"Think I went overboard?" Mikey asks as the trio of werewolves walks away, eyeing us. They nod and gesture secretly to one another, communicating telepathically. A werewolf pack has that ability from the get-go, once they're welcomed into the pack by the leader.

I keep my hoodie up, careful to keep my full face from showing. Paranoia, a trait I've picked up, apparently. Unless Mikey's just rubbed off on me.

Say we continue being around each other. Keep being a shroud forever. Will it ever get to a point where we can't distinguish ourselves from one another?

"Zeke?"

Mikey pulls me from my thoughts.

"Human brain's got you all conflicted, huh?"

I shake my head, ignoring the rhetorical question. "You didn't go overboard."

Pushing past her, she watches me. She steals one last glance over her shoulder at the many creatures watching us before falling into step once more, pulling her hood over her head. Multiple are standing now, staring us down. It's like they're waiting for us to attack.

I'm surprised they haven't already. We've just caught the eye of ever fantastical creature in the underground. There's no way more won't try to take us on.

"We need to get out of here—"

"ASAP?" Mikey finishes my sentence. "Yeah, no duh."

She pulls her hood tighter. I can feel her pulse quicken to match my own, but she doesn't lunge into a jog. That might mean weakness.

And the last thing we need right now is to show it.

"Need somewhere to hide, Bleeders?"

I jump at the voice next to me, red eyes greeting my own as we walk. He keeps pace easily, his pale skin and long, white hair giving away his typing.

Vampire.

He gives a smirk, showing his right fang as we slow.

"No, no, keep walking. If you don't, you might be jumped."

He points upward to buildings where gargoyles and various winged creatures bore down at us, watching as the cave's ceiling looms overhead.

"I recognize you two." He leans forward, glancing at Mikey. "You're Maverick's girl."

Mikey watches him cautiously, her blood boiling.

"If you ever need a place to hide, know that most vampires rather like Bleeders. It's in our DNA, younglings." He smiles, his deep voice like velvet.

He slips a paper from his jacket pocket, the business suit throwing off my vampire radar.

"My name is Nickolas Adavera, but you can call me Nick. This is the address to our coven. As I said before, if you ever seek shelter, our doors are open to you."

Mikey and I stay silent as the man gives one more smile before disappearing, black smoke left where he once walked. We don't even look at each other as we pick up our pace once more, and I shove the paper in my pocket. I'll have to remember to put it in my phone later, just in case anything happens to the paper.

The crowds grow thicker as some begin to follow us down the street. Bleeders may be immortal, but we've both faced death before and barely got out alive. Drain a Bleeder and all you have is a husk. Does death come? I'd imagine so.

"Think we should start running?" Mikey whispers, surprising me. I watch her for a long moment. I expected her to pull down her hood, turn to face the crowd, and give an unapologetical shout about how the world could take us on, but we'd always prevail. Instead, she's being calculative and thinking things through...

Is that that because of the difference between a zombie-turned and a human-turned Bleeder?

"I think we should have invited Maverick to our adventure," I comment.

"I'll remember that next time," she responds. "So. Run?"

I sigh. "I almost want to hide first."

Mikey smirks.

"I have a bad idea."

She takes a hard left, talking growing from behind us. Bleeders have always been hated, but this time, this generation has seen what Bleeders can do. How terrifying we can be.

And there are only two of us.

"Behold: a train."

I raise an eyebrow, my heart in my throat. "This was your idea?"

She nods. "They had to shut the train down so the humans don't find this place."

"And you know this because...?"

"Sonny told me." She moves to the front of the train and climbs on. "Besides. Only those who can't touch metal can operate it."

"That's a surprising amount of creatures, Mikey."

She rolls her eyes. "They won't follow us."

"You don't know that," I say, peering over my shoulder. I can hear them down the way, and I know she can too. "Besides. You don't know how to operate a train."

She shrugs. "I'll figure it out."

"How about we just keep walking? We'll lose them anyway when Sonny senses us."

Mikey shakes her head. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"It left when I had my fingertips cut off."

She makes a clucking sound three times with her tongue. "Shame. You could never be a pirate."

Irritation flares in my chest as she climbs up the train and enters. "This is stupid."

"You have no imagination."

I roll my eyes and climb up as well.

"Mikey, I don't think you're listening—"

"Maverick? Hey, it's Mikey." I enter the front of the train and see Mikey with her flip phone pressed to her ear. She flashes me a smile and a thumbs-up. "Do you by chance know how to start a train?" She pauses and gives a tiny laugh. "Just trying to get away from an angry mob. Uh huh."

She flips switches and turns knobs as Maverick feeds her the information, and I shake my head. Of course the centuries-old vampire would know how to start a train. I laugh to myself as I joke about him probably being around when they were first invented.

The train springs to life and starts moving.

"Oh, hey, do you know a vampire named Nick?" she shouts over the train as we pick up speed. "What?" She exhales as she pulls the phone down and shuts the phone. "I can't hear him over this stupid locomotive."

"I told you this was a dumb idea," I comment, looking back at the mob as some jump onto train carts. "Annnnd we have company."

"That's okay, we'll just jump off when we need to."

Frustration continues to grow in me as I stare at the back half of the train. What possessed her to think this was a good idea?

"Hey, I think it was," she comments.

"What was?"

"The train." She stands next to me. "It's a lot faster than walking. And I don't think anyone's going to attack us up here."

"You underestimate hatred."

Mikey grins. "You underestimate us."