Clarissa collapsed and vomited just inside the doorway of the mausoleum. Katie supported her gently, still listening for the sound of either monster following them. As she held the teenager's hair back, she could see, even in the dark, how the bites on Clarissa's neck were bruised and inflamed, a dark blight on her pale skin.

Clarissa gasped and fell back, panting. "Oh my God. What was that?"

"I'm not sure." Katie wiped her own eyes, listened to the fight continuing outside. "It seems to be attacking that... man you were with."

"He..." Clarissa started, then burst into tears. "I... I don't... He hurt me, Miss Gallagher."

"I've got you. You're safe now." Katie stood and tried to peer outside through the crack in the door.

"What's happening?" Clarissa tried and failed to stand.

"That thing... that monster... it's tearing him apart." Katie watched as the giant wolf tore into the man. "Ugh. Better not look."

The man was surprisingly able to fight back, given the size and obvious strength of the wolf. He landed several solid punches on it and actually tried several times to bite it. But the wolf was relentless. Every time the man threw it off, it would regroup and charge him again. Each time it tore a chunk of flesh from the man, a dark spray of blood would glisten in the full moon. Until finally, the man dropped to the ground.

The wolf yelped, and backed away suddenly, as if it were unsure what had happened. Then it began to pace around the area, sniffing the ground and howling.

Katie looked, but she couldn't see the man on the ground. Was it possible that the wolf had torn him into pieces too small to pick out from here? She sighed and slumped down to the cold cement floor in front of the door. "Well, one thing's certain. He's never going to hurt anyone again."

Clarissa was still wobbly, even sitting on the ground. "But what about the monster?"

"I don't know. It's still out there. I can hear it." Katie sighed. "We'll never make it if we make a run for the house. What he did to that man..."

"I feel like I might pass out." Clarissa said weakly. She lay back on the cement.

"It's ok, Clarissa. Don't worry. We'll think of something." Katie looked around for anything that would protect them. The place was empty. The doors opened outward, and there was no locking mechanism on the inside. She knew from her own experience that a hard push would open them, at least from in here. Hopefully, they only opened one way. She frowned. She couldn't let Clarissa know how bleak the situation was.

Of course, Clarissa was out cold now, so she wasn't worried about the situation. But Katie was. She didn't have her phone and she couldn't make a run for it and leave Clarissa alone. What if the monster got in? What if it got Katie as she ran?

Then she had an even more terrifying thought. Even though the man had spoken about Clarissa like property, as did the writer of Walter's threatening note, this wolf had torn through the man like tissue paper. Just like all the other victims. This wolf could very well be the thing responsible for all those murders.

Katie had no weapons. No phone. And Clarissa would never be able to run as far as the house in her condition. Katie couldn't leave her here alone. They were trapped, unless someone came to rescue them.

She stood and put her mouth against the crack of the door. "Help! Help! Mr. Barrington!"

A snarl came from close by. Katie stopped, put her hand over her mouth as it came even closer. Panic began to seep into her heart and tears filled her eyes. Once again, she looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon to protect them. But there was nothing. The wolf stopped just outside the mausoleum door and howled. It was all Katie could do to keep from crying out.

"If I'm quiet, it will go away." She told herself. But she knew that wasn't true. The wolf sniffed at the door and Katie knew it could smell her inside. It was only a matter of time before it found its way in to them.

She stood at the doors, waiting, knowing that she was all that stood between the murderous wolf and Clarissa, and knowing she would not be enough.

**

"Wake up Katie!" That familiar voice, a little stronger now.

"Hello? Are you here?" Katie called out into the dark. "Please help us."

Clarissa stirred, groggily. "Who are you talking to?"

"No one, I suppose." Katie listened for a moment, but the voice didn't repeat itself. "There's no one else here."

Clarissa struggled to sit up. "Well, given that we're in the family mausoleum, that's a good thing. Right?"

"You're right about that." Katie moved closer, brushed the hair back from Clarissa's face. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. Tired." Clarissa definitely sounded exhausted and sick. "Miss Gallagher, I..."

"I know." Katie hugged her. "But how did you get mixed up with that guy?"

"I don't know. His name is Davicus." She looked down at her hands, ashamed of her words. "I saw him in town one night when I... you know... when I was sneaking out. He was just standing there, outside this club. I was staring at him for a long time before I realized he was staring back at me. And then, I don't know. I was in a bedroom...He said we had been talking for hours, but I don't remember any of it."

"Oh, Clarissa." Katie felt sick at the thought. "You should have told someone."

