I could get myself into the halfway town easily because as a vampire, I would be let in without question. The problem was the humans. If I came in the gate, they'd know what I was so, that meant that I had to sneak in.

Halfway town was not a town that was named Halfway. It was just a name that meant it was halfway between them and us. I hardly ever went into the area because the slayers rarely made it through the vampire gate. The only ones that got in were those that found another way in, like what I'd used.

My biker friends gave their fond farewell at the dump point. With a few instructions on which way to go, I was left to my own devices. This was an area that I was not used to, but that didn't bother me.

Before parting ways, they also gave me a list of places that humans liked to frequent, the places they congregated, and if the information was correct, the places where they discussed their so-called imprisonment.

This place was the closest to where Henley was last seen, according to a new source. It was the woman that lived in the house that was used as the gateway in the halfways side. She'd heard whispers of a slayer being in town, and she investigated it. Her intentions were not to know how the slayer got in but who let him in. Those that manned the hidden gates were paid for each vampire or human that passed through, and if she had competition, then she wanted to know about it.

Turns out, there was another gate, and she was yet to do away with the vampire. My payment to this woman for passing through her gate was more like a mutual trade. I'd keep her secret job unknown to the king in return for the entry. There was also a second trade. I'd pass on the information about the other gate provided that she did not let humans leave the halfways. She agreed.

As a bonus, I had the temporary use of a car. It was a little beat up, and I'm pretty sure there are a few holes in it because it had an odd funk that came from wet carpet. I wasn't complaining, after all, it was a free and undocumented car.

I drove through the streets, looking at the street signs, trying to figure out where I was. The map was utterly useless, and I'd given up on it about half an hour ago.

Going through the recommendations, I searched the areas. A lot of vampires were out, this town was quite active at the moment. The halfways were almost the same as life beyond the exterior wall. It was a secured world, and everything that the vampires did was watched. It surprised me that anyone was able to sneak in or out of this place.

Pulling into the convenience store car park, I looked in the windows. It was a place that catered to the vampires with a massive wall of fridges on the back wall, full of blood bags. In between were a few aisles of non-food items and right at the front was a small row of human food.

Maybe it was for the human donors, maybe it was for the vampires that indulged in eating. There was a dark thought in my mind that maybe it was also used to lure out humans that might be unknown to the authorities.

With that thought in mind, I got out of the car and walked into the shop. The clerk watched me the entire way, offering his cheesy smile as I approached.

"Good evening,"

A firm nod was offered, I smiled enough that he could see the fangs and not presume too much about me.

"Hi. Seen this guy recently?"

The clerk looked at the photo, glancing at me.

"He's looking rather pink for a vampire."

"Yeah, I think the photo place put a filter on it. Looks terrible, doesn't it? I said that I wanted a true likeness, but they were like, oh my god, he's so cute, you need to put a little color in him though, and I'm like pssh, we're vampires, we don't have color. They didn't listen to me, and I'm stuck with this stupid photo of this guy, and everyone's saying, he looks pink which I totally get because he does look pink, but it was the damned photo place. I really don't like it when they don't listen. They did this the last time to me as well, it took me ages to find the guy that I was looking for. I am not looking forward to this search. I think that I might change photo development places, might be for the best."

"Poolhall." He interrupted.

I looked up at him, seeing the relieved stare. Talk to them until their ears bleed or they give up information, a firm favorite of mine.

"And how do you know that?"

"Heard about him."

He nodded to the placard on Henley's mugshot. All of his details, including his name, were listed on it.

"Someone was whispering about the slayer being in the halfways. We always hear it when the slayers enter this place. They don't come in here to kill the vampires, they come in here to punish the humans for donating blood. We're told to report them to the cops if we see them, but I don't want to see them. Not now, not ever. If you're chasing this guy then good luck to you, I hope that you survive."

I nodded, putting the photo back into my pocket.

"Do you know which poolhall?"

"No, but there's only two in this area."

He pulled a map out and opened it, circling two locations.

"This one is the closest. It's also known for vampire and human integration, they have social nights and all sorts of functions that are aimed at creating peaceful friendships between the two races. If you're looking for a slayer that's taking down vampire friendly humans, then I'd start here."