THE NEXT HOUR was spent sweeping through the victim's room, searching for any evidence that the police might have missed. There wasn't much to be found, however, aside from the small scratch in the window seal. And the longer that they stayed, the more apparent the tension between Aelia and the police became. It wasn't long before the humans were arguing heatedly with the new headmaster.

When things got tense, Sophie decided to make her grand escape. Her fingers curled around Eli's wrist and she politely said her goodbyes as she pulled him from the room.

The moment the humans were behind them, Eli released a sigh of relief. "This is really bad," he remarked.

Sophie frowned. "The only thing that we found was that one, tiny little scratch. It's too small for humans to see. I mean, we can hardly see it ourselves. I can't imagine that it had much to do with her disappearance."

"We have to be missing something," Eli muttered. "I don't think that the scratch was there before. It didn't look like normal wear and tear. Plus the windows are brand new."

"Yeah, but it could have been damaged while it was being installed. Or even while it was being made." Sophie reached out and grabbed his hand. His fingers squeezed tight around hers. "I just feel like those creatures that we saw in the woods would have left a bigger mark. You know?"

"I can see that," Eli said. "I don't know. It's all just so fishy."

"We need to go check on Aubrey," Sophie said. "I went to see her this morning, but she said that she hadn't found anything. Maybe something's changed."

Eli shrugged. "Maybe. I'm going to go back to the apartment and start some dinner. I'm sure that Aelia will call another meeting soon, once she's done verbally destroying the police."

She snickered. "It's not their fault that they don't have advanced eyesight."

He squeezed her hand again. "Tell Aubs that I said hello. Give her a big hug for me. And give her a good punch in the arm if she hasn't eaten today, got it?"

"I'm not punching your sister. Not unless she's mean to me," Sophie said.

"That works for me. I mean, there's like a ninety eight percent chance that she'll be meaner if she hasn't had food."

Sophie rolled her eyes. She gave Eli a quick kiss goodbye and then started toward the Wolfe's hospital room. When she arrived, she found Aubrey in her seat beside Wolfe's bed, her feet propped against the mattress. Aubrey's blonde hair had transformed into a straw colored rat's nest atop her head, held in place by a tired-looking scrunchie. She stared intently at the screen of her laptop, her fingertips fluttering over the keyboard.

After a moment, Sophie coughed. The sound startled Aubrey, causing the blonde to glance up from her screen, her eyes narrowed. Sophie smiled and waved. "Have you found anything yet?"

Aubrey's lips pressed into a firm line. She glanced back down at her laptop, uncertainty washing through her features. "I'm not sure yet," she answered.

Sophie's eyebrows furrowed. She moved closer, until she could peer at the computer screen. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I think...I think I found something," Aubrey said. Her voice was low, so quiet that Sophie could hardly hear her. "But it's not much, if anything. And I am not sure whether or not it's actually useful or related to what we are searching for."

"What is it?"

Aubrey sucked in a small breath. "Essentially, it's a passage that I found in an old journal from the nineteen twenties. It belonged to an archeologist who explored a lot of South America. I think that it belonged to a vampire."

"Really?" Sophie asked. She crouched down next to Aubrey's chair, her face level with the computer screen. The image displayed on the screen was somewhat hard to read. It was very pixelated and covered in weird shadows. From what Sophie could tell, the aged photograph depicted the image of a leatherbound journal. It had been opened, revealing two pages covered in light scribbles. In the corner of one of the pages was a small sketch of a long-limbed, bald creature.

"All it says is that the archeologist discovered a few of these weird looking creatures preying on a small town of humans near one of his digs. And according to his notes, the creatures are made, not born."

Sophie blinked. "What does that mean?"

"Apparently, the creatures are human. It doesn't really say what causes the transformation, or why it happens. But essentially, the afflicted humans become cannibalistic. Their skin sort of shrivels up and their bodies become misshapen." Aubrey pointed at the sketch. "Kind of like that."

Sophie peered closer at the sketch. It was hard to tell whether or not the creature looked familiar. All she could really remember from the forest was the creature's clouded eyes. Those eyes haunted her. They were impossible to escape.

"Is this what you think that you saw?" Aubrey asked.

"I'm not sure," she admitted.

Aubrey nodded slightly to herself. "I am going to see if I can find more about these creatures. Once I get more details, we should be able to determine whether or not these are our mystery creatures. There's also a chance that Eli might have seen more of the creatures as well. Bring him with you next time."

Sophie chuckled. "Speaking of Eli, I need to ask you something."

"You already have my blessing to marry him," Aubrey muttered. "I'm not sure what else you would need to ask."

A startled snort escaped Sophie. "Oh," she said, a bit taken aback. "I wasn't going to ask that. But that's good to know."

Aubrey flashed her a small grin. It was the first genuine smile that Sophie had seen from her in days. "I couldn't resist. You two are quite cute."

Sophie pressed her lips into a small line. "I feel like you are trying to distract me because you know what I need to ask you."

"No, I haven't had anything to eat today," Aubrey said around a huge sigh. "Yet, anyways."

Chuckling, Sophie stood. "That's what I thought. You should join Eli and I for dinner. I'm not sure what he's attempting to make, but I'm sure it will taste good."

Aubrey shook her head. Her gaze traveled toward Wolfe, her expression hidden beneath a veil of stoicism. "I don't want him to wake up alone," she said softly. "He's been through so much."

"We all have," Sophie muttered under her breath. "And I have the feeling that it's only going to get worse from here."

finally! 

i'm still not 100% sure about this chapter but at least it's something at this point. i literally stayed up all night to write this chapter aha. thank you so much for your patience and continued support!