"I appreciate you listening to me."

"Not a problem at all, Detective."

"I think at this point you can just call me Cassidy," I laughed.

He smiled and nodded.

"Hey, uh, Cassidy, come here." Scott tugged on my sleeve.

"What's up?" I asked, following him from the trauma area. 

I glanced over my shoulder and watched as the Mayor stroked her daughter's hair as Dr. Matson pulled out his stethoscope.

"I didn't want to talk in front of him. Uh, how well do you know him?"

"I don't."

"At all?"

I shook my head. 

"So what was all of that about you saving his life?"

"Oh. That. Yeah, when he was a kid he was playing in front of his parent's house with his brother and some friends. They were throwing a football around. He went a little far out and a car was speeding down the street not paying attention to where he was going. Frank was almost hit, but I was visiting friends next door and was able to save him. A perk to being able to flit."

"Flit?"

"Um, run really fast."

"Oh. Why don't you always do it?" he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "It takes a lot of energy and it's a while to recover after. That's a plus to the full-blooded vampires. They can flit to their heart's content. I can't."

"Right. Anyways, he's giving me bad vibes," Scott said, side-glancing at Dr. Matson.

"Bad vibes?"

"Yeah. Bad vibes."

"He's pleasant enough."

"Sure. I guess, but there is something about him."

"Scott...."

"Cassidy, please, just trust me?"

"Alright. We'll keep an eye on him."

"Thank you," he said.

"Everything okay?" Dr. Matson asked, approaching us.

"Yup. We're just trying to figure out this stuff," Scott said.

"Figure out what?"

"Why kill one kid and not another?" he answered.

"What if the intention isn't to kill?" Dr. Matson asked.

I furrowed my brow. "That was one of our theories."

"I sent her blood off to the lab if you want to talk to them."

"Where's that?" I asked.

"Fourth floor. When you get off the elevator head to the left and go down the hallway. It should be right past the cafeteria."

"Would they consult with hematology?"

"They might if it's a really puzzling case. But usually, they just break down everything that's within the sample and send us the results."

 "We can call Dr. Kostal when we get there," Scott said.

"Dr. Kostal? Head of hematology?" Dr. Matson asked.

"Yes. He's been helping us." I turned to leave and waved. "Thank you for assisting us."

We remained silent as we made our way toward the lab. Whoever was attacking people was either extremely brazen to attack the mayor's daughter or wasn't from the area. 

"What are you thinking?" Scott asked as we got off the elevator.

"Just about all of this. The fact that one kid died, one was just left out in the open in a park as a newborn without their first feeding, and the fact someone is trying to bond human blood to vampire venom."

"Maybe there is something about Lacey's blood?"

"Or whatever is being injected into people is being changed with each attack," I said quietly as we passed the crowded cafeteria. "Lab is right where he said it was."

We walked up to a small window and pressed a buzzer next to it.

"Be there in a second," a muffled voice said from beyond the plexiglass.

I dug through my pockets and pulled out a pack of gum. "Want a piece?"

"What kind? Normal or the weird stuff vampires chew?"

I laughed lightly. "Uh, winter mint. I don't like the blood mint."

"I'll take a piece. I had that blood mint once and sheesh. It's like a bloody mint leaf."

"That's probably why it's called blood mint," I laughed.

"Hi. Sorry about that wait." the girl behind the glass looked us up and down. "Um, you're not hospital staff."

"No. We're not." I held up my badge. "I believe Dr. Matson sent up a blood sample for Lacey Petterson?"

"Hold on a second please." She typed away on her computer. "Yeah. He ordered a full screening on her. Some sort of assault that resulted in her being bitten by an unknown assailant?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Thanks, Dr. Kostal," Scott said behind me. "He's coming."

I nodded my head. "Dr. Clayton Kostal will be coming up from Hematology. He's assisting us with the case involving Lacey. Have you started going over the blood sample yet?"

"No. It is up next. Is everything okay?"

"We're not at liberty to discuss an ongoing investigation."

"Right. Well, when Dr. Kostal gets here we'll let him in. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

I shook my head. "Do you mind if we wait for him?"

"No. Go for it."

She smiled and shut the window before vanishing into the depths of the lab.

"Detectives!" 

We looked up to see Dr. Kostal jogging down the hallway.

"I'm so glad you called! I was hoping we would get another sample. Can you tell me anything about the victim?"

"She's in the ER and still alive."

"If you call that alive," Scott muttered.

"What?" Clayton asked.

"She was found in Point State Park. Initially, it was called in as a homicide, but when we got there she kind of woke up."

"Woke up?" he asked.

"She was bitten or injected with whatever affected the other kid, we think, and she woke up in the body bag."

"That is terrifying."

"It is. She hasn't turned yet. Whoever injected her didn't bother to wait around for her first feeding."

"Oh. So what happens now?" he questioned.

"She is being given white blood cells and being kept sedated until we can find her creator."

"Fascinating." He pushed the buzzer next to the window. "Her blood sample was sent up?"

Scott and I both nodded.

"Excellent. Excellent."

"Hello? Can I help you?" the young woman asked staring at Dr. Kostal.

"Hi. I'm Dr. Clayton Kostal. I'm here for..."

"Oh! That blood sample! Yes. Please, hurry. We just put a few drops on a slide out of curiosity and, well, we've never seen anything like this before."

"Really?" I asked.

She nodded her head and hit a buzzer somewhere on her side. "Push on the doors and come on it. I'll show you."

We followed close behind Clayton into the lab as the girl led us toward a table with a group of people in white lab coats huddled around one microscope whispering amongst themselves.

"Dr. Kostal! Just the person we need. Please," a man said, stepping back so Clayton could see.

He bent his head down to the instrument and let out a gasp. "What in the world?"

"Mind if I look?" I asked.

"And you are?" the older man asked.

"Sorry. Detective Cassidy Perry. I'm leading up the investigation on the case involving this blood."

"We don't usually let non-staff members back here or use our equipment."

"I understand. This is a bit of an extenuating circumstance, no?"

He pursed his lips and nodded. "This is definitely different."

I looked through the microscope and watched the blood. The red blood cells seemed to be agitated.

"Now, watch." Someone took an eyedropper of more blood and squeezed a small bit onto the slide with Lacey's blood.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed as the blood cells attacked the new blood. The cells seemed to latch on to the new cells and drained them very quickly. "What the hell did I just see?"

"The very cell of the hybrid blood that was drawn from your victim is attacking red blood cells. It's not the person, it's their venom."

"This is...weird."

"It is. It also explains why she didn't die as quickly as the last one."

"What?" Scott asked.

"The blood and venom bonded serum that is being injected into the victims was altered slightly. This batch of the serum is draining the victims by attacking their very own blood cells just not as fast as the other."

"And the other kid?" Scott asked again.

"That batch of serum attacked much too quickly and drained him before he could have his first feeding."

"Who can do this kind of thing?" I questioned.

"It's definitely someone who is familiar with medicine, blood, and the human body."

"A doctor?"

"A doctor. A nurse. A coroner. A med student. There are a lot of different people who could."

"Is anyone insane enough to do this?" Scott queried.

"That's the thing with people who do this kind of thing," Clayton started. "You usually can't tell. Psycho paths can easily blend in with the rest of society."

"That does not help us at all," I mumbled, staring into the microscope again as the hybrid blood finished devouring the non infected blood.