"I know. It seemed weird and wrong at the time. But it also felt right." Clarissa wiped tears from her eyes. "Like, I felt like he understood me and cared about me. Like he was the only one who cared about me."

Katie hugged her tighter. "You know your family loves you."

"I guess. But he..." Clarissa sobbed, torn between conflicting feelings. "He just made me feel special."

Katie shuddered with anguish, revulsion, and the fear of what might have happened. "He was biting you. He was drinking your blood!"

Clarissa's voice was soft, ashamed. "I know."

"He would have killed you. Probably tonight." Katie hugged the girl even tighter. "Or turned you into a creature like him."

"I know. It's hard to explain." Clarissa said softly.

Katie sighed. "Well, at least that vampire is dead."

"But what about the other monster? That wolf thing?" Clarissa said weakly. "Was that what I think it was?"

Katie didn't answer. It was the only thing is could be—a werewolf.

"It must be morning by now." Katie stood and looked through the crack of the door. She only saw the empty graveyard in the early morning light. "Maybe it got tired of waiting for us and left? Stay here. I'll go for help."

"No, Miss Gallagher!" Clarissa tried, but couldn't get up off the floor. She started to cry. "What if it's still outside?"

Katie tried to put on a brave face. "Keep these doors shut. Try not to make any noise. If you hear me scream, don't come out until your father comes to get you."

**

Katie slowly picked her way through the graveyard, watching for danger with every step. Then she saw someone, naked and bloody on the ground where the werewolf/vampire fight had taken place. She approached carefully.

"Oh no!" She cried out. It was Bill. He was unconscious. There was blood on his hands and body. Had the wolf attacked him, too? "Bill, are you all right?"

Bill woke slowly. "How did... what happened?"

Katie burst into tears. "Bill, the vampire! He tried to take Clarissa. He chased us into the mausoleum."

Bill snapped awake suddenly, a look of terror on his face. He stood and looked in the direction of the mausoleum. "The—no!"

"And this other monster... this animal..." Katie sobbed.

"No! Are you hurt? Is Clarissa hurt?" Bill was beside himself with fear. "Did I—"

"No, we're both—" Katie took a step backward as realization started to dawn on her. She fought it out of her head. There had to be some other explanation. "Why are you in the graveyard? Where are your clothes? What is all that blood?"

"I'm so sorry, Katie." He looked miserable and ashamed. "You don't understand."

An idea, a terrible and terrifying idea, began forming in her brain, but Katie didn't want to consider it. She forced a veil of naiveté over her eyes, made herself believe a lesser crime. "Bill, did you get drunk again?"

Bill didn't answer. His eyes filled with tears.

"What about your mom? Wasn't she expecting you last night? It's irresponsible, Bill. And not very nice." Her brain was gradually accepting this manufactured reality. She was starting to feel better, more in control. The more she talked, the less she thought. "And I could have used your help last night, if you were going to still be here. Clarissa and I could have been killed by the vampire or the..."

A single tear traveled down Bill's face as she trailed off. "I'm sorry, Katie."

"Please don't cry, Bill. I'm sorry I made you feel bad. I just had a terrifying night." Katie's voice became softer now, more unsure as the terrible thought began to bubble up in her mind again. "What did you mean, 'did I'? Did you what?"

More tears began to flow from Bill's eyes. He looked around, almost fearfully. "What happened to the vampire?"

"We tried to hide in the mausoleum. But there was a monster. It chased us out." Katie's words came slowly now, sickened her with every syllable. Her mind, her awful mind was still trying to make her see. "It attacked the vampire instead. It killed him."

Bill sobbed out loud. "Where?"

Katie looked around. Davicus' body was not here. But that was impossible. He could not have survived. The wolf killed him. She saw it rip the vampire up.

"Clarissa didn't see... what the wolf did... did she?" Bill was crying fully now.

Katie was crying as well. "She passed out. She's lost a lot of blood. She needs medical help."

Bill breathed a sigh of relief and scrubbed his face with his hands. His eyes were drenched in agony and he could only meet her gaze for seconds at a time. "I'll run to the house and call an ambulance."

Katie watched him pull himself together and dry his face. The terrible thought in her mind, unwelcome and unbidden, presented itself fully. She believed. Her tears dried instantly. Her heart was so wounded it was numb. "But I watched the whole thing."

Bill could not have looked more hurt if she had struck him. He nodded slowly. "Please don't say anything to anyone about me being out here ... like this. At least not until we've had a chance to talk about it, Okay?"

Then, as he began to run toward the house, Katie noticed the deep, jagged scars on his back, the evidence of a past attack. The testimony to his infection.