ran to the scene. A girl, young, maybe in her late teens or early twenties was fighting with the officers who were trying to subdue her. Smoke was coming from her body as she screamed.

"She's in the middle of turning! Oh my God!" 

I ran to the girl and grabbed her arm. She calmed down a little bit and the smoke slowly stopped.

"What the hell...how'd you do that!" one of the young officers asked.

"It's a vampire thing," I muttered. "Get me a blanket! Quick. We have to get her to a hospital now."

He nodded and ran off to one of the cruisers, returning with one of their emergency blankets. He put it around her body while taking out his silver handcuffs. One of the only things that could keep a vampire or werewolf chained.

He put them on her wrists and I let go of her. The serene look of civility left her eyes and was replaced with the thirst of a newborn.

Scott came up to me, putting his hand on my shoulder. "You're going to get caught if you do that again."

"What was I supposed to do? Let the poor thing turn to dust?"

"Is she turned?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah. She's a newborn. So whoever this is is making sure they at least get a first feed before putting them out now."

"And they're not dying."

I shook my head. "The newborns he's creating are getting stronger."

"But they're still not you."

"No yet at least."

We followed the police cruiser to the hospital, waiting in the room for the doctor to arrive to examine the girl. She let out guttural screams while chained to a silver bed by silver handcuffs. A bit extreme, but sometimes it was needed.

As Scott and I talked, Dr. Francis Matson walked in.

"Detective Perry, what a coincidence."

"Frank? You're working again?"

"I'm always working," he laughed. 

"Right."

He took the girl's chart and read over it. 

"Hey, have you seen Maddy by chance?"

He shook his head. "No. I was actually going to ask you the same thing. We were supposed to have lunch this afternoon but she never showed up."

"So she was supposed to be over here?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I, uh, she called me. Someone took her."

Frank dropped the chart and stared at me. "Took her? Took her where?"

"We're not sure," Scott said. "We have a unit out canvassing and trying to find her."

"That's why all of those police officers were here earlier?"

"You saw them and they didn't tell you?"

"No. They were talking to security and wouldn't tell us anything."

"Okay. When was the last time you saw her?"

"Um, last night."

"Did she mention anyone following her? Or anything?" I asked.

"No." He bent down and picked the chart back up. "She was completely fine. How peculiar that someone would just take her. You don't think it's the same guy who did this?"

"We're not sure," Scott said.

"Please, find her."