The night was brisk as Patrick walked across his college campus. He paused his movement, his breath hanging in the air as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. It was late. He wished he could have been in his dorm already but, despite the time, his day wasn't done. He shoved his phone back in his pocket and continued forward.

From what he could see, he was the only living soul out on the campus. Not a single animal rummaging around. Not a single person wandering with textbooks and tired looks. His footsteps were soft, but faintly echoing with his movement. It was a quiet night.

Patrick kept his eyes low, but constantly moving to gauge his surroundings. Quiet or not, things could turn in an instant. Plenty of people had been vanishing on quiet nights like this. There one minute, gone the next. Never a trace of where they may have gone.

Patrick found himself stepping up to a short bridge that arched over a small, bubbling stream. He slowed his pace, listening for any sounds beside the water as he approached the aged, wooden beams ahead. The only breath he heard was his own. The only movement he heard was the stream. The boards creaked under his weight, but held strong. He brought himself to the top arch of the bridge and leaned  forward against its railing. He shut his eyes, letting the sounds of the running water beneath him overtake his senses for a moment.

Something normal. Something that made sense.

Of course, that couldn't last.

A soft whistle carried on the breeze, bringing Patrick to open his eyes. Before turning, he could feel someone's presence at the edge of the bridge, despite never hearing their footsteps approach. He kept his gaze forward, towards the water, for just a moment longer, before turning towards the source of the whistle. He kept his eyes low, finding their primary focus on the pale skin of the stranger's exposed neck.

"What's something as hot as you doing out on such a cold night?" The figure asked, smiling up at where Patrick stood on the bridge. They had dark hair that they styled up, a scar that cut through one of their brows, and a large smile playing on their lips. Their eyes were intent on Patrick, but he only brought them up enough to focus on the skin on the bridge of the stranger's nose. The newcomer extended their hand out to him, "Why don't we go somewhere warm?"

Patrick said nothing. He began to step towards the stranger, making sure to keep his gaze from directly making contact with the hungry eyes that watched him. Was this the one that had been making so many other students vanish? Near the edge of the bridge, but still at a place over the moving water beneath him, he stopped. Patrick extended his hand, but kept it hovered over the stranger's.

"Oh, come on, hot stuff." The stranger's smile grew larger, exposing his teeth. "Don't be a tease. Come on down to me."

There was a sing song melody to the voice that Patrick recognized. The stranger thought they already had him in his grips. Perfect. Patrick dropped his hand into the stranger's, keeping a straight expression as the icy skin made contact with his own.

"Oh, you know how to make a boy's night!" The stranger laughed as he pulled Patrick forward, making him stumble off of the bridge and onto the dusty path. "Just keep following me for a moment you'll never remember."

Patrick kept his eyes ahead, letting himself be lead by the pale man who had a death grip on his hand. He strained to listen for other footsteps, but he couldn't hear any as they began to move back onto the stone paths of the campus. At least if he couldn't hear extra footsteps, then neither could the man leading him onward.

They moved across the dark campus, hugging the shadows left by the light posts and wall lights that hung just outside of facility doors. Soon, they reached the less used side of campus. It was an area promised to be under construction due to it's faulty infrastructure, but the most that had been done in the past few years was minor blockage by flimsy fences or the occasional ripped caution tape. It was darker here, with the school not using the budget to keep it as lit as the rest of the campus.

As he was pulled around one of the fences that had a tarp to obscure what his on the other side, Patrick stole a glance back at the path they had just taken. It was still. Empty and silent. Though, taking his gaze upward for just a moment, he could have sworn he caught sight of a short shadow on the roof.

The man pulled Patrick to a narrow spot between buildings before finally turning to face him again. Patrick strategically placed his eyes at a point on the stranger's face that he hoped would let him assume he had control. He assumed it work when the man flashed his sharp teeth at him.

"You shouldn't have been out so late." The man released Patrick's hand and instead brought it up to Patrick's face. He trailed the back of his cold hand slowly down Patrick's cheek. "Don't you know how dangerous it is at night?"

Patrick didn't respond. He kept his eyes in position and his lips locked where they were. He let both of his arms rest loosely by his side, though he was ready to reach for his pockets at any moment.

"You're so quiet." The man teased, stroking his frozen fingers back up Patrick's cheek. "Won't you allow me to enjoy a conversation with my meal?" He moved closer, almost bringing his eyes into a direct path with Patrick's. He got lucky, however, by a last minute head tilt from the man as he instead moved to bring his lips up to Patrick's ear. "Tell me about yourself."

