Once Abby and I have waved goodbye to my parents and walked out of the inner courtyard back to the street outside their apartment building, she waggles her eyebrows at me, her face half-lit from the street light. "Are you in the mood to go out?"

I groan. "Abby..."

"Invite Neil," she says. "And Fred! It'll be fun, I promise."

"I don't know," I say. "Is it bad for me to go out after finally reuniting with my parents?"

"Pffft, c'mon, Vick, celebrate!"

I raise an eyebrow. "Celebrate what?"

She puts a hand on my shoulder and squeezes. "You're making progress as a vampire."

"That's the first time you haven't said 'fledgling' to me."

"Well"—she turns on her heel, grabs my arm, and heaves me in step beside her—"you almost are, you know. A fully-grown vampire, that is." She lets go of my arm, and I join her pace willingly.

Her words sink in for a few moments, and we're simply walking down the street. One street lamp flickers ahead. A group of loud teenagers passes us by—humans, I think, because one of them jumps when they give Abby and me a second look—but otherwise all is quiet, except for the click of Abby's boot heels on the pavement.

As we walk, I pull my phone out and prepare a couple of messages, the first to Neil.

Vick: Heyyy, how are you tonight? :)

I move to turn my phone off and stow it back in my pocket, but Neil texts back almost instantly.

Neil: Nothing much. Was kind of hoping to hear from you :) How was dinner with your parents?

Vick: Honestly, I didn't know how much I needed that. It's kind of thanks to you (and a convo with my friend Abby) that sort of made me brave enough to reach out to them.

Neil: You give me too much credit, Vick! Haha I'm so glad it went well though, really!

Vick: Abby said she wants to go out, but I'm not sure where. Want to come and join us? She'd love to meet you, and I think a couple of others may join us.

Neil: Yes yes YES. Let me get ready, text me the location, and then I'll meet you there. xoxo

xoxo. That's a great sign. I grin like a goof as I respond with a "you got it!" Abby clears her throat, and I look up.

"How have you been walking with your phone in your hand?" she asks.

"How have you picked up contemporary habits like using a cell phone so quickly? You know, since you're old."

She shoves my shoulder and turns the corner so quickly that I double back a second to catch up to her. "Oh hush. Vampires learn fast. Besides, things are more fun nowadays."

I sigh. "If you say so. Still a capitalist hellscape."

"Oh Vick. Always the optimist, aren't you?"

I scowl but, instead of giving her another snarky response, turn back to my phone. I open LINGR and pull up Fred's profile.

Vick: Hey Fred! Long time no see. Well, not that long. :) A couple of friends and I are going out tonight, if you'd like to join us.

"Abby," I groan, "are we almost there?"

"Patience," she says. "I know it's around here somewhere..."

"Is it that fucking speakeasy?"

She giggles. "It's a different speakeasy."

Reaching for her arm, I manage to grab her and try to bring her to a halt. "The last time we went to a speakeasy, I threw up all over Martha. Do you want a repeat of that?"

She purses her lips. "Well, you're not mistaking this for a date with Martha, right?"

I narrow my eyes. "Thaaaanks."

"Oh, don't worry, it's going to be fine. She's coming, and she's excited to get to know you as a friend." She shakes my hand off of her. "Now come on, we're nearly—"

A three-layered crack goes off behind us. We both stiffen; for me, I swear it pierced my eardrums, and Abby looks about the same. "Do you know what that was?" I ask.

"That's not good," she says.

"Why? Probably just someone messing around."

"No, Vick," Abby whispers. "That's a hunter."

I chuckle. "We live in a city. No one's hunting in the city."

"We have to go." She starts bolting. "Come on!"

She really leaves me no choice, so I run. As I do, a message comes in from Fred:

Fred: heyyy vamp! It'd be great to see you again. Send me the location, and I'll bring myself and one of my fairy friends

I try to respond, but Abby snatches my wrist—I feel like she's always yanking me toward somewhere. "Vick, didn't you hear me?! Those are fucking hunters!"

She turns us into a dark alley, though neither one of us is winded (the perks of vampirism, I guess). We hit a dead end. "Shit!" she whispers. "Shit!"

"Calm down, dude." I pull my hand back. "Why are you so paranoid? We're not animals."

Biting her lip, she glances at me, and—for the first and only time—fear flickers there. "Vick, you don't understand because you were turned after the Underworld was revealed," she says, still whispering. "We were not welcomed before."

"Unless someone invited us." I chortle, but she slaps my arm. "Hey!"

"Vick!" she whisper-shouts. "I. Need. You. To. Understand... That was the sound of the gun of a vampire hunter."

I scoff and roll my eyes. "No way—"

"I've been a vampire for over seventy years." Her whisper turns to a hoarse urging, something raw and terrified there. "I know that sound. Friends of mine have died from hunters. I just didn't think I would hear it after the government aligned with humans. I thought this stuff was over, and—"

A shot goes off again but closer to us. We both tense, but Abby steps in front of me. "We have nowhere to run," she says.

My eyes adjust to our surroundings. This alleyway is dark, lit only by the sliver crescent moon above us. The buildings on either side of us are brick ones. There isn't even a dumpster that we could try to hide in. My heart thuds once, hard and terrible, and stills. At least it knows I'm slowly growing more fearful by the second. An old human habit comes in the form of my hands shaking. "We can't die," I whisper. "Right?"

