“Hi.” A skinny young man wearing khakis and a purple sweater stood beside her. She recognized him from earlier in the bar. His burly friend in the jeans and UT sweatshirt stood off to the side. She’d never heard them come up. The skinny one asked, “Suppose you could give us a lift?” .

She unlocked the door quickly, but kept her face friendly and her body language casual. “Sorry, guys,” she said lightly as she hopped up into the drafty cab and pulled the door shut…

The skinny guy’s hand darted out seizing the door, preventing her from closing it. “Hey…” he said in a soothing voice, “Don’t get your skirts in a ruffle. Just be neighborly.” His eyes blazed…hungrily at her. She felt… almost… like she wanted to give him and his friend a ride.

Almost.

She wasn’t sure why the idea of giving in to his request was so strangely compelling, but she really did know better than to offer rides to strangers at 3am. She looked back and met his eyes, still not really afraid. She knew how to handle difficult types. “Let go, friend,” she said in the same casual tone, but this time she put a light *push* behind the words.

…And she felt resistance. Like pushing a brick wall.

A slow smile creased the skinny guy’s face. “What’cha doing there, girl? In my head and all?” His mouth hung open in a fierce grin. She barely heard him say, “Bet you taste goooood.”

She only barely heard him because she was focused on his vicious fangs.

The burly fellow was baring his canines as well…

Now she was afraid. A cold knot tightened in her stomach as she stared wide-eyed at the two men. She didn’t believe in vampires or supernatural beings in general, but she did tend to believe the evidence of her own eyes…and right now that was telling her she was in a great deal of trouble. She could–maybe–handle the skinny guy, but there was no way she could take on both of them.

With all her might, she tried to pull the truck door out of the grasp of the skinny one, tried to slam it shut.

It didn’t move. His arm must have been made of steel!

“What do you want?” She tried to keep her voice steady, keep things reasonable, but the question came out in a shaky whisper.

“Trouble.”

Skinny Guy’s head turned to view the speaker, as did Burly Guy.

Brandon Falco stood in the lamplit parking lot, his trenchcoat blowing about him like a cloak, giving him the look of some kind of heroic avenger.

The sense of relief that washed through Casey was almost overwhelming. She slumped back against the truck seat, let out a long, trembling breath.

“Isn’t that what you’re after, boys? A little trouble? Because that’s what you’ve found.”

Burly Guy took an aggressive step towards Falco.

Falco shook his head, “Burn.”

Casey sensed tremendous power…

And the Burly Guy screamed, his voice reaching the wailing pitch of a little girl. He danced as if covered in stinging, biting insects…or… no… as if he was on fire.

Casey stared in fresh disbelief, not quite sure what she was looking at.

Burly Guy dropped to the asphalt, rolling left and right, patting at himself frantically…He sobbed, a tearful, wrenching cry…

Casey’s wide-eyed stare turned from the writhing man on the ground to Mr. Falco, trying to understand what she was seeing.

Falco locked eyes with Skinny Guy, “Leave the girl and you walk out of here undamaged.”

“Oh I’ll leave the girl,” Skinny Guy said, walking towards Falco, “I’ll leave her long enough to deal with you!”

“Mistake.”

Skinny Guy was lifted off his feet and spun about in the air.

Casey was having trouble drawing a breath. She felt like she had stepped into a nightmare, without the benefit of falling asleep first.

Skinny Guy flailed about, unable to prevent himself from being suspended upside down some five feet off the ground.

“Casey?” Falco asked, “You alright?”

She shrank away from him, her relief forgotten. She wanted to slam the truck door, fire up the engine, lay rubber on the Longhorn parking lot and get the hell out of whatever this was. But she couldn’t seem to move at all. She huddled against the truck seat, paralyzed by fear and confusion.

“Casey,” His voice was reassuring as he dug in his trenchcoat, “Though you might not want to watch this.” He drew a short, broad-bladed sword, which glinted in the lamplight. With a single fluid motion, he swung the blade… relieving the upside down vampire of his head. Both head and body crumpled to the ground.

Tonight’s experience was taking on the surreal tones of hallucination. Casey wondered if someone slipped something into her soda at some point tonight. That might explain it….

Falco turned, performing the same action on the Burly Guy. Once both vampires were sans heads, he returned the sword to its hiding place within his coat. He walked to her…

She flinched, trying to gather her wits enough to get herself out of this.

“It’ll be okay…” He stopped, eyes flashing to the rooftops and the alleys. “…But I need to get you out of here. Can you drive? Or shall I?”