Max reached her building safely. She made the trek up the four flights of stairs to apartment 4013.  The elevator never seemed reliable enough in her opinion and besides, she walked to and from work so what was another few minutes of walking? [i]Godzilla[/i] by Blue Oyster Cult blasted loudly in her ears. She hummed along to the catchy tune. She slid her key into the door handle but the door popped open before she had a chance to turn it. [i]That’s odd,[/i] she thought. Living alone in the city had always made Max a cautious person. She never left the house without locking the door. 

She pulled her headphones out of her ears, still hearing the music blasting loudly. She pushed the door open all the way but didn’t step in yet. She looked around. Her sight was better than a human but the room had blackout curtains and she couldn’t see much of anything. “Hello?” she called out. [i]Yes, because the robbers will be sure to announce their presence for my comfort. Stupid girl.[/i] She took a few steps forward into the front entry way. The living room was directly in front of her but the kitchen was around the corner to her left and her bedroom and bathroom were down the hall on her right. The doors to both rooms appeared closed from where she could see.

She made a few more steps in, taking her jacket off slowly and dropping it with her cell phone to the floor. She peered down the hallway, hoping her eyesight would adjust to the darkness in time to spot any danger. She listened for a sound and heard nothing. “Pandora?” she called out. Her stub tailed alley cat usually greeted her at the door, begging for food. [i]This can’t be good.[/i] Just as the thought entered her mind, she heard a slight creek in the floor. She froze. Silence filled the air. [i]Maybe it was just the cat? Maybe my super opened the door and didn’t lock it when he left? Maybe I’m just being paranoid?[/i] She tried to relax but failed miserably. “Pandora?” she called out again. The silence still lingered.  [i]Well, I might as well get this over sooner than later.[/i] If someone had broken in, Max would most likely be able to overpower them enough to scare them off. 

She reached for the lamp sitting next to the door and clicked it on. Immediately an ashen face, blonde woman leaped at her from the middle of room. Max was startled and knocked off balance. The blonde landed on top of her as they both hit the floor. Max reached out and grabbed the stool pushed up against the wall beside her. She cracked it over the blonde’s head, catching her off guard enough to stun her. Max squirmed out from beneath her and ran toward the hallway. She kept a loaded 9mm in her bedside table for protection. It wouldn’t kill the vampire but may subdue her enough for Max to get away. The blonde recovered, leaping up and tackling her again. This time she took Max down hard. Her skull cracked against the hard wood flooring, blurring her vision. The blonde crouched above her face, grabbed her around the throat and laughed. “He told me it would be easy. You newborn vampires are hardly stronger than humans. But your blood…that’s definitely stronger. And I’m starving.” Max tried gasping for air as she took in the woman’s words. This was a feral vampire and Max’s life was in danger. 

The blonde traced her free hand along the side of Max’s face. “You know,” she smirked, “you’re almost too pretty to kill. If I wasn’t so hungry, I think I’d try to convince you to my side of thinking. You’d be a wonderful pet.” Max was thankful that this woman seemed to like to play with her kills. It gave her enough of a chance to catch her bearings and choke out a few words. “How did you find me? Did…did [i]he[/i] send you?” She didn’t want to think that her sire had a reason to kill her - she always liked to think of him as more of a guardian angel - but she didn’t really know. The blonde’s grin widened. “Yes. He did. He knows where all you newborns live. He said I could choose whoever I wanted to eat. But I didn’t know you’d be beautiful. It’s a shame really.” The blonde tightened her grip on Max’s neck. “But no more talking… I need to eat.” Max looked around for something to grab or some way to escape as the blonde leaned down to her neck. Black spots dotted her eyes as the remaining oxygen left her body. The blonde’s teeth grazed her neck and Max gasped.