He found a set of stairs going up and he followed them. The upper rooms might have more possibilities to gain some time. His own feet were loud enough on the steps to drown out the faint footsteps of the other man behind him. When he reached to top he hurried down the straight corridor he found himself in. He didn’t want to be too close to the stairs when the madman came up. At the end of the hall paused for a moment to listen… and heard nothing. He turned back and saw the hallway was empty. Cautiously, aware that this might be some kind of trap, he retraced his steps. He peered down the steps, ready to jerk back and run at any moment, but there was no one there. Great, he thought to himself, I’ve lost him. He went quickly down the stairs and looked around the room below. There was no sign of the “vampire,” and he could hear nothing, not a footstep, not a breath, not a heartbeat. Nothing. He checked the two other doors leading out of that room, but the rooms and hallways beyond were likewise still and empty.

He returned to the room he’d last heard the madman in and looked at the stairs. Maybe he’d climbed them after all, and had ducked into one of the rooms at the top? He went over to the stairwell, and that’s when he finally noticed the second set of stairs, heading down. He froze. For one moment he felt like his heart had turned to ice. Then he dashed down the stairs, heedless of how much noise he made. If the madman was down there with his co-workers speed was more important than silence. This set of stairs didn’t come out in the same hallway as the flight he’d descended earlier, so he had to waste precious minutes searching for the right place. When he finally found the right hallway he slowed his pace to listen. He could hear voices, and the acoustics in the empty hall were such that he could make out every word.

Robert’s voice was the first he heard. “Come on, man, leave him alone. You’re crazy.”

The madman’s harsh tones answered, “If you interfere I’ll blow his brains out.”

Derrick, with utter terror in his voice said, “Please, please don’t do this. Please…”

“You’ll live, if you cooperate. Now shut up and hold still or I really will blow your brains out.”

There followed a brief silence, and then a low, shuddering moan of pain. David quickened his pace again. When he reached the open doorway he wasn’t really surprised by the scene he found. Robert was still sitting on the ground, his face turned away from the scene next to him and an expression of horrified revulsion on his face. Derrick was kneeling near the middle of the room, and the fake vampire was on one knee in front of him with his gun held to Derrick’s head and his teeth buried in his neck. Derrick had his eyes tightly closed and was still moaning in terror and pain.

“Stop it right there,” said David, stepping into the room.

The “vampire” pulled back from Derrick and twisted around. “You!” he said in a snarl of pure hatred. His face was a mask of rage, and his lips were stained with fresh blood. Then he grinned and said, “I bet you believe me now, don’t you?” And without another word he lifted his gun and shot David.