• Amber glanced behind her again. Yep, they were still there, alright. Still three of them. They had been following her for the last six blocks. There were two guys and a girl. Amber brushed her bright orange hair out of her face as rushed went around the corner. This is what I get for going out at night, she thought. She looked back again. They were still behind her. She grimaced and broke into a flat out run. She sprinted down the street, and turned the corner…
    …to find she had turned into an alleyway.
    The trio seemed to suddenly appear behind her. They smiled, showing sharp fangs. Amber had read enough books to know what they were. Vampires! Then Amber suddenly felt a mental compulsion to walk over to them, to surrender herself to the trio. That was the natural thing to do. She took a step forward.
    Suddenly the girl jerked. She seemed almost puzzled, until her head slid right off her shoulders. The other two whipped around, hissing, as John Shaw strode into view.

    John gripped his katana, still dripping with the blood of his previous kill, tightly. Two vampires would normally be cake for him, but the presence of the human girl would complicate things. They would probably try and use her as a shield or something.
    One of the vampires charged, but John, quicker than the other vampire, drew a Colt 1911A pistol and fired three times, the .45 caliber bullets blowing out his enemy’s eye. The vampire screamed and clutched his eye, giving John all the time he needed to finish him.
    And then there was one.
    Unexpectedly, this one smiled, a chilling, I-know-something-you-don’t smile.
    “You’re very powerful, I see,” he said in a surprisingly deep voice, “The Klanen know how to reward power. You could join us. Think of what you could achieve.”
    “Thanks,” John replied, smiling beneath his mask, “But there are two problems with your offer.”
    “Two…?” he started before John continued.
    “One, I’m not like you, and two…” John charged forward, his sword flashing. Down it went, and up went his foe’s head. “…you’re dead.”
    John finally went to check on Amber. “Are you ok?” he asked. Amber simply pointed at the dead bodies, apparently too terrified to speak without throwing up.
    “Do you know why they were following you?” She still didn’t answer; she just kept pointing the dead vampires.
    Or, John realized a moment later, somebody behind him.
    He started to turn around, but even he knew he was too slow. There was a massive explosion of pain behind his eye, and John fell to his knees, then fell to the ground.
    And everything went dark.