For the next few days things were ordinary and peaceful. Mundane things filled up most of their time, mixed with discussions of Megan's notions about a vampire police force and the long talks David and Mack had, sometimes with the others joining in, about what it was like to be a vampire.

On one particularly clear summer night David woke to find Megan already up. He wandered past where Mack and Jeff sat talking and into the clearing in front of the cabin. He found Megan there, holding an object that he couldn't make any sense of at first. She seemed to have a rope wrapped around her arm, but it was striped black and white, and oddly thick. Then it moved and he realized it was a snake.

"Look! Isn't he beautiful?" Megans eyes were bright with delight. "I caught him just in time, they're generally not out at night."

David took a few steps closer. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about snakes. He'd never seen one up close before.

"It's a kingsnake. They're called that because it's one of the few snakes that eats other snakes. They're supposed to be fairly common around here, though I've never seen one in the city. This is a big one too! Would you like to hold him?"

"Uh... I guess so."

Megan held out the snake. "Hold him right behind the head, here, so he can't bite you. He probably wouldn't, but it's best to be safe. Be careful, he's quite fragile." David gingerly took the reptile. It immediately wrapped its body around his arm, getting a secure grip.

"Is it trying to constrict my arm?" he asked. "Isn't that what they do?"

Megan giggled. "Oh no. He'd be gabbing you much harder if he was doing that. He's just making sure he won't fall off."

"Oh." David watched as the snake curled and recurled around his arm. The scales were smooth and somewhat warm against his cool skin. "Why is it moving around so much?"

"Well, he probably wants to be let go, so he can go find a place to sleep. Although it may also be that he wants to go back to me, because I'm warm, and snakes can't make their own warmth, they have to be warmed by other things. Like vampires." She smiled at David. "I think I told you that once before."

"So you did," he said.

A week passed with such ordinary moments, and then David decided that they had spent enough time just talking, and now it was time to take action.

"Hey, Mack," he said as they sat around the table one night. "I think I've told you about all I can tell you, and shown you about all I can show you here. Do you want to go hunting with me?"

"Hell yes," said Mack. "Though... I'm not going to be much use, I don't think."

David grinned broadly, showing his sharp fangs. "You'll be all kinds of use. You'll make wonderful vampire bait."

Mack looked a bit nonplussed for a moment, but then he smiled. "Hey, yeah. I could do that just fine. But if you're going to go out hunting, what about Megan, and Jeff?"

David looked pensive. "I've wasted enough time already. I know there's no deadline on hunting vampires, but it's been so long since the last time I could... I hesitate to do this, the safe route would be to escort them to a city, and pick them up later, but that would take four or five days by itself and..." He shrugged. "In the whole time I've lived here, vampires have come by this cabin only once, and that was because they were looking to get revenge on the previous occupant, not because of me. There aren't any lairs anywhere in these hills, I've wiped out any of them that use the bolt holes around the area, and there's nothing at all to bring them here."

Jeff nodded. "If they've never come here in all this time, I think you're right that we'll be all right."

Megan nodded as well. "It will just be for what, two nights?"

"Two or maybe three. One night to get to the road, and one night to hunt on, and if we don't find anything really early, then we'll need another night to get back."

"We'll be fine then."

"I hope I don't regret this," said David, "But yes, you'll be fine."