A Girl in the Shadows

Chapter One

My two-year streak of not killing a human was about to come to an end. A sudden sensation caused my throat to tighten as I waited in the bushes. The students I'd seen so far were good contenders, but my desire left me wanting something much more. I stifled the cough with my filthy hand, then looked down at the bits of grey fur in my palm.  Squirrels were my life support, but I could only last so long on their blood. Tonight, I was going to treat myself to something much tastier. I wiped the fur onto my black jeans and checked my watch. Three in the morning.

There was the rumble of tires against the cobblestone street in front of the Vanderbilt Hall. I put my trusty sunglasses over my eyes to shield myself from the light of the cab. My heart was leaping. This could be the one. The tires came to a slow roll, then a complete halt.  The potent smell of exhaust caused me to gag.  I held my breath and crouched down even lower.  Between the tiny leaves, two figures emerged into the bright yellow glow coming from the dormitory.  This was a sight I had grown to become familiar with: two girls, loud and tipsy in tight dresses, laughing as if they had just seen the funniest thing in their lives.  They closed the doors of the cab and headed across the to the main entrance of the building, attempting to balance by using each other for support. 

I watched closely as they stumbled along, and my lips formed into a grin.  She's the one.  As they neared the entrance, the two separated.  One went to the right, towards the other high-rising dorms.  This was a difficult decision. Two humans full of delicious red rivers that would finally end my starvation were right in front of me. The one that veered to the right was about medium sized; a pudgy blonde with the dark roots sticking out of her damaged hair.  The neon yellow dress she wore hugged her body in all the wrong places as she carried her heels, the soles of her chubby feet turning black.  She would a fine pick, but the other...she was divine.  Her long dark hair blew in the wind as she fumbled with her purse.  The navy-blue dress gripped the curves of her small body. She was in decent shape. She could run.

I emerged from the bush, mulch crackling under my feet as the cab pulled away. The surrounding campus was desolate—an excellent time to move in.  I raised the hood of my cloak so it rested just above my eyes and trotted along the cobblestone to the precious girl.  She didn't seem to notice as I tiptoed behind her.  By then, her school ID was in her hand.  Once she held it up to the scanner and entered the building, my chance would be lost. 

"Hold on, there!" I grinned with joy as she looked at me. I took my wallet out of my pocket.  "Did you drop your wallet?" 

She looked into her purse, confused. "No...I don't...that's not mine."

"Are you sure?" I asked. 

She started giggling, the smell of her boozy breath hitting my nose. "Yeah, like...that's not mine."

"Okay, if you say so. Have a good night." I turned like I was about to leave, then rushed forward, grabbing her purse and throwing it as far as I could in the direction of the park. It landed all the way across the cobblestone, right in front of the bushes.  "Now, you dropped your wallet."

In her stupor, she leaned forward and shoved me. Not that hard, of course. "Hey, what the hell? What is your problem?"

In an effort to retrieve her purse, she turned and grabbed the handle of the stairs and walked down them, nearly falling over herself. She left her ID card on top of the railing. It was then that I knew her name: Molly Fitzpatrick. I shoved the card in my back pocket and followed the drunken little thing across the street. She bent down to pick up her purse, then almost fell backwards when she got back up. When she turned, I stood there with my fangs barred. She shoved me again.