"We can from a wooden stake... why do you think that gun sounds so abnormal?" Abby, though I know she must still be scared, has a matter-of-fact tone to her, the same one she has when explaining the Underworld to me. Her jaw sets, and she braces herself. "Get ready, Vick—we have to fight. We may have to bite them."

My mouth falls open. "Abby, that's illegal now."

"I know." She grits her teeth and widens her stance. "But we may not have a choice, unless you want to end up dead."

As a shadowy figure emerges at the alleyway opening, time slows.

When they run toward us, and Abby prepares to lunge, I think about my parents. I just finally was able to reconcile with them not just as their child, but as their vampire child. I think about Abby, who has survived this long, who has yet to tell me about her family and the friends she has lost over the years, who put herself out there to always answer my stupid vampirism questions. I think, too, about Neil and even Fred and Martha: maybe we only met once, but they seem like they could be a bigger part of my undead life. And maybe that is just it: I may be undead, and I may never die naturally, but life doesn't have to be over. Now more than ever, it feels that way.

I brace myself, squatting, arms out. I'm not sure what a vampire fighting looks like, but maybe that's the point: I am a vampire. There is no going back.

Abby jumps to the left, and I go to the right as the person charges at us. In their hand, I see a wooden stake. They pivot on the spot, and as both Abby and I turn over our shoulders to face them, they lift their other hand: the one that grips the gun. The gun itself is more like a bow, with a wooden stake attached to it. They aim at Abby first, finger poised on the trigger—

"No!" I run toward them, and they switch their target to me. They pull back—

I reach them first, a true test of my vampire speed. Abby shrieks, but I tune her out as I grab the hunter's arm. They flinch, and we struggle. The stake in their one hand tries to charge toward me, but I kick the gun-holding arm with enough force that they drop the weapon and howl in pain. When our eyes meet, the two of us gasp.

"I don't believe this," they say. "Vick?"

They're panting, but I'm quite still as I look into the face of Kalki, one of my closest friends from when I was human.

***

The three of us are still in the alleyway, but Kalki's weapons are deposited within Abby's reach. Abby can't stop glaring, and though I can't blame her—Kalki did try to kill us, after all—I'm also in shock to see Kalki in front of me, especially after the night I had with my parents. "Another blast from the past," I say.

"I suppose." Kalki's eyes keep drifting toward Abby, who scowls. They fix their gaze back on me. "Vick, we all thought you were dead."

"I kind of was." I chuckle but then realize I'm the only one laughing. "I didn't really do anything for the past few months. It's been... it's been overwhelming."

They scoff. "It has been for the whole world. To see magical creatures out in the light—"

"Shove it, hunter," Abby hisses.

"Be nice," I say, glaring at her. "They're my friend."

"We're not friends anymore," Kalki snarls. My heart sinks. "Now that I know you're some sort of bloodsucking abomination—"

Abby leaps forward, but I push her back. She maneuvers her head to the side so she can direct her rage at Kalki. "You're so mean! Vick didn't ask for this! Most of us didn't!" She guffaws. "What I'd give to have taken you on after all—"

"Now who's being mean?" Kalki snarls.

I look back. "Kalki, please—I'm not any different. I'm still the same Vick—"

"But you made us believe you were dead." For a second, their brown eyes glisten before they wipe a hand at them. "W-we all did. All of our friends. It just seemed like you were gone. And my family... this is what my family has always done on the down low—"

"But it's illegal now," Abby says.

"So is turning someone into a vampire," I counter.

She grumbles, crossing her arms. "Vick, who's side are you on?"

"Neither. I'm trying to broker peace... I think." I approach Kalki, but I leave plenty of distance. "Kalki, I owe you an apology. Just like I apologized to my parents. I'm sorry. I was too much in my own head, and I thought everyone would be better off without me... I was wrong."

When Kalki looks up, they sigh. "I don't want to kill you specifically, Vick. I don't really want to k-kill any vampire, to be honest. It's... just a family duty. It's easier to pretend I hate vampires when I think about killing them."

"That's tough," I say, but Abby interjects before I can say more.

"You don't know how much your vampire hunting has hurt people, do you?" she says. "I know maybe you haven't done it yourself, but if you just continue—"

"Things have changed." I cut Abby off because I see Kalki tense up. "For all of us, whether you're a human or a magical creature." When I reach out for Kalki's hand, they let me take it. They squeeze it within their own, our fingers interlaced. A memory of us pretending to be superheroes on the kindergarten playground fills my head, and I return their strong grip. "Kalki, can we meet up for coffee tomorrow? Or whatever day you want."

They snort, but there is a hint of a smile within the line of their lip. "Won't the sunlight kill you?"

"That's a misconception," Abby butts in, and when I meet her eyes, she shrugs and mouths, "Sorry."

"Okay then." Kalki lets go of my hand and nods. "Let's meet tomorrow."

Abby kicks their weapons aside, to the shadowy corners of the alleyway. "You can leave first. I don't trust you."

"Abby—"

"I will," Kalki says. "See you tomorrow, Vick."

With that, their footsteps echo down the alleyway long after they have left. Abby turns on me. "You're too trusting," she says.

"You're not trusting enough," I retort. "Don't you trust me?"

"I do, but—"

"Kalki is a friend. I know they'll come around."

She huffs. "All right." Though she doesn't sound sure, she sighs. "Well... that almost put me out of the mood for going out. Almost."

I smile. "Well, I still feel good about it."

After that, it is our turn to exit the alleyway, still bickering about Kalki's merits, the wooden stake and vampire hunter gun long gone behind us.