Patrick moved his hand on the opposite side of where the man had leaned in. He slid it into his pants, grabbing hold of the sliver of wood that he had strapped to his leg. "My name is Patrick." He finally spoke, pulling his hand back to his side as the man straightened his posture in front of him. The man bared his teeth, revealing a set of sharp fangs along his two rows of teeth. Patrick blinked at him. "And I am not going to be killed by you tonight."

There was a brief flash of confusion on the man's face before Patrick brought his arm up and swiftly stabbed the wooden spike into the man's chest. A vicious snarl escaped the man as Patrick attempted to twist the spike in his skin. The man grabbed hold of Patrick's shirt, however, flinging him to the side.

Patrick flew into a nearby wall, crying out as he slid down the bricks and fell into the dust. He grabbed his shoulder, blinking darkness away from the edge of his vision as the man in front of him looked down at the spike that stuck out from his chest.

"A fucking hunter?" He laughed. He wrapped his fingers around the spike and grunted as he ripped it out with a single motion. He threw it to the side. Patrick could hear it clatter down the alley, out of reach from him. The man glared at him from where he stood. That glare, however, quickly shifted into a smirk. "Don't you know how stupid it is to hunt alone?"

Patrick laughed, despite the pain that throbbed through where his body hit the wall. "Who said I was hunting alone?" He asked, bringing his gaze back to the man's face, keeping just out of his eyeline.

There wasn't time for confusion to find its way to the man's face before a whistling filled the air and his jaw went slack with the sound of an impact. Blood splattered onto Patrick as another spike went through the man's chest, moving further through than Patrick could make his own go. The man stumbled, hands shakily moving towards the spike, but quickly dropping as the rest of his body crumbled to the ground.

Patrick let himself drop fully to the ground, breathing heavily. That had been one hell of an impact against the wall. Though his body had taken most of the hit, there was now a throbbing starting at the base of his skull to match the rest of his pain.

Familiar footsteps began to quickly approach, prompting Patrick to let his eyes rest for a moment. Maybe it was the hit, or maybe it was just the time, but he was exhausted.

"Hey, I know you're not dead, tree."

Patrick opened his eyes, catching sight of his roommate hovering over him. He moved to Patrick's side and extended a hand towards him. Patrick slapped his hand into his friend's grip and groaned as he was helped upright. "Maybe not dead, but that may have hurt less, Frank."

Frank crouched beside Patrick, swiping some of the blood off of his face. "You good? Didn't swallow any on accident or anything, right?"

"No, Frank, I drank it through a silly straw." Patrick snipped as he pressed his hand against one of his shoulders. He moved his arm under it, hoping to ease some of the pain. "What about him?"

Frank laughed, "Who, dustbin?" He leaned to the side, allowing Patrick a view of the pile of grey ash that had a wooden spike poking out of it. "Dunking it in holy water and etching in a cross at the spike really did a number."

"Another one bites the dust." Patrick let out a soft chuckle, though it quickly fell into a gasp of pain as he tried to move a certain way.

Frank turned back to him, frowning. "I could feel that hit from the roof. You've gotta have some broken bones this time." Frank pushed himself up to his feet. He then extended both hands to try and help Patrick to his feet.

Patrick took his hands, though he was slow to make his way up. The pain was all over his body, making any movement set off alarm bells. "Not like I can explain it to a hospital. Let's just get back to the dorm. I'm beat."

"Literally." Frank nodded. He waited until Patrick was somewhat steady on his feet before walking over to the pile of ashes and pulling out the wooden spike. He shook off the ash that clung to it before shoving it in his back pocket. "Oh, don't worry, I grabbed yours already too." He stepped back over to Patrick. With a swift movement that still made Patrick hiss from pain, he maneuvered himself under one of Patrick's arms to give support as they began to walk forward, out of the alley.

Patrick leaned on Frank, trying to suppress the flinch that wanted to follow every step they took. It was nights lie, these where he wished he had the chance for a normal college experience. He wished he was up late because of studying rather than vampires on campus. He wished his pain was from maybe partying too hard rather than being thrown violently into a brick wall. He wished he could have been paired with any roommate that would let him copy homework and share a coke with him every now and then. Instead, he got paired with Frank Iero, a hunter that sucked him into the life too.