nodded her head. Satisfied, I held my tongue. Stepping from the cover of the trees onto the pavement, she placed her hand on my chest to make me stop then pointed at the ground to signal to me that we had to wait. The wait was short. Veronica pointed to my right. I had forgotten in the sea of details that this strange nightmare of a world had presented to me, the shadowy giggle who had lurked just outside my view for the last several miles. I watched with Veronica as a smiling girl hopped quickly from the trees and onto the road. Our new quest grabbed Veronica and the pair hugged before she surprised me by wrapping her arms around me and squeezing me so tight I thought I was going to have my head explode from my body. It was only when she sat me back down after we had spun around did I realize that she had lifted me easily from the ground. She let go, and I had to side step to keep my balance as our new guest stood before us smiling. The girl was about the same age as Veronica. Only a fraction of an inch taller than my guide, her hair was a golden blonde which sported a very charmingly elegant weave, bound with a pretty bow of light purple. She was preciously cute and smelled of fresh limes which reminded me and made me wish I was somewhere else. My mind wandered as I inhaled her scent. I caught myself drifting and realized it was part of the vampire lure, it was disarming. Springing back to the road, I found she was dressed in stylish leather boots that ended a couple inches below her knee, retro hair band, jeans and a cashmere purple sweater; the image of a perfect high school sweetheart. I was perplexed as I looked back and forth from the new girl to Veronica. I wondered to myself why was Veronica dressed like that? Not that I was complaining, just curious. Realizing what was happening in my mind, both silently laughed and smiled before Veronica shook her head in and sighed. Busted, I hid my face in embarrassment by looking at the ground. Seconds ticked by before I looked up to see the two walking hand and hand down the road. Scared of being left alone in this world filled with monstrous dangers, I broke into a jog to catch up. Following close behind the girls as they still held hands I watched as they huddled close to each other to whisper I assumed about me. Neither said I word to me. I chose to mirror the tactic unsure of the need. I knew if two vampires were afraid enough to be this cautious then I knew something bad must be out past the orange hued torches. Veronica and her new friend appeared alert, heads and noses busily working both aides of the pavement. I tried to mimic their actions. Something unheard or unsettled by me would send them both into curious gestures and a worried glance my way. A noise or a shape would pass in front of the light from a torch nearby causing me to jump. The girls would cast an inquisitive look in that direction, but never stopped walking. As long as we moved I felt safe. I think the girls felt the same. The lights neared as we made progress though they still felt so far away. Any safety that was promised to be provided with their shining light would come much later. I knew the girls were allowing the newbie time to catch and keep up. I stuck my hands in my jeans pockets and trudged behind. The pockets were the first time I had halfway noticed what I was wearing. Looking myself over to pass the time, and take my mind off of the things in the night that seemed to be frolicking past the torches, I was wearing black mid-ankle leather boots, jeans and a grey T-shirt with some script writing. I felt at least I would die dressed reasonably cool. I laughed to myself about how unbelievable the night had been and how with each step it grew. The traveling was easy and I was thankful. The road was flat underfoot, smooth and unlined, but was wide enough to maintain traffic moving in both directions. Someone had gone to great effort and was continuing to keep the road in working