“Speaking of steps, boy oh boy, you should have seen me fight.” Lisa took her hands off the wheel, throwing a few air punches before retaking control of the car. “Sure, they ended up winning, but not before I gave them a few karate chops and kicked their balls into their stomachs. And I have to tell you, vampires’ faces get really, really red when you do that, in case you didn’t know, and man did their eyes get big.” Lisa stole another hasty look at Bennett, and a second later, she slapped Bennett on her thigh, the sound of which was like a whip cracking.

“Ouch,” Bennett said. “What the hell was that for?”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me it would be like this?” Lisa said, waving her arms about for a second. “I am so pumped right now. It’s like I have more energy than when I was a kid, and my mind is going like a zillion miles an hour.”

Ruby and Bennett exchanged looks again, and again, Lisa caught it. “Okay, what now? Am I talking too much? I mean, I feel like I’m talking a lot, but I have lots to say, and you can’t say things if you don’t talk—right? Besides, you guys are like dumb and dumber right now. What’s wrong? Bat got your tongue?”

Lisa exploded into laughter, slapping the steering wheel more than once before she reined in her cackling. “Bat got your tongue. Get it? It’s a pun.” Lisa pounded on the steering wheel again.

What had started out as a modicum of hope for Bennett had just increased tenfold. Although temporarily juvenile and definitely amplified, Lisa had kept her blithesome spirit, and she wasn’t shouting orders or planning someone’s demise. Lisa was simply being Lisa…or rather, a greatly exaggerated version of Lisa. That, in and of itself, gave Bennett even more hope.

“Come on,” Lisa said, pounding on the wheel again. “What’s going on with me? I mean, if this is normally how it feels, I’m getting myself a bigger apartment because I’ll be able to clean that bad boy in nothing flat. Zim. Zam. Zoom.”

“You’re high,” Bennett said, finally letting her grin escape.

“Ya think?”

“It’s an after-effect. It’ll be gone in a while.”

Lisa turned serious and cast a quick look at Bennett. “And then what?”

Bennett’s grin faded. “We’ll face that when we get to it, but for right now, just head to the warehouse.”

***

Lisa prattled on somewhat endlessly during the drive. Mostly nonsensical ramblings of a woman still dealing with her newfound life, but by the time they reached the warehouse, Lisa had gone quiet.