Lisa slowed the van and pulled up to the gated service entrance at the back of the building. A stone fence surrounded the property, and its archaic appearance added to the aura of creepiness that seemed to encompass buildings as old as this one. It was now after midnight, so there wasn’t a soul around, and putting the van in park, Lisa almost turned off the engine until she remembered Bennett’s warning. Leaving the van running, she took the wooden box from the passenger seat and slipped into the back, keeping her eyes on Bennett the entire time.

Bennett sat with her eyes closed until the scent of a human reached her. It was near, and it was food, and lurching out of her stupor, she thrashed about, growling like a crazed wolf.

“Easy girl,” Lisa whispered, pulling the clear syringe from the box. “This is just going to calm you down so we can talk.”

Bennett fought against the ties binding her to the van, and as she kicked and struggled, Lisa moved swiftly. She stabbed the needle into Bennett’s thigh, pushing the plunger until it hit bottom. A minute later, Bennett’s eyes returned to brown.

“Are you with me?” Lisa said, putting the syringe aside.

“Yes,” Bennett said, clearing her throat. “For now, I am, although I can’t promise for how long. It’s there, but I’m fighting it.”

“Okay, I’ll make it quick. We’re here, and they texted to say they’ve cleared a path. Go through the double doors in the back, and there’ll be stairs to your right. Go to the fourth floor, make another right, and at the end of that hallway, go through the door on your left. They’re in there.”

“All right. Cut me free, but not the ones on my wrists. Only the one holding me to this hook.”

“Shit,” Lisa said, looking around. “I don’t have a knife.”

“There’s a dagger in my boot.”

“Of course, there is,” Lisa said, snorting out a nervous laugh. Keeping one eye on Bennett, Lisa got the dagger out of the sheath riveted to Bennett’s boot, and with the confidence that comes from believing the worst was over, Lisa cut through the tie keeping Bennett bound to the van.

Dulled by the sedative, Bennett’s thoughts were slower than Lisa’s action. The drug had calmed the beast long enough for clarity and a bit of conversation, but feeling as if she was trying to stop the ocean’s waves from reaching the shore, Bennett gave in for a split-second, and that’s all it took. In a flash, she was lunging at Lisa, craving what was pumping through her veins, and even when Lisa’s head hit the driver’s seat, and she cried out in pain, Bennett didn’t stop.