A gust of wind carried music from the block party over the hill to Rene Prodan and her daughter, Jessica. Rene could still smell the lingering aromas of funnel cake and balenies on her clothes. What a great time they�d had. The street had been festive, the people friendly, and the live band loud and oh so honky-tonk, but the food at the block party had done nothing for her and she was hungry. Now, as they walked home, the street dark and empty, another gust whipped through the trees and startled Jess.

 �It�s okay, honey,� Rene said.

  Jess rolled her eyes. �I know, mom. Geez, it just spooked me.�

 They walked past Saint Bastion�s cemetery and the church came into view two blocks ahead. A wind kicked up, and a strange sound came from the vast graveyard. Rene jumped.

 �See, sounds spooky doesn�t it?� Jess said.

 �Why are you acting like a twelve year old, Jess? Act your age already. Besides, I thought I heard something else�you know, something more than just the wind.�

 �Yeah, right,� Jess said.

 Rene shook her head. Sixteen-year-olds, she thought, can�t live with them, can�t kill �em. Other than having to deal with her daughter�s attitude, Rene was happy with her decision to move them here from Newark. She thought Allentown was so much more wholesome. Well, that and it was only an hour from their family and friends. Although more na�ve, the people were nicer, which made her feel safer.

 A twig snapped deep in the darkness as the wind stilled like a dying breath. They both jumped. Rene scanned the shadows. It must have been a squirrel or something. Then she caught the flash of yellow and knew the eyes were too high off the ground for a small animal. No, those eyes were too large as well. Something bigger lurked out there.

 Jess lost her sarcastic tone. �Mom, what was that?�

 Rene pulled her daughter closer. �Probably just a deer or something,� she said.

 But was it? She wasn�t convinced. The eyes were the wrong color, and too big for a deer. Maybe a bear? Nope, she did not think bears moved that fast. Whatever it was, hopefully it was gone.

 Rene tried to keep their pace calm and steady, her senses on high alert. �So, Jess, how are you getting along with your new friends?�

 �They�re okay, I guess. I miss home�you know, the faster paced lifestyle. It�s so slow here, it�s like everyone�s asleep,� Jess said.

 Rene smiled warmly. �That�s not entirely a bad thing, it makes it safer. Besides, the cost of living is lower and�I mean, come on, we could have never found a house that nice in the city�that cheap!�

 �So, my friends are back there.�

 Rene shrugged. She gave up. It was no use arguing with a teenager. Jess would get over it sooner or later. Eventually she would see it was a smart move.

 A deep, throaty growl drifted along with the next gust of wind. The same yellow eyes flashed fifty yards in the shadows of the graveyard. Rene eyes grew wide. They were being stalked by something. Something big. Something mean. And it sounded hungry.

 �Mom,� Jess said.

 Rene panicked. �Run,� she heard herself say.

 Jess bolted ahead, Rene trying in desperation to keep up with her youthful daughter. Jess was almost past the front doors of the church when it hit Rene. �Honey, the church.�

 Jess skid to a stop, turned back and raced up the steps to the doors. Rene bounded up the stairs and slid past the closing door. The church was dimly lit and there was no one around. The heat inside was overwhelming.

 �Hello,� Jess called�the word echoing off the towering roof.

 Rene edged her way deeper into the sanctuary, wiping sweat from her forehead, when glass shattered at the back of the room. Both women screamed. Rene grabbed her daughter�s arm and yanked her back the way they had come. Jess pushed ahead of her mother and slammed through the doors first. Rene emerged next and saw her daughter was a good hundred feet ahead when the air split with a piercing howl. What in God�s name?, she thought as she raced after her daughter in hopes of catching up.

 They just had to make it home.

 Rene saw Jess look over her shoulder to see where she was. �Run, honey, run.�

 Jess pulled away. Rene watched her daughter sprint ahead and wondered if her forty year old body could handle the exertion any longer. She was in decent shape, but running flat-out for long distances was not her thing. Two blocks to go, she thought as she rounded the corner of Poplar Street and saw Jess pounding on a store front.

 Exhausted, Rene slowed her pace. She stopped next to her daughter, leaned on hand against the glass window of Sara�s Sweetness and bent at the waist sucking in great volumes of air. Rene glanced up to find the bitter old woman, Edith Faulker, was closing up shop and yelling at Jess through the glass door. Rene checked over her shoulder for signs of it�nothing.

 �Listen, missy, you need to go home. I�m closed for the night,� Edith said.

 Jess banged on the door. �Open up, you bitch.�

 Rene scolded her daughter with a glance and turned back towards Edith, who looked like she had been slapped. �Edith, please, you have to listen. Please open up, someone�s after us, we need to use your phone and call the police.�

 Edith just shook her head defiantly and started to turn her back when the sound of shredding steel ripped across the street. Rene and Jess backpedaled as a blur flashed from the back of the room and slammed Edith into the glass�her face squished flat, as her eyes bulged with fear. Jess gasped when a shaggy head peered over Edith�s shoulder, a broad grin on its savage face. The beast�s eyes shimmered yellow, saliva foamed its toothy maw. It tore into Edith�s throat and blood spurted on the glass in great geyser-like waves, Edith�s hand fought to gain hold of something and smeared it in long wild stokes.

 Rene screamed at her daughter to run. Only a block to go, she thought, just one more. She pumped her legs and arms as fast as they would go, provided her with a second burst of energy. She kept stride with Jess and they both threw a backwards glance when Sara�s front window exploded into the street. Her heart skipped a beat as the beast howled again and gave chase.

 Rene pushed herself harder; the pounding footfalls were closing in on them�claws clicking on the macadam. They came to their street and raced for their house. Jess pulled ahead again and reached the door first. As Rene arrived, Jess was fumbling with her keys, trying to get it open. She dropped them.

 �Hurry,� Rene said.

 Jess did not respond. She scooped up her key chain, fumbled for the right key, found it and slid it home. The knob turned and they both pushed inside, Jess falling to her knees. Rene slammed the door closed, threw the deadbolt, then flipped the second lock before throwing her back against the door, prepared for a jolt of the monstrosity. Nothing happened. Rene held her position for a minute or so. They stared at each other in amazement.

 Maybe they had beaten it.

 Jess started to smile as Rene turned back to look through the peephole. The room filled with the foul odor of wet dog. Rene spun back towards the living room to see two yellow eyes floating seven feet off the ground. The beast let out a vicious growl as it stepped forward and grinned in the dark�its teeth glimmered wet with saliva in the glow of the porch light that filtered in through the window above the door.

 Rene turned to her daughter and smiled. �Hope you�re hungry, honey, it�s time for dinner.�

 She launched herself at the animal, baring her elongated canines in a savage grin. The beast�s eyes widened with shock and disbelief as she slammed into it. Her nails drove into its shoulders, pinning it to the ground, while she buried her head in its throat. Arterial blood gushed from the sides of her mouth, but she tried to suck as much blood from the beast�s veins as possible.

 She reared her head. Ah, the hunt. What a perfect trap she had set�now to feed her young.

 �Nothing better than werewolf for a blossoming vampire�s first meal,� she said and beckoned her daughter to join her.